Chapter 211 - Leader (4)

“Mister!!!!”

Erwin burst out of the crowd of explorers and wrapped herself around one of my arms.

“Thank goodness! I was so worried!!”

Huh. I never imagined I would run into her here. Not that it was a bad thing.

Relaxing a little, I surveyed the area. Her older sister, Daria, was there too.

'They certainly don't all look like members of the same clan...'

At first, I wondered if this was the clan Erwin had joined as a mercenary. On closer inspection, though, that didn't seem to be the case. Most wore clan emblems, but not all of them, and the emblems themselves varied.

Then how exactly had this group come together?

“Miss Erwin, who is that?”

A human woman who looked to be in her early thirties lowered her weapon as she asked. Only then did Erwin release my arm and turn around.

“Don't worry. I know him! Oh, my sister does too! Right?”

“... That's right. We can vouch for his identity, so there's no need to worry that he's with Noark.”

“That's good news.”

After hearing Daria's confirmation, the woman ordered the wary explorers to lower their weapons.

Hmm. Was she in charge here?

“It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Versil Gouland, deputy commander of the La Ler Clan.”

“Bjorn, son of Jandel.”

“Little Valcan...?”

When I shrugged, she looked at me with something like delight.

“Well, someone quite impressive has joined us.”

A compliment that naturally put me on a pedestal. An ordinary barbarian would have puffed up and started strutting right about now.

Was this how leaders made conversation?

“Not that impressive. If anything, I should be saying that to you.”

I gave a brief reply, studying her. I wasn't merely being polite. I meant it.

“The La Ler Clan is quite a large clan, as I understand it.”

It wasn't one of the ten great clans, but it could confidently call itself a major clan. One distinguishing feature was that eighty percent of its members were women.

“And you're its deputy commander...”

I'd met quite an important figure in an unexpected place. That didn't mean I intended to stand around socializing, though.

“So what were you all gathered here doing?”

“Let me explain.”

As soon as introductions were over, Versil, deputy commander of the La Ler Clan, briefly explained their circumstances. Their situation sounded much like ours. Immediately after entering the Labyrinth, they had moved quickly toward the second floor.

And then...

“The incident happened.”

Versil had led her team back to the starting point to find out what was happening. By then, however, the place had already descended into utter chaos. As a stopgap measure, she began gathering people together.

“Everyone here is someone we met nearby. Their identities are all verified.”

“Verified how?”

“I don't know everyone personally, but everyone is acquainted with someone I do know. Unfortunately, we had to strictly exclude anyone we couldn't verify that way, so you can rest assured.”

Right. Since they couldn't trust identification tags, they'd resorted to that method. Just as Erwin had vouched for me, these people had established a minimum of trust by vouching for one another.

“Our goal is simple.”

Having explained the group itself, Versil laid out its objective.

“To protect ourselves by joining forces. Ultimately, to break through the enemy and reach the safe zone.”

“By safe zone, do you mean the Dark Region in the center?”

“Yes. That saves us some explanation. Would you like to join us too, Mr. Jandel?”

Was it because she was deputy commander of a successful clan? Everything about the way she spoke suggested she was accustomed to handling people. She seemed fairly cautious, too.

'A deputy commander should be pretty capable in a fight.'

After a brief deliberation, I accepted her offer.

“Very well. I look forward to working with you.”

Amid the chaos, with no telling how this day would end, we'd found a nest to shelter in, however briefly.

* * *

“There's no need for you to stand watch. Rest for a while. We'll be leaving soon, and I'll let you know when it's time.”

I gratefully accepted Versil's consideration. We desperately needed a rest anyway.

Fog obscuring our vision. Battles against people rather than monsters. A chaotic situation where we couldn't predict what would happen next.

The physical fatigue was bad enough, but the mental strain was tremendous.

“What are you doing? Come over here and rest.”

My teammates stood stiffly, apparently uncomfortable around the unfamiliar explorers. I led them to an empty spot and sat down.

Then we simply rested.

