C430: The Return of the Lion (1)
Once the conversation was largely over.
I borrowed Amelia’s dagger and sliced open the Dragon Slayer’s belly.
Sssssk-.
As if I had used a surgical scalpel, the belly opened neatly.
Once the disembowelment was complete, I nonchalantly pulled out the bastard’s heart.
Perhaps due to the extreme cold of the place, it was still fresh.
‘The heart of a dragon tribe member looks different from that of an ordinary person.’
It looked like a tropical fruit with an uneven surface.
And for some reason, it had chain-like markings on it.
As I looked at it, Ravien, who’d been watching me, spoke up.
“The chain marks are probably the traces of the curse Pen cast.
Hmm, really?
Anyway, so the bumpy texture is natural, huh?
“Gowland, preservation and distortion magic, please.”
After applying distortion magic to his extracted heart, I placed it in a suitable box for storage. Ravien seemed to want to take care of it herself, but…
“I’ll keep this for a while.”
“Why?”
“It’s a bargaining chip.”
“You mean… you’re not going to hand it over immediately?”
“Exactly. Once the situation calms down a bit, I’m going to meet directly with the current ancient dragon and hand it over to him in exchange for keeping it a secret. If the story of his heart spreads, it’ll be problematic.”
She seemed a bit worried, but surprisingly, Ravien accepted it easily.
“…Understood. You can get more value out of it than if I took it back myself. I feel a bit sorry for Pen, but I’m sure she won’t have to wait too long…”
“I appreciate your understanding.”
Okay, that settles the matter.
After finishing the heart-looting, we held a funeral.
There were no priests left to preside over the funeral, but as we had seen before, we observed a moment of silence and cremated our dead companions.
And then…
Clack.
Collecting their bone fragments into a box, we ended it there.
After that, we began a full-scale looting.
The Rose Knight Order, the Noark elites.
And the equipment of our fallen allies…
“Collect all the equipment of our members. Since we can’t use subspace magic, cram them into bags as best as you can.”
We gathered the belongings that would become the deceased’s keepsakes.
“We’re short on space, so only pick up valuable items from the Noark gear.”
We decided to selectively gather Noark’s equipment.
After all, even before coming to the Glacier Eye, we had killed a lot of Noark scum. Their loot is sleeping inside our subspace storage. If someone asks about the source, there’s no way to differentiate which was obtained when.
Unlike the items from the Rose Knight Order.
“Keep the Rose Knight Order’s belongings separate. They must be strictly managed.”
The equipment and consumables they possessed were essentially military supplies.
Therefore, selling or personally using them is limited.
The moment these items circulate in the market, word will reach the royal family.
No, the moment we get back and they start checking our bags for loot distribution, the whole plan could fall apart.
It’s not 100 percent, but the risk is there.
“We’ve secured decent money off the military for now”
Kaislan, a former soldier, seemed quite pleased with the jump in our group’s budget.
Though, it was a bit alarming to see him tear up thinking of his dead comrades a second later.
Does he have bipolar disorder or something?
“Jandel, don’t feel too guilty, you’re fulfilling their wishes.”
“What are you talking about? I’m just sniffling because it’s cold.”
Phew, think of something else… something else…
I suddenly stopped and moved toward where the corpses and equipment of the Rose Knights were piled. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t take a single thing, but…
‘At least checking what they have is allowed, right?’
They might have something that could be a weakness for the royal family, or some crucial information. Thinking this, I thoroughly searched their possessions.
The more I looked, the sicker I felt.
‘Wow, all these daggers are made of mistium. And all the leather is ogre leather…’
I’m supposed to leave this behind?
Could I not just sneak them away, melt them down, or cut them up to make new equipment?
Such greed naturally welled up inside me.
But…
“Let it go. This is not worth the risk.”
Even 1% risk is too much.
I could excuse the dragon-slayer’s heart as having been obtained during a chase in the Glacier Eye, but not these items.
“…Huh?”
As I went through the bodies of the Rose Knights, I paused and tilted my head.
‘What’s with these rings?’
I noticed identical rings on the Rose Knights’ middle fingers.
‘Were they… wearing rings?
I tried to recall, but it didn’t seem right.
When I fought Six, she wasn’t wearing this ring.
But…
‘What’s this?’
Feeling curious, I immediately removed all the rings from their bodies.
They were not numbered items.
So, a magical tool then?
“Marone, Gowland.”
