"Hey there!"
"It's been a while. What's up?"
I went to Kelly's shop and immediately laid out the idea I'd come up with, asking whether it would actually be possible to make.
"Well, it's not impossible. The problem is the golem core's output. No matter how much you refine it, I don't think it'll be able to handle the way you're envisioning it, Tenma."
When I made Amy's golem, I first built a bone-like framework, attached armor plating as a substitute for flesh, and then covered the entire surface with Monster hide to complete it. This method produces the most versatile golem currently available, but this time I planned to equip armor on top of that as well.
I'd only told Kelly that I wanted to have armor fitted onto Amy's golem, so that's why he was worried about the output.
"Here's the thing — the armor itself will be a golem too. And for both the inner golem and the armor golem, I'm planning to use several Wyvern-class magic cores, including the golem cores themselves."
For Amy's golem, I'd selected a well-made core from among many golems, but this time the materials are carefully chosen from the start —
A-rank Monster
magic cores — and I'll be using several of them.
Even just the inner frame would definitely surpass Amy's golem in output, and if the armor functions properly, it could deliver several times the power. Visually, it'd be like outfitting a golem with a powered suit — though it might not work out as a simple multiplication of performance, if the armor has auxiliary capabilities built in, it should end up stronger than the inner frame alone.
"So the armor being a golem means you're making one golem from two? Good grief, you really come up with the most ridiculous ideas."
"No — two golems into one, yes, but I'll use two cores plus several extra magic cores. So if you're counting by magic cores alone, it's more like assembling one from several."
I planned to use two cores for the inner frame and the armor, then crush and incorporate several additional magic cores to enhance the golem. So if you consider one magic core necessary per golem, this single unit would consume several golems' worth.
"Not ridiculous — more like you've come up with something utterly idiotic. Well, considering the golems you've built so far, it's the kind of idiotic idea that actually has a high chance of succeeding."
Kelly looked exasperated, but in terms of the total number of cores used, Raiden and the Gigant had more, so in a sense, a similar feat had already been accomplished.
"So my part is crafting the armor, is that right?"
"Yeah, I'm counting on you. I could probably make it myself, but it'd end up half-baked — better to have a professional handle it so the result is actually good."
If I only knew blacksmiths worse than myself, I'd have no choice but to make it on my own, but fortunately I know two who are more skilled and trustworthy, so I'm asking the more reliable of the two. For reference, the other one is Master Gant, but in his case he tends to get too excited and goes on a rampage that I can't control. And more often than not, I'd get caught up in it too... so in that regard, his trustworthiness falls below Kelly's.
"Well, it sounds interesting, so I'd do it even if you hadn't asked, but since it's armor for a Golem, I'll have to build it around whatever goes inside, so you'll need to make the Golem first, Tenma."
"True enough, but we still need to talk about materials and payment. As for the armor, I'm thinking full plate — and the material should be Mithril, Adamantine, or Orichalcum."
"Wait a second! Mithril might be doable, but you're not going to find Adamantine or Orichalcum in quantities large enough for a full suit of armor just like that!"
Apparently, if you forged full plate armor out of Adamantine or Orichalcum, it would be a national-treasure-class masterpiece. ...So instead, I decided to have him gather large amounts of Mithril and magic iron.
"If it's this time of year, Mithril is relatively easy to come by — we could probably get around a hundred kilograms without much trouble. And if there's anything else that might work for a Golem, let's grab that too."
Apparently, during this period — with the martial arts tournament going on — huge quantities of weapons, armor, gemstones, and metals were being sold off to raise funds for tournament bets and auctions. Kelly said that if he went around to his contacts and the dealers who specialize in metals, he could easily gather enough Mithril.
"I'm counting on you."
"You got it! Leave it to me! I'll have the armor materials ready, so you make that Golem as soon as you can. And I'll bill you for materials afterward, fair warning."
I had no idea how much he'd end up charging me, but when Kelly said he'd gather it, he'd gather it no matter what — so it might end up costing more than market price... but I had the money, so it should be fine.
"In that case, I won't hold back."
When I told him about the money, Kelly gave a creepy grin and said he'd "heard something nice," then left the rest to his employees and bolted out of the shop.
A few days after visiting Kelly's shop,
"I'm exhausted..."
"At this rate, challenging the Hydra again would have been better..."
"I'd rather do neither, personally."
