Chapter 3 - Erofu?
An underground temple (dungeon) with a decent atmosphere, but a high ratio of slime to monsters and unappetizing drops.
Our party decided to stop exploring at the end of the day and return to the surface.
「Hmm, hmm, hmm ......, stop it ......, stop it ......Kkuh.」
As I turned back to the road, I could hear the faint sound of anguish coming from the other side of the passage.
This is where the hall of the great face relief was located. A stubborn elf had been caught in that trap, but .......
「This is ......」
I turn around.
「Well, we're adventurers. If we can help them, we'll help them. If not, we abandon them. That'll be all right, isn't it?」
Alec says the party's policy.
「Ehh? Abandoning them ......」
I thought that was a bad idea, but I was the only one who raised an objection. The other members seemed to agree with Alec and nodded their heads.
「It's only natural, Serina-san. Adventurers go into dungeons like this prepared to lose their lives. If you're in a situation where you might end up taking the people you're trying to help with you, you shouldn't ask for help, and you shouldn't help them.」
Ione says something rather harsh.
「I understand not to ask for help, but isn't it different to say that you shouldn't help?」
「No. If you don't help, there will be unnecessary deaths. This is like the person who tried to help killing himself, and in the end, it is the same thing as more deaths as a calculation of the number of lives. So we should not take helping for granted.」
Ione said, but I guess this world has a lot of deaths in dungeons normally. Unlike in games, there is no resurrection and once you die, it's over.
If this is the case, the ironclad rules and moral values that protect life will naturally take shape, huh......
Even so, I had a hard time accepting this.
「No way ......」
「But it doesn't smell like blood, so they're probably fine.」
Meena smiled and said gently.
「This is a non-negotiable line for a party, Serina. If you don't like it, you can leave the party here. I'll respect your wishes. Of course, if I can help them, I'll help them, too.」
Alec said.
「I understand. I'm a little torn, but I feel like I'm on the right track.」
「Hmm, you think so? Serina, don't drag me down when the time comes, okay? The party leader is the life of the party, you know. I don't want to put on a sweet face just to get someone to like me, and I don't want to screw up the party so badly that people die.」
「Yeah, I know.」
Alec is not wrong. The first priority is to keep people from dying.
「Maybe you're a better leader than I thought.」
I was a little surprised at Alec. I used to think he was selfish, but it seems he had his own ideas about what to do.
「Let's go. You take care of the hall, Meena. Ione is to check the exit route. When Meena gives the signal to run, we'll all pull back to the stairs.」
Alec will carefully check the actions and give instructions.
「Yes, very well, Master.」
「Yes, sir.」
「If I can help them, I'll rush in.」
「Yes, but you'll have to use your judgment, Meena. Understood?」
「Understood.」
After confirming that I nodded, Meena looked into the hall.
「According to my 【Enemy Counter】, there are seven of them.」
I use my skills to report the informations. There are a little too many enemies.
「Master, there are only slimes. I thought we could help.」
「Okay, let's go inside and see what's going on for a bit. Serina, don't help them.」
Alec said so, but in this atmosphere, it's hard to disobey the leader's instructions.
「Hey! I thought you were going to watch from the beginning, so you made a long preamble.」
Before Alec could say anything, there was a voice from the hall.
「D-Don't come in here! I'm fine!」
「You have no right to say that. This is not your private property.」
Alec walked proudly into the hall. I walked in and quickly reached out to block Alec's view, but my hand stopped.
Her armor was still intact. I was expecting to see an elf with her clothes melted off, naked and being played with by slime.
There was a silver-haired elf with her hands in the reliefs, clinging to the pink slime.
「I don't need any help. This is, Nnhh, also a part of my training.....Aahnn!」
I wondered what kind of training she was doing as her body shook violently.
「Hmm, this may be unnecessary, but I think it could be fatal if left untreated.」
I say, somewhat exasperated.
「But, haah, haah, kkuhh, my HP isn't decreasing.」
「No, I think it's bad for your health ...... or do you want your skin to be rough?」
「I don't want that, kkuhh, but I can't get out of it. ......」
The knight tried to pull her arm out of the hole in the relief, but it seems that she is still stuck.
「It can't be helped. Help her out.」
As if he had lost interest, Alec instructed me and Meena by nodding at us with his chin.
I quickly cut off the slime that clung to her. Next, I grabbed the female knight by both of my arms.
「Then, let's go!」
「Yes, sir.」
「One, two!」
「Ow-ow-ow-ow! W-Wait!」
The elf screamed.
