Kudo laughed out loud as soon as he heard Asteria's introduction.
"You? A princess? That can't be!", Kudo continued laughing as he looked at the woman in front of him trying to introduce herself as royalty.
Asteria sighed.
"Well, it's up to you whether you believe it or not.", she simply shrugged it off, which made Kudo stop laughing.
"Eh… you're no fun. I expected another reaction…", Kudo let his thoughts leak out, which made both Margaret and Brylle smack him.
"How could you talk to our savior like that?", Margaret scolded Kudo, who yelped in pain as soon as her palm hit his shoulder. Her power really was nothing to be scoffed at.
"Okay, okay! Sorry!", Kudo immediately apologized as he didn't want another hand from the Sutton siblings to fly towards him.
"Please ignore him, he's just a lunatic.", Brylle told Asteria, who let out a small giggle after hearing his words. Kudo didn't dare to refute since he feared receiving another smack.
"Oh, right… mind if we ask where you're going?", Margaret asked Asteria.
"Well… I was actually in Norbury for diplomatic reasons… but since I aided in the escape of a few criminals, I have to refrain from returning to Fantasmagoria for a while…", Asteria told them with a sad voice. She seemed to be on the verge of tears, which made the three other passengers feel guilty.
"W-we'll help you with anything! You can come with us if you want!", Kudo immediately offered.
"Yeah! Don't worry, we're quite capable as adventurers!", Brylle added to Kudo's words. They really wanted to make it up to Asteria.
"Oh, really?", Asteria's face immediately turned into a cheerful one. Any trace of sadness could no longer be found. The tears on her eyes seemed to have disappeared as if her eyes had completely dried up. She really was adept in terms of acting.
"It just so turns out that I have to visit a certain place which is a bit dangerous… but it should be nothing for such capable adventurers such as you guys!", Asteria added on. It seems like she had everything planned from the start.
"W-which place is it?", Brylle asked, completely giving up on trying to understand the woman in front of him.
"The Infernal Caverns!", Asteria looked at the three of them with a bright expression.
Kudo didn't know what she was talking about, but as soon as he saw the expression on the two sibling's faces, he knew that it was nowhere good.
"I-Infernal Caverns?! That dungeon filled with lava?!", Margaret asked with a face full of surprise. Asteria nodded with a large smile on her face.
"T-the one where no adventurer has come back alive from? The one that apparently has a dragon as the dungeon's final boss…?", Brylle continued asking questions. Asteria's smile grew even larger as she continued nodding in response.
"Can we refuse…?", the three of them asked Asteria in unison, who shook her head in response. A large smile was still plastered on her face.
"This poor woman has become a fugitive in order to save you three, so this much should be fine!", Asteria's bright smile made the three feel incredibly uncomfortable. They now knew how formidable the woman in front of them was.
"Well, that's it! Charles! Make haste towards the Infernal Caverns!", Asteria cheerfully commanded her coachman.
"Yes madam!", the coachman calmly responded. It seemed like the coachman was just as crazy as her master. He was willingly bringing them towards their impending doom, yet they didn't feel an ounce of fear at all.
The three of them looked at each other and sighed in disbelief.
"I didn't think it could get any worse…", Brylle mumbled.
"I know, right?", Margaret responded with a face of a person who has given up. She glared at Kudo. Ever since they met him, it's been downhill from thereon.
"W-well… maybe the Infernal Caverns or whatever it is isn't that bad? After all, she seems to be pretty calm!", Kudo whispered towards the two of them and pointed towards Asteria, who seemed to be internally celebrating successfully tricking them, judging from the smug look on her face.
"Look, the Infernal Caverns has a 0% survival rate. None of the adventurers who stepped foot in that dungeon ever got back out alive. We know almost nothing about the dungeon except for the fact that a dragon lives there.", Brylle tried to make Kudo realize that the dungeon was extremely dangerous, but as Kudo heard his explanation, Kudo's eyes started sparkling.
"So… no one's ever gotten out alive?", Kudo asked Brylle with an excited look on his face. Brylle thought that he's wearing the wrong expression, but then, he also thought that Kudo was a lunatic, so he thought nothing of it, so he nodded in response.
"This powerful stick here is treasure from a dungeon, right?", Kudo asked again as he pointed towards the branch from the Tree of Magic. Brylle nodded in response, but he seemed to have realized where Kudo's words were headed.
"So that means that there's plenty of treasure inside the Infernal Caverns, right?", the sparkles in Kudo's eyes grew brighter and brighter. After all, he was a great thief, and where there is treasure, there is something to steal.
Brylle and Margaret let out a sigh of disbelief as they realized how unbelievable Kudo was.
"Look, if you're in a hurry to die, don't drag us along!", Brylle angrily told Kudo.
"Well, I don't want to die, but I do want treasure!", Kudo smiled as he told Brylle his honest intentions.
"Were you even listening? No one's survived so far… what makes you confident that you'll make it out alive?", Brylle responded with even more anger in his voice.
