Chapter 61: Volume 5 - CH 58

The news of the capture of the 『Labyrinth of No Return』 sent out by Fort Dalewood reached each city-state by carrier pigeon, and of course to the Senate, which plays a central role in the politics of Ares.

The city-state of Ares is the largest of the 13 city-states, and is run by a constitutional monarchy with a king at the top and a senate of over 200 nobles. Compared to other nations, it has a large number of nobles, and their lives are wealthy. It has the Academy of the Wise, the symbol of wisdom in the world, and its power can be heard as far away as the western part of the continent.

Ares, for its part, this news came with a great surprise. As a place that has welcomed many adventurers, it has a lot of information about adventurers. However, in the modern era, it was believed that no one could conquer the 『Labyrinth of No Return』, but suddenly the news came. The Senate, which is the decision-making body, was in turmoil over what to do with the heroes who had conquered the labyrinth.

For the city-state of Ares alone, the existence of Dalewood Canyon and the 『Labyrinth of No Return』 had little impact on its governance. It's not just that they sent soldiers to the fortress to keep pace with the other 12 countries, but they can't be overlooked if they are the heroes who conquered the 『Labyrinth of No Return』, which has been considered one of the most difficult challenges in the world.

At the same time, all the relevant parties are notified of this fact. The adventurer's guild does not exist, but the military, magic guilds, churches, thieves' guilds, merchants' guilds, and stagecoach guilds are all affected. This is because the Dalewood Canyon, which has refused to be touched by people except for a few, will now be inhabited. The flow of logistics will also change.

Naturally, the Academy of the Wise received the news.

Sheryl, who arrived at the office just before one o'clock on the first day of the month, dragging a slightly sleep-deprived head, was also surprised by the news. A crowd had gathered at the bulletin board just inside the academy, and she came upon the scene of an argument between two people.

「What was the commotion?」

「I heard that the 『Labyrinth of No Return」 had been conquered by someone.」

「...... What?」

The young sorcerer looked a little surprised to see that it was a beautiful woman from the patrol who had called out to him, but he was still talking very enthusiastic.

The main mission of the Academy of the Wise is to study the lost and found technology of the Ancient Magic Kingdoms. The fact that one of the most difficult labyrinths in the world had been conquered meant that there might be something new to discover. The young sorcerer who aspired to research seemed to be honestly excited about it, but the most beautiful woman in the patrol team showed a difficult face.

「I've been told that a pigeon was sent from Fort Dalewood to the senate and council of each country.」

As for the 『Labyrinth of No Return』, Fort Dalewood is in charge of it. But as a rule, the fort has decided what to do if the 『Labyrinth of No Return』 is conquered. That's probably why the pigeons were sent away.

「I....... see. I hope there's something new to discover」

「Oh man. I'm hoping to find some tools related to my research into 【Distant Talk】.」

Sheryl smiled softly at the young magician who seemed to be in the research field, and quickly turned on her heel. Her destination was the department where she was currently working as a team leader.

(Don't tell me.......They cleared the 『Labyrinth of No Return』 in just three days!?)

Sheryl herself is not an adventurer, so she has never attempted to challenged the 『Labyrinth of No Return』. However, she had been sent to Fort Dalewood for a month as part of her training. The only two battles she had encountered there had left a vivid impression on Sheryl's memory.

Her magic and swordsmanship had little effect on them. Even so, she was astonished to learn from a veteran soldier that the monsters that had come to the city were of a very low level. The monsters that come out of the labyrinth were of a lower level than the monsters that lived inside labyrinth.

She naturally quickened her pace.

She knew that the parties she was in charge of was challenging the 『Labyrinth of No Return』. However, the labyrinth is usually broken down into one layer a day, and it is not possible that the 『Labyrinth of No Return』, which is said to have 100 layers, will be cleared in just three days.

On the other hand, since she haven't heard of any other influential party taking on the challenge, she's pretty sure it was that party that cleared it. It was hard to believe, but the fact that it had been conquered was already known.

