An Old Man Restaurant Owner Is Unparalleled by Relying on His Old Tricks. It Turns Out, He’s the Legendary Dungeon Conqueror. - 78

Chapter 78: An Excellent Way to Avoid Sexual Harassment Accusation

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“Haah!”

Elsa swung her holy sword, “Lumiere du Verite,” and cleaved through the deep level monsters that surrounded her. This weapon, whose name meant ‘the light of truth’ in French, had the extraordinary ability to release a blinding flash of equal power in all directions with each strike. It was an ultra rare item from dungeon drop, an exclusive weapon that only she could wield. 

“Humph. Swarm of monsters of this level is nothing to me. I, the legendary Jeanne d’Arc of the Dungeon Era, can handle them with ease.”

Though she had been forcibly teleported to a different area from the other rescue team members and suddenly attacked by a massive horde of monsters, Elsa was able to wipe all the monsters easily alone. 

“…But still, what’s with that man…”

That being said, even for someone as outstanding as her, the existence of Nishida, the so-called Kitchen Samurai from the East, was something beyond her comprehension. 

“Who would’ve thought such an extraordinary explorer could exist in an undeveloped country far in the east like this…”

Although Nishida’s videos had begun drawing attention overseas, but not many people recognize his ability yet. Especially in France. Nishida was only known to a handful of niche dungeon enthusiasts. If not for Nana, Elsa herself would’ve never bothered watching the videos of an explorer from an underdeveloped country like this. 

“The recent sexual assault trap ended in a failure too… How am I supposed to bring that man down now…”

Elsa was certain that Nana was deeply infatuated with that man. Through this exploration. Elsa became aware of how deep those feelings were. She realized her plan to bring Nana back to France wouldn’t be that easy. She was beginning to feel she wouldn’t succeed. But then…

“AAAAAHHH!! SO-SOMEONE!! PLEASE HELP ME!!”

From a short distance away, Elsa could hear a desperate cry from someone. At the same time, a series of deafening explosions echoed through the air. 

“What?”

Turning her gaze toward the source of the noise, Elsa saw crystal towers topping one after another, followed by a group of five explorers running toward her. It was the members of Mercys. They seemed to be running from something. 

BOOOOMMM!!

Immediately afterward, the crystals behind them exploded. Shards embedded toward the ground and emerging from the destruction was a monster around five meters tall.

“…! Do-Don’t tell me… That monster is the dungeon boss?!”

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Choruses of roar echoed from afar. Upon listening to it carefully, I could hear the sound of human screams mixed in them as well. 

“It’s coming from over there… Sorry, but we need to hurry. I will need to carry you with me.”

“Huh? Hyaaa-?!”

I quickly lifted Iijima-san with one palm.

〈Here we go. Nishida’s signature, Kienzan Carry. LOL〉

〈It’s been a while since I last seen it. Since Miku Kanamoto if I remember correctly. 〉

〈What an excellent method to carry someone to avoid sexual harassment accusation. Take notes, everyone. Use this method if you’re ever in a pinch.〉

〈Like anyone can actually carry someone with only their palm. LOL〉

“….Umm… Could you please carry me in a slightly less awkward way? I mean, I understand this is an emergency, but still…”

〈She looks so disappointed. LOL〉

〈But if Nishida were to carry her in a princess-carry, he might get another sexual harassment accusation again, right?〉

〈Right. That’s why, Kienzan Carry is the only option for Nishida.〉

〈Both options are so extreme. Why there’s no middle ground? LOL〉

I dashed through the crystalline path for a while and eventually, a figure of a big monster appeared ahead of us. It was a monster that looked similar to a centaur. 

“…I knew it. It’s really that guy.”

“A lion head with the body of a centaur… N-No way…! That monster is…!”

“Yeah. There’s no doubt about it. That’s the dungeon boss, King Leotaurus.”

〈The boss monster!?〉

〈Seriously?! This is dangerous then!〉

〈That thing looks insanely strong…〉

It had been decades since I last encountered the dungeon boss. The last time I went into this dungeon was when I was still a university student, but still, the dungeon boss’ imposing figure was impossible to forget. Under normal circumstances, this monster should be waiting for a brave explorer to challenge it on the 45th floor of the Shinjuku Kabukicho Dungeon. 

“Wh-Why is the boss monster on the 44th floor?!”

“My guess is that even the boss monster is being manipulated too.”

“Even the boss?! Is that even possible?!”

“I don’t know. But it seems the leader of our enemy is more formidable than we thought.”

I apologized for not handling her in a more gentlemanly way before I quickly hurled Iijima-san aside.

〈So cruel. LOL〉

〈Can’t be helped. Those five explorers are about to get wrecked.〉

〈The dungeon boss of the 45th floor is way too difficult for a party full of A-rank explorers to handle.〉

〈Wait, look closely. That beautiful foreigner is there too.〉

“Nishida-san?! Tha-Thank goodness…!!”

Upon noticing us, Shinnosuke Ichinose exclaimed in relief. Meanwhile, Elsa, who had been holding King Leotaurus at bay, was sent flying. It seemed she had been fighting the dungeon boss alongside the members of Mercys. 

“AAAARGHHH?! Ugh…”

After rolling across the ground several times, Elsa struggled to get up. However, the severe injuries on her body made it nearly impossible for her to get on her feet. Meanwhile, King Leotaurus closed in on her. The dungeon boss raised its massive club, ready to strike Elsa down. 

BAAAAM!!

I barely managed to block the attack. I crossed both of my kitchen knives to block the massive club. 

“He’s able to block King Leotaurus’ club with those small kitchen knives?! Even our best tank can barely withstand a blow from King Leotaurus…”

The ground team said in shock.

〈As expected of Nishida.〉

〈Perfect timing.〉

〈Had he been even a second later, that girl would’ve been dead.〉

〈Nishida is never late. He’s the protagonist after all.〉

〈He’s a bit too old to be a protagonist though.〉

〈Nah. Middle-aged man protagonists are trending nowadays.〉

“Are you alright?”

“O-Of course I am! In fact, I don’t even need your help in the first place!”

I asked her and Elsa glared and shouted angrily at me. 

No, no. It was pretty obvious she would’ve died if I hadn’t stepped in.

“…But still… What an amazing strength. As expected of King Leotaurus.”

Despite being relatively small for a dungeon boss, King Leotaurus’ raw power far exceeded the typical dungeon boss. Blocking this one attack from King Leotaurus was enough to make every muscle in my body scream in protest. 

“UWOOOOOOOHHHH!!”

I summoned every last bit of strength in my body and swung my knives upward, barely deflecting the massive club away. 

〈Did he just deflect that club with brute force?!〉

〈Nishida is amazinggg!〉

〈How does he overpower a club with just two flimsy knives!?〉

“……!!?”

Seemingly shocked from having its powerful club being overpowered by me, King Leotaurus looked visibly flustered for a moment. Seizing this opportunity, I lunged forward to slash its torse with my knives. However, the golden lion was quick to recover. King Leotaurus swung its club at me again. 

WHOOOSHH!!

I quickly jumped back to dodge it. Taking too many hits straight on would cause a strain on my body. I evaded the club and seized every fleeting opening to slash King Leotaurus with my knives. After repeating this pattern for several times…

“OOOOOOOOOHHHH!!”

The dungeon boss let out a furious roar, as if it was enraged. 

“…So the boss is finally going to fight me seriously.”

The dungeon boss of the Shinjuku Kabukicho Dungeon entered its serious mode once it sustained a certain amount of damage. Basically, everything until now was just a warm-up for King Leotaurus. This was where the real boss fight actually started.

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