Alexander spoke quietly.
"All the anomalies in a dungeon are dungeon monsters. There are various types, and as you all know, dungeon monsters and natural-born monsters are fundamentally different. It comes down to whether they're alive or not."
"What does that mean?"
"The monsters that spawn in a dungeon aren't alive — not as far as we're concerned."
"Right, dungeon monsters are artificial bodies given pseudo-personalities to act like monsters, aren't they?"
"They all look the same to us, though."
Mineha glanced sideways at Alexander with a smirk.
"Mineha, watch your tone."
"Ha ha ha ha ha! But the fairial lady's got it right. Anomalies aren't living creatures, either. An anomaly refers to a defective or damaged monster within a dungeon. When something goes wrong in a dungeon and produces a malformed creature — a misfit. That's what an anomaly is."
Something goes wrong — so an error?
Do dungeons have systems or something?
"They're dungeon monsters, right?"
"That's right."
"What kind of dungeon monsters are they?"
"That particular type is called a Dungeon Lord."
"Dungeon Lord!?"
"No way, right?"
"I'm surprised."
I was surprised too.
The Dungeon Lord. A monster ranked from upper gold-tier to lower gem-tier.
Dungeons are broadly divided into two categories.
Large-scale dungeons and small-scale dungeons.
Small-scale dungeons have a "lowest level."
Large-scale dungeons have a "deepest level."
The dungeon we'd explored was small-scale.
The Dungeon Lord is the sovereign that rules the deepest level.
Not the lowest level — the deepest level.
That's why it doesn't appear in small-scale dungeons.
The Dungeon Lord at gem-tier is a Class I matter.
Even a Class I delver would struggle to beat one solo.
"A defective Dungeon Lord, huh?"
"Hoss. Don't look at me. Having a prodigal son is just a fact."
Rel... is that actually true? Mineha looked exasperated.
"Well, nothing you said was wrong."
"I can't deal with that eleventh-sister-style righteous logic."
"How many sisters does your family have, anyway?"
That was a fair question.
Alexander laughed at their banter.
"Well, since it's a damaged variant, it's fallen to mid gold-tier or upper silver-tier at most."
"Still plenty strong, though."
"Definitely strong."
"No doubt."
Mid gold-tier or upper silver-tier — even Class II delvers wouldn't fight that solo.
I was worried about Agaro and the others. Were they okay?
They'd be fine. Agaro was that strong.
Plus there was Megadia, who held the same rank as Agaro.
And Pakira's party — Torquetam.
There were other skilled delvers around, too.
They'd be fine. Yeah.
Still, so the anomaly was the deepest boss of a dungeon becoming defective?
Speaking of defective, this dungeon was one too, wasn't it?
Alexander's analysis.
The anomaly's earthquakes had shattered this dungeon apart.
And now further earthquakes were trying to piece it back together.
What did the anomaly and this dungeon have in common?
"Alexander, what kind of monster do you think is behind this anomaly?"
"Well now. Given the mimics and puppet boxes and such, I'd hazard a guess it's The Fool. They tend to command mimic-type monsters, you see."
"The Fool... that was a humanoid monster, right?"
"I've never heard of it."
"Me neither. The fifteenth sister would know."
"Monster knowledge isn't wasted knowledge, you know. I at least know it's humanoid."
"I know about it. The Fool. It's a jester-type monster, right?"
"That's correct."
The Fool. A humanoid monster dressed as a jester.
Its classification was apparently undead.
"A jester? Like those street performers and clowns?"
"I saw one once at a place called a circus. The tenth sister had won free meals at every food stall and gotten herself banned."
"How much did she eat? What the — Hoss, your face is saying 'you shouldn't talk.'"
"I didn't say anything!"
I definitely thought it, though!
"A clown, huh. They've actually got those?"
"One in the capital was juggling knives while balancing on a ball with a wine bottle in her mouth."
"That's incredible, clown or not."
"Those descriptions match up. The Fool — I've fought them a few times, and they've got a lot of strange attacks. Their invisible juggling in particular is terrifying."
"You can't see it?"
"Right. You can't see it, but if it hits you, you're done."
