000-020 · 019-ch16
Chapter 16: Ambush
After taking down the Dullahan, I loaded the two stunned girls back onto Robo and started heading up to the upper layers. They had insisted that the middle or even lower layers would be fine, but in the end, I agreed to transport them all the way to the dungeon entrance, accepting the concerns of Akane-ojou's fellow group members and the viewers who were worried about them.
"Hey, are you really gonna just leave that behind? That'd sell for a lot, wouldn't it?"
"Too much trouble. If Akane-ojou wants to sell it, you can take it, though?"
When I responded to Akane-ojou, who had turned halfway around to talk to me from atop Robo, she made a bitter face.
"We do important image-conscious work, you know. If it got out that we sold materials from monsters someone else defeated to make a fortune, that'd be huge trouble."
"I know."
"Couldn't we sell them and save the money, then give it to you when you come out of the dungeon again someday?"
"Income tax, gift tax, all that stuff's annoying, you know? And I don't really use money like that anyway. When I come to the surface, I can just hunt some random monster and bring the materials to sell."
At my response, Akane-ojou gasped.
"Come to think of it, I've been wondering about this for a while, John-san, but what's the deal with your explorer permit? Without that, you can't go in and out of the dungeon or sell items, right?"
"Ah, I was wondering that too. Even when you sent me out while I was sleeping before, you did go outside the dungeon, didn't you?"
Oops. The conversation jumped in a weird direction from talking about the material value of the Dullahan's corpse, didn't it?
"I don't dislike kids who catch on quick like you two."
I put a bit of the pressure I usually suppress into my voice as I spoke, and the two of them shook and froze, facing forward.
"Hm? What's wrong, you two?"
"We, we didn't hear anything."
"I didn't hear anything either. So please forgive us."
I meant it as a bit of a joke, but I guess I put out too much pressure. Compared to the intimidation monsters lower down use normally, I held back to a gentle breeze level, but in deep layer terms, I guess it's too strong.
"Heh, hahaha. Just kidding, just kidding. Well, let's not touch on that subject."
"Y, yes."
"Haa, haaa. That pressure just now wasn't a joke, was it."
"It was obviously a joke. Down there, even regular monsters put out a stronger presence than bosses, let alone the random ones. It's not like intimidation or threats—that's just how they are naturally."
(Monster detection won't be a problem... no wait, it will. The presence just gets saturated.)
Honestly, thinking back to the fight with the Dullahan just now, monsters in the deep world—or rather, the deep world, let's call it that from now on, since saying "below the deep layer" sounds weird—the monsters there give off much sharper, stronger presences. In my case, since my level has risen too high compared to them, I won't notice them unless I'm actively trying to detect, but for these two, just the presence alone might be enough to immobilize them.
Compared to that deep world, the deep layer still feels like it's completely lacking in fantasy vibes. The Dullahan wasn't a giant four or five meters tall, didn't split the ground in two with a single hit, didn't have slash attacks flying at me, didn't power up wrapped in some mysterious magical aura, and didn't revive after being beaten down while getting stronger.
"Is it really that dangerous below the deep layer?"
"Of course, the deeper you go, the stronger they get. You'll understand when you actually go there."
"I watched the battle from the stream screen just now, and it was amazing. Winning against a Dullahan that usually takes a six-person party all by yourself..."
"Whaa, so you didn't believe me, Kana-chan?"
"I did believe you! But seeing it and being surprised are different things, aren't they?"
"Yeah that's right, we vaguely thought you could win too, but we didn't expect you to handle it that perfectly."
By the way, the commentary I muttered during the battle earlier was muttered quite softly, so only my smartphone probably picked up the sound. I don't intend to reveal that much publicly yet. Or maybe people with actual ability or those who want to get stronger will analyze the video of that battle, but those kinds of people with upward ambition are still fine. It's just annoying when it's passively consumed.
The fact that those two seem to think that was my full power is a bit of a miscalculation.
"Well, we're about to reach the upper layers."
Soothing the two of them who had gotten used to being on Robo's back and were playfully interacting, I urged Robo to make the final sprint.
The upper layer—that's the area where those challenging the dungeon for the first time explore, the starting place that welcomes adventurers who are about to attempt exploration. The monsters that appear near the entrance are slimes and giant rats about fifty centimeters long, opponents that even first-time dungeon explorers won't lose to as long as they don't get careless or overconfident.
Therefore, when major guilds conduct joint attacks on the deep layer, the area near the upper layer entrance sometimes becomes a gathering place. No, it used to.
Currently, there are multiple individuals with deep-layer-level strength, and routes have been discovered to safely reach each layer's entrance from the upper layer, so it seems that the safety spaces just before each entrance often become gathering places when tackling those layers.
(This kind of structure too. It really feels like the dungeon was made, actually.)
Given that, how is the upper layer entrance currently being used? Mostly for training sessions for new explorers, or for practical training by students from dungeon explorer training schools and universities that sprang up after the dungeon appeared.
