89. Dance with the Witch (2)
89. Dance with the Witch (2)
"I need a more detailed explanation."
"W-Well, that's..."
I patiently listened to Elisa's entire explanation.
To summarize, her troublesome assignment was: "Interview a dungeon explorer, accompany them, write an essay, and take proof photographs."
"As you can see, I'm an Escort Knight."
I did seem to have picked up a dungeon-related license, but it'd have been a stretch to claim that made me someone who earned a living in dungeons. When I expressed reluctance, Elisa waved her hands and said,
"Uh, w-well, I, o-other people... scare me..."
...Ah, so that was it. For Elisa, a loner to her very core, the assignment was simply too cruel. Thinking of her usual behavior, I understood. With her personality, she'd obviously hover in front of a dungeon entrance until sunset without managing to approach anyone. Coming to me had been a wise choice.
An acquaintance like me was better than a complete stranger. But was it acceptable to ask someone she knew for help? When I looked at her questioningly, Elisa flinched and answered.
"O-Other people, if they have someone they know... they get... help..."
"So it's fine to ask someone you know for help."
Well, connections were a form of ability too. Even without connections, there'd be plenty of people who'd accept an interview if you brought a fair amount of money and paid them. They'd even show you around the dungeon.
"Y-Yes."
"A bizarre assignment. Do they usually give out assignments like this?"
"D-Dungeon Exploration Studies gives this assignment once every semester... or so I h-heard."
"Do you need to be taking it?"
It wasn't like she had any reason to enter a dungeon. Wasn't she a Curse Removal Studies major, more on the research side? Did she really need to take dungeon-related classes? At my question, Elisa opened her mouth with a sad face.
"I-It's a required general education course..."
A dungeon-related course was mandatory—what a brutal world. Then again, plenty of people entered dungeons for one reason or another, so knowing the basics was probably worthwhile. Dungeons could even be discovered in the middle of a city.
"I see... Got it. And what do you use to take the proof photographs?"
I asked her about the part that had caught my attention. At my question, she pulled a square object about the size of a human head from a drawer and showed it to me.
"Y-You use this..."
So they had cameras here too. I examined the antique-looking camera Elisa had brought. It looked like something from around the 19th century.
"Fascinating."
"I-Is this your first time seeing a Screenshot?"
"Screenshot?"
The world was really advertising that it was a game.
Looking at the tool called a Screenshot instead of a camera, I couldn't help feeling strange.
The game system had been incorporated into all sorts of places, whether people noticed it or not.
Perhaps this world contained functions I no longer remembered. I might look into them when I'd the chance; some could prove useful. That was when it happened.
A timid touch pulling at my sleeve jolted me back to attention, and I looked down at her. Hesitantly, Elisa held the Screenshot out to me.
"W-Would you like to take a look?"
"Thank you."
I took the Screenshot from Elisa and examined it closely. It was a portable camera with an appearance better suited to a museum. Perhaps it was portable because a Screenshot could be taken anywhere. A photograph also came out immediately; the bottom had a slot from which the paper emerged.
It was remarkably advanced technology for a world at roughly an early-modern level.
No, magic existed here, so perhaps it was not so strange.
Having finished my inspection, I handed the Screenshot back to Elisa and asked about the detailed schedule.
"When are you thinking of leaving?"
"T-The day after tomorrow is the weekend, so then... would that be possible?"
"I'll keep my schedule open."
"Th-Thank you..."
She really was timid. I rose from my seat and took hold of the doorknob. Our business was finished, so it was time for me to rest.
"Sleep well."
"Y-Yohan, g-good night to you too..."
The door closed, and I stood alone in the empty, silent hallway, letting out a sigh.
Talking with Elisa really wasn't easy.
Seriously.
---------------------
"Th-This person is..."
"A pretty seasoned dungeon explorer."
"Nice to meet you!"
Sif spoke with a cheerful expression, extending her hand toward Elisa. It came with a manufactured business smile you could spot a mile away.
"N-Nice to meet you..."
Elisa carefully took Sif's offered hand and shook it lightly. The motion was so small it barely qualified as a handshake, enough to make Sif tilt her head.
"...Yohan, did you threaten her into coming? What's wrong with her?"
"Do I look like the kind of person who'd do that?"
"Uh..."
Why was she averting her eyes?
