Chapter 100 - Rumors (2)

On the day of our regular meeting, the entire party gathered at a tavern for the first time in a while. Not our usual tavern, though. The dwarf had vehemently objected to that.

["Let's go somewhere else! That place is clearly bad luck!"]

Apparently, he felt uneasy about the place where the Mozlan had suddenly arrested us for insulting a noble. Misha and Rotmiller readily agreed. Explorers tended to be superstitious.

'Well, it's not like I don't understand...'

When bad luck could get you killed on the job, being sensitive about this sort of thing wasn't strange. But...

'Isn't this taking it a little too far?'

I sighed. I didn't particularly care about changing taverns. It was a nuisance, but that choice didn't have any real consequences. Unlike the bombshell the dwarf had dropped a moment ago.

"... Why aren't you saying anything?"

As I silently sighed, the dwarf began fidgeting and watching my reaction. So he still had that much of a conscience.

"Give me a moment. I'm thinking."

"O-of course."

A heavy silence settled over the table. I quietly organized my thoughts.

"To sum it up, you don't intend to go exploring this time."

There were ten days left until the Labyrinth opened. We'd gathered to go over our plans one last time, only for the dwarf to announce that he wasn't coming. And he wasn't the only one. Whether they'd discussed it beforehand or not, Rotmiller and Dwalki shared his opinion.

"Ahem! Well, as they say, where there's smoke, there's fire."

"Given what's at stake, we decided it would be best to take a month off and see how things develop."

What was this, a group boycott? Three members of a team of just five had announced they weren't coming. The reason was simple. The rumors of an impending Dimension collapse had spread so widely that they'd gotten nervous. That was how people worked. Even if logic told them otherwise, it was easy to get swept up in the mood around them.

"All my former companions say they're sitting this one out too."

"Wouldn't you be better off taking a break yourself? Next year's taxes shouldn't be a problem for you..."

"If it really does happen, however unlikely, that'll be the end of us!"

The three had started out apologetically, but now they were worrying about me instead.

"... Bjorn, what are you going to do, nyah?"

Misha cautiously asked what I intended. In truth, persuading them wouldn't be difficult. If I dropped hints about what I'd learned in Ghost Busters and took the time to convince them, they'd change their minds. But...

'There's no real need to do that.'

Thinking about it, this wasn't bad. More than three months had already passed since our trip to the Blood-Tinted Castle.

'This actually works out. I'd been planning to find an excuse to enter the Labyrinth separately soon anyway.'

Early on, the standard strategy was to clear a first-floor rupture whenever its cooldown expired.

"If that's how you feel, it can't be helped. The two of us will go in alone this time."

"Huh? M-me too?"

"Were you planning to send me in alone, then?"

"Uh, that's not what I meant, nyah..."

Yeah, right. She plainly didn't want to go.

"If you're that worried, I'll just go al—"

"Oh, you barbarian! Shouldn't you at least ask properly first, nyah? Try being a little nicer about it for once, nyah!"

Nicer? Hmm...

"... Would you come with me?"

"Tsk. As if I'd send you in alone, nyah."

Well, I had no idea what she wanted from me, but...

"Then that's settled."

The decision was made. This time, we were entering a rupture.

* * *

"Extra! Extra!"

As luck would have it, the very day after the dwarf announced he wasn't coming, notices went up throughout the city. Officially issued by the royal family, they stated that the rumors about a Dimension collapse were entirely unfounded.

'It happened exactly as that man said.'

The notice also mentioned the Tarutein School. Something about how they'd deliberately spread the rumors because they were blinded by their research. I was a little surprised. Sure, I'd paid 40,000 GP for the information, but I hadn't expected it to predict events this precisely.

"Hahaha! Bjorn! Did you see that?"

That evening, the dwarf came to see me. Beaming, he retracted yesterday's announcement and declared that we could now enter the Labyrinth. Unfortunately for him, I'd already decided which rupture we were going to enter.

"What? You want to go together? I can't. I've already accepted a commission!"

"Hm? A commission?"

I recited the answer I'd prepared. Misha and I clearly wouldn't make much hunting on our own, so I'd accepted a commission instead. An escort job inside the Labyrinth, which meant staying by the client's side until we returned to the city.

"Could you perhaps... turn it down?"

"I've already taken an advance. Are you asking me to break my word?"

"N-no, of course not..."

A flawless answer that left no room for negotiation. The dwarf had no choice but to leave with his shoulders slumped. What could he say? His own announcement that he wasn't coming had caused all this.

'Tsk. Seeing him like that makes me feel sorry for him.'

