[The Impeccable Adventure of the Reluctant Dungeon] - Book 4 - Epilogue

Ten years after the banishment of the Demon Lord and the destruction of Rosewind Castle

 

The air was filled with salty water brought up the evening breeze. Riding along the meticulously paved coastal road, Liandra made her way towards the inner ring of houses within the city. Over a year had passed since she had been promoted to hero guild captain, yet she still couldn’t get used to it. One would think that the rank would come with its own set of dangers and difficult missions; in truth, the only thing that had changed was the amount of politics and event invitations, which the woman hated to the core.

“Welcome back, heroine Liandra!” A group of children waved as she passed by. Like anyone their age, the children were engaging in reckless behavior, poking a ten-foot hermit crab as they pretended to be adventurers.

Liandra gave them a wave. Even with all the difficulties work presented, it was worth it seeing such a sight.

Making her way through the small windy streets, the woman stopped at an unassuming four-story mansion several thousand feet from the city’s castle. Dismounting, she took a few steps towards the entrance. Before she could reach it, however, the door swung open.

“Mommy! Mommy!” A boy of seven charged out. He was slightly tall for his age, lanky, with hazel hair, and far more bruises than the last time Liandra saw him. “Did you kill a monster?”

Behind him the door creaked shut.

“Yes, Max.” The woman bent down to greet him. “It’s all part of the job.”

“Can I see? Can I see?” Max asked eagerly.

“I didn’t bring it with me,” the heroine said, instantly covering the boy’s face in disappointment. As far as he was concerned, there was no point in killing a vile monster unless there was a trophy to bring home. “Has your grandfather been telling you tales again?”

There was a single note of harshness in the woman’s voice. The child, though, immediately picked up on it and completely transformed his behavior.

“Just a bit,” he said in a semi-apologetic fashion. “While we were training.”

“Training,” Liandra repeated, the disappointment in her voice growing. “I better have a word with him. Where’s your sister?”

“She’s off griffin riding with Konstanza,” the boy said with brotherly disdain. “She keeps going on and on about how she wants to become the second Lady Amelia.”

“Don’t speak like that.” The heroine hushed him. “Amelia is a very close friend. And you should spend more time playing with children your age.”

“But it’s boring! None of them go beyond the second wall.”

Internally, Liandra sighed with a mixture of pride and concern. That was the issue with being born gifted. The boy thought everything was child’s play, never once pausing to examine his reckless behavior. There was his grandfather to blame, but more than anything he was too similar to his father.

“I think I should have a word with your father as well…” Liandra said in what could be viewed as a threat.

“I doubt it would do any good,” an elegant woman appeared out of thin air, a step away. “The baron has a way of ignoring everything he wishes to ignore.” She adjusted her glasses, giving the mansion a stern glance.

“Spok,” Liandra smiled. “Has he been building again?”

“Not where it could be seen,” the duchess replied. “Worst of all, the nobles are encouraging him. Everyone’s obsessed with Switches’ new idea of underwater ships. I don’t see the appeal, but…” Spok shrugged.

“Let him have his fun, I suppose. He found this place, after all.”

The heroine looked around.

The territory of the independent Duchy of Rosewind stretched across some of the best coastal land on the continent. The only reason it hadn’t been settled centuries ago was the overabundant presence of monsters that filled the area. All that had come to a chance ten years ago, when the most modern settlement had popped out of nowhere to claim the land.

Officially, the city was founded in tribute to the Ever-changing City of Rosewind. Some even claimed that part of the original inhabitants could be found there. The rumors were met with the same skepticism surrounding the disappearance of the city. In all the history tomes, it was clearly stated that the old city had been destroyed as a result of a fierce battle between demons and dungeons during the days of the last Demon Lord. The hero guild had been brought in to pacify and purify the region, which they had done, leaving ruins of the former wonder behind.

Some envious merchants would whisper that the coastal city wasn’t much, just a pale imitation of the great city, attempting to steal its glory for itself. The local nobles didn’t seem to care much, too busy to oversee hundreds of adventurer guilds and twice that many airships that came and went on a weekly basis.

“That’s not to say I don’t think you should talk to him,” Spok added. “Even a slight chance is better than none at all.”

“It definitely is,” Liandra agreed. “Besides, there’s another matter I wish to discuss with him.”

