Chapter 54 - Witch's Forest (1)

“Then those are the plunderers from before?”

Rotmiller nodded at the dwarf's question. That settled it. There was no way the bastards who had been brazenly plundering on the third floor just happened to get chased by monsters and stumble upon us.

“Whoever they are, they're targeting us specifically.”

“Though we don't know why. They probably mean to slip in among us by pretending they're being chased.”

Rotmiller agreed with me and added his own assessment. I was thinking the same thing.

“Th-then what do we do now, nyah?”

What else? Thanks to Rotmiller, we'd been lucky enough to spot their scheme early.

“We should take advantage of this opportunity.”

“Take advantage, nyah?”

Misha tilted her head. But there wasn't time to explain the details. They had already arrived.

“L-light! There's a light!”

As a man shouted, three people, men and a woman drenched in blood and sweat, came panting into the circle of our torchlight.

“If you aren't confident in your acting, just stand back and watch.”

I murmured the words, meeting Rotmiller's eyes. He gave a slight nod. This guy really was easy to communicate with. Even the dwarf, whom I'd been privately worried about, seemed to understand exactly what I meant.

Time to get started.

“Don't come any closer.”

Seeing them running toward us, I immediately raised my shield and stepped forward to block their path.

“H-hey! The rest of our party was wiped out. Help us! We'll reward you...!”

His expression was desperate and urgent. This guy was a pretty good actor too. Then again, perhaps that came with being a plunderer.

“Put down your weapons.”

“B-but there are monsters behind us!”

The human man, who looked to be in his early thirties, pointed behind him. Beyond the torchlight, the band of orcs pursuing them was staring our way.

“O-oink!”

The increased number of people kept them from approaching readily, but who knew how long that would last? So hurry up and let us in. That was obviously what the man meant, but what did he expect me to do about it?

“Your choice. Drop your weapons or get the hell out.”

I repeated myself firmly, and no answer came readily. Of course they would hesitate.

“...”

In the Labyrinth, your weapon was your life. They might even be wondering whether we'd caught on.

But that didn't matter. Whichever choice they made, we had nothing to lose.

“... We'll put them down.”

Having apparently made up his mind, the mustached man dropped his weapon to the ground. The other two followed suit.

'Decided to get greedy, have you?'

I was pleased with their choice, but also a little concerned. Why would they target us even at this much risk? I couldn't think of a single reason.

“Good. Now come over slowly, just like that. Keep your distance from each other if possible.”

“I-is all this really necessary? We only want help...”

“If you want help, do as you're told.”

“All right.”

As they arrived one at a time as instructed, Rotmiller approached and checked them for concealed weapons.

“... They don't seem to have anything dangerous.”

“I see. Murad, keep an eye on them.”

“R-right!”

The dwarf nodded stiffly, then marched over with his arms and legs rigidly aligned like a North Korean soldier. A sigh welled up inside me... Fortunately, judging by their expressions, they hadn't noticed anything awkward about his behavior.

“O-oink...”

“Oink, oink, oink!”

With the three plunderers left in the dwarf's care, I kept watch over the orcs. Before long, they turned and left. They must have decided fighting this many people was too risky.

'Every last one of these monster bastards is crafty.'

Not that they could compare to human bastards.

Anyway, avoiding an unnecessary fight was good news for us. With a new problem on our hands, worrying about a battle with orcs too would have been exhausting.

“Ahh, I thought we were done for...”

Once the orcs disappeared, the only woman in the trio sank to the ground with a deflated sigh. Had she belatedly come to her senses? Looking as if she'd just remembered something, she pushed herself up and bowed politely to us.

“Oh! My name is Elisa. Thank you for saving us!”

Was it because of the cleavage clearly visible through her torn top?

“A-ahem. Hikurod Murad.”

The dwarf cleared his throat and turned his head. I didn't think he was pretending to be innocent. His head had turned, but his eyes remained fixed on the same spot.

“Mr. Murad, then! And what might your name be?”

“Bjorn, son of Jandel.”

“Oh, I see!”

The woman who'd introduced herself as Elisa approached and clasped my hand. Then she bowed again, just as before. Naturally, this emphasized her cleavage again.

“Ahh, you really saved our lives! If we hadn't run into you, who knows what might have happened...”

For good measure, she panted out the words right in front of me in a voice that seemed to tickle my ears. Now that I looked, this probably explained why her top was so much more torn than the others'...

“Bjorn! You're getting all bedroom-eyed, nyah!”

Misha muttered, misreading my true intentions. But I didn't bother clearing up the misunderstanding here. I'd have the chance soon enough.

“Give me your names, one at a time.”

To allay their suspicions, I started by asking for some basic personal details. The first to introduce himself was the mustached man, their presumed leader.

“Hans Argot.”

What?

“... Hans?”

“It's a common name. You know someone else with it?”

“Ah, um, well... something like that.”

I nodded awkwardly.

Hans A had died when I smashed his head with my shield. Hans B, I hadn't seen once since our chance encounter over drinks, when he'd given me some advice. And Hans C, whom I'd met today—this mustached man—looked likely to follow in A's footsteps.

Anyway, enough about him. Next.

“My name is Irita Tayson.”

Tayson, a tall, well-built blond spearman. He looked to be in his mid-twenties, with no particularly distinguishing features. If I had to name one, he seemed well-mannered.

