Evil Avalon

Chapter 191 Riding the Road Train

(TL:By Rafael,valhallatls.blogspot.com)

I opened my large Boston bag and peeked inside. Two days' worth of changes of clothes, portable food, and cooking utensils. I also checked that my main weapon, a blunt mace made of mithril alloy, was inside.

Starting today, I would be embarking on a three-day, two-night dungeon dive.

Besides me, the members included the protagonist party consisting of Akagi-kun, Tachigi-kun, Pink-chan, and Kaworu. Majima-kun would also be joining us, along with Tenma-san, who was both the leader of this expedition and its main attraction. For some reason, Kuga-san was apparently coming along, too.

Satsuki was scheduled to accompany us in a support role and had already headed to the site to make preparations.

I'd also asked Risa to visit the location of the curse-removal quest for an initial inspection, taking Arthur along as her companion. The purpose was to check whether it was the same as the event in DunEx.

If the location of the spirit or the terrain turned out to be completely different, or if unfamiliar monsters spawned there, we'd need to come up with countermeasures.

In that case... Well, I thought things would probably be fine, but it was better to be safe.

Finally, I slung a backpack containing snacks and miscellaneous items over my shoulders. Just as I was about to stand up with renewed determination, a pair of twin tails peeked out from the kitchen doorway.

"Onii, you're leaving now? When will you be back? Is that woman... coming too?"

"...I'll be back the day after tomorrow. Don't enter the arena while I'm away, okay? Promise me."

"I'm not going to! I have all sorts of plans of my own!"

My little sister bombarded me with questions one after another while scrutinizing my luggage.

The "that woman" she mentioned was probably Kaworu.

According to Butao's memories, she used to be quite attached to Kaworu in the past. However, over the last year or two, she'd started treating her rather coldly.

I didn't know what had happened, but I was honestly afraid to ask, so I'd never gotten around to finding out.

Apparently, Kano had plans of her own, too. When I asked what they were, she told me she was going shopping with Chi-chan.

Since Chi-chan was the daughter of a noble family, I wondered whether the two of them could even shop at the same stores.

But then I remembered that Tenma-san had recently started buying the magic stones and materials we'd accumulated through our dungeon dives. Kano had now acquired a way to earn large sums of money, too.

Was it really educationally sound for a middle school student to be able to make purchases worth several million yen?

Still, she seemed surprisingly careful with her money, and so far, she hadn't shown any signs of extravagant spending.

Well, I could keep an eye on her for a while and see how things went.

"All right, I'm off."

"Be careful! Have a good trip!"

My little sister cheerfully waved me off, enthusiastically waving her hands around.

I was relieved that she hadn't thrown a tantrum and insisted on coming with me, like she'd done that one time before.

All right, then. Time to get fired up and get going.

---

The cloudless blue sky let the intense sunlight pass through without weakening it in the slightest. The temperature was already approaching body temperature, and heat haze shimmered vigorously above the asphalt.

And it wasn't even noon yet.

What was going to happen to the Earth in the future?

Wiping away my sweat with a handkerchief and worrying about the future, I entered the plaza in front of the guild.

Something about the place seemed a little different from usual.

Here and there, I spotted groups of men and women wearing brand-new, lightweight armor. They appeared to be around my age, so they were probably students.

It was already summer vacation, after all. People from all over Japan had come to experience dungeons for themselves.

Their faces were full of excitement, like children waiting in line for an amusement park attraction. It was rather refreshing to see.

At the same time, there were plenty of intimidating groups dressed in heavy armor.

Were they members of some dungeon-clearing clan?

Ever since the Gates had become publicly known, armed groups like those had become noticeably more active.

They were always moving around tensely, looking as though they had no room to spare. If you got too close, there was no telling what kind of trouble they might pick with you.

I'd have to be careful.

(Let's see... Wasn't the meeting place the clock tower?)

I looked toward the brick clock tower standing in the center of the plaza.

And when I checked the area beneath it...

Huh? Everyone was already there.

And for some reason, every single one of them was wearing a school uniform.

Were we heading to school or something?

"You're late, Butao! Don't you have any common sense?!"

"You could also call it having guts."

"...Huh?"

The moment he saw me, Majima-kun pointed at the clock tower's clock and scolded me for lacking common sense.

A huge greatsword he'd apparently bought recently was strapped to his back.

In contrast, Tachigi-kun smiled and praised me, saying that perhaps I was simply a bold person.

Pink-chan stood right behind them, fussing nervously like a small animal. She was adorable.

However, when I checked the time, there were still nearly ten minutes left before the appointed meeting time.

What was going on?

As I tilted my head in confusion, Kaworu quietly explained.

