Chapter 54

Chapter 54

The Witch's Forest (1)

"You mean theyre those pillagers from back then?"

Rotmiller nodded at the dwarf's question. And this made the situation crystal clear.

There couldnt be such a coincidence that the guys whod been proudly pillaging on the third floor just happened to chance upon us here after being chased by monsters.

"I don't know who they are, but they're definitely aiming at us."

"I dont know why theyd do this, but I agree. Maybe theyre pretending to be chased and trying to mix within our ranks."

Rotmiller not only affirmed my words, he also added his own opinion.

I had the same idea.

"S-, so, what do we do now!"

What to do? How to do it? Those were the questions.

Luckily, thanks to Rotmiller, we managed to find out about their scheme early in the game.

"We should take advantage of this opportunity."

"Take advantage? How do you mean?"

Misha tilted her head.

There was was no time to explain in detail.

Because the other party had already arrived.

"L-, light! There's a light!"

In tandem with the male voice shouting, three men and women soaked in blood and sweat rushed into the radius of our torchlight.

"If you arent confident in your acting, just stay still and watch."

Whispering that, I made eye contact with Rotmiller. He gave a slight nod.

There was a reason why I got along well with this guy.

Even the dwarf who was worried to the bones seemed to understand exactly what I meant.

Now, let's start, slowly.

"Dont come any closer."

Seeing them rush in, I immediately grabbed my shield and went forward to block their way.

"H-, hey, look! Our party got annihilated. Help! Well definitely pay!"

A desperate yet urgent expression.

This guy was good at acting, too.

Or was it a standard skillset for pillagers?

"Put down your weapons."

"Uh, but therere monsters right behind us!"

A human uncle in his early thirties pointed back to their trail.

A horde of orcs thatd come chasing them could be seen, staring at us from beyond the torchlight's range.

"Chwi, chwiik!"

Since the total number of targets increased, they were hesitating to approach, but we couldnt be sure how long thatd last.

So come on, let us in.

That was evidently what the old man was going for, but so what?

"Its your choice. Either put down your weapons or get out."

I stubbornly repeated myself, but they couldnt answer easily.

It was a troublesome demand, after all.

""

Because in the labyrinth, your weapon is the same as your life.

Perhaps they were even suspicious whether wed picked up on their acting.

But it didn't matter.

No matter what choice they made, we had nothing to lose.

" Lets put them down."

As soon as the decision was made, the man with the moustache dropped his weapon on the floor, and the other two also followed and threw theirs away.

Arent they being too greedy?'

While I was satisfied with their choice, I was also a little worried. They were taking such a big risk, what about us was worth that?

There was no point in even trying to guess.

"Okay then, slowly come forward. Stay apart from each other, as far as possible."

"Hey, theres no need to be like this, right? We just wanted some help"

"If you want help, do as youre told."

"I understand."

Then, as they arrived one by one as instructed, Rotmiller approached and checked them for hidden weapons.

" There doesn't seem to be any threat."

"Right. Murad, you keep watch on them."

"Ah, got it!"

The dwarf stiffened and nodded his head, then marched forward at attention with jerking limbs like a North Korean soldier on parade.

For some reason, a sigh escaped me

Fortunately, from their expressions, they didn't seem to sense anything awkward in our actions.

"Chwi, chwiik"

"Chwiik, chwiik, chwiik!"

Leaving the dwarf with the trio of pillagers, we stepped forward to stare back at the orcs, and they soon turned around and left.

Even the orcs considered it a great risk to fight a group this large.

As usual, all these monster bastards are clever."

But, well, compared to the adventurer bastards, they were nothing to write home about.

In any case, avoiding a useless battle was good news for us.

Since we were already facing a new problem, having to focus on the battle with the orcs wouldve been quite tiring.Rread latest chapters at novelhall.com

"Whoo, I really thought I was going to die"

First of all, from the sound was different from potions, and also just by looking at the expression on that Hans C over there.

