Your Majesty, Dinner Is Ready. Chapter 128 - B-Rank Labyrinth: Tower of Trials (4)

Chapter 128 — B-Rank Labyrinth: Tower of Trials (4)

 

— Excellent! Truly excellent! I’ll send you to the 10th floor shortly!

The members of Moonlight Expedition Team Squad One stood there blankly, unable to celebrate their victory.

“…Ugh… this is so exhausting.”

Marlin spoke while barely managing to keep her trembling legs beneath her.

“I can hardly stay standing anymore…”

“Same.”

Pendrick and Bartimir weren’t in much better condition. They had achieved nine consecutive victories. They had defeated, nine times in a row, enemies that required the entire squad working together just to barely overcome.

They had managed to keep their winning streak alive… but every member had already been pushed to their absolute limit.

“…Please hang in there.”

Lucius cast healing Mysteries and blessings upon everyone.

The effects weren’t dramatic… but their bodies recovered a little.

— Tenth floor!

A booming voice echoed. The team arrived on the tenth floor. 

An endless open plain. A landscape typical of the Northern Continent. A battlefield worthy of the final floor.

“…Sleepy. Your role is the most important now.”

Bartimir lightly patted Lucius on the back.

“Support us and heal us. If it looks like someone’s about to die… immediately shout ‘I give up.'”

If that happened… they would lose the hidden piece awarded for breaking the fastest-clear record. Healing their battered bodies and challenging the tower again would take far too much time.

“It’ll be disappointing… but that’s still better than letting someone die.”

“Exactly. The one leading an expedition must never become greedy.”

“So this was Mom’s lesson too…!”

“…Perhaps.”

Lucius felt they might be giving Karr a bit too much credit… but he nodded anyway.

Karr was someone upon whom Artein had bestowed Her will of protection. Someone destined to accomplish extraordinary feats.

Bartimir’s conclusion probably wasn’t entirely wrong.

“Let’s go. This is really the end.”

Bartimir repeatedly slapped both cheeks.

“We’re here!”

At last… their final opponent appeared on the distant prairie.

Kirik?

The last enemy awaiting Moon Expedition Team Squad One on the tenth floor… was a tiny monster with unusually large ears.

Kiriririk?

Its size was no bigger than a rabbit.

Its appearance? Simply adorable.

Its presence? Pathetic.

After rapidly analyzing it, Bartimir smiled.

“It’s incredibly strong. Be careful.”

“It’s the tenth floor, so that’s only natural.”

“It’s not just because it’s the tenth floor!”

The sinister-looking demon continued speaking, his shoulders trembling… not with fear… …but excitement.

“Mom told me before. You still, still, still, still, still don’t know nearly enough about labyrinths.”

“…he really said it like that?”

“That’s not what’s important. Listen carefully.”

Bartimir clasped his trembling hands together while staring fixedly at the monster.

“If you’re exploring a high-rank labyrinth… especially in an important situation like this… and a monster that looks that weak appears… run. Because it’ll be ridiculously powerful.”

An enemy that looked weak… was a powerful enemy. A lesson every explorer must never forget.

“If it looks weak… isn’t it just weak?”

“You really…”

Before Bartimir could finish… the monster suddenly vanished.

— …[Protection’s Warmth]!

Receiving the order through mental communication, Lucius immediately surrounded everyone with gray protective barriers.

BOOM!!

Something crashed down from above.

It was the tiny monster. It had leaped high into the sky before diving down headfirst.

Its head smashed into the barrier… cracking nearly half of it.

— Blackie!

— Yes!

Pendrick leaped upward, swinging his single-edged sword.

But… the monster had already retreated far away.

“Wow. You’re fast.”

Smiling, Bartimir tightened the bandages around both hands.

“Everyone, don’t let your guard…”

BANG!

Before he could finish giving orders, the monster shot forward and slammed into Bartimir.

The attack was faster than most arrows.

Marlin, who’d nearly panicked thinking her kind, even though somewhat evil-looking, big brother had died… blinked in surprise.

“…You’ve got quite the temper.”

The monster tumbled across the ground before flying away again.

Meanwhile… Bartimir’s hands, petrified by his illness, crumbled into powder. He had blocked the attack with both arms at the last instant.

“…How did you do that?”

“I think this thing only aims for people’s heads. It was aiming at yours earlier too.”

“Was it?”

Marlin replayed the scene in her mind… but couldn’t tell whether that had really happened.

