Chapter 12
Chapter 12:The Queen of Dreams (2)
The wilderness map was stifling and suffocating no matter how you looked at it, so we rested on the first floor.
Yuna splashing around in the water by the riverside with her shoes off, Silen lounging lazily beneath a wooden pillar. It was, in the truest sense of the word, a peaceful everyday scene.
At some point, having played to their hearts' content, they ate the leftover bread in place of snacks and we settled into idle conversation.
"Master. I have two things I'm curious about."
"Ask away."
"First—how do we return once we go deeper in? Up to the second floor it's manageable enough on foot, but... active adventurers go down to the eightieth floor, don't they? I don't imagine daily returns are possible."
"There are two answers to that. The first is to stock up on Return Stones—expensive as they come. The second is to recruit a mage into the party to use Return Magic."
"The second option sounds cheaper!"
"Not necessarily. Return refers to spatial-type magic. A mage capable of transferring across dozens of floors in a single cast is either someone who's gone mad over spatial magic, or a mage who has Transcended."
"Goodness.... So does that mean you can't go home?"
"Academy students can receive permission for overnight stays inside the dungeon freely, provided they submit their reports."
"Is that so?! I had no idea!"
"Wait, so I'd have to spend the night with this old man? Absolutely not. No matter what, I'm going to aim for same-day returns!"
"Haha...."
"Why are you laughing?"
"Nothing. A former companion of mine said something similar once. That if they had to live inside some filthy dungeon for days on end without bathing, they'd rather die."
"Ah, now that you mention it, Mister... you said you were quite the remarkable adventurer."
"I was. I've toured every grand dungeon across the continent at least once, and I have combat experience as well."
"Even for you, Mister, that sounds like an awful lot of boasting...."
"Mm. Think of it as boasting if you like."
"Master! I don't think it's boasting at all! So please, tell us about your adventures!"
"Mm.... There's nothing worth calling tales of valor, really. I am a rear-support role, after all."
At those words, the two of them made no effort to hide their disappointment.
Explaining everything I'd gotten up to as a mage would be endless, but right now I'm pushing the culinary researcher profession with full commitment. Sorry, but I won't be able to give you the tales of valor you're hoping for.
That said, completely shattering the expectations of children eager to hear vivid firsthand stories from an adult isn't something a decent adult should do either.
"Then shall we head out for another hunt on the second floor."
"R-right now, today, you say? Won't that be quite difficult?"
"Does tormenting kids count as your hobby, Mister? Awful. Pervert. Trash."
"Haha. But once that's done, I'll tell you something rather entertaining."
At my words, the two of them quickened their pace.
There were a staggering number of stories a working adventurer could tell, but the ones I could share while keeping my true profession hidden were fewer than I'd expected.
I carefully selected what to say as I headed toward the second floor.
.
.
.
.
The Rocket Chicken hunt continued smoothly after that.
What I wanted today was a good harvest of eggs.
Eggs in particular. This ingredient is the ultimate cheat among cheats—it goes with absolutely any dish.
You can boil them into a soup, dissolve thin noodles into that soup.
I'd gotten tomatoes, so I could make a tomato-and-egg stir-fry, or whip up a meringue.
The most perfect ingredient capable of becoming anything.
The one problem is that its shelf life is short, of course... but even so, there were far too many dishes I wanted to try, and so I decided to gather as many eggs as possible.
And so—over twenty of them each. In other words, twice the Rocket Chickens from this morning, dealt with, and now the eggs were piled before me. That alone made four trays of eggs. Anything was possible. Anything could be made.
"This should be enough for now. Is there anything you feel like eating?"
"Something easy to snack on would be great! As long as it's something we can eat while listening to Master's adventure stories, anything works!"
"Then let's start by boiling some. After that, we could mash them and make a salad to put on bread, or make something else as well."
A full tray of eggs was boiled, and the remaining tomato-and-egg stir-fry was made too. Egg toast was grilled again and scrambled eggs were prepared as well.
A full spread was laid out, and everyone ate with delight.
"Is it good?"
"Mm-hm!"
"Glad to hear it. Then let's finish up and clean away."
"Master!"
And in the middle of the meal, Yuna raised her hand briskly.
"I love eating and I love listening to adventure stories. So please don't forget about the adventure stories!"
"Mister. You said you were a top-notch adventurer—I'd think of it as a good opportunity to get on good terms with the great future hero, Silen Artre."
"Alright, alright. Adventure stories, huh.... Nothing I'd call adventure stories, but let me tell you a few things you should watch out for in the dungeon. Look over there. Do you see the boss room?"
What I pointed to was a rippling mist.
Step past that, and the boss room would be right there. Beyond that would be the third floor.
"That boss room belongs to the second floor, yet at the same time it doesn't. It is a great root."
"A great root?"
"Right. Let me explain."
I drew a tree upside-down on the ground—trunk pointing downward, roots pointing upward.
