'That's something only a small number of nobles and members of the royal family possess! Even the Princess only has a tiny storage ring!'
'These two have one too? And I can't even see where he took that package from!'
'Just what kind of spatial equipment is he using?'
Ignoring Luna's astonishment, Toma was currently asking the System about Tohka's condition.
She had only eaten recently, yet she was already hungry again.
No matter how he thought about it, that didn't seem normal.
[Host, there is no need to worry. This is simply the result of excessive energy consumption. After consuming too much energy, Tohka instinctively wishes to replenish it through eating.]
Toma immediately relaxed.
If she was simply replenishing energy, then everything was fine.
No problem.
It wasn't like Tohka ate 'that' much anyway.
Toma looked at the girl beside him, who was happily eating while still clinging to his right arm.
Suddenly, he began doubting his own statement.
'She doesn't eat that much... right?'
Yeah~!
That's right~!!
Definitely not that much~!!!
Compared to a certain Saber and a certain Ghost Princess, his Tohka really didn't eat much at all.
Toma shamelessly reassured himself.
Then the System suddenly spoke again.
[Host, a message was temporarily withheld earlier. Please receive it now.]
[Achievement Completed: Journey of the Heart]]
[Rewards: Random Dungeon Key ×1, Authority Level +1]
[Special Item: Random Dungeon Key (Bronze)]
[Use: Randomly opens a dungeon world. The Host will enter that world and complete an unknown mission. The higher the mission evaluation, the greater the rewards. The number of companions the Host may bring depends on the strength of the dungeon world.]
[Note: After using a Random Dungeon Key, time in the current world will be frozen. Time will resume once the Host returns. Host may therefore complete the mission without concern.]
Looking at the achievement notification, Toma didn't even know what to say...
Who would have thought that his shameless System actually knew how to read the mood?
Anyway...
'Thanks, System~!!!'
[You're welcome!]
As for the dungeon itself, Toma didn't have much of a reaction.
Wasn't this how System novels usually worked?
He had already suspected that something like this would eventually appear.
So now that it finally had, his reaction was basically—
'Yep. Of course there are dungeons.'
Besides, after what had just happened with Tohka and his newfound determination to become stronger, Toma temporarily wasn't in the mood to make jokes about everything.
What interested him far more was the Authority Level.
What exactly did increasing his Authority Level do?
That was what Toma really wanted to know.
[Please explore it yourself, Host.]
'Fuck! I literally just praised you, and now you pull this shit?!'
Toma mentally raised his middle finger at the System and stopped paying attention to it.
"Oh, right."
Toma finally looked toward Luna.
"Who exactly are you? Why were those guys chasing you? Don't tell me you have some emergency cough syrup they wanted?"
Luna nearly burst into tears.
'He finally noticed me?!'
'I have absolutely no idea what this 'emergency cough syrup' thing is, but this probably isn't the time to worry about that...'
Suppressing her confusion, Luna answered Toma's questions and explained her origins.
After hearing a simplified version of the story, Toma finally understood the situation.
Luna was a royal guard of this country, the Wos Kingdom.
More specifically, she served as the personal bodyguard of one of the kingdom's princesses.
Not long ago, Luna had accompanied the Princess on a journey to pay respects to the Princess's deceased mother.
During the journey, they were ambushed.
A fierce battle followed.
The Princess was captured.
And the three-hundred-member royal guard unit was almost completely annihilated.
Luna only survived because the Captain risked his life to save her.
Out of the entire royal guard unit, only Luna and the Captain managed to return to the royal capital.
But when the King and his ministers learned what had happened, they flew into a rage.
They accused Luna of betraying the Princess and leaking her whereabouts, resulting in the Princess's abduction.
Luna was charged with treason, thrown into the dungeon, and sentenced to execution.
The Captain wasn't imprisoned.
Instead, he was stripped of his position and permanently reduced to slavery.
But the Captain had raised Luna since she was a child.
He knew that Luna and the Princess were as close as sisters.
There was absolutely no possibility that Luna would betray her.
Besides, if the Captain himself hadn't desperately rescued Luna during the attack, she would have died in battle alongside the other guards.
The man who was officially called her Captain, but was essentially her father, spent every last bit of his savings and exhausted all the connections he had built over the years.
Eventually, he managed to bribe the guards watching Luna.
And Luna escaped.
The Captain himself remained behind in the royal capital...
Taking responsibility for everything.
With his help, Luna escaped the capital and began searching for traces of the missing Princess.
Eventually, Luna decided to cross the Silent Forest and travel to the Dark Capital, Shangri-La, hoping to gather information there.
But while crossing the forest, she encountered the Dire Wolf Mercenary Group.
They began pursuing her.
And after that...
She encountered Toma and Tohka.
"Please, I beg you both to help me rescue the Princess. His Majesty will surely reward you generously."
Luna sincerely pleaded with Toma for help.
After everything that had happened, she had already realized that the terrifyingly powerful Tohka only listened to Toma.
Therefore, asking Toma for help would obviously be much more effective than asking Tohka.
Toma, however, wasn't paying attention to Luna at all.
Instead, he was furiously complaining inside his head.
This ridiculously cliché story had completely reignited the urge to roast everything that had only recently calmed down.
'What the hell?!'
'That king is unbelievably incompetent!'
'How the hell can someone like that become a king?!'
'It's a miracle this kingdom hasn't already been destroyed!'
Having read countless novels, played countless games, and watched mountains of anime, Toma had immediately formed a theory after hearing Luna's story.
Wasn't this obviously something some noble had orchestrated?
Someone leaked the Princess's whereabouts, arranged for her kidnapping, then framed Luna for everything.
Luna took the blame while the real culprit remained outside enjoying life.
Such a ridiculously simple scheme...
And that king couldn't see through it?
And Luna expected Toma to believe a king like that would generously reward him?
'Give me a break.'
'He'd probably send an army to deliver my coffin instead.'
So when it came to Luna's request, Toma originally had absolutely no intention of getting involved.
Unfortunately...
The System decided to join the fun.
And that immediately put Toma in a difficult position.
[Mission Triggered: Classic Development — Rescue the Princess]
[Description: You're a transmigrator! How can you call yourself one if you haven't rescued at least one princess? Hurry up and save the Princess, young man!]
[Mission Rewards: Random Summoning Coin ×2, Summoning Points ×2,000, Exchange Points ×5,000]
[Time Limit: 2 months]
[Failure Penalty: Toothache for 3 days]