"Man, talk about jumping to conclusions. Well, we don't have any particular problems, I guess..."
"On my end, things could get pretty loud... at least, with the King and the others..."
"I know it's a sorry situation, but just to get this out of the way — we weren't the ones spreading rumors that Tenma and the others had died. I mean, at a drinking party, when someone's taking forever to come back, you might joke that maybe they're dead... or at least, I think that's what happened."
When I grabbed Agri and the others from among my acquaintances who seemed like they might know the details, it turned out that these supposedly well-informed folks were actually close to being the root cause.
Well, when I say "root cause," here's what actually happened: on top of the fact that we hadn't come back, someone who overheard the Tamer's Guild members — a close-knit bunch who were drinking together — half-jokingly say "Could they be dead?" went and spread the death rumor, whether intentionally or not. That seems to be the real culprit. If it had ended there, the rumor would have fizzled out once people saw us alive and well, but unfortunately, the timing coincided with the season when merchants and adventurers start migrating from town to town as the weather warms up. So the death rumor would reach the Royal Capital as early as today or tomorrow. In other words, it was no longer just Seigen's problem.
"Should we head back to the Royal Capital? If we show up, they'll know we're fine."
"If you do that, you'll probably miss each other. Well, we should just carry on as usual here. It's not like we did anything wrong, and the people who spread the rumor have probably left Seigen by now anyway, so there's nothing anyone can do about it. Until someone comes to verify the truth, we'll just do day-trip dungeon runs."
Jin suggested that maybe we should interrupt our dungeon conquest and head to the Royal Capital to let everyone know we were safe, but Grandpa was right — there were bound to be people who would rush to Seigen the moment they heard the news, so it was better not to make any moves ourselves.
"Then how about we take today and tomorrow as rest days and make a point of showing everyone we're alive and well? And then starting the day after tomorrow, we go back to doing day-trip dungeon runs. Sound good?"
"Honestly, now that we've gotten into a new area, I kind of want to push forward right away... but having a funeral held for us without our knowledge would be way too much to deal with."
"Yeah, you're right. It can't be helped. If we dive in now and come back, people might start saying a ghost showed up instead."
"Jin's ghost? That sounds like it'd be pretty nasty in all sorts of ways."
"It'd probably show up mainly in the women's changing room and the bath. It'd cost a fortune in holy water and whatnot until he finally passes on."
"Why am I the only one who dies and becomes a ghost?!"
Thanks to all the commotion at the Guild, plenty of adventurers were shocked to see us alive, but word quickly spread through Seigen that the death rumor had been nothing but a hoax.
Of course, the rumor being debunked was only within Seigen—
"I was truly surprised. With Tenma and Merlin there, a total wipeout seemed hard to imagine... but when multiple intelligence agents all reported the same information, what else could I think?"
Naturally, there was a time lag before the information that it was all a hoax reached the Royal Capital, so people who heard the rumor and immediately set out from the capital only learned the truth upon arriving in Seigen. And that is precisely why, at this very moment, I'm stuck listening to Lady Maria's complaints at the Seigen estate owned by the royal family.
Incidentally, several days had passed since we returned to the surface. The very first person to come check on us was Primera, followed by Jeanne, Amour, Aura, and Albert and his two idiot friends — and almost simultaneously, Lady Maria, Chris, and Aina.
Primera was the first to arrive because she had been on a mission near Seigen. Under the noble pretext of confirming the truth behind the rumor of my death, she had adjusted part of her mission parameters and come to check on things. Once Primera confirmed I was alive and well, she immediately headed back to the Royal Capital, and it seems she didn't cross paths with Jeanne or Lady Maria.
As for Jeanne and Albert's group, they apparently set out from the Royal Capital the very day they heard the news. They came to Seigen together but had departed separately—Albert's group stopped by our place first, but since Jeanne's group wasn't there, they immediately set off in pursuit and rendezvoused at a spot closer to the Royal Capital, then traveled together from there.
And as for Lady Maria's group... upon hearing the rumor, she immediately
dispatched Chris to Jeanne's group,
but Jeanne's party moved faster than expected, so Chris arrived to find no one. On top of that, Lady Maria's own departure was delayed by a day due to preparations, so they couldn't rendezvous. The plan had been to catch up somewhere along the road to Seigen, but several things went against expectations. Jeanne's group had picked up Albert's party, increasing the number of rotating sentries, and having Shiromaru and the others handle night watch meant everyone got proper rest, boosting their daily travel distance. On top of that, the carriage Jeanne's group had prepared was simply superior in performance.
The ox Jubei, whose efforts earned such praise, should right now be eating in the stable next to the royal family's horses while being tended to by Amour. Incidentally, Slarin and the others had been brought along as well. Being Familiars, Slarin and the rest apparently knew I was alive—the ones other than Slarin simply offered a casual greeting before becoming absorbed in their snacks.
As for Jeanne and Aura, they were being scolded by Aina and Chris for not waiting, even though they should have known a message from Lady Maria was on its way.
