(104) I pressed enter to
repeat the author’s words
, and the text went up ;;
So today is a quick serial. It’s like this once a week.
＜ 17. The difference between you and me (3) ＞
Contrary to the appearance of being intimidated as if he would take noticeable action right away, Arpan let Andrea and the others go. So far, the party is walking down the aisle to the 71st floor without anything happening. However, that fact only fueled my anxiety even more .
Fear feeds on imagination. The intense but vague expression of ‘maximum disadvantage’ made me imagine what could happen to each party .
That imagination resulted in this question. What did Andrea receive from a person named Anna? What was it that Andrea did not give in to Arpan’s threats and took the pretense away ?
Marco, Trisha, and Emilia all believed in Andrea. Knowledgeable knowledge of dungeons, leadership that encourages and thinks of colleagues, and judgment to use it in reverse even when faced with a crisis .
So, even if Andrea seemed to be hiding something or showed a rather dubious attitude, they assumed that she had a meaning and didn’t bother asking. However, this case was too risky to pass it off like that, so I couldn’t help but wonder why .
Colleagues hesitantly look at Andrea in the silence. In the end, Trisha couldn’t stand it and opened her mouth .
“ Andrea, um… I don’t think you did that without thinking. I’m sure everyone has something planned. But… I want you to explain something to us as well .”
“…”
“ It’s not because we simply have no one to fight with, is it ?”
It was not wrong. At first, they just thought about the efficiency of the party composition and decided to join them, but Andrea, who fell in love with them before she knew it, was making a choice for the sake of her colleagues even if she suffered a little more .
Trisha looked Andrea straight in the eye. Andrea couldn’t help but meet her eyes. It was an unwavering, bright red-eyed pupil that wanted to believe in the person standing in front of it .
“ Just as I told you what I was thinking, I want you to tell us what plans you have and what you’re thinking about sometimes .”
Marco and Emilia also silently looked at each other in agreement. Andrea wiped her forehead and let out a small sigh .
As he continued to hide it for fear of causing confusion, the gap between the facts he found out about the dungeon and the information his colleagues had widened too much. I was worried about the reaction when I found out about this, but by now my colleagues needed to know about the dungeon to some extent .
‘··· This is the world in the game, and I can’t say I’m from the real world outside of this, but ···.’
Andrea decided to tell her colleagues everything else she knew .
“ First of all, you might be wondering what the item I was handed to you is, but there is something I need to tell you about him. I couldn’t tell you before, but I actually met Khalisis-sama when I lost my mind .”
Andrea proceeded to tell the story step by step, starting with the fundamentals. The existence of the ‘manager’ created this dungeon, and the gods are in a position to confront him. The gods chose two apostles to confront the ‘manager’, and they are themselves and ‘Anna’ .
I don’t know the exact inside story, but Anna was helping herself and the others, probably because they had the same purpose. And the thing she handed over is the key to the hidden room on the 80th floor .
“… There is a very high probability that the Baron Arpan I saw last time is a minion of the ‘Manager’. The fact that Arfan is taking this key and preventing him from entering the hidden room means that there is something very important in it .”
The party was in the middle of being able to come to their senses because so many stories were suddenly pouring out. While everyone was unable to keep their mouths shut, Marco managed to hold on to his mind and asked a question .
“ Andrea, don’t you know what it is ?”
“ Yes. However, Anna said that I would be able to get answers to my questions… I guess that someone is waiting for me inside .”
“…couldn’t the ‘ administrator’ be in it ?”
Emilia cautiously spit out a guess. Andrea shook her head .
“ I thought that might be the case too, but Anna said it wasn’t .”
When Andrea finished talking, there was a heavy silence that was incomparable to the previous one. As Andrea feared, everyone was in great confusion .
They vaguely thought that there was no existence higher than God, and that this dungeon would also be God’s creation. However, it was an unrealistic story that couldn’t be touched by the fact that there was a being so powerful that the gods had to unite and oppose it, and that Andrea was the one who was chosen to stand up to it .
On the other hand, Trisha looks at Andrea with a worried face .
“ By the way, Andrea… how the hell did you stand up to the ‘Manager’? The ‘Manager’ said that even the gods couldn’t do anything ?”
“ That… I don’t know either. Calisis-sama didn’t explain it in detail either… You should definitely go into the hidden room on the 80th floor to find out about it .”
Trisha nodded, but her concern didn’t disappear at all. Whatever was there, it was difficult to imagine Andrea becoming strong enough to surpass a god .
Static again. Andrea smiled bitterly. It was a situation that couldn’t be helped, but I thought that I had to say it for nothing. If a colleague had such a daunting mission, anyone would have no choice but to be shaken .
But then, Marco opened his mouth .
“ To be honest, the facts you are talking about are so huge that they don’t come alive. This is how ants feel when they hear about human society. But no matter what foe you face, I will continue to be with you .”
“ What about your daughter, Mr. Marco ?”
“… My daughter will want that too .”
‘ Um …?’
Maybe because of my mood, for a moment, I felt as if Marco had turned to Tricia. Andrea hides her startled feelings .
At the moment when his mind was about to become complicated with feelings of gratitude and unknown intuition, the words of Trisha and Emilia cut off his thoughts .
“ If I hadn’t met you anyway, I would have died without reaching the 50th floor. I think the life I live now is a bonus, well. Whether you turn the head of Arpan into a wall hanging, kick out the manager and destroy the dungeon, I will be with you until the end .”
“ Me too, Andrea-sama. Although I am not as much help as others… I will continue to be with you. Besides, if the gods are fighting against the ‘Manager’, the earth god Kleitos would also want me to help Andrea .”
