Chapter 555: For the Goddess’s Advent
Chapter 555: For the Goddess’s Advent
In any case, we returned to where the Emperor Penguin had been, but just as Silvia had said, two problems stood in our way before we could even begin to check the holes the penguin had made.
The first was that the Emperor Penguin was not currently here.
It must have respawned at least once while I was stranded, which meant another party had probably killed it in the meantime.
But that alone wasn't a major issue. We could just wait for it to respawn again.
The more significant problem was the other one.
Specifically, the fact that a party of adventurers had just emerged from the passage connecting this place to the 4th Floor.
“Whew… Trying to break through there with just us is… Huh? Ah! Y-You! No, I mean… s-sir?”
The party even included a male adventurer, a rare sight, who for some reason pointed a finger at me the moment he saw me and shouted.
He wore an expression of utter confusion, as if he couldn't decide whether to speak to me casually or formally.
“Pointing at someone you’ve just met. How rude.”
“Ah, ahh. My apologies. It’s not that… Wait! What do you mean, ‘just met’?!”
The guy must have been a pretty earnest fellow. He immediately lowered his hand and apologized, only to look up and challenge my words.
…Huh? Have we met somewhere before?
Sorry, pal. I don’t really remember men’s faces unless they’re exceptionally impressive.
“You’re the one who said we should greet each other next time we meet!”
Seeing my still-puzzled expression, he must have guessed that I didn’t remember him. He spoke with a look of sheer frustration.
What a pain in the ass.
“Ah, ahh! Right, right. Whoa. It’s been a while. How’ve you been?”
“…You have no idea who I am, do you?”
I tried to play along, but he just gave me a dumbfounded look.
Tch. He saw through it. Annoying bastard.
“Yeah! So what if I don’t?!”
“I’m the one who should be angry! How could you forget?! We met in front of the temple! I mistakenly thought you were harassing that lady over there…”
As he spoke, he glanced at Silvia and trailed off, looking embarrassed.
But his words jogged a faint memory from a corner of my mind.
My brain may instantly delete information about other guys, but it diligently stores every memory related to my girls.
And I definitely remembered an incident where some punk interrupted me while I was messing with Silvia… messing around with Silvia on a main street.
The guy who called me out back then was needlessly full of a sense of justice and…
I shifted my gaze to the two female adventurers standing behind him.
They were skilled enough to have made it this far. They were quite pretty, but they looked somewhat young and underdeveloped.
I remember now.
“Diana! Silvia!”
“Whoa! Wh-What is it?!”
“Hk…!”
I hurriedly stepped in front of Diana and Silvia.
Diana was startled, while Silvia, having just been in combat, didn't react as extremely as she usually would.
“That guy is a hardcore flat-chest fetishist with suspected pedophilic tendencies! He didn’t even glance at our Leia’s chest, but stared holes into Silvia’s plank-like boobs! Be caref—!”
“Y-You little! Sara!”
“Yes!”
“Keoheok… Wh-Why…”
I desperately tried to warn the two about the danger he posed.
But for some reason, Diana, a vein popping on her forehead, started pathetically thumping my waist with her fists before giving up and calling for Sara.
And Sara, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, landed a solid smack on my back.
Wh-Why… I was trying to protect you…
“Who are you calling flat-chested?!”
“Who are you calling a pedophile?!”
From in front of me and behind me, Diana’s and that punk’s voices joined in a magnificent harmony.
Alright, I admit it. I might have been a little out of line. My Diana has every right to yell at me. But you don’t.
I immediately lifted Diana and placed her directly in front of the guy.
“My dear Diana. What do you think?”
“Wh-What?! What’s this all of a sudden… W-Well. I, uh, think she’s very beautiful, but…”
“Diana! See?! Get behind me!”
“Sara!”
“Yes!”
“Keoheoheok…”
Only after that commotion died down were we finally able to sit calmly and have a conversation.
After all, once the boss of a boss room is gone, the area becomes the safest place imaginable.
“So. Why are there only two women with you? Weren’t there three of you? Don’t tell me they dumped you after finding out about your preference for little girls.”
“Is that really the first thing you ask someone you haven’t seen in ages?! No! She quit being an adventurer for a good reason! And I don’t like little girls in the first place!”
“The fact that you’re so desperately denying it makes you even more suspicious.”
“Y-You… Even if you are the Saint, there’s a limit to my patience.”
I see. So the reason he’s addressing me somewhat respectfully as ‘you’ instead of something more casual is because I’m the Saint.
“Alright, alright. Let’s stop joking around.”
“Joking… you say. What’s your real reason?”
“Any more hits and I think my back is going to peel off.”
“Haha. I can imagine. It looked pretty painful.”
The guy didn’t seem to be the type to hold a grudge over every little joke, and he answered with a chuckle.
“You get it, right? Seriously, Sara’s smacks are… ahem. Anyway. So? Do you need something from us? You went out of your way to stop us.”
“Yeah, about that. I have a small proposal. Since you’ve come this far, you must be planning to pass through here to the 4th Floor, right? We were thinking the same thing. So, what do you say? How about we join forces?”
Come to think of it, his party did come out of the passage leading to the 4th Floor.
I see. They wanted to get to the 4th Floor through here somehow, but they must have been turned back by the massive current blocking the way.
“Join forces? Your party doesn’t seem to have a mage.”
Right. Judging by their equipment, that seemed to be the case.
