Chapter 69

Chapter 69

Otherworld Cheat Harem.

Episode 69: Misunderstanding (1)

‘…What was that just now?’

The dungeon moved. It was distinctly different from the movements that occurred every six hours. Could it be that it responded directly to our movements?

Even so, we reached the wall without any issues. As I anticipated, there was a slight gap between the wall and the ceiling.

We landed on top and looked down. Just like before, the view was obscured by the blackout curtain, but successfully executing one plan meant there was a possibility of other plans succeeding too.

“…What are we going to do from here?”

“If it weren’t for the blackout curtain, we could have just seen it with our eyes… Since we can’t, we’ll have to use another method.”

Mazes and labyrinths share a common trait. The entrance and exit exist somewhere along the edges.

The dungeon was the same. There were no stairs leading up or down in the middle of the dungeon.

There must be an escape route somewhere along the wall. In other words, if we run along the edge of the wall, we’d eventually find the exit.

“Left or right, which way do you want to go? We’ll end up going in a circle anyway, so it doesn’t matter…”

“Left.”

“I-I’ll go right.”

“I’ll go right too.”

“Then by majority vote…”

As I was about to head right, I noticed the backpack twitching. It was as if something was moving inside…

When I opened it, the talisman inside popped out. It was a talisman made by Aram.

‘Why is this moving?’

The talisman that escaped the backpack started flying somewhere immediately. I paused as I tried to catch it.

‘Could it be…?’

There is no effect without a cause. The talisman suddenly moving meant something was influencing it.

Inside the talisman, there was a paper of origin crafted by Aram herself, and she kept the other half.

‘Aram… is doing this?’

Aram’s ability turns back time. When the time of the cut paper is reversed, it doesn’t become two pieces. The papers attempt to stick together.

─It’s like a Vivre Card.

Deokgu’s words came to mind. The fact that the talisman was moving now meant Aram’s ability had been activated.

So, the talisman must be pointing outside the dungeon where Aram was.

“This way.”

There was no time to explain. I quickly followed the talisman. The party, though bewildered, followed behind me…

We descended, chasing the talisman as it fluttered down the wall. And there, Aram was praying with her hands clasped.

“…Aram?”

“Dojin!”

Seeing me, Aram joyfully ran towards me. Embracing her warmly, I gave a nod to Deokgu and Seoyoon behind her.

“Why are you guys here…?”

“Why do you think so?”

Deokgu smirked. I almost shed tears of emotion upon seeing him.

I truly believed there was no way to rescue us once trapped in the dungeon, that we had to escape on our own…

“You came to save us.”

“No, we got trapped too.”

“…What?”

“Just kidding.”

Fortunately, Deokgu’s words were a joke. It was apparently a famous line, yet I had never heard it before.

Realizing it was a joke, I let out a deep sigh of relief. I wondered how foolish he would have seemed had he really been trapped with us.

“Yoon, did you come to save us too?”

“…I just came because there’s no one to pick up mana stones without you.”

“Wow, a classic tsundere heroine indeed…”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

As Seoyoon glared at Deokgu, I too turned to look at him. His presence in the dungeon meant there was a way for us to escape.

“How did you get in here?”

“What do you mean? With just this brain of mine, I can clearly know what’s happening in distant lands while sitting right here.”

He started boasting as if he were a genius. Normally, it would have been an eyesore, but right now, his confidence was endearing.

“So, there’s a way for us to get out, right?”

“Of course, who do you think I brought?”

Deokgu said, pointing to Seoyoon and Aram. It was understandable for Seoyoon, but why Aram?

While I was pondering that, Deokgu gestured.

“Look, here’s the dungeon entrance.”

He pointed at the wall. A solid wall. No one would think it was an entrance.

Knowing that the dungeon walls could move, I cursed the ruler inwardly as I gave him the answer he wanted.

“…But this is just a wall?”

“Hehe, just wait a moment! Aram!”

“Okay…”

Aram placed her hand on the wall and used her ability. The massive wall began to move on its own. The scene was bizarre, as if time was rewinding.

Soon, a staircase hidden by the wall appeared. Seeing it, I sighed inwardly.

‘We never would have found this in our lifetime.’

How could we have possibly found an exit hidden by a wall? Contrary to my thoughts, this maze was impossible to escape from the start.

As soon as we found the stairs to descend, the dungeon began to rumble.

At the same time, a colossal roar echoed from somewhere.

─لا*** تذلا تذلا تذهب للا تذهب لا تذهب!***

The muscles throughout my body stiffened. A high-frequency sound so intense it paralyzed my muscles. I quickly manipulated my mana to relax and remained vigilant of my surroundings.

In the distance, a gigantic golem was stomping towards us. It seemed to have been crudely fashioned using the dungeon walls as a medium.

I rolled my eyes to look at my companions. They were still trying to recover from the shock of the roar, trembling and struggling to move.

I was the only one here whose body wasn’t frozen.

In other words, I was the only one who could stop that golem.

‘This is actually better.’

After all, combat is my specialty. Fighting is easier for me than thinking. Whether the opponent is human, monster, or golem.

If you hand me a sword, I can take them all down.

“Hooooo.”

I didn’t think about what would come next. Here, we had Aram and Seoyoon. Even if I collapsed after defeating the golem, I didn’t need to worry about dying.

I put everything into one strike. Slowly—my muscles stretched to their limits. I smiled faintly at the muscles that seemed about to snap from strain.

I drew the optimal sword paths in my mind. But I discarded them all. The sword paths that came to mind were optimal for killing humans.

A golem doesn’t die if its neck is severed. It has to be completely shattered to stop breathing.

In that case, I had to use the most inefficient and needlessly large movement.

