Chapter 90: D-Rank Labyrinth – Cherry Cherry Orchard (2)
Chapter 90: D-Rank Labyrinth – Cherry Cherry Orchard (2)
No one truly knew how to relax properly, but the vacation was proceeding reasonably well.
“I will set up the tents.”
Lucius pulled camping exploration tools from the subspace of his rosary, which had a small shield attached. In an instant, he erected two tents—one white and one black.
“Here I go!”
Thunk.
Marlin’s throwing dagger Last Breath flew smoothly through the air and pierced four fruit birds that had been gliding overhead.
A fast and silent feat.
It was the martial-type Mystery Brites Throwing Dagger Art, specialized for covert ambushes.
“Ta-da! How was that?”
Marlin puffed out her chest proudly.
I applauded generously.
“Impressive.”
“Praise me more!”
“At this rate, you might even defeat Lady Rosalia.”
“……”
Rosalia, who had been watching with satisfaction, grabbed my shoulder lightly.
“Please spare me. I believe my bones will break.”
While I danced awkwardly under the ruthless assassin’s “massage,” Abel retrieved the birds that had been struck by the daggers.
“I will prepare dinner. There are only fruits, but I will try to make some sort of salad.”
“I shall start a fire.”
Lucius pulled several logs from the subspace of his rosary and stacked them before igniting them with a camping fire-starter.
Fwoosh.
A fine campfire quickly appeared.
“…Priest, why do you have firewood in your subspace?”
Lucius smiled at Abel’s question.
“For situations such as this.”
“That seems excessively prepared.”
“But we just used it.”
“…That is true.”
Abel took out cooking tools that maid Charlotte had packed in Marlin’s leather bag and began preparing the meal.
The ingredients were fruit birds from Cherry Cherry Orchard.
Slice.
Using Devouring Teeth, a high-grade kitchen knife capable of revealing the properties of ingredients, Abel cut the bird’s neck.
His eyes widened.
“It looked like fruit on the outside, but inside it has the body of an ordinary animal. Why is that?”
“So you are curious about the reason! To explain it clearly, we must first discuss the unique food culture of fairies…”
“……”
Abel silently listened while cooking.
His hands moved swiftly as he separated the meat from the fruit.
Clean, efficient technique.
It was the result of Abel’s natural talent combined with the chef-class Mystery Ingredient Preparation.
“Playing in the water is fun!”
Meanwhile, Bartimir returned from the soda sea with her head dripping wet.
Marlin sighed softly.
“Demon sister, deliberately enjoying the suffocating sensation of drowning is not what people mean by playing in the water.”
“But it was fun.”
“Marlin, do not be narrow-minded. Respect each person’s individuality.”
“…Priest! That’s wrong, isn’t it?”
Lucius answered with a gentle smile.
“Demons consume negative concepts, Lady Marlin. The sensation of suffocation and the pain it causes are converted into vitality for them, so it was not dangerous.”
“…I see.”
If I had explained it, she would have accused me of lying.
But since it came from the priest, she accepted it immediately.
Next time I should borrow Lucius’s authority whenever I give important advice—like telling her to brush her teeth or sleep earlier.
Tap tap tap tap.
Abel’s knife struck the cutting board rhythmically.
Watching him slice the meat neatly, Marlin stared with her mouth open.
“You might start drooling at this rate.”
When I closed her jaw, she poked my waist with her fingernails in embarrassment.
When I poked her head in return, she grabbed my finger and pretended to bite it before turning toward the others.
“The vacation is nice. But there’s one problem.”
“What is it?”
“Everyone is too quiet.”
“……”
We truly missed Pendrick.
And Lady Astrimia as well.
While remembering the lively voices of the two lovers, the darkening pink sky slowly welcomed a moon that smiled gently.
“There is a card game that everyone can enjoy. What do you think, Lord Kar?”
“You have something like that?”
I was once again impressed by Lucius’s thorough preparation.
At that moment, Rosalia leaned close to my ear.
