Ihoujin, Dungeon ni Moguru-Chapter 106: The Great Skeleton Floors III & IV

<The Great Skeleton Floors III>

Who's the one who built this dungeon? I shouted at my person-in-charge at the Adventurers' Guild.

「The thing with the 30th floor! What the heck is that?! Is it a bug?! Is it a shitty game?! Is it a design error?」

「Fufu」

Her scarily beautiful face cracked into a smile.

My heart leaped in spite of myself.

「Oh………………I'm sorry. It was such a nostalgic reaction that I couldn't help it」

「Uh, okay」

My heart is racing inside my chest.

She's a person who doesn't even give business smiles and usually has a blank expression on her face. But she always has my best interest in mind. That gap is part of this person's charm.

That smile is just unfair.

「But you're as fast as ever. I didn't think that you would realize the secret of those floors in just five days」

「Well, it’s through means that I can't exactly share with other adventurers though」

「Adventurers are not equal. If anything, it's the most unequal profession there is. Everyone at the top of this profession has done things that cannot be shared with others」

「I see………ah」

Not good, we had gone off-topic because of her smile.

「So, Evetta-san, about the 30th floor……」

「Listen carefully, Souya. It can be said that each set of floors has a "subject" that needs to be overcome in order to clear it. They each require a specific "ability" from the adventurers.

For the frenetic floors, it's <the ability to fight continuously>.

For the deep-green floors, it's <the individual ability to defeat strong entities>.

For the great skeleton floors, it's <the mental ability to adapt to absurdity>.

In other words――――Ouch」

With a thump, the back of Evetta-san's head was smacked by a staff.

「Alright, that's enough. Evetta, pay cut!」

「Huh?」

The one holding the staff was a short boy with small wings.

He may look like that, but he's at least 30 years old. What's so great about being a legal shota[1]?

「Guild President, why?」

「That’s no good, you shouldn't be saying that, right? You can't give away the secrets of the floors to adventurers who haven't cleared them yet. It's collusion. Hence the pay cut」

The Guild President took out a piece of paper and stuck it onto one of the horns on Evetta-san's forehead.

In the words of the alternate world, it said, "Pay cut, eight silver coins."

………………I'm so sorry.

「That was careless of me」

I couldn't see her face through the piece of paper, but she sounded crestfallen.

I whispered to her in a soft voice.

「Evetta-san, I'll buy you a meal later」

「That adventurer over there, don't bribe the Guild employees. Evetta, you shouldn't be letting him treat you either」

「Guild President, is receiving free samples also not allowed?」

「It’s not allowed」

I had presented Evetta-san with about 20 servings of sausages and ketchup.

Despite her slender figure, she’s quite a glutton.

「Souya………………the sausages. I’ll………………return them afterwards………………kughh」

She was heartbroken because of just sausages.

「Then let's just say that they're from the merchant company instead. I'm not involved this way, so there's that」

「Guild President, that's how it is. Sausages are very tasty, you know? They're thick and very filling. Recently, I've gotten into the habit of eating one with a lot of ketchup when I get up every morning. It's something I look forward to very much」

「That's no good. Isn't that exactly what a bribe is?」

You could definitely say that.

「Souya, it can't be helped. I'll eat them all up when I get home today. If I really have no choice but to return them, then it’ll be through my body. But………………please give me more, alright? Sausages」

「Please buy them yourself」

I can't possibly be presenting that many sausages every time.

「Evetta, go organize the paperwork」

The Guild President sent the crestfallen Evetta-san away. Though she looked like a Chinese hopping vampire[2], she left with zombie-like movements.

「Hey, Souya. As the President of the Adventurers' Guild, I have a special piece of advice for you」

For some reason, the Guild President sat in her seat and started talking to me as if he was my person-in-charge.

I have a bad feeling about this. I get the feeling that this guy is letting his personal feelings get in the way only when it comes to me.

Don’t you also have a problem with how you conduct yourself on the job?

「Okay, I'll at least listen」

Just listening won't cost me anything.

「There are two ways of clearing the great skeleton floors with ease」

The beautiful boy gave me a thin smile.

What kind of fool would believe what anyone with that kind of look on their face says?

「One of the ways is through "luck"」

「Luck?」

「If your luck is good, you can clear those floors quite easily. If your luck is bad, you probably won't make any progress」

His smile became even more annoying.

「Yeah, that's true, I may have used up all my luck meeting Rana」

「O, oho」

I responded to his smile with a smile of my own.

You could cut the tension between us with a knife.