Gasping for breath, she somewhat roughly opened the door of the hut of the Academy of the Wise's patrol squad, which is in charge of the department a short distance from the Chalk Tower.

「Oh, good morning」

A middle-aged man who was on duty as the deputy head of the team greeted the head of the team with half a sigh. She was a little taken aback by his relaxed demeanor.

「Good morning. You hear the news?」

「The news.....what's the news about?」

「I heard that the 『Labyrinth of No Return』 has been conquered.」

「What'd you say?」

The team was informed that the person in question, Satoru, is probably currently challenging the 『Labyrinth of No Return』. He was on duty and hadn't left the building, so he must not have known. He leaned back against the backrest and asked the group leader with a surprised expression. Seeing the expression on the group leader's face, the deputy group leader let out a sigh of exasperation.

The department's current target, according to him, the other party was from another dimension. The department have been told that, but the fact that their target had conquered the labyrinth and the number of days it had taken to do so was impossible. However, the leader of the team didn't seem to doubt the fact that the target had conquered that labyrinth.

「It's still before the first koku, so according to the usual pattern, they're inside the ward.」

「.......I guess」

There was not much that could be done, even though she had come all this way gasping for air. Sheryl was disappointed when she realized this. If only she had a little more authority and subordinates, she would have been able to do more, she thought, but it wasn't every day that someone of Sheryl's age became the head of a department in the Academy of the Wise.

「As for Sir Dantez....」

「...... No, don't tell him yet. Let's wait until we hear from the High Mentor.」

After thinking about it for a while, Sheryl answered. She doesn't even know what Satoru will do after he conquered the labyrinth, so she need more information and time to move Raymond. Well, even though they conquered the labyrinth in the unbelievable speed of three days, it will probably take them that long to get out of labyrinth as well――Sheryl, who didn't know that they had get out of labyrinth that day by 【Group Transfer】, but she told herself that she still had time to spare.

As the High Mentor had planned, the 『Holy Sword Clan』 was moving. However, it will still take some time for them to arrive here. Time is of the essence right now.

After answering "Yes, ma'am," the middle-aged subordinate stretched widely to disguise his sleepiness.

「By this time, I'm sure the Fort Dalewood is thrown into utter confusion right now.」

That remind her, Sheryl remembered that Derek, the middle-aged man who served as deputy commander, had made a name for himself as an adventurer in his youth and had been posted to the fort when he was in his prime. He had worked at the fort when Sheryl had gone there for a month of training. She hadn't been able to make his acquaintance at that time, but Derek had remembered her well. After his term of service expired, he was assigned to the patrol unit of the Academy of the Wise because of his experience.

「Come to think of it, the deputy commander had been in the fort once, right?」

「Yes, well. I never thought I'd get to hear a report on the 『Labyrinth of No Return』 while I was still alive.」

The main duty at the fort was to fight off the occasional monsters. Since it is a place where life and death are directly at stake, the skill level of the soldiers stationed there is extremely high. Even so, a dozen or so souls will be destroyed in a single battle. Derek knew that it would be impossible to conquered the labyrinth, where monsters even stronger than the ones that crowded the fort were lurking, with half-baked ability. It was because he had been in the fort.

As soon as he arrived at the fortress, he was taught the rules of the fortress, and one of them was the rules for entering the labyrinth.

Since there will be no more monsters sprouting up, a strategy to exterminate the monsters living in the canyon has been taken, and they are probably planning to pick up the heroes who conquered the labyrinth, but If Sheryl's prediction is correct, the heroes who conquered the labyrinth will not come out.

Perhaps there's probably a lot of intrigue going on inside the fort. Every country would like to welcome the heroes who has conquered the 『Labyrinth of No Return』, which has plagued this neighborhood for over 300 years, to their own land.

