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Volume 11 Chapter 3 Part 1

Chapter 53: Lodge

『Sherry』
Current Level and Equipment:
Blacksmith Lv.41

Equipment:
Steel Spear of Power
Chain Mail
Leather Hat
Leather Gloves
Hardened Leather shoes
Sacrificial Misanga

「Welcome back, Lord Ralph.」

When we appear at the other side of the wall, we found ourselves in a large lobby of some building, where the Adventurer from Ester’s Party dispelled his 「Field Walker」.

An old gentleman receives us straight away. It’s a grey-haired man with black trousers and a black jacket, and his name is Sebastian. He’s an Adventurer in his fifties.

Also, Ralph is the name of the Adventurer from the Baron Ester’s Party.

「I’ll be in your care.」

「Thank you for your hard work.」

「I’ll return to meet the other members. Please take care of this group in the meantime.」

「I understand.」

「Well then…」

The Adventurer from the Baron Party nods to the old man, and then looks at me.
Oh, do I have to remove you from the Party myself? Is that what you’re saying?

With that, the conversation between the old man and the Adventurer has ended, so I quickly remove the Adventurer from the Party.

When I removed the Adventurer from the party, he made another black wall on the wall and left, leaving only us and the old man behind.

I say old man, but he really gives off the feeling of a genuine butler. Moreover, his name is also Sebastian. Coincidence? I think not.

He has a soft, polite demeanor, and the atmosphere about his whole body seems to be courteous, as if he was the very personification of etiquette.

I wonder… is he Baron Ester’s personal butler? Then again, he did use a honorific for the Adventurer from the Baron’s Party as well.

「Welcome, our esteemed guests. First of all, would you mind telling me your names? Your family name and titles if you have them would be fine as well.」

The old gentleman gives us a bow and asks.

Kaga is my last name, so is that different to what he’s asking? I’m not sure.

「Ah, my name is Michio Kaga.」

「Lord Michio then.」

Is it fine to say Michio Kaga? Does it change anything?

「And I would like to ask the same of the young ladies as well.」

「I’m Roxanne.」

「Lady Roxanne then.」

「Ah…well, that… I…」

Roxanne is puzzled after he says her name with a honorific. This guy is very polite, which only intensifies the butlery feeling that he’s giving off.

「Official position and the position you have in the world does not have any influence in the Society, so please allow me this and do keep that in mind.」

「Ah, y-yes.」

Sebastian manages to persuade Roxanne rather easily.

Since he used the word Society, then he probably meant the Empire Liberation Society by it.

So this isn’t the Baron’s villa, but instead a building that actually belongs to the Empire Liberation Society?

「Well then, may I know the names of the other ladies?」

「It’s She-Sherry.」

「Lady Sherry.」

The old man’s gaze falls on Sherry, and she introduces herself bashfully while stuttering. Maybe this old man is not just polite, but someone of influence as well?

「Miria, desu.」

「Lady Miria.」

「And I’m Vesta.」

「Lady Vesta.」

Miria and Vesta had to introduce themselves as well, obviously.

From me through to Vesta, we introduce ourselves in the order of the Party that Roxanne established.

Nobody goes out of turn. I’m in the centre. Next to me is Roxanne whom I can see. Then further apart are Sherry and the others whom I can’t see.

This is actually amazing. Will he really be able to remember it all? It’s strange. Or maybe I should say, as expected of Sebastian?

Sebastian, you really are one hell of a scary guy.

The Baron’s Party showed up while I was wondering about that

「Lord Ester, I’ve been waiting.」

The old man bows to him first. His bowing angle is amazing. It’s almost 90 degrees. So polite.

「Were you introduced to Michio?」

「Yes. I have done exactly as you wished.」

「Good, because Michio is going to become a member of the Empire Liberation Society.」

「Certainly.」

Ester and Sebastian had a conversation like that, so I guess that has to mean that they’ve led me to a building of the Empire Liberation Society, and that I must have passed the admission test.

「Please prepare a room, and some herbal tea to go with it.」

「Certainly. This way please.」

Sebastian politely gestures, and leads us further into the building. Baron Ester then enters the room we were guided to.

It’s a wide and luxurious-looking conference room. The Baron takes a position in the center of the long table.

「Michio and his group, please sit down.」

「Yes.」

I also enter the room, and sit facing the Baron. The chair I sat on is incredibly soft. It must be a high quality one.

There are six chairs on either side, so Roxanne and everyone can sit to either side of me.

The other side is just Baron Ester. The Adventurer and the Beast King also entered the room, but both stood behind Baron Ester, most likely to act as his private guard

「I think you’ve probably already guessed the results, but you’ve passed the admission test. Brocken recommended you, and I agree that the abilities that you possess are indeed satisfactory. There is the aspect that you rely on your weapons, but other than that, I can see Michio subjugating your first Labyrinth in the near future, and you shouldn’t have any problems with it.」

「Okay.」

「You don’t have to answer this next question if you don’t want to…, but is the woman who stopped the monster’s movements an Assassin?」

He seems to have taken notice of what Miria’s currently equipped Job was, most likely because the petrification itself occurred too quickly. Is it no use trying to hide it? Yeah, it probably is.

「That’s right.」

「I had heard that Assassins could put an enemy into an abnormal status quite quickly, but it was most splendid to witness it with my own eyes. To have it happen that quickly, you must have acquired a lot of experience and training aside from just becoming an Assassin.」

「Yes, that’s right.」

The Assassin’s improved chance of inflicting abnormal statuses might still increase if it’s level dependent, so it should still become a little easier or Miria to proc petrification as things progress… assuming that the speed of our advancement through the Labyrinths is not going to cancel it out.

But the Baron only saw Miria’s petrifaction once, so there is a high chance that he might attribute that to luck alone.

He might have considered the combat time in the Boss Room as well and thought we have the ability to fight on the floors that are higher than the 33rd one.

If he considers our combat abilities in such a way, then he can also probably guess that Miria’s petrifaction plays a large role in our overall battle strategy.

Well, the monster native to the 33rd floor of Quratar’s Labyrinth is a Drive Dragon, and on the 34th floor the native monster is Kobold Kampfer, and we already have plenty of experience with fighting them. And if you can handle battles against the monsters on the 33rd floor, then the assumption is that you can probably handle at least the ones on the 34th floor as well

That must also be why the place for the admission test was the 33rd floor specifically.

「Also, that woman’s movements which did not allow any monster’s attacks to come even remotely close near her were also something to behold.」

The Baron glanced at Roxanne while praising her dodging abilities. The Duke praised Roxanne’s movements and evasive Skills as well, but I think that it’s something perfectly natural to think of when you’re seeing them for the first time.

「Yes, It’s hard to get a Party Members like her. She really is one of a kind.」

「It might still be a ways off, but the fact that not many people are aware of is that the Last Boss in the Labyrinth has the ability to destroy the equipment of whoever is facing it. If you receive an attack with a shield or parry it with a sword, the shield and sword might break instantly, so having a Party Member who excels at not getting themselves hit at all might prove to be of great importance to you.」

「The Last Boss can destroy your equipment?」