episode_0019

Afterward, we continued to advance for about 30 minutes, cutting through bat maws.

Due to the heat, humidity, and continuous swinging of our swords, sweat dripped profusely from our necks.

As the rear guard, I was exhausted, but Victor and Zeke up ahead pushed even harder.

Clad in heavy armor, they relentlessly wielded their swords, their bodies drenched in sweat like waterfalls.

Just as I wondered if we were pushing ourselves too hard, Victor spoke up.

“We’ve pretty much dealt with all the bat maws now! Phew… Let’s use a stealth scroll here and take a break. There’s a small cave nearby, perfect for resting!”

At his words, the tension that had gripped us all seemed to dissipate.

A small cave beside us. Just the right size for about six people to rest.

It was a welcome respite for us. Monaka entered the cave first and slumped down tiredly.

“Whew…. You guys worked hard up front…”

“Monaka, you did too.”

Victor, Zeke, and I followed into the cave, leaning against the wall to rest.

“I beseech the Sole Deity Freya… May the holy light envelop us and protect us from evil…”

Andrey, who stood alone, took out a stealth scroll from his backpack and cast a stealth spell on us.

Finally, he joined us inside the cave.

“Sigh… I’m tired. Once you’re in a labyrinth, time loses meaning, you just sweat and struggle.”

“….”

-Swipe.

“Huh? What’s this?”

“…Use it.”

Zeke handed a handkerchief to Monaka.

Upon receiving it, Monaka pretended to shiver and said, “What… You carry stuff like this around? No thanks. I don’t use things others have used.”

Indeed, the quaint handkerchief didn’t seem to match Zeke’s appearance.

“I’ve never used it.”

“Still, I won’t use it.”

“….”

Monaka turned his head away. Seeing this, Zeke grimaced, putting the handkerchief back into his pocket.

Observing this, I thought, ‘Handkerchiefs… can be quite cute. It doesn’t really match Zeke’s image.’

Why would he carry something like that around? Not that it matters, but…

It seemed unused. Did he buy it as a gift for someone?

‘…Huh?’

But just now, Zeke tried to give the handkerchief to Monaka.

A gift handkerchief?

To Monaka?

Hmm….

I glanced at Monaka, wondering.

He was deliberately avoiding looking at Zeke, fanning himself with his hand.

Quietly observing from the side, I noticed Zeke stealing glances at him, seemingly conscious of Monaka’s gaze.

That string of thoughts led to one conclusion.

‘…Does Zeke like Monaka?’

It was at that moment.

“Tsk.”

Zeke suddenly stood up.

“Huh? Zeke! Where are you going?”

“To smoke.”

Showing something in his hand to Victor, Zeke left the cave.

“Well, that guy is a mystery too! How many smokes did he have before coming to the maze…”

…What’s this about?

Smoking?

What’s smoking?

Surely… it’s not what I’m thinking, right?

“Victor, what… what’s smoking?”

“Huh? You don’t know smoking? That’s odd. Even the professors at Ariel Academy must smoke a lot?”

“Oh, haha, I have no friends and I’m a new student, so I’m clueless about this kind of information.”

“Tsk… well, that could happen! Cyan’s so clueless he wouldn’t even know the rumors about my brother Varian!”

Touching his chin, Victor organized his thoughts and continued.

“It’s commonly called ‘smoking.’ The formal term is mana tobacco. It’s a mixture of various herbs that aid in mana recovery. They’re ground according to a recipe, rolled in paper, and smoked! When you smoke it, there’s a temporary effect of recovering mana and reducing fatigue!”

“Wow….”

Thankfully, it wasn’t what I had thought.

There are things in this world that I don’t know… It was intriguing.

“Victor, if you smoke that… does it make you feel good?”

“Huh?”

Victor’s eyes widened.

“How do you know, little brother? Didn’t you say you didn’t know about tobacco?”

