230 - Trap
What on earth...
The moment I opened the door, I was greeted by a shocking sight.
"Oh, a guest? Since you aren't Larc, you don't look like a messenger... I suppose you've come to rescue me?"
The woman before me stood with an air of dignity. Two maids stood waiting by her side.
Her reddish-purple hair covered one eye, with a few strands clinging to her cheeks. She seemed to be sweating slightly, but the room didn't smell particularly foul.
Torture devices were lined up around the three women, and upon seeing one of them, the Third Generation remarked,
"We had one of those at home."
The Fifth Generation remained silent.
"..."
The Seventh Generation looked at the woman, Ludmilla Cartaphus, and seemed not to know what to say.
"She is truly dignified. She is, but... what is this situation? Even I didn't imagine this."
It was no wonder the Seventh Generation was surprised. After all, Ludmilla-san's hands and feet were bound, and she was wearing clothes that clung to her body, revealing every curve in a way that felt like a restraint.
The tight-fitting clothes were adorned with an excessive number of belts.
The clothing wasn't the only problem.
"U-um... that outfit?"
When I pointed it out, Ludmilla-san gave a light laugh.
"Oops, my apologies. It's not my taste. That fellow Larc insists on making me wear obscene clothes. Hey, it's not necessary anymore, so release my restraints."
The two maids began removing the devices that were binding Ludmilla-san. Despite her obscene attire and pose, Ludmilla-san spoke to me without a hint of embarrassment.
Perhaps her body was stiff, as she rotated her neck and moved her body slightly. Every time she moved, the clothes made a creaking sound.
"Um, if you're being released, why are you still wearing that?"
I asked the question that bothered me. The other party showed no hostility; in fact, the display from my skill showed blue, indicating friendliness.
"Oh, it's just his hobby. He comes by whenever the whim strikes him, which is quite troublesome. If he came regularly, I could just strike a pose then, but since it's irregular, I never know when he'll show up."
Unashamed, she leaned against one of the obscene devices and began to size me up.
I thought that I didn't look too bad, especially since I was leaning forward slightly.
When I averted my eyes from the smirking Ludmilla-san, she laughed softly.
"Don't be so angry. From the looks of it, you aren't a soldier of my country. I think it wouldn't be bad if a soldier of my country, who is obsessed with rules, came alone to save me. Now then, may I ask your name?"
Still unable to straighten my posture, I introduced myself to Ludmilla-san.
"I am Lyell Wolt, an adventurer from Beim. I have come to rescue you upon a request from Beim."
Hearing this, Ludmilla-san's eyes widened and she laughed. Had she heard my name? Just as I wondered that, I remembered that I had become quite famous here after defeating Thracy in Cartaphus.
"I see. So it's you. I heard there was an adventurer who defeated the Trident Sea Serpent and wanted to meet you. I never imagined that adventurer would be the one to come save me. I see, it's not just your skill. You also have the wit to infiltrate among the soldiers to rescue me. I like it. You're really something."
Her purple eyes, like those of a bird of prey stalking its quarry, glowed mysteriously. She licked her lips, and for a moment, I had the illusion that I was the one being captured despite coming to rescue her.
One of the maids spoke to the excited Ludmilla-san.
"Queen Ludmilla, the objective has already been achieved. I believe there is no longer any reason to remain here."
Nodding, Ludmilla-san began to walk and left the room. However, she looked at me from the corner of her eye and smiled.
"You too—Lyell, come along. I'm curious about the state of the castle. Where is my weapon?"
Grabbing my arm and pulling me, she led me out of the torture room in the dungeon. The maid answered Ludmilla-san.
"We have it prepared nearby."
Following her to an unused room, the maid brought her clothes and a sword.
The sword was slender but long. As I watched, thinking it looked difficult to handle, Ludmilla-san drew the sword to check it.
The blade was red, and I could tell just by looking that it was a type of magic tool.
"...It's been well-maintained. Good work. Now, this outfit is truly problematic. I shall change."
Saying this, while still pulling my arm, Ludmilla-san and the maids entered a room that looked like a warehouse.
My arm was released, and the two maids stripped off the clothes Ludmilla-san had been wearing. Then, they prepared a tub, filled it with water, and turned it into hot water.
Seeing them use magic, I assumed they were daughters of noble houses. Then, they wiped the naked body of Ludmilla-san and dressed her in the prepared attire.
I averted my gaze, but the Seventh Generation was watching the scene.
"...It's no different from before!"
He shouted in anger.
Looking, it was a tight black outfit that revealed the lines of her body. While the waist and top were more considered than before, it was still almost the same as before.
