Book 1: Chapter 2 (1)

2 When I brought home the Female Knight who fainted in the Dungeon.

For people who call themselves gamers, the reason they explore dungeons is probably「because there is a dungeon there」.

Though, they don’t really have to have to try so hard to act cool. Dungeons are only found in the world of games.

I really can’t do this. I’ll move again. Those are conclusions I may come to in the end, but nevertheless, I wanted to explore around a little before I jumped to any conclusions.

「But as expected of discount stores, Tons Quijote really is amazing. I can’t believe they sold helmets with headlights and pickaxes made for mountain climbing…… 」

Naturally, Tons Quijote didn’t sell protective equipment like iron armour or anything, but these are more than enough for light and as a weapon for exploring a dungeon.

Especially the helmet equipped with headlights. If this were a world where people used torches and lanterns for exploration, this would probably be on the same level as a legendary item.

I stocked up on a bunch of food ingredients and other items at the convenience store and Tons Quijote before returning to my apartment.

I took a breath before I faced my front door.

「Let’s go……into the dungeon!」

First, I placed my ear on the front door. I checked if there were any strange noises.

「I don’t think there’ll be a goblin attacking me once I open the door, for now. Do slimes…….make any noises……?」

I quietly opened my front door.

My headlights lit up the dark.

It was a brightness incomparable to the light from my smartphone’s torchlight function.

「Hm? I thought there was a pathway here, but I guess I was wrong」

It seemed that there was a large pillar right in front of my apartment’s door. And behind it, there seemed to be a large empty space, or to be more accurate, it looked like another room.

If the space was about the same size lengthwise and breadthwise, then this space would probably be as large as a 25 metre swimming pool.

It seemed that I had thought that the pillar was a wall surrounding the pavement.

「Could it be that some goblin will suddenly greet me from a blind spot behind the pillar? Although that’s probably not possible.」

Without going out of the front door, I desperately tried to pick up any sound I could from the dungeon’s air.

「……!」

I don’t think it’s a big army of anything like that. Is what I thought but……I heard some breathing sounds from some far behind the pillar…….

「C-could it be goblins?」

Right now, I had half my body in the dungeon, and half of it still within the house. If I spotted a goblin. I would have no choice but to completely pass through my front gate and show my face, without hiding behind the shadow of the pillar.

「Even if there was a goblin, it’ll just be one of them. And if there really was one, I could just run back through my front door. Let’s go!」

Ah, I should just stop doing whatever this is. That real-estate agent would never do anything like this.

WIth the thought that I was probably just played too many games in my mind, I stepped out into the dungeon.

The front door didn’t disappear.

Ensuring that my escape route was still kept open, I carefully moved forward. Staying in the shadow of the pillar, I peeked to look at the direction where the soft sound came from, at the end of the room.

「Eek! There it is! The Goblin!」

On the rock-faced walls and floor made of mineral matter, lay a body evidently made of flesh.

I immediately retreated back into the shadows of the pillar.

I was really surprised. I was really surprised but……

「The goblin might have been really weak」

The goblin didn’t bare its fangs at me or anything. It didn’t even look in the direction of the light from my apartment. It just lie down on the floor.

I was surprised to see something collapse in front of me, but the fear was much less intense compared to when I first heard the sound of breathing.

This might be a trap, but the moment I saw it, I could immediately feel how weak it was. What should I do. Should I go check on it one more time?

「I’ve come this far. I have to do this.」

Carefully, I snuck a peek at the goblin, remaining in the shadows of the pillar.

I observed the goblin for a much longer time than I did before. After which, I slowly returned back to the shadows of the pillar.

「Actually……is that……even a goblin?」

It seemed that the part I thought was obviously made of flesh was the goblin’s thigh. It’s skin was mysteriously very shiny.

Looking at it closely, it was wearing armor on its upper body. Up close, I saw that it was lying on a shield. And when I shined my light on it, its golden hair that was spread across the stone ground gave off a beautiful golden reflection.

「This isn’t a goblin……it looks like a human female……what’s more, could it be that this was one of those people who always come up in games……oh, could she be a female knight?」

I only checked from a distance away, but I couldn’t help but think that the thing that collapsed behind the large pillar in the dark wasn’t a goblin, but a female knight.

I reached the conclusion that she was a 「female knight」rather than a 「female warrior」because she gave off an aura of elegance, even with her thighs spread open.

She was a beautiful female knight who looked like she came straight out of some story about a hero being summoned.

At least the possibility was there.

My heart was beating loudly. But it was not from nervousness, but rather, from excitement.

But could I really be sure that this really wasn’t a goblin?

It would be a lie to say that there was completely nothing suspicious about this current situation.

Could it be that that female knight was just bait?

Everything that led up to this current situation had been suspicious. But.

「There’s no way a human would sleep on such a cold, stone floor normally. If that were really a human, it would mean that they were in danger.」

I had to help her.

My late grandmother told me that I should treat people with kindness.

This was a lady, furthermore, one who looked like she was on the brink of death…….probably. All the more because she was a female knight.

「I have to be brave here. Even a normal villager A from Japan can do it when they want to!」

I repeatedly told myself as I strengthened my grip in the hand that was holding onto the pickaxe. I went up fearfully, making sure that I didn’t miss out on any sudden sounds around me.

I used the pickaxe to hit the floor a few times before I stepped forward.

I moved beyond the pillar and checked my surroundings. There were no goblins in the blindspot behind the pillar.

The female knight wasn’t moving at all, but I could hear her weeping, ever so softly…….

Gulp. That sound came from my throat. I notice myself having just swallowed my saliva. What on earth was happening? Was this female knight lying on the stone ground and crying?

I shone my bright headlight on her a countless number of times.

Why wouldn’t she look here?

Was this a trap? Or could there be danger nearby?

The excitement I had just now had completely faded and I was struck with an intense tension.

But if danger was really approaching, it might cost her her life if I didn’t help her right now.

I finally stepped out from behind the pillar into the large room.

Obviously the thing I was most curious about was the female knight, but I couldn’t just focus on that.

I shined my headlight on the wall, the ceiling, the floor and checked any and everything around me before proceeding carefully.

I was about a 100 times more nervous than I was compared to when I entered the office of the fishy real estate agent.

I had gotten quite close to the female knight. At this point, there was no way I could mistake her for a goblin. She was definitely a female knight. Moreover, the possibility that she was wearing a disguise was very low……I think.

I could start to see her face, which I imagined was probably very beautiful.

But there was no mistaking it. The sound that was becoming increasingly louder was the sound of her crying.

「Sniff, sniff……」

Why was she crying? Moreover, she still wouldn’t look in my direction. She just faced upwards.

Having shined my headlight thoroughly throughout the entire room, I was sure that there was no one in this room other than the female knight.