Elli and I stand at the heart of the dungeon known as the [Rat Cave]. We were just about to destroy the dungeon core, or rather, I was. I didn't actually intend to destroy it; I’m merely bluffing, but hopefully, the dungeon master will actually show up! As I raise my sword toward the dungeon core, preparing to swing down, Elli looks at me with worried eyes. As soon as my arm starts to move, I hear a voice all around us.

“Wait, please don't destroy my core!”

Suddenly a bright light appears, and before us, a mouse beastkin materializes out of nothing. The mouse person is about the size of a teenager. He wears relatively simple clothing, and he has tears in his eyes. He quickly prostrates himself before us and begs us to spare him. His voice is shaky as he begs us.

“Please, if the core is destroyed, I will be too. This is my home.”

Elli doesn't seem to know what’s going on, but I reply to the dungeon master.

“You can lift your head.”

I have a seat on the ground. Elli looks at me funny. She has no clue what is happening. This is outside of her territory; I should leave her out of this.

“Elli, I will take this conversation from here. It may be for the best you don't get involved in this.”

I flash her a quick smile. She finally understands that there is some link between this upcoming conversation and why I’m leaving. Suddenly sparks appear in her eyes as she begs to join the conversation.

“But you can trust me! Please, I want to be involved in your life!”

“Elli, I trust you, and that’s exactly why you shouldn't be here for this conversation. There are things you’re better off not knowing about me. Hey dungeon master, is there someplace we can go to talk in private?”

“Y-Yes, I’ll take you to the control wing.”

“Wai-”

Before Elli can finish her sentence, the rat beastkin leads me to the core room wall. The wall suddenly opens up to a small hallway. Elli attempts to follow us, but before she reaches the opening, the wall slams closed. The dungeon master leads me through several hallways until we eventually reach what appears to be a reception room of sorts. The room has two couches and a small table in between. It isn’t glamorous, but it is certainly functional.

“I-I hope this space is to your liking, sir hero!”

“Yes, this will do nicely.”

I find a seat on the nearby couch, and the rat beastkin follows suit. Part of me believes that I should be humble, but since the dungeon master is already very passive, I should take the active role here.

“S-so, sir hero, what is it that you want to talk about?”

“Don't worry, I’m not a hero.”

“B-but I sense the god of order’s influence on you most definitely are. I can tell you have a unique skill, and it’s active right now!”

“Well… I indeed met the [God of Order], but I don't subscribe to his whole go kill and destroy a bunch of stuff philosophy. More importantly, I also met the [God of Chaos], and he made me a dungeon master. I wasn't really planning on destroying your core. I just wanted to make you show up.”

“I-I see, what a cruel way to get me to show myself.”

“To be fair, you did kind of go full kill mode on Elli and me. It’s only fair.”

“W-well, that is true, I suppose.”

“To be honest, I think we got off on the wrong foot. Let’s start over. My name is Kazuki Hirano.”

“O-oh nice to meet you, my name is Reite, and I’m the dungeon master of the [Rat Cave].”

“Reite, can you tell me about your dungeon?”

“O-of, my dungeon is rather small. It's been a solid 10 years that I’ve been working on it. It’s rare for adventurers to come here. They used to come quite often in the past, but lately, I’ve had barely any. As you know, it is three floors, or actually, I just added a fourth because I was scared. I spent all of my reserve DP on that boss that you killed.”

DP huh? I’m guessing that’s the currency used to construct dungeons.

“I see. You really went all out on us, huh? I’m sorry it went that far. I’m also to blame. Perhaps it wouldn’t have gotten that far if I was friendly and didn’t kill any rats.”

“Well, I can't really blame you. The rats did attack you right away. So, is there a particular reason that you’re here?”

“I merely took a quest to explore this place, but I figured as long as I’m here, I might as well meet the dungeon master. Though perhaps since you put me through quite some trouble, you might be willing to make things up to me.”

“P-please have mercy. I’ve already lost a lot today.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t ask for much. Help me make an extremely accurate map of your dungeon.”

“Huh? Is that all?”

“I’m currently trying to help my partner Elli earn enough money to buy medicine to save her mother. An accurate map could be sold to the guild for a good amount of money.”

“I can do that then! A map doesn't cost me anything to make.”

“Yeah, I wouldn't feel good wringing you dry. I’d like for us to be friends from now on since I’ll be starting up a dungeon within the next week. I’m counting on you, senpai!”

“Well, alright, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to have a friend, would it.”