「.......I wonder what kind of magic he used. It's not possible to clear this labyrinth in just three days.」

「You said it.」

Satoru would not have gone through the fort. Theory is to challenge the labyrinth via the fort, but it is not mandatory. It's a way to keep track of what kind of party is inside, and if they don't come back after a certain number of days, their wills will be sent to where they want them to be sent, and food and small equipment will be given to them for a fee, so most parties go through the fort. The whistle of disintegration and the whistle of salvation are also handed out at that time.

「...... It's almost the first koku. I'm going to go to the High Mentor. Let's say there's no change in the tablet. If there's nothing unusual to report from the other side, you can go.」

「Understood」

Deciding that it would not be wise to give Raymond any unnecessary information at this stage, Sheryl thought about it for a moment, and knowing that it would be rude, she turned to the Chalk Tower.

Normally, she speak to the High Mentor twice a day, at the second and fourth koku, when she have a little time to talk to him. As the head of the Academy of the Wise, the highest academic institution in the world, High Mentor is very busy. Sheryl's position was blessed to be able to see him twice a day. Of course, Sheryl is aware of this, and she has to be careful not to get carried away, and her subordinates appreciate her attitude. If it weren't for her father's scandals, the people around her would say that she has the potential to become a key figure.

She knocked on the door of the High Mentor's office first thing in the morning, with the permission of the secretary general. After receiving an answer, she went inside.

「Ohh, Sheryl. Good morning. Have you heard of that news?」

「I just heard about it earlier.」

What kind of story was left out, but they both knew what the story was in this case. The High Mentor, who had just woken up from sleep and was told such a story, sighed in disbelief, or rather in reluctance.

「It must have been him. I didn't expect it to be only three days for him to conquer that labyrinth.」

Sheryl nodded gravely. Even Sheryl, who had seen Satoru's unknown soul up close, was surprised at the results. Except for the people who were following Satoru, no one knew who had conquered the 『Labyrinth of No Return』, and it was a subject of betting in some gambling halls, but Sheryl was unaware of this fact.

「In accordance with the ancient rules of the fortress, they are making arrangements to pick up the party that will make their triumphant return. ......」

「Well, I'm afraid it's going to end in vain.」

Fortunately for the Academy of the Wise, Satoru is not trying to stand out, but far from that, they move to avoid such behavior like that. This is also the reason why Sheryl describes Satoru as a tiger that doesn't need to fight, but as the High Mentor, he doesn't make that decision. He decides that he simply doesn't want to leave any ties. [TLN: sorry don't know how to translate the last line, 単にしがらみを残したくないだけ、と判断している。]

If Satoru is going to walk the path of supremacy from now on, inferior ties will only get in the way. That's why High Mentor's avoiding it - that's all he can think of.

「There are also preparations for the awarding of the First Class Medal of Honor from the academy. ......」

For the sake of appearances, the party that conquered the difficult labyrinth will also receive a reward from the Academy of Wise Men. It's a debt of gratitude and honor to the other party who played a part in clarifying the lost technology of the Ancient Magic Kingdom era. It's also a great privilege to receive free passes to various research institutes, discounts at the magic guild, etc. However, the last time someone received a First-Class award was 50 years ago. That was the party that had the High Mentor, who was freelance at the time.

The High Mentor sat back in his chair, held his eyes and sighed deeply.

「Do you think he would accept something like that?」

「No, sir. I think it's unlikely that he will, since he has said that he doesn't need any position or honor.」

Both Sheryl and the High Mentor were in agreement on this point. However, they had different ways of thinking about how to get to that point.

「I'm sure it is. My secretary will have to go through a lot of trouble for nothing.」

It is customary for the High Mentor himself to be present to hand out the Medal of Honor, but it is the secretary's duty to prepare for it. The High Mentor sighed for the second time, feeling sorry for his own secretary, who would have to work hard to prepare for the awarding of the prize that would never be given, but still keeping Satoru a secret from his six secretaries.

As for the High Mentor, he was relieved that Satoru had been proven to be an unruly monster and could be used to persuade the 『Holy Sword Clan』, but at the same time, he was filled with jealousy. It was a humiliating experience for him to be able to easily traverse the labyrinth, where he had only been able to reach the 67th layer, and where he had lost half of his party in the bitter past.

