Chapter 227 : Entering the Dungeon
Chapter 227: Entering the Dungeon
Blue Magical Energy flowed into Elsa's eyes as she concealed herself behind a tree.
Her unique skill was 'Clairvoyance.'
The moment she fixed her gaze on the masked man, his appearance beneath the mask became transparent.
Pale white skin.
Jet-black hair with a bluish sheen.
Eyes as brilliant as the midday sun.
Elsa had heard plenty about the man behind the mask.
No...
She hadn't merely heard about him.
She had seen him herself.
'Why is Philip with someone like that...?'
Her heart sank.
A moment later, it felt as though her blood were flowing backward through her veins.
Lowering her gaze toward her hands, she realized they were trembling uncontrollably.
...The worst.
The very worst of the worst.
He was none other than Villed.
The second son of House Dedencman.
Three years ago, Elsa had seen him with her own eyes.
It had been a social debut gathering attended exclusively by the children of noble families.
Villed, the only participant from a high-ranking noble house, had been surrounded by countless young ladies and young noblemen.
Yet dissatisfaction had remained on his face from beginning to end.
Watching from afar, Elsa could guess why.
He must have been displeased that he hadn't been invited to the higher-ranking social gathering attended by Duke families.
Had he judged this gathering beneath his status?
He showed absolutely no interest in the nobles approaching him.
“Your glass is empty.
What are you doing?
Fill it at once.”
“My apologies, Young Master.”
A servant approached and refilled his wine glass.
Villed gently swirled the wine before shifting his gaze.
A young lady wearing a pure white dress.
She had been making her interest in Villed blatantly obvious for quite some time.
“Were you the daughter of House Perrin?”
“Ah, yes!
You remembered me!
I'm Floren of House Perrin, Young Master Villed!”
“Miss Floren truly resembles a pure white angel.”
“T-Thank you...!”
Just hearing Villed say her name was enough to make her beam with joy.
But that happiness didn't last long.
“What a shame.
I happen to dislike the color white.”
The instant those words left his mouth.
Splash!
Wine splattered through the air.
Crimson stains spread across the pristine white dress.
“My, it seems I spilled it accidentally.
Are you alright, Miss Floren?”
“I-I'm fine...”
“That's good to hear.
You there, what are you standing around for?
Refill my glass.”
But it didn't end there.
His glass was filled once more...
And Villed casually repeated the exact same action.
Splash!
Another crimson stain spread across her dress.
“It appears I've made another mistake.
Would you be kind enough to forgive me once again, Miss Floren?”
“A-Anyone can make mistakes...”
“Indeed.
Someone as broad-minded as you must surely be an angel.”
Floren tightly gripped the hem of her dress.
Her lips trembled ever so slightly.
The surrounding noble children wore expressions of disbelief.
Yet not a single one stepped forward.
Even the servant pouring the wine looked utterly horrified.
“Are you blind?
Until I tell you to stop, refill my glass every time it empties.”
The servant's face turned deathly pale.
Even so, he couldn't stop.
Each time the glass was refilled...
Villed splashed its contents across the young lady's dress again.
And again.
And again.
Until finally.
“That's enough.”
Villed smiled in satisfaction.
Floren's dress was no longer white.
It had been dyed completely red, like a crimson rose.
“Miss Floren.
Though I've made several mistakes toward you, the final result isn't bad at all.
Wouldn't you agree it's a magnificent work of art?
What do our other distinguished guests think?”
Villed slowly looked around.
The noble children who met his gaze visibly flinched.
Each of them trembled in fear after seeing his sadistic smile.
...They feared they might become his next target.
Driven by that terror, they forced smiles onto their faces and praised him.
“M-Marvelous.
Young Master Villed possesses extraordinary artistic sense.”
“B-Beautiful...”
“So everyone appreciates my art.
Then perhaps we should hear Miss Floren's opinion as well.”
“......”
When Villed looked back...
Floren stood there trembling like a broken doll.
“...I-It is...
An overwhelming honor, Young Master.”
Her eyes had completely lost their focus.
The corners of her lips were forced upward into a smile.
Her face had turned deathly pale.
...Not long afterward.
Behind the dark stage.
Floren cried silently where no one could hear her.
Her opponent had been none other than House Dedencman.
A family that owned nearly one-fifth of the Empire's wealth.
By comparison, Floren belonged to a poor Baron family with no powerful backing.
Unable to protest, the incident was quietly buried.
Elsa had wanted to approach and comfort her...
But fearing she would only wound Floren's pride further...
She ultimately couldn't bring herself to do it.
After witnessing that horrifying incident firsthand, Elsa had come to harbor deep hatred toward Villed.
'That... despicable...'
Calling him human trash wasn't enough.
He disgusted her to her core.
A vulgar, incompetent, ignorant, and utterly sinister man.
Last year, it had already become a well-known story among the nobility that Villed had been reported to His Highness Arlhart after bullying his classmates and had been punished with duty at the Upgraded Livestock Shed.
...And now that thug had dared approach Elsa's fiancé.
'What is he trying to do to Philip?'
Judging from what she could see, they seemed to be writing some sort of contract.
'It has to be an unfair contract.'
She wanted to rush over and tear it apart immediately.
No.
Not yet.
This was the time to continue observing him and gather evidence.
Villed was already standing at the edge of a cliff because of his punishment at the Upgraded Livestock Shed.
Elsa saw this as an opportunity.
'Duty at the Upgraded Livestock Shed' was considered the harshest punishment a noble could receive.
Which meant Villed was already dangerously close to expulsion.
If he accumulated just a few more offenses...
He could finally be expelled.
