The chase continued.
Still, since they were all Knight Trainees, they managed to put some distance between us and our pursuers through sheer stamina.
Of course, I was already on the verge of collapsing.
“Huff… Huff….”
Damn this body.
Apparently, two months of training had not been enough.
If I died like this, who was I supposed to blame?
As I struggled for breath, Claire made a suggestion.
“Lord Allen. I can carry you.”
Even though she had only just handed Benedict over to the blond man, Claire was not even breathing hard.
Carrying someone like me probably would not make much difference to her.
Still, I shook my head.
It was not because my pride as a man would not allow me to ride on a woman’s back.
I could not afford to tie up Claire’s monstrous strength when every second might matter.
‘…Here.’
I glanced at the Thief’s Compass.
Its hour hand was pointing directly east.
When I looked east, however, all I saw was a solid wall.
The thieves’ safehouse had to be hidden somewhere around here.
The moment I stopped, the others who had gone on ahead doubled back.
...What a shame.
I would have preferred it if they had simply kept going.
“Sir Allen! Are you having trouble keeping up?”
The shaved-headed man asked while carrying Benedict, but I did not even have enough breath left to answer.
After taking a moment to recover, I examined the wall in the direction indicated by the hour hand.
Claire watched me with a puzzled expression, but the moment I placed my hand against the wall, she hurriedly stopped me.
“L-Lord Allen!”
The instant her small hand closed around my arm, an excruciating pain shot through me.
Jesus.
Something in my bones made a disturbing CRACKLE.
“I’m fine, so let go of me. I think you’re about to break my arm.”
“Ah... I’m sorry. But I do not think you should touch the walls.”
Leaving the apologetic Claire behind, I ran my hand along the wall, searching for something unusual.
She was probably worried about the traps scattered throughout the walls of the first floor, but I had already confirmed that there were none here.
As I continued feeling along the wall, my index finger found a section that gave slightly under pressure.
‘Found it.’
I pressed down firmly.
A small, separate section sank about three centimeters into the wall.
RUMBLE!
The wall shifted, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Soon, an entrance roughly as tall as I was appeared.
“Wow….”
Claire exclaimed as though she had just discovered treasure.
She looked around with childlike wonder.
In contrast, the blond man and the shaved-headed man stared at it with stiff expressions, unable to comprehend what they were seeing.
“…What is this place?”
The blond man asked me.
The shaved-headed man looked at me as well.
Did these bastards have no sense at all?
“It’s a Hidden Piece.”
All three of their eyes immediately lit up.
Apparently, even people who knew nothing about the labyrinth recognized that term.
Claire headed down the long passage, and the other two followed hesitantly.
Once I entered last, the same tremendous rumble sounded behind us and the entrance closed.
“…Lord Allen, where exactly are we?”
“The thieves’ hideout.”
It was a place I had visited countless times in the game.
This was my first time seeing it in reality, though.
Torches were mounted at intervals along the passage.
As we went farther inside, I saw an altar built into the wall.
Countless small statues were piled atop it like a heap of stones.
“Phew….”
Farther in, we reached a fairly spacious chamber.
The ceiling was roughly five meters high.
There were pieces of furniture carved directly from stone.
The shaved-headed man carefully laid Benedict on a stone bed in the corner.
“Haa… Haa….”
Amazingly, the sound was coming from Benedict.
He was still alive.
“Sir Rivalt. I’ll hold this leg.”
At Claire’s direction, she and Rivalt began removing Benedict’s armor.
He had to be in tremendous pain, but the fact that he was not even groaning suggested he had lost consciousness.
Good.
It would probably be easier for him if he died like that.
“Then I’ll pull it out.”
Claire placed her hand on the arrow lodged in his abdomen.
If she pulled that out, he would bleed to death almost immediately.
Had they reached the same conclusion I had?
“Yes. I’m ready.”
The moment I thought that, Rivalt pulled something from inside his clothes.
