Ganersam Volume 2

The two girls went down the stairs, looking refreshed.

“Did Emma fall, again?”

Emma twitched at that question and approached me. She started pulling my cheeks, and with an annoyed expression, she asked,

“Instead of running upstairs like a prince, asking whether her princess is alright or not, you just sat there, laughing?”

“For one, I’m not a prince, and you’re not a princess. Second, the fact that Nia didn’t say anything probably means you’re alright.”

“I wish you would care about me more...”

She said as she pouted and turned away.

“Anyway, the bath’s ready. We’ll prepare dinner.”

“Alright.”

Emma and Nia headed for the kitchen, and I headed for the bath.

“Just to make sure, you’re not actually hurt, right?”

I asked before I ascended the stairs. Emma opened her mouth as if ready to let out a complaint, yet she closed it and lightly shook her head.

“No, I’m fine.”

“Alright.”

It’s a bit weird since if she’s hurt, then she won’t be down here. For some reason, I felt a bit worried, long after she fell, which is extremely stupid. I took one last glance at her, before heading up.

The day passed without any major events, and no, Emma didn’t slip again in the kitchen.

Amel came back home after dinner. We all had a good night’s rest, no randomly waking up in the middle of the night this time. The next day, we prepared to depart to the dungeon.

After confirming that everyone is ready, we head out. Located not far from the goblin camp we fought yesterday, we parked near the road before making our way toward the dungeon. Emma is taking her Kritz today, and I’m bringing LIAR with me. Nia had her polearm with her, and Amel was using her sword.

As if we were going through a scripted event, Riko fell sick last night, so it was just us four this time. I think this is the first time we four actually go on a serious quest together. Yesterday’s goblin quest doesn’t count, since Emma’s practically doing all the work.

“This is it.”

Amel said as we stood in front of the entrance. The dungeon was massive, its entrance was so big it could fit an entire semi-trailer inside, with some extra space left. Amel grabbed her flashlight and led the way. We all carried emergency flashlights with us, but Amel’s was different.

Hers was a lot brighter and has a longer range with a wider spread. Thanks to it, we could clearly see the surface of the dark dungeon. The dungeon had the rocky interior of a cave, with weirdly placed metal beams peeking through the stone walls.

“Is this a natural cave?”

I couldn’t help but ask. One or two metal beams in the entrance could be easily explained with some random excuse, but as we went in deeper, the metal beams intensified. On the left side, there are three different large metal beams with several wires going through. On the right, there are four, but no cables.

The dungeon gets less and less rocky with each step, and the path splits into three.

“The left side is some kind of empty storage room, and the right path leads to a dead-end, the center path leads deeper into the dungeon.”

Amel explained as she led the way. We followed her through the center path, which once again branched into multiple different paths.

“We’ve already explored all of these paths. All of them had a dead-end, but this one...”

She looked towards the large path in the middle. It’s significantly larger compared to the other smaller branches.

At the end of that path is a large metal door.

“How do you know the slate is located here?”

“A hunch.”

I should’ve expected that by now, although I doubt it’s purely from a hunch. The cave is a mix of both naturally generated rocks and solid metal beams. It’s obviously hiding something.

Amel pushed the key we found into the two large metal doors. The metal doors created a largeclang, which echoed throughout the dark hallway. The sounds of gears working could be heard from the walls as the door slowly slid open. Beyond that point, a narrow staircase led us down. The entire construction beyond the door is made out of metal. Under the staircases, are small lights that lit up the stairs.

We silently went down. The sound of footsteps echoed through the narrow stairway.

“How far is it?”

“... I don’t know...”

Amel was leading the group, Emma behind her. I looked above her shoulders, the staircase goes so deep to the point that Amel’s flashlight didn’t reach the end.

The walk down took around 15 minutes. I couldn’t imagine how we would walk back up. Once we reached the last step, the silver metal staircase was replaced with a yellow metal floor.

Another metal door stood there, menacingly.

In games, it’s common for rooms like this to be the boss room. Amel carefully pushed the door open. The second the door reached roughly 30 degrees in angle, lights lit up inside the room. Inside was a very large empty room.

Its entire surface was made of solid silver metal. The floor was divided into two colors. It’s black in the middle, with a thin yellow outline going through its entire outer side. There are three doors, one on our left, one on the center, and one on the right.

The left and center doors are both single doors, but the one on the right is a double door.