Didnt he look calm and gentle as if there was no pain at all?

"May the stars of the twilight guide us"

What an unexpected development.

Rotmiller, whod also gotten flustered for a moment, soon regained his senses and kept drawing the Gods sign.

Like a man witnessing a divine miracle right before his eyes.

It seemed a bit exaggerated to my eyes, but in fact, this was probably the normal reaction given how this world was structured.

Just as demihumans grow up in their holy places, most human children learn to read and accumulate knowledge in the temples from an early age.

The weight behind the title of priest, is different.

"Ah! So can we get our weapons back now, please?"

Elisha asked naturally.

She spoke as if shed realized only now that she didnt have a weapon at hand. Perhaps showing her divine power had been to lead to this.

It mustve been this trust in herself that had let her make the bold decision to throw away their weapons earlier.

But so what?

"You cant."

Eh? Yes?"

As she stared with a puzzled expression, I also responded naturally. Well, there was no need to reveal just yet that we already know their identity.

"I know that youre a real priest. But so what?"

I was a barbarian who believed in the ancestors!

Id never received anything from the priests, so it wasnt strange for me to react like this.

Elisa smiled awkwardly and looked at Rotmiller and Dwalky, the two humans in the party.

Like she was trying to get some help

I continued in the same stubborn tone.

"The weapons can be returned when you leave after giving us the reward."

"Re-, reward?"

"Whyre you so surprised? Whether you're a priest or whatever, as long as you've entered the labyrinth, you're an adventurer. You have to follow the convention."

"Ah, yes I've heard of such a custom. Then how much should I give you?"

I pretended to think for a moment.

"About two million stones would work."

" Wh-, what?"

Elisa asked as if shed heard it wrong.

But I was aloof.

"Isnt that an unreasonable request?"

Um, no, this was reasonable enough.

Some villains even rob people of their equipment in return for their lives.

"Dont think of it as a waste, think of it as the price of your life."

"But we dont have that much money, you know?"

I already knew that.

Who would carry cash with them when they entered the labyrinth?

Now that we got the expected answer, it was time for the next move.

"Im not asking you to lower the price. At least wait till we go outside"

"No way. I don't believe in the promises of people other than my kin. If you dont have the money, pay in kind."

" In kind?"

"Well, I think that mans armour should be enough."

When I pointed to Hans C with my index finger, he frowned. But after a short and silent exchange of glances with Elisa, he sighed deeply.

"Huh, yes, its npt a bad trade to save our lives with just this much. But instead, there are conditions. We will stay with you tonight until our fatigue is relieved."

"Sure."

I nodded willingly.

Their intentions were obvious, but what was the problem? It wasnt like we were ever going to reach the point where this promise would have to be fulfilled.

"Irita, can you help me, please?"

"Of course."

Hans C, who took off his heavy armour with the help of the spearman next to him, handed the equipment to Rotmiller.

Alright, one bastards armour had been stripped off.

For now, I think I'll start by taking everything I can grab'

"Well, now that the price has been paid, could you please return our weapons to us?"

I couldn't take it any longer and smiled brightly.

To be honest, I never thought things would turn out so well

" Why are you laughing?"

Hans C looked at me and asked with a firm face.

Very rudely, I didn't respond.

Come to think of it, I never solved Misha's misunderstanding that my eyes were glued to Elisas form, hm? She was so sullen about it.

Because even if I didnt tell her why out loud, she was going to find out soon enough.

"You over there, Yandel, right? If you keep asking for more here, we'll be in trouble"

"Oh, no, that's not it."

Along with my answer, my mace rose up and struck Elisa in the head, thud!

"L-, Lady Elisa!!!"

Doesnt matter which game it is, crushing the enemy healers skull first is common sense.

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No, the project isn't continuing.

This was the advanced chapter for the Ko-fi subscribers. As someone emailed asking about it, here it is.

Sorry if some of you got your hopes up.