Then, Ludmilla-san brushed back her hair.
"How boring. I intended to show it off... Tell me, do you dislike women?"
When I shook my head, Ludmilla-san laughed. Compared to me, I felt she wasn't more than four years older. Just as I was wondering if such a woman should be so bold in exposing her skin...
"Hmm, are you surprisingly innocent? This is good in its own way. I like it! You, become my husband!"
The two maids also nodded.
"Indeed. His initiative, wit, and strength are all without issue."
"The rest is just a matter of whether he can be trained, but if Queen Ludmilla supports him, it should be fine."
—They were saying something.
Mireia-san, observing Ludmilla-san's behavior, remarked,
"Kuh, what a disaster. I thought we came to rescue her, but I feel as if we've fallen into this woman's trap... To think it was a trap using Larc! There are various complicated intentions among the different factions, but it's frustrating to have fallen for a trap!"
Apparently, I had been trapped. What kind of trap?
The Third Generation was also frustrated.
"Damn it, this development is certainly good, but I feel cheated and it's frustrating! Lyell, let's aim for a turnaround from here!"
A turnaround of what? Or rather, this might just be one of the Third Generation's usual jokes.
—Surrounded by enemies, with no knights or soldiers emerging from the castle.
Larc, facing Erhart, was confused and terrified. There were no women around him, and his allies had been quickly restrained.
He hadn't been entirely unaware that skilled fighters might be sent, but he thought that once he had infiltrated the castle, the opponent wouldn't be able to make a move easily.
"Y-you guys... w-wait a minute. Right?"
Holding out his left hand in front of him, Larc tried to smile at Erhart. However, his cheek twitched, and he was breaking into a cold sweat from fear.
"My bad. No, actually, I intended to defeat you a little and take the credit. I didn't intend to kill you. So, won't you let me go? I-if you want, I'll give you women! How about the women over there! They can be used as adventurers, and they're beautiful—"
No one listened to Larc's negotiations. When he had attacked, he had undoubtedly emitted bloodlust.
Erhart held his heavily chipped greatsword straight, showing that his feelings had not changed.
He truly intended to fight Larc.
Larc looked at the mage, Damian, who was sitting on a wooden crate.
"W-what about you! I'll provide women, and gold too! I'm close with wealthy women! So, just tell me the amount you want and—"
Damian was not swayed by such words. No, he laughed through his nose.
"You should say things like that after capturing the daughter of one of the continent's leading merchants. Can you produce, say, several million gold coins? You can't, right. Somehow... just listening to you is disappointing. At first, I thought this guy was amazing, but I guess this is how reality is."
In fact, Damian had been cautious after hearing that Larc had risen to power with a single skill and was trying to take a country in his hands. But once the lid was opened, it was completely different from the impression he had.
Larc turned his gaze toward Maxim, but—
"Sorry, I'm not interested. Also, there's a bounty on your head. You played around too much with your skills."
Maxim, who was interested only in Adele, truly could not negotiate.
Larc gripped the greatsword in both hands.
"Damn it... making fun of me. I'll become king, surround myself with beauties, and take the continent... damn it... DAMN IT!!"
He swung the black greatsword high and slashed at Erhart in front of him. Perhaps due to the effect of the greatsword being a magic tool, black flames appeared and clung to the blade.
Larc's movements became swift, and his muscles swelled. As the blow swung down, it felt as if Erhart would be cleaved in two if he tried to block it.
Erhart deflected the blow by angling his greatsword. Erhart's greatsword sparked and was heavily gouged, beginning to melt.
Having lost most of its blade, Erhart's greatsword became lighter. Gripping the hilt, Erhart punched Larc in the cheek, sending him flying.
Larc, who was blown back slightly, was shocked by the pain. He had likely never felt such pain before with his skill-enhanced body.
Looking, Erhart's muscles were bulging and radiating heat. Steam rose from him; there was no doubt it was an enhancement-type skill.
"Y-you low-lifes!!"
Even so, Erhart's greatsword was in an unusable state. Because of that, Larc thought he could win. He planned to cut Erhart down, then carve his way through the knights and soldiers to escape this place.
At that moment, Damian, who was sitting on the wooden crate, showed no sign of moving. He merely muttered,
"Yeah, you're surprisingly capable. It seems you were a more capable man than I thought."
Then, as Larc swung his greatsword horizontally, it seemed as if Erhart had vanished from before him. Partly because he had looked away, he was late in noticing that Erhart had ducked.
"Crap—"
"—It's frustrating, but he was right."
Erhart drew a dagger from the small of his back and plunged it into Larc's chest.
