Chapter: 274
When I first faced a knight, everything except my hearing stopped.
All I could see was the scenery of the House of Burrow, and my sense of touch and smell didn’t function at all.
So, I could focus solely on the battle with the knight.
I struggled because I wasn’t used to fighting relying on hearing, but the moment I adapted, taking down the knight became easy.
The next battle was no different.
As soon as I entered a room, the door closed, starting the fight where any sense other than hearing was meaningless.
But there was one difference.
As the battle progressed, a certain smell invaded my nose.
It wasn’t the freshness of the air.
It wasn’t the comfort of antique furniture.
It wasn’t the pleasant scent of tea.
And it wasn’t even the mustiness you’d feel in an old place.
The smell in the room was—
Stink!
It was the disgusting scent that fills the room when something flowing from a human body leaks outside.
Maybe because of that smell, even when I needed to focus on the fight, the agonized faces of the two knights kept popping up in my mind.
And I recalled the long line of corpses I’d seen before entering the dungeon.
Fortunately, the guys who attacked me weren’t that strong.
So even with other thoughts in my head, I could easily take them down.
“…Dammit. Really.”
When the scenery of the mansion that had stopped after the battle disappeared,
once again, there were things that looked like human corpses.
They were the corpses of maids.
The sticky red color gradually soaking the black maid uniforms, and the few corpses with faces so smashed they were unrecognizable.
I knew they were fake, but even so, I couldn’t bear the feeling of my stomach turning.
“If this keeps up, I might lose my voice from all the strain.”
<...Young lady.>
After a while, I was rubbing my sore throat, trying to act calm, when Grandpa spoke with a worried voice.
Eh. Grandpa, how do you lack so much sense?
In times like this, wouldn’t it be better to say it’s a good thing I can’t speak?
That’s why he lost all the women to his companions.
[I didn’t lose them! I just did my duty as a clergyman! How many times do I have to say this?!]
“Yeah, sure. I suppose so.”
[You little punk!]
In the next battle, Tariki was up to his tricks.
This time the sense I felt was touch.
The sensation of a slippery liquid whenever I moved my feet.
The touch of weak hands that gripped my ankles intermittently.
The touch of something desperately trying to block me.
If it had just been the touch, I could have easily ignored it.
But that sensation was mixed with a scent.
The smell of blood.
The smell of the person trying to stop me.
The disgusting odor that emanates from rotting corpses.
It was driving me insane.
Thinking to myself, it was almost miraculous that I was able to handle the monsters without any injuries.
If the monsters had been even a bit stronger, I would have been lying on the ground, facing fear.
After the battle ended—
Naturally, there were several corpses on the floor.
The mess in the room looked like the aftermath of an action movie protagonist passing through, and I couldn’t help but chuckle.
What’s strange was I didn’t feel any bile rising when I faced that scene.
Maybe it was because I’d already thrown up everything inside me.
Or perhaps I had just gotten used to this kind of scene.
Whatever the case, it was a good thing.
Throwing up bile is quite a tough job, you know.
Slowly pulling my gaze away from the room’s scenery, I forced my heavy legs to move upward.
Several more battles followed.
Sometimes on the stairs.
Sometimes in a room.
Sometimes in the hallway.
The monsters took advantage of the fact that my sight was neutralized and ambushed me, and whenever the battle raged on, Tariki’s malice always surrounded me.
While battling in Burrow Mansion, the ground beneath my feet was always a mire of blood.
The unidentified figures lingering around me constantly attempted to hinder my movements.
My nose was filled with bizarre scents that felt like they belonged to hell.
And when the battles ended, my surroundings had become a picture of a serial killer’s aftermath.
And passing through that scenery always left my steps heavier than before.
How long did this go on?
By the time I regained my senses, I found myself standing in front of the office of Burrow Mansion.
“Did you arrive?”
Hoping this was the boss room, the moment I opened the door, a voice echoed in the center of the room.
It was a face I hadn’t seen in a long while.
A middle schooler acting overly serious and cool.
Tall—yet inside, completely empty.
The apostle of Tariki.
Nakrad was stationed at the desk in the office.
…Ah, technically, I should say it was Nakrad’s illusion. There was no substance there.
“How was the dungeon I created with care just for you? If you had fun, I’d be glad.”
The moment I saw Nakrad, who was buried in the chair and laughing, blood surged through my back.
“Yeah♡ It was fun♡ Seeing how the creativity of a hikikomori evil god stuck in a tunnel is so sloppy!♡”
So, I decided to respond.
I didn’t know if this was a trap prepared by Nakrad.