“We thought it was the end for us, but thanks to you, we escaped. Allow me to thank you again.”

As Tayson the spear wielder bowed a full ninety degrees, Elisa made a fuss in her characteristically guileless tone.

“It's true! Without you, who knows what state we'd be in now... Leatlas must have been watching over us!”

“Leatlas?”

That one word made Rotmiller stiffen. Then he addressed Elisa cautiously.

“Could you be... I mean, Miss Elisa, are you—”

“Oh, I haven't told you my surname yet. I'm Elisa Vehench. As you can see...”

Elisa trailed off, looked down at her clothes, and pulled a woeful face. Her outfit, which must once have been white, was torn all over and covered in sweat and dirt.

“... Well, perhaps you can't see? But I do serve Lady Leatlas!”

“Oh!”

“So you truly are a priestess.”

While the dwarf merely gave a short exclamation, Rotmiller closed his eyes and briefly made the holy sign before Elisa.

Wow, this guy could act.

“The star that rises at dusk shall guide my way...”

“Yes, the star that rises at dusk shall guide my way.”

Did she think she had it in the bag? Elisa beamed and returned his holy sign. With that, the wary atmosphere instantly eased.

Well, at least that was how it must have looked to them.

'We all know there's no way she's a real priestess—'

“Lady Elisa, would you mind tending to my wound?”

What?

“I'm sorry! I should have helped you with that first...”

Don't tell me she wasn't an impostor, but a real priestess?

As I flinched at this unexpected turn, Hans C lifted his shirt to reveal a stab wound. Elisa recited a prayer, then placed her hand, now glowing white, over the wound.

Well, look at that.

WHOOOOSH

The wound really did close in an instant. Even watching everything with suspicion, I couldn't dispute it. That was genuine Divine Power.

How could I be so sure when I'd never seen it before? For starters, even the sound of the wound closing was different from a potion's. And just look at Hans C's expression. Wasn't he perfectly serene, as if he felt no pain at all?

“The star that rises at dusk shall guide my way...”

Had this been just as unexpected for Rotmiller? After a moment of bewilderment, he collected himself and began making the holy sign repeatedly, reacting like a believer witnessing a miracle firsthand. It looked a little excessive to me, but given how this world worked, it was probably normal.

Just as the other races grew up in sanctuaries, most human children learned to read and acquired knowledge through temples from an early age. The very title of priestess carried a different weight for them.

“Oh! Then could we have our weapons back now?”

Elisa asked with perfect innocence, as if she'd only just realized they were unarmed. Showing us her Divine Power had probably been groundwork for this. It must also have been what gave them the confidence to boldly discard their weapons earlier.

Unfortunately for her...

“No.”

“P-pardon?”

Looking at her bewildered expression, I played my part with equal innocence. There was no need to reveal that we already knew who they were.

“I understand you're a real priestess. But what does that have to do with anything?”

I was a barbarian who believed in ancestral spirits. I'd never received anything from priests, so there was nothing strange about reacting this way.

Elisa gave an awkward smile and looked toward Rotmiller and Dwalki, both humans. She seemed to be trying to enlist their help somehow... But I firmly shut down any room for negotiation.

“You'll get your weapons back when you leave, after we've received our reward.”

“R-reward?”

“Why the surprise? Priestess or not, once you enter the Labyrinth, you're an explorer. You must follow custom.”

“Oh, yes... I've heard there was such a custom. Then... how much should we give you?”

I pretended to think for a moment before answering.

“Two million Stones should do.”

“... Wh-what?”

Elisa asked again as if she'd misheard, but my conscience was clear.

“That's hardly an unreasonable request, is it?”

Damn right. This was downright generous. I'd heard the worse ones stripped people of all their equipment as payment for saving their lives.

“Don't begrudge it. Think of it as the price of your lives.”

“But... we don't have that kind of money.”

I already knew that. Who brought cash into the Labyrinth? With the answer I'd expected, it was time for my next move.

“I won't ask you to lower the price. At least let us get outside—”

“No. I only trust the word of my own people. If you really have no money, pay in goods.”

“... Goods?”

“Hmm, that man's armor should do.”

I pointed my index finger at Hans C, and he scowled. But after exchanging a few looks with Elisa, he let out a deep sigh.

“Whew. Fine. If that's all it costs to save our lives, it's no loss. But I have a condition. Let us stay with you tonight until we've recovered from our exhaustion.”

“Fine.”

I nodded readily. His intentions were obvious, but why not agree? It wasn't a promise I was actually going to keep anyway.

“Irita, could you help me?”

“Of course.”

With the spearman's help, Hans C removed his heavy armor and handed it to Rotmiller.

Good. That was one bastard out of his armor.

'I think that takes care of everything we can strip off them before we start...'

“Now, we've paid the price. Will you give us our weapons back?”

I stopped holding back and broke into a sunny smile. Honestly, I'd never expected it to go this well...

“... Why are you smiling?”

Hans C asked, his face stiff.

I didn't bother answering. Just as I hadn't cleared up Misha's misunderstanding when she'd said I was giving Elisa bedroom eyes. They'd find out soon enough without being told.

“Um, Mr. Jandel? If you demand anything more, we'll have a prob—”

“Oh, that won't happen.”

As I answered, I smashed my mace into Elisa's skull.

THWACK!

“L-Lady Elisa!!!”

No matter the game, everyone knows you smash the healer's head in first.