A blue liquid filled a transparent flask.
Only then did I understand why they had refused to abandon Benedict.
‘A Mid-Grade Potion….’
They really were nobles.
They had somehow managed to obtain such an expensive consumable.
Rivalt uncorked the flask and slowly poured the potion over Benedict’s wound.
The moment the potion touched the injury, bubbles began boiling up.
The initially red foam gradually darkened until it was nearly black.
“…….”
Benedict’s breathing became much calmer than before.
A Mid-Grade Potion should be enough to treat a wound like that.
He would probably wake up soon.
‘This works out nicely.’
He might be the one behind all of this.
Though after taking an arrow himself, the possibility seemed considerably lower.
“Ugh….”
As though he had just returned from the brink of death, Benedict waved his hands around while calling out for someone.
Before long, he regained his senses and sat up.
“Where am I…? Why am I here…?”
“Benedict! Are you awake? I thought you were going to die!”
The blond man made an uncharacteristically dramatic fuss.
I pushed him aside and spoke to Benedict.
“Stop making a fuss and get up. We don’t have time to explain everything.”
“…Commoner. What do you think you are doing? He only just opened his eyes after hovering between life and death.”
The blond man barked at me as though reprimanding a child.
Rivalt joined in as though backing him up.
“Sir Allen. Even so, Sir Benedict must be the most confused among us. Please calm down.”
Were these bastards serious?
Their own lives were in danger, and they were busy worrying about someone else.
Ignoring both of them, I questioned Benedict.
“We were attacked. Their targets are Claire and me. Do you have any idea who they might be?”
“Attacked... you say?”
Benedict’s eyes trembled like leaves in the wind.
It was a meaningful reaction, but hardly conclusive.
No choice.
I would have to draw the knife.
“I’ve been thinking about it... and I don’t believe all of this was a coincidence.”
Everyone stared at me as though wondering what nonsense I was suddenly spouting.
Only the blond man openly voiced it.
“What kind of bullshit are you talking about now?”
“Those men from earlier. The one giving orders already knew I was a Mage.”
“And what of it?”
“Are you seriously asking me that? Mages are difficult to find on the lower floors, especially the first floor. They’re rare even outside the labyrinth. Yet that man identified me as a Mage immediately.”
“That thing that made all of us duck... Was that not magic?”
“To them, it would have looked like nothing more than a warning.”
“Hmm... Then perhaps they guessed because you weren’t carrying a weapon.”
Ha.
Was I talking to a twelve-year-old?
“Are Mages the only people who don’t carry weapons? Priests, Martial Artists, Shamans, and Assassins are often empty-handed too. Yet they singled me out as a Mage? At least say something that makes sense.”
“What exactly are you trying to say?”
“That’s not all. They already knew about Claire too.”
The blond man’s face began turning red.
“Commoner! Stop talking in circles and get to the point!”
“In other words, the attack was planned. Someone must have given them information about us.”
“What are you saying? Are you suggesting there is an informant among us?”
Claire raised her voice for the first time.
She stared at me in disbelief.
“I’m almost certain of it.”
“That’s impossible….”
She recoiled, clearly shaken.
She still did not seem to fully believe me.
The others were glaring at me as though I were the enemy.
They looked at me like some villain who had come to destroy their precious friendship.
“Of course, it’s possible that one of those attackers already knew Claire, and someone else might have seen me use magic.”
“That must be it! There is no possibility that one of us is a traitor!”
Rivalt shouted, his eyes lighting up.
I would have preferred that too, but I was skeptical.
Every circumstance pointed toward there being a bastard among us.
“So? Has the brilliant commoner figured out which of us is the traitor?”
“No. That’s what I’m about to find out.”
At the blond man’s sarcasm, I opened the bag I was carrying.
Just in case something happened, I had brought along several useful items from the gifts the knights had given me.
I never expected them to come in handy like this.
After rummaging through the bag, I pulled out a small crystal orb.
“What... is that?”
