Chapter 8. Is It Wrong to Do X in the Dungeon? (2)
Chapter 8. Is It Wrong to Do X in the Dungeon? (2)
I hadn't served in the Demon King's army for all that long.
After all, the Demon King's army included members of long-lived species with lifespans of hundreds or even thousands of years—making a human's few decades seem like nothing.
Compared to them, my own strength was nothing special outside of my hypnosis.
Which meant that even if I devoted my entire life to it, I'd never get to screw that bitch over.
Sure, she was a legendary blockhead who didn't even properly understand the job she'd been given, but she still possessed enough martial power to be promoted to officer rank in an organization under the Demon King's army.
"Rather than a variety of circumstances..."
But life isn't decided by combat alone, is it?
Whether in the Demon King's army or among humans, everyone ultimately navigates the world by weighing mutual interests.
In a world like that, the reason I'd survived with nothing but a heavily restricted hypnosis ability wasn't martial strength—it was because I'd honed everything else.
"There was a bit of an incident."
"An incident?"
"Yes, an incident."
Reading the room. Understanding people's emotions. Rapidly assembling clues and drawing conclusions...
And using all of it to deceive an opponent.
"An incident? What kind of incident?"
"That's a bit difficult to explain. If I told you, Serika would be put in a difficult position too."
Of course, I had to avoid making her distrust me. But telling a bigger lie to conceal a small one carried the risk of tripping me up later on.
Given who I was dealing with, merely dodging the moment wouldn't be enough.
So if I was thinking ahead, I couldn't just wrap everything in lies; I also needed to know how to artfully weave the truth in between them.
"...You're saying Serika would be put in a difficult position?"
"Yes, it was something that happened through mistakes on both sides, so..."
Berdia's brow gradually furrowed.
But that was less suspicion and more unease.
At first she'd assumed I'd caused harm, but she seemed to have realized that Serika was the one who was paying attention to me.
Since she knew Serika far more intimately than I did, my words now carried strong persuasive weight.
As if to say, yes, it wouldn't be strange at all for Serika to say something like that...
"Still, believing my own fault was greater, I offered an apology. But Serika refused it and said this to me: 'This isn't anyone's fault, so let's just do better from now on.'"
Right. That was why I didn't need to deliberately dress things up in lies.
Simply by speaking the truth without falsehood, someone who knew the person in question well would construct the truth for themselves.
"And when I was forgiven for the wrong I'd committed... this is what I thought."
Only one thing needed to be wrapped in lies.
Just my true inner feelings—the one thing she couldn't grasp.
"Ah... I'd like to stay in a party with this person for as long as possible."
"..."
"...Ahaha, I suppose trying to brush it off with just words like that is a hard sell, isn't it?"
Still, just in case, I made a point of adopting a slightly self-deprecating stance and read her reaction.
Depending on a person's temperament, this kind of approach could backfire.
Some people give little thought to the feelings of those they form ties with—they judge solely by their own self-righteousness and force the situation to fit their expectations.
But it would probably be fine.
From what I'd seen, Berdia had scolded Serika quite harshly, but that very harshness was proof that she cared about Serika just as much.
"...No, now that I think about it, it's not entirely incomprehensible."
Berdia.
A priestess who stood by the hero's side with the mission of attending her.
Her heart would be as noble as befitted a holy woman and as upright as befitted a warrior, so she would have observed the one she was charged with attending with great care.
Which meant the truth I'd spoken would have built a fair amount of rapport with her. Yes, as if to say: this man may be worth keeping an eye on for the time being.
"Serika is a thoughtful and innocent girl. Having spent all her time in her hometown, she'd be naturally excited by new encounters. I apologize for showing you undue hostility."
"It's fine. We only met for the first time today, so that's natural."
Good. For now, this much would do.
Avoiding immediate suspicion and creating room to build trust later was enough.
All I needed now was a decisive opportunity to deepen whatever goodwill she'd already begun to feel toward me.
-Click!
At that moment, from where Serika had been advancing ahead, I heard a familiar sound.
Ah. She'd gone and stepped on a trap without thinking again.
"H-huh?"
Serika still didn't seem to grasp the situation. But Berdia, who'd already figured it out, had her face buried in her palm.
A face that seemed to say: if you step on a trap, you're supposed to jump off immediately—why are you staring at your feet like an idiot?
-Rumble!
Yes, it would activate any moment now.
But to me, this situation looked like an opportunity.
If this were an ordinary dungeon, perhaps not—but they'd said this was an artificial dungeon built for training, so no one would die no matter what happened.
Which meant I could boldly throw my body on the line to earn some trust.
"Look out!"
The moment I finished that judgment and lunged forward, the trap's trigger activated.
