Ossan Saikyō Chapter 11 Part 09
“So, starting tomorrow we're clearing the nearby dungeons, right? Beginning with the low-rank ones?”
“Yeah. Balbadoza has one dungeon of each rank from F to B, so we'll tackle one per day from F through D.”
I answered Rani while taking another bite of my meal.
As soon as we returned to the inn, dinner was served.
After briefly telling everyone about our meeting with the Count, the conversation naturally shifted to our plans going forward.
“Okay. We can't enter the B-Rank one yet anyway. How many floors do the D and C-Rank dungeons here have?”
“The D-Rank dungeon is 10-floored, and the C-Rank one is 15.”
“Then even if we clear up through C-Rank, it'll only take about a week. What are we doing until we're summoned?”
“I was thinking we'd start taking requests. We'll probably need to complete quite a few before everyone can be promoted to B-Rank. Right, Mariane-san?”
“Yes. You'll need to complete a proper variety of requests: subjugation, escort, investigation, and gathering. This investigation counts as one investigation request and one subjugation request.
…
You've also completed escort requests for both myself and the Count, so there are no issues there.”
“In that case, we should prioritize gathering requests for now. Mariane-san, if you find any good ones, let me know. I don't mind doing them while we're clearing dungeons.”
“Understood.”
Having a dedicated Guild representative really was an incredible advantage.
Especially when that representative happened to be as capable as Mariane.
“By the way, Soushi-sama, what exactly was that dungeon?”
At Freynil's question, both Rani and Sphenia looked interested as well.
The Count hadn't strictly ordered us to keep it secret, so it was probably best to share the information with my own party, at least.
Mariane didn't seem to mind either.
“According to what Mariane found, it was apparently a rather special kind of dungeon called a Wandering Dungeon. One appeared long ago as well, and it seems someone named Lylanora appeared there then too.”
“A Wandering Dungeon... I remember hearing about it at the Church. They said it was an omen that something bad was about to happen.”
“Apparently that's one theory. Though it's only based on events from long ago, so we don't know whether it's actually true.”
“Hmmm... Still, Lylanora didn't really seem like a bad person, did she? You thought so too, didn't you? That's why you spoke to her so politely.”
The moment Rani said that, Freynil fixed me with an unwavering stare.
...Come to think of it, Sphenia seemed to be listening rather intently as well.
“...She was obviously rational, and she never acted hostile toward us. Unlike the Twilight Kin, she never looked down on us, so I simply treated her accordingly.”
“But she really was beautiful, wasn't she? Sphenia's gorgeous too, but it was a different kind of beauty.”
Rani wore an unmistakably mischievous grin.
Haaa...
She was clearly trying to get me to say something she could tease me about later.
“She certainly didn't seem human. Speaking of which, she called herself a Vampire. Are there actually any Vampire races in this world... I mean, on this continent?”
Ignoring Rani's disappointed “Boo~...”, Sphenia answered instead.
“If you mean as a race rather than monsters, I've never heard of any living on this continent. However, I've heard there are races similar to them in the Twilight Garden.”
“So they're one of the Twilight Kin? I guess they're not all like Zaikal.”
“No. The Twilight Kin who come to this continent are incredibly diverse. Some have multiple arms, while others don't even take human form.”
Now that was interesting.
The Twilight Garden...
If I ever became even stronger, I'd like to visit it someday...
...Though thinking things like that would probably just give Mr.【Bad Luck】more work to do.
As I was mulling that over, Freynil, who had been quietly watching me, leaned forward.
“By the way, Soushi-sama... what do you actually think about the Wandering Dungeon itself? Including Lylanora-san.”
“What do I think? There isn't enough information from this one incident to draw any conclusions. According to her, those dungeons will appear again in the future. I think we can start worrying about it when that happens.”
“So... you're planning to go see her again?”
“No, that's not what I meant... Why are you so concerned about Lylanora?”
“Eh!? You actually asked that?”
Rani looked at me as though she couldn't believe what she'd just heard.
Sphenia also gave me a rather meaningful look.
Mariane quietly let out a small sigh.
As for Freynil...
She lowered her head, her face bright red.
What in the world was going on?
...Did it really look like I'd been captivated by Lylanora?
I certainly observed her because she was such an unknown existence.
But there hadn't been anything more to it than that.
Then again...
Maybe it hadn't looked that way to girls their age.
Dealing with young women really was difficult.
◇◆◇
That night, lying in bed, I found myself thinking about Lylanora once again.
Though...
Not in the way Freynil and the others seemed to imagine.
“‘The reason one enters dungeons’... ‘to help’... huh...…”
She had called herself someone who “helps humanity”.
And she'd said that was connected to “the reason humans enter dungeons”...
In other words, to obtaining skills, treasure, and experience.
“Doesn't that mean... the dungeon itself is helping people?”
It was admittedly a bit of a leap in logic.
Even so...
That was the impression her words had left me with.
Come to think of it, this world had undeniably benefited greatly from dungeons.
In the past, dungeons had been regarded as disasters because monsters occasionally overflowed from them; a phenomenon apparently known as an Overflow or Stampede.
But nowadays, as long as people lived in towns, materials obtained from dungeons had become practically indispensable to everyday life.
“If you think about it that way... dungeons are kind of like rivers, aren't they?”
On Earth, rivers had provided countless blessings to humanity since ancient times.
At the same time, floods had always been terrifying disasters.
But as flood control advanced, people came to enjoy far more of the benefits.
In that sense...
The role of dungeons in this world wasn't entirely different.
“The『Primordial Providence』... wasn't that what she called it?”
That phrase came back to me.
Lylanora had said she merely acted according to the『Primordial Providence』.
If it referred to something akin to the laws of nature on Earth...
Then dungeons could also be considered part of nature.
No matter how strange they seemed to someone like me, who had come from another world.
“But if that's the case... she wouldn't have called it ‘helping humanity’.”
That was the problem.
If it were simply nature, then that was one thing.
Nature existed for its own sake.
It wasn't created for humanity's convenience.
Dungeons, however...
Were clearly designed to benefit people.
Monsters that disappeared after leaving behind useful materials.
Treasure chests containing items humans couldn't create themselves.
Bosses that granted skills.
It was a system almost game-like in how perfectly it catered to human beings.
“In that case... what exactly is the『Primordial Providence』...? Maybe I'll ask Lylanora the next time we meet.”
Though...
Whether she'd actually answer was another matter entirely.
As I wondered whether someone from another world like me might one day come to understand this world more deeply...
Those aimless thoughts gradually faded away.
Before I realized it...
I'd already drifted off to sleep.
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E/N:
Freynil-chan, keep it up 😂! Ossan is certainly destined for something in this fantastical world, besides a harem of course 😂!
Stay tuned!
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