Chapter 88 - The Dungeon in the Church and the Squatting Girl
The entrance to the dungeon was inside the church building.
It was just like the dungeon in Richelle. In the center of the floor was a black circle about five meters in diameter, from which something like black flames rose.
One of the knights had Adventurer as a secondary job class. He transported us to the tenth floor.
Normally, I'd want to carefully clear the dungeon floor by floor from the beginning, but we didn't have that kind of time.
Eighteen of us—the members of Levante and Altair, plus six from the knightly order—descended to the tenth floor of the dungeon. We would proceed to the Area Guardian's room with this large group. It was quite a crowd.
The interior was a cave with exposed rock walls, like a limestone cavern.
"So it's not a neatly sectioned dungeon like the one in Richelle."
"The terrain and the monsters that appear change with each dungeon," Maira dutifully answered my muttered thought.
"It's fine to proceed with everyone, but I'd like to have one battle with just our six. Secretly, if possible."
"Why secretly?" she asked, looking at me with a puzzled expression. Did I say something that strange?
"If Avea thinks I'm weak, she won't let me go to the Area Guardian's room."
"But you train with Avea-san every morning, don't you? I think she already knows your strength. This time, Mash, you seem very keen on going to the Area Guardian's room. You're usually so cautious."
"Because we have to go. I'm banking on my, Fam's, and Mizuki's special skills to pull us through. If anyone else goes, there's a chance they'll lose. I don't want to send them."
"Fam and Mizuki… It's a shame that I'm not counted as part of the main fighting force."
"That's not it. It's because we have the support and firepower of you, Cecily, and Aira that I feel we can even attempt this. We might be a party that came together by chance, but we're well-balanced, and you're all more than I deserve."
As I was talking with Maira, I noticed Fang and Doris watching me. They looked like they wanted to tell me something.
Just as I was about to approach them, a giant Worm burst from the ground, shaking the earth. Its massive body was at least five meters long. It slithered and coiled as it charged toward us. It looked slow, but its movements were surprisingly fast.
At its front was a tubular mouth large enough to swallow a human head whole, and I could see sharp fangs lining its inside.
I dodged and slashed with my sword, but the blade couldn't cut through the Worm's skin. It was tough.
"Watch out for the saliva it spits from its mouth! It's corrosive!" a voice called from behind me. It was the Knight Captain, Zofia. At the same moment, saliva shot out from the monster's mouth.
"Gross!" I dodged instinctively. But as I lost my balance, the Worm's tail whipped toward me like a lash.
I took the hit dead-on and was sent flying into the cavern wall.
"Dammit!" I righted myself and readied my sword again.
However, there was no need for me to step in. Avea, Beers, Fang, and the knights had surrounded the Worm and were attacking it all at once.
Though the Worm had a hard hide, it was quickly torn apart by their onslaught.
Mizuki and Fam stood by, watching the scene unfold just as I was, not even joining the fight.
These people were more terrifying than the monster. As I watched, Doris ran up to me.
"Are you okay?"
"Y-Yeah. More importantly, was there something you wanted to tell me?"
She knitted her brows in a troubled way, but there was a somewhat comical air about her. As I'd thought before, she had a face like a tanuki.
"…I, um, have to go pee."
She whispered, glancing around nervously.
"What? Didn't you go before we entered the dungeon?" All eyes in the area immediately turned toward us.
"Hey, don't shout! This is embarrassing!"
"S-Sorry."
She grabbed the hem of my clothes and pulled.
"Please come with me to that recessed area over there."
"Wait, you want me, a guy, to come with you while you do it? If you need a guard, I can ask Fam."
I was about to call out to Fam, but she tugged on my clothes again, harder this time.
"N-No! You're my master now, so you have to take proper care of me!"
The stares from the others were painful. Mizuki in particular looked like she had a complaint on the tip of her tongue. But while I could tell her to just hold it, I couldn't say that to Doris, who had only just joined us.
"…Alright. Sorry, but could you all wait for a moment?" I called out to the party. Doris and I separated from the group and headed toward a recessed spot out of sight.
