Chapter 79

After a moment's hesitation, I followed my master down the corridor.

As I stepped onto the white stone floor and looked up, I saw my master a little ahead, who had enhanced his body with magic and raised his defenses.

After quickly preparing for battle, my master glanced at me and spoke.

"Laust, keep your dagger ready. From here on, don't let your guard down for a moment."

After saying this unilaterally, my master started walking deeper into the corridor.

As I watched his back, I moved my lips slightly.

"So that's how it is."

It was then that I finally understood why my master had brought me along instead of Ronaldo this time.

In the narrow corridor, my master walked slowly but never relaxed his vigilance.

His attitude indicated that he was prepared to fight in this narrow space.

If we were to fight indoors, Ronaldo, who wields a greatsword, would be at a clear disadvantage and might even hinder the battle.

The same goes for Sieg.

Narseena, a martial artist, could fight indoors, but in this space, her weapon's speed would be useless.

Armia, who uses magic with incantations and cannot engage in close combat, would only be a burden.

My master considered these factors and decided to bring me, who would have the least disadvantage in indoor combat.

His judgment was reasonable.

A reasonable judgment conveyed the seriousness of my master.

And that seriousness of my master spoke volumes about the abnormality of the branch manager.

"Who is he...?"

The words I whispered contained my astonishment at the branch manager.

As I realized that my master was so cautious and fearful of this person, my tension gradually increased.

My master stopped walking when the tension reached its peak.

"I found it."

"!"

Reacting to my master's words, I peered ahead over his shoulder and saw a heavily guarded door at the end of the dimly lit corridor.

I naturally performed a magic detection, but I couldn't sense anything beyond the door, which made me grimace.

Despite using magic detection, I couldn't understand anything.

This was my first experience.

And this abnormality clearly indicated that something was behind the door.

Noticing my abnormality, my master spoke to me in a low voice.

"You must have understood the abnormality of that man. I don't know what's beyond that door either."

With a stern expression, my master's words increased my anxiety.

However, we couldn't stay here forever.

With my resolve firm, I spoke to my master.

"Let's go."

After looking into my eyes to confirm my sincerity, my master started walking towards the door.

We quickly reached the door, and my master turned to me one last time.

Gripping my dagger, I nodded silently.

Taking that as a signal, my master opened the door.

The next moment, the door opened with a loud noise, revealing the interior.

The room was dimly lit, just like the corridor.

The small lighting revealed a rather bleak room and, at the back, Hansam standing there.

And sitting as if commanding Hansam was an old man with long white hair and a white robe.

"!"

The moment I saw him, I intuitively understood.

My master was wary of this old man.

This man was the one who had been blocking the magic detection.

The old man had something that I could instantly understand.

I reflexively understood that this old man was on par with my master, and I readied my dagger.

However, even with the dagger pointed at him, the old man's attitude didn't change.

"You're noisy. Don't you think you should at least knock?"

There was no hostility in the old man's words.

On the contrary, he spoke to us as if he were talking to his own children, in a friendly manner.

Noticing the affection I felt towards the old man's grandfatherly attitude, my vigilance grew even more.

Despite remembering that my master had told us not to be hostile, I couldn't lower my dagger.

"It's quite lonely when you don't even respond."

Seeing our reaction, the old man stood up and said this softly.

At that moment, a part of the old man's face was clearly revealed to me.

"!"

As the tall old man stood up, his face, which still looked dignified despite his age, was further illuminated.

What I saw was ears that were impossibly long for a human.

Shaken by the unexpected sight before me, I blurted out the words that came to mind.

"An elf?! How can a race that didn't receive the favor of the gods...!"

The race that didn't receive the favor of the gods, also known as sub-humans, were said to have gone extinct long ago.

The sub-humans each possessed far greater strength and magic than humans, but because they were not given skills by the creator god, they became extinct hundreds of years ago.

Knowing this from books, I was deeply shaken.

However, a calm part of my mind whispered that this possibility could have been inferred from my master's words.

My master had said that the case involved ancient technology that was supposed to have disappeared long ago.

The creator of that ancient technology was a type of sub-human, the elf, which was said to have gone extinct hundreds of years ago.

Could it be that my master knew from the beginning that the branch manager was an elf?

As I thought this, I tried to look at my master.

But the next moment, a voice filled with anger captured my attention.

"Hey, defective healer. Don't use that hateful name."

Turning to the source of the voice, I saw Hansam glaring at me.

Surprised by the sudden hostility, I was further confronted by Hansam's words.

"How dare you speak to someone you can't even reach, you insolent one?"

Feeling a killing intent directed at me, I naturally assumed a combat stance.

In response, Hansam also reached for the hilt of the weapon tied to his waist.

It was the branch manager who calmed Hansam down.

"Hansam, calm down. I don't mind. In this era, it's pointless to get worked up over every little thing."

"!"

Even though the branch manager tried to calm him down, Hansam didn't release his weapon.

Seeing this, I increased my vigilance, and the room was filled with a tense atmosphere.

However, this atmosphere was shattered by my master.

"Save the unnecessary talk for later. Do you want to die?"

Hansam, who had been evaluated as unnecessary, directed his hostility towards my master.

But the hostility on his face quickly dissipated.

-- When he realized that my master had almost completed a magic spell and was aiming it at Hansam and the branch manager.

"!"

After giving Hansam a bored glance, my master turned back to the branch manager and spoke.

"Remember that idle chatter is also included in unnecessary talk. From now on, only answer what I ask."

At that moment, everyone in the room understood.

My master hadn't spoken a word until now because he was preparing to cast a spell.

"What about trying to avoid combat as much as possible..."

In the midst of this, I also performed body enhancement, though I was somewhat shaken.

Considering that my master's magic was almost complete, the battle was almost decided, but it was better to be prepared just in case.

"Damn!"

Seeing the attitude of my master and me, Hansam realized it was too late and drew his weapon.

However, even in this situation, the branch manager's attitude didn't change at all.

In the tense atmosphere, he smiled in a grandfatherly manner and spoke.

"Ralm, isn't it a bit much to activate a spell of this scale right away?"

At that moment, I realized that the branch manager's words were filled with affection for my master.

Thinking it was just a misunderstanding, I tried to dismiss the thought... but a possibility flashed through my mind just before that.

When we first entered the room, the branch manager had spoken to us as if he were talking to children.

I had thought it was an act to hide his true intentions or a way to imply that we were no more than a minor threat.

But now I realized there was another possibility.

That my master and the branch manager were old acquaintances.

"– I don't think that's the attitude to take towards my master."

"......Huh?"

The branch manager, who had called my master his disciple, still had a grandfatherly smile on his face.

"And one more thing. If you think you can stop me, an elf in the stronghold, with a spell of this level, I will have to lament the degeneration of my disciple."

...But by now, I could only feel fear towards that smile.

I'm sorry for the delay in updating!

I thought a lot about it, but I ended up introducing a lot of settings and foreshadowing this time, so I apologize if it caused confusion...

I might introduce more settings in the next update as well.

Also, I need to summarize Laust's misfortune and his journey to gain strength, as well as the terminology...