## Chapter 894 – Otherworld Dungeon

I told them the news as soon as I got home.

“An otherworld palace?”

Winia tilted her head, and Risha asked me,

“So, they haven’t been able to figure out where it came from at all?”
“That’s what they said. That’s why they’re calling it ‘otherworld.'”
“Hoo… So that means…”

Anyway, I took out the documents and read them aloud, explaining everything.

Completely unknown. They have no idea where the palace came from. If it were Pandemonium or the Spirit Realm, they’d have some information and would know, but since it’s not, they can’t identify it.

Humans are ignorant about other dimensions like this.

Before the Idol War, maybe, but the world now was completely wrecked by that war and then rebuilt. The loss of knowledge is a real pain.

“Ho, perhaps!!!”

Hilde, who was listening to my story, shouted in a horrified tone.

“Could it be an invasion from that demon world!!! The evil demon world! It must be from there!!!”

That’s plausible.

“Maybe. They said the gate connected to that place closed a long time ago. And we don’t know their architectural style, do we? If you dig into it, it might really be a palace from the demon world.”

There’s hardly any information about the demon world either.

See, even Hilde, who’s from Pandemonium, doesn’t know about the demon world. Demons and devils might seem similar, but it’s still a separate dimension.

Even if they seem alike, it’s natural not to know.

“A palace from the demon world… So, classically, is it like a fortress summoned for the demon king to use in an invasion?”

Karin said, touching her lips.

A fortress for the demon king’s invasion?
That makes sense too.

“That would be terrible!!!”

Hilde was horrified again, as if she was about to be screwed over at any moment. She looked around, and then, for some reason, grabbed Risha’s shoulders and asked anxiously.

“Lady Risha!! What should we do about this crisis!!!”
“…Do not worry.”

Hilde was shaking her shoulders, but Risha’s reaction was indifferent.

“I have also researched the demon world during my life. It can be said to be completely disconnected from this world, so it would be more accurate to think of it as another dimension rather than the demon world.”

Completely disconnected… Risha said something like that before.

“You’ve researched the demon world too?”

I thought she knew a bit about the demon world from the start, but she’s actually researched it. Anyway, since she’s researched it, Risha must be right.

But even if it’s completely disconnected, couldn’t it suddenly open up?

“There’s also a rumor that the origin of black magic is in the demon world. So, black mages have probably researched the demon world at least once. Shouldn’t a mage naturally research the origins of magic?”
“Oh.”

Risha’s words were quite interesting.

The origin of black magic is in the demon world?

“Risha, sis? Is that true? Is the origin of black magic in the demon world?”
“It’s just one hypothesis. In this day and age, wouldn’t it be almost impossible to uncover the origins of magic?”
“That’s true, but.”

Anyway, Hilde nodded.

“Still, it’s a relief if it’s not the demon world…”

Then she was horrified again.

“A relief…? No, it’s not!! Even if it’s not the demon world, it’s just as dangerous!! Humanity must develop the power to protect itself from such extradimensional invaders and always be prepared!!”

Hilde was ranting like my dad watching the news.

Dad always watched the news during dinner and vented his frustrations about society. When I was young, I didn’t understand why we had to eat in such an uncomfortable atmosphere, but seeing Hilde like this, it was just cute.

“Hey, Blackie, calm Hilde down.”
“I’ll do it.”

At those words, Cloudie, who was clinging to my back, moved behind Hilde.

“Hilde, let’s calm down, okay?”
“Ah! Yes! I will calm down!”

As expected of Hilde, who listens so well to Cloudie, she immediately shut her mouth.

“Anyway, an otherworld palace has appeared in the Great Plains? And you, Katt, were ordered by that saintess to scout it out?”

Liz asked, tilting her head.

“Yeah, that’s right. That’s it.”
“Hmm…”

Then Ari came and said,

“Father. If it’s an otherworld palace, isn’t that a place with absolutely no information? If you go there recklessly…”
“It’s okay. It’s always been like this, right? I went to dungeons and stuff too. No problem.”
“Dungeons belong to this world, but the otherworld doesn’t. I don’t think it’ll be okay.”

