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nPart 1

nRunning through the corridors of the underground dungeon were Ange and her party, led by Creare.

nCreare flashes a blue lens to determine the shortest route to the treasure’s location.

nThis way!

nCreare chose a detour course with many turns, but this helped them avoid unnecessary battles.

nWhen Ange glanced behind her, she saw that Noel, who had been running for some time, was struggling a great deal.

nAlthough her rehabilitation has been completed, she has not fully recovered her physical strength.

nIn addition, she was inevitably inferior in physical strength compared to Ange and other nobles of the kingdom.

nAnge, who has been trained since she was a child, has different physical strengths to begin with.

nAnd the problem is Livia.

n“I-I can’t do it anymore.”

nHer breathing was more erratic and she seemed to be in more pain than Noel.

nAnge slowed down and began walking.

n(The two of them cannot take much more of this, huh)

nIf it were just herself, she could still run, but the other two were at their limits.

n“Break time. Creare, is there somewhere we can rest?”

nWhen Ange suggested they take a break, Livia and Noel stumbled over to the wall and leaned against it.

nCreare, who was watching the situation, says in a tedious manner.

nWe’ll be fine here. There are no enemies nearby and no traps. But we’ve lost so much time, we’ll have to recalculate our route again. And, aside from Noel-chan, doesn’t Livia-chan seem to have too little stamina?

nRegulating her disordered breathing, Livia makes excuses with a pained look on her face.

n“I-I’m an indoor ―― person.”

nIf she wanted to, she could concentrate for hours on her studies, but running around outside was not something she was very good at.

nAnge puts her hand on her forehead and chuckles in a troubled way.

n“That’s why I told you to work out. Physical fitness is basic.”

nNoel, who is sweating, argues with Ange, who says that this level is normal.

n“I was physically active in the Republic, too, but people in the Kingdom are strange. We have already run many kilometers and you don’t look tired at all.”

nIf this was just a run, Noel and Livia could have run more.

nBut now they wore armor for protection and had weapons.

nAdding the tools needed for dungeon exploration, it becomes quite heavy.

nFrom Noel’s point of view, it was hard to believe that Ange, who had run many kilometers with weights on her back, did not look tired.

nIn front of the two of them, who are out of breath and struggling, Ange wonders.

n“If you are tired at this level, you can’t be an adventurer.”

n“It’s absolutely ridiculous!”

nAs soon as the two of them are breathing calmly, Ange begins to walk and move on.

nWhat began there was three of them complaining about Leon.

nAnge was smiling, but angry about the hidden passageway.

n“He’s a truly troubling guy. He goes out of his way to pretend to play fair, but he himself is determined to win. We were all fooled.”

nLivia was similarly angry, but for different reasons.

n“Thanks to that, we were able to go deeper. Then we were told there was a hidden passageway and we had to go back the way we came.”

nLivia, who was not good at exercising, was not happy about being forced to run for nothing.

nNoel, like Livia, resents being made to run, but more than that, he complains about Leon’s attitude.

n“In the beginning, he had the attitude of a fair fight, didn’t he?! What’s more, what about us?!”

nCreare, happily watching the three making noise, happily joins the conversation.

nMaster doesn’t cut corners, even when it comes to his fiancées.

nAnge hears that and smiles gently.

n“I underestimated how serious he was.”

nPerhaps wondering about Ange, Creare asks her.

nYou look happy. How can you smile? We were deceived, you know.

n“Because he really competed with us seriously.”

nThe hidden passageway thing just didn’t satisfy them, but Ange also understood that it was a way to win the game.

nAnd she was happy that Leon was serious about competing with them.

n“I always felt sheltered and treated gently, as if I were a princess.”

nYou didn’t like that, right.

n“I don’t know? I was happy about it. But just looking at the important moments makes me doubt if I am really needed. ――In fact, sometimes I think Leon would have lived more peacefully without me”

nLivia, following behind, scolds the faint-hearted Ange.

