104
Chapter 104
Another Intruder had appeared in the Dungeon.
The Intruder's species was the Giant Fist Lesser Panda.
True to its name, it was a monster with disproportionately large front paws.
As soon as the Red Panda realized we saw through its playing dead, it jumped to its feet.
Then, raising its front paws toward us, it roared with a clumsy voice.
"Kkyuaaaak!!!"
This Intruder was clearly hostile.
It had no manners, and by the looks of it, it must have put up quite a fight.
Even so, the Werewolf Fake Doll had captured it alive instead of killing it.
I felt like I knew the reason without even having to ask.
Because even though it was clearly threatening us, it didn't feel threatening at all.
Not just its roar, but even its actions were incredibly clumsy.
In short, it was such a pathetic creature that there was absolutely no desire to kill it.
Plus, it was so ridiculously weak that subduing it couldn't have been difficult.
"I am a Dragon! Everyone, cower in fear!!!"
The Red Panda was showing off, claiming to be a Dragon.
Did it think we would be scared if it did that?
Anyone could tell you weren't a Dragon.
It really needed to stop sprouting nonsense.
It seemed to be suffering from delusions or mythomania.
Ah, of course.
Its Domain was indeed a Dragon.
But that didn't actually make the guy a Dragon.
If so, would my species be Luck?
"Yong-yong?"
Suddenly, the voice of the Little Yellow Dragon could be heard.
Looking to the side, it had already come up beside me and was peering through the iron bars.
Where did you come from?
"That guy is weird, he keeps lying that he's a Dragon."
"Puhehe! He must be an idiot!"
The Fox was there too.
Soon after, Ailee, Princess Doll, Tosuni, and Jjokkomi also gathered in front of the Prison one by one.
It seemed they had come after hearing the alarm.
Suddenly, the Red Panda had been reduced to nothing but a spectacle for us.
"Kkyuaaaaaak!!!"
Wow, it kept roaring without even getting tired.
What an energetic guy.
I watched it for a moment, then opened the Prison door.
"Kkyu, kkyua......."
The moment the Prison door opened.
The Red Panda's voice gradually grew quieter.
Eventually, it stopped roaring completely.
Like a mouse caught in a trap, it couldn't make a single sound and just stared at me blankly.
Why did it suddenly become so docile?
Was it because the door opened?
Creeeak- thud.
I tried closing the door again.
Then,
"Kkyuaaaaaak!!!"
The Red Panda roared once more.
What the?
Creeeak-
I opened the door again.
"Kkyua...."
Its voice grew quieter again.
Creeeak- thud.
I tried closing the door again.
"Kkyuaaaaaa!!!"
As soon as the door closed, the Red Panda roared fiercely once more.
Creeeak-
I opened the door again.
"Kkyu...."
It seemed.
It became timid when the door was open, and its confidence skyrocketed when it was closed.
The more I looked at it, the weirder it was.
I took a step and entered the Prison.
Then, I slowly approached the Red Panda.
"Kkyuhk?!"
The Red Panda startled and scrambled away to hide in the corner.
What a cowardly guy.
The spirit it showed when the Prison door was closed was nowhere to be found.
As I was gradually narrowing the distance between us.
Beep, beep-!
An unexpected alarm suddenly rang out.
Seriously, just because I removed one Flag, why are there so many Intruders appearing?
Do they think our Dungeon is some kind of easy target?
It wasn't a malfunction, right?
Thinking that, I turned around.
First, I needed to check the identity of the Intruder.
I decided to worry about the unimportant Red Panda later.
As I stepped out of the Prison, I could hear the Red Panda letting out a sigh of relief behind me.
I didn't close the door.
Because it would definitely roar loudly again if I did.
"Ah, Bear Baby. It's not an Intruder."
Ailee said as I came outside.
Hearing that, I stopped in my tracks and turned my head to the side.
Since the Prison was right next to the Portal.
"Ribbit! Ribbit!!!"
The cause of the alarm was none other than the Frog.
It seemed it had come to deliver a gift today as well.
It arrived a little later than usual.
"This is a disaster, ribbit!"
The Frog stomped its feet restlessly.
Soon, it hastily handed the Gift Box to the Werewolf Fake Doll and ran towards us, panting.
"It's a missing person case, ribbit!"
"Bear?"
"I was coming here with the Little Master of the Lake today, but while I was distracted for a moment, the Little Master suddenly disappeared, ribbit!"
"Bear bear?"
The Little Master of the Lake?
I tilted my head.
Was it perhaps talking about the Blue Titanoboa?
With that guy's level of strength, there shouldn't be much to worry about, right?
It's much stronger than you, Frog.
When I asked that, the Frog quickly shook its head side to side.
"Not that one, someone else! The Little Master of the Lake who was coming with me today is incredibly weak! The weakest of the weak! She could die from a single tap, ribbit!!"
What.
So there was another child besides the Blue Titanoboa.
I just learned this today.
"I know it's shameless, but please help me find her! I'm begging you! Please! Ribbit!"
"Baby Frog, I know you're frantic, but please calm down a little...."
As the Frog was on the verge of tears, Ailee patted its head.
"First, can you take your time and tell us what this Little Master of the Lake looks like? We need to know her appearance to help you find her."
"Ri, ribbit... Her appearance? That's, uh, um......."