“Luckily, it’s strong… but its fighting style is simple.”

“We got lucky then?”

Pendrick smiled brightly.

Bartimir’s lips curved upward.

“Yeah. We did get lucky. I’m glad the final enemy wasn’t something impossible to catch.”

“…That’s considered lucky?”

“Enough chatting. It’ll come again.”

The final enemy was powerful.

But… …not unbeatable.

Not for the current team, who had grown so much through everything they’d endured.

— It’s coming again! Barrier!

— Yes!

— Blackie, attack the instant the barrier cracks!

— Understood!

The end of the conquest was drawing near.

 

***

 

“Abel. While we’re waiting for the bandits… could you prepare a meal?”

Even if a battle with bandits was inevitable, they couldn’t skip a meal.

After all… everything they did was just to survive.

“Understood.”

Abel took his portable cooking equipment out of his backpack and began preparing the ingredients.

The first ingredient he worked on was the meat of a monster called the Nether Ox.

Far too tough to eat normally, but once properly prepared using chef-class Mysteries, it became exceptionally delicious.

“Looks delicious. I feel like overeating.”

“So… about three bites?”

“I’m not a baby. How could I survive on just that?”

“…”

Just as Abel skillfully prepared the seasoning and began marinating the meat…

Tap. Tap.

Footsteps echoed from deeper within the tunnel.

Several people. They weren’t even trying to hide their presence. They were simply approaching in a large group.

“…”

Rosalia, who had been resting against the wall, slowly walked over to me and drew numbers in the air.

“Eleven? The same number Pierre mentioned during our communication.”

When I held out my hand, the considerate assassin grasped my wrist and helped me stand.

Then she lightly tapped her own head.

“You’re asking whether I have a strategy capable of overcoming the numerical disadvantage. And if not, you’ll beat me up yourself. That’s what you mean, right?”

“…”

Rosalia clenched a fist and quietly held it toward me.

As a frail cultist, I couldn’t help shrinking back.

So I gently took her fist and lowered it.

“Of course. I’ve already thought of one.”

I placed a hand atop Abel’s head as he prepared Rosalia’s poisonous herb salad.

“Abel. From this point onward… don’t look at our side.”

“Why?”

Watching the tunnel where the footsteps were steadily growing louder, I answered quietly.

“Because we have a cruel… terrifying… merciless secret technique… that’ll defeat every one of them without us taking even the slightest injury.”

What was about to happen… wasn’t suitable for children.

“…Patron. In that case… should I continue cooking?”

“What a wonderful thing to say.”

It seemed he had finally begun to think like a proper chef.

Ruffling his small head vigorously, I replied.

“Normally, yes. But there are simply too many of them this time. I’ll hide you… But just in case… hold your kitchen knife tightly.”

As I patted Abel’s shoulder… a group finally emerged from the tunnel.

Most of them were lightly equipped, beastman explorers. At their head stood a horse beastman hunter with an oily-looking face.

 

[Bandit Brownmane (Horse Beastman, age 23).]

[Vice Guildmaster of the Hyena Guild. As a Butcher-class individual obsessed with slaughter, caution is advised.]

 

“You. Blond half-elf. You’re Karr, the Cultist of Twisted Truth, aren’t you?”

I immediately shook my head.

“No. I’m Baltazar. A human thief. I believe you’ve mistaken me for someone else.”

“Enough nonsense. We already know exactly who you are.”

Standing proudly, Brownmane let a thick whip unfurl to the ground. Simply looking at it made my body tremble.

Of course… because it was just so terrifying.

“You’re the one who killed the Black Sword Guildmaster, right?”

The horse beastman vice guildmaster lazily wiggled the whip like a snake as he continued.

“Personally… I couldn’t care less whether a thief like him lived or died. But orders came from above. So you’ll be coming with us.”

“A kidnapping?”

“If we’re being technical… then yes.”

“That’s a crime.”

“…I suppose.”

“That’s… somewhat worrying.”

The moment I imagined everything waiting for me if I were dragged away by the Hyena Guild… my vision darkened.

“You’ll probably tie me up. Then imprison me. After that… you’ll make me pay with my body for destroying the Black Sword Guild. And because I happened to be born as a half-elf whose only redeeming feature is his appearance… I’ll have to endure such humiliation…”

Wrapping my arms around myself and lowering my head, I sighed.

Brownmane let out a short laugh.

“…I don’t know what kind of nonsense you’re imagining… but we’re not doing anything like that.”

