Never touch Eldmia Egga - Episode 53
It was a little over an hour later when Gaendal returned..
"Should I call it bold or reckless, it seems like I'm quite letting my guard down...no, what kind of delicious smell is this??"
As soon as we arrived, we couldn't help but laugh at Gaendal, who was distracted by the scent of the stew prepared by Catherine. For us who had been drooling for over 30 minutes, smelling this fragrant stew and waiting for him to come back, he was a savior and definitely not an object of laughter..
"Well, let’s start eating first.."
Because it was not a long-term request, the ingredients provided by Engrim were focused on taste as much as possible without worrying about freshness, and Catherine's decision to prepare the ingredients and make a bold stew was absolutely correct. Even aside from the warmth radiating from my stomach, the stew was really delicious..
"How can you eat food like this while camping??"
This is not an empty statement; it tastes better than the stew sold at most inns. This is so much that even Mrs. Alicia's stew, which I miss so much, can't keep up with it. I wonder if I was the only one who felt that way. As everyone unanimously praised her stew, Katrina smiled brightly and patted her breasts, which were as voluptuous as her muscles..
"The ingredients are the same, but I am confident in the stew! Since it contains ingredients that have been passed down in the family for generations, it won't taste like something you've often tasted.!"
"ah! That's when you added that unidentified liquid! It's really useful. I use it.."
Lelye, who works with her, responded that he had an inkling that he had already tasted her cooking. Unidentified liquid? Do the people of Loveville have a secret recipe for chicken stock??
"Catherine. In return for the advice from earlier, I would like to hear more details about what that ingredient is later.."
"I'm glad it suits your taste. The more food you share, the happier it is! I'll tell you as much as I want!"
Now it was Catherine, the multi-talented culture warrior who immediately shattered the first impression..
"after. I realize again that eating is important. Anyway, it's no big deal, so listen while you eat.."
Gaendal, who was obsessed with food just like us, filled his stomach and began to relay the results of the reconnaissance..
"The surroundings are surprisingly normal. A decent monster. A suitable adventurer. Maybe that's why they don't seem to suspect that there are demon worshipers living in the abandoned dungeon.."
Rather, they are said to be showing boldness by proudly imitating their membership in the Adventurer's Guild and politely sending away those who approach them. Everyone had no choice but to nod and agree with Gaendal's opinion that this request was very lucky just to have had the opportunity to see it in such a short period of time..
"Of course there will be shifts...but I don't know when that will be. One thing is for sure, the guys I saw didn't let their guard down. It can be said that these guys clearly know what they are doing and how dangerous a bridge they are crossing.."
"Still, it wasn't a request to eat it raw at all.."
According to the information given by Engrim, except for two guys who were archers and one wizard, they were all ordinary warrior adventurers. Personally, I think that the wizards who took part in this are the most dangerous ideologically and motivationally, but I think the others also joined with a half-hearted mindset. The age range is said to be in the late teens to early 20s, so we cannot rule out the possibility that they were full of motivation and less prepared, but since those who were once nobles had a different mindset, it seemed impossible to let down their guard..
"The most fortunate thing is that no matter how much we rest here, we are not surprised by the surrounding environment. I really like it because it will give me an advantage even when I try to attack in earnest.."
"We may be able to see Mr. Ega's surprise attack again like with the thieves.?"
Perhaps because they were impressed by what they showed when dealing with the bandits, the group began to talk about a situation in which they could naturally make a surprise attack at close range. As expected, it was a wise choice to show off one's skills against them..
"If possible, it would be a good idea to deal with about 4 people according to the shift timing and then start.."
"huh? Still, isn’t it better to handle it separately??"
"I have a strong feeling that if they keep their guard up like that, they will only relax in an environment where they feel they have an overwhelming advantage. I think the shift staff will be distracted because if they don't think it's a big deal, they'll want to quickly clean up and go in. What do you think, Eldmia??"
I hadn't thought much about it, so Gaendal's guess sounded very plausible. It was a very attractive operation because he didn't have anything in particular in mind and it didn't seem to be very dangerous..
