Chapter 10: The Cave’s Ominous Invitation

It was dinner time, with the whole family gathered as usual.

“I decided to go play in a cave with Hendel!”

“Ah… no, it’s not confirmed yet.”

Without even listening to my answer, Marine announced it to our parents.

I waved my hands frantically, trying my best to resist.

“Oh my, a cave trip sounds romantic!”

“Hendel, you shouldn’t just stay cooped up at home. You need to go out too. Since it’s come up, go tomorrow.”

My protests didn’t make a dent.

“You said… you’d grant my wish…”

“Ugh… well, yes, but.”

As Marine’s eyes welled up with tears, my heart softened.

“Ahem, the young lady wants to go this badly, so just go with her.”

“Yes…”

When Marine actually started shedding tears, I had no choice but to surrender.

“Wow!”

Just moments after crying, Marine beamed as soon as I agreed.

Our parents smiled warmly, watching Marine jump around in excitement.

‘Since it’s come to this, I need to prepare thoroughly.’

I had to make sure there were absolutely no variables.

“May I take the Knight Commander with us?”

I first requested the Edgar family’s top fighting power.

“Yes, it would be a big problem if the young lady got hurt.”

Fortunately, Father readily agreed.

With Knight Commander Zidan, we should be able to make it out safely even if the cave collapsed.

---

After dinner, I took the ring box I had received from the Magic Tower Head and went to find Marine.

I really wanted to keep it sealed away if possible, but now that the trip to the cave, which already reeked of trouble, was confirmed, hoarding it might mean it goes to waste.

Knock, knock.

“Young lady, it’s Hendel. May I come in?”

“Yes!”

As I carefully opened the door and went in, Marine was wriggling on the bed.

I snatched the blanket Marine was wrapped in and threw it aside.

“Ack, what was that for?”

Marine shrieked as I tossed away her precious blanket.

I ignored her and patted the bed.

“Calm down and sit on the bed.”

“Are you going to nag me again?”

Marine grumbled but obediently sat down on the bed as I instructed.

Over the past few days, I had scolded her several times about being kind to the servants, so she probably thought I was here to scold her again.

“I didn’t come to scold you today.”

“Then?”

“Give me your hand.”

“Okay.”

Perhaps because she had built up a lot of trust in me while living together, Marine extended her hand without much suspicion.

“Heek?”

Marine jumped in surprise when I took a ring out of the box.

I felt a little embarrassed too, but I pretended to be calm and put the ring on Marine’s left ring finger.

“Eeeeek?”

Now Marine was letting out a shriek.

I avoided her gaze and made an excuse.

“This is a magical tool for your safety, young lady. Don’t misunderstand.”

“Uh… okay…”

In this world, the average age of marriage is 17, lower than on Earth, and for nobles, arranged marriages are common, so engagements between families at the age of 7 or 8 are very frequent.

In that sense, there was plenty of room for misunderstanding, but my decision was genuinely made solely with her safety in mind.

Marine fidgeted with the ring on her finger.

A sense of reality hit me about doing such a childish thing with a kid, and I practically fled the room. 

It seemed I’d be kicking my blankets a lot tonight.

---

The day of the cave trip.

I woke up early in the morning and wandered around the estate, checking the preparations.

“Young master, aren’t you going to the cave and returning today? Is there a need to prepare three days’ worth of food?”

“The knights are coming with us, and knights eat a lot, so we need to prepare plenty.”

Using the knights as an excuse, I prepared a generous amount of food.

“Pardon? The entire Knight Order?”

“Yes, just leave a watch to guard the estate, and the rest will go together. The knights deserve a day off too.”

“Heok, thank you! I’ll inform the men.”

Not content with just Knight Commander Zidan, I had the entire Knight Order, minus a minimal security force, join our party.

“Magic Tower Head, if by any chance I don’t return from the cave for more than a day, please come and rescue me!”

“Ah… Understood.”

I had also left an emergency rescue request with Matado.

‘Phew, this should be enough, right?’

I had prepared to the best of my ability.

Accident? Crisis? Bring it on! I’ll crush them all.

---

The cave we were going to today was a tourist attraction of the Edgar Countdom, a proven place visited by tens of thousands of tourists every year.

For safety, tourists had been barred since yesterday, and I had pestered the cave manager to conduct internal searches ten times.

“Hendel, are you scared of a mere cave? Still a kid, huh. Kick.”

“…”

Oblivious to my worries, Marine was busy teasing me for being nervous.

I ignored her with silence.

“Ehh, no fun.”

When I resorted to the silent treatment, Marine seemed to lose interest and focused on watching the scenery outside.

I closed my eyes and prayed.

‘Goddess, please let nothing happen.’

---

“We’ve arrived!”

After about an hour’s journey, we reached the cave.