Jin and the others' audience with the King had concluded without incident. I'd come along to the royal castle together with them under the pretext of being an escort, but I wasn't allowed into the audience chamber itself, so I was stuck waiting in the anteroom. That was actually what I'd asked the King to arrange — I'd planned to relax while Jin and the others suffered through it — but Tida and Luna showed up to hang out, so it got a bit noisy. Still, neither of them had been informed about my engagement to Primera, so the topic never came up while we were in the anteroom.
"That said, you seem pretty composed, Lina? Did your past experience come in handy?"
"I'm glad my past experience paid off!"
So that was what being a former noble looked like. I'd assumed she was used to meeting with important people, but,
"In situations like that, it's best to leave everything to the group's representative! I just hung back a little behind Jin and the others and quietly blended into the scenery!"
It seemed like Jin had been used as nothing more than a human shield. Well, experience had certainly paid off for her. Selfish as it was, it was the right call in a way.
"You're heartless," I said.
"Truly heartless," Tida agreed.
"You two should've just stayed put behind Jin like the rest of us. Among us, only Jin holds a noble title—even if it's honorary—so there's nothing strange about standing behind her."
"Oh, that makes sense!"
With that, Garat and Menace seemed to fully accept the arrangement. From now on, it looked like they'd decided Jin would be the designated sacrificial representative whenever the situation called for one.
"I'm not accepting this, you hear me?! Next time something like this comes up, you're all going in there with me!"
Jin, for her part, clearly didn't want to be the only one in the line of fire, so she'd resolved not to let Lina and the others escape either.
"Alright, let's put an end to this ugly squabbling… Jin and the rest of you will be busy enough going forward."
Jin and the others didn't seem to grasp what I was getting at, so I went on.
"All of Jin's group is single, with titles and rewards promised down the line, and they're already earning plenty of recognition. If you think about single nobles, or nobles and merchants who want fame as a publicity stunt—the 'Dawn Sword' is a real catch."
At that, Jin and Menace immediately panicked. Garat and Lina wore unpleasant expressions, but neither seemed flustered, so I asked them about it.
"I've got someone back home I've made promises to."
"In my case, anyone who wants me as a noble would have to go through my family and their superior house—in other words, through Duke Sanga's household. Idiots would get filtered out along the way, and by the time I actually receive a title, I'll be getting on in years anyway. So I think I'm fine."
"Then I probably don't need to worry about it either."
Lina's explanation seemed to put Menace at ease, though on the surface their situations appeared similar, the underlying circumstances were quite different. There was a very real possibility that Menace—someone who might covet nothing but the prestige—could throw a wrench in Lina's plans. Still, that was merely speculation, so I didn't press the matter. But more importantly, a surprising revelation had come from Garat.
"Garat… you had a fiancée?"
"Hmm? Oh right, I never told Tenma about that. I do, actually."
Apparently, years ago when Garat had returned to his hometown, his childhood friend—or rather, a woman he'd looked after when they were children—had confessed her feelings for him.
"Just before I left home ages ago, she told me, 'Let's get married when we're grown up.' Back then I thought she was joking and brushed it off lightly. But she'd been serious, and she'd waited all that time without dating anyone else. So we agreed to get married. We're both at the age where we should be settling down, so it's something I've been thinking about…"
He had put off the wedding for various reasons, apparently. After conquering this dungeon, he was apparently torn over whether to call for that woman to meet with Seigen.
"Tch! Go out with a bang!"
"That girl too—what was she thinking, choosing someone like that?"
Jin and Menace apparently knew the woman as well. Jin looked thoroughly unamused, while Menace muttered in puzzlement.
"He said he looked after her when they were kids, but what's the age gap?"
"Umm... I think it was ten years."
"And how old was Garat when he left his hometown?"
"Fifteen."
In other words, Garat had been proposed to by a five-year-old child when he was fifteen, and had agreed to it.
"Jin, Menace... is that normal where you guys come from?"
"Of course it's not!"
"It's a perfectly ordinary countryside! ...I mean, they did try to use us as village publicity to attract visitors, which was a pain, but basically they have the same views on love and marriage as the Royal Capital."
Hearing that, he briefly wondered if Garat had some kind of fetish, but—
"If this were a recent thing, I'd beat Garat into shape no matter what it took, but she's grown into a fine adult woman by now. Even if I have my reservations, I can't exactly complain at this point."
"If he were currently making a move on a five-year-old girl, I'd cut off his nether region and stuff it in a bag before dumping it in the depths of the dungeon—but this is all in the past now."
