Ihoujin, Dungeon ni Moguru

Chapter 30: Seams And Unity I

Translator : Solo

【47th day】

When I woke up, I was on the roof of an unfamiliar private residence.

Irvin, Shuna and me had been sleeping side by side.

「Oww」

Oh, my head hurts. Or rather, I smell of alcohol.

What in the world happened? Where are we? ……………… It’s no use, I can't remember at all.

Where did all the women go?

『Good morning, team member Souya』

Izora greeted me from Irvin’s waist.

「Izora, what on earth happened?」

『Well………………isn't it fine? There is a public bath nearby, so Izora suggests that all of you get yourselves cleaned up』

Following her suggestion, I woke the two of them up.

By the way, their memories were fuzzy on what happened as well.

I had Irvin carry Shuna, who had gone back to sleep, and we went on our way. I checked my purse and equipment just in case, but other than the fact that my money had decreased a little, nothing was missing.

There were many public baths in the Kingdom of Lemuria.

It was thanks to the abundant source of water and the inexhaustible fuel called Shogaku stones.

Mixed bathing was commonplace until half a year ago, but it appeared that when a certain elf was seen in the nude, she blew up the person who saw her, the bath, and two districts of the city before running away. Since then, mixed bathing had been abolished.

About that elf, she had not yet been caught.

According to the fragmentary information,

She was in a group of two,

Had big breasts,

And was skilled at magic.

Well………who’s that, I wonder? I haven’t the slightest notion of who it could be.

The surrounding scenery was completely unfamiliar to me.

According to Izora, this was the district where the merchants and advanced adventurers lived. It was a place that I wouldn’t have visited under normal circumstances. That explained why the buildings were spick and span. I felt a little bit insecure, but that was such an out-of-place feeling for a foreigner to have.

We arrived at a public bath. The notice on the front of the store said that it was for men only.

Since it was very early in the morning, the three of us and the store employees were the only people in the changing room and reception area.

As it appeared that we could also launder our clothes there, together with the fees for using the bath, I paid in advance for the three of us. It was three silver coins in total. Our valuables and equipment were magically locked in a metal box. I took the tally for unlocking it and hung it around my neck with the string that was attached to it.

We reserved the bath.

It was a basic and common stone bath. There were two large baths that were as big as swimming pools, and one small bath filled with cold water that was meant for cooling the hot bath water. There were loofah-like plants and soap for washing our bodies, and stools to sit on while doing so. Also, there were two young ladies, a beastkin and a Hemu, who provided body washing services.

Even in this world, it was good manners to wash your body before entering the bath.

The two young ladies shrieked delightedly and approached Irvin and Shuna. Predictably, the topic of their conversation was the evil title that had been defeated yesterday. To think that the news of its defeat had already spread to places like this.

With his face bright red, Shuna got his back washed by the beastkin lady.

Irvin and the Hemu lady were talking in whispers with a suspiciously adult atmosphere. The young lady had reached her hand out to his delicate place.

As for me, I was scrubbing by myself.

After washing ourselves clean, the three of us soaked in the bath. It was a little bit hot, but it was a good bath. Irvin and I stopped Shuna from swimming in it.

After soaking up to our shoulders, we held an endurance tournament in the water-filled bath, then it became ridiculous mid-way through, so I warmed my body up suitably and then got out of the bath.

The laundry was already done, so I put on the dry crisp clothes and collected our equipment.

My stomach growled loudly.

Even with what had happened yesterday, it was better than entering a strange store and upsetting our stomachs, so we headed for the barkeeper’s store.

After arriving at the store and being greeted by a waitress that we were acquainted with, we sat at a table and ordered some suitable food and drinks.

It wasn’t bad.

The ingredients were good.

My stomach was filled.

「Now………………」

We were relaxing after the meal.

Irvin and Shuna were both cleansing their palates with drinks.

Then, finally,

「Why did you expose our involvement?!」

I demanded.

「Took you a while to ask」

I got irritated when Shuna responded like it didn’t involve him.

