Volume 16 - CH 24

After we finished Cherry-sensei business, we came back to where Serina and the others were.

「Alec, what's going on over there? You all look like that.」

It is only at times like this that the strangely perceptive Serina tells me so.

「There's nothing. No, I've seen the horror of the lost artifacts of the gods. That's something you don't want to touch.」

I say with a stern face.

「That much?」

「T-t-t-that's right! Alec's sword just broke!」

Marilyn is so flustered, It seems she can't tell a lie.

「No, I saw something really valuable, ha, haha ......」

The young man Nicole's face is also tense.

「Well, it was a legend that it couldn't be broken, but it's only a legend. If you ask me, a genius, I think I could do it if I wanted to. It's possible, yes, yes.」

Shut up, Letty. Don't let your hindsight get the better of you.

「Yes, it's an indestructible object: ....... Then the only way to prevent its misuse is to seal it up here.」

Serina was easily convinced, but, well, it's better that way.

「So, Saki and Meena aren't back yet?」

I looked around, but they were nowhere to be found.

「Yeah, they're still out scouting. I wonder if they're okay.」

Just to be sure, I checked the window, but their HP bars were showing, so they were fine.

If they're too far away, I won't be able to see this HP bar, so I can't always use it to confirm their safety.

Jouga and the others have gone outside, so I can't see their HP anymore.

「I'm sure they'll be fine since they have HP. As for us, we didn't come here to fight with the black Magician. If the other side hasn't noticed us, we'll just head straight to the deepest part without setting any traps.」

It's better if we don't run into that black Magician.

「It's true that if that black Magician summoning some strange monster here that doesn't work with magic, it's going to give me a hard time.」

Serina laughs bitterly, but not only her, I can also deal with it with my 【Zanetsuken】.

But if it's anything close to the "Black Sea Anemone" class of a year from now, it will be a heavy burden for the other members.

「All of you, try not to get separated from me or Serina. If we get separated, we'll have to run away from the enemy and we'll join up first. Understood?」

「「「 Roger! 」」」

That's good answer. It's not just the first team members. There are temporary members mixed in as well, but the earlier artifact mess may have created a bit of trust

「Sorry to keep you waiting.」

Saki and Meena had just returned together.

「From the looks of it, it looks like you didn't find any enemies.」

I said, looking at the two of them.

「Yeah. Well, I think it's better not to pursue too deeply. If Darling wants me to go look for that black Magician, I'll go back.」

「No, I'm going to avoid fighting black magician in the forbidden zone if at all possible. Enemies whose magic doesn't work are troublesome on their own, and that black magician might have other hidden agendas.」

We don't know anything about the identity of black magician, and we haven't even appraised her.

We should distinguish her from ordinary enemies and respond to her differently.

「If that's the case, I guess my skills will come in handy. Can everyone gather over here for a minute?」

Kaede said, so we gathered close to her.

「It'll only take a second, so just sit tight.」

「...... assassination ...... won't forgive ......」

Lumina said in a dumb voice, as if she was joking or seriously worried.

「I'm not going to do that. I don't have the skills to assassinate all of these people. Mine is――secret technique 【Hiding in the Clouds!】」

Kaede raised one hand and said the name of the technique in a tense voice, but nothing in particular has changed.

「Okay, that's enough. This should drastically reduce the rate of detection by the enemy for a while.」

It's a kind of skill to remove signs.

「Hee, you're a Thief, aren't you?」

Serina asked.

「No, not really, but I was trained here to survive. No, it's better to say that I was made to train. ......」

Kaede gives a distant look with a shady face.

「Y-yeah. The nobility of the Gilan Empire is somewhat more difficult than I thought.」

「That's not true, Serina. She just doesn't like being told to wake up in the morning and wash her face, so she developed that skill.」

My kind of guy, I assure you.

「Hey, Alec, you're absolutely right, but you don't know me, don't talk about it like you've seen it.」　（？）

「See?」

「Ehh? You guys seem like you'd hit it off even though you've never met before.」

Serina shrugged her shoulders and said, Well, we're on the same path.

「I wish I had that skill. Oh, it was on the list!」

Lily said, but we have more friends now.

「Ahem, the next area is to the east.」

Cherry-sensei said with a stern face and coughed, and we headed that way.

◇　◆　◇　◆　◇

「This place is definitely stomach-like. ......」

Kaede looks around and says that, this is the stomach area.

The pink, slimy ground is very sticky when you step on it, which is not only disgusting, but also a bit scary.

We're not going to be digested, are we? That's my fear.

I was the first one to try to [Appraisal] the ground. ......

【Name】 Stomach wall

【Type】 Facility

【Material】 ???

【Defense】 100000

【Weight】 ???

【Description】

A part of a certain life form that covers the entire surface.

It moves as it is supposed to.

「Damn, I heard this ground moves.」

「「 What? 」」

The only ones who raised their voices in surprise were Nicole and Noel, two sturdy young men, and the others nodded their heads in agreement.

「Well, it look like it's going to move.」

「Hey, hey, Alec, can I go home? My gut tells me we're in trouble here.」

Lily said, but I've had that feeling for a while now too.

「We'll be fine. There will be a lot of happenings, but you'll be fine, Lily.」

I'm going to cast a spell.

「Hmm? Well, if Alec says so, I guess we'll be okay.」

It seems to have worked for Lily. Good.

「Then we'll be careful here, slowing down and moving in formation. Meena in the lead.」

「Sure, Master.」

Meena has a lot of courage to go forward without fear. Of course, if anything happens, we'll all cover for her, and I'm sure she trusts us because she knows that.

「Next is Saki.」

「All right. I'm in charge of searching for the enemy.」

Saki will not only be in charge of spotting the enemy, but will also be in charge of preventing traps as a Thief.

「In the front row, Serina, Cherry, me, and Kaede.」

「I understand.」

「You can leave it to me」

「Oh, ......?」

「The rest of you will be the rear guard.」

I looked at the rest of the team and said.

Aside from the high leveled Marilyn, Lumina is a VIP because she is a princess even though she is capable.

Noel, a beautiful young boy who is a healer and has concerns about his ability (level) because he is in the second team in terms of his ability.

Nicole, a young man with an earnest desire to explore magic. However, Nicole doesn't seem to have any actual combat experience.

After all, in this area I can't be put them the front row. They are, after all, the guests of the party.

Lily and Nene are also in the rear guard.

I'm tempted to put Letty at the front of the line, but she's the kind of someone who can't perform to her full potential if she panics, so I think Letty will be in the rear guard. Because she's a Magician.

「Alec, I'd prefer to be in the rear guard as well, can I?」

Kaede seems to have been dissatisfied and says that, but considering the ability of the hero, she should be in front.

It would be a bit dangerous if the only thing she had in her status was her magic, but then again, she would probably self-report her reasons.

She was lightly dressed Thief, but she's in the front line.

「I'm the leader of the group, and I've made a decision based on our abilities. Marilyn's going to help」

「I don't want to. I've already promised to take Marilyn. I'll think about it if you give me Serina too.」

「You greedy bastard. Then you can have her too, but be careful with her, okay?」

「Don't worry, I won't make her cry.」

I'm worried that the smiling Kaede might have misunderstood the meaning of my warning, but I'm sure she'll work it out, woman to woman. Serina is not the type to obey.

「What are you talking about?」

The person in question was paying attention.

「It's nothing.」

「Oh, it's nothing. it's none of your business, Serina.」

Kaede and I nodded and got into position without worrying about it.

「There's something fishy about you two. ...... I'll have you talk about it when we get back.」

「「 OKayy. 」」

The party started to move.