Chapter 464: Reversed Roles
Chapter 464: Reversed Roles
Anyway, after giving a vague reply to Elder Sister Rachel, who had graced me with a pleasant smile for the first time in a while, I rejoined the girls.
“…You took quite a while.”
From their perspective, it must have looked like I was just flirting and chatting with Elder Sister Rachel. Especially since we usually just give a quick headcount before entering the dungeon.
That was probably why Sara spoke so bluntly, a slightly anxious look on her face.
Normally, I would have felt indignant about being misunderstood, but this time, I completely understood how she felt.
After all, this was right after she had given me that permission.
It was only natural for her to be on edge when she saw me talking to another woman.
I gave a small smile and gently patted the area around her Apostle's Seal.
“I was reporting about the Kobold cave. And as a bonus, I came up with an excuse for why we're heading to the 2nd Floor.”
I then briefly summarized my conversation with Elder Sister Rachel for the girls.
Of course, I left out the part where I apologized for what happened at dinner.
“Hoh. Well, well. For once, you've used your head.”
After hearing my explanation, Diana stood on her tiptoes and patted my head with a proud expression.
Judging by your appearance, you're the one who looks praiseworthy.
And don't go sticking your hand inside my hood to do it. What if someone sees your face?
“Hey, 'for once' is a bit harsh, isn't it? I took care of something even you didn't think of.”
Well, no. As the party leader, it was my responsibility to think of it in the first place.
“What are you talking about? As if this great one would have overlooked such a thing.”
“…What?”
“I was using magic to conceal us from others when we left the ant nest. It ended up being a wasted effort, but still.”
“…Seriously?”
“Ahem! This great one does far more than you give me credit for!” Diana declared, puffing out her chest proudly.
Not that it made much of a difference. Hidden under her robe, her already modest chest failed to assert any presence whatsoever.
“Right, right. Our Archmage is the best.”
“Hmph. Still, it was good of you to come up with an excuse. Using magic every time is a chore, after all.”
Pleased by my praise, Diana said this while ruffling my hair even more vigorously.
In any case, we teleported to the 2nd Floor and headed straight for the ant nest.
Aside from stopping occasionally to hunt mosquito swarms for my promise to Elder Sister Rachel, we reached the nest at a steady pace.
To be honest, the stops took longer because of the time spent harvesting materials, not hunting the swarms themselves.
Once we arrived at the ant nest, we headed straight for the area near the Queen Ant's chamber.
As I'd mentioned before, I had a pretty good idea of where the male ant would be.
A hidden location, designed to catch people off guard. The presence of a fake boss flaunting a giant Magic Stone. And the fact that the Queen Ant had attacked us before we even entered the boss room…
“The male ant should be right here, near the Queen Ant's chamber... or so I thought.”
Having arrived in front of the Queen Ant's chamber, I felt the confidence drain from my voice as I spoke.
Oh, for the record, the Queen Ant was no longer in the boss room visible through the passage.
This was now the site where members of the Mage Association were investigating the giant Magic Stone.
A few mages in robes bearing the Association's insignia were still examining it.
I didn't recognize any of them.
The heads of the various schools of magic couldn't stay here forever, after all.
Those ladies had returned to our mansion long ago, leaving mages of more moderate skill here.
From what I'd heard, several groups were conducting the research in shifts.
Not that any of that really mattered.
“Even if it is around here... I don't see any passages in the ceiling like there were in the kobold cave.”
With the sharpest eyes in our party, Sara scanned the ceiling thoroughly, but it seemed there were no such openings.
“Well, I guess they wouldn't use the same trick every time. I actually thought it would be hidden among the ant eggs...”
But what do you know? The ant eggs that had once plastered the walls so densely I thought it'd be impossible to clear them all had vanished without a trace.
I mean, I already knew they were gone from the Queen's chamber since we'd dealt with them during our last investigation.
But it wasn't just here; the eggs in nearly every room on the way had been cleared out.
Talk about a clean sweep. What kind of people are these adventurers... oh, right. I'm one too.
“Hmm. Still, I believe your reasoning that it's somewhere nearby is sound,” Diana mused.
“But wouldn't other adventurers have searched this area more thoroughly than anywhere else?”
“That's true... Ah, wait.”
As we were putting our heads together, an idea struck me.
If it was a place meant to catch you off guard, then maybe…
“Do you have another idea where it could be?”
“Yeah. I'm not certain, but it might be worth checking out. Let's go. If I'm wrong, we can just search every nook and cranny afterward.”
With that, I led the party to the passage leading to the 3rd Floor.
The layout here was a bit unusual: two small paths branched out from the giant Magic Stone, one to the left and one to the right. They curved around and met at a central point, where the entrance to the 3rd Floor lay.
Instead of heading down, I kept my eyes on the ceiling and followed one of the narrow, curving paths.
And then…
“There it is!”
Thankfully, as we walked along the passage, I spotted a hole high above us that looked like an entrance to another area.
Of course. People let their guard down the most when their goal is right in front of them.
The objective for any adventurer coming here was to find the path to the next floor.
I knew something felt off.
In other places, even in the kobold cave, the path to the next floor was just a simple, open passage. Only this one was designed like some kind of secret route.
I'd passed through here before without a second thought, but now that I understood what was going on, I realized this whole setup was a trick to hide the male ant's location.
“Wow! That's our Guwon! You're amazing!”
“Hehet. Feel free to praise me more, my angel.”
