Chapter 131: Team Play (1)

Translator: RaidenTL

Chapter 131: Team Play (1)

Ten days had passed since my visit to the Karlstein family home. On the first day, I was worried that Missha might have told her father everything.

"What? You boneheaded barbarian! How can you say something like that!?"

"Then what did you do back there?"

"That's—! You don't need to know!"

My anxiety turned out to be unnecessary. I didn't know why she'd kept the secret, but I could be certain that she hadn't told him. I decided to focus on the issues that needed to be dealt with right away instead. Weren't there two ticking time bombs on the team already?

"Dwalkie, let's talk."

The day after returning from the Karlsteins', I had a meeting with Dwalkie right away. With a drink in hand, I fudged the issue.

"What? Is that true? Miss Karlstein likes fat guys?"

"Yes, she's definitely said that before."

"I-I see. Thank you for telling me. I almost made a mistake in my haste."

After that conversation, Dwalkie ordered a bunch of dishes and stuffed himself until his stomach bulged out. Well, that was one solution.

He won't confess until he gains some weight.

It was safe to say that I had bought at least a month or two. With Dwalkie's personality, he wouldn't be able to muster up the courage unless he gained a considerable amount of weight. And by the time he did, Missha and I would be out of the team.

This makes me feel like total trash...

But I had no ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠other choice. Maybe if this guy had more mental fortitude it would be fine, but what would happen if he confessed to Missha and was rejected? He wouldn't be able to focus even in the labyrinth. That could endanger the team.

Uh, but why am I so sure he'll get rejected?

That question suddenly popped into my head, but I didn't think too deeply about it. The data we accumulated in the unconscious mind sometimes made more accurate predictions than anything else.

Anyway, next was Rotmiller.

"Be careful. My father would have played a trick on that Rotmiller man."

If, as the district chief's daughter Julian had said, Rotmiller had made contact with the chief, there was a high probability that some kind of troublesome conversation had taken place. The district chief and I had quite a bad relationship. Although I wondered why he was making a move against me only now, months later.

Anyway, I can't show that I'm suspicious.

In the case of Rotmiller, unlike with Dwalkie, I approached the matter cautiously and took my time. This guy was scary. I'd yet to see him get angry, but that just made him even scarier. Usually, this type of person had to see things through to the end when something went awry.

"Then, for the first floor, I'll lead us toward the portal closest to the starting point... Haha, marriage? That's a strange question to ask. I will not start a family until I can truly take care of another person... You sit on the inside. Since you're big, you'll keep bumping into people in the corridor."

I continued to observe Rotmiller at our usual meetings as well as when we were out drinking socially. He was still the same. He was as quiet and serious as usual, and he was still considerate of others in most situations.

Ha, this is a big headache.

Even after hearing Julian's warning, it was hard for me to imagine Rotmiller stabbing me in the back. No, on the contrary, doubting him made me feel even more guilty. We had shared highs and lows together for the past several months. Being swayed by a word from an outsider and not being able to believe in him?

There can't be a greater contradiction than that.

The more I thought about it, the more ironic the situation was. However, I decided it was only right to clear things up. What did Rotmiller speak about with the district chief that day?

If he brought it up to me first, I would have been able to discard my suspicions without any regrets.

Rotmiller hadn't said anything, though, so I invited him out and set up a conversation. I really didn't have much time. The labyrinth would open the next day. That was why I dumped the contents of my glass into my mouth at once and got straight to the point.

"Rotmiller. What was the reason you went to the Adventurers' Guild?"

Rotmiller was slightly taken aback by my blunt question, but I guess he put some of the pieces together. "No wonder you've been coming to see me more than usual. How did you know about what happened at the guild?"

So something did happen there. "I know someone in the guild." After providing that brief response, I asked for an answer to my first question.

Rotmiller sighed. "...When I responded to the invitation, the seventh district chief was waiting for me. He offered me a reward to betray you."

"And?"

"I told him I'd pretend I never heard the offer and left. Is that enough of an answer for you?" Although he tried not to show it, Rotmiller seemed very uncomfortable with my line of questioning.

I bore it and asked another question. "Then why didn't you tell me before now?"

"I told you. I said I'd pretend I never heard it. Besides, I thought that if I told you, it would only make things weird."

"I see. Thank you for answering."

With that, the conversation came to an end. If I pushed any further, that would only signal to him that I didn't believe him. Whatever Rotmiller's intentions were, I decided that that wasn't a wise move.

It wouldn't change anything, anyway.

You could not enter the labyrinth without a scout. Finding someone new? That was risky as well. It would be difficult to find a skilled scout unless you went through the guild, and that would be the perfect opportunity for the district chief to insert a weirdo onto the team. It was doubtful whether Hikurod or Dwalkie would even agree to it in the first place.

