The figures of Rei, Set, and the others emerging from the cliff face where the dungeon was located were first spotted by the adventurers waiting at the base, hoping for monsters to fall.
Of course, ever since Rei and his party had entered the dungeon, hardly any monsters had come tumbling down.
...This was the direct result of Rei and his party significantly thinning out the settlements of Goblins, Cobolts, and Orcs in the forest.
A few people were dissatisfied with this, but the majority understood full well that this place was almost certainly a dungeon.
That was precisely why not many would voice their complaints directly to Rei and his party, who were doing them the favor of conquering it.
Though there were some who grumbled about earning a little less.
"Hey, look! It's a Gryphon! Does that mean they've conquered the dungeon!?"
"No way... That'd be way too fast. They probably just needed a tool or something and temporarily retreated, right?"
"More likely they couldn't hack it and ran away."
While such conversations were taking place, Set descended toward the ground.
Those who had been clinging to Set's legs dismounted one by one, and then Set, carrying Rei on his back, landed.
The people who had been chattering away at the sight of Set could no longer say anything within earshot once they saw the group up close.
Naturally, that assumed they didn't know Rei and his party... If they were acquaintances, it was a different story.
"Oh, you're back!"
The one who called out was an adventurer who had exchanged a few words with Rei's party on their initial way into the dungeon.
The same one who had asked them to conquer it.
"So, how was it? Inside the dungeon. Is it really going to be that tough to clear!?"
"No, we conquered it."
"...Huh?"
The man had called out hoping to learn what conditions were like inside, but the words that came out of Rei's mouth didn't register at first.
What was he talking about?
It was only natural. A dungeon was not something one could normally tackle and clear in a matter of days.
Especially for someone who had never directly challenged a dungeon before, overestimating what a dungeon entailed was common.
The man who had called out to Rei was probably that type.
"Um, is that some kind of joke?"
"No, it's the genuine truth. Here."
Saying that, Rei showed him the dungeon core that had been severed by the Death Scythe.
But... for a man who had never challenged a dungeon, there was no way he could know what it was.
"What's that?"
"The dungeon core."
"No way!? Really!?"
At the words "dungeon core" from Rei's mouth, the others in the vicinity who had been eavesdropping also focused their attention on the object.
They had never expected to see a dungeon core in a place like this.
It wouldn't be surprising if the others, who had left the talking to that man, wanted to hear from Rei directly now that a dungeon core had appeared.
"H-hey. What are you going to do with that dungeon core? I mean, what's it good for?"
"I've got a friend of a friend of a friend who's a well-known merchant. Interested in selling?"
"I've heard it can be used as alchemy material and stuff like that. Is that true?"
Various people showed interest in the dungeon core Rei held.
Of course, there were also some making offers that were clearly some kind of scam.
"Sorry, but I'll be holding onto this. I don't know exactly what it can be used for, but it seems like it could work as alchemy material or something."
When Rei said that, most of them looked disappointed but said nothing more and gave up.
A few briefly considered whether they could somehow snatch the dungeon core from Rei, but they fully understood that strong-arming someone who had conquered a dungeon in a matter of days would only shorten their own lives.
Rei understood that such people existed.
However, he judged the likelihood of anyone actually laying a hand on him was close to nil, and he spoke without doing anything particular about it.
"Well then, sorry, but we'll be heading back to Golts soon. We just cleared the dungeon, so we're tired. We want to get some proper rest. We also need to report to the Guild."
"Huh? Ah, right. You conquered the dungeon. Of course you'd be tired."
Among Rei's party, the most exhausted was naturally Marina, who had manipulated a massive volume of water in the underground lake.
But the others were no different when it came to mental fatigue.
Conquering a dungeon was not something that could be done so easily.
What's more, Rei and his party had ended up challenging the boss almost on a whim.
And after destroying the dungeon core, they had rushed to escape through a place where it wouldn't have been surprising for the dungeon to collapse or vanish at any moment.
There was no way they wouldn't be tired.
"H-hey, so... what's going to happen to that dungeon from here on?"
"You're asking me? Honestly, I can only say I don't know."
If the inside of the dungeon had been an ordinary place... just a cave that stayed as it was, there probably wouldn't be anything particularly unusual about it.
But in this case, the space inside the dungeon was clearly distorted.
Otherwise, an underground lake—let alone a forest with something like a sun in it—would never fit inside that cliff.
Furthermore, Rei and his party had gone from the forest to the area with the Rock Plants, found a hidden door there, and proceeded straight from there to the underground lake... right to where the boss was.
Thinking about it, there were likely several other stairways in the forest, and it wouldn't be strange for them to connect to such places.
If so, there was even less chance that the space within that cliff alone could account for all of it.
"You don't know... Is there a possibility the cliff might collapse... or something like that?"
"In the worst case, that's a possibility. That's exactly why this dungeon needs to be watched carefully from here on. To prepare for the worst. Besides... since we don't know what will happen to the space inside, we also don't know what will become of the monsters that were in the dungeon."
There was a real possibility that the cliff could collapse and the surviving monsters would spill outside.
Until now, the dungeon entrance had been halfway up the cliff... at a fairly high point, so monsters that couldn't fly, like Goblins, had fallen to the ground and died on impact.
