"And that was how I ended up diving into a dungeon with Noah and the others..."
I cast a sidelong glance toward the silver-haired maid standing at my side with a longsword at her hip, Sylpha. Beside her was Ren of the Poison Moth, a maid with short purple hair. Both of them nodded in unison.
"If Master Lloyd is venturing into a dangerous location, I shall naturally accompany him," Sylpha said.
"If you're conquering a dungeon, I'm sure I'll be of use too!" Ren added.
Both were my personal attendants, and each boasted formidable combat capabilities.
"A dungeon built by William Bordeaux, the progenitor of magic... now that sounds interestin'," Birgitte said, a wicked, greedy smile stretching across her face, contrasting sharply with her stunning blonde hair. "I bet there’s all sorts of incredibly valuable treasures sleepin' inside. So, I’ll be taggin' along too."
Standing behind the money-loving Second Princess of Saloom was a handsome man wearing an exasperated expression. This was the Second Prince, Albert.
"Sigh... If everyone else is going, I suppose I have no choice but to join as a supervisor. My apologies, but allow me to accompany you."
"Forbidden magic tools... I'm so curious!" piped up Cornelia, her eyes sparkling behind her glasses as her fluffy chestnut hair swayed. "But... is it really okay for someone like me to come along?"
Connie, as she was often called, was a classmate of mine. Though her unique constitution left her devoid of mana, she was remarkably dexterous and possessed a vast knowledge of spell formulas. She was an exceptional student, particularly when it came to crafting magic tools.
"It’s fine, it’s fine," Birgitte said, roughly patting Connie's head. "There’s no such thing as a bad girl with glasses. Don't be shy, just come along."
"Why are you the one taking charge, Big Sister Birgitte?" Albert sighed. "Though, I suppose I don't mind."
The situation had developed like this: I had intended to explore the dungeon in secret, but while I was back at the dormitory preparing, I accidentally leaked the plan to Ren. Sylpha had overheard us from somewhere and insisted on coming; Birgitte had smelled the scent of gold and decided to join; and once Albert found out, he volunteered to act as a monitor to ensure we didn't do anything reckless. Connie had simply been caught in Birgitte's orbit when she came by on unrelated business.
Apparently, Birgitte felt some sort of kinship between them as fellow glasses-wearers—even though her own were merely non-prescription frames used for disguises.
"Well, don't you worry 'bout combat strength," Birgitte continued. "Everyone here's real strong. Ah, but as you can see, I’m just a fragile maiden. Think of me as the sponsor."
Looking closely, I noticed that every single person was wearing garments with spell formulas woven into the fabric. Gathering such high-quality equipment so casually must have cost a staggering amount of money. Birgitte was as impressive as ever.
"I'm... sorry about this, Noah, Gazel."
"Please, don't worry about it," Noah replied. "Lloyd-kun and the others have been very helpful to us."
"Of course, I'll make sure to keep your secret, Lloyd," Gazel added. "So rest easy."
Thanks to Jiriel's quick thinking, everyone believed I was a Heavenly Messenger, so my true identity was being kept a secret from my siblings. I really did feel bad about all the trouble I was causing them.
"That helps. Thanks."
"Heh, just leave it to us."
"Indeed. Shall we lead the way?"
Noah and Gazel gave me a firm thumbs-up. They led us to a rocky mountain about an hour's flight away using 'Flight' magic. Once we landed, Noah stood before a sheer rock wall and chanted an incantation.
With a heavy rumbling that shook the earth, the rock wall crumbled away to reveal an opening. A flight of stairs descended into the darkness beyond.
"This is the dungeon sealed by our ancestor, William. It is quite dangerous, so please ensure you do not wander too far from us."
"A massive number of lethal traps and monsters have been set up here," Gazel warned. "Anyone without the bloodline who enters won't stand a chance. Don't you dare leave our side."
To think such a fascinating place existed! 'Anyone without the bloodline' likely meant that the traps were magic tools or artificial lifeforms designed to respond to spell formulas etched into the Bordeaux bloodline. It was surprising that they were still functional after all this time.
Normally, the more complex a spell formula is, the more prone it is to fraying due to deterioration over time. Despite hundreds of years passing, the fact that these formulas were still active suggested an unbelievable sturdiness. This was getting interesting.
