Chapter: 169
“Going for a dungeon raid, huh? You plan to help the Alrn Count family?”
“Ooh, Lucy Alrn. I thought you were just a little troublemaker always nagging Benedict, but it seems you’ve got a commendable side too.”
When I mentioned my plan for the dungeon raid, Phaebi smiled softly while Arthur looked completely taken aback.
From their conversation, it sounded like they took me for someone looking to assist Benedict and rack up experience points.
That’s not too strange, really. Most nobles do it that way.
In the world of Soul Academy, raiding dungeons is basically a noble duty.
Just like knights in medieval times were tasked with protecting the people from raiding factions, nobles with territories need to take on dungeons to protect their citizens from threats.
Failing to do so means facing criticism from other territories, and if it gets serious, you might find the people rebelling against you.
But dungeon raiding is not just a duty; it’s a right too.
When you raid a dungeon, you can collect all sorts of rare goodies inside.
Nobles generally wouldn’t just hand over dungeons located in their territory to anyone else.
Why would they share what might result in a life-changing treasure!
Given that, raiding someone else’s dungeon without permission is usually considered a major disrespect.
Sure, you could use your authority and power to force it, but if you mess up, a rebellion could break out. I learned that from studying history with Grandpa; there are actual examples of that happening.
Didn’t I raid a dungeon near Soul Academy before? Didn’t get caught, so all’s good! If they’re upset, they should get there first.
Anyway, when a typical noble family’s child says they’re going for a dungeon raid, it usually means they’re talking about a dungeon recently discovered in their own territory. Usually.
“Not me?”
“Why on earth would I raid a dungeon in my own territory? That’s something my foolish father should worry about.”
But I’m not about to let myself waste time on that. Raiding dungeons near the Alrn territory won’t yield anything delicious.
Sure, I could hit the training ground with Possell, but spending my entire vacation just training would be such a waste of a golden opportunity!
“There’s so much to gain during this period!”
“…Huh? So, which dungeon are you planning to raid?”
“Menes Tail Dungeon.”
“I’m going to the Menes Tail Dungeon, where all the lame adventurers gather.”
As explained earlier, most dungeons can only be raided with the permission of the noble ruling that area.
But not all dungeons follow that rule.
Remember the Evans Dungeon I raided before?
That dungeon didn’t disappear after defeating its boss.
Every so often, knights had to head in there to wipe out the monsters and come back.
It was a small dungeon, so even that set-up wasn’t too troublesome.
But what if the Evans Dungeon were massive?
If that place needed monster-culling every day to prevent chaos, and the monsters inside were seriously threatening?
Soul Academy has a few of those dungeons.
If you don’t keep taking out the monsters inside, those places can devastate the surrounding area.
It’s beyond what a single noble family can handle, even a whole country would struggle.
Claiming your rights could be the disaster that wipes you out in the face of the dungeon’s threats.
These dungeons were threats to the common folk but headaches for those in power too.
The value gained from these dungeons is undoubtedly high.
But trying to gobble everything up could lead to exploding bellies and untimely deaths.
In such situations, the kings of various nations chose to fully open these dungeons.
“Anyone can come raid the dungeon and take its treasures, just give a portion of what you gain back to the kingdom.”
Nobles with territories found no reason to pay attention to this.
They were too busy managing the dungeons appearing in their own lands to poke around in those far-off dungeons.
But for adventurers, it was different.
After licking the boots of various nobles while searching for dungeons they could raid, a dungeon that was free to enter was like finding paradise.
The kingdom benefits by solving their headache and collecting taxes, while adventurers gain the chance to raid dungeons anytime they want.
With mutual interests aligning, giant dungeons became places anyone could explore.
The Menes Tail Dungeon I mentioned is one of those.
Everywhere near the Magic Empire’s Norta territory, this dungeon exists permanently as a large dungeon.
Initially, the Magic Empire tried to handle it on their own but eventually gave up, opening it up for adventurers.
Of course, anyone can raid it, even nobles from other countries.
That’s the plan I have.
I already mentioned it to Alsetin, not to mention that the pathetic god gave me a quest, so it’s like I’m forced to go since “GAME OVER” is waiting for me.
“Menes Tail, you say? You really plan to go all that way?!”
The one who reacted first to my statement was Joy.
She slammed the table, causing quite the ruckus like an aristocrat, only to clear her throat and sit down when she caught everyone’s attention.
Given how she hid her face behind a fan, it seemed she was embarrassed.
“If you’re going to raid a large dungeon, you could just go to the Seinabl Dungeon!”
“I thought the same! There’s really no need to go all the way to Menes Tail, is there? If you went to the Seinabl Dungeon in the kingdom, they’d give you all kinds of support!”
Hmm. How do I explain this? Maybe I should’ve just said I’m going for a dungeon raid and left it at that?