I feel like this kind of distance between me and the Guild President is just right.

「The second way is to collect Shogaku tickets」

「Oh, how pragmatic」

「It's only natural. Collect Shogaku tickets and acquire the strategy for clearing the floors from the Guild. This is the standard way of clearing the great skeleton floors」

「By the way………how many tickets would I need?」

「100」

The Guild President grinned.

I grinned back.

The number of Shogaku tickets I had at the moment was exactly one.

The Guild President continued.

「But it's so strange, you know? Adventurers who have made it to the 30th floor must have completed many requests, cultivated many relationships, and earned the trust of the Guild, allowing them to accept requests that give out large amounts of Shogaku tickets. Huhhh? Why does this guy only have one Shogaku ticket, I wonder?」

「Urgh」

This, this ass is trying to rile me up.

No, I can't. The one who loses his temper loses.

「J, just out of curiosity, supposing I were to start collecting the 100 Shogaku tickets right now. How long would it take?」

「You'll first need to earn the trust of the Guild by doing requests that give one or two tickets. Well, once you've completed fifty such requests, I'll refer you to requests that give five or six tickets」

It had taken me nearly three days to complete the Gunmerrys' request last time.

Using simple math, completing 50 requests like that would take me 150 days.

But can all the requests be easily resolved in three days? It would be a bit naive to assume so.

Hypothetically, supposing I were able to get requests that gave 5 or 6 tickets after 150 days, would it be possible to complete those requests in just a few days?

Huh………………that would overshoot the time limit, wouldn't it?

「I've told you before, Souya. To take on more requests and expand your social circle. Despite my advice, you never accept any requests and only spend all your time exploring the dungeon」

「Yes, well, that’s……」

Evetta-san had also told me the same.

Ever since the thing with the Gunmerrys, she had been passing me requests from time to time, but I had turned them all down.

「Exploring the dungeon is the essence(flower) of being an adventurer. But flowers have roots, stems, and leaves underneath them. Those are the signs of their growth. You have been looking only at the flower and neglecting what's beneath. ………Well, put in the hard work for the time being」

It's annoying how this guy is so good with words.

It's even more annoying when what he says is perfectly reasonable.

「Here's a copy of all the requests. Look them over with the rest of your party. It may be difficult for you to do them alone, but it won't take much time if all of you work on them together」

I was handed a stack of documents.

With a big smile on his face, the Guild President left.

After leaving the Guild with a scowl on my face, I looked through the requests as I walked through the city.

「A dancing girl for the bar. A waitress for the bar. A new dish for the bar. Hey, aren't these all from the bar run by the country?」

Besides those, guinea pigs for magic experiments. Acquisition of rare materials. Durability tests of weapons and armor. Cleaning up the streets. Charity work for the flame religion. Looking after the orphans of adventurers, et cetera, et cetera.

They're all no good.

None of these requests seem like they can be completed in two or three days.

If I had to complete as many as 50 of these, it would easily take me more than a year.

Damn, this isn't good. I can feel the cold sweat running down my back.

Actually, I have the feeling that it's kind of cold today. It's a nice sunny day, but the air feels colder than usual.

The city also looks a little different.

All over the city, carpenters are hard at work, boarding up windows and climbing on top of roofs to apply some sort of coating.

Is there an air raid coming or something?

Not that something like that is possible, I guess.

『Team member Souya, would you like to know the current probability of success for the project?』

Yukikaze spoke to me.

This is giving me a sense of déjà vu.

「Yes, I would like to hear it」

『It’s 0.2%』

What a nostalgic number indeed.

<The Great Skeleton Floors IV>

「Shogaku tickets, huh………」

I’m currently in Otou-san's home.

It’s a storage room in the brothel.

This man is indifferent to everything but adventuring, so he wound up giving up his room to one of the live-in girls while he moved into a storage room himself.

It's a story that's really typical of this man.

「Otou-san, could it be that you actually have a hoard of Shogaku tickets?」

「Nope, I've got none. Not even one」

「Not even one?!」

Why?

You've been an adventurer here for over thirty years. You must have done a lot of work for the king and the Guild.

「I'm the foster parent of Solcia, the President of the Adventurers' Guild. We'll be suspected of colluding if I get Shogaku tickets for what I do. It'll affect his credibility」

「That’s true」

Does the Guild President appreciate this bit of parental love? How about repaying a little of that debt to me, the leader of the party he's in?

「Is there any other way? As things stand, the schedule will――」

「Yeah, there is」

「There is?!」

That's quick.

