episode_0084

It was Herme who delivered the news to Veronica.

Han Yuseong had wanted to avoid getting entangled.

‘Veronica’s participation is crucial.’

Descending to the 10th floor.

The rewards would be immense, but Herme trusted their misfortune far more.

‘The unforeseen calamity.’

If it were to unfold on the 10th floor, it would be nothing short of terrifying.

A clash with other clans was always a possibility.

But—if a certain presence were there.

‘That likelihood would almost vanish.’

Veronica.

The Saint of the Church. As the strongest Saint the Church had ever forged, she alone could serve as a deterrent.

And.

As preparation against unpredictable events.

Somehow binding her to their party.

So that if ‘that incident’ were to occur, Veronica’s fall could be prevented.

That was precisely Herme’s scheme.

Though, there was hesitation.

Even if Veronica was weak to Yuseong—

Would she really come just because they suddenly asked her to enter the labyrinth?

That skepticism lingered.

Tap. Tap.

Veronica’s slender fingers drummed against the table.

The rhythm was dull—as if indirectly betraying her mood.

“Me? In the labyrinth?”

As if that skepticism had materialized.

Veronica let out a stifled laugh at Herme’s words.

“Why should I do that?”

“……Yuseong recommended it.”

Herme squeezed her eyes shut and lied. Selling out Yuseong carried heavy guilt—

But her assistance was necessary.

“What?”

Veronica’s eyes widened at Herme’s words, then she briefly closed them.

When Herme opened her eyes again, she saw Veronica’s lips trembling faintly.

Tap-tap-tap.

This time, the rhythm was different. Her fingers tapped the table lightly, almost playfully.

Observing Veronica’s relaxed eyes and quivering lips, Herme was halfway convinced.

‘As expected.’

The method to win her over was simpler than anticipated.

Veronica had lived a life of constant adoration. So the thing that unsettled her was rejection.

‘From the very first meeting, he hated her enough to be appalled.’

Han Yuseong had despised Veronica to a startling degree.

Which had caught her attention.

And soon, that attention had only grown.

‘To her, he only seemed to hate her—but in truth, he acknowledged her.’

That must have been why Veronica looked so pleased now.

Whether he intended to or not, Yuseong had thoroughly played into her psychology.

“Well, if I must.”

Veronica swept her silver hair behind her ear and smirked confidently.

“If you’re so insistent, I suppose I can oblige.”

Beam.

Herme smiled brightly.

……And that was the full story.

“…….”

“Hee, heehee…….”

Herme stuck her tongue out at me, putting on an exaggeratedly cute act.

“It couldn’t be helped, really. If we rushed to recruit new party members, we’d only attract weird nobodies.”

“……Veronica’s the safest bet.”

At least in terms of strength.

Ah, and one more thing she was definitely reliable in.

‘Her temperament.’

Absolute trash.

I grinned.

“She promised to behave, at least. Besides, she’s been pretty tame lately.”

“Tame?”

What was she like before I left?

She grabbed the arm of some kid messing with me and swung them around like a ragdoll.

“……Relatively tame.”

That counts?

I glanced at Veronica skeptically.

Veronica smirked back at me, thoroughly pleased with herself.

‘Well…… compared to usual, I guess.’

But there was one problem.

“Th-the, the, the Saintess!?”

“Th-the Saintess! Eeek!”

Our clan members were split.

The original members, knowing Veronica’s true nature, were wary.

The new recruits, however, stared at her with sparkling eyes.

“To bring someone like the Saintess into our ranks… The Dark Lord is truly impressive.”

“As expected of the Crimson Witch. No wonder [Cradle]’s clans are all watching yours.”

The hoodlum, Finn, kept marveling.

The dwarf, Hansen, was likewise amazed.

Only Viola regarded Veronica with wary eyes.

“……Can you handle this?”

She muttered, watching Veronica preen.

“……Maybe?”

“Maybe isn’t an answer—”

Viola clutched her head as if it hurt.

But honestly, I couldn’t be sure either.

‘Will she really follow along peacefully?’

Herme said she got assurances—

But whether reassurances worked on someone like Veronica was highly questionable.

“What? Nothing to say to me?”

“…….”

“Hmm~ I thought you’d have something.”

Veronica crossed her legs, staring at me expectantly.

Her lips curled into a smug smirk.

Her eyes sparkled with anticipation.

‘……What do you want from me?’

I kind of want to flick her forehead.

But the real issue was—

“Hmm~ Too embarrassed to say? Fine, I’ll be generous and forgive you. After all, I am merciful.”

That we might have to endure this all the way down to the 10th floor.

Upon arriving at the Adventurer’s Guild,

I realized Herme’s luggage was surprisingly light.

