Ihoujin, Dungeon ni Moguru

Chapter 24: In Search of Fame I & II

Translator : Solo | Editor : DarkBlazeWolf

＜In Search of Fame I＞

I ran into Otou-san at the main gate of the city.

We exchanged greetings casually as we passed by each other.

I felt something get pushed into my backpack.

I met up with Irvin and Zenobia in the basement of the Zavua merchant company to discuss today's plans.

The maps that I had received from Otou-san were digitized then incinerated.

The act of handing maps to such a new party would affect his reputation. The father of adventurers ought not to play favorites. Well, from the freshness of the ink, they were probably copies.

Also, I had a hard time trying to leave Rana behind.

She had thrown a huge tantrum.

Did elves turn back into infants when they ran out of magic power? First off, it was a priceless scene, so I recorded it in a video. I’ll watch it when I feel depressed. It would make me smile.

「The target floor for today is the 12th floor. Rana isn’t here so don't expect any high firepower area-of-effect magic. Be sure to run away if there are three or more enemies. However, we’ll fight normally if the enemy is alone. It depends on the situation, but the plan is to return in half a day」

I wasn’t necessarily distrustful of Otou-san, but I wanted to check the accuracy of the maps.

「Understood」

Irvin was the same as always.

That wasn’t a perfunctory reply. It was a reply based on his trust in me. In order to not betray those expectations, I also wanted to make plans that won’t lead to failure. Or plans that would allow us to start over if we did fail.

「Aside from that, what on earth happened to the three people over there?」

Irvin’s finger was pointed at Ea, Shuna and Bel, who were all lined up and seething with anger.

「The scramble over breakfast turned into a fight」

I had underestimated the appetite of the young ones. Wait, I'm a young man too.

「This guy put on an act and tried to monopolize the food」

Shuna pointed at Ea.

「Sor~ry」

Ea averted her eyes as she apologized.

「Shuna-chan, who had snapped, pulled out his sword, then got beat up by a beastkin Onee-san」

Shuna was caught by Lanseal, who was a stickler for etiquette, and was given a sermon and a chastising. The cheese was completely cold by the time they ate the pizza.

Ea and Bel disregarded Shuna, who was getting scolded, and made a show of the gooeyness of the cheese while they ate the pizza.

「Or rather, why did Bel snap?」

「It’s~ nothing~! I wasn’t angry~!」

Bel had clearly snapped when she saw me feeding Rana the pizza. Her anger had kept on increasing as time passed. Should I have done something about it?

Also, despite the fact that she had gotten the jump on the others because of her acting, Ea was dissatisfied because she didn’t get to eat as much of the pizza that she had intended on eating as she thought she would.

Why was this happening?

Wasn’t eating delicious food supposed to bring smiles to everyone’s faces? It had turned ugly! No, was it because our pizza tasted bad? If it was more delicious, then maybe things like fights……

Oh……… that was dangerous. I was about to forget my objective. I’m an adventurer, and my job is to explore the dungeon. I'm decidedly not a chef. I also have no intention of introducing such a culture. Even now, I’m already in a grey area, and if I leave any more footprints of the Japanese people, there’ll be no way of undoing what's done.

「Well then, let's go to the dungeon」

On my signal, we took the foodstuffs, which had been divided among us, and left individually. It might be paranoid of me to go through all that trouble, but it would be bad if a connection was drawn between Irvin and elves.

His hometown, the holy city of Elysium, was now at war.

The opponent was unknown, and for some reason, only the term black elf was being spread through rumors. In addition, it was complicated by a struggle for power among the Popes of Elysium. The holy city, which was brimming with deception, betrayal and death, was a veritable hell. As a consequence, commodities and people were flowing here. Of course, there were also more than a few knights of Elysium, just like him.

The fact that he, who was seeking fame in order to earn a pardon for his sister, adventured together with elves would be fatal.

I had forgotten slightly, but there was the matter of the hoodlum and his companion from last night. It would be good if we didn’t get caught up in something troublesome though.

