Reincarnated As Aura

Aura PoV

"It's dark! It's scary!!"

At the moment, I was reflecting deeply on the impermanence of all things.

It seemed that my master, my nemesis, and ironically, my ultimate weakness—Frieren—was about to meet her end, devoured unjustly by a dungeon mimic. Her life as an elf was nearing its conclusion.

Her upper body had already been completely swallowed, leaving her legs flailing desperately as she screamed and struggled.

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This thing... It doesn't seem like she's going to die at all, thanks to her defensive magic.

"Help me, Auraaaa!!"

How did it come to this? I thought back to about an hour ago.

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"Re-explore the dungeon in this village...?"

One quiet morning—

After breakfast, my husband brought up the idea as we lounged in the living room. His words left me baffled. I hadn't even heard rumors about a dungeon existing in this village. And if it had already been explored before, surely it should be more well-known.

"Wow. I'm surprised a dungeon exists in such a rural place like this," Frieren said, suprised.

"You've got a point, but why don't you try saying that in front of your master? You lived here yourself, didn't you?" I retorted.

"No way! She'd wring my neck for sure. And yeah, I lived here, but that's exactly why I'm surprised."

It wasn't this exact village, but the legendary mage Flamme once lived somewhere nearby. Frieren, too, had spent time in this region. It's not like either of us had an excuse for not knowing.

"Haha, you two really get along well," my husband said with a chuckle.

If this counts as "getting along," then demons and elves would've been best friends centuries ago! The thought made me snicker inwardly.

Curious, I pressed him for more details about the dungeon. He explained that it was an unusual one, with almost no traps and only a single type of monster inhabiting it. Most importantly, it was reportedly almost entirely safe—an oddity for a dungeon.

Apparently, he had stumbled upon this information while going through old records left by his late grandfather. As the newly appointed village chief, my husband had been organizing documents and discovered the dungeon's existence. I supposed that explained how such a major thing could go unnoticed for so long. Still, if he'd kept something this interesting from me, I would've been more than a little annoyed.

"So, where is this dungeon, anyway?" I asked.

"Well—" He trailed off, standing up and walking to the center of the room. Without another word, he peeled back the living room carpet. Beneath it lay a trapdoor that looked downright ominous, complete with heavy iron hinges and a thick wooden frame that seemed to hum with age.

"Here it is," he said matter-of-factly.

"…Seriously?" I muttered, staring at it.

"Wow, this is the first time I've ever seen a dungeon entrance in a place like this," Frieren remarked, her green eyes lighting up with mild curiosity as she leaned in for a closer look.

It turned out that the dungeon was considered so harmless that the villagers had built the chief's house directly above it. During a bandit raid decades ago, it had even been used as an emergency shelter, saving a small group of villagers. Afterward, though, it was largely forgotten. The people who knew of it either passed away or, like my husband, were too young to remember. There hadn't been any reports of monsters emerging from it in all that time.

"According to the records, the last exploration was about a hundred years ago," my husband added.

"Just a little while ago, then," Frieren said casually, brushing her hair back. For an elf like her, a hundred years was barely worth mentioning. Despite her usual apathy, she seemed oddly interested in the idea of exploring this dungeon. If she didn't want to do something, she wouldn't even feign interest. Maybe she just wanted to kill time.

"Since it's technically under the village's jurisdiction, I figured we should check its state and report it to the kingdom," my husband explained.

"Well, I'm technically an adventurer," I replied, shrugging.

It was true. My status as a demon adventurer had been officially registered, much to my surprise. Even my merchant license had been legally approved. My husband and eldest daughter had gone to great lengths to arrange everything. I still remember my shock when they handed me the registration document, complete with my name and race listed.

"What's my task for today?" Frieren asked.

"Aurelia said she'd handle it."

"I'll do it!"

Aurelia, who had appeared without me realizing it, exclaimed gleefully. Well, if her head grows horns, she will be like a cheaper version of me, so it shouldn't be a problem. I was a little worried, but I had no choice but to trust that the villagers would get used to it.

"Does this dungeon have any unique traits?" I asked, turning my attention back to my husband.

"Um..." He squinted at the aged records, flipping through brittle pages with care. After a few moments of silence, he looked up.

"It's apparently filled with an absurd number of mimics."

"Oh, that's easy, then," Frieren said, her confidence practically radiating as she puffed out her chest and smirked.

The sight of her smug expression stuck with me. What could possibly go wrong?