Beyond the decapitated troll’s corpse, three carcasses lay sprawled in front of the entrance leading to the seventh floor.
Two human bodies were only partially gnawed on. One slightly larger troll than the one we just hunted lay among them.
It looked like it had been butchered, torn apart, and mangled, as if the perpetrator had a personal vendetta against it, like it had wiped out their entire family.
…So, it really did have a wife.
Though I didn’t want to peek under the cloth that covered the lower half, just the massive chest was enough to confirm that it was a female troll.
From what I could tell, it seemed like the advance party had entered the dungeon a few days before us.
They must have encountered this female troll, not the one we fought, and after at least two—perhaps more—sacrifices, they managed to defeat it.
Considering the victims’ bodies strewn about, they must have won somehow, but the condition of the party suggested they didn’t have the energy to even retrieve the corpses…
‘They probably got wiped out, yeah.’
There’s no way they could properly clear the dungeon in that state.
While there may be variables depending on strengths and combinations, generally, the deeper you go in a dungeon, the more dangerous it becomes.
If the seventh or eighth floor were the limit, that’d be one thing, but clearing a dungeon with a minimum of 10 floors? That’s pushing it. They likely got stranded and wiped out along the way.
“Oh my goodness, Elianel….”
Joining me across the bridge, both Arine and Reed had dark expressions, likely coming to the same conclusion as me.
“Ugh… um, Krimhilde-san. Can we bury these bodies, please?”
Or maybe…?
I hadn’t really thought that far; perhaps the sight of the troll’s half-eaten corpse was just too horrific for them.
“Don’t we need to recover or burn the bodies of those who died in the dungeon?”
I had heard that’s how the Goddess’s Order taught it. Adventurers usually opted to burn the bodies to avoid getting on the Order’s nerves, if conditions allowed.
“Ah… well, that policy was implemented because corpses left in the dungeon are likely to revive as undead. There’s no need for that if a clergy member is in the party.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. After praying for the Goddess to embrace them, they won’t come back as undead unless someone intentionally casts necromancy.”
So that’s how it was.
In stories, sometimes they burn the bodies, and sometimes they just bury them, making it seem inconsistent, but it turns out there was a reason behind it all.
“Well then, doesn’t the Order not need to burn the bodies?”
“That is true, but if we don’t take the lead and set an example, adventurers won’t even pretend to follow suit.”
“Ah….”
Coming from someone who had seen the average morality of adventurers laid bare, that explanation made me nod instinctively.
“That branch manager must feel like his life is over.”
While I was having that conversation with Arine, Reed, who had stepped back a few paces, clicked his tongue and muttered. Judging by his tone, it seemed he had a poor relationship with the branch manager, closer to sarcasm than sympathy.
…Well, he wasn’t wrong.
With the advance party’s demise seeming almost certain, as Reed said, the branch manager’s remaining life likely wouldn’t exceed a month.
It wasn’t something to sympathize with. If you really think about it, it was self-inflicted.
‘Exactly why did he have to get so greedy for achievements…?’
Finding the dungeon was well and good, but his decision to cover it up in hopes of monopolizing the benefits ended up being a fatal mistake.
He sacrificed a dozen loyal knight-level troops due to his misjudgment regarding his ambitions.
Paying for the price of his life seems only fair in this world, doesn’t it? At least Argantir would surely think so.
No, not just Argantir; anyone would think that way.
A lenient superior towards someone who messed things up by being overly prideful would be rarer than a horned horse or an orc ballerina… maybe even rarer than that.
—
“Thank you for helping bury them, Krimhilde-san.”
“It’s nothing. Just takes a little effort.”
Since the dungeon floor was more like hard rock than dirt, I had to take the lead to bury the two corpses.
Reed and Arine’s strength wouldn’t be enough to dig deep enough into the hard rock to bury a corpse.
In exchange, Reed took charge of handling the troll’s corpse, collecting parts that might bring profit, and tossed it over the cliff.
Arine, in return for my hard work, offered me a bottle of holy water from the Order and then knelt to pray for the dead colleagues’ rest, showing gratitude for getting through the day safely and asking for guidance for future explorations.
