While exploring, I didn't find any treasure, but I did come across some fascinating records.
The text was in an ancient script I didn't recognize, but Garado-san could surprisingly read it.
It told the story of a city that had prospered thanks to the power of a giant spider — the very anomaly that had become the dungeon.
That city had been a surface-type dungeon.
At first, the people were genuinely grateful for the spider's blessings.
But as the years went by, they split into three factions.
The Worship faction, who revered the spider as a god and devoted themselves to it.
The Extermination faction, who viewed the spider as a danger and sought to destroy it.
The Manipulation faction, who wanted to use the spider as a tool.
Gradually, the Manipulation faction rose to great prominence, and both the Worship and Extermination factions were driven to the margins.
But the Worship and Extermination factions formed an alliance, sealed the spider, and forced the Manipulation faction to disband.
They chose sealing over extermination because it was the Worship faction's condition for the alliance.
That "Spider-Cutter" was a trump card the Extermination faction had hidden away for emergency use after the sealing.
Its design made it clear that the mountain folk had been involved — it had been built specifically to kill the spider, without fail.
The city that had sealed the spider gradually declined, and eventually it was abandoned.
No one knows what became of the people who left, or of those who stayed behind.
"…So the power of prosperity really did exist."
"Still, the risk was far too great."
"Lucky we sealed it."
"I would've preferred having it exterminated."
Nabel gave a wry smile, looking at the "Spider Cutter" in his hand.
I thought the same thing.
After that, we kept exploring.
We split into teams, and I paired up with Bidd.
"...Wof. What is that?"
"Um... it's a stone statue."
In a room that looked like a storage closet, I picked up a stone statue that had just been sitting there casually.
It resembled the shakōkidogū from my past life's memories.
No, not from my past life—I felt like I'd seen it somewhere in this world, and it had ended up nagging at me.
Incidentally, the light was green.
Bidd looked up at me with a slightly sheepish expression.
"You gonna take that with you?"
"Ah... no, I just thought it was kinda unusual, that's all."
I set it back down.
It was just a passing curiosity. Not worth taking home.
"Did you find anything, Bidd?"
"...Nah, not really."
"Yeah, figured."
The Circle of Fortune didn't react to it either.
We checked out a few rooms, but there was nothing of note.
"There's nothing here, huh."
"Yeah, not a thing."
"You'd think there'd be at least something."
"Right?"
We were about to head to the next room when Bid spoke up.
"Hey—ow!"
"What's wrong?"
"Something's caught on my pants and—I can't get it off!"
"Huh? Are you okay?"
Looking over, something was snagged on his pants... on his spats, rather.
It was a nail. The head of a nail that had been hammered in crooked on a wooden box had caught on the fabric of his spats.
"Ugh, come on! I really can't get it off!"
"Bid, if you keep thrashing around, it's gonna rip... ah."
The spats tore with a rip.
The nail came free, but the tear was pretty big.
And judging by where it was, part of his butt was now showing.
Hmm? Something seems off.
"Nooo, I messed up..."
Bid slumped over, dejected.
—F-first, you should cover up!
—No, I've got a spare, so it's fine, y'know.
—Huh?
With that, she pulled out an identical pair of black spats from her pouch.
—They tear pretty often, so I always carry a few extras.
Saying this with a sheepish grin, she started peeling off the torn spats right there.
I scrambled to turn around.
—H-hey, go over there first!
—I am wearing proper underwear, y'know.
—That's not the point!
—Oh wait, I wasn't actually wearing any. Come to think of it, the lines show through, so I never wear them under these. Totally forgot.
Bid laughed. That wasn't the issue either. No, it was a massive issue.
No wonder the parts that were supposed to be hidden by underwear had been completely on display.
Bid called me over, saying she was done and it was fine now.
—...You really wear those all the time, huh?
—Partly because I like them, but they're super easy to move in.
With that, Bid tugged at her spats and gave her own backside a loud slap.
—Ahaha, but they do tear really easily.
—That's exactly why they're so cheap, so I just buy them in bulk, y'know.
—But the fact that you're not wearing underwear—
"I just gotta change real quick, is all."
Is that so? Maybe it is?
"You don't mind being seen, huh."
"Hey, Wof. That's not cool."
"Huh? But—"
"I'm a girl, you know. At least have the decency— it's embarrassing to be seen like that, obviously."
Bid got a little miffed.
I was met with a flat, half-lidded glare.
"S-Sorry."
That was way too tactless. They probably think I've got zero sense of propriety.
Bid blinked in blank surprise.
"Say, Wof. Do you... wanna see?"
"Huh?"
"Me. Naked."
"Wha— that— that's—!"
Her sudden remark threw me completely off balance.
If she's asking whether I want to see— then of course I want to see. I absolutely want to see.
Of course I want to see. Of course I want to see, but even so, that's going too far...!
"Oy! You two. Find something?"
Garad's voice called out from nearby. Thank goodness. A lifeline!