“…Approaching.”
“The same people from earlier?”
The silent assassin raised four fingers.
Even without the guiding paper fairy, four outlaws had survived.
It seemed they had an explorer with high Sense like Marlin.
That was good news.
“…The outlaw expedition is coming?”
“Yes. Hide inside the tent for now. Use that Mystery as well.”
“Yes…”
Marlin entered the tent and her presence disappeared completely.
Brites Stealth Art.
A martial-type Mystery focused on covert movement and ambush.
Combined with the thief-class Mystery Presence Concealment obtained in Earth Elf’s Tomb, even as a mere Level-2 thief she became impossible to detect.
Next, I gave Rosalia instructions for an assassin’s fair and honorable combat method.
“Hide and act the moment you feel it is the right time. Before you go, I need something from you.”
“……”
After quickly handing over what I requested, Rosalia used Shadow Tribe and melted into the shadows.
“Patron, what should I do?”
Abel asked while cooking.
It revealed his inexperience.
A chef should never stop cooking—even if monsters were devouring their companions.
“Keep cooking.”
“…Is that really acceptable?”
“Abel. Wouldn’t it be tragic if the food became unpleasant because we neglected it?”
“…Perhaps.”
Faithful to his patron’s words, Abel tilted his head but continued cooking.
“…They have finally arrived.”
Soon a four-member expedition appeared.
A demon with a mohawk, a hooded beastman, a gaunt orc, and a dried-up demon.
I attempted to read their information, but Eye That Perceives Truth failed.
They likely had a thief–schemer capable of blocking detection.
“Are you the half-elf Kar?”
The mohawk demon glared at me.
I shook my head immediately.
“No. I am a human named Balthazar. You must have mistaken me.”
“…Silence. You caused us considerable trouble. Our purpose was robbery, but now I have changed my mind.”
The explorer drew a stylish single-edged sword and pointed it at me.
“I will send you off as painfully as possible.”
Nothing came to mind in response.
The threat was far too cliché.
“Which part should I cut off first?”
Fortunately, a suitably old-fashioned reply came to mind.
“If you insist on fighting, it cannot be helped.”
I released the blind crow from my eye socket, transformed my right hand into black lightning, opened my left palm, and politely declared,
“I will carve apart your bodies—down to each individual finger.”
A battle against outlaws who insult sacred exploration.
For me, this was a holy war.
“You think four of you can defeat us?”
Bartimir, her hair still wet from the soda sea and the bandage Comforter drying by the campfire, walked beside me.
“Did you come here to die?”
She asked with sincere curiosity.
Anyone could see it in her clear heterochromatic eyes.
But the mohawk demon twisted his face in anger.
“…Let’s see how long you can keep acting confident.”
Whoosh.
Black energy flowed from the demon’s blade.
Malice.
An aura accumulated only through acts so cruel that intelligent beings harbor hatred and resentment toward them.
For demons, consuming such negativity functioned like an energy drink and stimulant.
“Haaah.”
Marsent inhaled the malice from the sword in ten breaths.
His presence intensified dramatically.
The result of years of outlaw life.
His physical abilities now far exceeded before.
“……”
Abel gasped while stirring the pot.
I waved to reassure him.
The mohawk demon’s lower body suddenly transformed into that of a horse.
Not an ordinary animal—but a monster.
《Drowned Kelpie (Level 6)》
《A monster that lived in water but drowned itself and returned as an undead. Known for its strong vitality and foul temperament.》
A monster warrior.
A class that forcibly subjugates monsters and draws upon the power of their souls.
“Now do you feel some danger?”
The mohawk demon smirked and charged.
A speed far beyond what a Level-4 cultist could follow with their eyes.
“I’ll start with you!”
The undead monster’s foreleg slammed downward toward Bartimir.
At that moment—
Vwoong!
A gray barrier appeared before her.
Compassion of Protection.
A Tier-4 Mystery favored by priests of Arteine.
Holding a black-and-white bell, Lucius glared at the outlaws.
