The Way to Absolute Dungeon Administration – There Is No Reason To Meet With the Opponent! - Volume 02 Chapter 17: The Circumstances of the Fairy Tribe

Volume 02 Chapter 17: The Circumstances of the Fairy Tribe

Side: Mauve

Man, I’m just… exhausted.

In every sense of the word.

We’re walking toward the border town of Kiris right now.

“Hey, why not put at least the gear in the item box…?”

Yeah. With a rare and handy item box, why do we each have to lug our own stuff?

The Marauder’s one thing, but carrying all this by hand? Come on.

It’s only been about two hours since that absurd troll-slaying.

Time-wise, we left the dungeon around 9 a.m., so… let’s see, I open the call screen to check the clock.

4 p.m. Damn, we reached the border town in just seven hours? That’s just insane.

“Don’t be stupid. Item box users are rare, right? Someone like that would draw attention. Plus, what happens if I’m gone? All your stuff’s toast. Carry your own essentials.”

Ugh, Yuki’s spitting straight facts.

Tch, I can never win an argument with him.

“Hmm, seven hours at about 70 km/h makes roughly 490 km. Should’ve checked the odometer.”

Whoa, Yuki knows those distance units and can calculate that far?

What, is he some noble’s kid or a scholar?

“Hey, hey!! Why aren’t we riding that car (?!)? Nana’s still not fully healed!!”

Around Yuki, the Fairy Tribe girls we saved from the trolls are buzzing about. The lively one’s Kovil, and the injured one’s Nana, apparently.

I asked why they can fly without wings, and Kovil snarked, “Our bodies are mostly made of magic, you know. We’re different from humans in a lot of ways.”

So I asked why they didn’t just fly away, and she snapped, “Abandon my friend? No way!! You dumb old man!! That’s why we got slowed down!!”

And, well, that led to a shouting match with that little brat.

Gotta make sure Asrin and the others don’t turn out like that.

“I told you already. Riding that car into town would cause a scene. And with rare races like you, Kovil and Nana, we’d stand out even more. I’m carrying Nana, and you’re recovered enough to fly. We’re not here to save you. You’re just a side gig.”

“Grrr!! We’re of the Fairy Tribe!! Being a bit nicer won’t hurt you!! Don’t you want enchanted weapons!? Elixirs!?”

“I don’t know about elixirs, but is there anything faster, tougher, and capable of mowing down monsters like the car you were riding?”

“Nghhh…”

Yeah. If they weren’t of the Fairy Tribe, I’d ditch this noisy pest.

Kovil, biting at Yuki, looks like a 14-year-old girl shrunk to about 60 cm, with red hair in a side ponytail… decent figure, I guess. She’s got the curves, at least.

But, man, the size difference makes it hard to care.

Still, running into Fairy Tribe out here?

“So these are the race all nations say to leave alone…”

I mutter to myself, but Raya overhears and responds.

“Well, she’s her own thing. Not all of them are like that. The Fairy Tribe usually live deep in forests, building their own culture with their high magic. Most famous for their enchanted weapons and elixirs. Word is, their stuff’s the best.”

Curse chimes in too.

“Right. Some power-hungry types tried searching for, controlling, or abducting Fairy Tribe villages in the past, but they all got crushed. Afterward, those regions or nations lost access to enchanted weapons and elixirs, taking huge losses and nearly collapsing.

That’s why everyone says to leave Fairy Tribe alone. There are never any Fairy Tribe slaves. Helping them like this and earning their gratitude is the smart move for big benefits.”

Was that the story? I’m not that interested, honestly.

“Speaking of, elixirs are like all-purpose medicine, right, Kovil?”

“Yup!! Unless it’s really bad, they heal completely!!”

“You didn’t have any? If you did, you could’ve used one on Nana…”

“Idiot! If elixirs were that easy to mass-produce, we wouldn’t be escaping out here, and our village wouldn’t have been crushed by monsters!!”

“Oh? I heard the Fairy Tribe are magic experts. And you still lost?”

“I don’t know! Weird monsters came, and our magic didn’t work. I used up almost all my magic to barely escape, then grabbed Nana and ran. After that, you know the rest. Trolls ambushed us on the run, and we were fleeing blindly.”

Kovil explains to Yuki how they ended up here.

I see… But monsters immune to Fairy Tribe’s high-level magic?

“…Any monsters like that?”

