"Since there's ti left before the boss appears, it would be best to rest here until then."
Cyrus stared at Cider intently, then nodded. And he pulled out a handful of sothing from his inventory.
"Fenrir teeth. I was too busy to strip the hide, but they'll be useful for research."
Cider, who received the teeth, had an automaton put them in storage. Whether it was a show of goodwill or simply paynt for being allowed to rest in the laboratory was unclear. But it didn't matter. Cider really disliked that man.
So he smiled. Politely.
"Let's go inside first. We can't rest in the lobby."
Where they headed wasn't the study where Cider and Esperanza spent their days, but a reception room whose existence they hadn't even known about.
In the large room that felt desolate from disuse, there were armchairs and sofas scattered sparsely, with a table in the center that gave it the form of a reception room. There was even a fireplace that hadn't been lit in ages.
Cider lit the fireplace and said.
"This reception room was made when building this laboratory because I couldn't resist my father's insistence. I said it wasn't necessary since I'd never bring people here, but father was right in the end."
An automaton creaked in and brought Esperanza's picnic basket. Thus, with simple sandwiches and teacups in front of each of them, the three people silently focused on their own tasks.
Bang. Bang. The cannons Cider had installed occasionally fired, reminding them they were still inside the dungeon.
Esperanza inspected her gun, Cider checked Esperanza's wings once more, and Cyrus wiped his bloodstained sword. No words were exchanged, and it was maddeningly awkward.
Esperanza was rather grateful for that awkwardness. She could ruminate on herself without saying anything.
She had killed people. Not by mistake, not because it was justified. Clearly with intent, for sothing like ga experience points... she had let people who could have lived die. It was horrible. She clenched her trembling hands tightly, lest they be noticed.
But agonizing like this was also aningless. It was sothing that had already happened, and all she could do was despise herself.
Right, it can't be helped. It's horrible, but it's not sothing that can be undone. Self-recrimination can wait until after finishing this dungeon.
Esperanza, who had checked her gun three tis and was aninglessly clicking it while glancing sideways at the two n who were also pretending to be absorbed in their own tasks without saying anything, let out a big sigh.
"Cyrus."
Both n looked up almost simultaneously. Esperanza called Cyrus while watching Cider's eyes. He just seed to wait for the next words with his narrowed gray eyes shining. Seeing his eyes, the self-loathing welling up inside her subsided a little.
"What's your goal?"
Cyrus, who moved his dry lips, whispered in a cracked voice.
"To eliminate the Golden Claw. Both the one I have and the one Daria has."
"Not to fix it?"
"Because I know that fixing it won't end things. We've used it for over ten years, and for seven of those years it operated without fail for even a mont. Any magical tool would inevitably break. If we don't change our thods, it will happen again soday."
Magical tool? Was the Golden Claw a magical tool? Just as the question arose, Cyrus spoke as if confessing.
"I... think it's right to stop everything."
Though not spoken aloud, that would include the ga called 'Golden Claw' as well. Esperanza quietly closed and opened her eyes. Cyrus felt as if he was being pierced by those eyes. The vivid purple eyes were sharp as if they could see through his inner thoughts. Though she asked nothing, they were eyes that made him feel compelled to answer even what wasn't asked.
"It was sothing that started from greed from the beginning. I just want to correct what we've done before it becos more uncontrollable."
"After making enough money, I suppose."
The mont she said it, she regretted it. Even Esperanza thought that response was rather petty. Wasn't it just words ant solely to hurt? ...I should apologize.
"That's not wrong."
But Cyrus ended up saying that. She could tell it was sincere. The ga friend she had observed for a full seven years was an incomprehensible person. Esperanza found him distasteful. Silence descended once again.
Bang. The floor vibrated greatly.
[Dungeon boss 'Nidhogg' awakens from slumber.]
[01:00:00]
The notification window blinked.
[00:59:59]
"Was this a ti attack dungeon?"
No, it was sowhat different from that.
Esperanza, who had run to the window, looked outside. The ground vibrating enough to numb her feet. Cannons firing incessantly, and the ground stained with monster blood and flesh.
No matter how well-made, cannons couldn't be better than Hunters. Watching monsters stagger toward them even after being hit by cannons packed with magic power, Esperanza stuck her gun barrel through the window gap. Bang, bang. With short, concise gunshots, the heads of running monsters flew off.
"Oh dear. Cannons won't be enough."
Cider clicked his tongue lightly. He picked up Esperanza's plate, which she had barely touched, and fed a sandwich to Esperanza, who was holding her gun with both hands.
Cyrus stood up with a pale face.
"I'll go out first. Esperanza-nim, please rest a bit more. The conversation... there will be another opportunity next ti."
He left without lingering, as if knowing that Esperanza didn't welco him.
Going outside the laboratory, he eventually began piling up mountains of corpses, roughly cutting off only the monsters' heads.
