The Bottle's Decision

When we crossed beyond the Blitz Wing Lizard territory and reached the Lizardman zone, I quickly finished the briefing.

"Erinn, hold the front and keep the melee warriors from closing in. With your skill, handling Lizardman fighters shouldn't be any trouble."

"Is the scrub giving orders now~?"

"…Please."

"Hmm, fine~♡"

Of course Erinn would take the vanguard. Honestly, I'd considered assigning her some backup just in case, but it didn't seem necessary. After the stunt Ser-Aria had pulled earlier… the Hero Erinn would only be better.

"Freya, cover the rear with a holy barrier against falling arrows and javelins. Aria, stay protected and snipe their archers and spearmen."

"Yes, Allen."

"Haha, great! Leave it to me!"

And then…

"Letisia, you stand by."

"Yes……yes? Why?"

"There are definitely Lizardman shamans mixed in, and some of their spells tangle spirit control. With your ability you won't lose ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the spirits entirely, but there's still a chance their attacks fly off in weird directions. We'd be in real trouble if spirit power hit us by accident."

"How could mere lizard shamans manage something like that?"

"Who knows."

Because the game developers made it that way?

"So I just sit around the whole time? I don't really like that…."

Letisia looked regretfully at the whip clutched in her hand.

…I had a bad feeling about this. If I kept her from doing anything, she was going to try hitting me with that thing later.

Better to let her know she'd get her chance.

"Once we've cleaned out all the shamans, it'll be fine to release the spirits."

"Who's intercepting the shamans, then?"

"That…."

I turned my head, and Letisia turned in the same expected direction. There sat the thief, hunched in a corner looking thoroughly crumpled.

Thanks to a thief's uniquely sharp senses, she met our gazes the instant we looked her way.

"……What?"

"You need to intercept the shamans, Thief."

"……Huh?"

"Erinn and Aria will draw their attention. Whenever an opening appears, you take out the Lizardman shamans. Then Letisia can bring out her spirits and support us again."

"M-me, such an important role…."

"What are you talking about? There's no one else."

There really was no one left but the thief. The thief class specialized in this kind of assassination work anyway, and Freya was already assigned to protect Ser-Aria. No need to dump two jobs on one person.

But the thief's eyes went a little round as she asked me,

"No one but me…?"

"Huh?…Yeah, that's right."

"……Okay. I'll do it."

Suddenly the kid had gotten proactive. Whatever the reason, it was good news for me.

"Great, thanks. The shamans will be carrying a staff that looks like this."

I scratched a rough shape into the dirt with a twig. The thief spoke up, sounding faintly startled.

"Allen……."

"Yeah?"

"Sorry… I have absolutely no idea what that is."

"……Oh. Right."

I was pretty sure I'd drawn a staff, yet somehow it looked like a snake.

"Wow, your drawing sucks~♡ Are those ten fingers just for decoration~?"

"…Shut up."

"Puhuhu♡"

"…Anyway, if they're holding a weird-looking staff, they're almost always shamans. Just intercept those guys."

"Got it."

Role assignment was finished. In theory, this party composition was something the Lizardmen's standard force layout simply couldn't crack. As long as everyone stuck to their jobs, we should clear it without much trouble.

"How you fight and how you respond, I'll leave to your judgment. You're all far more skilled than I am."

"Mm, got it!"

"Yes."

"Then let's move."

Beyond the Blitz Wing Lizard nest, stairs appeared. Both sets descended deeper into the dungeon, but they split into two separate paths.

"Which way do we go here?"

Truthfully, even I didn't know. Both led to the Lizardman village, but one path was packed with traps while the other was the normal route the Lizardmen themselves used.

It was a random gimmick that changed every single time even inside the game, so right now I had no idea which was correct.

"Both lead to the Lizardman village."

"Then we can just pick either one?"

"True, but… one side is lined with traps. The other has none."

"Then the trap-free path would be easier. You don't know which is which, Allen?"

I gave Freya's question a slight nod. Honestly it wouldn't matter which way we went. Right or left… even if we hit the traps, our party could handle them.