「What? What's going on?」
「My wrist is trapped in the stone.」
「Hmm. Can't you twist it?」
「No. I can turn it, but I can't get it out. Look.」
The elf twisted her arm to show me.
「It looks like it's going to come loose, but ......」
Lily says it must be the perfect amount of tightness.
「But it shouldn't be such a vicious trap」
Alec pointed out. If we really get stuck here, it's not a lesson, it's a dangerous trap.
And if it were dangerous, the Adventurers' Guild would be informed. But the guild didn't have that information.
「No, this is the toughest trap I've ever been in.」
The elf said.
「Isn't there some kind of switch in the back?」
I ask.
「Yes, there is a ...... switch. If you just want to cut corners, you can put this back on like this: ...... See?」
There was a click and the trap seemed to have been released.
Pulling her own hand out, the elf sighed regretfully, then shoved her hand back into the hole.
「Wait a minute!」
「What are you doing!?」
「Ehh?」
「Oi」
As expected, we were surprised by her behavior. It's not like we can disarm it the same way the second time.
「Hmm, there's what looks like a small treasure chest on top of that switch, but I don't think I can get my hands on it to pull it out.」
「I don't think so, but were you trying to pull it out while holding on to it?」
「...... Don't worry about such small things.」
「「「 What? 」」」
「Ahem, my name is Sylvie=Walloy=Attarma. I'd like to thank you for helping me out here.」
The knight of greed stood up and bowed, as if he had given up after all.
「Wow, that name sounds stupid.」 (TLN: Sylvie=Walloy=Attarma => Silvye Warui Atama => Sylvie had bad head => Basically bad head = Stupid)
「Murgh, Lily, don't. You can't make fun of someone's name.」
I warned Lily.
「You're right, you can't make fun of a person's last name. So, Sylvie, I may not have saved your life, but I did help you in a trouble. You'll have to pay for it..」
Alec said something that was a little bit offensive, but if I were to argue, I would fall into the trap of Alec's sarcasm, so I kept my mouth shut.
「Well, as is the custom of the world, I'm going to give you the copper coins I found there, though I didn't ask for them. I can't give you silver coins.」
The copper coins were not worth much, but Lily, who was itching to get rid of them, started picking them up. Alec instructed Meena to hold the lantern in the meantime.
「Sylvie, if you give me one of those silver coins, I'll give you the sachet.」
Alec offered a deal.
Sylvie would have a hard time carrying the silver coins with her, since the slime had melted all the cloth. That was too much, so I protested.
「Oh, come on, Alec, don't be such a downer.」
「You're right. One sachet will cost you a hundred gold at most.」
「Alec-san ......」
Ione also looked at him, and Alec seemed to reconsider.
「All right, all right. Then I'll give it to you for free.」
Alec handed her the empty sachet.
「Well, thank you.」
「Let's go up.」
「Wait.」
It looks like Sylvie still wants something.
「What is it?」
「If you're going back to town, I'll escort you.」
「Huh, I think that's the wrong word for escort.」
「Do you want to see how good I am?」
Sylvie draws her sword.
「It would be better if you didn't. She's few steps ahead of Alec.」
Ione seems to have assessed her skill just by looking at her drawing.
「I'll leave it at that. Come on, Sylvie.」
「Yeah, leave it to me. A lot of adventurers have been dying around here lately, since the beginning of this month. You'll have to be careful.」
Sylvie, who had just been caught in a dumb trap, told us this, and it made me feel less nervous.
「Is that on the field, or the surface?」
I'm just a little curious, so I'm going to ask.
「No, on the dungeon.」
「But I didn't see any bodies in here. ......」
「Yeah, because of the slime. And the goblins and kobolds collect bones and armor, so there are no bodies left. At most, they leave behind relics.」
Sylvie answered my question.
「Hmm? Then how do you know there are so many dead people?」
Lily asked, but it's probably the count of the adventurer's guild and the city gatekeepers.
「The adventurer's guild sent us information about missing people. And I've received a request from the Knights to strengthen the investigation and patrol of nearby dungeons, too. I've been given that order by the captain.」
「Oh. ......」
「So, are you getting anywhere?」
Alec asks the important question.
「No. I thought it was probably a rare monster attack, or a vicious trap, or something like that. ......」
Sylvie's words trailed off as she didn't even seem to have a clue.
If you can't find it right away, there's no point in us worrying about it for now.
The enemies here weren't strong, so maybe they were in another dungeon?
「We can't just sit here and do nothing. Let's go.」
Alec said, and we decided to go back to the town.
Previous Chapter --- TOC --- Next Chapter
Join Our Discord Server
Comments
Post a Comment