Chapter 16

"Excuse me, Theodor-sama. Did I make you uncomfortable?"

"..."

When I turned around, Grace had a slightly troubled expression on her face.

When she said that, I put my hand to my face. No good, I guess my expression showed.

I must have had a pretty bad look on my face. I need to be more... calm. I don't want to make Grace anxious.

"No... I'm not angry at Grace. But you don't have to worry about being a shield. I have a plan this time."

"Understood."

Grace closed her eyes and bowed her head. ...A shield, huh.

Because I couldn't do anything when my mother was in trouble. I bet Grace feels the same way and can't forgive herself.

That's why she's trying to protect me in any way she can.

Grace thinks she can heal quickly even if she gets hurt, so she probably sees temporary pain as insignificant.

If I were in Grace's position, I would probably volunteer to be a shield too. If I take the emotional aspect out of it, her suggestion is probably correct.

From her perspective, I suddenly became capable of fighting and started going into battle, so it's natural for her to be confused.

When we faced the Killer Ants... I didn't feel this way when Grace said she would fight in front.

The difference between the Killer Ants and the group with Oslo and the ants... The Killer Ants act on instinct and habit. On the other hand, being targeted with calculated malice... I can't forgive that.

Yeah. I understand it intellectually and I'm calmer now. But my emotions haven't caught up yet.

I don't hesitate to eliminate them, but dealing with humans involves a lot of complications and is very annoying. Why can't they just leave me alone?

"Hey, Theodor-kun? You said you were thinking... Were you suspicious of those guys from the beginning?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

"I was a bit puzzled by how you bought the map so carefully despite your confidence... Could that be the reason?"

"That's part of it."

If nothing happens, that's fine too. I can show Rosetta my solid dungeon exploration skills by looking at the map.

If those adventurers act suspiciously, I can narrow down the ambush spots by looking at the map.

"The spots where they might set up an ambush are here, here, and here."

I pointed to the map and showed Rosetta, and I could see her expression gradually cloud over.

"The main spot is on the third underground floor. The long corridor that intersects perpendicularly with the passage leading to the stairs and the stone monument is the most suspicious. They can take aim with a bow, and if they station people in the small room at the end of the corridor and behind, they can attack from both sides if we try to escape."

As I pointed to the T-intersection, Rosetta made a pouting face.

"That's not just the basics. Who taught you such things?"

"I didn't say I was sticking to the basics, and I don't know what to do with your pouting."

It's just a matter of being cautious about spots in the dungeon structure that are suitable for PK.

It's just doing what Kagehisa has been doing as a game, but in a normal way. There are techniques and theories, so it's not difficult.

"Hmm... already. I was thinking of saving you in a cool way at every opportunity. I was planning to bring out the bandit adventurers and the two of you were excellent, but my plans didn't work out."

"…You were thinking that?"

"I was. …So?"

Rosetta, pouting like a child. She's so childish.

"So what?"

"What are you planning to do about the ambush, Theodor-kun?"

"Well, it will be a long detour, but if we proceed from here... you see. We can take the archers from behind. They saw me holding the map in the square, so they probably think we'll take the shortest route."

I showed it to them, or rather, I let them see it.

If they target us as newbies, they won't doubt that we'll follow the standard route. I want to teach them a harsh lesson for attacking so easily.

"So, if there's an archer here, it's almost certain to be an ambush, and we'll launch a preemptive strike without hesitation."

"...I'm starting to feel sorry for them."

Rosetta shook her head and sighed.

"Hmm. It's fine. We're not at the stage of judging their strength or not. I'm moving too. If I let the adventurers who are also bandits go, I'll be in trouble."

As she said this, I tilted my head at Rosetta, who didn't even draw a weapon.

"My weapon is hand-to-hand combat and all kinds of healing magic. And... the magic behind that. Don't worry."

