Chapter 65: Meetings and partings are a part of life
ㅤ”Oh, Minato-dono! Welcome back!”
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ㅤPopolack-san welcomes me as I visit the sixteenth floor again.
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ㅤ”Ahaha. This will probably be the last time I dive into this dungeon, so I came to say goodbye.”
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ㅤ”Is that so? It is regrettable that I have not been of much help yet, but I cannot stop you.”
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ㅤ”Yeah, I hope you all are well, Popolack-san and everyone else.
ㅤSpeaking of which, is it okay with the gnome who became the Dungeon Master?”
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ㅤ”Yes. We intend to live here until the lingering resentment towards that one clears. It may take many years, though.
ㅤMinato-dono has defeated the Abyss Worm. This is a surprisingly comfortable place for gnomes to live.”
ㅤ
ㅤ”Oh, I see.”
ㅤ
ㅤIf you defeat the Dungeon Master, the dungeon will be liberated.
ㅤIn other words, only an empty cavity, which is not a dungeon, will remain.
ㅤDungeons are mechanically unstable structures, so once the circulation of ether ceases, they will apparently collapse before long.
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ㅤThe presence of a dungeon activates the surrounding monsters.
ㅤIn that sense, there is actual harm, but there is also the aspect that when adventurers dive in and bring back drop items, a new economy is born where there was nothing before.
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ㅤTherefore, the Guild doesn’t seem to intend to conquer it at any cost.
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ㅤ（Or rather, it seems impossible in reality.）
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ㅤThe reality is that most adventurers struggle even on the second floor.
ㅤThere’s no way they can get through the Cockatrice zone on the third floor, and after that, going down to the seventeenth floor and defeating the Dungeon Master is completely impossible.
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ㅤ（Well, I think I could do it, but I wasn’t told to.）
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ㅤEven if it’s a Dungeon Master, it would give me a bad taste in my mouth to defeat a fellow gnome.
ㅤIf no one is losing out, I think it’s fine to leave the Dungeon Master alone.
ㅤ
ㅤ”So, who is that gentleman?”
ㅤ
ㅤPopolack-san asks.
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ㅤPopolack-san is referring to the purple hawk-headed bear behind me – Bearnov.
ㅤ
ㅤ”Oh, this is Bearnov, the Hawkhead Grizzly Bear. He was living higher up, but since adventurers are actively exploring, he wanted a new place to live.”
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ㅤIt’s complicated because I have to speak to Bearnov in Beastman language and to Popolack-san in Spirit language.
ㅤFrom now on, I’ll omit things like “I translated ○○”.
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ㅤ”Hmm, Minato suggested that he live near the gnomes. In return, he will lend a hand if asked, whether it’s dealing with monsters or doing manual labor.”
ㅤ
ㅤ”Is that so? That is a welcome story for us. We will gladly accept him. I’ll have the young ones dig a room for you.”
ㅤ
ㅤ”I am grateful. I myself do not mind fighting humans, but I have young ones to protect.”
ㅤ
ㅤ”…Oh, that’s right. Weren’t monsters supposed to need to consume human elements?”
ㅤ
ㅤ”With this much ether concentration, they should last for the time being. Eventually, they will have to go to the shallower layers and interact with humans.”
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ㅤMonsters and humans are incompatible.
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ㅤIt’s frustrating, but when you think about it, even humans and humans can be incompatible.
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ㅤI side with the monsters I know over the human adventurers I don’t.
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ㅤ(It’s a secret from the Guild, though. I’ll tell them that they should probably run away if they see a purple hawk-headed bear, though.）
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ㅤMainly so that Shizu-san and Arne-san don’t end up fighting Bearnov.
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ㅤI bid farewell to Bearnov and Popolack-san and ran back to the surface.
ㅤ
ㅤ
ㅤ
ㅤ
ㅤ
ㅤ”So, that child’s problem has been solved. That’s good.”
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ㅤIt was Shizu-san who said that.
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ㅤIt was a slow time at the buy-back tent, and only Shizu-san, myself, and Arne-san, who had come to visit, were there.
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ㅤ”Yes. I’m glad Domo-san took him in.
ㅤSo, have you found out where Cretias is?”
ㅤ
ㅤ”It seems he headed north. There’s an eyewitness account from a village in the north that a man matching the description on the wanted poster was seen riding a horse north in a hurry.”
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ㅤ”North…is it?”
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ㅤ”That’s probably because the border is closest to the north from here.”
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ㅤ”If he crosses the border, he can at least shake off the kingdom’s pursuers. But the Guild’s warrant will still be in effect.”
