By the time the fifth day since we started the Dungeon subjugation had passed, the fifth underground floor had been unlocked.
Adventurer parties that normally wouldn't be allowed to participate were eagerly rushing in, searching through the Dungeon and taking down Monsters.
Having defeated the bosses all the way down to the fifth underground floor, Alette's party had also stationed personnel to keep watch on the fifth floor.
They positioned sentries at the halfway point to prevent unrelated adventurers from descending any further.
Everyone in our party had experienced the Dungeon.
Because of that, we were mostly on vacation.
Going down to the fifth floor, we could make it back in a single day. There were no bosses, and with fewer Monsters, encounters were infrequent.
But venturing any further than that would require an overnight stay.
Preparations aside, we first needed to decide on the party composition.
Around the base, makeshift buildings had multiplied, and it was starting to become a proper town.
In that growing town, adventurers lived out of tents.
When morning came, they would check their equipment and head into the Dungeon; when night fell, they would return and spend their earnings on drink, gambling, and women.
It seemed that the merchants and prostitutes doing business with those adventurers were making more money than the adventurers who risked their lives in the Dungeon.
In truth, both the merchants and the women of the night looked like they were in the midst of a boom.
From Baim, supplies began arriving every few days, and horse carts loaded with Monster materials and Magic Stones would return from the base to Baim.
The adventurers, too, would take on escort requests when they wanted to head back, returning from the base to Baim.
And new adventurers continued streaming from Baim into the base.
I looked at that town and thought—
"It's nice that it's getting more impressive by the day, but just how long is this going to last?"
This was my first time participating, so I still didn't really understand how things worked.
Miranda, who was nearby, seemed to have picked up some information from a merchant, and she filled me in.
"Apparently dungeon subjugations are always like this. Even the knight orders and soldiers need supplies, so they set up bases like this. But I think it's this lively because of the adventurers, don't you think? Lyle, why don't you come hang out too?"
I looked at Miranda with an exasperated expression.
"Betting isn't really my thing. The food situation is fine. And as for women... well, never mind. I'd rather save up my money, so I'll pass on the fun."
Hearing this, Miranda grinned, folded her arms, and rested her chest on top of them, emphasizing her ample bust.
She was clearly trying to provoke me.
"What a shame. That handsome young man from the brothel told me to send you over. Apparently he'd give you a discount."
I have my desires too, but the problem is what happens after you visit a place like that.
If I could go without my companions finding out, that'd be one thing, but in this situation, everyone would know right away.
From inside the Jewel, the Fourth Generation spoke up.
"It's definitely a trap. If Lyle goes to that place, Miranda plans to gather all sorts of information from those women. ...Isn't she the scariest one here?"
The one who opposed that opinion was the Sixth Generation.
"Miranda is scary? What are you talking about? She's perfectly lovely by these standards. She doesn't throw a fit or get physical just because you look at another woman. And besides, Miranda is my top pick, so please don't talk about her that way."
The Sixth Generation had already declared himself a Miranda supporter.
Then the Third Generation spoke.
"In that case, I'm backing Clara! She's a great girl! She has useful Skills too!"
The Third Generation was pushing Clara on me, motivated entirely by her useful Skills.
The Fourth Generation, meanwhile,
"No, we should be backing Novem. She's a daughter of House Foxes."
The Fifth Generation was.
'...May would be the best pick, wouldn't she?'
The Seventh Generation, meanwhile.
'A girl befitting Lyle, who carries royal blood... I think at the very least she should be from a count's household.'
I thought.
(Though it doesn't matter anymore since I'm no longer the heir to House Walt or a member of a count's household. The Seventh Generation just cares way too much about that stuff.)
As Miranda goaded me, I snorted derisively.
"I'm not falling for such a cheap provocation."
Miranda said, looking pleased.
"Good. I'm glad to hear that. But I'll allow it as long as it stays playful. As long as you're not being serious, that is."
At Miranda's remark, the Sixth Generation responded.
'...I wish she'd been that tolerant back in the day too.'
Perhaps reminded of his wife as well, the Sixth Generation began grumbling wearily.
To reach the sixth underground floor, I decided to challenge the Dungeon over a span of roughly three days.
I'd descend to the sixth floor, fight the Monsters there, and observe the situation.
Since I'd also adjusted the Mini Porter, I planned to announce the party composition to the members in the evening.
After finishing a meal inside the tent, I moved on to tea and announced the schedule along with the party members.
It being winter, the inside of the tent was cold too.
Steam rose from the tea in my cup.
Inside the lantern-lit tent, I looked over everyone and announced the next party lineup.
"Starting tomorrow, we'll challenge the Dungeon over three days. Mainly to confirm the sixth basement floor. If we can, I'd like to take on the boss too. Front line: Aria, May, and Eva. Back line: Novem and Clara."
