168-162 To the Labyrinth of Conspiracy

When I woke up, it was still dark, but as I switched from magic manipulation to high speed circulation within my body and imagined the perceptual skills I had done last night, the morning sun came out.

'It's great to be able to see, after all.'

I left the room after watching the sunrise, thinking deeply about it.

As I left, I bumped into Kefin, who must have been guarding me.

"Good morning Kefin. Thanks for guarding me.

Good morning.

Kefin didn't mention the guards, he just smiled.

I didn't know much about how the training was conducted, so I decided to ask Kefin about it.

'For half a month, did you guys have a mock battle too?'

'Yes. It was pretty intense until Master Luciel lost his hearing. Once he lost his hearing, we started training him in skills and when he became fatigued from the repetitive training, he was able to high heel me, which was very helpful.

''Well when you're teaching Master, you have to be prepared to a certain extent. Besides, Master and Lionel's basics are out of sync with the general public.......

'Sure....'

Me and Kefin nodded at each other and laughed.

'I don't think any word other than harsh would apply to being treated by those two.

'Maybe you've had a good look at the ant labyrinth before you led me there?

''Yes. Whirlwind-sama had done all the preliminary research. He seemed quite worried, and he was always squirming, so when I laughed at him, his training became tougher.

Whether he was being overprotective or Spartan, my mentor was unclear.

Slightly dismayed, I was about to head over to Estia's place, but I felt it was too early, so I asked Kefin about it.

''I would like to visit Estia, but it is indeed too early, isn't it?''

"Yes, sir. Esther is currently sharing a room with Ketty and that sister of hers, so I thought it would be best to visit her if she wasn't there at breakfast.

I decided not to panic as I got the answer I expected.

'Right. Is there anything unusual?

No, sir.

I decided to take the plunge and take the opportunity to ask Kefin what he really thought.

'Do you have any concerns about the blessings of the spirits and going to the labyrinth to free the dragon?'

'None. On the contrary, I am thrilled. Just as Whirlwind-sama died defending someone else, and when it was prophesied that he would die, he wanted to pass on his skills to Luciel-sama, so I want to see Luciel-sama run up to heroism.

Kefin said with a twinkle in his eye.

'I don't think it would be much fun to write a biography of me, do you?

It's what people will think later.

In my mind, I'd have to be close to Lord Leinster's accomplishments to be much fun to read about.

After such a morning stand-up, we headed to the cafeteria, and while waiting for everyone, I asked Kefin about his impressions of the detection skill, or rather, his image of how to use it, and he told me that he doesn't know how to detect magic, so he judges it by his sense of smell and presence.

I recognized that different people and races had different images of the skill.

'What about Keti?'

'I will be happy to discuss this with you when I get a chance to return to Yenis. He would like to talk to Mr. Nahlia about it.

A slightly embarrassed smile on Kefin's face shows that he can't hide his happy aura.

'You should think positively about being freed from slavery, too. I just want you to continue as a squire, though.

Yes, sir.

After that, everyone gradually gathered together, and I was relieved to see that Esther, who had been worried about her, was safe and came over for breakfast.

''Master, so that's where we're going to have the mock battle, do you have a guess?''

'Yes. Sorry to remind your sisters of the unpleasantness, but I'm thinking of heading to the labyrinth of intrigue.

There's no reason to go there.

I've already freed the dragon and the only thing I'm worried about is the core, but that's a weapon that summons the evil gods, so I wouldn't want to go near it if I could.

''........Why?''

''Because the Labyrinth of Intrigue is just the right place to level up the most. Besides, both me and the war demons have decided to fight the demons as best we can to finish the job.

''Master Luciel, not as a squire, but as a warrior, I would ask you to join me.

I couldn't say no to the masters of warfare when they asked me to, so I decided to give up.

As long as they didn't touch the core, it would be fine, and I decided to check with Nadia and Lydia as I went to the labyrinth of intrigue.

''....I understand. Nadia, what do you want to do about Lydia?　Do you want to go with me?　Or do you want to part ways here?

I can't ask them to follow me, partly because I don't want to give them both a hard time.

They looked at each other and nodded at each other without either of them, and Nadia opened her mouth.

'Let me and Lydia accompany you. I feel that being with all of you will help me to reach a higher level as an adventurer.

He assured me so.

'Kefin, I'm sure trap detection and disarming will be harder than the labyrinth so far, but good luck with that. Keti, follow up on that.

Ha!

Esther, it's good to see you again.

Um, yes. It's nice to meet you too.

He seemed surprised that he suddenly bowed to me, but I hoped that he would somehow adjust to the party, and we decided on a plan for the future.

After checking out the inn, we bought a large amount of food and then left for the Maze of Intrigue.

After we left, Nadia gave me the Holy Dragon Spear and the Illusion Sword.

Thank God. But why Nadia?

'With the others, it seemed that the dragon's power was repulsive and I couldn't hold it. I could hold it too, but it didn't seem to be able to wield it, so I kept it in my magic bag.

Okay.

I poured my magic power into the Holy Dragon Spear and Illusionary Sword, and a pale light spread across the entire area, then a circle of scarlet light, brown light, and yellow light appeared and disappeared in turn.

Just the fact that it was my own personal weapon made me feel a little more excited to go.

To cool it down, I closed my eyes and searched for magic and signs as I concentrated and looked through the whole thing.

Is this different from searching for the enemy?　As I expand my awareness with such questions, it's hard to tell the signs, but I'm able to detect the magic power... but somehow, from the side that I was able to, it disappears.

