Ihoujin, Dungeon ni Moguru

Chapter 2.2: The Foreigner, Can’t Explore the Dungeon I

It was a medieval city built of stone. It looked like a fortress surrounded by sturdy walls.

I entered the city gates and the liveliness of the city overflowed.

A stream of carriages carrying large luggages for various races filled the wide cobbled streets. Bustling street stalls, blacksmiths hammering iron vigorously, beautiful beast-women attracting people to the store. I wondered if the people who stopped their feet in front of the store with many resplendent weapons were adventurers. A beautiful person of a different race caught my eye. With porcelain white skin with golden blond hair, it was a tall and beautiful elf. A woman, who wasn’t stingy about showing her skin and scales, had a tail and red hair like a raging fire. A glamorous woman, holding a staff taller than herself, had curling horns and fluffy white wool. I was touched to see a fully armored female knight, just like the ones seen in games. Given the chance, I would love to have her join as a party member.

The smell of exotic spices, the nauseating smell of medicine, the beguiling perfume of passersby, the sound of exploding iron and fire, the edges of the flowing crowds of people, the furtive peeks into the narrow back alleys and the feel of violent presences.

There was no feeling of alienation that foreigners typically felt in a foreign country. A multitude of races and faces, colors of all kinds, spirits and demons from legend, there was a chaotic mix, and everywhere my eyes turned, there was something strange-looking. There were far too many weird beings but they were all walking around naturally.

I was worried that I would stand out, but it looks like my fears were unfounded.

Compared to those with brillantly colored wings on their backs or people with a third eye, a Japanese like me was very plain. I would disappear into the crowd even if I had a topknot, wore a kimono and equipped a katana.

The river that Geto-san had disappeared into was flowing into the city. There seemed to be other water sources, and according to Makina’s investigation, a simple water and sewage system was installed throughout the city. And there were bath-like facilities built all over the place which meant that there was a wealth of flammable resources.

The way to the dungeon was straightforward, so there was no need to use my device’s locator. Or rather, the destination was so big that it was impossible to get lost.

We arrived in front of the dungeon after about a 20-minute walk

Yeah, it’s big.

Its extreme size really hit me now that I was this close. According to Makina’s structural calculations, it seemed that even the upper portion alone couldn’t be reproduced using any modern materials. It looked similar to ivory, but I should take a sample just in case. As a last resort, there was a plan to make holes using TNT explosives in order to descend, so I had to make sure that it was destructible.

Following the crowd, I found the entrance quickly. But rather than calling it an entrance, it was just a hole that had been broken by something.

The entire floor inside was in use.

The smell of alcohol and meat. The huge bar inside was filled with a bunch of drunk people even though the sun was still high in the sky. Adults who became stupid with alcohol were the same in every world. There was a big, long board that had pieces of paper randomly pinned on it. Perhaps they were requests?

And I was surprised. There was a line of portals that adventurers were entering and exiting from.

『The field is stable. Very interesting』

「Is that this side’s technology?」

Makina was also surprised.

I found what looked like the reception desk. Ladies that dressed like clerks were dealing with the adventurers. There were many counters and I wondered which one I should line up at.

「Makina, is it possible to analyze the language?」

『In progress. It should be faster to ask the locals though』

「Yes」

That’s certainly true.

There happened to be a person holding a bunch of documents walking by, so I asked her.

「Um, This is my first time here. Where should I line up?」

「Okay, new adventurer registration and the examination for issuing the dungeon exploration permit is at the first counter on the right」

The lady with scales and a tail told me with a beaming smile.

Luckily, there was no one in line so I took a seat at the counter. There was an expressionless woman with two horns on the other side of the counter. Her long silver hair was lovely.

「………………What?」

She said in a very chilly voice.

「Um, I want to explore the dungeon. I heard that I can do the paperwork for that here」

「I see. You should have said so earlier」

「I’m sorry」

This receptionist is scary. Or rather, her pressure is amazing. It feels like I’m dealing with a ferocious animal.

「Then please fill in the required documents」

A parchment-like piece of paper, an inkwell and a pen was proffered to me. I had no idea what I was supposed to write.

「E, excuse me. I don’t know the language here yet」

「I see. I’ll tell you upfront that if you want me to write it for you, I’ll have to ask you questions verbally」

「Okay, thank you」

「It’s my job」

The proffered piece of paper was turned around.

「Are you registered with the Adventurers’ Guild anywhere else?」

「No」

「Then you’re new. Name and place of birth」

「Souya from Japan」

「Japan? It’s a place I’ve never heard of before, are you from the left continent?」

「From the outside, or rather from an alternate world」

I regretted it the instant the words left my mouth. Oh no. Should I have kept it a secret? We had not done a single thing worthy of praise to these people in the past. Would I be chased out? Ah, another basic issue. Was the fact that we had come here in the past being kept secret?

