Chapter 15
[Sword Master: Still, she’s an elf archer. Wouldn’t it be nice to have her?]
[Sword Master: She doesn’t seem to make mistakes when it isn’t a truly urgent situation. Which means she must have been running around in all sorts of parties.]
[Quick-Draw Master: I’m against it. There’s no need to take on unnecessary risk.]
[Lassu Feedwagon: If we have no alternatives, then it can’t be helped, but this is only the first floor. There’s no reason to force it. We could clear the first floor with a decent rear guard, even if she isn’t an elf.]
The “elf archer who makes mistakes at the most important moments,” Nierel, left the table.
In my head, the sword spirits began exchanging opinions about her.
“What do you think, Ivan?”
Kane asked for my opinion too.
“If we can’t find anyone else, I think it would be fine to go with her.”
I leaned toward taking her.
While we talked, I’d also listened to the other ninth-grade Climber parties.
Apparently Nierel only slipped up at truly critical moments, and otherwise her archery was no different from any ordinary elf’s.
On the first floor, she should be fine.
It was a bit complacent, yes, but it was only goblins we were dealing with.
Of course, that only applied if we had no alternatives.
If another decent rear guard appeared, it would be better to take them instead.
“I’m about the same. What about Dogo and Hena?”
“I- I agree with Ivan.”
“M-me too.”
The other two felt the same.
The sword spirits muttering in my head were of similar opinion.
“Then let’s wait a little longer.”
So we put it on hold for now and kept waiting for another rear guard.
How long did we wait? Eventually, a man with a pleasant-looking face came over.
“Um... are you the party looking for a rear guard?”
“Ah, yes. That’s right. Please, take a seat.”
He spoke in a warm, rustic dialect I couldn’t place.
He looked like he’d just come in from the countryside, but at least his face was kind.
“Then... what weapon do you use? A bow? Or...”
“Oh, n-no. I’m really good at throwing stones. Folks back in my village always said I could hit birds flying overhead. They said there was big money to be made in the labyrinth, so I packed a whole bunch of rocks and came on over.”
“……”
All four of us lost the ability to speak after hearing him out.
He was just a country bumpkin who’d come here after hearing rumors.
Obviously, being good at throwing stones didn’t qualify you to enter the labyrinth.
[Invisible Sword: Pfft. Bwahahahaha!]
[Quick-Draw Master: Heh... that’s just what a newly registered tenth-grade Climber would say.]
[Lustful Demon: Heh heh. Nothing unusual about that.]
The sword spirits were clutching their sides and laughing.
Apparently, this was common among tenth-grade Climbers.
There were all kinds of people among the newly registered.
“...I’m sorry.”
We naturally turned him down.
The man just went, “Oh... I see,” and left the table.
[Sword Master: Beginner parties are always like this. At least if they can fight at all, you should count your blessings.]
[Invisible Sword: Yeah. I was like this at first too. Heh heh.]
The sword spirits reminisced about the past.
This was the truth of beginner parties.
No wonder people die on the first floor, where only goblins appear.
As you move up in rank, people get filtered out, and only the skilled remain.
“Is this the first-floor party? We’re looking for a rear guard...”
About an hour later.
A man wearing round glasses approached us.
He had a bow slung across his back.
This time, at least, he had a weapon.
That alone made him more promising.
“Ah, yes. Please sit.”
This time, I had some hope.
If he was an ordinary archer, I was willing to take him.
“Is this your first trip into the labyrinth?”
“Y-yes. It is.”
As expected, he had no labyrinth experience either.
I’d figured as much.
“Then, how long have you been using a bow?”
Basic competency still had to be checked.
Kane asked the man with glasses.
“Huh? I’ve never actually shot one before.”
“Excuse me? Then why are you looking for a rear...”
But the answer that came back was completely unexpected.
He sounded so confident that it left us stunned instead.
“Well, if I go up front, I’d have to fight right in people’s faces, and that’s scary. Being a guide sounded hard because there’s so much to study, and I checked out a temple and realized priesthood wasn’t really my thing. Honestly, I don’t want to stake my life on fighting, so isn’t it easier to just stand in the back and shoot arrows?”
The man rambled on as if we’d asked him something obvious.
He was so shameless, so infuriatingly smug, that it almost deserved a fist to the face, and none of us could say a word.
“...I’m sorry.”
This one was another bust.
*
“There really aren’t any normal rear guards...”
By afternoon, the sun had begun to sink.
The other tables where parties had formed were steadily emptying out.
By evening, the guild would close its doors.
If we wanted to enter the labyrinth tomorrow, we had to finish our party today.
“Haa...”
