Chapter 3: Charlotte the Navigator △

"Um."
"What is it?"
"How far are we going?"

Unable to endure the silence any longer, I tried asking the man about his ultimate destination. Since he’d demanded I come along, he probably wasn’t going to cut me down over something small. Probably.

"As far as we can go."

I regretted asking immediately.
Wait. Is this guy planning to just keep going until he collapses? Did I just get dragged onto a sinking ship?

"Um."

"What is it?"

"Normally, when you explore a dungeon, you keep some strength in reserve for the way back."

"…Hmm. That makes sense."

Don’t tell me he’s a total newbie at dungeons? But he’s this strong, and yet so reckless? Is he just a musclehead?

"Then we’ll make a checkpoint. Isn’t there some sort of strong enemy here to serve as a goal?"

"In that case, every few floors there are stronger monsters called Area Bosses."
"I see."

That was all he said before resuming his silent march.

At least now we had a destination. Probably once he beat the Area Boss, he’d call it a day and head back. Good. There was hope of survival. The first Area Boss in this dungeon was the kind of thing even the party I’d been leeching off managed to beat. For this guy, it shouldn’t be any problem.

That’s when another question popped into my head.

"Um."

"What is it?"

"Why did you decide to dive into this dungeon?"

"I heard this was the best place for a first dive into a dungeon. Was I mistaken?"

"…No."

My suspicions solidified into certainty. This guy really is a complete beginner who just arrived in this town—! If he weren’t, someone this conspicuous would already be the talk of the tavern I work at. The fact that I’d never heard or seen anything about him should’ve set off alarms from the start.

No wonder he showed no interest in magic stones or loot—he doesn’t even know their value. He just dove in because someone recommended it. If he came without even knowing why this dungeon is so popular with beginners, then of course he doesn’t have any real goal.

But then… why dive in at all? His way of gathering intel is way too sloppy.

If things went on like this, we’d just end up wandering endlessly. And since he’s a beginner, he probably doesn’t even know the layout of the dungeon. His movements screamed as much. Which meant… maybe I should step up and guide him, whether he asked for it or not.

I’ve been in this dungeon plenty of times, and I’ve memorized the maps for the shallow floors.

So far I’ve been too scared to do anything but trail behind him, but now that at least some measure of safety was guaranteed, maybe I could risk butting in. For my own safety too—if I wanted to get out of here alive, I had to.

"Um!"

"You again. Stop pestering me every few minutes—just say everything at once."

"S-sorry! But… I can guide us."

My offer seemed to surprise him a little.

"You want to fight an Area Boss, right? I know this dungeon—I know the maps, and the tricks bosses use."

"…I see. True, wandering aimlessly and hunting small fry is getting dull. Fine. Lead the way to this Area Boss."

"Y-yes! Then, about the boss’s abilities…"

"I don’t need that."

I shut my mouth when he dismissed me. Somehow, I was starting to get a grasp of the kind of person he was.

This man was the explorer type. He probably came to the dungeon purely to hone himself. Every now and then, people like that came through this town. They weren’t adventurers chasing money or fame, but martial artists diving into dungeons solely to test their skill.

――But such people never lasted long. Because they didn’t care about safety.

For a moment I considered asking his name, but it would be pointless soon enough. Best not to. I’d just call him "swordsman" if I needed to. Not that I knew if I’d ever need to.

"If you know the way, then hurry up and lead us to the boss. I’ll kill everything in the way."
"Understood. Um, this way."

He shifted slightly aside to give me room. I dipped my head politely as I passed him, but noticed the slightly dubious look he gave me again.

I began calculating the route to the Area Boss. We were currently on the second floor. The Area Boss was on the fourth, which meant we had to descend two more floors. The third floor was simple enough if you knew the way, and the fourth was a straight path. If we went directly without detours, we could probably reach the boss within an hour.

I finished running through the path in my head. Feeling reassured, I looked forward again—only to panic when the swordsman wasn’t walking directly in front of me. I quickly glanced back to confirm he was there.

"…You really will protect me, right?"

"…Oh?"

