Volume 29 - CH 2

The bear-like monster was in the rightmost tunnel, and the missing girl was in the middle. Of course, we should search the middle one.

「All right, we'll make the search and rescue of the child our top priority.」

「「「Roger that!」」」

We immediately took the middle path and entered the tunnel.

Lily illuminated the tunnel with a magic lantern, but the tunnel was well-lit with lighted magical tools.

It was reinforced with wooden pillars in some places to ensure safety.

「I'm glad it's so easy to walk. It's going to be easy to find.」

Serina smiled. It's just that we're still near the entrance. We still don't know if this is the same all the way to the back.

「Meena, how are the monsters?」

Just in case, I'll make sure.

「Yes, Master, I don't smell any monsters.」

I think it'll be okay. As a dog-eared tribe member, she has a keen sense of smell and can detect monsters.

「But the smell of girls doesn't feel like I went through yesterday either.」

The girl with the lunchbox doesn't seem to be in this tunnel.

「I see. But let's go through and check it out.」

I don't doubt Meena, but since the scent is still there, we'd better check to see if the path is connected at the back.

As a miner's daughter, she would have already known about the monster's tunnel. It's unlikely that she would have dared to approach the bear on her own.

So either the guards had skipped or overlooked it and the bear had gone into another tunnel, or the girl and the bear were completely unrelated.

There was still too little information.

We checked out a few forks and dead ends before heading back.

Not a single monster was in sight. This is not a dungeon.

「Hey, there's a noise! Over here!」

On the way, I heard the voices of these young men, and a party of adventurers came running toward us, but these guys are still have a long way to go. I know they want to check it out as soon as possible, but there's not much point in having a party if they break formation.

「What, you're in the same business as us ......」

「Hey there. I see you haven't found anything yet either.」

「Yeah. Where'd the bear go?」

The adventurer's party looked disappointed and starts searching again.

「Enough of this. Let's go to the other tunnel.」

I decided to check the other tunnels first, since they had already walked through this one.

We take the leftmost path, the one where the first bear was seen.

「*sniff-sniff* It smells like a bear. I'm not sure what kind it is, but...... My apologies, Master.」

「No, don't worry about it, Meena. It's enough to know there's a monster here. Let's go.」

「Okay.」

As we made our way through the evenly lit tunnels, we heard a low roar.

「Looks like its here. ......」

Luka, in bikini armor, says as she holds up a large bastard sword.

「Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's the bear. What do we do now, Alec? There's a side road there that might take us around.」

Hannah pointed out that the tunnels here went around and around in a circle, and many of them were connected. According to what Saki had told me, a small amount of mithril was released, but the miners must have tried to take all they could, because every inch of the tunnel was intricately dug. It's nothing compared to the labyrinth, though.

「All right, Ione, Hannah, Mare, you guys go around from the side road.」

I'll pick out a few members and have them go behind the bear. They might strike out, but there's a lot of people here. The point is that they are not noisy members like Jouga and Lily. If they notice and the bear runs away first, it will take time to chase it again.

「「Roger」」「Mmm」

「Be careful, girls.」

Serina calls out to them, but they're a single group with impeccable abilities. Ione is unlikely to fall behind in a one-on-one situation, and even in a confined space, the archer's Mare should be able to cover her from behind.

I'll wait here for a while, and after taking into account the time that Ione and the others can go around, I raise my fist and give a silent signal, and proceed down the tunnel.

「Gururururu......」

There it is.

It was a large bear huddled in the corner of the tunnel.

It hadn't noticed us yet.

We could see Ione and the others coming from the other side of the tunnel, having successfully made their way around.

They all drew their swords quickly.

I give the signal to attack by lightly waving the tip of my sword.

At the same time, the vanguard group rushes in at once.

「Ah, wait!」

But on the way, Hannah shouted, as if she had noticed something.