"Hmmm, hahahaha!

　The grasslands as far as the eye could see.
　In the midst of it all, I couldn't bear to laugh with joy.

　I can vividly recall the memory of being humiliated by that abominable, flawed healer if I focus my mind.
　Using the top-notch adventurers as a shield, he had interfered with our Great Sword of the God of War's attempt to lead the adventurers of the Labyrinth City, and then kicked me in the groin, knocking me into a coma.
　Instead of calming down, the anger at that had become even stronger with the time that had passed.
　But that anger wasn't in me now.

　Instead, what dominated my mind was a mockery of Raust and the superb adventurers who would be going through hell in the future.

　When I looked behind me, I saw the adventurers there sitting on the grassy field, recovering from the fatigue of running here from the labyrinth city.
　The number of them must have exceeded five hundred people.
　Moreover, among them were adventurers with intermediate or higher levels of ability, who were considered to be of the highest level in the Maze City.
　On top of that, if this many adventurers escaped, not to mention the manpower of the labyrinth city, the strength of the city must have been greatly reduced.
　It is true that Lausto and Narsena, as well as Sieg and other top-notch adventurers, are in a class of their own, but they have only one body.
　There is a limit to what they can do.

　Because of my anger towards Raust, I couldn't help but feel a strong sense of amusement at the current state of that labyrinth city.

　The wizard Alex, a member of the Great Sword of the God of War's member beside me, spoke to me.

''That defective healer must be in a panic right now, leader!

Yeah, I know.

　Alex's words made my smile grow even darker.
　Just picturing that healer pale and flustered, I couldn't help but feel a sense of amusement.
　I was so sorely tempted to not be able to see that face.

'I didn't know it would work out so well. I didn't feel good at first about taking those clowns on that leg, but apparently it was the right thing to do.

　Then I turned my attention to the guild staff sitting on the ground among the adventurers.
　At first, I was reluctant to run away with the guild staff, who would only be a drag on me.
　In the current state of affairs, the burden of simply fleeing with my companions is too great, and the risk of escaping with people who can't even fight is too high.
　However, the guild staff had done enough to change their minds.

　This time, they were able to convince this many adventurers to flee without Zeke and the others noticing.
　It was also the guild staff's idea to make a detour to the grasslands to escape from the overwhelmingly physical Narsena and her friends.

　Considering those things, it could be said that bringing out the guild staff was very effective.

''And as long as we have the guild staff, we'll have an excuse to listen to them, even if we end up rubbing a demonic beast on the neighboring city.

　I had some understanding of how bad it would be to run away at this time when the labyrinth runaway was happening.
　In the first place, adventurers in the labyrinth city are obliged by the guild to lend their strength in an emergency, in exchange for more generous favors than in other cities.
　Especially the higher-ranking adventurers.

　That's why the Labyrinth City Guild is looking for particularly strong adventurers.
　It's all to ensure that they have the strength to fight in case of an emergency, in other words, a labyrinth runaway.

　Currently we're ignoring that arrangement and running away.
　Normally, this would not be an acceptable act.
　If we fled to a neighboring town, we would only end up in jail for violating the guild's rules.
　However, if it wasn't just us who fled, but the guild staff as well, it would be a different story.
　They can say they escaped in order to save the guild staff.

　And even if we end up in the next town with a hexenbiest in tow, it's a condition of the guild staff that they have to back us up.
　This means that no matter what happens, there is no way for us to be harmed.

''Everything's going well, isn't it?''

　I can't hide my excitement at the perfect vision of the future.
　I can't stop my mouth from loosening up at the thought of my plan to get through it without getting caught up in the labyrinth runaway.

　As far as I remember, a labyrinth runaway should have been something that got worse as time went on.
　Despite the situation, I had no intention of staying inside the labyrinth city for too long.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find out what's going on in the world.

　...... not realizing that their vague knowledge could be wrong.

'...... Don't get too carried away, Azure. The situation is never for the best.

　The one who opened his mouth to me with a bitter look on his face was Ruiz, a wizard man who is a top-notch adventurer and wind and fire spirit leader like me.
　For a moment I'm frustrated at being interrupted where I feel good.
　However, Ruiz's words were correct.

　I'm going to look again at the adventurers behind me.
　I'm sure you'll find that the number of adventurers there is more than 30 percent of the total number of adventurers in the labyrinth city, so you should be proud of the fact that you were able to escape with them in tow.

　I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that the number of adventurers I had in mind was close to a thousand, if not more than a thousand.

I understand. I only have half as many adventurers as I had originally planned.