"Honestly, I don't have any other opinions because it's something I wasn't thinking about. But I think Mr. Gaendal's guess is very plausible. Might be worth a try."
"Wouldn't it be dangerous??"
"If Engrim's information is accurate, they won't be sending only one wizard or two archers on guard duty. As far as approach is concerned, there is no problem.."
In the end, in a world where merit is paramount, if you were good no matter what division your family had, you would have been able to find a different path without having to join hands with demons. Rather, those with such skills would have kept their distance from the demons, seeing them as a level of danger that would voluntarily jump into the extremely harsh border area of the kingdom..
"These are the people who had no choice but to take the extreme option of joining hands with the demons. The skills are there, so there is no risk.."
Of course, the people scattered inside the dungeon were more dangerous than the guards. The story about the guys outside was sorted out, but Gin, who had just finished eating, unfolded the internal map he had received from the guild and took out the monocle from his pocket and put it on..
"Let's take a look... I heard it was a dungeon full of goblins, but the structure looks like a temple. In the past, among religions that worshiped ancient gods, temples related to the land were built in a structure that was dug underground like this.."
As expected from a dwarf, Gin was holding the map and checking it one by one, muttering his expert knowledge, and then he unfolded a map with many X's drawn on the face of his axe..
"This is a temple that worships the god of the clogged swamp. About 20 years ago, I investigated something that had surfaced in another region. The marked area collapsed unconditionally. Because of the intentionally distorted structural problems and the characteristics of the land that met the conditions for building a temple at the time, it was designed to be quickly destroyed if management is interrupted.."
"Heh, that's pretty interesting. An ancient god who had to be worshiped even while intentionally building such imperfect architecture.."
As Gaendal said, it was a building that was not easily understood. Isn’t this closer to a secret base than a temple??
While I was wondering, Gin scratched his head with the back of his hand holding the charcoal and answered..
"It seems that he was regarded as some kind of evil god. As a religion that was ostracized, it was strict about secrecy and security. Our conclusion was that it was a crime prevention device to destroy in case believers were unintentionally blocked or information was intentionally damaged.."
"huh? However, the guild was able to leave a map because it remained intact even after it was transformed into a dungeon and revealed.?"
"If you look at the map, the designation date for the abandoned dungeon was 3 years ago, right? Even if you don't take care of it for just one month, irreparable cracks will form. It was absolutely destroyed."
I don't know how on earth such a person stayed at the Blue Level and how Engrim knew and found him, but every time Gin explained it, I could feel the difficulty of the quest, which already didn't seem that high, gradually go down..
"It's really amazing. Still, when the dungeon was revealed, they probably didn't know it needed this kind of maintenance, so how on earth was it maintained in such a good condition??"
The question that Lellie, who had been constantly amazed, tilted his head and asked was something we could all sympathize with. And Gin, smiling as if he had been waiting for that question, tapped her map and answered..
"That's the really fun part. It is a structure that can be maintained just by stepping on the floor in places where people frequently walk. Places that you will inevitably step on unless you intentionally step on them. If left unattended for a long period of time, the floors will be destroyed and bounce up, causing collapse.."
"Oh my... the temple is one giant mechanical device.."
"It's just like that. Well, isn’t it a good thing that our work has become easier thanks to this?."
There were about a dozen Xs that Gin marked, so it felt really comfortable. After that, I guessed things like a sleeping room and a supply room, engraved a few more marks and organized the plan, and before I knew it, the sun had risen in the sky..
I wanted to immediately go out for reconnaissance and check on the number of people on shift, but the fatigue from the four-hour forced march could not be ignored, so we decided to take a break for now..
"Gaendal and I will do the reconnaissance later.."
"Oh, did you learn that skill too??"
"Because we lived together for a long time. It won't be frustrating."
These are tracking and scouting techniques that were taught directly to me by an elf who said the forest was like his home, and he even praised me. I'm sure it will work.?
Unfortunately, the others had nothing to do with it, so it was just the two of us who went to bed first..
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