The remaining members were Miranda, Shannon, and Monica.
Monica looked displeased.
"I've only been to the Dungeon once since I got here, you know?"
I answered with a smile.
"That's how it is for everyone, isn't it? It's not like it's just me and Clara."
Miranda seemed unhappy about it too. But Shannon was doing a small fist pump under the table.
"And why was I left out?"
Miranda was smiling, but her eyes weren't really smiling — she was clearly unsatisfied.
"There's no deep meaning to it. Just preserving our fighting strength."
Then Monica spoke up.
"So as expected, you're saving your trump card Monica for later. Honestly, you could've just said so…"
The reason I'd left Monica off the team was that if she joined in, collecting monster materials and Magic Stones became a real pain.
A single blow from Monica, mace in each hand, sent bats flying in pieces. Frogs got flattened into a mushy mess… Clara, who had to collect the remains, looked genuinely pitiful.
If we were going to challenge the boss, it might actually be better to bring Monica along. But for anything else, she was honestly just a hindrance.
Looking around, I noticed Aria had a slightly troubled expression on her face.
The next morning.
We set out for the entrance of the Dungeon, dragging along the improved Mini Porter.
The Mini Porter, now fitted with sides for carrying luggage, looked more dependable than last time.
Still, the party's atmosphere was somewhat disjointed.
(...Aria is isolated — or rather, she hasn't fit in.)
Aria, who should be one of the original members, was isolated from the group.
No, to be more precise—
"Hey, Novem! Let's go to that food stall when we get back. We could go right now too."
May was pestering Novem to buy her something from a stall.
The Fifth Generation, speaking from the Jewel.
"May! You can't just eat everything!"
The worry in their voice was audible.
Eva, for her part—
"Ugh, I really wanted to stay behind. I finally got permission from my kin to sing, and now... Hey, make sure you come listen when we get back, Novem."
She was asking Novem to come hear her sing.
Novem smiled as she played along with the two of them.
"May, we'll get something to eat when we get back, okay? And Eva, just make sure you don't cause trouble for the party. We'll all go listen together once we're back."
The three of them were so close that Aria had been left out entirely.
I looked at Clara.
Clara seemed to be keeping her distance from Eva.
(...Is she angry because Eva stole the spotlight at the end? Then again, the outgoing Eva and the quiet Clara — people do say they don't get along, and I can see why.)
Things had only gotten more complicated since we arrived.
I sighed and called out to Aria.
"What's wrong? Not going to join them?"
Aria averted her gaze from me.
"…It's not like I can act all friendly after all this. We've barely spoken more than the bare minimum this whole time."
Aria kept glancing over at Novem.
"I don't think Novem really minds? Besides, couldn't you two just make up already?"
Aria glared at me.
"It's not that simple! And the biggest cause of all this is you, Lael!"
I heard the Fifth Generation sigh.
'Lael, don't dig any deeper than that. Just keep it to calling out and offering support — I don't think you're capable of navigating this situation.'
Embarrassingly enough, I agreed.
"S-Sorry about that. Still, we're going to be fighting together, so try not to overthink it. If anything comes up, tell me."
Aria looked at me.
"Coming from such an unreliable leader, those words almost bring me to tears."
The Fourth Generation chimed in.
'Couldn't agree more.'
But the Third Generation said,
'Even so, I'm sure… if it's Lael-san, he'll figure something out. Yeah, if it's Lael-san, he will.'
Feeling like someone kept glancing at me, I wanted to smash the Jewel into the ground.
(That version of me — that wasn't really me!)
When the Successive Heads encounter that high-tension state known as "post-growth," they call me things like "Lael-san" and whatnot.
Irritatingly enough, they even created something called the "Belt Lael Prize" and apparently compile a collection of my statements.
(Those idle lot!)
From my perspective, my ancestors are earnestly compiling my dark history with completely serious expressions.
I wish they'd stop.
We stepped into the Dungeon.
Using my Skills [Map] and [Search], we took the shortest route to the boss room on the fifth underground floor. In other words, when we reached the entrance to the sixth underground floor, we encountered Alette in that room.
She seemed to be discussing something with her subordinates, but the moment she spotted us, she cut the conversation short and came over.
As expected of the room where a boss had once resided, it was quite spacious.
But they had hauled in desks and luggage, making the whole place look like a forward base for dungeon conquest.
"Oh, you're already here? That's quite early. Give me a little more time and I'll have the sixth floor's boss defeated so you can push ahead, alright?"
It seemed the sixth floor's boss hadn't been taken down yet.
I asked Alette.
"Are you actually living here?"
Alette laughed.
