NOVEL NEXT Chapter 101
I didn’t sign up for this kind of alarm.
I woke up to the sound of screams echoing through the hideout. Rubbing my eyes and searching for the source of the commotion, I spotted Sif sprawled out on the floor.
“…What’s her deal now?”
Curious about why Sif had fainted, I looked around.
The door was closed, the ceiling hadn’t collapsed, and there was nothing on the floor…
“…I see now why she fainted.”
I picked up a sandwich that lay in shambles on the ground. Half-chewed pieces of a caterpillar precariously clung to the bread. Clearly, Sif wasn’t accustomed to eating caterpillars. From the way she talked, one would think she had suffered a fair bit of hardship, but apparently, her palate was quite refined.
“…Should I bury this so she won’t have to see it?”
I dug a small hole and tossed the dirty sandwich inside.
And that’s how I finished the evidence cleanup.
I took out the remaining sandwich from my backpack and took a big bite. Sure, it had caterpillars instead of meat, but the nutrition was probably far more reliable than other sandwiches.
I stuffed two sandwiches into my mouth and lightly kicked Sif’s leg with my toes to wake her up.
“Wake up. It’s time to work.”
“Nyahhh!”
What’s with the sudden reaction?
“I had the most terrible dream, nyah…”
Is losing one’s mind followed by cat-like mewling a thing? Well, watching her panic was quite amusing, so I decided to observe her a bit longer.
I sat on the bed and quietly watched until Sif returned to her senses. In a flurry, she gripped her head while muttering to herself. Finally, she spotted me and yelled,
“What on earth are you putting in the sandwiches?!”
“I put a caterpillar in. Is there a problem?”
“How could you possibly think to put a caterpillar in a sandwich?!”
“It’s called being picky.”
“What do you think someone would say if I stopped a passerby on the street and asked if they eat bugs?”
“They’d probably say you’re being picky.”
“Nyahhh!”
What’s with the hair pulling? I watched Sif as she went into a frenzy, then I picked up the piled items in the corner. I had to organize the backpack tightly before heading out. There’s still a lot to do, but I needed to prepare various things before Lu and the harem members entered the dungeon.
For instance, creating an entrance by breaking through the dungeon walls, confirming whether the dungeon’s structure resembles what I vaguely remember, and deciding on a course of action after verifying the members… The more I thought about it, the more tasks piled up.
It’s not like I’m in the position of a student; I’m stuck in this ambiguous role as a knight.
Being a knight has its advantages, but it’s also a pain when it comes to interfering with the main story.
So, here’s hoping Lu is just a vessel.
Just hanging out in the corner of Yeomyeong-gwan, barely being noticed. Casually playing around with Millia, correcting Elisa’s gloomy nature, and joking around with Renny… as for Karina…
“…Let’s think about that after all is said and done.”
It’s not that hard of a task, is it?
I packed everything from sleeping bags to preserved food into the backpack. Since Sif had brought a lot, even with the pack full, about a third of the space remained. I grabbed Sif by the scruff, who was still out of it, and lifted her up.
“Get it together.”
“I’m dizzy, stop shaking meee—”
She seems to be coming around. I released her and set the empty backpack in front of her. Fortunately, Sif quickly understood my unspoken message and began putting items into the backpack.
“Ugh… I’m absolutely not eating food you brought next time…”
“I packed plenty, but still.”
One of the most important things in exploration is food.
Whether it’s a newborn baby, a top warrior in the continent, or a grand wizard dropping meteors from the sky, you can’t survive if you don’t eat.
“Let’s stop this conversation. It feels like it’s about to come up again…”
If she hates it that much, fine.
“Then let’s head out right away.”
“Can’t we take a quick break before we go?”
“Weren’t you just sprawled on the floor?”
“Uh, well…”
“Since I’m the one doing the work, you can just sit back and watch.”
“Alright already…”
Then, let’s head out.
We moved from the hideout to the location of the passage I had sealed up. Finding the blocked spot wasn’t hard; I’d built the entire thing myself, and I had deliberately left markers.
“Here it is.”
“Is this it?”
“Dismantle.”
The wall I touched crumbled naturally, revealing the passage. When I brought the lamp closer, it looked the same as when I built it. Thankfully, there didn’t seem to be any need for double work.
“Didn’t we breach this spot before?”
“Yeah.”
“But what does this have to do with the dungeon?”
“There’s a wall of the dungeon at the end of this passage.”
“Oh, I see—”
“I’ll check it out, so you wait here.”