Thanks to that, the residents of Golts had been able to obtain Subjugation Proof Parts, Magic Stones, materials... and in some cases even meat, without having to lift a finger... but from here on, that would no longer be possible.
It could mean they would have to fight the dungeon's survivors and defeat them before they could finally lay hands on those spoils.
Of course, that was the normal way of things.
"...I understand."
Perhaps grasping the danger from Rei's words, the man nodded with a serious expression.
Confirming that, Rei brought out the Set Basket once more and headed back to Golts.
The moment they entered the Guild in Golts, the gazes of the adventurers and Guild Staff Members inside converged on Rei and his party.
It was, of course, common knowledge among the residents of Golts that Rei's party was challenging the dungeon, and since they had camped inside the previous day, they hadn't returned to town.
There were even some who whispered that perhaps Rei's party had been wiped out, given their failure to return... but with all of Rei's party now appearing at the Guild, that rumor was instantly dispelled.
Rei, well aware of the stares directed their way, headed for the counter without appearing particularly bothered.
As Rei and his party approached, the Receptionist, who had been stunned by their presence, snapped back to herself, offered a smile, and spoke.
"Rei-san, welcome. Since you've returned like this, does that mean you've found something unusual again?"
"No, the dungeon conquest is safely complete. I'm here to report that."
"...Huh?"
A stir rippled through the room.
Those eavesdropping nearby were also dumbfounded by the words that had come out of Rei's mouth. They exchanged glances with nearby companions, checking whether they had misheard.
That astonishment spread by word of mouth even to those who had been holding an early drinking party in the bar inside the Guild.
Precisely because they were drunk, there were those who did things they normally wouldn't.
"Hey, hey, hey, hey, you already conquered the dungeon!? You've gotta be kidding me!"
As the man shouted, face flushed red, his companions tried desperately to calm him down.
"Hey, Dazura. That's enough. The guy over there is an Alias Holder adventurer. He's not someone you should be messing with!"
"Here, drink some water. Honestly, he's usually so serious, but this is what happens when he drinks. Ah, I'm sorry, everyone. Please don't mind us."
One man and one woman bowed their heads toward Rei... and toward the other adventurers.
The town of Golts was a typical rural town.
Because of that, there were many adventurers who at least knew each other's faces and names.
In a place like this, everyone knew what would happen if someone picked a fight with a high-rank adventurer who held an alias. Dazura's bad drunken behavior was fairly well-known, so they didn't think it would escalate into a major incident, but there was still a chance of things turning troublesome from tomorrow onward.
Hoping to prevent that, the two companions hastily bowed.
However, for Dazura—drunk and emboldened—such consideration from his companions meant nothing, and he called out to Rei.
"Hey, you. Did you really conquer the dungeon? Then show me proof. Proof... hiccup."
Rei glanced briefly at the drunken Dazura, immediately lost interest, and returned to his conversation with the Receptionist as though nothing had happened.
"Also, I'd like to meet with the Guild Master. Would that be alright?"
"Huh? Ah, yes. Please go right ahead. The Guild Master has already told me to show you in immediately when Rei-san and your party arrive."
The Receptionist's words were true, but normally she would have needed to inform the Guild Master that Rei's party had arrived.
The reason she didn't was likely because she judged that if she left Rei and his party standing there, Dazura would definitely pick a fight and cause a scene.
The two party members—a man and a woman—who were grouped with Dazura apparently understood the Receptionist's intent. Though they said nothing, they lightly bowed their heads in gratitude.
And so Rei's party proceeded behind the counter... Dazura, left behind at the scene and thoroughly ignored as thoroughly as possible, tried to say something... but his two companions forcibly dragged him outside the Guild.
Normally, since he hadn't paid yet, it wouldn't have been strange for someone to accuse him of dining and dashing. But because there were so many familiar faces, many people knew about Dazura's bad drinking habits.
No one raised a voice of blame, assuming he would come back to pay shortly.
...If anything, the consensus among those present was that preventing a situation where Dazura stayed and got into a brawl with Rei was what truly mattered.
Thus, after Rei disappeared from sight, those who had witnessed the whole exchange felt relieved that it hadn't escalated into a major disturbance.
"Oh, you came back sooner than expected. So, what did you bring this time? I'll tell you right now, we still don't know anything about those Rock Plants."
Upon entering the office, the Guild Master, Vanilas, addressed Rei and his party.
She told them to sit on the sofa, instructed the Receptionist to bring drinks and some light food, and then turned to face Rei and his party once more.
Rei offered her a smile.
"If you're asking what I brought, showing you this would be the quickest answer."
Saying that, he retrieved the dungeon core from the Misty Ring.
As the Guild Master, Vanilas immediately understood what Rei had produced.
She understood... but she stared at Rei, and then at the others, with an expression of sheer disbelief.
The last person her gaze landed on was Marina, who still showed traces of exhaustion.
As a former Guild Master, Vanilas sensed that Marina would understand what she wanted to say.
Marina, meeting that gaze, gave a small nod.
"Without a doubt, this dungeon core is from that dungeon in the cliff face we challenged."
She declared it with absolute certainty.