"No, I have work up above too, so I go back and forth. There's a lot of supplies to transport as well, so I hire other parties to bring everything in here."
While I was busy being impressed, Alette moved to the back of the room.
She pointed her thumb toward the stairs.
"From here on, only Guild-approved parties are allowed to challenge. Well, you can go ahead, Lael... but be careful, because it's just Albano and Marina beyond this point."
Albano and his group were one thing, but it seemed a solo adventurer named Marina was also participating.
I'd never seen her before, but apparently she was tackling the deeper floors on her own as well.
"Isn't it tough going solo from here on?"
Alette sighed, her shoulders rising and falling with a hint of exasperation.
"I said the same thing myself. But Marina is stubborn. Besides, she has enough strength to challenge the depths alone, so I can't stop her. If you see her, don't get too close."
I watched Alette's back as she waved a hand dismissively and walked away to rejoin her subordinates.
(…So there are other formidable people in here besides Crate.)
I looked at the stairway and lost all desire to proceed.
The sixth underground level.
The cavernous atmosphere remained unchanged.
I checked with my Map and Search Skills, but detected nothing particularly different.
The parties moving around were avoiding fights, moving between rooms to collect treasure chests.
I searched for a solo response—.
"What the heck is this?"
I was startled. A swarm of red dots clustering around yellow ones.
But as I drew closer, the red dots were being extinguished one by one.
Being alone, yet engaging surrounded by Monsters was abnormal in itself. But for that person to be handling it solo was even more so.
"What's wrong, Lyle?"
Novem's voice called out as I stood still, and I shook my head.
"It's nothing. Let's head this way."
We couldn't get close to Albano or Marina's groups, so we decided to take a different route.
I detected a response from a treasure chest, so maybe going to collect that would be good.
(Glad it's not a trapped type. I thought there were hardly any left, but I guess some remain?)
Albano and his group, who had been gathering most of the treasure chests, were as unpopular with the other adventurers as ever.
Since they were clearly so capable, nobody could say anything out loud about it—which only bred more resentment among those around them.
As we continued onward, I came to a stop once again.
This time, it was Aria who let out an exasperated voice.
"Hey, stop stopping like that every other second. Did something happen?"
I was looking at the closest room.
Beyond the passage wall, I confirmed there was a strange response coming from a room on the other side.
"...A treasure chest has appeared."
Sure enough, a treasure chest had spawned in the room nearest to us. My Skills had detected it.
May looked at me.
"There is movement, sure. But I'm impressed you can pick up on reactions that subtle. Even I couldn't make out something that detailed."
Eva chimed in, amazed.
"Does this mean we've hit our target for this run? If so, let's head back to the surface already!"
At that, Novem shook her head.
"We can't do that, Eva."
"...Right."
Clara tilted her head, looking at me.
"What's the matter, Lyle? Could it be a trapped one? Since Miranda isn't with us, should we just skip it?"
I shook my head.
"...No, it's not trapped or anything. But something feels off. Either way, let's go check it out."
There was no reaction related to traps, and so we resumed our movement to collect the treasure chest that had appeared so suddenly.
A short distance ahead, there was a side passage that served as an entrance to a room.
There was no sign of Monsters inside, but Clara illuminated the room and Aria stepped inside first.
Eva followed after her, and once the two had looked around, they waved us over.
May stood watch at the back of the party, and when we entered the room, everyone scanned their surroundings.
Treasure chests don't always take the form of a box.
They come in all manner of shapes depending on the Dungeon, and some are even embedded into the walls.
Clara lit up the interior of the room, but that wasn't enough, so Novem, Eva, and I used magic to brighten the surroundings even further.
And then—.
"...It's peridot. The same as before."
A yellow-green gemstone was glowing, embedded in the wall.
Novem looked at it.
"The same type two in a row? That's a little hard to believe. Back at base, I hadn't heard anything like that."
It's not unusual for the same kind of treasure to turn up one after another in a Dungeon.
However, since we'd discovered the gemstone, we hadn't heard any word from base that additional gems or peridot had been found elsewhere.
(I wonder if Albano and the others collected them and have them on hand? Or is this simply that kind of Dungeon? Either way, this one is also just as beautiful as the last.)
Something about it just didn't sit right with me.
(Does peridot mean something?)
I turned the thought over in my mind, but no answer came. Just then,
Clara murmured softly.
"Peridot is the August birthstone, if I recall correctly."
Eva nodded in agreement.
"That's right. But two of the same gemstone in a row... There must be some meaning behind it!"
Aria looked slightly exasperated.
"Just because the same gemstone appeared twice. More importantly, let's recover it quickly. ... Novem?"
Novem, staring at the wall where the peridot was embedded, seemed lost in thought.