“Still, this really worked out. Meeting people like this... I guess we're not doomed after all, nyah...”

Had their tension finally eased? My companions, who had initially been busy watching our surroundings, enjoyed the brief respite with relieved expressions.

That was when it happened.

“You made the right choice, Mister. That deputy commander is incredibly strong. So are the others.”

Erwin, who had tactfully stayed beside her sister during our conversation, came over and casually sat down next to me.

“Anyway, I guess we really are meant to cross paths. I was just thinking about how much I wanted to see you, and then you actually appeared! Hehehe.”

“Tsk.”

Even Aynar and Misha, who generally didn't look kindly on Erwin, merely frowned a little rather than picking a fight. They knew, too, how foolish it would be to cause trouble over personal feelings in a situation like this.

“How do you two know each other, anyway? I heard elves and barbarians don't get along.”

Raven, who was meeting her for the first time, joined the conversation with evident curiosity.

“Oh, I haven't introduced myself. I'm—”

“I know! Mister has told me about you often. He said an incredibly impressive mage had joined his team...”

“... Did Mr. Jandel really say that?”

Well, I hadn't gone quite that far...

I decided Erwin was simply exercising her social skills and watched without commenting.

“My name is Erwin Fornacci de Tersia. You're Allua Raven, correct?”

“Just call me Raven. No need to be formal.”

“Then please just call me Erwin, too.”

After exchanging names in a friendly atmosphere, Erwin told the story of how we'd met, almost as though she were boasting. Mister Bear, leaning against the wall, must have been curious about our relationship too. He listened intently while pretending not to.

“So the person you shared your first return drink with was a pretty elf like this... Jandel, the more I see of you, the more I realize how lucky you are with women.”

What was this guy talking about?

“You said your name was Mr. Urigfried, right? Hehe, thank you for the compliment!”

“... Call me Avman.”

“Yes, Mr. Avman!”

Acting every bit the youngest member, Erwin quickly made friends with the others. Honestly, it was rather impressive.

“But how do you use this crossbow? With this much draw weight, I don't think an ordinary person could even pull it back.”

“Oh, this? It's nothing special. Want to try drawing it?”

“May I? Nngh... Wow! This really is on a completely different level from my bow.”

“Heh heh. Of course it is. It's made with troll sinew.”

Had she always been this good at winning people over? It was like watching someone trying to charm her mother-in-law—

'Actually, perhaps that's not entirely wrong.'

Come to think of it, I'd told her I was starting a clan. Naturally, Raven and Mister Bear were my top recruitment candidates. She must have decided she should make a good impression now, since they might eventually belong to the same clan.

Though she was getting on the other two's bad side.

“Eggfried. Stop smiling. Is this any time to laugh?!”

“... Huh?”

For the first time in his life, Mister Bear froze under a preemptive strike from Aynar. Perhaps he belatedly realized what was happening, because he offered an incomprehensible excuse.

“Oh, ah! I'm on the cat's side, of course.”

“Right? You nearly made me doubt you! Now come over here and look at my greatsword. Talking about bows is no fun anyway!”

“Uh... It isn't?”

“Of course not!!”

Aynar practically abducted Mister Bear, dragging him over to sit beside her.

It was amid this ridiculous scene that she arrived.

“Erwin.”

“Oh, Daria.”

Daria, who had been watching us closely from a distance, approached.

“Sorry to interrupt, but I'd like a word.”

“Oh, with Mister?”

“Yes.”

I started to get up when she said she wanted to speak with me, but Daria stopped me.

“No need to get up when you're resting.”

“Really? Fine, then. What did you want to say?”

At my question, Daria stood awkwardly, gazing at me. For some reason, she seemed uncomfortable dealing with me.

I soon learned why.

“I heard you became a rank-five... explorer?”

As far as I knew, Daria was also a rank-five explorer, and that hadn't changed. What about me, on the other hand? In just one year, I'd grown from a rank-nine novice into a rank-five explorer leading my own team.

No wonder she felt awkward.

“And? Is that all you wanted to say?”