What kind of juggling was that?
Mineha sighed.
"I don't want to fight something weird like that."
"Well, 'weird' is accurate, I'll give you that."
"I'd rather face something straightforward."
"Totally. I'd rather not deal with something like the thirteenth sister."
What kind of sister would that be?
Hoss sighed.
"That's about us, then. Next I'd like to hear about Axe and them."
"Right. Axe. She seems to have gotten a lot more soft-spoken, hasn't she?"
"You think?"
"Mineha, did something happen between you two?"
"Don't be weird about it. She was my mother's disciple since she was ten."
"How rude. I'm a lady, even at ten."
"She does look like one with the Relic, I'll give you that."
"That just made me bigger."
"Bigger... huh."
"What? Got a problem?"
"The part that got bigger was especially—"
"Axe. That's enough."
I shut it down. Axe looked bewildered.
"Hm? What's up, Wof?"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Aww, too bad. The teasing doesn't land anymore."
She said it with a big grin.
Yep, Mineha. She'd looked ready to slap someone any second just now.
"O-oh?"
"That was Axe's fault. The growing comes from the fairial's Relic. It's an innate Relic that enlarges the user's body and belongings. I believe it was called 'Fairy Incarnation'?"
"You know a lot about it."
"The fifteenth sister's the expert."
"Racial information isn't wasted knowledge either, you know."
"I see."
"Haa, what's the world coming to... I'll tell you about that part too, then. Right. Wof."
"Yes?"
Suddenly, Axe made a difficult expression.
I instinctively tensed up. What was wrong?
"Your... um... about you, and that Relic of yours..."
"Oh, sure. Go ahead."
"Sorry."
"It's fine."
Well, something like that was okay.
Rel and Hoss had probably predicted it to some extent.
They weren't that surprised when they heard I had a Relic.
And then the conversation turned to Relic Plates.
"Haa, what's the world coming to..."
"A consumable-type legendary that can hold a Relic?"
"Come to think of it, this is a legendary, isn't it? Looking at the effect, it's obvious."
"To think I'd see my first legendary in this form..."
"Right? I figured that'd be further down the road."
"Oh. A Relic Plate, is it?"
Alexander twirled his pipe.
"Alexander, do you know something about it?"
"I'd heard that consumable-type legendaries exist. But this is my first time seeing one with my own eyes."
Even Alexander didn't know much about it.
Axe stared at the Relic Plate in her hand and declared:
"Let me say this first. I'm not using it."
"You sure?"
"Yeah. I'm going to aim for Class I without a Relic."
I could feel the strong determination behind those words.
Mineha smiled faintly.
"That's no small feat, you know. That path."
"That's what it takes to surpass Mom."
"You've got nerve. I have the same goal — surpassing my master."
The other goal was having a mother who was an active Class I delver.
That was no small feat either.
Hoss and Rel looked at each other and spoke.
"I don't need one either."
"Me neither."
"You guys...! Are you sure? The Relic you've always wanted is right here! The one you've wanted so badly you couldn't stand it — and you can actually have it!"
That sounded like it came from Axe's heart.
At the same time, it was Rel's and Hoss's true feelings.
The Thunder Fang delver party — without a Relic — and their honest yearning.
Mineha and I stayed silent. Then Rel pushed his glasses up and said:
"Hmph. The moment you, who wanted it the most, said you don't need it — I don't need it either."
"Me too. If you guys don't need one and I'm the only one with a Relic, that'd be uncomfortable. Besides, if I had a Relic, we wouldn't be Thunder Fang anymore. You forgot, Axe? We don't need a Relic. The three of us, without a Relic, will aim for the top. That's the vow we made."
Hoss said it with a wry smile.
Axe trembled.
"Rel... Hoss... ah, right. That's how it was. I'd forgotten."
"Don't forget, leader."
"Totally, leader."
Axe wiped the tears from her eyes and turned to me.
"Wof. That's how it is. We don't need it. So here, take it back. Thanks."
"Understood."
The Relic Plate was returned to me.
I glanced at it and carefully tucked it into the depths of my pouch.
Well, nothing to be done about that.