After a short rest, we resumed our search.

Once again, the gloomy passages continued endlessly. It was so dark that we hesitated to take a step ahead without the light of the lantern on our waist. There was no time to rest if demons were living here.

“Is everything all right?”

“”“Yes.”””

The same answer came from all three of them. When I was exploring the dungeon alone, I had to pay attention to the front, back, left, right, and even up and down, but with a party of four, it was easier because there were more eyes.

–Karan.

“Oops…this is…”

The feeling of something hard hitting my leg. When I brought the light closer, I saw that it was a human bone. Was it skeletonized, or had the demons devoured all the flesh? I couldn’t tell which was the correct answer.

“Little brother, please note these bodies on the map.”

“Yes, I wrote down corpse 1 and belongings 1. This must be the adventurer. There is a bow and a quiver of arrows.”

The quiver of arrows was empty. The archer had used up all his arrows during the search. The end result was tragic. The plate hanging on his neck bone had six stars. It indicated that he was a sixth rank adventurer, the same as Claude.

“I know you would like to make offerings, Saint, but please be patient here for a while.”

“Thank you for your concern. I am not that narrow-minded, so don’t worry. I will comfort the spirits after we leave the labyrinth.”

“Thank you.”

While Sareha bent down to draw a map, I leaned against the wall and kept an eye on the surrounding area. Since entering the labyrinth, we have had several battles, but the goblins and orcs were no match for us. Claude himself was reasonably strong, and he had the magical support of Sareha and the saint.

The only point of concern was Claude’s and the saint’s equipment. I and Sareha had equipment originally designed for the labyrinth, but that wasn’t true for the two of them. In case of emergency, I should be the one to take on the enemy’s attack.

Suddenly, I noticed something different.

“Hmm…What is that?”

Far back in the passage there was an artificial light. The light was swinging irregularly and looked like the light of a lantern we were using.

“Is that a……lantern? Could they be survivors?”

Sareha, who had finished drawing the map, stared into the distance with squinted eyes.

“Do demons ever use lanterns?”

“No, I haven’t heard of it. But just because they’re human doesn’t mean they’re friendly.”

“Could it be a thief, a bandit, or a people-hunter? Should we go check it out?”

As I was talking with Claude, the lantern at the end of the passage shook violently. The other party seemed to notice us and rushed toward us.

“Prepare for battle!”

Was it a person or a demon? It was hard to tell, but it was still dangerous. If they were friendly, we could disarm them, but if not, slow judgment would lead to death.

The lantern-carrying figure came close enough for it to be recognizable.

Green skin. A body one size larger than that of an orc. Rough, animal-like breath.

— A High Orc.

“Gugaaaa~aaaa!!”

The high orc roared so loudly as if his throat would be ripped open. If the orc’s body was made of flesh, the high orc’s was made of steel-like muscles. Even a single tusk or finger bone was filled with murderous intent. A demon born to kill. It was a foul creature, a natural enemy of mankind.

The high orc held two helmets in his hands. The two helmets, which would have been worn by adventurers in the past, struck each other above their heads, making a deafening noise.

“That guy! He’s calling for his friends!”

Claude’s scream-like voice could be heard.

He quickly jumped forward and drew his sword from his waist. The high orc, watching us, grinned and threw one of the helmets at us with his mighty arm.

“Too late!”

I then sliced up from the lower level and cut off the helmet in two. The throw was so half-hearted that it could not even be compared to the throwing orcs in our territory dungeon. The high orc having the helmet cut off looked surprised, but he charged forward without caring.

“Gu–gaooooo!!”

The impatient high orc held the remaining helmet in both hands and swung it down to crush me. I kicked the ground and jumped to the side to avoid it.

At the same time, I heard a hissing sound and something flew from behind me. I turned around to see Claude throwing a knife from his waist, and with unparalleled accuracy, the knife pierced the high orc’s chest. He seemed to aim for the heart, but was blocked by the thick muscle.

“Gugi—Gaau!!”

The high orc took a step back in fright. Without missing the opportunity, Claude swung his sword horizontally and cuts off the high orc’s head. There was a buzzing sound, blood popped, and the high orc’s head bounced on the ground.

“The enemy’s new attackers could still be coming. I will defend the front of the passage. The three of you, in pairs, defend the rear!”

“Nii-sama! Look at that!”

Sareha pointed to the path we had just taken. There, a magic circle appeared.

“Transfer Magic……! Ash Swordsman-sama! That one makes it possible to move between magic circles by using magic. Somewhere in this labyrinth, there is something operating the magic circle!”

Is it a person or a demon? Either one is aiming at us with malice and murderous intent.

Looking forward, I saw some of the same magic circles. A number of high orcs were coming out of the ground. Many of them were holding clubs and other crude weapons in their hands, but some of them were carrying iron two-handed swords which they must had taken from adventurers.

Confronted with high orcs. Strangely enough, it didn’t attack us.

After a few more moments, the magic circle glowed again, and a goblin crawled out of it. Surprisingly, its body was covered in fire. It smelled of burning flesh and came rushing toward us, screaming.

