Hot Spring

The battle with the Fire Salamander had left us exhausted. My muscles ached, my clothes were burnt at the edges, and Kuroe kept grumbling about how her sword almost melted. After a long trek through the dungeon, we found ourselves hunting for food—monsters that were, surprisingly, edible.

Then, something unexpected happened.

We arrived in an area completely devoid of monsters. The oppressive aura of the dungeon faded, replaced by something else: steam rising from the ground. In front of us was a hot spring, its crystal-clear water bubbling invitingly.

"A spring? In this dungeon?" I muttered, touching the water. It was lukewarm and perfect.

"I can't believe it…" Lumina murmured, dipping her hand in.

"It really is a hot spring," Kuroe confirmed, her expression softening for once.

We all turned to Retto.

"What?" he asked, confused.

"Well, we are girls, and we don't like being stinky," Lumina said, crossing her arms. "I guess you can follow what we mean."

"I… I don't follow."

With combined strength, we tied Retto up and blindfolded him.

"Sorry, Retto!" I said. "But hygiene is important!"

Once we made sure he wasn't peeking, we stripped off our armor and dipped into the heavenly water.

A Relaxing Bath and Girl Talk.

The moment the warmth surrounded me, I felt like all the fatigue melted away. My tiny body floated slightly, and I let out a blissful sigh.

"This is paradise…" Lumina moaned, sinking deeper.

"Mmm… I feel so refreshed," Kuroe admitted, stretching.

Then, we heard shuffling. Retto untied himself and got up.

"Woah! Retto, don't look! You pervert!" I shouted, throwing a small rock at him.

"I'm not interested in a midget like you!" he shot back, then walked away to start cooking the monster meat.

With a quick spell, he raised an earth wall, blocking our view of him.

"Tch, he's such a boring guy, but at least he's trustworthy," I muttered, sinking back into the water.

While relaxing, my mind drifted.

Why am I here? What's my purpose?

"By the way, Mayu, are you an elf?" Lumina suddenly asked.

"Huh? Yeah, but I'm a good one!" I said quickly.

Lumina and Kuroe suddenly bowed their heads.

"Eh?! What are you two doing?!"

"Apologies," Lumina said. "Our nation worships elves. Long ago, an elf saved our people. Meeting one in our lifetime is a blessing."

I was speechless. Retto had made it seem like everyone hated elves, but here, they were practically revered. That meant… I could live outside, right?

"You should visit our town after this," Kuroe added.

"I'd love to!" I said, beaming. For the first time since coming to this world, I had something to look forward to.

Then I got distracted.

Kuroe and Lumina had… surprisingly nice figures. I couldn't help but admire them.

"Hey, Mayu, why are you drooling?" Lumina asked, raising an eyebrow.

"N-nothing!" I quickly wiped my face.

Since Retto wasn't here, I teased Kuroe about her crush.

"So, Kuroe, what made you fall for Retto?" I asked.

She blushed furiously. "W-well… he saved me once. He looked so cool, his deep voice was just—"

"But Retto likes the princess of the kingdom," I blurted before I could stop myself.

Kuroe froze. "What?"

Crap.

Lumina quickly tried to cheer her up, but Kuroe went through a dramatic crisis before regaining her composure.

"I don't care! I'll make him fall for me! I'll have twenty kids with him!" she declared.

Twenty?! That's too many!

After we finished bathing, we returned to Retto's side. He was shirtless, washing up.

"You're pretty well-built," Lumina remarked casually.

I nearly choked. "L-Lumina, you can't just say that out of nowhere!"

We quickly got dressed and sat around the fire, eating the food Retto had prepared.

That's when I decided to ask. "Retto… why is everyone so fixated on capturing the dungeon or the Crystal Dragon?"

The mood shifted instantly. Lumina and Kuroe exchanged glances. Retto exhaled heavily.

"The Crystal Dragon is said to be a force of destruction," he explained. "If someone were to control it, they could wipe out entire nations. The kingdom won't risk that power falling into the wrong hands."

"So, we don't actually know if it truly has that kind of power?" Lumina asked, frowning. "According to the prophecy, the power reside with in the Crystal dragon dungeon. One way is to defeat the dungeon boss and its probably the dragon."

Retto nodded. "Right… After we defeated the dragon, we might receive the power to destroy the world ourselves."

Kuroe crossed her arms. "That sounds ridiculous. How would that even work?"

Retto shrugged. "Legends. Old stories passed down from the kingdom. Either way, we can't ignore the possibility."

A heavy silence settled over us as we pondered the weight of those words.

I finally broke the silence with a smirk. "Well, there's one way to find out. We can test your theories."

Everyone looked at me, confused.

"Because I've met a Crystal Dragon before."

The air froze.

Their eyes snapped to me, their expressions a mix of shock and disbelief.

"You… what?!"

With that, our next destination was decided.

The hunt for the Crystal Dragon had begun.

…

In the Kingdom of Grandellia, the air was heavy with unease.

The king sat in his dimly lit chamber, swirling a glass of wine in his hand, his gaze lost in the endless expanse of the starry sky beyond the grand window. His kingdom was crumbling. The bad news came in waves—Retto, the Knight of Knights, had fallen. One of his own sons was dead. The elite S-rank adventurers he deployed had gone silent. And his queen... she was barely holding herself together after hearing of their child's fate.

He exhaled slowly, gripping the glass tighter.

"Power to destroy the world…" he murmured, his voice heavy with doubt and determination. "Without a doubt, other nations will covet such a thing. I've already lost too much. I can't afford to lose anything more."

"Are you certain, Your Majesty?"

The voice belonged to one of the council members of the Magic Academy and a revered figure among mages, Gabriel Springheart.

The king turned to him, his expression resolute.

"We will use the power of Pleiades. We must destroy the dungeon."

Gabriel eyes narrowed. "You realize the magnitude of what you're proposing, Your Majesty. Even with my vast reserves of magic, I cannot activate it alone. To unleash Pleiades, an astronomical sum of seven quintillion MP is required."

The king's expression did not waver. "The citizens of Grandellia… they will each surrender half of their magical power to make it happen."

Gabriel stiffened. "You're suggesting draining the magic of every man, woman, and child in this kingdom? That would leave them vulnerable—defenseless."

"This is the only way," the king declared. His voice was cold, unwavering. "If we allow another nation to seize that power, our entire kingdom will be at their mercy. Gather the council. Begin the preparations for Pleiades!"

With that, he turned on his heel and strode out of the chamber, his cloak billowing behind him.

Gabriel stood still for a moment, watching the king's retreating figure, his expression unreadable.

Outside, the kingdom remained unaware of the decision that had just been made. And within the depths of the Crystal Dungeon, fate had already begun to take its course.

Darkness loomed.

The worst was yet to come.