"Kyaaaaah!!"
And then, with her pulled into my arms, my body began plummeting through the floor that had opened beneath us.
***
"U-ugh... ah... that hurts."
After her body, frozen in shock, hit the floor, Serika finally came to her senses, clutching her head as she tried to push herself up.
Let's assess the situation first, she thought, relieved that nothing seemed broken.
-Squish.
But at that moment, the hand she'd planted on the ground met an odd sensation. Something distinctly soft—a stark contrast to the worked stone that made up the dungeon's primary terrain—began to fill her grip.
"Wh-what is this...? Eek!"
The instant she looked down in confusion, Serika let out a horrified yelp and her body went rigid.
Beneath her lay a golden-haired man with bronze skin, collapsed on the floor, and her hand was positioned squarely between his legs.
Which meant the soft, yielding sensation under her palm was...
"N-ngh!"
"Eeeek! I'm so sorry!"
Serika shrieked and scrambled backward in a panic.
In front of her, Dave barely managed to push himself upright, clutching his dazed head as he turned to look at her.
"Serika. Are you all right?"
"Y-yes?"
"You triggered a trap and fell—I was worried you might have been seriously hurt..."
"Ah, yes. I'm not injured anywhere."
Serika answered in a daze.
Still, just to be safe, Dave looked her over from head to toe, then let out a relieved breath and swept a hand down his chest.
"I'm truly glad you're unharmed."
"Y-yes. You too, Dave..."
Her face flushed the instant she met his bright smile. Afterward, Serika's gaze drifted toward her own hand, but Dave, seemingly oblivious to what she was thinking, focused entirely on surveying their surroundings.
Had he not realized her hand had touched his... important parts?
No, this too was an accident—nothing could be done about it. If he didn't know, then letting it pass as unknown would be best for both of them.
"Are you two all right?"
At the voice that called down from above, Serika and Dave both raised their heads simultaneously.
A hole stood far overhead. Berdia was peering down through it, trying to assess the situation inside.
"Ah, yes! We're fine, Berdia!"
"Thank goodness. It seems the gravity device activated and kept you from serious injury."
The gravity device. Exactly what it sounded like—something that adjusted the gravity in the designated area.
Now that she mentioned it, I'd felt a floating sensation just before the fall. Dave must have—
'But still, this would've been Dave's first time here too.'
And yet he'd thrown himself forward to save her without even knowing the gravity device existed.
-Thud, thud.
The trembling of her heart, which had been pounding from surprise, lingered a little longer.
"Serika. In real combat, there would have been blades embedded down there."
Startled once more by the voice from above, Serika clutched her racing heart and hurriedly shouted upward.
"I-I know that much!"
"If you knew, you should have been that much more careful. Your earlier combat as well—your problem is a serious lack of caution. Surely you're not planning to half-ass this just because it's practice?"
"U-ugh..."
Serika let out a whimpering sound, unable to find any words of rebuttal.
Normally she'd have just listened and let it slide, but the problem now was that someone else was hearing this lecture alongside her.
"I apologize to you, Dave. My delayed warning dragged you into this."
Someone who had offered a full apology even for mistakes on both sides, and who had gone even further—throwing his own body on the line for her sake.
"Oh, no, it's fine. Serika isn't accustomed to this sort of thing. If anything, as the one also serving as scout, I should have noticed sooner..."
"Today's training was arranged for Serika's benefit, so you needn't worry yourself over it... but if you truly consider it your own failing, then I'd ask that you assist Serika in escaping from there."
"Escaping, you say?"
"This is a practice dungeon. Means of escaping from pitfall-type traps have been provided. That area should be dominated by traps rather than monsters, so it'll be suitable for testing your abilities as a scout."
"Ah, yes! Then I'll find a path and bring Serika straight to where you are, Berdia!"
"Very well. I'll wait at the exit until the two of you return. Good luck."
After exchanging the rough plan, Berdia disappeared from view.
Turning his gaze away, Dave pointed toward the passageway that had opened where they'd fallen and spoke to Serika.
"Then let's set out at once. I'll take point from here, so please follow close behind me, Serika. Understood?"
"Ah, yes!"
Answering immediately, Serika fell in behind Dave as he advanced. Her gaze fixed on his back—and suddenly, a realization surfaced in her mind.
'Wait. So from now on, with Berdia gone... it's just me and Dave, alone together?'
They'd survived thanks to the gravity device, but they'd still fallen from a considerable height. Reaching the top would take quite some time.
'I-I'm starting to feel nervous.'
The moment she became conscious of it, the pounding in her chest intensified, and she felt parts of her body growing markedly warmer.
Especially around her lower abdomen.