n“That’s not true! Ange is holding on too much. The only reason Leon-san can’t live in peace is――”

nKnowing the reasons why Leon could not live in peace, Livia was hesitant to speak her words to the end.

nWhen they fall silent, the silence continues, and Noel, unable to bear it, speaks up to continue.

n“Well, because he’s meddlesome. Thanks to that, I was saved, too.”

nLeon cannot live peacefully because he is meddlesome.

nIf he had ignored them and acted with his own personal safety in mind, he would not be a hero today.

nBut if he had done that, he would have been with three people. No, he would not have been able to get to know many more people.

nAnge reveals her true feelings.

n“I don’t want to get in his way. I just want him to be happy, but my presence gets him into unnecessary conflicts.”

nOne of the reasons why Ange does not want to involve Leon in the conflict is that he has made it clear that he does not want to get involved.

nThe other is because Leon is mentally cornered.

nNoel looks at Livia.

n“――He hasn’t reduced his dosage, has he?”

nLivia gives a small nod and looks at Creare.

n“It hasn’t changed since he came back from his study abroad. Are-chan, isn’t that right?”

nBut Creare did not answer.

nMaster has ordered me to stop answering that question.

nUnlike her previous joking attitude, her words now seemed straightforward.

nThe master of Creare is Leon, and when push comes to shove, it is Leon who has priority.

nThe three of them walked in silence for a while, led by Creare, and must have entered a hidden passageway at some point.

nThe sounds of battle can be heard from Julius and his group, who seem to have entered first.

nAnge holds the rifle in her hand.

n“I want to avoid friendly fire. You guys, don’t attack in haste.”

nSince they were moving through dimly lit corridors, there was a danger of friendly fire if they used guns.

nWhen Livia and Noel nodded, the blue lens of Creare flashed.

n――There’s a route to the inner area without making contact. Follow me

nThe three follow Creare as she moves ahead.

nOccasionally, men’s screams can be heard mixed in with the sounds of battle.

nSometimes there are voices that say, “I’ll never forgive those guys!”.

nWhen Ange and her party continued on, they found a passageway closed to the ice.

nLivia approaches the ice.

n“Is this some kind of a mechanism? Is there a treasure up ahead?”

nLivia is concerned about the blocked passageway, but Creare tells her to ignore it.

nAh, you’re wrong. Jilk just blocked it off, so don’t worry about it and let’s move on.

nWhen Jilk’s name was mentioned, Noel tilted her head.

n“Jilk-san did? Why did he block it?”

nTo Noel, who was wondering, Ange had a cold face because she had a guess.

n“He must have thought there was treasure there anyway, so he closed it off. He’s a coward scumbag, that’s why.”

nLivia agrees with her.

n“He hasn’t changed since the first year, has he.”

nNoel follows two of them as they go ahead.

n“Indeed, he’s a bit of a coward, but is he really that coward?”

nWhen asked, Livia recounts Jilk’s misdeeds with a blank look on her face.

n“He’s the kind of guy who would secretly plant a bomb in his opponent’s armor in a duel. There are many others, such as not meeting the woman he had broken off an engagement with.”

n“Jilk-san, he is worse than I thought”

nNoel has also seen Jilk in the Republic, which annoys Marie.

nBut it was even more unscrupulous than she thought, so she was surprised about it.

nAnge also speaks of Jilk’s evaluation with a blank expression.

n“All five of them are problem boys, but I’m sure that he is one piece of trash who is no laughing matter.”

nAnd so, as soon as the topic of Jilk is over, the three come to the suspicious door.

nBut the door was open, allowing them to peek inside.

nThe underground dungeon was supposed to be dimly lit, but that room was the only one that glittered with gold.

nThe golden room itself is where the treasure was found, but the three were more surprised than pleased.

nAnge shouts.

n“Leon ?!”

nWhen the three of them and Creare ran into the room, they found Leon fighting an enemy that appeared to be an undead monster.

