Paths Converge
Theo had extracted some surprisingly unexpected information from the thief leader. The question had been simple: how did they know there was a dungeon here? The thief leader answered that he'd overheard people talking about it at a tavern. Since the information came under hypnosis, there wasn't a single lie in his words. But that didn't make sense. As everyone knew, a dungeon's final reward was most valuable on the first clear. That's why people bought and sold first exploration rights without even knowing what the reward contained. No one would casually blurt out such valuable, money-making information in a tavern. If someone did, it was either false intel or...
"They must've leaked it on purpose."
"Leaked dungeon information? Why?"
"Who knows. Could be plenty of reasons. Maybe they wanted to let thieves steal it, then take out the thieves and snatch the reward themselves. Or maybe it was to sabotage Sepia."
"I see. Hehe. Theo, you're so smart!"
"Uh, yeah. Thanks."
"Ehehe."
Faye stood pressed right up against Theo's side, grinning up at him with a silly smile. Whenever their eyes met, her face lit up with an even brighter grin before she blushed and quickly looked away.
Why is Faye acting like this all of a sudden? Theo could only feel bewildered. It wasn't because he didn't understand what her feelings meant. He wasn't some dense fool who couldn't tell why someone liked him after he'd charmed them. If he hadn't been aware, that would be one thing—but he'd known exactly what he was doing. The sparring sessions with Faye, which had become routine at Luna's suggestion, were all part of getting closer to her. He'd known this kind of reaction would come eventually, and he'd worked toward it. What confused Theo was the "suddenly" part. After returning from interrogating the thief leader, Faye's gaze toward him had completely changed. With no warning whatsoever.
What the hell happened in that short time? No matter how much he thought about it, nothing came to mind. Still...
"Hm? Whyyy?"
"No, it's nothing."
"Okay!"
Seeing Faye approach with a smile that made no effort to hide her affection, Theo decided the small details didn't really matter. He reached out and patted her head. The fluffy hair carried a warmth that matched Faye's feelings. Faye closed her eyes and enjoyed the touch. It wasn't the first time Theo had patted her head. The height difference was just right, and she was so cute—like a small animal—that his hand sometimes moved on its own when he let his guard down. But right now, this touch felt especially good to Faye. Her lips curled up on their own, and laughter kept bubbling out.
"Ehet, ehehe…."
She was happy. Just as happy as when she crossed swords fiercely with a strong opponent. If fighting brought a happiness that boiled hot and intense, this was a happiness that swelled like a balloon. Ah. Her heart was still pounding the same way, though. Faye surrendered to the rising emotions and gently pressed her head into the hand stroking her hair.
While Faye and Theo shared these budding feelings between just the two of them—
"Shit. I should've just died. If I'd known I'd have to see this crap, I would've begged to be killed instead."
The thief leader ground his teeth beside them. After their conversation, Theo had learned there was a bounty on the leader's head. Dungeon thieves were the type who stole first final rewards from other dungeons. And first exploration rights usually belonged to wealthy nobles with knights under their command. Naturally, most people furious about having their first final rewards stolen by dungeon thieves were nobles. The bounty on the thief leader's head was ridiculously high compared to his actual skill—proof of just how much nobles hated his kind. It was enough to make Theo, who had been ready to kill him without hesitation, change his mind and decide to bring him back alive instead. Cutting off just the head would still get the reward, but bringing him in alive would pay more. Of course, Theo had taken precautions to avoid getting stabbed in the back. Luna had tightly bound the captured vice-leader with rope. His skin chafed against the bindings and his joints creaked, but at least his limbs were intact. Theo wasn't as lenient. He hadn't bothered with rope—he'd simply shattered both of the leader's arms. The bone count had probably tripled. They looked like they might flop around like whips. Normally, the overwhelming pain would've knocked him out, but Theo had numbed the sensation with paralysis magic. So even though his legs were fine, he couldn't run. The moment the paralysis wore off, hellish pain would flood in right where he stood. Both arms destroyed and unable to flee. Even in that state, the thief leader couldn't stop the foul words pouring from his mouth. From an outsider's perspective, the sight was sickening enough to make anyone avert their eyes. Naturally, Faye and Theo paid no attention to whatever the man destined to die—or better off dead—had to say.
After defeating the appearing gear golems and pressing forward, another fork in the path appeared.
