The Old Man's Resolve
"Hmm.... What if I go alone? I'm a phantom thief, so I can easily avoid traps and such. And if things get dicey, I can always make a run for it."
Squar suddenly raised her hand and spoke up. But I couldn't accept that.
From my experience, the top-tier members of the Round Table mostly possessed strength comparable to Werner's comrades. Especially that bastard Gawain—if he'd fought with real intent, I might have died. And then there was that guy Lancelot.... I wasn't even sure if all the heroes, including Werner, could defeat him.
If Squar... if Squar, whose combat ability was even lower than the current Werner, encountered them... her chances of victory would be zero.
Werner's feelings, which treated Squar like an older sister, were rejecting the idea. One might call it soft, but I could somewhat understand the emotion of not being able to abandon a woman who shared the same surname.
"Don't talk nonsense. I'll go alone."
Since the Steel Spirit King was following me, if I went with Armadura and Squar went with the Heavenly Demon old man, it would split into a neat two-on-two. Wouldn't that be a truly fantastic combination?
No—Armadura would provide the physical power I lacked, while I would supplement the rationality Armadura was missing. And if the Heavenly Demon old man compensated for Squar's insufficient combat strength, while Squar covered the old man's lack of utility and intelligence... wouldn't that be a truly fantastic quartet?
"Neither of you has ever fought the Black Round Table before. Those bastards aren't ordinary powerhouses. Moreover, they're not your typical strongmen—each one possesses a unique constitution."
Like spewing fire from their bodies, being an un-cute nymph, or devouring magic.... I wondered what Lancelot's constitution was. Sword-god unity? A disgustingly regenerative body?
But then the Heavenly Demon old man smacked me on the head.
"Tsk... For a young fellow to be this arrogant... Thinking that only you can fight them is deeply rooted pride."
"Hey, does that mean you have to hit my head?"
"It's a loving smack to make you smarter, so accept it gratefully."
I thought that if you hit someone's head, brain cells die rather than get smarter.
"No, old man, I'm not joking—this is serious. They're really strong. There are some I doubt we could beat even if we all jumped them together."
At that, the Heavenly Demon old man's eyes sharpened. Was it because his strength had been questioned? This guy really changes whenever the topic of being the strongest or power rankings comes up. I knew he was battle-crazy, but still....
"Hoh.... Even if this main seat joins, you doubt whether we could win... How interesting. Tell me a bit more."
Hmm.... It was probably best to hide the fact that the guy was Camellia's father. She seemed to want me to keep it secret too.
"It's not like he has any particularly standout traits... He's a guy with long black hair that reaches down to his waist... His race is...."
"Haa, shall we stop with the boring talk? What's important right now isn't the description of the pervert the youngest met. It's about who will move alone. Besides, as you just saw, the longer we delay, the worse the situation gets. The enemies might escape."
Squar sighed and cut off my words. But she was right. What mattered now wasn't sharing Lancelot's personal information—it was beating the shit out of these damn bastards.
"Then let's decide quickly—who's going alone?"
"But objectively, the person who seems like they wouldn't have any problems going solo is...."
"Looks like sister thinks the same...."
Squar and I were both looking at the Heavenly Demon old man. After all, he was clearly the strongest among us.
"Since you both agree, it seems best that I go alone. I'll head to the left."
"No, why specifically...."
"Didn't I just say I saw traces using sorcery and acupuncture? From that moment on, I've been able to sense it continuously. This familiar yet unpleasant, shitty feeling."
I didn't feel anything in particular. At most, there was a faint scent of hydrangeas coming from the left path? It was a bit surprising that he would call just that familiar and unpleasant.
"It seems the defeated ones who lost to this main seat have crawled in. I wondered where they had hidden themselves.... Well, severing a long, stubborn connection with an old friend is also a man's duty, so I suppose I must go."
"...Be careful, old man."
"Heh heh heh, do I look like someone who would die? Worry about yourself. A man still so scrawny... Anyone who saw you would think you were a young lady from a good family, you brat."
The old man poked my stomach repeatedly. It was true that no matter how much this body ate, it wouldn't gain weight. Though it wasn't excessively thin either.
"Then when people see you, old man, they'll think you're an old servant thrown in for free because the other ones were too young."
