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The Otherworld Conquest Method of a Reincarnated Porter Chapter 145 Part 1

The Labyrinth of Iris

After having a light breakfast with Caliel and the others and putting the party’s belongings into my storage, we leave the inn in the twilight hours before sunrise.

I take a glance at Mariette, but nothing seems particularly out of place. I wonder if it was just my misunderstanding last night. Or maybe she’s been violated on a daily basis and has given up. It’s a little sickening, but let’s just take it as a one-day job and work with them.

「Alright, let’s go.」

With Caliel in the lead, we head to the labyrinth in the city. This area is already a slum. The security situation is bad, so we have to be careful of our surroundings.

It seems that my worries were unfounded. It’s still early in the morning, so there is no presence of people at all. We finally step into the labyrinth.

Caliel leads the way, holding a sword and shield. A little behind him on either side are Maisy, holding a spear in both hands, and Lynn, holding a sword and a small shield. Behind them is me, and at the tail end is Mariette. Mariette is carrying a short sword and a slightly large shield.

There’s no one else around. It’s at this time of the day, so there are probably no thugs or adventurers who are in action.

After walking through the first floor for about fifteen minutes, we see the stairs. We haven’t encountered a single monster yet. It seems they’ve all been hunted down completely.

We proceed to the second floor, and a short while after, Caliel stops in his tracks. My presence detection has also picked up a reaction. Appraisal!

Centipede, Rank 3

Four centipedes, each about one meter long. However, that’s just the main body, and the countless legs stretching out from it are extremely long. They look like they’ll be difficult to fight. Now then, let’s see what Caliel and the others are made of.

At Caliel’s signal, the three vanguards charge at the centipedes. It seems that Mariette is my bodyguard.

Given how low-ranked the centipedes are, I thought they would end the battle in an instant, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. The centipedes’ legs are long, making it difficult to reach the main body with a sword. There’s a need to cut their legs off little by little. Maisy stabs it from a distance with her spear, but as the centipede seems to have a lot of vitality, she can’t quite finish it off. It seems that she’s planning to take her time and take it down without rushing from the beginning.

If it’s now, I should be able to appraise them. Appraisal!

 

Caliel Craigdyne, Age 20, Level 26

Job: Warrior

 

Maisy, Age 18, Level 25

Job: Warrior

 

Lyn, Age 21, Level 23

Job: Warrior

 

Apparently, the appraisal was successful without them noticing.

From the fact that they’ve reached mid-20s levels at the age of around 20, they’ve probably been defeating monsters quite actively. Perhaps ever since he wasn’t granted the knight job at the coming-of-age ceremony, he’s been defeating monsters continuously in order to become a knight. However, the ranks of the monsters in this labyrinth are 10 at most. No matter how many monsters he defeats, he probably won’t be able to level up any more. Most likely, that’s precisely why they’re challenging the labyrinth lord.

I observe the three as they engage in combat. Their combat sense is… Hmm, I think the one with the best moves is Maisy. She is thrusting her spear into the monsters’ bodies one after the other. Caliel is, well, average. Not so good, not so bad. Lynn is not so good. I guess she isn’t the type of person who is particularly good at athletic things. Mariette, who is acting as my guard in the back, is watching out for the surrounding area with trepidation. From her behavior, she doesn’t seem like an adventurer. It feels like even though she’d been working as a servant, as her place of work fell into ruin, she had no choice but to accompany the young master and start working as an adventurer.

I wonder if these four will be able to defeat the labyrinth lord. The labyrinth lord is a giant centipede of rank 24. Worst case, I guess I’ll have to consider having to step in and help them out. As expected, if I were to let them die or suffer serious injuries right in front of me, it would leave me with a guilty conscience, after all.

It takes a while, but Caliel and the others are able to defeat the monsters without any trouble. According to what I heard at the Adventurer’s Association, it seems that 30% of the monsters that appear here are centipedes. This labyrinth is for beginners, so the fatality rate is probably low, too.

「Phew, that’s all of it… Huh, Sei, you’ve already dismantled them?」

I had nothing else to do, so I took out the magic stones from the monsters that Caliel and the others had defeated. I want to get this job done as soon as possible, after all.

「Yeah, you take only the magic stones from these monsters, right? Do they have no materials?」

「Yes, there’s nothing to take from the centipedes, including even the labyrinth lord. If it’s the red dogs or cave badgers, we can get their fangs, fur, and meat, so I want to store those in your storage, Sei. Other than those, goblins and toothed bees have no materials either.」

I see. That’s why Caliel and the others live in poverty. It seems like there’s nearly nothing to gain from this labyrinth. In that case, I guess it would be better for them to quickly move to another town.

The good people move to other towns, and only the rowdy ones remain in the town. Maybe the reason why the people who are making do in the slum are acting as they please is because this town is poor. I guess I, too, will finish this request and head east quickly.

