The ogre residential area was buried in ash.

Perhaps the remains of a dragon were mixed in as well, but there was no longer any trace of them. The small bones, likely from goblins, that had once been piled high were nowhere to be seen either.

The walls and ceiling were charred black in every corner, and all household items used by the ogres—such as tableware—had turned to charcoal. Even if there had been ancient relics here, they would be of no use now.

“Smells awful.”

Void muttered and kicked at something that had been carbonized. With a dry sound, the charred object crumbled instantly into ash.

Indeed, the stench was terrible.

I grimaced and opened my mouth.

“Don’t kick it. You’ll stir up the ash. Best not to inhale too much.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

As for the one who had burned the dragon’s corpse, likely others besides Team Three had some idea of their existence. No one dared to speak of it, but unease flickered in their eyes.

Letis from Team Five, who had gone ahead to investigate, waved both arms over her head to call us over.

“Heeey! There’s a passage over here!”

To avoid stirring up too much ash, we all moved quietly toward Letis. Sure enough, there was what seemed to be a passageway leading further in.

But it was narrow—narrower than any we had seen before. For an ogre's shoulder width, only one body could barely squeeze through. The darkness beyond was impenetrable even to the light of a magic lamp.

We’d have to proceed in single file.

“Hmm? Huh?”

Riona widened her eyes and stuck her face into the passage.

Ilga asked her:

“What is it, Belzhein? Don’t tell me there’s an enemy?”

“No… I think… I see a light…?”

“…Huh?”

We all exchanged glances with the person next to us.

I met Oujin’s eyes, then stepped up beside Riona and peered in.

“That’s impossible. This is the bottom of a dungeon. I don’t see anything.”

“It’s there. Well, you’ll see when we go.”

Without waiting for a reply, Riona took the lead and began walking. I hurried to overtake her and moved in front.

“It’s dangerous. I’ll go first. You follow behind.”

“Awwww, El-tan, you're being so cool for my sake~! My heart’s going doki-doki. When we get back, let’s do something naughty, okay?”

“…You’re getting more and more…”

She was squirming around oddly.

Best to leave her alone. No matter what I say, she’ll only get excited.

As I was thinking that, Oujin began walking ahead of us.

“Eremia may be strong, but he’s younger. I’ll go first.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’ve been—”

“Longer than me?”

Alive. I couldn’t exactly say, “I’m on my second life.”

While I fumbled for a response—

“Ahh, screw it. Just hurry up and follow me.”

Void shoved past us and started down the passage.

It couldn’t be helped. With Void and his Bundi Dagger, offense and defense were both covered.

“Then we’ll leave it to you.”

“Make sure to protect me with your life, okay?”

“If it’s Void, he’ll probably take care of any enemy on his own anyway.”

Void stomped forward with heavy, annoyed steps, glancing back.

“Don’t go treatin’ me like some damn sacrifice…”

A faint smile appeared on the classmates’ faces.

That alone eased the tension. The mood was good. Too much tension only makes the body stiff. It’s better to stay moderately relaxed.

I followed behind Void, with Riona next, then Oujin. The rest of the classmates came after.

The passage was straight. But soon, we realized what Riona had meant.

“Huh, that really is a light.”

Void was the first to murmur it.

He immediately equipped the Bundi Dagger on both arms.

“Told ya~! Think someone’s there?”

“Never heard of a monster that uses fire. And that’s not firelight. Doesn’t look like a magic lamp either.”

It was faint, but the ground beyond the reach of the magic lamp glowed bluish-white.

Riona murmured again:

“It’s stairs.”

“Huh?”

I still couldn’t see anything. Just what kind of eyesight did she have? Surely she couldn’t see through clothes or something, right?

“El-tan.”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t worry, I can’t see through clothes. So go ahead and strip for me.”

“…You… seriously…”

Void marched ahead without hesitation.

Was nothing scary to him? Well, I was the same back in the Blythe days. He must truly believe in his own strength. Though he probably wouldn’t dare defy Miriola.

Within the range of the magic lamp’s light, we began to see it.

“Stairs. Seems the light from below was leaking up.”

“Yup yup.”

Void, having reached the top of the stairs, turned back and whispered in a low voice.

“We’re goin’ down. If there’s enemies, we’ll ambush ‘em. Stay sharp.”

“Understood.”

“I don’t think anyone’s down there, though?”

Not that I doubted Riona’s skill now, but then what was this light? It resembled a magic lamp’s white light more than fire, but with a faint bluish… no, greenish tint.

“Also, smells like water.”

“Huh? Well, we’ll see when we go. Oujin, Eremia, back me up. —It’s a tight passage. Everyone else, wait till we call you. Stay ready to retreat at any time.”

Void descended the stairs with a calm demeanor.

His mouth was foul as ever, but his instructions were precise. There was nothing more to add. A delinquent honor student, through and through.

Keeping my right hand on the hilt of my short sword, ready to draw at any moment, I followed his back. Oujin moved ahead of Riona to follow me.

As soon as Void reached the bottom of the stairs, he abruptly stopped.

“Ha! What the hell is this?”

Oujin and I peered out beside him, and there we saw—

A vast underground lake, clearer and bluer than the sky itself, spreading out before us.

“Whoa…?”

“This is… amazing… What beauty…”

“Look.”

Void scraped the rocky wall with his Bundi Dagger. A green-colored moss clung to the blade’s tip.

I stared at it and murmured:

“So that’s the source of the light.”

The moss emitted a faint glow.

“Looks like it. Ever seen glowing moss before?”

“No. I have no idea.”

“Not even the monster expert, huh?”

“I’m neither a plant expert nor a monster expert. —Oujin, what about Hinomoto?”

“I’ve never seen this type before either.”

The glow was weak, very weak. But the moss, gathered together, lit up the entire underground lake. The ceiling, the walls—everything. That light must have leaked into the passageway on the sixth floor.

Still, what a beautiful and mysterious sight it was.

The entire cavern glowed a soft green, and the undisturbed underground lake reflected everything like a perfect mirror.

Judging it safe, Oujin called out to the others on the stairs.

Led by Riona, the entire Class One descended. Everyone stood in place with mouths agape, just like us, at the overwhelming sight.

But gradually, their faces softened. Eventually, they even began to laugh out of sheer relief.

Riona raised both arms and stretched her back with a big “Nn~!”

“Hey hey! Let’s rest here until we find the next passage! After lunch we can even play in the water! This is gonna be so fun!”

We exchanged glances.

Then, all at once, our expressions broke into smiles.

That sounds great!