Joshua walked inside.
There was a woman there.
Even as they approached, she showed no reaction.
With a face devoid of blood, she stared intently at something on the ground.
Following her gaze, they saw an ant.
She reached out her finger, crushed the ant, and brought it to her mouth.
“Stop that!”
Tania shouted out.
Only then did the woman notice their presence.
She had a startled face.
However, she seemed to have no strength to run away and simply hesitated in place.
“If you need something to eat, have this.”
Tania took a trimmed radish out of her backpack.
The woman snatched it from the girl's hand without hesitation.
Then, without any sign of shame, she ate it ravenously.
Everyone watched the scene in silence.
“I don't think it was necessary to share our food.”
Leo retorted coldly.
Tania turned her head and glared at him with narrowed eyes.
“Oppa, were you planning to just stand there and watch that?”
“I do agree it wasn't a pleasant scene to watch. Joshua, what do you think?”
Joshua opened his mouth without taking his eyes off the woman.
“If there's no food, catching and eating insects isn't a bad choice. Though one must have the ability to distinguish between insects that should be eaten and those that shouldn't.”
“You talk as if you've eaten a lot of them.”
“I think I've eaten over fifty species of insects alone.”
Tania and Leo wouldn't know.
Even back when he played as those two characters, there were many times he provided nutrition through insects.
He didn't know the taste.
In the game, it was executed with a single mouse click even if one didn't want to.
Satiety rose when eating insects.
At the same time, human dignity would be shaken, leading to a debuff.
It was a double edged sword.
Therefore, he didn't execute it if possible, but it was a good option in unavoidable circumstances.
“Did I say something strange?”
Silence covered the surroundings.
Everyone looked at him with strange eyes.
“It’s because when Sir Joshua says it, it doesn't sound like a joke.”
Talleon answered, breaking the silence.
“It isn't a joke.”
“Let’s stop this talk! Insects aren't what's important right now.”
Talleon hurriedly changed the subject.
Now the boys and girls turned their gazes back to the woman.
Her dull eyes had regained a little vitality.
“Who are you? You aren't a survivor from here, are you?”
“That’s correct.”
“How did you get in here? Don't tell me the main gate was breached!”
“We found a side path. We came in through there.”
Even after the explanation, the woman had a face of disbelief.
It wasn't hard to understand.
It was actually stranger not to suspect intruders who appeared out of nowhere.
However, they didn't have much leeway either.
“There must be people who know the situation of the mine well. Can you guide us to them?”
“……I can do that.”
The woman stood up from her spot.
There were a mountain of things to ask.
Her mouth itched with curiosity, but she thought it wasn't her role.
“Thank you.”
She bowed to Tania, who had given her the food.
Stinging glares were felt from the girl's companions behind her.
She had shown grace even though their food situation wasn't abundant.
“No, it was nothing. I only did what was natural.”
Tania smiled brightly.
It was a look of trying hard to relieve the woman's burden.
Encouraged by that comfort, the woman led Joshua’s group to the place where the leadership was located.
It was the second basement floor of the mine.
People were gathered, relying on dim lanterns hanging from the ceiling.
Joshua picked out the armed individuals among them.
There were five knights remaining.
Derek, the Captain, was nowhere to be seen.
Even considering the possibility that he had gone on patrol, their strength had dropped significantly.
“Who goes there!”
A knight shouted while looking toward them.
Those who were resting raised their heads, and their gazes focused on the group.
“P-Please be at ease. They aren't bad people. They're people who came to help us.”
The woman took a step forward and defended Joshua’s group.
“Came to help? I don't recall us requesting support.”
Joshua examined the knight's expression.
He truly seemed not to know.
That meant using the carrier pigeon had been Adela's independent decision.
“State your affiliation.”
“I’ll only say that we are allied with the Starlight Knights.”
“If it’s a knight order, it’s a knight order. What’s an alliance?”
The knight grumbled irritably.
He strode forward with the intention of examining their faces.
Thump, thump.
