Chapter 69
Chapter 69
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: So What Now?
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So what now?
From the Cyrus Express, a black-haired knight in black armor stepped out alongside the soldiers.
The black-haired knight seemed to recognize me.
Not by the name Dirgeblade, but as me, the individual—as if he'd seen me somewhere before.
Since there was no hostility, I just gave him a nod.
Under my guidance, they recovered Alicia, Mine, and the soldiers' bodies from the base of the mountain.
Once everything was wrapped up, the knight's nagging began.
"Your Highness! What were you thinking, leaving without a word to me?!"
"Don't make a fuss, Kaiser. As you can see, I'm fine."
"Argh, you're driving me crazy! And dragging Hyperion along with you...!"
"Ah, so it was Hyperion you were worried about, not me."
Mine stood awkwardly among the knight and soldiers.
Even so, my gaze remained fixed on Rene's hologram in front of the station.
'Looks like no one else can see her.'
I cut straight to the point with her.
"What happened?"
『Who knows. Didn't you unconsciously create an entrance linking here?』
She did say something like that.
Perhaps traveling with Mine or carrying the massively amplified holy power from the buff was the cause.
I just hadn't expected it to manifest like this.
"...So you mean I can enter the Haribal Dungeon whenever I want from now on?"
『Why not test it if you're not sure?』
Rene extended her hand.
A translucent hand, like a hologram.
When I took it, I felt a solid presence, and Rene pulled me right in.
The next moment, I was inside the Haribal Dungeon.
『See? You made it in.』
Rene released my hand and walked to the center of the temple.
The sheep followed behind her.
Looking back at the entrance I'd come through, the scenery of Ronwood Station faintly shimmered there.
But strangely, the entrance wasn't just one.
There was another beside it, and another. Firmly shut, but doors that could be called entrances had appeared.
Each door bore names like Neivil Station, Erandar Station—regions.
『Looks like from now on, whenever you want, you can come here through me from any station in each region.』
"......Why?"
Everything was astonishing, but the fact that they were 'stations' felt so out of place.
『I told you about this space before. You've been wandering outside the academy so much, maybe that's why? Oh, and it's connected to tram stops too, by the way.』
I had no excuse for that.
I tapped the rippling scenery of Ronwood Station.
"I'll go back out and try entering again."
Rene nodded as if amused.
As I stepped out through the door I'd entered, a sensation like crossing the world's boundary enveloped my body.
Different from when Rene had pulled me in—nausea welled up inside.
When I opened my eyes again, I was back at Ronwood Station.
"...Damn."
"......?"
"Haribal. Are you all right?"
"Mine. What was I just doing?"
"Huh? Just..."
Mine hadn't seen Rene yawning right in front of me.
"...standing there?"
Confirmed.
Kaiser was still lecturing Alicia, and hardly any time had passed.
I stared blankly at Rene.
There were limitations, but being able to freely enter and exit the Haribal Dungeon from now on was no small matter.
In the battle with Elevber, I'd realized my body couldn't yet handle the buff's power.
It'd be great if the buff lasted permanently, but I had to prepare for when it didn't.
In the end, I could only rely on my own pure strength.
And I just happened to need intensive training.
Then, another idea struck me.
'Can I enter through Ronwood Station and exit through Neivil Station?'
If that worked, the Haribal Dungeon would essentially offer door-like freedom to anywhere.
Reading my mind, Rene answered.
『Who knows. All the other doors are shut right now, aren't they?』
That it wasn't a flat denial was enough.
『Maybe you have to go there yourself for them to open.』
'Like a game's landmarks.'
If I thought of this as a newly unlocked feature, it made perfect sense.
"Still, this means I can talk to you whenever I want now."
『Sure, but...』
Rene snorted.
『Won't you look like some weirdo muttering to himself in front of stations?』
Fair point.
Then, Kaiser's voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
His lecture at Alicia had finally ended.
"Your Highness, we must depart now. We'll transport the soldiers' remains and survivors to the capital."
