Cinderella in the Dungeon - 1
Cinderella in the Dungeon - 1
The next morning.
I stood in front of the old storage room door located in a corner of the mansion.
When I pulled the doorknob, which looked like it hadn't been opened in a while, the door slowly creaked open.
At the same time, the musty smell of dust pierced my nose.
"So this is where things are gathered."
Inside the storage room, items brought in as collateral for debts were piled up like a mountain.
Broken armor, swords with half-chipped blades, and backpacks of adventurers who had lost their owners.
Among them, what particularly caught my eye were the magic items.
"It might look no different from junk, but..."
These are all money.
Sometimes I think about it.
People try not to let go of their weapons until right before they die.
That's why an unexpected treasure is bound to be hidden in a storage room like this.
I flipped through the items one by one with familiar steps.
It was to clear away the useless stuff and find the single reason why I came here.
'Dimensional Gate Movement Scroll.'
It was an item that particularly stood out while looking through the list of items.
An item left behind by a wizard who fled in the night without paying back his debt in the past.
The destination is unknown.
It was a rare magic item known only to connect to 'a dungeon somewhere'.
It was dangerous, but it would be troublesome if I didn't get stronger in the future.
'After all, the goal of keeping Edel here is to get stronger together.'
To do that, it would be first for me to get stronger myself.
I clear the luggage and search for the item.
How much time had passed?
"Found it."
The innermost part of the storage room.
A small treasure chest covered in dust caught my eye.
Inside, an old sheepskin scroll was neatly placed.
As I stroked the pattern with my fingertips, faint magic power was transmitted along my palm.
"It's still alive."
A smile spread across my lips.
If it were a broken item, it would have been disappointing, but if it's to this extent, it can be used sufficiently.
I took a deep breath and slowly unrolled the scroll.
Srrr.
The moment the parchment unrolled, the patterns that were losing their light began to come alive.
As expected. It works normally.
I picked up the golf club I had set up in a corner.
The familiar weight was transmitted to my hand.
"Good."
Looking at the magic circle in front of me, I chuckled.
I don't know where the destination is.
It could be a dungeon where beginners might go, or it could be a dungeon to the extent that the word hell comes out.
If I can't overcome even this much, I won't be able to handle what's to come in the future even more.
Before speaking of a grand goal like stopping the destruction of the world.
I have to prove my qualification to survive first.
Holding the golf club tightly, I stepped into the magic circle.
++++
Edel slowly opened her eyes.
The morning sunlight was shining into the room.
"Ah."
Her body felt much lighter than usual.
It felt like she had slept properly for the first time in days, no, weeks.
Meanwhile, sleeping on the floor or a creaky junk bed was a daily routine.
Thanks to the good room, she was able to greet the morning without waking up even once.
Edel gently pulled back the blanket and sat up.
Only then did her attire catch her eye.
"Sleepwear, I ended up wearing it to sleep after all."
Her body was dressed in the sleepwear Danilu had sent through Chief.
She tried not to wear this at least, but she wore it in case he might find fault with it.
The soft and cozy cloth wrapped gently around her skin.
Even in the Holy Kingdom, the memories of wearing such good sleepwear were countable on one hand.
Edel, who was stroking her sleeves with her fingertips, suddenly smiled.
"Alright."
Taking a small breath, Edel lightly patted her cheeks.
"Let's work hard today too."
It's a path she chose anyway.
Faithfully carrying out the given work.
That was the best she could do right now.
Yesterday was the first day, so there were many mistakes, and she blushed for nothing by misunderstanding alone.
'Let's not do that today.'
Without useless misunderstandings or unnecessary imaginations.
Let's focus only on the assigned work.
Edel tried to get out of bed with a small determination.
Pulling back the blanket and stepping onto the floor, she stretched and loosened her body.
'Let's wash my face first and change clothes.'
She couldn't start the day in sleepwear.
Just as she was about to move her steps toward the closet.
Knock, knock, the sound of knocking was heard.
And that too for a moment.
Clack.
The room door opened.
"...!"
Edel's body froze as it was.
The person who opened the door and entered was none other than Danilu.
A strange man visited her room from broad daylight in the morning.
This was flustered enough, but there was something else that made her even more flustered.
"Were you awake?"
He was bare-chested.
'A, a man...!'
To her who grew up in the Holy Kingdom, a man's naked body was a scene far too unfamiliar.
Moreover, seeing it at such a close distance was the first time in her life.
Even with her childhood friend Quixote, there was no such thing.
Quixote had a petite physique for a knight, and there was no such intimidating appearance.
