Chapter 23
Chapter 23
Who Are You
The boss monster of the Pitz Dungeon barked a few times, then panted with its tongue out as it trotted toward me.
What do I do?!
Hey, seriously, what do I do?!
No, wait.
Maybe it’s just pretending to be weak to make me lower my guard.
Yeah, like Melaim. Maybe it can transform or something.
I slowly brought my sword toward the boss monster.
But it tried to lick the blade, and I panicked and pulled it back.
Why is it doing that?
I gave up thinking and stepped back, pointing my sword at it.
“I won’t be fooled! Show your true form!”
“Al! Al!”
Haa…
What am I supposed to do with this?
No matter how I look at it, it’s just a normal puppy.
A very small, very cute puppy.
Do I really have to kill it?
I don’t want to.
But I also can’t just lower my sword because I don’t feel like it.
Forget my past profession… how am I supposed to look my party members in the face?
I turned around.
Melaim and Tanya were watching me like it was some kind of show.
Yuna… had her mouth tightly shut, staring at me like she was about to devour me.
She was keeping quiet because if she spoke, it might not count as a one-on-one fight anymore.
Seriously… what am I supposed to do?
I looked down when I felt a small tug at my pants.
The boss monster was chewing on my trouser leg.
Well…
But dungeons are supposed to be destroyed.
Even if just staying here might endanger nearby villages.
But is this puppy itself really guilty? I don’t know.
I shut my eyes tightly.
But I opened one eye slightly and ended up making eye contact with the happily panting puppy.
“AAAAAH!”
I screamed out of frustration.
The boss monster got startled, jumped back, and started spinning in circles like it was chasing its own tail.
Why are you so happy?!
Do something serious! Transform or something!
Coward!
“Al! Al!”
In the end, I raised my sword again.
Right… it’s still a monster.
Let’s just imagine it’s a dying goblin crawling on the ground.
…No. That’s still too much.
I need a better example.
While I was searching for mental justification with my eyes closed—
Someone grabbed my arm.
“Stop.”
Only then did I realize.
My arm was trembling.
I turned toward the voice.
“Poe…? Why are you inside? This is supposed to be a one-on-one fight…”
Poe shot me a sharp glare.
“My lord does not wish it. If you insist, you must face me first.”
I turned around.
Yuna had her eyes half-closed, teeth clenched, gripping her own arm tightly.
But even then, she wasn’t stopping me.
…She already knew I was struggling with my inferiority.
She was suppressing her sympathy for this little creature so she wouldn’t ruin my chance.
I spoke quietly to Poe.
“…Well, it’s not a one-on-one anymore anyway.”
“That is unfortunate.”
Yuna suddenly rushed forward and hugged the boss monster.
Then she started rubbing her cheek against it like crazy.
“Wait! Yuna?! It’s still a monster!”
But she didn’t listen.
“Ang! Ang!”
“Aww, so cute! Achoo!”
“Achoo?”
She gently put the boss monster down and looked up at me.
“…I’m allergic to dogs.”
Huh.
The puppy… no, the boss monster, now freed from her arms, started chewing on my trouser leg again.
Yuna looked at it with an affectionate expression.
Then she said something outrageous.
“Let’s take it home!”
“What?”
“It should live in a mansion! What if thieves come?”
Honestly, judging by how it acted when we invaded its dungeon, it would probably just play with thieves instead of stopping them.
And keep it?
Like raising a monster?
That’s basically the same nonsense as that idiot who tried to raise goblins.
No way.
But my mouth seemed to have a different opinion.
“…Fine, I guess.”
At that moment, the dungeon began to shake.
“What, is this a clear already?”
Melaim spoke as she approached.
“I suspected as much, given Poe’s case.”
Poe nodded.
So it’s similar to Poe’s case…
“Ow!”
Something hit my head.
I flinched and grabbed a wooden box that bounced off me, caught by Tanya.
