CH 44

「Fuhahaha, the foolish hero from the capital came.」

There was a luxurious throne room ahead of the gate, where the gargoyle defends.

There, a nostalgic man was standing.

「Baron? Could you possibly be the baron?」

The zombie baron was alive.

He’s wearing a black cloak even though he’s in a whole body plate mail. This boy’s brain is rotten to do that kind of stupidity, or rather this ossan!

「Baron? What are you talking about? I am margrave Sox Lauren Spike!」

「Aren’t you the zombie baron?」

Is this the pattern that the former enemy power-up and came back?

However, it is an ossan who has a similar face.

「Margrave Sox is the honorable cousin of Baron Louz. Baron Louz came from the branch family from his excellency Sox lineage. Their age is similar so does their face.」

「Is that so, sensei?」

Well, since they’re nobles, it is natural to have a blood relative nearby.

However, whether the branch family of the head family, are exterminated together by the miasma hole of doom with the population of the fief and reincarnated to a zombie lord. The baron’s family lineage is truly miserable.

「Oh, to have seen Knight Louise and the civil servant from the royal palace.」

「It’s been a long time, your Excellency Sox.」

As expected of a former great person although he doesn’t seem to know the name of Lyle-sensei who’s an underling at that time.

Margrave knows Louise, as expected of someone with high position.

「I know why you’re here!」

I did not notice because there is no presence at all but there was a magician on black robe in the shadow of the zombie margrave.

「That person is the advance magician in hiding, sensei!」

「Ah, die!」

Lyle-sensei fired a gun at the advance magician.

No matter how you put it, a slight conversation that turns to firing, is a foul, sensei…..

「Chii, what a blatant human being. Sox we will withdraw from this place!」

The advance magician who didn’t die even with the use of a cannon.

With a hand which shines palely, she rejected the bullet, turns her back and tried to escape.

「Kaara, why do we have to pull back?」

「Well, Sox, they’re bad opponent. Withdraw!」

The zombie margrave seems to be perplexed when he was told to runs away suddenly.

So, the advance magician’s name is Kaara.

As I thought, the zombie margrave is as stupid as the baron.

He’s the target.

「Oi, Margrave Sox! I defeated your cousin Louz. You’ll also be a rust to my sword of light!」

I raised the sword of light to provoke him.

「Fuhahahahaha, a brat will defeat me? Don’t say funny things!」

As expected from the relative of the baron, he is easily provoked.

It might be because the brain is rotten.

「Then, let me show you some seriousness.」

When the zombie margrave fluttered his black cloak, he sent a signal.

A huge green dragon emerges and roars.

It is an orthodox type of dragon called Green Dragon or Earth Dragon.

「It’s a dragon!」

I thought he’ll also call his four majo. He’s going to complete earnestly.

How can we fight such without a cannon?

「How is it? Isn’t it wonderful?」

No, even if it’s wonderful, you called a 5 meter dragon in a dungeon. Isn’t its head already on the ceiling?

The dragon finds it hard to move.

「Hey, Sox. Do not use the trump card dragon without permission!」

Look, the advance magician Kaara-san(probably a woman)is angry.

「Fuhahahahaha, if we put these fellows to the grave, it is not a waste of trump card. Now, hero lad. Entertain me!」

That said, the zombie margrave makes a loud noise and puts out a black sword from the hand.

「Hou, this is a surprise.」

I wonder if receive the power of demon king like my hero power.

「Not only the sword of the darkness, ability release “Freeze Armor”!」

When the zombie margrave said so, the plate mail he’s wearing emits blue light and a lot of ice pillar generated from his whole body.

The armor froze instantaneously.

「How is it? This armor is a curse tool that if an ordinary man wears it, he’ll receive ice damage but this is nothing to be concerned of with a body of a zombie. This becomes a convenient body.」

「Oh, it’s cold.」

The cold air that originates from the margrave’s body makes me shudder. Ice that crystallized is drifting around.

Just for being near, physical strength is cut down.

「Come, hero lad, it’s good to move forward. You’ll be the first sacrifice to my demon king legend!」

「Okay, then I’ll do it!」

Surprisingly, Louise is boldly slashing the dragon.  King of thief Wake also begun to shoot magical bullet of rebellion too.

Sensei begins to offset the advance magician and began shooting rock bullet to each other.

Lia began to cast “A-sama’s Protection” to me. It will be effective as the opponent is an undead.

