episode_0076

A smaller team member entered their nest.

It could have been dangerous since it had already collapsed once, but he was so greedy for money that he insisted on going himself, and I couldn’t stop him.

And his intuition that there was definitely something in the nest turned out to be right on the mark.

“Found it!”

The team member who came out of the precariously precarious pit came out holding a large horn in both hands.

“There it is! There’s a treasure trove of these guys inside!”

“Wow!”

If I hadn’t found it, I would have given up because it was too risky, but if I had found the treasure, it would be a different story.

If it’s proven to be worth investing in, then it’s something you can just do.

“I will give you 10% of the price of the items that come out there.”

“Thank you!”

Since the person who had the courage to do so was a commoner, Princess Rasiel readily promised her what she wanted.

You might say that a mere 10% incentive is too low for someone who risked their life to find the location of the treasure vault, but in the first place, that person cannot deal with a horde of monsters this large on their own, and even if they find the cave, they cannot take out all the items.

So, I readily accepted the offer of a 10% incentive.

As the courageous actions returned with great incentives, the mood of other team members also changed to become more enthusiastic.

There are teams that treat their employees well when they achieve results, and teams that don’t, depending on the leader’s disposition. But we realized that we are treated in proportion to our results, so it can’t be bad.

“Where should I go?”

“Okay, let me explain. Only people with small bodies can go inside. You have to avoid the corpses of these guys who got crushed to death here and there.”

“That would be incredibly dangerous.”

“In my opinion, it seems like it would be best to move it by placing people at regular intervals and moving the sacks containing the items to the back, as it could collapse if too many people enter.”

“Isn’t that a good method?”

There is no reason to make an already dangerous mole hole more dangerous by having too many people hanging around unnecessarily.

“I’ll go to the deepest part because I’ve been there once. And only small people should come this way!”

“What did you see in the mole hole that made you so aggressive?”

“Everyone, it’ll be more than you can imagine, so everyone, look forward to it. There are a lot of monster corpses inside.”

Monster byproducts can be more valuable than gems.

In this way, the items taken out of the mole hole one by one began to pile up.

“These guys are more awesome than I thought. They killed all those monsters themselves.”

There were also frequent instances of monster byproducts that appeared to be several times larger than them.

So, in admiration, Sister Melody answered my curious question.

“They probably fought by attacking a small number of monsters at the same time. They did this by collapsing the ground to make the field more favorable to them.”

It was further explained that size would not have mattered to them.

What if it’s big?

That means you can bring more colleagues and attack together.

Their hunting methods seemed so efficient that it gave me goosebumps.

If Sister Melody hadn’t quickly figured out the mole monster’s tendencies and scorched the land, there was a high chance that our bones would have been stored in that monster’s byproduct.

“The labyrinth is a really scary place.”

Even the slightest mistake can cost you your life.

“Don’t be afraid, I’m here to protect you.”

And to me, who was scared, Sister Melody comforted me with words that were more strong and trustworthy than anyone else.

Thump thump-

Her words made my heart pound.

‘Sure… it’s cool.’

It’s about being protected by someone.

It may not be such a bad thing, surprisingly.

* * *

Everyone started moving again in high spirits, thanks to their full stomachs and pockets.

I didn’t plan on walking long since I had lost a lot of stamina from the battle, and was looking for a place to make a base camp.

“You’re stopping here? Isn’t it too close?”

How far did you move?

I was curious about the leader’s behavior of stopping the group at a closer distance than expected, so I asked about it, and Sister Melody kindly explained it to me.

“A large group of monsters means there are likely no other monsters living nearby.”

“Ah~ I see.”

When I see her responding to my questions right away, I can’t help but feel like I’ve become very close with her.

In the past, she would only give short answers to my questions, but now she kindly gives me detailed explanations.

“I’ll do it. Leave it.”

“I can do it too! I learned it last time.”

Pitching a tent is a task that can take over an hour if you are not a professional.

Last time, when I tried to help set up the tent, everyone around me tried to stop me.

They said they would do this.

But I thought it would be a bit much to live in a labyrinth for more than a day or two, and not even know how to make a place to lie down.