Though in Chris's case, it felt like half of it was just taking her frustration out on them. She looked thoroughly exhausted from the forced march from the Royal Capital to Seigen.
"We never imagined there would be rumors of our own deaths circulating, and once we found out, there was nothing we could do about it."
"Yes, I understand that. And I understand that the best you could do was try to dispel the rumors in Seigen... but still..."
Even understanding it was a hoax, the worry they had felt was real—and that didn't change.
"Well, there's no point going on and on about what's already done. Since we're here, why don't you give me a report on the dungeon? I hear you managed to obtain some decent materials from the new dungeon?"
"I've prepared a brief summary of the Monsters that appeared and the minerals we recovered."
Lady Maria had steered the conversation toward the dungeon to break the awkward atmosphere, so I handed her the notes I had prepared in advance, even though they weren't in their final form.
"The Monsters were primarily reptilian and amphibian types, with a small number of insect-type Monsters appearing as well. As for minerals... it seems like a fairly standard range of what you'd find in an upper-level dungeon. The question is the quantity. With only this much, it's hard to tell whether it was because the site was untouched, or if the deposit is simply that rich. How many spots did you excavate?"
"The total from excavating five locations, each for thirty minutes to an hour."
As I answered, I wished I had taken notes broken down by location. Lady Maria said, "Both possibilities seem likely." For reference, the total recovered from the new dungeon was roughly two hundred kilograms—iron made up about three-quarters of that, with the remainder being forty kilograms of copper, five kilograms of silver, and just over two kilograms of gold and Mithril combined.
"I don't know how hard you dug, but if this much can be extracted in roughly five hours at the outside, the nobles seeking"
"mining rights"
"are going to make a fuss... Tenma, let's just say you didn't do any mining this time. If anyone asks, just tell them you had orders from the royal family to prioritize the Monster investigation."
The reason given for the order was that with the hydra gone, there was no guarantee that powerful monsters from the dungeon below wouldn't make their way up to the upper dungeon, and they were concerned about environmental changes within the dungeon as a result. Fortunately, the contents of this report hadn't been shown to or shared with anyone other than Maria, so that explanation would apparently suffice.
"This isn't exactly payment for your silence, but as long as you're discreet enough that no one around you notices, you're free to do some mining. And there's no need to submit or report anything to the royal family. Just make sure it doesn't interfere with dungeon exploration."
I'd been given a firm warning but also granted permission, so I (and probably Grandpa too) decided to make the most of any spare moments to keep mining, though Jin and the others still seemed uncertain about whether it was really okay.
"Anyway, now that we know Tenma and the others are safe, we'll need to head back to the Royal Capital by tomorrow, so how about we hear all about the dungeon and everything else at tonight's dinner?"
She phrased it almost as if she were requesting my participation, but in Maria's mind, it was probably already decided. I agreed right away, but Jin and the others politely declined, saying it would be presumptuous.
As for Albert and the rest, who had been lurking about as quietly as air itself, they fled too, claiming they couldn't hear the report before the King.
I'd wanted Jin and the others to participate since they were involved in the dungeon exploration, but I understood that a sudden dinner invitation from Maria would be a tall hurdle, so there was nothing to be done. I also understood why Albert's group couldn't accept, since the King might get jealous... but I still felt like I'd been abandoned, so I decided I'd treat them to a meal someday.
"Oh, by the way — didn't you tell the King or Lord Lyle that Luna was coming along?"
"Neither of them — Lyle included — are the type who can move around that easily. It might not look that way from how they usually behave, but they are important figures in this country, you know. As for Luna, she has her academy, so without a proper break, I can't bring her all the way to Seigen. Well, she did secretly sneak onto the carriage... into the space under the seat, but Aina spotted her right away and Isabella took her off. Honestly, who would... well, she's the only one who'd try something like that."
She said all this in a joking tone, but the only ones laughing at those jokes were me and Grandpa.
At dinner that evening, Maria, Chris, myself, Grandpa, and Amour took our seats, while Aina, Jeanne, and Aura handled the serving. Well, once she finished serving, Jeanne was told by Maria to sit down and eat, so she joined the meal, but Aura kept serving to the very end even as Aina glared at her.
"Well then, I'll be excusing myself ahead of everyone. Tenma, you're not just responsible for your own body anymore, so don't push yourself too hard. Aina, see me out. Chris, Albert, Cain, Lion — I'm entrusting the road's guard duty to you."
"Yes, ma'am!"
After the previous evening's dinner, I'd been asked about what happened inside the dungeon and other matters — mainly about when Primera arrived — and was teased about all sorts of things. During that process, Chris's mood had soured a bit, but since it was in front of Maria, he held his tongue. Well, after that, Amour teased him, Chris chased Amour outside and cut him up, and when he returned, he got an earful from Maria and Aina.
Despite all that, Chris had set out alone on the way there, but now he had three new subordinates for the return trip.
