I, Sakudaira Keisuke, was betrayed by the queen and thrown into the deepest level of the Seventhfall Abyss.
The first thing I found down here was a skeleton wearing the tattered remains of adventurer clothes.
The moment I stuffed the corpse into my bag, new skills poured into my head like downloadable content.
"Dagger Hero… so another hero from another world ended up here?"
It wasn't hard to guess what happened.
He pulled a "useless" Sacred Weapon, the queen labeled him a failure, and she quietly disposed of him the same way she just tried with me.
This probably isn't even her first time.
The poor guy starved to death. No food, no Delivery Bag skill, nothing.
I whispered a promise to the empty air. "I'll carry you outside and bury you properly."
Storing the corpse triggered some hidden condition.
The bag spat out a list of everything the dead hero owned… and all his skills transferred to me.
Mapping. Superlative Stealth. Superlative Lockpicking. Superlative Dismantling.
I immediately opened the minimap. A semi-transparent game window floated in the corner of my vision—red arrow for me, tunnels spreading out in every direction.
Perfect. Escape route secured.
But one question nagged at me.
If the dagger hero had Mapping, why didn't he escape?
I'd find out later. For now, I started walking.
Thanks to the 300,000 gold coins I looted (roughly 3 million yen), I could order whatever I wanted again.
I munched on melon bread while following the glowing map lines.
Hours passed. Not a single monster. Weird.
The tunnel finally opened into a colossal cavern.
I was so busy staring at the minimap that I almost walked straight into it.
"Hey, kid."
A low, rumbling voice echoed from above.
I looked up… and up… and up.
A wolf the size of a city bus towered over me.
Pure-white fur shimmering with pale purple light, eyes glowing like amethysts.
Four, maybe five meters at the shoulder.
[Appraisal]
Fenrir (SSS-rank)
Divine beast. One of the strongest species alive. Also known as the God-Wolf.
I instinctively reached for my bag. "S-store it—"
"Wait, human."
I froze.
…Did the giant murder-wolf just talk?
We stared at each other for a solid ten seconds.
"You're not gonna run or attack?" it asked, tilting its head.
"You… told me to wait?" I answered honestly.
A low chuckle rumbled out of its chest. "You're a straightforward one. Most people take one look and bolt. Or try to stab me."
I glanced at the half-eaten melon bread in my hand.
Fenrir's gaze locked onto it. A single strand of drool hit the floor with an audible plop.
"Is that… bread? The soft, sweet kind?"
"Uh… yeah? Want some?"
It whimpered. An actual whimper from a creature that could probably bite a dragon in half.
"I can't move from this spot," it said, voice suddenly small. "Been sealed here for centuries. Haven't eaten anything decent in forever."
Sealed. That explains why the dagger hero never made it past this chamber.
I approached cautiously and held up the bread.
A huge pink tongue the size of a yoga mat gently licked it out of my hand.
The second the taste hit, Fenrir's whole body shook.
"GUOOOOH! FLUFFY! SWEET! WHAT IS THIS HEAVENLY FOOD!?"
The cavern literally trembled from the happy roar. I had to cover my ears.
"More… please, more…"
I dumped an entire armload of pastries from my bag.
Fenrir devoured them in seconds, tail wagging hard enough to create wind.
"Where did you even get these!?"
"Modern Japan delivery service," I said proudly.
It blinked. "So you're one of those 'summoned heroes' the humans keep dragging here."
"Yeah. Got thrown away the moment my weapon turned out to be a school bag."
Fenrir snorted. "Idiots. That thing you're holding is terrifying."
I decided I liked this wolf.
"Hey, let's be friends."
"Friends?" The massive head tilted again.
"Yep. You teach me about this world, I keep you supplied with melon bread and convenience-store snacks. Deal?"
Fenrir's tail thumped the ground like a war drum.
"Deal! I've been bored out of my mind for centuries!"
"Nice to meet you, then. I'm Sakudaira Keisuke."
"And I am the great and mighty Demon Lord Spellvia!"
…Wait.
This is the infamous Demon Lord?
I stared up at the drooling, bread-crazed wolf happily wagging its tail.
This SSS-rank glutton is the final boss we're supposed to defeat?
…Nah, can't be the same one the queen was talking about.
This one's way too excited about custard taiyaki.
"Sure thing, Spellvia. Want the chocolate-cornet kind next?" I asked, before wondering if a dog should actually eat chocolate.
"YES PLEASE!" It roared, lapping it up like it was nothing.
And that's how I accidentally befriended (and adopted) a starving Demon Lord on my first day in the dungeon.