nAn undead monster with a head like an animal skull and wearing black robes.

nBig and long for its body, each hand was golden in color.

nThere is no lower body and it is floating in the air.

nIt would be about three meters in size.

nIt was flying around a very large room.

nLeon noticed the arrival of Ange and her party and had a subtle, indescribable look on his face.

n.

nPart 2

nWhile dealing with the boss monster guarding the room with the treasure, Ange and her party arrived instead of the five fools.

nI felt that I had spent too much time on it, and I wondered if they would be angry at me for deceiving them.

nAnge, with her rifle at the ready, pulled the trigger on the flying boss monster.

nBoss monsters hide behind pillars to avoid bullets.

nThis room, built entirely of gold, has a throne-like object.

nA throne in a basement makes no sense, but this is surely where the treasure lies.

nAs I recall, there was definitely a throne, but it wasn’t this shiny golden room, though.

nIt should have been the same dimly lit room as before.

nLivia approaches me and checks for injuries.

n“Leon-san, are you injured?”

n“No problem”

nNoel also comes to my side and looks up at the boss monster, who is clinging to a pillar and hiding to see what’s going on.

n“It looks so strong. Can you beat it?”

nI wish I could have beaten it quickly, but unfortunately I couldn’t.

nI don’t think I can lose, but I didn’t bring the best equipment nonetheless.

n“I’m not going to lose, but I doubt I’m going to win. If this is the case, I should have brought my shotgun.”

nI’m thinking I’ve failed, and Luxion blames me, whining at this point, saying ‘that’s why I told you’.

nWhen being asked for advice on what weapon to bring, I recommended a shotgun.

n“I thought I didn’t need it at that time!”

nI didn’t actually use it much when I was conquering in that Otome game.

nAs I was arguing with Luxion, the boss monster jumped out of the pillar and attacked us.

nAnge attacks with a rifle, but it seems that a single bullet is not enough to finish it off.

nIt did not do much damage, just a puff of smoke from the spot where it hit.

n“Chi!”

nWhen I threw the grenade-shaped magic tool I had brought to the ground, it exploded and the purified holy water spread around me like a mist.

nSeeing that, the boss monster distances itself from us.

nAnge was loading bullets skillfully as she approached me.

n“Holy water? How many left?”

nWhen I touched the belt to check the remaining number, there was only one left.

n“One left”

nAnge keeps her eyes on the boss monster and asks me for advice on how to beat it.

n“Should we spread out and keep attacking?”

n“There’s not a lot of bullets, and Livia and Noel are using handguns, to begin with, so I don’t know if that’s possible?”

nNeither Livia nor Noel are good when it comes to handling guns.

nIt would be foolish to force them to defeat it, so as I was thinking about retreating, Noel tapped me lightly on the back.

n“I have this.”

nWhen I turned only my face, I saw that Noel was holding a tree branch and a few leaves in her hand.

nDid she pick it up from somewhere? The question did not occur to me.

nBecause when Noel had it in her hand, I realized it was a Sacred Tree thing.

n“Did you rip it off from Sapling-chan?”

n“You’re wrong! This twig is the one that had fallen off! As for the leaves, I asked Yumeria-san to pluck them for me.”

nIt seems that Yumeria-san plucked it and Kyle delivered it to Noel.

n“Can it be used?”

n“I am still a priestess. Or, rather, do you want to use it too, Leon? You forgot you’re a guardian, didn’t you?”

nI thought that being a guardian had few advantages and a weird bruise on my right hand only.

n“I don’t know how to use it.”

n“I can’t help but wonder how you became a guardian”

nFor now, I understand that Noel has some means of attack here as well.

nWhen I glanced at Livia, her cheeks were puffed out.

n“I also don’t have a problem. I’m good at magic, don’t you remember?”

n“Right.”

nOnce the conversation is settled, Ange gives the instructions.

n“If so, scatter in all directions and launch an attack. If it becomes dangerous, join the other immediately.”