Ari said it like she was worried, but for some reason, her voice felt a bit sharp.

“That’s true, but.”

I don’t think there’ll be much of a problem.

This isn’t the first time an otherworld structure has appeared. These things have happened several times before. And there are many people who have acquired spoils in the process.

This was an opportunity.

And I don’t want to give up on the possibility of getting my hands on a special artifact that isn’t from this world. More than anything, I’m confident in my strength.

“To make you do something like that… It’s not good. You should reconsider.”
“Our Ari is worried about me, so I feel energized. It’s okay. There’s no need to worry. What’s the problem with that?”
“…If Father says it’s okay, I won’t say anything.”
“Wait, Ari. You’re not sulking, are you?”
“Me, sulking? That’s not going to happen.”

I grabbed Ari’s wrist and pulled her to sit next to me.

“It’ll be okay.”
“Ah…”

Then Cloudie came over and stroked Ari’s head.

“It’s what we’ve always done. More than anything, a structure from another world… This kind of opportunity is rare. Katt, it’s better to go, right?”
“Yeah, this kind of opportunity is rare. I have to go.”

Putting aside the danger, it’s intriguing.

“Well, I’m interested too since you’re calling it an otherworld palace. It’s definitely not a common opportunity. Since we’ve heard about it, I think it’s better to go.”

Karin’s reaction was positive.

“That’s right. An otherworld palace… You guys know that special artifacts are sometimes found in places like that, right?”

Winia was also very interested, probably because she’s a mage.

“Artifacts? What kind of artifacts are you talking about?”

Liz asked, expressing her doubts.

“Objects from another world that aren’t from this land. As mages, we can’t help but be very interested. It might contain knowledge about something we don’t know.”
“Risha is right. Artifacts found in otherworld structures have that kind of use. And according to legend, a mysterious grimoire was once found in a certain otherworld tower.”

Stories about the otherworld aren’t hidden.

It seems Winia has heard legends like that too.

“A mysterious grimoire…? That certainly sounds amazing? Winia, what happened to that grimoire?”
“I heard it amplified the owner’s magical abilities tremendously.”

Winia answered calmly to Hilde’s words.

“Th, then it has tremendous effects! With that level, they would have made a name for themselves in human history! Who is it!”
“Well? I don’t really know that far.”
“Huh? You don’t know their name or anything?”
“I don’t know. I just heard the legend.”
“Oh no! Winia, you’re too vague!”
“Then all legends are vague!”

Hilde couldn’t resolve her curiosity.

“Anyway, a palace that appeared from another world is amazing. But at the same time, it’s strange. It seems like a lot of strange things have been happening in recent years, right?”
“That’s… true.”

Everyone nodded at Liz’s words.

“At least I’ve hardly ever heard news like that while living my life. I’m only hearing about it now.”
“You’re telling me. When I was a mercenary, demon gates and otherworlds were just other people’s stories. I’m definitely encountering them a lot more recently.”

Karin nodded in agreement.

“I thought this kind of thing was normal in this region.”
“Since you’re from the desert, sis, it’s understandable that you’d misunderstand.”

Well… I’ve felt it too for a while now.

I’m not a local here either, so I don’t know well, but it’s true that these strange situations have been happening very frequently in recent years.

At least for the past few years.

So, roughly based on the timeline before I came to this world, there weren’t many of these things happening. Well, I’ve thought about it too. I wondered if my crossing over was part of this context.

Of course, it’s not important at all now.

Whatever the case, my life is here now.

“Then let’s start preparing. We’re going there now, right? It seems like we’ll need a lot of preparation.”
“We should. Then shall we go shopping for a bit? We should leave in three or four days with plenty of time.”

Everyone nodded at my words and got up from their seats.

“But the otherworld… Katt. It seems like you’re looking forward to it.”
“I am.”

Shall we get ready?

