âSo that guy was not even a monster. It was just another creature.â
I guess thatâs the most natural way to think of it.
And by the way, Tagaya merged with it? Did it absorb him? But it was not a person. Absolutely.
âIf thatâs the case, it hurts that I couldnât get Tagaya to talk. But if I hadnât done that, I might have died.â
First of all, without a doubt, Tagaya was responsible for the monster stampede and the bossâs mutation this time.
I felt like he was suddenly yelling at me in a place where no one was around, but Iâm maybe right.
Then there was that [Wrath] and the skill he was shouting. Iâm curious about that one too.
Damn, it hurts too much that I couldnât secure Tagaya.
âAnyway, Iâve got the evidence of its defeat now. I donât think Iâll have the answers, and it would be best to have the association look into it.â
But I canât bring back the bodies of these wiped-out party members. By the time Iâm back on the ground and report it, the bodies will have been absorbed into the dungeon and will be equipment and stuff.
Thatâs the inconvenient thing about [Item Box].
At times like this, Iâd like to be able to retrieve peopleâs corpses and stuff.
But thanks to that, people couldnât put a corpse in the [Item Box] after killing someone and then have it go missing, so the world doesnât work well.
For the time being, I donât have that many black bags, and I canât bring them in with me, so Iâm sorry I couldnât take them home.
***
When I got out of the dungeon and returned to the ground, they already sealed the dungeonâs entrance. As if the monster stampede had already ended.
A research team from the association or a company would have come to investigate the impact of the dungeon stampede, but I didnât have time for that.
Iâve got to give the association some of the pieces of meat, fangs, and Tagaya inside my [Item Box].
âWell, letâs hear what you have to say.â
After making the members of the association scream. The two caught explorers cooperated with Tagaya wrapped in a rope in front of me.
The man who caught them with a rope was a man from the association who was still talking to them. Nearby is another woman from the association.
This rope is a specially made rope made by [Create Magic Tool], and itâs very sturdy.
It doesnât seem to be chains or handcuffs because of their appearance and explorersâ skills, but theyâre wrapped in a rope. Well, thatâs fine.
âLet me tell you something, lies donât work, okay? We already know that you were cooperating with Tagaya.â
âWe already know that Tagayaâs collaborators have been rewriting information in the Explorersâ Association database. You canât fool us now, can you?â
The two men dispatched by the association wear badges on their chests that look like a red snake pierced by a sword.
I donât recognize that badge, but since they say that lying doesnât work, are they taking a skill that I forget its name, but that detects lies?
âââŠâŠââ
âNo talking, huh? Then Iâm sorry, brother. Letâs talk to the other brother first, okay?â
The man sighed, turned to me, and said so when they didnât respond.
I nodded silently.
I have many questions I want to ask them, but for now, my priority is to get him to confirm the facts.
Then, as the man urged me on, I began to tell him what I knew about Tagayaâs collaborators.
Iâm here, but Rin and the other three are not here because theyâre students, got caught up in my situation, and are probably tired.
I wonder if I canât do it later?
At any rate, I re-explained the circumstances in the bossâs room and they trusted me because I hadnât lied to them.
It was also significant that everyone here believed my story since people already knew those two had cooperated with and were betrayed by Tagaya.
And just as I finish speaking, the man opens his mouth.
ââŠâŠ I see. So, did you find out why the boss was mutating?â
âNo. âŠâŠ nothing. Tagaya was also using something that looked like a skill called Wrath, but I donât even know what that was.â
âWrathâŠâŠ Wrath huh? I donât even know what that is. Iâve never heard of it.â
âI donât know either. But according to your story, he was shouting something before he used that skill, wasnât he?
âYes. If Iâm not mistaken, [Iâll give you everything, so give it to me.] Was it? â
At my words, everyone fell silent and thought on the spot.
People in the association have been involved with the dungeon for much longer than I had. Even they didnât know about it. There was no way I could know it.
Thatâs the end of my story.
Thereâs nothing more I can do, and Iâm done sooner than I thought Iâd be.
Now all I have to do is ask what happened to those two.
âWell, âŠâŠ what happens to them now?â
âHmmmâŠâŠâŠ I guess so. For now. Theyâre still in custody, but the police will probably be here soon. Then weâll hand them over.â
âI see. Good.â
If they catch those guys, theyâll probably find out about the other crimes theyâve been doing.
And from the looks of it, they didnât do that only to me.
Maybe the high death rate Yua mentioned has something to do with it. No, itâs not me who thinks about it.
If those people go and ask them, theyâll know right away.
And this is where I said goodbye to the people from the association. Iâm sure the association staff is busy.
They started rushing around after they finished listening to me.
Well, I have to talk to Rin and the others later and apologize for getting them involved.
Well, for now, I think Iâll take a good rest today.
Thinking like that, I was heading home.
***
âAn?â
âOh? Whatâs wrong? ?â
âThe connection to the terminal got disconnected. Damn it! Well, thatâs okay. Iâm sure youâll find it again soon.â
âOh, how I envy you. Youâre so lucky you can find the device so easily. I canât find mine at all.â
The woman said and smiled at the man in front of her.
The man snickered at the womanâs smile, opened the door, and walked out.
âIâm jealous. Ahhh. I want my terminal as soon as possible.â