nWhen everyone nodded, we scattered and began our attack.

nThe first to move was Noel.

n“Sacred Tree, lend me your strength!”

nWhen she threw a tree branch she was holding, it swelled up in the air and became huge.

nAs it is, it moves in an undulating manner, entangling itself with the boss monster and attempting to block its movement.

n“Yoshi!”

nNoel makes guts pose, but when the boss monster touched a giant tree branch, it turned gold from that spot.

n“That’s not fair!”

nAs soon as Noel shouts, the giant tree branch turns into a gold nugget and shatters into pieces.

nBut it was enough to buy time.

n“No problem”

nAt a distance, Livia made two magic circles appear, and flames emerged from one of them.

nFrom the other side, the wind blows out, and when combined, the flames gain momentum and attack the boss monster.

n“What’s that? I don’t know what that is.”

nWhen I say I don’t know the magic of Livia, Luxion, who was by my side, explains it to me.

nIt’s not advanced magic. It seems to be a combination of two types of magic. It’s an advanced technology that reduces the consumption of magic and increases its power.

nWah~, it’s awesome.

nI’m impressed and pull the trigger on the boss monster with my rifle.

nThe boss monster, writhing in flames, opened its mouth wide toward the ceiling and let out an eerie cry.

nPerhaps to escape the flames, the boss monster descends to the floor.

nIt was almost as if it had fallen, or maybe it fell to the floor, and that’s where Ange was.

n“Don’t think I’m going to let you get away!”

nHolding her left hand out in front of her and clasping her open hand, a magic circle appears on the floor where the boss monster has fallen.

nThe magic circle, drawn with glowing red lines, was intricate and huge.

nThe pillars of flame that erupted from there reached the ceiling.

nThe boss monster is lifted by momentum and slammed into the ceiling.

nAnge speaks to the boss monster.

n“It’s a pillar of fire. It’ll work on you, you undead monster, won’t it?”

nNo answer was returned, but that was understood by Ange.

nWhen the pillar of flame disappears, the boss monster falls again.

nBut the boss monster tries to stand up with its hands on the floor.

nAnge quickly readies her rifle and pulls the trigger, but still, the boss monster shows no sign of disappearing.

nAnge mutters at the sight.

n“So stubborn”

nLivia also began to prepare her magic, and Noel’s seemed intent on doing something with the leaves in her hands.

nWhen I was looking at it, Luxion was amazed at me.

nWhy don’t you put an end?

n“No――they’re all very strong”

nDid I still think somewhere that I should be protecting Ange and the others, that they were weak?

nAnd when they show themselves to be so strong and fierce, I feel like there was no need for me to protect them.

nEven without me――.

nMaster

n――I was called while I was thinking, and I raised my face.

nShaking my head, I turned my attention to the boss monster.

n“I’m sorry, but I have to take it down.”

nI threw a holy water bomb at the boss monster, which tried to jump up again, and when it burst, it spread out in a mist.

nIt erodes the surface of the boss monster.

nI put my rifle on the floor and started running, drawing the sword that I had slung at my waist.

nThe sword, more carefully crafted than the weapons I gave the others, was prepared for me by Luxion. It is more effective against the undead than the others.

nWhen I tried to approach the boss monster, it extended its golden hand.

nThen Noel throws a leaf she was holding to support me.

n“I won’t let you!”

nThe leaves responded to the will of Noel, the priestess, and attacked the boss monster that she had designated as her enemy.

nWhen leaves accelerated in the air stick to the boss monster, tree roots and ivy entangle it and stop it from moving.

nThe boss monster tore them apart, but it was enough to buy time.

n“That’s a big help!”

nI thanked her, jumped on the boss monster, and drove my sword through its head.

nAs expected, the boss monster could not withstand this and blew out smoke from the stabbed area.

nThe body begins to crumble and the boss monster disappears in a puff of smoke.

