Chapter 260
Chapter 260
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 260
Chapter Title: Chapter 6-2. Labyrinth
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“Did you sense it too, Mr. Judah?”
Iris, walking behind us, tapped my shoulder and showed me the message written in her notebook. From the way she phrased it, she seemed aware of the unidentified neutral group ahead. Instead of answering, I nodded.
“What should we do?”
“Well...”
Judah quietly gazed at the . The gray dot was approaching us. It was too far to see right now, but in about thirty minutes, we’d run into them—if we kept going without detouring.
‘They’re neutral... but who wanders around a place like this?’
Mercenaries? Adventurers?
They might be circling the area in search of the labyrinth. It wasn’t far—only a day’s journey to the border city of ‘Torus.’ It wouldn’t be strange if others were poking around. Should I avoid them? I didn’t want unnecessary encounters, but I had no desire to loop around my destination either. No need to overthink it. Straight ahead it was.
“There are some adventurers, mercenaries, or maybe bandits up ahead... but no reason to go out of our way to avoid them. Let’s keep going.”
After explaining to Arhil and Lime, who were unaware of the situation, I politely asked for their input. They didn’t want to turn back either. We couldn’t predict if the neutral group would turn hostile upon meeting, but as long as they weren’t a band of holy sword wielders, there was no real danger. So we pressed on.
As we hurried along, we encountered the distant neutral group. They were knights. Clad in gleaming silver armor that shone brilliantly under the sun. A closer look revealed their blue cloaks and silver plate were stained with blood.
As we hurried along, knights appeared in the distance, their armor blinding in the sunlight. Maintaining a precise formation, the silver-armored figures advanced. Lime, trailing behind, widened his eyes at their attire.
“No way, those are...?”
“Blue Spear Knights.”
The empire’s pride, the empire’s shield—the elite first knight order. Blue Spear Knights. The emblem on their pauldrons, a shield crossed with a spear, confirmed it. More than that, I’d grown familiar with their armor from traveling with Jeanne before. Even so, I hadn’t expected Blue Spear Knights here.
Blood on their armor suggested they’d been hunting monsters in the area. They looked exhausted, yet their steps remained firm. Clanking in their distinctive plate, they strode confidently. Judah stepped aside to let them pass. The forest path was wide enough—no need to halt. But as one brushed right by, the lead Blue Spear Knight glanced at Judah, then at Arhil following behind, and stopped.
“Unit, halt.”
The knights halted in unison at the command. I’d tried to pass indifferently, but with them right beside us, it was impossible to ignore. Judah stopped too, shifting two or three steps to shield Arhil and Lime. The approaching Blue Spear Knight turned toward us, chuckled lightly, and spoke.
“No need to be so guarded.”
The voice was familiar. Light emanated from the knight’s body, his armor dissolving at the molecular level and vanishing. Emerging from within was Jeanne d’Artroa, dressed in form-fitting silk-like attire.
“Long time no see.”
“Oh my god! Jeanne!”
So delighted, Arhil ran to Jeanne without a hint of caution and threw her arms around her. Jeanne accepted with a gentle smile, embracing her back.
“It’s been ages!”
“How have you been, Arhil?”
“Great! I’m so glad you look healthy too, Jeanne!”
Arhil and Jeanne exchanged warm greetings, while the Blue Spear Knights watched quietly from behind, just as Judah’s group did. With the non-threat confirmed, the gray dot on the shifted to green.
“I never imagined running into you here...”
“Same here. I worried when I heard you were heading to the elf forest, but seeing you safe eases my mind. Unnecessary concern, it seems?”
Arhil gave a wry smile at Jeanne’s light laugh. It had been pure luck. Recalling how close we’d come to disaster in the elf forest still drew a sigh. Even now, their victory seemed only explainable by divine intervention.
“But what brings you here, Jeanne?”
“Blue Spear Knights, remember?”
Jeanne’s response to Judah’s question was textbook. Of course, it’d puzzle anyone not from the empire. Judah smiled, but Arhil, uncomprehending, asked innocently.
“What does that have to do with it?”
“Hm? Ah! You wouldn’t know, Arhil. We Blue Spear Knights mainly serve on the empire’s frontiers, battlefields, and monster hotspots—on dispatch. My squad’s been stationed in the border city of ‘Torus’ nearby. You might not know, but lately, we’ve seen new types of monsters, so we patrol around the city, culling any we spot. Seems like a labyrinth’s close... but we haven’t pinpointed the source of the outbreaks yet.”