「It depends on what happens next, but I'll follow it up.」

「Indeed. If they come back to this city again, there will be an opportunity to make some kind of contact.」

However, Satoru did not visit this city again before the recent commotion was over.

It was not until much later that High Mentor found out.

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He could hear the voices of several young men shouting. The owner of the brothel sat up and said, "It seems to be a customer". Most of the people who come to this brothel for the first time are looking for an elf girl as the centerpiece. However, he have no intention of paying a small fortune for a prize that he paid a lot of money to get.

「Oi, owner. Do you have an Elf woman?」

The voice was as he expected it to be - He guess he'll have to chill out again. It was a young man who called out to him. It's hard to believe that a man of that age could have so much money at his disposal.

「Of course there is, though, right? It's not that easy to pay.」

Raymond smiled mockingly at the brothel owner's gaze as if he was judging him. This is why the countryside is so annoying. They can't tell at a glance if you have money or not. Raymond had no choice but to take three gold coins from his pocket and toss them in front of the counter for good measure. The Owner's eyes widened.

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「The elven woman is mine for now. And find me some good-looking girls for the others. Five in all. That should be enough.」

「3L(Librahm)...... Heh, leave it to me!」

Elven women, the main attraction of this brothel, are priced at 1L per night, while a normal human would be priced at 4s or less. 3L for five people is considerably higher than the market price. This man seems to know how to price things. The brothel owner took a closer look at Raymond. His appearance was quite vulgar, but the quality of the equipment he was wearing was quite high. The sword that Raymond wore on his waist was probably a magic sword. The owner realized that his first impression had been wrong. If he could move this much money around so freely, he might be pretty good at it....

「Are you adventures」

「Yeah, that's right」

「...... I'd like to talk to you for a moment.」

In a hushed voice, the brothel owner cocked his chin at Raymond.

「If you don't mind, would you like to try kidnapping someone?」

「Hah? That's bad isn't it?」

Kidnapping is a common crime. Of course, there is a slave market, though it is not well known. Kidnapping is also a viable business, but the risk of being caught is extremely high. Death or slavery awaits you.

The owner gave a small shake of his head to Raymond, who ducked his eyebrows, not out of guilt, but out of risk.

「Ah, no, no. The term "kidnapping" is just for convenience. It's the elves and half-elves that I'm really after.」

「...... I see.」

Raymond was instantly convinced.

The laws of the country are basically for the human race. Of course, if you belong to the state, you can be under the protection of the law even if you are not a member of the human race, but as a rule, those who are not under the protection of the state are not charged with any crime. However, as a debt of gratitude for being reestablished as a race, the entire human race is forbidden to touch the elves, dwarves, and aquatic races.

However, Raymond found this rule to be foolish.

Ridiculous. How long do we have to repay such a debt of gratitude that is hundreds of years old? The five dragons and other lizard monsters are content with their small territories. Except for them, this world is almost entirely human. It's perfectly acceptable for humans to use the inferior race of elves to make a little extra money―

「If there are any cute elves or half-elves. They can be quite expensive. As long as it's an elf, it doesn't matter if it's a little bit taller.」

I see, Raymond thought to himself. It was a mystery why there was a brothel in such a small town off the main road, but this guy must be in collusion with the slave traders. This region is close to the 『Dark Green Forest』 and has a lot of contact with elves. There are a lot of beautiful elves, and the price of a female elf is five to ten times the price of a human slave, and they are kidnapped and sold to slavers. That should be good business.

「How much per person?」

Grinning, the owner responds.

「We guarantee a minimum of 5L. If it's an elf, I'll guarantee 10L if they're between 20 and 80 years old(?).」

How about it, it's more profitable than being a petty adventurer, right? Raymond looked a little reluctantly at the owner's voice, as if to say so.