Both of them muttered with genuine disappointment, making crushing motions with their hands. When Garat saw this, his face turned pale and he scrambled behind me.
"You can cut off Garat's nether region, crush it, burn it to ash—do whatever you want, but do it outside. If you do it here in the streets, even I'll get in trouble with the King and the others."
As for the Dawn Sword issue, I decided not to intervene and at the very least told them to keep things contained within the city.
"So, when are you planning to go collect the Hydra from the dungeon?"
Ignoring Garat, who was standing guard behind us, I asked Jin when they were heading to Seigen, and he said they wanted to go as soon as possible.
"I’ve left most of the materials unattended for so long, I’m getting worried. Well, I doubt anyone else would take them, but the Monsters on the upper levels might have eaten their fill."
A Hydra’s body is coated with poison everywhere. If a normal living creature—including humans—ingests it, death is almost certain. However, there are creatures immune to the poison, and if a beast is desperately hungry enough, it might consume the poisonous parts even if it knows what they are.
"As long as they only eat the meat, we can leave them be. But if they gnaw on the hide, claws, or other valuable material parts, we’ll have a problem."
Dissecting a Hydra requires careful handling due to the poison. So, if the most abundant part—the meat—was gone, that would actually be a welcome change. However, ruining the materials would put them at a financial loss. That’s why he wanted to hurry.
"Then, shall we depart tomorrow? If we push Liden, we can reach Seigen in three or four days. Of course, that means fewer rest breaks and most of the day spent traveling."
By using all but nighttime hours for travel, they could arrive in Seigen in about half the usual time. It would be tiring, so he didn’t really want to, but considering the state of the materials, it was probably the best option.
"Then, I’ll leave it in your hands."
"In exchange, I’ll have Jin and the others help the driver."
Jin and his group had already agreed to help with the driving, so manpower was fully secured. That just left the matter of…
"I’m coming too!"
"If my lady is going, then so will I."
"I’m interested too."
"If everyone’s going, I want to come along."
"Of course, I’ll be going as well!"
He had to decide what to do about Amul and the others who wanted to tag along. Initially, he only intended to bring the old man who knew how to dissect a Hydra. This time, it was a personal commission for him, and he’d explained that they should minimize the number of people going to the dungeon’s deepest level. But Amul and the others wouldn’t accept that. However…
"Don’t worry. As long as I’m coming along, no weird bugs will get close!"
Only after hearing the old man say that did Amul and the others finally give up on joining them.
"Anyway, we’ll set out tomorrow morning and should return in about ten days."
The schedule was eight days for the round trip, one day for Hydra recovery, and one day as a buffer. He explained that if anything unexpected happened, it might take even longer, and then everyone set about preparing for the following day.
"Man… traveling with Tenma is a breeze. And even in times like this, we can stay comfortable."
Four days after departing the Royal Capital, we arrived in Seigen right on schedule... well, just barely before the date changed, so even though we technically "arrived," we're still camped outside Seigen.
"Even though we couldn't get into Seigen, we still made it in less than half the time it would have taken us to travel alone. Plus, thanks to our little detour, we get this incredible feast. Camping out is nothing!"
The reason we ended up camping right in front of Seigen started with choosing our last rest stop near the river.
We had planned to have lunch and take a short break by the river before departing, but just as we were about to leave, I discovered something that would cause a delay. It was...
"All the same, this soft-shell turtle hot pot is delicious! And I heard it's great for the skin, too, so it's the perfect meal!"
Because I had caught a group of soft-shell turtles.
The turtles varied in size, but the largest was over two meters long and estimated to weigh over two hundred kilograms—a monster-sized turtle. Incidentally, the one we cooked was among the smaller ones we caught, but even that one was nearly a meter long.
The turtles had been sunbathing by the riverbank, piled on top of each other. They seemed to be on alert around their perimeter, because a few darted into the river as soon as I got close, but more than ten remained. So while I drew their attention, I had Slarin sneak up and capture them all in one go.
Slarin's surprise attack caught a total of ten turtles, but we released the four that were obviously young (though even those were fifty centimeters long). The remaining six still easily totaled over five hundred kilograms—quite the haul!
"It smells a little strong because we didn't purge the mud well enough, but we made up for it by using plenty of spices. This works out just fine."
