Chapter 837: Auden
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 837: Auden
“Really. What a useless old hag.”
Diana, who had returned, was already huffing and clearly annoyed, making it obvious something had happened at the Guild.
No, Diana. Even so, “old hag”?
For you, of all people, who is undeniably the oldest in this world, to say that… let’s just stop there.
“No luck, it seems?”
“Oh, it wasn’t no luck!”
Diana. Isn’t this really not the time to be stubborn?
Of course, since it was a plan you confidently proposed and executed, it would be embarrassing if there were no gains at all.
“Just as I suspected, the Guild, aware of Miriel’s true identity, seems to have been secretly monitoring her movements. That woman, without even telling her own daughter, Rachel.”
“But in the end, Miriel wasn’t meeting anyone separately.”
“N-no, they weren’t simply checking if any adventurers were using the Teleportation Magic Circle at the same time. There are also adventurers who stay in the Dungeon for extended periods, aren’t there? They were checking all those adventurers, too, to see if anyone frequently crossed paths with Miriel. But even so, there was no one whose path overlapped with hers. In other words…”
“We can completely rule out the possibility of an external collaborator, then.”
“Hmm!”
Well, certainly, just knowing that much is a significant gain.
Because the pool of people who could have given Miriel information about the Dungeon is narrowing.
No, should I say ‘narrowing’…?
“So, it’s highly likely her father told her.”
Yeah, well, I guess that’s how it is.
Of course, the possibility of an internal collaborator within the Arachne Clan isn’t 0%, but she was said to have immediately joined a large clan right after Sauron Auden died.
As if she had a goal to achieve by entering the Dungeon.
And since no one else was said to have joined the Arachne Clan around the same time, it means the most likely possibility is that Sauron Auden told her about the Dungeon.
“Hmm. For now, it would be best to assume that and monitor her movements. But Sara…”
“It’s alright. I think I’ve mostly come to terms with it.”
“Hmm. Is that so.”
As expected of the oldest, the considerate Diana didn’t forget to show concern for Sara this time either.
But when Sara said she was fine, Diana patted her on the butt, as if to say ‘well done’.
Hey. Sara’s heart-shaped butt is only for me to touch… Ah, no. I mean, I get it.
If short Diana were to pat tall Sara’s head, she’d have to stretch her arm up, and that wouldn’t make for a good picture.
Only I get Diana to stand on her tiptoes and stretch her arm out to pat my head. Ahem.
…What was I talking about?
Ah, right.
“But if the source of information is Sauron Auden, then Miriel’s objective becomes even more unclear. As I said before, it’s unlikely he would have told her about the Dungeon’s connection to the Demon God and then said something like, ‘Overthrow this world according to the Demon God’s will!’ And since she wasn’t abandoned, as we previously thought, it’s unlikely she’d be thinking, ‘I’ll gain the Hero’s power and make them regret it!’”
“Hmm. We’ll just have to find that out in due time. More importantly, let’s deal with what’s in front of us now.”
At my words, Diana, though wearing a complex expression, changed the subject.
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“You can’t pretend to be unconscious forever, can you?”
“Ah, right. That’s true. But with Miriel’s objective still unknown, we can’t just send her down carelessly. Since she originally heard about the Dungeon’s connection to the Demon God from Sauron Auden, it’s possible that beyond the 5.5th Floor is truly the end of the Dungeon, just as Miriel said.”
Wait. Now that I think about it, that’s actually true.
If we assume she knows about the Dungeon from Sauron Auden, then it would be reasonable to consider Miriel’s information about the Dungeon highly credible…
That’s what I thought, but Diana shook her head, as if disagreeing with my opinion.
“No, I don’t think so. If that were the case, would Miriel have been wandering the 6th Floor until you appeared? Miriel didn’t even know that monster penises served as keys, nor did she know about the existence of Sub-Layers.”
Ah, that’s true too.
So, it’s better to assume that Miriel’s information about the Dungeon, while accurate, is quite biased or incomplete?
“However, as you said, simply sending Miriel down is not a good idea. Because if, by any chance, Miriel truly reaches the deepest part of the Dungeon first, it would be a disaster.”
“Then what should we do? We can’t just go ahead and check if the 5.5th Floor connects to the deepest part ourselves, can we?”
“Hmm. If I still had the magic power of my prime, that would be no trouble at all…”
Perhaps regretting having used her Reincarnation Magic, Diana said this with a voice that sounded like a groan.
Now that I think about it, she originally planned to use Reincarnation Magic several years later, didn’t she?
And she used it early because she was blinded by my Saint skills and wanted to have sex with me.
But for Diana, who never regretted using Reincarnation Magic early, even after being teased about her chest, to react like this…
Well, the Demon God issue is that serious, after all.
“Are you, by any chance, indirectly asking me to have sex with you more often?”
“N-no! What are you talking about?!”
But even so, it’s not good to let the atmosphere get too serious.
I approached Diana with a sly smile, and Diana’s face turned bright red as she quickly scurried backward.
Given what happened at breakfast, it seems she’s even more embarrassed to talk about such topics today.
However, this lightened the mood, which had been on the verge of turning gloomy.
“That’s enough, you idiot.”
“Hehe. Guwon, you really are something.”
Everyone seemed to understand why I suddenly made such a joke.
“Well, what’s done is done. And Diana, you do have an alternative, don’t you?”
