Chapter 6

Selma Claude, with her deep red hair tied into a single braid just below her ears and around her nape, glared at me with her slightly upturned red eyes.

She is the leader of an S-rank party affiliated with the Silver Hare of the Night Sky. Among the explorers in the country, she is as famous as Oliver, the leader of the Hero Party. Well, considering her beauty and her reputation as the continent's top enchanter, it's no wonder she's so well-known.

Still, why is she glaring at me with such hostility?

Her party has reached the 92nd floor of the Great Labyrinth, the second deepest floor among active explorers, only behind the Hero Party. When I was in the Hero Party, I paid close attention to her party's movements to ensure we wouldn't be overtaken. I assume she did the same.

But that doesn't justify this level of hostility.

"Trapping my cute little sister who's only fourteen, you've got some nerve, don't you?"

...Ah, so that's it?

"It's a misunderstanding. I did invite her to have a meal, but I had no ulterior motives."

"Huh? Are you saying my Sophia isn't cute?"

This guy is such a hassle... Talking like a doting parent. No matter what I say, it's a lose-lose situation!

"Hey, big sister! Don't be rude to my savior!"

"...What? A savior? Did you go to the labyrinth alone, Sophia?"

Selma looked at Sophia with a puzzled expression after hearing her words.

"Ah, well, that is... um..."

Sophia seemed to realize her slip of the tongue and looked dejected, like a child caught in mischief.

"Ha... You went, didn't you? I told you to be careful and not to go to the Great Labyrinth for a while."

"I'm sorry..."

"...Well, you came back unharmed, so I won't say much. But don't go there on your own again."

"...Okay."

Selma's expression softened, and she gently patted Sophia's head with a warm smile.

So this is the carrot and the stick approach.

"Oren, I appreciate you helping my sister. I'm sorry for my rude behavior earlier."

"Don't worry about it. But the other customers are giving us some harsh looks. Can we sit together?"

It seemed like the other customers thought we were arguing with the clan's executive, and they were giving us disapproving glances. I wanted to avoid those looks and hoped that sitting with Selma would make it clear that nothing serious was happening.

"Sure, no problem. Let's have dinner together, Sophia."

"Okay!"

I sat across from Selma, and Sophia sat next to her. We checked the menu, ordered a few dishes, and started our meal.

◇

"Still, this is the first time we've had a proper conversation, isn't it?"

She spoke to me casually, as if she hadn't been glaring at me just a moment ago.

"That's true. Even during the joint operation last month, we only talked about battle-related matters."

Selma was naturally part of the joint operation last month. During the battles, as fellow enchanters, she led the overall strategy, and I supported her.

I met Selma last month, but I had known about her before that. She is called the continent's top enchanter, and it's no surprise that I knew about her. However, the reason she is called the "top" is that she was the first explorer to focus on support magic in labyrinth exploration. There might have been enchanters before her, but the role of enchanter became well-known thanks to her.

Until a few years ago, the typical party composition for explorers was four attackers, such as warriors and mages, and one healer. Thinking about it now, it was a brainless party composition, but it was the norm back then.

The one who challenged this composition was Selma, who was sixteen at the time. She created the concept of roles, assigning three types of roles to party members: attackers, defenders who attract enemy attacks, and supporters like enchanters and healers. This significantly improved the party's sustained combat ability in the labyrinth. When Selma's party quickly surpassed the highest floor reached by active explorers at the time, the concept of roles became widely known and is now considered standard in party composition.

The Hero Party was also inspired by this, and as a result, I was converted into an enchanter.

"Hey, big sister, do you two know each other?"

"Hmm? What, Sophia, you didn't know about Oren?"

"Um, yeah... Is he famous?"

"Of course. Oren is one of the members of the Hero Party that achieved the first-ever 94th floor of the Southern Great Labyrinth."

"Hero? ...Eh? Eeeeh!?"

Well, the other four members are well-known, but not many people know about me. As an enchanter, I tend to stay in the background, and I mainly did the behind-the-scenes work for the Hero Party. That's why I rarely get featured in the newspapers.

By the way, why do famous explorers or promising ones get featured in the newspapers?

It's because nobles and some large merchant guilds use it as a criterion for investment—providing financial support to explorers, parties, or clans.

Typically, explorers earn money by selling the magic stones and materials they obtain from labyrinth exploration to the Explorer's Guild. This money is used not only for living expenses but also for activity funds. These funds cover a wide range of expenses, including weapons, armor, and magical tools, which vary greatly in quality. If you want better equipment, you need to pay more.

However, it's quite difficult to cover the cost of equipping the entire party with the money earned from selling to the Explorer's Guild. That's where the nobles and some large merchant guilds come in. If you can secure their financial support, you can get better equipment.

But why do they provide financial support to explorers?

Of course, they're not doing it out of pure kindness. Some eccentric people might do it out of goodwill, but generally, they see it as a form of investment. They don't think of themselves as sponsors but as direct buyers of materials from explorers.

As mentioned earlier, the Explorer's Guild typically buys magic stones and materials from explorers and then sells them to those who want them. However, there's no guarantee that you can get the specific materials you need. Therefore, investors pay explorers in advance and have them collect the necessary materials when they find them. This ensures they get the materials they need in the required quantities.

That's why investors use newspaper information to select explorers with a high chance of returning alive from labyrinth exploration.

There are other reasons why investors support explorers, but I'll skip them to avoid making this too long.

"Ah, um, well..."

Sophia, who had been nervous around me since we met, seemed even more tense now. The title of "Hero" must be intimidating, even for a new explorer who doesn't fully understand the explorer world. It could also be just her personality.

"You don't have to be so formal. And I'm not a hero anymore."

I tried to speak to Sophia in a gentle tone, but she remained tense, only nodding without saying a word.

"...Huh? Not a hero? Did you leave the party?"

Selma quickly deduced that I had left the party from my statement. She must keep a close eye on the Hero Party. I thought she might let it slide, but I guess not. Still, it will be widely reported soon, so it's fine to say.

"Yes, I left the party yesterday. I met Sophia today because I wanted to gauge my current strength by exploring a lower-difficulty labyrinth."

Today's exploration showed that I had become stronger due to the knowledge and skills I gained after leaving my previous role as a swordsman. I can now explore the middle floors of the Great Labyrinth on my own. I plan to act solo from now on, and the income from the middle floors should be enough to keep me from running out of money. I was also able to help Sophia, so today was a satisfying day.

"Letting someone of your caliber go, is Oliver sane? He should have tried to keep you. And why did you leave the party?"

It seems Selma thinks I left the party of my own accord. There's no need to correct her. It would be embarrassing to say I was kicked out.

"There were some party issues. Both Oliver and I are satisfied with the decision."

I have no intention of going back to a party where I was constantly belittled.

"I see. ...So, Oren, you're free now, right?"

"Um, yeah, I guess so."

Selma has a scheming look on her face. Is she trying to recruit me for her clan? It would be an honor, but I don't want to join any clan or party right now.

"If you're free, would you like to join our clan's instructional exploration starting the day after tomorrow? Of course, I'll offer appropriate compensation."

"...Instructional exploration?"

It wasn't a clan recruitment. I repeated the unfamiliar term without thinking.

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