Is It Wrong to Explore the Dungeon Even Though I’m Overpowered? (Danmachi SI- WC) (Patreon)

Chapter 60: What Lies Below

It took a while to calm Emma down before we finally moved inside, away from any possible prying eyes. I laid Sophia down in one of the empty rooms, making sure she was comfortable before leaving her to rest.

Our conversation shifted to the living room soon after, though Emma refused to leave her sister’s side, sticking to her like glue along with a few others in case she woke up and things needed explaining.

“Thank you again for handling this so quickly, Reinhard,” Artemis said gently as we sat in the living room, cups of tea in hand. “I could tell Emma had been holding most of her grief inside. Seeing her finally reunited with her sister… it was like all of that just disappeared.”

“I just helped a friend, that’s all,” I replied with a small shake of my head, earning a few soft chuckles from the others.

Aside from Marie and Wiene, who had already fallen asleep in my room, and Emma’s group, who were having an impromptu sleepover in Sophia’s room, everyone else had gathered in the living area.

“Always so humble,” Hestia said warmly, taking a sip of her tea.

“I just hope Emma’s sister doesn’t wake up and start attacking everyone in a bout of panic,” Lante muttered from her seat beside Artemis.

“Don’t jinx it!” Daphne shot back with a frown.

“That’s likely why the others chose to stay with Emma,” Rethusa added calmly. “In case an altercation does occur, they’ll be able to subdue her quickly.”

“From what I’ve seen, they’ve all grown quite a bit,” I said, recalling both my training sessions with them and my encounter with Sophia. “I’d be surprised if any of them lost to her. Not that I’m saying Sophia is weak, of course.”

“With everything that happened, we didn’t really get to talk about what happened at the dungeon,” Artemis said, shifting the conversation back to me. “From the small bits that Rem told us… quite a lot happened today.”

Letting out a quiet sigh, I closed my eyes for a moment to gather my thoughts before opening them again, this time with a more serious expression as I looked at Hestia and Artemis.

“Hestia-sama, I would greatly appreciate it if you could arrange a meeting with the head of the Guild as soon as possible. There are… matters I need to discuss with them.”

My tone alone was enough to draw everyone’s attention.

“I can tell this is serious,” Hestia said, her expression turning focused as she nodded. “Don’t worry, Rein-kun. Leave it to me. I’ll go to the Guild myself tomorrow and see if I can get in touch with Ouranos.”

“I’ll help as well,” Artemis added with a nod. “It’s the least I can do.”

“Thank you,” I said, offering them a grateful smile as I allowed myself to relax slightly.

“…What happened down there, Reinhard-sama?” Lili asked, her voice tinged with concern. “Lili has never seen you this serious before.”

“Haah… honestly, a lot happened. Too much to properly explain this late at night,” I admitted. “Would it be alright if we continue this discussion tomorrow?”

Everyone nodded without hesitation, even Daphne and Cassandra, despite us not having spent as much time together since they joined. I was grateful for that.

“Sounds like you’ve had a long day, Reinhard. You should get some rest,” Naaza said softly from beside me.

“I agree. You look exhausted, Rein-kun,” Hestia added, concern clear in her eyes.

“Yes, everything can wait until you’ve rested,” Artemis said with a small nod.

“I appreciate it,” I replied with a thankful smile.

One by one, everyone began heading to their rooms for the night, offering quiet goodnights as they passed.

Or at least… most of them did.

I caught the subtle, suspicious looks Hestia and Artemis sent my way, but thankfully, neither of them said anything.

“Ready, Ram? Est?” I asked, turning to the two who remained.

“Always,” Est answered immediately, giving a small, determined nod.

“Of course,” Ram followed, her expression calm but resolute.

“Alright… then let’s move.”

I stood, my expression hardening once more as I headed for the exit.

“I don’t want to give our enemies any more time to regroup.”

It was time to take care of the remaining trash.

=====

Moving swiftly under the cover of night, using the shadows to our advantage, it didn’t take long before we reached the Ikelos Familia’s residence, their base outside of Knossos. We landed silently on a nearby rooftop, a few buildings away.

Dressed for the occasion, I once again wore my black and red armor, while Ram was clad in a sleek black outfit that covered her from head to toe, accentuating her beautiful figure while blending seamlessly into the darkness.

Silently pulling up Bounty Tracker, I confirmed that Ikelos, and the remaining members I hadn’t encountered in the dungeon, were still inside.

I turned to Ram.

“There are around ten adventurers inside, along with their god. Take care of them quickly. I’ll handle Ikelos.”