"Well, she's the one who suggested it and she seems to be calm.", Kudo calmly responded as he pointed at Asteria.
"I also feel like she's someone important. Maybe not a princess, but something similar… am I right?", Kudo's eyes met Asteria's gaze.
"Hmm… I really am the princess, though?", Asteria simply smiled in response, but her eyes told Kudo that he was indeed spot on.
"Well, that's that. If you're some kind of royalty or a noble, then you should have something up your sleeve.", Kudo concluded. Asteria looked at him and thought that he was incredibly clever despite his looks.
"You're right. I do have a plan.", Asteria smiled towards the Sutton siblings, who were just watching her and Kudo talk.
Asteria reached for something under her seat and pulled out a small wooden box.
"This here is my trump card.", Asteria pulled everyone's attention with the box. They all stared at the box, curious as to what was inside.
Asteria opened the box, revealing a pair of rings. Each of them had a small glass orb that seemed to have a tiny splinter of wood inside.
Both Brylle and Margaret was surprised as soon as they saw the rings, but Kudo looked at Asteria straight into her eyes.
"Aren't you supposed to be kneeling when you propose?", Kudo couldn't help but crack a joke since the opportunity presented itself. He also seemed to be the only one that didn't recognize what the rings were.
Unlike Brylle and Margaret who looked at him in distaste, Asteria let out a hearty laugh.
"Well… if you prove yourself to be worthy, I wouldn't mind proposing to you.", Asteria looked at Kudo with a seductive smile.
"Eh… I think you should be the one proving yourself to me, though…", Kudo playfully retaliated.
They continued conversing in the same manner for a while, which made Brylle and Margaret vow to themselves that they would never go against Kudo or Asteria in a battle of words. They were both just too crafty with words.
"Well… that's enough… what's with those rings anyway?", Kudo finally felt tired of poking fun at Asteria, who always seemed to have a comeback ready.
Asteria pulled out one of the rings and showed it to Kudo.
"See this shard of wood in the glass? It's from the same tree where your branch came from.", Asteria pointed towards the stick from the Tree of Magic that Kudo held.
"If two people wear this ring at the same time, they'll both be given one chance each to escape from danger by teleporting one to the other.", Asteria tried explaining it to Kudo, but the look on his face showed that he didn't understand anything that she just said.
Asteria sighed.
"Let me just give you an example. If both you and I wear this ring, and you go out and fall from a cliff or something like that, you'll get teleported to me. The same thing will happen if I fall off the cliff. We both get one teleport each. Get it?", Asteria explained it once again to Kudo, who seemed to have finally understood her explanation, but he still had a confused look on his face.
"But then, how do you know if it works?", Kudo asked.
Asteria had a dumbfounded look on her face.
"W-well… the scholars back in my kingdom carefully examined it and stuff…", Asteria wasn't exactly sure how to respond.
"Did they test it themselves?", Kudo continued to push, seeing this as an opportunity to tease Asteria.
"W-well… no, but…", Asteria seemed to be unable to find the words to respond. Somehow, Kudo's questions seemed to make her question the authenticity of the artifacts in her hands. Although the scholars had never been wrong every time they examined an artifact, she couldn't be sure that this one really would work.
Kudo noticed Asteria's expression turning sour, so he decided to drop it.
"Forget it. If you have that much faith in it, then I'll believe you.", Kudo was now the one who had a smug expression on his face. It was then that Asteria noticed that he was just teasing her.
"Ah… I see…", she looked like she was about to explode from anger.
"In that case, you wouldn't mind being the one to test it out, right?", Asteria had an evil look on her face. A chill ran down Kudo's spine as she looked at her eyes. She was out for revenge.
"I-I was just kidding earlier!", Kudo tried to laugh it off, but Asteria didn't seem to budge.
"So, Kudo will go and check out the Infernal Caverns while we wait outside.", Asteria smiled at Kudo and handed him one of the rings.
"You should wear it at all times, okay? Or else we might never see you again?", Asteria continued tormenting Kudo, who already had a fearful look on his face. It was then that he realized that Asteria was not a woman he should cross.
"C-can't we talk about this?", Kudo tried to negotiate, but Asteria had a triumphant look on her face and didn't seem to be willing to negotiate with him.
"Charles! Double time towards the Infernal Caverns!", Asteria told her coachman.
Kudo understood her words differently. As he looked at Asteria's bright and cheerful face as she commanded the coachman, his mind was translating Asteria's true intentions.
"Charles! Double time towards this bastard's death!"
In his mind, those were Asteria's words. Her eyes were sharp and she had an evil look on her face as she looked down towards him. It was then that he vowed to never offend Asteria ever again.
Brylle and Margaret just watched the exchange happen, both relieved that they weren't picked to be the ones to enter the dungeon first.
As the carriage made its way towards the dungeon, Kudo felt his impending doom coming. He looked at the ring and prayed to the heavens that it really work as intended.
