Chapter 148
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”Oh… is this… the forest?” Tina asked, peeking out from the wooden crate with wide eyes.
”W-where are we…?” Rosie mumbled, her voice weak with confusion.
It had been about two hours since we left the village, and now, Tina and the others were staring at the unfamiliar woods around us. The snow here was much deeper than where we started, and the air felt colder too—way too much for just two hours of travel.
Nearby, Iris and Seria looked pale and shaken, while Arisa, on the other hand, had a bright smile and seemed full of energy.
Normally, the trip from Dungeon City to Gavrett Territory would take around one month on foot.
If someone walked thirty kilometers each day, that would make nine hundred kilometers in thirty days. But if we managed to cover that in just two hours, it meant we’d moved at a speed of about four hundred fifty kilometers per hour.
It wasn’t as fast as the airplanes I remembered from my old world, but still far too quick for people not used to that kind of speed. Iris and Seria looked a bit sick, probably from the ride.
Arisa, though, seemed totally fine. I guess everyone’s body reacts differently.
Seeing how confused they were, I decided it was time to explain where we were.
”This forest is a short way outside Dungeon City,” I said, pointing ahead. “If you walk that way, you’ll soon see the main city, along with the outer town where most people live.”
”Eh!?” Tina and Rosie gasped at the same time.
Their reaction made sense. No matter how fast we’d moved, there’s no way it should’ve been possible to reach this place from the village in just two hours—at least, not by normal means.
I helped them out of the crate, and both girls carefully stepped down onto the snow-covered ground. We walked through the trees until the view opened up, revealing a wide street lined with buildings and a small village nearby.
Their boots pressed into the snow with soft crunch, crunch sounds.
”R-really…?” Seria whispered, her mouth slightly open.
”No way… How did this happen?” Rosie added, still in disbelief.
I could understand why they couldn’t believe it. If you hadn’t been here before, there’d be no reason to recognize this as the outskirts of Dungeon City.
I pointed toward the city and gave a half-smile.
”I can’t tell you exactly how we got here so fast, but you’ll understand soon enough. That said, there are still a few things we need to take care of first.”
”Things like what?” Tina asked, tilting her head.
”We can’t just stroll into town like this,” I answered, looking at both of them.
”Ah…” they said together, as if remembering something important.
Their clothes looked like the gear of adventurers, but from what I’d heard, they weren’t just here to explore dungeons. They had another reason for coming to Dungeon City—and people might be chasing them. If that was true, then slipping into the city quietly would be the safest move.
That’s why I picked this spot in the forest. It wasn’t just for them. I didn’t want anyone seeing me turn off the invisibility.
Tina lowered her head politely.
”Thank you for being so thoughtful. Until we confirm a few things, it really is best to keep our presence hidden.”
”I get that,” I said with a nod. “But even if you stay in the crate, they’ll check it at the city gate.”
”True… What should we do…” Rosie murmured, worry creeping into her voice.
Tina looked troubled, unsure of what to say in return. I gave them a simple idea.
”Then back into the crate. I’ve got a special way of getting past the gate without trouble.”
”Huh?” Tina and Seria said at once.
They were clearly surprised, but of course, I wasn’t talking about anything too fancy. I just planned to make the crate invisible again and carry it through myself.
Sure, I had some ties to Frederica, the daughter of the city’s lord, but if I used her name now, it might make things more complicated.
Honestly, I should’ve dropped them off right inside the city from the beginning—but that would’ve raised too many questions. People would’ve wondered how we skipped the checkpoints, and what about all the sounds we’d missed while sneaking through?
Besides, they’d only told me they were heading to Dungeon City. That didn’t mean the city itself was their final goal.
So I asked them directly.
”Just to be sure, your destination is the city, right?”
They nodded, and after a quick chat, they agreed to get back into the crate.
Before I could finish getting things ready, Tina stepped forward with a serious look on her face.
”Mr. Koji, this may be asking too much, but… could you arrange a meeting with the lord of Dungeon City?”
”Wait, that was your goal all along?” I asked, blinking in surprise.
She nodded, her face calm but firm.
”Yes. There’s something very important I must tell the lord… It’s top secret, so I can’t share the details, but it has to be done face to face.”
If people had been sent to kill her, then whatever she needed to say had to be serious.
But I didn’t have any way to contact the lord directly, so I asked the obvious question.
”I see. But I’ve got no ties to the lord. How exactly did you plan to meet them?”
”Well…” Tina mumbled, trailing off.
”…”
”…”
”…”
The silence was painful. No one offered an answer. I looked at Tina again.
”You didn’t plan that far, did you?”
”To be honest… no, not really,” she admitted with an awkward smile.
”…Sigh.”
”…Sorry.”
She looked away, and when I turned to Rosie, she quickly looked down too.
They had left in a rush, so it wasn’t surprising they hadn’t figured everything out. Still, if they couldn’t meet the lord, they couldn’t complete their mission.
If they tried to sneak into the mansion without a plan, they’d just draw more attention. Their enemies would pick up on their trail faster, and the risk would shoot up.
And since I’d already come this far in helping them… I figured I might as well keep going—so long as it didn’t put me in real danger.
”Hm…” I lowered my gaze, lost in thought.
Yeah, someone came to mind.
Shirley—the one who leads the all-female adventurer group, Silver Orchid.