At that, Squar burst out laughing.
"Kkuk kuk.... But honestly, even if they gave you for free, considering your age, I don't think I'd take you?"
"You damn ghost bitch, you're no different when it comes to age. Stop pretending to be young alone. The only young one here is that child. Ah, and...."
The Heavenly Demon old man's fist, like a flash of lightning, struck both Squar and me on the crown of our heads. The spicy, mind-clearing shock instantly woke me up.
"How many times have I told you not to tease your elders like that... It seems you still haven't learned anything."
"What a cranky old man...."
Squar was grumbling as she took the lead. Her lips were so pouty they looked like they could catch a person.
"He could just say it with words. Why does he always hit the head? My head's already bad enough—if it gets worse, it's not like he'll take responsibility... Actually, even if he did, I'd decline."
"Haha, sister, don't be too hard on the old man. That's just how he is. Besides, both you and I are pretty peculiar people ourselves."
"Well, that's true... But compared to that old man, you and I are practically saints."
If I had to describe the Heavenly Demon old man's personality, it would be something like a radical tsundere villain with a slight hint of a cranky old man. He had broken the arm of a noble who looked down on Squar for being a descendant of a dream demon, and shattered the leg of a knight who opposed Werner joining the heroes because of his background. He basically hated noisy, talkative people, but he would watch children running around in restaurants with a pleased expression. To me, that was utterly unpleasant.
"People need to be flexible. Being that strict...."
"I don't know about anything else, but I'm certain our old man would never collude with the Black Round Table."
He'd probably just beat the shit out of both them and us because he found both sides equally detestable. He wasn't the type to engage in sneaky collusion.
"....Is that really true?"
Squar still looked doubtful. Well, since the betrayal had caused Werner's comrades quite a bit of trouble, it was inevitable that our perspectives would differ.
"I don't know... Even if the Black Round Table tried to threaten our Heavenly Demon old man... No, even if they put a knife to his throat, he'd probably just tell them to fuck off."
Squar seemed to have something on her mind. Well, she had known the Heavenly Demon old man even before joining the heroes' party, so she probably understood what I was saying better than I did.
"Yeah... That stupid old crank would do that."
"Right?"
Trust between comrades is important. No matter how many traitors there might be, abandoning trust would be exactly what those Black Round Table bastards wanted. I felt a bit proud that I had helped restore even a little of the trust between those two.
"By the way, youngest. Make sure you only step where your sister steps, okay? If you accidentally trigger a trap, it'll be a big problem, so watch carefully and follow."
There was no way an outdated relic like pressure-sensitive tiles activating traps would exist in a research facility like this. Still, I didn't want to get nagged by Squar, so I was roughly following in her footsteps.
"Yeah, I'm following well. Don't worry."
There was no way a place like this would have such outdated traps....
Squelch.
"What the fuck?"
The balance between my left and right feet didn't match. Because the right tile I was currently stepping on had sunk in with a squelch.
Fuck, so there really was a stupid trap like this. I thought I'd been carefully following the tiles Squar stepped on, so why was this idiotic thing happening?
"Sister, quic—!"
Before I could even finish speaking, the floor gave way, and I fell straight down. If I hit the ground like this, I'd land hard on my butt and might even injure my tailbone.
"W-Wind, embrace me!!!"
I used a grateful wind-attribute magic to cushion my fall. Fortunately, other than a slight twinge in my waist, I wasn't hurt.
"A-A person fell again!"
What the.... The one who shouted was a young child who looked about nine years old. But if there was a kid in this facility... they were definitely a test subject.
The child was staring at me with sparkling eyes. The magic must have looked amazing to them.
"Mister, are you a wizard? Right?"
Not anymore... No, I guess I am a wizard.
The child's eyes began to shine even brighter. At this rate, they could probably use them as a flashlight in the dark.
"Kid, how did you end up here?"
The child hesitated for a moment before answering.
"I was dragged here by some bad people. But all my friends who were with me turned into weird monster-like things, so while I was running away... I stepped on some strange floor and fell down here."
"Ah, so you fell recently and still haven't been able to get out?"
But the child started shaking their head.
"No, I fell here three years ago. The uncles who live on this floor take care of kids like me who fell here while running away."