Downtime Before Vacation (3)
"A dungeon raid. You mean to say you'll be helping with the affairs of House Aln, then?"
"Oh ho. Lucy Aln. I had you pinned down as a daughter who did nothing but torment Sir Benedict, but it seems there's a rather admirable side to you after all."
When I announced I was going off to raid a dungeon, Phoebe let out a soft, approving smile, while Arthur looked genuinely taken aback. Judging by the way the conversation unfolded, he seemed to have assumed I intended to serve my family while gaining field experience.
Which, honestly, wasn't a strange conclusion to jump to. That was what nobles did, all of them, without exception.
In the world of Soul Academy, dungeon raids were a noble's duty. Just as the knights of the Middle Ages defended their people from the raids of countless armed bands, a noble holding territory was obliged to protect his people from the threat of dungeons by subjugating them. Fail to do it properly, and you earned the condemnation of neighboring territories — and if things grew bad enough, your own people would rise up in revolt.
But a dungeon raid was a duty and a right. Clear a dungeon, and you stood to claim all manner of rare treasures from within its depths.
Nobles with territory to their name would sooner sell their own children than hand over the rights to a dungeon on their own land. Who knew what might come out of it? Hand that to someone else? One lucky pull, and their entire life could turn around!
That being the case, raiding a dungeon on someone else's land without permission was, as a rule, a grievous insult. Granted, one could always crush the objection with rank and raw power, but push your luck and you risked sparking an actual rebellion. I'd learned that studying history with Grandpa, and there were real cases to prove it.
What about the guy who raided the dungeons around Soul Academy without asking? He never got caught, did he? Then it's fine. No problems whatsoever. If it bothers you so much, go raid it first next time.
Anyway — when the child of an ordinary noble house announces a dungeon raid, it means they're going to clear a dungeon that spawned on their own family's land. Usually, that is.
'Nope.'
"Why would I raid our own territory's dungeon? That's something dumb-Daddy can handle all by himself."
But not me. Because raiding the dungeons near the Aln estate wouldn't get me anything worth having.
Sure, I'd be dragging myself all over the countryside with Forscel getting beaten half to death by training in the process, but spending the entire vacation on training alone? Way too much of a waste. Do you have any idea how much there is to gain from this window of time?!
"...Huh? Then which dungeon is it you intend to raid?"
'The Menestale Dungeon.'
"I'm going to the Menestale Dungeon, where all the scrub adventurers hang out."
As I mentioned before, most dungeons could only be raided with the permission of whichever noble governed the region. But not every dungeon worked that way.
Remember the Evans dungeon I cleared a while back? Unlike your typical dungeon, it didn't vanish once its boss fell. The knights had to march in on a regular cycle, sweep the monsters out, and come home. The Evans dungeon was small enough that this arrangement caused no trouble whatsoever.
But what if it hadn't been small? What if failing to purge the monsters inside every single day would have left the whole region in ruins? And what if the monsters crawling out of it had been immeasurably more dangerous on top of that?
Soul Academy had several dungeons exactly like that — places whose threat levels would lay waste to the surrounding lands unless their monster populations were culled without pause. Places that even an entire kingdom couldn't afford to manage, never mind a single noble house. Claim your rights to such a place, and you'd be swallowed whole by its danger before you knew what happened.
They were a threat to the common people, yes — but they were an even bigger headache for the rulers. The treasures a dungeon like that could yield were undeniably immense. But try to swallow them all, and you'd die of a burst belly before you ever got your mouth open.
Faced with this predicament, the kings of various nations made their choice: they threw the dungeons wide open. Come one, come all — raid this dungeon, claim the treasures within. In exchange, surrender a portion of your gains to the crown.
The territorial nobles had no reason to care. They were busy enough managing the dungeons sprouting up on their own land — who had the energy to covet some dungeon on the far side of the world?
The adventurers, however, saw it very differently. To those who'd spent their lives scrounging for a lord's favor while hunting for a dungeon they were actually allowed to clear, a dungeon anyone could enter, no strings attached, was nothing short of a promised land.
The nation gained a solved problem plus tax revenue — a win. The adventurers gained a dungeon they could raid whenever they pleased — also a win. With everyone's interests neatly aligned, the great dungeons became fair game for any and all.
The Menestale Dungeon I was talking about was one of these. A vast, permanent dungeon near the Norta territory of the Magic Empire. The Empire had tried to handle it themselves at first, given up, and finally solved the problem by opening it to adventurers.
Naturally, that came with the condition that anyone could raid it. Even a noble of a foreign kingdom.
That was where I intended to go. I'd already said as much to Alsaetin, and more importantly, the scrub Chief God had issued me a quest. With the dreaded words [GAME OVER] waiting for me if I failed, this wasn't a request. It was an order.
"Menestale?! You mean to travel that far?!"
The first to react was Joy. In a manner most unbefitting a noble lady, she slammed her palm down on the table with a loud crack — then, catching everyone's eyes on her, cleared her throat and sank primly back into her seat. The way she hid her face behind her fan suggested she was thoroughly embarrassed.
"If you want to raid a major dungeon, you could just go to the Senable Dungeon."
"I thought the same. Is there truly a need to go all the way to Menestale? Raid the kingdom's Senable Dungeon, and I'll arrange every manner of convenience for you."
