"Me, a... hero?"
"Yes. I was sealed here so that I could serve you.. There are others like me, sealed, waiting for you to release them, as I was told. And then, we shall destroy the human race."
Ah, crap. My head hurts...
"...Wait a sec."
I pushed my temples with my hands, restraining myself.
"What's wrong?"
"I'm still a Hero in the end. Is that OK? I need to put that out first."
"Yes, I am aware. You are a Hero."
"Right? Then, I can't just destroy humanity, right?"
I have no idea what that goddess will do if I do that.
If she snaps she could just end my existence there and then.
"Yes, but as I said that is your goal."
"I haven't heard of a hero that wipes out the human race!"
"?"
Leadred tilted her head slightly.
...I don't think we're connecting...
She also recognizes I'm a hero. Maybe, her definition of hero is different?
"Leadred."
"Please call me Akina-"
"Leadred. Tell me about the Hero you know."
"...I understand."
Leadred seemed discontent, but she followed.
"The Heroes I know are those that protect us from monsters that cruelly destroy our homes and take our treasures.
Those who bravely fight the enemy head on, and protect their allies.
One who gives us the light of hope, and saves us from the darkness of despair."
From the middle she looked into me with a respectful gaze.
"... I see."
I still don't get it... Leadred's definition of Hero is exactly the same as mine.
...Looks like I'll need to calm down and talk to her again.
...Speaking of which, after she started talking about this hero stuff I forgot something really important.
"Leadred. There's one more thing I want to ask..."
"Hm, if I can answer it."
"If I head to the lowest floor of the dungeon will I be able to go back to the surface?"
Our true wish is to get out of here and inflict the same pain to Samejima.
The faster I get out, the better.
I mean, I don't think I can beat someone stronger than Leadred.
"Yes, I'm preparing a transport magic circle."
"I see! You're... preparing it?"
Prepar-ing? Not being prepared?
My doubts were quickly cleared.
"This is the lowest floor of Rigal's Den. And, I'm the protector of this place."
Contrasting to when she fought, she smiled at me.
"Dungeon Clear. Congratulations, Heroes."
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
"First you struck us. You hit us with Oni Pressure, right?"
"Yes."
"Hamakaze was really messed up by that. Because of that skill, her spirit broke."
"But, she moved, right?"
"That's because of my skill, Absolute Order."
"Ah, I see!"
Leadred seemed to understand; about us heroes, "Revenge of the Resented", and also about "Absolute Order".
"The first time she evaded, Hamakaze was under my order."
"...At that time I was already in your trap... Impressive."
"I was scared of dying, though... Well, y'know, I did get my ass handed to me... But that was fine. My role was to keep you distracted. After that, I would somehow give out the order when you wouldn't notice it.
"So, that screaming was..."
"Yup. It wasn't me trying to get you to end me. That was so she could hear it, and so that she could stab you and fire off that magic."
"You tricked me, and killed me. Well done."
Leadred guided Hamakaze and I to the end of the room.
How do I feel? Great. It's obvious from me talking about it.
I mean, I just cleared the dungeon. I felt as much pain as I did joy, but it was worth it.
Today is a good day. It should be memorialized. Let's do that.
Even so that I could enjoy it.
"You seem happy, Daichi."
"Ah, you noticed?"
"Yes, I know everything you're thinking about."
"Hm... Then, try to guess.
Just so you know, after this I want to go eat some food and get some shelter. I want to get some information after resting for a while. I want to ask her for a recommended dungeon. I got a slave slot empty, so I want to get a new strong slave.
"To put it simply, after eating you want to rest. After that, you want to talk to Leadred to figure out the next dungeon to go to. You would want a new slave."
"Wow, how did you-!?"
So this is telepathy...
After swapping standpoints, there's a limit to the irony.
"Do I get a reward for guessing right?"
"Of course not... Aren't you getting carried away?"
"Same goes to you. I'm also happy, being of use to you."
"...I see."
"Now that I think about it, I'm grinning like before.
Maybe that's because of this.
"--Heroes, we have arrived."
It's been awhile since I've had some trifling chatter.
Leadred turned around, and pulled us into the magic circle.
It was a simple room.
Just a square room with a magic circle.
Just like it was made for transport. I'm a bit anxious...
"Leadred, will this really take us to the surface?"
"Yes. If we cast Teleport it should be fine. Just match it up with my timing. If not, the magic circle will fail, the entrance will seal up, and this dungeon will no longer exist."
"That's scary..."
"You have to beat the protector to use this room, so it's taking everything down with me."
I see...
That makes sense.
I would make the same trap. After finally being able to head back to the surface, I would drop them down into despair.
I wanna try that to Samejima.
I think I would get along with the one who ade this trap.
"Then, everyone. Are you ready?"
"Yes. No problems."
"I'm fine."
We made a circle, hand joined around the circle. A magical light filled the room.
Crystals as fine a snow beautifully fluttered about the room, as if it's blessing us.
"Then, let's go. 3, 2, 1--"
"Teleport!"
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
The blue sky; white clouds. The shining sun.
No walls, blood scents, and stagnant air.
Looking one way, green fields.
The wind brushed my cheeks.
I'm back... From that hell.
I'm back!
The feeling of stirred inside me.
Putting that into form, I screamed out.
"I'm baaaack!!"
It's been 11 days since I came here, and 4 days since I've been thrown away by my classmates.
After dying seven times-- I cleared the dungeon.