Chapter 801: The Dungeon’s Mana
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 801: The Dungeon’s Mana
After finishing my conversation with Alicia, I sent her on her way, telling her I’d be in touch soon.
I was able to get much more substantial information than I expected.
I was originally going to send her away, but it was a good thing I didn’t.
This was all thanks to Matilda.
Well, it wasn’t exactly a time to be feeling nothing but gratitude toward her.
When I opened the door and went in, Matilda was sitting there blankly, staring at the floor.
Seeing her not even lift her head when I came in, I felt a sigh about to escape me.
After my talk with Alicia ended, I had first asked Matilda to go to my room.
Then, after sending Alicia off, I spoke a little more with Diana before coming back.
In other words, it was just the two of us here now.
Honestly, it was a huge burden to have this conversation alone, but it was better to talk about this with just the two of us.
Alright. Let’s begin.
Forcibly pushing down the feeling of hopelessness into a corner of my heart, I slowly walked over and sat down in front of Matilda.
“Matilda.”
“Hngh…!”
She knew exactly what I was about to say.
As if to prove it, the moment I said her name, Matilda flinched and trembled with a soft cry.
“I’m sorry. I’ve thought about it from every angle, but it seems there’s no solution for now.”
That’s right. Before coming back to the room, Diana and I put our heads together to think of a solution, but in the end, that was the conclusion we reached.
The most realistic solution would have been to carry around the mana property converter installed in the center of the dungeon town, but according to Diana, no matter how much they miniaturized it, they couldn’t shrink it down to a size portable enough for dungeon exploration.
And even if they managed to force it down to a portable size, its output would be too low for Matilda to handle being in the dungeon.
And this was coming from Diana, of all people.
There was probably no magical way to solve this problem.
And if there was no magical solution, it meant there was no way for Matilda to go into the dungeon anymore.
No. Actually, there was one way.
It was to let the curse remaining in her body grow again.
To have her wander around and repeatedly fall in love with other men.
But no matter what, I’d rather die than see that happen.
So, in the end, it was the same as having no solution at all.
Besides, I couldn’t imagine Matilda choosing a method that required sacrificing countless other people.
“So, I’m truly sorry, but I don’t think you’ll be able to come with us anymore, Matilda.”
Come to think of it, the way Matilda joined the party was a bit unusual from the start.
While the others joined because I felt they were necessary, Matilda had insisted on following us, and at the time, I was half-bewildered and just let her.
But even though she joined that way—no, precisely because she was someone who followed us into the dungeon of her own will—it pained my heart to tell her she couldn’t come with us anymore.
“…So it has come to that.”
Matilda must have prepared herself while waiting alone in the room.
Perhaps she’d been preparing herself ever since I spoke with Alicia, or even since Diana examined the properties of her curse’s mana.
That’s why our dear Cardinal nodded, her voice seemingly composed.
But she couldn’t completely hide her emotional turmoil; I could see her hands, resting on her knees, clenched so tightly they were trembling.
“Yeah.”
“……”
After saying that, I moved to Matilda’s side and pulled her head tightly against my chest.
At that, Matilda began to tremble not just with her hands, but with her entire body.
Her face was buried in my chest so I couldn’t see, but was she perhaps crying?
“…Somehow, it’s frustrating. If only I could have endured it a little longer…”
“You heard the explanation, Matilda. It’s not a matter of endurance. It’s the Demon God’s magic. It was unavoidable.”
“But… still… since we’re facing a Demon God, shouldn’t I be the one… Isn’t there… isn’t there some way?”
She may have prepared herself, but it seemed her lingering attachment grew as she spoke.
Matilda rubbed her face against my chest, her voice thick with unshed tears.
Her voice made me feel my resolve weakening, but if I softened now and said the wrong thing, it would only end up pushing Matilda too hard.
So I steeled myself and answered in a firm tone.
“There isn’t. And even if there were, if it meant pushing you too hard, I would never ask you to do it. So from now on, you can cheer for us from up here.”
“I don’t mind pushing myself a little…!”
But from my tone, Matilda seemed to realize it. That if she pushed herself, there was a way for her to go to the dungeon.
Dammit. Of all the times to choose the wrong words.
“That’s why I said I don’t want you to. So if you’re thinking of doing something reckless, stop. Absolutely do not do it. If you do… I’ll… I’ll hate you?”
I absolutely didn’t want that to happen, so I spoke to her in an even stronger tone than before.
Well, my voice did lose a bit of its force on that last sentence.
I couldn’t help it. Not that.
“Hehe. Is that even possible for you?”
My firm tone made Matilda flinch.
But it seemed my last words were a little funny to her.
Though a sad emotion still laced her voice, it felt a little lighter than before.
I didn’t intend for that to happen, but did it turn out well in the end?
“Don’t laugh. I’ll try really, really hard to hate you.”
“…Yes. In that case, I suppose I have no choice but to give up.”
Just as I thought. Judging by her tone, she had already figured out the one and only way she could go to the dungeon.
She’s sharp, that one. Well, she couldn’t have become a Cardinal at such a young age otherwise.
But judging by her tone, does that mean she might have tried it if I hadn’t said I’d hate her?
Cardinal. That’s not who you are, is it?