Furthermore, she met him often in official places since childhood.
So the Quixote Edel remembered was always only the appearance of wearing armor or clothes properly.
But right now.
In front of her eyes, the bare skin of a man she was seeing for the first time was exposed as if it were nothing.
Edel's face turned bright red in an instant.
"I didn't see anything, I'm sorry!"
"Being sorry is being sorry, but."
Danilu said while scratching the back of his head.
"Could you take a look at this first?"
"...Yes?"
Edel carefully spread her fingers apart and looked at him.
Danilu pointed at his side with a finger with an unconcerned expression.
"I got hurt a little earlier."
Only then did Edel's gaze sweep over his body.
And.
"...!"
Embarrassment vanished from Edel's face in an instant.
Between what she thought were faintly remaining scars, a large wound that had not yet hardened was gaping vividly.
A cut mark torn long from his side to below his ribs.
There were traces of urgently stopping the bleeding, but the bandage was already dyed red.
"W-What is this?"
Edel approached Danilu without realizing it.
"I had a little business in the morning."
Danilu shrugged his shoulders as if it were no big deal.
"It's not to the extent of dying."
"Not to the extent of dying?"
Edel's voice raised.
"Even so, if you were injured, you should have gone to get treated right away!"
He chuckled and looked at Edel.
"I wanted to receive treatment from you."
"F-From me?"
"There's a cleric in this mansion, so there's no reason to bother calling someone else."
Come to think of it, it was true.
She was currently the only cleric in this mansion.
"So."
Danilu said as he sat on the edge of the bed.
"I'm asking you, Edel-ssi."
Edel slowly caught her breath and then nodded her head.
"...Understood."
The flusteredness from a moment ago disappeared somewhere, and only the seriousness as a cleric remained.
"Please stay still. I'll examine the wound first."
Edel carefully approached behind Danilu.
"Please don't move just for a moment."
"Mm."
Edel took a deep breath and gathered her two hands.
Familiar prayers flowed between her lips, and a warm light began to slowly gather at her fingertips.
"Heal."
A subtle white light wrapped around the wound.
Edel naturally looked at his back.
'His back is really broad.'
It was a thought that suddenly passed by.
"...!"
Edel snapped to her senses with a start.
'What am I thinking.'
Her ear tips heating up for no reason, she cleared her throat once and focused back on the treatment.
Around the time the wound was gradually getting better, she opened her mouth with a cautious voice.
"Um, where did this wound come from?"
"...."
"It seems like a wound that definitely wasn't there yesterday."
Danilu lightly checked the wound whose treatment was finished.
Whether all the uncomfortable places were healed, his expression became much brighter.
"...A cleric is indeed different."
He nodded with satisfaction and slowly stood up from his seat.
Edel naturally took a step back.
Before she knew it, her gaze headed upward.
Danilu looked down at her and slightly raised the corners of his mouth.
"Edel-ssi."
"Yes?"
"From now on, you'll have to do a job together with me."
"Me?"
Edel's pupils shook faintly.
"What kind of... job is it?"
Danilu picked up his coat and put it on, saying calmly.
"A brief outing."
"An outing?"
"It's not that difficult of a job."
He stopped while walking toward the door and looked back at Edel.
"Just."
After pausing for a moment, he smiled.
"It might be a little dangerous."
"...!"
Edel's expression hardened.
"Don't worry."
Danilu grabbed the doorknob as if it were nothing.
"Because this time, I will protect you."
It was at that moment.
Grumble.
A vividly clear sound echoed embarrassingly inside the quiet room.
Edel's body froze as it was.
The owner of the sound was none other than herself.
Her face turning red in an instant, Edel wrapped her stomach with both hands and deeply lowered her head.
"I-I'm sorry...."
It was because she hadn't eaten anything since morning.
As the tension loosened a little, the hunger she had endured sent a signal as it was.
A silence flowed for a moment.
Edel couldn't dare to raise her head.
Pfft.
A small sound of laughter was heard.
It was Danilu.
"It seems we'll have to start the work after a meal."
Withdrawing his laughter, he spoke toward the outside of the door.
"Chief."
"Yes, Master."
To Chief, who had been standing outside since who knows when.
"Prepare some sandwiches. So that we can eat simply while moving."
"Understood."
Edel, still with a red face, muttered in a small voice.
"...I'm sorry."
"It's not something to apologize for."
Danilu shrugged his shoulders as if it were no big deal.
"Because being hungry isn't something to be ashamed of."
"...Yes."
Leading Edel, who was still embarrassed, out, Danilu gently took her hand.
"Shall we go then?"