It was when I looked down at Thesilid, wondering if I had heard it wrong.
Squeaky gurgling!
"...."
"...."
It became awkward because we were in the midst of setting the mood.
"I-I was on my way to the restaurant."
"Ah, yes. It's a natural thing to happen, so there's nothing to be ashamed of."
"...But why are you looking at me like that?"
It was cute to see him blushing while making excuses.
Suddenly, I remembered the Vatican's poor diet and immediately searched in my satchel bag.
"Here, it's a present."
"What's this…?"
"Something to eat. It's tasty."
Thesilid was puzzled by the tomato pasta-flavored pills I gave him.
"The necklace is really mine, so don't worry and go eat."
"Well, yes. I'll have to check with Cardinal Cattleya later. My friends are waiting for me so,...."
For a moment, a dubious word stuck to my mind.
"Huh? Friends?"
Thesilid has a friend?
I was not trying to blame the pushover free pass for his ability to make friends. This was a matter of plot setup. But, obviously, in the original work, the setting for the childhood friends of the protagonist were….
– Among the stigmata caught in the dungeon burst, I was the only survivor. It seems to have started on that day. Every year from then on, The Day of Sacrifice began to take something away from me.
Friends. Dungeon Burst. The Sacrifice Day.
What do these keywords mean?
"No way..."
"What's wrong?"
At the moment when a curious question rang in my ears, it came.
Thud-!
"...!"
"...!"
A huge, heavy wave hits the heart directly and at the same time, the feet shake, and the ground cracks.
No, that was not it. It's the separation of space itself. I couldn't help but know what this was about.
"Dungeon Burst…!"
The puzzles fit perfectly.
The dungeon burst that devastated Thesilid's childhood takes place today, right here!
['The world-building God' is puzzled as to why the disaster event is triggered now.]
['The Scales that Judges the Soul' criticizes the Creator for saying such things.]
['The Harsh Commentator who adjusts the balance' shakes his head lightly saying that the S-Rank follower has bad timing.]
The accident increased the number of spectators.
It was only within the County that the survival difficulty is calibrated to F.
Furthermore, it was a dungeon that exterminated everyone to give Thesilid an unhappy childhood setting. I have to be prepared for the level of difficulty.
On the other hand, it seems that the scope of the dungeon burst was the entire restaurant building. The interior, visible through the windows near the flowerbed, was a mess.
"Wh-what! Earthquake?"
"Aww! The floor…!"
"Whoa! Mom, help me...!"
An unstoppable gravitational force came out of the dark subspace and pulled the children's bodies.
And my body too.
Whoophhssss!
Suddenly, my wrist was held tightly. It was Thesilid.
"Don't get far from me."
"...."
...I just got a little touched.
Shwiiiiinhggg!
Darkness engulfed us with strong vertigo that seemed to make us vomit. And the scene that unfolded after the darkness was gone....
Chick wiggle! Chick wiggle!
Doo-doo-doom-doom-!
Ting...Ting....Ting….Ting.
Ding Ding Ding Ding Ding Ding Ding Ding Ding... .
Toy trains running on railroad tracks, soldier dolls beating drums, clown heads popping out of a spring box, music box spinning on a merry-go-round, twinkling Christmas decorations and light bulbs.
The message in my head gave me the name and grade of this delusive space.
[ You have entered the S-level dungeon 'The Mansion of Toys'.]
Hmmm, this is this world average difficulty. Is it possible to clear it?
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. How about you?"
"Me too."
I and Thesilid exchanged greetings and looked around. We, along with the other children, were dropped in a reception hall that had a Christmas atmosphere.
When nothing happened for a long time, children began to relax their guard.
"Hey, where are we?"
"It's pretty. It's full of toys."
"It's moving. Amazing."
"Huh? I wanted that doll!"
When they saw a toy that their parents didn't buy them for Christmas last year, the children's eyes widened.
When some children started holding toys as if they belonged to them, even the hesitant children could not overcome their desire.
Except for me and Thesilid, the children were busy digging through toys and opening gift boxes.
"Don't touch it! This is inside a dungeon!"
Thesilid cried out.
"Wow! This is fun!"
"I guess we can take what's here!"
"Give it up! I picked this doll first!... Tsk, you tore the arm off!"
If they listened to his words, they were not normal children, and if he was able to solve this with words, he was not our frustrating pushover free pass.
In the first place, our pushover is trying to save everyone even in this situation.
I stopped Thesilid.
"It's no use. They will understand it's a dungeon only if demons and monsters come out."
"I know. I did it out of duty."
"...."
Right. Good deeds are business for him, but he keeps saying it's something mandatory.
Thesilid asked abruptly.
"Why don't you rush to gifts like they do?"
"My mental age is much higher than it looks. You can call me sister."
"It's weird that you're calm when we're inside this dungeon."
"It's not my first time. But it seems your first time in a dungeon since you only lived inside the Vatican. Are you okay?"
"I am…."
At that moment, the air in the reception hall shook, and at the same time, there was tension on Thesilid's face.
It was a white-haired young man who opened a rip in the space and appeared.
"Welcome, children! Welcome to the mansion of Count Orsche!"
Just by looking at the fact that he was wearing a tailcoat, he was a demon in the position of a butler.
'Not yet.'
The use of Descent should be carefully timed.
['The world-building God' advises that the butler will escape by moving through space if you show the power right now.]
It means that this dungeon had opponents where I had no choice but to push them into a closed boss room to kill them.
The boss room is a realm cut off from any type of interference, even for demons. It's impossible to come in or leave while the battle is in progress.
At the appearance of a stranger, the children who had been playing like thunderbolts stopped their actions and focused their attention.
"Haha! Don't be so nervous. You don't have to put the dolls and toys back. Because…."
Pop! Bump!
Fireworks exploded behind the butler demon's back.
"You are a very, very special chosen gests! The toys, dolls, sweets, and cakes here, as well as everything in the mansion, were prepared for you."
"R-Really? Really?"
"Then it's okay to have all of these, right?"
Innocent children asked the question with positive feelings.
"Of course. They were prepared according to the master's command to serve you with the utmost respect. I'm Rodrigo, as a butler, I will do everything in my power to treat the special guests with utmost care. In that sense, we have prepared a lot of fun games. Let's have fun with me!"
"Wow!"
Cute stuffed animals approached and started handing out colorfully painted eggs one by one.
"Easter Egg!"
"I was hungry!"
Following Christmas, this time it was an imitation of Easter. It was demonic as in having bad taste.
"Did everyone get an egg? So, before we eat, shall we thank the Count for inviting you to his wonderful mansion? Follow along, 'Thank you, Count Orsche'!"
"Thank you, Count Orsche!"
The hungry children broke the eggshells in an instant.
"Don't eat it!"
Of course, again this time, the eggs were swallowed up in the children's mouths, regardless of Thesilid's dutiful words of advice.
The happy butler Rodrigo's eyes bent unusually.
"Count Orsche is a wonderful man. He loves good and innocent children like you. To be more exact... The soul of a good, pure child!"
"Kaaaaaaaa!"
Some of the children who ate the eggs fell by grabbing their necks. They vomited white bubbles while convulsing their bodies that quickly exploded and turned into a doll.
"He-hey?!"
While the kids were startled, I checked the debuff in the system status window.
[ 'Dollification']
A black magic debuff created by Rodrigo to keep human souls in a fresh state while extracting it. When life reaches a critical point in Count Orsche's mansion, they turn into dolls, delaying death. Instead, the body neither dies nor lives until all its soul is removed.
Note: Where did all the toys and dolls that were around you come from? Think about it.]