But Ser-Aria, who had already pulled another bottle from her waist, spoke up.

"Hmm, so we leave it to luck? Perfect!"

Huh? Did she actually have a good idea?

Ser-Aria guzzled the liquor and emptied the bottle clean. She drank booze the way other people drank water.

"We'll decide with this!"

"What?"

"Here~."

She laid the empty bottle on its side on the floor.

"You can't be serious…."

"Watch closely!"

Just as expected, Ser-Aria spun it with her hand. The bottle whirled round and round before gradually coming to rest pointing right. She jabbed a finger toward the right-hand stairs.

"That way!"

"Hey, you… how can you decide like that!?"

"Huh? Not allowed?"

Of course it isn't allowed, why are you even asking, you lunatic!

Yet contrary to my expectations, the rest of the party's reactions weren't particularly negative.

"But well… it shouldn't really matter, right? Right or left."

"If the traps feel similar to the first zone, the thief can dismantle them as we advance, can't she?"

"Yeah, it's not like we have any way to figure out which is correct anyway~?"

That was true, but… I never imagined deciding things this way would actually get agreement. Maybe they really were all missing a few screws.

"…Fine. Let's go. But the thief checks carefully and we take it slow."

"Yeah. If I don't do at least that much, I'm useless…."

"No…."

It's not like that…!

"Don't worry, Thief. If a trap you miss activates, I'll protect you."

When Freya spoke, the thief's expression eased into something a little more relaxed. It was a nice sight, but honestly it was just the thief being dramatic.

Surprisingly—perhaps second only to Erinn in this entire party—the thief possessed absurdly high specs. Her agility far surpassed even Ser-Aria's, and her vitality was higher too.

Magic and strength lagged a bit, but one look at her traits showed just how strong she really was. Not a single trait dropped below ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠level 7.

It was only natural. This thief was one of the most broken characters in the party alongside the Hero herself. Players had constantly demanded she get nerfed because she was simply too good.

Intuition and agility that rivaled or exceeded the Hero's, plus trap-dismantling skill on top of it… as long as the thief was with us, the party would never fall to traps.

We took the right-hand stairs Ser-Aria's bottle had chosen and headed down.

Whooosh!!

"Oh, shit…!"

"Puhaha! These traps aren't just 'a lot'!!"

Just as expected, a swarm of traps greeted our party.

Damn it all, I never should have trusted a damn bottle!!

This wasn't even a matter of the thief dismantling anything—traps started triggering without us touching a single thing. They had probably begun the moment we set foot inside.

Even when we tried to turn back, the entrance door had already slammed shut and refused to open.

Even the status window drove the nail in. The others were still showing incredible flexibility, dodging nimbly this way and that—but the problem was me.

"Move faster, scrub~♡ Or you're gonna die~?"

"Ugh, I am moving as hard as I can!!"

Dodge the poison arrows flying from the front and spikes shoot up from the floor you just stepped on. Press against the wall and sharp blades immediately spring out. Then more arrows come from a completely different direction….

With my relatively sluggish speed, there was no way I could weave through traps as easily as they did. Erinn kept yanking me around and guiding me, but the limit arrived soon enough.

"Huff… seriously, how long are they going to keep coming!!"

"This ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠isn't working. I thought we might advance little by little, but Allen simply can't keep up."

Freya said that, then spread her palm forward.

Vast holy power flooded the surroundings, shielding us from every trap. Flying arrows failed to pierce the barrier and simply dropped; spikes and blades snapped against its hardness.

Even dressed like that, a saintess is still a saintess, I guess….

Thanks to her, we finally had a moment to catch our breath. Freya, barrier still raised, turned to me and asked,

"What now? They laid these traps with clear intent, and we can't go back."

What now?

I carefully watched the traps still flying for a moment.

"…Hold on."

Earlier I'd been too busy dodging to notice, but there was a clear sequence to the activations. Arrows first, then spikes rising, then sharp blades or thorns springing out. It was designed to force whoever was caught into moving a certain way.

I asked the thief,

"Thief."

"…Yeah?"

"There's a pattern if you look. You see it?"

