episode_0036

The next day.

Krimhilt left for the capital first, while Julia, Sion, and I went around the shops of the labyrinth city to prepare for the expedition.

Naturally, Hyunwoo didn’t show up at the meeting place.

According to the story of Julia and Zion, they are said to not even crawl out of their rooms in the dormitory.

Well… I guess I’m really upset.

Each person takes on a different role, purchasing various items needed for the trip and taking care of things like renting a carriage.

I took advantage of the moment when I was alone with Julia and quietly brought up the subject.

“–Princess.”

“What’s going on?”

“That warrior. Is this okay? I think bullying someone like that will have a negative impact on the party’s internal unity.”

“………..”

He remained silent with a serious expression, as if he was organizing his thoughts.

Julia shook her head slowly.

“There’s nothing we can do. If he doesn’t want to go, what can we do?”

“Hmm….”

“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I’m not a fanatic who approves of all of the warrior’s actions and embraces all of his choices. If his way of thinking or words are wrong, he needs to be given some shock therapy to correct them.”

“……..”

A statement revealing that the brainwashing caused by is being released.

but…..

It’s true that it’s complicated to hear such words from Julia, who just a few months ago condoned, approved, and embraced the killing of her fellow party member…..

I looked at Julia’s back with complicated feelings.

I slowly reached out and traced a line from the nape of her neck to her buttocks.

— Ugh…..

“Huh….!!”

Last time, my body became so sensitive under the influence of the Orb of Ecstasy that it didn’t subside.

Julia flinched, then whispered in a very rough voice.

“Wh, what are you doing…?”

“No, what…. As I was looking at that slender back in real time, I suddenly remembered what happened ‘that day’.”

“Tch….!!”

I guess it’s not a memory that she can easily forget.

Julia’s face turned red all the way to her ears in an instant….

I leaned back gently and whispered in her ear.

“For the next two months, maybe three months. Since I’m accompanying you while the warrior is away…. Please take good care of me. Princess Ero….?”

“……….!!”

— Bam…!!

After roughly twisting my body and shaking me off,

Julia whispered in a harsh tone.

“Let me tell you… I don’t remember having that kind of relationship with you. At that time, I only allowed your actions because I had no choice but to clear the dungeon. If you do something this rude again, I won’t let it go. Do you understand?”

“Yeah, yeah. Be careful…..”

Well, there’s no need to rush.

Since you already know the pleasures of the castle, it’s almost a given that you’ll proceed along the fall route.

The next morning.

The three warrior party members, excluding Hyunwoo, set out from the Labyrinth City.

While traveling in a carriage, he meets up with Krimhild near the royal capital.

Continue along the road and head to your destination, the Brombars Ancient Temple.

The Temple of Brombars is an ancient temple of the kingdom that was excavated over fifty years ago.

At first, it was known as just an ordinary dungeon with infinitely regenerating stone guardians and vengeful spirits, and many treasures of the relic type dropped…

While investigating the interior, various sacred paintings, statues of goddesses, and rock carvings praising the goddess were discovered, and the religious community recognized that this was the site of a temple where a goddess was worshipped in an ancient kingdom, and designated it as a sanctuary.

In fact, it was as if one of the dungeons that could be conquered was blown away, so at the time, the Adventurer’s Guild and each influential clan made significant protests to the religious order…

Well, in this world where goddesses exist, it would have been realistically impossible to break the will of the religious order.

— Cheeeing…..

After using the permit Krimhilt received, the dungeon entrance was unsealed.

Our party of warriors charged into the ancient temple of Brombarth.

— Damn….

“Huh?”

“…….? Miss Krimhilt, why are you like that?”

“Uh…. Hey, here…. Something feels off…. right…?”

Krimhilt steps back towards the threshold hesitantly, with an expression on her face as if she had stepped on a cockroach.

Julia and Zion looked around with bewildered expressions.

“Is that so…? I’m not sure…..”

“Hey, kid, aren’t you supposed to be a saint? Saying that the sanctuary designated by the church is … Isn’t that a problematic statement?”

“But, but…. The floor feels kind of sloppy…. And it smells like a rag that was wiped with milk…. Ugh…..”

“I don’t feel like it’s particularly unclean…?”

“……….”

Should we really say that she is worthy of being called a patron saint?

In fact, this Brombarth Ancient Temple is currently being polluted by an evil spirit that has infiltrated the top floor while the cult has been neglecting it.

The other two people didn’t seem to notice it, but Krimhilt, a priest of the church, must have been sensitive to the slight change.

but….

Since I had no intention of going that far in this strategy, I lightly clapped my hands to lighten the mood.

“Okay, enough small talk. This dungeon has a high number of trash mobs and a high respawn rate. Since it has been sealed by the sect, no adventurers have ever entered, so the number of accumulated enemies will be quite high. If you proceed recklessly and get surrounded by enemies, it could be a headache, so let’s form a formation and take care of the enemies faithfully as we advance step by step.”

“Okay.”

“Then…. let’s go.”

A few minutes later.

What blocked the warrior party were monsters of a scale beyond what was expected.

— Gooo…!

— Giririck, geek… giririck…!!

— Intruders, punish them…. To intruders…. there is only… death…!!

Stone guardians and vengeful spirits pouring out from all directions.