“Hehe. Good job, good job.”
Despite my shameless request, Leia just giggled and patted my head.
“Somehow, you look happier than when this one pats your head,” Diana noted.
“Th-That's not true!”
It's just that every time her hand moves, those enormous breasts swing like a pendulum right before my eyes... No, it's nothing.
I think Diana's chest is perfectly splendid, too. Yep. Absolutely.
“Leia, you shouldn't spoil him like that,” Sara chided. “This idiot's ego will inflate to no end.”
“Hey, you're the one who should praise me once in a while, Sara. You're way too stingy with compliments.”
“That's not…”
“I did a good job this time, right?”
“W-Well, yes, but…”
“So what was that you just said to me, Sara? Was that praise?”
“Ugh… S-Sorry.”
Flustered by my sudden reaction—I usually just let her comments slide—Sara apologized, her voice a little dejected.
I knew she didn't mean any harm and was just teasing me in her own way, but I had no intention of letting her off the hook this time.
Because…
“Nope. I won't forgive you. Not until you say, 'Big Broootheeer. Sara was vewwy, vewwy sowwy.'”
“Big Bro… huh?”
Sara reflexively started to repeat my words, but unfortunately for me, she seemed to catch on pretty quickly that I was just messing with her while pretending to be serious.
“A-Are you a complete idiot?!”
“I'm serious. I really won't forgive you until you say it.”
“Like hell I'd…!”
“So, you're saying you did nothing wrong?”
Sara tried to defuse the situation by pretending to be angry, but I wasn't about to fall for it.
I firmly controlled the muscles in my cheeks, fighting back a smile to maintain my stern expression.
“Th-That's not what I meant, but… Ugh… R-Really?”
“Yep. Really.”
“B-But we're in the dungeon! We should hurry and explore…”
“There are no monsters in this spot. And it won't take long to apologize the way I told you to.”
Her attempt to change the subject having failed, Sara glanced around with a bewildered look.
No matter how much she looked, she wasn't going to find any allies here.
I was making Sara, the epitome of a cool beauty, say a line like that. If anything, the others were watching with eyes full of anticipation.
Diana, in particular, was grinning slyly and gesturing with her hands, urging Sara to get on with it.
She's completely enjoying this. Are you still holding a grudge from that argument you lost to her?
“Ugh…”
Realizing she had no allies, Sara let out a groan, then grabbed my arm and started pulling me a short distance away from the others.
“What's this? You're not going to do it here? We were hoping to hear it too…”
“D-Diana, shut up!”
After yelling at the teasing Diana, her face beet-red, Sara looked at me and mumbled, her expression screaming that she was about to die of embarrassment.
“B-Big Broootheeer… S-S-Sara was… w-wwong… Hck.”
Mmm, that look on your face, like you could just die from embarrassment, is magnificent, Sara.
But we're not done yet.
“Your tone.”
“W-Whaaat?!”
“Do it again. Get the tone right.”
“Y-You absolute…!”
“Again.”
“Ugh… B-Big Broootheeer… Sara was… vewwy sowwy…”
Unable to defy my forceful tone, Sara finally ground her teeth and, in a voice that didn't suit her at all, repeated the line in an incredibly cute tone.
Well, to be honest, I couldn't say for sure if it was objectively cute.
It was, after all, a cutesy voice being squeezed out of her normally cool, husky one.
But it sounded cute to me, and that's all that mattered.
In any case, Sara had properly complied with my demand.
Still, it felt like a waste to end it here. Since I had this rare opportunity, maybe I should tease her just a little more.
“Your expression, too—Keok!”
“You…! You really…! This absolute idiot…!”
Before I could tease her further, Sara started smacking my back repeatedly, her face still a mask of mortal embarrassment.
“Ow! That hurts! It hurts, Sara! We're in the dungeon!”
“You're the one who said no monsters show up here! You absolute idiot!”
Ah, yes. My apologies.
I had no choice but to dodge Sara's back-smashing assault and hastily retreat to the rest of the party.
“So? Did she apologize properly? This one would also like to hear Miss Sara's cute voice for once…”
“Keok! Diana! Stop! Stop teasing her!”
The more you tease her, the harder she hits me! Seriously, how the hell is her palm dealing damage through my armor? Are you using Fa Jin or something?
“S-Sara! You calm down, too! It's okay! It was cute! It was cu—Keok!”
In the end, I had no choice but to pull her into a tight hug, holding her still until she finally calmed down.
“Phew. I never thought I'd feel my life was in danger in a dungeon… and not from a monster, but from my own teammate.”
I muttered this after Sara had finally calmed down, while receiving a healing touch from my angel.
“Hmph. Stop exaggerating,” Sara sniffed.
Okay, maybe saying my life was in danger was an exaggeration, but I'm not kidding, it really hurt, you know?
Well, I'll take this as a lesson to keep my teasing in moderation.
Stop teasing altogether? No can do. It's one of the great joys of my life.
Anyway, once the commotion died down, we finally began climbing the rock wall toward the hole above.
For the record, I carried Diana on my back.
As expected, the hole opened into a long, narrow passage, which in turn led to another massive cavern.
And in the very center of it sat an ant, one that was a full size larger than even the Queen Ant.
Having experienced this with the kobolds, I'd expected the male to be stronger than the fake boss, but still, that size was just ridiculous.
Bigger doesn't automatically mean stronger. It could have been a little smaller, right?
To think it was even larger than the already absurdly huge Queen Ant.