Chapter 48: 47

47: [Free Exploration] Dual Knights

“By the way, for how long are you going to call me Hubae?”

Evangeline asked as she frowned. I shrugged my shoulders.

“Why? You don’t like being called that?”

“It feels like you’re making fun of me…”

“Then you can continue to call me ‘Sunbae’.”

“...Pardon?”

“Keep calling me Sunbae. I am a graduate of the 369th class of the Imperial Academy. And you’re from the 375th. You really are my Hubae, after all, right?”

Evangeline clearly looked flustered when she was actually given permission.

“C-can I really call you that?”

“Why not? You can feel free to call me that.”

She hesitated for a moment, but then Evangeline took a gulp.

“...Alright. Since I don’t think there will be a chance to call a member of the Imperial family that.”

Evangeline took a deep breath, and…

“I will call you Sunbae from now. I look forward to working with you… S-sunbae.”

Called me that.

As if she was embarrassed, her two little hands tightly clasped.

I smiled. I hope to give this kid a little comfort in some way.

Let's get to know each other little by little like this.

Then Lucas, who had been trembling behind me, yelled out.

“Wait a minute, Your Highness!”

“God, you startled me! What is it?!”

Maybe he thinks calling me Sunbae is a little too uncourteous, I thought.

“Then that’s not fair for me!”

But that wasn’t the case…

I put my palm on my forehead.

“What’s not fair for you…?”

“I want to call Your Highness Sunbae too!”

“But you and I graduated from the same class…”

“Then, can I call you classmate?!”

“No, you don’t. Just call me Your Highness or master.”

“Master, you said? Master? Master…”

Lucas kept repeating the word master in his mouth.

“I like that, Master.”

“Y-you do?”

“Yes, Master!”

“Call me whatever you want.”

This guy’s starting to lose it too. Perhaps, the fatigue must have accumulated from the series of arduous battles that exhausted him. Maybe I should start caring for his well-being or something.

“Ah, love your mates~ Ah, love your country~”

Jupiter sipped on a whiskey bottle from the back and hummed a strange song. Shut it, granny.

“Uhm, then…”

As the commotion was being sorted out, Demian asked cautiously.

“What should we uh, call Miss Evangeline…?”

“For now, you can call me ‘lady’.”

Evangeline murmured, shyly as she was playing with her hair.

“Everyone in this city called me that when I lived here…”

I guess she was called lady because she was the daughter of the Lord.

I Imagined what Evangeline would’ve been like even younger than now.

I imagined a scene where everyone in the city was calling her ‘lady!’ or ‘Lady Evangeline!’... That’s somewhat cute, actually.

“My name is Demian. I am the healer and the sniper of the party. I look forward to working with you, Lady Evangeline.”

Demian greeted her with a soft smile.

“This old lady is Jupiter, the Electro Wizard. Lady Evangeline, you’re around the same age as my granddaughter. How cute.”

Said Jupiter, smiling like a benevolent old lady. Don't be fooled! That grandma is crazy for money!

“...Name’s Lucas.”

Lucas sighed briefly and added with his eyes wide open.

“Lady.”

“......”

Evangeline responded with a somewhat irritated expression.

“Nice to meet you again, mister.”

“......”

“......”

A fierce air current flowed between the two vanguard knights.

I thought people in the same industry would understand each other and be friendly with each other, but that was not the case here.

“Now, now. I’ll introduce the party members to you in more detail as we go, so let’s get going, Hubae.”

Standing in between my classmate and my junior, I put my arm around both of them.

I smiled at Evangeline, who looked up at me with a somewhat surprised expression.

“Allow this Sunbae to guide you to the hidden spots in your hometown.”

Wait, no. I can’t just say that as if I’m taking her to some kind of amusement park attraction.

* * *

[Now Loading… Teleporting.]

[Tip - NPCs that you meet in the dungeon can become your ally or your enemy depending on the choices you make. Utilize the NPCs to your advantage in order to clear each level!]

* * *

* * *

After passing through the useless tip from the game once again—

After the teleport loading ended—I was in the dungeon under the lake.

[Area 1: A Dried Drainage]

My current location was displayed in front of me.

Area 1, a place I have already cleared before. It was the Dried Drainage. The familiar scenery of the drainage unfolded before my eyes.

“Your Highness?”

Lucas asked me as he was curious to know.

“Haven’t we explored this area already? Why did we return here?”

“We can go straight to the 2nd area, but we have a new party member. So I thought we should try and see how we work as a team in an easier area.”

“In other words, monsters have reappeared here?”

“Yes. Every time we fight a defensive battle, the dungeon here is filled with new monsters.“

The monsters will ‘fill up’ the bottom of the lake. And after some time passes, when they fill up the entire dungeon, they will ‘overflow’ outside the lake.

The defense battle stage is fighting the overflowing monsters.

After the dungeon is emptied, before long, the next monster crop starts to pool in the dungeon.

The dungeon repeats filling up and letting out monsters like this.

‘In other words, monsters will regenerate after the defensive battle.’

And thanks to that, I am able to repeat leveling and farming items.

Especially in the early stages, the risk is low because the monsters are weaker, so it's good to keep sending sub-parties to level them up.

The main party is the raiding party. They will explore the dungeons, make their way into deeper areas, defeat bosses, and progress through events.

The sub-party is used for farming. They will re-progress through areas that have already been explored, level up, and acquire items from monsters.

Dividing roles like this in the dungeons is the basic exploration strategy.

‘We are the main party though.’

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I brought the party back to Area 1 to learn how to operate the new combination and to give Evangeline time to adapt to the dungeon.

Yup. That’s why we’re here, but.

“Gueeegh”

Evangeline was leaning against the wall throwing up…

“Oh my, lady. Are you alright?”