Then Makina whispered.

『It was ultimately just what was reported by the media. Makina will sneak drones in to rectify or incinerate anything if it is determined that there is danger. As it will be unpleasant if you are viewed with suspicion because of superficial lies, it’s the correct decision to tell the truth』

Understood.

「Oh, so you’re a foreigner. It’s quite rare these days」

She wrote it in without incident.

「What’s your purpose for visiting this dungeon?」

「It’s money」

「Money, I see. There is one important caveat. As a rule of this dungeon, if you get more than 50 gold coins in one exploration, please be sure to pay 10% to the Kingdom of Lemuria. Payments can be made in gold coins, center continent’s money notes, or even materials from the dungeons. The due date for the payment is 7 days after the merchant company determines the value. If the materials’ value is misrepresented or payment is delayed, all equipment will be confiscated. If you don’t want to be stripped and dumped in the sewer, don’t do anything stupid」

「Okay」

Scary.

「Any anomalies with your mind or body? Also, do you have any magic-related illnesses, or have anyone cursed within your lineage and bloodline, or have any relatives with contagious diseases?」

「Not at all」

The only good thing about me was my health.

「Do you hold any hatred, repulsion, or hostility towards any particular race, religion, or country? Also, are any of those feelings directed at others?」

「No」

I replied quickly, but the affair with the advance troops crossed my mind. I was in a tough spot. There was a tendency to lump together those from an unfamiliar culture from other places. It was possible that no one would listen even if I screamed that I had nothing to do with it.

「What?」

「There might be some people who resent me」

The lady returned me a sharp gaze.

「If it’s not clear then I won’t write it in. It’s probably nothing you need to worry about. Exploring the dungeon is something you definitely can’t do alone. If you get party members, you’ll make enemies at the same time. If you gain fame, you’ll create double the envy and resentment. What’s essential is whether you have the resolve to not get crushed」

「Then, there’s no problem」

Well, I’m someone who has his back against the wall. I’ll use the negative emotions of others as fuel.

「I’m continuing. What’s your previous profession?」

「Mercenary」

It wasn’t correct but I thought of it as something like that.

「Do you follow any particular religion?」

Um, I only followed Shin Buddhism a little. Oh but broadly speaking, for a Japanese it should be,

「It’s Shinto」

「Shinto, you said? I don’t know it. Can you please give a simple explanation on it?」

「It’s a polytheistic religion that generously accepts gods from other religions. There are no clear precepts, but we appreciate life and nature, and especially when we eat, we are deeply grateful for the food. We act with the mental attitude of behaving in a proper manner as a person, and feel shame at anything that deviates from that. It feels like a collection of fluffy values, but it’s Japanese-like? It’s that kind of vibe」

The more I spoke, the less I understood what I was saying.

「Polytheistic, not fussy about other religions. No precepts. Eats food deliciously. Values unique to the Japanese race」

I think that’s about right.

「Next, tell me the name of the god you’re contracted to」

「Eh?」

「The name of the god you’re contracted to」

I drew a blank.

I didn’t particularly doubt the modern gods, but the gods on my side were just worshipped figures or drawings, and while they were prayed to, there was no relationship with them. Hence, there’s no such thing as a contract.

「The best would be the gods in this world, but there are no problems with gods from other worlds. There must have been such a precedent before」

「Um, I don’t have one. A contract」

「I see」

「Is that bad?」

The lady’s expression didn’t change at my question.

「I think it’s unusual. However, there are some people who break their contract with their god on their own initiative, while others fell out of favor with their god and had the contract dissolved. Some people were also born with bloodlines that reject the blessings. If I had to say whether it was bad or not, then it isn’t bad. There are many people who are more unfortunate and more pitiful」

「That’s good」

I was relieved.

「But, you can’t explore the dungeon」

※

Even when people felt depressed, were driven to desperation, and felt like crying, they would still feel hungry.

When you were in a city, you could satisfy your hunger without much trouble.

But that’s only if you had money.

If I had no money, I might seriously have been in despair.

Relying on the map I was given by the receptionist, I arrived at the pawnshop.

The pawnshop was a distance away from the main street and the hustle and bustle sounded far away. When I opened the anti-thief metal door, the young-looking shopkeeper faced me with a business smile.

「Welcome, what can I do for you do today?」

In contrast to the bright voice, the room was dark. It had a Middle Eastern-like design, and scales of all sizes were placed all over. Near the shopkeeper’s counter was a strong man carrying a scimitar who seemed to be a bouncer. After I entered the room, a man lurking beside the entrance stood behind me.

「I want you to change this into the money that is used here」

I put a gold bar on the counter.

It was from a container that was meant for procuring funds. It was damaged so I only had three and a half bars.

