--A month has passed since the dungeon appeared.

A huge jet-black tower stood proudly in the middle of the desert.
The giant tower became a particle of light and suddenly disappeared.
Merchants set up stalls and shops around the area, working hard day and night to conduct their business.
Travelers and tourists come here to see the sights.
And the challengers who returned as fools after their dreams of a dungeon had been dashed.
They look up in the direction where the tower was and dance there divinely.

-- looking up at the particles of light.

'Hey!　Everybody!　Come on out!

Returning challengers are receiving untreated medical attention.
-- here, in front of a certain tent.
A large man in front of the tent said to the returnees who had become his patients.
Following his voice, one by one, former challengers emerge from inside the clinic.

And as soon as I saw them, I was stunned.

''Hey....you're lying........''

One after the other, former challengers appeared after the previous one.
All of them were speechless as their mouths dropped open at the sight.

''Dan........John.......has been conquered.......''

The moment one of them uttered that.
There was a great cheer.
And there was one who came out of the room late.
A knight of Dames Aldan. It was Leonardo Astar.
This Leonardo was the one who had called out to Masamune's group to stop the challenge just before they took on the dungeon.
But there was a smile on his face.
Why is that?
Because he knew.

-- who had conquered the dungeon.

As it should be, since Masamune and the others entered the dungeon, there was no one to follow them.
They all looked at the challengers lying in the square in front of the dungeon and were scared out of their minds.
And most of those who came to this place to challenge them stopped and just went sightseeing.

In fact, before leaving, there were a number of people who had seen Masamune being interviewed by the demonic communication, just because Masamune himself didn't know about it.
Many of them were mainly merchants who had set up their stalls.
The merchants, perhaps out of habit, immediately shared information with each other.

-- "Apparently, Nito, the hero of Razhuisen, has taken on the dungeon."

The rumor had spread in an instant.
But the impressions of those who learned of it were very real.
They don't dream about this dungeon itself like the challengers and adventurers do.
They are only interested in earning money.
Therefore, it doesn't matter if the adventurer Nito dies in the dungeon or not.
We share information and talk to each other just to pass the time.

But when the dungeon became a particle and the black colossal tower disappeared from the middle of the desert, revealing the four shadows descending from the sky, even the merchants were so excited that they forgot about their business and there was a great cheer.

It is said that a dungeon appears once every 100 years, and a dungeon is conquered once every 1000 years.
That's how rare it is to conquer a dungeon, a feat.

All sorts of people gathered there rushed to the site of the dungeon.
Among them were Francesca and Dolly, the demonic communicator.

''Dolly!　Hurry up!　I'm sure that's Mr. Nito.

Okay, okay, don't rush me!

They both ran off with smiles on their faces.

Then the four challengers slowly emerged from the sky and descended to the ground.




o




　We conquered the dungeon.
But it wasn't actually a conquest.
It's just that I visited the inevitable.
I'm sure that's what everyone in the crowd gathered in front of us now calls us.
--with the dungeon conqueror.

The three of us next to them were so nervous before we took on the challenge, but now they're all in good spirits, you might say?
I could see the exhaustion on his face, which was not the reason for the challenge.
Perhaps it was because I had talked too long with Vel.
During that time, the three of them seemed to be enjoying themselves to a certain extent, but I'm thinking that they were probably tired of it.

''Huh... even though we've finally made it back...''

Toa was fed up with the onlookers in front of him.

''Well, it can't be helped. We're dungeon conquerors in the public eye. We've done what no one else could have done.

'Yes, but I didn't do anything.

Me too.

Sufilia is making up more laughter than usual.
Perhaps Sufilia is tired too.
Nem was dozing off next to me, holding my hand.

Hey!　Let me through!　T........let me through!

Then, out of the crowd, a pair of men appeared.
It was Frances and Dolly.

'Congratulations!　Mr. Nito!

Then, as soon as she ran up to me, Francesca told me so.
And next to her, Dolly pointed the camera at me, relentlessly taking pictures of my face.

I'm glad I wore the mask, after all.

'Thank you,'

I replied with a bitter smile.

'How do you feel now that you've conquered the dungeon?

Well, I've said it before that I'll be interviewed after the attack, so it's no wonder....
Next to me, Toa is looking depressed.



Honestly, it's a lot of things.
But none of it is something I can talk about.
But I have to answer the interview as such.
Well, I could tell you the truth but I'd rather tell you the truth right here.
That way we can limit the unnecessary damage if another dungeon shows up in the future, right?
Well, but come to think of it, I don't care about the damage.

'What can you tell us about what's going on in the dungeon?

'It was surrounded by unusual structures and sunsets, as I'm sure the other challengers know. It was a strange place.

'I see ... he hasn't returned yet. There is a challenger. What do you think, Nito-san?

