Let's Welcome the Intruders

"Aaah, goddammit. Why the hell do I gotta dogeza…"

"Didn't you hear from the captain? They have an A-Rank adventurer backing them."

"Gotta be a bluff. What would an A-Rank adventurer come to a place like this for? The captain's more of a coward than I thought."

"Hey, the captain might hear you."

"Oh, crap. Keep it quiet, yeah?"

The Leech family's Third Knight Order. For all their talk, they were knights serving Earl Leech… in name only. In reality, they were a hodgepodge squad of adventurers assembled for rough work. Dungeon searches and rescues like this one were part of their duties.

This time, they received a report through the guild from the Leech family's second son, Doran, that "the third son has gone missing in the dungeon," and rushed over. First response is crucial for dungeon rescues. Therefore, they acted quickly so they could later claim they "handled things properly."

By the way, the "Imperial Guard" part of the "Third Imperial Guard Knight Order" they go by… was self-proclaimed because "it sounds strong, important, and cool." None of the members actually knew what the term meant.

"Hey, there's a trap there. Proceed carefully."

"Roger that. For us, the Third Imperial Guard Knight Order, dungeon rescue operations are a piece of cake… That is, assuming the target is still alive."

In dungeons, rescue operations like this rarely succeed.

After all, when you die in a dungeon, everything, equipment and all, vanishes without a trace. You can't find what no longer exists. Usually, they'd search for two or three days and then conclude, "We couldn't find them, so they're presumed to have died in the dungeon."

Because of this, what they called a "rescue operation" really meant exploring the dungeon to earn some pocket change, filing a suitable report, and calling it a day… It was truly easy, cushy work.

"Captain～, think that idiot young master is still alive?"

"No chance. He croaked ages ago and got consumed by the dungeon. If he's still alive, it'd mean those hangers-on got stranded with him, but… I'd have killed them myself within two days."

"Haha, no kidding. Really, that idiot young master sure does pointless things."

"The eldest son, Kandra-sama, is already set to inherit anyway. Kandra-sama already has an heir, so the Leech family's future is secure."

The Leech family heir was confirmed to be the eldest son, Kandra. Kandra had already sired a son, securing the family line. Because of that, the only path for the third son, Drasan, to become head of the family would be to achieve something so extraordinary that it overturned everything.

Of course, failing to even return from a dungeon exploration to find a magic sword was far too pathetic to even discuss.

"Well, you know what? With the idiot gone, that alone deserves some credit, right?"

"Kukuku, you got that right."

They badmouthed Drasan, who was part of the very family they served.

What they didn't know was that the next family head, Kandra, considered them to be nothing more than a troublesome band of idiots as well.

 

＊ ＊ ＊

 

"Still, sucks that I couldn't have fun with that woman. I'm all pent up."

"That slot thing was the worst. I already blew through the entire reward money for this job…"

"I swiped one of those playing cards, but what good is just one card…"

These guys just do whatever they want. And that lone card got torn up and tossed.

So they did steal one after all… I'll need to take countermeasures.

Now then, today's their welcoming party, and as a special treat, I'll let them pass straight through the labyrinth area and the Puzzle Area.

Time to have them test out the traps and defenses of the unexplored area.

"Oh, golems. Just as we heard. Get 'em! … Ah, they ran away!"

"Don't chase them. This is a labyrinth, you know?"

"Mm, right…"

While siccing golems on them in moderation, I opened up paths to guide them through the labyrinth.

I had Rei and the others operate the golems as practice.

"Master, is this guidance working?"

"More than enough. We're just changing the paths while the golems distract them… See? They've regrouped."

The knight order had split their ten members into two groups of five to explore the labyrinth. I'd set it up so the two groups would meet back up right at the labyrinth's exit, and the guidance went off without a hitch.

"Oh? Your team made it too. Good timing."

"As expected of us… So, looks like beyond here is mostly unexplored territory?"

"Hoh, that's promising… But dangerous too. What do we do?"

… Hmm, cautious after all. Will they take the bait?

"Nn? Hey, look at that."

"… That's a treasure chest. Pon, go check it out."

"Yessir!"

The scout called Pon opened the treasure chest while staying alert… The contents were:

"Ooh, a weapon! A knife… it's got a magic stone, it's a magic sword! Captain, can I keep this?!"

"Good job, Pon. I'll hold onto that for you."

"Aww…"

"We'll turn it into cash and split it later, yeah? … Hey, look. There seem to be more treasure chests further in. Or rather, are there no traps around here?"

"From what I can see, no traps. I heard there were riddles, but… maybe they're further in?"

And so, the knight order fell for the simple treasure chest lure and got drawn deeper and deeper. They followed along so easily that it was hard to believe any of them were actually C-Rank.

… Is this really okay?

"Woah! Amazing, this one's a magic sword too! There's one over here as well!"

"That makes five! Hahaha, I can't stop laughing!"

Yeah, looks good. Thank goodness they're idiots. Once they'd gone far enough in, I quietly closed the door to one of the earlier rooms.

… They'd put a door wedge in place, but that was no problem once I had it removed. When did they even set up that wedge? Guess they're C-Rank for a reason, rotten as they may be.

With the door closed, the puzzle room fully activated.

Normally, the doors in these rooms won't open unless you solve that room's puzzle. The only exceptions are entering the first room and the last room. That's how this place works: the [Four-Room Serial Puzzle Rooms].

On top of that, the puzzles have several patterns and switch to a different problem each time a door is opened. Solving it once doesn't grant you free passage.

… In other words, I've effectively confined the knight order beyond the [Puzzle Area]. The DP intake has doubled.

I wonder if the DP from their deaths will also be doubled? Good opportunity to find out. I'll test it this time.

"Hey, we can't go back!"

"Huh? Wait, where's the door wedge?!"

"It's gone… I've never heard of one disappearing this fast. That thing was supposed to hold for at least a day…"

"Did you cheap out and reuse an old one? Did we miss some kind of special mechanism? Or wait, maybe a monster removed it?"

"No clue, but either way, a puzzle appeared when the door shut."

What, so that's the kind of item it was? … Come to think of it, that might have been written in [Introduction to Dungeon Studies]. Crap, I forgot about it. Is this another piece of fake common knowledge that Haku-san spread, like the "safe zones"? I'll make sure to have golems remove them from now on. Using mice might work too.

"… What now? Looks like we can't get out without solving the puzzle?"

"Yeah. But look, can you solve this?"

This time's puzzle was a special one. I'd prepared a simple question that anyone could answer.

"'How many steps are in the spiral staircase ahead, and what color is the door at the bottom?' … What?"

"How convenient, the door ahead is open… Looks like we have no choice but to keep going."

Right this way, party of ten～.