"S-sorry!"

That scowl—terrifying. Handsome, but terrifying. Combined with his strength, his aura was overwhelming.

Not wanting to anger him with any more clumsy conversation, I braced myself and began guiding him.

Along the way, we encountered a few zombies and skeletons, but the man dispatched them immediately. His promise to protect me wasn’t a lie. I felt a small sense of relief.

I considered collecting magic stones but decided against it—there were enough already gathered along the path.

Honestly, I was starting to want to return to the surface. I wanted to change clothes. I wondered what he thought about me having had an accident. Being in this dungeon was depressing—though understandable, since it was essentially a catacomb.

I glanced at him. How does he manage to keep that calm without a single change in expression? He must be the type of person who’s lost certain important senses entirely.

He shot me another dubious look, and I quickly looked away.

"This is the staircase down to the third floor."

"What changes when you move floors? Nothing’s changed so far."

"Basically the same here as well. Only the map changes, I guess."

Some dungeons have floors that drastically change the environment each time, but not this one. Those high-difficulty dungeons are restricted to parties with special qualifications.

Are high-difficulty dungeons lucrative? Not particularly. They’re more like official commissions for exploration. Stable rewards that aren’t tied to success might be appealing, I suppose. Not that it matters to a bottom-tier adventurer like me.

In a typical dungeon, floors of similar structure repeat, and only after passing the floor with the Area Boss does the environment change. Monsters vary, and, for example, in this dungeon, the corridors get darker.

"After the third floor is the fourth floor, where the first Area Boss of this dungeon awaits."

"Are there never multiple staircases in a dungeon? No alternate routes or hidden passages?"

He seemed a little annoyed after the time it took to reach this staircase. Even though it was shorter than the time he’d spent wandering aimlessly… But that was his fault for walking in the opposite direction. I didn’t bother pointing it out.

"There aren’t any here. Some other dungeons have multiple staircases per floor, but here there is only one staircase connecting floors."

"Tch… how inconvenient."

He looked dissatisfied, but he remained quiet while descending. The trouble started after we reached the bottom.

As I began to continue guiding him, I noticed he wasn’t behind me. I hurriedly turned and saw him pressing his hand against the wall immediately after the stairs.

"This is tedious. Tell me where the next staircase is."

"It’s over there, but… hey!?"

"Step back."

He slammed his sword into the wall I had pointed to. The wall, which looked like solid stone, split under the strike. Repeating this a few times would probably destroy it completely.

"Surprisingly sturdy. Now, once more…"

"W-wait a moment!"

"What, are you trying to interfere with me?"

"N-no! It’s not that… Just… wait a little!"

I stopped him from completely destroying the wall. It had been frightening at first, but now that I thought about it, this was a familiar behavior.

It was common among capable rookie adventurers. They’d try to break walls for shortcuts, then learn the hard way and never do it again.

If a wall in the dungeon is excessively damaged, a special monster called a Sweeper appears.

Sweepers are incredibly strong, and ordinary adventurers stand no chance against them. They aren’t aggressive by nature—they just repair the broken wall and vanish. Only an adventurer who attacks out of anger at the repaired wall learns the Sweeper’s true strength.

I explained this to him, and he visibly grew annoyed. When a Sweeper appeared, it would simply pass a hand over the damaged wall, and the damage would disappear before vanishing deeper into the dungeon. Luckily, he wasn’t the type to recklessly test his strength.

He touched the repaired wall curiously, attempting to strike it a few times, but the outcome repeated itself. Satisfied—or perhaps resigned—he finally nodded and told me to continue leading the way. What exactly had that been—some kind of test?

…Could I really make it back to the surface alive? For now, I had to trust him. I would obediently lead him along the shortest route, let him defeat the Area Boss, and hope he would escort me safely back.

What would I do once we returned? Facing the other party members again would be awkward if we crossed paths. And being late had already troubled the tavern master who had been helping me. So many headaches—my head hurt just thinking about it.

Unaware of my worries, he silently checked his sword.

The third floor passed without incident, and we finally reached the fourth floor.