“It really is hard to find a decent rear guard.”
Even as time ran out, we still couldn’t decide.
After that, a few more people came by, but they were all more of the same.
“Hmm...”
By the time the sun had turned red, there were only a few people left in the building.
Nierel was pacing alone in a corner.
It seemed the other parties had rejected her too.
I asked the sword spirits inwardly, What should we do? Should we just take Miss Nierel?
[Lustful Demon: After the garbage we’ve been seeing, that elf looks like a gift from heaven.]
[Lustful Demon: Honestly, for the first floor, I think that elf is more reliable than a party of childhood friends.]
[Quick-Draw Master: I’m inclined to disagree... but today, our luck is truly terrible.]
[Lassu Feedwagon: If we can’t form a party today, we won’t be able to enter the labyrinth tomorrow. Then it’ll be the day after, which is a bit late.]
[Sword Master: Right. Let’s not overthink it. Beginner parties are always like this anyway.]
Most of the spirits agreed.
Compared to the people we’d just seen, Nierel suddenly looked like a savior.
[Sword Master: Beginner parties can’t be helped.]
[Sword Master: Thinking back to my own first time... ugh.]
[Invisible Sword: When I was first putting together a party, there was some idiot who kept whining that if he didn’t sleep well, he couldn’t put strength into his hands. Because of that, I made sure he got as much sleep as possible, and he still dropped his sword in the middle of battle and died. I nearly died too. Compared to that, this is better.]
[Lustful Demon: That elf might actually be better.
[Lustful Demon: If a situation comes up that makes her nervous, we can just keep her out of combat.
[Lustful Demon: She’s been as deep as the sixth floor, so she’ll be a big help in other ways.]
[Quick-Draw Master: You’re only saying that because you think that elf is pretty, aren’t you?]
[Lustful Demon: That’s true too.]
We couldn’t afford to drag this out any longer, so the consensus was to make a decision.
“What do we do... We have to earn money for Tomson’s treatment as soon as possible.”
“If we don’t go into the labyrinth tomorrow, Tomson might get worse before we can treat him.”
The childhood friends had their own reasons for needing to settle on a party today.
In the end, we decided to accept Nierel.
“Miss Nierel. Would you like to join our party?”
“Y-yes! I’m really fine on the first floor, so please don’t worry!”
Nierel, who had been waiting in the corner, brightened at once and answered with a smile.
She looked so confident about the first floor that I felt a little more at ease.
“Then let’s do it this way... We’ll meet tomorrow morning at the western entrance of the labyrinth.”
We settled the rest of the details.
Where to meet tomorrow, how to split the pay, and so on.
We agreed to divide the reward equally among everyone. The sword spirits approved too.
“Then I’ll see you all tomorrow.”
“See you tomorrow!”
It wasn’t until the sun was hanging on the horizon that we finally parted ways.
We agreed to meet in the morning and headed off separately to prepare.
“Phew... We finally managed to put together a party.”
Exhausted, I spoke to the sword spirits.
Seeing that, they snickered and said,
[Lustful Demon: In the beginning, putting the party together is more exhausting than entering the labyrinth itself.]
[Quick-Draw Master: Still, now that we’ve talked to them, this looks like a party that can make it through the first floor safely.]
[Lassu Feedwagon: But don’t get careless. In the labyrinth, you never know what kind of danger might appear.]
[Sapier: That’s right. Even if we say it like this, there’s always the possibility that you won’t make it back alive.]
Just when I thought I could finally relax, the spirits started scaring me again.
“Didn’t you say the first floor isn’t dangerous as long as you don’t make mistakes?”
[Invisible Sword: Of course. If you keep the basics straight and the only monsters that appear are goblins, there shouldn’t be a problem.]
[Quick-Draw Master: But in a labyrinth, unexpected things always happen.]
[Sword Master: No matter how you look at it, even we can’t predict everything in a labyrinth. Not even on the first floor. That’s simply what a labyrinth is.]
[Sword Master: Of course, for us, even the first floor would be no trouble no matter what happened. But you’re not us.]
In other words, the problem was my skill.
The spirits had all been strong swordsmen in life, after all.
Whereas I was just a beginner Climber making his first trip into the labyrinth.
Again, I could feel just how carefully the spirits were trying to look out for me.
“Thank you all very much for thinking in terms of my level and helping me. Thanks to you, I was able to put the party together properly.”
[Lustful Demon: Quit thanking us and go have sex.]
[Emperor Augustus: Bwahahaha! Indeed, this user has a fine heart!]
[Lassu Feedwagon: It’s not like we’ve got anything else to do in here anyway.]
