Magic Gems Gourmet

Chapter 278

TN: Please read my translations only on my website since I never give my permission to any site to host my translations. And if you like my translations, please support this site on Ko-fi and Patreon to read several chapters ahead!

Enjoy~

ED: LonelyMatter

Chapter 278 – Advancing Through the Dungeon with Him

The room they were assigned in the Demon Lord’s castle was pretty similar to the one in the current royal capital.

Actually, it was so comfortable that it was indescribable.

Ain fell asleep immediately, and the next morning, he and Cain left the former royal capital in a small carriage and headed for the dungeon.

“…Is that okay? You came here to ask about that dragon, right?”

“Yeah, but Sylvia-san also wanted to talk to Chris, and we still have some time.”

It wasn’t a total change of plans, but he decided to go with Cain on the first day.

The snow was still piled high, but Sylvia’s carriage was easy to maneuver.

Its simple floating mechanism was perfect for navigating snowy roads.

“By the way, what kind of dungeon is it?”

“Ah, it’s so deep that it’ll take a few days to get through it all.”

“Huh… I didn’t know there was a place like that.”

“It’s an old place. There are also a lot of monsters, but that’s not a big problem.”

He mentioned it wasn’t hard to beat them, but Ain didn’t even want to imagine what kind of enemies Cain and the others would have to face.

He’d rather it had been left to Arche and the others.

“There were some rare monsters. You can absorb them while you’re at it.”

“…Do you think my stats will improve?”

“No way. If you go berserk like you did before, you’ll absorb all the power around you and grow stronger.”

At the end of the day, it was just a snack.

He was still interested in the dungeon itself, though.

“For now, I want to check out the area near the surface. If we can find any traces of what lies deeper inside…”

Oh well.

Cain’s slightly theatrical gestures suit him.

The two of them sat side by side where the coachman would sit and enjoy the winter scenery as they made their way up the mountain road.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

They left after sunrise but arrived before noon.

It was an old, ruin-like place, covered in snow and looking very abandoned.

It probably used to have a roof.

Ain took a look at the half-broken pillars and crumbling floor, frowning a little.

“Is this the dungeon?”

A couple of hours after they left the Demon Lord’s castle.

He got off the carriage and said so.

“Yeah, it is. Sylvia told me that there’s an entrance to the same dungeon in the center of the continent.”

“Oh, there are a few entrances, even though the distance is quite large.”

Even a structure as mysterious as that one made sense when it was said to be a dungeon.

Exhaling a white breath and using his bare hands to avoid the snow on the cobblestone pavement, Ain could see that there was something carved on the cobblestones.

“What’s the deal with this painting?”

“I’m not sure. It’s gotta be someone’s hobby—or these ruins could be the work of the same person who built this dungeon.”

When he took a closer look, he saw that the carving was of something that looked like a woman.

She was holding a staff and standing at the summit of what appeared to be a mountain.

She was dressed like a traveler, but her expression was hidden.

(Yeah, I don’t get it either.)

It looked like Cain wasn’t totally off the mark.

Without much thought, he brushed the snow off his hands and stood up.

He thought to himself, “Is this dungeon deeper than the bottom of the sea?”

Maybe―well, he had a lot of free time on his hands. He’d check it out whenever he wanted.

“…Just don’t get too carried away and absorb too much of my magic, alright?”

“No worries. Sylvia and I, and probably Marco too, are all good as long as we eat our own meals.”

Sylvia said she checked it out a bit.

The person using the familiar skill was surprised to find that it had been activated.

“Rather, I think Ain isn’t too bothered, but oh well.”

Then Cain just suddenly materialized his black cuirass.

At the same time as Dullahan’s armor appeared, his great sword came out of the air.

The color and gloss of his armor were even more striking than the armor he had seen before.

“What’s going on with that sword?”

It was a piece of art, and you could tell just by looking at it.

It seemed to be on par with Marco’s sword that Ain had, or maybe even better.

Cain brags that he can slay a sea dragon with one hit, so it must be really sharp.

“It’s the same skill as my armor. I’m sure Ain can pull it off, too, but, well, you don’t have to.”

He looked at the sword on Ain’s waist and said,

“When the monsters come out, I’ll be the rear guard.”

“…What’s on your mind?”

Ain’s cheeks got a little tight when he saw the smirk, and he was not happy about it.

“Let’s see what you’ve got. Use your sword as much as you can. Okay?”

“…Yes.”