"Got it. Handle the cleanup, Kaiser."
"You two, board as well. We'll see you back to the dorms."
I turned to Rene.
She waved lazily with a drowsy expression.
『See you soon.』
We boarded the Cyrus Express under Kaiser's guidance.
That wrapped up the special training assignment.
The next two months would be free activity.
Once again, the developments diverged wildly from the original story.
Taking down a bishop of the church, Elevber.
Hyperion's early unlock.
And above all, the Haribal Dungeon.
The growing unease was unavoidable.
'The church lost two bishops before they could even start their main plans. Can't just see it as pure good news.'
The scenery of Ronwood Plains rushed past the window.
⁎⁎⁎
"Extreme God Single Sword, Form 3: Death Sentence!"
Slash! Slash!
Aren's sword strikes poured onto the chest of the massive wolf beast standing on two legs.
As the beast howled in agony and thrashed, Cecilia's Radiant Fang severed its ankle.
- Grraaaah!
The beast met its end, true to the name.
Four new upper dungeons revealed after clearing the Doll Dungeon with Haribal and Cecilia.
The boss of one, the Werewolf Dungeon—Lycanthrope—crumpled to the ground.
"Haa... haa..."
"Hoo..."
The two sheathed their swords, breathing raggedly.
Their bodies were covered in wounds, sweat pouring like rain.
They were the first to conquer an upper dungeon that even Haribal hadn't attempted yet.
Cecilia glanced down at her chest, where sweat made her underlayers visible.
But Aren didn't spare it a glance, just chugging water.
Her body, which had drawn even a bit of interest from Haribal.
Any normal guy would react somehow, but Aren showed zero interest.
'Isn't he supposed to be in disguise? At least stick to the concept.'
Of course, she understood.
Aren's mind and body were exhausted too.
The fight with Lycanthrope had been a brutal deathmatch, enough to make him forget basic concepts.
Even Cecilia, without her dungeon experience with Haribal, couldn't have guaranteed victory.
Their assignment remained the same.
Clear a dungeon and submit a report.
But considering their skills, they had to tackle one of the newly opened upper dungeons.
Mission accomplished.
For the next two months, top scores were guaranteed even if they did nothing.
But Cecilia read in Aren’s eyes the resolve not to stop here.
Separate from keeping an eye on him as a rival, she now understood why Haribal recommended her as his follower.
As he said, Aren synced with her incredibly well.
Perhaps even better than Senia—or maybe Haribal himself.
Above all, their mindsets and goals matched astonishingly.
Clear dungeons, grow stronger, ultimately conquer all the Evil God Dungeons.
But having fought alongside Haribal, Cecilia spotted one thing Haribal had that Aren lacked.
'He doesn't seem like he's doing this because he wants to.'
"So what now?"
"There are still three dungeons left. Gotta clear them all."
"Really?"
Of course, that was that, and this was this.
Cecilia had the drive to clear dungeons, but she wasn't a dungeon addict like Haribal.
No, she actually disliked entering them much.
With the assignment done, there was no reason to help Aren further.
Reading her thoughts, Aren said calmly.
"If you don't feel like it, no need to help. Solo runs can be helpful sometimes."
His utterly nonchalant expression narrowed Cecilia's eyes.
She hadn't been his follower long, but she'd already grasped his temperament.
'If I leave him be, he'll really go alone.'
Her goal was surely the same: conquering Evil God Dungeons, like her and Haribal.
Aren was dead serious about charging in solo.
Having been through the Doll Dungeon, she knew it was impossible for Aren alone.
No matter what, she didn't want him to drop dead.
Especially since he was the girl Haribal cared about.
She didn't want to get on Haribal's bad side by letting her die pointlessly.
In the end, she sighed and said,
"Even two was barely manageable, and you wanna go solo? Fine. I'll tag along."
"Really? You don't have to."
"It's not for you, it's for me. What kinda flak would I get for letting my follower dive into a dungeon alone?"
