Chapter 30

We had spent two days riding in a carriage, arriving in the city of Dria right around sunset. After settling into an inn and dropping off our luggage, we came back downstairs to have dinner.

“This is seriously wrong!”

Bam!

Unable to hold it in any longer, I slammed my fist down on the dining table. My outburst drew the gazes of everyone inside the inn, but I didn’t care. Even if someone tried to pick a fight, I was confident I could hand it right back to them. At this point, I almost wished someone would start something just so I could vent my stress.

“What on earth has you so dissatisfied?”

It felt like a scene I’d seen somewhere before. Glaring at Carusien, who looked completely clueless as to why I was angry, I shook my head.

There was no way a guy like this would ever understand.

What am I dissatisfied with, you ask?!

This time, I didn’t hold back and let loose with my complaints. If I hadn’t, I felt like I might have lunged right across the table and grabbed Carusien by the collar.

“Ugh! This world is way too peaceful! It’s so peaceful it’s driving me crazy!”

“………?”

I actually held a tiny glimmer of hope this time around. Since our last trip was a backpacking journey on foot, thinking back, the odds of randomly stumbling across an adventure while walking hadn’t been all that high. But this time, we were traveling a distance that took a full two days by carriage.

We were moving across vast distances so rapidly that the scenery outside kept shifting in a blur. Because of that, I had harbored expectations that I might finally encounter the kind of scenario I had always imagined. Yet, I hadn’t even heard a single monster’s roar—making it seem as though whoever created this world believed monsters only lived underground or inside dungeons.

How—how could things possibly turn out like this?

Was my grand, epic dream going to be crushed just like that?

Injured mercenaries being threatened by vicious-looking orcs, when suddenly two mysterious figures wrapped in cloaks appear right before them.

And right in the middle of it all, I step forward, gracefully extend a single hand, and shout:

[Fire Arrow.]

A torrential rain of fiery arrows manifests in an instant! Granted, there probably wouldn’t be that many in reality, but either way, the magic obliterates the orcs. The resulting magical explosion kicks up a gust of wind, which naturally blows back my hood to reveal my stunning face, leaving the mercenaries completely slack-jawed.

A young girl. And breathtakingly gorgeous at that.

[It’s a beautiful, magnificent angel!]

[You’ve come to save pathetic, wretched worms like us.]

Watching them with a cool, detached gaze, I pull my hood back down without a word, take Carusien with me, and vanish from the spot. Me, smiling faintly at the cheers of the mercenaries echoing behind me.

That was the exact scenario I had been dreaming of, but with zero monsters around to begin with, there were no injured mercenaries to save in the first place.

Honestly, how was this any different from taking a plush, luxury express bus on a two-day road trip?

“How is this any different!”

Bam!

My anger flared up all over again, and I slammed my fist onto the table once more. That outburst caught the attention of two middle-aged women sitting at the next table, who were leaning in and whispering to each other. Though, judging by the volume, it was impossible to tell whether they were actually whispering or just wanting everyone else to hear.

[My, look at that. She came on a trip with her boyfriend, but the girl seems terribly upset.]

[Well, to be fair, the guy does look quite exasperated. He probably pissed her off about coming on this trip in the first place. Men, I swear—tsk. My husband is just the same, always complaining whenever I suggest going out, saying all he wants to do on his days off is stay home and do nothing. Hah, and it’s not like he earns a speck of money worth talking about either.]

Whoever that husband was, he was truly a pitiful family head. Did he even know that his own wife was chewing him up behind his back like a piece of tough jerky?

A moment later, the two women smoothly switched topics.

[Still, isn’t that young man rather handsome, though?]

[Hoho, I was just thinking the exact same thing. And the young lady sitting next to him is beautifully matched with him, too.]

[Oh, absolutely. A match made in heaven, truly.]

Their voices were genuinely so loud that practically everyone in the room was staring at them. Naturally, I was included in that group, and a surge of sheer fury hit me at the thought of being mistaken as a romantic item with the guy sitting right next to me. As if I’d ever allow such a horrific, universe-shattering misinterpretation!

As long as Miel held a fondness for this fellow, Carusien was effectively my romantic rival.

Just as I stood up to give them a piece of my mind, Carusien—who had been quietly listening beside me this whole time—rose from his seat first and approached the two women.

“I would appreciate it if you refrained from discussing such matters in front of others.”

“Eek! Un… understood.”

Naturally exerting an oppressive pressure that ordinary people would find hard to withstand, his somewhat rude demeanor caused the two middle-aged women to scurry away in sheer terror without uttering another peep. I was secretly startled.

Since he was a noble himself, it wasn’t strictly wrong for him to act that way. What truly surprised me was that someone like him, who prized chivalry above all else, had spoken to women like that—even if they were just middle-aged gossips. Resting my chin in my hand, I pondered for a moment.

Could it be that he’s sensitive to this kind of thing? Hmm, no. I don’t think he was quite this extreme.

