kscans

Chapter 226 - A Path of One's Own Choosing

The day I returned from Tokyo.

"Mom. Dad."

I met my parents in the living room when they came back from a dungeon in the evening and told them the conclusion I had reached.

I didn't think I could explain it well... so without giving any reasons, I just gave them my 'answer.'

"I'm going to continue being an adventurer. I'm going back to the dungeons."

My mother's face, on the verge of tears. My father's, biting his lip in silence. I probably won't be able to forget those expressions for a while.

And yet, the two of them...

"...Be careful."

"Promise me you won't push yourself too hard."

With awkward smiles, they sent me on my way.



"So you're going."

"Yes."

A few days later... after school on Friday, I headed to Shizuku-san's workshop.

This time, it was just Erina-san and me. With Aika-san also there, it was the same group that always eats lunch together at school.

"...Take these."

With her usual sullen face, Shizuku-san placed two wooden boxes on the workbench.

One contained the `Flügel`. But the other held an unfamiliar silver bracelet resting on a red cloth.

"This is..."

"The 'Ring of the Flame Horse'... It's the 'Bracelet of the Flame Horse' now."

"I helped, you know? Shizuku-san was so determined to get it done before that guy went to the dungeons again, she worked frantically—"

"Shut it, anvil."

"What was that, you tiny brat?"

I gave a wry smile at the mismatched pair, who were now silently pulling at each other's cheeks, and carefully took the bracelet from the wooden box.

It was heavy. But it wouldn't be a problem for swinging my arm. Besides, Awakened Persons are far too light for their strength anyway.

"Thank you. The cost is—"

"I don't need anything for it. No, wait, I'll take it."

"Which is it..."

Shaking off Aika-san's hand, Shizuku-san looked up at me with her sharp eyes.

At first glance, it might seem like she's glaring, but there was no hostility in her presence. If anything, I felt a mana of concern and worry from her.

"...I'll collect when I feel like it. Don't you dare run off with it."

"You know what that is, Kyouta-kun. It's the classic 'I'm entrusting this to you, so don't you dare die' line! My, Shizuku-san can be quite the maiden—"

"Sh-shut up, you idiot! Don't explain it!"

"It can't be helped! Your usual words and actions are so far from a maiden's that it's really hard to tell!?"

With beast-like growls, the mismatched pair glared at each other again.

This happens pretty often at school, so it's a familiar sight for me. In the beginning, I used to fret about whether I should intervene.

"Thank you, Shizuku-san."

"...Hmph. It's nothing. I just did my job."

"And you too, Aika-san. You helped, right?"

"Hehe... Kyouta-kun."

Gently, Aika-san offered her right hand.

"Please be safe. My parents want to thank you again properly. It's thanks to you that I can share a meal with my family again."

"No, not at all... Even if I hadn't done anything, I'm sure—"

"It's not 'I'm sure.' You became the bridge for us. That fact will not change."

As if to urge me, she kept her right hand outstretched and took a step closer.

"Let's all get together again. I don't know what kind of place you're going to... but it's a place that requires 'resolve,' isn't it?"

"...Yes."

I placed the bracelet back in its box and took her hand.

A soft, delicate, girlish hand. The feel of her slightly cool, moist palm made me blush a little.

But it seemed she felt the same way, as Aika-san also smiled with a faint blush on her cheeks.

"I wish you good fortune in battle. We'll be waiting for you, our hero."

"Please don't call me a hero."

"I refuse. I'll keep calling you that until I get tired of it, so be prepared."

"Seriously..."

While I was flustered, Erina-san placed her hand on top of ours.

"Yup, yup! Everyone's a ninja!"

"No, that's not it."

"That's not it at all."

"That's not right."

"What?!"

Shizuku-san added her hand as well, and the hands of the four of us were joined.

"...We're heading out."

"We're heading out!"

"Yes. You two, please be careful!"

"Yeah. See you at school."



And then, on Saturday. We took a taxi to the station, and from the station, we transferred to an SDF vehicle.

We arrived at our destination dungeon.

Its exterior didn't look much different from the B-Rank dungeons I had been to before. A wire fence surrounded a building that looked like a `Dungeon Store`, and sentries stood at the entrance.

Inside, there were no convenience stores, just a simple changing room and toilet, and a reception desk staffed by an SDF member with a pistol at his hip.

After changing and using the restroom, I waited for Erina-san and the others before heading to the reception.

I presented my adventurer's license and a permit from the Dungeon Agency to the rugged, warrior-like SDF member, and was shown to the gate room.

"Good luck."

"Yes. Thank you."

I thanked him as he saw us off with a salute and closed the door. It was a metal door, but not completely sealed; there was a small space at the bottom.

So, there should have been proper air circulation, but for some reason, the air in this room felt 'heavy.'

Facing the white door before me, I took one deep breath. I deployed my `Arcane Gear` and glanced at Erina-san.

