45. Dungeon

45. Dungeon

The trees lining the road flashed by. The students stared at us with wide eyes. With the scenery changing dramatically with every blink, I found a stable pace and asked the maid beside me.

“Can you explain what’s going on now? What happened?”

“Yes.”

The maid, who had been panting moments ago, was now running without a single falter or sound of her footsteps. She opened her mouth, her voice slightly urgent.

Priscilla, held in my arms, fluttered like paper in the wind, unable to keep up with the speed. After wrapping her face tightly with my tail, I listened to the maid.

“As usual, the Princess ran away from class, and I chased after her. The trail led to the Academy’s central dungeon, and the entrance was completely blocked….”

“No, explain what a dungeon is first.”

I interrupted the maid. Didn’t I already hear that Claire was trapped somewhere?

What I really wanted to know was about the dungeon. To rescue Claire, I needed to know what the place she was trapped in was.

“… You, you don’t know?”

“Yes. Not at all.”

The maid asked back, her voice showing rare surprise. But then, as if realizing this was not the time, she regained her composure and continued her explanation.

“Dungeons are spaces created in a similar way to the magic sword that the Grand Duchess possesses. There are various reasons for their creation, but mainly the will of numerous monsters….”

“Magic sword? What’s that?”

The only sword I had was the white one I wore at my waist.

My father said its name was ‘Frostclaw.’ It was a fine sword, but it didn’t have a sinister name like ‘magic sword,’ which sounded like something a Demon King would use.

“….”

The maid looked incredulous. While I took the opportunity to comfort Priscilla, who was feeling carsick, the maid soon opened her mouth.

“… A magic sword refers to a sword that possesses immense power due to the concentration of a vast amount of will. The sword you are holding is a magic sword.”

Immense power?

I was surprised by the maid’s explanation and drew the sword from my waist. The pure white blade, which I was now so familiar with that I could vividly picture it with my eyes closed, came into view.

“Hmm.”

Aside from the fact that it emanated cold, there was nothing particularly special about it. I couldn’t see any sign of immense power. It seemed like just an ordinary sword.

Of course, the fact that it emanated cold was unique, but I had seen a flaming axe at the academy, so a bit of cold was nothing.

Besides, this sword was given to me by my father when I was young. Logically, he wouldn’t have carelessly given a child something as powerful as to be described as having ‘immense power.’ The maid must have mistaken the sword.

Nodding in understanding, the maid continued.

“… And dungeons are spaces created by the convergence of the will and magic of numerous monsters, transforming the space. They are a kind of monster lair, filled with deadly traps and monsters, but also with valuable treasures.”

“Uh-huh.”

“There is a dungeon in the Academy as well. It was subdued long ago and is now under the Empire’s management, used for student combat practice. However, the Princess is trapped there.”

Ah, turn left.

I quickly turned my body, and to prevent Priscilla from falling, I tightened my grip around her neck with my tail. Priscilla, who seemed quite startled, made a sound of ‘Ehet’ from within my tail.

I continued speaking to the maid.

“But if it’s for practice, isn’t it not very dangerous?”

Claire was strong. I could confidently say she was at least stronger than most academy students. So, what would be so scary for Claire to be caught among practice monsters?

In my mind, I could only picture Claire bursting out of the dungeon, enveloped in a golden aura, and smashing everything.

“Normally, I would think so too, but this time the situation is unusual. The dungeon has been sealed so tightly, as if its purpose was to trap the Princess. Furthermore, due to the nature of dungeons, it’s impossible to break in or out, which puts us in a difficult situation.”

“What nature?”

The maid replied.

“The nature of being formed by concentrated will. Since a vast amount of will has transformed the space, the dungeon can only be broken by magic armor, which is also formed by concentrated will. That’s why I urgently sought out the Grand Duchess.”

Magic armor? What’s that now?

Just as I was about to open my mouth, I saw a crowd of students gathered before me. Not only students but also professors were gathered, talking with serious expressions. The maid said.

