“…Was there always a cave in a place like this?”
“It looks spacious inside. Let’s take a look.”
When the villagers entered the forest, they stumbled upon an unfamiliar cave.
This in itself wasn’t unusual. As long as the Demon Lord’s army existed, changes in terrain or the sudden appearance of new dungeons were commonplace events.
Living in this remote region, they had no idea that the Demon Lord’s army was on the brink of collapse.
Thus, they assumed that this was just another makeshift dungeon created by the lingering power of the Demon Lord.
Surely, no proper dungeon would appear in such an isolated area. This must be a hollow structure formed by residual energy.
Thinking this, they ventured into the cave without much preparation.
“…What do you think?”
“At the very least, it’s not like the other pseudo-dungeons we’ve seen before.”
The moment they stepped inside, they realized this was not the kind of hollow they were familiar with.
In the past, such pseudo-dungeons were merely empty spaces with the occasional insect or small reptile.
There were no treasure chests, no traps, and no particular benefit to exploring them. Eventually, they would just become lairs for wild animals.
This dungeon, however, was clearly different.
It wasn’t as though the villagers had extraordinary detection abilities.
They didn’t notice the difference because they sensed a horde of monsters or discovered hidden traps in advance.
“…Danger ahead. Turn back.”
“Who put this sign up? Could it be someone from the village who found this place first and left it here?”
“No way. If that were the case, we would’ve heard something about it. It’s a small village, after all.”
That meant the sign was placed by someone they didn’t know.
This in itself was suspicious. The presence of such a man-made object was unusual.
The villagers adjusted their mindset and decided to proceed cautiously.
“There’s a path…”
“And torches lighting the way. This is definitely a dungeon.”
“With such proper interior design, it’s hard to believe there won’t be any creatures or items like before.”
Their actions weren’t reckless.
Since a dungeon-like structure had appeared near the village, someone had to investigate it.
The mere existence of a possible dungeon wouldn’t attract adventurers or the attention of the kingdom.
Thus, it fell to them—those responsible for handling stray monsters near the village—to take on this task.
“A door? That means there must be a room ahead.”
“There could be monsters. Let’s take a look inside first.”
The men carefully opened the door just a crack.
Peeking inside, they spotted monsters, as expected.
The creatures hadn’t noticed them, so they quietly closed the door again.
“What now?”
“Three goblins, huh… Well, they’re no different from the ones we’ve dealt with outside the village.”
“Let’s stay ready to retreat and give it a try.”
The number of goblins matched their own.
If they each took one on, they should be able to win.
They had fought larger groups of goblins attacking the village before.
Convinced they could handle it, the men burst into the room.
The goblins, startled by the sudden intrusion, hesitated, leaving them open to fatal strikes.
Each villager landed a decisive blow, and the goblins fell.
“Alright, just ordinary goblins.”
“No reinforcements or strange traps either.”
“Let’s move a bit further.”
Exiting the room, they came across a fork in the path.
Both routes looked the same, so they chose the left one.
Before long, they encountered another door similar to the first.
“Another one. Let’s hope it’s just more goblins.”
“Same approach as before—be ready to retreat, and take a look first.”
Confirming their escape route, they peeked inside.
The room looked almost identical to the previous one.
The only difference was that there was one more monster this time.
“A goblin soldier, huh…”
“What do we do? If two of us focus on it, the others might become a problem.”
“We should probably retreat…”
“But look over there.”
One of the men pointed to a wooden box in the room.
A treasure chest.
Not only were there monsters, but also a treasure chest.
While it could be a mimic, mimics didn’t appear where there weren’t treasure chests to begin with.
In that case, it was almost certain: this was a proper dungeon.
“Shouldn’t we at least check what’s in that treasure chest?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. At best, it’s probably just a healing item. At worst, it could even be a mimic.”
“I see… That’s a shame, but I guess this is it for now.”
“With this level of danger, the kingdom won’t intervene. Let’s just report it to the nearest adventurer guild.”
“Yeah, no way I’m risking my life just to get killed by some goblins.”
The men knew their own limits.
That’s why they didn’t push themselves. Perhaps it was their lack of reckless strength that ended up being their saving grace.
It was only the second room. The goblins were already increasing in both numbers and strength. If they pushed further, they’d only face even tougher enemies.
The deeper they went, the harder it would be to resist the temptation to press on, thinking, “We’ve come this far, so just one more room.”
Finding treasure chests along the way would only make that temptation stronger.
Their decision to retreat early may have made them truly suited for being adventurers.
◇
“They left, huh. Are you okay with that?”
“Yeah. Isn’t that pretty good?”
Thanks to Pilkaya sharing her vision with us, we were able to keep an eye on the newly created makeshift dungeon.
Three men, likely villagers from nearby, had entered, but they turned back after the second room.
Neither we nor they had achieved any notable results.
While I thought the outcome was rather inconclusive, Pilkaya seemed pleased.
“I believe they came to confirm whether this was a real dungeon. Judging it to be beyond their abilities, they’ll likely report it to the adventurer guild.”
“Exactly. In other words, the real fun starts now.”
“I see… So that means adventurers capable of handling goblins will be sent here.”
“Hmm… I wouldn’t count on it. Like I said, this is a remote village. It’s doubtful they’ll send anyone decent.”
Well, that’s not great.
It seems the lack of manpower is an issue everywhere.
If some incompetent adventurers end up being sent, they might get overconfident, delve too far into the dungeon, and get wiped out by monsters or traps.
“Did you catch on? For a while, it’s going to be a bonus time with prey dropping by regularly.”
“Exactly. So, from here on, we need to carefully manage the number of victims to avoid drawing the ire of the adventurer guild.”
“Ah, I see… Running a dungeon is tougher than I thought.”
These two really are part of the Demon Lord’s Four Heavenly Kings.
Even while plotting something sinister, they somehow seemed to be having fun.
And I… I wasn’t repulsed by their schemes; in fact, I found myself enjoying it just as much.
At this point, I must truly be one of the demonkind.
No matter. If it’s a fight to the death between us and them, I’ll do everything I can to ensure the survival of my comrades, the demons.
…Now then, I’ll need to figure out how to manage the number of victims skillfully.