n“Ah~, it’s over”

nRelieved that the boss monster has finally been defeated, Ange shouts when she notices something strange in the room.

n“Oi, something’s wrong!”

nLike Ange said.

nThe golden room was dazzlingly bright, but as soon as the lord of the old castle disappeared, the gold was gone.

nWhen the throne room, made of the same material as the underground passageway, came into view, this one looked more like the view from that otome game.

nAnge is disappointed by the situation.

n“Was it all just a charade? What a mess”

nIf one large room really was made of gold, it would have been worth a lot.

nBut unfortunately, when the boss monster disappeared, everything disappeared.

nNoel approaches Ange, who slumps her shoulders and looks disappointed, and calls out to her.

n“We managed to beat it without injury, so it was good.”

n“――I wanted the treasure.”

nContrary to the dejected Ange, Livia was excited and interested.

n“Was the monster turning this room into gold? When you think about it, that’s an amazing monster. I’ve never heard of anything like this before.”

nI leave the three of them alone and head for the back side of the throne.

nWhat was there was supposed to be a treasure chest, but.

n“A coffin?”

nFor some reason, it was a coffin that had been set up.

nAs I was puzzled, Ange and the others came and noticed the coffin.

n“It’s a treasure chest typical of this dungeon. Shall we open it?”

n“Eh ?! You’re going to open it? Isn’t that scary?!”

nWhen I get flustered, Livia puts her hand on her chin and starts thinking.

n“Part of it is scary and it would be rude if someone’s body was there.”

nThen Noel looked at Creare.

n“Do you know what’s inside?”

nJudging from the reaction, it is precious metals

nUpon hearing that, Ange puts her hand on the coffin.

n“Then I’ll open it.”

nFrom my point of view, it’s scary and feels like it’s cursed, even though I’m not comfortable with it.

nMy eyes widen when I see the contents of the opened coffin.

n“This isn’t really a person, is it?”

nInside the coffin, for some reason, was gold in the form of a woman.

nShe has her hands folded over her stomach as if in prayer, and her eyes are closed.

nIt looks as if it is about to wake up at any moment and is surrounded by flowers and ornaments made of gold, silver, and jewels.

nIt was as if a truly beautiful woman was sleeping.

nLuxion flashes his red lens to analyze.

nIt’s gold. It’s not a person

n“That boss monster could have turned her into gold, right.”

nIf so, she should be back to normal.

n“Well, that’s right, but. ――Could that boss monster with the horse skull have been guarding this?”

nI don’t think the monster has that habit. Also, that head was a donkey, not a horse.

n“Donkey?!”

nI had thought it was a horse or something.

nAs I was scared alone, the three of them, including Ange, plus Creare, turned to look at me.

nAnge puts her hands on her hips and laughs at me.

n“That’s surprising. I’ve suspected that for some time, but apparently, there’s something that scares Leon as well.”

nLivia puts her palms together and smiles at me.

n“Leon-san has a cute side to him too.”

nNoel seems happy to know an unexpected side of me, but at the same time, she teases me.

n“If it were a monster, you would beat it. If you’re scared, do you want me to stay with you tonight?”

nHave all three of you become merciless to me?

n“Aren’t you three just awful?”

nWhy are they striking so hard today?

nIt is Creare that gives me the answer.

nGetting deceived about the hidden door thing makes them angry. To be forgiven for this much, Master is so loved!

nEven an AI teases me?

nAs I turn away from everyone, people are coming through the door.

nThey are Julius and his friends in tatters.

n“――Leon, is there something you want to tell me?”

nJulius and the others, five idiots appeared with wrinkles between their eyebrows and seemed to resent me terribly.

nApparently, they are angry.

n“Something to tell you? Ah~, I see”

nI think of what to say to the five of them and I put my hands together and stick my tongue out cutely.

n“Thanks to you guys being the decoys, I got the treasure this way. I am grateful.”

nThen Jilk, with his hair disheveled, points at me.

n“This coward! You have deceived me!”