"There is a hypothesis recently emerging from the Adventurers' Guild, one that is simultaneously regarded as the prevailing theory. The idea is that all dungeons were originally built this way—that these fine branching roots represent floors 1 through approximately 100, and that from floor 101 onward, there exists an Abyss Dungeon where everything converges into a single path."
In reality it was from floor 121 onward. From there to the deepest floor, the dungeons merged into one, and beneath that was where the Demon King resided. But this world hadn't fully researched that territory yet. I explained using the "latest theory" as a basis.
"How did anyone figure that out? Humanity has only reached just past the eightieth floor.... Did someone find out through a detection skill?"
"No. They reverse-detected the energy rising from beneath the dungeon. With each floor deeper into the dungeon, a more intense energy rises upward. By reverse-detecting that, they managed to get a rough grasp of the dungeon's structure."
"Energy? What kind of energy?"
"Dark energy. The energy of Demons."
At my words, both of them stiffened noticeably.
"Demons.... So they really exist. The idea of Demons.... I'd heard about them a lot in fairy tales as a child...."
"Me too. My mom would scare me a lot by saying Demons from the dungeon would come and take me away if I misbehaved...."
"It wouldn't be a lie. Demons truly abduct humans and drag them into dungeons."
Both of their complexions went pale and rigid.
"M-Master. Even if you're trying to scare me, I-I am not scared"
"R-right. Mister's talking like he's actually met a Demon before...."
"I have. Demons appear at random inside boss rooms of dungeons below the fiftieth floor."
"Really...? Then why do they only come out in boss rooms?"
"I said a grand dungeon is like an upside-down tree, right? If the deepest abyss is the top of the tree, then what would the surface be?"
"Well, that'd be the roots of the tree."
"Correct. And to proceed to the next floor, adventurers must inevitably pass through the boss room. It's the most dangerous location, and the place where dark energy is most concentrated. Simply put, only the boss rooms are the roots of the tree, and the general field areas may as well be treated as soil near those roots. That's precisely why Demons appear there."
"Mister. Have you actually met a Demon before? What do they look like?"
"The Demons I've encountered, you ask? Mm...."
Even without using the original game as a reference, during my time in Thunder Strike I'd encountered many Demons and dispatched most of them. There were a few Demons we hadn't been able to kill.
"Before I tell you about the ones I met, let me talk about the general values Demons hold. Demons see humans as nothing more than livestock."
"...What? Livestock?"
"They eat humans?"
"Yes. Werewolves are fond of bones, vampires are fond of blood, and Slaughterers are fond of flesh. Succubi drain vital essence. They prepare humans and devour them however they please."
"D-Demons are said to possess the intelligence to converse with humans, and yet... they eat them?"
"Humans talk to the cows they've raised and cared for, and yet the cow still ends up on the dinner table. Humans say itadakimasu before a meal as a gesture of gratitude to their ingredients without actually speaking to them first. There's no difference whatsoever. They harbor no hesitation in eating humans, and conversing with one's food is nothing more than the most depraved of eccentric hobbies."
Yuna was left speechless, while Silen, slightly shocked, asked:
"Then you, Mister... you've actually witnessed it...?"
"I have. Both Demons, and humans who were devoured by Demons—I've seen both with my own eyes. So you two, be careful once you're past the fiftieth floor."
At my words, the two of them finally let out a breath of relief.
The fiftieth floor was still unimaginably far off. There'd be no chance of encountering Demons.
If they follow my training methods between now and then, they should each be able to handle a Demon or two.
Though one thing that does weigh on me is that we had only taken down most Demons—we hadn't eliminated every last one.
The Demon we encountered first, and would go on to encounter many times thereafter.
The Lord of the Dark Night.
One of the Demon King's Four Heavenly Kings and Queen of the Dream Night—Demociela.
The Four Heavenly Kings could leave "boss rooms" under their own power.
Of course their strength dropped considerably in the general field, but even so, they were by no means to be taken lightly.
Still—surely, that lunatic wouldn't appear on the first floor of Demeter Dungeon.
I just needed to live out a peaceful everyday life here.
Good. Today and tomorrow and the day after—tranquil item farming days.
"Alright then. Let's clean up after the meal and—tch."
In that instant.
A cold gaze prickled against my back.
We had come up from the second floor, which meant that behind me now was Demeter Dungeon's "first floor boss room."
People often say they can feel someone's gaze, but that is ultimately nothing more than a figure of speech. A gaze is neither light nor a wave, nor a heat source. It possesses no detectable energy. And yet to be able to feel a gaze means that the one directing it is a monster capable of warping the very fabric of the world to imbue that gaze with force and meaning.
I stopped speaking, took a deep breath, and rolled my shoulders.
"Master. What's wrong?"
"Mister. Aren't we leaving?"
Yuna and Silen didn't seem to sense the gaze at all.
Which meant it was calling out to me alone.
"I have something I need to take care of, so you two head home first."
"H-huh? Then we'll help too. Master!"
"Yeah. Mister. We'll help too."
"Listen to what I say. Go back to the dormitory right now. Don't look back no matter what, and just run straight toward the dormitory. Understood?"