Not even if this was really a boss room or not.
I could only guess the potential outcomes of this provocation.
One thing was certain.
From the frown on Nakrad’s face, it seemed like he was listening to my voice.
And if Nakrad was listening to me, then Tariki was also likely giving ear to my words.
That was enough.
Let’s think about the consequences later.
For now, it was more important to get back at the bastards who tormented me, right?
“Honestly, I had zero expectations from your pathetic asses♡ One got smushed by a human and stuffed into a tunnel, and the other is the apostle of a pathetic god who ran away crying after a lesson!♡ Of course, I thought you’d be worthless!♡”
“This b*tch is really…”
“Pfftt♡ But you exceeded my expectations!♡ You’re so shoddy that it was unexpectedly fun!♡”
Nakrad tried to rebut in the middle, but I squashed him with my voice.
Boosted by the Mesugaki Skill, my voice was clearer than anyone’s.
No matter how loud they yell, it’s impossible to speak above this sound.
“Your plan to terrify me by taking away my five senses, you pathetic coward!♡ You don’t have confidence to win head-on, so you resort to this mental torment?♡ The audacity to try to provoke me after such a filthy act!♡ Is this what it takes to be a despicable little trash?♡ I’m genuinely impressed!♡”
Provoked, Nakrad slammed the desk and stood up, but there was no sound. He didn’t have any substance.
“Why?♡ You wanna hit me?♡ Because you think you can’t win with words?♡ Wow~♡ I was amazed again!♡ How do you manage to act so pathetic with such ease?♡ Is this talent?♡”
“Shut up!…”
“What are you doing?♡ Why don’t you come at me?♡ Ah~♡ You really have no confidence in winning, huh?♡ You’re scared of this small and cute girl, right?♡ Isn’t that right?♡”
“…”
“Pfftt♡ Coward!♡”
Ha. Why did he even challenge me to a verbal fight?
He’s nothing but a sadistic lowlife who only knows how to bully the weak, seriously.
Couldn’t stand my derisive gaze, Nakrad didn’t say another word and vanished.
Hmm. With no retaliation, it seems like this isn’t the real boss room. If it were a place with some preparation, he wouldn’t have been able to resist the provocation and would’ve launched an attack.
In the end, this became a wasted trip, but coming here first was a good choice. Watching Nakrad’s face get crumpled made me feel much better.
I left the office, stretching my body and sketching a map of Burrow Mansion.
If this isn’t the boss room, there’s only one place left.
With no hesitation, I stepped forward.
Having gone through countless battles, the picturesque scenery of the House of Burrow had long collapsed.
With that scenery filled with blood and corpses, there’s no reason to move cautiously.
After hastening my steps, I arrived at the place where the entrance to Nakrad’s dungeon had once been.
The room of the deceased eldest son of the House of Burrow.
As I opened the door without hesitation, a vast meadow lay before me.
The wide-open space behind the House of Burrow.
Only two people were using that extensive area.
One was a child who looked like he couldn’t be more than ten years old.
The face of the boy wielding a slightly larger spear than himself radiated an innocent purity.
The one sparring with the boy was undoubtedly an adult.
As the adult evaded the boy’s light spear thrusts, he offered praises and various advice, clearly showing he cherished the boy.
It would be normal to be curious about their identities, given they were strangers, but I felt zero curiosity about who they were.
As long as this place served as the backdrop for Burrow Mansion,
and now that I had stepped into the eldest son’s room of the House of Burrow and entered this meadow,
the identities of those two were already set.
The smaller one was Jack Burrows.
And the larger one was the already deceased brother of Jack.
Ah, so it’s the memory of the brother that has become a lingering regret, playing the key role in this dungeon?
What a pathetic brat who can’t live without his brother.
And so, I let out a snicker and got ready for battle.
Grabbing my mace once again,
I tightened the grip on my shield strap,
and cloaked myself in the divine.
There may be more broken parts than intact ones since I’ve rushed here without a moment’s rest, but…
That’s alright.
If I can plant my fist into Jack’s face, I can bear this minor penalty.
As I finished all the preparations I could make, the brothers of the House of Burrow stopped their sparring.
Their gazes fixed on me.
“Hey there. Who are you?”
Watching the eldest son of the House of Burrow approach me warily, with Jack hiding behind him looking scared, I had a hunch about how this boss battle would unfold.
Considering that this dungeon tried so hard to gnaw at my sanity, the conclusion it was preparing for me was obvious.
“Answer me!”
“Or what will you do?♡”
For now, let’s just start swinging and think later.
Until the frustration inside me eases a bit.
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