“Then I’ll take a little rest…”
Before my words even finished, Sif slumped down against her backpack. She really didn’t seem to be feeling well at all. I averted my eyes and walked into the passage. Thankfully, it wasn’t long, and I quickly came face-to-face with the wall of the dungeon.
How close could it be to the dungeon on the other side?
I couldn’t be sure since there were no clues, but I guessed it might be the first floor. Since the tunnel was dug deep enough to reach subway level, I doubted it reached the innermost depths of the dungeon.
If I break that wall, I’ll know without complicated calculations.
“Missile is the best.”
Even though the only light source was the lamp barely illuminating my front, it scattered light on its own. One chunk of it could buy an entire mansion. I stared at the wall, then wedged the shovel blade into the seam.
No matter how tough the dungeon walls might be, they were just stone in front of mythril; my shovel pierced ruthlessly through the seam.
I repeatedly forced the gap open like a lever.
Once. Twice. Three times. Four times…
As I shoveled, the wall began to crumble. Though the dungeon’s exterior was solid, my experience and old mythril could not be matched. After about an hour of scraping, I finally encountered a new source of light, not from the lamp.
“Is this the first floor?”
Though my memory was fuzzy, it didn’t seem to resemble the second or third floor. If my memory was correct, this dungeon narrowed the further you went down, and the room I was peering down at was about the size of a gym.
First, I need to create an entrance.
“Crafting.”
A nice-looking door appeared in the gaping wall.
I tried opening and closing it as a test; aside from a slight scratching sound, it seemed to be just fine. I shouldn’t have to worry about being spotted here. Unless the main characters are walking around staring at the ceiling, they shouldn’t feel anything amiss.
Next, I pulled out stakes and rope from my backpack. I needed to secure a means of descent. Since I couldn’t use magic, dropping from a height of more than about five meters with my bare body wasn’t a wise choice.
Sif, being a cat beastkin, would probably be okay, but if an ordinary human like me fell wrong, I could twist my ankle. I tied the rope to the stake and planted it in the ground before laying it down.
“Basic preparations done?”
Now I just need the protagonists to show up.
Lastly, I used my shovel to dig out a space suitable for resting. I didn’t want to wait in an uncomfortable position, not knowing how long I would be sitting. With the work finished, I emerged from the passage and went to fetch Sif.
“Sleep here.”
“Got it…”
Sif once again slumped against her backpack. I stared blankly at her and pulled out a blanket from the pack to cover her. Her previously contorted face relaxed into peace. Maybe it was because the cold that had tormented her vanished.
“…I hope they arrive soon.”
I set the lamp between Sif and me and crawled into my sleeping bag. It might’ve been an expensive one, but inside, it was quite soft and warm.
Now it’s a battle of patience.
In the end, I checked the time on my watch, confirming I had about half a day to spare before closing my eyes.
———————
“…Hey.”
“…Yes!”
“…Hey!”
Finally, they’ve arrived. I woke Sif, who was blissfully drooling on the pillow and started sorting out our gear. It was time to get moving.
“Did you sleep well?”
“I slept too well and now I’m stiff…”
Sif exaggeratedly twisted her body while stretching, looking like a cat with an arched back—a rather entertaining spectacle.
“Make sure to loosen up. We’re going to be busy from here on out.”
I sealed my lips after saying that and listened carefully to the sounds coming through the wall’s gap.
I could hear explosions, clashes, and scratching noises. They must be still fighting. Thanks to that, figuring out where the protagonists were wasn’t very hard.
How much time passed? I sensed the sounds were fading, indicating it was almost time to enter the dungeon.
“…The sounds have completely faded.”
I cautiously opened the door and scanned the dungeon. Blood and broken stone fragments littered the floor, along with footprints made from monster blood. They had definitely passed through here.
“Sif.”
“Shall I go down first?”
“Sure.”
I quickly set up the rope, making it a means to ascend and descend. But Sif, being a cat, seemed to find it a hassle to climb down that way and leaped right down instead, surveying the area.
“Looks clear.”
As soon as Sif finished speaking, I slid down the rope to join her.
“From now on, we’ll follow the ones conducting the test from a distance where we’re unlikely to be spotted.”
“Sounds like a job that needs a hazard pay?”
Sif’s sudden comment while looking around made me glance at her. The greedy cat-type thief made a gesture with her fingers, framing an imaginary circle.
“Let’s discuss hazard pay after the job’s done.”
“Fufu, I’ll be looking forward to it.”
Sif gave an adorable smile, eager enough to twitch her ears.
…Well, whatever.
What matters right now isn’t whether I’ll get paid extra or not.
Thus began our stealth mission.