“... I have a proposal.”

“Let's hear it.”

“How about sticking with us for the time being?”

“Be more specific.”

Daria continued in a thoroughly businesslike tone. Seven teams, including ours, had gathered for a single purpose, but ultimately we were still strangers. Apparently, most of the teams were already clustering with others they knew.

“If you agree, our two teams will stay right next to each other in the marching formation. That way, we can join forces immediately if anything happens.”

Wherever people gathered, factions were bound to form. Daria was proposing an alliance.

“Not a bad offer.”

The proposal itself was quite attractive. Yes, provided one condition was met.

“But have you gotten permission from your leader?”

Daria was a mercenary attached to the Blue Barrier Clan's fourth team. Naturally, its team leader was one of the clan's officers. Had she actually settled things with him before coming here?

“That man... Don't worry. I can persuade him. So, what's your answer?”

“All right.”

“Good. I'll come back later, then. Erwin, come back with me for now.”

“Okay...”

Daria then led her younger sister back to their team, and I watched them go. It gave me a strange feeling.

When we first met, she'd treated me as nothing more than an immature barbarian. A pest hanging around her little sister, too.

And now she was the one coming to me with a proposal.

“Please finish your preparations. We'll be setting out now.”

After a few more minutes of rest, Versil announced our departure. She also told us our position in the marching formation: third from the front.

Erwin's team would be directly behind us.

'I feel like I've been played.'

The teams would follow one another like cars in a train. Of course, I had no complaints about that. Given the nature of Crystal Cave, moving in a single column was only natural. Besides, Versil's team, the strongest among us, would be clearing the way at the very front.

But...

“I've heard about you from Daria and Erwin. They call you Little Valcan, don't they? I look forward to working with you.”

“Likewise. I'll leave our backs to you.”

Why did we have to be ahead of them, specifically? Was this really a coincidence?

'Not likely.'

Third and fourth from the front might seem much the same, but being farther forward was obviously more dangerous. It was a small detail, but we had gotten the worse end of the deal.

Raven seemed to think so too.

“Excuse me, but I'm not particularly happy about this.”

“Hmm? About what?”

“The formation. We're not keeping it like this the whole way, are we? I think we should take turns being in front and behind.”

At Raven's objection, Erwin's team leader—Lantern Jaw, for short—gave an affable smile.

“Haha, we have more ranged fighters, while your team has more melee fighters. It's simply a sensible arrangement.”

“But—”

“Besides, we're in the safest position, in the middle. Who do you think you have to thank for that?”

Lantern Jaw cut Raven off, firmly shutting down the discussion. Rational as she was, Raven couldn't find a reply.

“...”

If he really was responsible for securing these positions, she must have thought it was only fair for us to stand ahead of him when we'd done nothing. You could even say we were benefiting from his efforts.

But...

'Some fucking team leader from a small-time clan can influence the deputy commander of a major clan?'

No matter how I looked at it, that sounded like bullshit.

I'd have to keep an eye on him.

“Well, enough talk. Let's get moving. Looks like those up front have already set off.”

Pushy, wasn't he?

Setting my suspicions aside, I trudged forward, step after step.

And so our journey began in earnest.

* * *

For the time being, the journey itself went smoothly. So smoothly that running into this group by chance, with Erwin among them to vouch for me, felt like a stroke of heaven-sent luck.

“Deputy Commander! A dark mage!!”

“Buy me some time. I'll deal with them shortly.”

The combat prowess of a team that included a major clan's deputy commander was truly impressive.

'They said this clan mainly operates on the seventh floor, didn't they?'

With people like that clearing the way, following behind was incredibly easy.

'So this is what getting carried feels like?'

Apart from a few ambushes from side passages, I could practically count the times I'd swung my mace on one hand.

We had been traveling like that for about an hour when it happened.

“I have good news and bad news.”

Deputy Commander Versil halted our progress and addressed us.

“The good news is that we're almost there. We can reach the Dark Region in twenty minutes at a run.”

Right, I already knew that.