I raised my sword high. Huuup! I shouted a battle cry and struck downwards.

Crack! The blade’s edge chipped, scattering sparks in all directions. However, the golem was cleaved in half nonetheless.

“Hoo…”

My arms were tingling. However, they weren’t broken, nor were my muscles torn. Only then did Aram, released from the shock, rush over to heal my injury.

“…Thank you.”

“Don’t overdo it! Why on earth did you…?”

“It’s okay. Let’s go down now.”

Saying that, I sent the group down the stairs first and picked up the broken straight sword. Deokgu, who was watching, asked.

“…What are you going to do?”

“Revenge.”

I swung the sword and left a message on the wall. Seeing it, Deokgu burst into laughter.

─I’ll be back.

It was my message to the ruler of the 30th floor.

─No.

The ruler, feeling the drowsiness coming over, checked Dojin’s location. He was leaving his domain, the 30th floor, and gradually exiting the dungeon at the 28th, 27th floors…

─Just a little more, just a little more…

He pleaded. However, the dungeon was not a merciful existence even to the ruler. The moment Dojin’s foot stepped on the stairs, the dungeon deemed he had no intention of invading his domain and put the ruler of the 30th floor to sleep.

Until the next challenger wakes him, or until Dojin steps on the 30th floor again.

Forever.

“Dojin…!”

The moment they escaped the dungeon, Aram rushed toward Dojin and threw herself into his arms. Covered in old dust and blood, Dojin flinched slightly, but Aram didn’t mind at all.

Rather, his dirtied body was proof of his struggles.

“You must have had a hard time… were you scared…?”

“No, not really…”

“Sniff, I was so worried you might have died…”

By then, Dojin didn’t bother saying anything to spoil the moment. He simply hugged her and gently patted her.

In the middle of the road in front of the dungeon. As the party and adventurers watched, Dojin scratched his cheek, trying to hide his embarrassment.

However, there was a problem to solve first.

“Aram? We need to go to the guild and report first… Can you let go?”

“Sniff… You’re not going anywhere, right?”

“Of course, I’ll go straight home today, so…”

“You have to come back soon, okay?”

After leaving Aram behind, Dojin headed towards his party. They looked at Dojin with expressions that seemed to say they expected this.

It was the kind of look one would give to a playboy who flirts with women.

Ahem. Dojin cleared his throat to dispel the awkward air and then spoke up.

“First of all, congratulations on returning alive, and now everyone can go back to their homes…”

“What if we don’t want to go back?”

Orion looked at Dojin with a bright smile. However, her eyes weren’t smiling at all. The same went for Raize—her gaze was icy cold.

“Then do you want to come to my house?”

“…What?”

“Well, there was such a big event, it wouldn’t be right not to have a return party, right? Let’s have it at my house. There are plenty of empty rooms, so you can stay over.”

“Uh, that is…”

Orion was surprised that Dojin actually invited her to his house, even though it was a joke. After all, wasn’t there a lover gazing at him with longing eyes from behind?

Was he thinking of having an elf for once? But his gaze was too calm for that. Not a single hint of lust.

‘…Let’s trust him.’

“Okay.”

In the end, Orion decided to stay at Dojin’s house. Raize, who didn’t want to feel left out, also agreed.

Dojin asked Deokgu to prepare for the party and then headed to the guild with his group.

As soon as Pion, who was working with a gloomy and fatigued expression on the first floor, saw Dojin, she beamed and came up to the second floor.

Everything ended well. The atmosphere that had been so bleak until just a moment ago seemed like a lie.

After returning to the mansion, the first thing I did was send Eunha and Orion to the bath. I wanted to wash off the scabs and dust in the warm bath as well, but having been born and raised in a Confucianism-filled South Korea, I couldn’t help it.

“Where are you going?”

“Huh?”

I stopped Raize, who was trying to enter the bath with the two, thinking he was somewhat young. He tilted his head as if wondering why he was stopped.

But a kid entering the women’s bath just because he’s young was not something I could allow.

“Why are you tilting your head? Come here. Let’s go to the pond together.”

“What? What do you mean…?!”

“Come on. Let’s go!”

Tucking him under my arm, I quickly headed to the pond. He struggled, but it was no use.

I wasn’t so weak as to lose to a shut-in mage who doesn’t even exercise.

It’ll be ten years before you can beat me with strength, kid.

When we arrived at the pond in the backyard, he seemed to give up on escaping by force and slumped down.

“What are you sulking about? Are you upset because you couldn’t see any breasts?”

“…I haven’t mentioned it until now, but I’m actually a girl.”

“You must have been really looking forward to it… judging by what you’re saying.”

Raize continued to insist that it was true, but I didn’t believe it.

When I shook him around as if I was about to throw him into the pond, he glared at me in fright.

“…Don’t do it, really, I won’t forgive you.”

As I stripped off his robe and clothes, revealing a sleeveless shirt and briefs, he started to tear up.

He shrank back, covering his chest and underwear.

“Why are you covering up when it’s just us guys? And what’s with that flab on your chest? You should work out.”

“Sniff… I won’t forgive you… I swear, I’ll really kill you…”

Despite the unusually white and soft skin for a man, I tilted my head in confusion and tossed him into the pond.

Splash.

After confirming Raize was in, I also stripped down to my underwear and entered the pond.

“…Huh?”

“Sob, just die, just die already…”

And then, looking at Raize’s underwear clinging tightly to his body, I sensed something was off.

As I glanced down at his underwear, the item that should have been sticking out was nowhere to be seen, and only an indented part was protruding.

Seeing his teary eyes, I realized.

I’m screwed.

And not just a little.