I wondered what kind of logic the formulas were built on. I desperately wanted to take a closer look... but with everyone else here, I couldn't exactly start dismantling the walls. Maybe I really should have tried harder to slip away. I decided I would ask the two of them to give me a proper tour after we finished recovering the forbidden arts and forbidden tools.
With that settled, I focused on the crawl.
With Noah and Gazel leading the way, we proceeded deeper and deeper into the dungeon. We encountered monsters several times, and while the others seemed surprised by their strength, they didn't seem particularly dangerous to me, so I left the fighting to the group. I was too busy analyzing the traps, anyway.
"Hah... hah... Why the hell are there so many strong monsters crawlin' everywhere?" Gazel panted. "If we were with you, weren't the monsters supposed to leave us alone!?"
"Most likely, as the centuries passed, the dungeon itself began to spontaneously produce monsters," Noah explained. "Left neglected for so long, the place became infested. In hindsight, it was a good thing we had the party from Saloom accompany us."
Sylpha and the others nodded. Sylpha's Langris Style Swordsmanship, Ren's magic poison, Albert's magic, and Connie's magic tools were all significantly enhanced by the gear Birgitte had funded.
And, as an added layer of safety...
"Master Lloyd! A monster is coming from that side!"
"Hyaah!?"
A monster leaped toward the trembling Connie, but I deflected it with a barrier. Sylpha immediately stepped in and slashed it to ribbons.
"Th-Thank you, Lloyd-kun..."
"Don't worry about it," I said with a wave.
I made sure to completely block any attacks that leaked through using my barriers. Of course, I was holding back. If I cast a proper barrier, I would probably vaporize the monsters entirely. Still, for a supposedly "normal" magic enthusiast, this felt like an appropriate level of contribution.
"No, no, the monsters around here are all Demon World-class freaks," Grimo muttered.
"A normal magic enthusiast would have been crushed along with their barrier," Jiriel added.
Both of my familiars looked exasperated, but I didn't think they were being fair. After all, nobody else seemed particularly shocked. Probably. At any rate, with Noah, Gazel, and Sylpha's group on the job, there was no need for me to take center stage.
"Hmm. It seems we have reached the deepest part of the dungeon."
Sylpha, having just finished cutting down a swarm of monsters, wiped the blood from her blade and looked up at the door before us. It was unmistakably the boss room.
"There is a boss here, naturally, but please rest assured," Noah said. "Our ancestor subdued it long ago, so it will not attack us."
"Alright, I'm openin' it up."
Gazel pushed against the massive doors, and they swung open with a slow creak. Beyond the gates lay piles of treasure chests. Among them, I could see countless magic books strewn about, the likes of which I had never seen before.
"Oh! So those are William's legacies!"
I dashed ahead of the group and flipped open a chest. It was filled with magic books that practically seemed to glow.
"Master Lloyd, you're rushing too far ahead!" Grimo called out. "Didn't they say it was dangerous to separate from Noah and the others?"
"He's right! You'll wake the boss guarding this place!" Jiriel added.
Now that they mentioned it, I remembered them saying something like that. I had gotten a bit too excited at the sight of rare magic books. I looked up and noticed a giant golden dragon lying nearby, seemingly coiled around the treasure. I hadn't even noticed it was there.
"That's the Divine Dragon," Grimo whispered. "It's the being that rules over all dragon species. It possesses extremely high intelligence and boasts incredible combat power."
"The Dragon God, so to speak..." Jiriel added. "To think William Bordeaux even had a creature like this as a familiar..."
The Divine Dragon was a legendary creature of myth. I was impressed; it was my first time seeing one. Perhaps sensing my gaze, the golden dragon slowly lifted its head and opened its eyes—
Only to have them fly wide in shock. A moment later, it squeezed them shut again and turned its head aside.
...Is it going back for a second nap? Its breathing seemed a bit forced, though. I wondered what was wrong.
"Th-This guy's feignin' sleep!" Grimo barked. "He definitely noticed us, but he's so terrified of Master Lloyd that he's tryin' to act like he didn't!"
"It likely grasped the difference in power in an instant," Jiriel noted. "In a sense, it is a very wise creature..."
Even as my familiars spoke, the Divine Dragon began to bead with a cold sweat. I wasn't entirely sure what was happening, but it clearly had no intention of fighting. It would have been a fine opportunity to test how sturdy a Divine Dragon actually was, but... well, it would be a pity to force it awake. Besides, with the others watching, I should probably behave.
I planned on coming back here several times, so I decided to save that test for a day when the dragon was feeling more awake.