Chapter 25
Rrrrrumble—
“Ugh, Lady Riella, did you just hear something?”
“Huh? What sound? I didn't hear anything!”
“Hmm, is that so...? I could've sworn I heard a roar while the dungeon was shaking...”
That tremor just now was definitely no ordinary thing.
Could there have been an earthquake in the dungeon?
“Hehe, Hans, you're such a scaredy-cat! Just like Yubel!”
“Hahaha...”
Adventurer Hans.
It occurred to me that I still hadn't properly introduced myself, so I told Lady Riella my name.
But scaredy-cat, huh?
Hans felt a little insulted.
Fweee—
“Aah!!”
An arrow whistled through the air, passing right in front of my eyes.
I almost died again.
Why did Lady Riella dodge on her own without warning me?
Lady Yubel always warned me...
Hans had plenty of complaints about Riella, who had ended up accompanying him.
‘Why is she so carefree...’
It felt like I'd brought a little kid into the dungeon.
……
Still, I also felt bad about bringing the Hero's party into a dungeon like this.
I felt as if my own greed had gotten in the way of people who might save the world.
“Phew, all the traps here seem vicious. Could this be a particularly difficult dungeon?”
“Hmm, even from the perspective of Riella, the supreme strongest archer, it seems that way! This place is just a tiiiny bit tough!”
Lady Riella emphasized the word ‘bit’ as she answered.
“Anyway, I wonder if there's a treasure chest? Honestly, if Hans hadn't stopped me back then!”
“Hahaha...”
Hans had worn himself out stopping Riella from sticking her head into the mimic earlier.
That ridiculous behavior had made me wonder if they really were the Hero's party.
Trudge, trudge.
“Lady Riella, there's another staircase.”
“Ugh, again? How many floors does this place have?”
Anyway, we'd already made it down to the fourth basement floor.
There was still no sign of the other two, or any chance of reuniting with them.
Hans was starting to get anxious.
“Um, Lady Riella. We still haven't seen the Hero or Lady Yubel. Do you think they'll be all right?”
“Hans, you worry too much! We're the Hero's party for a reason, you know!”
Just how much did this elf trust the Hero and Lady Yubel?
Whenever I asked something like that, I always got the same sort of answer.
“Still, just how strong are those two for you to be so sure?”
“Yubel and Se-on are stronger than me! Maybe they could even take down a dragon?”
The way the elf said it, they must be incredibly strong.
The way she commanded fire spirits with ease and could pierce enemies with her arrows even while moving made it clear why she was in the Hero's party.
“Come on, a dragon's going a bit far, isn't it? For starters, where would you even find a dragon in this day and age?”
-Kwoooooo!!
The dungeon shook once more.
……
Surely not?
***
Yubel was confused.
No, what was this?
Why was there a dragon in an erotic-trap dungeon?
The only dragon Yubel knew of in this fantasy world was ‘Black Dragon Vargar,’ one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon Army.
So what was this enormous dragon right in front of her?
“Ha.”
Most of the dragons in this world were said to have gone extinct.
So it was only natural that the sudden appearance of a dragon left her dumbfounded.
……
Now that she thought about it, things had been strange from the moment they'd arrived.
The layout of this erotic-trap dungeon was a little different from what she knew, and the succubi that showed up as reliably as rice soup weren't appearing much, either.
Could it be...?
Yubel was finally getting close to the truth.
If she could just conclude that this wasn't an erotic-trap dungeon—
The Hero bastard must've been up to something!
Was this the plan he'd mentioned before?
No wonder the timing of those adventurers showing up had been strange.
He must have summoned a dragon to separate me from Riella.
To think he'd target Riella so thoroughly...
Unfortunately, Yubel failed to reach the truth.
But that wasn't what mattered right now.
Thump! Thump!
“Kwooooooo———!!!!”
“Yubel!! Run!!!”
‘You're awfully quick to tell me.’
Yubel was already running before the Hero could even shout.
But then—
Grab!
“W-What!”
Eva, who was right beside her, bit Yubel's leg.
As if telling her not to leave it behind.
You little brat, Eva!
C-Could this be part of that Hero bastard's plan, too?
No wonder he'd kept bringing Eva along with me!
Yubel lifted Eva in an attempt to pry her loose.
At that moment.
Kwoom.
“Huh?”
At that moment, a huge shadow fell over Yubel.
When she looked up, the dragon was suddenly staring down at her.
Wow, it's insanely fast.
How could something that huge be so fast?
I'm the Demon King. I won't die here, right? Haha.
‘Please.’
Yubel's body trembled.
“Kyao?”