"Theo. The path split again. What do we do?"
"Yeah. At least there are no pressure plates this time. We probably don't need to split up."
Theo looked around, hoping to find some kind of clue, but nothing useful appeared. Dungeons usually provided hints about which path was correct when a fork appeared. It was a remnant from when this had been a game. Even if the clues were cleverly hidden or difficult to interpret, there were almost never cases with no clues at all. Yet here, there was nothing. It was hard to believe the clues were just extremely well-hidden when the dungeon's overall difficulty was low. It didn't make sense for only the fork's clue to have unusually high difficulty. That meant...
"Maybe this isn't actually a fork?"
"Theo, what do you mean? The path clearly splits here."
"No, wait. It looks like it splits to us, but maybe it doesn't actually split at all."
"Huh…?"
Faye tilted her head, clearly confused.
"Want to try thinking about it? We're not moving from here."
"Not moving? Hmm…."
Faye swayed her head side to side as she pondered. It didn't take long. As an academy student, she had the thinking ability to match. She just hated complicated thoughts because they were bothersome and boring. After mentally sketching out the situation, Faye clapped her hands together.
"…Ah! So that's it!"
As if responding to her voice, a voice came from one of the paths.
"Oh. It's Faye! Guys! You okay?"
It was Luna, dragging along a man tightly bound with rope.
She didn't look surprised to see the straight path split into two again. She'd already passed through several forks. The guide they'd hired on the spot had proven pretty useful. Just as she was about to outsource the decision to the guide again, a familiar voice echoed from one path. A high, clear voice. Faye. So it wasn't a fork—it was where the paths merged. Luna quickly ran over to join them.
"Guys! You okay?"
"Yeah! I'm glad you're safe too, Luna!"
She'd heard the thief group had gone after Faye and Theo's side. Even while believing they'd be fine, she couldn't help worrying. Thankfully, just as expected, neither Faye nor Theo had any visible injuries.
"Who's the octopus guy you caught? I can guess, but…"
"Who're you calling a bald guy with not a single hair on his head!"
"Hey, I didn't say that much, did I? I was talking about his arms, not his head. He looks like an octopus with how they're flopping around."
She hadn't meant to make fun of someone's hair at all. After all, she'd once been an ordinary person who feared the inevitable future while looking at her gene donor's hair. Now she was in a situation where she seriously wondered if she could make a mini-Luna out of the hair that fell out every time she brushed, rather than fearing hair loss.
Theo stepped in and explained the octopus guy's identity.
"He's the thief leader who was following us. There's a bounty on him, so we decided to bring him back alive."
"Oh. There's a bounty? I brought one too."
They bragged about their respective spoils as they moved forward. With the three of them reunited, nothing stood in their way ahead. And that wasn't a metaphor—it was literal. No monsters appeared, and not a single trap could be found. The dungeon suddenly becoming peaceful? There was one natural reason that came to mind. It was the same logic as spotting a randomly placed save point in a game and immediately knowing what lay beyond. Theo, realizing the dungeon's end was near, spoke up.
"Luna. Faye. The dungeon boss is probably coming soon. You ready? Nothing wrong?"
Anything wrong? They weren't injured anywhere, and since they'd only avoided traps on the way, there was no stamina loss either. So there shouldn't be any problems—ah.
"What do we do with the guys we caught?"
"Why? Afraid they'll run during the fight? Want me to break their legs too?"
Theo immediately suggested the most effective yet brutal method without hesitation.
"H-Hiik! I'll stay tucked away in the corner so I don't get in the way! I won't run either, I swear!"
The guide trembled and bowed repeatedly under Theo's gaze, which looked ready to swing his staff at any moment. His movements were so sincere that Theo decided against breaking his legs. Instead, he tied the guide's legs with rope and tossed him aside like luggage—but that was still better than the alternative. After dealing with the two pieces of luggage, they walked a bit further until a large circular plaza appeared.
"Where do you think it'll come from?"
"I think I know! Above! Definitely from above!"
"Having the floor open up and rise wouldn't be bad either."
They casually guessed where the boss would appear as they walked toward the center of the plaza. At the same time, they kept scanning their surroundings and memorizing the terrain. Just as they were about to reach the center of the circle—
"Above your heads! Watch out!"
"Yahoo! I called it!"
With those completely tension-free shouts, a massive gear golem dropped from one of the scattered positions.