第２８掘：我が愛しの君 (Part1)
**Dungeon Dig 28: My Beloved**
My beloved.
Well, there’s nothing left to do today but eat dinner... what should I occupy myself with?
Even if I wanted to renovate the dungeon, it would be pointless without consulting everyone first.
And as for increasing my monster forces, it would be more efficient to do that after I’ve finished remodeling the dungeon layout.
"Maybe I should think up some traps?"
I mutter to myself in my room.
"...Traps? Are you talking about the dungeon?"
Labyris, who has made my lap her permanent seat, looks up at my face.
She’s a girl who looks like a doll, with slanted eyes and long purple hair tied into twin tails.
Unlike Aslin, she’s quite well-endowed. If I had to describe it, I’d say two melons. Watermelons would just be too large for her frame.
As I mentioned before, I don’t think she’s even 140cm tall. I should have everyone undergo a proper physical examination sometime.
No, not for any lewd reasons. It’s for health management.
"Yeah, I’m going to discuss the dungeon with everyone tomorrow. If I mess with it now, I’ll just have to change it again later. So, the only thing I can do right now is think about traps."
"I see. I’ll think about them too."
"Is that so? Let’s brainstorm together then."
"I’ll think of traps that will leave them stunned."
"Well, they’re meant to protect the dungeon, remember. Keep that in mind. It’s important to sap the enemy’s combat strength or their will to fight, even without killing them."
"...That’s difficult."
The two of us spend time writing down ideas for traps on copy paper as they come to mind.
"Come to think of it, Labyris, you can write. Can Aslin and the others do the same?"
"...No, not many people can write. It’s not necessary for living a normal life."
Is the region that far behind? Or is it just that Japan’s literacy rate is the anomaly?
Well, even so, the literacy rate here is likely lower than in modern Earth.
I suppose I’ll need to build a school eventually.
It’s a grand plan, but I’m immortal, after all. I’ll take my time with it.
"Hey, how about something like this?"
"Oh, you can come up with things like this? This is... Labyris, weren’t you born into a pretty good family?"
"...I don’t want to talk about it. But believe me, I am with you, Yuki."
"I’m not forcing you to tell me, so don’t worry about it."
"Mm."
When I pat her head, she narrows her eyes contentedly.
"Say, Labyris. Why do you trust me so much? Honestly, I think it’s still too early for that."
I had only kept a promise I made to her in the moment. There was no guarantee I could keep such promises in the future.
"But Yuki kept the promise you made right then and there. I believe you won’t treat us poorly from here on out."
"Right, that 'Skill to See the Truth,' was it? Can you really read hearts?"
"...Not just anyone. It’s impossible unless the other person truly trusts me from the bottom of their heart. And physical contact is a condition."
"The world isn’t that convenient, is it?"
"...? Aren’t you afraid of me? The moment my father, mother, and grandfather found out I could read hearts, I could no longer see their true feelings..."
Ah, the classic trope. Honestly, people shouldn’t do things they don’t want read if they’re afraid of having their hearts peered into.
Not being able to keep secrets is... frightening, I suppose. Though, coming from a parent, that’s hardly the right way to treat a child—not that I’m one to talk.
It must be unbearable to have your inner thoughts exposed twenty-four hours a day.
"Yes, when I was little, I did it thinking my parents and those around me would be happy. But the result was different."
She’s still plenty small now, though.
"...That’s rude."
She stands up on my lap and puts her full weight on me. Even though she’s small, that kind of momentum is quite heavy.
"But is it really okay for you to say that? The reason you were made into a slave has to do with that, right? Didn’t you want to keep that a secret?"
"...I didn’t say anything. I just explained my skill. Isn’t that right?"
"Well, I’m just making a guess; it doesn’t mean it’s correct or that the details are accurate."
With that, I stop the pen I was using to brainstorm traps.
I glance over at the two others who are napping on futons in the same room.
"They’re sleeping soundly."
"...Yes. I never thought I’d see such expressions on their faces. Thank you."
"Don’t thank me. You understand, don’t you? I’m only using you and the others for my own purposes."
I never had any intention of hiding it; I’ve declared it from the start.
Forcing their cooperation would only be a poor strategy considering what’s to come.
"...Hehe."
Labyris looks at my face and smiles, a rare sight.
"What’s wrong? I think I just said something quite cold."
"...I suppose so. You’re cold, but you’re kind. Warm. It’s strange, isn’t it? To be cold yet warm?"
"No, that’s just what you’re saying."
"...I think this is tactless, but since you don’t seem to realize it yourself, I’ll say it. If you were truly cold, you would have moved to a place where you wouldn’t have to deal with us without saying a word. Our bad reputation wouldn’t change the future flow of events. Yet, you go out of your way to explain things to everyone, and to me. Is there any other way to describe that besides cold yet warm?"
"That’s just my personal integrity. Since I’m binding you all to my will."
"...You have a way with words. From our perspective, you’ve given us an unbelievable amount of peace and happiness, yet you, Yuki, feel guilty about it. It’s almost as if you want us to tell you that we don’t want to help."
Labyris says this while staring straight at me.
*Sigh*, she really does see right through me, literally.
"If you can read hearts, you’ve probably seen some of it, haven’t you? The mountains of problems that are about to occur. And if you’re educated, you can probably predict them, too."
"...I can predict them to an extent. Goodness, even a child knows that having many races living together here is a massive problem. ...I realized it after seeing the level of your intellect, Yuki. It will definitely end up like that, won’t it?"
"That’s exactly why... honestly, I don’t want to drag you into this, but I’m inevitably going to drag someone in. But, seeing you and the others talking like this..."
Using them as pawns to advance things according to my imagination hurts my heart as a Japanese person.
Up until now, it had been killing for the sake of defense.