Cider frowned watching that scene. Though they were both magicians, he felt none of the awe he had felt when first seeing Esperanza's magic, none of the powerful attraction-like interest.
Thinking that, he looked back at his magician. Esperanza was frowning and aninglessly clicking the magic power inside her gun.
"You've looked upset since earlier. Don't you plan to tell
about it?"
Though he roughly knew the cause.
Esperanza let out a deep sigh. Her gaze looking at the empty seat where Cyrus had been sitting just monts ago was complex.
"Creating dungeons, gathering Hunters... it's all for money, he says."
"Old-fashioned, but plausible."
Of course, Cider didn't believe that was all there was to it. But since Esperanza was too shaken, he just said that instead of pointing out flaws.
"A lot of people died."
"Esperanza. Colonial business is originally like that. It runs by grinding up people, so naturally many die."
Because it's work that starts assuming people can die. You just need to ensure not too many more die than expected.
Her mouth tasted bitter. It was such a brutal and cruel logic. Esperanza didn't know, but Cyrus and Daria committed it knowing.
"True, this country is the sa way."
In fact, there are many such people in this world, and that's even considered natural.
Perhaps that's why Cider wasn't particularly surprised or enraged. He seed sowhat numb, and also seed to be pushing himself not to beco numb. But ultimately, he couldn't be emotionally disturbed.
"Since this country has done what it has, even if soone else dominates this country in the sa way, it can't be helped. Though emotionally it's unpleasant."
After all, he too was a person of this barbaric era.
Mulling over those words, Esperanza suddenly beca curious.
"Then why do you dislike Cyrus?"
"Do I seem to dislike him?"
"You showed it, didn't you?"
Did I? Cider unconsciously touched his cheek. But touching it wouldn't tell him anything.
"Well, I just feel bad. I don't think it will ever get better."
Detailed explanations were omitted for both their sakes. That was better for maintaining smiles. The two of them also got up from their seats and returned to the entrance.
[00:30:27]
Already half the ti had passed. This wasn't the ti for this.
"First, let
go out... what is that? Was there originally sothing like that in this forest?"
A pitch-black rock was sitting in the middle of the forest. A rock? Sothing that huge? No. Rather than a rock, that was...
"That's impossible."
Cider answered in a dazed voice. At the sa ti as those words, the rock moved. First a twitch. Then a writhe.
"Is that thing alive?"
Very ominous indeed. Esperanza flung open the door and went out, shouting.
"Cyrus! What the hell is that thing!"
Having already crawled deep into the forest, Cyrus gave no answer.
"I'll go check. It seems like that's the boss, but why isn't an alarm going off...!"
"Wait."
Cider grabbed Esperanza, who was about to rush out imdiately, and quickly checked the wings attached to her back once more. And the mont he let go, Esperanza was flying one story high with one step, and higher than the mansion with the next step.
The smile remaining at the corners of Cider's mouth as he watched Esperanza's retreating figure instantly evaporated. He gripped the control board and turned on all the magic power ters and dungeon detectors.
There were things being hidden. There were definitely things not being said. And... he had an ominous premonition. When all those secrets were revealed, it seed like there would be absolutely no way to return to how things were now.
??????°??☆????°??????
As she distanced herself from Cider, unnecessary and self-flagellating thoughts once again dominated her mind.
She was chanically firing her gun, but her hands trembled. Even at this mont, Esperanza was killing sothing. Seeing the eyes of monsters whose flas of life were being extinguished, it seed like the people Esperanza had let die must have died in exactly the sa way.
Don't think about it. Don't think about it.
Anyway, it's sothing that can't be helped now. I didn't know. I didn't know. And these are monsters trying to attack . They're different from people!
Esperanza, who had fired a powerful magic bullet at the last monster, ca down to the middle of the forest and caught her breath.
"Esperanza-nim."
Cyrus approached, lowering his bloodstained sword.
"Stay there. Don't co closer."
"Are you alright?"
Then why are you alright? After killing even more than . Esperanza forcibly suppressed the sharp words that were about to burst out.
"Never mind."
"'Nidhogg' will awaken soon."
"...Right."
Could she fight a boss battle in this state?
"Nidhogg is a black dragon. Do you rember the SS-grade dungeon from 4 years ago?"
Ah... she rembered. It was the first SS-grade dungeon to appear as an event. Dozens of Hunters rushed at it and barely cleared it after a week. With their combat power at the ti, clearing it was almost impossible, but they had barely managed it by dragging it out for a week with endurance strategy.
Esperanza had also co after resting and lost her touch, and the party she had gathered had many strangers, so there were various problems, but she still rembered the exhilaration of bringing down that giant black dragon.
Of course, since this was a B-grade dungeon, it wouldn't be as impressive as back then. Still, seeing the high danger level, it would be considerably strong.
"Will it really be okay..."
"If you die here, you really die."
Cyrus said, shaking off the blood on his sword.
"I'll take the black dragon. Esperanza-nim, please handle the wings."
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