I proudly praised my own turtle hot pot while we ate... but we might have been a bit inconsiderate to the others camping nearby. The generous amount of spices used to mask the muddy smell caused an appetite-stimulating aroma to spread over a rather wide area. As a result, we occasionally caught resentful glances directed our way. Well, Shiromaru was nearby, and the wagon prominently displayed the flag with the Ototo family crest, so no one approached us, which was a relief. Even if someone had approached with malicious intent, with this group, there would be no problem whatsoever.
"Let's get to sleep early tonight and head into the dungeon first thing tomorrow morning. We're right next to Seigen, and if I have the Golem stand guard, it should be fine even if everyone sleeps at the same time."
It was unlikely anyone would attack us in a place like this, but even if they did, deploying the Golem would let us handle it immediately. More importantly, since we're heading to the lowest level tomorrow, it's better to minimize any lingering fatigue, so this time we decided not to post a watch.
"Slarin, Shiromaru, Solomon, you three sleep outside the Bag tonight too."
As an extra precaution, having the three sleep outside the Bag as well would serve as a clear deterrent alongside the Golem, and if anyone approached, Shiromaru would likely notice.
"I think we can call this perfectly secure? Alright then, I'm going to sleep first."
Grandpa and the others said they'd stay up a bit longer, so I was the only one who slipped into my futon early. Not just Grandpa's group, but it seemed a drinking party was going on around us too, so it was a bit noisy. But this is usually how it goes when camping in a group near a city, so while it was noisy, nothing really stood out as a concern.
"Bringing Tenma along really was a good idea..."
"Indeed..."
"Without him, we'd all be dead for sure."
"It's something you can easily imagine if you think about it for a moment."
While I was working, Jin and the others had all voluntarily sat in seiza on their own.
"In this situation, I'm afraid I can't be much help either."
Grandpa said that apologetically, but he'd already taken out a chair and table and was sipping tea.
To put it in extremely simple terms, the reason we were in this situation was because the Hydra was starting to rot. It had been a little over half a month since Jin and the others defeated the Hydra, and some kind of enzyme in the creature seemed to accelerate decomposition. By the time we arrived to collect it, the flesh was already halfway dissolved and letting off a horrendous stench. I'd noticed rats scurrying around near the Hydra, so while the combination of smell and poison seemed unlikely, I kept my distance just to be safe and had the Golems handle the dissection—which was really just skinning it and pulling out the organs.
"From what I can see from a distance, the hide doesn't look that damaged. I thought it would be more charred."
Based on how Jin and the others described their fight, I'd expected the hide to be in much worse shape, but it only had some scorching, a few holes, and some cuts—plenty of value as a material. Even Jin and the others seemed puzzled about that.
"It's possible it regenerated even after dying... Hydras have absurdly strong regeneration, so even after having its heart and magic core removed, it might have retained some regenerative ability."
After hearing Grandpa's theory, everyone nodded in understanding. After all, when we previously defeated the Bicorn that served as the basis for Raijin, the Bicorn had cast Heal on its wounded hide after death to erase the damage. If recovery magic could work on a Bicorn even after death, then it wouldn't be strange for a Hydra with powerful regeneration to recover to some degree on its own—even without recovery magic—after dying.
While we discussed the Hydra's regenerative abilities, I had the Golems lay out the Hydra's hide and organs on the ground, then used water magic to rinse off the grime and the dissolved flesh stuck to the poison.
The Hydra's organs—the heart, stomach, lungs, intestines, and bladder—remained in fairly clean shape, but the kidneys and liver had mostly dissolved and barely remained. Incidentally, the poison sacs where it stored its venom were still intact, packed full of toxin. What's more, the Hydra had two separate locations for storing poison: one was a cavity in the upper palate, and the other was near the stomach (though since this Hydra had nine heads, there were technically ten locations). The two were connected by thin tubes, and when the poison sac in the upper palate ran empty, it appeared to be refilled from the sac near the stomach.
"It's pretty viscous, so it might be undiluted poison? Grandpa, I've got something like a hundred liters of what looks like raw poison here—what should I do with it?"
A small amount could be disposed of nearby and washed away with water without issue, but with this much volume, I was worried that method would make the room unusable for a while. So I asked Grandpa for his opinion.
"With that much... even I'm not sure what to do... I can only think of digging a hole and disposing of it in small increments."
Grandpa was at a loss too. When I asked how he handled it in his case, he told me he'd burned about half of it, felt it was dangerous, and simply scattered the rest across the floor and left it alone.
