To the Dungeon (1)
When I woke the next morning and reached for the bell by the bedside, my hand grasped at empty air.
Right. I didn't sleep at the mansion last night.
It had been so long since I'd slept in an actual bed that I'd completely forgotten where I was.
I stretched until my spine popped, sat up, and took in the tidy wooden room around me. A short, quiet sense of peace settled over me.
Yes. This is what a livable room looks like.
Unlike Lucy's room back at the mansion — that frill-choked monstrosity. How is anyone supposed to live in that?
One of these days, I'm tearing every last ruffle out of it, even if the whole household starts treating me like a lunatic.
I climbed out of bed and gently eased the door open.
If I remembered my maid correctly, she should already be posted outside, waiting long before I ever woke.
"You're awake, my lady."
"Awake already, are we, my lady?"
My prediction wasn't wrong. Erin, ever punctual, had risen early and was waiting for me as always.
But she wasn't alone.
Carl.
He stood guard at the door in full armor, sword at his hip.
Carl. What exactly are you doing here?
"Lame. What are you doing?"
"Performing my duty as your escort, my lady."
Since when?
"Since when?"
"Since you retired to your room last night. There were no intruders until Miss Erin arrived this morning."
You stood watch all night without sleeping? I never asked you to?
I get that you swore to become a faithful knight, but isn't this a bit much?
What kind of lunatic volunteers for an all-nighter?
I appreciate you doing work on my behalf, but honestly, it's a little overwhelming.
Hey. At this point isn't that less loyalty and more stalking?
Where exactly in this city is the danger supposed to be, huh?
I glared daggers at him, but Carl didn't shrink back an inch.
Presumably because he was utterly convinced that what he'd done was necessary.
I never should have brought up that oath back then.
Thanks to that, this nuisance has latched onto me. Wait, no —
Even if I hadn't mentioned the oath, would he have quietly done nothing?
He swore the moment the words left my mouth, like he'd been waiting for them. Wasn't this the plan from the very beginning?
Watching Carl display increasingly excessive devotion lately, the suspicion crept in on its own.
Haah. Whatever.
What business is it of mine if this guy wants to suffer for no reason?
If he wants to suffer, he can suffer all he likes.
If he stands around like that all day, he's the one worn out — not me.
Erin. Come in.
"Lame maid. Get in here."
"Yes, my lady! Shall I help you into your armor as well?"
Yes, please.
"Why do you even ask? It's obvious."
The day had finally come. We were entering the dungeon.
The moment we finished preparing, we headed for where the knight order was stationed.
What would the knights be doing around now?
Drilling them from the crack of dawn, probably.
Definitely that.
Because Forsell is the kind of man who physically falls ill if he lets anyone under him rest for even one second.
Poor knights.
Why on earth did you people join House Alrn of all places?
A doting fool of a family head, a training-addicted Knight Commander, and a rotten brat of a heiress on top.
Truly a horrific workplace, no? If it were me, I'd have thrown in my resignation on day one.
We rode the carriage left waiting in the village for about an hour before a campsite came into view in the distance.
Unlike the makeshift camp we'd thrown together while traveling to Evans, this one near the dungeon was the real deal.
Something like the yurts Mongolian nomads live in on TV.
Properly framed and built, it actually looked decent.
Come to think of it, couldn't I have just stayed here instead?
A real bath, a proper meal, a night in an actual bed — all well and good.
But factoring in the whole day of mental anguish that came with it, I'd have been far better off just bunking at the camp.
"My lady, welcome. Did you rest well last night?"
Quite comfortably, thank you.
"Not bad for a peasant's hovel, I guess."
"I'm glad to hear it."
Forsell greeted me with a wide, booming smile.
Something about that suspiciously refreshed grin unsettled me, and I quietly turned my gaze toward the other knights.
They were sparring in pairs, and every last one of them wore deep, bruised dark circles under their eyes.
Yep. He's been working them all night.
This is an addiction. A straight-up addiction.
Good things or bad things, everything's best in moderation, you absolute maniac.
Still, there seemed to be fewer people than usual. Or was I imagining it?
As I stood quietly counting heads, Forsell — clearly reading my intent — spoke up first.
"A few of the knights are missing? They've already entered the dungeon."
Already?
"Already, huh?"
"Yes. We just rested, so what would we be doing but working? They've been rotating in and out since last night."
Forsell declared that since they had come here not to relax but to train, they couldn't spare even a single hour — and there was a certain madness radiating off him as he said it.
"Knights of House Alrn can easily go days without rest. Put them through extreme conditions in training beforehand, and they'll handle the real thing without faltering when it comes."
So what you're saying is, training has to mirror actual combat in advance?
Hmm. Yeah.
Does that
make sense?
HEY! What happens if the Alrn knight order stages a mutiny at this rate?!
Work people like this, and when real battle breaks out, they'll attack their commanding officers before the enemy!
Not that Benedict or you would go down from a mere beating, but still — moderation, man! Moderation!
What if all that resentment they've piled up gets redirected at me?
Knight Commander...
"Dumbass Forsell. Keep this up, and the lame knights will drop before the dungeon's cleared."