「Please wait a moment」

The shopkeeper wiped the bar with a cloth, then looked over every inch of it at different angles.

「Dear customer, did you scrape off the engraved mark?」

「No. I carelessly dropped it. It was an accident」

「Hahaha, well, things like that can happen」

He had a pregnant smile on his face. The gold bar was placed on a scale and sand-filled bags were placed on the other side until the scales were balanced. The bags were then put onto a different scale and this time, round pieces of metal were put on the other side until it was balanced again.

「40 gold coins and 8 silver coins. This is a strict and fair assessment by the Zavua Night Owl company. Do you wish to assess it at other companies?」

It was five gold coins more than Makina’s estimate.

「No, that’s fine. I also want to exchange for smaller change」

「No problem」

Unless there were severe fluctuations in the exchange rate, 10 copper coins would be worth 1 silver coin, and 10 silver coins would be worth 1 gold coin.

「I want 50 copper coins and 50 silver coins please」

「Our shop also deals in Misuranika gold coins」

「Misu, what?」

I didn’t know what that was and asked him back.

「Dear customer. Did you perhaps come from another continent?」

「No, I came from another world」

Another inadvertent slip of the tongue.

「So that’s it. It’s no wonder then that I’ve never seen that fabric before」

He was staring intently at my poncho.

「Hahaha」

I gave an ingratiating laugh.

「That was rude of me. Misuranika gold coins were the common coinage used by the three nations that once ruled this area. Magic had been infused into these old coins, albeit only in a small amount. They cannot be reproduced with current technology. They have value because of their rarity. The current rate is 20 gold coins for one Misuranika gold coin」

「No, I’ll pass」

Something like stocks or futures trading was too much for me.

「Sorry about that. Then, here you go」

The shopkeeper took three leather bags from someone in the back of the shop.

「50 copper coins, 53 silver coins, 35 gold coins. Please confirm」

「Thank you」

It’s boring work, but I checked it by lining up stacks of 10.

「Are there any mistakes?」

「No, there are none」

It was certainly correct.

「The handling charge is one silver coin」

I took two silver coins and placed them on the counter.

「Thank you very much. Our company also deals in various products that are necessary for adventurers. Please do not hesitate to use our services when you visit our main store, which is located on the main street of the first main gate」

「Why did you think I was an adventurer?」

「Since this is an adventurers’ city, there are only adventurers and people who want to make money from them」

And right in front of me was one such person who didn’t explore the dungeon and was cooped up in here instead.

I put some of the coins in my pocket and kept the rest in my backpack.

「Dear customer, I’m sorry for my repeated rudeness, butー」

As I was hauling the backpack onto my back, the shopkeeper called out to me.

「Is that a firearm?」

「………………」

I had been surprised countless times after coming to this world but that sent a chill down my spine. I had heard nothing about this! Did the people of this world know the value of firearms?

「Ah, um…」

It would be easy to deny it, but getting information was a thousand times more important. I had to choose my words carefully.

「What a surprise, you have them in this country too」

「Yes, it was made by dwarves and played an active part in the last war against the elves」

I frowned at the word “war”. I wished that they would stop such things while I was here.

「If you don’t mind, can you show me the firearms that you have here?」

「Yes, of course」

The shopkeeper called out to the man at the back of the store and was given a firearm.

The firearm’s barrel was as long as a spear, and had gold embellishments depicting an elf being stabbed by a human. It had a light trigger pull, had what looked like a jewel where the flint would be, and the flash pan still smelt strongly of sulphur. It probably used black powder. The technological level was the same as the flintlock of the 16th century.

「How about 40 gold coins? Because this is a historic piece, its price will continue to rise. An opportunity like this won’t come again」

「No, it’s fine」

「That’s a pity. Well then」

The shopkeeper, who now had nothing to do, smiled at me.

He was probably thinking, I’ve showed you mine, so isn’t it your turn next?

I removed the magazine without being seen, then unslung the AK and handed it to him.

Probably intending to be courteous, the shopkeeper received the firearm through a cloth and inspected it.

「It looks crude. There are no embellishments at all. The wood is ordinary. For something made of steel, it’s pretty light. There seems to be a lot of parts」

「Is the usage of firearms widespread among adventurers?」

「Not since the incident two years ago. There was a party that blew up some gunpowder inside the dungeon and it caused every monster on that floor to gather there. It took all the adventurers coming together to clean up that mess」

I would have to look for a silencer as soon as I returned. If I couldn’t explore the dungeon with a firearm, all of the planned tactics would be useless.

「Hmmm, let’s see. How about 80, no, 100 gold coins? Would you be willing to sell that to me?」

「I’m sorry. It’s not something that can be sold」

I took back the AK from the shopkeeper, who was looking at it greedily. The money was attractive, but there was one thing that the president had emphasized. That I was to never give away any technological singularities on this side.

