第２９掘：スイカ (Part1)
**Dungeon Floor 29: Watermelon**
The previous chapter featuring Labyris garnered the highest number of comments yet.
You bunch of lolicons!!
I’ve moved the usual template notes to the afterword.
This time, a certain someone makes a long-awaited appearance.
Well then, here we go.
***
**Watermelon**
"Hey, Labyris. How long do you intend to keep sitting there? I don't particularly mind, but if you get too used to this, you'll feel lonely when it stops happening."
I said this to Labyris, who was currently perched on my lap.
"If Yuki doesn't reject me, I'll sit here forever, you know?"
She replied without a hint of hesitation.
"...Do as you like. I'll do as I like, too."
"Yes, and I wouldn't mind if you pushed me down while you're at it."
I was busy stroking Labyris’s hair, feeling satisfied, when she dropped that line.
If she said something like, "Don't take that seriously, okay?" the next day, it would be a real shock.
Everyone is like that; young people in modern Japan are terrifying. Or rather, it’s a path most young Japanese people have walked at least once.
There are so many people who do that kind of thing just for the thrill of it. I had it done to me back in my student days, and it nearly gave me a trauma.
"...Tell me the details about that woman. I'll kill her."
"Don't worry about it."
"...It's a huge problem. If she's the reason Yuki is like this, I'll torture her until she regrets ever being born."
"Calm down. You can't just go around attacking everyone you see. Think of this as just about right."
I hugged Labyris tight to calm her down as she continued to spout dangerous words.
This is bad. I thought she was the 'kuudere' type, but it turns out she has 'yandere' tendencies too.
Just as I was thinking about traps (not the romantic kind) with Labyris, reports came in from the scout slimes and scout small animals: humans had been spotted in the restricted zone.
"This is bad. The opponents are... one woman and... about ten men. Bandits?"
"What's wrong?"
"There are humans near the dungeon. We can't easily interfere from our side."
"...Why?"
"Right now, this dungeon is supposed to be maintaining peace through Elju's power. In other words, if we make contact from this side, it could be seen as the dungeon running wild. And even if I sent Mauve, Milly, or Ratz out to intercept, with Seraria—who is supposed to have inherited the will and power of Elju—not currently present, it could be seen as us having hijacked the dungeon."
"...What if we disguised Mauve and the others as travelers and helped her?"
"If the woman being chased is definitely being attacked by bandits, that would be fine. But if the opponents are assassins or soldiers from somewhere..."
"...Then it would be the perfect opportunity to find fault with this dungeon, right?"
"Exactly. Their goal is likely that woman, but if this dungeon starts functioning as a village or town, that's reason enough for them to complain."
"...Like claiming they were attacked by monsters in this dungeon, or that the person running it got in their way?"
"That's the idea."
Well, let's judge after seeing the footage.
According to the reports from the scout slimes and animals, they’ve managed to put some distance between them thanks to the forest.
In the meantime, I’ll confirm both sides.
"Let's decide after seeing the footage."
"Footage?"
"Ah, right, you didn't know. Here, try saying 'Call'."
"...? Call?"
As Labyris whispered it, a blue window appeared before her eyes.
"What is this?"
"You see everyone's names on the right, right? There's an 'All' button above them, try pressing it."
"This one?"
When she pressed it, the faces of the thirteen people Labyris had met appeared in thirteen windows all at once.
*『W-w-what is this!? And Labyris-chan, is that you, Brother?』*
As always, Ratz is quick to react—for better or worse.
"Can everyone else see our faces? If you can, give me a reply."
With that, I heard replies from everyone.
"This ability allows for easy communication with members I've designated for protection. Anyway, more importantly, please gather at the banquet hall where we had breakfast. There are humans near the dungeon. I want to consider how to deal with them."
I left Aslin and Firia, who were still sleeping, and headed to the banquet hall with Labyris on my shoulders.
"Everyone's fast."
"Well~, Brother's room is the furthest away, after all. It's only natural."
Ratz replied. Milly was there too. Elju was there as well, but she didn't seem to be on a rampage.
She must have calmed down a little.
"Sorry, everyone. Please sit wherever you like. I'll explain the situation."
I walked to the small stage in the banquet hall and pressed the button under the light switch.
Then, miraculously, a large flat-screen TV descended from the ceiling, displaying the map of this dungeon floor and its surroundings.
"...B-Brother. I understand that this is a map of the area, but this is beyond common sense."
"Let's talk about that after we solve the problem."
I explained the situation to everyone.
"I see, so we can't just help her carelessly."
"Ten people, huh? We could go, but unless we pull off a massive surprise attack, it'll be tough to capture all of them."
"...Even so, if the woman being chased runs into this dungeon, we'll inevitably have to intercept them."
Ratz showed understanding, and Mauve suggested an interception plan with the three adventurers, but noted it wasn't a great strategy.
Eris agreed that it would be the same if she ended up coming to the dungeon anyway.
Just having a place to discuss this makes it worth having brought everyone in.
"...Yuki, isn't there footage of the woman being chased? We can't do anything if we don't know who the opponents are."
Curse said we needed more information.
Of course. Wait, here it comes.
"The scouts have both sides in their sights. I'm putting it up."
The footage appeared in front of everyone.
Some of them gasped.
"Lady Rurua!?"
"Isn't that the little lady!?"
Just as Elju and Mauve said, the woman on screen was Rurua, the former saintess of Litea.
"And the ones chasing her are..."
"...They don't look like bandits at all."
Raiya and Curse held their heads. That was to be expected; the twelve people chasing her were strapping men clad in fine armor. There was one person wearing mail who looked like a woman, but since she was wearing a full-face helmet, it was hard to tell.
"...Do you know who the people chasing her are?"
"Yeah, I've seen them. They're the ones who came to pick up Rurua-chan. Though there are three missing."
Mauve answered.
...In other words, this means.
"She must have become a nuisance in various ways, Rurua did."
"...Lady Rurua."
"Likely."
The people who knew Rurua nodded in agreement.
"Um, Brothers. We're feeling a bit left behind here. If I'm guessing right, is that the former saintess of Litea?"
Ratz looked at me with a 'don't forget about us' expression.
"Sorry, Ratz is right. According to Mauve and the others, the people chasing her are knights of Litea."
"...What does that mean? Wasn't their goal... the saintess there?"
Milly glared at Elju.
"No, targeting Elju's life was just a means to an end. To stabilize the country, they said."
"Ah, I see. Is that how it is?"
Eris clapped her hands, looking convinced.