“In the name of Arteine, I will not allow you to run rampant.”
“…A Harmony Church priest.”
The mohawk demon quickly retreated.
Whoosh!
A beam of white light—especially effective against undead—struck the spot where he had stood.
Lucius had simply drawn out divine power and used it as a blunt attack.
“It’s fine. A Harmony Church priest isn’t used to exploration.”
The dried demon wearing a monocle smiled slightly.
The monocle was an artifact that revealed basic enemy information.
A weaker version of Eye That Perceives Truth, but usable by anyone.
“Just keep attacking until the barrier breaks!”
“Understood.”
Following the schemer’s orders, the red orc outlaw drew a massive bow.
Fwoosh!
An arrow split into five in midair and struck the barrier.
Crack.
Compassion of Protection fractured.
At least a Level-5 hunter-ranger.
Lucius could not block their attacks indefinitely.
“……”
The hooded beastman silently pulled a cage from the jewel attached to his necklace.
Unlike monster warriors, hunters-tamers fought alongside monsters they had domesticated.
The cage door opened.
Clank.
A massive creature leapt out.
— Awooo!
A large white wolf exhaling frost raised its head and howled.
《Snowfield Wolf Flonos (Level 5)》
《A ferocious monster once feared across the northern continent’s great snowfields. Explorers of equal level become little more than chew toys for it.》
A rare named monster encountered through hidden pieces in certain labyrinths.
That beastman tamer was no ordinary outlaw.
He was almost certainly their expedition leader.
“Lucius. Bartimir.”
“I am listening.”
“Yes.”
“Although we outnumber them, we have little chance in a direct confrontation. All of them are at least Level-5.”
In battles against outlaws during exploration, pride must be abandoned.
If our overall combat power was inferior, we had to accept reality.
Between annihilation and the lesser evil, the answer was clear.
“Strengthen the barrier and retreat behind it. I will step forward alone.”
For the sake of protecting my companions, this frail body could be discarded without hesitation.
I was a living shield.
A half-elf weapon standing before my allies and taking every attack.
Perhaps that was why Arteine had marked me with the symbol of the shield.
Shhhh—
The modern Arteine urgently sent their will, but there was no time to communicate with a deity now.
“…Lord Kar, what are you planning?”
“As expedition leader, I will choose the path that saves you. It will be difficult for me, but worthwhile.”
“……”
Vwoong!
A priest serving the deity of clear wisdom always grasped the situation quickly.
Though reluctant, Lucius accepted that we could not win head-on and stacked Compassion of Protection five times around the tents.
Naturally, I remained outside alone.
“So you plan to sacrifice yourself? I’m almost moved to tears.”
The mohawk demon approached with a mocking grin.
I stepped forward to face the outlaw expedition.
They would not fight the way I wanted.
They would target my companions rather than focus on me.
“Outlaws.”
In such situations, a final method was necessary.
I grasped the ritual dagger artifact Full-Moon Slayer and summoned a temporary altar.
Crunch!
A crescent-shaped stone altar rose from beneath the candy beach.
Standing upon it, I spoke calmly.
“I will now perform a self-sacrifice ritual offering my entire body.”
“What—are you insane?!”
The schemer demon behind them stared in shock.
“Are you prepared to suffer in the hell governed by a great deity for eternity?”
“…Kill him immediately!”
The mohawk monster warrior charged instantly.
Meanwhile I pulled something from my pocket.
— Goo!
A purple slime-like creature.
A paralysis-venom lifeform created through Toxic Follower.
Maengmaengi.
— Goo!
The creature bounced and released part of its deadly poison into my body.
《Due to [Sin: Gluttony], your body has acquired the properties of the poison you just consumed! Please stop doing things like this!》
Excruciating pain surged through my body.
My fingers stiffened.
My waist locked.
My legs trembled.
This.
This was the moment I welcomed most during exploration.
“Ahahaha!”
After all—
I liked this far more than vacation.
I was an irreparably broken half.