Chapter: 304
“I never thought the Second Prince would come looking for me.”
The heir of the Partran Duke’s family, Jeff Partran, feigned surprise with a shrug as he faced the Second Prince in front of him.
“That makes two of us. Who would’ve thought I’d find a wizard first?”
Cecil, who had trained in the royal palace alongside various knights, had a tendency to look down on wizards.
Because of this, he didn’t feel the need to approach Jeff, and Jeff, having no actual prospects of ascending to the throne, figured there was no gain in getting chummy with the Second Prince either.
So despite having seen each other frequently over the two years, the two were practically strangers.
“May I ask what brings you here?”
“Isn’t it obvious? It’s about something related to the dungeon.”
“Are you suggesting we form a party together?”
“Exactly.”
Despite not being fond of wizards, Cecil recognized Jeff’s skills.
If he could join forces with him, they could surely speed up their progress in conquering the dungeon.
Having come to that conclusion, Cecil swallowed his pride and approached Jeff directly.
“Surprising. I didn’t think the Second Prince would be interested in accessories.”
His tone had a touch of mockery, threaded with a jab at Cecil’s usual disdain for wizards.
Cecil, keenly aware of the underlying criticism aimed at him, quickly grasped the intention but chose to respond with a smile instead of anger.
“You’re right. What I’m after is merely the fame of being the first conqueror of the dungeon.”
“Interesting.”
Jeff scrutinized Cecil’s expression and demeanor, pondering deeply.
Under normal circumstances, the Second Prince would have surely lost his temper by now.
Does this mean he’s in a desperate and urgent situation?
It’s clear that the Second Prince is so focused on martial skills that he’s rather inept when it comes to politics or negotiation.
Showing such vulnerabilities makes it far too easy to take advantage of him.
“I apologize. Your Highness, the Second Prince.”
For now, joining the Second Prince’s party seemed like a given.
Even if he had no real chance of becoming king, he was still a man of noble blood from both the Duke’s and the royal family.
It wouldn’t hurt to have that debt of gratitude in his favor.
“While I’m truly honored by your proposition, I…”
But of course, I couldn’t just nod right away.
If I do, it’ll feel like the Second Prince thinks he’s indebted to me.
Better to play hard to get a couple of times before finally giving in to make him squirm a bit.
“Unfortunately, there are already others who have agreed to join.”
And, in doing so, it would be good to snag some rights regarding the accessories we might find.
The accessories created by the Apostle of the Art Guild are renowned for their beauty.
Giving one to my sister would surely make her happy. She might even scream, “Big Brother, I love this!” while dashing over!
Jeff envisioned Joy’s cute, childish antics from when she was younger, chuckling internally while outwardly letting out a sigh as if to say he was really regretting things.
“Please understand.”
When it came to matters not related to Joy, he was utterly meticulous.
*
Academy Dungeon, Floor 100.
Once Arthur confirmed that the boss guarding the place had collapsed, revealing an exit, he lowered his raised sword.
“Have we finally succeeded in conquering the Academy Dungeon?”
What a long and grueling journey it had been.
And it had been particularly tough because of one person.
When Arthur exchanged glares with Frey, who was looking at him with a confused expression, it made his blood boil.
That clueless expression was just infuriating.
How many times had they faced crises because of that guy’s impulsive actions?
Thanks to Lucy Alrn’s bet, that idiot had no choice but to follow orders, otherwise, they would still be wandering around the vicinity of Floor 80.
“Prince, you sure do like the little things.”
“That glare is for reprimanding you, Frey Kent!”
Hearing Frey’s nonsense made Arthur yell out in frustration.
“A reprimand? I did great today!”
“Sure, you did great today. But wasn’t there a time you were all over the place causing trouble?”
“Sticking to the past is a bad habit.”
“…Haa. I feel like the dungeon’s boss was easier to communicate with than you.”
Arthur sighed at the thought of not being able to get through to Frey, and Joy beside him chuckled softly.
“Well, I do feel like we’re finally in sync. If we keep this up, the dungeon conquest should be smoother.”
“Yeah. For at least until we conquer the dungeon that Lucy Alrn created, this beast will be cooperative.”
As Frey disregarded Arthur’s words, Peiby carefully chimed in.
“Prince, even so, calling Lady Kent a beast…”
“Saint, even if communication is difficult, how else can you refer to something with sharp fangs but as a beast?”
“While it is true we communicate poorly, yes…”
Peiby couldn’t refute Arthur’s words.
After all, the incidents caused by Frey were too many to count.
“Well, I understand your views, Saint. Referring to a companion as a beast isn’t quite right.”
“Thank you for your understanding.”
To Peiby’s head bowing in gratitude, Arthur waved his hand dismissively, sheathing his sword and stretching.
Having resolved to conquer the dungeon, they had poured all possible efforts into their training recently.
And now, in a few days, they would see the fruits of that labor.
“Let’s call it a day. Tomorrow, we’ll focus on maintaining our condition. The finals are coming up soon.”
*
“Grandpa, we’re in big trouble.”
[Why? Did the gods send down another revelation? ]
‘No, not that.’
[Then? ]
‘I haven’t prepared at all for my finals.’
