CH 206

【196th day】

On the ground below, crawling adventurers.

I was examining the ground of the 45th floor with Yukikaze and Otou-san.

The reason why he hadn't been around during the recent commotion was because he had been going into the dungeon to investigate this floor with great frequency.

As the leader, I felt bad.

Thanks to his efforts, we had found a clue to clearing the floor.

There were keyholes.

They were so small that it would have been impossible to notice them if we were simply walking around. Otou-san had found five keyholes, Yukikaze had found three, and I had found one.

And when we plotted the locations of the keyholes onto a map of the entire floor………………

「What do you think?」

「No idea. We won't see any connections until we've plotted them all」

So keep on searching, Otou-san said.

『That's right, indeed. Slow and steady is the best when it comes to work, indeed』

Even Yukikaze had her say on it.

The mini-pod was also searching slowly, its light illuminating the area around it. On my glasses, a makeshift map of the entire area was displayed, but so far, it was making little sense.

I held down my pointy hat, which had been returned to me, and stared at the ground that stretched endlessly into darkness.

Shuna, Ea, Lys, and Rana were here earlier, but I had sent them home because the youngsters were booing at the far too mundane task, and the noise was getting in the way of the work.

Rana seemed to want to stay, but with her bent over beside me, her breasts were making it difficult for me to concentrate, so I sent her home.

And that's the current situation.

I like mundane work. Even more so when I think about all the trouble I've been through recently. I just want to mindlessly immerse myself in something, regardless of the outcome.

In the vast dungeon that goes on and on.

On my hands and knees on the dirty ground.

With only the light in my hand to illuminate my way

Crawling forward, inch by inch.

Keeping my eyes peeled so as not to miss any small detail.

The search area was the same as before, a circular area centered around the portal to this floor.

「Yukikaze, don't stray too far」

『Understood, indeed』

Yukikaze's exploration speed is fast. If I left it entirely to her, she would likely have the whole floor mapped out in about three days.

But that doesn't mean that we can slack off.

We have to do everything we can.

That's all there is to it.

It's plain, dirty, and wears a person out. There's nothing glamorous about this work. It doesn't feel at all like the kind of work an advanced adventurer would do.

But this is the reality of it.

『Even if it’s plain, it's still part of being an adventurer』

That's what the most experienced adventurer says. There's no questioning his wisdom. If anyone has a problem with it, wait until you've beaten me and Otou-san and gained more fame than us.

That's what I think.

This work is certainly plain, but there are subtle discoveries to be made as well.

The ground of this floor is made of a material similar to concrete. There's nothing strange about that. I’ve heard that they had concrete even in ancient Rome. Some of the buildings in the city are also built using concrete.

That said, this is the alternate world.

There are some "mysterious" and "special" materials in it that the A.I.s cannot analyze.

Even now, the method of making concrete is being passed down by the builders of the city, but the cost of manufacturing it is absurdly high. That's why, except for the wealthiest parts of the city, most of the buildings are made of wood or structural materials obtained from the dungeon.

As my mind wandered to various topics like this……

「Let's take a break. My eyes are getting tired」

……Otou-san suggested that we take a break.

I was just getting a little hungry myself.

「Yukikaze, come back」

『Roger』

Yukikaze came rolling back. Then she turned up the intensity of the mini-pod's light to simulate a campfire.

Otou-san pulled out some portable food from a pouch.

It was a rather large loaf-shaped cake with nuts mixed into the dough. It had a sweet alcoholic smell.

「Oh, Otou-san, that's……」

「What? Is this something you made after all?」

「No, it's made by Makina」

「Ohh, the mother of that little one over there, huh?」

『Medimu-sama, she's not Yukikaze's mother. She's a sister product from the same line』

Yukikaze denied it swiftly.

Is her mother supposed to be Izora after all?

「I don't quite understand, but this pound cake thing is delicious」

Pound cake is a cake made with equal amounts of wheat flour, butter, sugar, and eggs.

It's a food that lasts for a long time, and the one Otou-san is eating is made with roasted nuts mixed in, infused with fruit wine, and then coated with candy.

Also, honey is used as a substitute for sugar, so its sweetness is richer. The key is to mix in the honey after the dough has been baked.

I'm proud to say that it's much tastier than the lump of butter and flour that adventurers commonly eat.

There's no connection between the development of this cake and the dessert course I served the magistrate.

