On the night of the third day since I decided to challenge the Labyrinth of Claws and Fangs again.
At that moment, I was camping in front of the stairs leading down to the 8th level.
On the first day, I camped in front of the stairs leading down to the 4th level of the Labyrinth of Claws and Fangs, on the second day in front of the 6th level stairs, and that day, we were camping in front of the 8th level stairs.
The path up to the 4th level went just as I experienced in the last expedition, so there was no particular problem; even if monsters appeared, either I or Ashera would handle them without stopping.
From the 4th level on, the Sly Apes were as annoying as always, but it was too late to worry now. We proceeded without struggling.
The Fire Lizards on the 5th level were also weak as their reputation suggested. To give my honest opinion, it was like making a reptilian version of a Wind Wolf and making it slightly tougher.
To be honest, they weren’t monsters that would interest me more than the hides Borg asked for. Since I had already spoken to Ms. Naga beforehand about harvesting the Fire Lizard hides, there was no particular problem, and I was able to collect them without issue.
The 6th layer had a Mad Bear. Its skin was thicker than I expected, so attacks on its body were less effective.
It wasn’t that my blade couldn’t penetrate it, but El and I aimed for the eyes, ears, neck, and heart to take it down with minimal effort.
Ashera watched us and muttered, ‘No fair! Vernier…’ then turned the Mad Bear into mince with her magic fist.
Just like Ashera said, Vernier’s overwhelming speed and movements made it possible to target weak points, that was for sure.
I planned to prepare armor for Ashera soon, so I just hoped she would wait a little longer.
Also, on the 6th layer, I found a treasure chest for the first time in a while. As usual, Ashera disarmed the trap with her magical eyes, and when I opened it, there was a knife made of mithril inside. I managed to get a pretty nice treasure.
Moreover, although I didn’t know its effect, Ashera’s eyes showed it glowing with magical power, so it seemed to be some kind of magical item.
‘Ashera, we still don’t know its effect, right?’
“Yeah. I can only tell that it’s glowing with magic power.”
“I see. Got it.”
Even when I channeled magic into it like with the previous staff, nothing happened.
“When we get back, let’s request an appraisal from the commercial guild.”
Naga wrapped the dagger in cloth and placed it in the wooden box.
By the way, I had left the previous staff in the Blue Ring Territory. Once I got the Miasma Stone and made the domain, I planned to pick it up immediately.
The Gaja on the 7th floor turned out to be a rather unimpressive magical creature, just like the prior information said. About the size of two maid elephants, it stomped toward us, but its strength was so weak that I could stop its charge with a shield, and it was slow…
I didn’t understand why this guy appeared on the 7th floor.
Also, teleport traps started appearing from the 7th floor. Considering the worst case, we connected everyone with ropes, but…
To be honest, it was incredibly annoying and in the way.
In particular, the way Ashera and I fought was to take advantage of our speed, sneak in close, and deliver a single strike. That was how it was.
Being tied up with ropes, all I could do was act like a fixed gun to shoot Wind Bullets.
In that way, we somehow cleared the 7th level and arrived at the entrance of the 8th level.
By the way, before camping, we all confirmed that there was no ‘Transfer Magic Circle’ before undoing each other’s ropes.
While everyone relaxed as they pleased, I started preparing the meal. I repeatedly checked that the preserved food I brought was in good condition. Eating food that failed to preserve and having everyone go down would be no laughing matter.
Regarding bringing preserved food, after consulting with Naga in advance, it was decided that I would cook all meals during the exploration.
That day, I served a large hot dog made with black bread, with a frankfurter inside, sprinkled with spices, and for dessert, a bowl of honey-pickled fruit.
Because the rye bread was hard, I made shallow cuts in it.
“Here you go.”
I handed out the five hot dogs one by one, and everyone looked at them curiously, then cautiously brought them to their mouths.
Even with the cuts, the rye bread was tough, but as they managed to bite through it and start eating, they suddenly had expressions of surprise on their faces.
“Delicious!”
“What is this… it’s delicious.”
“Aldo. It’s delicious.”
“Big brother, it’s delicious.”
Seeing that they were satisfied, I felt relieved.
“Thank you.”
Everyone asked me about the frankfurters, but the pressure from my mother was particularly strong.
