Otome Game no Heroine de Saikyou Survival [WN] - Chapter 56
Dungeon City
After parting ways with Radha, I decided to head for one of the royal domains, where a large dungeon with the target of my visit was located.
That said, Radha must be monitoring me from somewhere, and while the information I get from Radha may not always be accurate, even if Radha falsified the information to suit her own needs, I had no intention of checking it in detail.
Radha would not be able to falsify the information because there would be another liaison, and that liaison would not be stupid enough to falsify the information that would be revealed after a few days of research.
And above all, if it were convenient for Radha, she would act on the information and approach me personally, was something I expected to do.
I stocked up on the salt and spices I would need for that trip, and purchased ingredients for medicines at several alchemists’ stores and stalls. In the process, I decided to buy one cloak made of monster material, even though it was a bit expensive.
Armor made of monster material, like the boots and small gloves given to me by Master, regenerates minute scratches with the magic power of the wearer and the moisture in the atmosphere.
The amount of regeneration was affected by the rank of the monster, so a cloak made of low-grade monster material would not be very effective, but it would still protect the wearer from heat and cold much better than ordinary cloth or leather.
“Gelf, I want one of the cheaper cloaks.”
“You’re the only customer in my store who would ask for a cheap one without regard to the design.”
Two days after my encounter with Feld and the others, I was again visiting a Dwarven armor shop.
I took extra two days to avoid encountering Feld and the others again, partly because I wanted to avoid Feld, and more because I didn’t want to get involved with the noble boys who were giving me strange looks.
“Well, okay. I’ll pick out something for you for a modest price, and I’ll give that to you.”
With a wink that made his huge false eyelashes flick, he went to pick up a temporary replacement for my equipment.
“Is my equipment not prepared yet? If possible, I’d like to change.”
“You’re not upset at all… I’ve already repaired your equipment, but did you not like what I have given you?”
I shook my head at Gelf to deny that I disliked the equipment, but he was sighing for some reason.
“No, I don’t hate it. It’s lightweight and comfortable, but I get stared at by people a little more than usual, but not as much if I wrap a shawl around my neck.”
“I see, you’ve also turned your hair back to ash color again… If you’re doing it with illusions, you’ll have to cover it with just a little bit of actual ash to control the gloss, or else it’ll stand out even more.”
“I see, I’ll try that.”
“So, why do you want to change?”
“Hmm? Wasn’t this supposed to be a replacement until the equipment was repaired?”
I wondered why I needed to change my inner wear for my repaired boots and armor, but it seemed that Gelf was planning to give me some additional equipment.
I didn’t ask him to go that far, but he simply did it on his own, which was the same with Galbas, but Gelf told me the reason why he was giving me this equipment.
“I’m making this equipment because I want to wear something cute. But I’m a little fat and can’t pull out its cutesy value! That’s why I’ve been looking for a cute little girl to wear it for me!”
“…Okay.”
To be honest, I didn’t understand his passion, but I guessed it was important to Gelf. Even with that woman’s “knowledge”, the category of cute is too broad for me to understand, but if it’s made by Gelf, I think there would be no problem in terms of performance.
If so, I thought I would at least pay him, but like Galbas, he only charged me one gold coin. This should only be the cost of the cloak, though.
“When you grow up, let me make you some proper equipment. So, when that happens, please have 10 gold coins ready.”
“…Thank you.”
I returned only the replacement boots and put on the boots and hand armor that had been repaired.
Both the boots and the small hands felt as good to wear as if they were different from before, so this would be enough to move around in the dungeon.
At the same time, he had a gimmick installed in the inner part of the arm, where the small hands were attached.
…I think I could use it.
“…”
I looked at the tall castle in the distance from the streets of Royal Capital.
I wondered if Elena was there. Fighting alone in that royal palace?
Elena promised me once that she would stand by my side, no matter who I was fighting. But it was not yet the time. I was not strong enough to eliminate her “enemy” yet.
I would not rely on her for something as trivial as this.
Goodbye… Elena… I would come for a visit after I got stronger.
According to the information from the Assassins’ Guild, the city of Eld, where the large dungeon was located, was under the direct control of the royal family, but in reality it was managed by the Countess Lester family, which was located next to the city.
Not necessarily because of this, but because the power of the Mages’ Guild and the Adventurers’ Guild was strong in that city, which made it different from other cities.
If we were to go there from the Royal Capital, it would take about four days by horse-drawn carriage through several Inn towns.
Since I did not need a horse-drawn carriage to get there, I chose a route through the forest to dazzle Radha, who was watching me.
I felt a slight discomfort behind me until midnight of the first day after leaving the Royal Capital, but I didn’t feel it anymore as I drove through the forest, so I was probably able to disorient Radha there.
After all, it was a good thing that I used a cloak made of monster material. This must have fooled the Radha to some extent, even if its detection ability was superior.
The town of Eld, where the dungeon was located, was filled with a liveliness that was different from that of a normal town.
The main industry in Eld was the use of monster materials because of the large dungeons, but the biggest reason was probably the large number of adventurers and magicians. It was not so conspicuous even if you acted a little strange here, and unlike the Royal Capital, it was not likely to cause a problem even if you made a commotion.
