Chapter 116

Contact

We decided to begin our approach to the black wolf.

Although it looks like it woke up, it’s not doing much of anything other than swinging its black tail back and forth.

Somehow, from the looks of it it seems as though it’s protecting the dungeon core. Rather, it’d be great if it just kept doing that for real.

And so I had the messenger golem run there.

It would’ve been possible for me to bring it directly out of the dummy core, but I didn’t want to accidentally agitate the black wolf.

I took up position further away outside of the boss room with the string telephone golem in my hand.

… I plan on running away if the wolf attacks it through Rokuko retrieving me.

That might not actually happen, but there’s no reason to not be careful here.

[Our preparations are done! You can start anytime.]

It was Rokuko’s voice. If I’m inside the dungeon, we can communicate through the menu even without using the string telephone golem.

“Well then, guess it’s time to give it a go.”

While watching to see how things were going in the core room through the monitor, I moved the clay haniwa golem inside.

When the golem timidly peeped into the core room, the black wolf stood up abruptly.

… I gave up the thought of having the clay haniwa golem move further into the room and just decided to start talking.

“… Who are you.”

The wolf’s ears twitched… It might be able to answer if it can talk, but can it really?

[Gurururu… strange golem. You, that one, what are you?]

Ooh! It talked! This wolf can talk like a person! Let’s introduce myself.

“I am this place’s master, Keima. Who are you? If you have a name, what do you call yourself?”

[A name, I have one! I, am Rin! This place, it’s your, house? Obediently, surrender it, to me. If you do, I will spare, your life.]

It’s named Rin, huh. This guy uses a ton of commas. However, I still understand what this guy’s saying right now. He wants me to ‘surrender my house’… he wants to make it his base?

Is it that it came because it wants to hibernate or something?

[Hey Kehma, what was that a moment ago?]

“Nn?”

A transmission from Rokuko popped up… What, huh. So she can’t hear it? Rokuko should have been able to hear it too though…

Ah, nope, right. It’s Translation Function-san doing his job. I can’t even understand if it’s using slime speech or wolf speech yet he’s translating it properly, seriously awesome.

“And because of that, we can negotiate properly.”

[… Got it. You said its name was Rin? If the wolf attacks, I’ll retrieve you.]

I briefly told Rokuko about it and returned to negotiating with the wolf.

[What will, you choose. Want to, be eaten? Kehma.]

“Let me think for a moment.”

[I am, hungry, better, hurry. Ku, ku, ku, ku.]

That laughter feels bad somehow, like it’s in monotone. Is it because it’s a wolf?

“… You want food then? What do you… Rin, what do you eat?”

[I eat, anything. Even, golems!]

It opened its pitch-black mouth, aiming at the messenger golem, threatening it with its darkly colored fangs.

… Ah, right, it thinks that I’m the golem huh?

Well, whatever. If it’s a living thing that gets hungry, I might be able to win it over with food.

“You eat golems huh. How much do you eat per day? I’ll feed you.”

[… You’ll sell, your comrades?]

Rin spoke in deep voice, loaded with a gloomy feeling.

It feels like my reputation would go down if I actually agreed here.

“You might say that, but you said that you’re fine eating anything that moves.”

[That, so? You, Kehma? A golem, right? Aren’t you, this cave’s, master?]

So it really does think I’m a golem. In other words, it thinks that I’m someone that’d sell my followers even if they’re the same race or something. Really, I’m suuuuper nice to my comrades ya’know!?

I started to correct it, but stopped for now. I want to avoid saying that I’m a dungeon master. It’s a secret that Haku-san told me to absolutely protect until they become a comrade.

If this guy has a human owner and that person shows up to take it back, it’d get leaked.

Even so, it’s probably a good thing to say that I’m not a golem. Seeing its reaction from a moment ago, it seems like it doesn’t like people that’d sell out their own race, so negotiations would be hindered.

And so because of that, I decided to tell it that I’m not a golem without saying too much.

“Don’t misunderstand. I am not a golem.”

[Not, a golem…? True, you look, strange. You’re like, the strong one, in that last room, and the one, before that. Were those, your, parents?]

Our conversation didn’t move at all even though I said that I’m not a golem. Rather, a haniwa golem family huh, that’s a new setting.

“No, I made them.”

[!? You are, the parent, then!?]

Why’s it so troublesome to correct it!? Well, the point that I made them isn’t wrong and I can’t think of a good way to say it… Yep, let’s leave it there!

“For now, if you want to eat golems, just say how much you want me to feed you. How’s that?”

[… I don’t like, golems, much. They aren’t, tasty.]

“T-that so? Then what do you want to eat?”

[You!]

The talks went full throttle out of nowhere!?

Grah, I don’t get what it’s thinking! Isn’t this beyond the point of cultural differences!?

[… You talk, too much. I am, getting hungry. I’ll eat, Kehma!]

“H-hold up. It’s alright to eat me, but why’d you come here in the first place? I want to know.”

[To eat, yoooou! Time, to eat!]

With a snap, the messenger golem was eaten by the wolf.

Simultaneously with that, I was retrieved into the master room. Looks like Rokuko pulled me back since the golem got eaten.

On the monitor, I saw the telephone golem get crunched up by the wolf like it was eating noodles.

“It ate the golem huuuh. So, what now Kehma? Was the conversation beneficial somehow?”

“… Hmmm, it’s like we connected and like we didn’t connect…”

Should I give it another shot? After giving it some time, that is.