Even if the other side is a dragon, our war potential here will not lose.

I tried to destroy the zombie margrave with the sword of light.

Light and darkness intersected, the atmosphere trembled with a smash.

「Not bad lad!」

「Then, how about this!」

I made a slash to match the opponent’s attack.

I was trying to slash the opponent’s hand in accordance with the slash of the margrave.

But the Sword of Darkness also played with my Sword of light.

The swords of darkness and light, the power is increased by the strength of our will.

Even if I think that I saw an opening, it is guarded by the sword reflexively.

I cannot defeat the opponent unless I attack with precision and think faster than the enemy.

Moreover, the margrave is good with sword and shows no opening.

Then, I took out the sanctified “Black cedar wooden sword” and took a dual wielding attack.

「Direct heart shadows style (Jikishinkageryu) secret principles eight phase blast!」

「NUOOO!」

It is an eight-phase blast that can continuously attack 10,000 times.

Although he repelled one,  16 step piercing, 32 step piercing, the margrave was not able to endure up to my 40 step piercing as I speed up.

His arms and shoulders were damaged and the margrave was staggering.

The hard”freeze armor” that’s defending his rotten body was damaged with the thrust from the sword of light and the sanctified black cedar wooden sword.

「Two heaven first-class secret principle (torafuruutsurugi)!」

It was modeled to Musashi Miyamoto’s dual wielding torashin.

When I trained it in my middle school age, I staggered with the weight of the sword.

The sword of light weight zero and the wooden sword is light. My body remembers torashin style.

The zombie margrave who received damage, threw the sword of darkness in desperation. I struck it back with the sword of light in my left hand.

From the thing that’s taking a high-handed attitude, I brought down the wooden sword on its head with all the power I have in my body with my right hand.

「GNUOOO!」

He raised a cry, and the zombie margrave collapsed.

I stab the light sword against that body.

The sword of darkness vanished abruptly and the ice of the magical tool “freeze armor” ,that has been penetrated, breaks and scatters.

I seemed to be able to defeat it somehow.

Next, Louise was about to break the dragon’s neck with a large sword.

The Dragon desperately tried to kill Louise with claws and fangs.

However, the dungeon is too narrow for the 5-meter dragon, to rampage.

Hitting the head on the ceiling, collapsing debris pours, and received damage.

Even if it throws a breath attack,  Lia’s Holy Shield will prevent it.

It can be said that it was checkmated when the dragon was taken at this small place.

Certainly the epidermis of the dragon is so hard that gun bullets do not pass.

However, King of thief Wake gives a great service by shooting five turbulence arrow of magical bullet of rebellion.

The iron arrow pierces the body of the dragon one after another and weakens it.

There, Louise cut the scruff of the neck of the dragon in two with full force by a large sword.

On the floor, many of the saber she had been using was broken and bent and rolled.

After that much of a slashing attack, at last the big sword severed the neck. The dragon would breathe its last, too.

Finally, knight Louise has become a “Dragon Killer”.

She keeps exceeding humanity steadily.

「Uaaa, my demon king! My dragon! My long-term plan!」

The advance magician Kaara-san gone mad.

「How … … Hero, how did you know that I am raising the demon king here?」

I just happened to meet you by chance. I feel a bit sorry.

I read the atmosphere and say something like that.

「Kaara, this hero foreseen your evil deed. Surrender yourself!」

「Me, me, meeeeeeeeee! Who’s going to get caught by you? Oh great blue water!」

Advance magician Kaara, spreads her hands to shake off distracting things, and began to chant the spell aloud.

In the back of this battle, sensei and Lia work together. They seem to have tried to hold the magic of Kaara by dispelling it, but it looks like they’re reaching the limit.

「Everyone, please go down, the water is coming!」

Uwa, moreover, its deluge again?

While thinking it’s stereotyped, a splashing mountain comes from the back. There is no choice but to flee.

「GUAAAA」

We were swallowed by a great blue torrent, and all was washed away from the audience.

Ahh, with this,  all the gunpowder again.

I was a little sad this time, I lost sympathy.

I’ll remember the grudge of gunpowder, Kaara.

—Scene Change—

「Is everyone OK?」

「I’m fine somehow,…..」

Using deluge magic in a dungeon is foul.

The throne room and the hall with the gargoyle are soaked.

Anyway, it is needless to say that this is Kaara’s method of running away.

Well, I went behind the scenes between the throne room and went to the waiting room in the back to try chasing her.

