Chapter 295 - Newbie (3)

I turned to look at the hand on my shoulder. A ring with an unusual design sat on its index finger.

"A subspace ring."

My heart pounded. What could be inside that ring? It felt like looking at an unopened loot box.

Before I knew it, my hand slid toward the ring.

My treasure...

"... What the fuck, you bastard!"

The instant my hand touched his, the man recoiled in disgust and pulled his hand off my shoulder.

"You barbarian bastard! Don't tell me you're...!"

Seeing the horror in his eyes, I had a pretty good idea what he'd misunderstood. His companions chimed in, muttering.

"I thought it was strange for a barbarian to be a newcomer."

"No normal bastard would come down to this city."

"So he was kicked out of his tribe for those tastes..."

What were these lunatics on about? I had to clear up this misunderstanding fast.

So I promptly thrust my fist forward.

WHAM!

My first target was the face of Buckteeth, who'd dared put a hand on my shoulder and act all friendly.

"Gah!"

Something white flew from his wide-open mouth. One punch, and his buckteeth were cured.

"VEHELLLAAAAAA!"

As soon as I let out my battle cry, the explorers crowding around us backed away to make room.

"It's a fight!"

"Wooooooo!"

"The newbie's fighting Rex's gang!"

What was this, a school classroom? Even the staff at the counters merely sighed, looking as if they were thinking, Again?

So nobody was going to stop us, huh?

'Even better.'

I was liking Noark more and more. Maybe, despite pretending otherwise, I'd always wanted a society this manly.

"You bastard!"

Former Buckteeth's bearded companion drew his weapon in outrage.

All right, so we were making this a weapons match?

I'd held off on using a weapon just in case, but now I whipped out my mace and swung as if I'd been waiting for the chance.

But...

WHOOSH!

Beardy ducked under the mace.

And at that moment...

CRACKLE!

A sparking ball of electricity flew from the hand of a man behind him. It didn't look like magic. He seemed to be a supernatural ability user...

'Yeah, well, my shield's adamantium.'

Adamantium was a tier-five metal that reduced elemental damage by 50%.

ZAP!

Electricity ran through my shield into my body, but my Mana resistance was enough to shrug off this much.

Had they never faced someone like me before?

'If you want to take down a tank, start with a curse, you dumbasses.'

Panic flashed in Beardy's eyes when I swung my mace as though nothing had happened.

"...!"

Understandable. Expecting me to be staggered, he'd moved even closer.

Right into the perfect spot for a good whack.

WHAM!

Okay, that made two.

THUD!

Beardy flew up, slammed into the ceiling, and fell to the floor. In baseball, that would've been a foul ball.

I tapped my shoulder with my mace and looked straight ahead.

"What are you doing? Come on."

Having watched two companions get smashed in an instant when all they'd wanted was to cut in line, the remaining trio acted surprisingly rationally.

"Rex, let's back off."

"...?"

"He's a newcomer who arrived yesterday. Apparently Kalte's gang followed him, and they were all found dead."

Oh, so they hadn't heard the rumors yet. It seemed the spectators' chatter had made them realize I wasn't an easy target...

"But if we back down now..."

"We'll be a laughingstock. But isn't that better than dying? I don't know if it's true, but they say there's a woman with him who uses Aura."

"Aura...?"

The man named Rex frowned.

Just then, Amelia slipped up beside me from the other line where she'd been waiting.

"Oh, you're here."

"You seem to attract every kind of trouble there is."

"This time it wasn't my fault."

"... I know. I saw."

As she spoke, Amelia rested a hand on the dagger strapped to her thigh.

Perhaps that settled it.

"... How about we leave things here?"

The man named Rex made his offer.

Come on, that wasn't how you negotiated.

"Where's my apology?"

"You shall have it. I'm sorry we underestimated you and made such a rude demand."

Was it the custom here to grovel all the way once you decided to bow down? He was surprisingly thorough about humbling himself.

'Now, what should I do...?'

As I considered it, I glanced sideways. Amelia gave me a small nod, telling me to leave it at that and let them go.

"Fine. I accept your apology."

"Thank you. Then..."

Once I accepted, Rex and his companions started collecting their fallen comrades.

