When I opened the Labyrinth gate and stepped outside, Claire, who had been smiling beside me, was nowhere to be seen.
Instead of the narrow maze of stone walls, I was greeted by the wide-open scenery beneath a barren mountainside.
Feeling both relieved and refreshed by the clean air, I turned around.
A massive castle gate, utterly out of place at the top of the mountain, stood firmly shut.
RATTLE!
I tried opening it just in case, but it did not budge.
The Labyrinth gate would not open again until the next new moon.
When that time came, even this desolate place would probably have a few Adventurers wandering around.
‘Come to think of it….’
If I descended the eastern side of this mountain, I would reach the territory of the Werewolf Clan.
The ‘Wolf Forest’ was only about two hours away on foot.
Should I go there now and hand over Garbo’s body?
‘…No. Forget it.’
The Werewolf Clan was not particularly friendly toward humans to begin with.
Going there alone while my mana had yet to recover would be too dangerous.
For now, returning to the estate and recovering had to take priority.
“Whew….”
Going down the mountain itself was simple enough, but wild animals frequently roamed this region.
Since I could not use even the most basic magic, the descent was surprisingly nerve-racking.
Fortunately, I did not encounter any beasts, so all I had to worry about was not slipping.
I had never expected to emerge from the Labyrinth in such a miserable condition.
Next time, I intended to enter through a gate located somewhere safer.
‘Next time… next time, huh….’
After reaching ‘Carcassonne,’ a village near the Kalsburg Family’s territory, I boarded a carriage bound for the estate and fell into thought.
What were the odds that, on my very first trip into the Labyrinth, I would join a group of Knight Trainees and, because of them, encounter Marco the “Leech”?
Everything that had happened made me think about ‘Deep Dungeon’ again.
‘GO TO HELL.’
The new difficulty that had appeared after clearing the game.
I had assumed there would be changes to the Labyrinth’s Monsters, traps, and similar elements.
But neither the preliminary information I had gathered over the past two months nor the Monsters and traps on the first floor had shown much difference from the original game.
Then what if the increased difficulty came from somewhere else?
Theosis Kalsburg’s rebellion, which would bring about the destruction of the family, was another unavoidable death flag.
If I had to become stronger than Theosis before the rebellion occurred, that alone was enough to justify calling the difficulty hellish.
That was why I had forced myself into the Labyrinth and even obtained Word Magic.
‘But what if that isn’t the end of it?’
There had been a clue in my conversation with Marco the “Leech.”
[We received an order… Capture Mages alive and send them to the higher-ups… If someone uses magic from two or more schools, report them without fail….]
Behertha.
They were collecting the brains and hearts of Mages.
‘Why?’
No matter how rare Mages were, provoking even the Mage Towers meant accepting significant losses.
And Behertha did not tolerate losses.
From that, I could think of two possibilities.
‘Either there’s enough profit to outweigh the losses, or someone made them an offer they can’t afford to refuse….’
There was also the possibility that Behertha was acting entirely on its own initiative, but that seemed less likely.
The merchants within the alliance did not operate under a simple vertical hierarchy.
‘Behertha will come after me.’
I could change my hair color, but I could not change my face or my magic.
Inside the Labyrinth, where I did not have the protection of the Kalsburg Family, I would have to be cautious at all times.
If threats like these were what made the Labyrinth more dangerous, then the difficulty certainly had increased.
‘This won’t be easy.’
It was not as though I had never expected unexpected situations like this.
Still, I needed to eliminate as many variables as possible.
To do that, forming a permanent party for my Labyrinth expeditions was urgent.
‘I need to visit the Adventurer’s Guild before the next trip.’
There was a mountain of things to do.
Above all, there was one thing that mattered most.
‘I need to become stronger.’
I could not afford to be held back by a single Slave Trader.
Climbing the Labyrinth and becoming a high-ranking Adventurer inevitably meant becoming entangled with countless organizations.
Some would try to kill me.
Some would try to recruit me.
Others would try to use me.
If I wanted to survive while turning all of them to my own advantage—
“Welcome back, Young Master.”
A familiar maid’s voice reached me.
At Alina’s greeting, I realized that I had been so lost in thought that I had not even noticed arriving at the estate.
“Nothing happened while I was gone, right?”
I asked how things had been and reached for the door.
At that moment, I sensed someone inside.
There were not many people who would enter my room while I was absent.
Very few had either the authority to do so or enough interest in me to bother.
Before I could ask Alina, she spoke first.
“Young Master Geren has been waiting inside for a while.”
Ah, damn it.
The inevitable had finally arrived.
I nodded and opened the door.
A boy who looked about thirteen was rolling around on my bed.
“Big Brother! You’re back?”
The third son of the Kalsburg Family immediately rushed toward me.
I stopped Geren by pressing a hand against his forehead, keeping him at a distance.
“Why are you here again?”
“I came yesterday and the day before too! I’ve been coming every day! I wanted to hear about the Labyrinth!”
I had promised him that.
But right now, I wanted to rest.
I had too much to think about as well.
“I’m exhausted today, so tomorrow—”
“No! I kept waiting for you! Tell me today!”
“I said I have too much to think about today—”
“You promised! You promised! A promise is a promise!”