Her real name is Charlotte, and she’s actually the third princess of the Orlando Kingdom.
Right now, she’s staying in Dungeon City for her own reasons. If I can use the connection between her and Frederica, then maybe I can find a way to arrange a meeting between Tina and the lord.
I don’t really want to owe Charlotte a favor, but… if it’s something that has to do with the country, I can deal with it.
First, I need to talk to someone at Silver Orchid.
While I’m at it, I want to ask if my request about the reward for the Gem Snake job went through.
Without bringing up Charlotte’s name, I turned to Tina and the others and brought up the idea of meeting the lord.
”Well… I can’t promise anything,” I said, crossing my arms, “but there’s a chance you might be able to meet them.”
”Really!?” Tina asked, her voice rising with hope.
”Yes,” I nodded. “Mrs. Frederica—the lord’s daughter—is linked to an adventurer company made up only of women. If we go through them, it might work out.”
”I see…” Rosie murmured, narrowing her eyes. “You sure know a lot about that.”
”Ah, yeah,” I replied, scratching my cheek. “We’ve had a kind of friendly connection with them for a while.”
”Hm…” Tina said again, tilting her head.
”I see…” Rosie added, glancing toward me.
They both looked like they were wondering about what I meant by friendly.
Uh-oh. Better steer this back on track.
”Anyway,” I said, raising a hand, “since you two are dressed like adventurers, it won’t look strange if you go see them. You should be able to head there without drawing too much attention.”
If I sent them straight to the Silver Orchid office while they were still in that invisible wooden box, it’d make people wonder where they came from.
So instead, I told them they’d have to leave the box somewhere else, and then go to Silver Orchid by foot like normal people. That should work fine.
”Ah, right,” Rosie said, nodding. “It’s better if not too many people know about us.”
After that, Tina lowered her head again.
”Then… may we ask for your help?” she asked, her voice gentle.
I agreed right away, and Rosie bowed beside her.
The two of them got back inside the wooden box.
* * *
Later, I floated two invisible wooden boxes through the air and entered Dungeon City without any problems.
One of the boxes held supplies. The other had Tina and the rest.
Since it wasn’t a busy time of day, the streets weren’t full of inn touts… but Linda was there.
She works at the Horned Ox Inn—the same place that helped me when I first came to this town.
”Oh? Koji! You just got back?” Linda called out with a grin.
”Yeah, been a while,” I replied, giving her a light wave. “How’ve you been?”
”Well, still dragging my feet around to pull in customers even in this cold,” she said with a wink, “but I’m hanging in there♪”
After saying that, she looked at the girls walking with me.
”Oh, Iris and… Seria, right? And who’s this one?”
She recognized the first two, but not the third girl—Arisa.
”Ah, she’s Iris’s sister, Arisa—”
Grip.
Before I could finish, a hand reached out and clutched my arm.
Then, another arm curled around mine. I looked over and saw it was Arisa.
Like Iris, she wore armor. So instead of a soft feeling, it was cold and hard pressing against me.
Still holding onto me, she introduced herself to Linda.
”…Nice to meet you. I’m Arisa,” she said, her voice low and cautious.
Linda raised an eyebrow at Arisa’s serious tone, then gave a slow smile in return.
”Hmm… is that so? Alright then, nice to meet you too♪” she replied with a cheerful voice—but her tone still had a strange edge to it.
I glanced at Iris and Seria. They looked like they’d seen this kind of thing before and had already given up trying to stop it.
Even though they were close in age, was Arisa already seeing Linda as some kind of rival?
She had always been okay with me being around other women, so why now…?
While I was thinking about that, the one to break the awkward air was Linda.
”Haa… anyway,” she said with a sigh. “What about the inn? You staying with us again?”
”Eh? Ah, no, I’ve still got the room from before, so I’m fine.”
”I see. But come visit us sometime, okay?” she said, leaning closer. “Tirica’s waiting too, you know. And we’ll treat you really well next time. Of course, I will too♡”
Rustle. Squeeze.
She pulled her coat open slightly and pushed up her chest with both hands, giving me a playful look.
Arisa’s grip on my arm tightened.
Squeeze…
”We already have a place to stay,” Arisa said flatly, answering in my place.
Tug.
”Whoa—h-hey…”
She pulled on my arm, guiding me away from the street and deeper into town.
Iris and Seria followed behind without saying anything.
Linda just waved at us with a bright smile, laughing softly as we left.
”Come back soon, okay♪”
Notes:
• Tina – Female. A magician. She has a slender build, and her chest is described as soft. She is initially rescued by the protagonist and expresses a desire to accompany him. Her relationship with the protagonist develops quickly, and she seems to be attracted to him.
• Rosie – Female. A swordswoman. She wears armor but has an exposed groin area for ease of movement. She is also rescued by the protagonist and joins Tina in expressing interest in him. Her relationship with the protagonist is similarly developing.
• Seria – The first cleric.
• Arisa – Alicia’s (Iris’ sister) fake name.
• Iris – The first collaborator to request a curse-breaking item.
• Frederica – The receptionist. The daughter of powerful figure in the town.
• Charlotte – The third princess of the Kingdom of Orlando
• Linda – She is an inn employee of Horned Ox, appeared as a familiar face in Dungeon City, recognizing Koji and his companions.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
Leave a Reply