“We’ve arrived.”

Where the maid pointed, there was a wall that appeared to have once been a door, now blocked by white stones. As I pushed through the crowd to get closer, I could see traces of someone trying to break the wall.

The surrounding area was deeply gouged, as if slashed by a knife. Only the pure white dungeon wall remained clean, without any damage.

“Hmm….”

Based on my experience, it looked like scratches from a dagger. At best, a knife. I didn’t know who did it, but they must have been quite strong to make such marks with such a small knife.

“Can you break it?”

As I tapped the wall for a moment, the maid, who had been watching with bated breath, asked. I let out a “Ugh,” putting down Priscilla, who was vomiting, and calmly looked at the wall. My hand was still gripping the hilt of my sword.

Shing

And slowly, the sword was drawn.

The straight blade. I raised it towards the sky.

There was nothing to consider when wielding the sword. Swordsmanship was unnecessary; the key was to cut with brute force, as my father had taught me.

The wall was solid. There was a reason why others couldn’t break it. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t break it.

The sword soared high into the sky. I tightened my grip. More. Much more. Until the veins in my hands bulged. The students and professors watched me. The sword was enveloped in frost. A cold wind swept through the area.

“Haa….”

White mist escaped my mouth. The sword, which had begun to shimmer with a white light, descended, and then, the sky opened.

BOOM!

“Phew.”

Fragments of white stone scattered, and smoke filled the surroundings. And in the center, a path leading underground gradually revealed itself.

The gate to the dungeon had opened.

“…She broke the dungeon…?”

“She’s crazy, how….”

“My goodness….”

The surroundings became noisy for some reason. It seemed to be because the dungeon gate had finally opened. I sheathed my sword, its blade still shimmering from the force of the strike, and turned around.

The maid, with wide-open eyes. Priscilla, likewise.

“What are you doing? Let’s go.”

I urged them on.

——

The maid quickly regained her composure. However, Priscilla’s eyes were still wide with disbelief at what she had witnessed, so I had no choice but to carry her again.

“It’s dark.”

“It is.”

As we entered, we were greeted by an endless, dark staircase. Torches were mounted on the walls along the stairs, but they were not lit.

The maid, seemingly accustomed to such darkness, moved forward, but I stopped her.

“Wait a moment.”

“Yes?”

While my night vision was decent, it wasn’t good enough to walk freely in a place where even moonlight couldn’t reach. I needed a light source, even a small one.

I gently nudged Priscilla, who was breathing in my arms, with my tail to wake her up.

“Priscilla, wake up a bit now.”

“Eh….”

“Could you light a fire?”

Aren’t mages for that very purpose?

When I was young, my sister and I used to play for a long time at night, giving each other massages with the light she secretly conjured. I assumed Priscilla could do something similar.

“Ah, yes. Just a moment.”

Priscilla took out her staff from my embrace and closed her eyes. A faint red light began to flicker from her staff.

Intertwining lights, forming magic. And then….

Poof!

A tiny spark appeared next to Priscilla.

“Kkyu?”

The spark tilted its head-or what it seemed to consider its head. After looking around, the spark flew to Priscilla and circled around her head. Priscilla smiled sweetly and stroked the spark with her hand.

“Kkyu!”

The spark smiled brightly.

Priscilla turned to me and said.

“I did it!”

“Hmm.”

… What a peculiar magic. The world of magic is truly unique. It doesn’t matter to me since I can’t use magic at all.

In any case, it was worth kidnapping Priscilla. The spark served its purpose as a light source, and I could clearly perceive my surroundings. I gave Priscilla a grateful kiss and descended the stairs.

We were greeted by a large, domed plaza.

And… countless monsters.

The maid said.

“… The monsters that appear have changed. It seems the structure hasn’t just changed. We need to hurry.”

“Right.”

The monsters filling the plaza turned to look at us.

I swung my sword, slicing all the monsters in half, and moved forward.