Once we were hidden from view, she hiked up her priestess robes and began to pull down her underwear.
"Hey, this is just an act, right? Are you really going to do it?"
"Yes, for the most part…"
"Aren't you embarrassed?" I asked, pulling out my smartphone.
"Of course I'm embarrassed. But I thought you'd be used to seeing this?" Doris's face was flushed, whether from excitement or something else.
"Nope, this is a first for me."
"Is that so? This is my first time doing this in front of a man, too. It's a little exciting…"
She squatted down. I got a clear view of her genitals beneath her pubic hair. The ripened sight of it aroused me.
"Before we entered this dungeon, there was something I had to tell you. I've been to this castle before, back when I was with the Men in Black," she said in a small voice.
"Did you meet the king?"
"No, at the time they were preparing for the king's arrival. I had the pilgrim's pass that Isaac carried, and Mii and I entered the church where the dungeon entrance is. The castle staff must have been busy, because we didn't see anyone besides the gatekeeper and the knight who guided us to the church. There was no one inside the church either, and I offered my prayers to the gods at the altar. While I was doing that, Mii found the basement and went inside."
"Mii has that special skill, [Crystal Control]. Did the dungeon get generated then?"
"I don't think so. At the very least, there was no entrance there at that time," she replied. She went to the trouble of calling me over to tell me this. There was no reason for her to be lying.
If this was the work of Mii's [Crystal Control], it meant the skill had the ability to activate a command given to a crystal core after a certain amount of time had passed. It was hard to dismiss the timing of the Men in Black's visit and the dungeon's generation as a coincidence. I wondered why he would have left such a setup behind.
Mii was said to have been based in the city of Flucht. It was possible he had left similar 'presents' for us at our destination.
"Mash, it's coming out…"
Doris's voice pulled me from my thoughts.
"What, all of a sudden?"
A stream of liquid shot out from between her legs, spreading into a dark patch on the ground. I had almost forgotten she'd used the excuse of needing the toilet to call me over. I held up my phone and watched intently.
"So it really does come out from there…"
"P-Please don't be impressed by something so weird. And it's really embarrassing, so please don't stare so much!"
What started as a trickle became a strong stream, then gradually weakened. I felt a sense of wabi-sabi. When she was finished, she gave a little shiver.
"…I'm done."
Whether she was aroused from me watching her, she stared at me with a dazed, enraptured look.
"I was moved. Thanks to you, Doris, I think I've awakened to a new fetish. As thanks, I'll wash you off."
Before she could reply, I used water magic to clean her private parts.
"Ngh… nn… ah…"
She let out a soft moan.
"There's some sticky stuff coming out. At this rate, I'll never finish cleaning you."
I reached out to get more hands-on with her, but she grabbed my hand.
"If we make them wait any longer, they'll get suspicious."
I had gotten so absorbed in Doris's lewd display that I'd forgotten we were keeping everyone waiting.
"Tch, I think they're already suspicious, but I guess it can't be helped."
I pulled my hand back, and she quickly pulled up her underwear.
"Was it just you and Mii who entered the castle?"
"Yes. The other members went on ahead toward Nielen," Doris confirmed with a nod.
"And what's this 'pilgrim's pass' you mentioned?"
"Maira-san probably has one. It's a certificate issued by a priest-level member of the church. If you have one, you're considered a pilgrim and are permitted to pray at altars that are normally off-limits."
"Do you still have it?" She shook her head.
"Isaac had it."
When we returned, the group had resumed moving toward the Area Guardian's location. Fam and Mizuki came over to me.
"It seems she wasn't lying…" Fam said, apparently sniffing the air.
"Maybe I should ask Fang to come with me next time," Mizuki muttered.
"N-No way. Mizuki, I absolutely forbid it."
I didn't want to be compared.
"So, how was it?" she asked. She hadn't believed Doris really needed to use the toilet, either. But I couldn't share the information she'd given me in front of everyone here.
"It was great. Very exciting," I said, even though it wasn't the answer she was looking for.
"…Pervert. Don't you dare ask us to show you, okay?"
Mizuki said with an exasperated look.
"I want to get a video of you doing it too, Mizuki."