I smile, holding out my hand for a handshake, we shake on our new and strange friendship. It’s not exactly off to the best start but, hopefully, we’ll make good allies eventually. We then leave the reception room and head back to the core room, where Elli is sulking and upset that I left her out of the conversation.

I feel as though we probably spent the entire day exploring the dungeon. If we were to head back now, it would be nighttime and quite dangerous to return. Perhaps now that I have a tentative friendship with the dungeon master, we could stay here.

“Hey Reite, would you mind if Elli and I stayed the night? Do you have a spare bedroom?”

“I guess I don't mind making one really quick in the control wing.”

“Thanks.”

Reite dissipates into the air. It must be something only dungeon masters can do, to travel through the dungeon by teleportation. I think I owe Elli an apology. I’ve really upset her. However, before I can say a word, she starts talking to me.

“Hey Kazuki, we probably made enough money, huh?”

Elli has a somber look on her face, she’s brought it up a lot, but I keep brushing it off. I know how much she wants to follow me. I reply to hopefully listen to her more.

“You don't look happy about it.”

“I am, but… I just really don't want to say goodbye to you!”

Elli has tears in her eyes. At this point, I just being mean to her. I mean, she keeps asking herself if she can come with, but I keep telling her no, “For her sake.” Is it really for her? I’m going to miss her too; it’s been a hard week, but it hasn't been lonely. I’m sure I’ll be lonely for a while, building the dungeon. I let my thoughts slip out quietly.

“I don't want to say goodbye, either.”

“Then why do we have to! I’ll come with you wherever you go!”

I can’t keep shooting her down without any proper explanation. I’ll have to tell her the truth. If she chooses to turn against me, I’ll have to do something about it, but I can’t say no to her at this rate.

“Hey, Elli, do you truly wish to come with?”

“I do!”

“And are you willing to accept the consequences? Once you walk this path with me, you will never be able to return to a normal life. You’ll never be able to tell anyone about it either. If anyone finds out about it, your life will be in danger. Do you still want to come with?”

“Yes”

“Alright, very well, then let me tell you who I am.”

I stand in front of her and turn to face her. I pull out the dungeon seed from my bag, a glowing orb with a center that resembles an atom.

“I am a dungeon master, and I will be building a dungeon that will one day take the lives of many people. The path that I walk is no doubt one that will be filled with strife. You met Reite, the dungeon master of this place, today. We destroyed his dungeon, his home. People will come and try to invade our dungeon as well. There will be no escaping it. It is not an easy path, but if you truly want to come with… Will you follow this path with me?”

Elli remains silent for a minute, trying to process what I said. She’s not just lightly agreeing. She’s really putting thought into it. She then looks to me with a small smile and responds.

“So, you’re a dungeon master, huh? I wanted to know more about you, now I do. Now that I know your big secret, will you continue to tell me more about you?”

“You’re not upset?”

“Well, I believe that you’re a good person and that you’ll make a dungeon, unlike any other.”

“And if I said I was going to make a dungeon that purposefully kills people?”

“Then, I would try to find another way, and I would help you walk that path.”

“Heh, seems I’ve lost to you. It’s official. Please come with me.”

“That’s all I wanted to hear. As long as we’re sharing secrets, let me share one with you.”

She looks at me with a blushed face. I wonder what her secret is going to be. She struggles a little, fiddling with her hair and fidgeting softly. But eventually, a look of determination appears on her face.

“I… I-I love you!”

She then moves in to embrace me. I’m a little surprised, but it’s not like I’m so dense as to not see this coming. I did call her cute several times. To think that in less than a week, I’d have a half-elf girl falling for me- no, that I’d have Elli falling for me. But still, it might be too soon for me to say I love you back.

Wait, no, is it? I’ve fought hand in hand with her against impossible odds. I got myself injured, fighting to protect her. I defended her against that bartender. I helped her overcome her lack of confidence. I’ve done a lot for her, and it’s not one-sided. She’s done a lot for me as well. She guided me when I was clueless. She footed the bill of anything and everything that I needed to get started. She shared her food and her culture with me. She helped me defeat the bandits even though she was terrified. She healed me when I was near death from my own attacks putting me above even her own desires. She even accepted me even as a dungeon master. She’s the first face that I saw since coming to this world.

It’s been less than a week since I met her, but with everything we’ve been through. I feel closer to her than anyone in a long time. I-I think I love her, and that love can only continue to grow from here. Forget any traditions or existing formulas. I don't need to follow my old world’s guide to love. Having made up my mind, I embrace Elli back, holding her soft body tightly in my arms.

“Elli, I love you too.”