Healing magic and its reverse... She has quite a nasty card up her sleeve. Her choice of hand-to-hand combat is probably based on her knowledge of the structure of living beings.

It seems I don't need to worry about her... Let's continue the dungeon exploration. First, let's deal with the goblins we just killed.

"Abstraction"

I pointed my hand at the goblin corpses and activated the 6th-class dark magic.

A red mist rose from the goblin's body and gathered in my palm. The mist solidified into a red crystal about the size of a grain of rice.

The goblin's body, from which the magic stone components were extracted, disappeared as if it were melting into the dungeon floor. Well... it's a familiar sight.

"...You can even use magic to extract magic stones?"

"Yes. But I don't think it's cost-effective against goblins."

Still, I used this magic mainly to confirm. I wanted to experiment and verify how this behavior would manifest in reality. Unlike the outside, in the dungeon, it's not necessary to dispose of corpses. When a monster dies, the magic stone components naturally separate, but the Great Labyrinth absorbs the dead monster's body.

In other words, extracting the components makes it impossible to strip the materials, but... ordinary goblins don't yield any materials to begin with.

Moreover, it's not very worthwhile to cast this magic on a large number of goblins... They don't cause damage to livestock or crops by going outside, so they're not even a target for the guild. Their position is a bit different from elsewhere.

So, even if we linger here, it won't be cost-effective. Let's move forward while collecting the dimensional stones that fall on the road.

Rosetta lunged at the kobold that swung a club at her. She easily deflected the blow, spun around to knock him down, and finished him off by stomping on his medulla oblongata as he lay on the ground.

Her movements were fluid and smooth, like flowing water. Thanks to her, there was little blood, and Grace didn't get too intoxicated by it, and my staff is still intact. We can handle it with staff techniques alone.

"So, the detour is this way?"

Rosetta pointed to the path on the left and asked.

"Yes, that's right. When we get close to that point, I'll turn off the light."

We advanced to the third underground floor without much trouble, defeating the monsters that appeared sporadically. The monsters that spawn in the shallow levels are weak, and not many of them appear.

We ignored the side rooms. Since the new moon is approaching, it means a lot of time has passed since the structural changes, so the treasures have probably already been collected.

"Theodor-sama, I found a dimensional stone."

Grace picked up a small, bean-sized dimensional stone from the corner of the passage. Even without entering the side rooms, dimensional stones can be collected just by walking the passage.

The dimensional stones that can be picked up are mostly small. A certain amount is needed for teleportation, especially for return, so it's necessary to continuously collect them while exploring the dungeon. But I think we have enough for the three of us to escape. When we find the next dimensional stone, we can start transferring the ant's jaws and the kobold's tails.

Judging the exact amount of dimensional stones needed for return is a bit tricky. When transferring from the stone monument, the amount of dimensional stones needed increases dramatically if more than seven people are transferred at once. That's why the usual group size for exploring the dungeon is six people.

We gradually approached the spot. We turned off the light and cast a dark vision spell, then proceeded down the corridor, suppressing our presence.

And... we reached the spot. Peeking around the corner, we saw two men peering down the corridor, their bodies completely covered in cloaks and their faces hidden under rags. One had a bow in one hand, the other a staff. ...A mage. Probably to cast the dark vision spell on the archer.

There's only one reason for their attire and hidden faces. It's insurance in case they let us go. They create a way to deny it. They seem experienced.

Well... they look completely black, so I'll attack. But if I launch a preemptive strike and it turns out to be a mistake, that would be a problem. Let's start with a non-lethal spell to see their reaction.

The spell to use is the 4th-class wind magic, Air Burst. It compresses air with magic, launches it, and causes it to explode, creating a loud noise and a powerful shock wave. It will deprive the group of their fighting ability and also lure the ones waiting further down the corridor.

Since they have dark vision, they turned around in response to the slight light from the magic circle... but everything was too late.

"Fly away."

The shock wave and loud noise exploded right in front of their faces.