After that, Friede, while I buried the corpses, took out sleeping bags and collapsible tents from their backpacks to set up our sleeping arrangements for the night.
Originally, she had said she’d help me, but I turned her down. I didn’t want to make her as dusty as I already was.
“Ah, you can leave my sleeping bag outside the tent.”
Reed, glancing at Friede skillfully setting up the tent, shrugged and declared he would sleep outside.
“Oh, really?”
Friede quickly yanked Reed’s sleeping bag from inside the tent and asked.
By her sharp reaction, it was less a question of whether it was okay and more a threat against changing his mind after claiming that.
Honestly, for Friede, sharing a tent with an adventurer she had just met today—a hopeless gambling addict at that—might be a bit uncomfortable.
I had experienced sharing a tent with party members far too much during my ‘Inept Hero’ days, but back then, all three of my party members were female.
Friede had briefly ‘changed’ during that time, so while gender-wise it had been the same as now, it must have felt like she was bunking with the same gender in a group of four.
Unlike back then, now I was truly the only guy among three girls.
I was already worried about whether I’d have to risk sleepless nights or restless naps, so how could Friede feel any different, being a girl from the start?
It would be completely understandable if she showed obvious wariness.
“Are you really going to sleep outside the tent?”
Thus, instead of pointing out Friede’s attitude, I asked Reed, as party leader, a question of courtesy.
“Yes. I’ll set up some alarms here and there, but having at least one person outside means we can respond quickly to unexpected situations.”
Reed grinned and nodded. If he thought so, there was no need for me to show extra consideration. Honestly, it was also a bit comforting for me.
And so, Reed ended up sleeping alone outside the tent. With a campfire going, he wouldn’t be cold. Probably.
“The night watch….”
“You won’t need it today. The entrance to the seventh floor is well secured, and I’ve set up traps and alarms at the entrance and cliffside.”
After a moment’s deliberation, we decided to skip the night watch just for tonight.
As Arine had said, the level where the mid-boss resided was devoid of other monsters apart from them, so as long as the entrance and exit were well fortified, it was a secure area.
Of course, that wasn’t the only reason; seeing the condition of the party members, it looked like if we set a watch for an hour and a half, it would hinder tomorrow’s exploration.
We had been running, fighting, and running again all day long. Despite not showing it, everyone was likely piled up with fatigue.
It shouldn’t be surprising if we dozed off during our dungeon escapade, given we only had four hours of sleep.
While both Friede and I were fine, it would be too much for Arine.
As for Reed… I wasn’t sure. Though he had a long adventuring career, he seemed to lack stamina, so perhaps it was due to being over thirty.
Anyway, for those reasons, we decided to sleep without a watch just for today.
Whether that judgment was correct or not, the four of us who nestled into our sleeping bags soon fell into deep sleep, only to wake up six hours later.
“Ugh….”
As soon as I woke up, I stretched and lightly loosened my limbs and waist. Sleeping in armor certainly provided some rest, yet I still felt a slight stiffness throughout my body.
“Yawn… have you woken up already…?”
“…Did both of you sleep well? Good morning.”
After about five minutes later, both Friede and Arine woke up in succession, yawning while sluggishly getting up.
Reed was already awake, one step ahead of them, disassembling the alarms and traps I had set up for the night watch, which quietly diluted the untrustworthy image created by his gambling addiction.
Thus, the second morning in the middle-tier dungeon dawned.
Given that we were in an underground space obscured by rock ceilings, there was no sign of morning sunlight to be found.
Nevertheless, we tidied up our sleeping bags and tent, shaking off the remnants of drowsiness, then filled our bellies with breakfast before flinging open the door leading to the seventh floor’s entrance.
After walking down the stairs for about ten minutes, the new sector of this dungeon finally unfolded before us.
“Wow… this, this could be a serious payday…?”
With a dazed expression, Reed murmured, his wide eyes sparkling, capturing the sight of a crystal cave as blue as the sea.
The walls and ceiling surrounding us, even the ground itself. Everything reflected shimmering luminescent crystals.
Not like the dim and gloomy level above; it radiated a brilliant, enchanting magical light that outshone even the midday sky.
You could almost hear the branch manager’s life extending echoing through the cave.
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