Recently, focusing solely on assembling dungeons had been the issue.
Normally, I’d at least pretend to study a little, but I had poured my entire focus into dungeon creation, completely neglecting other subjects.
‘Right now, I don’t even know what the exam content is! What should I do? What can I do?!’
[What to do? Just guess like you always do. With your luck, even picking random numbers should get you decent grades. If not, you might as well hit the books now.]
The lack of empathy from Grandpa’s response made me furrow my brow.
Shouldn’t he be reassuring me with “Don’t worry, I’ll guide you through it!” instead of that?
No wonder he’s never been popular. What a thoughtless old man.
[…I sense you’re thinking something strange. ]
‘I didn’t mean it like that.’
[Your true feelings slipped out! How rude! ]
‘Ah, I messed up.’
[This won’t do! Sit down! I’ve been thinking about your mental maturity, and you… ]
*
The morning of the Academy’s final exam began.
Normally, students would be holed up in libraries or their rooms studying, but this time was different.
Those boasting a bit of power at the Academy were all gathered in front of the location for the Dungeon Studies exam.
“…Whoa. Why are there so many people?”
Bisi, who arrived late at the dungeon exam location, gasped at the long line.
– With this many, it’ll be tough just to enter the dungeon, huh?
“Exactly.”
Planning to check what kind of dungeon the exam would feature before taking the final, it seemed utterly impossible now.
At this rate, waiting to enter would mean she’d have to rush off to take the exam.
“I guess I’ll have to hear stories from those who have entered the dungeon later.”
Bisi gazed around, feeling despondent at the crowd in line.
Seeing Prince Kurten from the Rahvi Duke’s family meant that was probably the third-year line.
Wow. There are a bunch of seniors who haven’t come out since early morning, preparing for their graduation exams.
They were all likely vying for the rewards of being the first to conquer the dungeon.
The accessories made by the Apostle of the Art Guild are pretty attractive.
If it’s something not available for an exorbitant price unless it’s recognized by the Apostle, it would be a valuable prize.
Standing at the front of the second-year line was none other than the Second Prince himself.
Normally, he would stick with his faction, but this time, he’s got Duke Partran’s aides who’ve ranked high among the second years.
Looks like he’s taking this very seriously.
The Second Prince gave off a vibe as if he wouldn’t be interested in accessories, but this is unexpected.
And at the front of the first-year line are the Third Prince’s group.
The Duke Partran lady, the Saintess, and Lady Kent too.
Even though Lady Alrn is overwhelming, those folks aren’t slouches either.
…It’s impossible to be the fastest to conquer the dungeon, let alone topping the whole year.
I guess I’ll have to scrap the plan of selling accessories to buy summoning materials.
I didn’t really think it’d work out, but it’s impossible with such enthusiastic powerhouses from each year.
Honestly, even if I try to hide the fact that I’m a necromancer with Adri’s help, becoming the first conqueror seems really daunting.
– It depends on what kind of dungeon it is.
“…Adri, didn’t I tell you not to read my mind several times?”
– Sorry! But it just comes naturally!
Bisi sighed at Adri’s slouching apology.
It wasn’t Adri’s fault that their connection had grown stronger.
I mean, I’m still having dreams about memories from when Adri was alive. Those times when she was truly happy.
“Alright. Assuming you get to work in an environment where you can give it your all, you think you can become the first conqueror too?”
– Yes! Believe me, I’m super strong!
Seeing Adri stretch confidently made Bisi chuckle.
“That strength, wait until you become a second-year and tackle an external dungeon.”
– You can count on it!
“Yeah, I’ll be looking forward to it.”
“Bisi!”
After chatting with Adri a bit, not long after, Bisi heard her name being called from behind.
Turning to see her old friends alongside a girl she’d recently begrudgingly taken on due to Lucy standing at the center of the line.
“You left pretty early, huh? You’re ahead in line.”
“Belma has been standing in line since dawn.”
“…Really?”
“Yeah. I figured there’s no way I could enter the dungeon otherwise.”
“Thanks to that, it looks like I’ll get to see the dungeon before the final exam!”
“Yay! Thanks, Belma! I’ll treat you to something delicious later!”
“Hehe. It’s no big deal.”
“Yeah right! If waiting since dawn isn’t a big deal, what about me, who just slunk in?”
“True! Are you saying our Bisi is lazy?”
“Uh?! No, no way!”
“Belma, don’t get flustered. These two just want to insult me.”
While saying that, Bisi ruffled Belma’s hair, who was quite lost, causing her to nod with a silly grin.
“Call me rude!”
“The worst is showing up late while pretending to be nice!”
“Whoa! Look over there. The Dungeon Studies teaching assistants are coming in. It seems like it’s about to start.”
“Hey! Don’t change the subject!”
“Seriously, both inside and outside are dark!”
“…What does that even mean?”
“Everyone? Calm down! Relax!”
No matter how loud Bisi and her friends became, the assistants followed the professors’ orders and moved about, opening the dungeon for the final exam in Dungeon Studies for the students.
And then, after about half a day, those desperately rushing for the first conquest of the dungeon began to realize why this dungeon was open throughout finals.
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