We start walking again. Hmm? After a while, I detect the presence of monsters from behind. Mariette, who is at the tail end, doesn’t seem to notice. Not good, from the looks of it, the monsters are charging at us at a fast pace. The monsters are charging closer and closer, giving me no time to report to Caliel and the others. It can’t be helped.

「Huh?」

I move quickly behind Mariette, who lets out a silly voice, and swiftly cut off the heads of the two approaching quadrupedal monsters. There is no presence of other monsters. When I appraise them, I find that they are red dogs. I leave the dismantling for later and throw them into my storage.

「Hmm, what’s wrong? Huh, a monster?」

Caliel and the others, who were a little ahead of us, seem to have noticed. I quickly wash off the small amount of blood that had accidentally splattered on me with water magic.

「I’ve taken care of it already. Let’s hurry on.」

「Huh, I see. Centipedes may be weak, but you’re pretty good even though a porter.」

「…..」

Caliel seems to think that I defeated a centipede. Mariette remains silent, but I wonder if she realized how strong I am. She is dumbfounded. If I hadn’t taken down the red dogs, there’s a good chance that Mariette would have been attacked by them. I wonder if she has properly grasped the situation. As expected, I think she’s not cut out to be an adventurer.

After that, we walked for another two hours and arrived at the fourth stratum. Now then, it looks like it’s finally time.

「The labyrinth lord is up ahead. You can wait at the entrance, Sei.」

「No, well, just in case, I’ll go with you. Not only do I have a shield, I’m pretty strong, so I can carry you out if anyone gets injured, after all.」

「I see, but the labyrinth lord is a huge centipede. Simply put, its vitality alone is off the charts, but its attacks are weak, and its movements are slow. This is going to be a long battle, you know?」

I see. Even if it takes a long time, if you can defeat a rank 24 monster with little risk, it’s a sweet opponent in its own way. If it’s a normal rank 24 opponent, at their level, there should be a chance that they would die.

We finally approach the room where the labyrinth lord is. Hmm? Someone’s there.

「Hey, sorry, but we’ve got the giant centipede.」

「Wha, d, damn it. You stayed in the labyrinth?」

「Hehehe, something like that. See you later.」

The four men who came out of the labyrinth lord’s room announced their victory to Caliel and left.

「Damn it, damn it, damn it, this is the fourth time in a row. Do I have to wait another ten days? Damn it, damn it.」

When I peek into the room, I find that the giant centipede is dead, with most of its legs cut off. As expected, if it’s a sweet opponent, the competition must be fierce. It seems like if you want to defeat it, you have no choice but to stay in the labyrinth from the day before like those guys did.

「I’m sick of this labyrinth. All right, I’ve decided. When we make it back to the above ground, we’ll head to the demonic dragon mountain range.」

The demonic dragon mountain range, huh? I’m also planning to head there. But this is the last time I’m associating myself with these guys. It’s sickening to have a rapist in the same party as me, after all.

「No way, Caliel-sama. Please reconsider. I’ve heard that the demonic dragon mountain range is dangerous.」

「Shut it! No matter how long I stay in a place like this, I’ll never be able to become a knight, will I? Or do you not want me to become a knight?」

「No, that’s not it, but it’s just too dangerous. There must be another way.」

「It’s already been decided. All right, let’s go, follow me.」

「No way, Caliel-sama…」

Mariette worries about Caliel, but he seems to be turning a deaf ear to her.

I get the feeling that Mariette is right. It’s not like I know much about the monsters in the demonic dragon mountain range, but I get the feeling that they, who are struggling to deal with the low-ranked monsters in this labyrinth, lack strength to handle them. Well, it’s not something I can poke my nose into, so I’ll keep quiet.

A few hours later, we make it back to the above ground and sell the materials at the Adventurer’s Association, and I receive my reward from Caliel. It’s the amount we agreed upon, minus the 20% commission I paid to the Porter’s Union.

「Sei, we’re heading to Gorthor, a town at the foot of the demonic dragon mountain range, in Count Haleford’s territory, tomorrow. If there’s a chance, I’d like to ask you to carry our luggage again.」

「Yeah, if the chance arises, I’ll be in your care.」

I exchange courtesy greetings and part ways with Caliel and the others.

Sigh, I didn’t gain anything out of coming along with them. Well, I guess there are days like this, too. When we dropped by the Adventurer’s Association earlier, I looked at the bulletin board, but in addition to medicinal herbs collection and escort requests, there were nothing but dubious posts such as『I’ll tell you the details of the request after meeting you』.

Not only is this town’s security not that good, the labyrinth is pretty lackluster, so I don’t think there’s any reason to stay here any longer. I’ve asked about the location of a slightly pricey inn, so I start walking towards it. Well then, today will be the last day I’m taking a look at this town…