「Yeah, well, I had my reasons」

Of course you had your reasons, Irvin-kun. However,

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「It’s what we decided when we formed the party, right?! Follow what we decided!」

「There there, calm down, Souya. I’ll explain things in order」

Irvin turned his palms to me. Shuna turned away unenthusiastically.

「Let’s see…… First of all, Shuna’s blow that cut through Midoranga. Shall we start there?」

That was amazing. Or rather, let me know if you can do something like that. If you had, we might have had an easier time defeating it.

「A heroic blow that slayed a dragon-like enemy and reproduced the legend of Gladvain. You’ve heard of Gladvain’s subjugation of the evil dragon, right?」

「Yes, she defeated the dragon by beating it up with her bare fists because her weapon broke, right?」

That wasn’t a mortal feat.

「The actual details are different. Gladvain inflicted a mortal wound on the dragon by sacrificing her weapon. She then finished it off with a blow from her bare fist. Shuna reproduced that legend. It's a miracle that cannot be performed with half-baked talent and a lackluster sword」

「Is it magic?」

If magic could be manifested using staves, symbols or phenomena as a medium, it should be possible to also ask for miracles from gods using swords or techniques as a medium.

「Yes, but it’s a little bit different. It needs but the smallest amount of magic power. It's the duty of the kin or followers of a god to reenact the legends and history of the god that they are contracted with. Yes, and thus, regardless of their will, people are dragged along by the “fate” of their god. Whether that’s called a miracle or a curse depends on the people who are alive now, I suppose」

“Are you willing to even plot against the king and slay the hero?"

Those were the words that I had exchanged with my god when I contracted with her. Are you saying that I’m being influenced by them? Certainly, I’ve plotted against the king. Then, the latter too? No way.

「Shuna's sword was passed down to him by his teacher. Its origins are unknown, but its steel is amazing. But the maker’s mark had worn away and the name of the blacksmith is also unknown. It also can’t be repaired now that it has been destroyed to that extent」

From what I remembered, Shuna's sword had shattered into pieces. Even if the fragments were collected and we tried to put it together like a jigsaw puzzle, there’s no way to tell whether we had all the pieces.

「The beastkin swords-woman who drifted through the frontier regions alone. The many years she had that sword with her, and her thoughts when entrusting it to the boy. All of that was packed into that one blow that cut through Midoranga」

「………I see」

However, I still had no idea where he was going with this story.

「Well, I’ll get to the heart of the matter now. It’s about Shuna’s teacher, the beastkin called Regure, the Graceful. She’s a person who has a connection with my teacher, Zamonglass」

It’s a small world, isn’t it?

Could it be that Otou-san had formed us into a party because he knew about that?

「It's a story that I heard only once from my teacher when he was in his cups. It’s about a family of beastkin who had been arrested, toyed with and killed on vague charges by a magistrate.

However, guards of that magistrate were killed every day from then on. Driven half-mad with worry that he was next, he implored my teacher to help him. As a knight of Elysium, my teacher couldn’t go against his wishes. Besides, his opponent was indeed a criminal.

In front of my teacher, who had sent his disciples to guard the magistrate, a young female beastkin appeared. She had a longsword that didn’t match her on her back.

His careless disciples were taken out in an instant. Among them was the young Luxgaru-sama.

I’ll say this in defense of the honor of myself and the knights of St. Lyridias, but we weren’t trained in such a soft manner that we would get defeated easily just because we were careless. The opponent was just abnormal.

After dispatching all of the magistrate’s guards, it appeared that the young woman had said this to my teacher.

She said,『If I fight with you, neither of us will escape unscathed. I'll give you my right arm, so kill that guy』

After my teacher had given it a great deal of thought, the magistrate was treated as having died from illness and it seemed that my teacher made the one-armed young woman his mistress」

Hmm? Zamonglass-san.

You’re a sleazier person than I had expected……

「It's unpleasant. It’s indecent」

Shuna's sentiments were quite natural.