Above all, I don't think Rotmiller was lying when he said he turned down the offer.

Soon, I made my final decision. "Sorry to bother you so late. Get some rest and I'll see you tomorrow at the meeting place."

This changed nothing. Rotmiller would join the expedition.

***

The next afternoon, seven hours before the labyrinth opened...

"Mister, I'll come find you once I'm back! So you have to come back safe!"

"Yeah, you work hard too."

Erwen, who had been hanging around at my lodgings since receiving the binding spell with her sister that morning, left. Right on cue, Missha arrived.

"What the heck, why is she leaving from herrre?"

"She stopped by to say hello. Apparently, she had nothing to do after getting the binding spell."

"Mm..."

"Anyway, you came right on time. Let's get some sleep." I set a timer on the alarm clock I bought a while ago and slept with Missha so that we would be in peak condition. Some time passed, and then...

There can't be a greater contradiction than that.

The more I thought about it, the more ironic the situation was. However, I decided it was only right to clear things up. What did Rotmiller speak about with the district chief that day?

If he brought it up to me first, I would have been able to discard my suspicions without any regrets.

Rotmiller hadn't said anything, though, so I invited him out and set up a conversation. I really didn't have much time. The labyrinth would open the next day. That was why I dumped the contents of my glass into my mouth at once and got straight to the point.

"Rotmiller. What was the reason you went to the Adventurers' Guild?"

Rotmiller was slightly taken aback by my blunt question, but I guess he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠put some of the pieces together. "No wonder you've been coming to see me more than usual. How did you know about what happened at the guild?"

So something did happen there. "I know someone in the guild." After providing that brief response, I asked for an answer to my first question.

Rotmiller sighed. "...When I responded to the invitation, the seventh district chief was waiting for me. He offered me a reward to betray you."

"And?"

"I told him I'd pretend I never heard the offer and left. Is that enough of an answer for you?" Although he tried not to show it, Rotmiller seemed very uncomfortable with my line of questioning.

I bore it and asked another question. "Then why didn't you tell me before now?"

"I told you. I said I'd pretend I never heard it. Besides, I thought that if I told you, it would only make things weird."

"I see. Thank you for answering."

With that, the conversation came to an end. If I pushed any further, that would only signal to him that I didn't believe him. Whatever Rotmiller's intentions were, I decided that that wasn't a wise move.

It wouldn't change anything, anyway.

You could not enter the labyrinth without a scout. Finding someone new? That was risky as well. It would be difficult to find a skilled scout unless you went through the guild, and that would be the perfect opportunity for the district chief to insert a weirdo onto the team. It was doubtful whether Hikurod or Dwalkie would even agree to it in the first place.

Above all, I don't think Rotmiller was lying when he said he turned down the offer.

Soon, I made my final decision. "Sorry to bother you so late. Get some rest and I'll see you tomorrow at the meeting place."

This changed nothing. Rotmiller would join the expedition.

***

The next afternoon, seven hours before the labyrinth opened...

"Mister, I'll come find you once I'm back! So you have to come back safe!"

"Yeah, you work hard too."

Erwen, who had been hanging around at my lodgings since receiving the binding spell with her sister that morning, left. Right on cue, Missha arrived.

"What the heck, why is she leaving from herrre?"

"She stopped by to say hello. Apparently, she had nothing to do after getting the binding spell."

"Mm..."

"Anyway, you came right on time. Let's get some sleep." I set a timer on the alarm clock I bought a while ago and slept with Missha so that we would be in peak condition. Some time passed, and then...

"Bjorrrn, wake up."

We ate a simple meal and left with the backpacks that we had prepared earlier. Since we got there a little early, no one was at the meeting point yet.

As always, Rotmiller arrived right on time. "Hm, are the two of them not here yet?"

"Yeah. Dwalkie and Hikurod must be a bit late," answered Missha.

"...That's nothing new."

Those two were always either early or late, so we waited.

"Oh, Bjorrrn! Look over there!"

When I glanced in the direction Missha was pointing, I saw a group of young warriors who had just finished their coming-of-age ceremony moving in clusters. I quickly approached them. At this point, I'd be bummed if I didn't run into these guys before we left.

"Are you lost? Then you can follow those people who look like adventurers over there," I offered.

"Who are you to say something so obvious?"

Huh? What was with that reaction? "...I'm Bjorn, son of Yandel."

"What! Little Balkan! It's an honor to meet you!"

"But why is that obvious?" I asked after introducing myself. "What do you mean by that? Could it be that you aren't lost?"

