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Volume 12 Chapter 3 Part 6

「Nesco, you say?」

That sounds like a Labyrinth that might have dinosaurs roaming its halls, although in the case of this world they might not be dinosaurs, but dragons instead.

「Right now, it is a Labyrinth that my clan is trying to subjugate with all their might. You can reach it either by going from here or from Bode. Even if you subdue it though, I can’t give my title as a noble away to you. But if you build your strength there, there is a pretty high chance that you will be able to subdue yet another Labyrinth and become a noble yourself next time.」

I see. In other words, she’s willing to cooperate with me so that I could get stronger, but in exchange for that, I need to help her clan subjugate the Labyrinth that she designated.

Considering the circumstances, this seems to be a perfectly reasonable request, all the more so since she has no reason to help me out for free.

That being said, what about the risk of her simply using me in order to further her own gains? Would she really be capable of going to such lengths for her own gain if it mean indirectly harming Rutina, a member of her own clan as well?

Another problem that I have with it is that there is practically no reliable way of properly measuring the contribution that a single warrior had in the process of the subjugation of the Labyrinths.

That’s what I thought, but if the Explorers stationed at the entrance to the Labyrinths are going to be someone affiliated with the clan, then are they going to be able to tell if I entered the Labyrinth like Elder Cassandra wanted or not?

I might not have to worry about that, since I am able to teleport directly to the Labyrinth even from outside of it thanks to my 「Warp」Bonus Skill.

When it comes to Adventurers, they really don’t have that many ways of earning money aside from selling the Drop Items that they managed to obtain in the Labyrinths, and it is very probable that no one even thinks about the possibility that instead of working hard and doing their best to subjugate the Labyrinth, they might instead be slacking off on the lower floor fighting against weak monsters.

In other words, for them, as long as they know how long you have been in the Labyrinth, then it’s possible to roughly calculate the contribution you have made in clearing the Labyrinth as well. There might be some differences in the contribution between those who fight on the floor that are lower than their actual abilities, those who fight on the floor that are equal to their actual abilities and those who fight on the floors that are above their actual abilities, but overall, it shouldn’t be that much of a problem.

If you purposefully fight on the floors that exceed your actual abilities, there is a much higher chance that you’re going to die because of it, and then you won’t be able to continue trying to obtain the rewards granted to those who will subjugate the Labyrinth, so while we cannot bite more than we can chew, we cannot allow ourselves to slack off either.

「 Hmm…」

Personally, I think it should be okay for us to accept her offer, but before I say anything decisive, I would like to say what Rutina is going to have to say about it first. But when I looked at her, she didn’t have anything to say in particular.

Am I going to have to read the room again?

「What do you think about it, Rutina? 」

「I don’t think we should be doing it. 」

Eh? You really don’t think we should?

I nodded vigorously at Rutina’s words.

I don’t know why she said that, but honestly, I care about her reasons as much as I care about the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

「Hmpf. I thought you were going to jump on the opportunity to train there without thinking it through in the slightest, but it looks like you’re smarter than that. Honestly, I hate smart brats like you. 」

Elder Cassandra praises Rutina… or is it more like she’s praising me?

You think that such a hot & cold behavior is still in demand, you old tsundere?!

「Well, thank you very much. 」

Or maybe she was trying to agitate Rutina to see her reaction?
「Well, we haven’t settled on anything yet, but if you do agree then we might as well sign the contract that will make it possible for you to use it whenever you will see fit. 」

「Hmm…」

Are we still at the risk of being used by her?

Well, even if we are, then as long as I am an Adventurer, then we can eventually run away wherever we want if the situation calls for it.

「You might think that you can just run away if it’s not going to be convenient for you and you’re free to think that way, but know that if you do try that, then it’s not going to as easy as you think it would be. 」

「Y-Yes, of course. 」

Looks like I hit the bullseye with my guess after all. However, will I really won’t be able to run away from her?

She might think that she has me good because I am an Adventurer, but I have my 「Warp」to which the normal constraints don’t apply.

「But there’s no need to worry. There’s no way that I would ever do anything to harm any of the girls from the clan. 」

「Well, that’s very…」

「You, however, are not one of the girls from the clan. 」

「Kh… ! 」

Damn, this old lady just loves to go back and forth between the moods, doesn’t she? In this regard, I think she could give even the Duke and Gozer a run for their money.

「Well, I can’t make any promises, but I will at least try to accommodate you. Assuming that you are really going to be able to use it and that it’s going to be of use to you 」

「There is no doubt in my mind that Lord Michio and his other companions are capable of fighting in the Labyrinths. 」

「That is all the more reason for you to accept my proposal then, especially since you’re not really going to lose anything by lending your aid to us. 」

Rutina tried to defend me and the other members of my Party, but she could only do so because she already entered the Labyrinths together with us and she knows what we are capable of.

However, this old lady doesn’t know that, so the only possible way out for me from this might be admitting that I can actually use magic, but I would like to avoid doing that if at all possible.

Should we try to make an appropriate compromise then?

Alternatively, if I really want to try to run, it should be possible to do so with my Warp.

This old lady here is the head of an entire Elf clan, so it is probably safe to say that she is pretty influential, but even if she’s more influential than I have initially thought, then even her influence and the power of her reach are bound to have some kinds of limits.

Nobody holds infinite power in their hands, so maybe we would e safe from her clutches if we were to run even farther than Cassim that Roxanne talked to me about at one point in the past?

「In any case, we have enter the Labyrinth somewhere, and we’re not afraid to enter Nesco’s Labyrinth, so we might as well go there. 」

「Hmm, in that case, you should take this with you. 」

Elder Cassandra then took something out of her pocket and handed it over to me. When I looked at it to inspect it more closely, it turned out to be the emblem similar to the one that I have received from the Duke of Hartz, but is it really the same thing?

「This is… 」

「Oh, so you do seem to know what this is? Good. In the Labyrinth located at the back of Nesco, the clan’s Explorers are stationed at the Labyrinth’s entrance. When you go to that Labyrinth, just show them these emblem and tell them your name, and they will take you to the Labyrinth’s current highest floor. 」

So this thing does serve the same purpose as the emblem that the Duke has given me before. The only difference is that in the Hartz Duchy I didn’t have to state my name when entering the Labyrinth, but in Nesco’s Labyrinth I guess it was to be expected.