Chapter 262: Going to the Labyrinth (5)
Chapter 262: Going to the Labyrinth (5)
After breaking through the 25th floor.
I led the party down to the 26th floor, set up a base camp, and then temporarily withdrew the team to the Command Headquarters.
"Is everyone unhurt?"
"Yes. There’s nothing on us, and everyone is safe."
While the others went to rest, Laura came to report to me personally.
"It was only the boss of the 25th floor. It wasn't that difficult of an opponent. It was just... unpleasant to deal with."
"Right. For a group of women to face it... it was a bit much."
"Huh? Was Lewd Man a woman?"
"You little..."
I pulled on both of Laura's cheeks, and she giggled as she leaned into my embrace.
"Everyone can keep fighting. Are we heading all the way down to the boss like this?"
"Yeah. But this time, it won't be us. It won't be Lewd Man; others will be going down."
"What? Other people?"
Laura scanned our surroundings.
"Zenith, Evelyn, Charlotte?"
"It's a combination that hasn't been verified yet, but that's the plan."
Unlike the stable existing party, I was sending down a completely new composition.
"I've already asked the four of them, and preparations are complete. Astarotte will take over the dick Zenith was holding, and Lewd Man and Laura will go together."
"I'm fine with just going down as I am, but will you be going down in the black heavy armor, Count?"
"No. This time, with a different one."
I pointed to the White Grainger, a sleek set of light armor sitting next to the Dark Tuscany that the maids were currently cleaning.
"In terms of specs, the Grainger is much stronger. It looks nimble, but it has far more components packed inside than the Tuscany."
It contained a whopping 1.8 times more magic stones.
While the sensitivity to magic power was similar, the output the armor could produce was far superior in the Grainger.
"Then is Lewd Man the only one on the front line? Zenith and Evelyn are mages, Charlotte is a puppeteer, and I'm an archer..."
"And there's one more."
I pointed to the woman who was just entering the Command Headquarters.
"I've requested assistance from Miss Nero."
Maid Nero.
She entered the headquarters in her usual maid uniform, but instead of frilled cloth over her chest, she was wearing actual breastplate armor.
"Good work, Commander Laura. I will be joining from the 26th floor onwards."
"Uh... Nero... I could vaguely feel that you were strong, but are you sure you'll be okay?"
"Of course. Not only will I not be a burden, but I can also take charge of the 'vanguard'."
Nero extended her hand to the side, and the mana flowing from her palm soon solidified into a long pole.
"This is my weapon. A spear created from Aura."
"Wow, I really didn't expect that. I had no idea you were a spear user, Nero."
"It is a basic requirement for a maid."
As a flawless Perfect Maid, she was a highly skilled individual who handled a spear with ease.
I knew she was proficient in many things besides the spear, but her mastery of the kingdom's traditional spearmanship was particularly outstanding.
In that manga, she was taken from behind while standing, her spear planted firmly in the ground.
True to a spear master, she hadn't let go of the shaft even as her maid skirt was flipped over her waist and she was being hammered from behind.
"Count? Are you thinking about something dirty? Your dick is twitching."
"I'm always thinking about something dirty."
"That felt a bit different just now..."
"It's because I want to have sex with you, Laura."
"It didn't look like you were getting hard for me, but for someone else..."
Laura's eyes narrowed.
"What are you talking about?"
"The way it was twitching... it wasn't toward me, but toward Nero. What kind of lewd thoughts were you having about her?"
"It wasn't about Nero specifically. I was thinking about maid uniforms and got an erection."
It wasn't a lie.
"I just thought I should have sex with you while you're wearing a maid uniform later."
"Hmm... Okay, fine. It's a promise."
I seemed to have managed to gloss over it somehow by using sex as a distraction.
"Count. You said 'later,' so are you going down right now?"
"Now? No. Later. Since the vanguard is currently pushing through to the 30th floor, we can just head straight to the boss room after we've rested."
"The vanguard?"
"Yeah."
The stage has been set, and the people I needed to be wary of have mostly disappeared.
"Even if we handle the difficult things like the bosses, we can leave the rest to them, can't we?"
It was like running a game on auto.
Instead of burning through the stamina of the core members, it was a method of efficiently descending to the lower floors using general allies.
"You have to leave these things to the experts."
* * *
27th Floor, near the exit.
KRA-KOOM!
The giant conch blocking the cave entrance was crushed.
Even a conch with a body easily reaching five meters couldn't withstand the weight of the double-edged axe swung by the massive armored knight.
It was hard to say if he was hacking at it or simply pulverizing the shell.