Out of sheer curiosity, I opened my mouth to ask, but Carusien abruptly turned on his heel and marched right up to the second floor.

“Teacher! Hey, wait, hey!!”

I called out belatedly, but he had already vanished from my line of sight. Unable to make any sense of his bizarre behavior, I muttered under my breath.

“What’s his problem anyway?”

Hearing my words, Yul, who had been quietly standing by, chimed in. Her response nearly made my heart drop right out of my chest.

“It’s love.”

“What?!”

“Yes, it is love. The look in Sir Carusien’s eyes when he gazes at the young lady was identical to mine.”

“………….”

What kind of look was that supposed to be, exactly? Both of them usually wore expressions so devoid of emotion and thought that you’d honestly wonder if they were wearing masks.

“Pardon me. That was a joke.”

At Yul’s deadpan clarification, I pressed a hand to my forehead.

For a split second, I really thought she was serious. Come to think of it, if Carusien harbored any feelings toward me, it would be hatred rather than affection. After all, what kind of guy teaches swordplay so ruthlessly to someone he supposedly liked?

“Yul, please don’t make jokes like that.”

“Understood.”

Having given her reply, Yul proceeded to meticulously polish the top-grade camera hanging from her neck, treating it with the utmost tenderness. As I watched her gently buffing the device with a faint smile, as if she were handling her own child, words naturally spilled out of my mouth.

“Do you polish that thing every single day?”

“Yes, whenever I have a spare moment. Especially since tomorrow is the day the young lady dresses in attire suited for entering a dungeon, I am cleaning it with extra care. I am quite glad that my collection of photographs will grow.”

“………….”

Yul, you didn’t lie to me just so you could take pictures of me in that outfit, did you? Hmm, I tried hard not to suspect her, but looking at Yul right now made me instinctively doubt her all over again. Ah, I shouldn’t do this. How could I ever doubt Yul, who always puts me first? Have I lost my mind to paranoia induced by stress?

Well, whatever. Tomorrow, all we had to do was track down the dungeon and secure the Dragon’s Tear—or whatever that ultimate stamina supplement turned out to be.

Since Carusien had already gone upstairs and there wasn’t much else to do, I decided to head up and turn in for the night.

I made my way up, closely followed by Yul, who had pinned her precious camera back onto her chest like a brooch.

The inn’s bed wasn’t quite as comfortable as my own, but it was decent enough that I drifted off to sleep almost the moment my head hit the pillow. No matter how luxurious and smooth the carriage ride had been, spending two full days crammed inside one inevitably accumulated a layer of unseen fatigue.

That night, I had a dream where Yul flashed a sinister, cunning smile, forcibly changed my clothes, and relentlessly snapped pictures of me.

“U-Ugh, stop it, Yul. Th-That kind of outfit is a no-go.”

I’ll leave whatever specific outfit that was entirely to your imagination.

When I woke up the next morning, I hadn’t slept nearly as soundly as I thought, leaving a lingering trace of exhaustion. It felt like I’d had a vivid dream, though I couldn’t quite recall the details.

“Hwaaahm.”

As I sat up and stretched with a yawn, I spotted Yul preparing the outfit I was supposed to wear today. Seeing it sparked a fleeting sensation as if something was about to pop into my head, but my brain instinctively rejected it, keeping the memory firmly locked away.

Anyway, today was the day we set out to hunt down the dungeon, so I slipped into the leather tunic Yul had laid out and strapped a sword around my waist. For some reason, dressing like this actually made me feel like a genuine adventurer.

A tiny wave of anxiety fluttered in my chest—if I’m actually thrown into a dangerous situation, will I even be able to swing this sword?—but my pent-up frustration at having gone so long without laying eyes on a single monster completely incinerated that fear, leaving behind a burning, desperate craving to finally see one.

‘Hoo.’

Exhaling a quiet breath inwardly, I rallied my thoughts.

‘Today’s the day. Today’s the day I finally lay eyes on a real monster.’

If none appeared, I swore I’d manifest one out of sheer willpower just to look at it. Armed with that determination, I headed downstairs and ran into Carusien, who must have woken up early because he had already finished his preparations and was leaning casually against the hallway wall.

If anyone else had tried a pose like that, you’d think they were just a pretentious weirdo, but because it was Carusien, it looked like a page straight out of an art book. If he strolled around flashing that look to women, you’d be hard-pressed to find a single soul who wouldn’t fall for him. Except for me, of course.

“Did you sleep well, Teacher?”

I greeted him first as I walked down, and the moment the words left my mouth, he dipped his head respectfully.

“Yes, and I sincerely apologize for my behavior yesterday.”

“Ah, right. No worries.”

Whoa, to think the day would ever come when this guy apologized to me first. It wasn’t a massive deal, but it felt remarkably pleasant. Riding that wave of good mood, we passed through the city gates and stepped into the forest, whereupon Carusien slowly broke the silence.

“By the way, while I was waiting for you earlier, a passing woman happened to give me some information regarding the dungeon.”

