Chapter 38: CH 37

I died again. I was certainly careless and overconfident.

I thought that now that my status had improved, I would be able to conquer new dungeons, but it seems that I was naive.

I was brought back to life with the feeling of being forcibly pulled out of the water. In the monument room, Sareha and Oken had also returned. They must have been forcibly thrown out of the dungeon because of my death.

“Are you two okay? Did you get out of the dungeon as soon as I died?”

“…… I’m fine. ……but I’m sorry. ……I should have used my magic a lot better. ……”

“Why are you apologizing? You don’t have to apologize when you don’t have to. And that thing was too strong, and it wasn’t about your magic or anything like that. Your status itself was not enough.”

“Yes, nii-sama…….”

What did it cost to be dead once? It was true that I’ve never been chewed up by a dragon, but the pain was only temporary. It was something you could overcome if you kept your mind strong. It may cause some stress, but there were ways to relieve it.

I was still amazed at how quickly the Dragon had evolved. Perhaps, when monsters fight each other or prey on each other, they would evolve into a higher species. I’d never heard of this before, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it happened in this dungeon.

“Sareha, go call Gabriel for a minute.”

“Gabriel-san? Yes, I’m going!”

Sareha walked up the stairs. Now there were only two people left in the room, me and Oken. Oken was looking around with vacant eyes.

Why was Oken in the dungeon, and why was he sent back to the entrance of the dungeon with me when I died? The questions were endless. I couldn’t even make a guess since I hadn’t yet grasped the laws of the dungeon.

“Tell me, Stone Monument. How did Oken-san get out of the dungeon? He’s not signed as a party member. Come on, answer me.”

I hit the side of the stone monument. As I gradually increased the force of my hit, the stone monument began to glow with a yellow warning color. If you want me to stop, you should answer my question. I tapped the stone until the yellow color turned to red, and the monument spoke to me reluctantly.

<Answer — Registered individual Oken was “temporarily registered” due to the action in the dungeon of the individual named Henry. Due to the death of the individual named Henry, he lost the right to challenge the dungeon and was forced to leave.>

I suggested to Oken that he should follow me in the dungeon. He accepted, and I guess it became a “temporary registered party member”. It would have been a pity to leave him in that horrible dungeon, so this was a good thing in the end.

<The registration information of the individual name Oken has been confirmed to be damaged. This is due to aging and it’s recommended to do re-registration.>

I ignored it because it was too much trouble. Oken would never dive into the dungeon again. So there was no point in him re-registering here. 

“What are you going to do now, Oken-san? Do you know where your home is?”

“Home…? Where… is it?”

“I don’t know. There might be people waiting for you to return, Oken-san. Since it’s so dangerous around here, would you like to stay in our territory until you can remember?”

“No. I’m going home.”

Oken stopped moving, holding his knees. It was understandable that his mind was filled with nostalgia. He looked very old, and it would be hard for him to live in a new place now.

But it would also be a bad dream for me to leave him in the meadow and be eaten by monsters. If someone has passed through my territory at least once, I want to give them some freedom, and if they want, they can live in my territory.

“This is a problem. ……Oh, there you are, Gabriel.”

“Gaugau”

Sareha arrived with Gabriel.

Gabriel rubbed the tip of her nose against my cheek. After a few moments of playing around, I buried my face in the top of Gabriel’s head and took a deep breath. Deeply, many times.

There were many ways to relieve stress, but the best way was to smell Gabriel’s beastly smell to my heart’s content. I bathed her every once in a while, but the wild smell still lingered. I let it fill up my lungs and still enjoyed the fur.

“Aah, here we go again.”

“There’s something creepy about this. It’s not something a man would do.”

Oken complained, but I ignored him.

“This is the best. Do you want to try it, Sareha?”

“It’s a little embarrassing.”

There was nothing to be embarrassed about. Gabriele didn’t mind. Besides, diving into dungeons while under a lot of stress would reduce the efficiency. This was necessary for the development of the territory through dungeon diving, and there was nothing to be embarrassed about as a Lord. In fact, it was even necessary.

“By the way, have you eaten yet?”