Then, a girl with blue skin and a white flag is standing in wait in a small room.

「I surrender, hero-dono!」

「Who are you? Did a magician in a black robe pass here?」

「If you’re looking for Kaara she already escaped to the surface.」

Looking at the direction where the girl wearing swimsuit like clothing points, there is a stairway with “Emergency Exit” sign.

***TN: I guess strict compliance is observe before getting a permit for building a dungeon in a fantasy world. ***

「An emergency exit is just like that.」

「It is no use in trying to chase her for now. Kaara is not only fast in escaping but also good in hiding. If you arranged soldiers to guard the exit of the emergency exit it’s good but…」

「No, I did not even know the existence of the emergency exit.」

「Well, it doesn’t make sense for an emergency exit to exist in a dungeon especially to those who’ll try to capture it.」

「Who are you?」

「I was late to tell hero-dono. This eagle is the Immortal Girl Oracle, the dungeon master.」

***TN: She refers to herself as ワシ(Washi) – Eagle. I’m not sure if it is a pun of watashi since the kanji and furigana for watashi is too different. Hope someone will help me out with this since she’s one of the heroine and will refer to herself as that till the end of the novel. For now I will translate it as “This eagle”***

She’s a girl with blue skin, whitish twin tail hair, and has red eyes. I see, it looks like she’s a demon-kin.

For the meantime, I decided to give up on chasing Kaara and listen to the story of this demon-kin.

「I thought Immortal King Oracle was dead.」

「In order to defend the dungeon that the oracle created, this eagle was created from the time of Oracle’s claw to be the dungeon master. Basically a clone. 」

「Aren’t you Oracle himself?」

「Well, this “Oracle’s Great Cave” was built 300 years ago. This eagle has been the dungeon master who can be called an artwork all this time.」

「Fuumu, I understand the theory. Why a girl?」

This world awfully has a lot of girls, I wonder if it’s connected to it.

「If this eagle, the dungeon master, were killed, this “Oracle’s Great Cave” will end. In order to not be killed as much as possible, it has to be created in such a harmless and lovely form.」

「Well, you’re cute and pretty indeed.」

It seems that her blue skin is has nothing to do with being a demon-kin, but this is not bad. Her appearance is enough to call her bishoujou(beautiful girl).

The value of the dungeon don’t change, the aesthetic sense 300 years ago also didn’t change.

「Well, that’s good. I feel relieved. If hero-dono don’t think of me as cute, the survival rate will go down.」

「By the way, why surrender? You should have escaped with Kaara.」

The Immortal girl Oracle who’s swaying the white flag seems to be wrathfully angry with what I said.

「This eagle is not Kaara’s companion! Listen to me hero-dono.」

From there, the immortal girl Oracle’s complaints began…….

Everything stopped for two hundred and forty years. For a brief moment, miasma was supplied again by the miasma hole of doom. Then, the supply was cut off again. This time Kaara brought the zombie margrave and says she’ll raise him to be a demon king. They seem to occupy the dungeon without permission.

「Naa, it’s awful! Just because we’re both demon-kin she said it’s natural to cooperate with the demon king’s ressurection. Even if all the remaining demon-kin on the surface are deprived, this eagle is unrelated!」

「Well, that’s right.」

Entering a house without permission is already embarrassing itself.

「After the miasma supply from the hole ceased, the miasma of this dungeon is only enough to reach up to the surface. This eagle desperately pumped it up from the ground that is comparable to starting a fire using finger nail just to maintain this dungeon.」

The original size of the “Oracle’s Great Cave” is up to the 30th level. It seems to be a terrible dungeon.

However, both the demon king and the immortal king were defeated. The miasma hole of doom was also sealed for 240 years. It seems that the miasma supplied to the dungeon became extremely small and it was hard to manage.

「Adventurers also had low levels so maintenance is up to the 10th floor. If anyone clears it by chance, he’ll be given a magic item as conquest commemoration. With that, I thought he would be satisfied and go home.」

Well, the adventurers were only able to go down to the ninth floor and was annihilated by the zombie carriers. That method is correct.

「By the way, the floors after the 10th floor are empty so it is concealed. Ah, however, because miasma  is insufficient, operation is impossible. Sorry.」

「No, the 10th floor is enough already.」

「I see, hero-dono is not greedy.」

「No, rather than that, why do you have such spirit at your service?」

I didn’t felt malice in this dungeon.

