## Chapter 932 – How Long Has It Been?

Elise was fidgeting with her new morning star, her eyes sparkling as if she was excited. Her face, usually expressionless, had become quite animated.

“I will slaughter all the monsters that appear!!!”

She roared with unconcealed joy. Elise was, after all, Elise.

“Yeah!!! I’ll slaughter them too!”
“This is an excellent development! To be able to do this again with you, Saint! I have been eagerly awaiting this!!”

Elise clenched her fist as she looked at me.

“Awaiting it!!!!”
“Indeed! My heart is pounding fiercely!!! I wanted to show you how much I’ve grown!!!”
“How admirable…!!!!”

I want to witness Elise’s growth with my own eyes as soon as possible…!

“But Elise, doesn’t it seem like you’re hoping for monsters to appear?”
“It is a little embarrassing to harbor such thoughts, but if they must appear, it is better that they appear before us. We can annihilate them more thoroughly than anyone else!!!”

That’s true.
If they’re going to appear, they should appear before us.

“Then Elise!!! Let’s do `that`!!!!”

Let’s do `that`!

“That… do you mean?”

Elise flinched and stared at my face with a slightly opened mouth, looking serious. It’s no use pretending not to know. No matter who’s around, I’m going to shout it out.

“DEJAAAAAAAHHH!!!”
“De, de…”

As I shouted, Elise hesitated for a moment.

“Long live Ainzermarth!!!!!!!”

She shouted “Long live Ainzermarth” as if she was suddenly bursting with energy.

—Oooooooooh!!!
—Shhhhhhh!!
—Uooooooooh!!!!!!

Then, the Ascetic Crusaders who were waiting in front of us roared, their red eyes glowing.

Our Elise… dares to?
Skip it?

“…”

I looked at Elise, but she didn’t even glance at me, only adjusting her clothes.

It’s no use pretending not to know!!!

“That young nun friend is very enthusiastic!”
“I envy her youth!”
“Ah, I’m getting old!!!”

Just as I was about to have another outburst, the paladins responded to Elise’s shout by chanting the names of their respective gods. Well… anyway, if the atmosphere has improved, that’s all that matters.

In such a joyful atmosphere, where no one could imagine that we were about to enter an ancient dungeon where the Demon King might be sealed, the formations and order were arranged.

The Bronze Celestial Knights went down the rope first, followed by the Ascetic Crusaders.

“W-Well then, Saint! I’ll see you below! This is just my personal advice, but when you enter the dungeon, you must never make loud noises!!! It could cause a collapse, and you could become a target!!!!”
“Eliseeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!”

Elise, who spoke as if she was giving a notice, went down the rope as if she was running away. Someday, I will definitely put Elise on stage and make her demonstrate the Imprisonment Fist technique.

I am dreaming of such a future.

Anyway, next, the Knights of the Salvation Paradise went down, and then it was our turn.

“Well, Katt. Shall we go down?”
“Yeah, let’s do it. Claudie, can you go down?”
“Yeah. No problem at all. But Risha…”

Claudie is physically strong, so she’s fine, but what about Risha?

“Risha. Can you climb down? No. Just cling to my back.”
“Hehe, I’ll be fine. But thank you.”

Risha immediately clung to my back. If she’s feeling uneasy, I can just carry her down. She’s not heavy at all. I can even run a marathon with hundreds of kilos of luggage on my back now.

I immediately supported Risha’s butt with one hand.

“Hngah!”

Then Risha let out a groan.

“Hey, Risha?”
“H-How can you suddenly touch my butt!”

Risha shouted in my ear as if she was ashamed, but seriously? You’re feeling it this much?

“D-Don’t stroke it…!”
“How can you feel it this much?”

She’s about to come just from sitting on a chair.

“It’s because it’s your hand!”
“Katt. I want a piggyback ride too.”

Claudie approached, as if she was envious.

“Oh dear.”

I can’t help it.

“Hang on in front of me.”

After attaching them to my front and back, I grabbed the rope with one arm and went down steadily.

—Swish.

The two of them together must weigh over 100 kilos, but it’s still light.

—Swish, swish.

We’re supposed to be careful of traps, but the paladins were already gathered in groups of three or five at the bottom. Of course, it was super bright. They can use divine spells.