I was curious and asked Keti and Kefin on the guru's seat, the two of you who became cavalrymen defeated them as a matter of course.

There was such an answer, and I was getting the feeling that those two were indeed gradually becoming awesome.

And after three hours of driving the carriage non-stop, they arrived at the Labyrinth of Plotting.

When I saw the labyrinth of intrigue, my first words were always the same: "What is this?

"What's this?

On the map, there was definitely a labyrinth, but for some reason the mountains were towering over it.

'It's strange. It was like a cave when we went in.

Nadia looked at Lydia as if to ask her to agree, but she didn't seem to hear it.

'....I can hear voices...'

Muttering that, Lydia started to walk away.

''Well maybe it's a genie, so let's follow her. I might be able to find out the cause of this.''

We didn't climb the mountain, we just walked along the mountainside, but perhaps because we follow the words of the bird-type demons even if they approach us from the sky, we walked completely defenseless, so we all became an odd group of people walking while escorting Lydia.

''The fact that this many demons are appearing must have had some kind of effect, after all. If I'm not mistaken, this should be the mine that was blocking Grandle and Melatni.''

'Yeah. And it must have been strong it's getting interesting, even though it's strange.

The Master was rather pleased.

When we started following Lydia and we had been walking for less than an hour, I could smell the smell of sulfur.

The only thing I could associate with it was hot springs, but when I studied the specialties and landmarks of various places in the distant past, it didn't mention that hot springs were in the area, did it?

With that in mind, I followed Lydia, but before I could do so, I handed her the nose plugs as Kefin and Ketty seemed to be in pain.

Thinking that the unique smell of a hot spring must be hard for a beast with a sense of smell many times greater than that of an ordinary person, I proceeded and found a geyser spewing out of it.

''You'll burn yourself if you touch it, so be careful.

Since the area barrier can't prevent it from happening, I'll tell them properly.

And as Lydia heaved her hand into the ground, a magic circle formed, and a scorching little firebird appeared from the scarlet magic circle.

As before, if I only knew what it looked like, I might have made fun of it, but even if I didn't meditate on it, I could tell that its presence was amazing.

When Lydia was about to collapse as if she had finished her role, her sister, Nadia, supported her.

''I am the spirit of fire. You are the one who has the blessing of the spirit king in your body, the one who has been blessed by many spirits, the one who has received the favor of the spirit of darkness. I thank you for your service.

A solemn voice echoes in my head, more so than I can imagine from the little bird in front of me.

''O fire spirit. Is it an emergency to summon her with the blessings of the Spirit King in a way that is not too much of a stretch to say that it is forced?

''Those who have many blessings tonight are quick to talk. As a matter of fact, this mountain was sent to me while I was asleep.

Transfer?

''Master Left. Only the Demon Race should be able to do this, but I can't feel any of the Demon Race's magic power.

If it's not the work of man, then it can only be the work of an evil god.　

I have a very bad feeling about this.

''........As expected, we can't break this, and our purpose is a labyrinth of intrigue that should have been here.......''

Hmm. Don't get me wrong. We can retransmit to this mountain as soon as it arrived.

So that means there's only one thing we can do for the spirits.

''........You mean we're going to share our magic power?''

It's not just for me. It's not just for me. If something this big is being transmitted, it will change the habitat map around the mountain and the flow of the stars.

What do you want me to do?

Hmm. First I give you my blessing. Then raise your hands and wrap them around me.

I reluctantly raised my hands and put them together and a mechanical sound announcement played in my brain.

''I've acquired the blessing of the fire spirit.

Then stay awake and stay conscious.

The moment it comes into contact with me, it becomes more and more gigantic and changes its form into the Phoenix of lore.

While commenting on its appearance, I turned to everyone and saw that Estia and Lydia were surprised, while my masters were not looking up at the sky, but only at me.

I remembered that I couldn't see anything other than the spirit's consort, but I kept my footing wobbling with the magic power that kept being sucked in while trying to stay calm and not get too excited.

Then, when there was less than ten percent left, the phoenix howled and the mountain glowed and disappeared.

''O one who possesses the Spirit King's blessing, do your best to follow me. I am waiting for you to call me, you who have the blessing of many spirits.

I don't know if it was the Phoenix or the Salamander, but the fire spirit was disappearing.

I managed to make it through, and I poked my knees in the air.

It felt like time-space magic to have that mountain transferred, but I guess anything is possible with spirits.

I decided to think so.

I also understood that that wasn't a power that could be used by people.

I took a deep breath and explained what happened this time to everyone who was concerned.

''Well then, the distance to Meratni was still a two-day journey as before, wasn't it? Well, if the spirits have fixed the distortions in this world, then it can't be helped.

I thought so too, but I have a slight hunch that they didn't want to keep it in this realm.

'But when the mountains are gone, you know you've left the labyrinth.

As expected, I walked over, so I couldn't see the labyrinth.

'The spirits are a mess, but this time the mountains are back, so the results are okay?　Is Lydia all right?

You seem to be experiencing a bit of a magical depletion, but you should be fine.

Do you need a magic potion?

I just need to take a break and I'll be fine.

Lydia declined the potion.

'Right. So, while we take a short break, can Nadia briefly describe the demons and traps in the labyrinth of intrigue?

Yes, sir.

That's important, but it's better to eat when you can.

So Master's advice came in, and we ate an early lunch, and we slid the stories of Nadia and Lydia, who had actually dived into the labyrinth of intrigue, and Master and Kefin, who had been gathering information, to share information and challenge each other.