Chapter 17 - The Trap
“Haaaah?! Bringing a hot air balloon into the dungeon~? Is that even allowed?”
“Huh... I didn’t know humans could float in the air.”
When the group carrying all sorts of heavy equipment entered, I thought they might build a simple scaffold to survey from a high point.
But this was on another level.
Or rather, the 9th-floor grassland was just a hastily thrown-together vast space.
I hadn’t even considered what the ceiling was like, but apparently, it’s just an open sky, and you can float ridiculously high with a balloon?
This is inside a dungeon, right? Why is the height comparable to the real sky? What’s going on with the physics here?
And thanks to the telescope-like device used from that absurd altitude, the hot spring was discovered in no time.
A surveyor-looking person on the balloon extended her hand toward the spring, wiggling her fingers to measure something.
After that, she used some unfamiliar, probably otherworldly measuring device to precisely calculate angles and altitude, then reported to the knights and left without even visiting the site.
Well, walking there would take days, so I guess she’s leaving the actual exploration to others...
“...Just with that, can they really figure out the exact location and distance to move? Master?”
“Well, there are ways to calculate the distance to a visible point based on angles and height... I think. Not that I really know.”
Honestly, I have no idea how they’re calculating that!
And I’m the Dungeon Master!
But this messes up my plans...
My original idea was that as the floors 10 and below were cleared, the number of people exploring the dungeon would gradually increase.
Then, after many years, the 9th-floor spring would eventually be found through sheer numbers.
But now it’s been discovered in no time at all.
I had set up the spring with effects tailored for seasoned adventurers, too.
By the way, the 9th-floor spring heals bones and bodies warped by years of battle or occupational hazards.
Whether it’s from being constantly squeezed into armor, riding horses for too long, or pulling bows until their skeletons deform, many knights have visibly warped bodies. This spring was meant to correct those distortions.
In modern terms, it’s like how hardcore judo or wrestling practitioners get their ears crushed over and over from chokeholds, turning them into those wrinkled ‘cauliflower ears’ from repeated internal bleeding.
This spring heals those kinds of occupational deformities.
I don’t just peep on the female knights and adventurers for no reason.
As a hot spring master, I observe their bodies to identify problem areas that need healing. This is a very important part of my job, okay?
...Though, I suppose some fighters want their hardened knuckles and calloused bodies as proof of their training.
If the spring restores everything, that might be overkill.
Well, whatever...
I made sure the bath wouldn’t lower their attack power or mobility after healing them.
...How that works exactly? No clue.
Since the dungeon let me set it up, I’ll just trust it.
Even I, the Dungeon Master, don’t understand the finer details of the dungeon’s miracles.
“Let’s pull up some data on these balloon-riding explorers...”
One of the members looked familiar, so I decided to check her details.
Vihita Banya, 27 years old.
Vice captain of the 2nd Unit of Queen Yuzha’s Guard in the Kingdom of Sepans.
When not on the queen’s orders, she resides at Duke Nausa’s estate, guarding important figures and educating the duke’s daughters.
And so on. A lot of information was displayed.
As I read further:
“Hmm... So the third daughter of Duke Nausa, this Auf girl, was the planner behind this operation...?”
Even the origins of this plan were revealed.
This information-gathering ability isn’t part of the dungeon’s design—it’s the effect of the 5th-floor spring.
That spring, which everyone keeps visiting because they’re sure it must have some good effect, is actually just a trap to gather information.
After one visit, I get their name and age.
After two visits, their occupation and family structure.
After three visits, their general strength and a bit of their background.
Each visit extracts more and more details straight from their memories, eventually displaying a comprehensive profile.
This vice captain has visited the 5th-floor spring over 20 times, so if I wanted, I could even reveal embarrassing details like when and where she last... well, you get the idea.
I always planned to have a hot spring with an unknown effect somewhere.
Springs with clear effects become unnecessary once their purpose is fulfilled.
For example, the Blemish-Removing Spring isn’t needed once the blemishes are gone, and the 4th-floor spring, which makes you three years younger, is just a regular bath after the first use.
But if the effect is unknown, it’s a different story.
“Maybe it slows aging.”
“Maybe it enhances the effects of other springs.”
They keep coming back, imagining all sorts of benefits.
The unknown is both inconvenient and mysterious.
Mystery breeds faith, and faith breeds loyalty.
Even in modern Japan, religions with no basis in reality can thrive.
It’s only natural that a spring with unknown effects, sandwiched between springs with clear miracles, would attract devotion.
As a result, the 5th-floor spring, despite being just a trap, is the second most popular after the main beauty springs.
Originally, I was just going to make it a regular spring, but while checking the hot spring’s specifications, I found out I could set up a trap.
So, I set up an information-gathering trap to learn more about the female knights visiting.
Only I and Peta-chan can read this information.
They’ll never, ever realize the 5th-floor spring is a trap.
And it’s not like I plan to use this information for anything. It’s just to satisfy my personal curiosity, like:
“Oh... so this country is called the Kingdom of Sepans, huh?”
“That beautiful queen in her 30s who sometimes brings a huge army is Queen Yuzha, huh?”
Lately, I’ve been able to read more detailed information, like the connections between nobles, and it’s become quite entertaining as a read.
Honestly, without this trap, I wouldn’t even know the country’s name. I’m really glad I set it up.
Though, when I get absorbed in reading, Peta-chan seems to get bored.
Right now, she’s lazily staring at the monitor showing the 9th-floor grassland.
...Is that fun for her?
“Alright, let’s check the information on this planner, Auf.”
This information text is basically like an internet encyclopedia, so clicking on any term of interest takes you to its details.
I click on Auf’s name to read more about her.
— Auf (Cannot display information: Target has not fallen into the information trap) —
What?
She hasn’t fallen into the information trap?
Meaning she’s never visited the 5th-floor spring?
...Huh.
Well, given her smart solution, she’s clearly highly intelligent...
Probably the type to avoid uncertain elements.
...Well, being cautious is fine, but if you don’t visit the 10th-floor spring, even if its effects are unknown, you might regret it someday.
The Master imagines Auf as a cautious strategist type, but in reality, she’s a sheltered young lady who’s never even entered the dungeon.
The idea that she came up with this solution based solely on secondhand information never even crossed his mind.
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