"When meeting with a noble, you're supposed to arrive at least thirty minutes early. And that outfit... I sent you messages about it over and over."

Apparently, it was common knowledge that everyone in high school was expected to know: whenever attending a gathering hosted by nobles, you had to wear your school uniform.

And commoners had to arrive before the nobles, no matter what.

Kaworu raised her delicate eyebrows in irritation, wondering whether I'd even read the messages she'd sent just in case something like this happened.

Incidentally, my current outfit consisted of a T-shirt and tracksuit pants...

But hold on a moment.

Over the past few days, I'd been running around dealing with the arena and my sisters. Even after returning home, I'd been busy sorting out my schedule for the coming days, so I hadn't had time to check my messages.

That was my excuse.

Of course, saying it aloud would only add fuel to the fire.

I couldn't afford to stumble right at the start, so I went around apologizing to the protagonist party, who remained refreshingly cheerful despite the scorching heat, as well as to the angry Majima-kun.

Just then, the people around us suddenly began murmuring.

Wondering whether some dungeon-clearing clan had arrived, I cautiously glanced around without raising my head too much.

A group of people dressed in black was approaching us.

At their center was a full suit of silver-white armor sheltered beneath a parasol decorated with floral patterns.

The moment the armored figure noticed us, it came sprinting toward us at a tremendous speed, scattering sunlight in every direction as though its footsteps might shatter the ground.

"Good morning, Narumi-kun! Sorry to keep you waiting!"

"...It's not even time yet. Japanese people arrive too early."

Tenma-san greeted us while skidding to a sudden stop that whipped up a gust of wind.

Witnessing her overwhelming physical enhancement, not only Majima-kun but also the strangers nearby could only stare in shock and stumble backward.

Behind her, Kuga-san walked over with a sigh, making an exasperated gesture as though she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

She was also dressed casually in a T-shirt and baggy pants, not all that different from my own outfit.

The only differences were that she wasn't carrying anything in her hands and that her pockets were stuffed with lots of snacks.

Majima-kun had been caught off guard by the sudden arrival of the main attraction, but he quickly recovered, knelt respectfully, and lowered his head.

Akagi-kun and the others followed his example, kneeling on one knee.

Was this another one of those common courtesies when dealing with nobles?

"Lady Tenma, I hope you are in excellent spirits! I am Hiroto Majima, eldest son of the Majima family, a samurai family from Niigata! You look especially radiant today—"

"It's fine! You don't have to be so formal. We're here to enjoy a fun dungeon dive today, so no honorific speech or anything like that!"

I lined up at the very back and started to kneel as well, but Tenma-san crossed her arms into an X to stop me.

Today, our primary objective was to build relationships, not hunt monsters.

I was glad she'd remembered that.

However, the wall between nobles and commoners was much thicker and higher than I'd imagined.

There were countless stories of commoners being ruined under accusations of disrespect toward nobles.

And more importantly, with the black-clad butlers standing behind her glaring at us, there was no way we could casually speak to her without honorifics.

Majima-kun lowered his head and pleaded that she at least excuse him on that point.

"Oh, all right..." Tenma-san conceded reluctantly.

Still, I had a question.

Why was Kuga-san also standing there with her hands on her hips, looking down at us?

You were one of us, weren't you?

I sent her a look conveying that sentiment, and she answered with a cynical smile.

"As you know, Tenma is the leader this time... but the vice-leader is... me!"

"W-what?!"

What we were about to undertake was the preliminary stage of the curse-removal quest: a three-day, two-night dungeon dive that was essentially a social gathering.

The aim was to power-level Akagi-kun and the others while helping them grow closer to Tenma-san.

We had a longer, full-scale power-leveling session planned for a later date. For now, this was just a short trial run.

Naturally, I wasn't the leader.

That role went to Tenma-san, whom everyone could accept.

But the tanned girl insisted that she was the vice-leader.

Majima-kun wasn't willing to accept that.

"If I'm not the vice-leader, then it should be Omiya!"

After all, Satsuki was supposedly the one who had organized this gathering, and she was more than qualified in terms of ability.

His argument was perfectly reasonable: why was someone who had been competing with Butao for the bottom of the rankings being put in charge instead?

I wondered how Kuga-san would respond.

She merely snapped her fingers.

At that signal, the black-clad butlers standing behind her all sprang into action, swiftly surrounding Majima-kun, who stared at them in alarm.

"Lady Kuga is the young lady's dearest and most important friend. Watch how you speak to her. Understood?"

"...Y-yeah. Understood."

"Sorry about that! But having Kotone-chan as vice-leader would make things easier for me, too!"

Apparently, Tenma-san had been the one to appoint Kuga-san as vice-leader.