There is a little fatal trap and the riddle was  not a big deal.

「Why? A dungeon is the art of perfection only if there are adventurers who challenge it. It can be said that dungeons exist to make adventurers work hard and make a friendly competition together to grow up.」

「Fuumu」

I see. Oracle has an artistic temperament.

It’s not just a monster dwelling, it’s like a museum or an art museum, and wanted someone to clear it.

「When the Demon King and Immortal King were beaten, I thought that the hero will come. I was excited when I was waiting at the 30th floor. At that time, this eagle is even willing to be killed but…」

「Ah, the former hero did a bad thing.」

I don’t know how many companions the hero had but they all ignored the “Oracle’s Great Cave”. Well, that’s correct.

Nobody knows that Immortal girl Oracle has prepared and is waiting at the 30th floor and there is no reason to capture such a big dungeon. It will be a wasteful effort for the heroes party.

It is difficult for the world to understand what an artist’s think.

「It’s been neglected for a long time, and the power of the dungeon has just weakened. I don’t know where that genius demon-kin learned human magic but that jerk ransacked my house without permission.」

「Oh, I see. Kaara is a demon-kin.」

Indeed, Kaara is a demon-kin that studied human magic thoroughly.

Therefore, even if the sensei searched at the advanced magician roster, she did not find her.

「The person you saw earlier is Kaara. She released a dragon in the dungeon and caused a deluge. The great cave this eagle love is already battered. If I’ll be killed even though I have nothing to do with that, what’s the point of the 300 years of life of this eagle…? 」

「Ah, I got it, don’t cry, don’t cry. I won’t kill you.」

I say there’s no arguing with the lord of a manor or a crying child.

Even if you know she’s 300 years old, her appearance is a child.

「Really? You’re going to accept the surrender of this eagle?」

「Yes, I promise. Instead, give me information about Kaara.」

「Even if you say information on Kaara, she is a woman about twenty years old, a genius with strong magical power from the demon-kin around here. I only know about her racial traits and that she’s good in disguising as a human being.」

After sealing the miasma hole of doom, this area of Silesie changes from demon dwelling to human dwelling.

The indigenous demon loses power. They are in a state where they barely survive by changing form or disguising as a human.

「Generally, Kaara is a genius magician. She personally aimed to be a demon king to be able to induced war and rebellion to human countries. She brought the former human zombie to this eagles place to raise it to a demon king but this eagle doesn’t understand what she’s thinking.」

Uh, sensei is just like that.

I think a genius wants to push someone from behind rather than doing it himself.

「Who are you speaking with?」

「Ah, sensei. Have you finished the cleanup?」

「Yes, Lia purified the corpse of the zombie margrave. The devil king who was just born will not be resurrected again with this. Louise is still dismantling the dragon.」

That means today’s dinner will be dragon’s internal organs soup.

Because I ate too much sea snake, I want to eat something that is light, but it’s hopeless now.

「This eagle didn’t like what’s happening. You’ve accepted my surrender, so I’m going to put the Oracle’s great cave under hero-dono’s control.」

「What do you mean by that?」

「If it was ruled by hero-dono, the foolish advance magician Kaara will not come here anymore. It will sure be convenient for you. To be able to get saltpeter, I’ll liberate the floors until the third floor. I will also give you sea snake meat anytime you want.」

「Ah, you heard what we’ve been talking about?」

「Since this eagle is the dungeon master, I can hear everything in this dungeon.」

「It’s a nice and convenient ability.」

「But that also ends today. That’s right, it has been a while but will hero-dono reach the age of 80? It is unknown if you’ll reach 100 and the Oracle’s Great Cave will be close for that.」

「Are you okay with it?」

Immortal King Oracle entrusted her to manage the dungeon.

Does she want to abandon her workplace?

「It’s okay. This eagle has worked hard for 300 years alone so it’s okay to take a short rest. Besides, this is crushed in such a showy way, miasma will not be enough to repair it anymore.」

I see. Whichever the case, it cannot be open for business for a while.

「It is better to close the dungeon than to show the guest a shameful dungeon. 」

Certainly, the dragon and deluge are overdoing it. The beautiful decoration of the huge hall has become messed up too.

I sympathize with Oracle since Kaara spoiled my gunpowder every time.

That’s how the capture of Oracle’s Great Cave succeeded.

Or rather, I seem to have taken the dungeon master, Immortal Girl Oracle, under my wing.