Chapter: 393
I handed Jack over to Karia and led my friends towards the dungeon I had my sights on.
It was the territory belonging to the barony of the Soladin Kingdom.
The barony wasn’t particularly powerful nor did it have a long history, so it couldn’t refuse our attempt to conquer a medium-sized dungeon.
With a prince, a ducal young lady, a countess, and high-ranking members of the church all together, they wouldn’t dare to oppose us even if they wanted to erase a baron family with a snap of their fingers.
“If there’s anything you desire, please let me know! I will do my best to cooperate!”
Baron Liz was sweating profusely as he greeted us. We hadn’t even threatened him in any way.
The difference in status really can make someone feel so small, huh? I was looking at the pitiful Baron Liz, who seemed like his lifespan was decreasing in real time, when Grandpa chuckled and spoke up.
[Look at the appearance of you and your friends. Wouldn't anyone get scared?]
…Um. That’s true.
I didn’t really need to say much.
Joy looks like a rotten villainess to anyone unfamiliar, and if Frey keeps quiet, she seems like a cold-blooded killer. Arthur can only manage a stiff expression.
I could understand why Baron Liz kept glancing at Phoebe.
He was probably silently begging for her life.
As I was about to say that talking with Baron Liz would genuinely give me secondhand embarrassment, he spoke in a cringing tone.
“My son will be accompanying you, so if you need anything, please let my son know.”
Wait. Hey. You’re going to send your son, who looks like he’s about to be sick, to us? Are you even a father?
[That’s more of a choice for himself. It’s good to maintain connections with high-ranking individuals, even in this manner.]
‘So he wasn’t trying to dump his unappealing tasks on his son?’
I almost mistook him for a bad dad wanting to pass off the work he didn’t want to do.
[Who knows?]
‘…Wasn’t he advocating for this guy?’
[How would I know the man’s thoughts? I’m not Karia.]
With Grandpa’s words, I was complaining about what that was, when I noticed the baron’s eldest son who was here to guide us and tilted my head.
Huh? I feel like I’ve seen this kid somewhere.
He was definitely the one who was with me during the academy entrance exam.
But the name…
I can’t remember.
All I recall is the nickname “Mesugaki Skill” he went by!
It was too strongly etched in my mind!
“Liz Young. It’s nice to see you again.”
While I was hesitating, Joy stepped up and greeted him.
“Ducal Young Lady Partlan remembers me. It’s truly an honor.”
“Being too humble isn’t good either. Jacob Liz, you managed to advance to the second year with decent grades, so you’re worth remembering.”
Ah! Yes! Jacob! Only after hearing Arthur’s voice did I finally remember and smiled brightly before stepping forward.
“Hello~ Sloppy junior~”
“Lady Allen.”
After hearing the compliments from the two before, Jacob’s eyes were full of expectation. Seeing those eyes, I couldn’t help but feel playful.
“Why does your face look so creepy? What do you want to hear?”
“Um. That…”
“If you speak~ honestly, I might just tell you something honest in return.”
Smirking, I looked up at Jacob, who had turned beet-red and was bowing his head.
His reaction was fun. The kids around me were so used to this tone that they didn’t react, but it seemed like he lacked that tolerance, so a simple poke would bring out his response.
As I was thinking of teasing him a bit more, Joy’s hand interrupted my voice.
“Lady! Manage your expressions!”
You didn’t say a word back in the mansion; why are you making a fuss now? Can’t I just play with a good reacting toy?
I expressed my dissatisfaction with my eyes, but Joy didn’t release her hand from my mouth.
“…Haha. Ah, um. I’ll guide you to the place where the dungeon is located!”
After regaining his composure, Jacob quickly turned away to hide his flushing face and moved forward.
As I pouted at his retreating figure, I sighed into Joy’s palm.
“Hwaak?!”
Joy let out a scream, totally out of character for her looks, and quickly fanned herself to hide her face from everyone’s gaze.
She shot me a glare, and I couldn’t help but chuckle at her.
“…Lady!”
“Hmph.”
Heh. Why are you fussing when all I did was watch?
This one’s totally your fault. Silly.
*
Thanks to Alsatine’s prior visit to request cooperation, a decent lodging had already been established near the medium dungeon in Liz territory, complete with attendants, guards, and cooks!
I felt burdened by such generous treatment, unlike when I was in my family, but my friends didn’t seem to mind. They appeared to be used to such reactions and were voicing their demands to everyone.
[Isn't that only natural? With a status like that, it’s normal to be catered to.]
‘Not for me, though.’