"Ah, there's nothing here."
"There was nothing."
"I see. Then let's head back soon."
"Yessir."
"Understood."
I felt relieved. Partly glad, partly disappointed.
Bid casually suggested we head out, acting like nothing had happened.
Well, this is fine, I guess.
We left the forbidden zone.
There were no monsters here, let alone dungeon anomalies.
But we did gain something.
Kumogiri — a sword specialized against spiders, now in Nabel's possession.
With this, handling the dungeon anomaly would be a piece of cake.
We concluded that the dungeon anomaly was indeed hiding somewhere in the forest.
It would be extremely troublesome, but we had no choice but to find it.
"I guess we have no choice but to think of a way to find it."
"It'd be easier if it went on a rampage, though."
"...Yeah."
We returned from the forbidden zone via the teleportation circle.
The unpleasant feeling in the forest's air still lingered.
"What the hell is this?"
"There are no enemies, right?"
"…Yes. There aren't."
No reaction from Danger Discernment.
"Garado. What do we do now?"
"…I'll try walking to another subjugation village. There's one not too far from here."
"Yeah, that's true."
"Torquetam might be there too."
"That's possible."
"Got it."
And so we started walking.
The scenery remained unchanged, wrapped in silence.
Still, what was with this heavy, oppressive atmosphere?
Danger Discernment was active at all times.
Every now and then I'd spot red or black spots on tree trunks or the ground, but they were just poisonous plants or mushrooms.
Sometimes Hoss would gather them.
"But the complete absence of monsters is… too abnormal."
"This atmosphere is weird too."
"……Um, this is just my take, but…"
Nabel spoke up hesitantly.
Everyone looked at him.
"What is it?"
"If you've noticed anything, don't hesitate to speak up."
"I can sense a territory."
"From this forest?"
Nabel nodded and continued.
"I think the reason the air feels heavy is because we've entered a territory."
"…A territory, huh. Hoss. There was a Scarred One's territory around here, wasn't there?"
"Yeah. But if it were a Scarred One's territory, they'd attack right away. Besides, a Scarred One's territory doesn't make the air this bad."
"Thinking about it that way, this territory must be from the dungeon anomaly."
"Yeah, probably. Maybe… the Scarred One and the dungeon anomaly fought each other."
No one reacted with surprise to Garado's statement.
The explanation of a territorial dispute was simple and the most convincing.
"Garado. Will the expedition team be alright?"
"Goro's expedition team is made up of veterans. They know when to pull back. Araya is the cautious type."
Araya certainly was dependable. She wasn't the type to take reckless risks.
"It'd be best if they took each other out, though."
"…With how bad this air is, I wouldn't count on that."
"At worst, we also have to consider the possibility that the Scarred One lost."
"That would really be the worst."
"This couldn't get any worse, right?"
"How awful."
"But if we plan for the worst, we can still aim a step above that, you know."
Bidd said, somewhat jokingly.
We gave a wry smile.
And then, without incident, we arrived at another subjugation village.
This subjugation village was at the base of a pillar-like rock formation.
The facilities were the same as before.
The only difference was that there were two taverns.
The moment we entered the village… red dots appeared all over the subjugation village.
"…Sir Galad. There are enemies inside the village."
"What did you say?"
"I smell a strange aura."
"There's something here!"
"What might that be?"
From all around the village, figures emerged en masse — were they monsters…?
They were pure-white women. They were nude, yet strangely, there was nothing erotic about them.
Their skin looked like sculpture or pottery, and both arms bore black, mottled patterns.
They had human faces, but with four red eyes, and their hair was — wait, were those… spider legs?
"…Spider-women, huh."
"…Spiders… probably?"
"An anomaly in the dungeon?"
"No, that was a giant spider. But these — what are they?"
"—All we know is they're enemies."
I drew my knife. Everyone else grabbed their weapons too.
Once they got in range, I'd switch to [Blue Saint] and hit them with [Banish].
Still, wasn't this way too many, even for us?
The spider-women numbered in the dozens.
But they were no match for us. We took up defensive stances.
The spider-women moved to surround us.
And just like that, they stepped into my range.
I activated [Blue Saint] and aimed [Banish] — and that's when it happened.
('…my kingdom… my kingdom… this is the [')
Kingdom of the Unreal
'] ……')
"Wha—?!"
What the—
('Raise your gauntlet — raise it now!')
Male and female voices cried out at once, and I hastily raised the [Blue Saint's Gauntlet] before my chest.
In that instant, something heavy — like a wave — slammed into the gauntlet.
I managed to deflect it, but the shockwave alone nearly sent me tumbling to the ground.
"That was close. What the hell... was that?"
Right. Was everyone okay...? Good, they seemed fine, but something about them was off.
"Wh-what... is..."
"Hey. What's going on here...!?"
"What's that mean?"
"Why... can't I... use my Relic...?"
"Huh?"
Nabel's voice was filled with shock and despair.
And then the swarm of spider women closed in around us.