“There are magic-resistant ones, but none that are immune or nullify it.”

Raya answers my question, and Curse joins in.

“Yuki’s dungeon might have custom monsters like that… but that’s impossible. These are monsters even the Fairy Tribe don’t know. So, should we say Yuki’s joke became reality?”

“What do you mean?”

“Yuki pinned the last incident on the Demon King to settle the conflict. But now, hearing them, monsters attacked their village. So, those unique monsters might be the Demon King’s minions targeting the village.”

Makes sense. That tracks.

“Hah, to the Demon King, disobedient Fairy Tribe are a thorn in his side. There’s reason to crush them. But it could just be a coincidence, right?”

“Yeah. If it’s a coincidence, great. But we should assume the worst.”

True. If the Demon King’s actually attacking, we can’t just sit around.

“Hey, why!! Save our village!! Just run them over with that car!! Easy, right!?”

Kovil pleads with Yuki.

“Idiot. Your village is in a forest, right? How do I get that huge car in there?”

“Ugh.”

“Plus, we’re in a hurry. We treated you and’ll get you safely to Kiris. If you need help, hire adventurers at the guild. Saving a Fairy Tribe village? Most folks want good relations, so unless it’s extreme, they’ll help practically for free.”

“No one’s stronger than you!! You know that!! That car’s crazy, but for a human, your magic capacity’s insane!! I can feel it’s several times ours!! Why are you in such a rush!? Tell me!!”

“Can’t say.”

“Grrr!!”

“Want a banana?”

“I’m not a monkey!!”

Nah, Yuki, I thought monkey too.

Man, he’s even got bananas? What a waste of item box space.

But Yuki’s handling Kovil like a champ. I couldn’t stand that shrill voice.

“…Haa. Lulua, what do we do?”

“Huh?”

Yuki suddenly turns to Lulua, who’s been quietly listening.

What’s up?

“Huh? Don’t ‘huh’ me. I’m handling field command as your little brother, but you’re the one making the final call, Nee-chan.”

“Me?”

“Yup, this trip’s for you. So, what’s it gonna be?”

“What!? She’s the leader!? I thought Yuki was in charge! Please, save our village!!”

“…I’ll be honest. I don’t have the leeway to help your village. If it’s nearly destroyed, this isn’t a rescue—it’s likely just confirming its destruction. Kovil-san, you said magic didn’t work and it was hopeless, right?”

“…Yeah.”

“We’re hurrying. We can’t tag along just to satisfy you. Hire adventurers in Kiris. Like Yuki-san said, plenty will join. If we help, it’s just us, since we can’t draw attention.”

“…You can’t tell me why, huh?”

“No, it’s not something to discuss lightly.”

“…sniff, everyone, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I couldn’t save you…”

When Lulua firmly refuses, Kovil stops flying, lands, and starts crying.

“Hmm, Nee-chan, hear me out for a sec?”

“What?”

“If we get Fairy Tribe support, won’t it make your goal easier? A race even nations won’t touch. Having them on your side could make you untouchable—offense, defense, politics, you name it.

This trip’s ahead of schedule. We’ve got some wiggle room for a detour. Even if their village is destroyed, we could grab items, or at least get Kovil as an ally. That’s a solid card to play, don’t you think?”

“But getting there faster…!!”

“Sure, faster’s better, but we can’t act right away when we arrive anyway. It’s a toss-up. Oh, just to be clear, this is just a suggestion. You make the final call, Lulua.”

“…Understood.”

Lulua’s expression is complicated.

Well, she probably wants to get to Litea ASAP.

But Yuki’s right. If it works out, we’d gain a strong hand.

“Kovil-san, here’s a proposal. As Yuki-san—my brother—said, if we help, any items from your village are ours. You, Kovil-san, come with us and help achieve our goal.

As I said, we don’t want attention, so it’s just us helping. If you don’t like it, do what you want in Kiris.”

“Fue?”

“Stop crying and answer. We’re short on time, as we said.”

Lulua glares, urging Kovil to respond.

“Got it! I’ll join your trip!! Please save our village!!”

Kovil wipes her tears, stands, and bows to Lulua.

“Alright, Kiris is on hold. I’ll pull out the Marauder, so we’ll ride in style for a bit.”

Yuki summons the Marauder and climbs in.

Hey, all that walking was for nothing!?

Haste makes waste, huh?

Hope this turns out well…