Feeling the need to check, I asked the mages to appraise it, and it didn’t take long for the results to come in.
“It’s a binding-type magical tool. Once you wear the ring, the physical object disappears and becomes bound to your soul.”
“Binding-type magical tool?”
“You know, like those summoning engravings used for calling ships in the 6th Floor’s sea. That’s one of the typical Binding-type magical tools.”
“So, these rings…?”
“Yes. They’re subspace rings. And they far exceed the quality of magical equipment in the market.”
“Does that mean that even the royal family is unaware of the existence of these subspace rings?”
“Yeah. Probably not.”
Jackpot.
**
What’s inside this subspace I don’t know.
But one thing is certain.
Even if there’s nothing inside, it’s still a jackpot.
Because having these rings means we don’t have to leave behind any of the Rose Knight’s equipment.
“Gather everything!”
We collected all the Rose Knight Order’s equipment into backpacks.
After we reach the city, we can immediately store it in these subspaces, how could they possibly know?
‘The problem is there are only seven subspaces…’
We currently have a total of ten people.
Three won’t be able to have a ring.
However, the distribution of the subspaces was resolved quickly without conflict.
“…I can’t accept something so valuable when I didn’t contribute at all in this battle.”
James Carla, who was blind and couldn’t participate in the fight, withdrew.
“I’ll pass too. I already have a Binding-type subspace.”
“Me too.”
Akuraba and Rabien, who already possessed similar items, also yielded.
And thus the new owners of the ring were decided.
[Your character has equipped ‘The Liar’s Rose Ring.’]
[The Liar’s Rose Ring has bound itself to your character.]
As soon as I wore it, the ring scattered light and disappeared.
“How do I open the subspace?”
“Through mental commands. Just think about opening it.”
Wow, is this cutting-edge royal technology?
This will be extremely useful from today.
“Well, it looks like we’re all set.”
After finishing the recovery of personal effects and loot:
With the retrieval of mementos and looting completed:
[The frozen wall melts away.]
A day passed and the sealed room state ended, we all left the battlefield together.
The Rose Knights’ backpacks had some food, but not enough for ten people. So—
[Vercil Gowland has cast Level 6 spacetime magic [Advanced Distortion].]
[Lirith Marone has cast Level 6 spacetime magic [Advanced Distortion].]
We procured as much monster meat as possible as we headed back to Glacier’s Eye.
But…
“It’s a shame. If we could have retrieved all those items from below as well, buying a mansion in the capital wouldn’t have been impossible.”
Because the ice mage Kariaedea was firmly guarding it, we had to leave just like that.
How many pieces of equipment are buried down there?
We’ll never know. Once the labyrinth closes, everything inside dissolves into nothingness.
“Well, let’s call it a day and rest here.”
Acquiring more meat is important, but we took frequent rests instead of rushing.
Even if we starve for the remaining days, we won’t die. And our members are in bad shape.
“Kaislan, you alright?”
“I’m fine, don’t worry. I can hold out until we get out.”
No priests left, only four potions remaining.
We all survived, but the aftereffects of serious injuries were still there.
Erwin’s M.P and natural energy are all depleted; so she can’t use a single skill.
The number of people who can still fight normally is very small.
“Still… Maybe because of what we went through, it doesn’t feel difficult at all…”
“Agreed, I feel the same.”
“I thought I’d experienced all sorts of hardships in my life, but looking back, I realize how naive I was.”
During our rest, we chatted about trivial things, but mostly we discussed our future.
“Will you form a clan right away?” Marone asked quietly
“Probably. But not everyone will join at once.”
“I guess so… Sir Kaislan is from the military, so he can’t just leave easily.”
“It’s not just about Kaislan. Suddenly all of us sticking together would look suspicious. We need some time. If we wait, they’ll probably kick us out first. Then we can gather, and it won’t be too late.”
“…I’ve actually come up with a clan emblem.”
“Wow, Marone, you’re so handy!”
We also planned for the future clan.
From the beginning of the expedition to now.
We aligned our narrative in chronological order, made sure there were no contradictions, and discussed any worries as a group to improve our story’s consistency.
“Jandel, I’m a bit worried about something.”
“Go ahead.”
“No matter how well we set our story, will the royal family really believe all of it?”
“…….”
“We all have confirmed resistance to detection magic, but finding the truth isn’t limited to that one method, right?”
I had pondered this issue as well.
If they don’t believe us,
If they at least feel suspicious enough to verify facts…
What then?