“Leave it to your Ram,” she replied softly, her tone calm and confident.

Nodding, I took a steady breath, resting my hand lightly on Est’s pommel as I steeled myself.

“Let’s move. Remember to keep it quiet as you can.”

“Of course.”

We acted immediately.

In a blur of motion, we reached the building and slipped inside through a second-floor window, aided by Ram’s precise control over wind magic. Once inside, we split up without a word.

As I made my way toward Ikelos’s location, I heard faint, muffled sounds—soft thuds, restrained groans of pain—but paid them no mind. Ram was already at work.

Reaching my target’s room, I paused briefly before pushing the door open.

The moment I saw the god, still asleep, and completely unaware, I moved.

My Shroud surged forward, tendrils snapping through the air as they wrapped around him in an instant.

His eyes flew open in panic.

Before he could react, I sealed his mouth, cutting off any chance of a scream. His gaze locked onto me, fury quickly replacing confusion as he struggled uselessly against the bindings.

It didn’t matter.

Within seconds, the Shroud engulfed him completely.

The last thing visible was the anger in his eyes.

I let out a quiet breath.

With that, the most unpredictable variable was dealt with.

Gods may be restricted in the lower world, but that didn’t mean they were harmless. A desperate or reckless deity could still cause trouble and use their divine power, even at the cost of being sent back to heaven.

Now, that possibility was gone. The Shroud allowed no possibility of escape once a target was fully ensnared.

All that remained was to wait an hour before the binding took effect.

After a few minutes, I heard soft footsteps approach, light, and controlled. Ram.

She appeared beside me, not a single trace of the fight visible on her.

“It is done, Reinhard-sama,” she said calmly, her gaze shifting to the bundled figure in my Shroud. “I take it that’s him?”

“Good work, Ram. And yes, caught him while he was still asleep.”

“Hmph. Serves him right,” she muttered, her tone carrying a hint of quiet disdain. “That’s what happens when a god allows his followers to act without consequence.”

I gave a small nod, not disagreeing.

“Now we wait… and hope our next target is just as easy to deal with.”

=====

Following Day

Fortunately for us, dealing with Aeshma and his Familia turned out to be an even easier task. We subdued them quickly, and my Shroud handled the rest without issue.

Not wanting to leave the deities unattended for the full twenty-four hours it would take for them to be processed by the Company, I decided to test a theory of mine, and was relieved when it proved correct.

Once someone was fully bound by my Shroud, they were considered Captured, even if I wouldn’t receive the credits until later. That meant I didn’t need their consent to store them in my Pocket Space for the remainder of the process, allowing me to effectively remove them from the equation.

That said, I also confirmed that the Delayed Response Intensity was still in effect and I wouldn’t be able to remove it for another three months. Which my earlier plans were mostly shot about how I would be spending my points.

That… surprised me more than I expected.

It felt like I had been in this world far longer than six months already.

But apparently, that wasn’t the case.

With everything taken care of, we finally returned home. The sky was just beginning to lighten, leaving us with only a few hours before sunrise.

Exhausted, I headed straight to my room after bidding Ram goodnight.

I found Wiene and Marie already asleep on my bed, but paid it no mind. The bed was large enough to comfortably fit several people, so I quietly slipped in beside them.

A drowsy Est immediately appeared and curled up on my chest, muttering a soft goodnight before drifting off.

With a few burdens lifted from my shoulders, I soon followed her into sleep.

Unfortunately, it didn’t last long.

What felt like mere minutes later, I was gently shaken awake by two pairs of soft hands.

“Rein, wake up.”

“Reinhard, let’s explore~”

Groaning slightly, I opened my eyes to find Wiene and Marie hovering over me, far too close with their noses inches away from my face, both of their faces lighting up the moment I stirred.

Blinking away the remnants of sleep, I let out a small, tired smile.

“Good morning, Wiene… Marie. Did you two sleep well?” I asked softly, noticing that Est was still fast asleep beside me, clinging to me.

“Mhm, it was great~ I thought I was dreaming at first, but then I woke up and realized I wasn’t when I saw you were here,” Marie said with a bright smile.

“Yep, I felt the same when I first arrived,” Wiene added, nodding enthusiastically.

“I’m glad,” I said gently. “How about I make you two some breakfast?”

Both of them nodded immediately.

“Alright… just give me a moment,” I whispered.

Carefully, I slipped out of bed, doing my best not to wake Est. She stirred slightly when she lost my warmth, pouting in her sleep, but I managed to pacify her by tucking a pillow into her arms before she fully woke.

