47. Dungeon

47. Dungeon

Thump!

“U-uaaah….”

“Are you alright?”

We fell for quite a long time. Fortunately, I had fallen from a high cliff before, so I wasn’t flustered and managed to land successfully. The maid also seemed to have landed safely somehow.

Priscilla, the only one not prepared for the fall, was safely cradled in my arms just before we fell, so she wasn’t hurt. Perhaps startled, Priscilla sniffled.

It must be my imagination that I hear a shhh sound from Priscilla’s lower half. I patted her chest in a gesture of comfort.

“Hiyat!”

Soon, Priscilla’s spark fluttered down from the sky, illuminating the surroundings. The maid looked up and said.

“… It seems difficult to climb back up.”

I followed the maid and raised my head. The sky, covered in pitch blackness, was so high that nothing was visible, and the walls were so smoothly polished that there was no place to put my hands or feet.

However, from my experience of falling from an ice cliff, it seemed possible to climb up by breaking the wall and digging my hands in. It would just take a long time.

As I was contemplating what to do, Priscilla, who was huddled in a corner, tugged at my clothes.

“Um, excuse me, Skadi?”

“Yes?”

“The monsters….”

I turned my head.

Crunch, crack!

The sound of bones intertwining. Eerie and dangerous sounds began to come from all directions. Black mist gathered somewhere, and from it, skeletons with glowing red eyes began to emerge, reaching out their hands.

I swung my sword and sent them all flying.

“It’s okay now.”

“Ah, yes….”

As I was casually dealing with the monsters that kept appearing from somewhere, the maid, who had been thoroughly examining the surroundings, said.

“Grand Duchess.”

“Yes?”

“It seems we have to break the wall.”

I left Priscilla, who was holding the spark near her lower body, and approached the maid. I looked at the wall for a moment and then said to the maid.

“Isn’t it too close? You said that was not allowed earlier.”

“… But this is a critical situation.”

The maid continued her explanation.

“I became certain after seeing the puzzle and the inscription on the stone tablet. It seems a high-ranking monster, or perhaps something else, has intervened in the dungeon with the intention of harming the Princess. We don’t know what might have happened to the Princess, so we must find her immediately.”

“I understand what you’re saying. But even if you suddenly tell me to break the wall….”

Breaking a completely blocked area would yield nothing. At the very least, I needed to know the general direction to swing my sword to break through. Hearing my words, Priscilla replied.

“Wait a moment, I think I can do something about that.”

Priscilla took the spark away from her lower body and approached us.

“There’s a magic I know that can roughly grasp the structure of the surrounding space. If I use that, we can get a general direction.”

“Really? Then let’s do it quickly.”

“However, it takes a bit of time to cast….”

Crunch!

The maid stomped on a goblin.

“… I think you’ll have to protect me.”

Priscilla looked up at me. Her bright red eyes, her flowing braided hair. I nodded lightly.

Then Priscilla trotted behind me and grabbed my tail with all her might. As I lifted my tail, Priscilla was lifted along with it.

Hmm.

It shouldn’t matter.

Growl- Grrr!

As Priscilla closed her eyes and gripped her staff tightly, a red aura began to emanate. Attracted by the light, a large number of monsters began to crawl out from the surroundings.

I swung my sword and swept them all away. The monsters I couldn’t catch were cut down by the maid with a dagger she produced from somewhere.

“….”

Priscilla continued to concentrate. The flickering red light gradually expanded its range, starting from around Priscilla, filling this entire room, and then extending beyond the hole we were in.

Fwoosh!

Priscilla’s spark, which had been acting as a light source, let out a small ember and incinerated a charging goblin without a trace. Black ashes scattered.

Then, a chilling cry was heard from somewhere.

Woooo-

The maid warned.

“It’s a Wraith. A monster immune to physical attacks….”

I swung and killed a white ghost that emerged from somewhere. The maid stopped talking and closed her mouth.

The maid and I continued to defeat monsters. It wasn’t particularly difficult, but I could sense a hint of anxiety from the maid. Was she worried about Claire?

