CH 108

“Well then, as thanks for having taught me this magic, as a reward for having defeated the demon earlier, and as a commemoration for clearing my dungeon for the first time, I shall award you these treasures.”

A swarm of huge treasure chests spawned with loud popping sounds, similar to the shadow clones of a certain ninja.

Whooaaa…!! I’m happy about all the nice gifts, but will we be able to carry all of this? Oh, wait, Sword emptied out his magic bag, didn’t he? In the worst case, I’m going to stuff some of it into the Ryokus and have them carry the rest as we head back.

“Feel free to take the chests as well, okay?” Sir Dungeon Core offered with a grin.

“…Good thing I dumped the rubbish on the way. Looks like all of it is goin’ to fit somehow.”

“That’s great to hear. I had already planned to tie them together with ropes so that we could carry them, if we ran out of space.”

If we were allowed to take the chests with us, it’d be feasible for me to carry them as well.

“…Also, I am going to pass you these,” Sir Dungeon Core added, drew close, and handed something to me.

――Oof, his hand is cold. And it’s even whiter than my hand.

“What are these?”

“…The teleport stones for this place, huh?” Sword muttered under his breath.

“Correct. These stones can only be used by you two and allow you to go anywhere within this dungeon.”

Hoh. That makes them sound pretty valuable…but teleportation, huh…? I’m somewhat afraid of teleporting around. I know that it’s a standard element of many SF and fantasy stories, but if they’ve got elements of horror, things become quite scary, don’t they? I’d much prefer an elevator or some such.

“Will you be able to understand if I describe it as connecting two points by distorting space?”

“Hoh! Interesting, indeed!”

In that case, it might not be scary…maybe?

“Eh? No way. Sir Dungeon Core is the same kind of geek as Indra?” Sword mumbled, but his initial premise was mistaken.

Sir Dungeon Core is not a person, so we can’t be of the same kind.

“Please come visiting again,” requested Sir Dungeon Core as he saw us off.

“Yeah, I had a blast! Our dungeon lover Sword looked like he was able to enjoy himself as well! So we’ll definitely be back!”

“No, wait, it ain’t like I’m a dungeon lover…bah, listen to me!” He sighed, and then added, “Oh well, whatever. Cya, we’ll be back.”

We waved our hands as we left. Given that the path in the inner part of Sir Dungeon Core’s room was connected to the surface, we’d be able to get back quickly to the surface, once we followed it. As we walked up a flight of stairs, we soon encountered a door.

And when we opened it…

“Oohh, the sun is so bright!”

…we were greeted by the outside world.

＊

Sword sighed deeply, bickering, “I’m so pooped,” as he flopped down on his bed.

――Our clearing of the capital’s dungeon immediately became widely known, even without us explicitly reporting it. But that makes sense. Many people witnessed how an incredibly gorgeous teleportation gate suddenly manifested, only to be followed by us stepping out as soon as its doors opened.

I mean, of all things the gate had appeared close to the dungeon entrance we had used to depart at first, you know? The people present at that time couldn’t do much more but to stare at us with their eyes wide open and their mouths agape, completely dumbstruck. Watching us nonchalantly come out of the door as if we were on a walk, they had become speechless, just to break out into excited cheering moments later.

For a reeeeeally long time we were dragged around to give our report to the guild, talk about our experiences to all kinds of folks, and participate in feasts and banquets. Because the adventurers and citizens were all very curious, I got atop Char and loudly recited our tale on a plaza as if holding a concert at some point.

“Sir Dungeon Core eagerly awaits for people to visit the last floor! Adventurers, sail forth to meet Sir Dungeon Core!”

The audience burst with excitement. And, 『Sir Dungeon Core』 became a new trend word.

In addition, I got carried away, and further announced, “This is what a beautiful idol is about!”, just to start singing and dancing. The people lionized me, but I soon suffered an iron claw from Sword.

Two weeks flew by amidst such hustle and bustle.

Because Sword was oddly insistent on keeping up his appearance, he got extremely exhausted from all this. Even though he’d have no problems if he simply acted natural. Whether he pretends to be a nice guy or simply allows his true self to shine through, he’s going to pick up ill intent, so in the end, it’s two sides of the same coin anyway.

“Are you alright? Want me to give you a massage?”

“No, thanks. If you massaged me with your superhuman strength, I’d end up a bloody pulp,” he barked back such rude stuff, even though I was just trying to be considerate of him.

“I’m going out to shop. What about you?”

“…I’ll head out after restin’ up for a lil’ longer.”

“How about taking it easy for today?”

“I made a promise. But, could you prepare dinner for me?”

“Sure.”

Promise? Is he talking about the woman from the other day? Well, considering that he doesn’t look like he hates it overly much, I suppose she’s at least no honey trap. Either way, all will be fine as I can have Ryoku rescue him when necessary.