She said that having her best friend help out would make her feel more secure, especially since this was her first overnight trip.

However, ever since Kurosaki-san had disappeared, Tenma-san seemed to be relying on Kuga-san more and more.

Was that really okay?

On the other hand, Kuga-san had just manipulated the black-clad butlers as though they were completely at her beck and call...

Man, I was starting to get worried.

Even so, there was one man who remained completely unfazed by this unexpected turn of events.

Our protagonist, Akagi-kun.

His glossy red hair fluttered in the breeze as he smiled brightly, with a face so refreshingly handsome that most girls would probably blush just looking at him.

"I'm Yuma Akagi. This guy with glasses is Naoto Tachigi, the girl with fluffy hair is Sakurako Sanjo, and the sharp-eyed girl over there is Kaworu Hayase. The four of us usually form a party together. It's nice to meet you, Tenma-san."

"Akagi-kun, Tachigi-kun, Sanjo-san, and Hayase-san, right? Okay, nice to meet you all!"

Akagi-kun, who wasn't intimidated even by nobles, broke the awkward atmosphere with his introduction.

Tachigi-kun followed with a perfectly executed bow.

Pink-chan and Kaworu hurriedly lowered their heads as well.

Majima-kun introduced himself in his usual manner, beginning with his family background.

However, there was a brighter sparkle in his eyes than usual, revealing his admiration for Tenma-san.

Perhaps he admired nobles because he came from a samurai family.

I then gathered my courage and stepped forward to introduce myself as well—

"It's hot... Let's just go already."

"Oh, that's right! My armor has air conditioning, so I didn't even notice the heat!"

Unable to tolerate the direct sunlight any longer, Kuga-san headed toward the dungeon entrance on her own.

Tenma-san and the black-clad butlers hurriedly followed behind her.

The full suit of pure mithril armor had ice magic circles engraved into it, which apparently kept her comfortable despite the scorching heat.

Maybe I should get myself a full suit of armor like that, too...

But I'd leave that thought aside for now.

The person I wanted to introduce myself to was Akagi-kun.

It seemed that he still couldn't quite connect my name with my face, so I'd hoped this would be a good opportunity to make him remember me.

Well, we had plenty of time.

There was no need to rush. I could gradually get closer to him.

---

I passed my adventurer's ID through the ticket gate near the dungeon entrance and joined the line, looking toward the pitch-black boundary that served as the entrance.

Farther inside was something called the "VIP Entrance."

Nobles, other members of the upper classes, and certain dungeon-clearing clans could enter through it without waiting in line.

However, Tenma-san had prioritized spending time with us and seemed to have chosen to wait in line together.

If every noble in Japan were as humble as Tenma-san, the world would be a much more peaceful place.

As I lamented how unforgiving Japanese society could be while enduring the piercing sunlight, Kaworu stepped up beside me and quietly spoke.

What was it?

"...Hey. You seem to be quite close to Lady Tenma. If you don't mind, could you tell me how the two of you met?"

"Let's see. I think it was..."

"I'd known Narumi-kun since the entrance ceremony!"

Before I could finish, Tenma-san had somehow moved to my other side and joined the conversation, sandwiching me between herself and Kaworu.

Come to think of it, I thought it had started when she'd approached me because she wanted to learn how to lose weight.

She was one of those girls who wanted to slim down.

However, Tenma-san wasn't actually fat. Her body had simply matured into an adult-like form because of the curse.

Her voluptuous figure was actually quite appealing...

That thought almost slipped out of my mouth, but I forcibly swallowed it.

"By the way, I've been meaning to ask you something, too. What's your relationship with Narumi-kun? You two are often together on your way to school, aren't you?"

"...We're just acquaintances."

This time, Tenma-san turned the question around and asked Kaworu about her relationship with me.

Her answer was that we were "just acquaintances."

I would have preferred her to say "childhood friends," at least.

Still, I'd hold on to the hope that she had simply chosen her words carefully to avoid complicating the conversation.

"Move, damn it!"

"Ah!"

The public order around here was terrible.

For a while now, armed people and transport vehicles had been moving in and out of the VIP entrance.

Whenever men and women stopped to look out of curiosity, they were shoved aside as though they were in the way.

Judging by their appearance, they didn't seem particularly refined, nor did they look like nobles or members of samurai families.

Were they affiliated with some large dungeon-clearing clan?

Dungeons were places where adventurers gathered in pursuit of money, power, and fame—and where some of them were willing to fight desperately to obtain those things.

I wished people who were only there for recreation would be careful not to get too close to such individuals.

---

I leaned against the slimy black boundary at the dungeon entrance and passed through into the dungeon.

