Chapter One Hundred and Sixty-Three: Rocky Hot Springs
The dungeon investigation team gradually moved on to the eighth floor. Passing through the gate in the forest on the seventh floor, they came out onto a rocky area halfway up the mountain. This was the eighth floor, the "Rock Labyrinth.”
First, Karen’s nose was tickled by a scent she remembered smelling somewhere before. It was an odor like boiled eggs. The smell of sulfur—hot springs bubbled up here.
And what spread out before her eyes was a forest of rocks. The rocks were vertically elongated, towering as if they had been stabbed into the ground. While each varied in size, even the smallest one was over five meters tall. The rocks stood in two rows, leaving between them a path wide enough for several people to walk side by side.
Though the sky was visible, a mysterious force prevented them from flying over these rocks or climbing them. Therefore, the only way forward was to pass through this maze of stone.
There was something hidden somewhere within this rocky maze. Depending on what that something was, Karen and her companions might find themselves in a life-or-death battle.
As everyone gulped and looked up at the rock labyrinth, a presence suddenly appeared behind them. Karen, who noticed it before anyone else, instinctively pulled back. She thought it might be Julius.
Karen had been avoiding Julius for the past several days. She had holed up in the tent for royal use that possessed various magical effects, including soundproofing, lived together with Waltride, and used her as a shield. Even Julius couldn’t enter the princess’s tent without permission. Since Waltride, having heard all the circumstances from Karen, found it amusing and took Karen’s side, the offensive and defensive battle between Karen and Julius was currently an unbroken winning streak for Karen.
But it wasn’t only Julius standing behind them.
“My, my, what a coincidence, isn’t it?”
It was a voice that shouldn’t be heard in a place like this. A person who shouldn’t be here.
“Earl Brahm—why are you here?”
Julius asked the question with obvious wariness.
Horst Brahm. A nobleman from the Ehlertt’s territory who controlled the Elders’ Council. He was in conflict with the Ehlertt family, and an opponent Karen herself had picked a fight with.
Such a person was suddenly and inexplicably there, accompanied by a single guard.
“For hot spring therapy, Sir Julius.”
“Hot spring therapy?”
“My knee has been bad ever since I injured it in a dungeon long ago. Even drinking potions couldn’t fully heal it—not only has its movement worsened, but it aches terribly from time to time.”
Horst swayed his cane for emphasis. His right knee seemed to be bad, as he spoke while putting almost all the weight of his small body on the cane.
“I heard that the hot spring on the eighth floor of Earthfill’s Royal Capital’s Dungeon is quite effective for old wounds that even potions couldn’t fully heal. So I visit from time to time.”
“…Sir Julius, I believe Earl Brahm’s words are true.”
“I’ve also heard rumors about the hot spring therapy site on the eighth floor, and that Earl Brahm frequents it… However—”
“Yes, I understand what you wish to say, Sir Julius.”
Julius responded to Therese’s words.
Without needing to say everything, they were in perfect sync. As people from the Ehlertt’s territory, they probably understood each other on some level.
Karen, who grew uncomfortable at the sight, hid behind Waltride’s shadow. She somehow didn’t want Horst to see her expression, which she couldn’t mask with indifference. It wasn’t just sulking.
“Earl Brahm, the dungeon is currently in turmoil. I won’t tell you not to enter the dungeon, but I should inform you that I don’t recommend it.”
“I’m so grateful for your advice, I could cry, Sir Julius. I have a guard, so there’s no need to worry. But I’ll try not to overstay my welcome.”
Horst said with a sly grin.
“My business here should be finished soon anyway.”
Julius frowned.
“Business? Wasn’t it for hot spring therapy?”
“Of course, do you think I would have business in a place like this other than hot spring therapy? With this useless leg and this aged body, there’s no way I could do anything against the monsters on the eighth floor.”
Horst spoke with an oddly broad smile.
As he himself said, his physique was so frail that he didn’t look like he could even handle the monsters on the first floor. And yet, as if hinting that something was going on, Horst looked up at Julius with an unpleasant grin on his face.
“If there’s anything I might be able to do, won’t you tell me? Sir Julius. If there’s something I can do, I’d be happy to help you all.”
“…No, please don’t concern yourself. It would be best if you focused on your knee therapy.”
“Is that so? How disappointing. I thought I might be able to participate in a national project.”
Speaking meaningfully as if he wanted them to realize something was going on, Horst walked away unsteadily with his cane, making his way down the dungeon path with its poor footing full of rocks.
Once they had separated to a distance where voices wouldn’t carry, Therese whispered to Julius:
“Sir Julius, do you think Earl Brahm is involved in this dungeon anomaly?”
“It’s possible. If so, this incident will be seen as involving Ehlertt Earldom.”
Even Karen couldn’t help but feel relieved that Waltride’s guard here was Therese. If it hadn’t been someone from the Ehlertt’s territory, they might have immediately made a disadvantageous report to Boromias before the truth became clear. That this disturbance was the Ehlertt family’s fault.
That said, not everyone present was from Ehlertt. When Karen looked up at Waltride, Waltride tilted her head slightly and said:
“I find it very hard to believe that little man did anything to the dungeon. I know of Earl Brahm too, but while he may be capable of scheming, he would be powerless in a dungeon, wouldn’t he?”
“True… those meaningful words may have just been harassment toward us. Perhaps he’s trying to confuse us by making it appear as if something exists when there’s nothing at all.”
“That’s probably about all he’s capable of. I can’t imagine that man being able to do anything.”
Waltride said, dismissing it completely.
Since the princess had spent a considerable period in the Ehlertt’s territory, she probably knew much more about Horst than Karen did. From Waltride’s perspective, it seemed she didn’t think Horst was capable of anything significant.
Irmlinde and Dorotea, who stood nearby, appeared to have no objection to Waltride’s words either.
Therese nodded in agreement as well.
“Well, yes. I can’t imagine that man being able to do anything that would shake the dungeon.”
“Just a coincidental overlap in timing, then. Indeed, I can’t think of anything Earl Brahm could do.”
Even Julius’s opinion aligned with the conclusion that it was probably just Horst’s harassment. These were the opinions of people far more familiar with Ehlertt’s nobility than Karen.
While feeling a trace of unease, she convinced herself that they were probably right.
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