CH 38

Her head felt like it was steaming.

There was no doubt. Rowe — he had betrayed “Twilight’s Sword”. 

In the first place, when he led us to join this expedition, he was already shady enough. 

The atmosphere in the expedition was terrible. When Gameo tried to mediate, Rowe coldly rejected him. It was because if we got on better terms with the other Sherpas and ate the same food, it would be harder for him to carry out his plan. 

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Spilling precious food in the Labyrinth was, no matter what you thought, going too far.

Perhaps Gameo had realised Rowe’s purpose.

So he had called Rowe to the passageway and tried to stop him.

However, Rowe’s actions would also protect the livelihood of the Sherpas.

So in the end, he supported Rowe. 

With this, we can’t keep that guy by our side as our Sherpa anymore. 

Although there’s no evidence, and this isn’t a courtroom, the ones judging are my comrades.

My own testimony will surely be enough.

As quickly as possible, I have to warn everyone.

The Sherpa with a swollen cheek walked back to where “Twilight’s Sword” was gathered.

“Darling. What’s with that injury?”

“I fell.”

A poor excuse, but since he said that with a smile, there was no point in pursuing the matter. 

Rowe took out several small flasks from his rucksack. He put green powder into a mortar and dissolved it in water.

Yuika spoke to him with concern.

“Should I get Magikan to cast healing magic on you?”

“No. Let’s not use magic power for something like this. I don’t even need a potion. It’s just a light bruise, it’ll heal soon.”

“At least chill it.”

Yuika soaked a cloth in the Dungeon Oasis and put it to Rowe’s cheek.

“Nuuk. This isn’t flirting. It’s only medical treatment.” 

To maintain the position of Adventurer and Sherpa in the labyrinth — Yuika was faithful to the promise she had made to Nuke.

Whenever there were people other than their party members present, she called Rowe by his name and avoided contact with him as much as possible.

Like this, Yuika gallantly took care of Rowe while staying next to him. 

Seeing the two of them together, Berii let out a frustrated moan.

Even just letting Yuika, the goal of many Adventurers and a target of their admiration, do this for him was outrageous, but what’s more, this man was betraying Yuika’s kindness. 

As her shoulders shook with anger, Rowe asked, puzzled.

“Berii. What’s the matter?”

“……”

“‘I’ve been thinking about it since we entered the labyrinth, but you’ve been a little strange. You keep leaving leftovers, are you not feeling well?”

The Sherpa with braided hair chuckled as he transferred the liquid in the mortar to a wooden cup.

“Just as well. I made you a drink that will help your body’s condition. It may be a little bitter, but I assure you it works.”

The drink he offered was bright green.

It looked bitter and smelled like fresh young grass.

“……”

Berii, peering intently at the contents of the cup, suddenly thrust it to Magikan.

“Old man, [Appraise] this.”

“Why so out of the blue?””

“Just do it!”

Berii noticed that Rowe’s expression had become tense.

Don’t tell me, such a simple way–

No, it might be exactly because it’s simple that it’s effective.

If I hadn’t known anything, I wouldn’t have doubted Rowe’s medicinal knowledge. It would’ve been unthinkable for Rowe to do such a thing. 

Magikan dipped the tip of his little finger into the liquid.

“……mu.”

His brow furrowed and his face became grim.

It didn’t take long to identify

The Sage quickly looked up and stated the result in a flat tone.

“This is poison.”

The suspicion was confirmed.

“Aren’t you an idiot!” 

This Sherpa so easily gave up the evidence.

Resisting the urge to burst out laughing, Berii pointed her treasured swords at Rowe.

“Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like you’re as smart as I thought you were. Or maybe this is what happens when a schemer drowns in their own tricks? I’m grateful that you saved my life, but that and this are different. Obediently accept justice!” 

Just as she was about to press the centre of her blade against Rowe’s chin — Yuika grabbed Rowe by the hem of his coat and pulled him down.

“Calm down, Berii!”

“I am calm.”

Nuuk and Magican, unable to grasp the situation, were stunned.

Yuika was probably similarly confused, but befitting the position of “Twilight’s Sword”‘s leader, she assessed the situation and moved quickly.

“I, know. What those guys are plotting. Everything.”

“Berii, what are you talking about? Who are those guys?”

As if to vent the indignation that had been building up in her heart, Berii recounted the events that had taken place up to that point.　

Just before this time’s labyrinth exploration, Rowe had a secret meeting with 3 people, the Mayor, the Guildmaster of the Adventurers Guild, and the former Guildmaster of the Sherpa Guild.

The economy of the town of Tyros is linked with the labyrinth. If the labyrinth were to dry up, the people who live there would not be able to live. Of course, the same would also apply to the staff of the Adventurers Guild and the Sherpas of the Sherpa Guild.

So, those 3 authorities requested “Twilight’s Sword”‘s Sherpa, Rowe, to perform the most vicious task.

They asked him to be the guardian of the labyrinth — be the “Sherpa Sword”, and prevent “Twilight’s Sword” from conquering the labyrinth.

And then dazzled by the reward, Rowe accepted the request.

“Really, is that all true?”

Yuika’s face tightened.

But she still didn’t show any signs of doubting Rowe. There was not enough information to make a judgement.

“Yes. I have seen through everything.”

After that, our dinner party at Rowe’s house.

Rowe insisted we join the expedition so that he could carry out the request.

Even if he harmed the members of “Twilight’s Sword”, it would be meaningless if he couldn’t return to the surface. To achieve that, he made use of the expedition. 