「.......Well, I'd do it if the timing was right. I mean, the minimum guarantee is still an added bonus, right?」

「Of course. We'll auction it off at the market, and you'll get a tenth of the winning bid.」

This old man  underestimated me. He probably thought I was a mid to high level adventurer with a little money, but I'm not that cheap. The man who underestimated me will get what he deserves―

Raymond snickered at the sound of the owner's voice.

「Are you kidding me? An elf between the ages of 20 and 80 is going to be 200L. If it's 200L, tenth of that is 10L plus 20L, that's just 30L? That's pretty stingy, man.」 [TLN: Damn this line is bit hard to translate, ふざけんなよ？　２０歳から８０歳のエルフつったら２００はいくだろ。２００だとして１０プラス２０で、３０か？　随分ケチくせぇじゃねぇか]

The owner was blatantly shocked when Raymond told him the exact price. There is no way that a normal adventurer would know the slave market. Raymond's expression is relaxed. The owner could tell that Raymond wasn't speaking out of his mouth, and a cold sweat broke out on his back. Raymond grabbed the owner by the chest and pulled him in close, making him look terrifying.

「Even though I look like this. I'm a patrolman at the Academy of the Wise. It's okay to inform them?」

「...... Please give me a break, mister.」

In terms of sphere of influence, this area belongs not to Ares, but to Mugeru, one of the 13 city-states. However, the patrols of the Academy of the Wise in Ares have access to many countries, and their jurisdiction is considered to be equally valid among the 13 city-states. If they find out that the owner have asked an adventurer to kidnap an elf or half-elf, their hands will immediately be behind the owner back.

The onwer looked clearly frightened, and Raymond lightly pushed him away with a bark.

「That's a quarter. But, you know, I'm working, too. If I can spare the time, okay?」

「........No choice, that's fine.」

The owner nodded disapprovingly. It was just about the limit of what he could do without incurring a deficit, but it would be unfashionable if he got into any more trouble and was actually reported to the patrol of the Academy of the Wise. Besides, he hadn't promised to bring him along. It was just a coincidence. He just heard about it, and there's no way they'd be in the red right now――Raymond shows three gold coins in his hand. By the time the owner realized it, it was too late. These were the gold coins that Raymond had given him for today.

「Also, today's stuff is free, right?」

「Heh, you're really」

The owner said this while asking the other person's mood with his firmer hand. Of course, inwardly he was thinking that he had failed. He thought Raymond was just an adventurer with a little money, but it seems this thug doesn't seem to be. Thinking about today's expenses, which would be a total loss, the owner sighed without being noticed.

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The next morning.

Feeling a little chilly, Satoru woke up. He vaguely remembered that yesterday he had taken off all his clothes during anal sex with Rico, so he was completely naked. Apparently, he was the last one to wake up.

Minerva was out hunting as usual, and Rico was preparing breakfast, even though she felt uncomfortable around her hips. Leia was supervising.

As usual, Satoru took out the map of the area that Sheryl had given him, charging his cell phone, which was down to 51% for the first time in three days, in a foggy sleep.

The 『Labyrinth of No Return』 was out of the question. He felt a little sad because he had tried the most promising labyrinth based on the information he had gotten in Ares and had failed, but there was nothing he could do about it. After confirming the location of the other major labyrinth, the 『Dark Green Forest』, Satoru sighed. It was quite a distance away.

「It's not good to sigh, my Lord. It's believed that happiness escapes.」

Satoru smiled a little at the unexpected similarities that existed in his original world. It seems that even in this world, sighing is believed to cause happiness to flee. While looking up at Minerva, who came back with the sound of her wings.

「So, what to do? Should we go back to the city of Ares? Or do we go directly into the 『Dark Green Forest』?」

Considering the chilly weather this morning, He's a little worried about the camping supplies, but there's no need to buy them in Ares. Satoru rubbed his beard, which had grown a bit long. It's Leia's job to shave Satoru, but it doesn't grow very fast, so she only does it every three days.

