Chapter 1155 - Brave Heart's Mandate
────And so, they continued their lively journey, which was reasonably far from tedious.
"Mm... Sora, stop for a second."
"Eh? Y-Yes!"
That was, midway through.
At a point approximately two hundred and fifty kilometers due west of the Safe Area. In short, their progress was about halfway to their next destination, Key Tree City... and it was there that Iris, having noticed something, signaled Sora, who was running alongside her, to halt as she herself came to a stop.
At the foot of the "Key Tree"—which was so excessively massive that its state could basically be seen from anywhere—the western city continued its expansion even now. The routes stretching from the Central First Base of the Divine Creation Garden toward it were diverse and varied by difficulty, but under Iris's lead, the three girls were racing due west.
That meant they were choosing the shortest distance, disregarding the numerous "dangers" scattered throughout the world. If that were the case, it was only natural that obstacles would exist along their path.
However, they forced this choice precisely because they could ignore or eliminate such things with minimal effort.
There was no way that anyone or anything capable of obstructing the sword of the "Strongest," acknowledged by all, and the "Almighty," praised by many, would just be rolling around nearby. ────And yet.
"What is it, what happened?"
"Did something occur...?"
Iris, who walked her own path with a self-evaluation that no one, no matter how far they went, could complain was "excessive," had stopped. ...That simple fact alone could not end as a simple fact; it inevitably became an event requiring high alert.
Having crossed several environments since their departure, their current location was a rocky mountain region housing a dungeon called the Grotto of False Tears. Unless one crawled into the caves opening up here and there, the inhabiting enemies were few; it was a field known for its basically peaceful surface.
And so, she stood still for a few seconds in the shadow of countless rocky crags. To the two who tilted their heads, one in her arms and the other beside her, she conveyed "wait a moment" through silence────
Iris, who had closed her eyes and was listening intently,
"........................Mm."
Lifted her eyelids and turned her garnet gaze toward a certain direction.
────It was still far. It stood to reason that not only Sora, but even Nia, who possessed sensing skills, would not notice at this distance. Relative to Iris and the others, who were taking a route that cut through the edge of the area,
"....Would you mind if we took a small detour?"
""?""
The distant "presence" was located in the center of the area.
The reason the Sword Queen's perception had captured "it" was not a benefit of a sensing skill with higher proficiency than Nia's. It was due to a sub-effect that Iris herself considered a flavor-like bonus of a certain special skill... something she treated with casual indifference.
Its name was Brave Heart's Mandate (Revolve Astraea)────whether it intended to preach that she should act like a hero or not. The effect that the system would suddenly send her was none other than this:
"It seems there is someone in trouble."
The presence of someone desperately seeking help would descend upon her intuition.
◇◆◇◆◇
"────N-No no no no!!! Impossible impossible scary scary seriously impossible I'm sorry you've got it wrong I'm just lost I'm just a lost person please don't eat meeeeeeeee!!!!!"
This was almost certainly the moment they had raised their voice the loudest in their life, regardless of whether it was reality or virtual.
While that was the case now, it was also the moment where no matter how much they raised their voice, it was mercilessly meaningless. In other words, "death" was literally looming right before their eyes────
Against the Dragon-Eating Worm of the Vortex (Goliath Ninerve), also known as the Giant Antlion-Worm, neither screams nor pleas were of any use. They could not postpone for even a single second the certain fact that their life would be cruelly scattered by the mandibles clicking at high speed, waiting for their prey at any moment.
Escaping from the quicksand dragging the prey toward its master was also impossible for a person of a weak crafter class. It was a complete, refreshingly perfect tragedy where there were no moves left but to wait for death.
...I was an idiot.
I was an idiot.
Ah, truly, I was an idiot.
────As for the beginning of the matter, well, I can just barely defend my past self by saying it was misfortune.
A business trip expedition from Key Tree City, which had recently become my main base. A request for cooperation as a traveling appraiser to the Grotto of False Tears, which, while not as popular as the bustling Great Rock-Eating Hive, was known as a reasonably excellent mineral resource spot.
There were no particular problems with the request details or the party composition. In fact, everything had gone smoothly until the very, very end when we said, "Alright, let's head home."
Until some idiot lost their focus, slipped, tumbled down a cliff, and was swallowed by one of the countless caves dotting the area... namely, the entrance to a connected large-scale dungeon.
A magnificent hole-in-one. And although the trigger was the idiot's massive blunder, the follow-up that came after was the true misfortune────
The "heart-breaking" mechanic of the Grotto of False Tears, where all entrances are periodically shuffled, synchronized with a miraculous, or rather tragic, timing, and I (the idiot) was brilliantly and completely separated from the party members who had quickly followed after me with a delay of only a fraction of a second.
My luck is just normally too bad.
Even if I were to fall, to fall so perfectly at the absolute worst timing; and to pass through the transition gate at the artistically precise moment before the shuffle. As a matter of pure fact, rather than self-defense, it was at a level that would be difficult even if one tried to do it on purpose.
So... however, up to that point, it could be excused as bad luck. The party members I contacted via message even treated it as a joke, saying things like "What are you doing lol," "How unlucky can you get, you poor thing," or "Stop with the sudden clumsy-girl act, it's too much."
────Yes,
Until the idiot, who was gradually... no, acceleratingly losing their composure in a situation of being alone and helpless in a danger zone (dungeon), passed through an "exit" out of a single-minded desire to get out of there.
The entrances to the Grotto of False Tears are periodically and randomly shuffled.
That meant the exits were likewise randomized────
"────────Ah, dea..."
The result of that was now.
One piece of bait brilliantly tumbled into the center of the area... namely, the only danger zone on the basically peaceful surface of the rocky mountain region, the territory of the half-raid boss, the Dragon-Eating Worm of the Vortex (Goliath Ninerve).
In the blink of an eye, I was dragged into the nest and ended up in this state. The end was estimated to be one second away.
Mandibles larger than a human opened wide, and the virtual────yet certain smell of "death" emitted from the insect's mouthparts, which could be called the visualization of hell,
Brushed against the avatar, at that very moment.
────To the party members, I am sorry for the trouble and worry I caused.
────It's okay. It's my own responsibility. I'll go back first and greet you with an embarrassed smile.
────Game. This is a game. It's okay.
It's okay, it's okay, it'll only be an instant so it's okay, I just have to close my eyes, it's not scary, it's my own fault, it can't be helped, it's not scary, I'll be careful next time, it's not scary, it's not scary────
And then, at the moment I finally froze in a terror so great I couldn't even move my eyelids.
"Mm."
Along with a voice like a ringing bell that was clearly far removed from "death," which suddenly tickled my ears.
A blue-silver radiance that filled my entire field of vision, with an impact that turned into nothingness because the sound was too great to properly hear────blew the man-eating insect's head away in a single breath.
[Author's Note]
What is this. Are they the protagonist and heroine?
Additionally, the main enemies that appear in the Grotto of False Tears are giant salamander-like monsters that emit cries resembling the weeping voices of various people—men, women, young, and old. Because they have a habit of liking heat, when a player enters the grotto, they begin to swarm from all over the dungeon all at once.
Well, of course you'd want to run away if you were scared.