Living as an Unemployed in Another World

72 – 3. Two Adventurers (25)

25.

The carriage arrived at the labyrinth before nightfall without stopping along the way. When we stopped in the middle of a forest full of spiky trees, the squire boy got off first, talked to the coachman, and then returned to tell us how to reach our destination.

“We have arrived. Get off.”

We got off the wagon and each looked around. Chloe, who was born with the blood of an elf with excellent sense of humor, and Mira, who had good hearing, tried to immediately check the monster’s presence, and Alphonse, an experienced warrior, swung his ax in the air even in the middle of a gloomy forest to check his physical condition. Well, I didn’t fit either way, so I put my bag on my back and approached the squire boy and started talking to him.

“Does this forest have a different name?”

“Ah yes. It is called the Vienato Forest. Hey, can you see the hill below? Beyond the boundary of this ridge is the Kunt estate, and this place where we are standing is the Louver estate.”

“Hmm.”

I exhaled through my nose and rubbed the ground with my feet. Has it rained recently? It wasn’t even foggy, but the moisture clinging to the weeds strangely bothered me. Did you feel something from my actions? He diligently told me even things he hadn’t asked.

“Monsters don’t usually appear in this area. Even if they come out, they are wild animals.”

“Why? Is it because labyrinths exist?”

“No, even before the labyrinth was discovered, there were strangely no monsters in this forest. I don’t know the specific reason, but after trying to explore the labyrinth, there must be ‘something’ in the labyrinth that suppresses the occurrence of monsters…… I am thinking.”

“Is that your opinion?”

“Oh, no. These are Alicia-sama’s opinions that I heard before inviting you all, just in case you didn’t know.”

I took my eyes off the squire boy, who responded rather stiffly, and looked down at the ridge he pointed at from a distance.

“…… Aren’t there things like cemeteries gathered here?”

“Yes?”

“No, without it.”

He struggled, tilting his head, as if trying to find some meaning in my question, but I left him alone and went over to Mira, Chloe, and Alphonse.

“How is it?”

“It’s quiet.”

Chloe answered plainly.

“It’s a forest with so many trees, but hardly any animals seem to be living there.”

“Mummy?”

“…… I do not know. I am not an elf.”

She shrugged her shoulders and answered rather brusquely, and then whispered back to me with a, just, whisper.

“Something is wrong. Just like when you hide in the mansion of a follower of the Zulkar cult.”

“That… ….”

Are you feeling the energy of the evil spirit somewhere? Her words, having fought against them several times, are not something that can be easily ignored. I raised my ax for the last time and cast my gaze at the dignified Alphonse. You always have to look up.

“…… Aren’t you going to?”

Whew, I knew that. I shook my head, sighed, and led them toward the carriage.

“Where is the Labyrinth?”

“Oh, yes. Please follow me.”

With his guidance, we entered a byway with fewer and fewer trees. Indeed, two horses can’t pull a carriage on this road. And, before long, a semi-circular underground staircase appeared as if the soil had been dug up.

“I see. It’s the first time I’ve actually seen it…….”

“… ….”

“Well, my work ends here. I will be waiting for you at the place where the carriage was, watching over the coachman and horse. To meet you when you come out.”

Sometimes when we talk a lot about the knowledge we instilled in the wagon, Squire trembles as soon as he faces the labyrinth, showing signs of wanting to run away. I understand. Actually, so am I. We all noticed that, but it was Alphonse who spoke up.

“I understand. You go back.”

“…… Thank you Hey, good luck.”

Please go. If I don’t go quickly, I want to run away too. As he hurriedly strode back the way he had come and walked away, we naturally stood side by side around the entrance of the labyrinth and faced each other. Soon, Chloe couldn’t overcome the awkwardness and opened her mouth first.

“Hey, the entrance looks pretty narrow. Who wants to go in first?”

“… ….”

There was no answer. If you say something like that, the person who brought it up usually enters first. Receiving the gaze of her remaining three, she turned a helping eye to Mira, a rogue class, with a look almost crying. She sighed, took out a pair of her daggers, put them in her hands, and first touched the wall, then climbed the stairs. Began to go down.

Then the half-orc, Chloe, and finally I follow. I firmly gripped the strap to keep the contents of the bag from slipping out, and eventually stepped onto the stone floor at the bottom of the stairs.

“Then… ….”

Shall we go to the labyrinth?

