Chapter 57 - Recall Request
The 20th floor of the Weapon Dungeon—an expanse of marshy grassland.
Captain Touji’s unit had been stationed there for quite some time already.
Scattered ponds dotted the wide-open plains, and every so often, massive horned crocodile-like monsters would burst forth from the water, attempting to drag unsuspecting adventurers back into the depths.
But Touji’s unit wasn’t the least bit surprised. After all, they had deliberately set up camp here to hunt those monsters.
So when one of the giant crocs emerged, their response was more along the lines of ‘Finally—it showed up,’ as they calmly readied their swords.
The moment one of the knights lured a monster in and swiftly dodged its lunge, their comrades would flank it from both sides and slice it to pieces in a perfectly synchronized pincer attack.
At this point, the whole process had become little more than routine.
If the master of the Hot Spring Dungeon were to witness the scene, he’d probably think, ‘They look just like MMO players camping a boss spawn.’
When the horned croc disintegrated, it left behind a disturbingly red-colored sword.
“Phew... Finally got another red sword, Captain Touji. That makes five so far.”
“Hmmm... They really haven’t been dropping well. I was hoping for at least one more as a spare, but... we’ve been stuck here long enough. Shall we move on?”
“Agreed. If we’ve got enough food prepared for a deeper expedition, then we should press forward.”
With that, Captain Touji and her unit began heading toward the dungeon’s staircase.
The staircases connecting dungeon floors were used by adventurers, knights, and merchant caravans alike—especially those transporting food and water to the deeper levels.
Buying provisions from merchant caravans was the most reliable option, but the merchants were greedy and always charged steep prices.
It was cheaper to buy up leftover supplies from adventurers who had given up and were heading back to the surface.
In the end, as long as you could get food and water, who you bought it from didn’t really matter.
And so, the squad made their way toward the staircase to negotiate supplies with their companions stationed there.
Near the stairs, several of their comrades sat on the ground with shields resting across their laps, palms turned upward.
In this world, that gesture meant: ‘Willing to trade dungeon loot for food.’
Adventurers passing by had a range of reactions. Some ignored the signal entirely. Others, with surplus rations, stopped to make a fair trade.
Still others—starving and desperate—offered a bit extra in exchange for just a portion of whatever food was currently being gathered.
“How goes it, Tash? Any luck with supplies?”
“Oh, Captain Touji. Well... actually, we received a message request from the Marponware Knights—asking if you could return to the surface.”
“...And the reason?”
“It seems Commander Shield of Marponware has returned after completing her survey of the Hot Spring Dungeon.
Her conclusion is that the female knights of Marponware can safely escort Queen Teta as far as the sixth-floor baths, but bringing her all the way to the eleventh-floor bathing chambers is impossible.”
“And?”
“...In short, there’s apparently no such thing as a female knight capable of carrying Queen Teta through the eleventh-floor training grounds—except us.
So they’re asking if we could return and take on the mission of escorting Her Majesty all the way to the deeper hot spring.”
Captain Touji let out a bitter sigh.
The compensation for such an escort mission would no doubt be generous.
It’d likely be equivalent to what they’d earn from a year or two of exploring the lower depths and bringing back armaments—and if not, they wouldn’t take the job. That much was clear.
So, from the standpoint of the Kingdom of Sepans, accepting the escort mission was unquestionably the better deal.
And yet, Captain Touji’s grimace wasn’t about the reward—it was about having to retreat without testing their improved skills in the deeper floors of the dungeon.
And worse, there was the matter of forfeiting the Red Swords they’d just collected.
If they went back now, they’d have to redo an entire month of boring, repetitive work—waiting for crocs to spawn and chopping them up again and again.
At the very least, they needed some special dispensation: to have their Red Swords stored and allowed for use in their next expedition.
“Captain, look at it this way—this could be another chance to sharpen our skills in the Hot Spring Dungeon...”
“Yeah! Who knows? Maybe a new power-up bath’s been added since we last checked!”
The squad members were all eager to take on the Queen’s escort mission.
Which made sense—after all, compared to the brutal conditions of most other dungeons, the Hot Spring Dungeon was practically a luxury resort.
