Chapter 2
The dungeon was vast, and it was divided into layers.
Yuurai only knew about the layer she was currently in and vaguely remembered the locations of the two staircases.
One led up and the other down, but Yuurai didn't know which one led closer to the surface. She decided to go with her intuition and head for the stairs going up.
It took about two hours, by her sense of time, to reach them.
Along the way, she passed by various monsters in the dungeon. A Black Orc with a club, a Black Goblin with a sword, a Black Kobold dressed like a mage, and a human-sized Black Cat... Yuurai guessed that the one who killed Eleanore was probably the Orc.
Also, the monsters didn't seem to be hostile toward each other, and Yuurai wasn't attacked by any of them. Perhaps because Eleanore was already a corpse, she too was ignored by the monsters. It was unclear what would happen if she attacked first, but for now, Yuurai had no intention of trying.
"Hm...? There's clearly a strange magic circle right in front of the stairs. I didn't notice it before... or rather, I couldn't perceive it... ? What is this...?"
In the open area with the stairs, Yuurai felt a bit suspicious.
"...Doesn't feel dangerous, I think. First, let's have Eleanore..."
She manipulated Eleanore and made her stand on the magic circle. At the very least, it didn't seem like a dangerous trap that would activate on anyone, as there was no change in Eleanore's body.
"...There's no way they'd place such an obvious trap right under the stairs, right? Somehow, this feels like a teleportation type... Maybe it connects to the surface..."
Yuurai didn't know why she felt that way. Maybe it was just intuition, or maybe she had developed a sense that allowed her to realize something by looking at the magic circle...
She cautiously stepped onto the magic circle.
'Do you wish to go to the surface?'
"Oh, so it really is teleportation. Wait, are you speaking Japanese? No, maybe it's conveying meaning without actual language? Classic fantasy."
In any case, Yuurai decided to head to the surface.
When she thought "to the surface," the magic circle glowed faintly. In the next moment, Yuurai was somewhere else, along with Eleanore.
It still looked like the interior of a cave, but there were no stairs leading up. Instead, where the stairs had been, there was a heavy-looking metal door.
"Is the other side of the door the outside? There's light leaking through."
Yuurai manipulated Eleanore to open the door.
The orange of the sunset brightly lit up the inside of the cave.
"Whoa, that's bright..."
Inside the dungeon, the brightness had been maintained by some mysterious light. Since it was dimmer than sunlight, seeing real sunlight again was a bit too intense for Yuurai's eyes.
"...Well, at least sunlight isn't poisonous or anything. I do look like a dark-side monster... Probably weak to Light Attribute magic... I better be careful."
Yuurai stepped outside along with Eleanore.
"Whoa, cold. Is it winter? Or maybe we're in a pretty northern country?"
There was no snow, but the temperature felt around ten degrees Celsius. The bright sunlight wasn't very reliable as a heat source.
"So... this is a forest? Creepy place..."
The dungeon entrance was embedded into a rock wall. Around it was a dense forest, lightly veiled in mist.
"...This is definitely a shady dungeon. Eleanore, I can't believe you came to a place like this... Must be some amazing treasure hidden here?"
Considering her trait of not being attacked by monsters, Yuurai decided to explore the dungeon later.
"First, let's head to civilization. Looks like there's a path... so I guess we just follow it?"
She followed a path that was slightly better than an animal trail.
As she walked, she occasionally saw ghost-like monsters, matching the eerie atmosphere. However, they didn't attack her, as if recognizing her as a fellow monster.
"If all monsters are like this, I could go anywhere freely. But maybe it's just because these ones feel like they're also dark-aligned... I'll have to investigate more."
She walked through the forest for about two hours. The sky was already pitch-black, making the forest even creepier. For a human, it would've been hard to see, but Yuurai could see her surroundings as clearly as in daylight. Her body really did seem suited to the dark.
Also, strangely enough for Yuurai, despite walking so much, she didn't feel tired. On top of that, she didn't feel thirsty or hungry. She figured her body must be built differently from a human's.
"Oh, we're out of the forest."
In the end, she didn't run into anyone and reached the edge of the forest.
Beyond the forest was an open plain, and she could see a town in the distance.
"Oh—civilization. Is that what they call a Fortress City? There's a wall around it. Pretty cool."
Her inner child stirred a bit, and Yuurai felt a little excited. But considering she was a monster, she figured it wouldn't be a good idea to show herself in front of people.
"...Guess I'll just have Eleanore walk by herself from here. I'm also curious about the magic's effective range."
Before sending Eleanore off, Yuurai glanced at the sword she had at her waist.
"...I did escort her all the way to town, so I should get a reward, right?"
Yuurai decided to take the sword from Eleanore. When she drew it from its sheath, a reddish blade was revealed.
"...This is a Magic Sword. Its attribute is fire. Looks pretty good. Was Eleanore actually really skilled? Well, thinking about it won't help. See ya."
Yuurai made Eleanore walk. The town was probably about a kilometer away. When she had walked about halfway, a group of soldiers came rushing out from within the town's walls.
"Did the lookout spot her? But would that many people come out just because a regular adventurer returned to town...?"
Feeling puzzled, Yuurai released her control over Eleanore. She figured they'd take care of her from here.
When Eleanore collapsed, the soldiers hurriedly ran to her side.
Someone picked Eleanore up and let out a scream that sounded like a cry of despair. Perhaps because the night was quiet, or because her hearing had improved as a monster, Yuurai could faintly hear it.
"...Hmm? Did they just say 'Princess' or something? It's weird that I understand the meaning even though it's not Japanese... but whatever, it's convenient. So Eleanore was someone important after all?"
Her face was certainly beautiful. The sword also looked quite high-class. But her outfit didn't seem particularly special.
"Maybe she was secretly working as an adventurer? Like, ran away because noble life was too stifling. If that's the case, it's a shame. She finally got her freedom, only to die."
Yuurai was curious about Eleanore's circumstances, but it wasn't a situation where she could ask for details.
Just as she thought she should leave before being found—
"Ugh, they already found me!?"
A fireball was flying toward Yuurai.
"Why are they attacking me out of nowhere?! I went out of my way to bring her back!"
Yuurai quickly fled into the forest.
"Hope I can get away like this..."