Chapter 68

"………Huh?"

Zieg's reaction to my declaration that I wanted to become a top-tier adventurer was one of utter astonishment, his surprise completely unhidden.

Zieg's eyes, which blinked repeatedly, silently conveyed his disbelief in my words.

That reaction was the clearest evidence that Zieg didn't believe my words about wanting to become a top-tier adventurer. Despite understanding this, I didn't feel any frustration.

Because I recognized that Zieg's reaction was entirely natural.

If I were in the opposite position and someone told me they wanted to become a top-tier adventurer, I would have reacted the same way as Zieg. The period during which I was trained by Master and Ronaldo was only a few months. Even with that short experience, it was enough for me to understand their superhuman abilities. Zieg, who had been with those superhumans for a much longer time, must have known their abilities far better than I did. Knowing this, I couldn't blame Zieg.

However, Zieg had one major misunderstanding.

"……Zieg, I don't actually want to become like Master and the others."

When I spoke to correct this misunderstanding, Zieg's face changed to one of confusion, as if asking what I meant.

"What are you talking about? A top-tier adventurer is someone like Master and Lya……!"

But that reaction was only momentary. Zieg, who had been about to ask me, suddenly paused as if remembering something. Seeing this, I nodded and continued.

"Indeed, Master and the others are the only top-tier adventurers, but that doesn't mean one needs to have their level of strength to become a top-tier adventurer, right?"

Zieg's misunderstanding was that he equated top-tier adventurers with Master and the others. It's true that no other top-tier adventurers exist besides Master and the others, and it's an unofficial title from the guild. As a result, the title of top-tier adventurer has become synonymous with Master and the others. This is why many people believe that one must have the same level of strength as Master and the others to become a top-tier adventurer.

"Becoming a top-tier adventurer, or rather, the condition for being recognized as a top-tier adventurer by Master and the others, is clearly defined."

However, I knew this was a misconception. After all, I had heard the condition directly from Master and the others. Recalling that memory, I continued.

"To defeat a mutated high-difficulty monster with a single party."

At that moment, my words and Zieg's words overlapped. Yes, that was the minimum condition for being recognized as a top-tier adventurer, as I had heard directly from Master.

"……Yeah, I think I remember Master mentioning that once as the condition for recognizing someone as a top-tier adventurer."

Zieg closed his eyes as if searching through distant memories and spoke. It seemed that unlike Master, Ronaldo hadn't explicitly told Zieg. If that was the case, it was understandable that Zieg didn't remember.

"Indeed, Rauzt did defeat a high-difficulty monster."

After a moment, Zieg looked up at me and said this. Yes, thanks to a stroke of luck, Narseena and I had surpassed the line that Master and the others called the minimum for a top-tier adventurer.

"Of course, that doesn't mean we can immediately become top-tier adventurers."

Even if we met that condition, we wouldn't be recognized as top-tier adventurers right away. No matter how much Master and the others recognized us, the general perception of top-tier adventurers was at their level.

"By accumulating achievements through defeating high-difficulty monsters, it won't be difficult to be recognized as a top-tier adventurer. In this labyrinth city, we can accumulate the necessary achievements to become top-tier adventurers faster than anywhere else."

That's why I wanted to stay in this labyrinth city, which is said to have the largest labyrinth. All for the sake of being recognized by Narseena's parents. Ultimately, I hoped that by creating a connection with them, Narseena would be accepted by her parents.

"Thinking that far……"

Zieg's eyes widened in surprise at the passion in my words. His gaze was filled with a considerable amount of admiration. Feeling a bit embarrassed by his look, I smiled wryly and said,

"It's not a big deal. ……This is just me imposing my personal desires."

I understood that my efforts to improve the relationship between Narseena and her family were driven by personal feelings. After all, I wasn't doing this because Narseena had asked me to improve her relationship with her parents. Moreover, to succeed in my plan, I needed to continue being an adventurer, a profession that always carries the risk of death.

