Chapter 136

Dungeons were full of strange and wondrous things.

“Mr. Dante! What’s this?”

“Ah, that would be….”

And Dante was an encyclopedia made flesh—patiently answering every last question from me, who had to ask about everything.

“It’s a flower called Stiplum. A plant that only grows inside dungeons. It doesn’t have any particular medicinal properties, but… noble ladies favor it for ornamental use, so it trades at a high price.”

“I see…! How much does it usually go for?”

“About fifty-five rubels per bloom.”

“W-What? That’s insanely expensive.”

Fifty-five rubels—that was roughly eighty thousand won in Korean currency.

Eighty thousand won for a single flower… Then a bouquet of ten would cost eight hundred thousand won!

‘That’s the kind of price that makes your jaw drop.’

Shuddering, I grasped the stem and gave it a gentle tug.

Lowering my head, I breathed in its scent. It smelled similar to peonies.

‘It smells good, too….’

The blue petals were almost mystical. Beautifully shaped, too—no wonder it was so expensive.

‘Hmm. I have a feeling Delphin would like this.’

Deciding to gift some to Delphin, I picked ten of the most lush, gorgeously blooming flowers and tucked them into my inventory.

Watching me, Lycian asked curiously,

“Planning to sell them?”

“No. I’m going to give them to Delphin.”

“…Since when did you two get so close? I’m jealous.”

“W-What are you even saying?”

I strode past the nonsense-spouting fox.

Clusters of Stiplum stretched endlessly along the roadside—like waves of blue.

After walking a while longer, a large pond came into view on the right.

In the center stood a pavilion, the perfect place to rest.

It was built of marble—pure white.

‘We should eat our lunch here!’

I’d even packed proper lunchboxes for the guild members. Hehe!

Turning to everyone, I suggested,

“Shall we eat there? We can rest for a bit.”

“Sounds good.”

“A fine idea….”

“Lady Muriel’s cooking… I’ve missed it sooo much….”

“I’m in.”

With unanimous agreement, there was no reason to hesitate.

I crossed the bridge leading to the pavilion with light steps.

When we arrived, I saw it was spacious enough to fit our entire group with room to spare.

The pavilion opened out on all sides to a breathtaking view of the pond, and a pleasant breeze drifted through.

‘There’s wind blowing, even though we’re inside a dungeon.’

The more I thought about it, the more it felt similar in principle to my subspace.

‘Are dungeons really fragments of space-time from another world, dropped into ours?’

As I took out the lunchboxes and handed them out one by one, I asked Dante,

“What do you think about the origin of dungeons? I just suddenly got curious.”

“Hmm, well. There are several theories in academic circles… but personally, I support both the ‘Otherworld Hypothesis’ and the ‘Ancient Ruins Hypothesis.’”

“Both?”

“Yes—oh!”

Dante opened his lunchbox, and his eyes lit up in admiration.

Sneaking a glance around, I saw that Camilla and Mikhail seemed pleased as well.

As for Lycian—he liked anything I cooked, so he didn’t count.

‘And Rena….’

A magic doll had no need to consume food. Naturally.

Instead, I handed her a pouch containing fifty top-grade magic stones I had stashed in my inventory.

“Thank you, Lady Muriel.”

Rena smiled brightly as she accepted the pouch.

I blinked rapidly and stumbled slightly over my words.

“R-Rena, you should rest too.”

“I will. Thank you for your consideration.”

Rena, and Ganesha as well… I still felt awkward around magic dolls.

They looked exactly like humans—but they weren’t human.

Anyway, I took my own lunchbox and sat beside Lycian.

Mikhail and Camilla sat diagonally across from us, while Dante and Rena sat opposite.

For the record, Ninabel had retreated into the subspace, claiming the dungeon’s air didn’t suit her.

Maybe because she was a spirit? She seemed more sensitive to the sense of foreignness.

“Some dungeons may have crossed over from another world, while others could be remnants of ancient civilizations. Each dungeon has distinct characteristics.”

Spearing a crispy shrimp tempura with his fork, Dante continued,

“For example, like this one—some feel as though a chunk of space-time from somewhere has simply dropped here. On the other hand, there are dungeons that are entirely indoor spaces. Labyrinth dungeons often take that form.”

Curious, I asked,

“Have you explored a labyrinth dungeon before, Mr. Dante?”

“About four years ago…. Ah, this is delicious.”

After chewing and swallowing a bite of shrimp tempura, Dante spoke in a tone of genuine surprise.