With a nod, she took `Blanc` out of her `Item Box`. I assembled it, unlocked the weapon case, and equipped it with its armor and battle-axe.

After confirming the activation of Mia-san's `Ukon and Sakon`, I spoke to Aira-san through the earring.

"Preparations are complete. We are now entering the dungeon."

'Right. I have the map sent from the Dungeon Agency ready here. We're good to go anytime.'

"Yes."

I looked back at my companions, and they nodded in return.

Confirming with my own eyes that their hands were on my shoulder, I turned back to the white door.

"Then, we're going in."

'Yeah, go on.'

Listening to her unusually forceful voice, I stepped through the white door.

It was that familiar sensation of the floor disappearing from under my feet, yet without any feeling of floating. The discomfort lasted only a moment before the feel of a hard floor came through my boots.

Fwoom. As if to welcome us, blue flames ignited in the torches mounted on the passage walls.

The floor was made of massive black flagstones that looked as if they had been carved from a single slab of rock. The walls, made of a similar material, had thick, ornate pillars embedded in them at regular intervals.

The torches lined up between the pillars, however, were not fueled by wood.

They were human bones. Of course, they were now just part of the dungeon, nothing more than lumps of salt, so there was no need to be creeped out. Though it was... unpleasant.

But even that quickly became unnoticeable due to the wind that caressed my skin, a wind that stirred a person's anxieties. It was as if a beast large enough to tower over me was right in front of me, tongue out, drooling. Such a damp wind flowed through this dungeon.

"Fuuu..."

I let out a slightly longer breath and looked behind me.

"Mia-san, please be on the lookout. Erina-san."

"Okay!"

With a thumbs-up, she handed me a black, box-shaped component, and I gave a small word of thanks.

Then, I inserted it into the socket on Blanc's back.

There were security cameras in the gate room, so it couldn't be attached until we were inside the dungeon. I confirmed that my homemade `Magi Battery` was functioning properly and nodded.

"Battery operation confirmed. We will now begin exploration."

'Right. First, find a marker.'

"Yes."

I began to walk on the floor, which I called flagstones for convenience, though it felt neither like stone, concrete, nor, of course, iron.

I turned on the lantern at my hip just in case, but the blue flames on the walls provided enough light.

Also, the size of the passage was no problem for swinging a sword. In fact, it was too big.

It was about as wide as a two-lane road, and over seven meters high. This vast dungeon was clearly not designed for humans to walk through.

Though, if you knew its primary 'residents,' the size was understandable...

Clack, clack. The hard sounds echoed in the passage. I walked down a path where my legs would turn to lead if I lost focus, moving my arm, which felt the weight of the bracelet, and let the mantle on my shoulders flutter as I advanced.

Was this pressure caused by the mana drifting in the air? Or was it simply my own fear?

Either way, my legs still moved. My arm gripping the sword was infused with just the right amount of strength.

In less than a minute, I spotted a yellow paint mark, out of place in this space that was both eerie and solemn.

"Aira-san. We are currently at 'H-12.'"

'Hmm. Wait a moment... Alright. Continue along the path, then turn right at the third intersection.'

"Roger."

I replied through the earring and started walking again.

The path curved gently, descending at an angle that was unnoticeable just by walking.

As if guiding visitors to the depths of the earth.

"Stop."

At Erina-san's voice, I stopped dead in my tracks.

At the same time, I lowered my center of gravity and held my sword at the ready.

"Enemies?"

"Yeah. Two of them, coming from down the path."

"Understood."

The next moment...

—Raaawwwrrrrrrooooaaarrr...!

A beast's roar echoed, doubled, through the passage. The blue flames flickered, throwing our shadows into disarray.

While the reverberation still shook the air, heavy footsteps approached.

A heavy, thudding sound of a four-legged beast, and a sound like percussion instruments being struck rapidly.

Before long, two grotesque figures appeared from down the passage.

'Grrr...!'

'Gaaaa...!'

Two heads growled. A monster with a colossal body like an elephant, covered in black fur.

Its eyes glowed crimson, and its mane was the color of jade. The mane ran from the necks of its twin heads, merged along its back, and continued to its tail. Its tail of the same color was long, but it reared up as if it were an independent creature.

A snake without eyes grew as the tail of the two-headed beast. A watchdog with a total of three heads, drooling as if about to pounce on us at any moment.

`Orthrus`.

Beside that monster stood a giant clad in golden armor, its skin like that of a corpse.

An ancient Greek-style helmet and cuirass, and a circular shield. In each right hand was a rugged spear befitting its giant stature.

But what was most striking was that this giant was a single being composed of three bodies.

Their upper bodies were back to back, fused at the waist. Their six legs pointed in different directions, making them almost insect-like.

A literally three-in-one giant heavy infantryman, with its heads at a height of about three meters.

`Geryon`.

The guardian and the watchdog, both of whom were said to have been slain by the great hero Heracles in mythology.

Their spears, and their fangs...

...were pointed at us.