"Master...?"
"What's wrong?"
"Hurry. Go. This is something I have to handle alone. Alright? This is coming from me, the one who came here as your guide."
Cold sweat ran down my back, but I spoke with as composed a face as I could manage. The ever-loyal Yuna smiled and bowed.
"Yes! Master. I'll see you tomorrow! Come on, Silen!"
"Huh? Wait. Stop dragging me!"
"Master. Then we'll be off. See you tomorrow!"
Yuna smiled and gave a polite bow, then withdrew together with Silen.
"Well then. Since I've been given an invitation, I suppose I ought to respond to it."
What was calling me was from inside the boss room.
I slowly moved my feet, and the moment I stepped in, the map transformed.
The landscape that had been a meadow changed into a noble's bedchamber messily splashed with black and red.
Hundreds of torch stands were embedded in the walls, and every single one ignited simultaneously.
This staging. This manner of entry. This room.
How could I not know?
"You lunatic. You tracked me all the way here?"
At my words, the figure lying on the bed threw back the covers, stretched out languidly, and spoke in a drowsy voice.
"My, my.... If you come barging into someone's bedroom like this, even I need a little time to prepare myself, you know?"
"......"
"Of course, I love a forceful man too. My love. My Mastermage."
At that shameless display, I found myself clenching my fist before I even realized it.
One of the Four Heavenly Kings.
Queen of the Dream Night—Demociela.
Without question, a "monster" who had achieved Transcendence.
A being the current me could not defeat no matter how heaven and earth were overturned.
"Demociela. What happened to Thunder Strike?"
"Ah. The hamsters? I shook their cage around a bit, and they vomited on the spot and burst into tears."
"Did you kill all of them...?"
"No? Why would I? I'm not a hamster-slaughterer. With a proper year of recuperation, they'll be completely fine."
"......"
"Ah. That's not all you're wondering about, is it? Don't worry. I didn't eat a single one of them. You want to know why? Don't ask a maiden something so embarrassing. The chaste and virtuous and pure Demociela belongs to you and you alone."
Lunatic.
A proper, full-blown lunatic.
Thunder Strike might have been an insufferable excuse for a party, but there was a strange sense of relief in knowing they hadn't died.
Alright. Let's think.
"So. That means this time, I'm the one laid up for a year."
"No? You really think I'd let you off after a mere year? We're setting off together for an eternal dream world. Aah. My love. My Mastermage.... Only you have the right to defile and wound me."
But not knowing how to fight is different from being unable to win.
I knew how to go up against this Queen of the Dream Night.
I took a deep breath and looked inward, pouring my focus to cast all my magic.
"If you fight me, Yujin will die. Is that alright?"
My magic possesses two affinities—"Elemental" and "Spatial."
First, I cut space, and fill that entire space with elements. Then I divide the space into infinitely fine fragments, and trigger a chain explosion.
Which would mean certain death for me.
"But this 'explosion' will undoubtedly reach Master. After that—well, I suppose it'd be like telling her to have one good proper fight with you herself."
"Ugh.... The last person I want to deal with is that old woman...."
"Pass along my regards to your Master when you see her. 【Magic Formation Deployed】"
"I surrender."
"......What?"
"I lost. Aah. Yujin Mastermage's magic is so overwhelming that I've been~de~feat~ed."
"What kind of scheme is this?"
"Losing to the man I love and then being forcibly subjected to humiliating things—yet being subjected to it this way is also love. And the Yujin who lusted after my body, regretting having stolen my purity while captivated by my chastity and virtue, falls into true love with me—this is where we begin, from conditioning onward, pure love!"
Smiling brightly, Demociela withdrew her dark energy.
Not a single trace of dark energy could be felt coming from her body. In contrast, my magical power was at the brink of full deployment. Meaning the other side had genuinely stood down.
This meant my preemptive strike would be unconditionally faster.
"What's your real intention, Dream Night?"
"Hmm, now. I'd rather hear Yujin's story instead. What on earth were you thinking, leaving Thunder Strike?"
"Should I have to tell you?"
"Oh come on. You could tell me, couldn't you? You said you'd come to kill me. 'Yujin! Come kill me!'—and Yujin said 'I'll kill you.' and made a promise, didn't he? And then suddenly you disappear from Hephaestus. Of all places, the spot you end up at is this Demeter. The hamsters from Thunder Strike know nothing. I thought I was going to go insane wondering what you were thinking."
"......"
"So. Today is a genuine heart-to-heart. Well, you could drop the "heart" part—actually no, hmm.... How about it? Dive together?"
My head started to throb.
Is this lunatic saying she came all the way to Demeter just to hear what I have to say?
And if she couldn't get a satisfying answer, she wouldn't leave.
"It's a bit lacking for a conversation—no table, no cup of tea. Let's do this another time."
"How about doing it together on the bed?!"
Grabbing my throbbing head, I pulled a table and chairs out from my Subspace—and she burst out laughing, clutching her stomach.
I genuinely want to kill her.
I truly do.