「Zenobia, can I have some of your time later?」

「Yeah, that’s okay」

I needed information. It would be best to ask Irvin, but it would be perfect if I could deal with it in secret. I would be a failure as a leader if I made him worry about strange things.

Once we reached the main street, Ea and I parted with Irvin and the others for the time being.

As always, the plan was to meet up inside the dungeon.

「Come to think of it……」

「Hmm?」

Ea gazed steadily at me. I gazed steadily back at her too.

She was a beautiful sister-in-law. Elves were unfailingly beautiful, but I thought that even among them, Ea was especially beautiful. She had ceramic-like skin and long thin arms and legs. Her long blonde hair shone like gold dust, and her beautiful face had no equal. As a bonus, she wasn’t stingy about exposing her belly or thighs so she got full marks for fan-service. Even at this moment, there were two people making eyes at her. My perception might not be accurate though, because it was colored by the little sister modifier.

「It’s been quite a while since it’s just Onii-chan and me」

「Yeah, now that you’ve mentioned it……」

That was true.

Or more precisely, it was the first time that it was just the two of us in the city. Everyone was just a little ahead of us though.

「Nfufu~ Your arm is mine~」

My sister hugged my left arm close. Ea was just a little bit taller than me so she was leaning towards me. A modest chest was touching my elbow.

「Hey hey」

「Isn’t it fine? It’s not going to decrease or anything*」

「I hope you’re right」

I felt a piercing gaze from within the crowd.

Beltoriche, your eyes are scary. It’s just my little sister, you know?

My nerves and lifespan felt like they were being worn away.

Putting aside such worries of mine, we explored the dungeon.

It went smoothly until the mid-way point so there was nothing to report.

The accuracy of the maps was quite good. With some revisions from Izora, we found and confirmed the route to the 13th floor. But we decided to return to the 11th floor.

We had gone into the dungeon in the morning and it was noon by the time we returned to the city.

In order to find information on that, we went to the bar right away.

The reason why we went to the bar instead of the Adventurers’ Guild was because the Guild would make us pay for information.

Although it was somewhat unreliable, the bar had more information and it was fresher as well. Besides, the bar that I was going to had a knowledgeable person who might tell me something for the price of a meal.

『Raging Bull and Silver Fox bar』

It was a kingdom-run bar managed by the cousin of King Lemuria.

Business was as brisk as expected. It might also be due to the fact that it was lunchtime, but that wasn’t the only reason.

I had everyone grab a seat and order lunch. As usual, Shuna, Bel and Ea were at one table. A distance away, Irvin and Zenobia sat apart.

I found adventurers flocking to the barkeep at the counter, and I also joined them. There were also adventurers that I recognized but had never spoken to in the crowd. They were rookies from the same batch as us.

「Calm down! Speak in turns! First, what are its characteristics?」

The barkeeper’s angry voice rang out.

Someone shouted『turtle』, which was followed by『snake』,『lizard』,『shell』,『bear』, 『I’ve never seen anything like that before』and at the end, someone shouted 『dragon』, and everyone went silent instantly.

「I don't get it at all. For the moment, the only information that I can piece together is that something has appeared on the 11th floor」

The barkeeper’s words were absolutely right.

「Oh, Souya. Are you going to say that you saw it too?」

I had been caught.

I didn’t really want to stand out, but it couldn’t be helped.

「I saw it. Its size is three stals (6 meters). Its body is a giant rock-eating turtle, and its head is like that of a large snake. And it seems like it has scales that are similar to those of a dragon. The length of its neck is unknown. I believe it can extend at least five stals (10 meters)」

I had thrown the flesh of another rock-eating turtle at it as a test, and it had extended its neck at a speed that my eyes were unable to follow to gobble it up.

「The size of its mouth is one stal (2 meters). A normal adventurer would probably get swallowed whole. In addition, there is a serious problem……」

It was the reason why our party had returned early and also the reason why the rookie parties just like ours were gathered here.

「It took up position near the stairs going down to the 12th floor, and is showing no signs of moving at all」

「Hmm, I see」

The barkeeper set his mohawk while deep in thought.