Typically, adventurers who have accumulated enough funds would open a shop or return to the countryside, leaving the dangerous life of an adventurer behind. This was the ideal for many adventurers, yet I had no intention of giving up the dangerous life of an adventurer. It's not that the idea of quitting hadn't crossed my mind. The savings that Narseena and I had accumulated were more than enough for a lifetime, even if split between the two of us. We could probably live comfortably for the rest of our lives.

Despite knowing this, I decided to continue being an adventurer with Narseena. Even though I knew there was a safer path, I chose to prioritize my personal feelings. This was not something to be proud of.

Knowing this, I still couldn't control myself.

"Perhaps it's a fantasy born from being an orphan. Even so, the concept of parents is something I admire."

Recalling the sight of families in the city when I was in the orphanage, I said this. The orphanage director was not a good person, and perhaps as a reaction to that, I had developed a fantasy about families. Even so, I couldn't shake the special image I had of parents.

"I don't want Narseena to have any regrets with her special existence. I absolutely refuse to be the reason for that."

So, even though it might not be my place to interfere, I strongly wanted Narseena to be happy, which is why I decided to continue being an adventurer.

"……It's a silly imposition of ideals."

This was not something I was proud of. It was just me exposing my pitiful inability to control myself. That was my understanding.

"……If you have that much resolve, my words were just a waste of time."

However, Zieg perceived my words differently. He smiled fiercely and said,

"Normally, I couldn't suppress the branch manager of this labyrinth city with my authority alone. But if I'm willing to give up my position as a direct adventurer, things would be different."

"……Huh?"

Taken aback by Zieg's words, I let out a surprised sound. After a moment, realizing the meaning of his words, I was about to protest that it wasn't necessary. Before I could, Zieg raised his hand to interrupt me.

"It's not something Rauzt needs to worry about. I have my own personal reasons for wanting to do this. Besides, I don't particularly like the position of a direct adventurer anyway."

Rather, being a regular adventurer would be more relaxed, Zieg laughed. His face didn't seem to be acting, and I couldn't say anything more. Zieg then spoke with a gentle expression.

"Besides, Lya is supposed to be coming here soon, and the chances of me being removed as a direct adventurer are almost zero. Worrying about it is just a waste of time."

Zieg's words seemed to be a mix of reassurance and a bit of a joke. I felt his concern and was grateful.

"Zieg, thank you so much……"

I was about to express my gratitude when……

"──── ！？"

"What!?"

Suddenly, a loud noise and the ground shaking interrupted my words.

◇◆◇

The moment the ground shook, Zieg and I were on high alert. It was a reflexive action.

At that moment, I felt such intense hostility that I instinctively went into a combat stance. Cold sweat trickled down my back, making me feel extremely uncomfortable.

"……Damn, what's happening?"

Zieg's face was also tense, and I understood that he too had felt the hostility.

For a while, Zieg and I stared at the door and windows, ready for anything. But nothing entered the house. Deciding that staying here any longer was pointless, we quickly put on the basic equipment we had in the house and cautiously opened the door.

"……Nothing's happening?"

But outside the door, the scene was unchanged, almost comically so. The townspeople were discussing the tremor, looking uneasy, but that was all. Given the intense hostility we had felt, something should have been there, but nothing threatening was in sight.

I relaxed my guard slightly but still felt uneasy as I looked around.

"……This can't be true."

"THIS IS A HUMAN TOWN."

Then, I noticed the group.

They had a human-like shape but exuded a fundamentally different aura. I had seen enough of them to know I wasn't mistaken.

Yet, I couldn't accept the sight of one of them standing before me, speaking in broken words. Because this was something that should never happen.

"Why are there monsters outside the labyrinth!"

In the next moment, I let out a loud, almost hysterical scream, my voice trembling with shock.

"KILL THEM ALL. ANNIHILATE THEM."

In response to my voice, the hobgoblin at the front sneered and said this. The other hobgoblins behind him began to move.

……And on that day, the labyrinth city turned into a blood-soaked battlefield.

I apologize for the delay in updating. I was briefly hospitalized and am also working on creating a map, so the next update might also be a bit late.