I feel bad for Rutsuko-san, so I'm going to assert that there's absolutely no connection.

By the way, one of them costs eight copper coins. Considering their portability, calorie content, and material cost, the price is fairly reasonable, but it doesn't change the fact that it's expensive fare.

Maybe that's why it's not selling all that well, but it's starting to gain popularity among discerning adventurers like Otou-san, who have money to spend.

「And you're eating those again?」

「What do you mean "again"? These are the soul food of my hometown. And they’re packed with love」

I took out onigiris hand-made by Rana.

The rice-balls are huge. I'm looking forward to seeing what fillings are in them.

「If you like them, I won't judge, but I'm not giving you any of this cake, got it?」

「I'd get drunk, so no thanks」

I took a bite of an onigiri.

Ohh, it's tuna mayo. And shichimi(seven spices) has been mixed in, so it's spicy. It's yummy.

I chewed it thoroughly, savoring its taste, and then picked up another onigiri.

This one is simple, with just stir-fried pork.

Hmm, but the texture of the pork is different from usual. It's a little tougher, but the more I chew, the more the richness and the goodness of the pork intertwines with the rice.

C, could this be pork cheek?! I see, if it's a delicious ingredient like this, all that's needed is to stir-fry it with salt and pepper, so even Rana can do it.

No, making such a good choice of ingredients shows that she has a wonderful eye for them.

I seem to remember that Lanseal is the one who does all the shopping for ingredients, but that is that and this is this.

I got absorbed in eating the onigiris, and after finishing them all, I basked in the afterglow of ecstasy.

I'm such a blessed person.

I feel like I'm dreaming.

「I hear you've laid with Lanseal」

I was brought crashing back to reality by Otou-san's words.

「Yes」

I'm a fool who betrayed his amazing wife.

「Well, I figured it was bound to happen at some point, but you sure took your time. Not that I'm one to talk」

「Ohh, if I recall correctly, you were close with Verxina-san, right?」

I didn't want to go deeper into the matter of Lanseal, so I changed the subject.

The sour look on his face growing more sour, Otou-san reluctantly answered.

「We spent a good long time together, you see? I don't know about her, but I was a mercenary she hired to protect her. I was paid for it. It's a job, so there are lines drawn in the relationship」

He's always been a serious person, I see.

My own guess is that Verxina-san had as much or more love for Otou-san than she did for that baldy.

And this vulgar conjecture is something I'll take to my grave.

「And, is it true that you got Lanseal pregnant?」

「Koffuu」

I sprayed out my after-meal tea.

「W, who did you hear that from?」

「Lemuria, Debra, and then the person herself」

That's everyone who was at the announcement, isn't it?

Why are you guys all consulting the same person about it?

「The first to come was Lemuria, who had the face of a dead person, followed by Debra, who looked like he was about to kill himself. The last was Lanseal, who had a big smile on her face. I don't know whether to say that no child knows the depth of their parents’ love or that the birth parent and the parent who raised her shouldn't be treating a woman of her age like a child any longer, but I had nothing but mixed feelings about it」

「I'm really sorry about that」

I had indirectly caused him a lot of trouble.

「So, Lanseal's child, is it really yours?」

「It's just an assumption on Lanseal's part. It's not that easy to get someone with child」

But Regure's case still haunts me.

I can't feel at ease. That woman really doesn't let me breathe easy.

「If she's really fallen for you, it's a bit early to assume that she's mistaken. But, you know, a man should just keep his head up. It's not like it's your belly that will be hurting, and it's pathetic how each and every one of you is all flustered about it」

「That's true. Thank you very much. I've accepted my fate」

He's right.

Being an adventurer is all about playing things by ear. If there turns out to be a child in her belly, I'll worry about it then!

I'll just put that aside for now. Wow, it's really great to have Otou-san here to―――――

「On another note, I hear you've defeated another hero of Elysium」

This topic is no good. No matter how much I rely on Otou-san, I can't tell him.

It's because I trust him that I can't talk about it.

「You must be kidding. A mere adventurer like me―――――」

「Can a mere adventurer get us to this floor in such a short time?」

「That is that, and this is something else entirely」

Just like a certain group of adventurers who have disappeared, a good adventurer is not necessarily a good person.

「Have I ever told you the story about my eye?」

「Eh, eye?」

Changing the subject abruptly, Otou-san removed the eye-patch over his left eye.

