Chapter 21
Jake thought of several different methods, but in the end, he decided to use the simplest one.
The next day.
After breakfast, the knights ordered everyone to spread out and search the surrounding area.
Apparently, the knights were not complete fools either. They announced that whoever found the dungeon first would receive an additional reward.
At once, everyone happily scattered in every direction.
"Workers, don't wander too far away from the mercenaries or soldiers! There's no guarantee there aren't any monsters around!"
Jessica shouted because she was worried about the workers.
Unfortunately, after coming all the way up the valley without seeing a single monster, the workers paid no attention to her warning.
"Tch. I've done my part if I warned them this much."
It had not been particularly effective, but at least Jessica wanted a clear conscience.
"Should we get moving too?"
"Where should we start looking?"
Jessica looked around.
Jake gestured toward her.
"Just follow me."
"Huh?"
Jessica followed Jake as he confidently walked away, her expression turning surprised.
"Don't tell me... you know where it is?"
"Yes."
"I thought that might be the case since you knew the knights would come in this direction, but..."
Her voice became slightly gloomy.
Jake looked at her.
Apparently, he needed to reassure her at least a little.
"Please wait a little longer."
Jake spoke quietly.
"Once this is finished, I'll tell you everything I can."
Jessica's expression immediately brightened.
Seeing how happy she looked made Jake feel slightly guilty.
He had not said how much he could actually tell her.
To be honest, his answer was simply postponing the issue.
Still...
For now, he needed to deal with what was in front of him.
"I thought about how we could make this look accidental last night."
Jake continued.
"I think the easiest method is to say you discovered it."
"Me?"
"You're a thief. You can simply say you found it using one of your own techniques."
Jessica nodded immediately.
"Okay. Then I'll say I found it."
She proudly hit her chest.
"And once we're back, I'll give you the reward for discovering the dungeon."
Jessica seemed happy that Jake trusted her.
The extra reward was not especially important to Jake.
Still...
If she was offering it, there was no reason to refuse.
The two continued walking in the direction Jake indicated.
"The upper side of the waterfall cliff along the northern ridge."
The waterfall was much farther up from the place where they had camped.
After climbing for nearly an hour...
They found a deep waterfall created by countless years of natural erosion.
Jake reached the ridge above the waterfall and looked around.
"Under a rock about the size of a person..."
Just as Jake had said...
A single large rock stood alone in the open ground above the cliff.
If the dungeon entrance had been openly exposed outside, there was no way it could have remained undiscovered for so long.
The reason no one had found the dungeon the knights were searching for was simple.
A rock that had rolled down from somewhere had landed on top of the entrance and covered it.
Jake moved beside the rock and began tapping the ground.
Jessica watched nervously.
Tap, tap.
Tap, tap.
Tap... Clang!
The hard sound of stone continued.
Then suddenly...
A hollow metallic sound rang out.
Jessica's eyes widened.
She rushed over and began sweeping dirt away from the spot Jake had struck.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!"
As the dirt disappeared...
A metal door slowly revealed itself.
Jessica screamed without realizing it.
"It really exists!"
Unlike Jake, who trusted the location because it had been recorded in future documents...
Jessica could not completely believe it until she saw it herself.
More importantly...
Her instincts as an adventurer would not allow her to calmly contain the joy of discovering a dungeon.
She suddenly wrapped both arms around Jake.
Then she showered his face with kisses.
"Oh, you adorable little thing!"
"It really exists!"
"And that means there's another dungeon too, doesn't it?!"
"One nobody else knows about!"
Now that this discovery proved Jake's information was reliable...
Jessica's excitement became even greater.
Only after some time passed did she finally come back to her senses.
Realizing how embarrassing their position was...
She quietly stepped away.
But her excitement had not disappeared.
"Ugh, what a waste."
"If only I'd known earlier, I could've secretly cleaned this place out before anyone else..."
"Ahhh, what a waste."
Now she was practically suffering from stomach pains over a dungeon that would soon belong to someone else.
Eventually, Jake had to pull her back down toward camp.
And not long after...
Jake's voice echoed across the expedition campsite.
"Jessica found the entrance!"
At Jake's shout...
People came rushing toward them.
A moment later...
Amber fired a Light spell into the sky.
The people who had scattered throughout the area began returning.
The first people to reach Jake and Jessica were the knights.
"Did you really find it?"
Jessica was leaning on Jake's shoulder.
One of her arms was wrapped in a bloodstained bandage.
But the knight paid absolutely no attention to that.
"Yes."
Jessica frowned as she answered.
"If you climb farther up, there's a ridge where you can see a waterfall."
"We found it there."
The knight cared only about her answer.
"Good work."
Then, almost as an afterthought, he finally noticed the bandage.
"Oh. You're injured?"
"Get some rest."
"You'll be properly rewarded."
The excuse Jake and Jessica had prepared while coming down turned out to be completely unnecessary.
No one even asked how she had been hurt.
The knights simply heard the location and immediately rushed up the valley.
"You. Really. Worked. Hard."
Amber passed beside Jessica and smiled meaningfully.
"Rest well."
Then she followed the others.
"So now all that's left is waiting?"
Jessica finally relaxed.
Jake, who was supporting her, immediately whispered.
"Keep your expression!"
"The workers are still here."
"Look injured."
"Ugh!"
