**Day 41 Morning On the Road**
Thanks to the level-up effect, our movement speed has increased, so we should arrive soon even without flying. Yeah, we might fall though?
And unusually, no carriages were attacked today, so things are going smoothly.
From the meeting results, entering dungeons actively seems better for experience points and the town's safety. So today is scouting combined with sightseeing. Depending on how it looks, we'll decide later whether to gather a party and form a union. For now, we're splitting into pairs to check nearby dungeons.
That's why it's just the two of us. But even though it's just us, nothing weird will happen. Yeah, they hammered that in thoroughly. I won't do it... probably?
Right, I won't. That's why I'm walking ahead.
Even the otakus agreed that armor is poison to the eyes. Naturally, I crushed the bad eyes that looked at her lewdly.
Because the glimpses of hip line through the gaps in the crimson cloak... No, never mind. I wasn't looking! I was just remembering.
Armor Committee Chair has gotten close with the girls and even gets invited to their girls' meetings now. They're probably chatting and bathing together noisily. Her speech seems to be improving little by little too.
She apparently wants to cook with me, but she's terrible at cooking. That makes sense—some girls are in the cooking club but still can't cook well. So perhaps combat jobs get plus corrections, while production jobs get minus penalties. That would mean all combat-class classmates are doomed... They can only grill fish or make basic salads.
In that case, Armor Committee Chair, who's maxed out as a pure combat job, probably can't learn cooking easily. I want to teach her, but I don't understand how the minus corrections work?
Still, she looks so happy and joyful surrounded by the girls, smiling blissfully, so details don't matter. She was alone in that darkness for so long. She should just laugh and enjoy without overthinking. The girls are desperately laughing to move forward too... They're laughing全力 to avoid crying. Finally calming down in this unstable other world, they can't help remembering family, home, school, friends.
I asked what the still-tongue-tied Armor Committee Chair talks about with the girls, but it's apparently an maiden's secret? Well, she looks happy, so any topic is fine.
She's trying hard despite her awkward speech, happily listening to everyone. As long as she's enjoying herself, that's enough... But please, no detailed descriptions of the girls' bath time. Yeah, it makes walking hard for a high school boy? Because someone said B-san's were floating in the bath.
"Ah— is that the village? More like a settlement? Farm village?"
Fields spread along the river, with buildings clustered beyond, and scattered houses around—so that must be the village. Probably a farming village if they're doing agriculture?
No entry fee for the village apparently. The low, broken wooden fence has gaps everywhere, no gate or wall, so you can enter freely. But isn't that careless with monsters around?
Should I talk to someone? They'll probably say "This is xx Village" or something? Yeah, if that's all, it'd be creepy.
"Hellooo? Hellooo? Um, I heard there's a good dungeon nearby?"
I ask a villager by the fence. Normal villager type, no special gear—just a farmer.
"Ah, hello. I don't know if it's good, but a dungeon appeared downstream on the right bank. You an adventurer, young man?"
Not a good dungeon, apparently. Local info is important—there are probably issues only known here. Need to ask around more.
"Um, adventurer-ish? Something like that? Well, I heard from the Adventurers' Guild and came from there?"
"Thanks, the guild actually sending people is a big help. It's close to the village, so it's scary."
Scary, huh? Maybe unstable ground? Riverside, so flood or liquefaction risk? Sounds nice as "riverside," but river areas often have cheap problematic land. Looking now, the ground is too low compared to the water level—weak against floods. Soil's fertile for farming, but houses would struggle with rising water.
"Yeah? I'll check out the dungeon first. Thanks."
Doesn't sound like a great property, but since we're here, let's take a look. If it's decent, we can do flood control works. Scouting first.
"Cave-like? This is a dungeon?"
It was lame. Narrow entrance, stalactite cave feel inside. No good—layout bad, no need to tour deeper, no point remodeling. River water seeps in, humidity too high, discomfort index max... Not livable at all.
Somehow I lost interest instantly? Entrance alone was a nope. This isn't it. Way worse than forest caves, nowhere near great labyrinth 1F level.
Even expanding the entrance, narrow interior ruins it—no interesting shape, floor won't even level out.
"This dungeon's no good, right? Can we destroy it? Treasure chests can wait till tomorrow?"
Armor Committee Chair seems confused but nods, so probably okay to crush it. If ex-Dungeon Emperor says yes, current Dungeon King shouldn't complain.
No need means no conquest. Like Takamatsu Castle on Ashikari River. High humidity anyway, no issue.
Relaxed barbecue by the riverside. With an armored beauty—high school boy's dream achieved.
She happily eats the grilled meat skewer I hand her. Helmet off, definitely a beauty. How long she's been 17 is unknown, but beauty—no problem!
Now, dungeon's been flooded for about 2 hours. How long till monsters drown? Great labyrinth had frogs and sharks—lizards probably fine. Do demons or liches drown? Never heard of skeleton drowned corpses either?
Thinking that while eating barbecue, the presence from the dungeon vanished. Dead?
Whatever, eat first. Next is fish skewers.
Armor Committee Chair was glaring dead-eyed when I started flooding, but now she's engrossed in barbecue, so dungeon can wait. It's damp anyway?
Apparently this dungeon's king wasn't fish or amphibian. But if reptile, draining water might revive it from suspended animation? The whole dungeon?