「Have you wondered about the changes in the city lately?」

「Oh, definitely. I've seen a lot of carpenters working」

Even now, the sound of banging and hammering can be heard in this brothel.

「It's almost winter. Lemuria is a temperate land, but winter does set in for a short time. And to herald the coming of winter, a dragon will come to this city」

「Huh, a dragon?」

The prime representative of fantasy has just come up.

「Yes, a dragon. It's a "real dragon" that's no comparison to the dragon-tortoise you guys killed in the past」

Even with that said, that dragon-tortoise was one heck of a monster. We were able to defeat it only through luck, resourcefulness, Rana and Bel's talent, Shuna's sword techniques, and the sacrifice of his sword. As well as Irvin's toughness. Truly, it was through a series of good fortune that we were able to defeat it.

Having fought many monsters since then, I can see it clearly now.

That thing was strong.

It was a very powerful monster.

It wouldn't have been strange for anyone in the party to die. Whenever I think back on it, I feel a chill run down my spine at the recklessness of my decisions.

For something to be no comparison to that………………that's really terrifying.

「The topmost part of the Odoriji spire is one of the dragon's perches. Others include Elysium, the ancient stacked city of the dwarves, and the massive structures from the era of the old gods. The dragon will go around visiting all these places with the arrival of winter」

「Does that dragon have the habits of a migratory bird or something?」

It's not quite the same as the Winter Shogun, I guess. [3]

「Don't you mean migratory rabbits? Oh right, you're a foreigner. Indeed, this dragon has the habit of "migrating". And if there are people in the places where it lands, it will pick a fight with them out of "curiosity"」

「A dragon picking a fight, huh?」

It's like being messed around with by Godzilla, I'd imagine.

Err, is Lemuria going to be destroyed?

「Of course, we're not going to just sit back and do nothing. We'll fight to drive it off」

「………Do we have a chance to win?」

「Sort of. There were times when we were able to win」

Adventurers sure are amazing.

Oh, but.

There’s a very powerful dragon-slayer in this country, isn't there?

「So, returning to the topic of the Shogaku tickets. Every year, the adventurers go out in force to drive off the dragon. Even if they only wound the dragon, they get a reward from the Guild」

「Could it be, the reward includes Shogaku tickets?」

「Yeah. They're fighting to protect the city. They'll get a lot of them」

「What the heck?」

Come on, Guild President. If there's such a way, at least tell me about it.

It's about time I filed a complaint with the king.

「Souya, there's a reason why Solcia didn't tell you about it」

「Huh?」

Otou-san had read my thoughts.

「You see, last year, I joined up with a group of young adventurers. The leader of that group was a very enthusiastic guy, so I uncharacteristically let myself get carried away」

「Naturally, you played an active part, right?」

I mean, you're the father of adventurers after all.

You're the strongest person in my party.

「I was knocked unconscious by a blow from its tail. I didn't wake up for four days, and Solcia and Eldalia feared deeply for my life. Solcia, in particular, would probably object to me trying to fight it again. He might find some sort of excuse to deny the application」

It's yet another complication.

「There’s also one other problem. Souya, you………………don't have a wide circle of adventurer friends, do you?」

「It's a sore subject, so please stop」

In any case, I don't have many friends.

I usually only find myself getting into trouble with bad guys.

「In order to participate in the dragon fight, you'll need at least ten sworn brothers and sisters. Can you gather that many? I can round up some of my friends, but in that case, you likely won't get as much of the reward as you hope. There's a bad custom where the older adventurers hog the rewards while the younger ones only get the experience」

「Ten people」 𝙛𝙧𝙚𝒆𝘸𝚎𝙗𝒏oν𝙚𝘭.𝐜𝒐m

Me, Rana, Ea, Shuna, Lys, and Otou-san. That makes six.

As for the people I can approach, there are one, two, three, and four. Oh, it's not a problem then. I can gather just enough people.

「I can do it」

「Then go do it. Right now. But before anything, talk to Shuna first. In all likelihood, he won't be able to participate」

「Nonsense. He'll come even if I stop him」

「I hope you're right」

Brushing off his worries, I left the brothel.

As Otou-san told me to, I went to Shuna's place first.

To Galdvain-sama's dormitory.

Also known as the Dragon-Slayer's Nest.

Gladvain, a warrior who attained godhood by taking down an evil dragon with her bare hands. Shuna is one of her kin.

Yes, I have a kin of the dragon-slayer in my party.

That's a tremendous advantage for us.