"She's naturally very timid. Cut her some slack."
"Okaaay~"
As she answered, Sif subtly made a circle with her fingers at an angle Elisa couldn't see.
Was this bitch always looking for a chance to collect money wherever she went?
I clocked Sif on the crown of her head for her infuriating behavior right from the start.
"Mreow! Why'd you hit me?!"
"You already got your pay. Don't get greedy."
"But the more money the better! You could at least throw in a little extra for my trouble!"
She wasn't wrong. More money was better. I had embezzled the budget to purchase mithril on the black market myself, after all.
Anyway, we stood before a heavily trafficked dungeon, each wearing a backpack and preparing to enter. We had two days' worth of food and water, blankets, spare clothes, and weapons. I'd packed generously just in case, so even an emergency should not cause serious trouble.
Leaning back against my pack, I suddenly thought of Millia, who was probably deep in her studies with Karina by now.
Millia had wanted to follow us, but Karina had held her back so they could study for Millia's academy transfer. Seeing her send us off with the dejected face of a child had hurt, but this was the path she'd chosen. Still, perhaps I should buy her a small gift on the way back.
I couldn't leave her sulking forever.
"Yohan?"
"...Ahem. We did decide on this as the destination, but there are a lot of people."
A lot. Really.
That was only natural. The place we'd come to was closer to a tourist attraction than a real dungeon: a small, three-floor dungeon containing nothing but goblins, with a goblin shaman as its boss. It was practically a tutorial dungeon.
It would be more accurate to call it a hands-on training dungeon. Probably because of that, quite a few students in school uniforms were present.
"Wouldn't taking pictures here be a little lame? Even for an assignment, wouldn't it be better to take them somewhere more serious?"
"Somewhere more serious?"
At Sif's sudden expression of an opinion, I stared at her with suspicious eyes. This wench only ever voiced an opinion when she'd spotted a chance to collect cash. When I glared at her, Sif waved her palms and began making excuses.
"Ah, n-no, think about it! Would you really call guys who go in and out of a place like this real dungeon explorers? If you're gonna do it, you should visit a proper dungeon and take some pictures of dungeon monsters and stuff!"
...That was more plausible than I'd expected.
Rather than taking photographs in a place so crowded that it was hard to spot even a single goblin, visiting a moderately dangerous dungeon would probably earn a better grade. Interviewing an explorer who regularly entered dangerous dungeons would be far better than interviewing some random amateur.
Of course, that Thief Cat had only said it because she wanted to earn money in the process.
"Uh, I-It's an assignment anyway, s-so you don't have to go that far..."
"It's fine! We may not look like it, but we've cleared four dungeons!"
She had no business subtly including herself. I'd practically done everything, so where did she get off bundling herself in? To tell her to shut up, I gave Sif her second smack of the season.
"Mreow!"
"Stop talking nonsense and let's head into the dungeon—"
Just as I was about to finish, a procession of students came into view. I closed my mouth and watched them.
Why were there so many? The spectacle of dozens of students swarming en masse into the dungeon was bizarre in several ways. Some were holding weapons, but some were completely empty-handed. It looked less like a dungeon expedition and more like an outing.
"U-Upperclassmen... They're upperclassmen..."
"Looks like your year isn't the only one with a dungeon-related assignment."
"I-I've heard... that a lot of dungeon-related assignments are given... around this time of year..."
I shifted my gaze from the students and looked at Elisa. Elisa's expression was dark even at a glance. Did she have trouble with her seniors? Or was she just shunning a crowded place due to her loner temperament? I was just about to toss Elisa a question to figure out the exact reason when it happened.
"Oh my, what's this? Elisa, what are you doing here?"
"Uh, uh, uh... hello... I-I'm doing an a-assignment..."
What was with this cookie-cutter noble young lady? I looked at the student in the same uniform as Elisa—a bratty little... no, a student who looked every inch a noble young lady.
She looked every bit as punchable as Sif.
"Seeing as you're here, you must have come to do the Dungeon Exploration Studies assignment! Ohohohoho!"
"Th-That's right..."
"Oh my, then where are your other group members? Surely you didn't come alone?"
...What?
Group members?
When I looked at Elisa questioningly, the unfamiliar student added, as if to answer my question.
"Don't tell me she didn't mention that it's a group assignment?"