His suggestion for separating camp from other Adventurers, managing consumables and eating alone was to make sure of the poison. If we’d prepared our meals with the other Sherpas, he would have lost the opportunity.

“And proof of the poison is here.”

Berii said with a smile.

“In other words, the truth has been revealed.”

In fact, Berii had no idea whether Lowe had accepted the request from those authorities. Because halfway through, her magic had been cut off. 

So, she decided to make Rowe confess.

“Fufu, no use playing dumb you know, you scoundrel Sherpa? I used my ‘Whisper’ magic on you right before you entered the store. I heard everything in that talk.” 

“……You were there huh.”

The suspected Rowe finally got to his feet.

“At that time? I did feel a sign of magic.”

“You accepted, didn’t you? Their request.”

Though he scratched his head in embarrassment, Rowe had a thin smile.

“Yes, that’s so.”

Looks like he’s finally resigned himself.

All we have to do is get this guy to confess to everything…

But as though to douse Berii’s enthuasism, Rowe suggested.

“Why don’t you put away your sword for now? There’s no place to run in the labyrinth, and I won’t resist. The other Adventurers and Sherpas will also wonder what’s going on, won’t they?”

To determine the consistency in the claims of two sides, carefully examine their content and draw conclusions, there was a thing known as an arbitration meeting. 

The venue for this is usually the arbitration hall in an Earth Mother Goddess temple, and the mediator who makes the decisions is typically a Priest.

Nuuk had previously held this position.

Therefore, he was to conduct the interview.

Berri was the plaintiff and Rowe the defendant. Yuika was Rowe’s lover, and Magikan was Berii’s father. For the purpose of eliminating the possibility of personal biases as well, he was surely the most suitable for the job. 

“So abruptly, what a difficult thing to believe.”

With a slight frown on his expressionless face, Nuuk sighed.

“I understand the circumstances of the town, but for the Adventurers Guild and the Sherpa Guild together to resort to such a drastic act….. ‘Sherpa Sword’, was it? Rowe, does that role really exist?” 

“Unfortunately. I believe it’s limited to the town of Tyros.”

”Twilight’s Sword” had cleared two other labyrinths in the region. They would probably have to reexamine even their previous Sherpas. 

“So, did you accept the request?”

“Yes.”

Berii’s eyes shone.

“You see. Just as I said–“

“Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to protect all of you.”

“……eh?”

Berii’s mouth dropped open as her spirit was shaken.

“If I had refused the request right there, ‘Twilight’s Sword’ would have been either assigned another Sherpa, or in the worst case, they would have forced the request on me, using Mariete’s safety as a threat. In that case, I wouldn’t have been able to do anything. So as much as possible, I had no choice other than to pretend to be blinded by the reward and accept the request.” 

“I see.”

Nuuk nodded seriously.

“What about regarding the expedition? Was it as Berii said, this was arranged by the Adventurer’s Guild as a means of helping you return to the surface?” 

Rowe answered that it was, though it was not as simple as that.

”Twilight’s Sword” explores Labyrinths alone. Knowing this, the Adventurer’s Guild Guildmaster had entirely no hopes for “Twilight’s Sword”s participation in the expedition.” 

Naturally, he had been expecting them to refuse.

“What he was aiming for was for you to be stalked.” 

The monsters defeated in the Labyrinth will respawn after a certain period of time. Until then, both the passageways and rooms will be safe. This being so, the standard Labyrinth exploration method is to use the Dungeon Oasis as a base and walk back and forth along the same path while gradually increasing the search distance and aiming for the next Dungeon Oasis. 

In order to gain a meaningful “Harvesting Time,” Adventurers want to minimise the amount of time they spend on their way to the next floor.

Therefore, the strategy where Adventurers follow behind another party — “stalking” was devised.

“One of the parties in this expedition, ‘Mud Lizard’, has a Raider with a very troublesome Gift.” 

That Gift — [Tracking].

Nuuk’s [Enemy Search] detects the Demonic Spirit emitted by monsters, but [Tracking] detects the Divine Spirit of Adventurers.

No matter how speedily “Twilight’s Sword” progressed, they would not be able to outrun them.

The party on the receiving end of the chase would become frustrated, mentally pressured and exhausted. All the more so for Yuika, who would have also been sleep deprived and unable to relax, putting her under a heavy burden. 

And finally, they would be joined at the Dungeon Oasis in the deep layers of the labyrinth.

“If that was going to happen anyway, it would definitely be better to join the expedition from the beginning and take advantage of them.”

Nuuk seemed to agree with this idea as well.

The Adventurers Guild Guildmaster would have asked the expedition to help “Twilight’s Sword” in secret.

”Twilight’s Sword”, the Hero of the East, was a guest of Tyros’ Adventurer’s Guild.

So they had to guarantee their safety at all costs. 

They would be informed of the date and time of the departure of “Twilight’s Sword”. They would also be granted permission for stalking. If something ‘unforeseen’ were to happen, they were to link up with “Twilight’s Sword” and bring them back safely. Of course, they would have to not let “Twilight’s Sword” notice…. 

And then among those protected, Rowe would be included.

“This was a mandatory request for them. Naturally, they weren’t amused.”

That’s why after descending the shortcut, the monkey-faced middle-aged man that was the leader of “Profound Association” tried to quibble and make “Twilight’s Sword” fight first. 

In the end, this act infuriated Yuika, who after showing them her overwhelming power, made them look like beggars receiving the charity of drop items and magic stones, and in return, they had also ended up enraged.