You’re so kindhearted you took on someone else’s curse, and you wanted to get rid of it quickly for the sake of all the men it had castrated.
And yet, you were even considering letting the curse grow again just to go to the dungeon with me.
No. Maybe she was just saying that.
Still. Just how much do you like me?
Actually, isn’t your mind always in a pink haze, even when you’re not in ‘pink-light mode’?
“I’m sorry. I’ll come up to see you as often as I can.”
“No, it’s alright. You taught me that my feelings for you won’t disappear just because I can’t see your face while you’re in the dungeon, Guwon.”
As I thought, Matilda had been constantly worried that her feelings might disappear along with the curse.
I’m so glad I told her that earlier.
“If anything, I’m the one who’s sorry for not being of more help. I thought I’d have a chance to be useful the deeper we went… but in the end, that chance never came.”
It seemed Matilda, who had always been supporting us from the back, had been thinking that all this time.
She’s the type to quietly suffer on her own.
Of course, she was the type whose inner thoughts and outer appearance were different from the moment I met her.
Her intentionally high-handed attitude, meant to keep people from approaching her carelessly, gradually faded as the curse lifted and our relationship progressed. But it seems her habit of keeping things bottled up is part of her nature.
“That’s not true. You’ve been a huge help this whole time. Because you were always there, holding down the fort in the back, I was free to act like an idiot up front.”
“That just sounds like you were pushing yourself too hard because I was there.”
“What are you talking about? Pushing myself? I enjoy acting like an idiot. The thought of not being able to do it anymore is what feels hopeless.”
Matilda spoke in a slightly exasperated tone, but my intention must have gotten through, as she leaned her body further against mine and hugged me tightly with both arms.
“And it’s not like you can’t help just because you’re up here, right? There are plenty of ways you can help.”
“…For example?”
“We might need the temple’s help to fulfill the mission the Goddess gave us, right? Who would be a better liaison for that than you, Matilda? And if not that, you could pass on your combat know-how to Leia as a senior Saintess.”
As you can tell from the fact that Matilda was originally a Saintess candidate, Saintess is a job that Holy Knights can also class change into.
And for Leia, a High Priestess, Saintess was also an advanced job.
In other words, the Saintess is a hybrid job that combines the Priest and Holy Knight lines.
I was planning on making both Leia and Matilda into Saintesses from the start, so when Leia becomes one, her combat style will naturally have to change.
But Leia, who has only ever acted as a pure healer, won’t be able to adapt to that new position right away, and the person who can help her most with that is Matilda.
“…That’s true.”
That’s why I brought up Leia, but after hearing my words, a hint of bitterness crept into Matilda’s voice.
Only after hearing her voice did I realize my slip of the tongue.
Damn. What an idiot. I was so desperately focused on thinking of ways Matilda could help from up here that I didn’t consider how she would feel hearing it.
She must already be sad about not being able to go to the dungeon anymore, and here I am, bringing up Leia, who’s in a similar position but can still go.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean it like that…”
“No, it’s alright. It’s true. Just knowing there’s something I can do to help you, even a little, makes me happy.”
But Matilda shook her head as if to say it was fine.
“Now, then, you should be getting back to the dungeon, shouldn’t you? Ah, since I can’t go, should I call for Sara?”
She even lifted her head and said that.
Forcing a smile onto her face.
“No. We’re resting today.”
But when I said that, Matilda’s smile wavered slightly.
“What? What do you mean? You can’t. I’m happy that you’re thinking of me, but…”
“I already reached the level I was aiming for when we first holed up in the dungeon a few days ago.”
Of course, I haven’t caught up to the average job and skill levels of adventurers moving from the 4th to the 5th floor, but I never planned on staying cooped up long enough to grow that much anyway.
I just needed to grow enough to be able to fight and pull my own weight on the 5th floor.
In other words, I just needed to raise my job and skill levels enough that I could cover the rest with my insane stats.
And in a little over two weeks, I had already reached that level.
You might think that’s too short a time, but we weren’t exploring the dungeon normally.
Usually, when we explore the dungeon, we focus more on mapping than on combat.
Besides, even when we did fight monsters, Sara was the one who got the most experience.
This time, however, we were actively seeking out, luring, and hunting monsters with the sole purpose of grinding, and I took almost all the experience for myself.
It’s only natural that my growth was fast.
“The only reason I was going to hunt today was because I wanted to complete the rotation with your turn. We started with Sara, so it feels right to end with you, doesn’t it? So, no hunting today. We’ll just take the day off and spend it together like this.”
“You…”
When I said that, Matilda tightened her arms around me and looked up at me with affectionate eyes.
“That’s strange. You should be in pink-light mode by now. Don’t tell me I wasn’t as cool as I thought I was?”
I looked her straight in the eyes and said it in a slightly playful tone.
Losing Matilda from the party was definitely a painful blow, both strategically and emotionally.
But that didn’t mean we could stay in this gloomy mood forever, right?
It’s not like we’ll never see each other again. We should enjoy the time we have together.
“No. You were so… so cool. Ahh… you…”
And as if Matilda was thinking the same thing, her gaze began to tint with pink as she spoke.
It makes me think, can’t you control your pink-light mode after all?