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Isekai Yururi Kikou - Chapter 494
🕑 Added 2024-11-25 14:38:30 +0000 UTCEthan-dono
"I'm sorry for the sudden visit."
Upon arriving at the Dungeon Management Headquarters and requesting an audience with Ethan-dono, we were promptly accommodated here as well.
"No, no, you are always welcome, Takumi-dono and company. So, what brings you here today?"
"We came to say goodbye before our departure."
"... What?"
When I informed Ethan-dono, who had graciously welcomed us, of the reason for our visit, he froze in place.
"Departure?"
"Yes, we’re planning to return to Guardia soon."
"I see..."
It seems that Ethan-dono, too, regrets our impending departure.
"‘E-chan, we’ll come back, okay?’"
"You will… come back?"
"”Yes, we will~””
"Allen and Elena.”
"Conquer everything!’"
“”So we’ll come back.”"
The children, fully intent on completing the Dungeon of Precious Stones, seem to have already decided that we will revisit this town.
"Haha, aiming for full conquest, are you?"
"”Yes, we are!”"
The children struck triumphant poses and showed their determined faces to Ethan-dono. While they tried to appear serious, their expressions were so adorable that Ethan-dono couldn’t suppress his laughter.
"Speaking of which, how many floors of the Dungeon Precious Stones been conquered so far?"
"There are records of the lowest floor being cleared in the past. Currently, the most advanced adventurer party is challenging the forty-third floor."
"‘Forty-three!’"
"That’s tough!"
"We’re losing!"
"Hmm, we’re losing, are we? That is indeed a concern."
Upon hearing that the deepest floor currently reached is the forty-third, the children—and even Kaiser—began to panic for some reason.
"No, no, this isn’t about winning or losing. Besides, since others are already progressing, it technically means you’re already behind."
“”Ehhh~!””
The children seemed genuinely disappointed, perhaps because they were seriously thinking of competing.
"The old records!"
"Don’t count them!"
"Hmm, fair enough!"
"So that’s how it is, huh~"
The children decided to disregard past records and declared that they wanted to be the top among those currently attempting the dungeon.
"”If not counting, can we win?”"
"Who knows? Ethan-dono, what do you think?"
"How far have you progressed, Takumi-dono and company?"
"”Thirty-two!”"
"That’s impressive. At your current pace, I’m certain you’ll catch up if you continue."
"”What if we don’t continue?””
"Then it might be difficult."
"”Ehh~!”"
Well, we’re planning to pause our progress and return home, after all. When we’ll return to continue the conquest is still undecided. There’s no way we could claim an advantage in such circumstances.
"Currently, the party challenging the forty-third floor consists of nine people: two A-rank adventurers and two B-rank adventurers from the party ‘Thunder Spear,’ along with one A-rank and four B-rank adventurers from the party ‘Iron Hammer.’ This information is common knowledge among residents of this town."
"”Nine people!””
"Yes, a total of nine members."
"Ah, so they’re working together."
That makes sense. There’s no need to tackle it as a single party.
"It takes them about a month per floor around the fortieth floor. They dive for about ten days at a time, searching two or three times before finding the stairs to the next floor. That’s the general pattern. Of course, the exact duration varies, and they take breaks during their explorations, so it’s not strictly one month per floor."
“”Seven more months?””
"Yes, if everything goes smoothly, it should take about seven more months to conquer the dungeon. However, the closer they get to the lowest floor, the more dangerous it becomes, so they’ll need to proceed even more cautiously. This means it might take up to a year or, at most, two years to complete."
The complete conquest by the "Thunder Spear" and "Iron Hammer" parties seems to be a hope not just for the town but for the entire country. Perhaps the Dungeon Management Headquarters is supporting them in some way?
“”Oniichan!””
"Yes, what is it?"
"Next spring!"
"We’ll come back!"
"Next spring? Ah, by then, the dungeon might still not be fully conquered."
"”Exactly!””
While we’ll return home this time, it seems the children want to revisit this town after the new year to aim for dungeon conquest.
Well, I should probably be thankful they didn’t insist on staying.
"That’s quite far ahead, so I can’t make any promises, but it’s not impossible."
“”We’ll definitely come back!””
"Hahaha~"
The children didn’t seem willing to yield on this.
"Alright, then. Let’s plan to come back next spring."
“”Thank you!”"
"So, you’ll return next year. I’ll be looking forward to it."
We plan to return to Guardia, spend fall somewhere undecided, spend winter in the royal capital as has become customary, and then revisit the Regulus Empire in spring.
"That’s the plan, then."
"That’s wonderful. We’ll look forward to your visit next year."
Ethan-dono, who had been watching our conversation with a gentle smile, seemed genuinely happy about our planned return.
"Umm… what about the permits? Should we return them?"
"There are temporary permits that must be returned after use, but the ones given to you are fine to keep. Just be sure not to lose them. Next time, you won’t need to wait for a permit to enter the dungeon."
“”Yay!”"
It feels like preparations for another attempt at the Dungeon of the Precious Stones are already underway.
By next year, our guild cards and statuses will likely bear the achievement of conquering an advanced dungeon. I’ll have to prepare myself for the inevitable attention that will bring.
"Thank you for making time for us, Ethan-dono. Until we meet again."
Even though we decided on a return visit, we’re still leaving for now. So, we made sure to bid a proper farewell.
"”Bye, E-chan! Don’t forget to send us updates!””
"Yes, until we meet again. I’ll take care of the updates."
The children also said their goodbyes, but they had asked Ethan-dono to notify us via the Guardia Kingdom’s Adventurers’ Guild if the cooperative party made faster progress than expected—specifically, if they reached the forty-eighth floor. From that point, they estimate they’d have at least three to four months to catch up.
Their reasoning and foresight impressed me, but I could only leave the Dungeon Management Headquarters with a wry smile at their growth and cleverness.
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