Chapter 429

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Dungeon of Scorching Heat (8)

“Haahhh~!? No, no, no, wait a minute! Why are you here!?”

“”We conquered~””

“Yeah, that’s right. You have to conquer floors to get to this place, right!? Wait, that’s not the point! No way!? What kind of trickery did you use!?”

“Trickery~?”

“What’s that~?”

Zeke-san, who was approached by us, was currently in a state of great confusion.

“Oniichan, what’s a trickery?””

“Well, trickery in this context is… a method or a technique that isn’t commonly known, something unusual, I guess?”

Explaining what trickery is in this context is surprisingly difficult. Is this explanation okay?

“”Then, trickery is wrong~!””

“Ah, yeah… I guess so~?”

Simply being extremely fast and not using shortcuts like secret pa.s.sages, I guess our actions can’t be called trickery?”

“Zeke-san, Warren-san, could there be a substance with hallucinogenic effects around here?”

“I don’t think there’s anything like that.”

“Yeah, nothing like that.”

“No, no, no, please don’t hallucinate. We’re the real deal, you know.”

“”The real deal~””

Waldo-san was looking around nervously and urging Zeke-san and Warren-san. Was he looking for suspicious plants or something like that? In any case, I don’t want us to be dismissed as a hallucination~

“I can’t believe it… but it’s a fact that Tak.u.mi and the kids are here~ It’s definitely weird, though!”

“Yeah, you’re right. We knew they were extraordinary, not your average folks, when we talked about it in town, but it seems they’re even more extraordinary than we thought.”

“Warren, Tak.u.mi’s extraordinariness is truly abnormal and absurd, but don’t a.n.a.lyze it so calmly at a time like this.”

“Zeke, it’s precisely at times like this that we must stay calm.”

“……”

I’m debating whether I should interject into Zeke-san and Warren-san’s conversation. Once again, what they’re saying is quite harsh to my ears.

“Do you have to say that right in front of the person!?”

“Is it the truth, though?”

“Even if it’s the truth!”

The word “extraordinary” is something I’ve heard from quite a few people, and it’s not that I don’t care about it. I just wish they’d keep it to themselves rather than saying it out loud.

“”Oniichan, are you being bullied~?"”

“No… I’m not being bullied… right? I’m not, right?—Uh, Zeke, Warren, are you deliberately teasing me?”

“”Haha!””

Zeke-san and Warren-san burst into laughter. It seems I was being teased.

“That’s harsh~”

“Sorry, sorry. Your reaction like ‘Oh, not again~’ was just so amusing.”

“But, it seems you are being called ‘extraordinary’ to the point of annoyance.”

“”Often called that~””

Allen and Elena replied with smiles. Well, the word “extraordinary” just means not fitting within certain standards or frames, and it’s not necessarily meant as an insult… so maybe it’s okay to take it with a smile?

“Allen and Elena wanted to join forces with you guys for the dungeon capture. Having said that, let’s go together. Come on, let’s keep going!”

“”Let’s go, let’s go!””

“Allen, Elena, which way?”

“”That way~!””

“All right, everyone, let’s go~!”

At this point, I decided to take the lead and encouraged Zeke-san and the others to move forward.

“”Found it~!””

“N? What did you find?”

“We found~”

“The staircase~”

“””””Huh!?”””””

And as we walked in the direction the children were pointing for a while, we found the staircase leading to the fourteenth floor.

“No way! Is this for real!?”

“… There’s no doubt this is the staircase.”

“Can something like this be found so easily!?”

“Uwah~ we’ve already conquered the thirteenth floor~”

“Impressive, isn’t it?”

Zeke-san and the others were in awe as they gazed at the staircase.

“Well then, how about we rest at the teleportation device area and conquer the fourteenth floor tomorrow?”

“Uh, yeah…”

In reality, it might be the time for Zeke-san and the others to return to town, but taking advantage of their bewilderment, I got their consent to move forward.

“Allen, Elena, that’s great. They will go with us tomorrow, too.”

“”Ya~y.””

(Allen and Elena seem overjoyed~ Still, since we are working with others, you need to be careful, okay~?)

(That’s right. It’s important to have the experience of working with different people, not just with our own group.)