Because there’s no way our clever Diana would have said all this without having a plan.
She definitely has a good idea.
And our Archmage, as expected, lived up to my expectations.
“Hmm. As you know, the Guild pays adventurers a corresponding reward when they bring back new information from the Dungeon. But before that, they go through a verification process to ensure the information is accurate.”
Yeah, I know that. I’ve done Guild Quests quite often, and I’ve brought back a fair bit of new information myself.
I naturally know that rewards are paid after a verification process.
But why bring that up now?
“Don’t you see? It means that even when receiving information about the 5th or 6th Floors, the Guild goes through a verification process.”
As I stood there with a puzzled expression, Diana said this, as if challenging me to guess.
“Ah, I see. So, there are forces capable of investigating the 5.5th Floor, too. In other words, Diana, you’re suggesting we get the Guild’s cooperation?”
“Hmm. Only half correct.”
Hearing my answer, Diana stood on her tiptoes and stretched out her arm to pat my head, as if to say ‘well done’.
Only half correct, huh?
“As you said, the Guild does have forces capable of investigating the 5th or 6th Floors. However, all those forces occupy high-ranking positions in the Guild. Led by that woman, in fact. In other words, they’re so swamped with work every day that they simply don’t have time for investigations.”
…Is that so? No, well, it’s no exaggeration to say that this entire city revolves around the Dungeon, so I understand that the Guild, which manages the Dungeon and adventurers, would be incredibly busy.
In fact, our Elder Sister Rachel works so incredibly hard every day, you’d think she was a workaholic.
“Besides, there’s hardly ever a need to receive new information from the 5th or 6th Floors and pay rewards. The basic information is already widely known, and even if new information were obtained, adventurers who frequent those floors wouldn’t reveal information just for the Guild’s reward.”
This, too, was obvious if you thought about it.
“But then…”
“But even so, it’s not entirely unheard of for deep-layer information to be revealed to the Guild and rewarded. And when such a thing happens, the Guild usually seeks external cooperation.”
So, Diana wants us to seek cooperation in that way and commission an investigation of the 5.5th Floor?
But if we do that, we’d end up revealing information about the Demon God to someone else.
Of course, people in this world generally have immense faith in the Goddess, but with the alluring power of the Demon God right in front of them, there’s no telling how a person might change.
If they betray us and side with Miriel, something irreversible would happen.
Unless it’s someone who has a strong aversion to the Demon God, is tight-lipped, and also powerful…
As I thought that far, a certain person’s face suddenly came to mind.
No, sorry. I lied. Honestly, I don’t really remember his face.
I can’t help it. I’m not the type to meticulously remember the faces of other guys.
Besides, he’s so plain-looking that even if you observe him closely, he doesn’t stick in your memory… Well, his appearance isn’t important right now.
Anyway, there was one person who fit all the conditions.
Someone who despises the Demon God immensely due to a curse, would do anything to break that curse so they wouldn’t utter a single unnecessary word, and is also as skilled in combat as Miriel.
Finally understanding Diana’s intention, I spoke his name in a serious voice.
“Thre…on… Leon… What was his last name again?”
“Plitus…”
Ah, no. People forget things sometimes!
So, Diana. Could you please stop looking at me like my memory is questionable?!
“A-anyway! You’re saying we should tell him to go to the 5.5th Floor first and just scout it out?!”
“Hmm. That’s right. I sent a maid a little while ago, so we should hear back by tomorrow at the latest.”
As expected of Diana. So quick to get things done.
But that also means I’ll have to stay put in the mansion, doing nothing, until he comes here, hears the situation, and returns from investigating the 5.5th Floor.
Well, at least our future course of action has been roughly decided, so it’s also true that I can rest with a slightly more relaxed mind.
“Still, that’s good. As expected of Diana.”
“Hmm. Even if I lack magic power, a problem of this magnitude is nothing for me… L-Leia! You don’t have to cling to me… Hee-hee!”
It seemed our Angel shared my thoughts, as she embraced Diana with a warm smile.
Diana, however, grimaced and tried to push her away, but then her face turned into a tearful frown at the overwhelming sensation against her palms.
I’ve thought this before, but Angel. Aren’t you subtly treating Diana as if her age matches her appearance?
Diana certainly looks younger than you, Angel, but she’s still incredibly old.
No, not that I should be talking.
“But it’s still too early to relax completely. Even if we confirm the safety of the 5.5th Floor and send those people down, they’ll just dig through it at an incredible speed, just like in the Turtle Cave, and contact us to go to the next floor.”
Well, Sara’s words were perfectly valid.
A solution seemed to be in sight, but in the end, this was also just a temporary measure.
While Threon, being a Hero, has reliable combat power, he’s still limited by being alone, so we can’t keep asking him to investigate indefinitely.
“Ultimately, to properly solve this problem, we need to become strong enough to investigate the Sub-Layers before the Arachne Clan does.”
“Yes. That’s right.”
At my serious words, Sara also nodded with a grave expression.
Whether she liked it or not, as the one most deeply involved in this issue, Sara couldn’t shake off the seriousness.
“And to do that, we have to have sex as much as possible.”
“Yeah. That’s… No, it’s not!”
“What do you mean, ‘no’?! Don’t deny sex in a world where you level up by having sex! Come on, say it! Say you want it!”
“Y-you idiot! Even if it’s true, don’t shout it out loud, you fool!”