Volume 10, Chapter 08 “Lord of the Old Castle”
Volume 10, Chapter 08 “Lord of the Old Castle”
Part 1
Running through the corridors of the underground dungeon were Ange and her party, led by Creare.
Creare flashes a blue lens to determine the shortest route to the treasure’s location.
[This way!]
Creare chose a detour course with many turns, but this helped them avoid unnecessary battles.
When Ange glanced behind her, she saw that Noel, who had been running for some time, was struggling a great deal.
Although her rehabilitation has been completed, she has not fully recovered her physical strength.
In addition, she was inevitably inferior in physical strength compared to Ange and other nobles of the kingdom.
Ange, who has been trained since she was a child, has different physical strengths to begin with.
And the problem is Livia.
“I-I can’t do it anymore.”
Her breathing was more erratic and she seemed to be in more pain than Noel.
Ange slowed down and began walking.
(The two of them cannot take much more of this, huh)
If it were just herself, she could still run, but the other two were at their limits.
“Break time. Creare, is there somewhere we can rest?”
When Ange suggested they take a break, Livia and Noel stumbled over to the wall and leaned against it.
Creare, who was watching the situation, says in a tedious manner.
[We’ll be fine here. There are no enemies nearby and no traps. But we’ve lost so much time, we’ll have to recalculate our route again. And, aside from Noel-chan, doesn’t Livia-chan seem to have too little stamina?]
Regulating her disordered breathing, Livia makes excuses with a pained look on her face.
“I-I’m an indoor ―― person.”
If she wanted to, she could concentrate for hours on her studies, but running around outside was not something she was very good at.
Ange puts her hand on her forehead and chuckles in a troubled way.
“That’s why I told you to work out. Physical fitness is basic.”
Noel, who is sweating, argues with Ange, who says that this level is normal.
“I was physically active in the Republic, too, but people in the Kingdom are strange. We have already run many kilometers and you don’t look tired at all.”
If this was just a run, Noel and Livia could have run more.
But now they wore armor for protection and had weapons.
Adding the tools needed for dungeon exploration, it becomes quite heavy.
From Noel’s point of view, it was hard to believe that Ange, who had run many kilometers with weights on her back, did not look tired.
In front of the two of them, who are out of breath and struggling, Ange wonders.
“If you are tired at this level, you can’t be an adventurer.”
“It’s absolutely ridiculous!”
As soon as the two of them are breathing calmly, Ange begins to walk and move on.
What began there was three of them complaining about Leon.
Ange was smiling, but angry about the hidden passageway.
“He’s a truly troubling guy. He goes out of his way to pretend to play fair, but he himself is determined to win. We were all fooled.”
Livia was similarly angry, but for different reasons.
“Thanks to that, we were able to go deeper. Then we were told there was a hidden passageway and we had to go back the way we came.”
Livia, who was not good at exercising, was not happy about being forced to run for nothing.
Noel, like Livia, resents being made to run, but more than that, he complains about Leon’s attitude.
“In the beginning, he had the attitude of a fair fight, didn’t he?! What’s more, what about us?!”
Creare, happily watching the three making noise, happily joins the conversation.
[Master doesn’t cut corners, even when it comes to his fiancées.]
Ange hears that and smiles gently.
“I underestimated how serious he was.”
Perhaps wondering about Ange, Creare asks her.
[You look happy. How can you smile? We were deceived, you know.]
“Because he really competed with us seriously.”
The hidden passageway thing just didn’t satisfy them, but Ange also understood that it was a way to win the game.
And she was happy that Leon was serious about competing with them.
“I always felt sheltered and treated gently, as if I were a princess.”
[You didn’t like that, right.]
“I don’t know? I was happy about it. But just looking at the important moments makes me doubt if I am really needed. ――In fact, sometimes I think Leon would have lived more peacefully without me”
Livia, following behind, scolds the faint-hearted Ange.
“That’s not true! Ange is holding on too much. The only reason Leon-san can’t live in peace is――”
Knowing the reasons why Leon could not live in peace, Livia was hesitant to speak her words to the end.
When they fall silent, the silence continues, and Noel, unable to bear it, speaks up to continue.
“Well, because he’s meddlesome. Thanks to that, I was saved, too.”
Leon cannot live peacefully because he is meddlesome.
If he had ignored them and acted with his own personal safety in mind, he would not be a hero today.
But if he had done that, he would have been with three people. No, he would not have been able to get to know many more people.
Ange reveals her true feelings.