n“――You’re the one who betrayed first.”

nWhen I gave him a good argument, the five idiots began to surround Jilk.

nJilk feigned ignorance.

n“What’s the matter? To Leon-kun, who has deceived us, give him a hammer ――GOHAA ?!”

nIt was Brad who slammed his fist into Jilk’s face.

nBrad, whose part of his clothes is torn, drops a tattered handkerchief on the face of the fallen Jilk.

n“Jilk, have you forgotten what you did to us? Leon is annoying, but you’re a traitor to us, too.”

nGreg was flexing his finger bones and his eyebrows were twitching.

n“You tricked us into competing, didn’t you?”

nChris took off his broken glasses and looked at Jilk with a terribly cold stare.

n“I can’t forgive Leon, but I can’t forgive you either.”

nHe must be angry at Jilk’s betrayal.

nAfter all, they had missed the great feat of discovering the treasure.

nAnd then there was one man who felt his gut churn.

n“You guys betrayed me first, though.”

nJulius was looking at us in a low-pitched.

nFrom the perspective of Julius, who was the first decoy, we are all enemies.

nSo I say.

n“Your friendship is fragile in the face of treasures, isn’t it? But still, it’s ugly to fight among comrades.”

nWhen I laughed, the five of them look at me and pick up their weapons and come at me.

nJulius represents.

n“I guess so. Then let’s beat you up first and then we’ll fight among ourselves.”

nI shrug my shoulders in front of Julius who is coming at me.

n“You idiot. I have Ange and the others here. Everyone, help me!”

nI turned around to ask for help, and before I knew it, Luxion was at Ange’s side, conversing with her.

n“I’m tempted to leave it as is, but I suppose I’ll have to melt it down.”

nBesides its artistic value, it is also of great value as an ancient heritage. I thought it would be better for future generations if we kept it

n“That would be nice. If I decorate it, it’s like our accomplishments are going to last a lifetime.”

nLivia and Noel are talking with Creare.

n“I would like it to be kept as it is. There might be some secrets in there!”

nLivia insisted that it should be stored and investigated rather than melted down.

nNoel is listening to this with disinterest.

n“It sure looks great. Creare, is it really that great?”

nIt’s hard to explain to Noel-chan. It’s okay if you just think it’s great. Even if I tell you properly, you won’t understand.

n“Aren’t you treating me so lightly?!”

n“Because you’re not interested, are you?”

nSeeing Ange and the others enjoying the conversation, I reach out my hand.

n“Eh, you won’t help me?”

nI asked for help, but the response from Ange and others was cold.

nAnge crosses her arms and squints.

n“You deserve it. Have a little remorse.”

nTaking advantage of it is my supposed partner, Luxion.

nIt’s retribution for deceiving people. It’s a fitting end for Master.

nI tremble.

n“I understand Ange and the others, but at least you can help me, Luxion!”

nI refuse. Also, your friends are waiting for you.

n“Eh?”

nAs soon as I turn around, Julius puts his hand on my shoulder.

nGripping me tightly, Julius speaks to me with a dark smile.

n“Come talk to us. Fist to fist.”

nFive idiots think they can beat me up and give me a scary smile.

nThe situation was so bad that I, a coward, was shaken up.

nI let out a small sigh.

n“It’s not the deceivers’ fault, right? Unfortunately, the treasure you were after is ours. So, losers, let me know how you feel now.”

nWhen I fanned them with a smile, Julius’ fist came at me, so I hit him, too.

nWe cross-counter and hit each other’s cheeks, and the other guys start joining in.

nI give Julius a second hit.

n“You should be thankful I brought you here, KORAa!”

n“What is the competition! You’ve been trying to win alone from the beginning!”

nAs the six of us begin to fight as it is, I hear the voices of Ange and Luxion from behind.

n“It’s a really ugly fight.”

nI’m no match for Master’s boomerang tactics?

nRemember this, Luxion?!

n