'I'll protect Philip...
And I'll make sure that bastard is thrown out of this academy.'
Elsa firmly swore it to herself.
That night.
After finishing dinner, I sat alone at the table on the first floor, reading a sheet of paper.
It was the contract Philip and I had written together.
It wasn't particularly long.
Nor had I included any excessively strict clauses.
In exchange for the Arcanium necklace as payment, I'd recover the ring.
Philip wasn't to investigate my identity.
Nor was he to reveal my fighting style to anyone.
Finally, every piece of loot obtained inside the dungeon would belong entirely to me.
Philip had accepted all of it without hesitation.
'Well, that's only natural.
I'm the one defeating the monsters, so the loot belongs to me.'
To begin with, the reason Philip had desperately sought my help was because he'd judged the monsters in the Dangerous Zone impossible for him to defeat.
'Although...
With my abilities, I'd probably be fine going in alone.'
With the strength of my Spirit Creatures, this dungeon wasn't particularly difficult.
'...The real problem lies elsewhere.'
Philip himself was the problem.
He had enormous potential.
But at this point in time, he was still just a first-year student.
I couldn't confidently guarantee that not even a single hair on Philip's head would be harmed after entering a Dangerous Zone with him.
Having to protect Philip drastically increased the dungeon's difficulty.
'...I'll need one more person to support us.'
I didn't have to think long about who should fill that role.
Knock, knock.
I knocked on Lapin's door.
“Yeah.
Come in.”
Opening the door, I found Lapin standing by the balcony railing.
“What are you doing?”
“The stars are beautiful.
I was looking at them.”
I stood beside Lapin and looked up at the night sky.
Sure enough...
Just as she'd said, countless stars sparkled overhead.
“Those twinkling stars.”
Lapin pointed upward as she continued.
“They look like the pasta Villed makes.”
“......”
I couldn't deny it.
Now that she'd said it...
They really did.
“Then should we name that constellation the 'Pasta Constellation'?”
“That's a good idea.”
Looking at me, Lapin spoke.
Perhaps because of the angle of her face...
It looked as though she was smiling faintly.
“But Villed.
Did something happen?”
It was rare for me to visit Lapin's room.
She was probably wondering why I'd come.
“Nothing much.
I just want you to taste something.
It's a new creation.”
I pulled a plate out of my Subspace.
It held a pure white whipped cream cake.
“Oh...”
Lapin's eyes sparkled as brightly as the stars in the sky.
She accepted the fork I handed her, cut off a small piece, and placed it into her mouth.
“Well?”
“...Mmm.”
A sound of bliss escaped her lips as though she were melting.
'...Yeah.
There's no way it could taste bad.'
Every single ingredient had come from the finest produce harvested from my Upgraded Livestock Shed and fields.
“It melts the moment it enters your mouth.
It's the most delicious bread you've ever made.”
“Really?
That's not all.
There's more.”
I reached into my Subspace and began taking out one dessert plate after another.
“Ohhh...”
A different light shone in Lapin's eyes.
Just as she reached out as though hypnotized...
“But first.”
I snatched the plate away.
As if waking from a dream, Lapin blinked repeatedly while looking at me.
“I'll give you all of these.
In exchange, come somewhere with me.”
“?”
Lapin tilted her head.
The place Lapin and I arrived at was Street 17 inside the academy.
Beneath the roadside trees, Philip paced back and forth nervously.
I put on the horse mask I'd taken from my pocket and approached him.
Noticing our presence, he turned toward us.
“Senior!
Over here!
This way!”
Philip enthusiastically raised both arms.
“You snuck out without the Dorm Supervisor noticing, right?
It'll only become troublesome if you're caught.”
“Yes.
If it's only for about three hours, I shouldn't get caught.
But who is this...?”
Philip turned his attention toward Lapin standing beside me.
Lapin wore a half mask that covered the area around her eyes.
The type commonly worn at noble parties.
“I figured it might be difficult alone, so she's my companion.
Show him.”
“Okay.
Ta-da.”
Lapin took the Golden Compass from her pocket and showed it to him.
“My goodness...
Two seniors from the Finders Department...?”
His delighted expression only lasted a moment before turning awkward.
“Thank you both very much, but...
I don't have anything else to give you...”
So that was what he was worried about.
“I don't intend to ask for anything more.
The Arcanium necklace settles everything.”
“Ah...
Then that's a huge relief.
Entering a dungeon together with two Finders Department seniors...
This will become an unforgettable memory.”
“Sure.
It's fine if you're excited.
Just don't forget why we're going in there.”
“Y-Yes.
Of course.”
The three of us stood before the dungeon entrance.
A translucent black door stood before us.
Beyond it stretched an endless forest.
Exactly the same as it had been in the game.
This was an area that had become a dungeon because of the boss monster.
'It's similar to...
Saint Angela becoming a dungeon boss last year.'
Occasionally, a place that wasn't originally a dungeon would become one due to a certain 'trigger.'
'Though even in the game, they never fully explained why this place transformed into a dungeon.'
It was simply treated as a Hidden Quest.
Once the boss was defeated, the dungeonization was undone, and the incident came to an end.
“...Now that we're actually about to enter, I'm getting nervous.”
Philip's reaction was understandable.
Entering a dungeon for the first time was nerve-racking enough.
And by first-year standards, this was a high-difficulty dungeon.
“Don't worry.
You've got us.”
“Yes!
I'll trust you both, Seniors!”
“Ahem.”
For some reason, Lapin puffed out her chest proudly.
I stepped forward first.
“...Let's go.”
Putting strength into both hands, I pushed open the dungeon door.