5-2 Into The Dungeon

After receiving the advance funds, the supervisor Berglit went to greet was quite something.

The top position was vacant because that “noble killer” had blown it away, but despite that, he was running the department firmly and did not flinch at all when an excellent subordinate was suddenly taken from him.

His name was Lior-san.

He was a commoner by birth, yet his bearing made one wonder if he were actually a noble.

He was on a completely different level from the sixth son of some baronial house.

Apparently, he was extremely intelligent and sharp.

That was why he had read the situation, kept his head down, and stayed quiet for a long time.

Now that things had turned out like this, he was finally able to show his true ability all at once.

He also had a temperament that never went along with corruption.

The type who lived cleanly but knew how to navigate the world, I suppose.

Take a lesson from him, Berglit-kun.

Rather than complaining about having an important subordinate taken away, he seemed to think it was only natural.

“Well, this is a relief. I’ve been receiving various reports from him, but our superiors were all idiots, you see. Even when I wanted to act, I couldn’t, and it really troubled me. I hear it was you who cleaned those people out. No, truly, thank you.”

I ended up being thanked in a strange place.

Apparently, he was also the one who had sent Berglit to the dungeon.

“Thank you for passing this matter on to His Majesty the King. Frankly, the airflow is still poor here, so even if I spoke up, there was no guarantee it would reach the top.”

It was because there were capable bureaucrats like this that the country kept running, even with such ridiculous people around.

I decided then and there that I would see this man promoted as well.

“I’ve prepared the materials here. They summarize what kinds of signs have appeared so far, organized by each monster stampede. We’ve also compiled and categorized only the warning signs. The information observed at each location has the dungeon floors noted as well, so it should be easy to understand. The one who prepared these materials is Berglit right there, so if anything is unclear, ask him.”

Oh, so Berglit-kun really was excellent after all!

I was counting on him.

“Now then, Berglit. Carry out your duties properly. You needn’t worry about the work here. His Majesty says he will send two supporters your way.”

“I understand. Then I will be off.”

Before heading to the dungeon, we stopped by one more place.

We teleported straight to the Adventurers’ Guild in the Royal Capital.

I felt the need to add more members.

For now, I decided to get Berglit used to teleportation magic, so we traveled by teleport.

Earlier, I had pulled out the car for the first time in a while and driven it like mad.

Nothing special—I just felt like driving again after a long time.

I’d gone so long without driving that I was about to forget how.

If you don’t drive for months in Japan, you don’t forget how to drive itself, but you do forget where the lever to open the fuel cap is, and you end up searching all over once you reach the gas station.

It’s a real problem when you’ve genuinely forgotten.

A very “reclusive old man” kind of anecdote.

If you don’t drive even once for that long, the fuel in the tank degrades, the battery dies—it’s a mess.

Back then, I was really into long-distance cycling.

Just a simple three-speed city bike, though.

Also, the reason I used teleportation magic was because I wanted to see Berglit’s reaction.

Sure enough, his eyes were spinning.

Maybe because he was young, his reactions were pretty big, and that kind of response was fun.

“W-whoa, w-where is this?”

“The Adventurers’ Guild. We came here partway by teleportation magic. Get used to it. We’ll be going to the dungeon like this.”

“T-teleportation magic…”

As I patted the stunned Berglit on the shoulder, Mari shook her head.

With a sigh, she spoke.

“You really do have the same personality as my master… well, I more or less expected it.
It feels as if I’ve gone back a thousand years.”

“Your master? A thousand years?”

Berglit asked without thinking.

“Ah, this girl is the guardian of the labyrinth personally created by the founding king a thousand years ago—the legendary ring’s keeper.”

Dragging along a completely pale Berglit, I looked around, searching for a certain person.

Oh, found him.

Lucky.

“Heeey, Antonio! Yo!”

“Oh. What’s up? Ah, thanks for the other day. His Majesty the King decided to recommend me for S-rank, so now all that’s left is the A-rank exam.”

“Yeah, about that. I want you to help out with another job today.”

“Oh? None of the jobs you bring are ever normal.”

Antonio asked, sounding used to this.

I leaned close to his ear and whispered.

“Yeah, it’s a royal command from His Majesty the King. We’re going to investigate the dungeon together with a specialist. You know what that means, right?”

“Yeah. Smells seriously bad.”

“So then, I figured this kid would need an escort. I don’t want to be focused on investigating, turn around, and find he’s been eaten by a dragon. Berglit, can you defeat a dragon by yourself?”

“No! Absolutely not! I couldn’t even handle a single orc!”

Berglit screamed with his face twitching.

Laughing, Antonio soothed him.

“You’re as unreasonable as ever. A civil official has work only a civil official can do. Hey, relax. I’ll protect you. Believe it or not, I’m a B-rank solo dragon slayer.”

“Then, Antonio. I’m leaving this kid in your care. Don’t worry, Berglit. This guy is effectively A-rank class. If he passes the A-rank exam, S-rank is guaranteed. Besides, our goal is investigation—if it gets dangerous, we’ll escape with teleportation magic. Oh, right. Just in case, I’ll give you guys teleportation bracelets later. I’ll have you practice using them now.”

“Teleportation bracelets…”

“Yeah. These can’t really be shown openly. After all, they were copied without permission from the royal treasury. Well, strictly speaking, I couldn’t copy them, so I made them on the spot using the real ones as reference. If you analyze the real thing right in front of you and compare the structure while building, you can make something decent.”

“……”

“Hm? What’s wrong?”

“I heard something I really didn’t want to hear. I didn’t hear anything. I swear.”

The timid one covered his ears with both hands.

“So, what’ll it be? Knowing you, we’re going right now, aren’t we?”

Antonio stood there as if it were obvious.

I’d already added a teleportation function to his bracelet as an update.

Moving the contents of the item box around was a hassle, after all.

“Of course. That’s fine, right?”

“Huh, right now? I don’t have any preparations at all!”

Without listening, I dragged the kid somewhere out of sight and teleported.

Naturally, Antonio and Mari followed along as if it were only to be expected.

“Phew… I really can’t keep up with these people. No, I feel like I really shouldn’t keep up with them.”

“What are you muttering about? This is the teleportation bracelet. It also functions as an item box, so the necessary equipment is already inside.”

I took it straight from the item box and fitted it onto his arm.

There were no seams, so it would never fall off.

He didn’t look like the type who could slip out of handcuffs.

“Alright, everyone. Let’s practice a bit before we go.”

Antonio and Mari handled it naturally, as if it were nothing.

Berglit-kun, that’s what top-class looks like.

Mari probably even had her own teleportation magic.

After all, the person who developed her was the very creator of the original teleportation bracelet.

I took some time teaching Berglit how to use teleportation magic.

He wasn’t used to things like this.

When he noticed an orichalcum magic sword inside the item box, his cheeks started twitching.

“So, where do we start investigating? I can teleport to any floor. I’d rather not draw too much attention, though.”

“Right. How about here?”

Berglit asked, looking thoughtful.

“We’re still on the first basement floor.”

“I see. If we can move freely, then let’s start with the place that seems the most suspicious.”

And so, following Berglit’s suggestion, we teleported to the location where the dragon had appeared.