I Didn't Want to Become the Emperor of This World

Chapter 111

“It’s about time.”

Barut, who had been lying on the ground looking at the sky, said as he got up. Jereuth, the King, and Grondar rose, following Barut.

I got up with them.

‘He said earlier that the Minotaur’s dungeon would appear when the moon rises.’

I looked up at the sky. A black cloud, which for some reason seemed filled with an ominous energy, was rapidly moving up from the south to the north.

As the cloud passed, a perfectly round and breathtakingly beautiful moon appeared, seemingly close. I wasn’t sure if it was because I was on a high mountain peak that it felt that way.

As the light of that beautiful moon touched the flat ground of the mountain peak—.

Woooooong…….

As if creating a shape with a laser.

A ‘temple’ began to appear faintly where there had been nothing just moments before. The faint temple absorbed the moonlight and gradually became clearer.

‘That temple… It looks just like a Greek temple. The Parthenon.’

It had that kind of shape. Stone pillars, easily over 10 meters tall, supported a high ceiling, and the ceiling stood majestically, pointing sharply towards the sky.

Up to that point, it looked like a sacred ‘temple’ at a glance.

But, as befitting the ‘Temple of the Minotaur,’ the structures on the ceiling and outside the temple were sinister. Even to me, who had no particular expertise in art, they looked bizarre and evil.

The sculptures were especially horrifying. There were sculptures of terrible beings, indistinguishable from monsters or demons, tearing apart and eating children and animals alive; a sculpture of a woman with snakes for hair that seemed to be laughing at me; and a sculpture of some animal with the ‘form of an eagle and a lion’ pierced by hundreds of arrows and dozens of spears.

Swaaaaaah-!

That wasn’t all. There was also a fountain from which blood flowed ceaselessly. Just a moment ago, this place had been filled with the pleasant scent of trees and grass, but now the reek of blood was overwhelming.

The atmosphere emanating from the temple itself was also incredibly dark and malevolent. I would have believed it if someone had called it the ‘Temple of an Evil God’ instead of the Temple of the Minotaur.

Barut spoke to Grondar in a warning tone.

“Grondar! Don’t touch anything. There could be traps.”

“Ah……. Hehe.”

Grondar, who was about to touch a sculpture, flinched and stepped back.

“Leonardo. Are you ready to go in? Seeing these bizarre sculptures, you’ve probably guessed that this temple is not a good place. In any case, only five or fewer people can enter the Minotaur’s dungeon at once, so if you feel burdened, you can wait for us here. There’s royalty besides you.”

At first glance, it sounded like he was looking down on me.

But I knew Barut was saying that out of concern for me.

‘He must be saying that because he knows I’m not used to fighting monsters.’

However, I had a mission that required me to enter the Minotaur’s dungeon. Newest update provıded by n0velfire.net

The mission to witness the King’s end.

“No, I will go in.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“……I’ll be honest. It would be better for you not to go in. There are things that would be better for you not to see—.”

As Barut was speaking.

The King stopped him.

“Barut. Leonardo already knows that I’ve decided to become the Minotaur’s sacrifice.”

“……You already told him that?”

“Indeed. So there’s no need to worry about Leonardo. Leonardo is not as soft-hearted or weak as you think. His inner self is as rugged as your outer appearance. On the contrary, your heart is as delicate as Leonardo’s outward appearance.”

Barut glanced at me. He silently asked the question, “Do you really know everything?”

I answered his gaze by nodding my head.

“Yes, I know as well.”

“……In that case, very well. Let’s go in.”

Barut took the lead and entered.

Jereuth, Grondar, and the King followed him.

Grondar was quite far away, fascinated by the temple’s sculptures. So he couldn’t hear the conversation between me, the King, and Barut.

I also entered the temple. Then, a voice was heard from somewhere.

「The first trial, comrades who trust each other deep in their hearts have come. Congratulations, and how pitiful… For someone will die to achieve the goal.」

It was truly a voice that seemed to have come from hell.

***

We entered the Temple of the Minotaur.

Unlike what we had seen from the outside, the inside of the temple was quite bright. There were no torches or lights, yet it was extremely bright.