I cut down one of the goblins that came at me.

The second and third goblins were decapitated in the same way. But the last one clung to my leg. I stomp down on its head before the flames spread. There was a dull – like smashing fruit – sound, and I felt a sickening sensation on my feet.

“Geggegge”

The high orcs’ sneered, laughing at the dead goblins.

Behind us, the battle had begun. I looked to the side and saw Claude taking the enemy’s attack with a long-handled hammer. His face was distorted with pain, but he managed to hold on.

“[Strength (muscle strength increased)] [Protection (endurance increased)]”

The saint’s auxiliary spells were cast on Claude. Claude hammered away at the enemy with his increased muscle power.

“Aer (Chanting), Diffusio (Diffusion), Tonitrua (Thunder), Hastam (Spear).”

Sareha’s chanting sent several spears clad in purple electricity flying. One of them struck a high orc who had stepped on a trap.

“Gugaaaa!!”

The lightning spears continued to lash out at the passageway with unstoppable momentum. High orcs, having nowhere to run, fell prey to the lightning spears one by one.

“Ash Swordsman-sama! Close your eyes, please!”

The saint, who had cleared out the enemy in the rear, instructs me to do so. As soon as I shut my eyes as ordered, the saint began chanting.

“[Flash]!”

A flash of light so bright that even with my eyes closed, I could see it. I heard a small scream from the High Orc, and gradually the light faded away.

The confusion of the battle caused me to follow the saint’s orders. If this had been a lie to assassinate me, it would have been very dangerous. Did I let my guard down somewhere in my heart, or did I trust the saint? I don’t know.

When I opened my eyes, I saw the suffering high orcs holding their faces. I immediately ran up to them and cut off their heads one after another.

We finished defeating all the demons, and there were no new movements from the magic circle. Immediately, the four of us left the scene in formation. We turned several times down the passage, checked behind us, and then fled into a small room after seeing that we had completely scattered the enemy.

A small room covered with stone walls on all sides. It looked a little dusty, like a warehouse or something, but it was usable enough to spend the night in.

“What are those guys?”

“Haaa…haa…I was surprised. I didn’t expect a demon to use a magic circle. I’ve never heard of it before.”

The Saint spoke to me with a rough breath. It was true that demons were generally lacking in intelligence. They only desired food, sex, killing, and violence. Tactics and strategies should had been the domain of humans.

“Let’s avoid combat for now. Let’s hide in this room for the night and tomorrow we’ll start to strike the enemy’s boss. I don’t want to be in a war of attrition.”

“I agree. Let’s destroy the ringleaders and then hunt down the rest who have lost their chain of command.”

I agreed with Claude. He wiped the bloody knife with a cloth. It was great that he properly retrieved the knife even in the chaos of the battle. If it had been me, I would have forgotten about it.

“Sa…… little brother. Block the entrance again with a stone wall.”

I almost said Sareha’s name by mistake. And I had already forgotten about the setting to speak to Claude in a respectful manner. What a mess. I couldn’t possibly be so dexterous as to use two different identities. I might be an idiot when I think of it this way, but I’m an idiot who knows he’s an idiot. I must still be a better idiot than most idiots.

“Yes nii-sama, Aer (chanting), Robustus (strengthening), Stone (stone), Wall (wall).”

The entrance was covered by a stone wall with a zuzuzu sound.

We lower our backpacks to the ground and began to prepare for rest. I wanted to make at least a simple soup to relieve the fatigue, and I wanted to sleep wrapped in a blanket at night. Since we were in a closed room, we couldn’t use a fire for a long time, but it would be enough for cooking.

“Truly mysterious magic…… you assemble one magic formula by interfering with both the mana inside the body and the mana in space. It is as if you consider yourself a catalyst rather than a magic injector…….”

“It was ancient magic. My little brother has had special training.”

Sareha’s ancient magic would be actively publicized. They wouldn’t be able to imitate it without the grimoire that we left in the territory, plus it would be a publicity tool to increase our name.

“You are wonderful, aren’t you? Both your little brother and……you.”

The saint, looking exhausted, sat down on the spot. As if in sync, everyone sat down on the spot in a circle. A lantern was placed in the center of the room for light, and the shadow of the saint sitting in front of us was projected on the wall. It looked like a shadow picture.

“Shall we rest then?”

“Yes, let’s have a little chat and then we can rest.”

The saint smiled.

“I agree. It is important to share information about the labyrinth.”

“You know what I mean. You’re so mean Ash Swordsman-sama.”

She smiled – and suddenly the memory came back to me.

During my time in the royal court, I had seen many different kinds of human smiles. A sneering smile that flattered the more powerful person. A lecherous smile that humiliated the weak. Those who clung to the wealthy, those who were frightened of the powerful people, and those who were drowned in greed. Foolish people had always had a false smile on their faces.

But this saint’s smile was a little different. It was so different that it made me think it was okay to talk a little bit about ourselves.