I decided to focus solely on following Holly, who knows the dungeon's layout and can guide us on the shortest route to the exit, trying my best not to think about the two women behind me.
Encountering monsters now feels less daunting than spending an extended period with these two.
Considering these two, along with the monstrous Amaranth, I wonder what kind of being their referred-to "master" is.I can't even begin to imagine it.
Though, coming from me, someone who's adored by Shion, it might lack a bit of credibility.
I don't have any inclination toward being a lolicon, but right now, if Shion appeared in front of me, I'd probably hug her and say, "I was so scared!"
Of course, I'd never actually do that because it would probably creep her out.
While mulling over such thoughts, the three of us continued to walk through the dungeon in silence.
Fortunately, we didn't encounter or get attacked by any monsters.
Thinking about it, this dungeon has essentially already been conquered by Cineraria and Jasmine.
They had reached from the entrance to the deepest part, defeating monsters along the way.
Dungeon monsters supposedly multiply over time, but due to the duo getting lost inside, they might have nearly annihilated all the monsters in the dungeon.
"By the way, Cineraria-san,"
"...What?"
Bored of walking in silence, I decided to speak to the still surly Cineraria.
"You defeated a considerable number of monsters on your way to the room where I was, right?"
"Sure."
"Why didn't you turn those monsters into zombie soldiers?"
"I'm only interested in the dungeon boss. I've realized it's stronger to lead a few powerful monsters than to command a multitude of weak ones. Especially against saintly sword wielders, weak monsters are useless."
"But aren't the bosses usually the big ones?"
"Yeah. They're always big and strong."
"So, if the boss is too big to fit, it wouldn't be useful for dungeon conquering, right?"
The dungeon disappears the moment its boss is defeated.
So, no matter how gigantic the boss that Cineraria turns into a zombie, it wouldn't matter if it couldn't be transported outside.
"Targeting only large monsters would make it difficult to fight in indoor battles, caves, or forests, right? Wouldn't it be better to also turn smaller monsters into zombie soldiers?"
"...Annoying."
"And what about humans? Are you not turning them into zombie soldiers anymore?"
"Ah? Humans are weak."
"But unlike monsters, humans can be controlled without directly killing them with the Underworld Sword, right?"
According to Holly, monsters typically vanish the moment they die, so to turn them into zombie soldiers, they must be directly killed with the Underworld Sword.Therefore, for instance, monsters defeated by a comrade wielding another divine saintly sword can't be turned into zombie soldiers.
However, human corpses can remain as bones, allowing them to be utilized as skeletal soldiers.
"...Well, yeah, but humans are useless anyway."
"That's where numbers come into play, right? If you just take all the corpses from graveyards or battlefields, attack towns, kill all the inhabitants, and then control those inhabitants, you could keep increasing the number of zombies. Wouldn't you be able to conquer the world quickly?"
"If I did that, the world would be filled with corpses! What's the point of conquering such a world?"
"Ah, right, of course. There's a limit to how many corpses you can control at once, and you'd probably be interfered with by other saintly sword wielders if they found you, so that method wouldn't work."
It was a method of world domination I'd wondered about ever since learning about the Underworld Sword's capabilities, but it seems there were too many flaws.
The Underworld Sword is unique among the saintly swords, suggesting it could possibly conquer the world on its own, but if there's a limit to the number of zombie soldiers it can control, then it's impossible.
As I was pondering this, Holly turned to look at me, seemingly exasperated.
By then, Cineraria, walking behind me, also seemed to be looking at me as if I were dangerous, with eyes full of wariness.
Why are they looking at me like that?
As I tilted my head in confushion, Jasmine, who was walking beside Cineraria, suddenly collapsed forward.
"Jasmine!"
Cineraria hurriedly caught the fallen Jasmine, but she didn't move at all, completely unconscious.
"…This is bad. She must have used up almost all her remaining magical power with that healing magic earlier. And the little she had left probably ran out while we were walking."
Holly looked down at the motionless Jasmine with a bored expresshion.
So, that's it.
I had the mistaken impresshion that physical stamina and magical power were separate, but it turns out they are linked.
Using the divine sword's abilities depletes magical power, gradually diminishing it, and exhaustion leads to collapse when it runs out.
Naturally, continuing to walk without rest, food, or water also depletes magical power.
Meaning, Jasmine was already at her limit from fatigue when she healed Cineraria's wounds, and then she silently continued walking until she lost consciousness.What mental strength.
If it were me, I'd definitely start saying things like "I'm tired" or "I'm going to die" before losing consciousness.
"Cineraria-san. I'll carry Jasmine-san, so please help me."
Actually, carrying an unconscious person on your back is quite difficult. You really need the cooperation of the person being carried to do it properly.
"Ah!? There's no way I'm letting a guy like you handle her! Don't touch Jasmine!"
However, Cineraria, insinuating she would carry Jasmine herself, picked her up.
"Fine, then I'll carry the Healing Sword."
Jasmine's Healing Sword is shaped like a huge battle axe. While Jasmine, the sword's owner, can easily wield and carry it using a skill that allows her to remotely control the divine sword, to someone who isn't the owner, it's just a heavy axe.
"Don't mess with me! You're just trying to steal the Healing Sword!"
Cineraria also protested against me even touching the Healing Sword.
Such distrust in people.
Why can't she trust a man of sincerity like me?
Cineraria, who yelled at me not to touch Jasmine or the Healing Sword, is trying to carry both but is clearly staggering under the weight since she already has the Underworld Sword on her back.
"Cineraria-san. It's impossible to carry so much by yourself. You're overloading yourself. Let me carry something."
"Shut up!"
"But Cineraria-san, you won't be able to fight in that state, right? That would be troublesome for me too. I'll carry Jasmine-san, so please stay unburdened."
Despite my words, Cineraria tried to walk away, still holding Jasmine, clearly struggling.
"…Hey Crow. We've only made it halfway, you know? It's impossible with such a burden. Let's just proceed without them," Holly suggested.
Indeed, that might be more rational.
With Holly possessing me, I can fight quite well. The issue is that fighting monsters barehanded would be difficult, but even that could be solved if I take either the Underworld Sword or Healing Sword in front of me.
Currently, the two exhausted women are not at all useful as escorts.
Yet,
"Cineraria-san. If it looks like I'm doing something strange to Jasmine-san, you can kill me from behind, so please let me carry her."
"…We should just leave them…"
"What?"
"We can't fight anymore… If you really know the shortest route, just go ahead by yourself. We can't be escorts anymore…"
Suddenly, Cineraria became disheartened and slumped down.Such a troublesome woman, this one. She's either angry or weakened. Maybe she's emotionally unstable, despite being so young.
"Cheer up, Cineraria-san. The exit is close by. Let's escape together, all three of us. You've done enough as escorts by getting us this far."
Though that was a lie.
The exit was still far away, and these two hadn't really protected me at all.
"You promised to protect me, so I'll keep my promise to guide you to the exit. Let's escape together. Even if we die, we'll be together."
Cineraria, who had been sitting down weakly, silently looked up at me, then staggeringly stood up and let me carry Jasmine.