I opened the door and found myself in a much smaller room than the one I had been in before.

　It was a horizontal room, less than ten tatami mats in size.

　At the end of the room, you can see a staircase leading down, and on either side of it, a treasure chest and a suspicious magic circle.

There's a treasure chest, isn't there?

Yes. It's nice to have a reward after spending so much time exploring.

Wouldn't it suck to come here and find a mimic?

I'm sure that's ...... okay.

　I'm not sure what to do, but I'm not sure what to do.

　I'm not sure if this is a good idea, but it's a good idea.

Let's check it out for now.
Right.

　Natsuki and I checked, but there was no sign of a trap.

　It doesn't even seem to be locked, and with a little bit of anticipation, I open it with caution, and .......

"This is all ......?

　Given the strength of Tyrant Pickau, I wasn't expecting to find an overflowing treasure trove of gold and silver, but all I found in the chest, which looked like it could hold a fortune, was a small pendant.

　The pendant was about the size of a thumbnail on a metal chain. A pale blue, almost light blue gem was fixed to the metal base.

I'm glad for the treasure, but it's a bit shabby. Anyway, Toya, please appraise it.

Let's see, it's a ...... corundum pendant.

Corundum?

It's a kind of sapphire. Well, technically, sapphires are a type of corundum.

Rubies are a type of corundum.

Yeah, I've heard that before.

　The color changes depending on the type of impurities, right?

And is it expensive?

I don't know what it costs.

It's probably expensive. But with this pendant, you can feel the magic. ......

It's got to have some kind of effect. I don't know.

　I don't know," he said, "but Toya's [appraisal] doesn't seem to be able to tell us that much.
　I'm not sure," she said.

"Will I be cursed if I wear it?

That's a possibility. But I think the odds of it having a positive effect are much higher.

Of course it's worth more than just a trinket.　For an adventurer of the right level, it's more than worth the last month or so of work.

　If you're at the right level for this dungeon, you should be able to defeat enemies that are more than goblins and less than orcs.

　If five adventurers of that level work for more than a month, can they earn about 100 gold coins?

　No, we'd have to do well to earn that much.

For our level?
"...... might be a little cheaper?

　I'm sure you'll be able to find something that works for you.

It also depends on the effect of this pendant. It's not a problem if it's a curse, but if it's a good effect, we could make a lot of money.

I'm pretty sure the Adventurer's Guild can look into it.
Yeah. I'm not sure if Rafan can handle it.

　It seems that any adventurer's guild will accept appraisals, but in reality, there are few occasions when an adventurer's guild in a town like Raffan needs an appraisal.

　In such a case, even if the guild accepts the appraisal, it will take a long time to get the result.

By the way, how much is the appraisal fee?　Are you sure it's not the same as the purchase price?

It's not that kind of a rip-off, is it?

　It's too hard for adventurers to make a profit even if they sell the item after appraising it.

　Well, if that's the case, asking the appraiser for an estimate of the appraisal fee will give you an idea of whether or not the item is worth appraising, but not making a profit.

I don't remember the exact price of the appraisal, but I believe it was a flat rate.　I don't remember the exact fee, but I think it was a flat rate.

That's true. That's harsh. ......

The appraiser is also a professional.

　Even if it's a cheap item, it's going to cost you as long as you appraise it.

So let's leave the pendant for now. Next is the magic circle.

　The magic circle is on the opposite side of the stairs from the treasure chest.

　It was painted on the floor and was about two meters in diameter, and if you looked closely, you could see that it was glowing slightly.

　Its effect is unknown, but it seems to be similar to space-time magic.

If you think about it, if you get on top of it, will you be able to return home?　I think so. ......

It's not like it's a trap when you can see it so clearly. ......

　I'm not sure if it's a trap or not.

I'm sure there are cases of this in dungeons, so it's probably safe.

"Sometimes you get sent to a deeper place, though.

"That's not okay!

　There is a possibility that it's just a shortcut, without any malicious intent.

　It's a bit of a problem for those of us who want to go home.

You can't go down that staircase ......, right?
"No. No, I don't think so. Think about what happens when you go down from the first to the second level.



　Haruka chuckled as if troubled by Toya's words.

Even if we go forward, I'd like to go home.
I agree with you. I need some time off.

　We still have some food left, but there's not much left that's ready-made, so it's going to take a lot of time to cook.

　That's not a bad thing, but it will put pressure on your search time and rest time. .......

If you want to be on top of things, you should go back and check what's going on in that passage.

The problem is that it's too far away. This magic circle is an acceptable risk. ...... Majority vote. "Who wants to go back there?

　I'm not sure what to do, but I'm going to do it.

　Then she looks around at all the faces, but no one raises their hand.

Next, we don't need to take a vote on ...... for the magic circle.

　Since there is no option to go on, you can either go back and check, or take the risk of entering the magic circle.

　It's a good idea to take into account the fact that there is no guarantee that the path will be open when you go back, so you can't help but choose the magic circle reluctantly.

So, let's all hold hands and go in at the same time. If we are sent to different places, it could be a problem.

"Right. I don't think it's that bad.

　If it were a game, I could judge that it wouldn't be that difficult because of the strength of the enemies, but there are many things I don't understand about the dungeons in this world.

Then, let's do it!

　I'm not sure if this is a good idea, but it's a good idea.

　...... Hmm?　Nothing is happening.

. ......... dud?

　As if waiting for Haruka's words, the magic circle suddenly emits a strong light.

　In the blink of an eye, your vision turns white.
　I close my eyes because of the glare.

　Then, a few seconds later.

　A few seconds later, I opened my eyes again, and what I saw was a green forest and sunlight.

This is the entrance to the ...... abandoned mine!

　I looked around and saw a familiar scene.

　It was the square where I had fought with skeletons and zombies a while ago.
　We were standing in the same spot where the Skeleton Knight had camped.

　Looking back, we see the entrance to an abandoned mine.

　--Or should I say the entrance to a dungeon now.

Yay!
"Huh. ......

　This is the first time I've ever seen such a thing.

"Oh!　The sun after a long time!　New air!　I'm loving this heat right now!

　Toya looks up at the sky, opens his hands and breathes in.

　It's the height of summer in the calendar.
　The temperature is so high that even standing still makes you sweat.

　In the event of a battle, he would probably be sweating like a waterfall.

　Even so, the sense of freedom of being safely out of the dungeon seems to be quite great.

　We all let out sighs of relief and shouts of joy.

　In the dungeon, we didn't complain to each other, but I guess we were still under stress.

　All of us are smiling sincerely for the first time in a long time.

It's a relief, but it looks like the magic circle was a one-way street.

　In the event that you've got a lot of time, you'll be able to take a look at the web site and see if there's anything you need to know.

　There are no traces of the place we came from, and nothing will happen to us if we stand there.

　In other words, if you want to go to that place again, you'll have to walk through the dungeon again for several days. ...... That's a pain.

If the path hasn't been restored, then you won't be able to get back in. ......

It's not a problem, is it?　If it was a normal cave, this would be a dungeon.

Yeah. The traps in the dungeon seem to come back, and if you can't get in, it's not a dungeon.

　I don't really understand this existence, dungeons.

　It's not the same as a game dungeon, but there are still mysterious parts to it.

You need to know more about it. If you want to dive in earnest.

Yes. We should also prepare more food. It will give you a different sense of security.

Yes. Can we continue after we get rid of those problems?

　After more than a month of confinement, no one said, "I want to explore as soon as possible! There was no one who said, "I want to explore as soon as possible!

　We nodded in agreement to Natsuki's suggestion, and walked quickly towards home.