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Volume 9 Chapter 5 Part 2

If I hadn’t come out of the Labyrinth the moment that I did just now, then he probably would’ve started asking me where I was and what was I doing the next time we met.

Not using 「Warp」 to get out of the Labyrinth was the correct thing to do after all.

「This Labyrinth has now officially been subjugated by the Knight Order of Hartz Duchy. Thank you for your cooperation.」

The members of Gozer’s Party started calling out to other people who came out of the Labyrinth after us.

「That being said, there are still two active Labyrinths in the territory of Hartz Duchy, so we absolutely cannot allow ourselves to let our guard down just yet.」

「Ah, well… I guess so.」

So they plan to immediately go to the two other Labyrinths? I wonder if they’d want me to go there as well, and if so, then which one of the remaining two should I go to?

「In order for the Duke to safely enter the Labyrinth, all of the Trap Rooms needed to be eliminated on every floor. The Labyrinth in Tare has yet to be conquered, and the exploration hasn’t progressed much either.」
Yes, just as Gozer says, Trap Rooms with a lot of monsters in them are one of the scariest things that can be found in the Labyrinth. Based on his words, if the Duke of Hartz wants to enter the Labyrinths himself, then the Knight Order gets mobilized in order to rid the Labyrinths of such dangers.

「Is that so?」

It would seem that I have been entering the Labyrinths without even realizing it until now.

「I see you’ve done it, Gozer.」

The Duke also came out of the Labyrinth together with Cassia, who was once again in his Party. If she was together with him, then it was the right decision to rid the Labyrinth of its most dangerous monsters.

If the Duke was by himself, then he could go and die, I don’t care.

「Thank you, sir!」

「Oh! I see Lord Michio came here today as well.」

「It’s a shame that we had to leave so soon. Because of that, my Party didn’t make as much progress as we were hoping to do.」
Ugh, meeting the Duke here is such a nuisance.

Come to thin of it, I used 「Dungeon Walker」to immediately go out of the Labyrinth. But since I am supposed to be an Adventurer, it should mean that I shouldn’t be able to use 「Dungeon Walker」in the first place, since I am not an Explorer. Does that mean that we’re going to have to walk all the way back to the entrance of the Labyrinth?

「We just so happened to be nearby.」

Well, if anyone asks, then I can always say that Sherry is my Party’s Explorer, but even then, there’s another problem: the Explorer stationed at the entrance to the Labyrinth. Since I’ve moved directly into the Labyrinth by using 「Warp」, that means that he didn’t see me coming inside. This got me increasingly worried, so I started to nervously look around, hoping that maybe the same guy will no longer be there, since now that the Labyrinth has just been exterminated, he should have nothing else to do here, right?

In the best-case scenario, the guy returned to the Explorers Guild to inform them about the extermination of Haruba’s Labyrinth. Maybe even the Duke advised him to be on his way? I mean, it’s not like these Explorers are stationed here permanently on twenty-four-hour shifts, right? Or certainly not during the night hours?

Then again, anything might happen in this world.

「It wouldNo seem that you helped us yet again, Lord Michio. You have my thanks.」
「No, no, it was nothing.」

「If you want to, then I would be thankful if you could continue your work in the other Labyrinths of the Duchy as well?」

Suddenly, the Duke made a terrible proposal to me. So he expects me to continue doing what I was doing in other Labyrinths as well? Well, to be honest, I was expecting him to say that.

However, I must not nod to his request right away.

I cannot simply obey each and every one of Duke’s demands, because it would be all sorts of annoying if people started taking me for someone who simply does everything that he’s being told and listens obediently.

If I don’t want others to think that I am weak, then it’d be best for me to say 「no」to him here.

「Ah, but…」

「Yes? Is there something wrong?」

The Duke’s question seemed innocent, but I could feel the pressure that was hiding behind it. I didn’t expect that from him, but seeing that now, I think that whether my next answer to his question is going to be 「yes」or 「no」is going to have a huge impact.

Honestly, it makes me scared to see an aristocrat treating me with such a high and mighty attitude, even more so since he doesn’t strike me like that type of person that would be incapable of cutting down a commoner for disobeying them.

However, I am not alone. I have my friends with me right now, like Roxanne.

I can also feel the reliable presence of the large Vesta standing behind my back, so whatever happens, I’m sure that it’s going to be okay. With them by my side, even the Duke’s pressure is not even a fart.

「Is something not to your convenience, Lord Michio?」

In the meantime, Gozer injected himself into our conversation. Yeah, you bet that this is not to my convenience.

「Ah, well, it’s just that… there is a Labyrinth that I would really like to go to.」

「a Labyrinth that you want to go to?」

「The t-twenty second floor of the Labyrinth of Quratar, to be exact. I promised one of my companions that we’re going to go hunt Mabreams there and she was really looking forward to it. And besides, I also want to go explore the Labyrinth of Quratar so that we could do some more training as a Party. So instead of focusing only on the Labyrinths of the Hartz Duchy, I was wondering if it would be alright for me to spread things up a little.」

I explained my reasoning to the Duke while he was closing in on me.

Ever since it became clear that the Labyrinth has been exterminated and we won’t be going any further for the time being, Miria was just standing there, staring into the distance without any reaction to what was happening at all. Duke, do you not see the depression she’s in? Can’t you feel her pain? Just how cold-blooded can you be?

But then Miria reacted to my words.

「Mabreams?!」

She stared at me with round, shiny eyes. Yes Miria, Mabreams. But right after I added:

「Only if we get permission from the Duke first.」

I can’t convince the Duke myself, so I got Miria to help me with that. Now the question is: is the Duke going to be able to resist these chihuahua-like eyes of hers?

「I think Mabreams are present there.」

「Right.」

After confirming something with Gozer, the Duke turned towards me again. All this time, Miria was looking at the both of us.

Well, judging by this short exchange between Gozer and the Duke just now, both of them must know something about Mabreams that are supposed to be a monster present on the twenty-second floor of Quratar’s Labyrinth.

The probability that Mabream is going to be on the twenty-second floor is one to eleven. If they know multiple Labyrinths, then they should have no qualms about my suggestion as long as one of them corresponds with the Duke’s own request for me.

I want to believe that he’s going to make the right call, but I can’t help getting nervous regardless.

「If that is the case, then it cannot be helped, but I would be happy if you still could enter the Labyrinths in my Duchy’s territory.」

「I understand.」

「Also, instead of going to the twenty-second floor to hunt Mabreams, I can introduce you to a Labyrinth where they can be found. Come to the castle tomorrow morning if you want to know more.」

It seems that we got his approval, and he’s even going to introduce us to a new Labyrinth. If possible, then I would have liked to avoid having to continue to go to the Labyrinths of the Hartz Duchy, but aside from that it looks like our request has been accepted in the most part.