「Even though I said that she was a mistress, it was just sophistry to get the acceptance of others. A person with position in Elysium can't fool the eyes of others and keep a beastkin around unless she is a slave or a mistress」

「Hmpt」

Shuna wasn’t satisfied with that and looked sullen. I could understand his feelings. He probably had mixed feelings when he heard that the person he liked was someone’s mistress. Moreover, that someone was the teacher of his party member.

「It seemed that my teacher had asked Regure-dono,『Why did you swing your sword for that beastkin family?』

What’s next is surprising, but it appeared that the reason was because they had given her a loaf of bread out of charity when she was starving.

I know the agony of starvation as well. However, because of a mere loaf of bread, she laid her life on the line and gave up her right arm. From the point of view of a knight, her conviction is difficult to understand. However, her sword and her technique were the real thing in every aspect. It appeared that she had left my teacher without a word, but fate is such a strange thing. To think that we’re connected in this manner」

「When I met my teacher for the first time, she was hungry as well」

Shuna looked off into the distance.

「Is she eating her meals properly, I wonder?」

「The preamble has become quite long, but simply put, it’s like this. It’s only proper for Shuna’s heroic blow to be praised. And it should be praised along with the name of his teacher. That is beyond question.

Thus, if Regure is given as the name of his teacher, it would be tantamount to me proclaiming that I had teamed up with a disciple of a beastkin. In particular, Varner-sama likely won’t be happy about that. For that reason, I took the opportunity to also declare openly that I had teamed up with elves」

「Huhh?」

Wait just a minute, I don't understand the meaning of what you just said.

For Shuna's teacher, she was someone who was closely connected to Irvin’s teacher. It could be justified one way or another, so it was only a small scratch. Why was there a need to expose the involvement of elves and make it a fatal wound?

「Souya, the fault lies with me. The knights of St. Lyridias are rejecting others scrupulously right now, but their internal affairs are beyond imagination.

Black elf, a struggle for power among the Popes, an uprising of beastkin and slaves, and a mysterious, strange disease spreading throughout Elysium. The knights deceiving, killing, burning, and hanging the people that they’re supposed to protect. The knights of St. Lyridias have become a symbol of fear and burnings at the stake. According to the tidings from afar, my teacher has also turned his back on Elysium and left the center continent.

They probably already see me as a heretic simply because I’ve teamed up with a human who has a connection to beastkin.

One more dishonor on top of that dishonor won’t make things any worse for me. That was why I exposed my connection with elves. I'm sorry. I was afraid that all of you would look at me differently if I divulged the present state of the knights」

That’s certainly……

No, but……

「Look, Irvin——」

「I don't care about stuff like that」

Shuna interrupted me.

「Don't underestimate us. Besides, you're a "former" knight of Lyridias, right? You’ve got nothing to do with them, and we won’t easily abandon a friend that we’ve entrusted our lives to even once」

「Shuna, you’re a child after all」

「What did you say?」

Shuna showed his anger.

I also agreed with what Irvin said.

「The resentment of people bears hatred for even a single drop of blood. No, it detests even those who have touched that blood. It’s best not to get involved」

「In that case, isn’t it already too late for us?」

「It’s just a metaphor. I’m telling you to have the resolve to――――――」

「Irvin」

They seemed to be headed for a fight, so I interrupted them for the moment.

「I have one question. Now that you’ve revealed your connection with beastkin and elves, how do you intend to ask for a pardon for your elder sister?」

The looks that I saw on Varner and his companion knight’s faces as they left were those of people looking upon something lower than garbage. I doubted that they would do anything for Irvin anymore. Their impression of him was probably the worst.

「How do you think King Lemuria worked his way up from a mere adventurer to a king?」

「By accomplishing great deeds during his adventures」

Come to think of it, I didn’t know much in detail about that.

「Of course, he accomplished great deeds as an adventurer. And he exposed the misdeeds of the previous Margrave. However, for one thing, though he was an outstanding adventurer, there was a reason why Elysium endorsed him to be king.

