IDRNG 03

Chapter 3

I shook my head, silently offering a small prayer for Linus’s rough luck.

“It’s not like that.”

If this really were the world of Secret Meeting in the Butterfly Garden, then dungeons or gates shouldn’t exist.

Even if I generously assumed that dungeons had begun appearing in this world too, it still couldn’t be this one.

This was the dungeon I knew from the other world.

The one I had first participated in after awakening.

I remembered it clearly because it was the first dungeon I ever cleared.

A D-rank dungeon—Lanaire’s Garden.

It didn’t have high-ranking monsters, but it was notoriously tricky for a low-rank dungeon.

And right now, I was the only awakened person here… with an innocent civilian who looked like honey caught up in this mess.

The only relief in this worst-case situation was the “99%” displayed next to Lanaire’s Garden D.

If the clearance rate was already 99%, that meant only one monster remained—the dungeon boss.

“…Huh?”

While I was staring at the status window, trying to remember where I had defeated Lanaire last time, the number suddenly changed from 99 to 100.

[Status]
Lanaire’s Garden D — 100%

The dungeon will disappear in 23 hours and 59 minutes

□□■■□■□ □■

It meant the dungeon boss was dead and the clear was complete.

I had no idea what had just happened, but honestly, I didn’t even want to know.

What mattered was that I didn’t have to fight monsters in front of Linus anymore.

Fortunately, my “frail noble lady who miraculously recovered from ten years of catatonia” concept could still be maintained.

So now all I had to do was get out of this cursed dungeon, right?

But what were those broken symbols? An error?

I had never heard of a status window error before.

I squinted and stared at it, but I still couldn’t make sense of anything.

If anything, the error wasn’t in the status window—it was in my life.

I waved my hand to dismiss the window and said to Linus as calmly as possible.

“Let’s look for an exit.”

“Shall we?”

Linus nodded without suspicion and held out his hand.

Even in a situation where we had been sucked into an unknown place, he remained a man of gentle manners.

As I took his escort and started walking, he looked around and spoke.

“I think this is a maze garden. It may take some time to find the exit.”

He was right. Lanaire’s Garden was a hedge maze made of densely packed trees.

If not for the blood-red sky, it could easily have been mistaken for a noble estate garden.

Honestly, it would be faster to just break the trees and carve a path through, but we had enough time for now, so I decided to take it slow and explore.

More than anything, I didn’t want to look like I knew anything about this place in front of Linus.

“I heard that in maze gardens, you should always keep going in one direction.”

I said this, pretending to know nothing.

Linus looked impressed.

“Is that so? I’ve only heard of such places, this is my first time in one. If I were alone, I would have been completely lost. I’m glad I’m here with you, Irbet.”

“I’m also very glad I’m here with you, Linus.”

At my polite return, Linus stopped walking and widened his eyes.

As I looked at him, thinking his red eyes were like gemstones, he softened his expression and smiled brightly.

“To be able to walk in a garden with such a beautiful lady… I’m quite lucky.”

Should I call him optimistic? Or just naturally cheerful?

I couldn’t exactly tell him, Actually, we’re inside a dungeon and you’re horribly unlucky, so I just awkwardly smiled back.

After walking for a while with Linus, we arrived at a place where the trees were heavily destroyed and scorched.

It looked like a battle had taken place; the ground was deeply sunken.

There, the dungeon boss Lanaire lay face-down in a crater.

Habit is terrifying.

The moment I saw the monster’s corpse, my body moved on instinct.

Without thinking, I shoved my hand into the half-broken head of Lanaire and started rummaging.

“Oh, still here.”

I pulled out the monster core—a fairly large blue crystal.

The appearance of dungeons, once thought to be a harbinger of the world’s destruction, had changed humanity’s future in many ways.

The cores extracted from certain monsters became the alternative energy source humanity had long desired.

It was only natural that dungeon clearing became a major national industry.

Because of that, raid teams were constantly harassed by dungeon management officials over core collection.

So the equation “monster corpse = core extraction” had become permanently ingrained in me.

…Someone please explain this to him in my place.

I was crouching in front of a monster corpse, Linus was staring at me in shock, and I was holding a glowing core in my hand.

“Ah, Irbet…?”

Linus looked at me with an expression I couldn’t quite describe, and silence fell between us.

As I fumbled for words, ready to cry, he pulled something from his coat and held it out to me.

A handkerchief.

“I… this is, well…”

I tried to explain but couldn’t even take the handkerchief.

To Linus, who didn’t know what a monster core was, I probably looked like a crazy woman digging inside a dead monster’s head.

And yet, kind-hearted Linus gently wiped my hand himself.

Then he carefully cleaned the monster core and placed it back into my hand.

“It seems like something valuable.”

“No, that’s not it… I mean, this is…”

I opened my mouth again, but once more, I had nothing to say.

Unless I started with Actually, I used to be a dungeon raider and I got reincarnated into this body, I couldn’t explain anything.

And even if I told the truth, would Linus even believe me?

He would probably think I was completely insane.

In reincarnation romance novels, people always hide their identities and live just fine… so why was my life like this?

At this point, I almost felt like fighting monsters in a dungeon would be easier.

While I was hesitating and lowering my head, a large hand suddenly appeared in front of me.

A gentle voice followed.

“I think the exit is over there.”

Since we couldn’t just sit here forever, I took Linus’s hand and stood up.

And in the direction he pointed, a gate emitting dark red light shimmered in the distance.

Walking side by side while holding his hand, I kept sneaking glances at him.

Linus, whose profile was almost dazzling, walked silently.

Maybe he was pretending not to notice, or maybe he was too shocked to speak to me.

What if he went back and spread rumors that I was a woman who digs around monster heads like a lunatic?

If only he would just ask, Are you insane? I could at least try to defend myself… but his silence was driving me crazy.

Lost in anxious thoughts, we eventually reached the gate.

I couldn’t return to the Butterfly Garden where all the nobles of Arendel were gathered.

When in doubt, break through head-on.

That was the only life lesson I had learned after eight years as a dungeon slave.

I swallowed dryly and grabbed Linus’s sleeve.

“Linus… um.”

“Yes, Irbet.”

“Could you… keep what just happened a secret?”

“If that is what you wish, I will do so.”

Linus smiled and answered smoothly.

Just as I was about to breathe a sigh of relief and bow in gratitude, he continued.

“However, I have a request.”

“A request…?”

I tensed up, not knowing what he might ask, staring at his lips.

Linus paused for a moment, teasing me, then smiled shyly like a boy.

“Would you go on a walk with me again next time?”

I was momentarily speechless at the unexpected request, but it wasn’t even something I needed to think about.

“Yes! I will! I love walks!”

I nodded vigorously and shouted.

As long as it wasn’t a dungeon walk, I could go on five walks a day.

At this moment, no dog in the world loved walking more than I did.