I first bought a cheap meal like stewed vegetables at a street stall in town, then asked for the location of the Adventurers’ Guild and headed there.
The dungeon was in the center of the city, and a high wall had been erected around its entrance, with several soldiers manning it, restricting people from entering and exiting, and keeping monsters from getting out.
It seemed dangerous to have a dungeon inside the city, but it seemed that there were no normal residents in this area, as it was like a settlement had been established around the dungeon that was originally discovered.
The Adventurer’s Guild was also located near the dungeon and was considerably larger than the guilds in other towns we had seen so far.
It was late afternoon when I arrived at the guild, a time when there are generally few adventurers, but when I opened the door and entered, I still saw more than a dozen adventurers.
Perhaps it was natural for the place with many adventurers, but the appearance of a child such as myself did not draw attention to the extent that people came and went normally, but the appearance of a child such as myself caused people older than a certain age to scowl slightly.
It was not unusual for children to be adventurers on the frontier. They had reasons to live otherwise, they struggled to gain skills to become adventurers and earn money, and they died because of an unbalanced skill set.
But I guessed that the adults here frowned not because they took pity on such children, but because of their discomfort at having a child step into the battlefield of veteran adventurers, a large dungeon.
“…”
From the signs I sensed from them, I would guess they were about Rank 3, but I wondered how some people could not measure their abilities by their signs and footsteps.
The female bandit who kidnapped Elena seemed far better, but I wonder if this was how it was with Rank 3 who had little experience in fighting against others.
Ignoring the delicate atmosphere, I headed to the guild’s reception desk, selected a friendly looking staff member, and asked a question.
“How many adventurer parties do you have that I can ask to guide me through the dungeon?”
I told him that I was looking for a party that could guide me through the deeper levels, and the good-natured looking old staff member answered me with a smile.
“This dungeon is famous, so we get requests to guide people through the lower floors, but when it comes to the deeper floors, it’s difficult. There are currently five Rank 4 parties in this town, but it will be up to negotiation whether they will accept the request.”
Most of the adventurers in the area came to dungeons to dive, not to accept requests.
There were [treasures] in the dungeons that stimulated human desire, and it was even possible to earn hundreds of large gold coins in one night if you found them, but such a thing happened only once every few years, and most adventurers earned their money by taking monster materials and monster stones.
This dungeon was famous because it was the dungeon with beastly subhumans such as goblins and orcs.
The dungeon could produce powerful treasures as well as metal weapons, and the beastmen who inhabited the dungeon might find and possess such weapons, which added to their earnings.
This dungeon was recognized as a place where one could earn money but where the danger level was high, and the guild could not intercede if the guide was to dive deep into the dungeon.
At any rate, I asked about the price of the request and was told the names of the parties that might be willing to take it and their schedules.
Two days from now…that would be just right, since Radha’s surveillance would be restored.
I was thinking of checking the dungeon until then, when I noticed a sign that someone from the guild was following me.
Was it a sales pitch from a Rank 2 or 3 adventurers who had heard my story? Or did they think I was just a kid and came over to attack me?
Either way, it was troublesome. If it was a sales pitch, I might let them show me around the lower floors since it was my first time, but if it was an attacker, I didn’t know what I would do….
There were two weak signs. One was strong while the other…
I turned away from the main street where the guild was located and proceeded toward the back roads where there were no people.
I did not know where the safe areas were, but if they were selling or trying to attack me, they would call out to me at a convenient place for them.
“Hey there, ash-covered kid. Do you want a dungeon guide? We’ll show you around.”
In a dark alley, a pair of adventurers in their early twenties called out to me.
I thought I had reduced the number of ashes on Gelf’s advice, but I guessed they were gonna call me that here, as well.
“You can pay us with all the money you have. Well, even if you say you don’t want to, I’m going to force you into the dungeon from now on.”
“…”
Well, it seemed it was both a sales pitch and a raid.
But both of them only have a fighting strength of about 100. With that kind of ability, I thought they could only guide me to the lower levels, but such impressions came to my mind as if they were someone else’s.
But where was the other one’s strong presence?
“Ora, don’t be silent, say something, ash-covered!”
As I was searching for a sign, the first man reached out his hand as if irritated.
“Get out of my way.”
I took a half step forward and struck the man in front of me in the jaw with the bottom of my left palm, and a 10-centimeter arrow shot out from the gimmick I had planted in my small hand penetrated his jaw to his brain.
“…What?”
The moment the other man let out a stunned cry as his companion suddenly collapsed, I jumped back away from him.
“—-!”
At that moment, the man’s entire body suddenly burst into flames.
A faint girl’s voice could be heard from behind the man, who had turned into charcoal without time to scream due to the too strong firepower.
“I knew you were a strong girl. If you like, I can show you around the dungeon.”
She was dressed in a pure white robe and had long, black, wavy hair.
The girl, with her morbidly white skin and deep-set dark circles around her eyes, looked at me and smiled so innocently that it made it hard for me to believe that she had just killed someone.
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