"Of course not! We just have to follow the adventurers like we learned in the holy land. Why would we be lost?"

"You said you were taught that in the holy land? They didn't show you a strange map and tell you to memorize it?"

"Map? We don't know how to read maps!"

The young warrior's answer left me dazed. What was this? Had their teaching methods changed? Well, I didn't have an issue with that. This method made much more sense than memorizing a map.

"There is still time, so hear me out," I said.

"What is it?"

"This will be helpful information for you." I recounted the same stories I had told the former group leaders I'd run into.

"Beware of humans? Well, of course. Shouldn't we protect our hearts?"

This group of baby barbarians was clearly different. Every time I said something, they always reacted as if I'd just said something obvious.

"Wow... the barbarians have evolved," Missha commented.

It seemed I wasn't the only one who thought this was strange. How had this change come to pass?

"Who in the holy land told you about all of this?" I asked just in case and was promptly stunned.

"Kharon, son of Tarson!"

Without my knowing, the winds of change had begun to blow from below.

"Then we'll be going now! Bjorn, son of Yandel, it was an honor to meet you!"

I wanted to ask more, but the baby barbarians left, saying they wanted to enter the labyrinth. As soon as they disappeared, the two people we had been waiting for arrived at the meeting place.

"Oh, sorry for being late! Did you wait long?"

"Hahaha! Forgive us. Dwalkie had a stomachache!"

"W-W-Why are you telling them that?!"

"Ah, jeez. What's there to be embarrassed about? It's just us."

"Okay, let's get going as well."

Because the duo was a whopping twenty minutes late, we hurriedly headed to Dimension Square. The portal was already open.

"Well then, let's go!"

After getting a binding spell through Dwalkie, we entered the labyrinth.

***

[You have entered the Crystal Cave on the first floor.]

The Crystal Cave was filled with a brilliant light. Last month, Missha and I had used the bug to skip this, so it had been a while since we saw this sight, but there was no time to leisurely take in our surroundings. That was because we had decided to try a speedrun this time at Rotmiller's request.

"If you guys are willing, I want to give it a proper go. It'll probably be hard to earn an achievement, but I'm curious to see what I can accomplish."

As he was not usually someone to voice his own opinions when we were making exploration plans, everyone unanimously agreed.

"We'll leave straight away."

As soon as he opened his eyes, Rotmiller touched the wall, figured out our current location, and immediately began to find the way. He started running like a cantering horse.

This is actually pretty fun.

Rotmiller took point, searching for the path. Right behind him, Missha cleaned up the mobs of trash. Mine and Hikurod's role was to take turns carrying Dwalkie and follow those two. Not only was this a novel formation designed just for fast travel, but because we started running from the very beginning, we got to see things that we hadn't ever seen before.

"Wow, they're rrrunning, too!"

Other adventurers were running through the cave to find portals, just like us. This was something we rarely saw when we were moving at a leisurely pace.

I can see why it's difficult to shorten the travel time on the first floor.

I also came to some realizations. The cave on the first floor had many sharp turns, so it was hard to run with all your might. In other words, once you got above a certain level, all adventurers had the same movement speed. As a result, the skill of the scout became all the more important. Well, that and the stamina of the team members.

Huff, puff...

Even though our physical strength far surpassed that of ordinary people, sweat poured down our bodies in rivers as we sprinted for hours. Was that why? Conversation between us naturally faded.

"Hikurod, are you okay?"

"I'm fine." The dwarf, who lacked agility and endurance, seemed to almost be at his limit, but he refused to whine. Well, how could he in front of Rotmiller?

"This way."

I guess he had been telling the truth when he said he wanted to test his limits because Rotmiller stayed focused and led the way for several hours. If I were to put it nicely, it was passion. To put it rudely, it neared the point of madness.

Was this man always so passionate?

I admired this new side of him and continued to move my feet.

It took six hours to reach the portal. Unfortunately, it had already been opened by someone else.

"Wow, so it's possible to get here that fast!" Missha exclaimed, but Hikurod and I immediately noticed Rotmiller's expression.

"Damn it! Why am I..."

This was the first time he had ever made a face like that.

"Bjorrrn, wake up."

We ate a simple meal and left with the backpacks that we had prepared earlier. Since we got there a little early, no one was at the meeting point yet.

As always, Rotmiller arrived right on time. "Hm, are the two of them not here yet?"

"Yeah. Dwalkie and Hikurod must be a bit late," answered Missha.

"...That's nothing new."

Those two were always either early or late, so we waited.

"Oh, Bjorrrn! Look over there!"

