"Please, wait right here, sir; Mayor Sachi shall quickly be with you." Said an Elven maid as she opened the door and bowed towards Alexander, who nodded before entering the room and sitting down on one of the futons.
'This mansion is much bigger on the inside than on the outside; it's also very nice. Hmm, wasn't Master a Princess? I wonder what her castle would look like.' Mused Alexander lightly as he glanced at the maid silently standing beside the door before looking around, observing the room.
"Well, don't mind if I do." Said Alexander quietly as he reached towards the table, grabbed the tea that had already been prepared, and took a sip through the helmet.
After eating a few of the snacks and waiting a few minutes, eventually, the door to the room was opened, and a man wearing a luxury suit followed by two guards entered; however, he wasn't just any man; he was a lizardman. I don't know much about them, as I've only ever seen one other lizardman before, and it was merely a passing glance while walking down the street, but apparently, lizardmen are said to descend from Wyverns, which descend from Dragons. Of course, to my understanding, these were just baseless rumors. Other than the fact that they looked more like lizards than humans, I don't see how they could possibly resemble a Dragon.
Looking at Mayor Sachi, he stared at me solemnly as he sat down on the futon opposite me while his two guards flanked either side.
"Greetings, Mr…?" Asked Sachi sternly as he looked at Alexander, who took a sip before dismissively waving his hand.
"My name isn't important; anyways, I apologize for the sudden intrusion; you're not the only one who'd like to be lying in bed. It's just the destruction of Hyphen is coming near, so I figured it's only right to warn everyone in advance." Stated Alexander lightly as he set the tea cup down and leaned forward, staring at Sachi through his blindfolded eyes, causing him and the three others to frown deeply.
"Destruction of Hyphen? Please tell me more; such news is beyond urgent." Remarked Sachi solemnly as he narrowed his eyes, causing Alexander to lightly nod, wasting no time.
"Yesterday, as I'm sure you've heard, the dungeon was closed by the Adventure guild from the appearance of an anomaly; I happened to be passing through Hyhpen when I heard the news, and out of pure curiosity, I decided to check it out, after all, it's not every day where an anomaly happens in a dungeon. However, what I found was quite terrifying." Replied Alexander with a nod as he leaned back in his chair while speaking to Sachi, who cared little for his lack of etiquette given such an important discussion.
"While it's right to call what I witness an anomaly, it's an extremely unlucky one. Underneath the Graveyard dungeon is another dungeon, and thanks to the hole on the 15th floor, the two dungeons are now connected. Unfortunately, the dungeon underneath has been there for most likely a few hundred years at a minimum, and with seemingly no way to get to them, the monsters have been steadily growing, so I'm sure you understand what that means." Added Alexander as he slightly tilted his head and looked at Sachi, who sported a troubled expression.
"Dungeon Rampage. Are you suggesting that now that the two dungeons are connected, a dungeon rampage will happen within Hyphen?" Asked Sachi with a deep frown and an unsightly expression, to which Alexander nodded.
"Yes, and from my calculations, there are about five days, give or take a day, before the two dungeons become one; once that happens, a rampage will happen, and when it does, it'll be unstoppable." Said Alexander with a nod, his words causing Sachi to close his eyes as he silently pondered for a few moments before suddenly snapping them open.
"How much will it cost to employ you?" Asked Sachi with narrowed eyes, causing Alexander to raise an eyebrow, though it was hidden behind his helmet.
"My cost is proportionate to the difficulty of the job I'm being offered; however, I'll have to refuse your request in this case. I'm powerful, one of the strongest adventures, but that doesn't mean I alone can stop a Legendary-ranked dungeon rampage that has been brewing for centuries. If it were an Epic ranked, I'd be more than willing, but not this; I have no desire to die as of yet." Stated Alexander lightly as he took an apple off the table while Sachi's large mouth opened in shock.
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"W-What… W-What did you just say?" Asked Sachi in utter disbelief as his long tail trembled while he stared at Alexander with widened eyes.
"Yes, you heard me correctly. The dungeon underneath Hyphen is of Legendary rank. That's why I decided to warn everyone, as this city doesn't have any hopes of defending itself against an Epic-ranked dungeon, let alone one even stronger. I suggest informing everyone of such news and declaring a city-wide energy and completely abandoned Hyphen." Replied Alexander calmly with a nod, his words causing despair to slowly set into Sachi as she lowered his head.
