My Room Has Become a Dungeon's Rest Area (LN)

There are people living on the first floor of the dungeon!

We climbed up from the forested second floor of the dungeon to the first floor.

「Wow. I’ve heard about it, but……」

Although the floor and walls were built out of stone blocks, making the level look like underground ruins, we seemed to have stepped straight into the red light district.

I say ‘red light district’ because the flashing light of the neon signs was exactly the same as on Earth.

They’re probably illuminated by magic, or something.

「This area is controlled by the Merchants’ Guild, so it’s pretty safe」Ria informed me.

「Huh, I see.」

Since Ria hated the underground guilds, I wasn’t expecting her to know which districts were controlled by which guild, but I figured that was the kind of knowledge you couldn’t help picking up if you went adventuring in the Dungeon of Yomi.

「Over there – is that…?」

They were elves, like Deet.

Those elf girls are standing in front of a bar and beckoning us over!

「Welcome, sir! Do come in!」

Without thinking, I began to wander in the elves’ direction.

「No, Master!」

Shizuku, whom I was wearing as my armour, brought me back to myself. In a small voice, she told me, 「Lady Ria and Miss Deet are glaring at you from behind.」

Huh? Stealthily, I looked behind me. Ulp…… 

「U-um, it’s just the first time I’ve seen elves, that’s all. They must be friends of yours, right, Deet?」

「Elves like them are ten a penny. I’m a high elf! And I don’t associate with people who work in places like this!」

I seemed to have annoyed her. She probably won’t buy me that iron sword now.

But, thanks to Shizuku, I seemed to have avoided the worst outcome.

「Thanks for letting me know, Shizuku. I’ll give you pats later, okay?」

「Yay! I’m so happy, Master!」

According to Deet, people who were not satisfied by the pleasure quarters of the surface visited the underground pleasure quarters.

Pleasures that were forbidden on the surface were allowed here.

As we walked through the red light district, we passed row upon row of shops.

「Just what I’d expect from an area controlled by the Merchants’ Guild.」

「There are shops on Thieves’ Guild turf and in the district controlled by the Bodyguards’ guild, too, but not as many as there are here」Ria told me.

「I see.」

Very soon, we came upon a shop selling weapons.

It was easy to tell what it was; it had a sign with a picture of crossed swords on it.

「You’re going to buy me an iron sword, right?」

「A cheap one.」

Deet seemed to have remembered her promise.

We entered the shop. There were iron swords lined up on the shelves. Hmm, which one shall I pick?

Immediately, Deet pointed at one.

「This one! It looks great, doesn’t it? Pick this one!」

It certainly looked pretty cool, and sharp, too. It really looks like an adventurer’s sword.

I picked it up.

「Got a good heft to it, too. Mmm. It seems like an excellent sword……」

Deet snatched the sword from me.

「Hey, mister! How much for this sword?」

Deet and the owner, a corpulent man with a southern European complexion and a short moustache, haggled over the price.

I would have liked more time to choose, but I figured this was what happened when a bargain turned up.

「Come again!」

We left the moustachioed man’s weaponry shop.

As we headed for the surface, Deet handed me the sword she’d bought with an air of great satisfaction.

「Hee hee hee. It was already at half the market price, and I got him to knock another half off. And the leather scabbard was free.」

「Huh?」

You’re telling me he sold this excellent sword for a half of a half of its original price?

When I had held it before and noticed its weight and its sharpness, I had been convinced that it was a good sword, but I was rapidly losing faith in that judgement.

Ria reached out towards me.

「Could I see the sword for a moment?」

Ria’s a knight, so she must know a lot about swords.

She drew the sword all the way out of its scabbard and held the blade in front of her eyes.

「S-so? It’s a bargain, right?」

「……」

She looked at the sword with a serious expression. Then she sighed.

「It’s an iron bar.」

「Huh?」

「Look at this.」

As a layman, I didn’t know what she meant by ‘this’, but I soon understood.

「There’s no edge?」

The cutting edge of a sword is usually made as thin as paper, to increase its sharpness. 

But this ‘sword’ had an edge that was thicker than a five-yen coin.

「It’s probably a crude sword that was overused until it lost its edge. They just polished the surface to make it look shiny.」

「But it feels heavy, like a proper sword.」

「Good swords are heavier, but they’re properly balanced, so they feel light. You won’t be able to kill anything with this.」

She handed me the mithril sword.

「I-It feels so light! But I can tell that it’s actually heavier than the one we bought.」

「Right?」

I was shocked, but Deet still seemed satisfied. I figured she was the type to be happy with a cheap purchase.

「The Merchants’ Guild is the worst!」

「Yeah……」

There was definitely a personal grudge involved in what I’d said, but Ria agreed with me.

Well, probably better for me not to have a lethal weapon.

An iron bar should give me enough power. But, all the same, the pickaxe tucked into my belt is probably better.

「By the way, Ria, there are ‘rooms’ outside the fifth level, right?」

‘Room’ was slang for a space with a door which could be opened and shut from the inside to stop monsters from entering.

We had come up with a hypothesis that the rooms on other levels might also be connected to my apartment.

「There are certainly some on the first floor.」

「There are?」

「But the rooms on the first floor are controlled by the three underground guilds.」

「I see. Makes sense.」

The underground guilds had this level under their thumb; there was no way they’d ignore such useful places.

Although there were hardly any monsters on the first floor, there was still value in having safe storehouses and places to rest.

「But I really want to investigate the rooms on the first floor.」

「Why?」

「We won’t be able to get to the surface straight away, will we?」

Perhaps one of the guilds will let us use one.

「In any case, Deet seems to be leading us in a straight line to the surface, rather than checking for rooms. I think that’s the right approach.」

「However snug our sleeping bags might be, I really want to stay in an inn on the surface.」

「Yeah.」

Deet was taking a lot into consideration.

Besides, we keep forgetting about it, but we really need to get someone to take down that order to deal with Enami as quickly as we can.

As we walked on, following Deet’s directions, we seemed to be coming to the edge of the district full of shops.

But, right at the end of the district, there was a particularly large shop. It was built of brick and had iron bars on the windows.

「What’s this shop?」

「A shop which will buy anything off you.」

The largest shop belonging to the Merchant’s Guild seemed to be a place that would buy literally anything, from goods originating on the surface to things that had been dug up in the dungeon.

People were lining up, each carrying their own goods.

I bet they’re queueing to have their items bought at a higher price than they’re worth. There was even a shop assistant managing the line.

「They’re even keener than people at Comiket.」

「What’s that?」

「Oh, nothing. Huh? What’s going on over there?」

「I guess we’ve run into something unpleasant.」

A rough-looking guy was standing in the very last row with a little boy who had a collar around his neck.

「That’s one of the guys from the Bodyguards’ Guild.」

「Huh? Not him, the kid. Is the guy who’s with him from the Bodyguards’ Guild?」

「See the sword and shield tattooed on his shoulder?」

On his shoulder, which was exposed by his tank top, there was indeed a tattoo of a sword and shield.

「If someone has that symbol on their body or their clothes, it means they’re from the Bodyguard’s Guild. Don’t get into a fight with them under any circumstances. Got it?」

「Okay. But that kid’s crying.」

「Never mind that!」

Deet ignored him, and tried to move forward.

But Ria stepped towards the guy from the Bodyguard’s Guild.

Reluctantly, Deet and I followed her.