Chapter 59
“What just happened!?”
As I shouted, the female teacher rushed over in a fluster.
“They went into the dungeon and came out not long after. When I tried to help, they dismissed me, saying they didn’t need the adventurer’s assistance…”
“Don’t lie!! You attacked me first!!”
Oh~ nobody saw it~ No evidence~
Is that guy’s pain in his testicles rising to his belly? He was clutching his abdomen and squirming.
“You all saw it! That jerk kicked me there!!”
“That’s right, Professor! That adventurer attacked first!”
“I saw it too!”
One by one, the group that had been laughing from behind began to side with him.
So they think they have the numbers on their side?
But I’m not alone either!
“Luna, Yui. Am I right?”
“…Yeah.”
“Yes…”
Hey, don’t give me that guilty conscience look.
You started the quarrel first, right?
So, I should be confidently in the right.
Three against four.
Even though the other side has one more, the teacher can’t readily trust either side.
We came to help in the first place, so there’s no reason for us to lie, and the students are also showing their feelings of injustice clearly.
In that case, I have a way out.
When someone is flustered like this, there’s a surefire way to win.
“Sniff… I’m sorry. It seems that as an adventurer, I was disliked by the students.”
“Oh, no!”
Innocent victim strategy.
I just need to paint myself as the outright victim.
Where I came from, there was a saying that the tears of a victim are evidence, right?
There were even idiots who believed that.
So now it’s my turn to squeeze some juice out of it!
Whether man or woman, crying first wins.
This also makes the relationship between the adventurer and the academy seem plausible, so the teacher has no choice but to believe me.
“Don’t you have a professor in Class A who teaches at least basic etiquette?”
“Oh, no, really that guy…!”
“Even if you are being paid, please realize that treating someone who came to help you like that diminishes the academy’s dignity.”
Thanks to the stern-faced female teacher, the students couldn’t speak up to refute anything.
I silently made a ridiculous face behind the professor at those guys.
The students who saw my expression contorted their faces.
‘What are you gonna do about it?’
They silently mouthed that to me.
All you can do is grit your teeth and shake your fists, right?
So you should have measured your opponent before acting cocky.
Anyway, the first group was treated as injured and forcibly removed shortly after entering.
They probably earned zero points or something close to that for this training.
That’s how you provoke someone.
It’s not just about mocking them with words.
After that, I sent in the second and third groups.
The students at the other entrance might not know, but at least those on my side had seen what happened to the first group, so they slipped in cautiously.
The monsters inside didn’t seem that strong, as there were no injuries at all reported.
Injuries were just a few scratches here and there.
The funniest part was that one student, startled by a monster, blasted magic and caused a team kill, but since everyone else ran out of the dungeon, it didn’t count as an injury.
Finally, it was the last guy’s turn.
“What are you looking at?”
Arthur.
He was staring at me with a petulant expression.
Tia and Stella, behind Arthur, had seen everything from the previous incident, so their perception of me had likely already sunk to the depths.
‘Whatever.’
I yawned lazily.
It seems that being a salaryman isn’t all that great.
Staying still just made me feel bored.
I had been cuddling Yui and patting her head to alleviate my boredom, but even that had become tiresome.
I was thinking maybe a demon would pop up. Just as I was considering that—
Boom! The incident generator was rolling in!
Then there would definitely be some kind of event.
Even from the moment I heard the word dungeon, I was already aware that something eventful was coming.
“…Why are you here?”
“I came to work. What are you gonna do about it?”
It doesn’t matter to me whether I showed up or not, but the Guild Master abused their authority and decided to promote me to B-Rank.
How could I tolerate that?!
“This time, I won’t let you interfere.”
“Ugh, damn it! You talk too much! Just get lost!”
“Whoa!?”
I grabbed Arthur by the scruff and tossed him inside the dungeon.
When did I get treated like an intruder?
He was just acting all high and mighty and now throwing a tantrum because things weren’t going his way.
“Ah, Arthur!”
“Arthur!!”
Seeing Arthur flying into the dungeon, Tia and Stella hurriedly followed him.
And there remained Riche alone in front of me.
She always looks at me like that when I’m around.
Staring blankly, as if she had something to ask.
Actually, from Riche’s perspective, there must be a lot she wants to dig into, but I have no intention of answering, so I wish she’d just go away.
“Should I toss you like Arthur too?”
“I… I just want some information about Hex…”
“Sex.”
With just that single word, I tossed Riche into the dungeon too.
“Seriously talkative, aren’t you?”
“………”
*
Bam!
Arthur could only stop rolling on the dungeon’s floor after what felt like several times.
“Kugh!”
