Chapter 38: It seems believable
{TL: By Creed}
"This is the path to the eleventh floor."
Water drained from the fountain in the center of the room, revealing stairs beyond.
It seems to be a mechanism that can only be activated by Licorice.
"But then, why are there monsters?"
"They're ghost-type monsters, so they could pass through. Since there's no protective barrier, there's no way to prevent them..."
"I see."
Slowly descending the hidden stairs,
Sofia and I both had our hands on our sword handles.
We needed to stay vigilant for whatever might happen.
"By the way..."
Sofia asked, as if suddenly remembering something.
"Have there been people who reached the tenth floor before?"
"Yes, there were a few."
"Why not ask them for help?"
"I won't. Because each and every one of them is only obsessed with treasure, and they won't listen to my plea. Probably, even if I show up, their reaction will be like, 'Wow, a super beautiful fairy! Let's catch her and sell her, or let's adore her forever!'"
"What a troublesome world..."
However, adventurers like Sofia also exist.
So, I won't lose hope.
"In that regard, you pass!"
Licorice came to me and pointed her finger at me.
"You seem a bit unreliable, but you seem sincere enough. Are you excessively serious? Hmm... but is your face appealing? Well, it's decent. I'll give you a passing grade."
"Um... am I being praised?"
"Of course. It's not something I say often. You can be proud of it."
I can't judge since I don't know Licorice's usual self.
"In a way, you're a good guy... Maybe, later, should I do something nice for you?"
"Huh!?"
"?"
Licorice laughed mysteriously, and Sofia panicked.
However, I tilted my head.
What does Licorice mean by doing something nice?
In terms of adventurer knowledge, I think I have a fair amount, thanks to serving Sigurd and the others as a slave.
However, in terms of general knowledge and specialized knowledge, I'm not very skilled, and I can't understand what Licorice is trying to say.
"What are you saying? Don't say strange things to Fate!"
"Why is Sofia getting angry?"
"Because I am Fate's childhood friend!"
"Isn't it just that? Being childhood friends doesn't mean anything has progressed, right?"
"We made a promise to marry!"
"That's probably just a childhood promise, right? So, Sofia remembers it, but Fate forgets, and it ends up being vague."
"Mmgh."
No, I remember it clearly.
"Don't try to monopolize Fate with that. This super genius, lovely, cute Licorice-chan is going to seduce and steal him!"
What does she mean by steal?
"..."
"Sofia?"
"If you do something like that... I'll cut you."
"Eek!?"
Sofia slightly revealed her blade, her seriousness evident. Licorice and I screamed, feeling the intensity in her words.
...While such a silly exchange was happening, we proceeded to the eleventh floor.
The eleventh floor is a very spacious room.
It's so large that you could play sports with a large number of people.
In the back, one door is visible.
It's not an ordinary door; it seems to be sealed.
That's probably the treasure vault.
"Where are the monsters?"
"Well... I'm not entirely sure where they are. I can't afford to get involved, so I've only come to check on things about twice."
"So, you don't know what kind of creatures they are either?"
"I don't know their specific type, but I've seen their forms. They can pass through walls, appearing as skeletons draped in tattered cloth, wielding large scythes."
"That might be... the Grim Reaper?"
Sofia and I exchanged glances and nodded. It was a moment of unanimous agreement.
"The Grim Reaper? What's that? Are there really monsters like that?"
"It's considered a rare species, scarce in number, a very unusual creature. In the past, it was called a messenger carrying human souls to heaven... but recently, it has been discovered to be just a low-quality monster and has been hunted down in various places."
"However, it's quite a troublesome opponent, right? As Licorice mentioned, with the ability to pass through matter, it's a formidable adversary. It's classified as A-rank."
With Sofia around, dealing with an A-rank creature shouldn't be a problem. However, such thoughts were naive and posed a significant danger.
If I were to falter, it might drag Sofia down, leading to a potentially disastrous situation. To prevent that, I needed to stay vigilant.
"At first glance, there don't seem to be any monsters..."
"If the opponent is the Grim Reaper, it wouldn't be strange for them to hide in walls or floors. Let's be cautious as we proceed."
"Right."
"Licorice, make sure not to leave us under any circumstances."
"Yes, yes."
Even Licorice seemed tense, considering the possibility of monsters lurking somewhere.
We continued to advance cautiously, sensing our surroundings.
So far, there was nothing unusual...
"Fate!"
"Huh!?"
Reacting to Sofia's voice, I jumped to the side. Immediately after, a scythe emerged forcefully from the ground.
"... That was close."
From somewhere, a voice that sounded like scraping rusted iron echoed.
"This must be the Grim Reaper."
"Yes..."
"Even so, only the scythe came out for now... Is it possible that the main body remains hidden in walls or the floor, attacking in such a state? That seems unfair."
"That's why I'm troubled too. Even if I try to drive it away, it immediately dives into the walls or floor and escapes. There's nothing we can do."
Licorice sighed.
For her, who was protecting something more precious than herself, I wanted to defeat the Grim Reaper somehow... but how should we go about it?
"Is it bad to damage the walls or floor?"
"Hmm? It's fine to some extent, but what are you planning?"
"If it's hiding in the walls or floor, I thought of just cutting through them."
Such a straightforward approach.
"Sofia might be able to do it, but if things go wrong, won't the dungeon collapse? Additionally, there's a possibility of damaging Licorice's precious belongings..."
"W-Wait a moment! That's a no-go, absolutely not allowed! If you do that, I'll curse you for generations! Fairy curses are terrifying. To be more specific, um... um... they're just terrifying! So... hyaahhhh!?"
Protesting near the ceiling, Licorice was suddenly grabbed by a bony hand that emerged.
TL Note: Licorice's flight is a power or weakness?
Comments
Post a Comment