143 - - a quiet night

"This again, ......."

Thor let out a mumble at the shriveled fruit of some kind that was handed to him for his dinner.

It looked like a bite-sized apple, but its brownish skin was not at all appetizing.

As he gripped the end and looked at it sullenly, a girl from the Soukei tribe who was sitting next to him retorted in a reproachful tone.

"You can't call me this. The fruit of a golden tree is something that adventurers in those parts can't even look at.

"That's right, old man. One of these costs a gold coin. ...... though, to be honest, I'm getting tired of eating them too."

"Well, yes, that's true, but so am I. ....... But they are precious!"

The golden tree is a legendary tree that blossoms and bears fruit in profusion even in the ice fields because of the grace of the ice god Stragin.

It is said that just by eating one fruit of the mother tree, hunger and thirst will be quenched in no time, and it even has the effect of making one immortal.

The one given to Thor was, of course, obtained from a grafted tree, so it is unlikely to be that effective.

However, one of them can keep an adventurer alive for half a day or so, so it is more than enough as a portable food for adventurers.

The sweet and sour taste was not so bad, but it was a problem that we soon got tired of it since we had to eat it for every meal during our adventures.

Thor hears a small laugh and looks up to see Ninessa, her eyes relaxed.

"I'm sorry. I thought you didn't care about such things, Thor.

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

In the past, I would have eaten the vegetable scraps without a care in the world.

Thor's lips curled slightly as he recalled his childhood friend's ingenuity in preparing meals during their adventures.

After a satisfying dinner, all that was left was to rest.

The masters of this room would take more than a month to reappear, so there was no need to worry about them.

As Thor is about to unfold the sleeping bags he has taken out of his backpack, a girl calls out to him cheerfully from afar.

Hey, old man, you can't stay there. Come on, come here."

The brown-horned girl beckons Thor to the edge of the spacious room, and then suddenly summons three servants from the ground.

They were about the same height as Thor, and began to fill in the place where they were born with soil they had brought from some distance away.

Then they carefully prepared the ground and leveled it.

"The ground here is just the right amount of hardness, so my back doesn't hurt even with a sleeping bag."

Kugase stomped his feet with a thump, showing off the horns protruding from his forehead.

Then he added in a bashful tone.

And that one is close by..."

"Oh, I'm sorry I wasn't more tactful."

The place where Thor was going to sleep was not far from the cleaned-up carcass of ants.

There was a hole dug in the ground behind the big monster, where he could do his business.

"...... that's part of it, but no, it's nothing."

The girl turned her head to the side in a huff to hide her downcast expression.

Thor, who was holding a sleeping bag, also looked at the clay figures working silently.

"By the way, you can bring out three of them, can't you?"

"Are these them?"

The servant who can be summoned by the magic of the earth spirit tree is the vessel of the summoner, and the total amount of earth that can be moved depends on the amount of magic power.

In other words, the higher the summoner's magical power is, the larger the volume of the clay figure will be.

A skilled summoner can even divide the soil into small portions to create multiple dolls.

Thor had heard that it was quite a difficult task to control several dolls at the same time, unlike one large doll.

"Well, I'm a genius. But I'm still no match for you.

You have an older brother?

Yes, I'm proud of my family!

Thor's lips lifted at Kugase's carefree smile.

The girls' demeanor was much the same as before.

They are trying to be as normal as possible.

Thor's future as an adventurer is almost gone now that he has lost the magical skills he had trained for so long.

But as long as one is an adventurer, it is inevitable that one's companions will meet an unexpected end.　

Perhaps it is the ability to quickly switch their minds in this area that makes the girls A-ranked.

"I have a sister, too."

"...... ram-chan."

A girl from the Soukei tribe, who had somehow approached from behind, entered the conversation of Thor and the others.

"Ricoli. That's my sister's name. Cu told you earlier.

"Yes, I know. You look like him.

"What!"

"You've met him?

Licori, Ram Merla's older sister by two years, had participated in the previous search as a player.

She willingly opened the way to the sixth level, and in return, she had to bear multiple curses on herself.

He is currently undergoing treatment at the temple for the removal of the spells, but there is no word on when he will be able to return to work.

Thor was chosen for this search because of the fact that he had healed Ninessa's old wounds with a choyuya (a small shop).

In fact, water-based magic cannot heal wounds that have been caked on for too long.

It is said that it is only effective against anomalies in the human body and ceases to work once the person accepts it.

However, Thor's does not consider the passage of time at all.

In this respect, it is a different method of treatment from the existing water-based magic techniques.

Straccia, who was aware of this difference, appointed Thor as a solution to the curse of invasion.

Thor, who had been told of the dungeon's troublesome characteristics during the night, had already met the woman who had been cursed the next day.

He then checked Licori's skill tree with and found that she had the same symptoms as Yuril, so he dared to take on the role of assuming the role of the cursed one.

"You had a good story to tell, didn't you? I'm sorry for being so rude up to this point,...... Mr. Toll."

"I see. I'm sorry I put you on the spot. But are you sure you're happy?　I don't think I'll continue to be an adventurer anymore. ......"

"Don't worry. This isn't enough to make me give up. I've been scavenging in the mud for 25 years.

"I have no idea what that means, but it just gives me a great feeling."

"Oh, yeah. Isn't it kind of uncool?"　

They looked at each other and finally gave me a relaxed smile.

Thor and his friends get into their sleeping bags and discuss their future plans before going to bed.

"What lies ahead of me is anxiety and anguish. However, to fight them off is also the sign of a great man.

"You say you're troubled because Mr. Thor, whom you were counting on, has turned out to be just a baggage handler."

"There's more to it than that!"

"You are indeed out of line, Miss Ninet!"

Rummella and the others were outraged by Ninessa's unreserved words.

However, it was revealed to Straccia and the others beforehand that there would be no problem with the curse this time.

Moreover, the search from the sixth layer onward, including the encounter with the true master of the labyrinth, had been incorporated into the strategy from the beginning as Thor's was an indispensable element.

Then came the unexpected .

It is no wonder that Stratchia and his team cannot make up their minds whether to proceed or not.

"I'm sorry I can't be of much help. Shall we turn back here?"

"Oh no!　We've just opened the way to the sixth level. Thanks to that Mr. Thor, ......"

"I'm against turning back here, too!　What did the old man want?

Thor scratches the bottom of his chin as he thinks about the thoughtful girls' voices.

The thought of causing so many casualties must be a heartbreaking act for these young girls.

But for Thor, this time was just a preliminary check, and the real work would begin after he brought Sora and the others.

He would like to see at least a little of the power of the true master of the labyrinth.

On the other hand, we do not want to risk our return by making a reckless suicide attack.

With this in mind, I propose a safe course of action.

"Well then, how about we focus mainly on reconnaissance and avoid any unreasonable measures as much as possible?"

"I'll do that. I can handle it if it comes to it.

"Yes, I have no objection. If it will help the city to return as soon as possible.

I will not let your sacrifice be in vain!

"Hey, hey, hey, don't talk to me like I'm dead."

So the decision was made to continue the quest, and the next morning Thor and his friends entered the sixth layer.