So, even though it would be a hassle, I asked him to teach me, and he readily gave me permission to learn how to pitch a tent.

“How is it? It’s a little awkward, but I’m pretty good at it, right?”

“Yes. How did you come up with the idea to learn something like this?”

“I thought you should know how to make a place to lie down since you’ll be going in and out of the labyrinth all the time.”

“Most people don’t think about doing it themselves… . You’re really unique.”

“There are some parts of me that are a bit quirky.”

There is no refuting the statement that he is a peculiar man.

I don’t think most priests would want to bother to learn how to pitch a tent.

But aren’t these all experiences?

There may come a day when I have to pitch my own tent.

“I think that learning anything will help me later. So I try to actively learn as much as I can.”

“Good posture. You won’t regret it.”

Sister Melody’s compliments make me feel even better.

She was not a blunt person.

He’s just someone who keeps his distance from people.

‘It’s a job, so you have to be careful.’

And after becoming friends like this, isn’t she showing conversation skills that are not much different from those of ordinary people?

If the Inquisitor had to be careful even when making friends with people, then it was understandable why the Master had retired and felt so relieved.

The longer I spend time with Sister Melody, the more I realize why we must respect the Inquisitors.

The things they had to give up to become inquisitors were the things that ordinary ‘humans’ held most dear.

“Sister, have you finished pitching your tent?”

“No. Not yet.”

By the way, my hair is wet.

Perhaps he couldn’t pitch the tent because he was too busy washing his bloody body.

“I’ll help you.”

My sister’s tent was supposed to be pitched right next to mine for my escort.

“You can do it alone.”

“If we do it together, it will be faster, so we can rest faster too. You worked hard today, right?”

What would have happened if Sister Melody hadn’t destroyed the ground?

It was a performance that everyone acknowledged.

So much so that team members passing by would often give her a thumbs up when they saw her.

After setting up the tent, we went inside and started to rest.

The soft fur blocks the cold air rising from the ground.

‘It’s just the beginning… .’

I’ve encountered a few small monsters along the way, but today is the first time I’ve hunted a full-blown group of monsters.

If we go deeper here, that will be the start of a proper labyrinth conquest.

Since I didn’t feel like I could sleep like this, I got up and went out of the tent.

“Huh? What are you doing here?”

“Just sitting there.”

Surely you weren’t sitting in front of my tent to protect me?

A small bonfire in front of her was swinging precariously.

As the snow stopped and the wind died down, the cold began to go away little by little.

Of course, it wasn’t easy to find warmth in this place where everything was frozen solid to begin with.

“I wondered what that smell was, and it turned out they were grilling ham.”

◦Would you like some %◦?”

“If you give me, I’ll be happy to.”

I sat down next to her with my butt pressed against hers.

Knock knock-

The poor bonfire, still burning dangerously, was secretly filling me with romance.

“Can’t sleep?”

“Sleeping in a labyrinth isn’t easy. Your body is tired and screaming for rest, but your mind can’t seem to escape the tension?”

So, the pattern in the first labyrinth was to fumble around for a while before finally falling asleep.

At that time, I was more nervous than I am now and it was really hard, but now, I think I’m adapting quickly, maybe because it’s my second expedition.

“It’s more comfortable to have my sister by my side.”

“Am I talking?”

“You are protecting me. I am not used to being protected by someone, so I am a bit flustered, but honestly, I feel reassured. You were great today.”

“… … .”

Sister Melody was embarrassed by the compliment, so she didn’t say anything and just continued to torment the poor campfire.

“Please take care of me in the future.”

As he said that, he held out his hand to her.

It meant to shake hands, and she hesitated before taking my hand.

I said, squeezing her hand tightly.

“But why didn’t you come for treatment?”

“No injuries.”

“You have some minor injuries, right?”

“It’s better to just leave it like this.”

“We might have to fight again tomorrow, so you can’t just leave us alone. Please stay still.”

Surely you wouldn’t break my wrist just because I don’t like it.

He grabbed her wrist and drew divine power into his body.

Throb-

Fortunately, she did not reject the divine power I put into her, although her body shrank slightly.