Chapter 120 : Chapter 120
Chapter 120
“……Is it permissible to transfer that to another person?”
Porzelin narrowed her eyes slightly.
“And you would give it to us?”
Even after hearing Aquila explain that he had met these two during the Founding Festival in Portplum, Porzelin had not entirely lowered her guard.
This was her first time meeting them, after all.
Yet despite the suspicion in her voice, Bejiana answered without the slightest offense.
“Yes. It can be transferred. When you apply for dungeon entry, they give you a waiting ticket. If you bring that to the dungeon, they verify it and allow you inside. It is rather like a restaurant.”
Bejiana glanced toward the Adventurers’ Guild building and shrugged.
“See the people in that line? Some of the unarmed ones scattered among them are here specifically to obtain waiting tickets.”
“Obtain them for what purpose?”
“There are quite a few who buy and sell them.”
This time, it was Aquila who answered.
His black eyes swept over the long line stretching beside them before returning.
“The date and time are fixed, so they sell them for money.”
“……Is there truly a need for that? One need only stand in line.”
“They likely dislike the act itself. If they purchase several tickets, they can enter multiple times without coming all the way here and waiting an entire day.”
Bejiana nodded.
“When you register for entry, there is a small fee. When transferring the ticket, they add a premium on top of that.”
“……Does the guild not prohibit such conduct?”
“No. As long as they let people in according to order and collect their fees, they see no reason to intervene. It has always been that way.”
Heinen wore a look of genuine incomprehension.
Always been that way?
Bejiana glanced once more at the long queue before turning back to them.
“If you join the line now, you will likely enter about five days later. So those who wish to enter sooner purchase tickets. And once those are gone, they line up again…… like that.”
“Then it becomes an endless cycle…….”
Porzelin furrowed her brow.
“Dungeons are profitable in many ways.”
Aquila added dryly.
Not all of this was solely the guild’s fault, but they were the ones allowing even what they could regulate.
Watching the others fall silent, Bejiana scratched her head.
“Um! I may have made it sound improper, but we have used such methods ourselves. Ah, we bought them, not sold them. In our situation…….”
As she began explaining further, Ridim’s expression darkened slightly.
Seeing that face, Aquila recalled meeting them in Portplum and nodded.
“You were expelled from the Adventurers’ Guild.”
“Eh?! H-how did you know?”
Bejiana nearly shouted in surprise, then startled at her own volume and clapped a hand over her mouth.
Ridim’s expression, already gloomy, turned wide-eyed as well.
“You sold dungeon byproducts all the way to Portplum. At that time…… you did not speak particularly kindly of the guild.”
“……Did I? Did I really?”
“I do not remember clearly either, but if it was you, you probably did. Mostly calling them fools or other cheap insults…….”
At the word cheap, Bejiana shot Ridim a glare and quickly changed the subject.
“In any case, yes. So about the transfer…… but perhaps we should move elsewhere? It feels awkward discussing this in the middle of the street.”
The conversation had grown lengthy, and it was hardly appropriate for the path frequented by adventurers.
When the other four nodded, Bejiana pointed to a building diagonally across from the guild.
“Let us go over there! We can have a simple meal, and if we sit outside, we will see the two who went into the guild as soon as they come out.”
Without waiting for a response, she strode ahead.
***
“So! If a party leader with a high rank holds the registration certificate and the waiting ticket, they can enter immediately. There are people here who have traveled across the continent and are known by face, so we slipped into their parties a few times.”
Bejiana explained clearly.
She and Ridim were seasoned veterans when it came to exploration, and through their connections, they had managed to enter the dungeon despite their expulsion.
She did not elaborate on the reason for their removal, though she did not forget to append a few complaints about the guild.
“Oh, right. I remember writing in my last letter that we suspected it to be an undead monster, but I do not think I described the dungeon’s interior, did I?”
“No. I have not seen such details.”
“……An undead monster?”
Unlike Aquila’s calm response, Heinen and Porzelin reacted with surprise.
Aside from knowing Aquila was interested, they had heard nothing about the dungeon.
Bejiana cast Aquila a look that seemed to say, You told them nothing? before nodding.
“Yes. An undead monster with incredibly hard scales. There is still debate over whether it is a serpent or a wyvern, but judging by the characteristics recorded in books, it is clearly a dragon. Though many insist that cannot be.”
“A dragon?”
Porzelin turned to Aquila in alarm.
He had not mentioned that at all.
“……Are we to face a dragon?”
Heinen was equally unsettled.
A dragon was an ancient being that had directly created magic. The last dragon said to walk the earth, the ancient dragon Igdrein, stood shoulder to shoulder with the gods.
“It has already died once. It has neither flesh nor blood—only condensed mana within a core animates it…… but that explanation can wait.”
Aquila shook his head as if to say it was not what they imagined.
“More importantly, what is the interior structure like?”