“Aldo, even when we go above ground, make this again.”
“I only explained the basic way to make it. That it tastes this good is all thanks to the head chef.”
“Then I’ll tell the head chef.”
“Please wait.”
“What is it?”
“This frankfurter uses minced meat… scraps. If you want to serve it in the mansion, you need to get prior approval from Grandfather and Father. Otherwise, at worst, the head chef could be punished.”
“…I understand. I’ll talk to Joshua.”
“Yes.”
About 20 minutes after finishing the hot dog, everyone’s gaze was focused on the jar of honey treats placed next to me.
I served honey treats as a dessert every evening after dinner.
Since there was something to look forward to before sleeping, I’d probably have good dreams.
“Well then, let’s open today’s honey treat.”
Saying that, she popped the cork… and it was a lemon. Honey lemon!! Jackpot.
As I rejoiced in my heart, the women’s mood clearly dropped.
“Al… why did you put in lemon fruit? It’s too sour, I can’t eat it…”
“Huh? Ah… I see. Then is it alright to say that Mother won’t eat it?”
“What? Are you going to eat it, Al?”
“Of course, I’ll eat it.”
“…”
“Is there anyone else who doesn’t want it?”
“I guess I’ll eat it after all…”
“Huh?”
“After all, I’ll eat it. If it’s something you made, it feels like it would be tasty even with lemon fruit.”
The women were nodding… Ugh, I was going to keep it all to myself—!
We used the skewers handed out on the first day and ate the honey lemon in turn.
Ah, nostalgic. The honey lemon we ate back in club activities… I had Mom make it for me…
“”””Delicious!””””
Everyone realized the deliciousness of honey lemon.
“Al! What is this? Not too sweet, nicely tart… It’s so tasty!!”
“Well, of course I wouldn’t make something deliberately awful.”
“Even so… this is…”
“If you don’t eat quickly, it’ll be gone.”
Startled by my words, the Ice Witch dove into the honey lemon scramble.
Everyone was eating as fast as they could, but after all, they were just lemon slices—you couldn’t take that many at once.
I also had some honey lemon. Delicious. Ah—it felt like my fatigue was being washed away…
Soon the honey lemon was gone, and everyone was looking at the dish sadly.
“There are still two pieces of honey lemon left, so it’s okay.”
“Honey lemon. I don’t know where it came from, but there are still two more, huh.”
“Y-yes. My favorite is the Lemo fruit.”
“Why did you only choose Lemo fruit?”
“It’s to determine whether the preservation varies depending on the fruit, Mother. After all, it’s just preserved food, you know?”
“I-I understand. I also understand the importance of preserved food.”
“Then that’s good. I just felt like it was becoming more of a delicacy…”
“T-that’s not true at all. Aldo, how rude.”
Mother turned her face away, breaking into a cold sweat.
The women hid behind cover and were wiping their bodies with wet towels.
I also felt nauseous, so I wiped my neck and face with a towel wet with hot water.
“El, it’s the third day, and I really miss taking a bath…”
“Brother. It’s a bit early, but I understand how you feel. A bath while looking at the moon… I want to take the Miasma Stone quickly.”
“Yeah, that’s true. Just between us, if we can’t get it in this expedition, then the strategy to subdue the Earth Dragon itself will become difficult.”
“That’s right…”
“In that case, either you or I will have to return to Blue Ring…”
“Yes…”
“Then I’ll go back. You stay and properly graduate from the academy with Marl.”
“Why?!”
“Don’t speak so loudly.”
“Ah, sorry…”
“There are several reasons, but… the main one is that Ashera is in Blue Ring, but Marl is not.”
“…”
“And also, your skills in knight swordsmanship have clearly improved since entering the academy. Compared to that, the only techniques I couldn’t learn outside of the academy are Heal and Anti-Paralyze.”
“……”
“As for Heal, after repairing Rosa’s and Ashera’s injuries, you just have to improve your own skill. Regarding recovery magic, studying under Lushe-san will be sufficient.”
