The Villainous Aristocrat's Efforts Led to a Genuine Harem - Episode 26

Episode 26

Just after we left the guild, Inaesia spoke to me.

“You’ve really become a celebrity now, haven’t you?”

“It’s probably because of the flashy outfit.”

Wearing all black clothes, plus even a mask—of course, the appearance alone draws attention.

Still, standing out as an adventurer isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Since I can’t go out as Wraith outside the mansion, I wanted to raise my fame as Ryo.

Because, when the time comes, I might be able to make use of this position.

“Well, you’re a pretty caring guy. Come on, pat my head too.”

“I never said I’d always pat your head. Only after the request is completed.”

“Mou, can’t be helped. If big brother says so, I’ll do my best.”

…Just how serious is this girl, really?

“For now, let’s move closer to the dungeon.”

“Eh? We’re going already?”

“I’ve already checked it out once before.”

“Hmm, but you didn’t go in alone?”

“…I thought I could, but they told me I needed a permit.”

When I said that, Inaesia, who was looking at me, gave a wry smile.

“Ahaha, you really have your blind spots. But that kind of thing makes you a good big brother too.”

Shut up, geez.

The game’s main story didn’t have this kind of detailed setting, so I didn’t know.

I created a black vortex and moved near the new dungeon.

As we appeared near the dungeon’s entrance, an adventurer who had been guarding it looked at us in surprise.

But once he recognized me, he sighed in relief.

“Ryo, huh. Got the guild’s permission?”

“Yeah, here it is.”

I handed him the permit, deliberately showing it, and he confirmed it with a wry smile.

“…Have you heard about the monsters inside?”

“More or less.”

“Well, if that’s the case, just be careful, alright? It’s going to be a pretty high difficulty.”

“I understand.”

After that exchange, we passed through the red vortex and entered the dungeon.

“I didn’t hear anything—what kind of monster shows up?”

“Mithril Golem.”

“…Eh? Can we even defeat that? Weren’t those things pretty tough?”

Inaesia naturally questioned it.

Still, I had already taken that into account.

“Well… yeah. Our attacks might not work. But let’s observe first.”

…If we go for it, we might be able to manage somehow.

But that’s not my real aim.

…This dungeon—there’s a chance it might be one I know from the game.

The issue of what to do about my weapon—I’ve been thinking about it a lot. This might be the place to solve it.

Beyond the red vortex, a path like calm ruins continued. It was a little dim, but nothing that would get in the way of combat.

As I silently observed the surroundings, Inaesia spoke up.

“What’s wrong with you? Is there something that’s bothering you?”

“…Well, yeah. This is my first time in a dungeon like this.”

I answered vaguely like that… while comparing the scenery to the Mithril Golem dungeon I knew from the game.

Yeah, no doubt about it.

…This is definitely the same dungeon as the one from the game.

If that’s the case, I might even be able to force the in-game event to happen.

I thought about exiting the dungeon once and returning to Validor, but if we go back without doing anything, Inaesia would be suspicious.

It’s better to fight the Mithril Golem and then return to town.

There didn’t seem to be anyone else investigating the dungeon, and it was quiet inside. As we proceeded through the dungeon, a mist-like substance gathered in front of us.

Inaesia readied her spear warily, and the Mithril Golem appeared before us.

The Mithril Golem swept its gaze around.

Its massive metallic body slowly began to move.

“…Come to think of it, Mithril Golems sometimes drop mithril, right?”

“That’s right.”

“You said you wanted to make a weapon. Are you planning to beat this thing and gather materials?”

“Something like that. …Anyway, Inaesia. Try fighting it first.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll prepare spatial magic. If I see your attacks don’t work, I’ll step in.”

“Got it.”

Maybe because she already knew the power of my spatial magic, Inaesia nodded immediately and began to prepare.

The Mithril Golem is a very powerful enemy. But the rare drop—mithril—is an indispensable material for upgrading weapons.

Inaesia kicked off the ground and used wind magic to enhance her speed. …She’s probably at a higher level than when the original story began.

After all, she shouldn’t have been able to use speed-boost magic back then.

With this, we might even be able to damage the Mithril Golem.

As I was thinking that, the battle began.

Using her speed, Inaesia struck out. And the Mithril Golem’s giant fist slammed into the ground, shaking the floor with the impact.

Inaesia leapt toward the Mithril Golem, but her attack seemed to have little effect.

Her spear was deflected, and she dodged the Golem’s counterattack by twisting her body. The Mithril Golem was faster than I’d expected.

While retreating, Inaesia immediately fired off a wind spell, but the Mithril Golem seemed to repel the magic.

“It has magic resistance too—Ryo! I probably can’t handle this one! What now!?”

“I see.”

…I thought that maybe Inaesia could pull it off, but this is still too much.

Can’t be helped. Let’s try my magic, then.

I observed the Mithril Golem carefully and cast spatial magic toward its body.

A black vortex appeared, trying to swallow the Mithril Golem’s body. Sensing the danger, it immediately tried to evade.

…Tch, quick reaction.

Only about half of its body got caught, so I closed the spatial magic there and severed its arm.

“GAAAH!?”

The Mithril Golem roared in surprise. I had no idea where it was producing the sound from, but at least the damage had gone through.

…I still need to train to increase the deployment speed of spatial magic.

To use it against monsters, I need better precision—while thinking that, the still-standing Mithril Golem glared at me with its remaining red eyes and pointed its uninjured hand at me.

Then, it fired something like mithril arrows.

…Troublesome attack, but I deployed spatial magic in front of me and swallowed them all.

At the same time… I opened a black vortex behind the Mithril Golem as an exit.

Then, I released the Mithril Golem’s own attack that I had swallowed, and it pierced through its back.

“GAAH!?”

As expected, arrows made of mithril, equal in strength to its own body, did considerable damage.

Even so, it still wasn’t down.

However, I created another black vortex to swallow its now wide-open body.

The surprised Mithril Golem tried to escape. But this time I closed the vortex faster than before. It sliced its body clean in two.

“…GAAAH.”

Its body collapsed, and its red eyes dimmed. It was as if the power had been shut off.