Geren stamped his feet and threw a tantrum.
He was so loud that my head started pounding.
Children really did not suit me.
“Listen carefully. I’ll only tell you the important parts of what happened in the Labyrinth.”
“The important parts? What does that mean?”
“The most interesting parts.”
I was exhausted, but there was no helping it.
Considering what I gained by keeping this kid happy, this was a small price to pay.
“When I first entered the Labyrinth—”
“Yeah! Yeah!”
Geren nodded eagerly, giving me his complete attention.
My relationship with this kid had begun on the day of the Succession Battle.
[Big Brother Allen! I heard you completely crushed Big Brother Gilbert!]
Gilbert and Geren got along like cats and dogs.
Because of Gilbert’s domineering and selfish personality, it was difficult to believe the two were even brothers.
Though, strictly speaking, it was mostly Geren who hated Gilbert.
[You’re seriously the best! From now on, I’ll listen to anything you say!]
Geren had come to me and showered me with excessive affection.
At first, I had simply wondered why he was being so annoying.
Then a thought occurred to me.
‘This is an opportunity.’
Geren Kalsburg.
He did not have much presence in the game, but in simple terms, he was the public face of the Kalsburg Family.
Theosis and Gilbert had no interest in high society, while the Duchess never put effort into anything that did not make money.
The original Allen would never have attended such gatherings, and I did not have the time for them either.
That inevitably left the thirteen-year-old boy, who had plenty of free time and was at an age where he desperately wanted attention, to attend social events.
When people thought of high society, they usually imagined lavish banquets held by nobles.
And they were right.
Banquets were filled with expensive cuisine and costly alcohol.
Where there was alcohol, people lowered their guard.
That was when high society began to have real value.
The information and connections possessed by nobles were fundamentally different from those of Adventurers.
Since I had been born a noble anyway, there was no reason not to take advantage of information from both worlds.
It would have been ideal if I could attend every gathering myself, but that was impossible while I was inside the Labyrinth.
That was when Geren Kalsburg came to mind.
[High society?]
Geren liked people, so attending social gatherings was hardly work for him.
His being thirteen was another advantage.
Even if he was the son of a ducal house, nobody would pay much attention to what they said in front of a thirteen-year-old boy.
And Geren occasionally brought me information he had overheard from conversations between nobles.
‘The information about the Ancient Dragon Fang… I got that from Geren too.’
It had been one of the rare materials I offered in exchange for obtaining Word Magic.
Geren had heard that a noble with a hobby of collecting rare objects suddenly needed money.
The moment I learned the noble intended to sell the item at an auction house, I rushed over and bought it.
The price I paid Geren for information this valuable was extremely cheap.
I occasionally showed him magic or told him entertaining stories.
I had also given him the privilege of entering my room whenever he wanted.
Children tended to feel special over little privileges like that.
“—and that’s how I came back from the Labyrinth.”
“Wow! That was amazing! Tell me again! Again!”
“No, telling the same story again is a little much—”
“Again! Again!”
Haa.
Damn it.
I ended up telling Geren the exact same story three more times.
Only then was I finally released.
My mana did not return until two days later.
It was exactly three days after I had used Blood Magic.
‘This is no good.’
Blood Magic was a technique with no safety margin.
It might not have any obvious lasting effects right now, but I had no idea what other aftereffects might eventually appear.
Being unable to use mana inside the Labyrinth was also an enormous restriction.
“Whew….”
As soon as my mana returned, I climbed the mountain again.
This time, I was searching for the Werewolf Clan’s territory so I could return Garbo’s body.
I passed the Labyrinth gate I had seen before and descended eastward.
Once I entered the vast forest below, signs of human activity disappeared completely beyond a certain point.
BARK!
A wild wolf charged at me.
I killed it with a single strike.
From here onward, I was inside the territory of the Werewolf Clan.
‘Gloomy.’
Even in broad daylight, the trees grew so densely that the forest was almost as dark as night.
It certainly suited the Werewolf Clan.
They disliked places exposed to direct sunlight.
After that, I simply kept walking.
I assumed a warning would come eventually.
Sure enough, before long, a young woman’s voice came from somewhere I could not see.
“What business does a human have in this forest?”
“…….”
I continued walking without answering.
The fact that she had not revealed herself suggested she only intended to give me a light warning.
“Human. This is the territory of the Werewolf Clan. Humans are forbidden from entering.”
She seemed more impatient than I had expected.
The person who finally revealed herself was a silver-haired woman who looked about eighteen.
Unlike Garbo, she had none of the thick fur I had seen covering him.
She looked entirely human.
“Turn back. If you leave now, I’ll let you go.”
That was a problem.
I would not have come all this way if I intended to turn around now.
“I don’t think entry is actually forbidden. This land is officially classified as territory of the Garcia Empire. There’s nothing illegal about me being here.”
“This is our territory. So get lost, human.”
The woman’s expression changed the instant I invoked the name of the Empire.
Her tone became as sharp as a blade.
It no longer sounded like a mere threat.
Naturally, I ignored her warning.
“And if I refuse?”
There was no further warning.
Only a sudden gust of wind.
WHOOSH!
The silver-haired woman disappeared.
In her place stood an enormous silver wolf, glaring directly at me.