It was as crowded as ever, but the temperature on the first floor remained around twenty degrees Celsius throughout the year, making it considerably more comfortable than the outside world.

Our destination was a hunting ground on the eleventh floor.

It would have been closer to go through the tenth-floor Gate near Granny's shop, but that location still wasn't widely known.

Instead, we planned to teleport to the nearest publicly known Gate on the seventh floor and walk from there.

Following the black-clad butlers, we made our way to the Gate room and arrived in the seventh-floor DLC area in an instant.

Considering that this alone saved us half a day's travel, the benefits of the Gates were enormous.

Meanwhile, Pink-chan, who wasn't accustomed to using Gates, was suffering from Gate sickness.

Kaworu took her hand and helped her recover.

I remembered feeling nauseated the first time I'd used one, too, but people naturally got used to it, so there was no need to worry.

We exited the crowded Gate room and confirmed that everyone was present.

We were just about to set off for the eleventh floor when—

"Wait a moment. Tenma said she's arranged a vehicle."

"Oh, there it is! Go ahead and hop on. The luggage goes at the very back!"

I followed Kuga-san's pointing finger and looked in that direction.

A tractor with enormous tires was approaching us, pulling passenger carriages behind it.

The second carriage had a decorated roof and enough seats for around twenty people.

The third carriage appeared to be a cargo bed.

It was a luxury rental vehicle known as a "Road Train," which the Adventurers Guild rented out for traveling through dungeons.

I'd never seen one actually running inside a dungeon before, but there was a good reason for that.

Dungeon-clearing clans had their own transport vehicles, while beginner adventurers could only visit the lower floors and wouldn't pay such an expensive rental fee.

As a result, Road Trains had effectively become vehicles reserved for nobles and important figures.

Apparently, they were also vehicles that ordinary people dreamed of riding at least once.

While the surrounding adventurers pointed their cameras at the vehicle and watched with interest, Majima-kun excitedly climbed aboard first.

Akagi-kun and Tachigi-kun followed, looking around with curious expressions.

I tossed my luggage aboard and climbed in after them.

If it was going to carry us all the way to the hunting ground while we slept, that would certainly be convenient.

Incidentally, all the butlers except the driver would apparently run alongside the vehicle to provide security.

As I fastened my seat belt, Tenma-san, who was sitting in the frontmost seat alongside Kuga-san, turned around to face us.

"Is everyone on board? Welcome to our three-day, two-night adventure tour!"

"Yeah!"

Everyone thrust their arms into the air in response to Tenma-san's enthusiastic announcement.

Although Majima-kun and Kuga-san had joined unexpectedly, the atmosphere was pretty good so far.

It seemed like a decent start.

However, the curse-removal event I'd planned for this summer had numerous terrifyingly vicious monsters waiting for us.

At the end, we'd even have to face a Great Spirit, a supernatural being, and persuade it to help us.

The protagonist party was still below level ten, and they hadn't completed most of the school events, either.

Could we really accomplish all of that?

The maid I'd been counting on to help train Akagi-kun was currently being held captive by the Ten Rakshasa.

To negotiate for her return, we'd need to cooperate with Mamiya in the arena and draw out one of the Ten Rakshasa executives.

But even now, I still had absolutely no idea what Mamiya was thinking or what kind of person he really was.

I couldn't say whether we'd be able to work together successfully.

And yet—

"I'm going to prepare delicious meat and other tasty dishes for dinner, so look forward to it!"

"Yeah!"

Watching Tenma-san energetically raise her arm and get everyone excited, I felt motivation bubbling up from deep within my chest.

If we could remove her curse, Tenma Akira, a DunEx heroine who had unlocked her true abilities, would be born.

A fully developed heroine possessed the potential to transform the world itself.

And that privilege wasn't exclusive to the DunEx protagonist, Akagi-kun, or Pink-chan.

If someone like her became our ally this early in the story, how reassuring would that be for someone like me, who was constantly afraid of reaching a bad ending?

No matter how difficult the quest was, and no matter how fickle the Great Spirit might be, it was absolutely worth attempting.

More importantly, wasn't rescuing a heroine who was in trouble the kind of thing that got your blood pumping?

I couldn't even get this much excitement out of DunEx itself.

Let's do this!

"All right, here we go! Full speed ahead!"

"YEAH!!"

At Tenma-san's signal, the Road Train's engine roared to life, and the vehicle slowly began to move.

As everyone thrust their arms into the air with excitement, I raised mine enthusiastically as well.

...

Well, there was no point in getting worked up already.

The butlers would be guarding us while we rode the Road Train, so I might as well take it easy for this little while.

TL Note- Tenma for the win......

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