「How much luggage space is there in the shadows?」

「There's plenty of room.」

Satoru nodded and looked back at Rico, who was preparing breakfast.

「Rico, what about the food?」

「No problem. Even if we go directly to 『Dark Green Forest』, we'll pass through small villages and towns on the way, right? We can restock there.」

Mmm, he nodded. As long as it's not too small a village, they can buy and sell food. For other consumables, they have to go to the town, but there's no need for that at the moment. If that's the case, there's no need to head to Ares. They could go and sell some of the items they picked up in the labyrinth, but that would be a long way to go considering that they're heading to the 『Dark Green Forest』. Even if they were to go directly to the 『Dark Green Forest』 from here, it would take about seven days. He think they should spare themselves the unnecessary trouble.

「So, the problem is Minerva. ...... Three people is a bit much for her back space.」

『It's not that Minerva can't carry all of you, ...... But it will slow us down. Minerva is also very careful, so Minerva don't want to go for a long time.』

「Yeah, right.」

Satoru groaned at the reply that came back from the 【Telepathy】 in flying dragon form. Needless to say, Satoru is a large man, and Rico is an average-sized woman, but their new companion (Solor) is a bit larger for woman. So far they hadn't had to use saddles or stirrups because they were riding two people with no problems, but with three people, they might need those things.

「Master. I have a question. May I?」

「What is it?」

A new travel companion, Solor, came up to Satoru's side. By the way, her clothes are also Minerva's hand-me-downs. Her shoes are also temporary, and he must prepare clothes and shoes for her.

「Master is on a journey now, right?」

「Yes, I am.」

「Is it correct to say that it's difficult for three people to ride on Minerva-sama's back?」

「Yes.」

「Then I have a suggestion.」

「Say it.」

It was a little surprising to Satoru. Solor was a homunculus. Her intelligence is like that of a telekinetic android. She can move when commanded, but it's hard to imagine her actively moving on her own. How could she propose such a thing herself?

Like Leia, Solor doesn't need sleep, and last night, after Satoru had gone to bed, she and Leia had a long talk at a distance.

「I can use art of 【Flying】, but Leia-sama told me that it is not advisable to use too much magic power. If that's the case, I can use art of  【Shrink】 to make myself smaller, and there should be no problem.」

「Ohh, that's great idea!」

Just as Minerva was using 【Shrink】 to a smaller size early in the journey, Solor's smaller size will certainly eliminate the problem of riding space. Assuming it's roughly one-tenth the size of her size, she's about 16 cm tall. To put it another way, she would fit in Satoru's vest breast pocket. However, there is a problem with this too. As her height gets smaller, her weight will also decrease. The risk of being blown away by wind resistance also increases. Magic is convenient, but by no means universal.

「If you're worried, Leia-sama can take my hand and I can enter the 【Shadow Diving】. I'm not affected by Leia-sama touch, so there should be no problem.」

Satoru amazed, "Hou". If that's possible, there's certainly no problem.

「Leia?」

Satoru asked, and Leia cowered.

「I don't think I've ever taken someone in the shadow.......But I suppose Solor is right, it is possible to dive with her if she has no soul.」

「Then we'll do that. It seems less dangerous that way.」

「Indeed. I agree.」

Leia readily agreed. He doesn't know what kind of conversation took place between Leia and Solor, but he can imagine that there was no useless conversation at all. Surely Leia's told Solor about Satoru's journey and the purpose of his journey, and she's probably included some points of caution, so surely she's taken those into consideration when making this suggestions. If Solor can express her own opinion without giving orders, the possibility that Solor will be useful increases even more.

「I'm talking to Solor in the shadows, so you can ignore the me. If you need anything else, my Lord, just call out to me.」

「Got it」

It seems that the conversation between Solor and Leia is not over yet. If they complement each other's knowledge, they can both be a great asset. We've got time, so that we must take full of advantage of it――When Rico said, "Breakfast is ready," Satoru replied, and thought about the journey ahead.

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