Lighting up the darkness of the dungeon is nothing to them.

—Thud.

I got down to the bottom and let them down.

As I came down, Vice Commander Jeynunt clapped and shouted.

“Alright! From now on, we will proceed while drawing a map! When a fork appears, we will split up there!”

As expected of people who have done this many times, it was progressing very quickly. They must have already formed teams. I can just follow along and drop out at the end.

Preparations for exploration were immediately carried out, and the commander gave instructions.

“As I always say, traps may appear, or monsters may appear. So please be careful. If someone is injured, take immediate action, and if a monster appears, send a messenger immediately to inform us.”

He calmly repeated what he had said and gave warnings. After all, the most important thing when doing this kind of work is safety first, and safety second. Even though the paladins are superhuman, it seems they can’t just crush ancient monsters like they’re playing with toys.

“Start!!!”
“Uooooooooh!!”

The paladins shouted, and we advanced forward, guarding the front. It wasn’t dark at all. The paladins were emitting sacred radiance along with their glowing eyes.

The passage was very bright, as if we had brought a few LED lights.

From the start, the group was divided in half, with half advancing to the front and half to the rear. Vice Commander Jeynunt was at the front, and the commander was at the rear.

Some of them were staying here to investigate with the theologians.

Anyway, we walked inside the dungeon.

—Thud, thud.
—Thud, thud.
—Thud, thud.

The paladins and Ascetic Crusaders, who had already drawn their weapons, walked forward with intense concentration.

Elise, who was next to me, seemed tense.

Claudie and Risha were moving while looking around at the walls and ceiling.

“Risha. Do you understand anything?”
“Hmm… Well, even I don’t know.”
“You’re just a witch who only knows what she knows.”
“Y-You’re saying the same thing as Karin!”
“Hey, why are you embarrassed?”

It’s natural that you might not know.

“It’s just that…! For some reason, everyone asks me everything, but I can’t give clear answers except for my specialty…! Please understand my heart!”
“Hehehe, I understand. I understand.”

Anyway, there was nothing particularly known. The paladins were also just making speculative remarks, and it seemed they hadn’t confirmed anything.

“What about Claudie?”
“Katt. You shouldn’t ask Mama about this.”

Claudie said, putting her hands on her hips.

“She doesn’t know anything that’s not from the desert.”
“That’s right!”

Claudie has been living in the desert, so she doesn’t know much about this.

“What about Elise?”
“Saint. As I think about it, this facility does not seem to be a church or a monastery.”
“Oh, why?”
“Well, the structure… I suspect it’s not the structure of a temple-like building.”
“Not a temple…”

Since Elise is saying it, it felt plausible.
She would be more familiar with temples than anyone else.

Anyway, we moved on.

“A path leading underground has appeared.”
“There’s also a connecting path.”

When we turned a corner, stairs leading down appeared. Of course, the path was still continuing, so the orders began to discuss it.

“What shall we do?”
“Shhhhhhh. Let us advance for now. Please go down first.”
“I understand. We will do so. We will meet again and combine our maps.”

Listening to them, it seemed like we would be separated from the Ascetic Crusaders, so would Elise be separated too? That won’t do. Should I ask them to let her go with me?

Looking at Elise, she was hesitating.

“Elise?”
“Just a moment…”

Then Elise went to the Ascetic Crusaders and said something. I also followed a little. It seemed like Elise was saying that she wanted to go with me.

“Shhhhhhh. Elise is very excited to meet her friend.”
“Shhhh. Would there be a problem? She’s a paladin friend, so it’s okay to let her go, right?”
“Shhhhhhh. Then Elise! See you later!”

The Ascetic Crusaders emitted red eyes and strange breaths, understanding Elise’s heart. These people may have strange tastes, but they are very kind and good people.

“Thank you!”
“Yeah, Elise! Let’s go together! You’re in the same group as me! Don’t worry, Ascetic Crusaders!! I have fought with Elise many times!!”

I gave my thanks.
We parted with the Ascetic Crusaders and went down below.

“Paladin. Will four of you be enough?”

As we went down, Vice Commander Jeynunt said to me.