Albert and the others had left the Royal Capital without permission from their respective houses, so without intervention, they would each receive severe punishment from their family heads (in Lion's case, since the Frontier Count wasn't in the Royal Capital, it would probably come later). That meant they needed to rush back, but thanks to Maria's grace, she had them treated as having served as guards and negotiated to have their punishments reduced somewhat. In other words, going forward, since Maria's influence could end up surpassing even the King's, these three might become my allies too.
Well, setting aside all that talk about connections, they had clearly been worried about me and were the first to rush to my aid, so it might be a good idea to write letters to Duke Sanga, Marquis Samons, and Frontier Count Haust on their behalf.
"So, Maria and the others have left, but what about Jeanne and the rest?"
"Aura and I wanted to go back with Maria and the others, but Amour..."
"My body's been getting out of shape lately, so I'm going to train in the dungeon to get back in shape! Otherwise, Aura's going to have a terrible time..."
"That can't be! ...I mean, there shouldn't be..."
Aura started to protest in a loud voice, but she trailed off halfway through, and by the end she fell silent while rubbing her belly.
"Hmm, then perhaps I ought to go along as well?"
Even with Amour present, who knew what could happen with Jeanne and Aura around, so Grandpa suggested he come along for safety's sake. But Amour refused, saying she'd bring Slarin and the others instead.
Besides, they weren't planning to take on the deepest floor they'd reached—she insisted they'd be training in the shallower areas to review the basics, and with Slarin and the others in tow, there wasn't a chance in a million of anything going wrong.
"Well then, let's head into the dungeon right away."
Since the farewell for Maria and the others was early in the morning, there was still plenty of time to enter the dungeon even after breakfast. So they decided to do a food-stall tour on the way to the Adventurer's Guild...
"Sorry... I drank way too much, I can't make it today..."
"Knowing Tenma, I figured he'd call off today..."
"What were you guys thinking..."
Jin and the others, who hadn't expected Maria to leave today, had apparently overdone it drinking for the first time in a while and were down for the count with hangovers. Well, even among Jin's group, Menace and Lina still had some alcohol in them but could move around just fine, wearing expressions that made it clear they'd rather not be lumped in with the rest.
"Looking at this, the dungeon's a no-go. It'll set back our progress, but let's take the day off."
"Indeed. It's all because of Jin and Garat that we're taking the day off... I was all fired up and ready to go, and now today's a wash. Ugh, my plans are all ruined..."
"Jin and Garat, we're sorry."
"Those two are treating us to dinner tonight, so please let them off the hook."
And so, a conversation that completely disregarded the two people in question came to its conclusion, and tonight's dinner became Jin and Garat's treat. They'd managed to hit half their goal just one day after setting it... but thinking it over carefully, tonight's treat was an entirely separate matter from yesterday's, so they decided not to count it toward their goal.
"Tenma... we've also decided to skip the dungeon today!"
"It would be terrible if we were late for dinner!"
And so, Amour and the others also adjusted their plans, aiming to be in perfect shape for dinner.
"Would you mind if I joined you on that shopping trip?"
"I've got nothing to do either. Mind if I tag along?"
"I'm gonna... use this free time to go catch some shrimp, maybe."
"Hmm, I'll go too, then. Got nothing better to do."
And just like that, the day's plans were set: the girls would go shopping, Grandpa and I would shrimp-fish in the lake inside the dungeon, and Jin and Garat would rest up and get back in shape before dinner.
And the next day...
"My wallet's thin... light... empty... It hurts..."
"Damn it... those gluttons forgot the meaning of the word 'restraint'..."
"The meat on my stomach..."
"I think I ate a little too much..."
"Just work it off and you'll be fine! Come on, let's get fired up!"
"People who can eat without gaining weight are so lucky..."
"I don't gain weight easily either, but... not as much as Amour. If I don't burn it off today, my clothes might not fit..."
And so a new group was born — Jin and Garat, whose wallets had been emptied, and the girls, who were fretting over the extra weight from overeating. Incidentally, my group — me, Grandpa (and Amour), plus Slarin and the others — had absolutely nothing to worry about and was a blissfully happy bunch who'd eaten to their hearts' content and felt great about it.
"The dungeon team just needs to push hard with today's run, and Jeanne and Aura should focus on their training. That solves everything. Now, let's move out!"
The whole group had been dragging their feet under a gloomy mood, so I bulldozed through the planning and headed for the dungeon. And there, inside...
"Hyah!"
"Got a thousand gold!"
"Lina, don't get too far ahead!"
"I have to keep moving or the meat won't go away!"
"If you dry this moss and then brew it as a tea, it's great for recovering from fatigue, you know."
"Oh... Then, shall we take it back then?"
Thanks to Jin and the others, Grandpa and I were able to take it easy on the combat front, which meant we could put more effort into gathering instead. And it was the tea made from the moss obtained at this time that was served to Jin and Jeanne, who had worn themselves out trying too hard. Incidentally, this tea is incredibly bitter.