Book 6: Chapter 17

The Hero’s Name  

We entered the boss room on the final floor.

Normally, Hakua would be waiting here in her dragon form, so the room was overwhelmingly huge compared to the other floors up to the ninth.

The room was wide enough for a dragon to fly around while fighting with the dungeon challengers.

By the way, Hakua was  the final floor boss, but right now, her figure was that of a cute little girl, and she was  currently walking in front of us. She didn’t  have the heart to fight with us, it seemed.

I didn’t  have any qualms fighting her if she was  in her dragon form, but it was  quite difficult to fight her now that I knew  about that dragon being this petite girl.

I was worried that Hakua would transform into a dragon as soon as we step inside the boss room and say things like ‘No, you fight with me!’.

The object I was aiming for stood at the furthermost corner of the room. 

It was a colossal, black stone monument.

I already confirmed that there are words written in some kind of characters on it.  It probably contained the information that I wanted — the name of the Guardian Hero who challenged and tackled this dungeon alongside Tina. I’m sure it was  written there.

I briskly strode towards the stone monument.

With this, I’d know why Tina’s memories were sealed.

That’s what I thought, but —

“I-impossible, right…..”

I couldn’t  read the words on the monument.

I drew closer until I could  properly scrutinize the characters, but the recorded words were written in a language I had never seen before. It was also different from the book that Luna got from the transferred hero’s bonus room.

“People finish the dungeon, write names there. But me no-no read it.”

Hakua said that as she drew nearer to me. I had gone ahead towards the monument on my own earlier. Even the Dungeon Master Hakua couldn’t read these characters.

Words were automatically recorded on the monument using some kind of characters when you completely tackled the dungeon.Those letters were considered as the names of those who finished the dungeon course.

Hakua only heard about this from someone who belonged to her race, and she didn’t  know what was really written on it.

She also knew about Tina because rumors about her had spread among the dragon clan, furthermore, she was already listed as ‘Dungeon Completer’ on the Dungeon Control Board, so she understood that Tina was one of those who cleared the dungeon.

However —

“So, does Hakua know the name of the Guardian Hero?”

“Guy travelled with Tina, finished here? Sorry, no no.”

Hakua also didn’t know the Guardian Hero’s name. 

The Guardian Hero’s name that wasn’t written in any book — I thought that it would surely be written here, so I’ve had come this far.

But, it was all futile.

It was true that the hero’s name was written here. However, if I couldn’t  read it,  I wouldn’t  know the name of the Hero.

“False hunch, after all……..”

Words unwittingly spilled from my mouth.

I led everyone here, trusting my intuition that I’ve recently gained the ability to use.

I had a feeling that the clue to Tina’s memory was in here, and that it would be better to take everyone else  with me, so even though we only had a little time left here in Vestier, I partly forced them to come with me to this dungeon.

“Halt-sama, are you okay? You look pale, though…”

Tina came later after me, and was worried.

“No, I’m fine. It’s nothing.”

I can’t talk to Tina about that Guardian Hero’s name. She might collapse again if she noticed that she didn’t remember his name.

“Is that so…. If there’s anything bothering you, please feel free to talk to me about it, okay? I’m Halt-sama’s wife and exclusive maid, after all.”

I saw a shadow of sadness pass through Tina’s face, but it was fleeting. She probably noticed that I was hiding something from her.

But sorry, I’d be  keeping this to myself.

“Thanks, Tina. I’m really alright.”

I stroked Tina’s face after saying that.

“Halt-sama, you cleared dungeon. Please touch stone monument?”

Hakua was right beside the stone monument, and she turned around to call out to me.

“Yup, got it.”

I walked to the spot beside Hakua, then touched the stone monument.

—!?

Something poured inside my mind.

It was the memory that I touched the stone.

That’s because I —

“Ah, Halt’s name is added to the stone!”

“Eh!?”

I doubted my ears when I heard Luna’s words.

The characters appeared on the stone monument when I touched it. But, they were the same as the previously recorded letters on it, and I wasn’t able to read it, either.

“Luna, perhaps you can read the characters written on this stone monument?”

“Yes, I can read it….”

Quivering for a bit, I drew closer to Luna. Her face turned red. She seemed surprised.

But now —

“T-then, can you please read everything that’s written here?”

“I-I understand. The first character on the top is [Dungeon Completer]. The second one was the one added just now, Halt’s name [Halt Ernol]. The third name is [Tina Harivell] — Teacher Tina’s name, right?”

Tina probably touched this stone too when she cleared this dungeon a hundred years ago.

Her name at that time would be Tina Harivell. 

Moreover, there was another line of characters recorded on the stone monument. That was probably the name of the Guardian Hero who cleared the dungeon alongside Tina —

“The last string of characters is the name of the Hero-sama who came from the other world, it seems.”

“W-what does it say!?”

“[SaijouHaruto]….It’s similar to Halt’s name..”

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T/N: Okay, so the name that was written on the stone monument was not kanji, but katakana. I debated with myself if I should go with Saijou Halt, or Saijou Haruto, but Haruto it is ????

E/N: Plot twist. So, it is possible that Halt is a 100+ year old man. You don’t have to be uncomfortable that Tina was 100+ when he was 12. Lol