“I don’t want to get in his way. I just want him to be happy, but my presence gets him into unnecessary conflicts.”
One of the reasons why Ange does not want to involve Leon in the conflict is that he has made it clear that he does not want to get involved.
The other is because Leon is mentally cornered.
Noel looks at Livia.
“――He hasn’t reduced his dosage, has he?”
Livia gives a small nod and looks at Creare.
“It hasn’t changed since he came back from his study abroad. Are-chan, isn’t that right?”
But Creare did not answer.
[Master has ordered me to stop answering that question.]
Unlike her previous joking attitude, her words now seemed straightforward.
The master of Creare is Leon, and when push comes to shove, it is Leon who has priority.
The three of them walked in silence for a while, led by Creare, and must have entered a hidden passageway at some point.
The sounds of battle can be heard from Julius and his group, who seem to have entered first.
Ange holds the rifle in her hand.
“I want to avoid friendly fire. You guys, don’t attack in haste.”
Since they were moving through dimly lit corridors, there was a danger of friendly fire if they used guns.
When Livia and Noel nodded, the blue lens of Creare flashed.
[――There’s a route to the inner area without making contact. Follow me]
The three follow Creare as she moves ahead.
Occasionally, men’s screams can be heard mixed in with the sounds of battle.
Sometimes there are voices that say, “I’ll never forgive those guys!”.
When Ange and her party continued on, they found a passageway closed to the ice.
Livia approaches the ice.
“Is this some kind of a mechanism? Is there a treasure up ahead?”
Livia is concerned about the blocked passageway, but Creare tells her to ignore it.
[Ah, you’re wrong. Jilk just blocked it off, so don’t worry about it and let’s move on.]
When Jilk’s name was mentioned, Noel tilted her head.
“Jilk-san did? Why did he block it?”
To Noel, who was wondering, Ange had a cold face because she had a guess.
“He must have thought there was treasure there anyway, so he closed it off. He’s a coward scumbag, that’s why.”
Livia agrees with her.
“He hasn’t changed since the first year, has he.”
Noel follows two of them as they go ahead.
“Indeed, he’s a bit of a coward, but is he really that coward?”
When asked, Livia recounts Jilk’s misdeeds with a blank look on her face.
“He’s the kind of guy who would secretly plant a bomb in his opponent’s armor in a duel. There are many others, such as not meeting the woman he had broken off an engagement with.”
“Jilk-san, he is worse than I thought”
Noel has also seen Jilk in the Republic, which annoys Marie.
But it was even more unscrupulous than she thought, so she was surprised about it.
Ange also speaks of Jilk’s evaluation with a blank expression.
“All five of them are problem boys, but I’m sure that he is one piece of trash who is no laughing matter.”
And so, as soon as the topic of Jilk is over, the three come to the suspicious door.
But the door was open, allowing them to peek inside.
The underground dungeon was supposed to be dimly lit, but that room was the only one that glittered with gold.
The golden room itself is where the treasure was found, but the three were more surprised than pleased.
Ange shouts.
“Leon ?!”
When the three of them and Creare ran into the room, they found Leon fighting an enemy that appeared to be an undead monster.
An undead monster with a head like an animal skull and wearing black robes.
Big and long for its body, each hand was golden in color.
There is no lower body and it is floating in the air.
It would be about three meters in size.
It was flying around a very large room.
Leon noticed the arrival of Ange and her party and had a subtle, indescribable look on his face.
.
Part 2
While dealing with the boss monster guarding the room with the treasure, Ange and her party arrived instead of the five fools.
I felt that I had spent too much time on it, and I wondered if they would be angry at me for deceiving them.
Ange, with her rifle at the ready, pulled the trigger on the flying boss monster.
Boss monsters hide behind pillars to avoid bullets.
This room, built entirely of gold, has a throne-like object.
A throne in a basement makes no sense, but this is surely where the treasure lies.
As I recall, there was definitely a throne, but it wasn’t this shiny golden room, though.
It should have been the same dimly lit room as before.
Livia approaches me and checks for injuries.
“Leon-san, are you injured?”
“No problem”
Noel also comes to my side and looks up at the boss monster, who is clinging to a pillar and hiding to see what’s going on.
“It looks so strong. Can you beat it?”
I wish I could have beaten it quickly, but unfortunately I couldn’t.
I don’t think I can lose, but I didn’t bring the best equipment nonetheless.
“I’m not going to lose, but I doubt I’m going to win. If this is the case, I should have brought my shotgun.”
