Rookie Hunting (3)

"Well then, shall we head into the dungeon?"

"Yes, thank you for your guidance, Gesunoh-sama, Kiwami-sama."

With Kiwami taking the lead as their scout, they delved into the dungeon. The blue-haired young lady, Maio, had finally set foot inside a dungeon — yet she remained more composed than Gesunoh had expected.

If this were truly her first time entering a dungeon, she should have been more excited. Perhaps she was simply skilled at hiding her expressions?

"Ojou-sama, have you been in a dungeon before?"

"Yes, I had Shina accompany me for a quick visit yesterday. Though we turned back after seeing two rooms, just to get a feel for it."

Oh, so the Ojou-sama has already had her first dungeon experience, Gesunoh thought, understanding now.

This dungeon was apparently quite special in various ways. Even F-Rank adventurers, just one rank above the lowest G-Rank, could enter on their own.

Even if someone had just registered as a G-Rank yesterday, they would be allowed in as long as their party included someone of D-Rank or higher.

"With Shina here, a dungeon like this is no match for me."

"Ojou-sama, please don't let your guard down. Dungeons are dangerous places, you know? … Gesunoh-san, Kiwami-san, please say something to Ojou-sama as well."

The topic was suddenly thrown their way, but Gesunoh and Kiwami just smiled softly.

With an Ojou-sama like this, it was best to let her get carried away and become dependent on them.

"No, no, Ojou-sama is absolutely right. The lower floors of this dungeon are designated as beginner-friendly, so they're not very difficult. Even if you let your guard down, we'll handle everything."

"Exactly. That's why darling and I are here."

Kiwami winked. Right on cue, two goblins attacked them. As they had declared, Gesunoh and Kiwami protected Maio and the others while dispatching the monsters.

Say what you will about them, they were still C-Rank. They wouldn't fall behind against mere goblins.

"Excellent work. Wouldn't you agree, Senpa— Pet-chan?"

"…"

The beastkin pet stared into empty space with cold, expressionless eyes.

… She's not even looking at Ojou-sama. As I thought, these two don't get along well, Kiwami became convinced.

"I-I shall bestow a reward upon Gesunoh-sama for such excellent work. Accept it."

Saying that, Maio brazenly activated [Wallet] and pulled out a single silver coin from within, handing it to Gesunoh.

"Haha, I am most grateful."

How much money does she have in there? Just thinking about it made Gesunoh smile naturally.

Items stored away using time-space magic like [Wallet] would scatter everywhere upon the caster's death.

"Oh my? Won't you give me one too, Ojou-sama?"

"The one who defeated those goblins just now was Gesunoh-sama, was he not? Kiwami-sama did nothing. Isn't that right, Shina?"

"Yes, Kiwami did nothing. There's no need to reward someone who's useless."

Hearing Shina say that as well, Kiwami cursed inwardly, Tch, amateur. In reality, Kiwami was the one who noticed the goblins first and had cut off their escape route while threatening them so Gesunoh could reliably finish them off.

However, hearing even Shina call her useless made Kiwami lower her guard slightly. This escort might not be that impressive after all.

Speaking of uselessness, Shina had done nothing but stand next to Ojou-sama the entire time.

… Nothing beat enjoying them while still alive, of course. But anything that could be enjoyed after death could still be done after killing them.

"Darling, give me that one, okay? I'll cut the tendons in her arms and legs, embed stones, then use [Healing] on her. After that, let's dispose of her after Ojou-sama."

"Kukuku, as expected of my honey. Great taste. Shall we try shredding Ojou-sama with that elf's sword too?"

Gesunoh and Kiwami exchanged words in low voices so the others couldn't hear.

"Well then, shall we go a bit deeper? I heard about an interesting room at the guild. Want to try it? Don't worry, with us around, there won't be any problems."

"Yes, please lead the way."

"Ojou-sama, going any deeper would surely be dangerous."

"Be quiet, Shina. C-Rank Gesunoh-sama is with us. There shouldn't be any problems."

"…"

The beastkin pet sighed with cold eyes.

They passed through the first floor and finally entered the labyrinth area. Even there, they didn't encounter any major enemies. Iron Golems were about the strongest here, but this time they only ran into Clay Golems.

They were just as easy to handle as the goblins.

Though there was a maze, they followed their detailed map without getting lost and quickly arrived at their destination — the [Greed Trap].

Maio and the others entered the room, led by Gesunoh and Kiwami.

Kiwami approached the pedestal with a sword embedded in it. Once everyone was inside the room — with Gesunoh positioned at the very back — she pulled the sword from the pedestal.

Immediately after, with a clang, the entrance was sealed off by spikes.

"Oh no! We're trapped!"

Gesunoh said with an exaggerated tone.

"Hm! Wh-What just happened?"

"Wh-What is this?"

The master and servant panicked in exactly the same way. Their movements matched as if they were connected by strings. Gesunoh watched them with a grin.

It seemed Ojou-sama's group hadn't gathered any information about this room. Things would have been somewhat more troublesome if they had known about it.

"Gesunoh-sama, what is the meaning of this?"

"Please rest assured, Ojou-sama. You see, this is a room where you become 'trapped for one night' after pulling the magic sword from its pedestal. It's a safe zone, so there's no danger whatsoever."

"Just one night?"

"Yes. I had planned for us to rest here today and return in the morning."

Gesunoh smiled to reassure Ojou-sama.

Ojou-sama seemed convinced. "I see."

"However, making decisions about our schedule without consulting us is troubling. We haven't prepared for camping, have we?"

"I apologize for that. But rest assured about the camping arrangements; we've prepared everything on our end. Naturally, we have accommodations for Ojou-sama as well."

With that, Gesunoh chanted [Storage] and took out a folded tent and sleeping bags.

The [Storage] scroll had been quite expensive, but it was convenient. Since time stopped inside it, you could even store freshly severed body parts from prey while keeping them warm.

"Oh my, you have [Storage]? Then I suppose there's no need to worry about meals either?"

"That's right, we have freshly prepared food ready like this."

Gesunoh took out soup with steam still rising from it.

The soup, however, was drugged. A sip or two wouldn't cause any problems, but drinking a whole bowl would cause strength to gradually drain about an hour later, followed by total paralysis within another hour. A numbing agent.

If he could get them to eat this, the job would be much easier than a straightforward assault, but…

"Ojou-sama. Please eat what I've prepared. There's no telling what might be in that."

"If Shina says so, I suppose there's no choice. Gesunoh-sama, please share that with Kiwami-sama."

"Oh well, can't be helped."

As expected, it wouldn't go that smoothly.

Gesunoh clicked his tongue softly. But there would be no problem if they just attacked them in their sleep. He decided to wait for nightfall.