There are many people who are curious about this old scar, but no one knows the story behind it. It’s said that there's a prize for anyone who can uncover it.

「This is when I was about Shuna's age………Yeah, it just happened to be the day before Alma disappeared. This is a scar from a fight with a certain knight and his beast」

Hidden behind the eye-patch was an old blade wound. But the eye was still intact. Not just that, it shone golden in the darkness.

I felt as if yet another connection had been made.

「That said, when I came to, the eyeball itself had healed up and had become this creepy-looking eye. That knight and I had truly fought with everything on the line. Scars from battles like that are medals of honor. No matter the cause, I couldn't be the only one whose wounds were gone as if they had never been there to begin with. So I covered it up. You will likely be the last person I show this to in my lifetime」

A man who had fought a beast in the past.

He must have forgotten. That there was once a gray cat beside him. The golden eye he was left with is the vestige of a forgotten god.

「What kind of knight was he?」

For a moment, I debated if I should ask him about Misuranika-sama.

But the one who would be hurt the most by the words "I don’t know" would be her. Those words would be hard for me to hear as well. Otou-san is a part of her past. That's good enough for now. I can only think of it in this way.

「He was a strong knight. The strongest enemy I've ever faced in my life」

「But you won, right, Otou-san?」

「That's just the way it turned out. In terms of strength, he had me beat. But then again, that's how battles are, I suppose」

Otou-san covered his left eye with the eye-patch again before continuing.

「Well, if you don't want to talk about it, I won't ask again, but I can see it on your face, you know?」

「It’s that obvious, huh?」

If Otou-san can see through me, then Rana and Misuranika-sama must have done so as well.

This is one side of me that’s really hopeless.

「I've defeated two heroes of Elysium. No………………it's "four" heroes」

Surprisingly, the words came out easily once I had started, perhaps because they had been a weight upon my chest.

「The first was Varner, the beast hunter hero. The second was Irvin's teacher, Zamonglass, the Scarlet Knight. The third was Barfuru, no, Deimos Zamongrea. The fourth was the latest one, Khius Logret Londahl」

「………………」

Otou-san’s expression remained unchanged as he stared at Yukikaze's light.

「At first, it was for the honor of a friend, then it was to fulfill the wish of that friend's teacher, then I was caught up in his delusion, and this time……I do wonder what it was for. All I can say is that he was in the way, so I drove him off」

Zamonglass and Barfuru were not heroes.

However, it's simply that Elysium doesn't acknowledge them as heroes, but from my point of view, they had more than enough strength to be heroes.

There are heroes who are celebrated by their allies, and there are heroes who are feared by their enemies.

Those two are the latter.

「As for Khius, I didn't actually kill him. I simply erased the "hero" named Khius from the world. I'm sure you'll be put off when you hear this, but―――――」

「Be it me, Lemuria, Melm, Alma, or Verxina, we all did plenty of things when we were young. No, some of us are still doing them. Even if they were done for the sake of survival, they were atrocities that no person can be forgiven for」

Thank you for your thoughtfulness.

I'll tell you then.

I told Otou-san everything.

About how I had created a new Abaddon.

About how I spread them throughout the islands that had nothing to do with this.

About how a great many innocent people would have died depending on what Khius chose to do.

At some point, Otou-san took out his pipe and started puffing on it.

For some reason,

I was reminded of the time I sat around the fire with Barfuru in the catacombs. We had also sat in the dark like this then.

「Souya, what's on your mind? That's not the face of a man who loses sleep because of guilt」

「To tell you the truth………………」

I was at a bit of a loss for words.

Otou-san caught on……

「The secrets you share inside the dungeon will not be taken above ground. All will be lost in the darkness here and forgotten」

……and said that.

Then I'll tell you this too. It's a confession more embarrassing than being naked in public.

「I don't feel a single shred of guilt. I don't know why I don't, why I think that way, no, it's more appropriate to ask why I don't think that way, I suppose. I don't have the answers to those questions. I don't feel a thing about the deaths of people I've never met. No, that's not quite right. The death of people itself doesn't evoke any emotion within me………doesn't this make me just like a beast?」

If a beast hides its true self and gets close to people, all that awaits in the end is misfortune.

Will it devour the ones it loves, or it be revealed for what it is and be skewered?

Every time I feel some measure of happiness, this is what haunts me.