Hmm. What the hell did they think they were doing?

"Stop."

"...?"

"Leave everything those two have."

"But you accepted our apology..."

No, my man. That was one thing, and this was another. What good was an apology that was all talk?

"We're on the same side now, aren't we? We should help each other out."

Of course. Wasn't that the warmth of human kindness?

* * *

After a long deliberation, Rex finally sighed and stripped the equipment off his unconscious companions.

"There. Satisfied?"

"The ring?"

"... Here."

Whew. How much was all this worth? It was practically duplicating money. How had the people of Noark ever lived in poverty?

'Anyway, I'll check what's inside the ring later...'

"You can go."

"..."

After sending Rex and his gang packing, I put all the stripped equipment into the subspace ring.

Whew. The Expanded Backpack had so many inconveniences that I'd been wishing for some subspace storage.

"They may look pretty rough, but they were warmhearted fellows."

"..."

"Why are you just staring at me? Come on, let's get back in line."

We headed back toward the counters. Other explorers had taken our places after we stepped out of line, but that wasn't a problem.

I'd already finished adapting to this city.

"Hey, human."

"... Wh-what do you need?"

"As you saw, something came up earlier. Could you let us go ahead of you?"

"... Of course."

Thanks to that kind explorer's consideration, we soon found ourselves at the very front. We'd been in the middle before the fight, so we'd saved nearly thirty minutes.

"The people here are so warmhearted."

"... Anyone watching would think you were the one from here, not me."

Heh. All this praise was embarrassing.

"I just adapt quickly. I'm no genius."

"I never said you were."

"Heh heh. You just can't be honest, can you?"

"..."

Anyway, being at the front meant our turn came quickly, and we finished registering ahead of schedule.

We'd skipped applying for a rank reassessment, after all.

"Didn't you say we'd raise our ranks to at least five?"

"It doesn't matter. By now, the lord will have heard about us anyway."

Thanks to me, we'd already achieved our objective, she explained, so there was no need to reveal our Essences to everyone through a rank reassessment.

"Good thing I did whatever I felt like."

"... It's worked out so far, but be careful from now on. This city has more than small fry like them."

"Understood. Is that everything for today, then?"

"Yes. Let's head back and rest for now."

We returned to the lodgings we'd taken yesterday, switched to a long-term rental, and waited, keeping our outings to a minimum.

How much time passed?

Contrary to Amelia's expectations, several days went by without anyone from the lord's side showing interest and approaching us.

Tsk. The plan had been to enter his service first.

"Amelia, what's going on?"

"... Since he has no information about us, he seems to be taking some time to learn our dispositions."

"So?"

"We'll keep waiting for now. He'll contact us eventually. Given his personality, the lord won't leave unaffiliated high-level explorers alone."

And so time passed, until the day to enter the Labyrinth arrived.

* * *

"Wooooooo!"

"It's been so long!"

"Come on, let's make some money!"

The plaza bustled with crowds as if a festival were underway. It was a familiar sight on the day the Labyrinth opened, but today's gathering seemed especially excited.

It wasn't hard to understand. Most of the few people who'd entered the Labyrinth last month had returned alive, giving rise to the belief that it was safe again.

For those strapped for money, there could be no better news.

With a swish, Allua Raven bitterly drew the curtain of her carriage as it traveled along the road beside the plaza.

It struck her anew.

"Right. It's already been a month..."

A month had passed since Bjorn Jandel's death. A man hailed as a hero among explorers had died, but the world hadn't changed.

Only the world around her had.

"Hah..."

Raven briefly recalled the days gone by.

["I see. So Bjorn is dead."]

Surprisingly, the female warrior had been the most rational member of the group.

["What are you all doing? Let's go rest. We're tired, so we'll discuss what to do next tomorrow. The Guild... I'll go there myself."]

She had faced reality and tried to do what needed doing: keep the team Bjorn Jandel had built together.

Of course, it couldn't possibly go well.

["What to do... next? What do you mean?"]

["Now that Bjorn is dead, the five of us will have to enter the Labyrinth together, won't we?"]

The elf snapped at her, her voice hostile.

["Exploring? Is that what matters right now?"]

["Then what does?"]

