"That's quite possible. Alright, I'll go check it out. Lily, are you coming with me?"
"I was thinking of waiting here, watching the fish, but I'll come along. I need to cast Detect Anomaly just to be safe."
As Lily took my hand, I said, "Then it's settled." Together, we transferred to the magic circle room.
As soon as Lily cast Light and Detect Anomaly, we found no signs of irregularity—only the green blips of our presence. The room, illuminated by the light, remained as it was when we adjusted the numbers. When I casually pressed the button on the first panel, a metallic door leading to our paradise rose noisily from the floor.
"Indeed, Lily was right," he said, a smile spreading across her face as she nodded in agreement.
The two of them began mischievously pressing random buttons on the control panel. After it closed, the door showed no sign of a keyhole. While solving the 3x3 magic square likely wasn't too difficult, without a master key, there seemed to be no way to find the door's actual lock and open it properly.
"I wished the panel would have closed, but it remains as it is," he remarked.
"That's true. Since the door is shut, we no longer need this place. Should we just break it?" she suggested.
"Isn't that a bit of a waste?" he replied.
"Understood," she said.
Though Lily's reasoning probably made sense, something in him wanted to leave this place intact.
"Well then, let's return to our paradise," he said.
As Lily took his hand, they transferred back to the edge of the spring. By then, their green blinking had ceased.
The day after the pyramid's emergence, the television was already broadcasting news related to it early in the morning. The broadcast featured updates on yesterday's casualties and missing persons, along with footage from inside the third pyramid released by the government, supplemented by expert commentary. So far, images of battles between the Self-Defense Forces and the monsters had not been made public.
What followed was a conversation between a news anchor and several experts on a particular news program.
"As I mentioned yesterday, the inside of the pyramid is indeed a dungeon. Although there have been casualties, I must say that the otherworldly realm within that pyramid holds a certain romance," remarked an expert with a knowing smile.
"I would like to take this opportunity to pray for the souls of those who lost their lives in this dungeon and wish for a swift recovery for the injured," the host said, bowing respectfully before continuing, "We have received reports of combat with monsters inside. Was there any damage to the Self-Defense Forces personnel?"
"That's certainly a concern. If modern weaponry is effective, they might have had an easy time, but if not, even the Self-Defense Forces would face difficulties," another expert replied.
...
"New information has just come in. A pyramid, referred to as the Third Pyramid, appeared near Narashino City, Chiba Prefecture, and reconnaissance teams from the Self-Defense Forces have entered and explored it. As a result, multiple encounters with monsters have occurred, but it appears that there were no injuries among the Self-Defense Forces personnel.
To reiterate: there were no injuries among the Self-Defense Forces personnel during this combat.
The Self-Defense Forces and the Ministry of Defense have recovered several types of monster corpses after the battles, and they are currently analyzing them at research facilities within Tokyo."
"This suggests that modern weaponry was effective against these monsters, indicating that there is no need to fear creatures that merely operate within the confines of animal instincts."
"I hope that in the future, dungeons will be opened up to the general public."
"We're still unclear about what kind of monsters they've encountered, but any creatures you come across at the entrance of a dungeon are likely to be weaklings. Deeper inside, though, there could be powerful monsters, like dragons."
"Don't expect to find dragons, as usual."
"With the emergence of a pyramid containing a dungeon, anything could happen."
"That may be true, but dragons…"
As various media outlets scramble for experts, even lesser-known figures are making appearances. However, even those labeled as 'experts' only have knowledge from what they've observed or created in fictional worlds, meaning there's no hierarchy among them. In other words, anyone could seize the opportunity to become a big name, depending on how they navigate the situation.
Amidst this, a nearly unknown expert, Mr. Yamaguchi, chimed in, "You might find it helpful to check out a web novel called 'True Summoning Involvement,'" promoting his own work.
With that single line, he either rose to fame or faded into obscurity.
---
Here we are, in Japan, near Narashino City in Chiba Prefecture.
At the third pyramid, following a certain level of exploration completed from their base in the Sky Cave, the main unit of Sky Company's 1st Squad, which had been providing backup outside the pyramid, entered to continue the exploration previously conducted by the reconnaissance team within.
The reconnaissance team returned from the pyramid and was immediately placed in a quarantine ambulance for observation at a Self-Defense Forces hospital in the city. The planned quarantine period was set for one week; however, tests confirmed that no known pathogens or viruses were present in the rocks and gases collected from the cave. By that evening, the team boarded a vehicle to return to the First Sky Brigade. Meanwhile, the civilian injured who had received treatment in the isolation ward were transferred to a general ward, and some of the less severe cases had already been discharged.
◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇
Now, we turn to the heroes of Akina Temple: Emily Yamada and Ranger Kazuha Tahara. After posting a notice at the Adventurers' Guild, they had successfully recruited escort adventurers, and the expedition to the Valen South Dungeon was finally set to begin.
Four escort adventurers were hired from the Great Temple, all members of a party known as the "Crimson Tornado," which was gaining recognition among Valen's adventurers as a rising force. The leader of the Crimson Tornado, commonly referred to as the One-Eyed Shauna, is a short but formidable warrior with fiery red hair, wielding a great sword with swordsmanship skills at level two. The sub-leader, Zamdo Bornen, is a tall tank character who fights with a hefty mace and shield.
