Since we were originally ready for battle, Master and I finished our preparations in less than ten minutes and left the Adventurer's Guild.
However, even after a few minutes had passed, Master just walked around as if he were looking for something and did not leave the Adventurer's Guild at all.

I couldn't help but twist my head at that master's appearance.
If the branch leaders had caused the labyrinth runaway, wouldn't they be running away from the labyrinth city?
No matter how meticulously they searched this place, I don't think it would mean anything.
I wonder if I should tell them that.
It was then that my master spoke up.

'Good. I have found it.

......... Huh?

As I was unaware of what was happening, Master pressed his hand to the ground.
In the next moment, magic is activated and the soil that Master was pushing up his hand rises.

I couldn't help but open my mouth at Master's sudden action.

''Master? What the hell is .........!

But I didn't get the words out of my mouth.
In the middle of moving my mouth, I opened my eyes to something that came into view.

It was a hollow space underneath the raised earth.
The space, lit by the faintest of lights, was clearly not a natural creation.

Underneath the soil, it was a passageway that had been created by human intervention.

'What is this ......?'

With the passageway in front of me, I couldn't hide my agitation.
Not only was there a passageway underneath the earth, but the passageway itself was so bizarre.

The passageway was reinforced on all sides with something, like white stone.
In a passage that was only minimally lit, it was hard to tell for sure what it was.
But I see a white stone that emits a slight luster, and I understand.

This is impossible to achieve in today's civilization, even if you use magical skills.
Obviously, it was created using technology that cannot be compared to today's.

While I couldn't hide my agitation when I looked at the passageway, my master didn't get upset at all.
Standing up, brushing the dirt from his hands, Master opens his mouth.

''At the end of this passageway, the branch leaders are there. It took me a while to find them, though, because they were blocking my magic detection. I knew they had an escape route after all.

What! ...... Is this one made by the chapter leaders?

Yeah, probably. This is a corridor based on lost technology.

This is the lost and found technology: ......

I finally understand as I see my master's words and a glimpse of the lost technology called the passage.
I don't know if it's really something that can cause this case to happen.
But the technology of lost and found is certainly a very advanced technology that cannot be understood by the people of today.

When I came up with this idea, I had been asking myself a question I had been having for some time.

''What are you going to make the branch leaders do? Could it be that the lost and found technology is something that can handle a labyrinthine runaway?

Even after seeing the product of the lost and found technology, I still can't believe that the lost and found technology is enough to intervene in the labyrinth runaway.

If it weren't for the swarm of monsters led by Rich and his masters, they would have certainly overrun the labyrinth city.
After seeing that, no matter how great the technology was, I couldn't believe that a human being could do anything to the labyrinth.

However, my master, who knows more about lost technology than I do, might have reason to be convinced that he could do something about the labyrinth runaway with lost technology.

I couldn't think that far ahead and keep my curiosity to the back of my mind.
It was because I understood that this was the great hope of managing the labyrinth runaway.

The Master easily betrayed that hope.

''Nope. You'll never be able to do it. The mechanism of the labyrinth is not something one can do anything about. Other than destroying the core of the labyrinth, there's no other way to cure the labyrinth runaway,'' he said. And on top of that, with a labyrinth of this size, even we can't destroy the core of the labyrinth.

......... Huh?

My thoughts stopped for a moment as Master said that.
The reason why Master said that he was going to find a branch leader with a lost and found technique. I had thought it was to deal with the labyrinth runaway with the lost art.
Therefore, I couldn't help but be shocked by Master's assurances that this was impossible.

If that was the case, then why would he look for a branch leader?
Is there any way to do something about the current situation?

Such thoughts dominate my mind, and I lose the time to even ask Master what it is all about.
Regardless of this, Master continues to speak.

In the first place, I don't think it's even possible to create a labyrinth runaway with the technology that was lost. There is no way you can create a labyrinth runaway that easily.

Yeah, .......

...... The earliest I could do was beyond astonishment and confusion at the master who even reversed the words I had just said.

I know that this person's thought form is different from my own.
This person, who has overwhelming knowledge and experience, is thinking about 10 things while others are thinking about 1.
So a person like me, who is thinking about 1, can't understand the true meaning of a master's words while thinking about 10.

Nevertheless, I wish he had at least given me the current situation in a more orderly fashion.

My cheeks involuntarily twitch at Master as usual.
The idea that Master might have quite a bit of leeway comes to mind.
But it's only for a moment. That was until Master's mood suddenly changed.

Master opens his mouth, a tense look of unease on his neat face as he tosses his red hair in a braid and tosses his pigtails.

'I should say that ...... is an exception for once. Regardless of how well versed he is in the art of loss, I don't think he can pull off a labyrinth runaway. But the head of this labyrinth city's branch. As for that man, it's a different story.

After taking a breath, Master continued to speak with a serious look on his face.


''──With that man, even if I caused the labyrinth runaway, I can be satisfied.


......!

The words of his master took my breath away.
The head of the Labyrinth City Branch. The only image I have of that person is that of someone who is using the guild staff to do something.
I didn't know what he was capable of, or even what he looked like, and to be honest, Hanzam left more of an impression on me than him.
But this image of me has changed dramatically.

The fact that the branch chief was a tricky person, and the tension in Master's words spoke more eloquently than anything else.
In this atmosphere, Master moved his mouth further.

''Even if this labyrinth runaway was not caused by an artificial cause, that man would certainly have sensed this labyrinth runaway. The fact that that man was moving in some way is also probably related to the labyrinth runaway.

The chapter leader's abilities were being revised upward in my mind.
Perhaps the fact that I didn't think of the branch manager as a major player was in his hands.
Gradually, the tension in me swelled up.

It was at that moment that my mentor had a smile on his mouth.

''...... Eh?''

It was a fierce smile that didn't fit the description of the desperate situation.
I let out a small voice at the unexpected expression on his face, and my master moved his mouth with a belligerent expression on his face.


If that's the case, why wouldn't you have an escape route ready for me?


...

It was at that moment that I came up with the reason why Master was looking for the chapter leaders.
From the beginning, Master had no intention of staying in the Labyrinth City to deal with the Labyrinth Runaway.
Master had only one goal.
He wanted to negotiate with the branch chiefs and use the escape route that they had prepared for him in battle to escape the labyrinth city.

I smile at the light in this desperate situation that is finally coming into view.

Considering that the escape route was prepared by the branch chief with the lost technology, it's definitely much safer than evacuating from the labyrinth city while escorting the people of the city from now on.

There are some concerns.
It's unlikely that negotiations will be viable, and it will be a battle out of ten.
If that happens, we'll have to deal with a branch chief who is sharp and of unknown combat power, and Hanzam, who we know is a strong man.

Even so, we have top-notch adventurers on our side.
It's not a tough match.

But! My thoughts were then changed by my master's words.

'I'll avoid fighting as much as possible this time.

It was a weak statement that was not like my master at all times.
I can only think of it as some kind of joke, and with a smile on my face, I try to return the words to my master in a light tone of voice.

It was then that I noticed that Master was smiling fiercely - and at the same time, holding an extreme nervousness I hadn't seen before.

'...... Master?'

Just keep one thing in mind.

At my call, the master tells me in a stern voice.

'I don't know any of the staff in your entourage. But if you and I both fought the branch chief, consider the odds to be less than 30 percent.

What about .........?

I finally realize the attitude of my mentor.
The sense of urgency I had been having towards the branch chief, the sense of urgency I had been having until now, it was too sweet.

'Let's go.'


I couldn't do anything but stare at my master's back as he landed on the aisle.