Andrea smiled vaguely. In fact, all the gods except Callices chose Anna, so it was unknown what Cleitos would think of it .
Anyway, thanks to everyone. It’s not easy just to go through the dungeon, but it means that I’ll be willing to trust and follow Andrea even if it means going through more hardships than that .
Andrea only briefly said thank you. It would have been a shame to add something cumbersome to the investigation. The companions nodded as if they knew enough .
The conversation ends there. Andrea and the others started walking down the aisle again. The air current flowing between the party has changed a lot from before. The fear subsides, and a mysterious spleen takes its place. Although it is unknown what kind of harsh trials the dungeon will give them in the future …
A fish that is afraid of going against the current will be swept away. To see ahead, I had to move on .
*
The structure itself on the
71st floor was no different from the ordinary brick rooms we have seen so far .
Only one thing is different. The fact that paper slips were stuck in every gap in the bricks, creating a dense mess of paper .
It was as if a very insincere bureaucrat had stored documents roughly. Trisha approached as if possessed, took out one of the notes, and read it .
‘ Currently on the 81st floor, I went to Edna .’
Tricia looked at the note for a while, tilted her head, then looked at Andrea .
“ Andrea, what kind of room is this ?”
Andrea takes a quick look at the notes scattered everywhere and replies .
“ Room of Footprints. It’s a room where anyone passing by can leave a note. Those are all notes left by challengers who preceded us .”
“ Really? Then, aren’t there some really helpful tips ?”
Emilia, swollen with anticipation, took out a piece of paper and unfolded it. But the content was this .
‘ If the beer is lukewarm, it’s good to drink it with cool ice .’
Emilia’s expression instantly drenched in disappointment. Even without looking at it, I could see what was written. Andrea smiled .
“ There is some valuable information, but most of it is not nutritious. People are not that kind .”
Andrea suddenly remembered what kind of change this room had gone through. In the early days, this room was a place where the concept of leaving traces was properly utilized .
If you leave a note here, other players playing the game can also check the contents. I could only leave one short note, but people used this room as a place to share information in their own ways .
However, if there is a system like this, someone must do something stupid. One legendary player climbed the dungeon with the sole intention of leaving a note here, and left a series of 100-character notes to publish a series of erotic novels. People were excited, but it was never a pleasant thing for developers .
Eventually, after the next patch, the ability to share notes with other players disappeared. The existing notes were also replaced with notes of the concept that the challengers left .
‘ Like the note I told Marco before about the difference between the flow of time outside the dungeon and outside …’
However, he could still check the note he had left. While the other party read the note half for fun, Andrea searched for the note she had left just in case .
It wasn’t easy. There were so many notes that it was like looking for a needle in the sand. I was about to give up halfway when I couldn’t find it after looking for a long time .
But at that time, Trisha, who took out a note, was seen talking to Emilia with a puzzled face .
“ Priest, do you know what this is about ?”
“ Uh, well…? What does that mean . . . ?”
“ Can I see that note, too ?”
Somehow, he had a feeling that it might be a note he left behind. Andrea approached Trisha and handed her a note .
‘ This game sucks. I’ll just finish this edition .’
As soon as I saw it, I burst into laughter. I think it was around 100 hours of playtime. At best, the deck was completed, but it was a note written after meeting a boss who permanently put a curse card in the deck and being ruined .
‘ If I had really stopped at this time… I would have died shortly after falling into the dungeon. Or… did I fall into the game because I didn’t fold it at this time …?”
What hasn’t happened is unknown. But if… like Marco, he meets his past self, what kind of advice should he give? Andrea gets lost in thoughts for a moment .
As he waited, Emilia and Trisha were staring at him. I wonder what it meant, my eyes full of curiosity. It’s not something I’ll tell you straight away, so Andrea punches me before the question runs out .
“ Okay, now that we’ve seen enough, let’s go to the next floor .”
Emilia and Trisha, who had clearly changed their words, looked dissatisfied. However, since they couldn’t stay here forever, they agreed to Andrea’s words and prepared to leave .
but
Instead of getting ready, Marco walked towards the paper and quill. Marco picks them up and slowly opens his mouth .
“ Andrea. Among the notes, some wrote their wishes, so why don’t we write down what we want here and leave a note one by one ?”
“… well, that’s a good idea .”
So, Andrea and the others lay down on the floor side by side and started writing down notes. I was thinking about what to write, but I turned my head without much thought, and saw Trisha hurriedly hiding the note .
“ What, what, don’t look !”
” No… I didn’t mean to look at it .”
Andrea turned her head again. Seeing such a reaction, I had no intention of seeing it, but I was rather curious. I didn’t know what would happen if I really stole it, so I couldn’t think of it .
Andrea turns her head and looks at her note. After thinking about what to write for a while, this is what I wrote .
‘ I hope that no one is killed or injured and that the journey can be completed safely .’
The party carefully inserted the small note into the gap in the wall. Trisha looked back at the others several times and put the note in an inconspicuous corner .
There was no guarantee that he would be able to come back here. Still, leaving a trace that I can look back on someday gave me a strange satisfaction in itself. The party looked back once in a while and took a step towards the exit .
However, as Andrea was about to enter the exit, she saw a note fluttering on the floor. Looking at it, it was a note falling from the side where Trisha had been. It seems that it was not properly fixed in the gap between the bricks. Andrea went back inside and picked up the note .
It was not what I intended to see. However, the paper folded in half was opened and the contents inside were revealed .
Andrea, who read the contents, couldn’t help but smile calmly the whole time she folded the note finely and inserted it into the brick .
‘ Even if I leave the dungeon at the end of my journey, I hope I can be with the people who are by my side now .’
＜ 17. The difference between you and me (3) ＞ End
So cute. This novel is so wholesome…