"Back then, the vaporized poison was a real mess. If I'd burned it all at once, I might have died from the fumes."
Grandpa was reminiscing about the old days, and I found myself sincerely reflecting on how the stories Ernest had told me about what Grandpa was like in his younger days were apparently true. Well, I didn't say that out loud, but the moment I'd thought that burning it in small batches might actually be okay, I supposed that made me just as bad.
"As for how to dispose of it, we'll figure that out as we go. For now, let's store it in smaller portions. Just to ask—do any of you actually need this poison?"
I asked partly because selling it would bring in a decent sum, but Jin and the others said that when they considered the risks of selling it, they didn't need it. So I ended up storing all of it myself. Incidentally, the risk of selling it referred to the possibility of it being misused after it left their hands. They said they could claim no responsibility for however it was used after the sale, but doing so would still damage their reputation, and they had no desire to cross such a dangerous bridge.
Regardless, Hydra poison is valuable, so even if we were to sell it, we should only deal with someone whose identity and intended use were clearly established and trustworthy. Of course, I couldn't think of anyone who fit that description, so disposal was the safest option.
After washing away the excess parts of the skin and internal organs, I similarly gave the main body a thorough rinse with a strong stream of water to remove the poison and partially dissolved meat, then cut it into manageable chunks and packed them into Magic Bags. If this had been a normal catch, we'd have been cutting the meat away from the bones and throwing a party once we were done... or something like that. But since Hydra meat also contains poison, the standard procedure is apparently to roughly carve off the meat, then either soak the remaining bones—still with meat attached—in a large amount of water or bury them in soil, and let time do the work of rotting away whatever flesh remains. Grandpa says that leaving them submerged in water or buried in soil for an extended period causes the meat to rot away completely, and as a bonus, the poison embedded in the bones—the spine contains poison too, along with traces seeping into every gap between the bones—leaches out, making them safe to process.
"You'd be better off selling the bones with the meat still on. Some folks might grumble about it, but that's the best way to prove it came from a Hydra."
I'd at least washed the surface poison off, so apparently, even if you touched it barehanded, as long as it was brief and you didn't have any cuts on your hands, the worst you'd get is a bit of itching. Well, if you gripped it for a long time or chewed on it, it could apparently kill you, but that's the user's own responsibility.
"So, once we take care of the contaminated areas, that should wrap things up, right? After this, I'm thinking of poking around the area a bit—what about you, Grandpa and the rest of you?"
I asked if Jin and the others wanted to search with me for Mithril to use in a new Golem, but they said they'd already done a preliminary sweep and wanted to head back to tend to their weapons. Grandpa said he was hungry and would head back too, so he left together with Jin and the others.
The meeting spot was the apartment run by Amy's family—the one Jin and the others were renting, which I'd used before—and Grandpa said he'd arrange for us to leave the carriage we slept in on the premises. No set meeting time, but it would be best if everyone had gathered by the time we set out tomorrow at the latest, so until then, we had free time.
"Well then, let's get to searching with a will."
I had the Golems stomp down and compact the blood pools, poison puddles, and piles of rotting meat left over from processing the Hydra, then covered them with soil. It was a pretty rough approach, but for the time being, only Grandpa, Jin's group, and I could reach the lowest floor. By the time other adventurers made it down here, the poison would have decomposed and become harmless. As long as we didn't touch the soil where it had been compacted, we'd be fine—this should be more than enough.
"I was hoping to find Mithril if I got lucky, but I'm only turning up iron."
The lowest floor, which had served as the Hydra's lair, was enormous—easily several times the size of a baseball stadium.
"Still, I haven't seen a single living creature besides bugs. What was the Hydra eating to survive?"
Feeding on the ambient Magic Power or something like that didn't seem like it would sustain a creature of that size. The most likely explanation was that it was luring Monsters down from the upper floors somehow, but even how those prey Monsters spawned inside the dungeon in the first place wasn't clearly understood.
"The more I think about this, the more my head hurts... I should probably call it a day."
Next time I came, I planned to take the proper route rather than a shortcut like this one, and as I was about to head back to the surface and stop mining, I happened to notice something suspicious.
The spot was directly opposite the entrance, where a cluster of large rocks was piled up. It might just be a natural formation, but it could also have been where the Hydra slept, so I decided to go check it out. And then—
"There's definitely something under here..."
A damp air rose from beneath the rocks, carrying a smell like rotting flesh, and from below came what sounded like something moving.