I spoke to her as I swung my sword.

“Hey… um, what was your name again? Edel?”

“… It’s Edelweiss von Mercurius. Edel is a nickname.”

“Right, Edel.”

I continued.

“Are you worried about Claire?”

“… Yes.”

Edel said after a pause. I continued to slay monsters while she spoke.

“It’ll be okay. Claire is strong, isn’t she?”

Claire was stronger than anyone I had seen at the academy. No matter how many monsters or traps were in the dungeon, they wouldn’t even be able to touch Claire’s toes.

Therefore, Claire should be fine.

Edel shattered a skeleton with a kick. There was no reply.

“Still, it’s understandable to be worried. I get it. I’ve been there before.”

Edel and Claire seemed to be very close. So, even if I told her not to worry, it would be difficult for her to do so.

“… What do you mean, ‘been there before’?”

Edel asked. I replied while cleaving the heads of monsters in half.

“I have a cute younger sister at home… Ah, do you know her?”

“Are you talking about Lady Freya?”

“Yes.”

Priscilla was still concentrating on her magic. I felt a slight discomfort from the strangely damp feeling of my tail, but I ignored it and continued to fight monsters.

“My sister is actually quite strong, but whenever she went for training, I always worried first. Even when she said she was fine, my heart would become anxious. It’s like that.”

In my memory, my sister was always small, delicate, and weak, always clinging to me. Now, she had become powerful through magic and was quite skilled in combat, but still, whenever my sister went somewhere alone, I would worry if she might get hurt.

I unleashed a sword wave, killing a white ghost. Edel remained silent.

“But my sister always managed on her own. Most of my worries were unnecessary. Of course, even now, when I think of my sister at home, worry comes first… but still.”

“….”

“What I mean is, trust Claire. Claire is strong, isn’t she? You know that, right?”

“… Yes.”

“There will be no problem.”

I stomped my foot hard, and a shockwave erupted, killing all the monsters in front of me. Edel shattered the emerging monsters with her kicks, and Priscilla’s spark spewed flames, setting them ablaze.

“Don’t worry, it won’t change anything. And….”

I sheathed my sword and made a powerful draw. A white flash erupted, turning the skeletons rising from the ground into dust.

“If there is a problem, I will definitely save her.”

Priscilla shouted.

“I’m done!”

The red light that had filled the space converged into a single line, and then the light pointed towards the other side of the wall.

“We need to break in that direction! Uh… approximately… 200 meters?”

200 meters.

I gripped my sword with both hands. Breaking and piercing were things I had done countless times, so it wasn’t difficult at all. I just had to do as I always did: concentrate and cut.

“Hoo….”

The sword glowed. White light showcased the sharply honed blade and filled the room. Mist escaped my mouth. A coldness that seemed to freeze to the bone permeated the air.

Even the monsters couldn’t withstand it, losing heat to the white light and shattering into pieces. They looked like the damned being harvested by the Grim Reaper, though I’m not the Grim Reaper.

Frost descended, freezing the room. Priscilla’s spark had shrunk to the size of a match flame.

“Kyuuuu….”

Leaving the weak spark behind, I looked at the path Priscilla had created. Yes, 200 meters in this direction. I put strength into my sword.

“Hey, Priscilla.”

“Yes?”

“It’s okay if it’s over 200 meters, right?”

It had been a while since I’d put this much strength into my sword, so my grip was so tight that I could have pierced everything in front of me, regardless of the 200-meter mark. By the time I realized it, it was too late, and I had to unleash my sword.

“Wait-“

CRACK!

The world turned white.

——

“Hmm.”

Snowflakes fluttered down, and frost settled on the bridge of my nose. Although it was far, a faint light seeped in from the distance. It seemed I had broken through a path to the surface.

“… Shall we go find Claire now?”

I said to Edel, who had escaped from under the debris on her own. Priscilla was safely nestled in my tail.

“… Yes. Let’s hurry.”

Edel moved her feet.