第１０２掘：盾姫 (Part1)
**Dungeon 102: The Shield Princess**
**Side: Yuki**
In the end, the finer details regarding the dungeon were postponed to a later date, and we decided to return to the castle for the time being.
Incidentally, I did not revoke the dungeon's control. I designated Reye as a protected individual and granted him the authority to manage that dungeon. The reason for this is simple: reclaiming control of a dungeon requires double the DP. That cost covers not just the land, but everything included within—the traps, the monsters inside, and the facility equipment—all doubled. To put it bluntly, Reye didn't have the DP required to cover twice the cost, let alone four times. Since I couldn't return it even if I wanted to, I had him take on a role similar to Labyris as a local administrator. Well, it’s not much different from the small dungeons within my own, so it’s effectively the same situation as Ratz and the others... With Deryu there as a guard and a connection established back to our own dungeon, there’s no need to worry. Unless a Hero shows up, anyway.
With that settled, we returned to the Gartz royal castle. The meeting regarding where to place the new dungeon was still in gridlock, and it looked like it would take several days. The immediate problem was how to kill time in the interim, but...
"Oh, Seraria, you're back. If you're free, care for another bout?"
The one who called out was Princess Lowell.
"Well, why not? The day before yesterday was quite something, after all. Very well."
"Hmph. I won't be caught off guard this time."
With those words, the two battle-loving princesses headed toward the training grounds.
"What shall we do?"
"Well, leaving aside myself and Kaya, you really ought to follow them, Big Brother..."
Ratz said this, nudging me to go. Ugh, if I do that, I’ll be bored.
"Oh, you’re coming too, you know? Otherwise, tonight will be quite harsh."
Seraria peeked her head out from the corridor and said that with a smile.
"Harsh?"
"Let's see... perhaps I'll have you indulge in a decadent feast of the senses? How about with all of your wives, myself included?"
"Are you serious, Seraria?!"
"Is that true, Lady Seraria?!"
Ratz and Shera were immediately hooked. Hey, hey, I only have one body; if you do that, everyone’s just going to end up frustrated.
"I’m fine with that, you know? I’m sure work can be left alone for about a year. Just look at the results we’ve achieved so far."
She’s got a point. We went from a population of zero to over ten thousand in just three or four months. By any metric, that’s more than enough.
"That’s true. We’ve been so busy lately, so I think it would be wonderful to hole up in an inn and eat Big Brother whenever and however much we want."
"Indeed. Yuki-sama doesn't seem very proactive in that regard, so I would like him to do something like that and attack his wives during the day for once. That is what this training is for."
Whoa there, you wives have got it all wrong. What am I supposed to do if I fall into depravity like that?
"I’d be happy if you just drowned yourself in our bodies."
"Don't worry. We’ll be sure to protect you, Big Brother."
"It’ll just be a little break. We’ll bring you back to your senses if you get too depraved, so rest assured."
Ah, I suppose it’s a good thing for Seraria and the others, too. Rurua would probably be delighted to spend the whole day naked with me...
"Hey, are you coming or not?" Lowell called out to Seraria.
"I'm going with Seraria, so don't leave Lowell all by herself."
"Oh, what a shame. I could have had a life overflowing with love if you’d just left Lowell alone."
Shrugging as if she didn't find it all that disappointing, Seraria walked into the training grounds where Lowell was waiting.
"So, what is everyone else doing?"
"My apologies, but I have a meeting with Lady Charl to select goods for export and determine their pricing."
"I shall stay with Yuki-sama."
"...I suppose I shall act as Ratz's guard."
And just like that, everyone went their separate ways. Apparently, Narjia-san is currently running wild at a famous blacksmith shop in the royal capital. She’s combining my knowledge with the ancient wisdom of the Fairy race, learning about the nature of Gartz, and creating things based on whatever ideas strike her. I pray she doesn't create anything on the level of an out-of-place artifact.
*“Fu, fufufu... A-hahahaha!! Oh, the imagination, the imagery is welling up!! I have a feeling I’m going to create something incredible!!”*
Yeah, I’m definitely going to have to seal away whatever she makes. I have a sinking feeling it’s going to be a cheat-class weapon or piece of armor.
While I was thinking about that, Qual took her place as the referee, and Seraria and Lowell began their match.
*CLANG!!*
A metallic sound echoed through the air.
"Guh!? Why?! I hit that perfectly!"
Lowell looked surprised, despite having blocked Seraria’s strike squarely with her shield.
"Too bad for you, but I wasn't going all out in our last bout."
Seraria nimbly leaped out of Lowell’s range.
"That goes for me, too!"
Lowell charged at the retreating Seraria, shield held high.
"You really are a nuisance with that charge!"
Seraria said this while dodging the shield tackle. That was a dodge backed by sheer level difference.
"Hoh, you dodged that? Before, that would have been the moment we both landed a hit on each other."
Lowell looked surprised, but she quickly steadied her shield and watched for an opening. I see—that tackle was a technique that applied the full surface area and weight of the shield directly onto the opponent. But if you don't escape the reach of Lowell’s sword, you’ll be hit by the follow-up strike. In other words, to dodge, you have to evade the tracking shield tackle while also escaping the reach of the sword that follows. If you’re at the same level, it’s virtually impossible to dodge. Unless your agility is significantly higher than your opponent's, you can't escape that attack range. So that’s why Seraria used to resort to attacks that were essentially mutual destruction.
Seraria swung her sword again, but...
*Swish.*
Almost silent. Even though it was blocked by Lowell’s shield, the blow was parried without a sound.
"Tch!?"
Seraria immediately leaped back. Where she had been standing, a sword came crashing down.
"You dodged that too? Your agility is even higher than it was before."
"That’s my line. I’d appreciate it if you didn't read my moves so easily."