“Oh, well, I heard about something similar in passing. I don’t know exactly.”

“Well, it does make you feel better! It relieves fatigue and makes you feel good. But that’s only temporary. If you smoke too much, it can actually drain your energy and be harmful.”

“I see.”

As I was expressing my admiration, Monaka interjected with a murmur.

“There are many other ways to restore mana. Why insist on smoking tobacco?”

After sighing, she looked outside at Zeke smoking tobacco with a troubled expression.

“Especially him, he’s worse. Seeing him smoke so recklessly without reason, it seems like he’s smoking for purposes other than mana recovery. He looks undisciplined and I dislike it.”

Curious, I asked Monaka:

“Is there an addictive quality to tobacco?”

“There is. People keep seeking it because of the feeling of relief it provides.”

I see.

In short, it’s like a cigarette that’s good for the body.

Although curious, the thought of smoking vanished upon hearing about its addictive nature.

“Here he comes! Anyway, he’s like a rookie.”

Seeing Zeke return with a grimace, Victor stood up and said:

“Get up. If you rest too much, your body will relax too much, which isn’t good. We have to keep fighting.”

“Yes.”

After about 10 minutes of rest.

We each picked up our weapons, assumed our stances, and formed ranks.

And we began to advance again.

*

“This is strange….”

Victor pondered, stroking his chin with his hand.

We had reached a crossroads.

We had been advancing relentlessly into the labyrinth.

It had been smooth sailing, and we thought it would continue to be so.

Until we came across the cave divided into three paths.

“The information stated there were only two paths, but now there are three…?”

Puzzled, Victor examined the three caves one by one.

‘Is this… Could it be?’

Faintly, but it rang a bell.

The mating season of Ents and Maus.

Ents and Maus dwelling in labyrinths or caves create an additional cave during the mating season.

If there were two caves, they would make a third. If there were six caves, it would become seven.

This is to provide space to lay eggs.

“They’re in a predicament. The last cave supposedly connects to the Giant Ent, but now I’m not sure if the information is accurate.”

The information was probably incorrect.

As mentioned earlier, they must have relocated their dwellings.

Therefore, we needed to explore the surroundings to find their new location.

‘…The silent area is likely the dwelling of the Giant Ent, the Queen Ant.’

Normally, Ents and Maus hide in places with a lot of activity, but during the mating season, they are sensitive, so only minimal forces are stationed near their dwellings.

‘Time to move a bit.’

While Victor, Andrei, Zeke, and Monaka were discussing what to do, I walked towards the entrances of the three communal caves.

Closing my eyes, I sat down at the entrance, placed my hand on the ground, and calmly circulated my mana.

-Whoooosh….

“Huh? What’s Cyan doing right now?”

Monaka, noticing my departure from the group, looked puzzled.

“Tsk, what can a kid do? Just let him finish what he’s doing.”

“Hey, why are you talking like that…”

Zeke interrupted Monaka and resumed the discussion.

…Let’s focus on circulating mana without worrying.

The mana traces beyond the dark caves, invisible to the eye, connected through my hands.

‘…Thirty, no, at least fifty.’

Many traces were felt in the first and third caves.

Although the second cave had relatively fewer traces, it wasn’t enough to draw conclusions.

I continued to sense a presence. And I was conscious of the movement of that presence.

“….”

How many minutes had passed?

For a while, I only sensed their movements, understanding where they moved more frequently, which spaces they avoided, and how they formed groups to navigate.

The clue obtained was that for some reason, many monsters avoided the second cave.

This alone provided valuable information.

But caution was necessary.

Lastly, I circled around the first, second, and third entrances alternately, examining the entrance conditions.

“The first and third caves seemed to have been frequented by monsters, with the cave floor appearing quite irregular. It seemed as though many monsters had trodden and passed through… Hmm.”

While the second cave’s floor was similarly uneven due to its nature, there were fewer broken or deeply indented parts.

…The answer became clear.