Rolling on the cold, hard stone floor hurt more than I expected.
“Ugh… that bastard…”
Who treats the protagonist like this?!
If he wasn’t also a possessed person like him, he wouldn’t be subjected to such treatment.
In stories like these, even when the protagonist struggles early on, they always come out on top.
While brushing off his backside, Arthur noticed Tia and Stella running towards him.
“Arthur, are you okay?!”
“Arthur! Are you hurt anywhere?!”
The feeling of spiraling down into despair moments ago was quickly alleviated by the worries of the heroines.
I never could have spoken to top-tier women like them when I was alive.
That’s a magical story that only exists in novels.
Since this is a story, it was possible.
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
So I responded with a smile.
Though my head throbbed a bit, it seems they didn’t notice that I was flinching.
“What kind of relationship does that person have with Arthur, that they treat him like this all the time?”
“Y-Yeah…! It was the same last time and this time too! It’s too much!”
Tia glared angrily at the direction they had come from.
Stella also clenched her fist and nodded along with Tia’s words.
“It’s okay. Someday, I’ll repay this properly.”
Arthur, as the protagonist, always has the frustrating habit of adhering to righteousness, even if it means suffering himself.
The heroines like him for being so stiff and principled, but since a different person has taken over his body, he does have some inclination towards revenge.
Moreover, with Luke currently in a poor light in their perception, he might actually be able to help.
“But what about Riche?”
It was at the moment Arthur asked.
“AAH!”
Someone came flying and landed on the floor.
Once Arthur confirmed who it was, his eyes widened in shock, and he rushed to her.
“Riche! Are you okay?! Are you hurt anywhere?!”
“Ugh…”
Given that she came flying in, it seemed that that crazy bastard had tossed Riche as well.
Arthur reached out his hand to Riche.
“Are you alright, just move aside?”
But her hand ignored his and she got up using the ground instead.
Feeling a bit awkward, Arthur naturally scratched the back of his head.
Immediately after, he spoke as if nothing had happened.
“Since everyone is in, I guess we should start now.”
Having entered the dungeon, they needed to proceed to the end as per the training objective to eliminate monsters.
However, if he was aware, something unusual would likely happen soon.
-Thud…
“……!”
As if something heavy suddenly bore down on him, he felt a weight pressing down on his body.
Though the interior of the dungeon appeared unchanged on the surface, everyone else must have felt it too.
Something abnormal had occurred.
Even in the story, no support arrives until this incident is resolved.
The reasons were somewhat explained in the novel.
Firstly, outside, they wouldn’t know what was happening in there. The necromancer must have utilized the magical power within a magical tool inside, so it would likely feel normal from the outside.
Secondly, it’s impossible for someone to come out and call for help due to the barrier.
To exit, they would need to defeat the necromancer inside first to lift the barrier and gain the chance to leave.
“Did everyone feel that?”
“…Yeah. It felt eerie, like someone brushed against my body.”
“I felt it too… I don’t know how to describe it, but it was terrifying…”
It seemed the degree of feeling varied among people, but the common point was that everyone felt uneasy.
To shake off this unpleasant feeling, the only option was to hurry and defeat the necromancer at the end of the dungeon.
“Then I want to confirm what’s happened, so I’d like everyone to help me. Can I count on you?”
“I oppose that.”
Riche immediately denied Arthur’s words.
“We don’t even know what happened inside, and you want to just go in? It would be better to go outside and inform the professor.”
Riche’s words were logical, but knowing that they couldn’t go out, Arthur couldn’t exactly suggest just leaving.
“I might not be the best, but all the members here are from Class A. I may not have skills like you, but I’m more than capable. We don’t know what’s inside, but can’t we work together?”
At that, Riche’s expression darkened to a kind of malicious glare.
It was as if her eyes had seen someone die before.
“Do you think you’re some kind of hero? You’re being flattered as an elite outside, and it has gone to your head, but we’re just students. You’re not the only one here, so don’t put everyone’s lives at stake with your foolishness.”
“………”
“I’m not going to go along with your foolish bravery again. If you want to go, go by yourself. I’m leaving.”
“Wait, hold on!”
“…Hah!”
As Riche turned to leave, she bounced off of something that was blocking her way.
There hadn’t been anything there when they entered, but now it felt as if an invisible wall existed in front of her.
“What’s happening…?!”
“I guess we have no choice but to go in.”
With a step backward, Arthur approached her.
“Riche. Would you please help me just this once? If it’s dangerous, we can pull back immediately.”
Is this really what you want to say right now?
That’s what Riche wanted to scream.
However, since there were no real alternatives but to enter, in the end, she had no words to say.
“…This is the last time I’ll help you.”
