After the second and third attempts both failed, I looked at the still-intact floor and stepped back, leaving the bombs I had placed behind.
“Did you make a mistake or something?”
“Excuse me, useless, incompetent prince. Would you stop treating me like your foolish sidekick? It’s a bit annoying to hear that from someone as indecisive as you.”
“What’s wrong with me?”
“What's wrong? Saying something like that is an insult!”
Joy and Arthur raised their voices, caught up in my words, but instead of responding to them, I reflected on what I had just done.
There was no mistake. The combination of bombs and magic circles was perfect. So, under normal circumstances, the ceiling should have collapsed just like last time.
‘Did Erginos somehow manage to counteract the bug already?’
<It’s highly likely.>
The skeleton with Erginos’ memories was given less than a month—a very short period.
And in just that short time, it managed to counter this bug?
How is that even possible? It couldn’t even understand what was happening before and now it's managed to solve it? That doesn’t make sense!
“...Seems like you really are persistent, just like a nerd.”
“Lady?”
While I grumbled and picked up the things I had scattered on the floor, Faibi’s voice quietly rang out.
“Doesn’t something seem off?”
“What? What about the useless saint? Are you upset that only those two are getting criticized? Should I do it too?”
“Eh? Ah, no! I’m not talking about that.”
I thought she was going to ask if I made a mistake, but what was it then?
“Isn’t it strange that Erginos, who’s just below us, hasn’t reacted at all to this big commotion up above?”
...
Huh? Now that you mention it, yeah.
If this were a game, it would be normal for Erginos not to react. The NPCs in the dungeon wouldn’t move unless we actually entered.
The source of this c𝓸ntent is frёeweɓηovel.coɱ.
But this is reality. Right now, Erginos is still down there, moving just fine.
But he hasn’t reacted to such a commotion up top?
He should even know who caused it, right?
“Could it be that something’s wrong with Erginos?”
“That won’t happen. Even if he's a shy virgin who can't speak to women, his skills are real.”
Hurting that skeleton is an impossibly difficult task.
Before we talk about Erginos’ skill, the dungeon below here is damn treacherous.
The dungeon guarded by a skeleton with Erginos' memories is on another level—far too difficult for most to even try.
If we threw a mercenary group here to help, it would be a miracle if they didn’t all get wiped out.
What makes it worse is that because the skeleton carries Erginos' memories, it can affect the dungeon's internal workings.
Erginos, the creator of the dungeon, can place traps and enemies at the worst possible moments, making it almost impossible to win in that dungeon.
In fact, it’s described that the only reason we could even attempt to conquer the dungeon in the first place was because Erginos allowed it.
To defeat a skeleton in a dungeon like that, it’d take someone like Benedict or even Rasha-level monsters.
“So why hasn’t Erginos reacted?”
“What else would it be? The socially crippled loser is probably complaining about how much the last incident bothered him.”
Last time, the situation was a little different, so we let it go, but not this time. Now we need to prove we’re worthy of a conversation by conquering the dungeon.
Hah. It’s so funny. Who would think we came here on our own accord for our own needs?
We came back here because Erginos called us, and now he’s throwing a tantrum?
This is why his social skills are ruined. He’s still a virgin, and will always be.
A skeleton who can’t speak properly, with a foul personality, there’s no way anyone would want to deal with him!
“Conquering the dungeon? That’s not a big deal.”
“Excuse me, Prince. Do you even know what kind of dungeon is down below?”
“Well... No, not exactly.”
“Of course not. I didn’t expect you to. How could a useless prince, who can’t do anything even when given the stage, know anything about this?”
“That’s... I mean...”
As I pointed out what happened two days ago, Arthur started stuttering. He couldn’t even deny he had been useless.
“Or maybe you were hoping I’d get in even more danger and waste time? You wanted to see me get hurt, didn’t you?”
“What nonsense are you talking about? I would never!”
“Now that I think about it, Prince, you froze when you saw me all injured. What were you thinking then?”
“...Uh.”
“If you didn’t have any sinister intentions, you’d answer honestly, right?”
I chuckled, waiting for Arthur’s reaction, but it was not what I expected.
His face turned bright red, like it was stained by the setting sun, and he stumbled backward, stammering.
I narrowed my eyes at the sight.
I made a half-joking comment, but I didn’t expect it to be true.
How disappointing, Arthur.
I thought you might be a normal human, but now you’re just walking down the same path as the foolish fox.
“Prince.”
“Ah, no! I did think of you as noble back then, but there were absolutely no sinister intentions!”
Arthur, confessing his mistake as soon as Joy started interrogating him, looked completely flustered.
“It’s fine. Third Prince. Lady’s beauty can even break the apostle of the Art Church. You’re not at fault.”
“Right. Actually, compared to everyone else around Lucy, your reaction is completely normal.”
“Comparing yourself to them is where things went wrong.”
Beside the now pale Arthur, Faibi and Joy tried to console him, but with every word they said, Arthur’s shoulders grew smaller.
If I joined in now, I’m sure I’d see Arthur crying, so I kept quiet until things calmed down.
<So what are you going to do? From the way you’re acting, it doesn’t seem like you plan to go into the dungeon.>
‘How did you know? Did you read my mind? Grandpa, are you changing your ways!’
<Ha. It’s been almost two years since we’ve been together. I’ve seen you enough to know you’d rush into the dungeon if you had your mind set on it. You’re not the type to just stand around, tapping your elbows.>
‘That’s so unfair. I can’t joke around when you speak so logically.’
It’s too true to argue with.
<Heh. Complaining, are we? Should I just pretend I don’t know?>
‘Forget it. But you did ask me what I’m going to do, right?’
<Yeah.>
‘I’m going to have a bit of a power struggle. It doesn’t look like we’ll be sticking around for just a day or two, so it’ll be easier if I get a good foothold now.’
I need to make it clear that the one in a rush is me. That way, when I ask for unreasonable things later, they’ll follow along.
‘I wonder what it would be like if the great Erginos himself crawled up to me, begging to talk. It’d be fun, don’t you think?’
<I’m salivating just thinking about it.>
‘Right?’