I approached Victor and his group, who were still in discussion.

“So, should we go to the second cave?!”

“No, the third one.”

As expected, Victor and Zeke were debating.

“Wind blows in the first and third caves! Fighting in such conditions would be disastrous!”

Victor said.

“No. Clearly, it’s the third cave. The sensation is not to be underestimated. They must be gathering forces to surround the Giant Ent Queen. There’s no need for further consideration.”

Zeke said.

Zeke’s words made sense too, but…

That information seemed more fitting for the mating season.

Most likely, the opposite of Zeke’s suggestion was the correct choice now…

Monaka and Andrei were torn between whose advice to follow.

…It couldn’t be helped.

I interjected into their debate.

“I agree with Victor’s suggestion.”

And then, subtly added,

“Perhaps you’re onto something, Victor.”

At my words, Zeke’s expression suddenly turned hostile.

“…Kid, stay out of this.”

“Haha! Why so serious, Zeke? Maybe I agree with what he said!”

Victor laughed heartily and turned to me.

“Yeah! Cyan, little brother! Why did you choose the second cave?”

“In places where winds blow strongly in the first and third caves, continuing to fight in such conditions could lead to exhaustion if the answer turns out to be wrong. So, it’s better to tackle the second one first, and if it’s not right, retreat and reevaluate before challenging the maze again.”

“Kid. So you want to retreat just because of a Giant Ent? Our adventurer party will be the laughingstock!”

Zeke grimaced unpleasantly.

“I understand Zeke’s point as well. However, what if the second cave is the right choice?”

“Eh? Cyan, do you know where the Giant Ent resides?”

Monaka asked curiously, approaching with eager eyes.

“I don’t know for sure, but I have a hunch. It’s during the mating season.”

“Mating season?”

To everyone’s confusion, I continued.

“Yes. During the mating season, Ents and monsters dig an additional burrow where they lay eggs. I’ve heard that at that time, they deploy minimal forces to guard their main residence.”

“Wow… Cyan is amazing. Where did you hear such information?”

“I stumbled upon it through a knowledgeable adventurer.”

“Awesome! So, we don’t have to fight anymore?! Cyan is the best!”

Monaka crossed her arms triumphantly once again.

Phew, I’m getting used to this.

She seems to have always been this kind of person.

“…What should we do then?”

But then, at that moment,

Zeke walked over to me, his face contorted.

“Yes?”

“What if we go to the second cave and there’s no Giant Ent there? What then?”

“…?”

Is he crazy?

Zeke pressured me, despite me offering a valid opinion for the party.

“But why call me out like this so blatantly? What are you trying to do?

If it comes to this, I have nothing to say to him either.

Facing the menacing gaze of Zeke, I responded calmly with a nonchalant expression.

And that’s when it happened.

“Hey, Zeke! What are you saying to the kid?! Cyan, don’t worry. I’ll take care of it.”

Monaka embraced me, glaring at Zeke instead.

“Well… I apologize for the atmosphere, but I also think it’s better to go to the second cave. I’ve been using a lot of magic on light spells on the way here, so my mana is considerably depleted…”

Andrey showed signs of exhaustion according to the mood.

“Well, can’t be helped! Let’s go from the second one as I said. Stop fighting! Come on, let’s move forward!”

Victor, feeling pleased with his opinion, laughed brightly and shouted.

“Yeah, yeah! Let’s go from the second one! What’s more important than our reputation as a party? Isn’t it our lives?!”

“….”

“….”

As Monaka lit the final torch, everyone who had been standing still silently began to move towards the second cave without a word, following the mood.

But it was during this time.

Thud…!

Somewhere very faintly, the sound of footsteps could be heard.

Everyone except me seemed not to hear it.

I looked towards where the sound came from.

“….”

“….”

And there, next to me.

Zeke, with a more menacingly twisted expression than before, was still glaring at me out of the corner of his eye.