One week before entering the labyrinth.
At the Knight Academy in the imperial capital, Rivalt Reble was watching someone.
His gaze followed a female cadet named Claire, who was already renowned among the trainees for her beauty.
As he watched her, Rivalt clenched his teeth so hard that he did not even notice the grinding sound they made.
“Rivalt. What are you staring at so intently?”
A blond man appeared behind him and gently rested a hand on Rivalt’s shaved head.
Soon, Claire entered his field of vision as well.
“So you were spying on the academy’s one and only Goddess of Beauty.”
“…….”
“Come to think of it, I heard you proposed marriage to Lady Claire. Is that true?”
Rivalt’s expression stiffened at those words.
“Sir Parian. Even if it is you, I will not tolerate being insulted.”
Hearing the anger in his low voice, Parian swept his blond hair back from his forehead and took a step away.
“My apologies. I had no intention of offending you.”
“Then what do you want?”
“I was thinking we might have a meal with Benedict.”
“You two can go. I am not interested.”
Rivalt spoke coldly and turned away.
Without taking his eyes off Claire, Parian asked,
“Hey, did you hear the news? Apparently, Lady Claire intends to enter the labyrinth before taking the Knight Examination.”
“The labyrinth? Why would a noble enter the labyrinth…?”
“Hmm? I suppose you did not know. That woman is the daughter of an Adventurer.”
“…Is that true?”
Parian nodded.
Confusion instantly spread across Rivalt’s face.
Gradually, anger began to flicker in his eyes.
“A mere commoner….”
Watching him, Parian concealed the sneer threatening to appear on his face.
It was already common knowledge that Claire had rejected Rivalt.
Rivalt, who was already engaged to the daughter of a noble family, had seen his reputation plummet.
It must have been a considerable blow to his honor, both as a noble and as a knight.
Rivalt was convinced that Claire had spread the rumor.
In truth, Parian himself had happened to witness it and spread the story.
‘How pathetic. A noble allowing himself to be toyed with by a single woman.’
It was disgraceful to witness as a fellow noble.
That said, even Parian had to acknowledge Claire’s beauty.
She could be compared to an Elf without suffering in the slightest.
‘Hmm….’
At that moment, an ingenious idea occurred to him.
It was only a passing thought, yet excitement was already beginning to stir within him.
“Rivalt. Have you never thought about taking revenge?”
“Revenge...? What are you talking about?”
“Lady Claire, of course. A mere commoner rejected a noble and then spread rumors that damaged your reputation. Soon, you will have to return to your family and endure their condemnation, while she will go on to prosper as a knight. If I were you, I could not stand to watch it happen.”
Rivalt’s eyes trembled, as though the scene Parian described was already playing out in his mind.
“Do you know this? The labyrinth is beyond the jurisdiction of imperial law. The Empire’s laws mean nothing inside it. The Guild supposedly manages the place, but people are rarely held accountable for what happens within the labyrinth.”
“What exactly are you suggesting…?”
“She is a commoner, is she not? Even if she died inside the labyrinth, no one would search very hard for her. And even if a problem did arise, your Reble Baronial House and our Solon Baronial House could deal with it easily enough.”
“Surely you are not suggesting that we kill Lady Claire inside the labyrinth?”
“Precisely.”
Rivalt’s pupils quivered.
He shook his head and spoke with a stammer.
“T-That is unrealistic... She ranked first among the cadets who are about to graduate. Even if the two of us worked together, we would still be at a disadvantage….”
“Yes. Perhaps we would. But what if it were not only the two of us?”
“What are you talking about?”
Benedict appeared behind them, pushing his glasses up his nose as he asked the question.
Parian smiled as though his arrival could not have been better timed.
“Benedict. You asked me to lend you money recently, did you not? Quite a large sum, at that.”
“I lost one of my family’s heirlooms. It has been giving me no end of trouble. But why are you suddenly bringing that up?”
“Well... I may have found a way for you to obtain the money.”
The plan Parian explained to them was simple.
They would invite Claire to enter the labyrinth with them.
Then they would sell her to a Slave Trader Parian knew.
Rivalt would get his revenge.
Benedict would get his money.
And Parian would get his entertainment.
At first, the other two looked reluctant.
But as Parian continued coaxing and persuading them, their expressions gradually changed to anticipation.
Once they finally agreed, Parian warned them first.
“Be careful. Rivalt, especially you. You must never show any hostility toward her. Behave exactly the same way inside the labyrinth. We cannot afford to make her suspicious.”
“Understood. But are you certain there will be no problems?”
“Do not worry. I know the Slave Trader well. There should be no trouble.”
“Sir Parian... I understand our reasons, but why are you suggesting this? You have no grudge against Lady Claire.”
“Hmm? My reason?”
At that, Parian’s shoulders shook with laughter.
What an amusing question.
If anything, was his reason not the greatest of them all?
Parian ran his tongue across his lips and said,
“Gentlemen. Do you know the motto of House Solon?”
“The family motto?”
“If there is something you desire, obtain it by any means necessary. If it belongs to another, take it from them without fail. And if you cannot possess it no matter what you do, destroy it completely so that no one else may have it.”
“…….”
“I can hardly wait. I wonder what expression that beautiful Claire will make.”
Parian suppressed the laughter threatening to burst from him.
His tongue slid across his lips like a snake.