Lemuria?Oru?Almagest?Razva.

That word "Almagest" that appears in the name of the king. The only thing known about it is that it’s “something” that can only be obtained in the deeper floors of the Odoriji spire, but what if that “something” is a secret that the St Lyridias Order and Elysium want to keep hidden?

There’s something that I’ve been wondering about for a long time.

There are countless dungeons in the world, but from ancient times, a disproportionately large number of knights of St. Lyridias have been dispatched to this Odoriji spire. In other words, it means that the second and third “Almagest” sleeps within it」

「Irvin, that’s dangerous」

It’s far too dangerous.

First of all, trying to find something whose true form is unknown would just be foolhardy. With the time I have left, it could be said to be utterly hopeless. Even supposing that we did find it, would the current Elysium accept a deal?

It’s only a suspicion, but that something called Almagest is a secret that would shake the very foundations of St. Lyridias.

I don't know what kind of deal King Lemuria made with them, but generally speaking, they’ll just crush us and be done with it. Since the other party is an entire nation, doing that would be much easier for them as well.

「Souya, I’m aware that it's dangerous. But do you know how many days have passed since our party was formed?」

「Hmm, errrr」

『It's forty days, Irvin-sama』

Izora told us the answer.

「That’s right, it’s been a mere forty days. We’re the best by far among the parties from the same batch. Combat ability, planning ability, financial strength, personal connections, the matter of the bone giant, and the accomplishment of subjugating an evil title. None of these are at the level of a novice party.

Souya, there’s something that I’ve become convinced of in my own way as I adventured with you guys. This party can accomplish great deeds. We’re capable of earning enough fame to move even a nation. There is nothing that we cannot do」

You’re overestimating us too much.

For that reason, I wanted to dash cold water on Irvin, who was talking passionately.

But the reason why I kept my mouth shut was because, while I was being humble in my own way, I was proud of us. It was because I wanted to meet the expectations of my party members.

In my life so far, no one had ever held such high expectations for me. I mean, until now, I had simply been frantically doing everything that I could. Certainly, if we continued our adventures as things were with that disharmony among us, it was possible that we would fall apart at the seams, leading us to our deaths.

It’s important for all seven of us to be united and take action openly.

But,

「Irvin, is this okay? The matter of your Onee-san has become much more difficult than you initially planned, you know?」

「I’m aware」

「No, but——」

I received a light kick from Shuna.

「Stop going on about it~. It’s only you who’s wavering indecisively over this! Ea and Rana-san agreed in one word!」

「Are you serious?」

No way they were that selfish.

「No, those two only said that they would follow Souya」

「That’s what I though. Don’t scare me」

「Tch」

『Don’t click your tongue』

Irvin and I scolded Shuna in unison. You’ve gained a decent amount of fame, so be careful with your behavior.

「So, Souya, what are you going to do?」

「Hmm, ummm」

At Irvin’s question, I covered my eyes and thought it over carefully. However, I couldn’t form the thoughts in my head anymore. It had been decided from the start. From the time I came to this world, this had never changed.

I’ll take things as they come.

I’ll just do what I can.

「Let's do it with seven people. We’ll form a party formally with the seven of us」

「Yeah」

I shook hands with Irvin.

「With this, you’re officially the leader, Souya」

「Yeah, I can only do what I can do, but I’ll do my best」

「Well then, sorry for cutting to the chase, but please handle the re-application for the party registration, fees to be paid to the Guild, as well as the negotiations with the Guild and merchant companies to get the best price for Midoranga’s materials」

「………………Hey」

「Ha ha ha, well, even when they told me how much there was in units of weight, I didn’t understand it at all, you see? I was completely at a loss」

Did this guy foist the role of leader on me because the miscellaneous duties were troublesome?

Surely not, right?