-----------------------------
"We're here!", Asteria happily announced as she exited the carriage.
Brylle and Margaret followed her. As they saw the dungeon entrance, they immediately realize that this dungeon's level was absurdly high. The entrance to the dungeon was a cave below a volcano, which seemed to be an active one, judging from the smoke billowing from its crater.
Kudo's face was extremely pale as he left the carriage. As he looked at the place he was about to enter, his face turned completely white.
"I-isn't this going to explode at any moment?", Kudo asked Asteria as he pointed towards the smoke coming from the volcano's crater.
"Nope! The smoke's been bellowing for almost two years now and nothing has happened.", Asteria responded with a smile.
"Don't you mean that nothing has happened YET?", Kudo tried to retort, but he felt that all of his energy was drained from the mere sight of the place. He has been to many different places and stole many different treasures, but he has never been to a cave leading to a freaking active volcano!
"Well, good luck to you guys! I'll be waiting here in the carriage!", Kudo smiled and tried to play it off, but Asteria immediately grabbed him by his collar.
"Don't worry! You did say that I have faith in the rings, did you not?", Asteria's dazzling smile was too bright for Kudo to look at directly.
"Y-yes, ma'am…", Kudo wanted to kick himself for teasing Asteria earlier, but it was too late.
"So… I just have to go in and if I meet any kind of danger, I'll be teleported out, right?", Kudo asked in order to make sure that he heard the plan correctly.
"Yep!", Asteria nodded, along with Brylle and Margaret.
"Don't worry, I'm wearing the other ring!", Asteria added as she showed the ring on her right hand's ring finger.
"Yep, we'll be waiting here so that you'll be teleported to a safe spot.", Brylle added.
"Yeah! We'll make sure to put your gravestone in a good place!", Margaret added the final words of encouragement for Kudo, who only sighed in response.
"Well, I'll be on my way then…", Kudo had already given up. He held the stick in one hand and gripped the strap of his backpack on the other.
His three companions all waved him goodbye which they meant in a positive manner, but Kudo looked at them as people who were waving at him as a farewell as they sent him to his funeral.
The dungeon entrance was massive. The cave was almost the size of a ten-story building.
As Kudo entered the cave, the walls were littered with glowing gems, which lit the path forward. A few minutes of walking led him to a large metal door, which seemed to be the only thing at the end of the path.
The temperature in the area was hot. After all, he was underneath a large volcano. He was sweating profusely. He examined the metal door, thinking that there must be some kind of trap on it.
At first, he thought that the door's trap was tricking an adventurer to open it and burning his or her hand since it was probably scalding hot due to it being metal, so he tapped the door, and strangely enough, the door felt extremely cold.
"Strange…", he then looked to the sides of the door, where there were small gaps that were leaking some kind of light smoke. When he closely examined it, he noticed that it was water vapor. The hole it came had glowing viscous liquid slowly dripping from it, which seemed to be lava.
"Lava around the walls, yet it doesn't seem that hot… and the door's extremely cold despite being so close to the lava…", Kudo mumbled to himself, trying to figure out if there was any trap at all, but so far, he couldn't find anything.
"Ah, whatever.", Kudo's head started to hurt as he couldn't find anything. He decided to just risk it and pushed the door open. It was an extremely sturdy door, but as Kudo exerted all of his strength, the door creaked open, sending a cool breeze of wind towards him.
"What the hell…?"
Unlike the area before the door, the temperature inside was extremely cold. There were even a few icicles hanging on the ceiling. The room was extremely narrow and dark, unlike the previous room.
Kudo had a bad feeling about whatever was ahead. The room was completely dark, except for a piece of glowing gem lying on the floor, identical to the ones embedded on the walls in the previous room.
As Kudo took a step forward to pick up the glowing gem on the floor, the large door behind him immediately closed shut.
"Wait!", Kudo tried to stop the door from closing, but he was too late. The door was now completely shut. He tried pushing it, but it didn't seem to budge. It was as if something was blocking it from the outside.
"Did those guys trap me in here or something?", Kudo felt angry thinking about which one of the three was childish enough to pull this prank, but then he realized that he was in a world with magic. As he looked at the closed door and back towards the darkness down the corridor, he now realized why the dungeon had a 0% survival rate.
"It's because there's no going back, huh?", Kudo couldn't help but feel his blood boil.
Such a grand and mysterious place with a history of adventurers never returning from the dungeon made him feel ecstatic. If such a place was still unexplored, then the treasure inside must be something special.
Kudo couldn't help but smile out of excitement as he thought about taking the treasure inside with his own two hands.
With the glowing gem in hand, he moved towards the darkness carefully. He had thoughts about going back or at least try to find a way to leave, but he then asked himself:
"Why do I have to go through all these dangers just to get my hands on some treasure…?"
But as soon as he asked himself that, he sighed, and he couldn't help but have a wide smile on his face.
"Well… as the one called the Great Thief Kudo, I can't let my fans down…"