Today, a large number of people had gathered there. When Robo's massive body came into view, a momentary wave of unrest ran through the crowd, but seeing the two girls on his back, they regained their composure. There seemed to be not only those welcoming the girls but also quite a few curious onlookers.
I pulled the reins about thirty meters away and stopped Robo.
"Here, we've arrived."
"O, oh."
"Yes..."
They responded, but the two of them seemed hesitant about getting down.
"...John-san, thank you so much. If you hadn't saved us, both of us would have gone 'I don't want that kind of thing'—eh?"
Kanata-ojou was expressing her gratitude with a sentimental atmosphere, but I don't care about that kind of thing.
"It's not like we're parting forever or anything. If Akane-ojou and Kanata-ojou build up your skills and come down deep, we'll meet again."
"...That's difficult, though."
"I don't know. I just don't like that sentimental stuff. Meet up casually, talk casually, part ways, and that's it. Then if we can meet again, we eat together and chat. That's the kind of fantasy I have about the dungeon."
"...Hehe. That's very like you, John-san."
"Right?"
At my relatively joking but honest thoughts, both Akane-ojou and Kanata-ojou at least got their smiles back.
"Alright, I'll definitely prepare 1 billion, so wait for me."
"Sure, make sure you do it properly."
I pushed the two of them from behind, starting with Akane-ojou. Next was Kanata-ojou, but just before she got off, I whispered in her ear so the drone wouldn't pick it up, timing it when she was looking to the side.
"(If you're really that curious about me, come watch my stream too.)"
At my statement, thinking we'd gotten somewhat closer, Kanata-ojou looked at me as if startled, then nodded with a full-face smile.
"Yes!"
Wait, that's why I lowered my voice, though. She also jumped down from Robo right after that, lined up next to Akane-ojou who had gotten down earlier, bowed deeply in my direction, then turned her back and walked toward the welcoming party.
I saw them off, at least. Since I went to the trouble of bringing them to the upper layers and all.
Shink, 《Activation》
Immediately after. When Kanata-ojou and Akane-ojou were more than ten meters away from me, I sensed multiple magical presences and activated a pre-prepared magic circle.
A magic circle appeared on the back of my hand, dyed black with tattoo-like technology, and that magic circle summoned four more magic circles. Then a barrier deployed from there deflected magic flying from all four directions.
"Who is it!"
"What are you doing!?"
A man who was probably Kanata-ojou's manager, and Kanata-ojou, who had noticed the magic and turned back toward us, raised voices of interrogation.
To those voices, several men stepped forward from among the onlookers.
"Everyone! We are Dungeon Ace! We have come to deal with the person who brought a dangerous monster to the upper layer! We will now deal with this! It is dangerous, so please step back!"
When one of them called out to the crowd with a shout, the crowd buzzed with commotion.
"Such a thing...! John-san saved us! You'll understand if you watch my stream!"
"You brought a dangerous monster to the upper layer without a taming certificate. At minimum, you need to be restrained and questioned."
"Even so, attacking so suddenly...!"
"He has declared himself unwilling to follow general rules. He won't comply with warnings. Then there's no choice but to use force! Everyone, attack!"
With an attitude showing he had no intention of listening to Kanata's protests, the suited man cut off the conversation and gave orders. At the same time, more magical reactions than before appeared. They must have hidden a fair number of people among the onlookers.
"Did I look weak because I held back in the Dullahan fight?"
As the chanting spells sent over ten magics flying, I was about to just watch them hit the barrier while muttering, when I felt Robo below me brace his four legs.
"Whoa."
『GRAOOOOOOOONG!!!』
Robo, who had braced his legs, raised his head high and roared toward the heavens. A roar that seemed to echo through the upper layer, the middle layer, or even the lower layer and deep layer easily drowned out the flimsy magic flying toward us. It also erased my barrier. It felt like it erased my eardrums too.
"Let's go home, Robo."
Among the enemies who were frozen and some who were stepping back from Robo's considerable pressure—the kind of pressure possessed by something with the strength of the deepest part of the deep world—I kicked Robo's belly with both feet to stop him from charging in.
Even though Robo spends his everyday life with me, his existence is a wild monster. While different from monsters that completely view humans in the dungeon as enemies, he does see those who attack him as clear enemies.
『Bau-bau!!』
"They're not worth killing. Come on, let's go home."
Urging the reluctant Robo, I turned my back on the crowd of people. Whether Dungeon Ace or whoever attacked us following explicit rules or instructions from a governing body, or whether they arbitrarily interpreted the rules to attack us for some purpose, I don't know. And I don't particularly want to know.
The fact that they opposed us just now is enough.
"When we get back, I'll feed you the most delicious yakiniku. You don't know the power of yakiniku sauce, do you?"
『Vaff』
"Alrighty then."
I felt eyes from behind with things they wanted to say, but I shouldn't respond to them. The enemy I let escape—or might reach out to those girls. I don't intend to look after them that far, but I don't intend to give them an opening either.
And so, Robo and I set off once again on the rather long journey to our home.