Splat. A blob of jelly slammed into my face.
Maybe because it had the texture of jelly, it did not hurt like Niklas had.
But it had flown at me with such force that my neck snapped backward, and once again, the back of my head nearly high-fived the floor.
Fuck.
Again?
What the hell is this again?
If this happens one more time, my neck is not going to survive.
Rubbing the back of my neck, I stared at the green something-or-other that filled my entire field of vision.
Strangely enough, even though it was clearly covering my whole face, I had no trouble breathing.
Is this a slime?
There were slime-type monsters at Dawnstar Academia as well. It was my first time seeing one in the flesh, though.
A translucent green liquid.
Yet it was not entirely liquid. It reminded me of those liquid-monster toys I had played with as a child.
I could distinctly feel it squirming, proving that it was alive.
And yet, strangely, it was not unpleasant.
It was soft and cool, I suppose. It did not smell, either.
Just as I was mentally reviewing my impressions of the slime—
I suddenly felt a tug on my arm.
It was coming from the arm Kafka was holding...
I turned my head toward Kafka.
Through the translucent green jelly, I could see Kafka’s face. She kept opening and closing her mouth, looking as though she might burst into tears at any moment.
There were no tears, but she seemed to be saying something to me over and over. Astonishingly, perhaps because of the slime, I could not hear a single word.
How should I put it? It was like how everything sounds muffled when you dive underwater in a pool.
This noise cancellation is fucking incredible.
Was this really meant to be an earplug rather than a cleaner?
I raised my free arm and peeled the slime off my face.
"Are you okay?!"
The moment I pulled it off, I could hear Kafka shouting at the top of her lungs, her voice thick with tears.
"I’m fine."
I looked down at the slime dangling from my hand.
It had no visible eyes, nose, or mouth—just the form of a jelly creature glowing green.
Inside it was something resembling a bead, apparently its core.
"Is that really a slime?"
When Kafka cautiously pressed her index finger against it, her finger sank deep into its rippling body.
She hurriedly pulled her finger out at the strange sensation, and the slime made a gurgle.
As expected, it did not look strong.
It looked as though it would burst outright if I put even a little strength into my hand.
Nor was it aggressive.
Considering it had covered my whole face without attacking me, it seemed to recognize me as its master.
I carefully set the little thing down on the ground.
It began crawling around the floor with little gurgles, like a robot vacuum cleaner.
Niklas seemed fascinated as well. He fluttered his wings and flew over to the slime.
But regardless of who approached it, the little thing paid no attention and simply continued roaming over the floor.
"...But why did a slime come out of the dungeon core?"
"Well, I gained the ability to manipulate the dungeon."
"What?"
Kafka stared at me with wide eyes, while I awkwardly scratched my cheek and averted my gaze.
Had she said spirits could see through souls?
In that case, a clumsy lie would only backfire.
So I hid the matter of the status window.
She did not know the status window existed, so I decided to reveal only that I could manipulate the dungeon, leaving that part out entirely. It was not technically a lie, after all.
"This is connected to that, isn’t it? You waving your hands around in empty air every day."
Kafka herself looked composed, as though she had already figured out nearly everything.
"Uh, well... something like that."
Well, Kafka had been inside my shadow the whole time.
If she was going to notice, she must have noticed ages ago.
Well, if she had found out, then she had found out.
She did not look all that surprised, either.
But...
"The problem is, if this gets out, it could become a real headache."
The possibilities of manipulating a dungeon were truly endless.
It was not a system that had existed at Dawnstar Academia, but I could command the monsters I had defeated so far as though they were my own limbs.
And as the club gained levels, more things had been added to it. Who knew what else might be added as the dungeon—which shared its level with the club—grew stronger?
The problem was...
"Are there even any cases of someone being able to manipulate a dungeon?"
"I can’t exactly say there are none. There’s Dotore, after all."
The issue was that this dungeon happened to be connected to the Dawn Troupe.
"But even he could not freely spawn monsters from a dungeon core. Especially not..."
I looked at the slime, which was scooting around the floor and sucking up dust.
"A non-aggressive monster."
"...That’s true."
There was no one capable of something as insane as freely pulling monsters out of a dungeon core.
Even Dotore, who had committed the madness of fusing spirits with something else, had only been capable of shoving their test subjects into a dungeon.
But now, a monster popped out just from clicking and manipulating the dungeon core?
And a monster that did not attack people, at that?
That would be an enormous pain to explain to other people.
If things went wrong, it could turn into a disaster where I got tied to the Dawn Troupe.
Should I just lie and say it was a device that had originally been in the dungeon?
But that would be difficult, since the headmaster had already inspected this dungeon once.
If something like this suddenly appeared after the headmaster had finished investigating it, would that not be even more suspicious?
Maybe I really should pretend none of this happened.
But it would be such a waste to give up the dungeon.
"Hmm, then..."
