Chapter 18: Resonance with Charlotte

Day three of dungeon exploration.

You could say it’s still only the third day, but to me it already feels like the third day.

Just like yesterday, we gathered at the dungeon entrance to continue exploring the third floor.

…But I couldn’t help feeling a bit uncomfortable.

"Hey, did you two have a fight?"

"Don’t worry about it. It’s nothing."

Right—Riven and Trishell were acting oddly stiff. More precisely, the way Riven was looking at Trishell was downright scary. Sure, his gaze was sharp to begin with—but this was different.

Did something happen? Well, something did happen between Trishell and me… so why was Riven the one looking so hostile? Trishell, what did you do to him too?

Honestly, it made it hard to approach either of them.

"…Reynard, do you know what happened?"

"No, I don’t. But it wasn’t like this when we wrapped up yesterday, right?"

"I thought so too."

I quietly slipped over to Reynard’s side to consult with him, but he didn’t know anything either.

So what on earth had happened?

"Hey, hey, got a sec?"

"…What."

Trishell moved first, speaking to Riven in her usual manner.

"Just a moment," she said, rummaging in her clothes before pulling out a small pouch. Judging by the jingling sound, there were coins or something metallic inside. Probably a wallet.

"Here, you dropped this."

"Why do you have that?"

"Oh, you really want to ask? Like I told you… let’s just call it hush money?"

Hush money? That’s a dangerous word to throw around.

Seriously, what did happen between these two?

"…I’ll take it."

"Good. Then we’ll both keep quiet about it, deal? Thanks!"

…Was that it? Problem solved?

So she just picked up his wallet and returned it? Then why did she call it hush money? What kind of situation was this supposed to be?

Without me understanding anything, that was the end of their exchange.

"Alright then, let’s continue our exploration of the third floor today!"

"Yeah!"

Still with no clue what had just happened, the call to start was made as if nothing had occurred.

Trishell, all full of energy, looked as though nothing was wrong—but somehow, her glance in my direction seemed a little suspicious.

…Or maybe that was just her being her usual self!

I gave up trying to understand and turned my focus to exploring the dungeon. Dungeon crawling isn’t something you can manage if your mind is elsewhere.

Especially not in this dungeon, which was still overflowing with abnormalities.

The first and second floors were the same as the last two days. The third floor too.

We descended smoothly, but there wasn’t any real change to be found. The abnormalities here had already settled in.

"The third floor looks the same as yesterday. Alright, let’s pick up where we left off."

"Today, I’ll fight too."

That came from Riven, stepping forward.

Wait, fight? Wasn’t the whole problem that moving around spreads the paralysis toxin in his body, making it impossible for him to battle?

"Yesterday, I brought back some of this floor’s paralytic poison. I let my body get used to it. A little of it won’t be a problem now."

"Hold on—that’s illegal!"

"Is it?"

He really didn’t seem to know, so I decided to explain.

"Anything from a dungeon under investigation has to go through the Guild before you can take it out. You can’t just bring stuff back on your own."

"Really? Why?"

"Because it’s a problem if the research subjects go missing. And since they can’t leave it up to adventurers to decide what’s important or not, everything has to be turned in first. If nothing’s wrong, they’ll return it later."

Riven nodded in understanding. Hopefully he got it.

Some items from inside dungeons can’t be allowed into general circulation. That’s why adventurers are required to pass everything through the Guild once. If there’s no issue, you get it back.

Sure, there are black-market routes too, but those are obviously illegal. Getting caught means serious consequences.

"It’s a rule that’s been around forever. Riven, you just came here recently, so I guess you didn’t know."

"Ah, I see. I only thought the poison might be rather useful."

"What were you planning on using it for?!"

Using paralysis poison—there’s no way that could be for anything good!

And wait a second—forget smuggling it. Did he just say he let his body get used to it? What does that even mean? Don’t tell me he ingested poison to build up immunity?

What kind of thought process leads to something like that? And more importantly, what kind of body does he have to pull it off?

