Chapter 20

Lambert and his companions were being pursued, of course, by the members of the "Dragon of Mithril."

They had searched the second underground level of the Ainzas Underground Labyrinth, where Lambert and his group were supposed to be, using a human sea tactic, but after failing to find them, they were confused and left a lookout near the stairs before returning to the first underground level. They then advanced to the third underground level.

Originally, the Grim Ket leather, which the guild "Twilight of the Spirits" had urged the merchant guild to obtain, was supposed to be found on the second underground level.

Therefore, Titan, the guild master of the "Dragon of Mithril," believed that Lambert and his group must be hunting on the second underground level.

The "Dragon of Mithril" had visited the underground labyrinth with fifty members, but they were acting in groups of five.

Titan and Cradle were in the same group.

"Hey, have you seen a fool in full plate armor? He wasn't on the second level, so he must be on this third level, right?"

Cradle and his group were aggressively questioning other guild adventurers they encountered.

"I, I don't know! More importantly, my companion is critically injured... Excuse me, is there anyone who can use white magic!"

The person Cradle was questioning was a three-person party from the guild "Blue Wings."

The members were the veteran swordsman Caspar, his disciple Hans, and the mage Lilith.

Lilith had been injured by a monster's poison and had lost consciousness. They were in the process of urgently carrying her out when they encountered Cradle and his group.

"Ah, well... We can't help other guilds while we're on the job, it's against the rules, you see. Right, Master Titan?"

"Yes, I'm sorry, but that's the case."

Cradle and Titan smiled slyly as they responded to the man's plea.

"Y-You can't help when someone's life is at stake!"

"…These guys are like that. There's nothing you can do. At least, don't get in the way!"

Hans tried to confront them, but the leader, Caspar, stopped him.

"That's terrible... Just a little help wouldn't hurt, you know."

A woman with a long, slender staff appeared behind Cradle. She was also a member of the "Dragon of Mithril" and her name was Anju. Anju was skilled in both white and black magic.

"If you need to relieve the poison quickly, I can do that."

"Please! If we take her back like this, it might be too late!"

"Fire, burn it away!"

Anju pointed her staff at Lilith, who had lost consciousness due to the poison. Immediately, a red light gathered at her chest and burst into flames, which quickly spread throughout her body. The flames even spread to Hans, who was supporting her.

"What are you doing! Quench it quickly! Water! F-Fucking hell!"

"Hahaha! Feel better now? This will make you feel better, right?"

Anju laughed mockingly at them.

"What do you think you're doing...!"

"You guys are funny. You still think you can leave this dungeon alive?"

Cradle mocked the two.

"What!? Do you know what you're saying! If you touch us, the 'Blue Wings' won't let you off..."

"That's scary! How will you report it if you don't have a mouth left?"

Hans looked at Cradle with a shocked expression.

"Shit!"

Caspar drew his sword and immediately attacked Cradle. Cradle stepped back and simultaneously drew his sword, swinging it in a circle in front of Caspar's face to keep him at bay.

Caspar, having been thwarted, tried to regain his distance by stepping back.

Cradle took advantage of this and thrust his sword straight forward. The tip of the sword plunged into Caspar's chest and pierced through.

"Ugh..."

It was an instant kill. Cradle licked his lips and then pulled out his sword.

"Ugh, scum."

"Why... Why... Why are you doing this...?"

The remaining Hans collapsed on the spot, not knowing what was happening.

Lilith, who had lost consciousness due to the poison, was his guild's junior and the object of his unrequited love.

Caspar was his senior in the guild.

They were both good friends, and today they had descended to the third underground level more to show the junior the senior's skills than to seek profit. They planned to explore the shallower areas where they could quickly escape if they encountered an ogre and then return immediately.

He never thought it would end like this when they entered the underground labyrinth.

As adventurers, sudden death was a frequent occurrence.

He was aware of this. But he never thought it would happen today, and not to him.

"Why...? Are you stupid? You said you wanted to feel better, so I made you feel better. You drew your sword, so I had to swing mine. It's all your fault, right?"

"...Huh?"

"You look scary. Don't be so angry, it's a joke, a joke... You asked why, right? It's because no one is punished for killing anyone in the dungeon. So, isn't it better to do it quickly?"

"You...!"

"Whoa!"

Titan punched Hans in the jaw with his mithril-gloved fist. The sound of bones breaking echoed, and his eyes rolled out of their sockets from the impact. He collapsed, blood streaming from his face.

"Hey, Master Guild Master, they were my prey..."

"It's taking too long. Finish it quickly."

"But I was so frustrated because we couldn't find them. Ah, is it okay to leave the bodies like this?"

"They'll be torn apart by goblins anyway, so it's fine."

After ransacking their belongings, Cradle and his group left the scene.

As soon as they put some distance between themselves and the bodies, hungry goblins appeared from nowhere and began to tear them apart.

"They come running when they hear trouble in the dungeon. They must know we like to create bodies."

Titan laughed as he said this.

"But where could they have gone? We've searched so much and still can't find them..."

"They might have gone quite deep. I'm getting excited. Heh, it looks like the 'Dragon of Mithril's Claws' won't be idle."

"I feel relieved to hear that..."