[Invisible Sword: Hmph. Then hurry up and get stronger. Don’t go wandering around with that pathetic, gullible look on your face.]
[Quick-Draw Master: Well, as I always say, it’s better for us if the user stays alive too. So, have you reconsidered learning quick-draw techniques?]
When I thanked them, the spirits changed the subject for no reason at all.
Even when they snapped at me, I could tell they were embarrassed.
[Lassu Feedwagon: More importantly, we’re not done yet.]
[Lassu Feedwagon: We need to buy equipment.]
I’d thought I could finally go rest at the inn, but there was still more to do.
Come to think of it, I had a weapon, but no armor.
[Lustful Demon: For a rookie like you, armor matters more than weapons.]
[Sword Master: In the early days, it’s not the party that keeps your life safe. It’s the armor.]
One after another, the sword spirits stressed the importance of armor.
“Understood. Is there a decent shop you recommend?”
[Lassu Feedwagon: The best option is to have excellent armor custom-made by a skilled blacksmith.]
[Lassu Feedwagon: But right now we don’t have the money or the time, so buy something ready-made and decent.]
[Invisible Sword: Just go into whichever shop looks acceptable. Ready-made stuff is all basically the same anyway.]
Our goal was to clear the first floor quickly.
There was no need to spend a fortune on first-floor preparations.
But if I went in too defenseless, I’d die.
The spirits said they’d help me choose armor that was right at the proper line.
I went into an armor shop by the roadside.
“W-welcome!”
The shop owner was a gnome.
He rubbed his hands together and greeted me obsequiously.
“I’m looking to see some leather armor and a helmet.”
The spirits had said the helmet was even more important than the armor.
When I said that, the gnome owner grinned and led me inside.
“Oh, you came to the right place! This shop carries the finest leather armor in all of Babilgrid. Right this way!”
I followed the gnome owner into the back of the shop.
There were all sorts of leather armors on display.
“Aren’t ready-made ones all the same? Our shop works closely with blacksmiths to produce quality that rivals custom work. So, how much money have you got?”
The gnome owner greeted me with exaggerated enthusiasm.
I didn’t know much about armor myself.
But the sword spirits had already finished their assessment.
[Invisible Sword: Heh heh. Another easy mark.]
[Lustful Demon: This is why you should deal directly with a blacksmith.]
[Sword Master: Well, that just means the user looks kind enough to fool. Haha...]
[Lassu Feedwagon: At a glance, it’s just a plain ready-made leather armor. Nothing more, nothing less.]
They said the stuff here was the same ordinary beast leather armor sold everywhere else.
The gnome’s attitude was obviously just a trick to swindle me.
“I don’t have much money. The armor can be the cheapest one you have.”
On the first floor, even the cheapest ready-made leather armor would do.
Instead, I had to invest in things that protected vital points, like a helmet.
“Oh, is that so? Then this is the cheapest one.”
The gnome pointed at the leather armor displayed at the very front.
[Invisible Sword: Hmm. Yep, that’s the cheapest, most ordinary one. Take that.]
The spirits agreed that this would be fine.
I asked the price right away. But then—
“This one? Let’s see... Ah... I’ll give you a special price. Just 900 pesos. That’s really cheap, I’m telling you!”
“...900 pesos?”
Hearing that, I was a little taken aback.
I only had a little over 1,000 pesos left.
Buying this would eat up nearly all my money.
[Invisible Sword: Heh heh. I knew this would happen.]
The spirits acted as if they’d expected it all along.
I hadn’t done anything. I didn’t know why they were all looking at me like I was a sucker.
“Just so you know, this isn’t expensive at all. From what I can see, this must be your first trip into the labyrinth. Do you want to die as soon as you start? If you want to live, you need to gear up properly, right? Our shop’s leather armor is made from special troll hide, so it won’t tear easily. For 900 pesos, we barely make anything ourselves. I’m giving you a special...”
The shop owner spilled out a stream of information I hadn’t even asked for.
Of course, most of it was a lie.
According to the spirits, it wasn’t troll hide at all but ordinary beast leather, and the exact same ready-made armor sold at other shops went for between 100 and 200 pesos.
“You won’t find this price anywhere else. It’s special because our shop-”
The shop owner kept jabbering, trying every angle he could to reel me in.
I ignored him and asked the sword spirits inwardly, Should I just leave?
[Lassu Feedwagon: No. Stay.]
[Invisible Sword: That kind of shameless merchant deserves a beating.]
But the spirits stopped me from walking away.
They didn’t mean for me to actually draw my sword and start fighting.
[Lassu Feedwagon: From here on, do exactly as I tell you.]