I didn’t even need to ask why a random female passerby had gone out of her way to spoon-feed such intel to Carusien—a complete stranger she’d likely never cross paths with again. I could already guess the exact reason.

‘Ah, this unjust, appearance-obsessed world.’

Grumbling inwardly that nothing ever changed, whether in a romance-fantasy novel or real life, I turned my ears to listen as Carusien continued.

“To start with, all the rumors surrounding the dungeon appear to be factual. The gemstone known as the Dragon’s Tear has indeed made its appearance on a few occasions. Furthermore, the dungeon’s hazard level is supposedly quite low. Most decent-tier adventurers can easily clear it and secure the Dragon’s Tear. However.”

“However?”

Listening up to that point, I had been thinking it sounded almost suspiciously easy, but hearing Carusien cut himself off instantly sent a jolt of worry through me—was there some massive catch?

“However, the dungeon’s location reportedly shifts constantly. Once it is cleared, the dungeon conceals itself before reappearing elsewhere. Ordinarily, diligent adventurers managed to track it down about once every three months, but lately, they haven’t been able to find the dungeon entrance for an entire year. It’s entirely possible that it might have vanished for good.”

“What!”

What was the point of riding in a carriage for two whole days just to get out here, only to be told that the dungeon had gone on an extended business trip and practically kicked the bucket?

Ah, I’m losing my mind. Since things had come to this, if we couldn’t find the dungeon, I decided I was going to stir up some kind of chaos back in the village. Glancing sideways at Carusien with a sinister gleam in my eye, I formulated a new plan.

If we failed to locate the dungeon, this guy was going to be the designated scapegoat once again! I already found out last time that he held his liquor remarkably well, so this time I planned to throw him right into the middle of a pack of wild hyena-like women who were practically salivating for him.

The image of Father clutching a pebble and weeping tears of pure joy suddenly felt vividly, terrifyingly close to reality.

“Well, since we’ve come this far, we might as well make an effort. Though, considering adventurers spent a whole year searching in vain and came up empty-handed, I suppose we should view it as nearly impossible.”

“Understood.”

We walked for roughly thirty minutes. Knowing that the odds of actually finding the thing were practically zero made my energy drain out of my body all on its own.

We had only been walking for a measly thirty minutes, yet the accumulated fatigue in my body felt multiplied tenfold. While I genuinely enjoyed traveling, I had zero love for hiking. My sole motivation had been the existence of a dungeon and the dream of encountering a monster within it, but true to form, this damned world refused to let things go my way, throwing up roadblocks at every turn.

“Shall we just head back down?”

Watching me give up in under an hour, Carusien shot me a look of mild disgust, but even if he stared at me like that, I didn’t care in the least. I instinctively felt an urge to flip him the middle finger, but managed to hold myself back. Ever since that incident with Yul, flashing the middle finger felt a bit too charged with hidden meaning.

Just recalling the shock from that day gave me goosebumps all over again.

Right at that moment…

“Young Lady.”

“W-Wait! I wasn’t thinking anything bad! I definitely wasn’t flipping any middle fingers! I swear!”

Startled out of my wits by Yul’s sudden voice, I blurted out a frantic jumble of defensive nonsense I didn’t even need to say.

“I have no idea what you are talking about, but understood. And…”

Cutting herself off, Yul bypassed the established footpaths entirely, walking slowly toward the edge of a sheer cliff. She didn’t stop until she reached the very precipice, where a single additional step would send her plunging straight down into the abyss.

What’s this, does she want to show me the scenery or something?

While those thoughts were running through my mind, Yul abruptly stepped forward off the cliff edge.

“Yul!”

In a flash, her figure vanished from sight as she plummeted down the cliff face. My heart skipped a violent beat, and I screamed out.

All the strength drained straight out of my legs, causing my knees to buckle involuntarily as I dropped face-first onto the dirt.

“Yuuuuulllllll!!!!!!”

To think she’d suddenly throw herself off a cliff… Could it be that I’d somehow upset her? Was she furious because I recently switched out my pajamas with a rabbit print for ones with a cute bear printed on them?

A parade of dubious possibilities flickered through my mind, and just as a heavy wave of guilt threatened to crush me, Yul’s calm voice drifted up.

“Did you call for me, Young Lady?”

“Sob, I was wrong… Huh?”

Was that an auditory hallucination? Or a ghost?

At the sound of Yul’s voice right beside my ear, I snapped my head up, only to find Yul standing there safe and sound, gazing down at me with a completely unbothered expression.

Gasp! It really is a ghost, after all. That must be it. Yul committed suicide so she could stick by my side for all eternity.

While my brain was busy generating such absurd theories, Yul once again reached her hand out toward the empty air over the cliffside, and this time, her arm sank straight into the empty space up to her shoulder as if passing through an illusion.

Reaching in and pulling her hand back out, Yul spoke.

“It appears we have found the dungeon.”

Holy shit, are you kidding me?