As blood spurted from Larc's chest, he became unable to use his skills. His strength faded rapidly, and he dropped his greatsword.
When Erhart pulled out the dagger, Larc crouched down, desperately pressing his hand against his chest to stop the flowing blood.
"S-someone. Help! Help me!"
Looking around, he saw his comrades, who had stood up, approaching him. Among them, Larc saw a comrade who could use healing magic and felt relieved.
He even thought that he would be saved.
Without even considering why their restraints had been removed.
And then, the woman who was his comrade looked down at him with a smile.
"Just die."
That's what she said. Larc, surprised, tried to use a skill. However, too much blood had flowed, and he could not use magic.
"Eh, ah... h-help..."
Surrounded by the cold eyes of the women around him, Larc remained crouched—and breathed his last in a posture as if bowing in apology—.
—Dawn was about to break.
In the midst of this, the adventurer party that had entered Cartaphus to attack Lyell's group could not hide their surprise upon hearing the report from their comrade.
"Lyell and his group entered the castle of Cartaphus? They have at least five hundred soldiers? What do you mean? They were supposed to have left most of their forces behind for the labyrinth subjugation!"
The man in the leadership role stood up and grabbed the reporting adventurer by the collar.
The ones who brought the information were a pair who had been keeping watch on Lyell and the others.
They had been attacked by Lyell's group, who had started moving at night, and were restrained and left behind. Afterward, they had escaped their ropes and informed their comrades.
To make up for the failure, they had gone to gather information on Lyell's group. Then, noticing that the state of the castle was strange, they went to investigate, only to find Larc's head displayed.
"T-they really did gather numbers! They've raised their own flag on the castle walls..."
Dropping the struggling adventurer to the floor, the leader pressed his hand to his face and sat in his chair.
"...Entered the castle? They took the castle of Cartaphus? With only five hundred? Why? Did the information... did the information broker betray us?"
The information brokers in Beim were not supposed to sell decent information to Lyell's group, who were being discarded by Beim.
He had been certain of this, especially since Lyell's group had entered Cartaphus with so few people. Yet, the result was that they had perfectly fulfilled the official request.
"...We're leaving Cartaphus immediately."
As the leader spoke, the gathered adventurers nodded and began preparing to flee.
They prided themselves on having enough strength to defeat Lyell's group. However, if the opponent had prepared numbers that exceeded their own and had taken down Larc, the story changed.
Was there a traitor? Did the opponent know from the start? Or, having obtained information, would they find them suspicious?
Various thoughts occurred to him, but he decided it was dangerous to remain here. Everyone immediately began preparations to withdraw, sending a few people to the port first to secure a ship. They wouldn't spare any money. They just had to return to Beim in haste.
When the adventurer party headed for the port, Lyell was waiting for them.
Courteously, knights and soldiers surrounded them in full armament, and the ships were moved away from the port, making it impossible to board.
Surrounded by a swarming group in full armament, the leader stopped counting the enemy once the number exceeded two thousand.
And Lyell was smiling. With a smile, he held a bundle of documents from the bag in his hand—.
The mood inside the orb was the worst.
The Third Generation, for instance,
"What the hell. 'Fleeing is the only option,' what's that about... Come at us. Become nourishment for Lyell."
The Fifth Generation looked bored.
"Wouldn't it be fine to just crush them? We can shave down Beim's strength. With this many people, the casualties will be low. Well, we can just let Lyell and the others fight the main members."
The Seventh Generation was praising the adventurers while laughing. No, he was belittling them while appearing to praise them.
"Isn't it wonderful? They're sneaking away, knowing their place. Well, let's have them be useful. ...For Lyell's sake."
Mireia-san also looked bored. This time, things had progressed in a boring direction for the successive heads, and they truly felt no motivation.
"Sigh... Lyell, show them one of your trump cards."
Looking at the adventurer party surrounded at the port, I took the bundle of documents out of the bag. They were tied with a string, and there were a considerable number of them.
After letting them confirm it, I put it back in the bag and threw it to the man in the leadership role.
When the opponent didn't pick it up, I spoke with a smile.
"Please pick it up. I haven't set any traps. I'm a man who fights honorably."
As I spoke with a hint of sarcasm, the leader looked at his comrades. He seemed to be letting them verify it. And when they checked the contents—.
"...Leader."
A depressed adventurer handed the bundle of documents to the leader. Upon receiving it, the leader was shocked. His hands were shaking, and he looked at me repeatedly.
"What is the meaning of this? These are guild documents!"
The guild documents that Marianne-san had obtained. They had been useful.
