60 - The Conquest Begins
After conducting several test runs and completing the adjustments to the porter, I headed to the blacksmith to pick up my weapons.
The eclectic city of Alamsars is like a maze itself.
However, having lived here for a while, I have become able to reach the places I need to go without getting lost.
I am grateful to Clara, who drew the map for me, and Miranda-san, who guided me.
As I walked, I saw a sign in a slightly narrow alley.
This was the blacksmith I used in Alamsars, and he handled not only weapons but armor as well. Since iron was easily obtainable, there were many blacksmiths.
However, when it came to those catering to adventurers, they rarely opened shops on the main streets.
The shop owner was a dwarf, which spoke volumes about the city of Alamsars.
He had a bushy beard and a characteristic red nose.
When I greeted him, the owner smiled back.
"How is it? The things you requested?"
"They're ready. But are you sure about this? I certainly made them sturdy... but as far as sabers go, they're a bit heavy."
For the specially made sabers, I had requested increased thickness, even if it meant they would be heavy. With my current strength, I could handle them even if they were somewhat heavy.
Above all, mass-produced items would chip quickly.
Since there are many monsters armed with iron, high-quality sabers are not available in Alamsars. Even if they are, they are often too expensive to buy.
After receiving five sabers, I looked at the other items.
They were explosive arrows with magic stones attached to the tips.
These were items that students also used to earn some pocket money.
However, since I couldn't secure enough of them this time, I had asked a blacksmith acquaintance to make them.
"...The quantity is sufficient."
"I have to do a proper job with what I'm paid for. If customers leave, a man doing business in a place like this will have to close shop immediately. Even so..."
The owner said, looking at the arrows I had purchased.
"What is it?"
"No, it's just that there isn't a large party challenging the labyrinth, nor is there a war nearby. In such a state, this kind of weapon is in short supply."
Arrows equipped with explosive mechanisms are quite expensive.
While one or two might not cost much, when bought in bulk, they cost more than double the price of ordinary arrows.
Furthermore, if the quality is poor, there are many defective ones that don't explode or have weak power.
Management is also difficult.
Since they aren't suited for long-term storage, it was common to decide on the amount to be used and request only the necessary quantity.
Because they can explode upon taking an attack, they are difficult to manage.
Without a porter, one would be too scared to even use them. But in the labyrinth, they are reliable... that kind of weapon.
"Someone must have bought them up in bulk. Thanks to that, I couldn't buy any from where I usually do," I said with a wry smile.
The owner told me to handle them carefully as he handed over the goods.
Then he spoke to me.
"By the way, what happened to that side-pony girl from the other day?"
Since he was asking about Novem, I told him she wasn't with me.
The owner looked slightly disappointed.
Even though the aesthetic sense of dwarves and humans differ, he seemed to be fond of Novem.
"If she were here, I would have given you a discount. What a shame."
"That is a shame. I'll bring her next time."
When I said that, the owner burst out laughing.
"My wife likes that girl too. Bring her along again."
After receiving the goods and paying the fee, I left the blacksmith.
――Aria was inspecting her equipment before challenging the labyrinth.
Liel and Poyopoyo were checking the contents loaded into the porter.
The other members were inspecting their own belongings.
They had woken up early and eaten breakfast in the garden of the House Sarcly estate.
While it was still dim, Clara was checking her luggage while lighting the area with magic.
The others were also checking their belongings by that light.
(She's quite thoughtful)
Aria thought this while looking at Clara.
She confirmed her own belongings and inspected her equipment. Since spare weapons had been loaded into the porter, those had been inspected first.
"Alright, this should be fine!"
For a large-scale plan like this――challenging the labyrinth while staying overnight for several days, it would be truly problematic if preparations weren't complete.
If one forgot a single item and died, regrets would remain.
For that reason, she had been checking various things since the previous day.
Recalling Lyra's teachings, she looked around once her own preparations were complete.
Miranda was checking things calmly, even though she had less experience as an adventurer than Aria.
"Hey, you forgot your water bottle!"
"Eh? But we have water loaded in the porter... Hic! I'm sorry!"
"Go get it right now. Check the contents too."
Miranda was even checking Shannon's preparations.
Since the house had been locked up, Shannon borrowed the key and headed to the entrance.
Clara was checking each piece of luggage while looking at a memo.
