Inside a magnificent, luxurious office, a person clad in black stepped forward respectfully, gently placing a tightly wrapped small box onto the desk.
After briefly outlining a few words, they silently withdrew from the room.
“Oh?”
An elderly man with a kindly face gently picked up the box, took out the item inside, and carefully examined it.
“This is the scale from the ‘Labyrinth Creator’ that’s been causing such a stir recently?”
“And it’s the only remaining one as of now…”
“Hmm…”
“How could something like this happen?”
“This is far too strange.”
“First of all, how could a lizard-type monster grow something resembling a ‘dragon scale’?”
“And…”
“This isn’t just any ordinary ‘dragon scale’.”
“Its magic resistance and magic conductivity are among the highest I have ever seen…”
“Secondly, even setting that issue aside, the person who brought this scale back, as the sole survivor among all the adventurers who entered the Elroe Labyrinth during that same period, doesn’t possess any outstanding abilities or special traits.”
“On what grounds could he possibly survive against such a dangerous monster?”
“That can only point to one explanation…”
“That adventurer was deliberately let go by the ‘Labyrinth Creator’, and the scale was handed to him intentionally.”
“What normal monster would actively give a scale from its own body to a human…?”
“Let alone to a mere ordinary adventurer?”
“Could it be…
that it understood that as long as this scale appeared in human society, it would inevitably cause a massive uproar, thereby finding its way into the hands of high-ranking individuals like me…”
“If that’s truly the case, then that’s far too terrifying…”
“No…
regardless of how you look at it right now, it is by no means an ordinary monster, and it very likely possesses an intellect no inferior to that of humans.”
“Just what is its purpose…?”
“And how will it act toward humanity in the future…?”
“These are all massive questions…”
“It seems absolutely necessary to dispatch someone to attempt negotiation, as dangerous as it may be…”
“An existence of this caliber…”
“We absolutely cannot allow that to happen…”
“Let’s leave it at that for now…”
…
“Oh!
You mean that weird fellow~?”
The speaker took a massive gulp of fine ale from a wooden cask, her eyes sparkling with joyful brilliance as she showed vibrant enthusiasm.
“It went like this!”
“Back then, you suddenly vanished out of nowhere, leaving me all alone on the spot.”
“At the time, I overestimated my own abilities, thinking I could handle the matter all by myself…”
“But clearly, things developed far beyond my expectations, spiraling completely out of my control.”
“Right when I couldn’t hold on anymore, battered and bruised, on the absolute brink of despair, that…
that fellow appeared!!”
“Just materialized out of nowhere right amidst the wildly raging blizzard!”
“Standing right in front of me!”
“What was even more unbelievable to me…
was that it barely even made a move, easily deflecting that brat’s berserk onslaught!”
“And suppressed him right on the spot!”
“After that, a massive wave of energy surged straight up from the ground!”
“Afterward…?”
“Well, because I was severely injured at the time, I didn’t notice the specifics of what it did later.”
“But that brat suddenly calmed down, sitting there bound in place completely obediently.”
“Th-Then…
that fellow walked right over to me!”
“It placed its claw on my blood-soaked body, and almost instantly, a warm, mysterious sensation enveloped my whole body.”
“Those extremely severe injuries on me were healed like a complete joke!”
“While I was still standing there frozen in shock, as if it knew my personal taste, it pulled out several more casks of liquor from spatial storage…”
“Yes!
Exactly the stuff I’m drinking right now!”
“Mmm~ I have to admit, that fellow’s taste is truly top-tier!
To actually get ahold of such superb liquor~”
(sda egnrts i htis)
“Oh, oh?
You mean this?”
The speaker gestured to a necklace hanging around her neck, its front tied with a strange monster scale that continuously emitted faint pulses of green light, looking deep and ethereal.
Then, she smiled and continued,
“Yep, this was also given to me by it!”
“It was given to me right along with the liquor back then.”
A scale from its own body?
Seems like it…”
“I’m not entirely sure either, but anyway, wearing it gives me a really comfortable feeling, and it even gives a boost to all my stats, “so I’ve just kept it hanging around my neck~”
“Yep, I also tried appraising it.”
“The result?”
“Uh, it wasn’t [Cannot Be Appraised], nor was it [Appraisal Blocked], just a whole bunch of weird, bizarre symbols.”
…
…
“Hmph, why should I agree to cooperate with you?”
“It seems your ultimate goal is the exact same as those fools’.”
“Knowing full well that I am an insurmountable obstacle on this path, you still want to try like an idiot.”
“To think I previously considered you to have some brains—turned out you’re just another pitiable creature in the end.”
The sharp-featured man let out a soft chuckle, a trace of mockery showing in his calm gaze.
Looking toward the empty wall in front of him, he spoke once more, though I must admit, you are indeed extremely dangerous—not just because of your bizarre abilities, but also your unpredictable behavior and judgment criteria.”
“However, that isn’t enough capital for you to repeatedly provoke me to my face.”
“This isn’t a place where you can come and go as you please.”
“Since you’ve delivered yourself right to my door, you can stay here forever.”
As his words fell, a dense, suffocating killing intent spread through the air, strange ripples leaping across space—that unknown power capable of making the world tremble was like a toy that could be manipulated at will in this man’s hands.
Just as he turned around, preparing to leave, a voice reached into his mind.
『…』
He halted in his tracks, freezing on the spot, but his expression quickly returned to normal.
“You bastard…”
“Do you really think I’ll believe you?”
The man knitted his brows tightly, asking in a deep voice,
『…』
“Heh, that is indeed a highly tempting condition for me.”
“It seems you know far more than the average person.”
“Follow me, but don’t talk to me about anything else just yet.”
“Before that, let me test whether you actually have that kind of ability.”
『…』
…