“Ah. Most dungeons are magical spaces, so even if the terrain is unusual, they still resemble the outside world. The former Black Forest Dungeon was like the Washerd Forest—dense with undergrowth and divided into sections.”
Bejiana tore a small piece of bread, dipped it into her soup, and thought for a moment.
“But now it is like a vast cavern.”
“A cavern?”
“Yes. Like a hall? I suppose the exterior forest terrain does not matter since it is indoors. And inside, the monster is simply there alone.”
As she tilted her head, Aquila asked,
“There were no inscriptions in ancient language?”
“Ah, yes! That is the strangest part! We walked all the way to confirm there were walls, but it was sealed on all sides. No trial inscriptions, nothing!”
“That is correct. There was not even a single torch—it was pitch dark.”
Ridim added while swallowing his tea.
“I cannot imagine what it felt like for those who lit a lamp and immediately saw the head of a sleeping monster.”
He shuddered slightly.
‘A Demonic Dragon alone in a vast cavern…….’
Aquila narrowed his eyes at the untouched coffee before him.
Dungeons, akin to ancient ruins, usually contained magical formulas, words of encouragement for challengers, or warnings.
The absence of such markings was certainly strange.
‘In the haste to shove a Demonic Dragon that was meant to awaken in the Egoril Mountain Range into a dungeon, was there no suitable dungeon prepared for it?’
Aquila’s brow creased faintly.
“I have heard repeatedly that it does not awaken. Has it truly never stirred?”
“No. At first everyone hesitated, fearing it might awaken. Now they try every method to rouse it, yet it does not move at all.”
“Asleep…….”
Heinen murmured.
“The one that appeared in the Black Forest Dungeon also emerged abruptly. Could it be sleeping to acclimate itself to its surroundings?”
Porzelin quietly added, recalling the magical beast Fenrir as Heinen did.
Was the monster in the dungeon merely waiting?
“I cannot say. The dungeon itself has existed for some time.”
Aquila responded vaguely.
He could hardly state that the monster was waiting for him, the player.
“Hmm? I have been wanting to ask what exactly you all seem to know. Should I charge an information fee?”
Bejiana, brimming with curiosity, popped the last of her bread into her mouth and brushed her hands together.
“In any case! The dungeon interior was more uneventful than expected, so we simply waited for the monster to awaken. But since it neither awakens nor changes, we decided to withdraw. Aside from subjugating it, there are no rare materials to obtain.”
Her letter had reached Igrail just before Aquila departed for the capital of Denimarad.
Considering the travel time of correspondence, she must have remained here for quite a while.
Aquila nodded in understanding.
“So you will give us the waiting ticket?”
“Yes. If someone in line truly intended to enter, we would have sold it, but it is better to give it to someone we know. Is that not right, Ridim?”
“Yes, well, that is true…… but are you certain it is safe for you to enter?”
Knowing Aquila’s true identity, Ridim glanced nervously at his black hair.
“I have some time before returning. And since I am here, I am curious. My father once traveled the continent as well.”
Aquila answered shamelessly and took a sip of coffee.
“Ah, right. The current head of House Reschenhardt—”
“At your age, it is natural to yearn for adventure!”
Ridim, recalling Lexenbert Fad Reschenhardt, and Bejiana, thinking only of adventure, nodded in agreement.
They seemed to have reached their own conclusion.
Aquila received brief glances from Porzelin and Heinen but ignored them.
Bejiana handed him the waiting ticket.
“Two days from now, at five-thirty in the afternoon. If you arrive at the Black Forest Dungeon on time, you should be allowed entry.”
“Thank you. Is it truly acceptable to simply hand it over?”
“Yes. That is how it should be.”
She smiled brightly.
“Phew! Then we will remain in Banahan only for today. If you require anything else, find us before then!”
Bejiana scraped her soup bowl clean and sprang to her feet.
Or rather, she attempted to.
Aquila seized the moment and stopped them.
“If you know a skilled archer, I would appreciate an introduction.”
He could not afford to ignore the network of someone who had stayed here long.
Bejiana blinked.
“……An archer? To add to your party?”
“Yes. Preferably someone with excellent accuracy.”
“Oh? That is unexpected. You are not looking for a mage?”
“No, that will not be necessary.”
Aquila, who filled that role himself, nodded.
“……Ah! What about them? Were they not looking for a party as well?”
It was Ridim who answered first.
Apparently someone had come to mind.
‘Them?’
As Aquila pondered, Bejiana clapped her hands.
“Ah! If it is them! They said they would go to the guild at noon today, so later—oh!”
While glancing toward the Adventurers’ Guild from the outdoor seating area, Bejiana suddenly exclaimed.
“Wow! What timing—they are right there!”
Ridim leapt to his feet as well.
The two raised their arms high and waved energetically to attract attention, apparently intending to introduce them immediately.
Bejiana shouted loudly.
“Ark!”