「Is there anyone among you guys who hit it with magic?」

A plump Hemu magician replied.

「I shot an intermediate flame art of the Jumikura school at it. My magic didn’t even get a reaction out of it, much less deal damage to it」

The crowd was abuzz as unrest ran through them.

The magic that creates flames is powerful and easy to learn, and is used by all magicians. If it received no damage from the intermediate flame art, there would be nothing a normal magician could do against it.

「What about physical attacks?」

A large beastkin answered the barkeeper's question.

「I hit its shell with this axe. It wasn’t even scratched」

It was a large axe that would be difficult for a Hemu to wield. Its tough-looking blade was so chipped that it looked like a saw.

「………………I understand. Thank you guys for the valuable information. Excuse me, I’m going to have a discussion with the guys from the Guild」

The barkeeper moved from the counter and called out to the kitchen.

It seems that today's lunch was the barkeeper's treat. That was a nice touch. He left the bar.

The cheers spread and the crowd dispersed.

I could hear the cries of anguish from the waitresses and cooks as they got overwhelmed.

I lingered in place for a moment.

It was a monster that the barkeeper, who was a seasoned adventurer, couldn’t identify immediately.

Was I perhaps the only one who had a bad feeling?

＜In Search of Fame II＞

Our party dispersed for the moment.

I gave some pocket money to Ea, Shuna, and Bel and asked them to go have some fun. Irvin said that he had an errand to run so he left, and Zenobia and I changed bars and sat together.

It was a small, privately-run bar.

The quest board was faded and requests that had expired were still posted on it. It was a bar that would be full if there were 10 customers. It wasn’t popular, but it probably had a decent number of regulars. It was a bar with a long history.

I half-heartedly ordered some snacks and drinks.

They were placed on the table in no time.

「Did something happen between you and Bel?」

「Gobfuuu」

I sprayed out the fruit juice that I was drinking. Zenobia gave me a good jab suddenly.

「Oh yes, I already got the gist of it」

「Wh, wha, what did……」

Because I was shaken, my hand that was holding the cup was trembling.

Quiet down, oh right hand of mine.

「Occasionally, there are women like that. Ones that are more attached to a dangerous and destructive love rather than an ordinary and stable love. Bel is the former, isn’t she? Moreover, setting aside her body, she’s still a child mentally. A married person must seem mature to her, and moreover, as adventurers in the same party, he’s someone who shares the same fate as her. On top of that, he’s the leader behind the scenes. But it's strange, isn’t it? That girl is a pretty late-bloomer. As long as she doesn’t see a really fatal opening or something………………」

Zenobia, please stop.

That verbal attack is really effective on me.

「So, what is it?」

「The truth is, I was with a kin of Roomenー」

I was about to blurt out the truth in spite of myself.

「Not about that, didn’t you have business with me? Huh? Roomen is a god of people who serve, right? If I’m not mistaken, prostitutesー」

「I want to discuss something about Irvin」

「I’m all ears」

Those were magic words for Zenobia.

Are the human relationships within our party going to be okay?

「The truth is, I ran into two knights of St. Lyridias last night. I feel bad for Irvin, but they were good-for-nothing fellows. What's more, of all the things they could have done, one of them hurt an elf」

There was a hand protector on my right hand. It was an item that was possessed by various valuable curses. Perhaps because of its influence, I was unable to keep my cool whenever elves were involved.

Well, it might just be my preference.

「Don't get into a dispute with those guys. It won’t be a problem for you, and you alone」

「That’s true, I'm sorry. I got a little bit worked up. What I wanted to ask you about, is St. Lyridias, the god that Irvin worships. What kind of god is it?」

「You don’t even know something like that, is what I wanted to say. But that’s right, it’s knowledge that a foreigner won’t know」

Zenobia took a sip of wine. After moistening her throat, she spoke.

「Do you know the story of the silver coins?」

「Is it the one about the King of Beasts?」

I thought back on Geto-san’s story and told it to Zenobia.

It was a story of a king who led the beastkin and waged a war against the "human" opponents known as elves, dwarves, and Hemus.