※

Alicia guessed that this labyrinth was a fortress from the old empire. The reason why I was able to be so specific is that the weapons and arrows used in the trap were items of that era. Perhaps hearing that story, I was afraid that a blind arrow would come flying and pierce the back of my head even though I was walking like a mummy scouting in front of me. I had no choice but to eat.

By the way, the mummy guy flew around only in the royal capital, but it must be the first time he entered a dungeon other than a mansion or hideout. As we pressed our hands against the wall and made our way inward, finally the light coming from outside almost disappeared and our vision was swallowed up in darkness.

“…… I think we should turn on the lights from here.”

“Ah, yes. For a moment.”

Mira stopped her steps and murmured, and Chloe responded, then took a flint and dry lumber from her waist bag. There’s nothing like a torch to light up the inside, but what if it goes out? As we kept her silent, as if she had the same thoughts as mine, Chloe instantly changed her expression into tears.

“Oh, no. This stick of wood and this flint, something enchanted. I bought it for two silver coins at the armoury store.”

“…… It doesn’t look like that. Chloe, aren’t you scammed?”

“What the hell are you looking at me for!?”

From nob le mt l dot com

No matter how you look at it, you see him as a rather pitiful senior adventurer. When Me and Mira revealed her colored glasses with the images she had created so far, Chloe was full of resentment. Alphonse added a reprimand to it.

“Whatever it is, do it quickly, b*tch. Didn’t you tell me to leave it to you when you entered?”

“Ugh…… On the subject of the orc face.”

Alphonse doesn’t call her a dwarf anymore, but Chloe still seems hostile. Tick, Tick! As she struck her flint against the end of the stick a few times, and indeed, as she said, in an instant the fire caught on and burned only at the end.

“Ohhh.”

“hehehe, how is it?”

“It’s bright, but…… Isn’t it a bit small?”

“Huh?”

She was genuinely impressed, but as Mira said. I mean, it’s a bit small. It would be enough for four people to sit around in a single room, but it feels like the amount of light isn’t enough to fully reveal the field of view against the labyrinth. The size of the flame was also rather small, probably because it was made with magic.

“Chloe, after all, you, fraud… ….”

“No! Originally this kind of thing!”

If you decided to go to the labyrinth and bought it thinking it was something like that, wouldn’t that be more of a problem? I didn’t bother to add any extra faceplate. Instead, he reached into his bag and pulled out a small metal ring and tapped Chloe on the shoulder.

“Ugh…… Jin?”

“Reach out your hand.”

“Huh?”

Chloe held out her hand, which did not hold the torch, puzzled. I groped his long, sleek hand and slipped the ring on his middle finger, just the right size for me.

“…… !?”

A flustered Chloe. At first, she misunderstood the meaning of my actions and immediately tried to withdraw her hand, but soon the ring shone brightly and swallowed even the light of the torch, and she calmed down and her eyelids twitched. No, it’s not the ring finger, it’s on the middle finger, but why are you making a fuss about her? Are the customs of half elves different? I took her torch for her.

“Ring of Enchantment【Ring of Enchantment】…… ?”

“Right. I’m still lacking in skills, so I couldn’t spend a slot learning the light.”

I answered her question with a shrug of her shoulders. It’s fortunate that some of the rings I brought with me when I ran away from the mansion had some useful enchantments on them. If they were precious metals that had no effect, they would have sold them right away and used them as escape funds. Chloe watched in wonder at the cluster of light radiating from her center around her ring.

“It will take some mental energy, but it will be better than what I kicked. Instead, I will hold this fire.”

“Oh, okay. Thank you.”

Chloe was a bit shy and thanked me. …… Is it because he thinks I’ve saved him from being teased? She is a girl who is honest in expressing her feelings. Originally, I was going to use it when the effect of the torch prepared by Chloe ran out, but I can’t help it. It’s much more suitable for clearing the eyes of four people than the one I’m holding at the end of the ring.

While she was waving her arms around as if she was somewhat excited, opening and closing her ring-wearing hands, suddenly Mira, who had been walking in front of her, silently approached me and squeezed the hem of her clothes. Pulled.

“…… What do I have?”

“That’s it.”

I have it, but I don’t need it right now. Why are you looking at me so terribly? I shook my head and she sighed and strode past Chloe and took the front of her again. The fort is often squeamish. …… A little cute.

Anyway, the fire problem must have been solved, so we hurriedly went inside without delay.

Without even imagining what awaits them ahead.