Chapter 37 - The World-Famous Hot Spring Dungeon
“What’s the next audience on the schedule?”
Far from the Kingdom of Sepans—deep in the distant reaches of another land—the king of the Marponware Kingdom, King Sod, turned and posed the question to the secretary beside him.
The Kingdom of Marponware was renowned as the holder of one of the largest dungeons in the world: the famed Weapons Dungeon.
“It is the First Female Knight Unit of the Kingdom of Sepans, Your Majesty. They appear to have come to formally request permission to explore the Weapons Dungeon.”
“Ah, those women who look like a pack of rabid hounds...”
King Sod recalled them. It had been about five years ago, if memory serves. They were led by a captain named Touji—a squad of female knights who were, to say the least, a little too superhuman for comfort.
Most nations that possessed massive dungeons allowed military units from other countries to explore them, in exchange for a standard offering: thirty percent of the loot collected.
By granting access to just a few countries, they could enjoy a windfall of dungeon drops with almost no risk—and gain insight into the military capabilities of other nations by observing the results.
In fact, dungeons with highly lucrative drops were more profitable when opened up rather than hoarded for a single nation’s use.
As for the Kingdom of Sepans—it couldn’t be called a major power by any generous standard, but it harbored an eerily strong military force. King Sod’s evaluation of them was clear: not a country he wanted as an enemy.
The Kingdom of Sepans was home to a rather peculiar dungeon known as the No-Hunger Dungeon.
From a financial standpoint, it was a useless place. But the fact that it provided food was no trivial matter. After all, it could sustain large numbers of the poor, who would then gradually train themselves within it.
Out of those impoverished masses, naturally gifted warriors would rise, and those with exceptional talent would be recruited as knights. Those knights could then be deployed for expeditions into other nations’ mega-dungeons.
While many nations struggled to find willing volunteers for such harsh long-term dungeon assignments, Sepans seemed to have an endless stream of fresh recruits. To a foreign king, this was nothing short of enviable.
“...Very well. Let them in.”
The doors to the audience chamber opened, and a sizable group of female knights stepped in and knelt before him.
“It has been a while, King Sod. I am Touji, captain of the First Unit of the Kingdom of Sepans. We are truly honored to have the opportunity to appear before you again.”
“...Huh?”
Who...?
King Sod forgot all decorum, blurting out his bewilderment.
“A-Ah, yes. I remember the valor of Sepans’ First Unit well from your last expedition. However, uh... has the unit had a change in command?”
Despite the same name, and despite her referring to this as a reappearance, he couldn’t help but ask.
“No, I am the same person from five years ago. You see... a new dungeon has emerged in Sepans in recent years—a hot spring dungeon with beautifying effects. I’m afraid I’ve... undergone something of a transformation thanks to the waters.”
“A hot spring dungeon, hmm... I have heard of it. In fact, your kingdom once gifted us a sample from the first floor. I’m aware of its beauty effects, yes, but...”
True, the hot spring had indeed improved his skin. His wife had begged him—demanded—that they continue purchasing it. “Buy as much of that water as possible!” she had insisted. And so, they had kept up a steady supply through merchants.
But still... that pack of snarling wolf-like knights—transformed into a cohort of graceful beauties? Was the water that absurdly powerful!?
Then, the queen—who normally sat quietly and looked bored during audiences—suddenly leaned forward, eyes wide and mouth agape. She stared intently at the First Unit, and then—
“C-Can that water be purchased?!!”
Shouting such a thing in the middle of a formal audience, even for a queen, was outrageous—utterly lacking in decorum. But no one, not even the king, scolded her.
Her eyes were too wild. Too desperate. She looked like a woman possessed.
Around her, even the maids and female knights of Marponware leaned forward, not in disapproval, but in anticipation. Can the water be purchased?—that was the only question in the air.
Noticing the tense atmosphere, King Sod gave Captain Touji, who seemed troubled over how to respond, a subtle look—as if to say, Go ahead and answer her...
“I’m afraid... aside from the first floor’s spring, the rest of the water cannot be transported. To experience its full effect—the kind that practically turns back the clock—you’d need to enter the dungeon and bathe in it yourself.
“Still, even once is enough. I assure you, Your Majesty, anyone who bathes in it will emerge with skin as smooth as a girl in her teens. I mean, look at us—rough warriors transformed into this.”
Captain Touji chuckled self-deprecatingly. But to the women present, that laugh carried no humor. This was no laughing matter. It was a serious, almost existential revelation.
They had all heard whispers about the hot spring dungeon's beauty-enhancing effects. Some had even quietly dreamed of visiting it someday.
Even with its rumored miraculous beauty benefits, the hot springs’ effects had only reached distant nations as vague whispers.
Even when noble daughters claimed to have bathed in it and returned with smoother, more radiant skin, the changes—though noticeable—still fell within the realm of reason.
This was because, even within the Kingdom of Sepans itself, only a handful of people—excluding their famed female knights—had actually ventured deep enough to soak in the eleventh-floor spring. Most had only experienced the effects until the sixth floor.