Dim torchlight quietly illuminated us inside the Thieves’ Safehouse.
The blond man, the man with glasses, and the shaved-headed man.
All three had their swords pointed at Claire and me.
The first thing I did was check her condition.
“Claire. Are you hurt?”
“I am unharmed. I have plenty of mana remaining as well.”
Good.
At least there was that much to be thankful for.
But that was not all I meant.
I could see for myself that she was physically unharmed.
What concerned me was her mental state.
‘She’s obviously in shock.’
The strength had vanished from her eyes.
An indescribable emotion weighed down her slumped shoulders.
Would she even be able to fight properly?
‘Phew….’
Only now did all the pieces fall into place.
Why these bastards had tried so hard to stop me from joining their party.
Why our pursuers had already known about Claire and me.
“Commoner. How about we have a little conversation?”
The blond man spoke to me while keeping his sword pointed at Claire.
Why the hell did this bastard look so cheerful?
“Ha... How many times have I told you my name is Allen, not ‘commoner’?”
“Right. Alin. I have a proposal for you.”
That bastard....
He had mispronounced it on purpose. One hundred percent.
It pissed me off, but I let it go for now.
There was something more important.
“A proposal?”
“You were dragged into this situation without warning, so I imagine you feel wronged. I understand. That is why I am giving you a chance.”
The blond man extended a hand toward me.
“Abandon the woman and come over to our side.”
I felt Claire flinch at his proposal.
Was this bastard actually serious?
“What do you mean? Wouldn’t I lose my head the moment I tried?”
Claire was within arm’s reach.
No matter how quickly I could cast magic, trying anything from this position would be little more than a gamble.
Though, separate from that, I did not think she would actually launch a surprise attack on me.
“Commoner. Just as you suspected, I was the one who brought in the men pursuing us. They are Slave Traders who will purchase that woman.”
“…….”
The moment I heard the words Slave Traders, a curse rose in my mind.
‘These fucking lunatics….’
Of all the people they could have gotten involved with, they had chosen some of the most insane bastards around.
Surely they were not affiliated with White Night?
I wanted to believe they were not.
Had they even made a proper deal in the first place?
I asked to confirm.
“You made a deal with them? Then why did Benedict get shot?”
“Benedict? Must you refer to me as though I were nothing more than a pair of glasses?”
Both the blond man and I ignored the ridiculous interruption.
“They probably aimed poorly.”
I doubted it.
My guess was that these three had panicked the instant Benedict was shot and had followed us all the way here because of it.
“I received a message through a Magic Orb a little while ago. Apparently, it was a Combat Slave’s mistake. I told them where this place is, so they said they would arrive shortly.”
When the hell had he even contacted them?
“I doubt Claire was their only target. Didn’t they specifically order that I be captured too?”
“It seems the merchant allowed greed to get the better of him. Do not worry. I swear on my honor as a noble that I will not permit them to harm you.”
Bullshit.
I doubted that was yours to decide.
“Phew….”
I realized I had gathered almost all the information I needed.
There was no longer any reason to keep feeling them out.
All that remained was to make a decision based on the situation and what benefited me most.
“…Lord Allen. You may go.”
Claire forced herself to speak resolutely.
I could hear the moisture in her voice.
I knew.
Even if I joined their side, it would not necessarily make me a bad person.
After all, I was only an innocent bystander who had become tangled in their conflict of interests.
“Commoner. I cannot wait forever. Make your decision.”
I did not immediately answer the blond man.
Instead, I thought about the relationship between Claire and these bastards.
I did not actually know what kind of history they had.
Maybe there was some genuine grudge between them.
“Commoner. Are you listening?”
But from the brief time I had spent traveling with Claire, I could not imagine that she had done anything deserving of being sold to Slave Traders.
The despair in her eyes proved that much.
She had probably never experienced, or even imagined, this degree of malice before.
“Answer me, commoner.”
I was not the sort of person who obsessed over abstract ideals like loyalty, love, or devotion.
Even so, something about this disgusted me.
Maybe it was simply the morality of someone raised in the modern world.
At the very least, I believed one person should never sell another.
“Just how long are you going to—”
The blond man raised his voice as he glared at me.
I had lost count of how many times he had called me a commoner already.
Maybe he was deliberately trying to irritate me.
Or perhaps he did it unconsciously.
Either way, I stopped suppressing the anger boiling up from my heart.
“You really never run out of bullshit, do you?”
“…Are you speaking to me?”
That was the problem with these noble bastards.
Why did they question something they had heard with their own ears?
“How many times have I told you my name is Allen, not ‘commoner’?”
“Is... that truly what matters right now?”
“I’m a petty man, you see. When someone like you refuses to understand something no matter how many times I say it, I start wanting to tear their ears off.”
“…You will regret this, commoner.”
Impressive.
He was going to keep saying it until the bitter end.
‘Three Knight Trainees in a confined space….’
For a Mage, this would never be an easy fight.
To make matters worse, the only person on my side was a mentally shattered deadweight who had just been betrayed.
However—
“If your ears are clogged, just say so, Blondie.”
I wrung every last bit of mana from my heart and drew it forth with all my strength.
The Word I whispered softly manifested behind me as eight blades.
They resembled elite soldiers awaiting an order.
SHING!
“I’ll cut off those useless ears for you.”
If it was me,
I was more than capable of killing these vermin.