Chapter 18: No Way (1)

How did this happen!?!? I shouted in my mind.

Right in front of me was the Crown Prince of this country, and my cousin, [Christopher Heaven].

The very person I did not want to meet had just appeared right at this moment.

That makes me want to scream, you know!?

How did this happen…let’s go back a bit.

I had a distant look in my eyes.

***

On that day…

It had been about a month since I told everything to Brother Lucas in tears.

As promised, my brother talked to my father about allowing me to be a part of the dungeon investigation team.

I wonder why my father’s face had been looking at me with such a weird expression…?

Brother…what did you say to him!?

Well, in any case, it was a good thing that I was now able to participate. It was probably better for me not to think too much about it anyway.

As I had originally predicted, the investigation was going to be conducted through the guild, and the members of the investigation team included my father and brother, all of whom were very proud of their skills. Michael, the butler, was also there.

I thought about the old Michael who wasn’t that strong in the game…he had lost an eye after all—No, wait. He was able to take on three demon beasts that went berserk…so perhaps he was strong after all…?

Is that why my father had left Charlotte in his care?

Although I was somewhat upset by the fact that someone so unexpected was strong…It’s always better to be strong so it’s fine!

‘Let’s just stay positive!!’ I told myself.

I realized on that day that what I meant by “positive” was actually ‘procrastinating’ and ‘fooling myself.’ Still…I could use that positivity to encourage myself. If I repeated it to myself enough times, it might eventually come true.

In any case, I would be investigating and conquering dungeons along with my father’s party, called [Leah], right along with them.

Anyway, “Leah”…isn’t that my mother’s nickname?

Well, it’s a good thing that they’re as lovey-dovey as ever. After all, it’s peaceful when parents get along well, right?

The [Leah] arrived a week after that day. They discovered the unexcavated dungeon in the back mountains.

The entrance to the dungeon was shaped like a rabbit hole that would be very difficult to find if one didn’t know it was there.

From there, the group spent some time investigating the first and second dungeon levels.

The first floor was said to be the nest of the ‘starving monkeys.’ ‘Starving monkeys’ were about the size of a cat, with a face of an ape. They were a quadrupedal demon beast with thin, muscular limbs. Each and every one of them was weak, but they were troublesome demon beasts that called upon lots of allies.

My brother told me that even my father and his friends had a hard time destroying it.

On the second floor was a nest of raven-like black birds called [Black Rains].

They were demon beasts that poured down their own feathers like rain. The tips of their wings were sharp, and would stab their enemies without mercy.

Since there were much fewer of them than the starving monkeys, they were able to destroy them with ease.

Father was amazing. The ‘Black Rains’ were stronger than the ‘starving monkeys.’

It seems that the lower the floor, the higher the level of the demon beasts. Even if there were ‘starving monkeys’ on the first basement floor, that would be troublesome…

According to my father and his friends, the dungeon was about ten floors underground.

By the way, once you conquer the dungeons in this world, the demon beasts would no longer appear. Therefore, in order for me and my brother to achieve our goal, we must conquer this dungeon.

And if we can conquer it, then the stampede won’t happen…right?

The reason why I say ‘if,’ is because I hadn’t even seen the dungeon in person yet.

It was the absolute rule that the veterans had decided upon.

So, during the past month or so, I registered with the guild and performed simple requests to gain experience and learn basic knowledge of the dungeon. I also continued to receive training in the practical skills of magic from my brother.

And finally, I got the approval from my father to join the team.

And yet—!!

His Highness Christopher joined in as a new member of the investigation team.

I don’t understand…

The Crown Prince is supposed to be somewhere safe elsewhere!!!

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T/N: Charlotte can literally summon lightning bolts and earthquakes. I think she’ll be fine~

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