“Then what exactly are you planning?”

“No idea. Probably a little revenge. We’ll torture you for a while… Harvest your organs… then sell whatever’s left of the corpse on the black market in District Four.”

“Oh. So you’re surprisingly ordinary and wholesome.”

“…”

Brownmane narrowed his eyes at me. The other Hyena Guild bandits wore similar expressions.

“In any case… I’ll have to resist with everything I have. I absolutely don’t want to experience horrific torture. Just imagining it is terrifying.”

“…”

Rosalia tilted her head slightly as she looked at me.

— Why are you looking at me like that? Haven’t I repeatedly told you I’m not someone with bizarre tastes who enjoys pain?

The agony I desired… was only the kind encountered while walking toward something truly worthwhile.

Pain without purpose… Pain without reward… was something I’d refuse with all my heart.

“…I have a proposal.”

Brownmane brushed back his long hair before looking me in the eyes.

“If you come quietly… I’ll guarantee your companions’ lives.”

“I see. I’ll need a little time to think.”

After seriously considering it, I answered.

“I have a proposal as well.”

Crackle…!

Black lightning erupted from my right hand.

“If you surrender peacefully… I’ll grant you the right to choose… which Evil God you’ll be offered to.”

“…Hah.”

Brownmane snorted.

“So your ego’s gotten pretty big after your performance in the Guild War?”

“Oh, dear. You caught me. Honestly… wasn’t it impressive enough that I’m allowed to strut around proudly?”

“Well… I can’t exactly say it wasn’t. It really was incredible…”

The horse beastman vice guildmaster nodded unconsciously. Then he glanced behind him.

“But there are only three of you. And eleven of us. You’re not Targon. Do you seriously think you can overcome odds like these?”

“Three? There are only two of us.”

“…Do cultists these days not even know how to count?”

Brownmane laughed before turning his head… and froze.

Abel, who had been standing there nervously only moments ago, had vanished from everyone’s sight.

“What do you think?”

Smiling faintly, I spoke again.

“Two. Isn’t that correct?”

“…What did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything. I merely received a basic arithmetic education. It’s never too late to learn. Why not apply to the academy in District One while you still can?”

“…”

Brownmane wasn’t an amateur bandit who’d fall for such an obvious provocation.

Truthfully, whether there were three of us or two changed nothing. They still held an overwhelming numerical advantage.

“I don’t want an unnecessary fight either. But since you’re refusing to cooperate… I don’t have much choice.”

The horse beastman vice guildmaster issued orders to his guildmates.

“Take your positions. End this quickly.”

“Got it!”

“Yes!”

A shield-bearing warrior and a beast tamer, accompanied by his trained monster, stepped forward. The rest spread out freely.

At first glance, their formation looked sloppy. But the Hyena Guild specialized in instantly surrounding and tearing apart explorers the moment combat began.

“The Guildmaster wants you captured alive. So we’ll go easy on you.”

“Oh my.”

Acting frightened, I hurried over beside the red-haired elf.

“Big Sis. I’m scared. Please save me.”

“…”

The elf glanced at me, shook her head slightly, and gripped her dagger in a reverse hold.

“She’s an assassin. Stay close to her. Don’t let her disappear.”

Assassins were weak in frontal confrontations.

As for cultists… You could simply beat them down with brute force. Only two opponents. Both belong to classes with obvious weaknesses. There was absolutely no way this battle could be lost.

…That was what they were thinking.

“Well then. I suppose I have no choice.”

Sending instructions to Rosalia through telepathy, I extended my right hand… from which the black lightning had already faded.

Facing my palm upward, a tiny object appeared.

A perfectly round sphere, topped with an ornament symbolizing a solar eclipse.

“…What’s that?”

Brownmane’s eyes widened.

“…A Grand Relic?”

The hidden reward from the Battlefield of Sun and Moon. A Grand Relic that could never be brought outside the labyrinth if one only fulfilled the normal, clear conditions.

Lumerlan’s Orb.

“Ta-da! Correct.”

Whoosh.

The moment I poured my will into the Grand Relic… darkness suddenly descended upon the tunnel.

Pitch-black darkness. Not even an inch ahead was visible.

Squirm.

Within an environment Lord Lriria so dearly loved, I quietly spoke.

“You refused my generosity. So I’ll simply choose for you… and offer you as sacrifices.”

The blood banquet for the Evil Gods… had begun.