“Nine, what do you think about this situation?”
“Me?”
Orca, her fair skin exposed, approached me as I soaked in the hot water created by Alice’s magic.
If I were human, I might have been flustered, as if caught in a scene from a romantic comedy.
But alas, I am a cat.
If I were to get flustered or excited by that, I’d be some kind of pervert.
To me, whether it’s chest fat or belly fat, there’s not much difference.
Though the sensation when pressed is quite different.
“Yes. The sudden swarm of monsters, and the fact that we can’t see any of the other studentsā¦”
Her worried voice faded into the steam.
I chose my words carefully as I watched her.
Should I be honest?
Or should I pretend not to know?
A moment of hesitation.
But my answer was already decided.
“The students probably sensed the anomaly and left, and the monsters are likely here because of me.”
“ā¦Is that really it?”
“Wait, seriously?”
“Why would it be because of Nine?”
After observing their mixed reactions for a moment, I laid out my reasoning.
“I’m a spirit beast, right? From the monsters’ perspective, a spirit beast is like a living elixir, isn’t it?”
Just as animals can ascend to become spirit beasts, there are monsters that can grow stronger by ascending to a higher level.
In games, they were distinguished by the “elite” prefix.
Elites were at least 50% stronger than the average monster, so they probably see me as a way to level up.
As for who sent themā¦ well, it’s obvious.
The only one here with that level of intelligence is the dungeon master.
“But isn’t it a bit hasty to conclude that Nine is the cause? Maybe the dungeon just went out of control.”
“This dungeon has been functioning fine for decades. If something changed, the cause must be related to that change.”
“Yeah, that’s probably it.”
As far as I know, there have been no instances of spirit beasts entering dungeons.
Spirit beasts usually settle in one area and act as territorial guardians.
So, it’s rare for a spirit beast to enter a dungeon.
That’s why spirit beasts like me, who don’t have a fixed territory, are hard to find.
I might be the only one in this world.
Which is why I didn’t anticipate this situation at all.
“So, what should we do?”
Orca asked, as if seeking everyone’s opinion.
Instead of answering first, I kept my mouth shut to hear what the others had to say.
“We shouldā¦ we should get out of here quicklyā¦”
“Right. In situations like this, securing safety comes first.”
“That’s probably the best course of action.”
An unexpected variable.
But using that variable might be the best choice we have.
“How about you listen to what I have to say first?”
With my face half-submerged in water, I began to explain my plan.
———-
The bath turned out to be pointless.
I clicked my tongue as I looked at my front paw, now dyed green.
With this color, I don’t even feel like licking it clean.
“There are no surviving monsters.”
“Phewā¦”
“Alice, good job.”
“Right. You’re getting better at shooting.”
“Ha, hahahaā¦”
It’s a scene I often saw in the original.
The flustered, blushing face when showered with praise.
I, too, joined in, sighing as I looked at my green-stained fur.
“Alice, you did well. I guess we can call you a sharpshooter now.”
“N-no! How could Iā¦”
“Hey, without your magic, we would’ve struggled a lot. You can be proud!”
Having Irena around sure is convenient.
It’s easier to handle morale when there’s someone else to hype things up.
“ā¦Thank you.”
Alice gave a shy smile.
Well, let’s wrap this up.
“Alice, how long do you think the ice wall will last?”
“Not too longā¦ maybe about three hours?”
“That’s fine. Once we kill the boss, we’ll be safe.”
We don’t know the way, but the monsters do.
Meaning, the rear isn’t safe at all.
But if the path is blocked, they won’t have a way to ambush us.
That’s why I had Alice create ice walls after each battle to block the monsters’ approach.
Not completely, but enough to leave a small gap.
“Let’s regroup and move. We need to finish this today and get out of this dungeon.”
Everyone nodded at my words.
It was already our third consecutive battle, but no one seemed too tired.
ā¦Or maybe they were just hiding it, but I didn’t have the luxury to worry about that right now.
“Orca, how’s your sword?”
“It’s fine. But depending on the situationā¦ it might break. I have a spare, but it’s not as good as this oneā¦”
Well, it’s a steel sword.
No matter how well-made, swords are consumables.
Unless it’s made of mithril, even the best-forged sword will eventually break.
“Can’t be helped. We can’t use a weapon that doesn’t fit our handsā¦”
It’s not like we can just click and repair it like in a game, so we’ll have to make do.
If the sword breaks mid-fightā¦ well, I guess we’ll have to use whatever’s lying around on the floor.
“I don’t have many arrows left either.”
“Then you should switch to a sword too. Alice, how about you?”
“I’m still doing fine.”
Honestly, Alice is probably the most durable here.
In the game, her stamina and strength stats were decent, and she’s not the type to tire easily from using magic.
There’s a reason I gave her a flail in the game.
“That’s good. Let’s go.”
The end of the dungeon is in sight, so we can’t afford to waste any more time.
We quickly packed our bags and continued on.
This was our routine for the day, so everyone’s faces were calm.
“It feels like we won’t encounter any more monsters soon.”
“Y-yeah. The number of monsters in a dungeon is finite.”
“Right. It’s not a large-scale dungeon, so the monsters chasing us should be gone by now.”
Well, maybe, maybe not.
It’s a hopeful thought, but we’ve already cleared out so many monsters that it shouldn’t be a big problem.
Andā¦ maybe we can grab some extra loot while we’re at it.
I thought as I looked at a wall that felt oddly out of place.
We’ve covered about two-thirds of the dungeon, and I finally found it.
“Guys, look here.”
“It’s just a normal wall, though?”
“Do you see something, Nine?”
“Doesn’t it feel suspicious?”
“Hmmā¦ I’m not sure.”
“Me neitherā¦”
“Here, look.”
I jumped up and grabbed onto a torch bracket about two meters high.
The bracket tilted as if it would break under my weight, then started making a screeching sound.
“This isā¦”
“I thought something was off.”
“Is it because you’re a spirit beast? Your senses are sharp. I wouldn’t have noticed!”
“Yeahā¦”
“Let’s go in.”
“Isn’t it dangerous?”
“It’s fine. My instincts are telling me it’s safe.”
“Hmmā¦”
“I know Nine is sharp, butā¦”
“I-I believe you.”
“Then make a wall over there too. The path is narrow, so if we get surrounded, it’ll be a pain.”
“Okay!”
Good. Let’s go.
“I’ll take the lead, so follow me.”
I pointed into the dark interior with my front paw.
———-
“This is kind of underwhelmingā¦”
“Yeahā¦”
“But it’s still kind of fascinating to see in personā¦”
We all sighed in unison.
What we found was a single, ornately decorated chest.
It looked like the kind of treasure chest you’d really want to open.
Honestly, I didn’t expect to find this here.
“That’s probably it, right?”
“Probably.”
“I-I think so too.”
Everyone seems to have the same thought as me.
I glanced at the chains scattered around the chest and thought.
It’s nothing special, but it reminded me of an old game.
If it faces backward, it’s a chest; if it faces forward, it’s a mimic, right?
This isn’t the same game, so that logic might not apply hereā¦
“Nine, what are you thinking about?”
“Just wondering what’s inside.”
ā¦Come to think of it, could the tricks from the game work here?
“Don’t open it. That thingā”
“I know.”
The moment we try to unlock it, it’ll probably devour us.
But if the game mechanics I know are implemented in this world, there’s something I want to try.
“Let’s just destroy it and get out of here.”
“Wait. I want to try something.”
Let’s check the backā¦ the back.
I licked my lips and stroked the lid of the chest.