Seeming caught off guard, Aren blinked, then flashed a bright smile.
"Thanks, Cecilia."
It was a beautiful smile, even in Cecilia's eyes.
Man or woman, no one could resist it.
But Cecilia had no intention of falling for it.
She knew objectively she was just as beautiful as Aren.
'Everything but the face, I'm better.'
As she thought that while looking at Aren, he poured the rest of his water over himself to cool off.
"?"
Through his wet clothes, instead of underwear, bandages soaked with water were visible.
The bandages bulged with overwhelming presence, ready to burst.
Cecilia's eyes instantly gauged Aren's 'combat power.'
'E... F... What? How far does it go?'
Her gaze naturally drifted to her own chest.
At least equal. Maybe...
"Call it a day and head back?"
"......"
In Cecilia's mind, Aren's threat level was skyrocketing.
⁎⁎⁎
"No way. Don't. Stop it."
"Cut the nonsense."
"Junior, save me! Your frail senior's being dragged to the torture chamber!"
The Cyrus Express stopped at Luft.
The moment we got off, dozens of waiting soldiers surrounded Alicia.
Soon Kaiser hoisted her over his shoulder and vanished into the crowd.
"I'll be back!! I swear!!"
Noted.
I pressed X to pay respects, and Alicia was hauled off screaming.
The soldiers offered to take Mine and me to Neivil, but I declined.
It was a quick tram ride, and I didn't want the attention.
How huge was that train?
And so, Mine and I arrived in Neivil by tram.
"Thanks for everything this time. We could defeat those vile Evil God followers because of you."
"You helped too, so don't worry about it."
Mine bowed deeply.
"After shining like that, can't expect the same in dungeons?"
At my question, Mine's face darkened sharply.
The resolve from the village was gone; she was back to the frightened girl.
"Th-that's... they were Evil God cultists."
'Back to square one, huh.'
I sighed inwardly.
But having seen new potential in this training, I couldn't give up here.
"Mine. What's the Undead Dungeon like?"
"......Huh?"
"A place where those who defy divine providence wander unrested even in death. The reason they can't find peace is the schemes of the Evil God cultists you hate so much and defeated."
Mine's eyes shook like waves.
"Don't you think, as a Saintess... you should free them from their suffering?"
She had no reply.
"Think it over, and give me your answer Monday."
⁎⁎⁎
Things wrapped up earlier than expected, leaving me a free day.
So what now.
'There she is.'
Sure enough, at Neivil Station too.
For some reason, Rene was inside a hot dog shop.
Her translucent form overlapped with the clerk.
'No, why are you in there?'
"Welcome! Neivil Hot Dogs!"
『You came?』
"You said to."
"...Y-yeah?"
『You were gonna come even if I hadn't said anything, right?』
"True enough."
This time, I extended my hand.
"Eek? Eee?!"
Rene giggled, took my hand, and the familiar floating sensation shifted my view.
Haribal Dungeon.
For some reason, Rene held two unfamiliar cards.
"What's that?"
『Oh, this? It appeared after you took down that second bishop woman.』
The cards depicted a foolish clown and a beautiful woman.
[The Fool] and [The Lovers]
Clown and Lovers.
『Probably acts like the statues.』
"No way... Can I summon Marias and Elevber too?"
『If you want.』
A smile crept onto my lips at Rene's reply.
"Nice."
Without hesitation, I headed to the innermost statue.
The foe I'd finally defeated after two deaths.
My first dungeon boss, Barhatan.
I placed my hand on the statue, closed my eyes, and wished strongly.
'I want to fight you again.'
In that instant, a jet-black shadow rose behind me, forming a massive beast.
The familiar feel of a sword gripped in my hand.
GRRAAAAAH──!!
The roar that once brought despair echoed through the temple.
But this time was different.
The emotion dominating my mind wasn't fear or doubt, but a hunter's thrill before prey.
[Starting Stampede.]