There was a considerable distance between the tea room and the exit. I supposed that was only natural for a castle, but since the tea room was located within a smaller manor built inside the fortress, we made it outside much faster than I had anticipated.
What truly felt eternal was the cave stretching from the exit to the surface. It was roughly three meters high, illuminated by the Master using a magical tool that resembled a torch.
It was a very long walk. I found myself wondering why anyone would bury a castle so deep underground in the first place. Was it impossible to just travel instantly via teleportation magic? I had held out a sliver of hope, but it seemed neither the Master nor Roberto was capable of using it. A shame—teleportation magic was rare, so I couldn't exactly complain.
During the long trek through the darkness, Urza chatted with the Master, eventually prying out his secret: the reason he had gone into hiding. Apparently, the Master had been close with a woman since childhood. They had naturally grown attracted to one another, and just as things were progressing, their parents ordered them to wed. Both families were in agreement; only the childhood friend's younger sister had opposed the union—not out of love for the Master, but simply because she didn't want to lose her sister to anyone.
All that was left was to marry when the time was right, but there was one problem. The issue was the woman herself. She was exceptionally talented—and more importantly, she was overwhelmingly stronger than the Master. While he admired her for it, he feared that if he married her under parental orders, he would never truly stand as her equal. He resolved to challenge someone even stronger than her to gain self-confidence before proposing on his own terms.
After explaining his resolution to his fiancée, he set out on a journey. He had a specific target in mind, someone rumored to be even more powerful than her.
"But... I was conceited..."
When he finally witnessed that individual in combat, he was paralyzed. It wasn't about winning or losing anymore; he realized with absolute certainty that challenging them meant certain death. His Evil Eye allowed him to see that future clearly: he wouldn't even managed a proper fight—he would simply be slaughtered. Heartbroken and ashamed, he couldn't bring himself to face his childhood friend, so he chose to hide away in this subterranean manor.
I wasn't quite sure how to react to that. I certainly wouldn't want to pick a serious fight with someone I had zero chance of defeating. Without a glimmer of hope, it is just throwing your life away. Avoiding such battles is common sense.
"Was it impossible to look for a different opponent?" Urza asked.
It seemed the condition of being stronger than his childhood friend made it difficult to find a substitute. Besides, he felt that looking for someone else just because he couldn't win was wrong. He had pride in strange places, though I suppose I could understand it, just a little.
"Is it really okay to just leave her alone like that?"
"That was hundreds of years ago. She has surely wed someone superior to me by now."
That left a bad taste in my mouth, but there was nothing I could do. It wouldn't have been right to tell him to do his best, either.
To change the subject, the reason I was working as an adventurer was to assist Tiselle with her Nation Building. Therefore, the place I used as a base was the Preparation Village. In order to build a nation, one must build a city, and this village was the staging ground for that construction. The site for the city was a harbor and town that currently lay in ruins along the coast. Tiselle and the others were still debating whether to level the area to the ground or utilize the facilities that were still usable.
Slightly to the side of that ruined harbor, there was a place where houses and storehouses for the workers were neatly lined up. That was the Preparation Village, home to about five hundred people.
The reason I mention this is because the path the Master guided us along led to the top of a hill with a panoramic view of that very village and the ruins. We had surveyed this area previously, yet I had never suspected an entrance lay right here.
Based on the time, we had returned before Isree and the others. I was glad it hadn't turned into a commotion yet. I informed Roberto—who had been following quietly behind us—of the location of the cave in the forest where we were caught in the Teleportation Trap. It would be dangerous to leave that trap active. Since he was a Vampire and disliked the daytime, he promised to investigate it once night fell.
I was thinking that everything would be resolved once we reunited with Isree, but then a group came toward us from the village. Isree and the others were at the front; they had returned before us after all. That meant the people behind them were part of a search party. It seemed our disappearance had caused quite a stir.
"Ah, Master! You said the location of this place was a secret, but what should we do? Should we hide?"
The Master’s movements suddenly turned strange. He started letting out small, pathetic shrieks. Just as I was wondering what was wrong, a woman appeared before him. It was Mettora, the woman who looked after Urza and Tiselle. The Master was visibly terrified. I briefly wondered if she was the "stronger opponent" he had mentioned, as she was clearly no ordinary woman... but it was something else entirely.
"Gienel. It has been a long time."
"Dandaji..."
"I have discarded that name. I am Mettora now."
"I-I see... Mettora is a good name."
"I was worried because you didn't return for so long. Now then, shall we get married?"
"Ah... no, well..."
Wait. Could Mettora be the childhood friend? I looked at Urza, who was giving me a hand signal to back away. Roberto had also vanished before I even realized it. Urza started running to stop Isree and the search party from getting any closer.
I don't know the specifics of what they said to one another, but soon after, two dragons began to duel. I was so stunned my mind couldn't even process the reality: both the Master and Mettora were actually Mixed-Generation Dragons. I won't describe the battle in detail, but the hill eventually gave way, and the underground castle—which apparently possessed a surfacing function—rose from the earth.
It wasn't a castle built for defense; it was a symbol of authority for administration. At Mettora’s suggestion, Tiselle joyfully requisitioned it for the Nation Building. There were many civil officials lamenting that the city plans would have to be redone from scratch, but I tried not to pay them any mind.
As for the Master—Gienel—he ended up leaving the castle to stay by Mettora’s side. Supposedly, it was because he had nowhere else to go now that his home was taken. He seemed to be resisting the marriage, but it felt like a futile effort to me.
To ensure the wedding actually happened, Urza set off to fetch a dragon even stronger than Mettora. She apparently had someone in mind whom Gienel had once intended to challenge. She certainly had powerful connections. She also mentioned she would go apologize to her family for the trouble caused by the Ice Monster. When I asked if she needed help, she told me she was heading to her family home—where dragons lived. Her mother was apparently a dragon.
I sensed a somewhat dangerous atmosphere surrounding that family reunion, so I decided to decline the offer. I stayed behind with Isree to continue investigating the surrounding area.
Gienel: "A pathetic man like me isn't worthy of you. I... I can't marry you." Mettora: "I see. Then choose: will you marry me, or will you fight me and then marry me?" Gienel: "Eh?"
Alfred: "Be engulfed by darkness." Roberto: "Be engulfed by darkness." Alfred: "I have found a true friend." Urza: "Progenitor-san and Mother Lu both said you'd be in trouble later, you know."
Isree: "When I returned to the base with all my might to seek help, you were right here the whole time..." Urza: "I'm sorry." Ekate: "I am sorry for causing you worry."