A hollow sound, as if the inside was empty, came from the armor he was wearing.
As if he were wearing clothes that didn't fit.
He had undoubtedly become weaker than his visible physique suggested.
“If you're from the Starlight Knights, did you come from the tower? Then is Sir Rodwell your leader?”
“Sir Rodwell did not come.”
“Then are you saying you're the leader of the group?”
“That’s correct.”
The knight had sensitive and anxious eyes.
He was suppressing stress that felt like it would explode at any moment.
Joshua looked around.
The basement was filled with darkness that a single ray of sunlight couldn't reach.
The unrefined rock walls were so narrow that one could feel claustrophobia.
The air was also foul.
To the point that it felt like eating dust every time he inhaled.
In a place like this, a single day was enough for a debuff to set in.
‘It’s something to praise his mental strength for just being able to have a proper conversation.’
There was no time to comfort him calmly.
The zombies would be pouring all their strength into breaking the rock walls even now.
“You, I remember seeing you somewhere.”
The knight's expression faltered.
It was a reaction caused by seeing someone other than himself.
“Leonard! You bastard, you were alive?”
The person the knight pointed at was Leo.
The boy trembled slightly.
“If you were alive, why did you disappear from the meeting place? Do you know how much we suffered under Sir Carius because we thought you were murdered!”
He seemed to be the person who had guarded the meeting place with Derek.
Leo did not answer.
It was clear that the process of leaving the Sunlight Knights wasn't the correct way.
It was also true that the Moonlight Knights suffered as a result.
However, he wasn't without his own excuses.
According to his usual personality, he would've appealed his unfairness toward the rushing knight.
He endured it.
If an argument broke out in the current atmosphere, there was a high possibility it would turn into a fight.
“This isn't the meeting place. The Sunlight Knights aren't here right now either. I’d like to have a more productive conversation.”
Joshua answered in a dignified voice.
He thought about using [Serenity].
However, he couldn't know how the knight in front of him would take a magic spell.
There was a high possibility he’d mistake it for an attack.
“A productive conversation? What kind of talk can we have with you students?”
“A strategy to survive.”
“Hahaha, how absurd. As if I’d discuss such things with outsiders!”
“You'll be wiped out at this rate anyway.”
“What!”
“I saw the army of zombies in front of the main gate. You're buying time by breaking the entrance, but you won't last long.”
He pointed out the reality coldly.
The knight had a face that found it hard to accept, but he soon nodded.
Memories slowly surfaced.
The rookie who had proudly taken first place at the meeting place, surpassing the promising students.
That rookie was the child of a fallen family who was pointed at as a failing student.
“……Joshua Pallarion.”
“You can drop the Pallarion. I’m not a noble anymore.”
“I saw it, the corpse of the variant you took down. It was a giant bear.”
“That did happen, yes.”
Joshua spoke calmly.
“What’s the purpose of your visit here?”
The knight seemed to have finally calmed his excitement.
As the atmosphere softened, his other companions also gathered nearby.
Every one of them had a pale appearance like patients lying in a hospital bed.
“Where are Adela and Serena?”
“As for them, they went out on a search to find an escape route.”
“How long has it been?”
“It’s been a few days.”
“Shouldn't you have gone to look for them?”
“The mine is vast. And since we didn't know what the situation was like inside, we couldn't just step out recklessly.”
Joshua brought his hand to his mouth.
The metal door they came through.
He was just thinking that the signs of use were too old.
In other words, even the Moonlight Knights themselves hadn't fully grasped this mine.
They either couldn't check thoroughly.
Or they didn't even think of doing so.
He felt it wasn't a particularly surprising thing.
Derek, the knight Captain, was a calculating human, but he was also a human who made many mistakes.
“Why are you looking for them? Is there someone among those two that you like? Or were you lovers?”
The knight threw a joke.
Tania showed more interest in that question than the knight who asked it.
“No.”
“Is that so? I thought that was the only reason to risk your life.”
“More than that, where is Sir Derek?”
