The sensation of being unable to use teleportation magic was a first for me. Could it be due to the special environment of the dungeon?

“So, as expected, teleportation magic cannot be used. I recall reading in an old document that certain magic and magical tools may not function inside dungeons. I had a suspicion, but...”

“Thank you, Miss Rurune. It’s good that we found out now.”

So, escaping from the dungeon using teleportation magic wasn’t an option. Now that I think about it, a lot of Japanese games and anime have similar mechanics. If that’s the case, the communication magic tool I gave to Fūsuke is probably useless too.

“That means if an emergency happens, we can’t rely on Big Brother Masayoshi’s teleportation magic to escape.”

“I doubt any real emergency will occur in this dungeon. Besides, I never planned on relying on Masayoshi’s teleportation magic anyway, so it’s not a problem.”

Well, as long as no disaster-level monster appears, it should be fine. But not being able to return to Japan immediately is a bit of an issue. I had originally planned to return home at night.

It would be too selfish to back out of the dungeon conquest now, after coming this far with Miss Lilith and the others. I need to let my mom know I’ll be staying overnight, and also inform Mamoru that I won’t be reachable for a while.

On the way back to the village after exiting the dungeon, I parted ways with Miss Lilith and the others for a bit. I told them that while I intended to return to the dungeon tomorrow, if I didn’t show up in the morning, it meant I wouldn’t be able to participate.

Then, as usual, I passed through the portal to Japan. While preparing for tomorrow’s dungeon expedition, I waited for my mom to return home. When she did, I told her that I would be going on a four-day camping trip with friends and got her permission. Miss Lilith and the others had estimated two to three days to conquer the dungeon, but I gave myself an extra day just in case.

Sorry, Abe and Watanabe, but I used you as an excuse. I also told my mom that the camping site has bad signal, so I might not be able to contact her.

The next morning, I pretended to leave the house with my belongings, only to return to my room and pass through the portal to the other world. I dropped off my luggage at the Great Sage’s house, then used teleportation magic to discreetly transport myself to the forest near Sylvia.

For the next few days, I wouldn’t be able to communicate with anyone. I could only hope that no major incidents or accidents occurred back in Japan during this time.

“Good morning.”

“Good morning, big brother, nya!”

“Oh, Big Brother Masayoshi! Glad you could make it!”

“Yes, I managed to secure four days, so I’ll be in your care.”

“Bah, it won’t take that long. Let’s finish the job quickly and take it easy.”

“Oh my, Master Masayoshi. The one on your shoulder is...?”

“Hoo!”

“Ah, this is my summoned beast, Fūsuke. Just tell people he’s a tamed monster.”

Since I couldn’t use teleportation magic or contact Mamoru this time, I decided to bring Fūsuke along. When I asked him if he wanted to come, he seemed eager.

He’s always left behind, after all. In an emergency, I—well, more accurately, the Great Mage—could protect him.

“A-A summoned beast!? But summoning requires a large number of expensive magic stones! And only the royal court magicians are supposed to know the summoning circles...”

“It’s Masayoshi we’re talking about. No surprise there. Still, what a cute little guy!”

“Hoo!”

“So cute, nya!”

Hmm, Fūsuke is adored no matter where he goes. Maybe I should make my black mask look cuter... No, that would just be creepy.

“Alright, let’s head out!”

With all preparations complete, Miss Lilith, our leader, gave the order, and we set off towards the dungeon. The dungeon conquest was about to begin!

...Or so I thought, but a problem arose immediately.

“Here, this is the request form.”

“...It checks out. This is our request form.”

“...Tch, it’s legit. Damn it, I can’t believe a high-rank quest got double-booked. What the hell is the Adventurer’s Guild doing!?”

As we arrived at the dungeon, a different group of men was there—different from the ones we met yesterday. Judging by their weapons and armor, they were clearly adventurers, but they were arguing with the guards stationed at the dungeon entrance.

When Miss Lilith stepped in, we learned that the other group was a B-rank adventurer party that had accepted the dungeon conquest request from a different town than Egarton. Their request overlapped with ours.

According to Miss Rurune, while double bookings sometimes happen in the Adventurer’s Guild, it was unheard of for high-rank requests to be double-booked.

For difficult requests that only high-rank adventurers could accept, it wasn’t uncommon to post the request in multiple towns. Normally, the guild would adjust the dates or immediately notify other towns when an acceptance was made.

However, given the limited communication methods in this world, something must have gone wrong.

Now, what happens in cases of double booking?