He knew firsthand how strict Cain was—he was more of a fatherly man than Logas, to put it simply.

But it was also true that he made him stronger, and he was grateful for that.

Eventually, Ain followed Cain as he started to walk, and he went deeper into the ruins.

The good news was that the snow cover was shallow.

Even in the deepest spots, the snow was knee-deep, and it wasn’t too hard to walk.

Why is that? When he was confused, Cain said…

“This area is like a whole other world. Sylvia had said that it was like some other world, different from the continent of Ishtar.”

He was curious about what he meant by that.

Ain just quietly watches Cain’s back.

“The magic around here is a little different. It’s like the difference between blue and indigo.”

They make the sound of stepping on the snow, and their voices melt into this empty place.

“Magic power is always in the air. Whether or not it can be detected is another matter, but without it, magic wouldn’t work in the first place.”

As Ain nodded his head at this new info, Cain showed him his gauntlet.

“Hey, check this out. My skills are better than usual, probably because of the magic in this area.”

“Does that mean the magic is thicker?”

“No, it’s not. It’s just that my body feels a little lighter than usual.”

“…I see.”

The dungeon felt like another world.

Actually, it didn’t seem that weird to Ain.

Then, all of a sudden, he started to pay attention, and he felt something, like a presence that was growing stronger.

Following Cain’s lead, he created Dullahan’s gauntlet.

(It’s true, the feeling is different…?)

He knew it might sound over the top, but it was a piece of cake to make the gauntlet.

The fact that the magic was different is like water that easily sunk into the body.

But honestly, it was hard to put into words.

“I feel like… I’m in pretty good shape, actually.”

At the end, he smiled, but it was a bitter smile, and he let it slide. Cain, who was standing right next to him, looked away.

“…Huh. Well, I don’t really care, but we’re at the entrance.”

“Oh, yeah… I understand…”

There’s a path with stone pillars on either side that looks really nice.

After walking for a few minutes, Ain stood in front of what Cain called the entrance.

(Wow, this is how you get underground, huh?)

There was no door, just a small stone building.

The walls and pillars were covered with murals, and the building was slightly smaller than a typical house.

There were stairs going down into the underground, and the deeper they went, the more they noticed a pale blue light.

“I saw something pretty similar just the day before yesterday.”

“Huh? I didn’t catch the details, but was it that underground research place?”

Cain, walking ahead, took the stairs without any hesitation.

Meanwhile, Ain followed behind him without saying a word.

Every time he stepped down the stairs, the blue-white light got brighter and brighter, and it reminded him of the moment he found the red dragon’s eggshell.

“No, they’re actually identical.”

The stone-built space changed, and the surface was shiny… It looked exactly like the ancient biological research facility.

But in this dungeon, the pale blue light was flickering like fireflies.

If the underground ancient biological research facility was a fake, then this has got to be the real deal.

“Cain-san, they really are identical. Why is this…!”

“…I haven’t seen that research institute, but I can make a simple guess.”

When the stairs ended and he reached a wide, straight path, he stopped.

“You heard from Marco, right? The red dragon was targeting this dungeon before… Could there be a connection?”

“Excuse me, huh? Could you wait a minute?”

What did he say? He said something that he shouldn’t have let slip, something he mustn’t forget.

It’s not so much about the Red Dragon, but more about Ain… the royal family, and Sylvird’s concerns.

(Could it be that dungeon? This dungeon… that one dungeon…?)

The first prince, Lyle. Chris’s sister, Celestina.

Could this be the dungeon where the two of them went missing?

Actually, Cain brought it up earlier.

There’s another entrance to this dungeon in the center of the continent.

“Was it Instructor Kaizer? No, maybe it was Majolica-san.”

It was when the three of them were walking near Balt.

“It’s called the ‘Dungeon of the Hidden Gods.’ Scholars refer to it as the ‘gap between worlds.'”

Actually, it was Kaizer who said that, and it was a place where Ain wasn’t allowed.

That was where the two geniuses had gone.

Then Marco said, “The Corridor of Distortion and Fissures… at the center of the continent of Ishtar.”

It was pretty much a given that it would turn out this way.

“Can I really go back? At least, as soon as possible.”

He’s already been inside, but he wanted to get out as soon as he could.

This place was no good. Sylvird told him not to go to this dungeon.

“What are you talking about?” Cain gave him a weird look, so he quickly explained why he wanted to leave.

If you like my translations, please support me on Ko-Fi and subscribe my Patreon to read several chapters ahead!