It’s Dangerous Outside the Dungeon, Master

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– 1 –

[You’re going out of the dungeon at this time…]

After nursing Sonia back to health, I was finally setting off on a journey with her, looking quite different from usual.

Instead of the noble lady with black hair and purple eyes, I was now embodying the appearance of a traveling mage with golden hair and blue eyes.

This was not an illusion magic cast on me, but rather a potion containing dye and makeup magic to cover my eyes and hair. While its duration was shorter than illusion magic, it offered greater stability.

Additionally, I painted my eyebrows a bit thicker to add a slightly tougher impression, making me look even more different from my usual self.

[I managed to procure the items, but please be careful, Lady.]

[Thank you for worrying. And for fetching the items.]

[Not at all! Well then, until next time.]

I received help from Scarlett for securing supplies to go outside the dungeon.

To do this, Eve and Mire had to lead goblins and skeletons to ambush a bandit group and clear the area, but the process went smoothly without any difficulties whatsoever.

Morning was the time when everything awakened, but it was the earlier dawn that was the most dangerous time.

“Looks like the problem has been solved, sir.”

The beginning of the journey was very calm.

The nearby area had already been cleared by my soldiers, so there was almost no chance of monsters or beasts appearing, and the place I built a cabin was also quite sunny.

As I stepped outside the cabin, Sonia, who had already finished preparing, waved her hand upon spotting me.

“Yes. There’s a precious child who keeps getting in my way and won’t let go.”

“You have a pet?”

“A pet… heh heh.”

Sonia was misunderstanding something ridiculous, but that misunderstanding made me smile involuntarily.

In reality, when Evangeline acted, it often felt like the behavior of a large dog or a highly affectionate monkey, so I momentarily empathized with that statement.

Seeing my smile, Sonia inadvertently smiled as well.

“It seems you cherish it a lot.”

“When I was going through a period of loss, this child was by my side.”

“Oh.”

“Ah… I’m sorry.”

At the mention of ‘loss,’ Sonia’s expression darkened, and she fell silent, as if reminded of a friend. When I apologized for it, she shook her head and concentrated her gaze ahead.

“No, it’s okay, sir. It must be a precious child to you, so I’m sorry for not letting you boast about it.”

“Don’t say that, Sonia. … But you need to get used to it now. For your sake.”

“Lady Rita is right. I wasn’t able to help at all during the crucial moment. I need to make sure that doesn’t happen again…”

It was important to remind her of her ‘mistake.’

The more she became ensnared by the fault she believed to be hers, the easier it would be for her to remove herself from it.

Her kindness still felt like it was scratching at my heart, but I had no intention of delaying necessary matters.

She was likely to become a good opportunity for me.

Though it had become challenging to postpone informing her of the dangers of the new dungeon, whether it be delaying the time until the second attack on the dungeon or choosing another method.

Conducting investigations about the enemies was essential for that.

“You need to focus more on constructing inter-dimensional coordinates there.”

On the trouble-free evening of the first day, I taught her some offensive magic.

There were a few low-burden spells she could currently use, and two higher-level spells she couldn’t yet use, but was theoretically capable of handling based on her mana quantity.

I had been doing this since we were at the cabin.

“Oh, so that’s why I quickly lose power when I summon fire.”

“Yes. Elemental magic ultimately draws energy from outside this world.”

“Really? Thank you, sir.”

Despite the awkwardness of me teaching Sonia, someone who had practiced magic for several years, having only been in this world for just over two weeks, ‘nobility’ helped me not to seem out of place at all.

Just a little while ago, I had bought a human spell manual from the Mammon Trading Company and learned magic, making it seem as if I had known it for years.

To be precise, it wasn’t about raising proficiency, but rather, ‘making it seem that way.’

Either way, it was not difficult to teach Sonia, who was still a fledgling mage. Thanks to that, my own magical talent wasn’t too low either.

“You’re excellent. You’re doing really well, Sonia.”

“… Thank you.”

“Why the long face?”

Her expression darkened once again.

When I patted her shoulder and asked for the reason, she verbalized what I had suspected.

The reason she was learning magic from me.

“If I practiced more magic and figured things out… if I could use it… then my friends wouldn’t have died like that, right?”

“It’s not your fault.”

“No, it is. It’s my fault for being unskilled…”

“Sonia…”

Her body had healed, but the wounds in her heart were still deepening.

Sonia buried her face in my embrace and cried for quite a while. Until she nearly fell asleep.

Since this was a routine that had continued since we were in the cabin, I had become pretty skilled at laying her down and tucking her in.

“Jack… Remi…”

A soft voice belonging to a crying young woman clung to my hand.

That voice scratched at my heart again, but my heart remained steady, maintaining its rhythm.

I was becoming accustomed to ‘evil.’

“Sonia! Get down!”

Crack!

“Kiyii!!”

