Chapter 89

Excuse Me for Intruding!*6
We returned to Panis Village for the time being and gave our report there.

… After all, we were about to enter a dungeon again. There’s always the risk of losing our lives, which means there’s a nonzero chance we might not come back.

So it was better to report something like, “We’ve successfully returned from the dungeon in Lark Town. Next, we’ll be heading to the dungeon in the royal capital.”
While we were at it, we also reported, “There was a Uparupa in the Lark Town dungeon. That thing was the dungeon master. What even was that!?”

Once the report was done, we immediately headed for the royal capital.

… Our means of transportation was the modified bicycle, a moped lookalike. It wasn’t as bulky or heavy-duty as the ones Laperesiana-sama and the members of the Royal Third Knights Order ride, but it’s still a vehicle that hasn’t spread widely in this world yet. Naturally, whenever we passed people on the road, they’d give us looks that clearly said, “What is that?”

“Yaaay! So fast!”

“Woohoo! Unlicensed driving!”

Since I’m still in an elementary-schooler body, I reconstructed a child-sized moped to match myself and rode it, but yes, this was definitely unlicensed driving. Something that would absolutely be a no-go if this weren’t another world.
Well, since I’m here anyway, I might as well fully enjoy the otherworldly experience, even in places like this…

After arriving in the royal capital, we secured an inn and left the moped at the inn’s stable. I mean, this world doesn’t exactly have bicycle parking lots…

The inn staff gave us looks like, “What a strange horse… huh? Seriously, what is this?”
Still, there were some well-informed people in the royal capital who covered for us, saying, “Ah! That’s the mount Laperesiana-sama rides! It’s smaller than hers, but maybe it’s still young!”
No, it’s not a horse. It’s really not a horse!

But apparently, if it’s not a horse, they won’t take it into the stable, so yes, this thing is a horse. A horse. Absolutely a horse!

“We’ll need to do the entry procedures… hmm, what should we do? Is a one-day stay enough?”

“No, let’s plan for about two weeks.”

… This gold mine dungeon is estimated to have a human dungeon master. Which means traps and such should be properly set up.

That means there’s more than enough chance that something will happen. Very unpleasant to think about, but… if the other side refuses to cooperate with us, we could end up fighting on enemy territory.

And if the opponent is a human like me, someone who also came from another world, then there’s a high chance they’ll think of the same kinds of tactics I would.
In short, there’s more than enough possibility that we could die instantly to some opening trick.

Which means—

“If we exchange letters, we should get some kind of result in about ten days or so. Probably…”

“Huh!? We’re going to exchange letters with a dungeon!?”

… We need to make contact from as safe a position as possible and, above all, avoid turning them hostile!

And so, day one of correspondence.

[Nice to meet you. We are from Panis Village. We would like to consult with you regarding the recent increase in demand for slimes. We have no intention of being hostile toward you. We appreciate your consideration.
P.S. This is one of our local specialties. Please enjoy it.]

I wrote the letter like that and included it with a gift box of sweets.
The sweets were Panis Village’s brandy cake. It’s delicious! Including the book hidden at the bottom of the box!

“That should do it. Now we just need to place it somewhere that’s easy for the dungeon to notice, but won’t be seen by other adventurers… ah, I can’t reach!”

“Up there? I’ll place it.”

“Aaaah, thanks! I’m grateful, and frustrated at the same time!”

We decided to place the sweets and the letter on a rock shelf deep inside the dungeon. This area had already been mined out, so no one comes here anymore, and being up high means it won’t catch anyone’s eye.

“But will the dungeon master even notice it here?”

“Uh, I think they will. This is probably a passage for the dungeon master.”

“Huh?”

… My powers of observation don’t lie. Behind this rock shelf is probably a passageway. I can sense something like a hollow space beyond it!

The fact that this area produces no gold, and that it’s tucked away where no one comes, no matter how you look at it, this has to be the dungeon master’s passage!

“Alright, then that’s everything…”

We’d done all we could. Now all that remained was to wait for the dungeon master to notice.

And… to pray that they like Panis Village’s famous brandy cake!

The next day.

“Woooooah! The box and the letter are gone!”

“Does that mean they noticed it!?”

“Or maybe someone else found it and took it!”

“I really hope not!”

Mishisia-san and I were understandably excited. After all, the sweets and letter we left behind had vanished! Doesn’t that mean they were decomposed and absorbed by the dungeon!? Maybe!? Please!?

“Yeah… it looks like the dungeon master found them. Look.”

… As Lisas-san said that, his arm passed over our heads, and he retrieved a single sheet of paper from behind the rock shelf.

It was… a reply from the dungeon master!

“Woooooooah!”

“Waaaaaaaah!”

“Calm down.”

Mishisia-san and I started dancing in excitement. As usual, we were completely out of sync. This is fun!

“So, what does it say!? What does it say!?”

“Hold on! I’ll read it now! Let’s see…”

While dancing, we spread the letter open and read it.

[Thank you for the sweets. I enjoyed them very much. I would very much like to meet you in person. I have no intention of being hostile either. If you wish, please proceed beyond the rock shelf.]

“… Is it a trap?”

“But it says they have no intention of being hostile…”

“Lisas-san, what do you think?”

“Well… it’s hard to say…”

… Despite the favorable reply, we’d ended up completely stuck. Can we trust this or not!? That’s the question!

“Well, staying here won’t get us anywhere.”

There was no point hesitating, so we exited the dungeon once, made some preparations, and then quickly proceeded beyond the rock shelf.

“Uh, behind the rock shelf… ah, it’s a sliding door. Excuse us~ wiiin.”

“Why did you say ‘wiiin’?”

“It’s like a greeting when opening a sliding door.”

Naturally, since it wasn’t an automatic door, it didn’t actually go “wiiin,” but it still opened fairly smoothly. Much appreciated. Some doors in this world are too heavy for an elementary-schooler body to move, after all…

“… It’s beyond here, right?”

“Yeah. I can sense someone. Let’s go!”

Beyond the rock shelf door was a passageway. From deeper within, we could sense some kind of presence, and there was a faint light further ahead.

“Alright, Asuma-sama, I’ll carry you.”

“Much appreciated…”

… From here on out, we were truly inside the enemy dungeon’s belly. We couldn’t let our guard down, and if we needed to retreat, we’d have to move instantly.
So, I ended up being carried by Lisas-san!

“Oh, the viewpoint is higher. The stride’s huge…”

“Well, bigger than Asuma-sama’s, at least.”

If Lisas-san was carrying me, a sudden retreat would be manageable. There are just a lot of things I can’t do with this elementary-schooler body. It can’t be helped.

And so, carried by Lisas-san, with Mishisia-san advancing carefully with her bow in hand, we moved through the passage… until we finally reached the end.

And then—

“Don’t move.”

We found ourselves surrounded by several suits of armor holding spears.

… And beyond the ring of armor stood… a human. A human man, with signs of having trained his body reasonably well.

And on his arm was the Bracelet of the Dungeon Master.

“… You came here to take this dungeon from me, didn’t you?”

The person who appeared to be the gold mine dungeon’s master said this, his expression filled with caution.

“Huh!? You can take over dungeons!?”

And just like that, I was utterly shocked.

New information had appeared out of nowhere, and I was completely stunned!