Tch, A Trap?!
"...That bastard really lived in a nice place."
Following Marte, we arrived at the city next to the one with the church. It was about a thirty-minute walk from the central city housing the royal palace and church. Damn... with the heart of the royal capital right nearby and everything you could need seemingly available... but above all, the houses weren't quite on the level of mansions, yet they were luxurious enough residences clustered together, giving off the vibe of a swanky, livable upper-class neighborhood.
For actually living, this place might be better than the central city. Sure, I dreamed of a penthouse over some fancy house... but settling here in my old age wouldn't be half bad.
"Excluding the noble districts, it's one of the best cities to live in. Or, considering quite a few nobles reside here too, it's pretty much on par."
Bivora's tax evasion must've been sweet. Jealous of that cheating bastard. Nah, not anymore—he's flat broke now, so nothing to envy.
"So, where's that guy hiding around here? Does he have someone he knows sheltering him?"
If anything seemed even slightly off, I'd bolt immediately. Give me a good answer, Marte.
"...Actually, we discovered a secret passage leading underground from his house... And inside that passage was a dungeon's dimensional gate."
"...Huh? A dungeon?"
"Yes, a dungeon. The tesser readings are low and not dissipating, so we believe Bivora's hiding there."
A dungeon? Underground in a secret passage? With a knight order at their disposal, they could've just gone in themselves—why call me? Marte... this reeks of suspicion. Can I trust you? Should I just bail?
"Hmm. Dungeons... They pop up pretty often inside the royal capital, huh?"
Marte subtly averted his gaze at the word "dungeon," maxing out my suspicion meter to 100%, but I played dumb and asked anyway. Since I'd come this far, might as well probe a bit before slipping away.
"It's not unheard of, but it's extremely rare. Dungeons usually form in areas with thin esser concentrations and no life forms. Especially one inside a city—and underground at that—is a first..."
Hmm. Yeah, yeah. First I've heard of it too.
"Oh ho... Well, no problem then, right? You've got someone as strong as you, Marte, coming along."
I exaggerated on purpose, but Marte dodged my eyes and his shoulders trembled slightly. Come on... at least pretend to inspire some confidence. Your acting sucks, man.
"...Truth is, I'm not that strong. I'm the newest among the Hero Knights."
He turned the topic without meeting my eyes. Fine. I'll play along until we arrive.
"You were flying around, attacks flashing like crazy—it looked insane. That's not strong? The heroes I know could only speed up a bit with fighting spirit, and even that lasted just one or two minutes before they were wiped."
"Ah. At low levels, even heroes are like that. A hero's strength is determined by how superior their hero fighting spirit is."
Only after the subject shifted did Marte finally look at me and answer properly.
"With infinite esser, there's no limit to the stat boosts from hero fighting spirit. Of course, the stronger the fighting spirit, the quicker the body gives out—but leveling up solves that."
"...Huh? It didn't seem solved to that extent? You fought pretty long..."
"Ah. Against the previous Hero Eater, I only used fighting spirit in bursts. Even I can only sustain mine fully for about three minutes."
Damn. Even that powerhouse Marte was a three-minute veggie? Sure, you're strong enough... and if bursts are possible, maybe it's not a huge issue...
"At lower fighting spirit levels, you could sustain longer, but that defeats the purpose of being a hero... This efficiency and duration apply even to non-heroes. Adventurers are limited by their esser capacity, of course."
"Hmm... Not just adventurers, but all heroes too?"
"Yes. Among Hero Knights, excluding one person, the longest is just over five minutes. And I'm still new, so my level's low too."
"...What's your level, by chance?"
"59."
Whoa. Low is 59? The Hero Knights guarding the church were all level 60+ monsters. Still, five minutes... I couldn't beat Hero Knights, but escaping depends on distance—totally doable.
"...Ah. You said 'excluding one person' earlier...?"
"Yes. Just one. Among Hero Knights, there's someone who can sustain the strongest fighting spirit for over thirty minutes."
The strongest at over thirty minutes!? Worlds apart from the three-minute veggies. Shock hit me, and one face popped into mind.
That seriously badass uncle from the palace. Definitely...
"The kingdom's guardian, Knight Captain Orlando. He's also our Hero Knights' representative."
Yeah, figured as much.
"...! Sir Marte!?"
"Situation?"
"Y-yes! Nothing unusual so far!"
"Good. The Divine Beast and I will enter soon. You all guard the outside."
"Yes, sir!"
The knights, yawning while surrounding the courtyard of Bivora's mansion, snapped to attention at Marte's appearance, looking genuinely flustered—like they hadn't heard a thing. Hmm... seems the knights are in the dark too. Time to prep my exit?
"This way."
Not quite palatial, but still a high-end standalone house. Entering Bivora's place, we saw stairs descending underground where the wall and floor had been dug up. The place was trashed—maybe properly ransacked—with few items left. Whatever. Bivora doesn't matter; time to...
"......Huh?"
I was about to put on a show and tell Marte I'd wait outside when I spotted a rippling dimensional gate deep underground.
But... what the hell? Seeing that gate gave me this weird déjà vu...
...Why? My chest suddenly stirred.
This is... anticipation? No, fear? Hard to pin down, but some strange feeling...
"Let's go, Sema."
"......Sure."
...Fuck!? Did I just say I'm going? My brain screamed abort the second the words left my mouth, but my body was already following Marte.
No, what the hell is that gate? It felt like 'I have to go in,' making me blurt it out unconsciously. My head's blaring alarms to run, but my body's drawn to it like hypnotized... Marte, you got some hypnosis app or what? Shit, what do I do? This stirring... where have I felt it before?
"......Uh..."
Lost in the stir and confusion, we entered a closed-type dungeon with a narrow, single path.
...Fuck, I'm screwed. Didn't see this coming.
What if Bivora or his goons waiting inside jump out and slit my throat? Sure, no reason they'd succeed, but he's a criminal thief type...
'It's all your fault I went down!' or some shit. No way. Gotta get out now...
"M-Mar..."
"This way, Sema."
Fuck... why can't I get the words out? Why are my feet moving so lightly? Never felt this before. Wait, I have—somewhere... after coming to Essentia, for sure...
"Here."
We hadn't walked far when the path ended at a wide room entrance.
Something felt off about that entrance—definitely a trap!
"...Sema."
"...Yes."
"...Sorry."
With that, Marte shoved me into the room with terrifying strength unfit for his youthful face.
I flew in, and sure enough, massive rocks collapsed, sealing the entrance.
As suspected, Marte had lured me right into the trap, just as I feared.
"...Ah, fuck."
This psycho... and what a moron I am. I saw it all coming, yet here I am, wide-eyed and trapped in the dungeon under Bivora's house.