I’m thinking I’ve failed, and Luxion blames me, whining at this point, saying ‘that’s why I told you’.
[When being asked for advice on what weapon to bring, I recommended a shotgun.]
“I thought I didn’t need it at that time!”
I didn’t actually use it much when I was conquering in that Otome game.
As I was arguing with Luxion, the boss monster jumped out of the pillar and attacked us.
Ange attacks with a rifle, but it seems that a single bullet is not enough to finish it off.
It did not do much damage, just a puff of smoke from the spot where it hit.
“Chi!”
When I threw the grenade-shaped magic tool I had brought to the ground, it exploded and the purified holy water spread around me like a mist.
Seeing that, the boss monster distances itself from us.
Ange was loading bullets skillfully as she approached me.
“Holy water? How many left?”
When I touched the belt to check the remaining number, there was only one left.
“One left”
Ange keeps her eyes on the boss monster and asks me for advice on how to beat it.
“Should we spread out and keep attacking?”
“There’s not a lot of bullets, and Livia and Noel are using handguns, to begin with, so I don’t know if that’s possible?”
Neither Livia nor Noel are good when it comes to handling guns.
It would be foolish to force them to defeat it, so as I was thinking about retreating, Noel tapped me lightly on the back.
“I have this.”
When I turned only my face, I saw that Noel was holding a tree branch and a few leaves in her hand.
Did she pick it up from somewhere? The question did not occur to me.
Because when Noel had it in her hand, I realized it was a Sacred Tree thing.
“Did you rip it off from Sapling-chan?”
“You’re wrong! This twig is the one that had fallen off! As for the leaves, I asked Yumeria-san to pluck them for me.”
It seems that Yumeria-san plucked it and Kyle delivered it to Noel.
“Can it be used?”
“I am still a priestess. Or, rather, do you want to use it too, Leon? You forgot you’re a guardian, didn’t you?”
I thought that being a guardian had few advantages and a weird bruise on my right hand only.
“I don’t know how to use it.”
“I can’t help but wonder how you became a guardian”
For now, I understand that Noel has some means of attack here as well.
When I glanced at Livia, her cheeks were puffed out.
“I also don’t have a problem. I’m good at magic, don’t you remember?”
“Right.”
Once the conversation is settled, Ange gives the instructions.
“If so, scatter in all directions and launch an attack. If it becomes dangerous, join the other immediately.”
When everyone nodded, we scattered and began our attack.
The first to move was Noel.
“Sacred Tree, lend me your strength!”
When she threw a tree branch she was holding, it swelled up in the air and became huge.
As it is, it moves in an undulating manner, entangling itself with the boss monster and attempting to block its movement.
“Yoshi!”
Noel makes guts pose, but when the boss monster touched a giant tree branch, it turned gold from that spot.
“That’s not fair!”
As soon as Noel shouts, the giant tree branch turns into a gold nugget and shatters into pieces.
But it was enough to buy time.
“No problem”
At a distance, Livia made two magic circles appear, and flames emerged from one of them.
From the other side, the wind blows out, and when combined, the flames gain momentum and attack the boss monster.
“What’s that? I don’t know what that is.”
When I say I don’t know the magic of Livia, Luxion, who was by my side, explains it to me.
[It’s not advanced magic. It seems to be a combination of two types of magic. It’s an advanced technology that reduces the consumption of magic and increases its power.]
Wah~, it’s awesome.
I’m impressed and pull the trigger on the boss monster with my rifle.
The boss monster, writhing in flames, opened its mouth wide toward the ceiling and let out an eerie cry.
Perhaps to escape the flames, the boss monster descends to the floor.
It was almost as if it had fallen, or maybe it fell to the floor, and that’s where Ange was.
“Don’t think I’m going to let you get away!”
Holding her left hand out in front of her and clasping her open hand, a magic circle appears on the floor where the boss monster has fallen.
The magic circle, drawn with glowing red lines, was intricate and huge.
The pillars of flame that erupted from there reached the ceiling.
The boss monster is lifted by momentum and slammed into the ceiling.
Ange speaks to the boss monster.
“It’s a pillar of fire. It’ll work on you, you undead monster, won’t it?”
No answer was returned, but that was understood by Ange.
When the pillar of flame disappears, the boss monster falls again.
But the boss monster tries to stand up with its hands on the floor.
Ange quickly readies her rifle and pulls the trigger, but still, the boss monster shows no sign of disappearing.
Ange mutters at the sight.
“So stubborn”
Livia also began to prepare her magic, and Noel’s seemed intent on doing something with the leaves in her hands.
