Chapter 44: Asking For Help

Chapter 44: Chapter 44: Asking For Help

They were not an ordinary group. At least, not by the standards of their town.

Darian and the members of Ironfang were among the strongest adventurers available to Cedric. Eric, the mage accompanying them, had also been personally assigned by the Adventurer’s Guild.

The remaining adventurers might not have been as strong as Darian, but together, twenty-three armed and experienced fighters should have been more than capable of investigating an unknown dungeon.

Yet none of them had returned.

Cedric slowly leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh.

There was only one reasonable explanation.

They were dead, the thought made his expression darken.

Across from the desk stood a heavily armored man with a broad frame and a sword hanging from his waist. He was one of Cedric’s personal guards and the strongest fighter directly under the mayor’s command.

The man had been standing silently for several minutes, waiting for Cedric to speak.

Finally, Cedric raised his eyes.

"Any news from the scout?"

The armored man shook his head.

"No, my lord."

Cedric’s expression didn’t change.

"The scout stationed outside the dungeon reported that not a single person has come out since the expedition entered."

He paused before continuing.

"And it has already been more than a day."

The mayor slowly closed his eyes.

The man hesitated for a moment.

Then he spoke the words neither of them wanted to say.

"My lord... they’re probably dead."

Silence filled the office.

Cedric’s fingers slowly tightened around the armrest of his chair.

He had known that already.

The moment the expedition failed to return before nightfall, he had begun preparing himself for the possibility. When the morning came and there was still no sign of them, that possibility became increasingly difficult to ignore.

Now, after hearing the scout’s report, there was little reason to deceive himself any longer.

Twenty-three people had entered the dungeon.

Not even one had returned. Cedric opened his eyes and looked toward the window.

Outside, the town continued with its ordinary routine.

Merchants shouted from their stalls. Carriages moved through the streets.

People walked past the town hall without realizing that a problem was quietly growing beyond the forest.

A dungeon had appeared near his territory.

Under normal circumstances, that should have been good news.

Dungeons meant resources.

If managed properly, a dungeon could become an enormous source of wealth.

That was why Cedric had initially wanted to keep the discovery quiet.

If the dungeon could be secured before the nearby city learned about it, then the town would retain control over most of the profits. The Adventurer’s Guild would receive its share, of course, and the adventurers themselves would earn rewards, but the majority of the benefits would remain within the town.

His influence as mayor would become considerably stronger.

But now, Cedric looked back at the reports on his desk.

The situation had changed.

The dungeon was far more dangerous than he had expected.

Kyle’s group had barely managed to escape the first time. Cedric had initially believed that the failure was caused by their lack of experience and preparation.

That was why he had sent a much larger and stronger expedition afterward.

Cedric let out another sigh.

"Even our strongest adventurers couldn’t conquer that dungeon."

The armored man remained silent.

Cedric slowly shook his head.

"No..."

His expression became increasingly bitter.

"They couldn’t even come back alive."

The difference between those two statements was enormous.

Failing to conquer a dungeon meant retreating after discovering that it was beyond one’s ability.

Dying without anyone escaping meant something far worse.

It meant the dungeon had completely overwhelmed them.

Cedric looked toward his strongest fighter.

"What do you think?"

The man didn’t answer immediately.

His gaze shifted toward the reports on the desk.

Then he spoke honestly.

"I don’t think we have enough strength to handle it."

Cedric gave a humorless laugh.

"That’s quite direct."

"You asked for my opinion, my lord."

"I did."

The armored man folded his arms.

"The first expedition was defeated, and none of them returned."

He paused.

"If we continue sending people from this town into that dungeon, we’re only sending them to their deaths."

Cedric’s expression darkened.

He hated hearing it. But he couldn’t deny the truth.

The town had already lost twenty-three adventurers. That number alone would cause problems.

The Adventurer’s Guild would demand answers regarding Eric and the other adventurers who had been sent into the dungeon. Several families would soon learn that their relatives had disappeared. The remaining adventurers in town would also become hesitant to accept any mission related to the forest once word spread about what happened.

And eventually, word would spread.

There was no way to keep the disappearance of twenty-three adventurers a secret forever.

Cedric slowly rubbed his temples.

"So we only have one option left."

The armored man already knew what he meant.

"Request assistance from the city."

Cedric nodded.

"Yes."

The words felt bitter in his mouth.

Requesting help from the nearby city was not something he wanted to do.

The moment the city became involved, the dungeon would no longer belong solely to his town’s sphere of influence. The city’s Adventurer’s Guild branch would send stronger adventurers, officials might arrive to assess the dungeon, and depending on its rank, larger organizations could eventually become interested.

The town would still receive something.

Of course, it would.

The dungeon was located within territory under Cedric’s administration, and that gave him certain rights.

But compared to what he could have earned by handling the dungeon himself...

It would be nothing more than leftovers. Cedric looked down at his desk. His fingers slowly curled into a fist.

"Damn it."

The armored man remained quiet.

Cedric rarely allowed his frustration to show so openly, but this time, he couldn’t help it.

Everything had been going perfectly. A dungeon had appeared near his town.

It was an opportunity that might only come once in his lifetime.

And now, before he had even managed to gain anything from it, twenty-three adventurers were dead.

The mayor leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling.

"What a waste."