"Yeah… I know. Probably everyone does… only Allen didn't, so dodging was harder for you…."

…Ah. Is that so.

"Then right now… can you go out alone and dismantle them?"

"……Huh? Me?"

When the thief showed a flicker of panic, Erinn and Ser-Aria immediately painted me as the villain.

"Boo, trash~♡ Telling a girl way smaller than you to go into dangerous traps alone~?"

"Allen, that's a bit much!"

These people….

"…Don't say weird things. I'm simply making an objective judgment."

The thief's agility was the highest in the party. It wasn't just the raw status numbers—her traits were perfectly suited and outstanding for breaking through exactly this kind of situation.

"Thief, you can do it."

"……No way… I'm useless…."

"Stop that weird talk. No one here knows traps better than you, and no one is faster than you."

I had no leisure right now to listen to her self-deprecating muttering. I had to somehow shore up her confidence and persuade her.

I firmly gripped both her shoulders.

"……W-wait…."

Before she could try to run again, I locked eyes with her and spoke.

"This is something only you can really do."

"…!"

The thief seemed to wrestle with it. With her stats, claiming she couldn't do this was nonsense, but the kid's self-esteem was so abysmal she had almost no faith in her own abilities either.

To give her that certainty, I played hardball.

"Or there is another way."

"……Another way?"

"Everyone else escapes and I stay behind. You all can get out just fine, but I can't. Sad, but nothing to be done about it…."

When I said that, the thief's eyes went perfectly round. She waved her hands frantically.

"Th-that can't happen…!"

"Then you'll do it?"

"……Ugh."

"You really can."

Her shoulders flinched. But I kept looking at her with absolute confidence. I hoped the conviction that she could do this would reach her….

Then Erinn sidled up and said,

"Now you're even threatening a girl~? Using your own life to force her to step up—so dirty~♡"

"Please stop saying weird things…."

"……Ah, okay. I'll do it."

A positive answer finally left the thief's mouth. Gladly, I gave her shoulder a light pat.

"Good thinking! You really can do this."

"Aaaah~♡ In the end the threat worked~?"

…I never threatened anyone.

At the thief's decision, Freya approached with a gentle smile. With every step her skirt hem parted dangerously, fully exposing her right thigh.

Real pervert….

Whether I thought that or not, Freya held out her hand to the thief.

"Thief, just in case, I'll cast a blessing on you."

"Umm……."

A skill notification appeared as holy power flowed from Freya's hand and soaked into the thief's body. The thief's eyes went round.

"…Warm."

"Ah, come to think of it, I've never cast a blessing on the thief before. Erinn or Aria usually take them…."

"Huh?"

Erinn being the vanguard made sense, but why Ser-Aria….

I looked at Ser-Aria questioningly. She proudly puffed out her meager chest.

"Ahem! Because I step out to the front!"

Is an archer stepping to the front something to brag about?

"……I'm going."

The thief pulled several tools from a small pouch strapped to her calf. I had no idea what any of them were for, but they were probably for dismantling traps.

More than that… just as Erinn had said, entrusting this to a girl smaller than me left a strange feeling. I spoke to the thief as she prepared to leave the barrier.

"Do your best. I'll be trusting you."

Her pupils widened a fraction. Then she gave a small, quiet nod.

"……Yeah."

With that farewell, the thief stepped beyond the barrier.

"……I'll try."

The instant she left the barrier, the thief flung hundreds of hidden weapons at the oncoming traps. She was so fast I never even saw when or where she had drawn them.

What the….

Those hundreds of projectiles flew with perfect accuracy, striking every one of the dozens of arrows, poison needles, spikes, and thorns racing toward her, and shattered them all on impact.

In the gaps between, she instantly began dismantling the remaining traps so they couldn't reactivate. The dismantling speed she'd shown in the first zone had already been exceptional; now I would have believed her if she claimed she'd installed the traps herself.

The speed at which she leapt between them was just as absurd. Maybe Freya's blessing helped, but following her with the naked eye was nearly impossible.

"……Done."

When those words left the thief's mouth, only seven minutes had passed.