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Wide stairs had been built into the opening at the base of the World Tree, with many people coming and going.
Only a few security guards stood at the entrance, and even children were free to come and go as they pleased.
Finding the scene peculiar, we stepped inside—only to be greeted by the sight of families with children enjoying various rides and playground equipment.
"...Umm, is this a dungeon?"
It was no wonder Ren of the Poison Moth's eyes went wide.
For all the intimidation it had dealt us, what spread out before us was nothing more than an amusement park.
"Wow... there's a merry-go-round, a huge sandbox, a pool, and even tables for card games."
"It looks like an amusement arcade no matter how you slice it. So that's why children were coming and going."
The floor was lined with various children's play equipment, and even gambling machines like roulette and slots had been set up.
Every single one of them was made of wood. Was the World Tree claiming to have created all of these?
"I see. So this is what they call a friendly-type dungeon."
The Holy King nodded at my words.
Dungeons came in two varieties: the hostile-type, which lured invaders in with treasure as bait and killed them to obtain large amounts of mana, and the friendly-type, which kept large numbers of people staying for long periods to obtain mana long-term. The World Tree was the latter.
"As expected of Master Lloyd. You are very well-informed."
"N-no, I just happened to read about it in a book... hahaha."
I deflected Sylpha's questioning with a laugh.
That was close. Come to think of it, friendly-type dungeons themselves were quite rare.
It might have been a little unnatural for an ordinary magic enthusiast to know about them. Better change the subject.
"But those walls must be incredibly sturdy."
"Yeah, this kind of dungeon doesn't pose any direct danger, but instead it pours its power into preventing anyone from getting deeper inside."
A friendly-type dungeon was friendly only toward those who let it absorb their mana.
Beyond the amusement arcade, it naturally had defensive measures against hostile invaders who would attempt to destroy its nucleus.
Extremely powerful monsters, impenetrable outer walls, endless mazes... they came in every variety imaginable.
"Simplicity is best, as they say? Surprisingly, this sort of thing is the most troublesome."
The Holy King knocked on the wall. At the sound, Sylpha drew in a sharp breath.
"The density and thickness you can sense from the sound alone... so this is what a tree that has lived for tens of thousands of years becomes. It combines hardness with flexibility. Truly an ideal wall—destroying it would be quite the undertaking."
To make even Sylpha say that much. Figuring it out from sound alone was impressive in its own right.
Given the long years it had endured, the walls of this World Tree Dungeon had to be incredibly hard.
"This floor has nothing but the entrance. Everything else is covered by 'this' wall. To go any further, you've got to break through it. Oh, but don't just suddenly attack the wall. Wait here a moment. ...Hey, business booming?"
The Holy King called out to the soldiers standing by the wall.
I see—so he had to at least give them a heads-up.
If we'd suddenly started attacking the wall, the other visitors would have been startled.
"Hey, if it ain't Seio-san! You came back to play again without learning your lesson?"
"Show us another spectacular losing performance like always! Gahaha!"
"Ah, haha... hahahahaha..."
The soldiers roared with laughter, and the Holy King returned a dry chuckle.
It seemed this guy came here to play quite often.
And he'd been getting fleeced, too. What the hell was he doing with himself.
"L-let's set that aside for now... Rejoice. Today I've brought lots of guests who'll be challenging 'that side.'"
"Ooh... much appreciated. Challengers have really dried up lately. I thought everyone had given up. New faces are more than welcome."
"Well, with a group like that, it looks impossible at a glance. What can women and a kid even do? Hehe."
The soldiers looked down at us with smirks.
I see—so breaking through itself was one of the attractions. That would explain why it wouldn't be strange if the Queen and the others had tried their hand at it too.
And if a mighty contender happened to come along, breaking through would be a nice bonus.
Well, I didn't want to stand out, so I'd pass.
"I'm counting on you, Sylpha."
"As you wish."