It was as if the temple, having absorbed the moonlight, was scattering that light inside.

But a clear view wasn’t necessarily a good thing. Because the inside of the temple was filled with things even more bizarre than the horrifying sculptures and ornaments that were outside.

The more I looked at them, the darker my heart felt. So I tried hard to ignore them, but since the inside of the temple was so bright, I couldn’t help but see them.

“It’s that way.”

Barut guided us to a place deep inside the temple, a place that was strangely and particularly dark. When we reached it, an iron door appeared.

It was a very large iron door, and on it was a depiction of a certain demon.

A demon with a human body, a bull’s head and horns, and a double-bladed axe in both hands.

‘Is that… a depiction of a Minotaur?’

My nerves were on edge as I remained vigilant of the temple’s interior. However, Barut opened the iron door without much reaction.

Krrrrrrk—!

The sound of the iron door scraping against the stone floor, and the sound of rusted hinges grinding could be heard. It was an extremely unpleasant sound.

Barut, having opened the door halfway, spoke to me and Grondar.

“I’ll explain since you two don’t know. If you go down here, a rather narrow cave will appear. That is the Minotaur’s dungeon.”

—…….

—…….

“There’s almost no light inside the dungeon. But you don’t have to worry. There isn’t much for you two to do. First, Grondar.”

“Yep!”

“Listen seriously. As you go deeper into the dungeon, a giant iron ball will appear. Your role is to hold that iron ball. Until I, Jereuth, and Philip eliminate all the monsters pouring out of the narrow cave.”

“Got it! But what happens if I drop it?”

“We all die.”

“……What?”

At Barut’s firm and heavy words, Grondar asked back blankly.

I already knew that, but hearing it directly was still honestly surprising.

“Wh-what do you mean by that?”

When Grondar asked, Barut answered calmly.

“If you drop that iron ball before all the monsters are dealt with, the dungeon will be sealed. Then we’ll either starve to death or suffocate.”

—…….

—…….

“But you don’t have to worry. With your strength, Grondar, you can easily hold that iron ball for 30 minutes. And if nothing unusual happens, the monsters in the dungeon can be dealt with in 20 minutes.”

“T-twenty minutes? Dad, what’s with that baseless confidence! Do you even know how many monsters are in the dungeon!”

“Baseless confidence?”

“Baseless confidence?”

“It means ‘confidence without grounds.’ It’s a word kids these days use.”

“My, my.”

Barut let out a hollow laugh as if it was absurd. Then he tapped his shoulder armor and spoke.

It was a crude shoulder armor that looked like a simple thick iron plate with no particular design, but the ringing sound was very clear and clean.

Thump—!

“It’s not baseless confidence. My confidence is right here.”

“…….”

“The last time I came to this dungeon, I couldn’t fight properly because I was holding the iron ball, but this time I can fight. And in a narrow cave path like this dungeon, there is no one who can defeat a Giant.”

***

I already knew through the <Future Diary> that we would conquer the Minotaur’s dungeon.

And since Barut had said something like, “Just trust me,” I knew he was quite confident.

But… I didn’t know it would be to this extent.

—Kweeeek!

—A-a Giant! It’s c-charging!

—B-block it!!

—Don’t push!!

—Run! Run away!

—Move!!!!

—Kiyaaaaaaak!

The situation was this.

As Grondar lifted the iron ball, monsters poured out from deep within the dungeon, just as Barut had said. At first, they were full of confidence.

However, their spirit alone couldn’t overcome the physical difference. The moment Grondar lifted the iron ball, Barut charged towards the monsters at full speed.

A Giant in full iron armor charging. It must have been like the force of a 28-ton truck with broken brakes.

“Iryaaaaaaaah! You guys take care of the Gargoyles!! They’re too fast for me to catch!!”

Barut roared as he charged. The monsters in the narrow cave were holding spears, bows, and swords, but they seemed far from sufficient to pierce Barut’s iron armor and muscles.

Occasionally, some monsters managed to survive by dodging Barut. But they were immediately taken care of by Jereuth and the King. Dealing with monsters already shaken by Barut’s charge seemed too easy for those two.

‘……They don’t need me.’

So what was I doing in the meantime?