(Being with different people can make you notice things you wouldn’t have with just your family.)

(Ugh~ I want to go wild~)

(Vector, stay obedient for now!)

(Krrr~?)

Joule and the others were also staying with us without hiding, but they were behaving quietly for the sake of the children’s experience of working with others.

“I never thought something like this could happen…”

“”””……””””

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The next day, we easily conquered the fourteenth floor in just one day. Zeke-san and the others have been speechless all along… I’m worried they might get dehydrated because their mouths have been open for so long due to the heat, but when I make sure the children are hydrated, I see that Zeke-san and the others are also drinking water, so they should be okay.

“”Doing our best~””

And the following day, we headed to the fifteenth floor.

“”Muu~””

As soon as we entered the fifteenth floor, Allen and Elena suddenly frowned and put on unhappy expressions.

“Allen, Elena, what’s wrong?”

“”Smells of alcohol~””

“Huh, really? Oh, you’re right. It’s very faint.”

It was such a faint scent that I wouldn’t have noticed if Allen and Elena hadn’t mentioned it.

“We can’t tell at all.”

It seems Zeke-san and the others couldn’t sense it, and they all tilted their heads.

“Is it this way?”

“”Yeah, that way~… are we going?””

“I’d like to if possible. Is that okay?”

“”… I guess it can’t be helped~””

“Fufu, thanks.”

The children might not like it, but we decided to go check it out in case there might be some new alcohol.

“Oh, I can smell it from here.”

As we walked along the rocky hill with the entrance to the fifteenth floor, we arrived at a place where the smell was quite distinct.

“Is it inside the rock?”

“”A hidden room~?””

“Break the wall~?”

“Or dig a hole~?”

“… Let’s investigate first.”

Since we’ve broken doors to hidden rooms a few times in the past, the children immediately suggested destruction from the start. I did stop them, though.

“”Ah!””

As Allen and Elena tapped on the rocky surface, a certain spot dented. Then, with a loud noise, the rock moved, creating a hole large enough for a person to pa.s.s through.

“”Ohh~””

“A hidden mechanism? Amazing.”

“”Amazing, but don’t like~””

“N? Oh, the scent of alcohol has gotten stronger. I’ll go check it out for a moment, so wait here with Joule and the others.”

“”Hurry back~””

“Got it. — Zeke-san, are you coming?”

“Oh, yeah. No, wait a moment.”

Since it seemed like the inside of the hole would be filled with the smell of alcohol, I decided to have the children wait here. When I tried to enter with all of Zeke-san’s group, Zeke-san himself stopped me and arranged for Waldo-san and Nick-kun to stay back with the children.

“There, there it is. That’s it.”

Inside, there was a hollow s.p.a.ce big enough for the four of us, and in the center of the hollow, there was a statue of a woman holding a water jug. Transparent water was flowing from the bottle the woman was holding.

“Is that booze flowing from the jug? The scent is definitely that of alcohol… It would be best to take it back and have it examined.”

“Indeed. That’s the sure way to go.”

“Oh, I’ll examine it with my Appraisal.”

I see. Even with such a strong smell of alcohol, it’s not as simple as saying, “I found alcohol!” It seems the usual procedure is to collect a sample of the liquid that won’t be a burden to carry, take it back for examination, and then proceed with collecting it once it’s determined safe. There’s also the possibility of it being poison disguised as alcohol, after all. Well, when it’s something I don’t know, I always start by examining it with Appraisal. It’s the natural thing to do.

“This is… a type of liquor cla.s.sified as vodka. It has a pretty high alcohol content.”

“Vodka! I’ve never heard of a liquor like that!”

Ah, so it’s a type of alcohol that isn’t commonly found over here. I’ve hardly ever had this kind of alcohol myself, but I was familiar with the name, so it’s good I appraised it before I said something foolish~

“If it’s a new kind of alcohol, we can sell it at a high price. Plus, since we’re the only ones on this floor for a while, we can pretty much monopolize it!”

Whether we disclose this information or not, for now, it’s just the ‘Ice Blade’ party and us who can access this floor, so as Osca-san said, it’s practically a monopoly situation for us.

Moreover, it’s right near the entrance of the fifteenth floor, so coming to fetch it will be very easy. It should be a very good source of income.