“Let’s explore the left door first.”

I said leading the way. In most cases, the right door, the obvious different one, is our target. That means it would be locked, and we need to explore the other two in order to find a way to open it.

The two girls didn’t question my logic and followed me. As expected, the door slides open.

Inside was a room with several bunk beds.

“This must be the living quarters.”

I said as I entered. For what seems like an abandoned structure, this place looks awfully tidy. All the bunk beds are neatly arranged, and the toilet on the end of the room was well cleaned.

“Hey... is this place really abandoned?”

Amel asked.

I do have the same bad feeling. There’s no way an abandoned underground lair like this would be this tidy. Maybe a demon is living here? But would a demon clean its room like this?

Our questions were soon answered with the sound of engines. The room shook. I pulled out my LIAR, and the girls pulled out their respective weapons. We turned toward the door. The shaking continued for a while. When it stopped, there was silence. The sound of echoing footsteps appeared in the silence, becoming stronger and stronger.

And suddenly, a girl appeared from the door.

“Oh... hey...?”

The girl said awkwardly as she stood there at the door. She was wearing a black dress with dark pink flowers. On her back is a scythe. She was wearing an eye patch on her left eye, similar to the one pirates use.

“Amber... I know I’m in no position to ask this but... what are you doing here?”

“This is me home. Me guess ye wouldn’t know that, though.”

She said, yet her eyes are still locked on a certain girl of ours.

“Senpai?”

Nia took a step forward, and Amber opened up her arms.

“Me knew me recognize you.”

Nia jumped into her arms, hugging her fellow cademon.

Yes, Amber was also a cademon, but I didn’t know they were related.

Seeing our confused faces, Amber turned to us to explain.

“Me thinks me owe you an explanation. Me is a cademon, me code is N10, and me is N14′s senpai... say, what did they call ye?”

“Nia.”

“Me see. Anyway, unlike Nia, me took an entirely different name as a new name. Me name is Amber, and like Nia, me used to be part of the research department.”

“I’m glad I could see you again, senpai. I thought you were long gone.”

“Me also happy to see ye again. Me saw ye before in the guild, but me thought me is seeing things.”

The two cademons continue cuddling each other, and we could only let out an inaudible ‘aww’ as we watched the adorable scene unfold.

“Anyway, let me show ye around. As ye can see, this is me bedroom, me toilet, and me dining room. Not much to see here.”

She said before turning around. In the room, there were only bunk beds and a toilet, so I assumed by dining room she meant she ate here. We followed through the door. The large previously empty main room was now filled with a starship.

“This is me starship. It’s a cargo ship me built me self.”

“Ah, so you don’t take those staircases?”

“Of course me not. Too tiring. Besides, me lost the keys a few days ago.”

“You mean this one?”

Amel showed the keys we discovered from the goblin camp.

“Yes, that one. Thanks.”

She received the key from Amel and stored it in her pocket.

Looking at Amber’s ship, this ship had an overall box shape, ideal for a cargo ship. It was around 20 meters in length. Its front side was flat, with two laser cannons appearing from under its nose. The ship had a small cockpit in its front. There were two seats in the canopy for pilots. The ship’s rear had its engines arranged in an X shape, with the landing gears sticking out from the undersides.

Amber then led us to the center single door. Upon closer examination, it turned out the door was actually a part of a more significant mechanism.

“This door leads to the workshop. Me uses this small door when me walk in and out. But when me needs to transport stuff, me press this.”

She pressed a button beside the door, and with that, the entire wall moved up, revealing a large workshop with multiple tools and equipment.

“This is the boba machine William had requested. It’s nearly done.”

She showed me a machine. It looked similar to a coffee maker.

“As William knew, me runs multiple businesses. This is where me constructs me machines.”

Around the room, countless different machines with varying forms lie in wait. Amber was also the one who built my coffee machine back in the guild, so I have no doubts regarding her skills.

The other girls looked in fascination at the workshop.

“I didn’t know you worked with Senpai...”

“I didn’t even know you knew each other.”

“Me had seen Nia several times in Alpha, but me thinks me is seeing things. Me is glad to know it really is Nia. Nia had the best ears in the army.”

Amber said while playing with Nia’s ears. If Amber said that despite having her own cat ears, I wonder just how good Nia’s ears are compared to other cademons. I’m also surprised at how Nia acts with her ears being touched. In most animes, the girls would definitely freak out when someone started playing with their ears.

