Chapter 222: Eir in Yavik Town (2)

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“No… no record of her first thirteen years of life? What… what does that even mean?”

For Eir, this wasn’t entirely an unbelievable concept. After all, she herself didn’t have clear memories of her first one or two years of life. Her earliest recollections were of wandering through the forest before being taken in by the Hysterm family.

But…

Thirteen years? That was an entirely different matter.

“While I could say it’s literal, I imagine it’s hard for you to fully grasp. But… this isn’t just something I uncovered through investigation. She told me herself,” Pevran said, exhaling a puff of smoke.

“A few years ago, during the Snow Abyss expedition, she saved White Fortress. If not for her, we might’ve been wiped out there. Many of our members were gravely injured back then, and some have since left the team.”

“……”

Eir listened intently to Pevran’s words but couldn’t detect any warmth or camaraderie in her tone. It didn’t sound like Pevran considered Shuna a friend—more like a reliable partner in a time of need.

“But later, I found out she’s a Divine Condenser.”

“Divine Condenser… let me check…” Eir murmured, reaching for her notebook.

“Those ‘gazed upon by the gods.’ They receive blessings from the goddess Revers. But… Divine Condensers also have another trait—a unique obsession with dungeons.”

“……I know,” Eir said softly, lowering her head. “She’s been corresponding with my young master for years, so I’m well aware of her fascination with dungeons.”

“Exactly. I wanted her to stay in our team, but she refused. She said the only team she’d ever stay with was one she had already decided on long ago. Haha, I still don’t know what she meant by that.”

“……”

Eir couldn’t figure out an answer either, but her instincts as a beastfolk told her that the “team” Shuna mentioned…

Was likely Will’s Morning Star.

The flickering firelight danced in Eir’s eyes as she stared into it, recalling the nights when Will would sit by a similar glow, writing letters to “S” late into the night.

If…

If “S,” or rather Shuna, wasn’t as kind-hearted as Eir had assumed—if even someone like Pevran, who had worked alongside her, couldn’t form a lasting bond with her…

Then how would she treat Will?

Eir’s hand trembled slightly before clenching into a tight fist.

It was as if she were crushing an imaginary threat in her palm—a pest that might harm Will.

“You know,” Pevran continued, pulling Eir back to the present, “someone like me—who sees dungeon exploration as just a way to make a living—will never walk the same path as someone like her.”

Pevran sighed and added, “She wouldn’t even take a share of the rewards we risked our lives for. She only ever accepted just enough to cover her basic needs…”

“Her obsession with exploring dungeons and her insatiable curiosity about their secrets… it’s honestly a little terrifying. That’s probably why I ended up joining the rescue team while she went back to school.”

“Mm.”

Someone so deeply obsessed with dungeon exploration?

Then why did she take Will away? What was she planning to do with him?!

Eir felt a growing sense of unease. She had always assumed that someone who had corresponded with Will for so many years wouldn’t harm him.

But now it seemed…

She knew absolutely nothing about “S,” about Shuna.

“She’s someone who keeps her guard up and doesn’t easily share her past,” Pevran explained. “But… on the other hand, she’s oddly unguarded. If you ask her directly, she’ll answer without hesitation.”

“So… did she tell you about her past?!” Eir asked eagerly.

“Yes. In fact, it was after hearing her nonchalantly recount it that I decided not to get too close to someone like her…”

Pevran’s tone grew heavier.

“You seem genuinely curious about this. Are you sure you want to know?”

“Because… only by understanding who she really is can I rescue my young master from her clutches!” Eir declared with conviction.

“Alright then. I’ll tell you. But know this—it’s because what we’re investigating now is creepily similar to what she once told me.”

Eir’s ears perked up, straining to catch every word.

“Please… go on.”

“She was born in a dungeon.”

“…?”

Eir tilted her head in confusion.

For a moment, she couldn’t fully process what that meant.

“What do you mean… born in a dungeon? Is Shuna a dungeon monster? And… what about her age?”

Eir found herself blurting out a barrage of questions before she even realized it.

“When I heard her casually say that, I had the same reaction,” Pevran admitted with a wry smile.

The cigarette in Pevran’s hand had nearly burned out. She flicked the butt into the fire before continuing.

“When she was ‘born’ in the dungeon, she was already thirteen years old.”

“She has no memories or experiences of growing up to that age as a ‘human.’”

“In other words, she’s like…”

“A dungeon monster. Monsters don’t have past memories or experiences; they’re born fully formed at whatever stage they’re meant to be.”

“……”

In Eir’s mind, the image of the black-haired woman began to blur and overlap with the monsters she had encountered in dungeons.

Shuna…

Shuna was a dungeon monster?

Was…

Was this what Will had been warning her about all along?

—”Eir, why do you think we prepare for these things?”

—”To defend against dungeon monsters and survive their attacks.”

—”You think dealing with witches’ flames is enough? No, no… Dungeon monsters are terrifying. The kind of terror that shakes your very soul—the kind that drags you into hellfire—that’s what dungeon monsters bring.”

And now Will was in her hands…

Didn’t that mean…

“Don’t worry, rookie,” one of the younger team members chimed in, trying to lighten the mood. “Captain Pevran loves telling urban legends like this. There’s no way dungeon monsters could leave their dungeons!”

“Exactly! Maybe Shuna just made it up to mess with you,” another added.

Their lighthearted teasing seemed aimed at easing Eir’s tension.

“Quiet down!” Pevran snapped, tapping the ground with a stick to silence them.

“Of course,” Pevran continued after a pause, “this is all based on what she told me. Maybe she really was just spinning some strange tale to throw me off—maybe she’s actually some noblewoman out here ‘experiencing life.’”

“I think…” Eir hesitated before speaking firmly. “I think her story sounds more believable.”

“I used to think it was strange how calmly she described herself as a dungeon monster,” Pevran admitted. “But now… I think she might’ve been telling the truth.”

She scratched her head before adding grimly:

“Because in Green Wilds Maze, next to the spoils left behind by its deceased Empress…”

“I found another corpse.”

“We couldn’t identify them—not an adventurer. It was as if they’d appeared out of nowhere.”

“And it matched almost exactly what Shuna had once told me.”