After that we left the room toward the kitchen and noticing that everyone else was still asleep, I decided to go all out and cook for everyone.

=====

Several Hours Later

By the time breakfast was ready, the smell alone had drawn everyone into the kitchen one by one, all of them taking their seats with hungry expressions.

The only ones missing were Est and Ram, who were still asleep, as well as Emma and Sophia, who were having a private conversation.

With lighthearted banter filling the room, we enjoyed a peaceful meal together.

Not long after, I was dragged outside by an overly excited Marie and Wiene after mentioning that we would be taking a few days off from the Dungeon to handle some matters.

Most of my morning was spent with the two of them as I showed them around the mansion, explaining anything new, or anything Marie grew curious about.

After several hours, we eventually made our way back inside and into the living room.

Everyone was already gathered.

Just as I was about to take a seat and begin explaining what I had discovered in the Dungeon, Emma suddenly stepped forward, dragging Sophia along with her.

“Senpai! There’s someone I want you to properly meet~!” Emma declared, beaming brighter than I had ever seen her.

Without hesitation, she placed her hands on her sister’s shoulders and pushed her forward, earning an annoyed twitch from Sophia.

“This is Sophia Flores! My big sister, the one I’ve been looking for all this time!” Emma continued enthusiastically, practically bouncing on the balls of her feet.

“Big sister, this is Senpai! The strongest, kindest, and most amazing person in the world, and the Captain of the Hestia Familia!”

I couldn’t help but smile at her excitement.

Turning my attention to Sophia, I met her curious gaze and extended my hand.

“Hello, Sophia. My name is Reinhard van Astrea. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. Emma has told me quite a bit about you.” I paused briefly before adding, “And… my apologies if I was a little rough with you earlier.”

Sophia blinked, tilting her head slightly.

Her eyes narrowed at my last comment, then widened in realization.

“…So it was you,” she muttered, studying me more closely. “The one in the black and red armor.”

Her expression shifted, surprisingly, not to anger…

…but to faint admiration.

“Yes, that was me. Once again, please forgive me for my actions. I deemed it best to subdue everyone as quickly as possible to prevent a larger conflict, and to avoid any bystander getting hurt,” I explained, keeping my hand extended.

Sophia, however, didn’t even glance at it.

Her full attention remained fixed on my face.

“It’s fine,” she said calmly. “You were stronger, and you defeated us. That’s all there is to it. As the victor, you had the right to decide what to do with us.”

Emma frowned at her words, clearly having heard this line of thinking before.

I chose to remain silent.

Sophia’s worldview… was bleak. Not unexpected, given what she had likely gone through, but it wasn’t something that would change overnight.

‘…And my Lures are probably not helping matters of a dog-eat-dog world,’ I thought. ‘Especially Zenryoku Zenkai and Tsundere Service.’

“Big sister, don’t leave Senpai hanging like that! Shake his hand!” Emma suddenly scolded, snapping Sophia out of her thoughts.

Sophia blinked, finally glancing down at my still-extended hand.

After a brief pause, she reached out and shook it once—firm, but short—before pulling away and returning to silently studying me.

Emma still didn’t look satisfied, so I stepped in before things turned into an argument.

“Thank you for your honesty, Sophia,” I said calmly. “If you don’t mind, I would like to speak with you later about the Aeshma Familia and its dealings with other Familia.”

Sophia blinked again, then gave a small nod.

“Thank you.” I turned to Emma. “I left some food for you and Sophia if you’re hungry. You can retrieve it from the Pocket Space.”

Right on cue, Emma’s stomach growled.

She flushed red with embarrassment, then immediately lit up.

“Thank you, Senpai~ You’re the best!” she beamed before grabbing Sophia’s arm. “Come on, sis! You’re going to love Senpai’s cooking~”

She dragged her sister off toward the kitchen, already rambling about how good my food was.

As they disappeared around the corner, Sophia glanced back at me one last time, her expression unreadable.

‘At lest the meeting didn’t turn violent so that’s a plus.’

I exhaled softly before turning back to the living room.

“Sorry for the wait, everyone,” I said as I took a seat between Lili and Rem.

“There’s no need to apologize, Rein,” Artemis replied with a fond smile, the others nodding in agreement.

“Very well… then let’s begin.”

My expression hardened as I straightened in my seat.

“Were you aware that there exists an artificial dungeon, created by mortal hands?”

The effect was immediate.

Hestia and Artemis’s eyes widened in shock.

The others gasped.

“What!?”