Seeing Yubel, who'd cared for her, trembling, Eva reacted.
Then Eva looked at the dragon, ‘Behemoth,’ and tilted her head.
Mom, why are you here?
“Krr?”
Behemoth, who'd been looking down at Yubel and Eva, was bewildered.
What was going on?
From Behemoth's perspective, this was all very strange.
She'd been sleeping peacefully when suddenly her child disappeared.
So she figured that little troublemaker was trying to prank her again and went looking.
She'd been playing hide-and-seek, calling out, ‘Where are you, little one?!’ when suddenly she heard her child crying from somewhere.
She immediately came over in ‘Who the hell touched my child?’ mode, and... oh my goodness! Who was this adorable little one?
Even by dragon standards, the girl holding her child was cute and captivating.
“Ahaha... Um, hello?”
A girl spoke to her in a tiny voice.
At the sight, Behemoth was surprised once again.
She's standing her ground even after seeing me?
Normally, people would faint just from looking at me.
She's cute and brave, too!
Behemoth was a dragon who couldn't resist anything pretty and cute.
To explain Yubel's bold approach from a human perspective, she was like a hamster acting cute.
Yubel, however, was on the verge of fainting.
But she was barely holding on, remembering the saying that even in a tiger's den, you can survive if you keep your wits about you.
“Krr...”
This time, Behemoth became interested in Yubel's adorable horns.
Hm? Oh my, wait a moment, those familiar-looking horns...
‘Could she be one of my kind?’
The black horns growing from Yubel's head.
They were unmistakably the same shape as her own.
Hmm. Come to think of it, I think I heard someone held a feast after giving birth to a daughter in some dungeon recently...
Then is her human form a polymorph? How adorable.
Yubel also had a strange tail, but Behemoth didn't notice it.
Unfortunately, Behemoth had aging eyes.
“Kyao! Kyao!”
“E-Eva...”
“Krr?”
Seeing one of her kind clinging to her child, Behemoth had a thought.
Why was her son following this girl around like that?
……!!
Behemoth realized something.
One possibility suddenly came to mind.
C-Could it be... our child brought home a bride?
Did our little troublemaker bring home such an adorable girl?
“Kyao! Kyao!”
Eva smiled at Behemoth.
While licking Yubel.
Behemoth gaped in shock at the sight.
It's true! Our child brought home a bride!
I have to take her to the nest right now!
Grab!
“Eep!?”
“Kyao! Kyao!”
Behemoth, terribly excited, grabbed Yubel and Eva.
As a mother, she couldn't bear to let her daughter-in-law go hungry.
Just as she was about to race back at full speed—
“Yubel!!!!”
Another voice came from behind.
Hmm, who was it this time?
Se-on had realized Yubel hadn't followed and turned back.
Se-on's eyes fell on Yubel, captured by the evil Behemoth.
But to Behemoth, Se-on looked like nothing more or less than a worthless bug.
A human, and a male at that?
Should I just kill him?
Behemoth thought men weren't cute.
Krrr rumble——
Just as Behemoth's massive arm was about to swing at Se-on—
“P-Please don't!!”
Her adorable daughter-in-law stopped her.
Why?
Is he a pet human?
Yubel was clutching Behemoth's finger tightly.
I see, I guess that's it.
Our daughter-in-law has some pretty refined tastes.
Behemoth had already become utterly besotted with her daughter-in-law.
Meanwhile, Yubel, who'd stopped the attack, was relieved that Behemoth wasn't going to hurt her.
“Phew, I thought I was going to get squashed...”
Yubel hadn't yelled to save the Hero.
She'd only screamed because Behemoth suddenly squeezed her, and she thought she was about to be crushed.
‘Am I still alive?’
Then Yubel thought about why Behemoth had kept her alive.
Probably because I was holding Eva, right?
Eva looks like Behemoth's child, after all.
I'll have to negotiate with the dragon by using Eva's life as leverage.
Yubel hugged Eva even tighter.
I absolutely can't let go.
The moment I let Eva out of my arms, it'll kill me.
“Kyao! Kyao!”
Eva was delighted by the warm embrace.
Eva smiled brightly at Yubel.
Seeing that, Yubel felt a little guilty.
I'm sorry, Eva.
I'm going to use you a little.
“Krr...”
Thump! Thump! Thump!
The dragon suddenly started moving somewhere at incredible speed.
Where is it going?
Am I going to become dragon food like this?
There was only one cause of all this.
That cowardly Hero bastard.
-Aaaaaaah!!!!
The Hero's cheers rang out in the distance.
So this was the Hero's plan, huh?
He's really having a grand old time, isn't he.