“He’s missing. The last time I saw him was when he headed to the first floor, saying he’d save the people.”
Joshua furrowed his brows.
Derek wasn't the type to sacrifice himself to save someone.
Rather, running away before anyone else was more natural for him.
“How long has it been since you saw him?”
“It seems to have been over a week.”
“Then it would be better to give up.”
The knight trembled.
As soon as Joshua heard the circumstances, he made a decision like a blade.
A cold sensation, as if his heart were gripped, crossed his spine.
“Wouldn't it be too early to give up yet?”
Derek was the focal point of the Moonlight Knights.
A group that lost its focal point would find it difficult to survive.
“It doesn't matter if you believe he’s alive. If so, I’ll just make a plan accordingly. However, I won't care.”
The knights were unsettled.
They couldn't see a heart of cooperation from the boy.
His gaze seemed to refuse to be involved with anyone else here.
“Are you saying you won't take orders?”
“Orders?”
Joshua asked back seriously.
“We are knights. We are beings who precede you in either skill or experience. I thought it was a natural flow for you to rely on us.”
The Moonlight Knights were a group that put bloodline as a priority when evaluating people.
Just as groups that believed themselves to be noble usually did.
They had a strong antipathy toward those whose rank was below them.
“I will not be put under you.”
Joshua asserted.
If there was even a slight sign of them overstepping their authority, he would exclude them without mercy.
It was a hindrance to the plan.
If they fought with a hindrance on their backs, both sides would be ruined.
He felt [Steady Nerves] cooling his head.
He felt the will that he wouldn't leave a single hesitation in abandoning them.
“Are you really okay with that? We could accept you as intruders and eliminate you, or capture you.”
“Would you like to try?”
“W-What?”
“We’ll be stronger than you, who are exhausted to the limit. There will be damage, but I’m willing to take that risk to reduce the variables.”
The knight swallowed hard.
It wasn't a bluff.
The boy was speaking sincerely.
An unbelievably strong spirit weighed down on his shoulders.
It was charisma.
He had the eyes of a person who had crossed a battlefield.
“Then are you saying we should obey your words?”
“I’m saying you should judge for yourselves. Just as you have been. As for me, I have no reason to join hands with you right now.”
“What!”
“Give up the thought of doing as you please with us based on status. If you want to cooperate, you'll first have to learn how to lower your posture.”
The knights grit their teeth at the very insulting remarks.
Before the incident, he was a boy famous for bad rumors, such as being a failing student or a child of a fallen noble.
Did he have the right to evaluate them just because his skill had improved a little?
His face turned red with shame.
He heard a crying sound from the scabbards of the other companions behind him.
It was a momentum as if they would draw them right away.
The knight who was leading the conversation snapped back to his senses at that sound.
“Stop!”
His companions looked at him with surprised eyes.
His expression, which was full of murderous intent, cooled rapidly as if he’d had water poured over him.
“I don't want to admit it, but even if we fight these guys now, nothing good will come of it. It’s right to seek help.”
The knight muttered with a look of surrender.
Things wouldn't work out if his back was stiff.
He didn't know the boy's purpose.
However, he felt that helping him achieve it was the best way to survive.
“You spoke eloquently, but we have nothing useful to use for a deal. We're barely holding on with what little we have.”
“I’ll give you a special bargain sale just for this time.”
“B-Bargain sale?”
“It’s enough if you give me the information you have and the circumstances of how the mine is running.”
Joshua raised the corners of his mouth.
If there was something he needed, he would just take it without asking for his permission.
He had to take advantage of the fact that Derek was absent.
If they didn't interfere, there was no reason for him to cause harm either.
“……It’s a bit much for the side seeking help to ask, but can we survive?”
“I can't guarantee it.”
“I-I suppose so.”
When the knight lowered his head with a look of disappointment.
Tania approached near them and whispered softly.
“You don't have to worry too much. If my senior has made up his mind, things will surely turn out well.”
The knights couldn't shake off their uneasy feelings despite the girl's comfort.