Chapter 90: No matter how you think, the problem was with the question, yet it is somehow my fault when I try to answer it.
Day 37 – Morning, The Faraway Labyrinth, Outside.
The entrance on the first floor… Or rather the exit. Passing through it we finally reach the surface. The light was blinding, but I’m sure everyone welcomes it with smiles.
It seems that outside the sun just rose, marking the beginning of a new day. Finally, a new day we all greet together.
「Finally, the outside. The grand escape! Illusion!」
Haruka-kun also was overjoyed, getting out of the labyrinth after spending a whole week there. But there wasn’t a speck of illusion or subtlety to this. He forced his way here. It’s not a grand escape but a grand carnage. He climbed from the lowest floor while killing every living being in his way, right? Apart from『the outside』, everything he said was wrong? And also, who made that foyer we just passed?
A huge crowd of people are waiting outside? They seem to be surprised to see us?
The adventurers from the guild. Including the ladies from the reception and even the guild master. And they have loads of supplies.
Were they worrying about us? The guild master, Hakies-san rushed to us, pushing away other adventurers.
「Are you alright, everyone? We have healers here. How many injured have you? ……?!」
And spotting Haruka-kun, he, although surprised, pressed him for an answer.
「……Haruka-kun? EH?! Didn’t you fall to the lowest floor? Are you okay?」
「? Am I okay? I climbed back since I fell? Wouldn’t I be unable to say I’m okay if I didn’t? Probably?」
The guild master is confused. He is a serious person, so he ends up trying to understand Haruka-kun’s words, and thus ends up wracking his brains, unable to comprehend them. You shouldn’t seek meaning in Haruka-kun’s words. After all, Haruka-kun himself is a cryptic being. The worst part is that it’s not like his words are incorrect, but the meaning cannot be grasped anyway.
The adventurers that gathered for the rescue also were watching us with looks of bewilderment.
After all, even we are troubled by the explanation. We understood what Haruka-kun said, but we’re having trouble wrapping our heads around this. Our common sense refuses, rejects it. If we accept this, both our common sense and our heads will turn weird, thus, a rejection occurs. That’s why we can’t explain this. Not a single one of us.
「Long time no see? Or rather? Nice to meet you? Actually, why is no one looking at me?」
Adventurers that noticed Haruka-kun all turned their heads 90 degrees. Some of them went even further and probably hurt their necks as a result. Ugh, that was a scary sound… Meeting eyes with Haruka probably became just that much of a trauma.
「This is bullying! They are ignoring me! Disregarding me! Picking on me! Ostracizing me!… (Keeps going on and on)」[1]
Haruka-kun complained, but around the 『Ostracizing』part stopped making any sense. Let’s ignore him. Considering how far he went with his list there is probably no meaning to it anyway.
The guild was building a base camp to support us so that we can resupply, rest, and continue our fight with monsters underground to reunite with Haruka-kun on the lowest floors. Everyone gathered here for that. For our sake.
And yet, the very person that fell in there is complaining. Though at this point it is so incomprehensible that I’m not sure if he is still complaining or not?…… Let’s ignore him.
I explained the situation to the best of my ability.
What we knew happened.
I’m sure it will confuse everyone.
After all, even we are confused.
Even the person that did all of that doesn’t get what happened.
So I only explained the most important points.
That the dungeon was dead.
That all the monsters were wiped out.
That everyone is fine.
That the dungeon won’t revive.
It can’t come back to life since the dungeon master is not there anymore.
Though I’m not going to mention what that dungeon master is standing right next to us, feigning ignorance.
I mean, normally, no one would expect a dungeon master to go for casual shopping in the town or stop at the local inn?
Probably, if someone said at the inn’s reception 『This person is Dungeon Emperor』the poster girl would begin a weird dance with tears flowing from her eyes.
And I also don’t think that the gatekeepers would be very eager to let them pass if they heard 『This here is Dungeon Emperor』? But I’m pretty sure that if they act unkind towards Dungeon Emperor, then Haruka-kun would do something far nastier in return, so keeping silent here is for the sake of the town’s peace. After all, it is the tamer who is the real danger to the town, Dungeon Emperor actually seems like a very good person. Meanwhile, their master is a self-proclaimed human that doesn’t even seem to have any intentions of pretending to be that.
And thus we head to the town while talking, explaining, and covering things up a bit.
Everyone has the same expression, showing their inner conflict about whether they should be honestly happy about this whole situation or should they accept it at all in the first place. Their heads seem to have a hard time catching up with everything that just happened.
Thank goodness. That no one simply accepted it. Looks like this world doesn’t have other specimens like Haruka-kun.
The town came into sight. Somehow, it looks very nostalgic.
With Haruka-kun being together with us the town and the inn seem very dear… If we forget its name…
In front of the town’s gate stood armed guards, forming a line. Looks like they are preparing for something.
「That’s the squad that Omui-sama is assembling to rescue Haruka-kun. I’ll go explain the situation to them.」
With those words, the guild master hurried to the soldiers. Such a diligent person.
Looks like even the townsfolk were worried. They were trying to rescue him and us.
The outsiders, the newcomers, the troublemakers. Us.
Well, there is only one troublemaker though.
And now he tamed and brought along someone who in a certain way was even more troublesome. Through it probably would be more accurate to call them a walking calamity than just troublesome.
[TL Notes:
[1] Just in case, it wasn’t me who decided to shorten it but the author.
]