Refined metals, naval navigation, gunpowder, firearms, pharmaceutics, explosives, bacteria, aircraft, nuclear, artificial intelligence, internet. Technologies that would create a snowball effect if they were given to the people of this world. In every world, there were always those who took up the challenge of breaking through the current technology. If such geniuses were given these technologies to draw inspiration from, current technology would evolve and propagate at an explosive rate. It would be easy to imagine the rest.

I came here to explore a dungeon, not to spread the seeds of war.

「Thank you and bye」

「Oh, dear customer. Please wait, there’s stillー」

I thanked him quickly and left the pawnshop. The shopkeeper was making a fuss about something, but I ignored it.

I would be troubled if I was followed so I jogged away. After turning into three narrow alleys, I got lost in a maze-like area. I thought of asking Makina to help me navigate, but a light-hearted exploration might be fun, so I continued walking.

There were stairs so steep that there was the danger of stumbling when climbing them, dwellings with very low ceilings, and there was even a submerged area so it was very enjoyable.

The scenes of the hustle and bustle were good, but it was the quiet and gentle scenery that made my heart leap. It was like having an adventure from a children’s book.

I sauntered casually along a flowing aqueduct.

My nose caught the smell of roasted meat and I stopped.

My stomach growled.

That’s right, I had been hungry! I had forgotten my hunger because of the constant cycle of nervousness and surprise.

It was the fastest I had ever moved since coming to this side. The source of the smell was arranged under the store’s eaves. I bought one without question for two copper coins. In a good mood, I walked off with it in my hand.

It looked like kebab, though I couldn’t tell if the meat was stewed or roasted. Wheat was baked into a thick crepe-like shape to hold the meat.

I took a bite.

「Hmm」

The juicy meat and the simple taste of wheat was good. If I was being picky, then the seasoning was too simple. But I wondered what kind of meat it was. It seemed bird-like, but it could just as easily have been pork.

『Warning. Enemies approaching』

「What?」

『They had been following you ever since you left the pawnshop. Due to their clearly hostile attitude, I had been tracking them』

I stopped my feet at Makina’s warning.

I swallowed the kebab-like food and drank from my water bottle.

After a moment’s hesitation, I cocked the AK and chambered a round.

「How many people?」

『Three enemies. One at two o’clock, two at five o’clock』

「Understood」

『Counting down to contact, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1』

A man appeared. I looked around and verified that the two people were behind me. The arrivals had long swords and really looked like hoodlums.

「What do you want?」

The man lost his composure for an instant when he realized that I had been waiting for them. Perhaps he did not really put much thought into it, but he raised his voice.

「Money, all of it. Then I’ll spare your life」

Thankfully, he was easy to understand.

I took a random coin from my pocket and tossed it. It was a gold coin. The gold coin bounced on the cobbles with a dull sound. The distressed man followed it with his eyes.

By the time he looked back again, I had already closed the distance sufficiently. I bashed his jaw with the butt of the rifle. I felt his bones break. Turning back, I brought my rifle up.

I shot one in his side, and the other in his knee. The quiet alley echoed with the sounds of gunfire. And after a while, moans of agony from the men could be heard.

『Neutralized』

「Ambushers?」

『None』

「That’s good」

I felt a gaze. When I turned my eyes towards it, a shadow hurriedly disappeared around a corner. It would be dangerous to chase it as I wasn’t acquainted with the area.

I picked up the spent cartridges and the gold coin. Just when I was thinking of collecting the bullets as wellー

『Attention, confirmation of people approaching. It seems to be local residents who had heard the gunshots』

「Understood. Activate the locator, I’m going to make my escape」

A crimson darkness was starting to fill the surroundings.

With Makina’s guidance, I made my way back to the main street without making contact with anyone else.

In addition to mixing with the crowd, I checked behind me several times for hostility while I was walking, until my mind, flustered from the battle, had finally calmed down.

Glowing ores had been inserted in the streetlights to illuminate the surroundings. Night had fallen completely, and the city looked different.

Now that night had liberated it from the day, the city ran wild and clamored for food and alcohol. Women got hot and moist, and men abandoned their wisdom and became stupid with drink. I could hear singing, shrieking and angry voices from quarreling.

My eyes met with those of a beast-woman, who was standing alone, wearing only a piece of thin silk. She had red eyes and long rabbit-like ears. I didn’t know if the smile she showed me was because of affection or because she saw an easy mark. Because I had turned my eyes away immediately.

It was a chaotic party of the different races. I wasn’t acclimated to this world enough to join in with them.

I turned my back on the commotion and little by little, surrounded myself with silence. A bell rang to signal the end of the day.

I had not gotten any results or rewards yet. It was a day riddled with problems that needed to be solved.

My first exploration of the alternate world ended in this way.

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