「Back when I was a mercenary, I encountered people much like you」

「Eh?」

What do you mean?

「The first time I killed a man, I pissed my pants and spent the whole night shaking. The hand holding the sword was so stiff that I still couldn't move it the next day. It's pathetic, but it's nothing unusual. Everyone gets the shakes the first time. However, every now and then, there would be people like you. People who aren't affected by the life and death of others」

「What happened to those that you encountered?」

I can only imagine unhappy endings for them.

「Some died on the battlefield, others retired as mercenaries and became farmers. Some became merchants, others are still swinging their swords on battlefields to this day. In a nutshell, it varies. I guess that's all there is to that personality trait」

「That's all there is? Eh, that's all there is?」

I couldn't help but ask him back.

「My mother was a hunter. She kept a wolf」

I couldn’t fathom what that had to do with anything, but Otou-san recounted his memories of the past.

「At first, she thought it was a dog. But as it grew, she realized that it was a wolf. The adults around her told her that it wouldn't be able to accustom itself to people and that she should kill it. But my mother was able to successfully tame it. Do you know how she did that?」

「Sorry, I have no idea」

I don't understand the point of this whole anecdote.

「She mixed it with other dogs and raised them together. She showed it how happy dogs were to obey people. And then the wolf started to imitate those dogs. To my eyes, it looked just like any other old dog」

「But doesn't that vary from individual to individual?」

I've heard that in rare cases, there are wolves that are able to get used to people.

I think Otou-san's mother just happened to come across one such wolf.

「That's probably part of it. Everyone who tried to emulate my mother failed. My mother was able to tame the wolf's nature and turn it into a dog, but it's as you said, it was not solely my mother's doing.

In the end, it was the will of the wolf to choose to live as a dog.

This is what I think.

If a wolf can do it, there's no reason why a human can't tame his own nature. Even if it's a terrible monster. The will of man will never lose」

「Tame, huh?」

How can I claim to be a hero if I cannot tame my own darkness?

I was reminded of what Khius had said.

That guy had tamed the beast. The terrible beast of abominable blood.

Compared to his, my beast pales in comparison

「Ahh, I see」

I feel like I've understood something a little better. I must have resigned myself halfway through. I had thought, "This is who I am," and had held on to my crappy personality.

I had simply been stupid and lazy.

If Otou-san is right, I should be able to tame my own nature.

If I want to be human.

I can definitely do it.

「Well………………umm, thank you very much」

I thanked Otou-san.

I feel like a fog had lifted.

It doesn't matter whether I can do it or not. What matters is my willingness to try.

I'm human. As long as I continue to think that, I'll probably be human.

「No, well, I told Verxina about this once in the past. She got really angry and wouldn't talk to me for a while」

Why, Verxina-san?

I thought it's a pretty good story though.

「We've rested too long. Let's resume our search」

Otou-san tapped out the ashes from his pipe. He stood up and began to twist his hips.

I also did some warm-up stretches in preparation for the exploration.

Now, let's go examine the ground again. There’s still so much more to explore in this dungeon.

「Can I say one last thing?」

Otou-san glared at me as he said that.

「I believe that a man should love one woman and spend the rest of his life with her. For whatever reason, I thought you were going to do just that. To mess around with Lanseal when you already have a wife, I'm disappointed in you」

「Right………………I’m sorry」

Finally, someone did the normal thing of getting mad at me for what I had done.

Did you enjoy this deep dive into Souya’s true personality? What have you gleaned? Yeah, this is the biggest clue to his true personality that we’ll get before the author outright reveals it. But it should be sufficiently clear that Souya doesn’t think of himself as human, which is really telling though not surprising, given he feels nothing about the deaths of people he’s never met, even if it’s the death of 1.2 million… Gives you a new insight into how he truly feels in the previous chapter, doesn’t it?

But as I’ve mentioned before, Otou-san wasn’t necessarily wrong in his thought that Souya wasn’t the type to cheat. Souya had in fact been trying his hardest, and to an extraordinary extent, not to.

Was it a surprise that even Otou-san was a follower of Misuranika in the past? But only one of his eyes changed… Still, how sad it must be to see the people you once had a bond with have no idea who you are and act like they’ve never met you before…the pain Misuranika-sama must go through…

Well, we’re almost at the end…but what else is there to wrap up? Stay tuned!