This guy, who looked like the party leader, was holding a spear, and the two behind him were holding a dagger and a staff, respectively.
“No, I can handle a little magic myself. But… you’re right. My skills aren’t enough to get through what’s ahead. And here I was, confident that I was better at magic than most other magic warriors.”
As he spoke, he created a small droplet of water on his palm.
“You’re right, calling it a proposal was a bit arrogant. Let me rephrase. If you’re planning on passing through here, would you let us tag along? Think of it as payback for teasing me earlier. Please.”
With that, he offered a rather friendly smile.
Well, if we were actually heading to the 4th Floor through here, I honestly wouldn’t mind letting them join.
We were going to stop the water flow with magic anyway.
Bringing them along wouldn’t consume any extra mana.
But that wasn’t our objective.
I was about to reject his offer outright, but a certain possibility flashed through my mind.
Right. Should I test the waters?
“And if I refuse?”
“Then we have no choice. We’ll have to wander around here, get a little stronger, and then try again.”
And my worries, as I’d feared, were spot on.
Tch. This is getting annoying.
If these guys keep hanging around this area, they’ll get suspicious of us just waiting here for the boss to appear.
What’s more, there was a high chance they’d see us going through the hole that opens after the boss fight.
This really has become a pain.
Not that this guy is a bad person or anything.
I quickly exchanged glances with my girls, having a silent conversation.
‘What should we do? Take them to the 4th Floor and come back?’
‘But our objective is here, isn’t it?’
‘Still, if they remain here, the risk of our secret being exposed will increase.’
‘Ooh… my maaan…’
‘Hmm. It seems best to take them to the 4th Floor first. The master of this place needs time to respawn anyway, so let’s just think of it as killing time.’
‘But what about your mana? Will you be okay?’
‘Hmm. I have plenty. I didn’t participate in the battle at all. A repeat of last time will absolutely not happen.’
To think we could have such a detailed conversation with just our eyes.
It was a moment that perfectly demonstrated how well we knew each other.
Though there was something strange mixed in there.
Matilda, seriously, going into pink-haze mode just because I glanced at you? Isn’t that a bit much?
“Alright. We were heading that way anyway.”
Having reached a conclusion, we nodded, making it look like a hearty agreement on the surface.
“Really?! Thanks! I thought you were a difficult person at first, but I guess the Saint is a Saint after all!”
“Go separately.”
“Haha. Sorry, my bad. Just kidding.”
He seemed to think my cold remark was a joke and burst out laughing.
It wasn’t a joke, you know. Well, sending them off on their own would probably just cause more trouble, so I guess I’ll take them.
And so, we decided to head to the 4th Floor with the party of the guy who introduced himself as Duke.
The strategy for getting past the rough currents here was simple.
While searching for me, my girls had apparently passed through this area several times with members of the Mage Association, and in the process, they had gotten a rough grasp of the complex water flows.
Based on that information, they determined the shortest route to escape the current. The plan was to stop the flow of water only in that specific section, minimizing mana consumption, and then break through in one go.
The reason Diana had answered so confidently when I worried about her mana was because she had a countermeasure like this all along.
Thus, without an accident like last time, we were able to safely break through the currents and reach the 4th Floor.
The sensation of being surrounded by water on all sides, a feeling I hadn’t experienced in days.
Of course, I’d been in the water while practicing swimming at the mansion, but it felt different from being inside the dungeon like this.
I felt my body begin to tremble uncontrollably.
“G-Guwon?! Guwon?!”
Noticing my state, Sara rushed over to check on me.
No, it wasn’t just Sara.
All of my girls approached me, their faces etched with worry as they examined my condition.
Even Silvia wasn’t trembling at all, and even Matilda had snapped out of her pink-haze mode, her expression anxious.
Hmm. My mistake. Did I overdo it?
It seemed my girls thought I was trembling because my trauma was kicking in.
That wasn’t it at all. I’m not that delicate of a guy.
But if I don’t say what I had originally planned, I’ll only make them more anxious.
No choice. I have to do it.
“Fuhahaha! I have returned… Ouch!”
“You idiot! You really need to learn to read the room before you joke around!”
“A joke? This is no joke! How dare you interrupt a man savoring his moment of vengeance!”
Well, it was half a joke.
But this is all part of the plan. I sent a look to Sara as I spoke.
“Vengeance, you say?”
Thankfully, Diana seemed to have caught on that I had a plan and played along.
“That’s right. That whale bastard that got me stranded. The time has come for my revenge. I’ll crush him so that not even his bones remain! Now, let’s go, everyone!”
I said, deliberately putting on a bloodthirsty-looking smile.
“Hey! Guwon!”
Just as I was about to make a hasty exit, Duke called out to me.
“This is my way of thanking you for bringing us here. If that’s what you’re doing, I’ll lend a hand.”
What is this guy talking about?
Can’t you see I’m acting right now to get rid of you?
“No. You’re a man, you should understand. A man’s revenge is something he must carry out himself. This is my fight alone. Don’t interfere.”
“…I see. I was being insensitive. I understand. I’ll get out of your way. Let’s see each other again, alive!”
Hearing my solemn voice, the guy nodded several times as if he completely understood and muttered in a serious tone.
What’s with him, acting all serious by himself? I mean, he’s not a bad guy, but still.
“Yeah!”
Of course, I replied with an equally serious tone.