Thanks to Hagen’s notebook and map, we’re just rushing through the dungeon.
Most of the traps have also been disarmed. There are no traces of any monsters around.
Inside the dungeon is an ear-splitting silence, which was peace itself.
「 Marie, how’s your side? 」
「 Nothing as of now 」
「 I see. There’s a sign, so there should be no mistake in this route. Let’s take a rest here 」
I urged Marie to take a break. We need to take proper breaks.
I was taught that it’s a style of an adventurer to always be ready for maximum performance.
Marie nodded as she had also inherited the lesson I taught her.
I put down my luggage on my back and quickly take out a water bottle and simple food ration and hand them to Marie.
「 Thanks 」
「 Yeah, chew on your food 」
「 Hmm, it’s sweet and delicious 」
It’s a little pricy, but it’s breadsticks with walnuts and raisins. I remember hearing that sweet food is good at relieving fatigue, so I try them on hand. I know it may seem a luxury to other adventurers, but I’ve been carrying this kind of thing in my pocket since I started out. Once you’ve relaxed, your body will start to move.
I sit next to Marie, who’s silently munching on a piece of bread, and I also took a bite.
Yeah, the walnut texture is a nice accent.
I organize the information.
After diving into the dungeon, we proceed to about three sections on the map.
The signs I was talking about earlier are the ones I invented that leave information about the search using a dyed string tied around The idea is a triage from my previous life or a ninja’s five-color gauge. Leaving your situation in colors, and the information you want to convey in knots. That said, it’s only a simple one that doesn’t leave that much information because of the few types of knots used.
Like, where we come from, and which way we went.
Or if they found traces of monsters. Or tracking.
Maybe the current party size.
At regular intervals, a string with six knots in blue indicating the party size, and that they’re alive and well, is placed as a guidepost. We followed it all the way here. You’ll likely happen to be in a desolate dungeon and find another party and the sign you’re using will be covered. At least, it can be seen that the party that left this sign was alive, and there’s no particular danger on the way to this point.
I was comparing the route to Hagen’s map, and I realized what the strange feeling was.
「 Hey, Marie. Have those guys been there before? 」
「 Not to my knowledge 」
「 Those guys have been following this route since they went into the dungeon without looking aside. It’s as if they’re moving with a clear purpose. I don’t feel like they were just challenged for something in a bar to test something, how about you? 」
I look at the map in the notebook, muttering to myself.
I turn the pages of the journal to follow Hagen’s adventures.
In the second half of the book, descriptions of the desired location, the innermost part of the map, finally, begin to appear.
「 Hidden Treasures in Dungeon. Undiscovered Hidden Rooms. Survivors of Royalty. I don’t know the source, but all these rumors are trying to get us to look for something in the Mara dungeon. But, what is it that they’re searching for? What, who… 」
Hagen monologues. Suspicion. Question.
I agree with him. There’s some critical information hidden. Somehow.
「 Marie 」
「 Mogu, what? 」
「 The abandoned city of Mara was famous throughout the continent as a magical city, right? 」
「 Yes 」
「 I mean, they’re so skilled in magical techniques that they must’ve been well versed in grimoires, right? So, why haven’t I seen any magical tools or anything like that in this dungeon 」
「 Because people already took them out of the dungeon 」
But that’s not the answer you’re looking for, Marie recalls.
Marie had been thinking with her finger over her mouth for a few moments, and she said.
「 If your suspicions are correct, then this dungeon might be an elaborate forgery 」
「 Forgery 」
「 The prosperity of the abandoned city of Mara is rooted in the power of widespread magic. I’m sure many citizens used magic power as a mundane part of their daily lives. The fact that the dungeon, that stretches beneath Mara, is completely devoid of the devoid magical devices, certainly, if you notice that, it’s terribly unnatural 」
Marie puts on her glasses and begins to check the walls and columns again.
「 The room used to check the guild level advancement probably mimics Mara’s magical techniques if you trace the roots. Magical technology is the study that describes the technical system to reproduce the same power as magic by using magic stones that have properties of storing magic power…are you keeping up? 」
「 Yep 」
「 Then, I’ll continue. It’s already established that the Magical city of Mara, had been destroyed more than a hundred years ago, so it’s not surprising that the magical power of the magic stones set in the dungeon had run out. So, people accepted the fact that there was no trace of magic at all 」
「 Isn’t that natural? 」
「 Yes, that’s the way it is now. There is an ancient manuscript describing some of the secret arts of the magical city of Mara, there’s a technique of drawing power from the magic veins beneath the earth and harnessing it 」
Marie mutters in a slightly trembling voice.
「 In other words, if the magical tech of the abandoned city of Mara were not an exaggerated legend, this dungeon would not be dead, would it?
「 In that case, if it’s true… 」
I feel chills on my neck. I don’t like this feeling.
I took my hands off the pillar and grabbed Marie’s ass, whose face is pale, and moved her.
「 Hyaa 」
Marie, perhaps shattered by surprise, fell to all fours on the spot, hugging a pillar.
Her look of protest pierces me, but I don’t care, I squeeze her ass hard once more.
「 Are you an idiot? 」
「 Hee. That’s not like you, Marie 」
「 P-Perv! Idiot! L-Lewd! 」
Marie’s face is blushing, she’s about to cry while cursing me verbally.
I touched her to pick her up but stopped.
The reaction was a little unexpected and cute, so I hugged her from behind. Her hand touches my arm. She grips it back tightly, and I responded. Her trembling has calmed down.
「 The truth is only what we can see. Isn’t that right? 」
That’s Marie’s catchphrase.
I remember how surprised I was to hear that line from a magician who does magic that was invisible to the eye. It seems that her mentor taught her that line. It’s probably the part of Marie that supports the foundations of her ways of appearing calm and collected.
「 Right, sorry, that wasn’t like me 」
「 Although seeing Marie look scared like a kitten was so cute 」
She replied shortly to my remark with “Silly” Seems like she got her energy back.
「 Still, if the abandoned city of Mara is still alive, then magic would be out of my expertise. I need to rely on Marie’s eyes and knowledge 」
「 Yes, I know 」
Marie knocks on my chest and I released her.
There she is, the calm and collected adventurer that I know well. Marie the magician, with her dignified look and cool eyes. I don’t know what the magical city of Mara is to her as a magician, but it seems that she’s recovered from the shock caused by her overthinking.
「 Zaryu, let’s go now 」
I nodded to Marie’s words and carried back the luggage. I notice that the atmosphere I felt in the dungeon is different now than it was before the break. The sleepy stagnant air shimmered, and I felt a slight breeze of air. In fact, I get that feeling, even though I didn’t move a piece of cloth.
「 Is there? Really? 」
I shake off the sweat from my palm and lead the way through the dungeon again.
The lights of the corner lamps illuminate the end of the road shimmer and sways as if they reflect my mental state.