Even without this, I'd eventually have found an excuse for Misha and me to split off. Taking all five of us into a rupture wasn't an option. Never mind having to divide the spoils among more people; it increased the risks I had to bear.

'Still, this is the right call.'

I forced myself to put aside my lingering regrets. Misha was one thing—we'd built a bond of trust that went beyond simply being teammates. Revealing hidden pieces to the other three as well would be foolish.

THUD.

As soon as the dwarf left and the door shut, Misha hurried over.

"An escort commission? When did you accept one of those, nyah?"

"Don't worry about it. I just made up an excuse."

"An excuse, nyah?"

She tilted her head, looking puzzled. I told her the truth: we were entering a rupture on our next expedition. There was a method most people didn't know.

"Don't tell me you learned that at the library too, nyah?"

"Well, something like that."

"Hmm... Then why keep it a secret from Hikurod, nyah? Wouldn't it be better to go together, nyah?"

Such an innocent question. I chuckled and asked one of my own.

"Misha, have you told anyone about making a contract with a spirit beast using the Frost Spirit Ring?"

"Huh? No, nyah."

"Not a single person?"

"You told me to keep it a secret, nyah."

"I did."

I nodded and continued.

"But what if it had been Hikurod? If I'd asked him the same thing, do you think he would've kept it?"

Misha thought for a moment, then shook her head.

"... I wouldn't be surprised if Hikurod got drunk and blabbed about it everywhere, nyah."

"What about Dwalki or Rotmiller?"

"Hmm... Somehow, I think Dwalki would've let it slip even sober, and Rotmiller... I'm not sure, nyah."

Did everyone judge people more or less the same way? Surprisingly, Misha's predictions almost perfectly matched my private thoughts. Except for Rotmiller.

'He's actually the easiest one to figure out.'

Rotmiller would have kept the secret. Then he'd have privately wondered how I knew such things and grown suspicious of me.

"Oh! So that's why you kept it secret, nyah!"

By now, Misha seemed to understand what I was getting at. But apparently, that raised another question.

"Then what about me? Why are you telling me, nyah?"

There were several reasons. Misha was surprisingly meticulous and knew how to keep her mouth shut. Despite that, she was an inherently terrible liar. That meant I could check whether a secret had spread simply by asking her, just as I had now. But... one sentence would be enough this time too. I was a barbarian, after all.

"You're someone I can trust."

"... Hic!"

Misha started hiccupping.

* * *

Eight days remained until the Labyrinth opened. Once again, they flew by as I took care of everything that needed doing. To give a brief rundown...

Day one.

Since we were heading into a rupture, there was quite a lot to prepare. First, our equipment.

["You're buying more equipment?"]

["Not buying. Enchanting."]

I had an element imbued into my mace and Misha's twin swords.

「Lightning energy permeates the equipment.」

「A portion of the damage dealt with this equipment is converted to Lightning damage.」

The total cost was 600,000 Stones. The enchantments only lasted thirty days, but considering we intended to clear a rupture with just the two of us, it was worth the investment.

["If we're doing it anyway, couldn't we have made them permanent, nyah?"]

["That would've cost twenty times as much."]

["..."]

I also bought several consumables—thundergrass, Lightning Scrolls, and other Lightning-related items. They only came to about 300,000 Stones in total, but since they weren't in high demand, I had to visit quite a few shops to find them. Oh, and one last thing.

["... Are you really buying something this expensive, nyah?"]

["You bought an Expanded Backpack. Why fuss over this?"]

["But this is a consumable, nyah! Once you use it, it's gone, nyah!"]

After much deliberation, I also bought a bottle of Top-tier potion. The price was 1,030,000 Stones.

The Top-tier potion wasn't really an investment for the rupture, though. I'd wanted to keep a bottle in reserve for a long time, and I'd finally worked up the resolve to splurge. For an explorer traveling without a priest, a Top-tier potion was as good as an extra life.

["If we ever need it, you won't think it was a waste of money."]

["Hmm, that's true, nyah..."]

["Besides, we're splitting the cost. It isn't that much of a burden, is it?"]

For the record, all the expenses so far—roughly two million Stones—came out of our joint account.

["Ugh, are we done spending money now, nyah?"]

["You are, for now."]

["...?"]

Day two.

I headed to the sanctuary first thing in the morning. As before, the chieftain welcomed me.

["Bjorn, son of Jandel! I've heard the stories! You've made me truly proud! To think you've earned such a splendid new epithet as Knight Crusher!"]