“Fufu, noticed? I acquired a spatial storage bag this time.”

“Hoh, isn’t that expensive?”

“I splurged a little. With our clan expanding, party members increasing, and all…”

“True.”

“Plus… it lets me store fresh ingredients.”

“……Really?”

“Hehe… morale is important, you see……”

First the vanguard, then rear guard, now even a cook?

So that’s how it was.

‘……She’ll get something out of this, probably.’

Herme was still Herme, after all.

I gave her a long look, then turned my gaze forward.

There stood Lissiel, wearing an awkward expression.

“What’s wrong?”

“It hasn’t been long since I gained a physical form, and yet… this feels oddly uncomfortable.”

“Oh?”

“But even now, your intentions elude me. Freeing me, then immediately heading to the beastfolk’s nation…”

“……I just trusted you, that’s all.”

“…….”

Lissiel’s ears reddened slightly.

Seemed she was weak to direct honesty.

“I am grateful. I shall repay your faith without fail.”

“……Yeah.”

Honestly, I just slotted her in as a quick fix.

What was surprising was how little the others distrusted Lissiel.

“You made the call, didn’t you? I trust you—what else is there to say?”

“…….”

Glasses had said that much.

The rest of the members echoed the sentiment.

Finn, Hansen, and Viola, however, still eyed Lissiel warily.

‘Well, that’s natural.’

Time would settle that issue.

The real nuisance was—

“Tch……”

Volkan’s expression.

He looked like he couldn’t believe this was the group we’d assembled.

I understood Volkan’s face.

But someone had to keep things under control.

And since I was the most normal one here, it fell to me.

“Ever hear the saying?”

Volkan leaned in close, speaking in a hushed tone like he was sharing a secret.

That tone pissed me off. He was wearing the expression he always did before messing with me.

“What saying?”

“When the sanest person in a den of madmen is the leader—that’s the one you should fear most.”

“……You mean me?”

“One’s a rabid dog. One’s the Golden Witch. One’s a vengeful ghost. One’s a miser.”

“…….”

“And the one joining soon is the Executioner Princess… That Glasses guy seems the closest to sane, but in reality, he’s the most normal of the Legion lot.”

Glasses did act the most normal.

Maybe it was because his true form was glasses.

“Wait, who’s the miser?”

“That one.”

Volkan pointed at Teressa.

Teressa was the miser?

Sure, she liked money, but that seemed excessive.

‘……No idea.’

Maybe I hadn’t been paying enough attention to the party.

After finishing my chat with Volkan, I noticed Finn and Hansen staring at us with strange expressions.

Probably because I was the only one willing to humor the old man.

—……

I could feel the Holy Sword’s exasperation, but I ignored it and walked toward the dungeon entrance.

It was almost time for the gates to open.

“…….”

The cool, oppressive air unique to the dungeon.

I calmly opened my eyes. Checking the map, our position was—

‘A bit far this time.’

I glanced back.

Party 1: Herme, Lissiel, Marcel, Hansen, Rozante.

Party 2: Han Yuseong, Teressa, Finn, Viola, Veronica.

Strategically, Party 2 was overwhelmingly superior.

‘……Aside from Teressa, it’s a gathering of troublemakers.’

Even Viola had a temper if first impressions were anything to go by.

“Long time no see.”

Veronica strode toward me, chin raised.

“Tch… That suffocating smell. I hate this place. Let’s rush through and get to the 5th floor.”

She was talking about the plains stage.

I’d never been there myself, but—

‘If I imagine it like the beastfolk’s coastline…’

That sort of made sense.

No clue how the structure worked, but descending the stairs led straight to a beach-like area—ridiculous, really.

Once the party assembled, I signaled the advance.

“Hansen’s with the other group, so we should move quickly.”

“Can he navigate well?”

“That’s his specialty. Skilled in combat, capable of guarding the mages if needed.”

“Not bad.”

“……Says you?”

Veronica gave me a dry look.

I had meant it genuinely, though.

‘She’s so inconsiderate.’

I double-checked the route and pushed forward.

“……Are we going the right way?”

“We are.”

Teressa answered Viola’s question.

“Yuseong’s never gotten lost before.”

“……Really?”

“I am a rogue, you know.”

“……Right.”

We walked in silence for a while.

“We’re here.”

The boss room.

Unfortunately, someone had already cleared it—no boss in sight.

“……Did we land too far away? Still no sign of them.”

We had traveled a fair distance ourselves.

About 30 minutes later, Herme finally appeared in the distance.

…So much for ‘efficient.’

Even accounting for starting from the edge, this was too slow.

Seemed Herme had gotten scammed with that bag after all.