“As I’ve said before, the royal family won’t want to go that far. They don’t want to create unnecessary trouble.”
“Yes… usually. Asking questions itself could provide us a reason to doubt them. But what if they’re willing to take that risk?”
“Even so, it doesn’t matter. The core of our plan isn’t to deceive the royal family perfectly.”
Plan A is the best-case scenario, but Plan B isn’t a complete failure either.
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“Just the fact that we matched our stories and stayed silent is a signal to them. We’ll let it slide, so please don’t mess with us. A kind of plea from the weak.”
The Duke, the Marquis, minor nobles, the Alminus Company, and the explorer’s guild are involved.
They won’t want to dig deeper and create more headaches.
Even if they do suspect something, they likely won’t push too hard.
Because before they do, I’ll stir things up as much as possible.
When everyone is watching, they’ll be cautious.
Just like how they granted me a noble title without verification.
That’s how the royal family operates.
“So in that time we must grow stronger, so that leaving us alone seems like the better choice.”
“But isn’t that more dangerous? The more we grow, the more they’ll see us as a threat.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Why not?”
“No matter how big we grow, before the royal family we are just a small candle.”
The royal family’s power is enormous.
Normal people wouldn’t even think of drawing their swords against the royal family.
That’s why… … .
‘’They’ll think we’re just trying to stay alive, but won’t think we’re preparing to put a knife to their throats.”
One labyrinth expedition,
We were strangers before this.
Who would think we’d stand against the royal family for revenge?
Grief and anger are fleeting emotions.
People normally feel grateful to be alive and make practical decisions.
But…
“What if they do anyway?”
Akura, having mostly accepted my reasoning, still mentioned the worst-case scenario.
“What if they consider us a threat and try to eliminate us?”
The answer is simple.
Well, what can we do?
Then we move to Plan C.
***
Day 75 of entering the Labyrinth.
To be more precise:
[22 : 10]
Less than four hours remain until the labyrinth closes.
“What is it?”
Vercil Gowland, who was resting nearby, sat down next to me and asked:
“Hey Mr. Jandel, Naria was probably an evil spirit, right?”
“Most likely.”
“Right..?”
Vercil muttered, and I didn’t know what to say, so I remained quiet. It was only after a moment of silence that Vercil spoke again.
“So… Mr. Jandel, what do you think about Naria?”
Her question was tinged with caution.
“I think of her as a comrade who died tragically. But… what are you trying to ask?”
“I’ll change my question. If Naria were still alive, would you still consider her a colleague?”
I could vaguely see where she was going with the question, but I answered honestly anyway.
“Of course.”
“Even if she was an evil spirit?”
“I’m already planning to oppose the royal family, so why would I care about something like that? Evil spirit or not, what matters is trust.”
“…I see.”
Vercil nodded with a strange expression, chatted a bit more, then left.
What was her intention?
Was she just curious what kind of person I am?
Tsk, could it be that she’s realised Goblin is an evil spirit? Maybe she’s testing how I’d react?
It seemed plausible.
At least until about two hours later, when Amelia called me aside.
“Jandel, can we talk for a moment?”
“What happened?”
“About that task you gave me before.”
I tilted my head.
“What task?”
“You told me to keep an eye on Sven Parab.”
Ah, that.
I certainly did request that.
Sven Parab’s reckless behavior at the round table made me uneasy, and I wanted someone to watch him closely.
But…
“I said to do that outside, didn’t I…?”
And I didn’t phrase it as ‘investigate him’ either, just asked her to keep an eye out.
What’s going on?
“Then I guess you should be grateful I misunderstood.”
Amelia smirked and shrugged.
Her demeanor suggested she had some advantageous information.
My interest suddenly piqued.
“Did you find something?”
“…If you’re curious, see for yourself.”
Amelia loosened her belt.
This sudden action baffled me, but then she fiddled with the belt and took out a small crystal sphere.
“This is…”
“A recording crystal orb.”
I know that, obviously.
I’m just shocked she had something like that hidden in her belt all along.
‘…If I joke about voyeurism, She’ll beat me up, right?’
I swallowed that urge and activated the orb Amelia handed me.
First, I should see what’s inside.
[Chomp, chk, chomp.]
The video began with Sven Parab standing some distance away from the group, secretly nibbling on jerky from inside his tunic.
Betrayal welled up inside me.
“That bastard, he told me he didn’t have any jerky—”
“Shut up and watch. It’s about to start.”
