Dungeon Exploration Preparation (2)

Almost simultaneously, the Hero, Gyeotmwa Jyosyegigot, spotted Max and approached him, saying he wanted to buy a map.

And the man with the bushy beard, who had met our eyes one by one, chuckled with a wheezing laugh, his body shaking.

“Heh heh, yes. You’ve come to buy a map?”

“Yes.”

“That’s right.”

“Hero-nim, your face is known throughout the nation, so your identity is guaranteed…. And this young lady here seems quite famous as well….”

“…….”

“Academy uniform with frills…? Ah, are you that famous maid of the Blackwood Prince?”

“…That’s right.”

“Heh heh, I was just planning to cast out a fishing line, but I never expected two such special customers to show up. Seeing how the rumors have already spread, business should be quite good this year….”

Seeing him quickly grasp information about me as well as the Hero, he was undoubtedly Max from the Information Guild.

Of course, it was natural for someone of my standing, being affiliated with the Blackwood Family and the Academy Magic Department Vice-President, to be somewhat known.

“Will you sell the maps?”

“Heh heh, yes, yes. First, Hero-nim, you’ll be taking all your party members with you, so… you’ll probably need the map to the largest dungeon, won’t you?”

“Yes.”

“And the maid young lady over there will need a map to a small dungeon where she can enter alone with her Master.”

“That’s correct.”

“Heh heh, yes. It just so happened that I had one of each left. With one going to the Hero and the other to a maid of the Blackwood Family, it should be quite a bit of promotion, wouldn’t you say?”

With those words, Max pulled out two maps of different sizes from his pocket and handed them to me and Gyeotmwa Jyosyegigot, respectively.

I was worried he might try to pit me and Gyeotmwa Jyosyegigot against each other in a bidding war, but fortunately, perhaps because the dungeons we were entering were different, he didn’t seem to have any intention of engaging in a pointless argument.

“The young lady’s is one gold coin.”

“Ah, yes.”

“And the map for Hero-nim over there, I’ll have to charge ten gold coins for that.”

“…….”

“If you don’t like it, I don’t mind not selling it. There’s little demand for large dungeon maps, so I haven’t made many, heh heh.”

“…I’ll pay ten gold coins.”

“Good, you’ve thought well. Heh heh.”

Hero Gyeotmwa Jyosyegigot wisely paid ten gold coins without negotiating the price and took the map. If he had tried to haggle there, Max would have immediately doubled the price, so this was the correct judgment.

Max, as a Map Merchant, had a personality that couldn’t tolerate actions that hurt his pride. The reason he bothered to come all the way to the Adventurer’s Guild to sell maps at a relatively cheap price, despite being able to profiteer from them at the Information Guild without any sanctions, was simply due to his hobby.

Even if he was a merchant who profiteered by selling dungeon maps at their highest price once a year, a Map Merchant was still a Map Merchant. He also wished for his maps to be used meaningfully by at least a few Academy students.

“Don’t make such a face. It’ll be worth at least ten gold coins, and then some.”

“…I know.”

“Heh heh, I wish both of you good luck. I hope I don’t see you foolishly wandering around inside the dungeon after buying my maps.”

With those words, Max waved his hand outwards as if telling me and Gyeotmwa Jyosyegigot to leave quickly.

Following his gesture, we rose from the Map Merchant’s spot, exchanged a glance, and then walked together to another section of the Adventurer’s Guild.

“Do you have time to talk?”

“…About 30 minutes.”

“Where did Ethan go?”

“He went to maintain his weapons and buy camping gear.”

“Ethan allowed you to come to the Adventurer’s Guild to buy a map? I thought he’d stop you, saying it was dangerous.”

“Are you crazy? Of course he doesn’t know. He thinks I went to buy a cheap map sold at a general store.”

“…Hah, seriously. You’re getting more shameless by the day.”

I hadn’t exactly lied. It was just that Ethan hadn’t bothered to check where I went to buy the map.

I had mentioned that general stores sold maps and that there was a general store near the magic tool shop, but I hadn’t said a single word about buying a map *from* a general store. I just said I’d buy a map, not where I’d buy it.

“What if, after you get married, Ethan locks you up somewhere in the mansion? You know his personality from the original story best.”

“…Well, Ethan is stubborn and suspicious, that’s true. But since he entered the Academy, he hasn’t been that stubborn or suspicious with me, so it’s fine.”

“And that guy always pushes you behind his back and glares at me whenever he sees me?”

“That’s because you had two or three harem members clinging to you from the first impression, so there’s nothing to be done about that.”

“…I don’t particularly have a reason to get close to Ethan either. But it is a bit tiring to have to watch his reaction every time I talk to someone from our hometown.”

“You only have to worry about Ethan, but I have to worry about three people, you know?”

If Seraphine were to catch a scene like this, a secret pressure using the Princess’s authority would surely tighten around me. And in a thorough way that would leave absolutely no evidence of her involvement.

