Declared Dead, Exiled, and Betrayed— Now I Walk Away, but I'll Save One Who Cared - Chapter 57

A desolate land, one I had once wandered through in a desperate struggle for survival…

Though an unexpected and entirely unplanned event—namely, the complete collapse of the lower levels—had occurred, I left the dungeon administrator (or whatever they were) muttering incoherent nonsense and simply told them, “Figure it out. Good luck!” before heading into the deep layers.

And now, here I was—

Dragging Claire behind me.

Sliiide, sliiide…

For some reason, she had decided to attack me in the middle of the night, and now I was hauling her along as I walked.

“Haa… haa…”

“Quit making weird noises, damn it!”

“Hngh… This is all your fault… haa… it was… incredible…”

“I didn’t do anything!!”

“There’s a big difference between ignoring someone and doing nothing, you know… ahh…”

“I’m leaving you behind.”

“Hmph. You could play with me a little longer, you know. Lately, you’ve been so cold.”

“Stop talking like I was ever nice to you in the first place!”

“……”

“What?”

“I tried to recall if you were ever nicer to me before, but… you either ignored me completely or treated me exactly the same as now. I have no argument…”

Don’t make me laugh!

To begin with, I don’t even remember recruiting her into my party.

At some point, she was just… there.

I never asked Michelle about it, but knowing her, she probably wouldn’t remember either.

Is Claire using some kind of ability similar to those demons that slip into people’s lives unnoticed?

Or is she the one doing it?

…No, that can’t be it.

There’s no way she could be a Disemna, a race known for their extreme vigilance.

If she was, then instead of calling them “cautious,” people would call them raging perverts.

That being said, I’m sure she’s connected to all of this somehow.

Actually, I’m certain of it.

In the old legends of Minerva Ravenclarth, there’s no mention of any companions.

However, the guardian deity of the Demonic Forest, Shifa’s ancestors, and even this country’s royal family all seem suspiciously involved.

Right now, they’re all staying quiet—probably to avoid drawing Disemna’s attention.

It’s possible that Minerva had several, or even many, secret allies.

So, could Claire be one of them…?

Or perhaps her descendant?

…This weirdo?

Ugh, I have no clue.

No matter how much I press her, she just says, “I’ll explain later.”

She doesn’t feel like an enemy, but should I really trust my instincts here?

Maybe it’s time to interrogate her properly.

We’re in the deep layers, after all… Even if something were to happen, no one would ever find out.

She wasn’t supposed to be here in the first place.

“…Why do you suddenly look like you’ve made some serious decision? It’s making my heart race, but also scaring me…”

“I was just thinking about finally getting some answers—like who the hell you really are and how you understand things that shouldn’t be possible.”

“Something tells me that ‘getting answers’ won’t just involve talking…”

“That depends on you.”

“That’s what all bad men say before they do terrible things to women…”

“…You’re not wrong.”

“Wait, hold on—are you serious? No, wait—”

Rumble…

“…What was that?”

The ground trembled beneath us.

“This is bad… We need to run…”

“Oh, come on! Well, I guess it can’t be helped. This is the deep layers, after all. A dragon showing up isn’t exactly surprising… OORRYYAAAAAHHH!!”

SKREEEEEEECH!!!!

“Eeeeeek!!!”

“OI!!”

Seriously…?

Just when I was finally about to interrogate her, something had to interrupt.

If Claire planned this, then I’d have to seriously reconsider just how powerful she really is.

But… nah, this had to be a coincidence.

ROOOOAAAARRRR!!!

“Magic Shield x1,000!”

I blocked the massive jet-black dragon’s colorless, transparent breath attack as it came surging toward me.

Even though it was transparent, I could tell where it was coming from by the way it distorted the scenery around it.

A creature that simply hurls raw, non-elemental magic at its enemies… If I had encountered this thing earlier, I probably would’ve had a tough time dealing with it.

But now?

After fighting my way through the deep layers, an attack like this wasn’t even worth worrying about.

Dodging its assaults, I slashed the dragon apart while launching bursts of fire magic at it, steadily roasting its massive body.

“Fire magic that can burn that thing… Can it even be called ‘fire magic’ at this point?”

“Why not? It works, doesn’t it? Now, let’s eat.”

“I’d rather not. I don’t think my stomach would survive, and honestly, I doubt I could even bite through it.”

“Then I’ll just shove it in your mouth and force you to eat it.”

“Why does that sound so suggestive…?”

“How the hell did you get that from what I just said!?”

Claire had initially run away, but after realizing there was no real danger, she wandered back.

We passed the time with idle conversation while waiting for the dragon to finish roasting.

Honestly, this level of resilience was probably necessary for a dungeon administrator.

“So? Ready to talk yet?”

“This… this is delicious… This is wrong. Why is this even edible?”

“Maybe because I sliced it up with love and then flambéed it while dancing?”

“That just sounds like unrestrained carnage…”

“There are plenty more where that came from. If you ever want more, we can just hunt another dragon and roast it.”

“I think humans may have created a forbidden technique that should never have existed.”

“Isn’t that a bit dramatic?”

“Lacus… You’ve grown too powerful. It’s honestly hard to believe.”

“Hmm?”

“What are you?”

Claire looked at me, eyes sharp with curiosity.

“I’ve been tracking the Abyssal Demon—the Disemna—for a long time…”

“Uh-huh…”

“But then… I met something far worse.”

“You mean me?”

“Yes. That you’re Minerva’s descendant is undeniable… but beyond that, what are you?”

“……?”

I said nothing, quietly chewing my share of dragon meat.

After finishing, I stored the leftover portions in my item box.

I also sent the massive magic stone from the dragon’s core to the dungeon administrator—if that’s what they really were.

Along with it, I threw in the magic stones from the other monsters I had slain nearby.

Hopefully, that would help them regain consciousness…

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