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“We ate some bread in the dungeon earlier.”

“Bread…….?”

Oken was getting unclear again, so I pulled him by the hand out of the monument room. Surprisingly, he was able to walk up the stairs without any problem. I had heard that old people with weakened legs might not have long to live, but I didn’t think Oken had to worry about that. Perhaps it was because he had been in the dungeon for so long that he was a little unclear.

“I still think you should live in my territory. It’s dangerous. If I ever go to the city of Human, I’ll see what I can find out about Oken-san. If I find your home, I’ll be sure to let you know.”

“Bread…… that soft, fluffy stuff. It was good.”

“When the wheat is harvested, we can try making bread. We’ll need a baker though.”

“I’m not going to live here. I’m going home.”

The conversation was delayed by one tempo. Well, he was an old man, so what could I do?

And he wanted some bread, but he didn’t know how to make bread from wheat. In the palace, I could get bread without any effort. But when I went outside, it was difficult to get even a single loaf of bread or a single piece of clothing.

I went out to the meadow where my territory was located. We had dived into the dungeon early in the morning, but it was now just before noon. We walked for quite a while, so we were a little tired. As we walked along in the slightly warmer, more comfortable weather, Oken stopped as if he had found something.

“Whoa! Henry!”

“What’s the matter, Oken-san? Aren’t you hungry yet?”

“No, you idiot! Oh…… who’s that lady over there?”

Oken pointed with a trembling finger to a beastman female. She was the grandmother I carried on my back when the village was swallowed by a muddy water due to Ace’s plan. I recently heard her name was Adara.

Adara was calmly working at the tannery. She pushed her weakened body to make use of the skills she had developed over the years. There were many young beast women around her, looking serious as they tried their best to learn Adara’s techniques.

” You mean Adara-san? That’s the grandma who lives in my territory.”

“Adara …… is like a star …… in the sky, beautiful and dazzling …….”

“Uwaah ……”

A word of rhetoric that set my teeth on edge. I was a little taken back by what I heard.

Oken gazed at Adara with a sparkle in his eye. His back, which had been a little crooked, was now straight, and his cheeks were red.

“If you are so curious, why don’t you talk to her?”

“Well, I’m …… a little …… embarrassed.” 

“How old are you, Oken-san? You’re such a maiden…….”

Oken was fidgety and refused to go. I was getting a little annoyed.

“What a troublesome situation. Do you want me to go talk to her?”

“Wait a minute. I’m not sure I’m ready for that.”

Oken, who had been unclear earlier, suddenly became clearer as soon as he found Adara. They say that love can change a person, but I never thought it would be something like this.

“But this village is so empty. I can’t have Adara-san living in this remote village. Hmmm. What should I do? Hmmm. Ah! Yes, yes, I’ve decided, Henry!”

“Yes, yes, what is it, Oken-san?”

“I’m going to live here from today. You’ll have to go into the dungeon and earn 300 DP. Then you’re going to build a Blacksmith workshop (Fectum Malleo), and I’m going to do the blacksmithing there. Then I’ll go…… and get Adara-san’s approval.”

“How do you know about the dungeon and the relics (artifacts)?”

“I’m getting motivated. Gahaha!!”

Oken smiled broadly. Perhaps the old man had not been hiding in the dungeon, but had been living there for a long time. He knew too many things. He explained how dungeons worked, relics (artifacts), and even referred to the latest weapon, the gun, as an old-fashioned weapon.

I remembered one name. The Go-Oken Hammer. An ancient man, a great engineer of the people of Aepha, and the designer of Golemus.

“Aaah! Are you one of the Aepha people, Oken-san?”

“…… The People of Aepha? What was that again?”

“You’re so forgetful!”

At this rate, I was sure that he had forgotten a lot of other things. In the first place, if he really was a person of Aepha, he must be several thousand years old. I would like to find out their true intentions, but there was no way to do so.

But it would be nice to have a blacksmith in the village. His motives were impure, but his work ethic was high. There was plenty of blacksmithing work to be done, making hunting tools, equipment for dungeons, and household utensils.

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