“Celista is a bonus character from Part 4, so there’ll be an empty spot… So, who will be the last member of the Hero Party?”

“Hmm. First, bringing someone from the 1st or 2nd year would make their growth too slow, so that’s probably out. The most useful one would be you, but….”

“Ah. Don’t fucking joke around, please.”

“You don’t like it either, and most of all, I don’t want to have a life-or-death sparring match with Ethan, so I gave up on that. The last spot will probably be Orion.”

“…Well, Orion is a decent choice, I guess.”

In my opinion, Orion was quite a useful asset. He was a mage capable of support magic and also possessed some personal combat ability, making him a substitute for Lilith.

However… as a fellow man, his actions and words were polarizing, which made me hesitate to take him as a companion.

His overtly androgynous appearance and subtly flirtatious language towards the protagonist made him resemble a character that was once popular in Japanese subculture, a so-called ‘trap’ character.

‘Apparently, there’s even a dedicated H-scene in the international version, though not in the domestic one.’

Of course, for me, who only played the domestic version, it wasn’t a matter of interest nor did I want to know, and I had never participated in the ‘Orion is doable’ discussions that occasionally popped up on Lua Gallery.

But well, if I wasn’t taking Lilith, Orion was the only almost perfect substitute, so this guy probably had no other choice either.

“Actually, Karaham was also a candidate, but it seems I can’t take him. Thanks to someone, he’s connected with Lilia and is preparing for marriage right after graduation, I heard.”

“…My apologies.”

“What does it matter? Anyway, Lilia is someone I can’t take responsibility for, so it’s fine if she finds her happiness that way. I told you. If it’s about making others happy, I’d rather ask for it.”

“…….”

“So, how’s connecting the remaining heroines going? How many are left now?”

“Kael, Angela, Princess Mezlen, and Princess Rainy – those four.”

“What about Luke? He doesn’t have anyone he’s flirting with yet, does he?”

“If you leave him alone, he’ll connect with Gwyn on his own, so there’s no need to worry about him.”

“…Then I’ll try with Professor Angela. Since she’s a Swordsmanship Department professor, it’ll be easier for me to approach her than you, who’s in the Magic Department. You know the Imperial Knight Commander who appears in the Part 4 event, right? I’ve become somewhat acquainted with him, so if things go well, I think I can definitely connect them.”

Though a slight doubt arose at Gyeotmwa’s unexpected offer of support, I still expressed my gratitude for his willingness to lighten my burden.

“Actually, among those four, Angela was the most difficult… But if you’re willing to put in the effort, then fine. Just don’t go messing around trying to connect them and end up seducing her yourself.”

“I won’t. If I were going to do something like that, would I have put Thomas in the Hero Party in the first place?”

“…That’s true.”

“By the way, why is Angela the most difficult among the four? From your perspective, the Princess and the other Princess should be the most difficult.”

“I got quite close with Princess Mezlen by intervening in an early event. And as for Princess Rainy… I think I found a hidden fiancé who doesn’t appear in the original story.”

“Oh, really? There was something like that? Who is it?”

“…….”

…How could I say that with my own mouth?

I didn’t particularly want to be the one to reveal that Ethan was highly likely to be Princess Rainy’s hidden fiancé.

I wanted to reveal this uncomfortable truth as late as possible, preferably right before graduating from the Academy and leaving the Blackwood Mansion.

Therefore, deciding that I didn’t want to reveal it now, I quickly pretended not to know and changed the subject of the conversation.

“I heard from Natalie the other day that you and Celista passed the Compatibility Puzzle. But that only passes if you definitely have feelings of love for each other, right?”

“…Yeah, that’s right.”

“Didn’t you say you’d return to your original world after subjugating the Demon King? But what does it mean that you’ve developed romantic feelings for Celista? Did you perhaps get so attached to Celista from spending so much time together that you decided to give up on returning? But then what about the other two people….”

“Hah, what the fuck?! What milk-smelling brats are blabbering in the guild?!”

“…….”

“…….”

Just as I was about to ask a bit more about his relationship with Celista, a loud voice suddenly boomed towards me and Gyeotmwa.

Thinking it was clearly aimed at us, I turned my head to see a drunkard stumbling, pointing a finger at me and Gyeotmwa.

“You, fucking bastards. You just barge in as a group and take over the area in front of the dungeon like it’s your own land, and now you’re even barging into the guild? Why do these fucking Academy brats act like this every year at this time?!”

“…….”

“Why are you tormenting adventurers like me, who live hand-to-mouth, you bastards? Why don’t you milk-smelling brats just go sword fighting among yourselves inside the Academy….”

“…Where’s this bastard with only a handful of baby hair left on his head talking about brats?”

“……What?”

“Why is this bald bastard, who has less hair than a newborn, suddenly showing up and picking a fight? Do you want to die?”

…My mood was already shit thinking about Ethan’s fiancée, and now this fucking bastard.