“Yup!”
I rubbed my head and looked at it.
“…What is this now.”
“Probably the clear reward,” Melaim said.
“Oh, I guess so. Let’s open it.”
Melaim shook her head.
“Let us open it outside. That would be more interesting.”
Well… considering how weak the boss was, I didn’t expect anything amazing anyway.
I looked at the puppy still chewing my pants.
“What should we name it?”
Yuna stared at me.
…Yeah, I know.
I answered myself.
“Since it’s Pitz Dungeon… I guess it’s Pitz.”
…
We left the dungeon.
The dungeon gradually faded away, and the puppy in my arms was no longer a boss monster.
“By the way, what species is it?”
“Puppy!”
“…I don’t think that’s correct.”
“My lord said it is a puppy.”
“…Come to think of it, it does look like a puppy.”
Yuna nodded in satisfaction.
Then Melaim pointed at the wooden box in Tanya’s hands.
“Enough about the dog. Shall we check the reward?”
“Sure.”
I didn’t expect much.
Tanya happily handed me the box.
I opened it.
Click.
Huh.
A potion?
“…What is this.”
It was one potion bottle.
The same enhancement potions I had used before the boss fight.
So basically… I used two, got one back.
A loss of one.
White color… maybe a regeneration potion?
Expensive, but still worse than what I used.
Yuna glanced at it and lost interest immediately.
Tanya tilted her head.
But Melaim’s expression changed.
“…I did not expect this.”
“A regeneration potion? Pretty underwhelming reward.”
Melaim shook her head.
“It is a revival potion.”
“…Huh?”
Tanya clapped her hands.
“Oh right! That’s it!”
What?
Revival potion?
You drink it and revive?
How do you drink it if you’re dead?
Or do you just pour it on?
And something like that actually exists?
Melaim explained.
“It does not work on old age or after the soul has left the body. It also cannot restore missing body parts.”
“…So it only works if you just died from illness?”
She shook her head again.
“It does not cure disease either.”
Then what is it for?
“But if your head is cut off, and you quickly reattach it and restore blood flow, you can be revived. If I were to die, simply applying it could bring me back.”
Yuna’s eyes widened.
That surprised her.
“So… we should save it?”
“That would be a problem.”
“Why?”
Melaim clicked her tongue.
“This is a holy offering.”
A holy offering?
What’s that?
“It refers to items that must be surrendered to the cathedral. Things like a hero’s weapon or angel feathers fall into this category.”
Angel feathers?
What even is that?
Anyway.
“So we can’t keep it?”
“Correct. We must submit it immediately. Possessing it is a high-level crime under church law. Cathedral knights would be dispatched.”
Tanya reacted instantly.
“Eek!”
Melaim asked.
“What is it?”
“They’re strong! I tried to assassinate one once… even with an ambush, I almost got caught!”
Almost got caught?
Cathedral knights.
Also called “Guardians of Humanity.”
They suppress unjust wars and eliminate threats to humans.
In other words, extremely strong.
“…Did you succeed?”
“I have never failed a mission.”
So she did kill one…
Melaim nodded slowly.
“To survive Tanya’s ambush… impressive. But what about a direct fight?”
“Then I probably would’ve lost. Maybe now is different though.”
Right…
Come to think of it, I’ve never actually seen Tanya assassinate someone properly.
Still, cathedral knights… just hearing about them gives me chills.
And there isn’t just one or two of them.
Melaim continued.
“Anyway, we cannot use this. Some noble houses or the royal family might hide one… but not us.”
Yuna asked.
“Can we sell it to them?”
“They would never expose themselves by buying it. And even if they did, they would likely kill the seller afterward. If that fails, they would report it to the cathedral and wash their hands clean.”
Cowardly.
Nobles are all cowards.
“In any case, it is only worth about one gold coin as a reward.”
At that moment, Tanya raised her hand enthusiastically.
Like she had just thought of something.