Published: July 3, 2025
This is the third story of the day.
At 12 and 1 o'clock, two short interludes have been posted.
"We have departed from the Holy Capital and returned once again,"
Ryo declares solemnly, exuding an air of importance.
However, Nils knows better.
He simply said it because he wanted to sound cool.
So, Nils lets out a small sigh and shakes his head.
In response to Nils' reaction, Ryo turns to him with a sad face and says,
"I'll tell Abel that you're being mean!"
"Hey, stop that,"
Inside the carriage heading to the Holy Capital Marromar,
the group reached a consensus to report to their leader, Hugh McGrath.
There were concerns about returning to the Holy Capital, the headquarters of the Western Church, as it could be dangerous, but at least they weren't openly fighting with the church.
As for the matter regarding the Templar Knights, they decided to attribute it to some supernatural phenomenon that incapacitated them...
The fact that they possessed the official 'Holy Seal Certificate' issued by the church was also true.
Thus, it was judged that returning to report wouldn’t cause any trouble for the delegation.
"Dungeon exploration, huh? It brings back memories,"
Ryo remarks to no one in particular.
"No, Ryo, you haven’t really explored a dungeon, have you?"
Nils replies skeptically, looking at Ryo.
As far as Nils knows, Ryo only goes down to the fifth layer to mine magic copper ore for alchemy...
"What are you talking about, Nils? I have the record for reaching the fortieth layer in the Dungeon of Run!"
Ryo puffs out his chest proudly, as if to say, "Take that!"
The three in Room 11 widen their eyes in surprise,
almost on the verge of looking at him with respect.
"Ah... I heard that from Your Majesty Abel before. You drilled a hole at the bottom with water all the way down to the fortieth layer, right? That doesn’t count as exploration..."
"Eh..."
Ryo freezes at Nils' calm observation.
It seems Ryo still considered it enough to qualify as "dungeon exploration" in his mind...
"Even if it wasn't exploration, I still 'reached' it!"
"Well... You did reach it, that's true, but that's all you did."
Nils concedes somewhat to Ryo's insistence.
Seeing that the odds were turning against him, Ryo turns to Eto for help.
"Eto, say something to back me up!"
"Umm... Oh, Ryo, the Dungeon West of the Holy Capital has the transfer function, right?"
Eto says while looking at the 'Travel Itinerary.'
"Yes, it's recorded that it reaches up to the 150th layer in that 'Travel Itinerary,' right?"
"Yeah."
"It's pretty deep, but... there’s still more below, isn't there..."
Ryo continues, grimacing slightly.
"How far do we really have to go...?"
The exploration team re-entered the Holy Capital.
Of course, they faced no issues since they had the 'Holy Seal Certificate.'
"What's wrong with you guys?"
Leader Hugh McGrath was in the lodging lobby.
He always stationed himself on the first floor for easy communication.
The exploration team explains the situation.
"The Western Dungeon..."
Hugh falls silent upon hearing that.
He seems to be deep in thought.
The exploration team waits quietly,
with no one approaching them.
Only the aroma of coffee wafts through the air.
"Is there... no other way to reach the demon king?"
Finally, Hugh opens his mouth to ask.
A bit surprised, Nils quietly responds,
"Yes. The centaur is the most reliable way, and I can't think of any alternatives."
"I see... It can't be helped then."
Hugh murmurs, glancing at Ryo.
He then says,
"Ryo may have heard from the magical association advisor, Arthur, or Lord Ilalion, but the Western Dungeon has a transfer trap."
"Oh..."
Ryo involuntarily mutters in response to Hugh's words.
Now that he mentions it, he thinks he has heard about it before...
"If you get caught in a transfer trap, your party could be split apart... that's what makes it deadly."
"I see..."
Eto and Zeek were the first to understand Hugh's concern.
A party is essentially a single organism.
Only by cooperating can they overcome various challenges.