“But creating a network of contacts…”
“El, you need to understand that those contacts you make now could become combatants in the future…”
“That kind of thing…”
“To be honest, I’m afraid of having more acquaintances…”
“……”
“I’ll only tell you this. When you become independent, there will likely be battles, big or small. If you have Condens Ray and your domain then, the fight will probably be one-sided…”
“……”
“Right now, I don’t have the resolve to burn all the people I met in the royal capital… But, I think… if something threatens what is precious to me… Ashera, the children… the people of Blue Ring… I would surely fire the Condensray…”
“Brother…”
“El, we have to become stronger!”
“……”
“To the point where everyone thinks it would be foolish to challenge us brothers… overwhelmingly strong…”
“……Yes.”
“Only after achieving that can we slightly reduce the number of people we have to kill…”
“Y…yes…”
I talked to El about what I had been thinking. I probably didn’t say anything too off. From now on, we needed to hold in the ‘now’ the resolve for the time ahead… the resolve we had to have, now that we had become apostles…
I didn’t notice that there were three shadows listening to our conversation.
When Mom and the others returned, they each secured a place to sleep as they wished.
“Well, shall we sleep?”
“””Yes”””
That night’s watch would be Er and Ms. Naga first, then Ashera and Mom, and finally me.
When I lay down, Ashera naturally demanded to rest her head on my arm.
“Ashera, tomorrow we fight Tigris and the Minotaur. Don’t get hurt…”
“Yeah, Aldo too…”
“Yeah…”
Saying that, I embraced Ashera, and she fell asleep hugging my arm.
From somewhere, I could hear Ms. Naga’s teeth grinding, but I pretended to be asleep.
I’d gotten quite used to sleeping on the hard floor, and I slowly woke up as Ashera nudged me.
“Aldo, shift change. Are you okay?”
“Ah, yeah. I’m fine.”
Saying that, I took a sip of water from my flask.
Drinking the water instantly woke me up. Looking around, the labyrinth was still dimly lit, and it seemed to be nighttime.
“I’ll take over.”
At my words, neither Mother nor Ashera made any serious face; they just looked subtly uncomfortable but didn’t go back to sleep.
“What’s wrong?”
“Aldo, about that conversation with El earlier. I felt bad, but I did listen.”
“…Did everyone hear it?”
“Yes, everyone.”
“I see…”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Yes…”
“Maybe it’s somewhat inevitable that you all, being ‘Apostles,’ have to carry such heavy burdens.”
“Yes…”
“But, you know. Perhaps you could rely a little more on those around you?”
“Rely on those around me?”
“Even I have connections. Of course, Joshua does too. Your father should have even more.”
“…”
“Naga is also the guild receptionist and, with her experience, should know a lot of people.”
Suddenly, I heard a voice from behind.
“Rafina, you don’t really need to mention experience…”
“Naga…”
“Speaking in that tone will wake even a G-rank rookie. Right, Elphas-kun?”
“Yes…”
In the end, everyone ended up waking up.
“Al, El, you don’t have to fight alone. Of course, you must constantly hone your own strength. But at the same time, you should make allies.”
“”Allies…””
“Yes, nothing special is needed. If you continue to do what you have been doing, surely more people will become your allies.”
“”Do the same thing…””
“Well, you may need to correct your attitude in the guild though.”
“”…Yes.””
“At the very least, the people here and Jogna and his companions are your allies.”
I looked around with El, then remembered Joe and the others.
“”I-see…””
“And I don’t know about the future. Do your best at what you can do now. That should become your strength.”
“”Yes.””
As expected of the Ice Witch. She was no amateur; soon she’d be a veteran of A rank.
While silently thanking her in my heart, memories of competing with Ms. Naga for honey lemon resurfaced…
I felt a bit conflicted, but my mood lightened.
“Thank you very much. Well… after I discuss with El, I’d like to consult with everyone else too.”
Everyone nodded, showing their agreement.
Since it was still quite early, I let everyone sleep from there on.
I camped alone and felt warmth spreading in my heart from my mother’s words.
Along the way, Mad Bear and Gaja approached twice, so I took care of them in places as far from the campsite as possible.
By morning, we’d reach the 8th layer. Probably, the day after tomorrow morning, it’d be time for the battle with the Earth Dragon.
Once again, I steeled myself and swore that I would absolutely let no one die… If even one of these people were to die, probably my own heart would die as well.
I renewed my resolve and vowed to defeat the Earth Dragon.
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