Camilla, her mouth stuffed full, gave an enthusiastic thumbs-up, while Mikhail quietly nodded like a discerning gourmet.

‘I’m glad they’re enjoying it.’

This was exactly why I loved cooking. I smiled, pleased.

Having finished one shrimp tempura, Dante continued,

“It was quite a dangerous dungeon. Reptilian-type monsters came pouring out in droves, and their scales were so tough that you had to stab them under the jaw to kill them. They also had high anti-magic resistance, so spells didn’t work well.”

“Oh….”

“But the real problem wasn’t them. The maze itself—filled with cunning tricks and traps—was by far the hardest obstacle to overcome….”

As if recalling that time, Dante’s gaze drifted into the distance. His expression grew faintly bitter.

“In that dungeon alone, more than two hundred adventurers went missing. Most of their bodies were never recovered. Fortunately, none of my companions were harmed.”

“That’s a relief….”

With a faint smile, Dante shifted the mood and continued more lightly.

“At the end of that dungeon, in the ‘Ruler’s’ chamber, there was an enormous hidden treasury. The most remarkable gem we found there was a three-hundred-carat red diamond.”

“Th-Three hundred carats? Not a rough stone, but a cut diamond?”

“Yes. It was truly massive…. The brilliance was extraordinary as well…. But the problem was….”

Dante took a sip of water before continuing.

“Everyone who possessed that red diamond met with misfortune. Some went mad. Others suffered accidents. Some were struck with incurable diseases….”

“Gasp….”

I let out a small breath and asked hesitantly,

“Th-Then where is that red diamond now? If it’s a cursed diamond, I can’t imagine just anyone could own it….”

For some reason, Dante shot a sideways glance at Lycian.

I froze with a sausage speared on my fork, then whipped my head toward Lycian.

‘Don’t tell me…?!’

When our eyes met, Lycian arched a brow and admitted it casually.

“That’s right. It’s mine now. You’ve seen it before, Muriel.”

“What? W-When?”

“At Epherne Castle.”

“…?!”

I rolled my eyes upward, searching through my memory—then suddenly, one scene resurfaced.

‘Whoa, what is this? Why is it so big?’

‘It’s a red diamond. Do you want it?’

‘No…. It’s too big. I’d feel burdened.’

‘I really have seen it before!’

A blood-red diamond, monstrously large!

‘No wonder it didn’t look ordinary!’

But wait—was it really okay to own something like that…? It was supposed to be cursed!

When I looked at him again, startled, Lycian merely shrugged as if it were nothing.

“It’s been sitting in Epherne Castle for over a year now, and nothing’s happened. With all the rumors, I expected a far more impressive curse.”

Murmuring in confusion, I said,

“Why is only Lycian unaffected…?”

“Maybe it’s because he’s not human. Since they share the same reptilian ancestors, perhaps it recognized its own kind.”

Dante pointed at Lycian with the tip of his fork. When Lycian shot him a glare, Dante quickly looked away as if he hadn’t meant anything.

I moved my lips uncertainly before asking,

“Then that labyrinth dungeon… could it have been a maze created by an ancient dragon?”

“It’s possible. The dungeon’s Ruler was also a bipedal reptilian creature. Not a dragon, but. One could speculate it was a creation of a dragon.”

Dante suddenly stiffened for a brief moment, then looked up from his lunchbox at me.

“Come to think of it, the Ruler of this dungeon must have been dealt with by the Holy Knight Order. It couldn’t have been an easy opponent…. Have you heard anything about it, Lady Muriel? Those holy knight bast— ahem, those fine people don’t share their raid details with outsiders.”

“Oh! As a matter of fact, I was going to share that with you all. It completely slipped my mind.”

I took out the Holy Knight Order’s report from my inventory.

It had been sent to me by letter from the Grand Temple before we came here.

Handing the report to Dante, I said,

“They told me it’s up to me whether to share it externally. So feel free to read.”

“Oh…. As expected of the Saintess…!”

Dante exclaimed dramatically as he accepted the document and began to open the first page—

“…!”

Suddenly, I felt something damp brush across the back of my hand. Startled, I looked down.

Immediately, I locked eyes with a small, oddly shaped creature.

‘Wh-What is this? It looks just like….’

…An axolotl?

The pink salamander-like creature met my gaze and then lightly pointed at my lunchbox with its tiny forepaw.

As if to say, ‘Give me some too.’