Besides, I've often treated the people here to meals. If you ask me why I do that, it's because I have this feeling inside me of wanting to make Gladvain-sama happy.

Well, it's probably filial piety.

Though it's the feeling of a woman who possessed me a while back, I don't dislike it.

If I can get the help of Shuna's brethren in exchange for a few meals, I'll be all set for the fight. One paltry dragon is nothing to them.

「Why?!」

I was turned down by Shuna.

For the dormitory as well, the kin were all engaged in carpentry work. The windows were being boarded up and the roof was being coated with non-flammable resin. Anything that seemed flammable was being removed.

The place was looking more empty than usual after everything had been cleared away.

「I wish I could participate too. But I was told that I can't」

「W-H-Y?」

It felt like my soul was going to escape from my mouth.

「I’ll explain」

From behind me came a voice, and then my hair was tousled and messed up.

Standing behind me was a beauty with healthy tanned skin and long, wavy blonde hair. She was wearing bikini armor that offered no defense at all, but normal blades wouldn't even scratch her steel-like well-trained muscles.

It was Gladvain-sama herself.

「Why, is he, not allowed――――Sorry」

It was hard to talk with my head being jostled about.

「Could you please stop stroking my hair?」

「Hmm」

I was released.

It's a bother to have my head stroked like this every single time she sees me. I don't hate it though.

「Souya. As you well know, my kin all have the blessing of the Dragon-Slayer, to one degree or another」

「In that case, why can't they participate in the fight to drive off the dragon?」

「Hang on, don't be so impatient. It's simple. My kin are already dragon-slayers. If they hog all the fame, it will hinder those who come after them. The times are always looking for the next generation to emerge. And that's how it should be. The old dragon-slayers must make room for the new ones. Otherwise, the times will get bogged down」

「That’s true」

As an outsider, I can't argue with that.

I'm not good enough with words to try anyways.

「If it was simply an evil dragon that wanted to destroy the city, we would join the fight as well, but that dragon is not like that」

「What kind of dragon is it?」

Come to think of it, I don't have any information on it.

「How should I describe it, I wonder……… It's an unparalleled collector. It loves all sorts of treasures, including gold, silver, and shiny things. It has a deep knowledge of human culture and loves anything that's beautiful」

「I see」

I don't get it.

「After that, well……… It flies in the sky and breathes fire. It rampages, destroying cities. A single swipe of its tail whips up tornadoes, and its claws tear apart even Rmir steel with ease. Its roars are annoyingly loud」

That sounds just like a Kaiju movie, you know? [4]

「Umm……… Isn't what you're describing essentially an evil dragon?」

「It's not an evil dragon. Compared to the dragon I defeated long ago, I'd even say that it's more gentlemanly」

「Gentlemanly………」

There are still so many things in this alternate world that I can't even begin to fathom.

The world sure is big.

「Well, that's how it is」

Shuna patted me on the shoulder with an uncharacteristically apologetic look on his face.

「Souya, I'm sorry, but you're going to have to do it without me this time」

「It can’t be helped」

「Souya. You should fight honorably with the aim of becoming the next dragon-slayer」

「I'll try my best」

I smiled in response to god's encouragement.

However, the fact that I had stumbled right from the start made me feel uneasy inside.

[1] Shota refers to a boy who looks very young, roughly 5-15 years old. I’m sure you already knew that, but just in case.

[2] A jiangshi, also known as a Chinese hopping vampire or hopping zombie, is a type of reanimated corpse in Chinese legends and folklore. It is typically depicted as a stiff corpse dressed in official garments from the Qing Dynasty, and it moves around by hopping with its arms outstretched.

A Taoist talisman is typically stuck on its forehead to immobilize or control it. Hence, the joke, since Evetta has a piece of paper stuck on one of her horns.

[3] “Winter Shogun”, also known as "General Winter" or "General Frost" is a personification of the harsh winter weather. I’m sure you’ve seen it make an appearance in various fantasy stories or games, like in Konosuba, for example.

However, in Japan, it also refers specifically to the Arctic air mass that periodically moves south from Siberia during the winter.

[4] Kaiju is a Japanese genre of films featuring giant monsters. The term kaiju can refer to the giant monsters themselves, which are usually depicted attacking major cities and engaging the military, or other kaiju, in battle. The 1954 film “Godzilla” is commonly regarded as the first kaiju film.

Yeah, Souya is going up against a dragon next. And I can tell you, it’s going to be great. But before that, Souya is gonna need more comrades. Will he be able to gather the 10 people needed and who will they be? Stay tuned as he searches for comrades in the next arc!