After living a life where it would be fortunate just not to hear any insults, this kind of treatment feels strange.
[Well... Hm. You'll get familiar with it from now on. I’ll teach you how to handle it. What you do is…]
After finishing preparations under the consideration of the Liz family, one of the knights belonging to the family came out to explain the dungeon to us.
“Before entering the dungeon, let me explain a few things about it.”
I tried to remain silent and listen to the explanation as I didn’t want to be asked about my familiarity with a dungeon I’d never been to before.
“This dungeon consists of a total of 8 patterns.”
No, if you include special variations, it’s 14 in total.
“Identifying traps is done through markings.”
Nope, that’s wrong. The markings have nothing to do with traps. You need to look at the floor to distinguish the traps.
“The boss’s patterns…”
…No, that’s all wrong, and that’s all wrong. Are you sure you’re the ones managing this dungeon?!
Ha. I can’t hold it in anymore. I need to put an end to this nonsense.
“Hey, you stupid trash knight.”
“…Yes?”
“Shut up. Listening to your dumb explanation makes my ears feel like they’ve been smeared with garbage.”
Finally unable to take it anymore, I stood up from my seat and snatched the guidebook from the knight, correcting the mistakes one by one.
During that process, all kinds of cursing filled with my sincerity flew at the knight, but I didn’t feel a shred of guilt.
It’s right to give a piece of my mind to someone who believes in such stupid tactics!
Puffing up with irritation, I completed the guidebook and remembered the wise words of the ancients.
If you want a proper answer, don’t ask questions. Get the other person so mad that they can’t keep their mouth shut.
Damn it. I was the one getting stuck this time, but it won’t happen next time. I’ll definitely make others boil with this method in the future!
Resolutely, I left the knight of Liz behind and led my friends to the entrance of the dungeon.
“Lucy Allen. What are you doing?”
Just as I was about to step into the dungeon as if it were a matter of course, Arthur furrowed his brows.
“Can’t you see? I have eyes.”
“The limit for a medium dungeon is four people, isn’t it?”
Ah, that’s right. I haven’t told them that yet.
…But how do I explain that the participant limit in the dungeon has increased? Where do I even start?
As I pondered for a moment, I thought it would be better to show them than explain, so I forcibly pushed Arthur, Joy, and Frey into the dungeon while teaming up with Phoebe.
Arthur, who was almost thrown in, looked annoyed and then froze upon realizing Phoebe was next to me.
“Is my vision blurry? How can five of us be in a medium dungeon?!”
“Don’t think too hard, pitiful prince. This is possible because I’m super special. You can just think, ‘Oh, I see,’ and move on.”
“What does that even mean… No, forget it. It’s not worth talking about.”
Having easily convinced my friends, I quickly led them through the dungeon.
Dealing with weak monsters was just a waste of time. We needed to reach the target location as fast as possible.
Just like in the academy dungeon, I followed the soupy route and reached the trap on the second floor in less than 10 minutes.
“Is this the trap that the knight was talking about?”
“If you trigger this, monsters will swarm in, right?”
Thanks to the training in the knights’ order, Arthur and Joy seemed quite relaxed despite me running seriously.
Frey, who had always kept up with my speed, was fine, and Phoebe was slightly panting but was still good to go.
After confirming no one was in distress, I boldly stepped on the trap.
Then, the exit was blocked, and several magic circles appeared in the room.
Unleashing the unique trap of this dungeon, the monster wave had been activated.
“Lady?!”
“Lucy Allen!? What are you doing?!….”
“If you have the leisure to complain, how about preparing to fight?”
Calmly raising my shield, I watched the monsters emerging from the magic circles and drew out my divine power.
“Damn it! At least let me get mentally ready!”
“I’ll prepare a wide-area spell! Phoebe! Blessing!”
“I’m getting ready! Just a moment please!”
“This seems like it could be fun.”
I wonder how far my friends can go this time.
It would be great if we could activate all the traps in the dungeon during our first visit.
That way, we could efficiently grind away.
[Lucy, I understand your intention of building experience while confronting an endless stream of enemies, but aren’t you forgetting one thing?]
‘You mean Agra’s interference? If that’s the case, I don’t mind. Actually, I’d prefer it that way.’
<…What? >
‘The variables he can introduce in this dungeon are pretty obvious.’
Just like usual, I hope he intervenes this time as well.
It will only increase the rewards we can obtain from this dungeon.
After confirming with Grandpa that there would be no problems, I raised my shield when the horde of monsters charged at us.
For now, let’s grind for about half a day.
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