Chapter 217
Covered in Wounds
Translator : PolterGlast
Although we safely escaped the dungeon, Aoi was in a state of being battered and bruised. Since you can
revive even if you die in the dungeon, I thought it might be better to just
kill her so she could fully recover, but Aoi
flatly refused on the grounds that she was "scared of dying." I can
somewhat understand how she feels, but personally, I think dragging a leg
through a dungeon capture would be more painful. Despite all that, well, we
made it back safely, so all's well that ends well.
「We finally made it back above
ground! My legs and arms hurt so much!」
「We're going to the Adventurer’s Guild to report now, but
do you want to head back to the inn first, Aoi?」
「No way! We went through the trouble
of defeating it, so I want to be praised!」
「I don't know if you'll be praised. But if you say you're tagging along, I don't intend to force you
to stop, though.」
「I'll lend you my shoulder, so let's
go together, Aoi-chan. Maybe they'll
even be able to treat you.」
「Ginia, thank you!」
I did cast recovery magic on her just in case, but since it
was damage sustained from pushing herself past her limits, it didn't have much
effect. Treatment through a different approach might be effective, so
consulting Lynette might indeed be a
good idea. Thinking such things, we headed straight for the Adventurer’s Guild right after exiting
the dungeon.
When we explained the situation at the reception desk, we
were immediately guided to the Guild Master's office without being made to
wait. Including the travel arrangements, I could tell Lynette was treating us like VIPs, for which I was truly grateful.
「Graham-san, Ginia-san, Aoi-san. Were you able to obtain
information on the Kaonashi from Battenberg? I went ahead and gathered
information again on my end just in case, so please look at these documents──」
「Ah, sorry. It seems you've been
working on various things for us, but the subjugation of the Kaonashi is already done.」
「...Eh? A-Are you saying you've
already defeated the Kaonashi?」
「Yeah. That's what it means.」
「Amazing, wonderful! Your exploits in
the Royal Capital were tremendous, but your power truly is the real deal, Graham-san! Not only handling a
troublesome request, but your speed of resolution is also top-tier! I'm truly
glad I requested this of you, Graham-san!」
Lynette was uncharacteristically excited, grabbing my hand and
shaking it vigorously. It's just that we happened to encounter it right away,
so I can only say we were lucky... but thinking that the two of them are being
praised, I don't feel bad about it.
「No, I didn't fight this time. Ginia and Aoi did the subjugation of the Kaonashi
for me.」
「...Eh? I didn't think Ginia-san and Aoi-san were weak either, but are you saying they are highly
capable individuals!? Please excuse my profound rudeness. Based solely on my
own assumptions, I was absolutely certain that you had subjugated it, Graham-san...」
「You don't have to apologize! If I
were in your position, I'd think Graham
defeated it too!」
「In reality, it's as if Graham-san defeated half of it. He
showed us the battle with the clone, and he was the one who found the main
body, after all.」
Ginia and Aoi called
out to the deeply bowing Lynette
like that.
「Thank you for your forgiveness.
...There are various things I'd like to ask, but what kind of monster was the Kaonashi?」
「Nine out of ten, it was a monster
that entered from outside the dungeon. I didn't figure out its true identity,
but the reason it was invisible was because it used a clone to attack. However,
its main body was also strong, and I think it's related to the Demon King... but that is ultimately
just my speculation.」
「I thought it was an irregular
entity, but an intruder from outside the dungeon? I had confidence in our
security, but it seems we are still naive.」
「No, I think the opponent was just
bad news this time. It was a monster that could freely change its appearance
and form, so I don't think the security was naive.」
When it comes to preventing the Kaonashi from invading, there's no choice but to stop people from
coming and going. Or there's the option of stationing personnel who can see
magic power, but well, that's not realistic. I think it's better to accept that
it couldn't be helped this time, considering the future.
「Thank you for your comforting words.
I will limit it to a review of our security so as not to overdo it.」
「Yeah, I think that's good. Also,
this is the equipment the Kaonashi
left behind. Its corpse remained too, but as expected, we couldn't bring it
back. Because it didn't turn to ash unlike the dungeon's monsters, you might be
able to recover the corpse if you go to the thirty-sixth floor where we
subjugated it.」
「I see...! I will send someone to
recover it immediately! As for the equipment, please take it home with you, Graham-san. Given that the Kaonashi was wearing it, it must be
something of value, right?」
「I'll hand it over, naturally. You
might be able to figure something out from the equipment, and that'll be better
for the future.」
It might sell for a high price, but having it investigated
is more beneficial. We managed to subjugate it, but in the end, we didn't
figure out what it was, after all.
「Thank you for everything. In that
case, we will have the Adventurer’s
Guild investigate it. I will report to you via letter as soon as we find
out anything.」
「Yeah, that would be helpful. Well
then, we'll be taking our leave now.」
「Graham-san, Ginia-san, Aoi-san. Thank you once again. I will
deliver the reward to you at a later date, so please look forward to it.」
「Thank you! It was a great
experience!」
「Indeed. Opportunities to fight a
monster of that caliber without risking our lives don't come around often, so
it was a truly great experience. Thank you.」
「No, no, no! 'Thank you' is my line!」
After watching them bow their heads to each other repeatedly for a while, I left the Adventurer’s Guild. Since they had booked the inn for a while longer, I intend to stay in the Dungeon City until Aoi recovers to some extent. While waiting for her to recover, I... am thinking of going to the Battenberg residence one more time. I still haven't been able to meet Duke, and I need to report the subjugation of the Kaonashi, after all.
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