As befitting a tourist spot, all sorts of stalls were set up in front of the cave.

Though I had chased them all away today.

“Hmph, I wanted to eat chicken skewers.”

“I can make those for you when we get home.”

“Okay!”

Marine seemed overflowing with energy, clearly happy about the outing.

I began to understand a little why parents found raising children so difficult.

This was seriously draining my stamina.

Walking past the empty stall spots, we reached the very entrance of the cave.

“Phew…”

We had finally arrived at the cave.

“Shall we go?”

“Yes!”

Hearing Marine’s cheerful reply, I stepped into the cave.

Inside the cave, I walked cautiously, my hackles raised like a cat wary of a new human.

“Wow, that rock looks so strange!”

“Ah… yes…”

“Hendel, Hendel, what’s that? It looks strange. Is it an ice awl?”

“It’s a stalactite.”

Being so on guard, I couldn’t help but neglect Marine.

“Ugh…”

Noticing I wasn’t focusing on her, Marine made a pouting expression.

I felt sorry for Marine, but the cave was fraught with all sorts of dangers, so it was hard to pay her much attention.

“No problems ahead.”

“No mana reaction confirmed!”

Knights who had fanned out in all directions reported back one by one that it was safe, but I couldn’t feel at ease at all.

Noticing I was overly anxious, Knight Commander Zidan approached me.

“Young master, is something the matter?”

I couldn’t honestly say I was scared because of a cliché, so I made something up.

“I had a slightly ominous dream.”

“I see. That’s certainly understandable to be worried. However, our Knight Order will protect you and the young lady no matter what happens. Please trust us and enjoy yourself comfortably.”

Even though it might have seemed like I didn’t trust the Knight Order and could have offended him, Knight Commander Zidan showed no signs of displeasure.

Walking with extreme tension, we had already covered half the cave.

‘Am I worrying too much?’

With the reliable Knight Commander present, and having walked through half the cave without any abnormalities, my tension slowly began to ease.

Marine was thoroughly sulking, and the knights’ expressions also seemed poor due to my sensitive reaction.

‘Right, I shouldn’t keep ruining the mood when we’re out to have fun.’

I had already made more than enough preparations, so I decided to enjoy the cave tour now.

“Alright, I’ll trust you, Knight Commander.”

“Thank you.”

I walked past Knight Commander Zidan and approached the thoroughly pouting Marine.

“Hmph!”

Feeling me approach, Marine turned her head away, showing that she was upset.

“Haha… Young lady?”

“I don’t know any dummy who doesn’t keep their promises.”

“Don’t be like that. I’ve prepared lunch, you should eat soon.”

Marine glanced at me.

“Cola.”

“Pardon?”

“Is there cola too?”

I smiled brightly.

“Of course!”

“Alright!”

Marine was an easy villainess whose anger could be appeased with a single bottle of cola.

---

“Squad 1, guard the left. Squad 2, guard the right. Rotate every 30 minutes.”

“Yes!”

“Squad 3, set up the tent. Squad 4, on standby.”

“Understood!”

As I indicated that I was ready for lunch, the knights moved swiftly, preparing the meal.

While the knights were preparing food, I stepped aside for a moment with Marine to look around the cave.

Of course, I had to be prepared for any eventuality, so I maintained a distance of no more than ten steps from the Knight Order.

“Wow, Hendel, look at this! It’s a dinosaur!”

“Is… that so?”

I hadn’t heard any information about murals in this cave, but Marine, with her hawk-like eyes, had discovered a mural drawn in a corner.

The mural depicted a dinosaur, presumed to be a cousin of the Tyrannosaurus, breathing fire.

From an archaeology book I read after coming to this world, dinosaurs went extinct 100,000 years ago. Based on that, this mural would have been drawn at least 100,000 years ago.

When we get out of the cave, I should call an archaeologist for an accurate appraisal.

“As expected of the young lady, you’ve found something very important.”

I gave Marine a thumbs-up.

“Right! Right!”

Marine smiled at the praise.

“Still, just in case, please don’t touch the surroundings. Stories say that sometimes traps are installed in these ancient murals…”

Rumble.

Suddenly, the ground of the cave began to shake.

“I… I think I already touched it?”

When Marine pulled her hand away from the wall, a complex-looking magic circle was drawn there.

I was extremely flustered, but my judgment was quick.

I immediately grabbed Marine’s hand and ran towards the knights.

“Young master!”

Knight Commander Zidan, also noticing something was wrong, was running towards us.

‘Caught him.’

Just as the Knight Commander’s hand reached out and was about to touch mine.

Drrrk.

The cave floor split open, and Marine and I plummeted into the abyss.

I tightened my grip on Marine’s hand so as not to lose her and uttered a short curse.

“Damn it.”