"My lady, when we someday clear the dungeons we must face, we'll encounter hardships far beyond this a hundred times over. By comparison, this is nothing."
I understood what he meant.
The dungeons a count's knights would one day have to clear were calamities rated A-rank at minimum.
Hells where a single moment of carelessness meant instant death.
I remembered the first time I entered an A-rank dungeon, not long after starting Soul Academy.
Despite preparing as thoroughly as I could, the endless stream of RNG screwjobs nearly made me smash my keyboard.
Later, once experience piled up, I could clear A-rank dungeons bare-handed — but that was because I was a player who could throw myself at them as many times as I pleased.
Because I was someone who had every layout and clear route of the dungeon memorized before I ever set foot inside.
But the people living in this world were different.
They had to walk in knowing nothing, trusting nothing but their own bodies.
In that kind of situation, rest was... probably a luxury.
No matter what I said, Forsell wasn't going to back down.
What was engraved in his eyes was a weight of conviction that someone who'd lived an ordinary life like me could hardly comprehend.
Just how many hells had Forsell crawled through to reach the position of Knight Commander?
And what had led him to this conclusion?
The normally good-natured man becoming a demon the instant training was involved — surely there was a reason for it.
The knights sparring behind Forsell were watching me with hopeful eyes, but this time, I had no choice.
The justification was all his. How was I supposed to break a will like that?
Fine.
"Fine. Have it your way, you idiot."
The moment I nodded, I could see the knights behind him visibly deflate.
That's rough, buddy.
But what can you do?
This is the knight order you chose! Endure it, by hook or by crook!
Think of it as good experience and give it your all.
What do they say — if you can't avoid it, enjoy it?
I could never enjoy it, but I have faith that you knights can.
Fighting!
"Well, you're not wrong, my lady. All work and no rest makes dull knights, as they say."
Forsell shrugged with a grin, then turned his head back toward the camp.
"KNIGHTS!"
A voice bellowed up from his very core shook the entire plain.
He'd simply raised his voice — so why did it feel like the ground itself was trembling?
"By the mercy of my lady! You are granted two hours of rest! Give thanks to her!"
"Our deepest thanks, my lady!"
Dozens of grown men, each larger than average, shouting in unison and bowing their heads — honestly, it was a bit much.
I told them I got the gist, so relax and rest, but the knights couldn't quite bring themselves to actually take the break.
Apparently my very existence was a considerable burden.
Guess I should tactfully disappear, then.
Might as well drag the training-addicted old man away with me while I'm at it.
Knight Commander...
"Forsell. Where's the dungeon entrance?"
"Wish to see it, my lady? Follow me. I'll guide you there myself."
Forsell seemed to catch my drift and led me away without a moment's hesitation.
Following him across the camp, we arrived at the dungeon entrance sitting in the very center of the grounds.
It looked exactly as it had in the game.
A stone gate jutting up from the middle of an empty field, all alone.
Seeing it in a game had meant nothing to me, but standing before the real thing, an eerie chill crawled up my spine.
What could possibly make a plain, unadorned stone gate feel so terrifying?
Just as I was studying it, the dungeon gate suddenly swung open.
"Hiihk!"
What?! What's coming out?! Is it a monster?!
A MONSTER?! There's nothing else that comes out of a dungeon gate!
"Oh. My lady. When did you arrive?"
Emerging from within the gate were four knights, the Bald Knight at their head.
Haah. Seriously? You were just finishing your clear and coming out?
Your timing is genuinely awful.
You scared me, you idiots.
The Bald Knight greeted me, caught sight of my expression, and let out a chuckle.
"You gave my lady quite a fright, it seems."
You little... I cut you a little slack and suddenly you're getting bold? Huh?
Daring to talk back to the lofty heiress of a count?
"You just finished your clear, then?"
"Yes, my lady."
"Then go rest."
"Go rest at the camp, then."
"...I beg your pardon?"
When I told them to rest, the knights turned to me as if they couldn't possibly have heard right.
"My lady asked me to let the knights get some rest, so I've permitted it."
The moment Forsell confirmed it, astonishment washed over their faces.
What on earth does the word "rest" even mean to the knights of House Alrn?
All I said was take a break, and their faces filled with a rapture like pure, distilled patriotism.
Ahh, is this your first time? This is what they call a vacation.
Whaaat? Rest?! No such thing could possibly exist, lololol
"It's true?! Thank you, my lady!"
"Not you, though."
"Bald Knight. You're excluded."
"Wha—?! Why only me?!"
"For the crime of mocking your heiress."
"For the crime of a lame knight failing to know his place♡"
The Bald Knight's face froze at the provocation, but he had no means of fighting back.
Sore loser? What are you gonna do about it? I'm the count's daughter, and you're the count family's knight.
Abusing my authority is actually kind of fun. I'm starting to understand why Lucy strutted around like she did.
"My lady."
I was snickering at the Bald Knight, who was trembling with barely contained rage, when Forsell addressed me.
"What?"
"What is it?"
"Since the dungeon's interior is empty at the moment, let's have you go inside and take a look."