When Mika and the others emerged from the dungeon, two lizardmen resembling Zurah stood there, holding long spears.

“O… Ogres!”

“Two ogres came out!”

As the lizardmen raised their spears, sweating nervously, Dada quickly called out to them.

“Please don’t attack! Didn’t we tell you this morning? We were bringing the dungeon boss, the ogre, with us. Weren’t you informed?”

“Ah, right. We did hear that… But there are two of them!”

“This gentleman here is Takayuki Yamano, an SS-rank adventurer—and an ogre! Incredibly, he happens to be an acquaintance of Mika’s, the dungeon boss!”

Dada puffed up his feathers proudly as he introduced Yamano with great flourish.

Mika couldn’t help but think, Isn’t this attitude way too different from how he treats me? But perhaps it was the wisdom of age. Deciding it was good housewife manners to respect one’s elders, she quietly watched how things unfolded.

Once the guards were convinced, they began walking forward. The path ahead was paved with stone, winding through a pine forest that acted as a windbreak.

They soon passed through the pine woods, and beyond it, they saw a massive wall—over twice Mika’s height—and a large gate.

“Welcome to Acid. Our town.”

Dada puffed out his chest and pointed ahead joyfully. Mika’s heart raced as she beheld this strange, new world before her.

“So there’s a town this close to the dungeon?”

“Yes. Dungeons provide various resources and items, so towns often develop near large ones. And there’s another reason… Come this way.”

Before passing through the gate, they were led to a small, old hut built outside the outer wall.

“The door of this hut is a magical artifact called a Door—one that can be used with Mika’s key. If you imagine your dungeon while using the key to open it, you can return in an instant. This is another reason why such a large town exists here. There are other magical artifacts like yours—the royal family owns a few as well—so towns are often built near Doors for convenient travel.”

Doors were among the most mysterious artifacts, their creation still not fully understood. The door of a constructed building could unintentionally become a Door. It was said that when a magical key was first inserted into a door, that door would become a Door. The discovered key and Door would form a pair, and by unconsciously opening the Door, one could reach it from anywhere in the world.

The Door in Acid was found when this place was still a small village. Its key was offered to the royal family and became the reason for relocating the capital here.

One might think the royal castle should have been built around the Door, but since anyone who happened to acquire a key could use it, the Door was placed outside the town walls for safety. In towns like this, Doors were managed by guards who kept records of their users. Here, aside from showing identification for record-keeping, there were no special restrictions on usage.

“Once Mika registers at the Adventurer’s Guild, she’ll be able to use this Door by showing her guild tag.”

At the town gate, the guards on duty were startled once again. This time, they were a kobold and a snakefolk.

“The female kobold on the left is considered one of the most beautiful gatekeepers in town,” Gatt happily informed her.

Ah, so she’s a woman.

“Gatt, are you married?”

“Nah, I’m having too much fun with adventurer work right now. I’ll start looking for a good partner after I turn 20.”

He said it casually, but Mika noticed his tail drooping slightly.

“…I’ll ask him about his troubles once we get a little closer,” she mentally noted.

Beyond the gate, a wide main street stretched straight ahead, leading to another tall wall and gate far in the distance. The royal castle must have been beyond that.

Lining both sides of the main street were surprisingly large buildings, and the road was bustling with people. Alongside the usual fairyfolk, birdfolk, lizardmen, and kobolds, there were also races Mika had never seen before. Most were under a meter tall, with some as small as 30 centimeters. Yet, the building entrances were large enough for Mika to pass through—why was that?

“Ah, you didn’t see any just now, but there are taller races as well.”

“To welcome any and all races—that is the creed of the people of Salichil.”

As Dada proudly declared this, Mika found him so adorable that she couldn’t resist patting his head, saying, “Good, good.”

Afterward, as she tried to console a sulking Dada, the group made their way to the Adventurer’s Guild.