Benedict, who had recovered somewhat, asked me.
“It’s an Artifact. An invention made by Mages, an imitation modeled after a Relic.”
Among Adventurers, Artifacts were sometimes called cheap Relics.
Of course, they were not actually cheap.
“This Artifact is called the ‘Crystal Orb of Mendacium.’ It can distinguish truth from lies.”
“How?”
At Claire’s question, I handed her the crystal orb.
“Hold onto it carefully. I’ll show you.”
Claire carefully held the orb in both hands.
First, I explained how the Artifact supposedly worked.
“It’s simple. When someone holding the crystal orb is asked a question, the crystal changes color depending on their answer. If they tell the truth, it turns green. If their answer contains both truth and lies, it turns yellow. If they lie, it turns red.”
Perhaps afraid she might drop it, Claire tightened her grip around the orb.
“Don’t squeeze too hard. It can break.”
“Ah, yes!”
“One thing to remember is that you have to channel mana into the crystal orb while answering. Also, once it is activated for the first time, it can only be used five times over the next twenty-four hours. There are five of us, so we’ll all answer the same question.”
Feeling everyone’s attention turn toward Claire, I asked her,
“Claire. Do you know who the people who attacked us today are?”
“I….”
Before she answered, I warned her.
“Channel mana into it while you answer. Think carefully.”
Claire met my gaze without wavering and answered with complete conviction.
“I do not know who they are or why they are pursuing us. I swear it.”
Mana rippled around the crystal orb as she spoke.
A green glow slowly spread throughout the sphere.
Feeling relieved, I took it back.
“Ask me. Anything you want.”
While the men hesitated, Claire asked me instead.
“Lord Allen. Do you know anything about the people who attacked us today?”
“I know absolutely nothing about them. I don’t even have a guess.”
HUMMM.
Just as before, the orb glowed green.
I handed it to Rivalt, who stood to my right.
He accepted it with slightly trembling hands.
‘Now then….’
The truth was, I had lied to them.
The Artifact known as the ‘Crystal Orb of Mendacium’ had no limit on the number of times it could be used.
More importantly, its effect had nothing to do with distinguishing truth from lies.
There was no way a mere Artifact, rather than a Relic, possessed something that mystical.
‘It only measures the flow of mana.’
You could compare it to a lie detector.
Mana originated from the heart.
Because of that, the heartbeat affected the flow of mana.
If the flow remained normal, the crystal orb turned green.
If it began trembling abnormally, the orb turned red.
There was no way these people would know that.
‘Even an ordinary Adventurer would probably have questioned it and made excuses.’
Perhaps because they were Knight Trainees, they were remarkably naive.
“Sir Rivalt. Do you know who the people pursuing us are?”
Claire asked Rivalt, who was holding the crystal orb.
Rivalt fidgeted with it and hesitated.
He bit his lip anxiously.
Damn it.
I had a bad feeling.
Was this bastard really the one?
At that moment, the veins on Rivalt’s hand bulged.
SHATTER!
Unable to withstand his grip, the crystal orb broke apart.
As shards fell to the floor, Rivalt simultaneously drew his sword.
SHING!
The instant the orb shattered, I had already finished my incantation.
『Wind Scythe』
A scythe of wind flew toward Rivalt’s neck.
At the same time, I saw Claire and the other two men draw their swords as well.
That allowed me to relax.
Four against one would be easy enough.
CLANG!
Rivalt cut down the Wind Scythe.
Claire stepped forward to follow up with an attack.
Then, from behind her, two sword strikes slithered toward her like snakes.
WHOOSH!
Claire hurriedly threw herself backward.
“W-What are you doing?!”
I moved back-to-back with her.
Rivalt, Benedict, and the blond man spread out around us, steadily closing the distance.
‘Damn it….’
I had suspected there was a traitor.
No.
I had been almost certain.
But still....
‘These fucking bastards….’
I never imagined that all three of them were traitors.