"…If you really want to see, I'll do it, but don't you dare start hating me for it, okay?"
"That's not it, Mizuki. It's exciting because you're embarrassed. If you just show me normally, it's not the same."
"Don't talk like I'm not embarrassed!"
As I was bantering with Fam and Mizuki, three Worms burst from the ground. Two in front, one behind. We were surrounded.
"I have a proposal…" I called out to Zofia and Avea, who were readying their weapons.
"I have experience as an adventurer. No need for formal speech in a place like this," Zofia replied with a wry smile.
"How about the knights take one, Altair takes one, and Levante takes one?"
"A sound plan. You take the one in the rear. Altair will take the one on the right, and the knights will handle the one on the left up front."
Avea and I nodded in agreement.
The other members had apparently heard our conversation, as the Levante party began to gather cautiously around the rear enemy.
"We just need to defeat the one behind us, correct?" Maira confirmed, and I nodded.
"Fam, Mizuki, and I will attack. Maira and Aira, protect Cecily and provide support from the rear. I landed a blow on one earlier, but my blade didn't get through. They move like earthworms, but their skin is tough."
"Then it's my magic's time to shine!" Cecily declared with a huge grin, raising her staff.
A fireball shot toward the Worm. The monster dodged it with surprising speed.
"What?" The monster then opened its mouth to bite and lunged at Fam. As Fam tried to dodge to the side, the monster adjusted its trajectory to follow her.
"Kikuichimonji!" She fired a vacuum blade to create distance, but the Worm's charge didn't stop.
"This is bad!" I charged forward, aiming a thrust at the monster's torso. My blade just slid off its skin, but my body slam altered the monster's trajectory, allowing Fam to escape.
The monster swung its tail to smash into me. I knew the attack was coming from the previous fight, so I was able to dodge it with ease.
Mizuki, who had circled around to my opposite side, slashed at the Worm. Her blow tore through its tough skin.
"It's a Swordsman skill. My slashing power increased when I hit level twenty," she explained to my surprised look. She was a dangerous one. I kind of wished she wouldn't get any stronger, for my own peace of mind.
"Alright, then Fam and I will run interference. Mizuki, you'll be our main attacker."
"Wait. I will join the feint. My blunt attacks should be more effective against an opponent whose skin can't be cut," Maira said, readying her mace and joining the front line.
I began the feint. The Worm spat saliva everywhere, but I shifted my body to avoid it. After landing a slash, I maintained a safe distance while continuing the harassment. Fam and Maira also kept moving, provoking the enemy.
"Stop flitting around in front of the monster!" Cecily yelled from behind. She wanted to fire a second shot. Fam, Maira, and I exchanged glances and simultaneously moved out of Cecily's line of fire. An instant later, the fireball she launched struck the Worm dead-on.
The monster's movements stopped. Mizuki charged in. A blue light shone in her eyes. [Super Kill] had activated. With a single swing, she obliterated the monster. Mizuki picked up the magic seed the monster dropped.
The other battles were already over.
The knights had surrounded their Worm and beaten it to a pulp.
Altair had done the same, with Avea, Beers, and Fang pummeling theirs into submission. Doris and the other member must have been providing rear support.
We all took a moment to catch our breath.
"We're almost at the Area Guardian's room. Let's move," Zofia said, and we resumed our advance.
"You think the Area Guardian here is a Worm?" I asked Maira. A bigger, tougher, more armored Worm? If so, I felt like I could probably end it with Goddess Summoning right at the start of the fight.
"In a newly generated dungeon, the floor enemies and the Area Guardian are sometimes different."
"Is that right?" I asked. Just then, Zofia turned around.
"For this dungeon's Area Guardian, the probability that it matches the floor enemies is about fifty-fifty."
"…I see."
Challenging an Area Guardian without any information was the same as gambling. But we had no way to get any intel.
As I was pondering this, everyone came to a stop.
We had arrived at the Area Guardian's door.
Thank you for reading. To everyone who has liked, bookmarked, or rated this story, thank you very much. It encourages me. I'll do my best. Thank you for pointing out typos.