When I was looking at it, Luxion was amazed at me.
[Why don’t you put an end?]
“No――they’re all very strong”
Did I still think somewhere that I should be protecting Ange and the others, that they were weak?
And when they show themselves to be so strong and fierce, I feel like there was no need for me to protect them.
Even without me――.
[Master]
――I was called while I was thinking, and I raised my face.
Shaking my head, I turned my attention to the boss monster.
“I’m sorry, but I have to take it down.”
I threw a holy water bomb at the boss monster, which tried to jump up again, and when it burst, it spread out in a mist.
It erodes the surface of the boss monster.
I put my rifle on the floor and started running, drawing the sword that I had slung at my waist.
The sword, more carefully crafted than the weapons I gave the others, was prepared for me by Luxion. It is more effective against the undead than the others.
When I tried to approach the boss monster, it extended its golden hand.
Then Noel throws a leaf she was holding to support me.
“I won’t let you!”
The leaves responded to the will of Noel, the priestess, and attacked the boss monster that she had designated as her enemy.
When leaves accelerated in the air stick to the boss monster, tree roots and ivy entangle it and stop it from moving.
The boss monster tore them apart, but it was enough to buy time.
“That’s a big help!”
I thanked her, jumped on the boss monster, and drove my sword through its head.
As expected, the boss monster could not withstand this and blew out smoke from the stabbed area.
The body begins to crumble and the boss monster disappears in a puff of smoke.
“Ah~, it’s over”
Relieved that the boss monster has finally been defeated, Ange shouts when she notices something strange in the room.
“Oi, something’s wrong!”
Like Ange said.
The golden room was dazzlingly bright, but as soon as the lord of the old castle disappeared, the gold was gone.
When the throne room, made of the same material as the underground passageway, came into view, this one looked more like the view from that otome game.
Ange is disappointed by the situation.
“Was it all just a charade? What a mess”
If one large room really was made of gold, it would have been worth a lot.
But unfortunately, when the boss monster disappeared, everything disappeared.
Noel approaches Ange, who slumps her shoulders and looks disappointed, and calls out to her.
“We managed to beat it without injury, so it was good.”
“――I wanted the treasure.”
Contrary to the dejected Ange, Livia was excited and interested.
“Was the monster turning this room into gold? When you think about it, that’s an amazing monster. I’ve never heard of anything like this before.”
I leave the three of them alone and head for the back side of the throne.
What was there was supposed to be a treasure chest, but.
“A coffin?”
For some reason, it was a coffin that had been set up.
As I was puzzled, Ange and the others came and noticed the coffin.
“It’s a treasure chest typical of this dungeon. Shall we open it?”
“Eh ?! You’re going to open it? Isn’t that scary?!”
When I get flustered, Livia puts her hand on her chin and starts thinking.
“Part of it is scary and it would be rude if someone’s body was there.”
Then Noel looked at Creare.
“Do you know what’s inside?”
[Judging from the reaction, it is precious metals]
Upon hearing that, Ange puts her hand on the coffin.
“Then I’ll open it.”
From my point of view, it’s scary and feels like it’s cursed, even though I’m not comfortable with it.
My eyes widen when I see the contents of the opened coffin.
“This isn’t really a person, is it?”
Inside the coffin, for some reason, was gold in the form of a woman.
She has her hands folded over her stomach as if in prayer, and her eyes are closed.
It looks as if it is about to wake up at any moment and is surrounded by flowers and ornaments made of gold, silver, and jewels.
It was as if a truly beautiful woman was sleeping.
Luxion flashes his red lens to analyze.
[It’s gold. It’s not a person]
“That boss monster could have turned her into gold, right.”
[If so, she should be back to normal.]
“Well, that’s right, but. ――Could that boss monster with the horse skull have been guarding this?”
[I don’t think the monster has that habit. Also, that head was a donkey, not a horse.]
“Donkey?!”
I had thought it was a horse or something.
As I was scared alone, the three of them, including Ange, plus Creare, turned to look at me.
Ange puts her hands on her hips and laughs at me.
“That’s surprising. I’ve suspected that for some time, but apparently, there’s something that scares Leon as well.”
Livia puts her palms together and smiles at me.
“Leon-san has a cute side to him too.”
Noel seems happy to know an unexpected side of me, but at the same time, she teases me.
“If it were a monster, you would beat it. If you’re scared, do you want me to stay with you tonight?”
Have all three of you become merciless to me?
