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Volume 12 Chapter 4 Part 3

「It may happen that we fail to cook some of them properly, so we’re going to buy a few more just to be on the safe side. If there are going to be any leftovers, then feel free t eat them, Miria. 」

「Yes, desu! 」

Oh. Looks like Miria too it extremely seriously.

Aren’t you choosing more carefully than before? Or is it because she just eats what she eats?

No. It’s probably because she has already selected twelve good ones, so she wants to make absolutely sure that the next, thirteenth one is going to be the best it could possibly be as well.

I thought that choosing fish is going to be a simple matter for her, but apparently even she has many things to consider before making her final selection.

That’s why she must choose carefully.

Milia took her time and carefully selected additional fish.

When she was done with that, we bought the fish Miria had picked, returned to the Adventurer’s Guild, and went back to the house.

「If we put some ice on it, it should last us until the evening. Can we have it for dinner tonight?」

「Bake it, desu. 」

It seems that even the cooking method for these fish has already been decided by Miria. The owner of the fish shop also said that male and female fish should be grilled differently, so it’s nice to see that she’s already incorporating it.

「Yeah, the fishmonger said that the male fish needs to be slowly grilled… but what did he say about the female fish though? 」

「Roast it until crispy, desu! 」

Since Miria has all the methods of preparing them covered, then I should probably leave it all to her. As long as she will be the one responsible for preparing it, there chances of anything going wrong are practically zero.

Miria carried the bucket with the fish to the kitchen, and when they were placed in the middle of it, I went and used 「Ice Wall」so that we could shave enough of the ice into the bucket itself. That way, no matter how long we are going to be away, the fish in the bucket should last until the evening without getting spoiled.

The fishmonger back at Nesco was also saying that the best possible time to eat these fish would be for dinner, and putting it in ice should be enough to stop the aging and spoiling processes long enough, so Miria should not

If you put ice on it, it may not be good because the aging does not progress, so Miria is not going to have anything to complain about.

「Let’s go back to Nesco then. 」

With that said, I warped us all back to Nesco. This time, we went to the root of the tree that was located at the end of the road farthest away from the fishmonger.

It’s convenient to be able to go to the furthest place you can see.

「This road sure is straight. 」

Roxanne led the way from there while sounding all happy and excited. Is going to the Labyrinths really that much fun for her?

We move forward step by step, since we won’t be able to warp to The Labyrinth Behind Nesco unless we will visit it personally at least once, so trying to do that now would be nothing but a waste of my MP.

While in the woods, it’s possible to easily lose track of where you came from, but we stick together all the time. Moreover, we are all used to always walking around the Labyrinth for an entire day, so I guess walking around so much is not going to be all that difficult for us.

After a while, a Labyrinth finally came into our fields of view ahead.

「Over there, that has to be it. 」

「I agree.」

Now that we reached the end of the road and found our destination, it’s going to be possible for me to get us here with 「Field Walker」in the future without getting lost.

「Is this The Labyrinth Behind Nesco? 」

「Yes, it is indeed. 」

I asked the Explorer stationed at the entrance to the Labyrinth for confirmation, and it would seem that we have hit the jackpot.

「And what is that, if you don’t mind me asking? 」

Next to the entrance to the labyrinth, there was a place with a small tent where people were sitting, almost as if they were resting there.

It’s the first time I ever saw such a thing near the Labyrinth’s entrance.

Well, at the entrance of Quratar’s Labyrinth I saw the members of the Knight Order doing business selling maps and cashing in entrance fees, but this is clearly different than that thing.

Could this be Nesco’s take at something like that?
「It’s a place reserved specifically for the members of the clan. 」

「Are you from the clan then? 」

When Rutina noticed the Explorer say that, she called over to the person that was resting there, and he got up and came over to us.

Now, when you say clan, do you mean Elder Cassandra’s clan?

I took out the emblem that I got from Elder Cassandra at the castle from my backpack. I wonder if she gave this to be because she anticipated that something like that might happen, or simply gave it to me just because?

Come to think of it, it must be the former, because I was told by her to show this emblem to the Explorer at the Labyrinth entrance along with stating my name.

I also looked at the symbols engraved on the emblem and on the side of the tent were exactly the same.

I see. Is he going to figure out that we have been sent here to help them by looking at the emblem in my hands?

「This is… 」

「You’re from the clan as well?. What’s your name? 」

「It’s Michio. 」

I was wondering if I should answer with my name or say Rutina’s name, but Rutina quickly answered with my name.

Isn’t Rutina the actual member of the clan, while I have nothing to do with it?

Well, whatever I guess.

「Yes. Your name is going to be recorded shortly. Now, this place is going to be evacuated by the evening, but if you could return here before then, then I ask you to make sure to show up here again before you go home. 」

So you really are recording every person who’s coming to the Labyrinth, huh? There was never a need to go that far back in the Labyrinths in the territories of the Hartz Duchy.

Does that mean that the old lady Cassandra is one step better than the Duke, or does that mean that they have been driven into such a corner that it is actually necessary for them to be registering anyone who enters the Labyrinths?

Well, at the very least, If you keep a record, then you can know who came to the Labyrinths and who didn’t, which makes it possible to distribute the rewards and the punishments accordingly.

「How far did you managed to proceed with the exploration? 」

「We are currently capturing the 52nd floor. 」

「… 」

God damn it.

Whenever a new Labyrinth pops up, the usual number of floors that it has shouldn’t be going above 50, but the longer that are neglected and not subjugated, like in the case of what Rutina’s father was doing with the Labyrinths of his own territory, they they are going to start growing past that number.

On top of that, two additional Labyrinths have appeared nearby, which caused all the capable people to rush and attack them.

Looking at it from such a perspective, then maybe it would’ve been better if Elder Cassandra was the one responsible with the subjugation of the Labyrinth on the territories of the former Earl of Selmar? I feel like she would’ve done a much better job of it.

Well, maybe she wanted to do so, but ultimately abandoned the idea? Or maybe the lord of these lands is actually another one of her favorite people? Some handsome young man, perhaps?

At Elder Cassandra’s age, I bet she would consider even those who are 70 or 80 years old to be handsome, but I don’t want to be going into too much detail about such sketchy subjects.

I don’t want to know how deep does the darkness of the Elves goes.

「Would it be possible for you to take us to any floor with this, or only to the highest one that is currently being explored?」

I asked while showing the emblem to the Explorer.

「Yes. Only to the highest floor that is currently being explored. 」