When I glanced in the direction Missha was pointing, I saw a group of young warriors who had just finished their coming-of-age ceremony moving in clusters. I quickly approached them. At this point, I'd be bummed if I didn't run into these guys before we left.

"Are you lost? Then you can follow those people who look like adventurers over there," I offered.

"Who are you to say something so obvious?"

Huh? What was with that reaction? "...I'm Bjorn, son of Yandel."

"What! Little Balkan! It's an honor to meet you!"

"But why is that obvious?" I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠asked after introducing myself. "What do you mean by that? Could it be that you aren't lost?"

"Of course not! We just have to follow the adventurers like we learned in the holy land. Why would we be lost?"

"You said you were taught that in the holy land? They didn't show you a strange map and tell you to memorize it?"

"Map? We don't know how to read maps!"

The young warrior's answer left me dazed. What was this? Had their teaching methods changed? Well, I didn't have an issue with that. This method made much more sense than memorizing a map.

"There is still time, so hear me out," I said.

"What is it?"

"This will be helpful information for you." I recounted the same stories I had told the former group leaders I'd run into.

"Beware of humans? Well, of course. Shouldn't we protect our hearts?"

This group of baby barbarians was clearly different. Every time I said something, they always reacted as if I'd just said something obvious.

"Wow... the barbarians have evolved," Missha commented.

It seemed I wasn't the only one who thought this was strange. How had this change come to pass?

"Who in the holy land told you about all of this?" I asked just in case and was promptly stunned.

"Kharon, son of Tarson!"

Without my knowing, the winds of change had begun to blow from below.

"Then we'll be going now! Bjorn, son of Yandel, it was an honor to meet you!"

I wanted to ask more, but the baby barbarians left, saying they wanted to enter the labyrinth. As soon as they disappeared, the two people we had been waiting for arrived at the meeting place.

"Oh, sorry for being late! Did you wait long?"

"Hahaha! Forgive us. Dwalkie had a stomachache!"

"W-W-Why are you telling them that?!"

"Ah, jeez. What's there to be embarrassed about? It's just us."

"Okay, let's get going as well."

Because the duo was a whopping twenty minutes late, we hurriedly headed to Dimension Square. The portal was already open.

"Well then, let's go!"

After getting a binding spell through Dwalkie, we entered the labyrinth.

***

[You have entered the Crystal Cave on the first floor.]

The Crystal Cave was filled with a brilliant light. Last month, Missha and I had used the bug to skip this, so it had been a while since we saw this sight, but there was no time to leisurely take in our surroundings. That was because we had decided to try a speedrun this time at Rotmiller's request.

"If you guys are willing, I want to give it a proper go. It'll probably be hard to earn an achievement, but I'm curious to see what I can accomplish."

As he was not usually someone to voice his own opinions when we were making exploration plans, everyone unanimously agreed.

"We'll leave straight away."

As soon as he opened his eyes, Rotmiller touched the wall, figured out our current location, and immediately began to find the way. He started running like a cantering horse.

This is actually pretty fun.

Rotmiller took point, searching for the path. Right behind him, Missha cleaned up the mobs of trash. Mine and Hikurod's role was to take turns carrying Dwalkie and follow those two. Not only was this a novel formation designed just for fast travel, but because we started running from the very beginning, we got to see things that we hadn't ever seen before.

"Wow, they're rrrunning, too!"

Other adventurers were running through the cave to find portals, just like us. This was something we rarely saw when we were moving at a leisurely pace.

I can see why it's difficult to shorten the travel time on the first floor.

I also came to some realizations. The cave on the first floor had many sharp turns, so it was hard to run with all your might. In other words, once you got above a certain level, all adventurers had the same movement speed. As a result, the skill of the scout became all the more important. Well, that and the stamina of the team members.

Huff, puff...

Even though our physical strength far surpassed that of ordinary people, sweat poured down our bodies in rivers as we sprinted for hours. Was that why? Conversation between us naturally faded.

"Hikurod, are you okay?"

"I'm fine." The dwarf, who lacked agility and endurance, seemed to almost be at his limit, but he refused to whine. Well, how could he in front of Rotmiller?

"This way."

I guess he had been telling the truth when he said he wanted to test his limits because Rotmiller stayed focused and led the way for several hours. If I were to put it nicely, it was passion. To put it rudely, it neared the point of madness.

Was this man always so passionate?

I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠admired this new side of him and continued to move my feet.

It took six hours to reach the portal. Unfortunately, it had already been opened by someone else.

"Wow, so it's possible to get here that fast!" Missha exclaimed, but Hikurod and I immediately noticed Rotmiller's expression.

"Damn it! Why am I..."

This was the first time he had ever made a face like that.