After some awkward silence, Reite returns and guides us to a bedroom. Unfortunately, there is only one bed inside. I’ll have to share it with Elli. I can’t say that I’m not nervous about that. Reite leaves the room, then Elli and I get into the bed together. We’re both too awkward to even be close to each other in the bed. Nevertheless, the warmth of just being near her makes my heart flutter.

And so I spent the night at the bottom of the dungeon with the girl that I love. The bed was softer than the beds in town, and I am left feeling warm and comfy. It is only now that I have someone to share my troubles with that I realize how lonely it was to keep it to myself.

The next day Elli and I awaken and meet with Reite.

"Thank you once again for not destroying my core."

"No, thank you for all that you've given us. We won't let your rats go to waste. Though next time we visit, maybe don't go all out on us. I'll bring you something nice as a reward."

"I look forward to it."

Reite guides us out of the dungeon through the hidden control wing, and all that remains is the long walk back to the guild. We're left carrying the giant tail that we cut off of the wererat, it’s heavy, but I’m somehow able to manage.

The walk back is a little awkward. Now that we've confessed our love to one another, we still haven't figured out how to act around each other. I'll start a conversation!

"Are you excited to go back to town? I wonder how surprised the guild will be!"

"Yeah, I have the feeling we'll end up being promoted to gold. To think going from Copper to Gold all in the same week, we'll probably set some sort of record."

"Well, that may come in handy."

As we walk, I let her in on my basic plan of location for the dungeon and building a town around it.

"I see, that certainly is a good idea. The [Dark Forest] is technically not a part of any country, so you'll have a lot of freedom."

"Oh, in that case, what if we found a country there? We'd be able to safely grow the city without worrying about other kingdoms telling us how to do it."

"That may be difficult. The Aedrien Empire is known for swallowing up small countries. You'd have to have a miracle to survive. Right, I suppose you don't know a lot about the countries of this world. The Aedrien empire is to the east of the [Dark Forest], and I’m sure they’d invade here if it wasn't for the forest."

"Well, our city will be built on a dungeon, our dungeon, so we may just be capable of a miracle. Of course, we'll have to cross that bridge when we come to it. I have no clue how powerful dungeons are. Reite has been working on the [Rat Cave] for 10 years, and it was still quite small."

"The [Rat Cave] is a relatively small dungeon. Some dungeons are so large that adventurers still haven't reached the end."

We continue walking and talking about dungeons. Elli seems very enthusiastic about building one. She took this really well and is actively involved in our planning. What was I even worried about in the first place? We also use this walk to eat the skill candy that we found within the dungeon. I take one, but offer the others to Elli. Let’s check my status now [Display Status].

[Name: Kazuki Hirano Lv. 8]

[Race: Human]

[Class: Support Caster Lv. 3]

[Stats]

HP: 1023/1143

Daily HP Regen: 152

MP: 662/ 662

Daily MP Regen: 603

Strength: 71

Dexterity: 89

Magic: 135

Physical Defense: 82

Magical Defense: 53

[Skills]

Fireball Lv.1, Triage, Astral Chains Lv.1

[Unique Skills]

Overdrive Lv.1(SEALED), Universal Translation Lv.1

It seems that the skill candy contained something called [Astral Chains], an ability that will temporarily immobilize opponents who have a weaker magical defense significantly weaker than my magic.

We finally get to the guild, and we give our report to the receptionist. After hearing about the boss monster, The receptionist takes us to the guild master, Tark. It seems that Elli has met him before during the bandit incident.

"The [Rat Cave] had four floors now, and a boss? We'll have to send another group of adventurers in a week. Once again, you two have completed gold rank quests without even being gold rank. I look forward to seeing how you grow. From now on, you will be gold rank adventurers. However, you shouldn’t think that you're at the top of the food chain. Real adventuring only begins once you reach mithril. It is said that even having no natural talent, you can reach gold rank through experience alone. However, getting to mithril requires real strength."

I mean, we did only make it this far because of my ridiculous overdrive skill. If I had to start adventuring without it, I would definitely have died by now. Still, we encountered opponents that were much stronger than us, and honestly, if everything could be weak from now on, that’d be nice. The guild master waves us off, and we soon receive our payment for the dungeon quest. In the end, we made enough money to buy medicine. It feels good completing our goal in time.

We go to the alchemist’s shop and purchase a dazzling blue potion in exchange for the three gold. This potion will cure Elli’s mother, and she’ll soon feel better. I look over at Elli, who looks quite happy holding the sparkling potion in her hands. It seems that this adventure has reached its conclusion. All that’s left is to cure her mother and then to break the news that we’re leaving town. Hopefully, that goes well.