She pointed her finger and confirmed them one by one, marking them off.
"Alright, this is good... the second check is also good."
It seemed she had checked twice. This time, she was checking while packing them in.
(I can't imitate that)
She didn't look meticulous, but perhaps due to her professional pride as a support, she was confirming the luggage thoroughly.
Then Aria turned her gaze toward Novem.
Having already finished, Novem was heading toward Liel and the others to load her belongings into the porter.
Then, she stopped and suddenly stared at the wall.
Aria also looked in that direction, but because it was dim, she feared it might be some kind of ghost.
(It's not like she sees strange things... but then again, it's Novem)
To Aria, Novem was also an elusive person.
She knew Miranda was on guard. For some reason, the two of them sometimes created a tense atmosphere.
As she looked toward the wall, she suddenly felt a presence.
"Eh, something... wait."
There was a small bird on top of the wall.
The bird flew away upon seeing Novem.
(I wonder if Novem is nervous too)
As if she didn't care, Novem took her luggage to Liel.
Shannon, who had come out of the house, locked the door and returned to Miranda.
"There's water in there, right?"
"I put it in properly."
Then, Miranda snatched the water bottle from Shannon, opened the lid, and took a sip of the contents.
"...This isn't water, is it?"
"Te-tehe!"
To Shannon, who hit herself with her small hands in a cute manner, Miranda smiled and pressed her fist against Shannon's head, rubbing it in circles.
"If you want to take this along, go put water in a different bottle. You're carrying your own luggage too."
At Miranda's words, Shannon pointed to the porter.
"Why not just load it into the porter!"
"We're going to load even more luggage into the porter! Just go back and do it again!"
Watching the sisterly quarrel, Aria thought.
(Somehow, the porter is being treated as a regular companion...)
Aria couldn't quite accept that.
Then she looked at Liel and the others.
"There's still room."
Looking at the luggage loaded into the porter, he had a satisfied expression.
To Aria, Liel, who was so happy he was almost boasting about the completed porter, looked like a child.
"We'll be loading the magic stones and materials we collect from now on, so isn't this about right? I wanted to make the porter larger so we could sleep and stay in it. It would be pitiful for a frail chicken coward to sleep outdoors..."
Liel, called frail, talked back.
"Hey, who's frail? We're inside the labyrinth, so it's not sleeping outdoors. There's no wind or rain."
――Aria thought.
(As I thought, Liel is off in some way too... or rather, am I the only sane one in this party...?)
Aria had become quite resilient, and she had certainly become sane as an adventurer.
However, what about as a girl? She had become more masculine than before.
(Sigh, I have to be the reliable one)
She thought such things――.
Entering the Labyrinth of Alamsars, with personnel and equipment finally gathered, I finally set out to tackle the challenges of my ancestors.
I feel like I spent several months completing the porter and earning pocket money.
But I should have grown a bit too.
I placed Aria and Miranda-san in the vanguard, and I was immediately behind them.
Then, Novem and Clara were in the center, and the porter followed in the rear.
Shannon was riding on the roof of the porter as it advanced through the corridors of the Labyrinth of Alamsars, which were relatively wide.
Poyopoyo was waiting beside the porter. Looking at Shannon, he had warned her several times to get down from the roof and ride on the cargo bed.
Clara said to me.
"Since we've dived many times recently, it seems we can move quickly to the fifth basement floor."
I had challenged the labyrinth many times, walking and transporting luggage and personnel.
Thanks to that, I remembered the route to the fifth basement floor.
Even if the labyrinth had shifted and the paths had changed, there probably wouldn't be such a huge change compared to the last time I challenged it.
"Well, that's also why I challenged it many times."
When I said that to Clara, Novem looked at me and spoke.
"Liel-sama, please do not push yourself too hard."
She seemed worried.
"I'm not pushing myself. I'm just moving while carrying luggage and people in the porter. The "Carried Liel" Porter is popular among adventurers now."
I spoke with a bit of pride to soften the tense atmosphere.
Novem cautioned me.
"That's no good, Liel-sama. The leader must not let his guard down."
"Indeed."
When Clara agreed, Shannon, who was watching from atop the porter, laughed.
"No-good leader."
Since she pointed and laughed, I tried to talk back to Shannon――.
"Look, they're here! Two ahead. Goblins."
When Aria raised her voice, I drew my saber and gave instructions.
