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Chapter 255: Going Down the Cliff

I’ll ask which country Shrum is messing with while looking at the map later. There’s no point in annexing a small country, so perhaps their ultimate target must be a larger kingdom beyond it. Thank goodness Shrum is weak when it comes to naval battles; my island should be safe for now.

It’s frustrating that I can’t join them in their discussions. Dinosso’s munching on something, I wonder what he’s eating?

Hmpf, a representative of some unknown party came up to Dean and the others and they’re chatting now. What are they talking about? Oh, they’re shaking hands — did they reach an agreement or something?.

Break time is over, and time to set off now. I put my coat on and pull the hood down.

***

The number of people halved again when we reached the intersection of the route leading to the descent on the cliffs. Monsters appeared, but it’s not dangerous at all — rather than that, the half of the group who opted to stay behind did so because they didn’t want to scale the cliffs. They started to retrieve the monsters that Dean and the others defeated.

So this was what they had been negotiating about during break time!!

Only five groups including me are going down to the 12th level, and it’s fewer than usual, apparently. The person who collected the payment before we entered the Labyrinth said that many people attempted to go deeper into the Labyrinth right after the Hero went there, but the number has decreased now.

I didn’t ask if they came back safely. Well, I didn’t have any idea about the black spirits in there, and it’s not yet time for them to return if they ventured to the 20th level or deeper, so there’s no way to check too.

The cliff below is pitch black, with several chains hanging down from it. Are we going down here…? Uh, are those chains safe? They’re not rusty?

Although we plowed through the Labyrinth nonstop until we reached the 12th level, they do have a few resting areas on the cliff shelf, apparently. I’ll be the last one to go, huh.

The group of adventurers including Dean and the others started to equip themselves with short swords, which are easier to handle and swing around. It’s said that bat monsters occasionally appear while descending the cliff. I already have a normal sword, so I keep it as is.

Er. What about Khan? Isn’t he exceeding the weight limit? Oh, is he getting help from Bayliss?

I quietly asked a wind spirit to accompany Dinosso as he descended the cliff and to measure the depth for me. I feel a bit uneasy not knowing how huge of a drop this will be.

The remaining adventurers tied the baggages with ropes and lowered them down. The members of their party are probably catching the baggage from below.They probably lit something since I can see an orange hue beneath us. Although the light isn’t that bright enough to illuminate the darkness of the depths below the cliff, it’s still a reliable marker.

The torches here are made by making a bundle of grass coated with pine resin and medicinal herbs, wrapped with a tree bark and tied tightly. It’s about thirty centimeters long and quite dull looking, but it’s lightweight and easy to handle so this torch is commonly used around here.. It doesn’t burn brightly enough, so it’s not a great light source, but the fire burns for a long time so it’s pretty convenient.

The adventurers who lowered their baggage are now descending one after the other. I see, so those who chose to use this shortcut are folks with stamina or arm strength, huh. Ah, but Glasses is using magic, though.

Eh? Retze’s a bit delayed?

「Ou, we’re the last. 」
Retze said with a chuckle.

「Yup, we’re last. 」
We’re close enough for the descending adventurers to hear us, so we exchanged harmless words. It echoes in the grotto, after all.

「Want me to help you bring your baggage down? 」
I gratefully accepted his offer and climbed down the chains first.

We’re within visible range and yet we can’t even do our usual goofy conversations. I just realized that I handled it pretty well.

The chains are linked with loops at equal intervals and they’re big enough to be stepped on. The descent was actually easier than I thought, but for some reason, I think it might be far easier if we were to loop a rope in one of the links and do the jump-step-jump-step descent like the rangers rather than scaling the chains step by step. The wind spirit told me that all the chains used to lower us are roughly the same length after all.

Ah, but that technique might be too eye-catching so it’s not a great idea, I guess.

I safely made it to the bottom of the first cliff, but the other adventurers were already starting to descend the second one.

Dinosso and Ash are the last ones to remain this time around. Dinosso silently and lightly patted me over my hood before he started going down the chains.

Ash also reached out towards my head, but she stopped halfway and hesitated. It’s fine even if you pat me too, you know — I took her outstretched hand and held it while patting her on the head with my other hand.

It’s been a while since I saw Ash’s scary face. She must be shy, she’s shy, right? What will I do if she’s mad?

It’s impossible to descend eight levels worth of cliffs all at once, so we took a long break halfway through. Dean and the others received a water pouch from the party that gathered the defeated monsters before we descended the four cliffs.The rocky ledge is narrow so I could hear what they were talking about.

I strained my ears to eavesdrop while eating jerky. I cut them into strips so it’s easier for me to eat them while walking around, but it’s making me feel like I’m munching on dried squid.

I was about to get some dried squid, but then I remembered it can be quite stinky so I stopped myself just in time.

We resumed our descent down the chains after the break, when some monsters suddenly appeared. Most of the adventurers, including me, swung the swords or else stabbed them with one hand. However, the majority of the bat monsters were defeated by Glasses’ magic.

I see, so magic is quite handy when your hands are occupied, or when you’re far from your opponent, huh. Ah, and only when you don’t have to retrieve the monsters, huh. I remember being in a pinch after defeating the white geese since I wasn’t able to retrieve them. It’s case to case basis, huh.

Going down the chain was a troublesome task, but good things also happened, so it’s alright all in all.