"Got it. Then today I’ll fight alongside you. We’ll switch off with Trishell’s magic and push forward with the exploration."

It seemed Reynard was motivated as well, so long as he wasn’t left to battle alone.
Maybe yesterday he let Trishell take the lead just so Riven wouldn’t feel pressured about not being able to fight.

With Reynard, he could definitely hold his own down here. He’s ridiculously strong.

At this rate, we might actually be able to finish the third floor today.

"Alright then, let’s go."

And so, we resumed exploring the third floor.

The yellow haze still clouded our vision, but Trishell’s detection ability was nothing short of amazing. She could sense where enemies were, the timing of their approach, and even alert us in advance.

Thanks to her, we were able to judge exactly when to fight and when to dodge, making progress much smoother.

Compared to the first and second floors, our supply consumption was higher, but still, today’s pace was far better than yesterday’s.

At this rate, we might even have time to scout the fourth floor.

Come to think of it, what floor is the area boss on in this dungeon?
I’ve never been here before, so I don’t know.

"The area bosses in this dungeon appear every five floors, Charlotte-chan."

"Eh?"

"So once we’re past the fourth floor, it’s boss time. Getting nervous?"

The answer came naturally from Trishell at my side.

…Wait. Did I just say that out loud? I might have. For a moment, I thought she’d read my mind.

"If nothing happens on the fourth floor, then we’ll need to properly prepare to head into the deeper levels. And make countermeasures for the area boss too."

"Is there any guarantee the area boss hasn’t been affected by the abnormalities?"

"Nope. Which is why we’ll have to factor that in as well."

Honestly, I just hoped we could pinpoint the cause of the abnormalities quickly and call it done.

The last thing I wanted was to face another irregular area boss battle.

I could only pray we’d find something on the fourth floor.

The exploration continued without incident, and we finished clearing the third floor.

As expected, we still had time left. That led to a short discussion on whether we should scout the fourth floor.

"Nothing on the third floor."

"The question is whether this paralysis haze continues on the fourth floor. If it does, things will get troublesome."

"Then should we at least go check it out?"

All eyes turned to me. In other words, they wanted me to decide whether or not we’d descend.

I let out a sigh and thought it over.

Our resources were fine. A quick look around shouldn’t be a problem. Even if enemies were swarming the stairs, we could retreat immediately. And since Trishell still had plenty of magic left, fighting was still an option.

"…Alright. Let’s check it out, just a little. We’ll need information for tomorrow and beyond, after all."

At my words, everyone nodded, and we started down the stairs to the fourth floor.

I followed a little behind them, a strange weight tugging at my chest.

And in the end, deciding to scout had been the right call.

The moment I stepped into the fourth floor, I felt it.

There was something here.

The fourth floor looked like a more twisted version of the third.

The paralyzing haze had thickened, painting everything yellow. Visibility was so poor you couldn’t see even a few meters ahead.

The walls themselves writhed as though they had a will of their own, subtly shifting the shape of the corridors.

"…This is bad. We’ll need a lot more time to deal with this."

"The place is moving, but it looks like the very structure itself is changing."

"Yeah, this is gonna be a hassle. With haze this dense, even the antidote potions might not last. Charlotte-chan, make sure you don’t get paralyzed, okay?"

Everyone was giving their impressions freely.

Maybe I should have said something too—but I couldn’t.

"Charlotte-chan?"

My vision flickered. A chill ran down my spine. My whole body trembled uncontrollably.

Fear. I was scared. An overwhelming, senseless fear welled up inside me and wouldn’t stop.

The dread I’d felt before descending earlier only grew stronger now.

"Are you alright, Charlotte-chan?"

There was a ringing in my ears. Someone was calling my name.

No good. If I stayed here any longer, I was going to lose my mind.

"…Let’s head back. We’ll continue tomorrow."

They must have noticed how strange I looked, because no one objected.

Thankfully, on the way back I wasn’t struck by that abnormal sensation again, and we made it safely back to the surface.