Still reeling from the mental blow of being branded a pervert, I remained slumped on the sofa for a while.
If Elsie's intent was to humiliate me, she had certainly succeeded.
"Ah, the next mission is up!"
I looked up at Ryune's words.
It seemed the game was far from over. I suppose it would have been far too anticlimactic if everything had ended with that last mission. Praying that the next task would be at least somewhat more reasonable, I turned my gaze toward the newly displayed screen.
▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽
Mission 2
Find the treasure chest in the underground dungeon!
△△△△△△△△△△△△
"What on earth is this supposed to be...?" Nyau muttered, looking utterly exasperated.
I shared her sentiment. First a maid service, and now dungeon crawling? Her whims were as erratic as ever.
"Where is this underground dungeon even supposed to be?"
From what I could see of our surroundings, there was nothing that resembled one.
"Hey, isn't it that?"
Ryune pointed toward a door that definitely hadn't been there a moment ago.
"That’s a pretty imposing door, isn't it?"
Just as Ryune said, the rusted iron door looked completely out of place inside this luxurious building. It radiated an unmistakable, ominous atmosphere.
Elsie had likely manifested the dungeon along with the door itself.
"Well, we can't move forward without the treasure chest, so it seems we have no choice but to enter."
"Are you going into the dungeon dressed like that?" I asked, interjecting at Nyau’s suggestion. Entering a dungeon while wearing a maid outfit seemed needlessly dangerous.
"This much won't be a hindrance," Nyau stated flatly.
"Exploring a dungeon in a maid outfit might actually be kind of exciting!"
I had no idea what Ryune found so fun about it, but she was hopping around with joy. Every time her skirt fluttered, I found myself at a total loss for where to look.
In any case, it seemed my concerns were groundless.
"If anything, I'm more worried about you, Kiska-san," Nyau continued. "After all, you appear to be a pervert who feels lust toward maid outfits."
"Hey, why does it have to come back to that?"
"Oh? Was I mistaken?"
Nyau’s expression was one of genuine surprise—meaning she truly, honestly believed I was a pervert.
Ugh, having Nyau think of me that way was actually quite a shock.
"Hehe, I'm only joking, Kiska-san. I didn't think you would actually get depressed over it."
"...Huh?"
A dumbfounded sound escaped me.
Apparently, she had just been teasing me. However, the fact that I’d been played didn't even matter; my heart had been stolen by the devilish smile Nyau showed for just a fleeting second.
She was simply too cute.
"...Kiska-san, you have an unusually vacant look on your face. Is something the matter?"
"Nothing. I was just thinking for a second."
I couldn't exactly tell her that I’d just been struck by love at first sight, so I brushed it off. Nyau gave me a suspicious look and nodded with a quiet, "Hmm, I see."
"Hey, stop chatting and help me open this door!"
It seemed Ryune had been struggling with the iron door while we were talking. Upon closer inspection, the hinges were rusted and the fitting was poor, making it impossible to open easily.
The three of us put our strength together and managed to force the door open.
Passing cautiously through the threshold, we found a cave-like space spreading out before us. Based on the building's layout, it should have been impossible for a cave to exist here, but since it was a product of Elsie’s ability, conventional logic clearly didn't apply.
"Both of you, please be careful as we proceed."
With that warning, Nyau led the way into the dungeon with caution. Thanks to the magic stone lamps placed along the walls at intervals, we could see quite far ahead even without our own light source.
"There’s really nothing here, is there?" Ryune remarked suddenly.
We had been walking for some time, but the passage simply continued onward with no sign of monsters or any other dangerous presence.
"Ryune, do not let your guard down. That carelessness is a bad habit of yours."
The moment Nyau finished her warning...
"Ah."
Ryune’s voice rang out. Nyau and I turned toward her with startled expressions. Ryune was staring at the floor with an apologetic look.
"S-Sorry. I think I just stepped on a switch in the floor..."
Before she could even finish her sentence, an ominous sound echoed through the tunnel.
Rumble, rumble...
The sound grew louder and louder, approaching from the distance.
"No way..."
I looked back to see an unbelievable sight. A massive boulder was rolling toward us from behind. What’s more, it was moving at a terrifying speed.
"Run!" Nyau shouted, and we all broke into a full sprint.
"Ryune! What are you doing?! This is all because of you!"
"Don't yell at me! I didn't think there’d be a switch in a place like that!"
"If you have the breath to talk, use it to run faster!"
As we scrambled away, the giant rock continued to close the distance.
"Ah, Master!"
I looked back at Ryune's cry. I saw Nyau, looking completely exhausted, coming to a halt and gasping for breath. Apparently, she had the lowest Vitality out of all of us. The rock was already bearing down on her.
Just as I prepared to turn back and help, particles of light rained down around Nyau. It was the distinct sign of magic being cast.
"How are you two doing?"
In an instant, Nyau was keeping pace with us with total composure. She was using wind magic to hover just above the ground.
"Master, that’s cheating!" Ryune protested. Honestly, I felt the same way.
"My Vitality is hitting its limit, too..."
At this rate, we were actually going to be crushed by the boulder.
"You two are hopeless," Nyau sighed, reaching her hands out toward us as she drew closer. It looked like she was going to save us.
"Ah..."
It was Ryune’s voice again.
I saw her foot press down on another hidden switch in the floor, exactly like the first one. Instantly, a magic circle began to glow brilliantly beneath her.
"T-This is probably really bad, isn't it...?"
Ryune’s face turned pale. The light emitted by the magic circle at her feet grew increasingly intense. It was a Teleportation Circle. I had seen them enough times to recognize one immediately.
"Ryune!"
I instinctively dove toward her, thinking I had to stop her from being teleported alone. However, I didn't make it in time to stop it; instead, I was caught in the teleportation along with her.
"Kiska-san?!"
I heard Nyau’s voice behind me, but it was too late. My vision was bleached white. For a split second, I thought I caught a glimpse of Nyau’s panicked expression.
"Ugh..."
A groan escaped me as we materialized somewhere else.
Wait. I felt something soft...
While my head was still spinning from the impact of the teleportation, I realized my hands were gripping something.
"K-Kiskacchi...?"
Hearing her voice, the situation finally clicked. From the momentum of the teleportation, Ryune had fallen on top of me.
Which meant that what my hands were currently holding were...
"Um, I think pervy stuff is bad..." Ryune said bashfully.
Indeed, it seemed my hands were firmly planted on Ryune’s breasts.
"You have more than I expected."
"—!!"
A sharp impact jolted me. Ryune had chopped me with the side of her hand.
"Kiskacchi, that was definitely not okay just now!"
Ryune began to hit me repeatedly. I took it; even though it was an impulsive comment, I was definitely the one in the wrong here.
I let her keep hitting me until she was satisfied. Once she regained her composure, we took a look around.
We were surrounded by rugged rock walls. It was clear that we had been teleported to a different part of the dungeon. And more importantly, we had been separated from Nyau.