They also knew the characteristics of the documents the guild produced. It wouldn't be strange for an adventurer to know. The format and other details were very similar to the guild's, and the contents were written in detail.
Information that could only be known by the guild was also written.
"Do you still not understand? I'm not the one who was sold out. You are."
Hearing those words, the leader trembled.
"Don't mess with me! We didn't go against the guild. We were ordered to kill you, and we made appropriate preparations—"
With an expression of composure, I spoke to the leader.
"And? What was the result? Since you still don't seem to get it, I'll tell you... you're already finished."
The knights and soldiers opened a path, and from there, the nobles of Cartaphus, who were the official requesters, approached with bitter expressions.
They had sent a request to Beim, and those sent were these people—the adventurer party. Because it was an official request, they seemed to have taken it lightly. Adventurer parties specializing in labyrinths rarely take such requests and go outside. If they were adventurers from the Eastern Branch, they should have at least pretended to be working.
It was a clear failure in selection. They had focused too much on defeating us.
The nobles spoke.
"Not only did you fail, but you have no intention of working."
"To try and flee, you are utter cowards. It seems Beim looks down on us completely."
"...You forgot something. Take this. According to the rules, we shall exercise our rights."
What was thrown was an envelope containing documents. Inside was an evaluation of rank [E], the lowest rating, and documents requiring Beim to pay a penalty fee.
Moreover, it was a considerably high penalty fee.
The adventurers' actions were written vividly, though the part about them hindering me was omitted.
They had waited for me at the tavern and moved around in places where Queen Ludmilla-san was not present. They had not searched and remained stationary. They were outmaneuvered by us, who came later, and once things were over, they tried to leave Cartaphus as if fleeing.
While it was the best choice against me, from an official standpoint, they were the worst group of adventurers.
The woman near me—the Queen—also looked down on them with a smile.
"So they sent adventurers who didn't put any effort into my rescue. I see, this is a matter that should be sufficiently protested. However, that would only let the world know that I am incompetent. ...Hmm, no, that's also fine. I'm bored of the position of Queen. I shall use this stain to take a husband. Right, Lyell?"
Averting my gaze from Ludmilla-san, I cleared my throat and continued speaking.
Damian was smirking.
"This is it. This is the real Lyell."
Maxim-san was completely exasperated.
"Lyell-dono, while everyone else is fighting... you are the worst. Also, please do not approach Adele-sama."
Erhart and the others were flustered, unable to understand what was happening.
Looking at the adventurers, I spoke.
"You're finished as adventurers. Not just the lowest evaluation. You've made Beim and Cartaphus enemies. Well, the results don't really matter. You were sold out from the start anyway."
As I raised my left hand, the surrounding knights and soldiers readied their weapons. Thinking it was a signal to charge, the leader threw away his weapon.
Raising both hands,
"Wait! We were sent on the guild's instructions! We took the request officially, intending to achieve it later! Believe me! We were just asked to do it!"
To those words, I replied,
"Sorry. I was just asked to do it too. It can't be helped, right? It's a request. Man, my heart aches. But since it's a request, it can't be helped. That's how it is, right?"
I didn't specify who had asked. It could be the successive heads, or it could be myself. In any case, I intended to counter-attack the adventurers who planned to ambush us.
And I also planned to direct that dissatisfaction toward Beim.
The Seventh Generation was looking happy inside the orb.
"Good, Lyell! You're still a bit naive in places, but your way of provoking them is quite good! More! Make the adventurers despair more! And then, the real show begins!"
The adventurers, in a situation where they could not escape, fell to their knees and began begging for their lives. Seeing that, I lowered my hand.
"...Tell everything honestly at the guild. You don't even know who is an ally and who is an enemy, right? If you do that, I'll guarantee at least your lives. Well, I'll have you work a bit before that, though."
Who is the enemy, and who is the ally—Beim has become my enemy, but surely there is at least one ally. I want to believe that.
Hearing my words, the leader looked at one of his comrades. That person nodded. I was trying to use a skill to see if the other party's words were lies. Then, he nodded.
"I understand. I will report everything honestly. So... please. Save us. If you do, we will absolutely not oppose you. I can write it in a document! I'll hand over the equipment I have!"
They probably have spares back in Beim, and they are a party with enough power to quickly gather equipment. Doing such a thing would be meaningless.
"I'll have you write it in a document. Also, as a fellow adventurer, I understand the importance of equipment. It's enough if you speak honestly in Beim."
Well, since I'll have them use their weapons, it would be a problem if they didn't have them.
Everyone was relieved.
As I threatened the adventurer party, Ludmilla-san looked at me with a smirk.
I wonder... this time, I feel as if I've fallen into a trap.