“Aah—”
“Well, running into you here means there really might be one nearby.”
Jeanne meant it as a joke, but Judah awkwardly chuckled, feeling oddly guilty. Perhaps the empire knew and had deployed Blue Spear Knights here. He’d assumed they’d be at a fortress, not this remote border town.
He considered subtly probing Jeanne about their deployments but decided against it to avoid suspicion. Meeting her was a joy, but he didn’t want to exploit her—only accept genuine help. After chatting more with the long-lost Jeanne, he introduced the others. Iris and Lime greeted her in turn, and Jeanne eyed Lime.
“A mage...? I see. Did you come via the mage tower in Torus?”
“No, I didn’t even know there was one. As you know, spatial transfer in the empire’s a hassle. So I just took a carriage.”
“A carriage? All the way here? Hmm.”
Jeanne looked sympathetic.
“You’ve had it rough. I get it. We nearly died of boredom riding one to the city ourselves.”
“Captain.”
A Blue Spear Knight who’d been watching quietly approached and addressed Jeanne softly. She turned, nodded in understanding, then looked at Arhil and Judah with regret.
“I’d love to talk more, but we have to go.”
“Already?”
Arhil’s voice was wistful. In this world without phones or messengers, reuniting was rare. It was natural to feel disappointed. Jeanne pulled a chain from under her clothes, revealing a cross pendant alongside the Blue Spear Knights’ emblem. The one shared with Arhil, Jeanne, and Sarah, the count’s daughter, in Uruun.
“Do you know that heading this way leads to the Black Land?”
The labyrinth’s location.
Sealed Asmodeus had blackened the soil, flames rising year-round. Of course we knew—we were aiming for it. Jeanne stared into Judah’s eyes, pleading for denial.
‘Something’s up.’
It felt genuine, not a lie. Judah didn’t deceive her.
“Yes. Heard there’s treasure nearby.”
“If it’s the Judah I know... you won’t back off even if I say it’s dangerous.”
“Probably not.”
“Even if I say wait till it’s safer, with fewer monsters?”
Something was definitely there. Her worried expression confirmed it. She smiled faintly.
“Understood. We’ll be in Torus awhile. If you turn back midway, find me—I’ll make time. Short as it was, seeing you well after so long lightens my heart. Hope to see you healthy again...”
Jeanne rearmored and led her squad away. Watching them go briefly, we resumed toward the labyrinth. Arhil sighed, saddened by the parting from her old friend.
+ + +
Clank—clank—
Heavy armor clanged with each step. Familiar now, almost comforting, but jarringly out of place in this forest. The twenty-four Blue Spear Knights marched in formation along the woodland path. A full day’s trek to Torus.
“Judging by their direction, they’re heading to the ‘Black Land.’ How should we report it?”
The vice-captain walking beside her asked.
“...Say an adventurer party entered.”
“You sure? They seemed like people you know.”
Jeanne’s face darkened under her helm. No reply came, so the vice-captain glanced over. Her helmet dipped low, as if staring at the ground. He knew from experience what that meant. Unconsciously, her pace had slowed too. Only after a long pause did she sigh deeply.
“Can’t exactly go back and send them away, can I?”
Seeing her captain—young but capable, caring, undemanding—tormented by the choice, the vice-captain pondered. He decided to offer special advice.
“It’s not too late. Turn back now, explain, and send them off. Wouldn’t that ease your mind more?”
“They’d just go anyway. That’s who they are. Our orders say not to block adventurers or mercenaries anyway. Our duty’s just stopping caravans or lost folk from entering the Black Land.”
“Sometimes a little flexibility wouldn’t hurt.”
“Yeah.”
“Here’s hoping nothing happens.”
Jeanne nodded. She didn’t know exactly what lurked in the Black Land. But it was undeniably dangerous. Small gates to the demon realm kept opening around it, spilling monsters.
The border city’s safety wasn’t critically threatened yet, but ignoring it would be risky. Still, dispatching Blue Spear Knights for monster culls with such a large force—operating in small squads while the rest waited—hinted at more. And orders to report adventurers or mercenaries heading there... Jeanne lamented her lowly position left her clueless. If she knew details, she’d have warned Judah’s group off.
As she brooded, the vice-captain pulled a folded scroll from his side pouch. Infusing mana into his fingertip, he wrote the report.