And when it came to noble ladies of high birth—those who regularly mingled with queens and empresses of great nations—they were already stunning by default. So even after bathing in the sixth-floor spring, the difference was rarely dramatic.
As a result, no queen of a foreign nation had ever seriously entertained the ludicrous idea of allocating her country's military and treasury to travel all the way to the depths of a foreign dungeon just to dip herself into a hot spring.
That is—until now.
The transformation of Sepans' First Unit had become nothing short of a global incident.
This wasn't some adorable “my skin's all soft and pretty now!” kind of change.
It was far more unnerving—something one might expect from sacrificing thousands of souls to a demon in exchange for eternal beauty. There was simply no other explanation.
At this point, the queen no longer thought, “Wouldn’t it be nice if I could try it someday...”
No. She had decided.
I’m going. I will go. I will personally enter the dungeon in Sepans and bathe in that spring.
That conviction had crystallized into resolve.
“I bring a letter from Her Majesty Queen Yuzha,” Touji declared. “Along with offerings from our nation’s No-Hunger Dungeon—newly discovered goods we hope you will accept, Your Majesty.”
“Ah, yes, hmm... Indeed. We shall graciously receive them,” King Sod replied, a bit flustered. “And from our side, we grant you exploration rights to our Weapons Dungeon. May fortune favor your path.”
“My deepest thanks. Your words are more than we deserve.”
Touji gave a crisp bow and exited the throne room alongside her subordinates.
She would no doubt plunge into the dungeon the moment preparations were complete.
“Phew... What was all that about?” the king muttered. “So then—what does Queen Yuzha’s letter say?”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” the secretary began. “It details the latest developments regarding the No-Hunger Dungeon’s resources and includes specifics about the Hot Spring Dungeon’s layout. And from Her Majesty Queen Yuzha herself...”
‘King Sod, I’m sure you were astonished by the transformation of our First Unit. I cannot say how many noblewomen may have been present to witness them during the audience, but anyone who saw them—well, they won’t be able to resist.
We, too, are currently preparing to welcome foreign militaries into the dungeon for exploration. Once those preparations are complete, I would be most delighted if Queen Teta herself would—’
There, the letter trailed off—its intention loud and clear.
In short, Queen Yuzha was inviting his wife to the hot springs that would no doubt consume a shocking amount of money and manpower.
King Sod glanced hesitantly toward his wife—and found her gazing back with eyes that sparkled far too brightly. She smiled at him sweetly.
Her eyes said, “So, dear... when are we leaving?”
This was not the look of a woman politely requesting to visit the Hot Spring Dungeon.
This was the gaze of a queen for whom not going was already an impossibility.
Even the female knights assigned to protect her showed odd expressions.
Their postures were upright and proper, as if to say “Her Majesty’s safety is in our hands!”—and yet their eyes told another story.
“Well, obviously, someone has to go check out the dungeon beforehand to ensure the Queen’s safety, right? Guess it’s gotta be me. Tch, what a pain. Guess I’ll just have to go to Sepans myself, sigh... so please, Your Majesty, give the order already!”—those were the thoughts written across their faces.
“Ah, yes... it says here they’re still preparing to accept foreign forces into the dungeon, right? When exactly will those preparations be complete, I wonder?!”
“Haha! No exact date is given, Your Majesty! Likely still in the planning phase—I'm afraid it’ll be a while yet!”
The king and his secretary raised their voices in deliberate exaggeration—as if to loudly declare, ‘See? We can’t go yet!’—while wordlessly warning the Queen to wipe that “We’re going tomorrow!” look off her face.
The Queen’s lips curled ever so slightly in displeasure, but she said nothing. She understood there was little to be done at the moment.
Still, she wasted no time—in the very same day, she discreetly dispatched messengers and envoys of her own to the Kingdom of Sepans, intent on securing more direct information.
Before arriving in the Kingdom of Marponware, Captain Touji had traveled through five other nations.
She had been entrusted with personal letters from Queen Yuzha to be delivered to each king.
On the surface, the letters simply shared news of the discoveries from the No-Hunger and Hot Spring dungeons, and offered invitations to visit Sepans' dungeons in the future.
But Yuzha’s true purpose was clear: she wanted to show off her transformed First Unit.
The Sepans First Unit was already famous. They were a group of female knights who had ventured deep into massive dungeons—something practically unheard of in other nations. And once you saw their appearance, you could never forget it.
In any major country with gargantuan dungeons of its own, the name and faces of Sepans' First Female Knight Unit were well known.
So naturally, the sheer change in their appearance left everyone stunned.
Whenever the First Unit passed through another country, the noblewomen who caught sight of them would react the same way—gasping in shock, falling into speechless awe, and inevitably becoming obsessed with the idea of entering those hot springs themselves.
Thanks to this dramatic “promotional campaign” by the First Unit, the Hot Spring Dungeon’s effects had gone far beyond mere rumor. They had become fact—a truth no longer in question.
One by one, queens, princesses, and noble ladies across the continent began making preparations—serious preparations—to enter the Hot Spring Dungeon of Sepans themselves.
From that day forward, the Hot Spring Dungeon became a global phenomenon—an object of fascination for the entire world.
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