["Obviously, we have to get revenge!"]

["Revenge?"]

["On Noark! Everything that happened on that island was their fault! That red-haired woman was suspicious from the start, too. If that bitch is alive and had anything to do with what happened to Mister..."]

Murderous intent gleamed in the elf's eyes.

["No, it doesn't matter whether she had anything to do with it."]

["..."]

["I'll find every last one of them and kill them."]

Raven could understand her losing herself to anger. Noark was also the reason she'd recently lost her older sister.

["Erwin, I understand how you feel, but calm down. How are you going to get revenge on people who supposedly went outside? Let's go home and rest today, then tomorrow we can..."]

["I see. So that's all he meant to you people."]

["What?"]

["I feel sorry for Mister. He stayed behind alone to protect people like you, calling you his companions."]

["... What did you say? Say that again."]

["R-Raven, stop! You can't do this too!"]

The female warrior held her back. Normally, the Therianthrope warrior would have intervened, but she seemed to be in no state to do so either.

Had that caught the elf's eye?

["..."]

The elf approached the Therianthrope warrior.

["What about you, Misha? You'll do it, right? Get revenge?"]

["I, I..."]

The Therianthrope warrior trailed off.

How long passed?

["You animal of a bitch."]

After silently waiting for an answer, the elf left with those parting words.

["I-I'll go see Erwin tomorrow. So we should... go now too."]

They dispersed and went home. The female warrior offered to stop by the Guild and report Bjorn Jandel's death, but the mage stopped her.

["Aynar, please look after Misha. I'll... take care of this."]

["But..."]

["You can't even read, Aynar."]

["All right. I'll leave it to you."]

The Therianthrope archer, who had a family of his own, said nothing right up until they parted. He merely watched the team fall apart with bitter eyes, as though he'd been through this many times before.

["Let's see, the deceased is... Baronet Bjorn Jandel?!"]

When she submitted the death report to the Guild, it caused an uproar. The nearby explorers and even the staff looked as though they had countless questions, but after seeing Raven's expression, none approached her.

And so a day passed.

["Did you hear? Baronet Bjorn Jandel is dead."]

["To think the TITAN would go like that..."]

["We've lost a good man."]

News of Bjorn Jandel's death spread through the city as swiftly as his fame had in life. Those who knew him came to his house.

["Aynar! Misha! Open the door! Is Jandel really dead? H-how could... Open up!"]

His former companion, the dwarf warrior Hikurod Murad.

["... Murad, stop. I went to the Guild and checked the death report myself. We shouldn't make things harder for those two. Let's leave and come back another time."]

Braun Rotmiller.

Countless other explorers indebted to the hero named Bjorn Jandel also visited his house.

["Thank you for saving us that day."]

["You won't be coming... to the library anymore."]

Flowers piled up before the door.

Countless people mourned his death. The barbarians, who had regarded him as their next chieftain, even locked the sanctuary gates and held funeral rites for days on end, praying that his soul, resting in the Labyrinth, would return to the forest.

And yet the world hadn't changed.

Only the world around her had.

["... Let's all rest for a while and not think about exploring."]

All future expeditions were put on hold. What could the four of them do, anyway? Especially when none of them were in their right minds.

Everyone needed rest. Allua Raven herself was no exception.

But...

'Resting won't change anything.'

After the elf left that day, Allua Raven had understood instinctively.

The saying that time healed all wounds was a lie. As the days passed, things wouldn't mend. They would only fall further apart.

That was why...

"I have to find it."

Since that day, Allua Raven had spent every day buried in books, barely getting a moment of proper sleep. Even today, she was returning to her laboratory after visiting the royal palace library.

There were unanswered questions about his death.

The city believed he'd died because of Stormgush, but...

"It still doesn't make sense."

The evidence indicated that he'd succeeded in killing it. He'd even had the strength to drive spikes into the ground and secure himself so he wouldn't be swept out to sea.

Then where could he have vanished in that brief interval?

If he'd really been swept away, why had his equipment been removed?

"There's something more... Some enormous secret..."

Raven suddenly clutched her chest like someone struggling to breathe.

Even if this wasn't the rational reasoning expected of a mage...

"There has to be more..."

She needed something to hold on to.