The door of the building opened on its own, letting the woman enter. Meanwhile, several miles away, a plainly dressed man was sitting on a cliff by the sea, spending his time casually fishing. He had been there for the last six hours and already had caught more than an entire fishing fleet could manage in that time. None of the fish were harmed, of course, merely tossed into a pooled area nearby to serve as an indication of his talent.

As the man prepped his bait, a man in grey clothes approached. He had been making his way towards the fisher for over twenty minutes, never once getting a reaction.

“You’re incredibly good in activities that waste time,” the man said, looking at the other’s catch.

“Legendary fishing,” the fisher replied. “I can catch anything with my eyes closed.” He cast the rod, watching the baited hook enter the sea several hundred feet away with a satisfying splash.

“Doesn’t that make it too easy?”

“That’s the entire point,” the fisherman grumbled. “What do you want, Ninth?”

“The council has come to a decision,” the other said. “They were unwilling to let you join. Your trait is viewed as too disturbing and unnatural.”

“I guess I expected that.” If anything, the fisherman was surprised that it had taken them ten years to come to this conclusion.

“You’re to become an honorary member instead,” Ninth continued.

That was an interesting compromise. Effectively, it meant that the council wouldn’t try to destroy Theo as long as he didn’t have any interactions with them. A rather good deal, as far as he was concerned.

“Lucky me,” Theo’s avatar replied, hardly caring.

“Not particularly. The moment it was discovered you were a Grand Bard, no one was willing to take any action.”

That was true. The last thing a dungeon wanted to risk was having the soul of a magic bard within it. According to Spok, there had been cases of dungeons humming tunes they disliked for centuries up to the point that some of them had willingly gone through a rebirth just to get the music out of their consciousness.

“How are things…” Ninth paused. “Home?” he asked. Insect relations still seemed strange, even if lately he had dedicated years studying them.

“Same old. The hero guild is trying to convince me to accept some stupid title again,” the avatar sighed. “Cecil, of course, is all for it. Think of the city, my friend,” Theo said in his pest Duke Rosewind impersonation. “Liandra keeps on searching for mana gems.”

“Mana gems? Why? You’re already a rank nine.”

“How should I know?” Theo lied.

The truth was that he knew perfectly well. Due to the intense amount of magical energy they contained, mana gems had a secondary function: given the correct circumstances, a willing partner, and with the assistance of a deity—which Peris was all too glad to provide—they had the ability to temporarily grand the dungeon’s avatar the ability to produce children.

The two remaining mana gems from Theo’s original hero quest reward had gone into that, allowing Liandra to bear him a daughter and a son. Of course, that didn’t seem enough, and now the heroine was searching for one more gem for a third.

“I’d help if I could,” Ninth suggested. “There haven’t been many since the war with the Demon Lord, but…” he stopped seeing the avatar’s warning glare. “Just a thought,” he quickly added. “Now that I’ve informed you of the council’s decision, I’ll be going.”

“Good. Great.” The avatar focused back on his fishing.

“Just to let you know I’ll be staying at the Garden Inn,” Ninth said. “There’s a lot in your new city I’d like to evaluate.”

“Yeah, yeah. Just don’t—”

Abruptly, everything vanished. Theo suddenly found himself in a space of endless whiteness. His main body, the sea, the land, even the sky itself were completely gone. All that remained was his avatar and the rock he was sitting on.

“Greetings, hero,” a radiant female voice said.

Theo looked up. The glowing figure of pure light descended to his level. In almost every aspect, this was the most beautiful creature he had laid eyes upon. However, the magic effects surrounding her could have done with a bit more work.

“I’m here to congratulate you on your accomplishments,” the figure said.

“Did I die again?” Theo asked the first thing that came to mind.

“Die?” The being seemed confused. “No, you’re very much alive. I just—”

“You’re the goddess that brought me to this world,” Theo recognized her.

Fourteen years had passed since then, but they felt like an eternity and a half. There were times when he had desperately tried to speak with her and demand that he be put somewhere quiet to restart his existence as a dungeon. Naturally, not once had it happened before, which made him question why it was happening now.

“Yes, that is one of my tasks,” the deity smiled.

“I thought you didn’t meddle with mortals.”

“Exceptions are made for heroes that banish a Demon Lord.”

That sounded rather nice. However, Theo had spent his entire existence learning the hard way when he was being sold a line. There was no way that the goddess had brought him there, wherever it was, just to thank him.

“I won’t put any further burdens on you,” the deity said, sensing his suspicions.