"What about the Adventure-" Said Sachi, though before he could finish speaking, Alexander cut him off, his voice sounding much firmer.
"This is a Legendary rank dungeon unless multiple S-class adventure groups or above agree to come and help, which I can assure you they won't; there is no hope for this city. Even if you could get multiple S-class adventure groups to agree, you'd still need to temporarily abandon the city, not to mention this city doesn't have nearly enough wealth to employ numerous S-call Adventures." Stated Alexander sternly as he squinted his eyes at Sachi, who clenched his knees in anger.
"I strongly suggest completely abandoning Hyphen; it's a dead city with mere days left on the map. Though of course, I'm merely offering advice, you can still do what you wish, but make sure to inform the city; it would be pointless to have tens of thousands of people die for no reason. After all, I'm sure enough will ignore your warning and end up getting culled by the rampage." Added Alexander solemnly with a nod as he finished the rest of the tea before standing up, causing Sachi to quickly look up, opening his mouth to speak, though he was once again interrupted.
"Anyways, I need my beauty sleep; farewell, and hopefully, you take my advice to heart." Said Alexander solemnly, and before anyone could say anything, he suddenly vanished from his spot, teleporting out of the Mayor's estate and appearing in the middle of the street, leaving behind a troubled and tired Mayor.
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Removing the helmet, I stored it in my space pouch and did the same with the blindfold while I walked down the street.
"So, how did I do, Zartha? I copied pretty much everything you said and told me to do, so…" Asked Alexander anxiously as he looked up at the night sky, marveling at the three moons shining upon Hyphen and illuminating it through the darkness.
'Passable. You sounded a little too concerned and weren't aloof enough, but the Mayor definitely got the message, and that's all that matters.' Replied Zartha lightly as she, like usual, sat down under the soft sun while Trina ran around in the distance.
"Yeah, I suppose that's all that matters." Muttered Alexander with furrowed brows before nodding and sighing in relief as he jogged through the streets of Hyphen, heading back home.
Arriving home after a few short minutes of running, I noticed Chloe's light was off, meaning Michelle must've finally gone to sleep, which is good; she's going to need it. Entering Yuki's house, I gently closed the doors and headed upstairs, figuring I should finish packing everything I could; though I left Yuki's room alone, I would pack it after I brought her upstairs. I didn't want to snoop around her room without her supervision; I had already learned that mistake with Master, and unlike her, a slap from Yuki would dislocate my jaw.
'I'm not a masochist, so that's a no for me.' Mused Alexander as he sneakily exited Yuki's room after returning her helmet, only to enter the bathroom and begin packing.
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Placing the boxes on the carriage, I turned around and noticed Chloe helping out as she carried a small box, though as adorable as it was to watch her struggle, I quickly picked the box out from her hands.
"Thanks for your help, Chloe." Said Alexander with a smile as he gently rubbed Chloe's head, causing her to nod enthusiastically before running back into the house.
Chuckling, I shook my head and placed the small box atop a few others before following Chole as I entered Michelle's house, which was rather empty. There was still furniture there, but the walls no longer had pictures, and various other decorations were gone; all in all, it looked oddly similar to Yuki's house.
'Hmm, wherever we end up living next, I want to start hanging pictures.' Thought Alexander as he walked up the stairs, only for Michelle to turn from around the corner and bump into him while carrying a large box with difficulty, causing him to sigh.
"Haa, I've got it from here, Michelle; stop trying to lift things too heavy for yourself; you're going to hurt your back." Remarked Alexander firmly as he eyed Michelle while taking the box out of her hand, causing her to reluctantly nod.
"O-Okay; I-i just wanted to help; I-I feel like I'm not doing anything." Said Michelle softly with a nod as she looked at Alexander, who lightly shook his head before leaning down and kissing her.
"I'm not forbidding you from helping; just don't do something you clearly can't do. After all, if you hurt your back, how do you expect me to pound you from behind?" Said Alexander with a shake of his head before whispering into Michelle's ear while groping her large, plump butt, causing her to blush as she meekly nodded.