Chapter 215 - Discarded Pawns (4)

The knight who gave me this ring had said that showing it and mentioning him would immediately vouch for our identities.

Yes, that was all he had said.

"A message ring. And this one belongs to... Sir Garphizel, who went to scout the second-floor portal."

Before I could even explain who had given it to me, one of the knights recognized the ring. Then he saw my reaction and chuckled.

"A message ring...?"

"It seems you didn't even know what this was. Wait a moment. We'll soon know whether you're telling the truth."

The knight turned the gem set into the ring sideways. Blue light seeped out and flowed into his body.

"..."

He remained silent with his eyes closed, as though savoring the afterglow. About three minutes passed before he spoke.

"The Corpse Collector is near the portal..."

That one remark made everything click into place.

Fuck, so that was why it was a message ring.

No wonder he'd pressed it into my hand when I hadn't even asked for a reward.

'Now I know why he gave it to me.'

The knight named Garphizel had wanted to pass on information, using me, someone he'd happened to run into.

That must have been why he'd told us about this place, too.

["By the Dark Region in the center, do you mean the place with the monument?"]

["Yes. Go there. If you can make it that far, you'll be safe."]

If the message arrived, great. If it didn't, he lost nothing.

Still, he could have just been honest with me. This really made me feel like I'd been played.

'Why are there so many bastards in this world who like to toy with people?'

It left a bitter taste in my mouth...

But at least the ring had done its job of vouching for us.

"Little Valcan, Bjorn, son of Jandel."

The knight called me by name, though we'd never introduced ourselves.

"Are you satisfied now?"

"It seems certain you aren't with Noark. I do wonder how your little group broke through that route... but come in. We can discuss the details at the temporary central headquarters."

"That's a relief. Do you happen to have any priests?"

There was no way they didn't, but I phrased it indirectly. Fortunately, the knight seemed to understand what I meant.

"Yes, you'll need treatment first."

Looking us over, he nodded in understanding.

That was a little unexpected. I'd thought he'd rigidly insist on questioning us fir—

"I'll have your companions taken to the temporary infirmary."

"... And me?"

"Questioning first."

Sigh. Well, I supposed this was relatively decent of him.

"I can hold out. Go ahead and get some rest."

"But...!"

Misha protested my decision, but I silently looked toward someone who was in worse shape than I was, missing arm and all.

"Is Daria all right?"

"I-I'm not sure. Raven cast Remove Curse on her, but she still hasn't woken up..."

"She'll get better once a priest sees her. Go on."

"... I'm sorry."

What did she have to be sorry for?

I chuckled and patted Erwin's shoulder as she stood there looking guilty. Then I went over to Raven for a brief word.

"You're the leader while I'm gone. I know the mana exhaustion is rough, but I'm counting on you."

"... Don't worry about the team. I'll take good care of everyone. However rough I have it, it can't compare to you, Mr. Jandel."

Hmm. Maybe a one-armed bastard wasn't in any position to say that.

"If you're finished, follow me. My subordinate will take your companions to the infirmary."

"Understood."

I parted ways with the others and followed the knight inside.

It was quite a sight. Normally, not a speck of light reached the Dark Region, but torches had been set up to illuminate every passage.

'Looks like a temporary shelter.'

While the outskirts were occupied by knights and explorers who appeared to be standing guard, things were a little different farther in. Explorers sat wedged into the narrow passages or lay resting on the ground.

"By the way, there's no fog here?"

"We've set up a defensive magic circle."

"A defensive magic circle...?"

"Ah, you wouldn't know yet, coming from outside. That fog is a poison-type dark spell. It isn't particularly dangerous, since they've spread it over such a wide area."

A dark spell in the form of fog...

So it was [Feast of Evil], after all?

Since it didn't affect our breathing and covered the entire first floor, I'd assumed it was simply a fog spell meant to obstruct our vision.

'Just how many dark mages did they pour into this?'

A chill ran down my spine.

What would have happened if I'd decided we should head to the deserted outskirts and hold out on our own?

'... We nearly got fucked.'

However weak it was, symptoms would appear after days of exposure. Only then would I probably have realized what the fog was and started looking for countermeasures.

By then, the delay would have left us with fewer options.

"You there. You're welcome to rest, but you're in the way. Move against the wall."

"Ah, yes... Sorry."

After about twenty minutes of making our way through the narrow passages, we finally reached the central cavern.

Or should I call it a plaza at this point?

"... How the hell did you do this?"

"We had mages collapse all the surrounding walls to expand the space. We couldn't fit everyone into that tiny cavern."

Huh. Was this military-style construction?