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ㅤArne-san shrugged and added.
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ㅤ”Minato is going too, right? Is your destination still…?
ㅤ
ㅤ”━━Yes. I’m going to head south.”
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ㅤShizu-san and Arne-san were taken aback by my decisive declaration.
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ㅤ”Ah, you’re going in the opposite direction…”
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ㅤ”Because there’s no need for me to chase after him, is there?”
ㅤ
ㅤ”Well, that’s true. But I thought you were going to catch Cretias with your own hands.”
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ㅤ”It would be troublesome if I went and things got complicated.”
ㅤ
ㅤCretias ran away declaring, “I will definitely repay this grudge twice over!”
ㅤWith that personality of his, he’s probably filled with resentment towards me right now.
ㅤI don’t want to have anything to do with him ever again.
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ㅤ”Well, as long as he’s wanted by the Guild, he won’t be able to escape. No matter how skilled he is with a sword, if he can’t even stop in towns, there’s nothing he can do, is there?”
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ㅤ”The king was furious when he heard the story, and he added a reward to the Guild’s warrant. Not only adventurers, but even people at inns and taverns he stops at will report him immediately if they see him.”
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ㅤIf that’s the case, he won’t be able to escape.
ㅤWhen they emphasize it that much, it makes me wonder if it’s a flag for him to escape, but this isn’t an anime or manga, it’s reality.
ㅤ
ㅤ”If you’re going south, it’s a good idea to take a transportation quest to the Guild in the big city in the south. That way you can get through the checkpoints faster.”
ㅤ
ㅤ”Even if it’s called transportation, it’s usually just transporting a piece of paper that says 『This adventurer is guaranteed to be trustworthy by the ○○ branch.』
ㅤBy doing so, you can introduce yourself to the Guild on the other side, and at the same time, indirectly tell the checkpoint personnel that this adventurer is a decent person.”
ㅤ
ㅤ”Oh, I see. There’s a system like that.”
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ㅤI’m glad I asked.
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ㅤ”Even we, who are in charge of this dungeon’s outpost, can issue quests. I’ll issue them from the Thief Guild, and Arne will issue them from the Magician’s Guild, so please use them as you like when you get to the other side.”
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ㅤ”I’ll issue quests to all the branches in the major cities.”
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ㅤSaying that, the two of them take out their pens on the spot and issue me several letters.
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ㅤ”Ahaha, thank you for everything.”
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ㅤ”You’re welcome. Rather, I feel like this isn’t even enough.”
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ㅤ”Exactly. You’ve done the dangerous preliminary exploration of the dungeon, collected the Cockatrice beaks, and even saved my life in the Latifa incident.”
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ㅤ”I wish you would just settle down in Loft.”
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ㅤ”I’d like to follow Minato! I’m sure you’re hiding something else besides levitation magic.”
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ㅤ”A, ahaha…”
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ㅤI break out in a cold sweat at their words.
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ㅤ（The idea of Arne-san coming with me is a little tempting, though.）
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ㅤIt seems difficult because of her position in the Guild.
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ㅤ”For a while, I’m thinking of traveling around to various places at my leisure.”
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ㅤ”It’s nice to be young.”
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ㅤ”I want to go on a trip too once this outpost is settled. But the Magician’s Guild doesn’t have any replacement personnel…”
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ㅤI give a wry smile to Arne-san, who laments being the only one working.
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ㅤ”━━Well then, thank you for everything.”
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ㅤ”No, thank you.”
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ㅤ”We really mean it! We’re the ones who are indebted to you.”
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ㅤThe two of them came out of the tent and saw me off to the edge of the dungeon front plaza.
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ㅤ”Come back anytime if you change your mind! We’ll hire you as an executive!”
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ㅤ”Ah, that’s not fair, Shizu! The Magician’s Guild pays better!”
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ㅤ”The Thief Guild, which actually has people, is definitely a better place to work than the Magician’s Guild, which can’t even provide replacement personnel!”
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ㅤ”What are you talking about-!”
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ㅤWaving to the two of them as they started arguing for some reason, I walked down the still unfinished road in front of the dungeon.
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ㅤ”…Ahaha. They were good people.”
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ㅤThere were just as many bad people, though.
ㅤLet’s remember only the good memories and forget the bad ones.
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ㅤSee, I’ve already forgotten the name of the knight whose name starts with Cre.
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ㅤ（…No, I remember it though.）
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ㅤTraveling alone, which is usually carefree, felt strangely lonely today.