Volume 2 Chapter 34 The Villainous Guildmaster, Going to Retrieve the Runaway Pooch
I came back to town from the Demon King country.
It's easy to travel because I have a cool carriage (Vivre).
When I got back to my house, the maids greeted me.
"Welcome back, Master!"
Whoa...!
The maids ran to me.
"I'm back. Is everything okay?"
"Well, um..."
"What is it? Trouble? Tell me quickly. Don't waste my time."
"Actually, Frederica... she's gone."
"What? Missing?"
What is that dog doing?
Seriously.
"This was in her room."
The maid gave me a letter.
It was written in Frederica's handwriting.
[Master doesn't care about me, so I'm going home. Please find me.]
"...Idiot."
I sighed.
"Frederica seemed lonely lately because you were away from home a lot..."
"She probably wants attention."
"Master, what will you do?"
"Will you go look for her?"
I snorted.
"Leave her."
"Ehh..."
"I don't need a dog that quits her job."
"No way..."
I put the letter in my pocket.
"I'm taking a vacation for a while. If you need something, tell me soon. I'm going to sleep."
I went back to my room, ignoring the unhappy maids.
Even though it had been a while, my room was perfectly clean.
Not a speck of dust, and the sheets were crisp.
"...Seriously."
* * *
The next morning.
I ate breakfast in the dining room.
"Sir Act..."
"What is it, Lili?"
Lili, the cook's daughter, asked me worriedly.
"Elder Sister Frederica, isn't she coming back...?"
...The maids really like Frederica.
They must be worried.
Seriously.
"Don't worry. She'll be back soon."
"When...?"
"Who knows."
I finish my meal.
"You did a great job today."
"Yeah..."
Lili looks sad.
I gently pat her head.
"Tell the maids. I'm going for a little walk."
"! I'm going to look for you! Sister Frederica!"
Paaa...!
Lili's face lights up with a smile.
"Don't get it wrong. It's just a walk."
"Yes! Yes! Have a great time! I'll be waiting!"
I leave her waving her hands as I exit the mansion.
I take out my Communication Magic Item from my pocket.
"It's me. Come in 5 minutes."
After a moment.
I ride on the back of Demon Dragon Vivre, heading to a certain place.
'Um... I'm not a carriage, you know...'
"Carriages don't talk back."
'Oh no... I mean... I used to be the final weapon against the Great Hero....'
"Unfortunately, you are the weakest in the Lawrence party. You have 0 chance, so don't get any weird ideas."
'I know! I want to live too!'
Soon, we arrive at the entrance of a cave.
"Is this a Dungeon?"
Vivre, back in human form, looks up and says.
"We've come pretty far. What do you want here?"
"I came to rescue a maid."
"Oh, Ms. Frederica? But why is she here?"
"Apparently, she's at her family home."
"Family home...? Well, whatever. I'm done! Bye! I'm going back!"
Vivre turns to leave.
But suddenly, she freezes and can't move.
"Ahh! Time stop～! I'm going to die! Help!"
"What gain do I get from killing you? It's a waste of time. Follow me. I still need you to do something."
"...What if I refuse?"
"One member will just drop out of the Hero Party."
"Ugh... fine... I'll go with you... sigh..."
With Vivre agreeing, I move deeper into the Dungeon.
"What about the monsters? I can't turn into a dragon in this narrow passage."
"I'm choosing a route where the enemies can't hit me. No problem."
"Wow... Appraisal Eye is amazing!"
Soon, I reached a dead end.
"Did you take the wrong way?"
"No."
I touched the wall.
Suddenly, my vision blurred, and I was teleported to another place.
"A teleportation trap... Could this be a hidden Dungeon!?"
"That's right. You know a lot."
There are countless Dungeons in the world.
Their difficulty varies.
Sometimes, there are hidden Dungeons inside regular Dungeons.
We call this a [hidden Dungeon].
"I heard they are really hard to clear... Is this really our destination?"
"Not yet. We need to go deeper."
"Ehh... Let's turn back!"
"No way. Let's go."
I chose a route with as few enemies as possible.
But the number and strength of enemies here are way higher than in regular Dungeons.
Of course, I encountered enemies.
"Yikes! A Death Bear! An S-Rank monster! I'm gonna die!"
A huge black bear glared at me.
It had steel claws that could easily tear through iron.
"GROOOAAAR!"
"Ahh! It's over! Villainous Guildmaster, done for!"
The Death Bear's claws stopped right in front of my face.
"Is this... time stop?"
"I wouldn't use something like that here. What a waste."
"Then, why am I still alive...?"
Vivre looked at the Death Bear.
The enemy was shaking...
"I see, it's scared of the Guildmaster... Just glaring at an S-Rank monster makes it shrink... Amazing..."
"We need to hurry."
More enemies appeared, but most ran away when I glared at them.
"I forgot Mr. Lawrence is a crazy monster, but Mr. Act is also quite a monster..."
The Dungeon goes deeper and deeper underground.
"Ms. Frederica ran away from home, right? Is she really here?"
"Yeah. She has her family home deeper in here."
"Hmm... You really care about it, huh? Coming all the way to this dangerous place."
"Hmph. Don't get the wrong idea."
I say as I move forward.
"Without that useless dog, the servants can't do their jobs well. I'm just taking it back. It's not for that thing."
"Yeah, yeah, Tsundere, Tsundere."
After a bit, we reach a dead end.
No, to be exact... the passage stops here.
"What is this big hole...? Whoa... I can't see the bottom!"
In front of us, there is a huge hole.
The air echoes, like the mouth of a monster.
"W-wait, there's not something down there, right? No way, no way...?"
"I'm going down."
"W-wait! What are we going to do? If we go down from here, we'll die!"
"What do you think I brought you here for?"
"Ah, I see..."
I ride on Vivre, who has turned into a Demon Dragon, and we dive into the hole.
'Um... We're going down a lot, but are we going to make it back?'
"Well, who knows?"
'What!? Is it possible we can't go back!?'
"It seems you can't return from the abyss without permission from a [Transcendent]."
"Transcendent? What's that?"
"The former owner of the useless dog."
Soon, we reach the lowest level.
"Whoa... There's a building at the bottom of this abyss. Some people really live in strange places."
In the dark cave, there was a shining palace.
It feels nostalgic.
It's been about ten years since I visited here.
"Let's go."
I take Human Vivre to the entrance of the palace.
"It's me. I came to pick up the lost dog."
Then, the door opens silently.
'Hey, I've been waiting for you, Lord Act. Come on in.'
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