The next day, we faced a small ambush.

As we walked, some goblins suddenly jumped out from behind a rock shadow.

The lead goblin attacked Sonia.

And the life of that goblin was taken by an arrow I shot.

To be precise, it was Mire and a few skeletons reaching out from the shadows of the rock connected to me, grabbing the goblin, followed by me finishing it off with the bow, but no one here but us would know that.

“Haah… haah…”

“You did well. Are you okay?”

“Yes, yes…”

And from that ambush, Sonia didn’t manage to take down a single monster.

The other three goblins also lost their lives to my bow before they could approach or flee.

The bow created by the surprisingly capable Eve. I had only practiced with it for a few days, but I was able to use it quite practically.

Perhaps I had the blood of an archer within me.

“That bow… it wasn’t for hunting, was it?”

“It’s barely usable.”

“Remia couldn’t even shoot a fleeing goblin. They’re just too crafty and fast…”

“Sonia?”

“… I’m not much help. I’ve learned offensive magic, but…”

From then on, aside from encountering beasts, there was nothing significant, but I could see her face darkening once more during the evening camp.

She had since become accustomed to leaning on me and tightly gripping my hand while speaking, whispering about her faults and wrongdoings.

“In general ambushes, there’s almost nothing a mage can do. Magic wields great power in an organized formation.”

“Still, Jack always told me to carry a club…”

“Sonia, healing is more urgent. You can learn self-defense after.”

“… I’m sorry, sir.”

“It’s fine. You’ll be okay, Sonia.”

I knew that logic didn’t help.

For those who say, “I can’t do it,” hopes and certainties can become burdens instead.

If I truly wanted her awakening here, I would need to push her further or create something she could do to gradually build her confidence.

In this world, mental health practices like psychology weren’t developed, so the only truly effective mental therapy would be through direct hypnotic magic.

But I didn’t go that route.

“You’ll be able to do it.”

Looking into Sonia’s eyes, the purple light was vividly flowing from my own, reflecting in her gaze.

A magic light that penetrates into one’s heart.

– 2 –

Thus, on the third day of the journey, just past twilight.

Considering Sonia’s depleted stamina, we had walked less than the distance of two days.

“Maria…?”

We came across a group of adventurers.

An adventuring party led by a woman who had similar black eyes to Remia.

While Remia had light gray hair and this woman had chestnut brown hair, their facial features and expressions were astonishingly similar.

Moreover, seeing the woman in front lead Sonia to brighten up, I was sure she was Remia’s sister.

“Sonia? You!”

Unlike Sonia, who hesitated while holding my hand, the brown-haired adventurer dashed forward without hesitation and embraced Sonia.

“Thank you…! Thank you, oh gods…! How worried I’ve been for you!! Jack, Remi! Where are you two? Huh?”

“Ah…”

And after that, Maria’s words caused the cheerful expression on Sonia’s face to vanish.

Holding my hand tightly, she bowed her head deeply before Maria, the once lively woman now wilted.

Watching her, another woman stood before Maria, gradually losing the sparkle in her eyes, wilting like a flower.

The only person who could speak was me.

“First off. Sonia is in a very weakened state. She managed to walk this far, but… right now, she looks like she can’t walk anymore.”

Ultimately, the two groups stopped walking and decided to spend the day by a nearby stream.

Other adventurers hired by Maria went off to search and hunt nearby, leaving just three women and one man sitting around a camp that hadn’t been lit yet.

To be precise, Sonia was kept in the tent while Maria, I, and a man who introduced himself as Daniel remained.

“This is…”

“Here are your two comrades’ tokens.”

I handed over the adventurer tokens of Jack and Remia to Maria.

These were the tokens imbued with communication and tracking magic that the three of them had created to speak to one another from a distance.

Items I still didn’t want to believe were relics.

“Ah…”

“Maria, you’ve made it this far. You have to search more. You need to find out what happened to them… I mean their whereabouts.”

With the two tokens held delicately in her hands, she leaned her head against them, failing to conceal her sorrow, while Daniel awkwardly placed a hand on her shoulder, unsure of how to comfort her.

I wasn’t sure if he was sincere, but at least he was showing real care, unlike his first impression.

He appeared to be a total punk on the surface.

“I’ll arrange for two adventurers to accompany you. You can move directly to the city. We will continue searching for the dungeon.”

Thanks to that, after a while, Maria regained her composure and lifted her head.

It was a remarkably quick recovery considering she had lost her kin. Although they weren’t particularly close, she was an experienced veteran adventurer who had lost someone before.

“Don’t do it, Maria.”

“Y-yes…?”

I shook my head at the determined Maria.

While I had adequately prepared for the dungeon, there were always unforeseen circumstances, so I didn’t want her to be allowed to seek out the dungeon.

“It’s likely to be futile.”

And I had enough grounds to dissuade her.