The Frog tried its best to stay calm.
"As for what she looks like...."
Just as the explanation was about to begin.
Its gaze suddenly flicked briefly towards the inside of the Prison.
The Frog tilted its head.
Then, it quickly snapped its head back toward the Prison.
"Ribbit! She looks exactly like that... ribbit?"
"Kkyua?"
"......."
"......."
The Frog and the Red Panda.
The two stared at each other in silence for a while.
Then, the Frog broke the silence and asked.
"...Why are you here, Little Master, ribbit?"
"I was kidnapped!"
The Giant Fist Lesser Panda.
It seemed that she was the Little Master of the Lake.
Well. Case closed.
***
We did not kidnap the Giant Fist Lesser Panda.
She crawled into this Dungeon on her own and was caught by our Werewolf Fake Doll.
I explained this to the Frog.
The Frog believed our words.
Apparently, the Red Panda was prone to lying frequently in the first place.
If you could call it a relief, I suppose it was one.
She wasn't the type to stick to a lie until the very end.
She had the kind of personality where she would immediately confess if suspected even slightly.
The Frog scolded the Red Panda severely.
Then, bowing continuously, it sincerely apologized to us.
It felt incredibly sorry that the Little Master of the Lake had caused us trouble.
"I am truly, incredibly sorry. It is because the Little Master of the Lake is still immature, ribbit."
And it also added its thanks.
Thanking us for sparing an unknown Intruder instead of killing her.
Deciding not to kill just anyone had indeed been the right answer.
If we had hunted indiscriminately and killed Intruders unconditionally, our relationship with the Lake faction would have completely soured today.
Just as the Frog was apologizing endlessly.
"Kkyuaaaak! Kkyuaaaaaak!"
The Red Panda, completely clueless, was clinging tightly to the Frog's side and barking fiercely.
Even though there were no obstacles between us anymore.
It seemed her confidence had skyrocketed again because her guardian had arrived.
Bear!
I glared fiercely at the Red Panda and smacked her on the head with my Cane.
Only then did she tear up and go quiet.
Indeed, she needed a beating to come to her senses.
And as soon as my Cane touched her, an Information Window visible to everyone popped up.
[Giant Fist Lesser Panda lv.15]
└Pw.30
└Rnk.Uncommon
[Domain: Dragon]
└Rank - Epic
Why was her Domain a Dragon?
The question I had earlier was now resolved.
Apparently, the Giant Fist Lesser Panda was the Third Child of the Master of the Lake.
Meaning she was sisters with the Second Child, the Blue Titanoboa.
Since the Blue Titanoboa also belonged to the Dragon Domain, it wasn't too strange that her sister, the Red Panda, belonged to it as well. She must have been influenced by her mother.
Looking at the Information Window, Ailee expressed her doubts about the Red Panda's status.
"Huh? This fake Dragon Baby's Domain is Dragon? Why is that?"
"They said the Master of the Lake is a Dragon! She said she's the Master of the Lake's daughter, so there's nothing weird about it!"
"Not a Dragon, she's probably a species similar to a Dragon."
"Huh? Then was the Master of the Lake a Red Panda?"
"I don't think so. The Second Child who visited our Dungeon last time was a snake."
Ailee let out a thoughtful hum before shifting her gaze to the Red Panda.
"Hmm... Putting the Domain aside, I have no idea how a Red Panda and a Dragon are related... Why would a species similar to a Dragon give birth to a Red Panda...."
"She's just a normal Mutant!"
The Fox answered Ailee's muttering.
She might be a Mutant, but she definitely wasn't normal.
"...Right, I didn't think of a Mutant. Well, in that case, it isn't too strange."
Ailee ultimately accepted it with a small nod.
Since she herself had given birth to Dolls, it seemed she could understand the fact that the Master of the Lake, presumed to be a Dragon-like species, gave birth to a Red Panda. Or maybe she just completely gave up on thinking about it. Since thinking about it only made her head hurt.
For the record, I had already accepted it too.
Mutants in this world knew no bounds.
In a world where the Star Tribe, who aren't beast-types, gave birth to a beast-type Fox, and Rabbits gave birth to Turtles, what was there to question? Of course, even so, it still wasn't normal and was definitely weird.
Anyway.
The incident was concluded with this.
***
After getting the Gift Box back from the Werewolf Fake Doll.
We were heading to the 2nd Floor with the Frog.
Just then.
"You there!"
"Yong?"
Clinging to the Frog and observing us, the Red Panda pointed at the Little Yellow Dragon.
It was quite abrupt.
"Since you're a Dragon just like me, I'll specially acknowledge you as my rival!"
"What nonsense are you suddenly sprouting. I am a Dragon, but you're not a Dragon."
"Rivals must face off against each other once a day!"
"Yong-yong... She only says what she wants to say...."
"So let's have a hunting contest today!"
"Yong?"
"If I win! When you lay a marble later! You must hand that marble over to my mom no matter what! Kkyuaaaak!"
"Yooong? A marble...?"
At the Red Panda's remark, the Frog froze in place.
Then, it looked at the Red Panda with a bewildered expression.
"Ri, ribbit... Little Master, if you bring up the marble now......."
The Frog couldn't finish its sentence.
Then, as if its legs had given out, it slumped to the ground.
It had a look on its face like it had lost the world.