“So... what’s behind that double door?”

“Ah, that door. Unfortunately, me don’t know. Me never could open it. Me thinks there are some interesting stuff behind it, but me can’t open it. Maybe ye should check it out?”

I nodded and along with the group, left the workshop. We approached the double door. It looked similar to the other doors, the only difference is that, unlike the other doors which were single, this one was a double.

Faced with a locked door, I do what any sane person would do.

Kick it.

“Didn’t work...”

“Do ye think me didn’t try that before?”

“Umm...”

I could only scratch my head. I wish some kind of clue or notification would pop up, suggesting on to what kept the door shut.

But alas, the door stood still. Unlike the one back at the dungeon entrance, this one does not have a keyhole. It’s unlikely that it used a conventional key.

“So... what now?”

Standing in front of the door probably won’t open it. There’s no clue on how to open it, either.

“Let’s call this off and come back another time. Since we knew this is Amber’s home, coming back here would be a lot easier.”

I gave a suggestion, and to my surprise, everyone agreed.

“Let me fly ye back, then.”

Amber said as she made her way towards her ship.

“Ah, we brought our carriage here, so we could drive back on our way. We would appreciate it if you could get us upstairs, though.”

“Alright, fine by me.”

Amber walked towards the side and pressed a different button located near the entrance. The loud mechanical parts roared once more, and the entire floor lifted up. The ceiling opened up, revealing a long metal tube.

“Anyway, I forgot to ask, but what was this place before you came here?”

“Me don’t know, it was already abandoned and empty when me arrived, so me simply tidied things up.”

“It must be hard cleaning all those spaces alone, right senpai?”

“Well... not necessarily. Me built a robot for that.”

“... You’re not going to sell that?”

“It’s a complicated machine, far too inefficient for commercial use. Me only used it once, so it suffices.”

“I’m surprised I didn’t know anything about you, though. Information is essential for a bounty hunter. Anyway, I can’t wait to go home and take another bath. That walk down is exhausting!”

“And Emma didn’t fall this time.”

My short comment was enough to make Emma’s face red.

“What happened yesterday was an accident!”

“... What happened yesterday?”

“Emma slipped in the bathroom.”

“Ah... I see...”

“Amel, I wish you were a bit more worried.”

I honestly wonder how Emma kept consistently slipping. It’s as if she got cursed. The girls continued talking about random things as we went up.

However, halfway through the tunnel, the lights went out, and the lift stopped.

As if expecting this, Amber moved to the side and pulled up a small panel, before starting work on the lift.

“Don’t worry. This is normal.”

“Senpai has a thing for making stuff that consistently breaks down.”

...

Is my business safe, then? Maybe I should have doubted her skills?

“That’s not entirely wrong. Me didn’t pay much attention to stuff that me didn’t sell, so they break down often. Don’t worry, ye’s business is safe, though. Also, in me defense, me rarely use this lift. Me just fly out with me ship.”

After a short while, the lights lit up once more, and the lift continued moving. It took another 5 minutes before we reached the surface. The sky was already yellowish-orange once we arrived.

“Anyway, we’re going back to Alpha. See you, Amber.”

“See ye later.”

Waving toward Amber, we all climbed back into the carriage. Nia started the carriage, and we made our way back home.

Me waved to the group as they went back to Alpha.

Me walked back to the lift, pressing a small button on the lift’s console.

The metal lift started descending back down to me home.

Me lie down on the metal floor, looking at the beautiful afternoon skies as me go deeper underground. Nia reminded me of a certain someone. Me old friend.

It was clear skies that day, the stars shining beautifully high above.

“What do you think lies beyond these walls? Beyond this place.”

She asked, her sweet voice clear in me head.

“Me don’t know... the skies are beautiful, though.”

Back then, me do not care for the outside world.

“Yeah. It’s rare for us to have a chance to sneak out like this... anyway... have you ever thought about escaping?”

Me looked at her.

“... Escaping this place?”

“Yes...”

“... No... us went through so much just to see this view. Me doubt us would succeed.”

“Well... you will never know if you don’t try...”

“Ye right... me guess... wait, ye not right. If us fail, us die.”

“Haha, don’t think too much of it. You only live once, make the most out of it.”

She really is reckless. She didn’t change, until the very end.

...

Me sorry, Nia.