That's when Francesca changed the direction of her question.

The inside of the dungeon was full of dead bodies. They probably belonged to the challengers, but probably no one would come back again. I didn't even meet any survivors.

Francesca then prefaced her question with, "Last question.

"Now, what message would you like to give to everyone in the world who has been waiting for Nito's attack?

I thought about it.
"What would I do to answer this question?
Before the challenge, would I have said, "You're better off not dreaming anymore?"　I would have said something like that and said it would have been a deterrent to the challenger.
But now I don't see it that way.

'The dungeon is not the graveyard of the fools who dreamed the dream. It is a place where a handful of dreamers find the truth that lies beyond their dreams. If you want to get to the truth beyond that, try the dungeon. But those who have no will should not even dream--

Then Toa poked me in the side.

'Hmm?'

Your eyes are red.

Toa whispered.
I close one eye, in my face.

'Bad,'

I whispered back.

'Then!　That's all for the interview. Thank you very much, Nito.

Then Dolly lowered the camera as she did so.

'Good job, Nito-san. I didn't expect you to actually conquer the dungeon.

Francesca returned to the bare bones and said.

'It's been tougher than I thought it would be, a lot of things. By the way, I was thinking the other day, are you recording or something?'

I was curious about this way of interviewing him, all the way through in a press style.

'Oh, that's just in case. We may do the story under the headline 'Uncut Interview' and we do it that way in case we want to keep it as a document.

I wasn't particularly interested in it, but apparently I was.

'Speaking of which, how long has it been since we've been in the dungeon?'

Maybe a day or so.

A day?

I was curious about Sierra.
Apparently Francesca understood the meaning of my question.

'No, I don't have any information on Razhuisen.

...I see.

Does that mean that the war hasn't started yet?
Well, it's not that easy to start, normally.

If something else happens, could you let me know then?

'No problem. In return, could you tell me what the dungeon was really like?　Of course, this is my hobby.

Apparently Francesca knows I'm lying.
Just how shall we talk about it?
I can't talk about it too much," he said.

Well, to be honest, I don't think it's a good idea for anyone to try.

...What does that mean?

Hmmm........what can I say, it's just useless to try, isn't it?　Well, I'd venture to say that dungeons have a kind of aptitude, so most people can't conquer them regardless of their ability.

Then Francesca had a question mark on her face.
Well, there's no way I can explain that to you.
But I'm not going to tell you any more.

'By the way, you can publish what I just said, too.

Then Francesca's eyes lit up.

'It is!　Are you sure?!

Yes, that's about right.

She's a woman with a lot of instincts.
That's why we have this conversation.
She always knows that I'm hiding something from her.
So "that's about it" means that you can imagine and post your hypothesis from there.
"You're free to write about what I can't tell you."
Including that, she said, "Really? "What are you going to do?" he asked.

'What are you going to do after this?　Are you going back to the Academy now?

'Well I have a few things to do, so I'll be back when I've done that.

Oh, I see. Well, we'll be heading to the academy first.

Hmm?　Are you going to the academy again?

Is it a job?
If that's the case, then what do you want from the academy....

''The qualifying round for the school match will begin soon, so I want to interview the candidates first.

That's right.
Was it.................Fischanatica?
I had a game against a school with that name.
Will Patrick be okay?
Have you gotten along with the spirits since then?

Speaking of which, Nito-san, will you be participating in any of the games against the school?

'Hmmm.......what do you think?　I haven't decided yet, but I'm positive about it.

'I see. By the way, Nito-san, you know the name Ficianatica School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, right?

'Of course, you're playing against Heilkwaite, right?　I know, right?

Francesca then gave a thin smile.
What is it?

'Then, did you know that there are nineteen brave men of Grayberg in that Fischanatica?

...What?

...19 brave men?

'Yes. We've talked about this before, haven't we?　That Grayberg has summoned a hero.

Yes.....

Francesca speaks with enthusiasm.

'And that two of them are missing--'

Yes, I remember.

So there were 19 brave souls left, but the newly enthroned King Arthur of Greberg left them in the care of the Fischanatica School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for their future.

Did you give it to me?

Yes, in the attack on the Dragon's Heart, Greberg lost many of its teachers and others. The school was unable to function because of this, and King Arthur decided to leave them in charge of Fischanatica.

You mean ... this time against a school?

Yes, those 19 brave souls are joining us.

Francesca said that with a thin smile, as if she could see through my thoughts.

In other words, Heilkwaite and Fischanatika........
This is not just a match between these two schools against each other.
So you can think of it as Heil Kuwait versus 2-3 brave men........

''Nito-san?''

...Yes?

If you're going to be there, by all means!　I'd appreciate it if you could do the interview?

So that's what Francesca meant by that.

What a scary woman....
I wonder how well she understands me....