Kafka spoke to me, her ears perked up.
"Should we say I did it?"
"You?"
Kafka nodded at my question.
"I’m connected to the Dawn Troupe to begin with, and I’m a spirit. If we say I did it, I think everyone would accept it."
...That was an option?
The most suitable person for a cover story was right here, was she not?
Someone deeply tied to the owner who had created this dungeon, and a spirit on top of that.
There had even been cases where a spirit was sealed away somewhere and that place turned into a dungeon.
We could just blame Dotore.
Besides, since it was a non-aggressive monster, they would not try to get rid of the dungeon as long as that could be proven.
And even if they tried to take it away for research, experiments, or whatever else, Kafka was its contractor and we held ownership in name. Not my problem.
If the imperial family started making trouble, I could use my father as a trump card or tell our club president about it.
"But are you sure you’re okay with that?"
"With what?"
"It might make you feel bad, getting tied to that lunatic."
It was not as if I had no concerns.
It also felt like I was forcing this onto her.
She seemed to have healed to some extent by now, but thinking back to when we first met...
It must have been such a severe trauma that even being reminded of him was agonizing.
"No."
Kafka shook her head.
"To be honest, I still feel sick when I think about it. I’ve chewed that bastard up dozens of times in my mind and torn him apart hundreds of times. And when I sleep alone, I still keep having those nightmares."
Then she looked at her own hands.
"When I woke up, I checked over and over whether my arms had changed like they did back then."
"You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to force yourself."
"Still."
Kafka let out a small laugh at my words, the narrow lines of her eyes curving into crescents.
"You need this dungeon, don’t you?"
I would be lying if I said I did not.
The ability to command the monsters I had defeated so far as my own limbs.
That alone would make the events ahead—
Especially the final bosses—
Far easier to handle.
And because more things might be added as I continued to level up, just as they were for the club, giving this up would be a rather wasteful choice.
But...
I could not readily say yes.
It felt as though I would be involving Kafka in people she did not want anything to do with.
And perhaps because I still remembered her writhing in the grip of those nightmares...
"Don’t do it if it’s too hard."
I could not bring myself to nod.
"And I want that person to be happy, too."
"That person?"
"The princess."
Kafka nodded and continued.
"I told you, didn’t I? Spirits can see souls. When you heard the princess’s answer, you looked relieved. Your soul was the color of someone who felt glad they had made the right choice."
Had I?
"But if the dungeon ends up causing needless trouble, it will have to close, right? Then the princess would be sad. So would you."
"I’d just say it was a shame and leave it at that."
"You’re not very honest."
Kafka’s lips curved into a smile.
That expression told me not to worry—that it was all right.
Looking at it, I felt a single question arise.
Why?
‘Why, you ask?’
Kafka’s telepathic voice passed through my mind.
"Because I’m your squire."
As she said it, she placed her clenched fist against my chest.
"You are the knight who leads me, and the rider who climbs onto my back, Ian. The path you wish to take is the path I will walk. And it always will be from now on."
She grinned, and at some point her narrow eyes opened. My reflection began to show in those golden eyes.
"Because that’s all I can do. I wanted to die, but you dragged me back by force. You promised you would teach me."
So do not worry.
Her golden eyes, floating there so gently, seemed to say exactly that.
"Tell me if you want to stop halfway through."
"I told you not to worry. It’s not like I’m really getting involved with them."
She swayed her tail and nodded.
"But, Ian. Can you only summon slimes, then?"
Kafka’s eyes narrowed again as she gave me a curious look.
"No, skeletons too..."
Come to think of it.
She was not trembling anymore?
It had seemed so natural that I had not noticed, but Kafka was not shaking now.
Just a little while ago, had she not been making a huge fuss about ghosts and whatnot?
[Kafka]
◈ Level: 44
◈ The target is curious.
The line saying she was afraid, which had been displayed in the Insight Eye until a moment ago, had completely vanished.
"You’re not scared anymore?"
At my question, Kafka blankly nodded.
"Y-Yeah."
She stared down at her fingertips for a moment, then continued with a faint smile.
"Now that I’ve thought about it again, slowly... I think I finally understand a little."
Understand?
"Just like this dungeon, that desk must have been your doing, too."
As though every last question had finally been answered, Kafka nodded deeply.
"You gave me a scare for nothing. You should have told me sooner."
Watching her grumble, a sudden urge to tease her came over me.
Why was that? All of a sudden, I wanted to mess with her.
I deliberately wiped all expression from my face and clamped my mouth shut.
"..."
In the heavy silence, Kafka’s narrowed eyes twitched slightly. She cautiously studied my expression and asked in a whisper,
"...Ian did do it, right?"
When I kept my mouth shut, she hiccupped with a face that looked ready to cry.
And when I finally told her it was a joke... I got a spiked slap across the back from her wolf-paw hand.
It hurt like hell.
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