Unlike last time, when we'd only exchanged a few words, the chieftain spent quite a while praising me. Apparently, the rumors about me had spread throughout the sanctuary, leaving the young warriors all fired up. It wasn't a productive use of my time, so I gave him a few cursory answers and headed for the shaman's tent. And then...

["Hehehe, you're quite resourceful, warrior. Earning that much money in just two months."]

I paid a whopping four million Stones to activate stage four of the Immortal's engravings.

「Stage 4 of the Immortal's engravings has been activated.」

「Mental Strength and Magic Power increase slightly.」

「Mental increases by +40.」

「Ability increases by +40.」

The windfall I'd earned through my involvement with the baron vanished in its entirety, but... it was still a profitable deal. Even setting aside Mental Strength, which granted a strong resistance bonus against mental magic and status ailments, Magic Power served as MP, and outside of leveling up and a handful of Essences, there was practically no way to increase it.

Day three.

After returning to my lodgings half-dead and passing out, I checked the change in my MP as soon as I woke up. I could maintain [Gigantification] for one and a half times as long.

["Why are you out here doing that first thing in the morning, nyah? Go wash up, nyah. Let's eat, nyah."]

Misha arrived just then, so we had a simple breakfast. At some point, this had become our daily morning routine.

["You're going to the library? Can I come too, nyah?"]

["You...?"]

["What's that look for, nyah! Sometimes I feel like reading too, nyah!"]

After eating, I went to the library with Misha.

But for some reason...

["Farcitiev."]

Lagna cast the ordinary [Book Detection] spell for me. Not [Special Book Detection]. I found that strange and asked why, only to receive an even stranger answer. Apparently, since she was doing me a special favor in secret, she couldn't cast it in front of other people.

["Hmm. In that case, shouldn't you have told only me, quietly?"]

["That's true too. You said your name was Karlstein, correct? Please forget what you just heard."]

What was going on? I didn't want to think about it, so I simply took Misha inside and read.

Day four.

I visited the Magic Tower and helped with Raven's research. This was my final session. I'd completed all the required visits, so I wouldn't have to come here every week anymore.

["Thank you for your hard work."]

["I'm grateful you appreciate it."]

["You really do have a way with words... Anyway, try not to die."]

Since ours had been a business relationship, our goodbyes were brief. Contrary to my expectations, however, Raven didn't take back my Magic Tower pass.

["Come by if anything happens. Oh, that doesn't mean you should come bother me all the time... You know what I mean, right? You seem to get caught up in unusual things a lot, Mr. Jandel. I think I'll be curious about how you're doing."]

["All right."]

I also ran into the old man on my way out, and he showed remarkably little interest in me. It wasn't anger or disappointment... He was genuinely, utterly indifferent. Only then did I realize something. This old man had suspected I was an evil spirit from our very first meeting. That was why he'd acted so friendly back then.

Day five, day six, day seven.

After that, the days followed my usual routine. I ate breakfast with Misha, trained by sparring with her during the day, and went to the library in the evening to read for a while. And so time passed, bringing us to the present.

"Everyone, stand back!"

At last, the moment I'd been waiting for arrived.

WHOOOOSH!

The Dimensional Plaza was packed with explorers. A dazzling light began bursting forth from its center.

"Bjorn, son of Jandel! Thank you for your advice today! We'll go on ahead!"

"VEHELLLAAAAAA!!"

The moment the city connected to the Labyrinth, the nearby group of barbarians charged into the portal. They even knew to thank me. Why were we barbarians so polite?

"Hahaha! Lucky fellows, having a senior like you to guide them."

"I only showed them the way."

"Oh, don't be shy."

The dwarf, Rotmiller, and Dwalki were currently standing beside me. Apparently, they couldn't let an entire month go to waste, so the three of them were going in together.

"Be careful. If someone acts friendly, make sure you suspect them."

"Hahaha! Do I look like those young barbarians to you?"

... Honestly, you do. Still, with Rotmiller there, they'd probably manage. They said they'd stay on the second floor this time, so the three of them shouldn't run into anything too dangerous.

"Well, we'd best head in soon... Aren't you two coming?"

"Ah, our client hasn't arrived yet."

"I see. Then I'll see you tomorrow... No, see you later!"

After those brief goodbyes, the three entered the Labyrinth first. I stayed where I was, watching and waiting as the crowd dwindled.

Misha asked, puzzled,

"Bjorn, aren't we going in, nyah?"

"Wait."

"Huh? Until when?"

Oh, honestly... This was the trouble with newbies. If I told her to wait, she should just wait.

「You have entered the first floor, Crystal Cave.」

I'm telling you, that's how you duplicate EXP.

* * *