* * *

We gathered the necessary supplies and searched the library to collect as much information as possible about the otherworld. I also bought some potions in case of an emergency.

Risha had been researching and experimenting with the holy water I received from the saintess, and she had secured its safety for Hilde. So, we divided it into special bottles and packed it as an emergency supply.

With all the preparations complete, we set off for the Great Plains.

It was a journey to the Great Plains in the far northwest border region, but for some reason, Ilryong and Iryong, those two bastards, seemed to have forgotten the concept of “fatigue” and ran day and night with monstrous stamina, so we were able to arrive earlier than expected.

When I questioned this, Ari answered in the middle. After they awakened their powers, she adjusted the nutrients in the grass they ate to make them very healthy.

How admirable.

We arrived near our destination and stopped the carriage.

“Ah… There are so many grasses.”

Ari, who got out of the carriage, looked down at the grasses that had sprung up around her with an excited face. It’s not a jungle, but it’s still full of plants. Of course, she can’t help but like it.

“Why, is our Ari in a good mood?”
“No. Grass is just grass. It can’t make me feel good.”
“Then what is it?”

What is it?

“Only Father can make me happy.”
“Hehehe, no. Suddenly saying something like that.”

Anyway, I looked around.

“Katt. Look over there.”
“Wow.”
“It’s enormous. It’s bigger than the tombs of the ancient kings in the desert.”

That’s right, over there.

ㅡIn the middle of the Great Plains, there was a ridiculously huge palace built.

Palace? Should I call that a palace? I know that at least some humanoid bastards built it, but even from this far away, it was an insane scale. It was very large and built in a bizarre style.

“I don’t know the style at all.”
“Me neither.”

Risha and Winia, who were looking at it seriously, shook their heads.

“That’s the otherworld palace.”
“What kind of bastards built that?”

Karin reacted quite seriously.

“It’s obviously built to defend something, but what the hell are they trying to defend to build it so mindlessly…”

Karin is right.

What are the otherworld bastards fighting that they built such a fortress-like palace? They must have needed to build it so mindlessly… I don’t know. Is it a more brutal dimension than Pandemonium?

“It’s really enormous…! If there are otherworld monsters or residents inside, it’ll be a very big problem! There will definitely be a lot of them!”

Anyway, it was a scale that could only inspire awe.
That is the target of this reconnaissance.

First, I looked around more.

There was a huge lake next to it. It would be a good water source. Since it’s a lake next to the plains, it feels like a tourist attraction.

More than anything, in front of it.

So, near the otherworld palace, various camps and tents were lined up in an orderly manner. Since the royal knights and the royal army came, it seemed they had established their command post and base.

And the bastards from other regions must have set up tents too.

So, it felt like a kind of tent village or shantytown.

“But there’s no chaos like last time?”
“I know, right?”

As Winia pointed out, it was almost orderly.

There was none of the carnage I saw in front of the Berial Dungeon last time. Just thinking about it still makes my heart boil. That place was such a hellhole that even if the Buddha came, he wouldn’t be able to resist the urge to “mince meat.”

“Looking at it, unlike last time, the royal knights are outside. Look at the flags. They’ve set up flags so blatantly, so there won’t be any bastards causing trouble.”
“Oh.”

As Karin said, the royal knights’ flags were set up.

“Oh my, Katt. What are those?”
“Those?”

I shifted my gaze at Cloudie’s words.

There were things that looked like nomadic people’s mobile homes stuck together. They looked distinctly different from other tents and camps, and I had never seen anything like them, so they felt quite fascinating.

“That’s the style of the Mirkesha nomads. This is a place adjacent to that area, right? More than anything, since it’s a plains, that culture must have flowed in. Our barbarian paladin? Is my explanation correct?”

Karin said, grabbing my shoulder.

Why are you asking me that… Oh, I guess it makes sense to ask me.

“That’s right. Well, it’s similar.”
“Blackie must feel like he’s back home?”
“Is this area Father’s hometown?”

My hometown isn’t this grass, but a place with apartments spread out…