A combination of placing shield-armed guardians in the vanguard and having spear-armed guardians attack from mid-range.

If you add in the presence of spirits that attack in three dimensions, taking advantage of the temple’s terrain, the difficulty level jumps to a level that cannot be underestimated.

Since it seemed like a situation where we would get entangled without a countermeasure if we responded defensively, I ordered Julia and Krimhild to rush into the enemy lines and fight, while I and Sion provided fire support from the rear.

“Haaah…. !!”

“ !!”

— Bam, bam…! Kukuaaaang….!!

Fortunately, despite the intensity of the attack, the level of the monsters was not that high, and the monsters’ siege collapsed in an instant before the two people’s relentless attack.

The result was the active firepower support of me and Zion added to it.

Our group managed to get through the first wave without much damage.

“Whaaah….. Heh, it’s hard….”

Krimhilt sits down without a plan.

After helping her up, I declared in a cold tone.

“You must be tired, but you have to move quickly now. If you waste time here, a second wave will come.”

“Huh, huh…?”

“I see….. I see the stone soldiers slowly respawning in the outskirts.”

“I’d rather not be tied down here any longer. Let’s hurry.”

“Ahhhh…..”

Move with the whining Krimhilt in tow.

Our group quickly got out of there, and after a couple of small skirmishes, we broke through to the first floor.

About 20 minutes after entering the dungeon.

The warrior party reached their destination, the second floor of the temple.

Unlike the first floor, where you just had to deal with the monsters that came attacking without any special gimmicks, the second floor is structured so that you have to solve specific gimmicks to progress.

Sanctuaries located in three locations: north, southeast, and southwest, based on the stairs in the center of the map.

In those three sanctuaries, a priest-type party member must offer a prayer to break the seal on the boss room and allow entry.

The problem is that in order to break the seal, you have to recite a prayer that takes about 3 minutes to recite, and while you’re reciting the prayer, all the monsters inside the floor are drawn to the aggro and rush to the sanctuary.

“If Krimhilt’s concentration breaks even a little, the seal release will be considered a failure, and the prayer will have to be recited from the beginning again. I will try to cover it as much as possible, but if possible, I will destroy it so thoroughly that the monsters cannot even approach within a certain distance. ”

“Yes.”

“Leave it to me.”

“Okay, then…. let’s begin. Krimhilt.”

Krimhilt nodded, her expression hardened with tension.

Then he knelt before the statue of the goddess and began to pray with a trembling voice.

“Oh, Goddess, who always looks down on us and watches over us…. Our little lambs have come to this, this place today to praise the Goddess’s love…. So…. Please, lead us to the sanctuary…..”

Krimhilt continues to recite the prayer, hesitating, perhaps because the content of the prayer is unfamiliar.

And in response to that…

— Grrr…!!

— Exclude… Exclude… Intruder…! Excluded aaaa….!!

The surrounding monsters that had been wandering around the sanctuary all rushed in at once.

A situation where Krimhilt is out of power and you have to go into battle while thoroughly protecting her while she is defenseless.

I expected quite a classic….but.

“ .”

— Paaang….!!

— Bang, bang…! Paaang….!!

The battle went much easier than expected.

The passage leading to the sanctuary is narrow, and all the monsters are flocking to that place.

The monsters whose charge speed was significantly reduced due to the bottleneck were perfect prey.

Every time Zion fires a penetrating arrow, five or six monsters fall down, skewered.

Any monsters that manage to break through the barrage and enter the passage will simply fall victim to Julia’s light sword.

— Pot, pop… squeak… crack…!!

— Bang, bang, paaang…! Papang….!!

Contrary to my initial expectations, I was not even given the opportunity to use my magic to provide fire support or protect Krimhilt.

The defense of the first sanctuary ended in failure.

“Hoo….”

Loosening the bowstring that had been pulled taut.

Zion muttered in a languid tone.

“It wasn’t as bad as I thought.”

“There are a lot of monsters, but the specs of each individual are not that great. I don’t think it’s a force that would be a problem if you don’t fight in an open area like on the first floor.”

“………..”

What should I say?

Should I say that I have come to feel the strength of the warrior party that I have selected and trained?

That idiot Hyunwoo, who was on the verge of being demoted to B-rank with this many party members, is so incompetent that he must be on a completely different level…

The second sanctuary was also cleared without much difficulty.

Entering the third sanctuary, preparing for the final defense battle.

“Hoo…..”

— Ugh…..

Krimhilt took a deep breath and recited a prayer while sitting in front of the statue of the goddess…

“Oh….!!? Oh, aah….!!”

He fell to the floor with a sharp scream.

“Huh?”

“Huh, huh…?”

“Miss Krimhilt!!?”

What, what is it…?

In the original, there was no such event in the sanctuary defense battle….?

The wave has already started, and Juliana Zion cannot leave.

“Tch…. Both of you, focus on responding!!”

After giving instructions to Julia and Sion, I hurriedly ran to Krimhilt.

“Krimhilt, what’s wrong? What’s going on?”

“Ouch, oh…. Aaaah, haaak, haa….. Yeah….!!”

“………..”

“Oh, on my leg…. Kkuuugh… Rat, rat……”

“…………..”

Ah, I’m going to die.

This fucking bitch is really……