Its dangers might be on par with a typical dungeon, but in terms of comfort, it arguably surpassed even the surface world.
Captain Touji had, for the briefest moment, seriously considered beating some sense into her squad—just once, and thoroughly.
But she couldn’t quite bring herself to get angry. Because, frustratingly, they weren’t exactly wrong.
Sure, their main motivation was clearly the desire to bask again in the comforts of that delightful dungeon environment.
But it was also true that they could further hone their skills there, and who’s to say there wasn’t a new power-up bath waiting to be discovered?
And above all, from a negotiation standpoint, the value they could bring to the Kingdom of Sepans through this escort mission would almost certainly exceed what they could achieve by continuing the dungeon dive.
No matter how she looked at it, there was no logical reason to refuse Queen Teta’s request for escort.
“~~~~~!! Fine! We’ll go back! Happy now?! Damn it!
But only after we get a proper guarantee that this mission is more beneficial than continuing our exploration.”
♨♨♨♨♨
“We are deeply, deeply grateful for your swift response to our sudden request.”
Commander Shield of the Marponware female knights bowed her head low.
Her expression said everything—Relief. Desperation. Salvation.
Captain Touji had seen this woman once before, long ago. But now, she looked noticeably younger... and frankly, much more attractive.
No doubt she had soaked in the deeper baths of the Hot Spring Dungeon.
And it was just as clear that Queen Teta had seen her looking like that.
Which meant Queen Teta had likely received a report along the lines of: ‘We regret to inform you, but escorting you to the eleventh-floor hot spring is beyond our capabilities.’
And then—’How dare you. I ought to murder you all where you stand.’
That was probably the level of rage they’d been met with.
No one could expect the Queen to tolerate a report saying, ‘Your knights came back glowing and beautiful from the bath... but Your Majesty can’t go.’
The only excuse they could have offered—scraped together at the last minute—was something like: ‘If it were Captain Touji's squad, perhaps…’
That much, Captain Touji inferred just from looking at the sheer exhaustion etched into Commander Shield’s face.
“So, what’s the escort fee you’re offering?”
“We will pay you an amount of equipment equivalent to five times the loot from your previous expedition.”
...That was far more generous than she had expected.
Her instincts screamed at her to refuse, to get back into the dungeon’s deeper floors and chase that challenge.
But from the standpoint of Sepans’ strategic interest, refusing simply wasn’t an option.
“One more thing, can I set a condition? I want to keep the five Red Swords we collected... let us bring them back.”
“...That decision isn’t mine to make.”
“I swear we’ll only use them in dungeons.
I want them because, sooner or later, the Hot Spring Dungeon—or even the No-Hunger Dungeon—is going to expand beyond the 25th floor. And when that happens, we’re going to need these.
Let me say it again: we will not use these swords above ground. Not even if the kingdom is under attack. I’ll even sign a formal contract if needed.”
In the near future, when the Hot Spring Dungeon surpassed the 25th floor, these red swords would likely be the only weapons capable of defeating enemies below that threshold. Without them, further exploration could grind to a halt.
That future scenario alone justified the request.
From what Touji could tell, Queen Teta wasn’t in any kind of calm or rational mindset right now. If even King Sod couldn’t control her... well, this might be their only window to make a deal like this.
“...Understood. I will go negotiate immediately.”
Commander Shield sprinted off in a panic. She looked less like a knight and more like a frazzled maid trying to appease an enraged empress.
She returned in less than ten minutes.
“Permission granted. You will receive five years’ worth of equipment, and you may bring the five Red Swords with you, on the condition they are used only within dungeons. Your departure for the Kingdom of Sepans is scheduled for tomorrow.
I apologize for the rush, but please make your preparations promptly.”
...That was way too fast. There’s no way she got this cleared without first reporting to King Sod and getting his approval.
Had it reached the point where they were just saying ‘Do whatever it takes—just calm Her Majesty down already?’
“...Ah, yeah. Got it. We’re leaving for the Kingdom of Sepans tomorrow, everyone. You good with that?”
“““Yes, ma’am!!”””
Unlike the utterly drained and hollow-eyed group of Commander Shield’s knights, Captain Touji’s team responded with bright, enthusiastic voices—clearly delighted by the news.
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