Among them are Eureka Coral, a Level 2 Mage, and Vigi Shadow, a Level 2 Thief of the Great Bandit rank, along with two other women. The only male in the group, sub-leader Zamdo Bonen, takes a defensive role alongside the one-eyed leader, Shana, forming a frontline that prioritizes protection while shielding Eureka from harm. From her safe position in the back, Eureka casts offensive magic at the enemies, while Vigi maneuvers around to strike from the side or behind, landing lethal blows. He also handles the discovery and disarming of traps.
It is rare for such highly skilled individuals to form a balanced party. Though they are a younger group, known as the "Red Tempest," their capabilities far exceed those of average mid-level adventurer teams. All four members are ranked B Adventurers, and it is anticipated that leader Shana will soon reach rank A.
The day came for Emily Yamada and her companions to meet the "Red Tempest." The four members visited Akina Temple, where, under the supervision of the high priest, they gathered in the temple's reception room.
"I am Shana, the leader of the 'Red Tempest.' It's a pleasure to meet you," Shana said, bowing slightly to Emily Yamada and Kazuha Tahara.
"Hey, Shaana, nice to meet you!" "Nice to meet you too!" The two greeted each other casually.
After that, the remaining three introduced themselves, and Emily Yamada and Kazuha Tahara returned the greetings with the same lightheartedness.
"I think you've heard, but I'm Keiko Yamada from Hero," Emily said.
"I'm Ichha Tahara from Ranger. Nice to meet you!" Kazuha added.
"I said I didn't need a bodyguard, but the high priest insisted, so I hired you. Just don't be a hindrance, okay?"
"..."
Shaana and the others were taken aback by Emily Yamada's bluntness, but out of respect for the high priest and understanding it was business, they remained silent. Even Kazuha Tahara, who usually expected such behavior from Emily, thought this was over the top but chose to stay quiet.
By the way, the contract between the temple and "Crimson Gale" stipulates that they will receive a payment of 40 gold coins per day. In exchange, all valuables found within the dungeon belong to the temple. The contract is renewed monthly.
After transferring from the magic circle room to the edge of the spring, we circled around the spring to reach the other side and continued walking along the wall of the Great Sky Cave. The few meters along the wall had grass growing but no trees, making it relatively easy to walk.
After walking halfway around the entrance to the Great Sky Cave, I noticed that the ground inside was nearly circular, measuring about 300 meters in diameter as suggested by the rocky walls.
"I've checked the surroundings, so now, shall we investigate this thicket—whether to call it a thicket or a forest?" I asked.
"Yes," she replied.
I took the lead, walking through the dense underbrush toward the center of the Sky Cave. The grass, reaching up to my waist, was dotted with succulent plants, but there were no sharp-edged leaves to hinder our steps. Lily followed closely behind, occasionally activating her detection tool to scan for any dangers.
Colorful flowers bloomed abundantly, and tempting fruits hung from the foliage. Occasionally, startled birds took flight, but they seemed harmless, appearing to be ordinary species I couldn't identify.
As we neared the center of the Sky Cave, a high-pitched chirping caught my attention, emanating from the nearby shrubs. I turned to see a striking white bird resembling a parrot, its beak uniquely curved, perched on a branch.
"Analyze!" Lily called out, pointing her tool at the white bird.
"It's a Paradise Parrot," she confirmed.
I already knew that without needing an analysis.
As we approached the shrub where the parrot was perched, it faced us and continued to chirp without flying away. Suddenly, the parrot flapped its wings and flew directly at me, then swiftly veered past and headed toward Lily.
When I turned around, Lily had her right hand extended, and perched on it was a parrot.
"Oh, it's so cute with its big, bright eyes!" Lily exclaimed, her voice brimming with delight, prompting the parrot to chirp, "Piyo, piyo."
Cautiously, Lily reached out with her left hand and gently stroked the nape of the parrot's neck. It closed its eyes and stood still, relishing the touch.
"Rockwell, do you know what parrots eat?"
This question clearly hinted at her desire to have one as a pet. Well, why not?
"Isn't it like caterpillars or maggots? And then there's sunflower seeds… Or was it hamsters that ate those? Either way, since it's living here, it probably eats just about any fruit around."
"Let's give it a try!"
With that, Lily kept the parrot on her right hand while she plucked a small red fruit from a nearby succulent with her left. She brought it to the parrot's beak.
The parrot pecked at the fruit, scattering some of it, but managed to swallow about half.
"It ate the red fruit! Hehehe!"
Lily's joy was evident.
"Speaking of which, I haven't seen any monster droppings in the dungeon. I wonder what that's all about?"
"All the monsters we've encountered so far have been inside rooms, haven't they?"
"Speaking of which, that's true," she said. "What I think is that until we open the door to the room, time for the monsters is paused. The moment we open that door, time resumes for them. In fact, they might even come into existence the moment we cross the threshold."
"In games, if monsters wandered around unnecessarily, it would strain the hardware's resources. Essentially, areas not visible on the screen are like frozen in time. That parrot could have woken up or even been born just as we opened the door to the passageway to the Sky."