“Aren’t you three just awful?”
Why are they striking so hard today?
It is Creare that gives me the answer.
[Getting deceived about the hidden door thing makes them angry. To be forgiven for this much, Master is so loved!]
Even an AI teases me?
As I turn away from everyone, people are coming through the door.
They are Julius and his friends in tatters.
“――Leon, is there something you want to tell me?”
Julius and the others, five idiots appeared with wrinkles between their eyebrows and seemed to resent me terribly.
Apparently, they are angry.
“Something to tell you? Ah~, I see”
I think of what to say to the five of them and I put my hands together and stick my tongue out cutely.
“Thanks to you guys being the decoys, I got the treasure this way. I am grateful.”
Then Jilk, with his hair disheveled, points at me.
“This coward! You have deceived me!”
“――You’re the one who betrayed first.”
When I gave him a good argument, the five idiots began to surround Jilk.
Jilk feigned ignorance.
“What’s the matter? To Leon-kun, who has deceived us, give him a hammer ――GOHAA ?!”
It was Brad who slammed his fist into Jilk’s face.
Brad, whose part of his clothes is torn, drops a tattered handkerchief on the face of the fallen Jilk.
“Jilk, have you forgotten what you did to us? Leon is annoying, but you’re a traitor to us, too.”
Greg was flexing his finger bones and his eyebrows were twitching.
“You tricked us into competing, didn’t you?”
Chris took off his broken glasses and looked at Jilk with a terribly cold stare.
“I can’t forgive Leon, but I can’t forgive you either.”
He must be angry at Jilk’s betrayal.
After all, they had missed the great feat of discovering the treasure.
And then there was one man who felt his gut churn.
“You guys betrayed me first, though.”
Julius was looking at us in a low-pitched.
From the perspective of Julius, who was the first decoy, we are all enemies.
So I say.
“Your friendship is fragile in the face of treasures, isn’t it? But still, it’s ugly to fight among comrades.”
When I laughed, the five of them look at me and pick up their weapons and come at me.
Julius represents.
“I guess so. Then let’s beat you up first and then we’ll fight among ourselves.”
I shrug my shoulders in front of Julius who is coming at me.
“You idiot. I have Ange and the others here. Everyone, help me!”
I turned around to ask for help, and before I knew it, Luxion was at Ange’s side, conversing with her.
“I’m tempted to leave it as is, but I suppose I’ll have to melt it down.”
[Besides its artistic value, it is also of great value as an ancient heritage. I thought it would be better for future generations if we kept it]
“That would be nice. If I decorate it, it’s like our accomplishments are going to last a lifetime.”
Livia and Noel are talking with Creare.
“I would like it to be kept as it is. There might be some secrets in there!”
Livia insisted that it should be stored and investigated rather than melted down.
Noel is listening to this with disinterest.
“It sure looks great. Creare, is it really that great?”
[It’s hard to explain to Noel-chan. It’s okay if you just think it’s great. Even if I tell you properly, you won’t understand.]
“Aren’t you treating me so lightly?!”
“Because you’re not interested, are you?”
Seeing Ange and the others enjoying the conversation, I reach out my hand.
“Eh, you won’t help me?”
I asked for help, but the response from Ange and others was cold.
Ange crosses her arms and squints.
“You deserve it. Have a little remorse.”
Taking advantage of it is my supposed partner, Luxion.
[It’s retribution for deceiving people. It’s a fitting end for Master.]
I tremble.
“I understand Ange and the others, but at least you can help me, Luxion!”
[I refuse. Also, your friends are waiting for you.]
“Eh?”
As soon as I turn around, Julius puts his hand on my shoulder.
Gripping me tightly, Julius speaks to me with a dark smile.
“Come talk to us. Fist to fist.”
Five idiots think they can beat me up and give me a scary smile.
The situation was so bad that I, a coward, was shaken up.
I let out a small sigh.
“It’s not the deceivers’ fault, right? Unfortunately, the treasure you were after is ours. So, losers, let me know how you feel now.”
When I fanned them with a smile, Julius’ fist came at me, so I hit him, too.
We cross-counter and hit each other’s cheeks, and the other guys start joining in.
I give Julius a second hit.
“You should be thankful I brought you here, KORAa!”
“What is the competition! You’ve been trying to win alone from the beginning!”
As the six of us begin to fight as it is, I hear the voices of Ange and Luxion from behind.
“It’s a really ugly fight.”
[I’m no match for Master’s boomerang tactics?]
Remember this, Luxion?!