At my words, she stepped forward and smoothly drew the sword she carried.
"Oho, ain't she a looker. You gonna try cutting it with a sword? Hehe, I'd say that's a lost cause."
"Yeah, yeah, I've been a soldier here for over a hundred years, but no one in the whole country has ever left so much as a scratch on this wall."
The soldiers jeered, but Sylpha ignored them and asked a question.
"Is there any guarantee that a path lies beyond this wall?"
"Actually, about ten years ago, an incredibly powerful monster got in here. Tore a massive hole right through the wall."
"Yeah, yeah, don't worry—there was definitely a path continuing on the other side. It repaired itself right away, though. I saw it with my own eyes, so there's no mistake."
"...Hmm, I suppose I'll take your word for it for now."
Sylpha stepped in front of the wall and assumed her stance. Seeing this, the soldiers burst out laughing.
"Pfft! She's actually gonna try! We told you it's impossible!"
"Now this is a show. If she leaves even a single scratch, I'll do a belly dance in my underwear!"
"Very well—"
Drawing the sword from its sheath, she unleashed countless blade paths that carved into the wall.
Deep cracks formed along the trajectories of her slashes.
"Wha...!? I-I don't believe it... She actually cut the wall...!?"
"Impossible...! Gh, but a promise is a promise. We gotta honor our word, too."
The soldiers began hurriedly stripping off their armor, but they really didn't need to do a naked dance.
However, the person who had actually pulled it off still wore a troubled expression.
After all, even after cutting that deeply, the other side of the wall was still nowhere in sight.
What incredible thickness. It had to be tens of meters.
"...Mmm, it's genuinely hard. If I had that sword you bestowed upon me, Master Lloyd, I could probably cut through, but with an ordinary sword, it's going to take some time."
"Ah, the 'Spell Formula Blade,' huh."
Come to think of it, that was a thing.
One of the items from William Bordeaux's legacy that I'd obtained at the academy—a sword whose blade itself was composed of Spell Formulas designed for cutting, granting it abnormal sharpness.
It was an outrageous weapon specialized solely for slashing, with a blade capable of slicing through even high-ranking demons. But since I didn't have much use for it, I'd given it to Sylpha.
"Come to think of it, what happened to that thing?"
"I have it carefully displayed as a family treasure. Should it ever break, I would have to atone with my life."
"No, you don't have to go that far..."
That 'Spell Formula Blade' was extremely fragile by nature—so delicate that it would shatter if the application of force was off even slightly.
But to think she had it on display. It was a sword; I figured she should just use it as a weapon.
"She's treasuring it because it's a gift from Master Lloyd. Even the Demon Maid has a cute side, huh."
"Even if it's nothing special to Master Lloyd, to Sylpha-tan it's a treasure beyond compare."
Is that how it was. Well, it was true that the 'Spell Formula Blade' was valuable.
If she was willing to keep it safe, that was actually more convenient for me. If I were managing it, I'd probably lose it.
While we talked, the wall had already begun to slowly regenerate.
"It's like watching tree growth in fast-forward. ...How unpleasant. If only I'd brought that sword, I could tear it apart right now..."
Around Sylpha, people began to gather.
"Holy crap. That woman actually put a hole in the wall. I can't believe it..."
"This is huge! Maybe she can actually break through!?"
"Uwooooh! That's awesome! This is no time to be fooling around! Everyone, get over here!"
Suddenly, spectators swarmed in. What an incredible uproar. Wait, hey, if they pushed that much—
Caught in the wave of gathering people, we were unceremoniously shoved right out.
Surrounded by a massive crowd of spectators, there was no longer any telling what was happening inside.
"Oww... She stands out as always, huh."
"But thanks to that, the attention on us has thinned out. While they're all focused over there, shall we do some investigating ourselves? Shiro, I'm counting on you."
"Onn!"
And so, relying on Shiro's nose, we set off along the wall.