Chapter 39

I will change my plans and post about my classmate's side.

A few days before Setsu and Leviathan landed on the Beast Continent, his classmates who remained in the human country of Distenia were exploring a dungeon called the "Cave of Sorrow."

A dungeon is a cave, forest, or tower divided by levels or depth.

It is still unknown when and by whom they were created, and nothing is known about the origin of the treasures generated within the dungeons.

What is known is that only monsters of a certain strength appear within a specific range in the dungeon, and the strongest monster of that dungeon waits at the deepest level.

The fact that the strength is determined within a certain range is quite important, and thanks to this, dungeons can be assigned a difficulty level.

This "Cave of Sorrow" is rated A.

Considering that the highest difficulty is SSS, an A rating, which is on the verge of being classified as S, requires considerable skill to clear.

"Boiling lava! Burn the enemy and melt their life!! 'Lava Ball'!!"

"Kgyaaa!!"

The red, boiling ball that Endo released hit the wolf-type monster, burning it to death.

"Nice one, Endo!"

"You took them all out in one hit!"

"Hahaha! That's what happens when you face me!"

With a loud, stupid laugh, Endo released another Lava Ball, killing another monster.

While Endo's lackeys A and B cheered him on, a male student who had approached to finish off the monster and was burned by the heat of the Lava Ball sat on the ground, glaring at the three of them.

"Are you okay, Nemoto...?"

"Ouch... Ueda, can you heal me?"

"Sure... O light of healing, 'Heal'"

The male student called Ueda cast a healing spell on Nemoto, who had a burn on his arm.

Fortunately, it wasn't too severe, so even Ueda, who wasn't particularly skilled in healing magic, was able to heal it completely.

"Are you okay, Nemoto?"

"Kazaki, yeah, thanks to Ueda."

A girl called Kazaki, who was nearby, offered her hand, and Nemoto used it to stand up.

"That's good. Still, Endo and his group are really getting cocky, aren't they?"

"Yeah... Damn, if we were stronger than him..."

Currently, excluding Koushi and his party, who are "Holy Sword Bearers," Endo was the most skilled.

He had completed several original spells by evolving existing magic, all of which were powerful.

While not quite unique spells, they were very useful in both human and monster battles.

"Let's go, you guys! Don't hold us back!"

Encouraged by his lackeys, the cheerful Endo called out to the classmates present.

Everyone glared at him with obvious dislike, but it didn't reach him as he laughed and moved forward.

"Damn... This is really annoying."

"Well, for now, we can take it easy thanks to him, so let's just bear with it a little."

"You're right... but still... sigh."

Nemoto, calmed by Kazaki, and Ueda, sighing, followed Endo.

◇ ◇ ◇

"Rock Shattering Fist!!"

In the labyrinth of the Emperor's Tower, which boasts an S-level difficulty, Koushi and his party were advancing.

Jiro, whose muscles had been further developed through rigorous training, shattered the body of a rock golem with a single blow.

"Hey! Don't scatter the fragments so much!?"

While dodging the fragments of the rock golem that scattered around, Mitzuki, wielding a short sword and shaking her twin tails, quickly approached a magic-casting monster, the Skull Mage, standing in the back.

"Take this!"

"Ugiiiii!!"

Just as the Skull Mage was about to cast a spell with its proud staff, Mitzuki's short sword caught its neck.

The Skull Mage, a monster with a dirty robe over a bony body, was killed helplessly when the bone connecting its head and body was shattered.

"Sorry, sorry, but are we done with all of them?"

"Don't let your guard down yet, keep alert around you!"

Thanks to Grain's reprimand, Jiro and Mitzuki, who had let their guard down after defeating the enemy, resumed their alert stance.

Koushi, who had already cut down two Skull Mages behind them, was already on guard without being told.

"Yu, are you hurt?"

"Huh? Oh... no."

Behind Koushi, Yuzu, who had been protected by him all along, felt bored because the battle ended before she could do anything.

In fact, she had already cleared this labyrinth on her own.

They had been advancing for several hours since entering the labyrinth, but all Yuzu had done was treat the three who had stumbled and search for enemies.

Koushi stubbornly refused to let her fight, and for several hours, he had been protecting her while fighting.

As a result, she was feeling quite stressed.

She could have cleared this dungeon with one hit and without a scratch, but...

"Hey, are you okay, Yu?"

"Oh, sorry! It's nothing."

Reining in her slightly visible frustration, Yuzu followed them as they started moving again.

(Sigh... I hope this ends soon.)

(...Well, it must be incredibly boring for her.)

Watching her stifle a yawn, Grain smiled wryly.

◇ ◇ ◇

"Everyone, welcome back safely!"

In the throne room of the castle in the country of Distenia, the classmates who had returned from the labyrinth were standing straight, listening to the princess.

(This is also boring...)

Yuzu, who was not charmed by the princess's long speech, felt bored.

Trying hard to stifle a yawn, she straightened her back when she received a sharp look from Elka, who was behind the princess.

Remembering that she should avoid drawing the attention of the king and princess, who disliked Setsu, she bowed slightly in acknowledgment.

"Elka, did you clear the Cave of Sorrow today?"

"Yes, here is the proof."

The conversation naturally turned to today's achievements, and Elka, who had accompanied them into the labyrinth, showed the fang of the Dark Hound, the monster from the deepest level of the labyrinth, as proof of complete clearance.

"Excellent, everyone. And what about Koushi and his party?"

"Yes, we have completed the clearance."

Grain showed a scale of the Emperor Dragon, which is a drop item from the monster on the top floor of the Emperor's Tower.

"Fantastic! This means that you all have A-level or higher skills, and Koushi and his party have S-level or higher skills!"

Princess Margaret, who was cheering, actually didn't understand that an A-level difficulty means that an A-level adventurer can clear it alone, so it doesn't mean that all of them have A-level skills, even though they tackled it as a group. The same goes for Koushi and his party.

The princess's understanding was shallow in this regard.

"...Margaret, it's time."

"Yes, Father... The reason I gathered everyone here today is..."

Prompted by the king on the throne, the princess looked at all the classmates and said:

"The troops of the demon army that were about to invade the human continent have started to withdraw to gather supplies. Thanks to the soldiers who risked their lives to prevent the landing, the damage on our side was minimal, and we were able to secure time to train you. I think it's about time we launch a counterattack."

The word "counterattack" made everyone in the room catch their breath.

"Surely you understand...? To avenge the fallen soldiers and to punish the demons and beasts who have been wreaking havoc, we hereby declare that we will raise the banner of counterattack!! The departure will be at dawn tomorrow! Prepare your equipment and get ready for battle by then! That's all!"

"Tomorrow... at dawn...?"

Someone muttered.

The sudden declaration of a counterattack by the princess.

The war that had been thrust upon them without time to prepare caused some degree of shock among them.

(Could this be a chance to escape?)

Except for Yuzu, who was thinking this.