Jupiter carefully patted Evangeline’s back.

“I didn’t know you could get teleportation-sick…”

I groaned. Then Lucas murmured in a cold manner.

“Although, it is my first time seeing someone actually get sick from it.”

I mean, of course. It is her first time teleporting ever in her life.

“I… I’m fine…”

Evangeline wiped her lips with a pale face. No, you don’t look fine at all.

“But… I didn’t think there really was a place like this…”

Evangeline looked around her.

The facility in a style clearly different from the architectural style on the ground stretched out in all directions.

“Why would I lie to you?”

I stood with my arms open and exclaimed like a tour guide.

“Welcome to the dungeon under the lake, the perished ancient magic kingdom.”

“How did Sunbae know about this place? Not even I knew about it even though I’m from the Cross family.”

Fufu. I knew you’d ask that question. So I already thought of an excuse.

“I can’t tell you everything. However, do you really think that His Majesty the Emperor would send me here for no reason to this front?”

“...!”

Everyone, including Evangeline, was shocked. And at the same time, it was an expression of understanding.

‘But actually, it has nothing to do with the Emperor.’

I thought of Ash's father, whom I didn't even know the face of, and felt grateful to him for a moment.

The name of the Emperor in this empire is a very good reason for anything.

If I put his name on anything, it becomes very rational and reasonable.

‘If the emperor said so, anyone would believe it even if he said he's making fermented soybeans with red beans.’

Actually, no. If the Emperor said that, the empire would really research how to make fermented soybeans with red beans.

Anyway, I managed to get around the topic.

I briefly explained to Evangeline the composition of the dungeon and its connection to the defense battles.

After Evangeline's teleportation sickness subsided, we started moving forward.

“Everyone, turn on your lights.”

As soon as we got out of the safe zone, the sticky darkness swallowed us.

Shaaa…!

The other members skillfully lifted their torches or lanterns to drive away the darkness, but Evangeline was frightened and took a step back.

“Ugyaah?! Wh-what is this darkness…?!”

“You’d better get used to it, Hubae. This entire dungeon is filled with darkness like this.”

I smiled at Evangeline, who hesitated and backed away.

“If you’re afraid of the dark, you can go back home.”

“...! D-don’t make me laugh. This is nothing!”

Evangeline raised the torch in her hand high. Because she was short, it only reached all the way up to my eye level, but she seemed ready.

We entered the Dried Drainage.

[Area 1: A Dried Drainage]

- Clear Progression: Normal Room 4/4

Because we already took care of the boss last time we came here, there’s no boss room. And we already found all the treasure chests too.

This means all we have to do is annihilate all the monsters in this dungeon that appear.

“Lucas, you stand in the front. Take care of our front. Demian, you stand behind him. Keep your eyes on the front. Jupiter, stand in the middle. Keep your magic ready. I’ll be standing in the fourth spot. And Evangeline, you stand in the back.”

At my command, the rest of the party quickly took up positions in one line, but Evangeline did not immediately follow.

“Wait a minute, I’m a shield knight! I should be standing in the fro—!”

“Evangeline.”

I coldly cut her words.

“There’s something I forgot to mention. That is, the right to command in the field is entirely mine.”

“...!”

“This is the main base of those monsters. You make one mistake, you die. If you want to disobey or protest against my commands, go back home. Or follow my orders without saying anything else.”

“......”

“What will you do?”

“...I’ll follow.”

Evangeline lifted her lowered little face.

Her little face had her cool restored on it. She looked like a kid, but now she at least looked a little like a knight too.

“I’m sorry for being immature. I was thinking that maybe I was looked down on because I was young and small.”

“The rear guard is just as important a position as the front. You don't know where enemies will appear in this darkness. You are responsible for the rear of the party. Do not think that your role is insignificant.”

“Yes.”

“And above all, I would never underestimate you by your looks.”

It may seem a little strange to say this, but I’ve been looking at the system window.

What I trust is not your appearance, but your stats displayed in the system window.

You’re overpowered.

“I don’t care if you’re short or tall, or if you’re young or old. I already fully understand what you’re capable of.”

Evangeline, who pursed her small lips and mumbled something, nodded her head in her silence.

“So at least for the time you’re in my party, I’ll be placing you in the area that you are most needed in. So all you have to do is follow my orders.”

“Yes, Sunbae.”

“Alright, let’s get started!”

Evangeline stood at the rear of the party. The five of us finally started heading forward.

After passing through the zigzag passage, we arrived at the entrance to the first room. After taking a deep breath, I pushed myself inside.

“Who’s that monster~?!”

Thud!

Thud! Thud! Thud!

As soon as we entered the room, something big came stomping on the walls of the room on all four sides.

A huge body made of soil and ore. A magic core shone softly from the chest.

“They’re golems…”

Immediately after, a system window appeared in front of my eyes.

[A Dried Drainage - Room 1]

- Annihilate all the enemies!

- Lv.6 Stone Golem: 4

The monsters to exterminate in this dungeon exploration, and the army of monsters to face in the next defense stage, will be golems.

‘Once again, I get the harder part of the end.’

Golems are categorized as large monsters. These big guys will be coming in groups.

As I was clicking my tongue, the party members surrounded me in a circle.

It seemed that each of them was going to deal with the golems coming from all directions. I clapped.

“Alright, everyone. Show me what you got.”

Lucas drew his sword, and Demian aimed his crossbow. Jupiter started to spark flashes of lightning from both her hands, and Evangeline…

Gulp!

Put her shield forward and took a dry gulp so loud that everyone could hear it.

Looks like she’s not used to real situations yet. She seems a little nervous.

Looking at the side of this prodigy, I smiled.

“Let’s dig up some more before we leave! Don’t go too hard!”

At the same time as my shout, the four party members and the four golems attacked each other.

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