I was guarding Grondar, who was holding the iron ball.

Well… it was called ‘guarding,’ but in reality, it was more like keeping Grondar company.

“Wow… that looks fun.”

Grondar, who was shouldering the iron ball next to me, muttered.

“Isn’t that iron ball heavy?”

“It’s okay, more or less. Brother, want to try holding it?”

“……No.”

The moment Grondar put that iron ball down on me, my end would probably change to ‘crushed to death.’ Dying by being pressed by a heavy object, that is.

I couldn’t die so vainly.

“But my back is starting to hurt a bit now. I think I’ve been holding it for about 10 minutes.”

From far away, Barut’s thunderous shouts and the monsters’ screams could still be heard, but it was peaceful here.

It was then.

“Eeeek… human… Giant…!!”

A voice thick with phlegm. A very unpleasant voice.

That must be… an Orc—.

“Eh? An Orc?!”

Grondar made a flustered sound.

“B-brother! What do I do? I can’t move right now?”

I was as flustered as Grondar was.

No, I’m not sure. Was I flustered?

‘……What should I do?’

I had been too relieved. Thanks to the three ‘past heroes’—Barut, Jereuth, and Philip—who were overwhelmingly pushing back the monsters.

And because the <Future Diary> said we conquered the Minotaur’s dungeon.

Wait.

‘……Right, that’s what it said. That we conquered the Minotaur’s dungeon.’

That means.

‘Whatever variable occurs, it was all within the <Future Diary>’s calculations.’

In other words, I could defeat that monster.

Such a thought came to me.

‘In that case… that Orc is not a threat to me at all. It’s already been decided that I won’t get hurt or die here.’

Sreung—.

I drew my sword. Knowing the future where I wouldn’t die to that thing, my fear vanished.

‘I will not die. That Orc is no match for me. As the King taught me, watch the opponent’s movements carefully and aim for the opening. Slice through space.’

***

Sreung—.

Grondar watched Leonardo’s back as he drew his sword and slowly approached the Orc.

Seeing that back, Grondar realized how foolish he had been to panic just a moment ago.

‘R-right. Brother Leo wasn’t scared at all even in front of that giant snake! There’s no way he’d be afraid of a mere Orc!’

An Orc. To him, it wasn’t a difficult opponent. To exaggerate a little, it was a monster that didn’t even require one punch.

However, to a human, a monster was certainly not an easy opponent. Because humans were an inherently weak species.

But Grondar wasn’t worried. Because Leonardo was going to face the Orc without any hesitation, without any fear.

‘Brother Leo must be confident too! I don’t know for sure, but it seems like Brother Leo learned swordsmanship from his dad!’

—The moment Grondar thought that.

“Die… intruder humaaaaan!!”

Did they say a wounded beast is the most fearsome?

The Orc exploded in anger and swung its axe. It charged at Leonardo. Its momentum was extremely fierce.

The momentum was so fierce that even Grondar felt a little nervous.

But then.

Chwak— Chwaak—!

Leonardo swung his sword from the lower left to the upper right diagonally.

That was all Grondar saw.

The same swordsmanship King Philip had used to cut down the Troll they encountered on their way up the mountain.

With that, Leonardo had cut down the Orc.

It was literally a ‘spitting image.’

‘Uh… that was just like the old human man from before?’

But perhaps Leonardo’s training was still lacking?

Unlike the King’s sword, which had bisected the Troll’s body and even cut off its neck, Leonardo’s cut was shallow. Not only did it fail to bisect the Orc’s torso, but it also failed to sever its neck.

However, that alone was enough to defeat the Orc.

Pushuuuk—!

Thud.

The Orc collapsed, pouring blood from its body and neck. It all happened in an instant.

In that moment, Grondar naturally had this thought.

‘Brother Leo… wasn’t just brave. He’s just strong! I’m so glad we became friends!!’

While Grondar’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Leonardo, there is truly nothing left for me to teach you.”

“…….”

“Your sword is sufficient.”

The King’s voice was heard from the darkness.

It was King Philip’s voice, satisfied and proud, yet for some reason, tinged with regret.

“Now let’s go inside. The preparations to seal the Minotaur are complete.”