Declared Dead, Exiled, and Betrayed— Now I Walk Away, but I'll Save One Who Cared - Chapter 61

“Hiiiiiieeeeehhh!!”

Evening had fallen, and as usual, the tavern adjacent to the guild was filled with rowdy adventurers.

These were the people who braved the dungeons of this town—unwinding after a long day, drinking away their exhaustion, and preparing for the battles of tomorrow.

Amidst the lively chatter and clinking of mugs, a man suddenly burst through the doors in a panic.

“What’s wrong, Samid? You look like Lax just kicked you halfway across town.”

“If that happened, he wouldn’t be standing—he’d be flying through the damn air.”

“No kidding. I mean, all the demons that were clinging to people got blown away, too.”

“This isn’t the time to be drinking!!”

“Why not? Work’s done for the day. I’m planning on drinking and then heading to the brothel.”

“Why the hell are you announcing that!?”

“Because I made a killing selling dungeon loot today.”

“Damn, now I’m jealous!”

“Heh… Looks like luck has finally smiled upon the great Graham.”

“I dunno, you sure it wasn’t something else smiling down on you? Like a demon?”

“Shut up! Look, I’m telling you, this is serious!”

“Alright, alright. What happened?”

Despite Samid’s frantic state, no one took him seriously.

After all, this was a tavern attached to the guild.

People came here to drink, not to deal with emergencies.

However, since Samid was a veteran adventurer, some took notice of his unusual panic.

“So… what’s going on?”

“Here, calm down first.”

“Ah, thanks.”

Lyla handed him a drink, which Samid chugged in one go.

Their closeness was probably because he had treated her to drinks before.

“Phew… Alright, listen. I was actually taking the dungeon seriously for once.”

“At this hour?”

“Yeah. I figured I’d grab some healing herbs. My party has an escort mission near the Demonic Forest in two days, and we need to be prepared.”

“Makes sense.”

“But then the dungeon started collapsing.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“I don’t know how else to describe it! It was like countless threads of light weaving through everything, and then… it all just crumbled.”

“Sounds like you were dreaming.”

“Then go see for yourself. There’s nothing left.”

“Fine, I’ll check it out.”

“Is that safe?”

“If it’s not a Stampede, we’ll be fine. Let’s go!”

A few adventurers headed toward the underground dungeon entrance.

Moments later, they returned in a panic.

“What the hell is that?! There’s nothing there!”

“I almost fell straight down!”

“I barely managed to grab Dan’s arm when I realized there was no floor past the entrance.”

“Yeah, and nearly dragged me down with you. Still, we made it out alive.”

“Klein, listen!”

“What happened?”

“The dungeon is gone.”

“There’s nothing left—not the ground, not the walls, not the monsters!”

The guild master, Klein, had arrived after hearing the commotion. The adventurers who had just returned from the dungeon all shouted at him at once.

“Lax-sama was supposed to be inside. Something must’ve happened. For now, seal off the entrance. We’ll check periodically and report to the viscount and Shifa-sama.”

“Got it, Guild Master.”

“So… is the dungeon really gone for good?”

“No idea. I’ve heard of dungeons closing, but…”

“Didn’t the dungeon near the capital disappear, too?”

“Yeah, but that was supposedly because an adventurer stole some kind of orb from it.”

“That’s been passed down as a legend. It was over two hundred years ago, so no one really knows the truth.”

With no clear answers, no one felt like stirring up more panic that night.

“What do you think will happen?”

“I don’t know… but I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

“You sound awfully optimistic.”

“Lax-sama is in there. As long as he’s around, things won’t go completely off the rails.”

“You trust him that much?”

“He’s saved me more times than I can count. Besides, he went to the deep layers and came back alive. That’s not something just anyone can do.”

“Didn’t he just twist your arm a little when you attacked him for Elanda back then?”

“Can you not bring that up!?”

“Haha, my bad. Let’s head home.”

“Yeah…”

Though uncertainty still lingered, they chose to believe in Lax and quietly left the tavern.

Shifa’s Perspective

The next morning, Shifa stood at the entrance of the dungeon, peering inside.

“It’s… beautiful.”

“Huh?”

Klein, who had also looked inside, sounded just as baffled.

Inside the dungeon, multicolored lights floated through the air, faintly outlining what seemed to be the remnants of terrain.

It looked almost like the intricate display of magic being woven into existence.

“I don’t believe the dungeon has closed completely. If anything…”

“It looks like it’s being reconstructed. Lax must have done something.”

“Most likely. For now, let’s wait for his return.”

Two Days Later

Another full day passed.

At last, Lax returned, looking slightly exhausted.

When asked what had happened, he casually admitted that in his attempt to convince the dungeon administrator to grant his request, he accidentally erased everything above the lower layers.

…How?

How does someone accidentally do something like that?

Shifa wanted to ask, but after a moment of thought, she realized the answer would probably make even less sense.

Lax was back safely. That was all that mattered.

She felt a strange pang in her heart upon hearing that Claire had gone with him.

But in the end, she convinced herself that nothing inappropriate had happened.

After all, the Lax who always held her so gently would never do anything foolish.