CH 262.2

The adventurers in the bar were all making a lot of noise as they left.

I followed them out of the bar.

When I arrived at the square, I found the members of the Sword of Granton standing in a line and making a speech.

“We, the Sword of Granton, have cleared the dungeon of Aluppo!” (Ristain)

Ristain, the leader of the Sword of Granton, exclaimed.

The crowd around us all shouted, “Oh!”

“And here is the proof that we cleared the dungeon, the Dungeon Core!” (Ristain)

Ristain held the piece of dungeon core high in the sky.

The Dungeon Core shards glistened in the sunlight.

Seeing this, many cheered. Many people praised Sword of Granton.

“The dungeon of Aluppo will collapse from now on. As far as we know, the rift leading to the ninth floor has already disappeared. The inhabitants of the Fifth Floor Village have begun to leave. The monsters inside the dungeon must have been almost exterminated. It would be better not to enter the dungeon anymore.” (Ristain)

While people cheered at Ristain’s words, many others looked gloomy.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do now…” (Adventurer)

“I’ve got to figure out what to do myself.” (Adventurer)

“Hey! Our inn was just built five years ago! What are we going to do?!” (Innkeeper)

This town was first and foremost maintained by the dungeon. If the dungeon disappears, there will be fewer adventurers and fewer merchants because they can no longer maintain their stores. It could only be a disaster for those who had invested in this town.

“Hey! Give me that dungeon core!” (Pauly)

Pauly, the man who came out of the Rift behind them, saw the Dungeon Core in Ristain’s hands and shouted.

“I refuse. This is proof that we, the Sword of Granton, have cleared the dungeon.” (Ristain)

“What! You don’t think you can leave this town in one piece if you refuse?” (Pauly)

The air around them changed instantly at Pauly’s words.

The Duke of Almeil’s army and the Sword of Granton are facing each other, and the atmosphere is ready for battle at any time.

Oh, this is how it’s going to be after all…. The dungeon is a very important part of the town, and even if the dungeon is cleared, this town is still within the Duke of Almeil’s sphere of influence. I was thinking that even if I could clear the dungeon since this town is within the Duke of Almeil’s sphere of influence access to it is more restricted than in other towns.

“What is this?” (Sagmalt)

The Holy Knights emerged from the rift, and the man at the head of the group shouted.

With that, the tense atmosphere faded.

“Tsk…” (Pauly)

“Then we will excuse ourselves.” (Ristain)

As Pauly clucked his tongue, Ristain bowed his head graciously and left the place with everyone in tow.

Pauly saw this and was about to move for a moment but was stopped in his tracks by those around him.

“…” (Pauly)

The Dukes of Almeil can’t strong-hand the other party when the Holy Knights intervene, can they?

Hmmm… but after all, it’s a lot of trouble.

It’s hard to be hated by the Duke of Almeil, but it’s too hard to be hated by others.

“Well, this is the end, I guess.” (Rook)

I was able to inflict damage on the Duke of Almeil.

I was able to clear the dungeon.

I was able to grab a bag of accomplishments and sell the troubles to others.

I think I’ve done all I can do here.

“Now it’s time to figure out where to go next.” (Rook)

“Kyu?” (Shion)

“Tell me it’s about time to travel again.”  (Rook)

From then on, the town underwent rapid changes.

The dungeons stopped functioning, monsters stopped repopulating, and adventurers who had lost their livelihood began to pour out of the town. The faces I used to see at the Adventurers’ Guild were no longer there, and in the mornings, I saw more and more people heading out with their large packs.

It seemed that the people of the Fifth Floor Village had returned with their wagons loaded with materials, and the tavern master, the master of the Adventurers’ Guild sub-branch, and Mr. Hibos had also returned to Aluppo town.

The town was changing its appearance rapidly.

And I was still in this town gathering information.

“Oh, it’s been a while, hasn’t it?” (Hibos)

While I was gathering information at the Adventurers’ Guild, Mr. Hibos, whom I had not seen in a long time, spoke to me.

“It’s been a while. How are you doing these days?” (Rook)

“Oh, I’ve been busy with a lot of preparations. (Hibos)

“Preparations?” (Rook)

“I’m planning to move to another town. I can’t make any more money here.” (Hibos)

“I see…” (Rook)

It’s sad to see someone you’ve become friends with leave for another town like this.

“Hey, hey, don’t make that face. Adventurers are like this.” (Hibos)

Mr. Hibos continued, “I’ll see you again somewhere,” and left the Adventurers’ Guild.

That was the last time I saw him in this town. He had probably already left for another town.

I also met Adol and his mother, and Mr. Damod, but they were going to stay in this town for a while. I guess they have many memories of this town. Even if you know the town is going to decline, it is not easy to abandon it.

I returned to my room at the inn, made sure the door was firmly locked and used [Holy Dimension].

“To a new world. Open the dimensional door, [Holy Dimension]!” (Rook)

I go inside and organize the supplies and stuff.

I want to buy shelves and stuff, but I’m not sure if I can afford them, so I buy a bunch of cloth bags and divide them into smaller pieces to organize them. I still want shelves one of these days.

As I’m organizing, I’m thinking about what to do next.

What I want to do next. That is to improve my equipment. I have a lot of items that can be converted into money, and I think it’s time to get serious about getting my equipment in order. Besides, my equipment is still damaged from the corpse’s [Shadow Flare]. I’d like to replace it with better equipment at this time.