"Aria and Miranda-san, handle them. The rest, stay on guard."
Then, Miranda-san and Aria dealt with the approaching goblins. In the shallow parts of the labyrinth――up to the fifth basement floor, they could progress just by rotating the vanguard.
Basically, the two women were lightly armored, but the goblins were defeated quickly.
Aria stabbed one to death, and Miranda-san slashed the other's eye with her first dagger, and while its movements slowed, she delivered a thrust to its vital point with her second dagger――.
(What is this... it was an instant)
I thought it would take a bit more time, but the movements of the two had become sharper than before.
As Aria entered a state of vigilance for the surroundings, Clara began to move.
Since we were diving deep, the plan this time was to collect only magic stones. If we obtained a large amount of materials here, the luggage would be full before we reached the thirtieth basement floor.
As I helped collect magic stones, the voice of the second generation came from the Jewel Orb.
'It's strange, isn't it?'
The voice of the third generation also sounded.
'What is?'
The second generation said.
'People. Even if they weren't conspicuous until now, don't they suddenly become capable when entrusted with a job?'
The fourth generation also agreed.
'That happens. Until now, they've been thinking that they don't have to do it. But they're the type to become "I must do it!" once they're entrusted with it.'
The fifth generation also spoke.
'If there are ten people, two or three of them will go bad. Instead, two or three of the remaining ones will work hard.'
The sixth generation spoke to me.
'In that case, it means Liel has been making the other members go bad until now.'
My heart hurt a little.
Since there were things that came to mind, I couldn't talk back.
The seventh generation followed up.
'The skill's performance is extraordinary, after all. However, it's probably not just Liel's fault. Aria becoming slightly more self-aware is also a big change.'
The seventh generation also supported Aria.
She had become more masculine recently, but her movements had become more like an adventurer's.
Instead of just doing what she was told, she did what she could before being told.
Just by that, it helped because I could direct my attention elsewhere without giving instructions.
However――the second generation said.
'But, I feel like they're tense in a different sense.'
The fourth generation said.
'What is it? Is it that "intuition" thing like the first generation had?'
Since I was curious, I listened to the conversation coming from the Jewel Orb while helping Clara.
'No, Miranda-chan is excessively wary of the surroundings, and Novem-chan's atmosphere today is somehow... well, I hope it's just my imagination.'
I looked around the party.
Indeed, they seemed more tense than usual.
(Is it just because we're aiming for the thirtieth basement floor without skills?)
However, talking about it here wouldn't start anything, so I announced that we would move.
"Collection finished. Now, let's move. We have to go as far as we can today."
As I said that and started to walk, everyone took their previous positions and began to move.
We headed toward the planned rest point.
Since there was a good spot on the fifth basement floor, we headed there, and the inside of the room was bright.
I scratched my head.
"Unlucky. There are guests."
A different party was resting there.
It might be for a short time, but we couldn't just wait for them.
Clara said.
"Priority belongs to the adventurers who are already resting. Shall we try to negotiate? They might be departing, though."
I checked the time spent so far.
(It's been relatively smooth until here. I remembered the way too... let's move forward and secure a suitable place)
Due to the skills of the fifth and sixth generations, encounters with other adventurers were extremely few.
There are many such small unexpected events.
"No, let's move forward. We'll take the next rest longer. Miranda-san, let's switch. Aria, can you still go?"
Aria nodded.
"Of course."
Miranda-san hesitated for a bit, but she seemed to decide to follow my instructions.
"...Well, it's the leader-san's instruction. I'll move back."
I switched with Miranda-san and began to move.
The second generation said.
'Having few numbers is indeed a disadvantage. Or rather, resting here...'
On the fifth basement floor, many adventurers entered a rest whether they were moving forward or returning.
There are parties like us that spend a night on the way.
(Because there are many such adventurers, I wanted to rest here)
Many parties defeat the surrounding monsters to ensure safety. Therefore, attacks during rest are few, making it suitable for resting.
(A sudden change of plans is tough)
Thinking that, I stepped into the sixth basement floor.
The second generation said.
'Somehow, it's a bad feeling. I feel like we've been preempted.'
Indeed, many parties complain when they find colleagues resting in the place they planned.
However, that was the same as just finding fault.
I also felt like complaining, but I didn't actually intend to say it.
However――.
(Indeed, I do have a bad feeling)