CH 46

An Improper Labyrinth Exploration

“… Shall I shoot?”

Mize says, while still in position with the black sniper staff, having recognized the presence of the enemy.

In other words– that’s the same as asking, Shall I kill?

Killing a person. I’ve always thought of this act as something natural, but not everyone is like me. For some people, crossing this line would be a trauma that will drag them down until their dying breath.

“… Remove your finger from the trigger. That sort of role is my burden to bear.”

“I don’t want Tweight-san to be the only one who has to bear this burden.”

The words that came out in that moment seem to have strengthened Mize’s resolution.

As an example, Elysia… would probably be able to cross that line and retain her sanity. She has that kind of mental strength.

On the other hand, Gran… that man was once a soldier who stood on the battlefield. At this point in time, he has a tolerance for death.

But Mize… has a personality that would probably saddle the burden upon herself.

This isn’t discrimination; it’s simply a matter of unsuitability.

I cover the [Far-sighted Crystal] installed on top of the sniper wand with my palm and look at Mize.

“The enemy probably hasn’t noticed us yet. If we shoot them now, it will be like giving away our location to them.”

I continue talking to Mize, whose lips are pouting in disapproval.

“Maybe someday, there will come a time when Mize has to pull the trigger. But now is not that time.”

“… I understand.”

Honestly, it would help a lot if Mize could people without hesitation.

As for now, I’m the only one who can handle doing it, but I don’t know what the future holds. Shall I shoot? Her resolution when she asked me that will definitely not be in vain.

“If we move too hurriedly, we might look suspicious. Let’s keep our distance as naturally as possible.”

“But where should we head to? The enemy is in that direction, so we can’t return to the village…”

While looking at the map I got from the Guild, I sigh before answering.

“There is no other way but the Labyrinth.”

I deliberately ignore Mize’s eyes that light up for an instant.

Well, if it relaxes the dangerous atmosphere we had a while ago, I’ll consider it a profit.

The Guild’s receptionist had advised against approaching it without prior preparation, but we’ll have to risk it.

“The Labyrinth… ‘The Roots of the Divine Tree’.”

Mize muttered as soon as we arrived at the cave which served as the entrance to the Labyrinth.

It appears that Mize knows this Labyrinth.

“Is that from a memory in <Wisdom Road>?”

“Yes. It seems that a previous possessor knew about this Labyrinth. She may have never actually explored it, but… there is a memory of her seeing a map of the interior structure. Please allow me to guide.”

What a convenient power. While Mize is still learning how to use it, she is still a reliable existence in these situations, even if she isn’t yet in combat.

“The enemy should be searching this area for a while, so they will probably enter the Labyrinth to a certain extent. If possible, I would like us to delve deeper into the Labyrinth.”

“I agree. Then I will guide us.”

This time, there is no need for us to engage.

We will let it pass.

The cave continues diagonally downward, and as soon as we enter the Labyrinth, several forks in the road appear.

The Labyrinth, “The Roots of the Divine Tree”. As its name suggests, this Labyrinth has countless narrow paths that are laid out like the roots of a tree.

“Ah, here. There are medicinal herbs.”

Plants that could rarely be seen outside were growing along the walls of the Labyrinth.

Is this a special characteristic of “The Roots of the Divine Tree”? We could see many plants that could be compounded to make medicines.

“… Should I do that?”

I’m reminded of my experiences when I was still an agent of the Organization.

The tricks that I’ve learned for exploring Labyrinths should be useful.

“Mize. Could you collect that red medicinal herb, that green moss, and those purple flowers?”

“I understand… Are you going to use it for something?”

“I guess. I’m not sure if I’ll get to do it, though…”

I thought she would be able to guess what I was going to compound with the herbs I specified… But apparently, Mize’s <Wisdom Road> has no knowledge of this compound. Since pharmaceutical studies rapidly advances, there may be many cases wherein the past memories cannot be relied on.

After the two of us gathered the medicinal herbs, we headed for the depths of the Labyrinth.

“There is a large number of Demonic Beasts ahead.”

“… That seems to be the case.”

I nod since I also sense the presence of Demonic Beasts.

Beyond the narrow passageway, there is a large room. There are at least 10 Demonic Beasts in that room.

“We could go around to avoid them, but then we will have to take a considerable detour…”

“… No, let’s not go around.”

We could go back and take a detour, since at our current pace, the enemy wouldn’t be able to find us.

But this is a Labyrinth, a place where Demonic Beasts lurk. There is a good chance that an unforeseen accident would occur, and the enemy would approach us while we have our guard down, so I hesitate.

“Let’s advance this way… But with that said, we’re not going to fight the Demonic Beasts in a stupidly straightforward manner.”

“Do you have a strategy?”

“Yeah. There are many various ways to conquer a Labyrinth… This time, I’m going to use a strategy I learned from where I used to work.”

In other words, a Labyrinth-conquering strategy I learned from the Organization.

This is where we will use the medicinal herbs we collected at the entrance of the Labyrinth.

“Mize, can you make a mask with <Alchemy>?”

“A mask, is it?”

“Yeah. It looks something like this–”

I draw a figure on the ground to convey the image I had in mind to Mize.

With the Magical Control that she obtained from <Wisdom Road>, Mize was able to create what I was looking for, though she was somewhat worried.

“Tweight-san, is this the mask you described…”

Looking at the finished product, Mize’s face has a complicated expression.

“It’s a gas mask.”

While Mize was creating the mask with <Alchemy>, I was compounding the medicinal herbs.

While paying attention to the proportions, I mix and grind the ingredients together. With a small magical tool, I create a fire, and allow the transparent liquid I’ve extracted to evaporate.

“Could that be…”

“It’s sleeping gas. Let’s wait until it fills the room.”

A cloud of white smoke rises and fills the room beyond the passageway.

“Okay… It should be about time to go.”

After a few minutes waiting with our masks on, we entered the room without making a sound.

Observing the countless sleeping Demonic Beasts lying around, we advance onwards.

“S-so there was this kind of strategy…”

“Labyrinths are underground spaces… they may have closed-off rooms, both large and small, which makes gas an effective weapon.”

Whenever I entered a Labyrinth at the Organization’s behest, I would usually have a gas-based weapon prepared.

I thought there were around 10 Demonic Beasts lurking about, but there were more than I expected.

As we advanced through the white smoke, we came across 2 Demonic Beasts blocking the exit as they slept.

“They’re in the way, so I’ll kill them.”

“… How cruel.”

Pan. Pan. The sound of <Bullet> being released from my fingertip echoes.

Walking over the Demonic Beasts, which had died without a fuss, we headed to the exit.

From the beginning to the end, Mize looked like she had some objections.