Get enough people together, and there was nothing they couldn't do.

The cavern, originally about thirty meters in radius, had been expanded to hundreds of times its size. Tents bearing various clan emblems stood throughout the newly opened space.

"Come in."

The knight brought us to a large tent at the very center. The flag of Raphdonia's royal family stood at the entrance, and inside, people were gathered around a round table in discussion.

'A meeting of the leadership, huh...'

Though this was the royal family's tent, the attendees weren't all knights. Explorers wearing the insignias of famous clans were also taking part in the animated discussion.

And among them was a familiar face.

"Oh, you're...!"

The woman looked as startled as if she'd seen a ghost. I greeted her with a bitter smile.

"We meet again, Versil Gouland."

I hadn't expected to see her again so soon, either.

* * *

"How are you here...? Did you find a mage who could teleport?"

Of course not.

Instead of answering, I waved the arm that ended at my elbow. Judging by her expression, she'd gotten the message.

"You really broke through that route...?"

Versil murmured in disbelief.

Apparently, she'd never imagined we'd charge straight through the route they'd abandoned, let alone succeed.

"How on earth did you do it?"

Well, it wasn't something I could boast about. I'd used a method much like hers.

I'd discarded what needed to be discarded according to my priorities.

"Enough personal conversation."

A man interrupted my reunion with Versil, bringing silence to the tent.

Right, so this guy was the big boss here.

"Sir Ergos, shouldn't you be on the front line? What brings you here? And who is that barbarian beside you?"

"I briefly left my post to report a matter of immediate importance."

"Go ahead."

"I've obtained Sir Garphizel's message ring."

"... Sir Garphizel's?"

"Yes. And this is an explorer named Bjorn Jandel, who delivered the ring to me."

The knight handed over the message ring, and the man activated it.

Some time passed.

"I am Marco Alban, commander of the Third Royal Knight Order."

The man looked at me and spoke. Apparently, he'd finally taken an interest in me standing farther back.

"I have a few questions for you. Will you answer honestly?"

"... I will."

"First, according to the message in this ring, the Corpse Collector is stationed to the north, where the portal connects to Goblin Forest."

A few explorers exclaimed, "The Corpse Collector!" but not loudly enough to disrupt the conversation.

Their reactions weren't my concern right now, anyway.

"What's your question?"

"Is this information reliable?"

"It is. We fled, but I fought him briefly."

"You fought him? May I ask what rank your team is?"

"... Rank five."

At that, the commander rested a hand on his chin with an odd expression.

"If that's true, it would be fair to say he let you go."

"He probably did."

I readily agreed.

He really had seemed interested only in blocking the second-floor portal. Otherwise, escaping would have been far more difficult.

"Is that all?"

"No, one more thing. From what I just heard, you seem to have come through the passage Sir Ergos is guarding. Is that correct?"

"It is."

"I'd like to hear more. Is there some way to move past the enemy without encountering them?"

"If there were, do you think I'd look like this?"

"... A fair point. Then would you explain exactly how you made it here? It may help with our strategy."

They seemed to have long since established that I wasn't an explorer from Noark, but there was no need to refuse and create friction.

I gave him a brief account of our twenty-minute struggle.

Was even that enough to convey the desperation of the route we'd taken?

"An impressive account."

The commander's gaze grew friendlier. The clan explorers listening also regarded me with fascination.

"You show promise as a commander."

"If I did, half of them wouldn't have died."

"That is precisely why I said it. All your companions survived, didn't they?"

"..."

"A good commander isn't someone who makes perfect choices. It's someone who makes the necessary ones."

He seemed sincere rather than sarcastic, but it wasn't a subject I wanted to discuss. Even as praise, it brought me no pleasure.

I changed the subject.

"If you have no more questions, I'd like to get going."

"Actually, I have one more. That man you encountered at the end—did he happen to have a scar on his chin?"

A scar...

"He did."

As I nodded, the commander smiled in amusement.

"I suspected as much when you mentioned an adamantium greatsword. So it really was the Serpent Knight."

"The Serpent Knight?"

"He stabbed his liege's child with a sword and fled. He's fairly notorious, but it happened so long ago that I suppose you wouldn't know."

So he'd been a knight. No wonder he could use Aura.

Judging by the murmuring explorers around us, he really had made a name for himself.

"In any case, congratulations. Killing a man like that should further enhance your reputation."

"My reputation..."

"What, don't barbarians like that sort of thing?"

He wasn't wrong, but I wasn't your average barbarian.

Of course, a better reputation wouldn't hurt. I did need to gain permission to enter the capital, Carnon.

But...

"If we make it back alive."

There would be time to worry about that later.