Although he cornered the humans, the humans counterattacked with a weapon called malignant silver, and he lost, which gave rise to the discrimination against the beastkin that still lingered strongly to this day. And then, the malignant silver was made into coins and spread throughout all three continents.

In order to keep watch over the beastkin, and as a threat.

「It’s slightly different, it’s not the King of Beasts. It’s the King of Beastkin」

It appeared that the fishmen and Hemus’ perception of it was different.

「The King of Beastkin had been destroyed by the great King of humans. The name of that great king was Ra?Varuzu?Duin?Gargantua. The king had eight children. They were the ones who were called the beast-hunter kings later on. Lyridias was the princes’ spouse. Supporting them from the shadows, she worked hard to build Elysium and create the largest and strongest human nation. This glory was how she attained her godhood.

Of course, she wasn’t the wife of all eight princes. Elysium selects eight people who are the image of the beast hunter kings as the Popes. They are responsible for the military, domestic affairs, diplomacy, and economy. And they also inherit the names of the princes. Revealing which one of them was St. Lyridias’ spouse would upset the balance of power. That’s why the name of her husband has become the biggest secret of Elysium and the St. Lyridias Order」

This was also different.

According to fishmen’s story, the king became a beast, and had the princes kill him. Taking the beautification of the story as a matter of course, what bothered me the most was the name of the king.

The great King of Hemu:

Ra?Varuzu?Duin?Gargantua

The King of Beasts:

Ra?Guzuri?Duin?Oruosuouru

The way the names matched was probably not a coincidence. And one more thing; I had the feeling that I had heard that name, Duin, somewhere else as well. I couldn’t quite remember where I had heard it.

「Zenobia, can I ask you something? The name that I heard from my fishman acquaintance, Ra?Guzuri?Du――」

Zenobia leaned across the table and covered my mouth.

The tableware and wine bottle fell, drawing the attention of those around us.

「De, dear!」

The color had drained from Zenobia’s face. The people around us quickly lost interest, saying,『Oh, so it’s just a lovers’ quarrel』. It was such a waste of food. Its taste was unremarkable though.

「That name, you must never say the rest of it out loud」

I removed Zenobia's hand and asked.

「Huh, why?」

「That name is taboo. For humans, they’re cursed words. My teacher, who researched these kinds of things, was treated as a heretic and got exiled from Elysium. One day, when he had gotten roaring drunk, he told me only a part of that name.

The next day, my teacher cut off his ear right in front of my eyes.

He said,『I hadn’t told you. That if you unravel that name and chant it in full, you’ll be struck with misfortune that’s incomparable to something like this』. That’s why I forgot about it. I had forgotten until this very moment! What the heck!」

「I’m sorry」

I had made a gaffe.

Even though I’m a foreigner, I had acted on random curiosity. I regretted it.

「Got it? Never say that name out loud again. Absolutely. Definitely. Promise me」

「I promise. I won't say it out loud ever again」

「Aren’t you glad that I don’t have any connection to the St. Lyridias Order? Execution! It’s something that’ll get you executed. You’ll be crucified and also burnt at the stake. There won’t even be ashes of you left」

「I'm really sorry. That was thoughtless of me」

「Hey~! More wine!」

Of course, it’s my treat.

Was what I said before I received a communication from Izora.

『Team member Souya, is now a good time?』

「No problem」

A question mark floated above Zenobia.『A communication came in』I said softly.

『Irvin-sama, you can speak. Please go ahead』

Oooh, said a voice.

『Souya? Can you hear this?』

Irvin took over.

「Yes, I can hear you」

『Come to the Guild right now. The Guild President is summoning all the adventurers who haven’t reached the 15th floor. It’s the matter of that monster』

「Understood. I’ll go right away」

I cut off the communication. Zenobia was looking at me with an expression like she had seen something wondrous.

「That's convenient, isn’t it? Who was it from?」

「It was from Irvin. There is an announcement from the Guild about that monster. I’m going, but what will you do, Zenobia?」

「I’ll drink some more. This wine is delicious」

Is that so? I said, before leaving more money, and exiting the bar.