Chapter 52

Zero prefaced his explanation by saying, "It's not a method to be praised, but—"

"Can't we say that the Fumis and the others somehow managed to defeat the Orc General in a draw?"

"…That’s a good point."

Indeed, with this method, I can hide my unique skill.

However, as Zero pointed out, it is not a method to be praised.

This method benefits me, not Zero.

Therefore, the final decision should be mine.

"Alright, let's go with that. It may be bad for the Fumis, but at least they can say they maintained their honor in the end."

With this, I think we've covered everything that needs to be discussed with Zero.

The only thing left to do here is...

"Recover the spoils of war."

I remember that the knight who attacked Zero upon arrival was nameless.

I thought there might be another nameless sword to be found, but I couldn’t see it anywhere.

"Rin? What's wrong?"

"No, I was just thinking that I couldn't find the body of the nameless knight."

"That disappeared while you were fighting the Orc General."

"Seriously...?"

According to Zero, the appearance of the nameless knight was also unusual.

The fact that it disappeared quickly, unlike a typical boss, might be related to this.

"Then at least, I should recover this."

I extracted the magic stone from the Orc General.

In terms of size and purity, it was incomparable to anything I had seen before.

This one alone is worth several million.

"As for the bodies of the Fumis... it looks like it’s going to be tough."

They were likely overwhelmed by the Orc General's overwhelming power.

None of them retained their original form.

Since the item box cannot contain living animals or human bodies, it seems I can't bring them back.

It pains me to think that their bodies will disappear with the labyrinth, but there’s nothing I can do about it.

"Finally, they’re here."

A faint light envelops Zero and me.

This is the signal that the return teleportation magic is about to activate.

In the brief moment before it activates, Zero asks me something.

"How will you explain to the people outside that Rin was inside the dungeon?"

"...I forgot about that. Is there really no other way but to use adolescence as an excuse?"

"?"

Zero, please.

Stop looking at me like I’m saying something ridiculous.

"Also, I need to explain the situation to Yui."

"To that girl? Why?"

"I told her I’m currently in the middle of a span. And she saw me enter the dungeon, so I need to explain the dungeon transfer as well."

If I ask her, she might keep it a secret...

But she’s a bit scatterbrained, so I’m a bit worried.

As I’m thinking about this, Zero says,

"...Hey, since Yui is in the same grade as me, does that mean she’s a