The grotesque monster that slithered out from inside the conch tried to crawl away across the floor, but the knights pounced on it with even faster movements.
Thwack!
The knights thrust their swords into the monster inside the shell.
The blades, imbued with Aura, pierced the creature with ease, and the knights instantly hacked the soft-fleshed monster into several pieces.
"Ah. This is Bernhard. 27th floor cleared."
The knight, Bernhard, lightly stepped on the broken shell and then pulled his foot back, checking the edge of his axe.
[Is there any need for equipment repairs?]
"None. At this rate, I feel like I could go down another floor—no, all the way to the end."
They said a massive amount of magic stones were used during the forging process, and indeed, the weapons supplied to the knights all boasted exceptional performance.
"Though, of course, it's not as good as my partner!"
[Was that the axe made from the tooth of a Fire Dragon found on the 45th floor of the Infinite Labyrinth?]
"Yeah. That was a truly terrifying beast. This axe made from its corpse is the real deal."
Bernhard pointed to the double-edged axe slung over his shoulder.
"I can't use a dragon-slaying axe just to clean up small fry. For now, this mass-produced model is enough."
[The Count's message was not to look down on the supply or mass-produced models.]
"Ah, of course. Naturally. I'm not looking down on it; it's just that considering the level of the opponents, it would be a waste to bring out my cherished weapon."
Crunch.
Crushing the insects that scurried out from the conch's body under his boot, Bernhard did a quick sweep of the mana remaining in his body.
"Body is fine. The armor is light, and the weapon's edge is sharp. I feel like I could really go all the way to the bottom like this."
[Then the Count's orders are to go as far down as you can, ideally to the 30th-floor boss room.]
"That sounds good. But is the Count busy? The way you're relaying this..."
[He is currently resting and having sex.]
"Ah, I see."
Sex is a valid excuse.
Bernhard finished clearing the area by crushing the remaining insects, and soon a group of knights entered from the cave entrance.
"Good work, Sir Lambert."
"This was nothing."
Thud.
Lambert and the other knights tossed a serpent onto the floor and adjusted their swords.
"What are the Count's orders?"
"He said to go down as far as we can. He'll handle the 30th-floor boss himself, so we're to leave that to him."
"Understood."
Lambert removed his helmet with a look of disappointment.
His face looked so genuinely saddened and regretful that Bernhard couldn't help but feel curious.
"I mean, things are going so well, why the long face?"
"...The Count said that anything that happens in the Infinite Labyrinth stays in the Infinite Labyrinth if there's no evidence."
"...And?"
Bernhard felt an instinctive tension.
"As you know, Sir Bernhard, I am a bit... unique."
"Mhm."
Despite having crossed countless battlefields over his sixty years, dealing with Lambert always made him feel a new kind of tension.
"You're not... in a hurry right now, are you?"
"It's not like that. I'm just disappointed. Because the enemies appearing... are all these kinds of things."
"You don't mean...?"
"The Count said that while forcing oneself on someone outside is a crime, doing so in the Infinite Labyrinth might not constitute rape."
"W-what?"
"Not that way."
As Bernhard took a wary step back, Lambert lamented and pointed to the floor.
"I'm talking about the bastards that appear in the Infinite Labyrinth."
"...Are you serious?"
"Of course. Why else would a pure knight like me, who isn't even an adventurer, come all the way down here?"
Lambert trudged toward the transfer gate leading to the floor below.
Whirrr.
As soon as he stepped through the transfer gate, the world transformed.
They had been in a cave just a moment ago, but now they were back on a beach.
"Sigh. Even if we come out like this..."
"Die—!"
At the sudden attack flying from a distance, the knights immediately took up battle stances and deflected the strike by swinging their Aura-infused blades.
"Are you okay?!"
"Yes...!"
Enthusiasm began to surge in Lambert's voice.
"Ah, I've finally found it...! The 'opportunity' the Count gave me...!"
Following the direction Lambert was looking, a group of handsome men were stretching out their hands, their tails swishing playfully.
"Those are..."
"Incubi!"
Grin.
Lambert signaled to the knights standing on either side of him, and the knights sheathed their swords and pulled out mysterious items.
Furry handcuffs.
Black-painted ropes and restraints.
"Sir Bernhard. Please leave this place to us."
"......Do as you wish."
"Woooooaaaaahhh—!!"
Sir Lambert ran toward the Incubi, sword and ropes in hand.
Seeing him so full of motivation, Bernhard quietly closed his eyes.
"I'm just glad he's an ally."
Squelch.
Lambert's sword pierced the Incubus from behind.