It hadn't even been a full day since the Labyrinth opened.

* * *

"Ah, I've kept an injured man far too long. Go and rest. Sir Ergos will explain the rules here."

With that, I left the tent. The knight escorted me to the temporary infirmary, where I rejoined my companions.

"Mister!!!"

"How's Daria?"

"The priest purified her, and she's all better. She's sleeping now, probably because she's tired... Anyway, it's all thanks to you!"

With her sister treated, Erwin seemed to have relaxed enough to return to her usual lively self.

Misha came over and pulled her away.

"Hey! Stop bothering him and back off, nyah."

"What?"

"What do you mean, what? Can't you see Bjorn's hurt, nyah?"

"Oh..."

"Let me see. Are you all right, nyah? Does anything else hurt, nyah? You went through enough without getting summoned on top of it, nyah. Come on, let's have a priest look at your arm first, nyah."

Everyone else's injuries seemed to have been treated, so I followed Misha to a priest and got myself healed.

Oh, and it was free.

We were at war, after all. Every explorer had to obey the royal family's orders. This infirmary itself was presumably staffed by priests conscripted from their respective teams.

"For about a day, it will feel weaker than usual, and somewhat unfamiliar. Now, I have many other patients, so I must go. May the sun's radiance be with you."

One healing spell, and my arm had grown back in mere minutes.

It reminded me just how important priests were.

It would have taken two or three bottles of top-tier potion. This wasn't merely reattaching a severed arm, after all, and potions grew less effective as physical abilities increased.

'Once I establish the clan, recruiting a priest comes first.'

After treatment, I returned to the others to talk.

"Raven, have you heard about the situation here?"

"Roughly. They explained when we were assigned our area."

"Assigned an area?"

"Where we'll be sleeping. I checked the map they gave us, and unfortunately, it's a passage on the outskirts. Probably because we arrived so late. Apparently, the safer inner area is already full."

I smiled silently at that.

All I'd seen in the very center were large clans' tents. Had they really been assigned those spots because they'd arrived early?

"Anyway, let's head over. Apparently, starting tomorrow, we'll also have to take turns on guard duty."

Man, it felt like I'd joined the army.

As I looked around at the tense atmosphere, a question suddenly occurred to me.

"... Where's Takellan?"

Takellan Arbenon. A rank-five explorer who could effectively be called the sole survivor of this plan.

"..."

The moment I mentioned his name, my companions all froze.

"Oh, him..."

Raven forced a smile as she spoke.

"He went straight to his assigned area. Apparently, solo explorers and groups of two or fewer get assigned to teams with vacancies."

"Really?"

But couldn't he just join our team?

The clans seemed to be sticking together. Besides, I'd passed plenty of groups with six or more members.

When I voiced that question, Raven replied with an awkward smile.

"It was his choice. So don't worry about him, Mr. Jandel."

"If that's what he wanted."

I nodded casually, thinking,

'Something happened while I was gone.'

Something had happened. I didn't know why they were hiding it from me, but I could discreetly ask Aynar or Misha later...

"Erwin, you said you'd be joining the Blue Barrier Clan, right?"

"Yes... I d-don't want to, but my sister insists... She says our contract might cause problems later otherwise."

Well, the contract was one thing, but she probably thought they'd be much safer there. Blue Barrier operated no fewer than six teams, after all.

Though one of those had disappeared on the way here.

"We'll get going, then. Take good care of your sister when she wakes up. Always keep an eye on your surroundings."

"Yes...!"

We parted ways with Erwin and headed to our assigned area. It was a passage on the outskirts, with less than two meters between us and the next team.

"It's been ages since we slept on the first floor, nyah..."

Still, like the explorers we were, we spread our sleeping bags on the ground and lay down close together without complaint.

We all knew we should be grateful just to be able to sleep like this.

SNORRRRRRE!!

Aynar started snoring the instant she lay down.

For some reason, listening to her reminded me of everything I still needed to do.

I had to check today's loot, inspect the gear that had been covered in lava, and wipe the blood and sweat off my body.

Oh, and find out what had happened with Takellan.

A mountain of work remained, even after everything I'd done.

'Ah, screw it. I'll do it tomorrow.'

I closed my eyes, and the strength drained from my body. It felt like sinking into water.

As my consciousness slowly slipped beneath sleep, I heard Misha beside me.

"You did so much for us today, Bjorn, nyah."

Raven's voice came from the other side.

"Yes. Thank you for everything."

Avman added a few words with a sheepish smile.

"Get some rest, Jandel."

Only then did it finally sink in.

SNORRRRRRE!!

That extraordinarily long first day had finally ended.