“….”
Amelia shushed me with a scolding tone, and soon enough, the video changed.
[Mr. Sven Parav.]
A woman approached him from behind.
[Heek!]
Sven was startled, caught red-handed eating jerky.
[Can we talk for a moment?]
The one who spoke was Vercil. Sven Parab glanced around anxiously, not answering.
[Oh, and don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone about the jerky. I just want to talk.]
[U-um, can we do this some other time?]
[You don’t want to talk to me?]
[N-no, that’s not it… It’s just that, uh, I feel something very… off.]
[You’re speaking nonsense.]
Vercil seemed puzzled by his expression, but I was just impressed.
‘Has Sven sensed Amelia’s surveillance somehow?’
The video continued.
[Anyway, let’s get to the point and make it quick.]
[Yes? Oh, yes… please speak, I’m listening.]
[I know you’re an evil spirit.]
A single-sentence bombshell.
“…Huh?”
[…Huh?]
At that, both I and Sven in the video were dumbfounded.
And then…
[Cough! Cough! Cough!]
[Quiet. They’ll notice if you make a scene.]
[G-ghaa, what… w-what are you talking about! Me, an evil spirit…!]
The bombshell didn’t stop there.
[Don’t bother running. I’m an evil spirit too.]
What the hell, is she coming out with that right now?
[…W-What? Y-You’re… an evil spirit, Gowland?]
Sven Parab was completely out of it.
As he stared blankly, Gowland continued speaking calmly:
[The reason I’m telling you this is simple. Given your personality, I figured you might slip up and say something in the community.]
[U-Um…]
[Don’t say a word about this expedition. I’ll be watching. Whether it’s in the community forums or at the roundtable.]
Dun-dun—!
There was no sound effect, but both Sven Parab and I could practically hear one in our heads.
[T-The Round Table? How do you…?]
[I’m a member there, why wouldn’t I know? How else would I know you’re an evil spirit?]
[Wait a moment… There’s a woman there… The queen? No, it’s not that kind of feeling…]
As Sven Parab muttered nonsensically, trying to calm his racing thoughts, he finally raised his finger.
[Could it be… You are… the fox…]
I stopped the video there.
‘Vercil Gowland is the fox…’
That was another revelation from this expedition.
Another unexpected gain from this expedition.
***
[The labyrinth has closed.]
[Your character is moving to Raphdonia.]
***
Warm sunshine.
The Marquis, seated at his desk, put down his pen and reached for a cup of hot tea.
He took a sip and checked the time.
‘It should be about time for the portal to open.’
Five minutes left until noon.
Soon the labyrinth would close, and the dimension plaza, which had been empty, would be filled with explorers who had finished their arduous journey.
He saw scenes like this every month, but today was special.
“Hopefully, the mission was a success.”
The key strategic weapon of the Noark side, Eye of the Sky.
Thirty hastily assembled members of the expedition had set out to destroy it.
“Well, it doesn’t really matter if they failed.”
The marquis had already prepared two sets of documents.
One for if the mission was successful but the expedition members did not return, and another for if neither the mission nor the return was successful.
Incidentally, there were no documents prepared with their return in mind.
He was careful by nature, not inclined to make pointless efforts.
“It feels like a toothache has been pulled at last.”
The marquis chuckled softly, set down his teacup, and picked up his pen to return to his backlog of work.
About ten more minutes passed when…
Wooooooong—!
A message stone placed in his study began to vibrate.
The call was from a checkpoint connected to the marquis’s estate.
“What is it?”
It didn’t take long for the marquis’s face to twist into a frown after he received the message.
[…I’m sorry to bother you, sir. People claiming to be a special unit from the royal family have shown up.]
“…A special unit?”
[Yes… You don’t know anything about them? I apologize. It’s hard to dismiss them as nonsense since all their identities seem quite notable…]
“I see… So that’s how it is.”
[Yes. There’s a man among them, presumably their leader, who keeps demanding we contact you immediately… What shall we do?]
“Is that so? Understood. I’ll send someone right away. Keep them there. Oh, by the way… how many are there?”
[Ten. Exactly ten of them.]
“I see. Got it.”
The marquis responded in a friendly tone and ended the call.
Then…
Ziiiiiik.
He took the two sets of documents off his desk and tore them to pieces, then burned them.
“Ten survivors, huh….”
He couldn’t imagine what kind of trick they pulled.
“This is getting interesting.”
People who should have died had returned alive.