The Saintess's Return

She said she'd come again, so I thought she might show up immediately after reviving, but that didn't happen. Instead, the saintess took a rest first before coming to visit me as the village chief.

About one hour remained until the seal lifted.

"It is extremely unfortunate, but I was unable to resolve the issue… If only I hadn't received the recall order from my homeland, I could have stayed longer…"

"Well, it can't be helped. I saw you going into the dungeon every day, so thank you for your efforts."

"I appreciate you saying that… Unfortunately, I'm out of time and must depart from here now."

Honestly, I'd prefer if she never came back, but in terms of DP income she's… no, considering the hassle, please don't come back.

"Well then, Uuma-senpai, see you again."

"… Uuma-senpai? Who might that be?"

"…… No, I misspoke. There was a golem deep in the dungeon that spoke with a voice similar to the Village Chief-sama's."

Yep, you just used it, didn't you? Your lie-detecting skill. But I'm not lying.

"Hmm, a talking golem, you say…? I've been deep inside before. Perhaps it's mimicking my voice?"

"I see… By the way, it called itself Uuma and was the dungeon's boss. It appeared to be cooperating with 'boss'… a threatening monster. Do you know anything about this?"

"Unfortunately, there's nothing I can tell you."

"… Truly?"

"Yes, truly."

It's a secret, so I can't tell her! That's the truth.

If she asked "Are you hiding something?", I was planning to dodge with "Well, I am an adventurer after all," but she didn't press any further. Thank goodness.

"… Well then, Village Chief-sama. Until we meet again."

"Yes. If the opportunity arises… Ah, would you like some sweets as a souvenir? I've come across something called cream puffs. Five for one gold coin each — how about it?"

And so, the saintess departed for the Holy Kingdom along with the cream puffs.

… I wonder if she has enough for travel expenses? It's a secret that I'm a bit worried about that despite being her enemy.

 

＊ ＊ ＊

 

"Oh! Look, Kehma! We can summon monsters again!"

"Yeah, we can make walls, passages, and rooms too."

One hour after the saintess left, [Treaty]'s effects were quietly lifted. I checked the DP catalog to confirm that weapons, items, traps, and monsters could all be exchanged, then took the opportunity to move the Dungeon Core to Rokuko's room.

I'd put it in the dungeon because the saintess was staying at the inn, but I never imagined that would seal off the Dungeon Core's movement. What's the point of an emergency escape option — castling — if you can't use it at crucial times?

"And there are more functions in the menu now. I found the ability to project your voice throughout the dungeon and the option to set sortie points."

"I wish we'd gotten those a bit sooner."

The things we can do in this dungeon seem to gradually increase. Maybe it's a bonus for surviving [Treaty], or the dungeon leveled up, or something like that. At any rate, it probably means we should keep expanding the dungeon wider and deeper.

… If there's some kind of achievement system, maybe we should try more extreme things? Like extending floors all the way to the 100th. Though that would cost 500,000 points just for the staircase rooms alone.

"Rin's still here, but at least I can finally sleep peacefully."

"Kehma, you really do love sleeping, don't you?"

"It's one of humanity's three major desires — instinct. Well, I'm going to sleep. I'll do nothing but sleep. I'll sleep for about three days straight. I might get up for the bathroom or food partway through, but I'm sleeping. I don't think there'll be any reason to, but don't wake me unless necessary."

"Yes yes, I won't disturb you. Good night, Kehma."

Seen off by Rokuko, I headed to my room in the village chief's mansion.

I had a golem prepare the futon for me, and as soon as I climbed into bed, I fell asleep.

 

＊ ＊ ＊

 

Three days later.

I finally woke up and decided to head to Rokuko's room for the first time in a while.

Aah, I slept so well. Slept like a log. I woke up refreshed too — maybe I'll even do a little work?

Then, in Rokuko's room, Haku-san was beaming with a full smile while petting Rokuko. With Rokuko sitting on her lap.

"Good morning, Kehma-san?"

Still with her cheerful smile, Haku-san greeted me.

Ah, yes. Good morning, Haku-san… um, when did you arrive?

"I came yesterday around noon, you know? I was waiting for Kehma-san to wake up before leaving. Making me wait like that — quite the nerve you have."

Oooooi?! I said not to wake me unless necessary, but wake me up if Haku-san comes! I was sleeping the whole time from the backlash of being so busy!

Not leaving my room except for the bathroom backfired! I just exchanged the bedding's filling through DP and cleaned my teeth with [Purify]!

And now I was internally freaking out.

"But Haku-neesama. I told you Kehma was resting because he worked so hard, remember? He woke up after exactly three days like he said, so it's fine, right?"

"Ah, yes, that's right, Rokuko-chan. Since Rokuko-chan says so, I'll let the matter of making me wait slide."

"T-thank you very much."

"So, I came today because I wanted to hear about various things. I haven't been able to visit Rokuko-chan lately because I've been so busy. Really, war is such a hassle. It's profitable, though."

Ah, so for someone as high-ranking as Haku-san, that's how war is viewed.

Also, I'd heard rumors about the war, but it's actually happening, huh…

"When soldiers die, the DP income I receive decreases. From the demon king's army's perspective, their main objective is to whittle down our earnings. They should know this level of attack won't shake our foundation, but they're getting antsy because ranking season is approaching."

Ah, come to think of it, she did say the demon king is also a Dungeon Core.

"Um, what's this ranking thing?"

"Oh my, you didn't know? Once a year, there's a gathering of Dungeon Cores. DP holdings are announced in a ranking. Last year, I was seventh place overall, I believe?"

Come to think of it, I feel like Rokuko told me something like that a long time ago.

Wait, seventh place? That means there are six above Haku-san!? Err, not people, but Dungeon Cores.

"And sixth place is the demon king army's supreme commander, Core Number 6. His alias is [Great Demon King]. He himself doesn't do anything in particular, so it's fine, but the small fry from his faction keep meddling."

"Sounds troublesome in various ways."

"Yes. Would you like to take on some of it?"

I'd like to refuse that with all my might.

"Ah, I've gotten sidetracked. About what happened recently — I'd like to hear about it. I've already gotten a rough picture from the pawns I've sent here, though."

"… Haku-san's… pawns?"

"Yes. I probably shouldn't say this, but it's Wozuma, the bar's master, and Kusaan, the adventurer with carpentry skills. You know them, right?"

Wozuma and Kusaan, you say…? Both of them are executives in this village — one of them is even the deputy village chief. For even Kusaan to be Haku-san's pawn, her reach is wide… no wait, she's at the top of the Adventurer Guild to begin with. Of course she'd have plenty of pawns, both human and otherwise.

"Though I call them pawns, they're both ordinary humans unrelated to dungeons. Please don't talk to them about DP or Dungeon Masters."

"Ah, understood."

"So, according to Wozuma and Kusaan's reports, you seem to be doing quite well as village chief?"

"I'm just pushing work onto others."

"Hmm, well, that's fine then. Wozuma was originally an official who worked in my castle. You can safely leave internal affairs to him."

That's good to know. I'll throw all the troublesome work at him without hesitation. An official from the empire's castle — he must be a super elite.

"So, there are various things I'd like to ask about since I couldn't come due to being busy… is that alright?"

"Y-yes. What would you like to know?"

"I'll want to hear about the black wolf and the saintess as well, but… first, what's this about you giving Rokuko-chan a ring?"

I instinctively prostrated myself.