As I pondered summoning Grandpa, Phaebi quietly chimed in.
“Both of you, Lady Alrn surely has her reasons, right? She’s done that before too, hasn’t she?”
“Yeah, that’s true.”
“Oh, that’s correct.”
Nice! Phaebi! If I said that, it would’ve felt like I was making excuses, but since you said it, it seems so credible! Is this the difference in usual behavior?
With Phaebi calming the two of them down, she turned back to me.
“So, will you just be raiding dungeons during the break?”
“Not really…”
“Of course not! I wouldn’t spend my valuable time pouring into wasting it on some pathetic dungeon!”
I’m planning to raid that dungeon, but I can’t just do that. There are so many other things I need to do.
Most importantly, I need to show my face to the Alrn family.
If they don’t see their daughter even during break, the daughter fool over there might commit some ridiculous acts.
“Why’s that?”
“Why do you ask, you pathetic saint?”
“Because I want to suggest something during the break.”
When I inquired what it was, Phaebi expressed a desire to repay me for helping her out last time.
It would be rude to refuse after she had gone so far to suggest it, so I nodded, only to hear Joy clearing her throat next to her.
What’s this all of a sudden?
“Lady Alrn, can you give me some of your time? We have a festival coming up right before the break ends.”
…Huh?
You’re inviting me to a festival at the Partran territory?
Really?!
“I’m going!”
“What’s with you, you silly Young Lady? You want to hang out with me so badly? Guess I’ll have to hang out with you, the lonely Young Lady without any friends.”
Duh!
Of course, I’m going!
I’ll make time for it even if I have to squeeze it in!
That cutscene with Joy is my absolute favorite scene from the Soul Academy game!
There’s no way I could miss the chance to capture it with my very own eyes!
“Really?”
“Yes! Absolutely!”
“Even after that? Why wouldn’t I go?”
“No way. I’ll officially send a letter to the Alrn family.”
Hah. Hehehe. Getting to participate in an event I only saw through the monitor, hanging out with Joy, and catching that cutscene?
Yeah, feeling pumped to make this break worthwhile!
Time to finish up my other errands swiftly and get to the Partran territory!
“What’s this, Joy? You’re not inviting me?”
While I was daydreaming about the events with Joy, Arthur spoke up grumpily.
What’s up? Jealous? Are you sad about losing a friend?
Wow, what a petty prince.
“What? If the prince wants, of course, I’ll invite you.”
“Joy, I want to go too.”
Just as she nodded at Arthur’s request, Phaebi chimed in.
“Phaebi? Aren’t you busy with church affairs?”
“I’ve taken a break this time.”
That break came about because I suggested it in light of the situation at the church.
Knowing the truth wouldn’t do anything but cause her heartache as she returned to the center of it all.
Might as well take a break instead of body and mind suffering unnecessarily.
It works out! Staying cooped up at the Academy would be boring anyway.
Visiting the Partran territory to gleefully play around would definitely relieve some stress.
“If Phaebi wants, of course, she should be invited.”
“Me too. I want to go.”
The last to chime in was Frey.
Despite having chips stuffed in her cheeks moments ago, she suddenly gulped down everything in her mouth and spoke.
What’s with her sudden interest out of nowhere? Did she want to join just because everyone else was?
“That, well, in that case, I’ll send an invitation to the Kent family.”
You’d think sorrowful Frey wouldn’t care, but deep down, she’s soft-hearted.
If Frey wants to come, there’s no way I could refuse her.
So, the five of us gathered here are set to reunite again at the Partran territory festival.
—
Lucy! What do you mean by that?!
That night, I contacted Benedict to address the things I’d deliberately put off.
Benedict was visibly thrilled that I reached out first, but when I brought up my purpose, he fixed me with an alarmed stare and raised his voice.
[You’re planning to leave for Menes Tail without even stopping by the Alrn territory?!]
What I said was the same as what I shared with the others earlier.
I planned to head directly to Menes Tail to gain more dungeon raiding experience.
[Absolutely not!]
Benedict yelled in alarm, totally against the idea.
It was expected. There’s no way this doting father will allow me to head out to a giant dungeon, especially one in another kingdom where help would be hard to call on.
I insisted that I had to go, but his opposition was even more determined than I anticipated.
Whining, getting angry, or even attempting to fake cry, no way could I get him to budge about my trip to Menes Tail.
Guess going to a foreign giant dungeon just seemed too dangerous.
[I should mention that if you plan to sneak off, don’t even think about it! I’ll have my sword given orders!]
Looks like he’d even follow me in person if I tried to sneak away.
Uugh. Is there really no way around this?
I really didn’t want to use it, but considering how happy that pathetic god would be, I guess I have no choice!
[Lucy. Answer me.]
“Is it really really out of the question?♡ You’re such a stingy Papa!♡”
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