「Actually~, leader, can you provide me with a new sword? One that’s exactly the same as the previous one, alright? I want three spares. I won’t ask for much, but I prefer ones made from Rmir steel. Also, for our next adventure, I want to eat shrimp pizza. Freshly baked ones with the gooey cheese」

「Don't ask for the impossible」

Shuna was making unreasonable requests right off the bat.

Following that, Irvin chipped in again.

「Leader, Zenobia has been drinking on credit in various places, so please help with the payment. After that, I want to send my shield and armor for maintenance, but the previous workshop that I frequented closed down, so please introduce a cheap and good workshop to me」

「Hey」

Zenobia, so you were drinking on credit? Also, I don’t have any connections or anything to workshops. I’ll have to ask the young Chairmen of Zavua and Eruomea.

「Ohh, and then——」

「There’s more?!」

I was sweating profusely at Irvin’s carefree tone. In a sense, it might have been the right decision to take over as the leader at this timing. If I had put it off till later, who knows how much the debt would have ballooned to.

Just when I was getting fed up with the reports of the backlog of work,

「Huhh? You’re telling me that a greenhorn party defeated an evil title? It’s obviously a fluke. They must have gotten lucky」

「But hey, there is a kin of Gladvain in that party though?」

I heard such voices from the table behind me.

Strangely, for people who were speaking ill of others, their voices were rather loud. Was it because they were insensitive?

「Gladvain~? Ohh, isn’t she that one? The harlot who subdued a dragon by wringing its rod dry because her weapon broke, right? Oh, was she gasping as she shook her hips for the dragon? Gahahaha!」

Oh crapー

I took a quick glance behind me and it was a pair of men. I could tell from the worn condition of their equipment that they weren’t amateurs. They were probably down-and-out mercenaries. Only their adventuring equipment was brand-new, so they had probably switched to adventuring just a short while ago.

In other words, it hadn’t been long since they had arrived in this city.

That’s what I thought.

If they were normal adventurers, they would have never said anything bad about the gods in this city. Especially the gods that had hot-blooded kin.

Had the two of them noticed the adventurers who had gotten up from their seats and were surrounding them?

Or rather, Shuna was the first one to have gotten up from his seat.

「Wh, what do you guys want?」

The two men had finally noticed.

The kin of Gladvain surrounding the two of them made eye contact with one another as they decided who would be the one to go.

「Shuna, you go」

「Understood」

An older beastkin ordered Shuna. Except for Shuna, all of them pulled back for the time being.

「Huhh? What do you want, red-haired Ojou-chan?」

「Aaah」

Oh man, of all the things he could have said, he said the worst thing possible.

The man who had called Shuna Ojou-chan took a fist in the face, made about three rotations and then landed face-first on the floor. Even with that, the momentum still hadn’t run out and his face slid across the floor like a mop.

「Y, you cur!」

The reaction of the remaining man was unexpectedly fast.

He drew the longsword at his waist and immediately attacked Shuna with it. With a bored expression, Shuna reached behind his back, but his hand only found air.

「Ah」

Shuna let out a foolish sound.

This guy forgot that he no longer had a sword, didn’t he? That opening allowed the edge of the blade to come within lethal range.

Just when I was thinking that it was bad,

Irvin took the blow on his armor, kicked the man down and stepped on him.

「I thought so at that time with Midoranga as well, but Shuna, your follow-through is weak」

「………………Irvin, you’ve gone and done it now」

Shuna had a deeply-troubled look on his face.

「The “has-been” knight over there」

The older beastkin from earlier came up to us.

「You’ve sullied the pride of Gladvain」

『Huh?』

Irvin and I uttered a question mark at the same time.

「Our quarrels are settled one-on-one. It’s bad if you interfere with that」

「Huh, what are you saying?」

Talking over my question, the beastkin said to Shuna.

「Shuna, you must clear the stain on your name by your own hand. You understand, right?」

「Yes」

「Huh, what’s going on?」

I had a bad feeling. The atmosphere was somewhat ominous.

Shuna turned to Irvin and said a few words.

「Irvin, duel with me」