“Oh?” Theo asked, the single syllable drenched with doubt.

“I’m just curious why you refuse to accept your hero title.”

“I’m no hero. Let Cmyk do it.” Not that the skeletal minion hadn’t claimed as much glory as possible for Theo’s actions. “You made me a dungeon, remember?”

“You have the trait. That makes you a hero and a dungeon.

“Maybe, but I don’t have you to thank for…” Theo’s words trailed off.

Could it be? It was too Machiavellian to be true, but was it theoretically possible? During the first few years of his dungeon existence, half of the time he felt that the universe had a grudge against him. Getting involved in all the noble quests as he did was the peak of bad luck. At the same time, he was exceedingly fortunate in other ways: the first dungeon to have a heroic avatar, possibly the only dungeon to incorporate a divine temple, his extraordinary knack for developing ultra skills. At the time he thought that the demonic rabbit parasite and the ghost of Max were to blame, but what if it had been someone completely different?

“You did all this,” he said. “Didn’t you?”

“I did what?”

“The first thing you offered after my previous death was to become a hero. And, don’t you know it, by some coincidence, I did. Also, it was quite convenient that I would emerge in the exact spot in the world that had a demonic minion.”

“You chose the spot,” the goddess calmly replied. “The place where you’d be disturbed the least.”

And the perfect place to banish a demon minion, Theo thought.

“And a legendary hero just happened to find me, then slip and die, granting me an absurd amount of core points?”

“He was chasing the demon, as you know. Besides, it was you who attracted attention to yourself by your unusual use of demon magic, against the advice of your spirit guide, if I remember.”

Theo narrowed his eyes. There was no way she’d admit anything. All the “proof” was just a bunch of coincidences that had logical alternative explanations. Even so, in his heart he knew that she was the one behind it. All of a sudden, he felt terribly used.

“Let me ask you one thing.” The goddess floated closer. “Coincidences aside, was it you who responded to the challenges the world threw at you?”

“Yes, but—”

“Back in your old life, if you had paid a bit more attention and stopped before falling in the elevator shaft, would you say that someone saved you?”

Theo didn’t have an answer. His instinct was to say yes, but when he thought about it a bit more, he wasn’t sure. A lot of factors had gone into causing him to plunge to his death, but ultimately it was his own actions that had brought to his demise.

“Many are born with the hero trait. Some need to work on it to appear, others have it developed since birth. How many of them survived the fight against the Demon Lord?”

Yet again, Theo remained silent.

“You could have used the core points you acquired from Hero Maximillian’s death to budy yourself deep underground and build up your defenses.”

“I chose to flee.”

“You did. Just as you could have fled at the start of your hero quest.”

“If you haven’t watched, I was trying to get rid of my avatar ever since—”

“Not your avatar,” the goddess interrupted. “You yourself. It would have been easy to convert all your structures to magic and find another quiet spot in the world to start over from. Why didn’t you?”

“I…” Theo gritted his teeth. “I don’t know. I just didn’t feel like it.”

“You didn’t because you made a decision. It was that decision that made you worthy of your trait, and it’s that decision that has earned you the title you stubbornly refuse to accept.”

Silence filled the space. Never before had Theo believed that a goddess could take the role of his elementary school teacher, but it had happened. The worst part of it was that she wasn’t lying. All the excuses that he had come up with to delay his inevitable escape had been beyond forced. Anyone could see that, and yet he didn’t feel like a hero, just a person dragged into things who made the decisions he did. Now he had one more decision to make: it was time to stop pretending to himself.

“I’ll accept the title,” he said, not a drop of reluctance in his voice. “But no way I’ll be going on more adventures!”

“That’s your decision to make.” The goddess replied in her radiance.

Theo narrowed his eyes even more.

“Okay, if that’s all…”

“Is there nothing you want to ask me? You banished a Demon Lord. You have earned yourself a question. And, not that I want to talk ill of Peris, but she’s a bit… unfocused by nature.”

Unfocused. Theo tried not to laugh. That was an understatement.

“Alright, answer me this.” Theo looked the goddess in the eyes. Despite the brightness emanating from here, he didn’t feel hurt or blinded. “Now that it’s all over, will I finally get some rest?”

“A hero’s rest,” the goddess mused. “The calm that comes after so many accomplishments you didn’t expect. Yes, you’ll have the best rest, but only if you want to.”

< Beginning | | Book 2 | | Book 3 | | Previously |