“It’s enough. We’ve survived with this kind of power.”
“Then there’s no problem. If there’s a fork in the road later, we can send you separately. Ah, but be sure to draw a map!!”
“Don’t worry! I’m as good at that as I am at digging!”
“Hahahaha! You’re really reliable!”

Jeynunt seemed to trust me quite a bit. This is a very good phenomenon. In that way, we explored the interior of this unknown structure. Every time a fork appeared or a path leading underground appeared, the group became more and more divided.

As we split up, we ended up acting as a group of four, and what was in front of us was a passage leading underground. We went down another floor. Jeynunt told us to do it moderately and come back up, but I wanted to see some results.

“Let’s go down.”

*　*　*

“…?”

As soon as we came down, it felt like the atmosphere had changed a bit.
Is this actually the main area?

I don’t know the details, but my refined senses seemed to be telling me that.

“This energy is… somehow…”
“Risha?”
“It seems like something is here. There is a possibility that these are the ancient monsters that the paladins were talking about, so prepare for battle.”

If Risha and I felt something, it’s a sure thing.
It seems like there’s definitely something unusual.

Is it down there? Is that why we can feel it from here…? Anyway, we’ll know when we go.

“Monsters…”

Elise repeated, touching her lips.

“Elise. Do you know anything about dungeon monsters?”
“It’s a little difficult to say that I know… Usually, these monsters were created as guardians of the dungeon, or they were sealed with an evil being. Or they are magical creatures that stopped operating and then woke up.”

Elise also added that in the era before the Idol War, there was also technology to create monsters.

“All of those things are collectively called monsters, but there are so many patterns that I can’t explain them accurately.”

Whatever it is, we don’t know now.

We continued our exploration, paying attention to that strange feeling.

“Somehow, it also feels like the inside of a fortress. It feels like a structure built to defend against external invasions.”
“A fortress…”

Rooms appeared, but there was nothing to gain. There was only dirt and dust. As Elise said, it might be a fortress building.

We were making a map and moving down when.

—Zhiiiing.

From over there, a red light appeared.

“Katt. It appeared.”

Claudie said, drawing her curved sword.
Of course, it couldn’t be an Ascetic Crusader.

“The landlord came out.”

I had already noticed the signs. Tension fell in an instant. We must be careful. We may be strong enough to eat even the King of the Monsters for breakfast, but we must be careful when facing an enemy for the first time.

I’m sure it’s a pushover, and I’m confident that I can blow it all away with my power, but it’s a monster in a dungeon where the Demon King might be.

There must be something to it.

“This energy is…”

Risha said that.

—Thump.
—Thump.

A loud footstep was heard.
The footsteps almost made the inside of the dungeon shake.

“Is it a monster that has lived inside this dungeon for hundreds of years?”
“It is highly likely that it was in a state of suspended animation, hibernation, or sealing. A monster that makes such footsteps could not move for hundreds of years without eating anything.”

Elise answered Claudie’s words.

“We knocked on the door too hard and woke it up.”

There is a possibility.

Anyway, I also advanced slowly with my blade forward.

Finally.

—…!

The monster revealed itself.

—Krrr…

It was a muscular monster with the head of a bull. No, it had the head of a bull, but it looked extremely malicious. Four pairs of horns grew out murderously, and its teeth looked like those of a carnivore, not a herbivore.

Above all… it was huge. Even in a bent posture, it was so tall that it almost filled the wide and high passage of the dungeon, and its bulging muscles were also enormous.

Its hooved legs were destructive, and its arms with strong claws also seemed to boast incredible destructive power.

—Krrr…!!!

It was coming closer with red eyes, spitting saliva.

With an angry face.

“Minotaur…!!!”

Elise said with a stiff face.

“It is an ancient evil gladiator!!! There are records that it is very ferocious! It is a monster race that was active during the Idol War, so it is now almost a legendary monster!!!”
“Is it that strong?”
“It is a powerful man-eating monster, so you must be careful!!! There are stories that strong minotaurs eat knights and heroes as their staple food!!!”

As Elise said, the aura emanating from it seemed really amazing. I want to listen to the explanation leisurely, but to do that, I have to kill it.

—Krrr…!

“Let’s kill it for now.”

I don’t think I’ll lose now.