Mmm. So how do I explain this one? Maybe I should've just said I'm going dungeon raiding and left it at that...
I was actually considering calling on Grandpa when Phoebe slipped quietly into the conversation.
"You two — I'm sure Lady Aln has her reasons. She always has, hasn't she?"
"W-well... yes."
"That is true enough."
NICE! Phoebe! If I had said that, it would've come off like I was just being stubborn — but coming from you, it actually lands! Is this what they call the power of a good track record?!
Having soothed the pair of them, Phoebe turned her head back toward me.
"Will you be spending the whole break doing nothing but raiding dungeons, then?"
'Nope...'
"Obviously not? You think I'd dump my precious time into some scrub dungeon like that?"
I was going dungeon raiding, but that wasn't the only thing on the docket. I had plenty more on my list. Most of all, I needed to show my face at the Aln estate. If the daughter doesn't come home even for vacation, who knows what that daughter-doting fool might get up to.
'But why do you ask?'
"By the way, scrub Saintess — why the question?"
"There's something I'd like to invite you to over the break."
Apparently she wanted to repay me for helping her last time. It felt rude to refuse an invitation she'd worked up this much nerve to extend, so I nodded — at which point Joy, sitting beside her, cleared her throat.
What now? All of a sudden?
"Lady Aln. Might I have some of your time as well? There's a festival at the very end of the break."
...Huh?
She was inviting me to a festival in the Partran territory?
Seriously?!
'I'll go!'
"What's this, Airhead Lady? You wanted to hang out with me that badly? Well, I suppose I have no choice. I'll play with you, friendless little loner lady."
I'm going! Obviously I'm going! I'd invent time I don't have to make it there! Joy's cutscene at that festival was my single favorite scene in all of Soul Academy! You think I'd pass up the chance to see it with these two eyes?!
"You really mean it?"
'Yes! Of course!'
"...Is that so? Should I just not go, then?"
"No, no. Then I'll send a formal letter to House Aln."
Heheh. Heheheheh. Not only do I get to take part in an event I'd only ever watched through a screen — I get to play with Joy AND see that cutscene in person.
Yes! Now I was properly motivated to make this vacation count! I'd clear every other item on the schedule as fast as possible and head straight for the Partran territory!
"And what of me, Joy? Am I simply not invited?"
I was busy daydreaming about the event I'd get to share with Joy when Arthur cut in, sounding distinctly put out. What's this — jealousy? Is losing a friend to someone else really that painful?
What a petty little prince.
"Oh! Of course you must be invited, Your Highness, if that is your wish."
"Joy. I would like to come as well."
Barely had Joy nodded before Phoebe, seated beside her, spoke up too.
"Phoebe? I thought you were kept busy by the Church."
"Circumstances have arisen, and I've been granted a rest."
The rest was my idea. Knowing the truth about the Church and then walking straight back into its heart would do nothing but gnaw at her. Better to rest than suffer pointlessly in body and mind both.
And honestly, it worked out nicely. If she stayed cooped up inside the Academy all break, she'd be bored out of her mind anyway. Come to the Partran territory, have fun, and blow off some steam — what's not to love?
"If Phoebe wishes it, of course she must be invited."
"Me too. I wanna go."
And capping off the whole exchange was Frey. The girl who, mere moments ago, had been stuffing her cheeks full of food had somehow swallowed everything in her mouth and found her voice. Why would someone who supposedly couldn't care less about this sort of thing suddenly chime in? Did she just want in because everyone else was doing it?
"Th-then I'll send an invitation to House Kent as well."
Joy, who looked cold as stone and twice as heartless on the outside, was a softie underneath. Could she really turn down Frey — someone she'd grown close to in her own way — when Frey said she wanted to come?
And so the five of us gathered in that room found ourselves reunited once more at the festival of the Partran territory.
Lucy! What is the meaning of this!
That night, I placed a call to Benedict to deal with the matter I'd been deliberately putting off. He'd been visibly delighted that I was the one reaching out first — but the instant I stated my business, his eyes went wide and his voice boomed.
Leaving for Menestale without so much as setting foot in the Aln estate?!
I told him the same thing I'd told the others that afternoon — that I'd be heading straight for Menestale to build up my dungeon-raiding experience.
Absolutely not! Not in a thousand years!
Benedict sputtered in horror and roared his opposition the moment the words left my mouth. Fair enough. His daughter-doting heart was never going to sign off on his little girl raiding a major dungeon — in a foreign country, no less, where help would be hard to come by if things went wrong.
I'd expected the pushback and dug my heels in anyway, insisting I simply had to go. But Benedict's resistance proved far more stubborn than I'd bargained for. I sulked. I threw a tantrum. I even performed a clumsy, half-baked crying act. Benedict's position never wavered an inch: he could not, would not, permit a trip to Menestale.
I guess a major dungeon in another nation really does look too dangerous from a father's perspective.
And lest you get any ideas — do not even think about sneaking off! I have already given my knights their orders!
Great. Sneak out, and he'll just come marching over in person to drag me back.
Ugh. No way around it, huh? And I was hoping I wouldn't have to use this one, since it'd make the scrub Chief God so happy!
Lucy. Answer me.
"Do you reeeally, reeeally mean it? No way at all?♡ You stingy, stingy Papa?♡"