Vol. 3 - Chapter 89 - Katariona Dives Into the Dungeon (Part 1)
This is the first of the two parts.
We left the forest, seeing off Sylphy-sama and the others who insisted that we leave the rest to them.
I told Leon what Ron said through telepathy.
I wanted to tell Tojurou-san and Kikuno-sama, but there was no way to tell them with the Crown Prince also there. I also told Leon about all that as well.
"Leave it to me. I will tell Kikuno. And Kikuno surely has a way to tell Hikoshirou. "
For the time being, I have a lot of work to do back at the academy.
Once the sun goes down and the night falls, I put on some comfortable clothes and snuck out of the dorms.
I asked Marie to make an alibi, so it\'s perfect.
I have an appointment with Tojurou-san and Kikuno-sama to meet up in front of the greenhouse of the academy. Only Chris and I can enter there. It was the perfect place to meet without anyone knowing.
"Sorry I made you wait."
I said, calling out to Tojurou-san and Kikuno-sama who had already arrived in front of the greenhouse. I took out my key and entered the greenhouse.
Tojurou-san and Kikuno-sama followed me.
"Are we going to be transferring from here?"
"It\'s not that far away from the dungeon. I think we can make the transfer if there are only three of us."
Three of us and one of them, to be exact.
After returning from the forest, I hurried to the greenhouse and drew a magic circle for the transfer. The magic circle on the entrance side is at ...
For the exit side of the dungeon, I asked Ryu to lay out the magic circle for me.
"We don\'t have much time. Both of you hold on to me."
Tojurou-san and Kikuno-sama nodded to each other and put their hands on my shoulders. Leon should be fine since he is attached to my shoulder.
When I put magical power into the transfer magic circle, it glowed and with the sensation of suspension or floating, we were transported to the entrance of the dungeon.
"Ugh! I feel nauseous being transferred."
Tojurou-san was about to vomit. It’s understandable. It took me some time to get used to it too.
The transfer magic circle disappeared after having fulfilled its role. My current magic power is not enough to keep the magic circle intact.
"Hikoshirou, if you don\'t stop throwing up right now, we\'ll leave you here."
Despite her poisonous tongue, Kikuno-sama was rubbing Tojurou-san’s back. That’s so sweet.
As we entered the entrance to the dungeon, I illuminated my fingertips.
In the corner of the dungeon entrance, stood a glowing transfer magic circle.
"I found the magic circle. Do you think you can make it?"
I called out to Tojurou-san and Kikuno-sama who were outside the dungeon.
"Am I going to be hit by that sensation of being suspended again?"
Tojurou-san looked ghastly.
The transfer magic circle that Ron laid at the entrance of the dungeon didn\'t give much of a floating sensation. Though Tojurou-san seemed to be feeling nauseous again.
Is it because his semicircular canal is too sensitive? (*TL note at bottom)
"Hey. You\'re here."
When I turned on the light, a voice called out from behind me. It was a nice baritone voice. It\'s Ron.
"Yes, where is this?"
"This is a resting place in the dungeon. Every dungeon has a place like this."
I\'ve read about it in a book. There are spots in dungeons that monsters stay away from.
The adventurers call them resting spots.
"What level is this?"
Leon called out to Ron from my shoulder.
"That cat, could it be the God of the Forest?"
"Yes. Long time no see, Ron.”
Ron took off his black hood and I studied him closely under the light of my fingers.
Black hair and golden eyes? They shone. With the light, his skin looks brownish. And he has the fearless look of an adventurer. It\'s a beautiful face, but it has a cold, reptilian look to it that makes my skin crawl.
"The dark-haired woman over there is a god of the earth, isn\'t she? But she smells like a human. Why?"
"─ Because I am a god reincarnated as a human.”
Kikuno-sama replied sullenly.
Ron seems to know Leon and Kikuno-sama. And Leon and Kikuno-sama also seemed to know Ron.
"Yurie!"
Sylphy-sama, who came to the rest spot late, hugged me.
"Sylphy-sama, how many levels are there?"
"Well ... how many levels are there? Ron."
Sylphy-sama spoke to Ron, apparently not having had time to count the levels.
"It has 49 levels. The next level, the 50th level, is the lowest one."
It should have only been a few hours since we parted ways in front of the dungeon.
Did they capture forty-nine levels in just a few hours?
Is this dungeon that easy?
"It\'s not that easy. There were some strong monsters here.
"Oh! Sorry. Did I say that out loud?"
My bad habit came out again. Sometimes my inner voice leaks out.
"It doesn\'t matter. As Sylphy said, you have a beautiful soul."
My soul is beautiful, according to the gods and even Sylphy-sama. What does my soul look like?
"That ... are you hungry?"
I took the rice balls out of the space.
"Onigiri!"
Sylphy-sama jumped at the rice ball.
While I was creating the transference magic circle, Marie prepared many things for me.
I took them all and threw them into the space.
"\'You went out of your way to prepare it for me?\'"
Ron\'s cold gaze loosened gently for a moment.
"Yurie, can I eat it?"
I could see her tail wagging behind her. It\'s not just my hallucination, but rather her dragon\'s tail was sticking out.
"Here you go. Please enjoy."
And with that as a signal, Sylphy-sama and Leon took the onigiri in both hands and started to devour them. Every bite was huge. It didn\'t take long for the number of rice balls to decrease.
We should save some for Chris and the others.
Do you think Chris and the others are okay? Even though we had packed lunches and drinks, it was already evening. A lot of time has passed since then. They must be hungry.
After finishing their meal, Slyphy-sama and Ron went to defeat the boss of this level.
"Hey, Leon. Are you acquainted with Ron ......-sama?"
"He\'s the mate of Sylphy whom I mentioned before."
If Ron is her mate, then he must be Sylphy-sama\'s husband.
"Is Ron a dragon too, by any chance?"
“He\'s the same race as Ryu.”
If he\'s the same kind as Ryu, then he\'s also a dragon god. It\'s rude to call a god by his name. I\'ll call him Ron-sama from now on.
Ryu told me that his race specializes in Space Magic and Transfer Magic.
No wonder he can use advanced transference magic.
"So Leon and Kikuno-sama are acquainted with Ron-sama?”
"Not really acquaintances, I\'ve only met him once before with Sylphy-sama.”
Leon pouted and turned away. And Kikuno-sama seemed to be unhappy whenever she spoke with Ron-sama, so perhaps something was going on.
For now, let\'s not go any further into it.
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