Besides, I personally want to get out of this country as soon as possible.

I have a little bit of a history with the Duke of Almeil and Grespo, so I don’t think there will be any problems, but I’d like to leave the country for a while until things cool down.

So, in terms of direction, should I go to the southern country I originally planned to go to, the Kingdom of Almust, or should I go to the west or the north… Well, what shall I do?

“Hmm?” (Rook)

I’m sorting through my treasure chest, but once I touch the necklace, I notice something strange.

“…it’s warm?” (Rook)

This necklace is made of metal, and if I keep touching it, my body heat will transfer to it and warm it to human skin warmth, but of course, it should return to room temperature if I leave it alone. It’s cold right now, and it should have been cold. Lately, when I hold the Mithril Alloy Cudgel in the morning, I am sometimes surprised at how cold it is, and this necklace should be the same. As I recall, the last time I opened this box was in the dungeon, and with that much time, it should be cold.

“This must be the special effect of the necklace… No, wait.” (Rook)

I hurriedly took out a pot from my backpack, filled it with water with [Water Drop], and put used [Fire Seed] into it to bring it to a boil.

I then placed that pot of boiling water in the treasure chest and quickly closed the lid.

“If I’m right about this… This is going to be one hell of a discovery.” (Rook)

I slept that day and the next morning I suppressed my excitement and opened the [Holy Dimension] and opened the treasure chest inside.

“Woah!!” (Rook)

“Kyu?” (Shion)

Steam is rising up. A curious Shion looked at me.

I take out the pot and bring my hand close to it.

The warm steam warms my hand.

Yes. The hot water I put in before going to bed was still in this box and is as hot as before.

“It’s confirmed… This is very dangerous…” (Rook)

When I found this treasure chest, I thought it contained an artifact. But I was disappointed to find that it did not. But I was wrong.

I had made the wrong assumption, to begin with. It is not that there was no artifact in it. This box itself was an artifact.

This box probably has state preservation or a time-stop function!

“Or a thermos-like artifact with a heat retention effect…” (Rook)

…No. It can’t be. I will cry if that’s the case. I will scream and bawl my eyes out.

As far as I know, I have never heard of a magic bag that stops time inside, nor have I heard of such an artifact. This is a tremendous treasure!

“But then again, there are more things I can’t show to others…” (Rook)

Well, I don’t have to worry about it being discovered while inside [Holy Dimension].

And on the day, I was excited about using my new items, the dungeon in Aluppo finally disappeared.

While I was gathering information at the Adventurers’ Guild, an adventurer jumped in screaming, and we all, including the guild staff, ran out of the guild to witness the end of the dungeon in Aluppo.

“You can only see something like this once in your life!” (Adventurer)

“Wow!” (Adventurer)

Someone said so.

The Rift of Aluppo’s dungeon closed, rippling loudly.

“Oh… it’s really over.” (Adventurer)

“Yes…” (Adventurer)

Someone muttered again.

The cracks closed, and eventually, the whole Rift was closed, and nothing existed there anymore.

“Oh! The Demon King’s dungeon has disappeared!”

“Gods bless the Sword of Granton!”

“Yeah!”

There are those who rejoice at the disappearance of the dungeon. Some ran to the place where the dungeon used to be to see if it really was gone. Others just stood there. There were people from all walks of life. One by one, they left the place, leaving only a large open space.

The next day. Many people left the town as if they had stayed behind to watch the dungeon disappear.

Thus, a town born from a dungeon had completed its role.

“Shall we go too?” (Rook)

“Kyu.” (Shion)

Somehow, as the person who made this dungeon disappear, I felt I had to see it through, so I stayed behind, but it was time for me to move on.

The next day. I left the inn and headed out of town.

I had already greeted the people who had helped me in this town.

The commercial area that was bustling when I arrived here was now sparsely populated as if the bustle of the past had been an illusion.

With such a view of the town burned into my eyes, I walked through the main street and arrived at the gate.

There used to be a line in front of the gate, but now there are only people going out and no one is checked by the Eye of Truth, and the gatekeeper is sitting idly in a chair looking bored.

Somehow, I became curious about the Eye of Truth, so I talked to them.

“Excuse me.” (Rook)

“Yeah?” (Guard)

“Well, umm, can I check the Eye of Truth for a moment?” (Rook)

The gatekeeper looked at me dully and said, “Well, it’s okay, I’m not busy anyway,” and waved his hand.

I was given permission to stand in front of the Eye of Truth and gently touch it.

When I touched it before, I was enveloped in a strong blue light, but this time, I wondered if it really happened…

“Hmm?” (Rook)

The moment I touch it, a bright blue light emanates from the Eye of Truth and surrounds the area.

This light is definitely stronger than the last time!

The gatekeeper, seeing this, stood up, kicking his chair in surprise, and looked me squarely in the face.

“Oh, you are! You are the one who gave off a tremendous light before!” (Guard)

What? Could it be he was the person who was there when I was checked before?

Or perhaps he remembered…

“Umm… I thought that you are a great high priest of the Church, wasn’t that you?” (Guard)

I think I’ve been told something similar before. …I’m not that great of a person.

“No, I’m just a traveling healer.” (Rook)

Saying this, I turned on my heel and walked through the gate.

Outside the gate were forests and plains, and a pleasant breeze was blowing.

It was a perfect morning to start off on a journey.

“Okay, let’s go!” (Rook)

“Kyu!” (Shion)

And so, we set off. We set off for the next town.