　As I muttered that, I suddenly looked to the side at the great sword member of the God of War who was right next to me.
　The warriors and healers that should be there are not there.
　They were stunned by Narsena and were the first to leave this place.
　That wasn't the only adventurer who was knocked out by Narsena.

'...... At least, there were more than fifty of them.

　At the end of my run into the meadow, I look behind me and see the number of adventurers who had fallen down.
　I remember that and a cold thing runs down my back.
　It's true that even though the adventurers were focused on escaping, that doesn't mean they didn't resist.
　Nevertheless, Narsena had taken the consciousness of so many people in that short time.

　...... It was obviously extraordinary.

　But it was Ronald, that bespectacled warrior of the very best adventurers, who was the most dangerous.

　In escaping, we were not caught off guard by Lausto and his team's abnormality.
　After the top-notch adventurer wizards and Lausto disappeared, they also escaped while Ronald and Armia were resting in the guild.
　As he aimed, Amia naturally couldn't even use magic, and the slow-footed Zeke was able to shake it off with only a few dozen or so departures.
　As for Ronaldo, most of us had already left the Adventurer's Guild when we showed up.

　At that time, we had no doubt that our escape had been a perfect success.

　And yet, even then, Ronald was in no hurry.
　He just calmly pulled out a large sword with a strange glow and swung it at us, even though it obviously couldn't have hit us.

　It was the next moment when the adventurers behind us collapsed, spewing blood while inflicting wounds on the walls of a nearby house.
　It was at that moment that I realized that my perception of the top-notch adventurers was naive.

　That scene is still very clear in my mind.
　I don't know what happened after that, as I was running with my back to fear, just looking ahead.
　But from what I can guess from the situation, many adventurers must have been afraid of Ronaldo and stopped in their tracks.

　If it weren't for ...... Ronald's break, our escape would have been a failure.

　My face contorts at the thought of it.
　Immediately I shake the abominable memory out of my head, saying that since this is how I got away with it, there's nothing wrong with it.

　But Ruiz wasn't so sure.

...... Hey, we shouldn't have run away, should we?

　Ruiz's words were trembling as he announced this so that the other adventurers wouldn't hear.

'......!'

　I stared at Ruiz with strong irritation at those words.

　I had a feeling that I might have made a wrong decision, but I couldn't forgive Ruiz for saying that.
　But I couldn't forgive Ruiz for saying that.

I'm not going to be able to do that.　You want me to follow that defective healer!

　The main reason I decided to get out of the labyrinth city is because I couldn't accept the fact that I would be under the command of Raust.
　It may be that top-notch adventurers will ostensibly be in charge, but it won't change the fact that Lausto will be standing above us.

　This is something that I absolutely cannot allow to happen.

It's a good thing that you're not the only one. Even you don't like the fact that the defective healer has suddenly risen to the occasion, do you?　If that's the case, don't get the foolish idea of going back now.

　And the same was true of Ruiz, who was not pleased with the healer.
　This wizard, who had seen that Raust had defeated the mutated Hydra, cowardly did not try to openly confront Raust.
　But he doesn't have good feelings for Lausto, as do I, and I try to use that to convince him.

''And do you think that those top-notch adventurers, Ronald, will forgive us if we return now?''

...... Yeah, right.

　At those words, a troubled expression appears on Ruiz's face.
　I thought privately that with this much strength, I wouldn't be punished for going back, but I didn't let it show, and continued to speak.

And besides, it's only a matter of four hours for our feet to get to the next town. That way, we won't have to risk our lives. It's a million times better to just run away. Isn't that right?

　Finally, I pointed in Ruiz's ear to the adventurers behind me and told him.

...... When the time comes, we have five hundred decoys for you.

　At those words, a suspicious light dwells in Ruiz's eyes.
　After confirming that, I moved away from Ruiz.

'Yes, whatever happens, you'll be fine.

　By then, the anxiety that had been created in my mind by my earlier conversation with Ruiz was already gone.
　To reassure myself, I muttered a confirmation.

'We'll never be.'

　...... with a sneer at the adventurers who don't even know they are not included in that us.

　However, that expression on my face was transformed into frustration by the anomaly that occurred the next moment.

''...... What was that?''

Those were the same dungeons who beat us up.　No, you're going in the wrong direction: ......?

　The first thing I noticed was that some of the adventurers were sitting down.
　I didn't feel any tension in their conversation, and without a second thought, I looked in the direction the adventurers were looking at.

"....!

　That's when I realized the emergency.

'Everybody get ready to move fast!

It's times like this: ......!

　At my words, half of the adventurers, those who are above the intermediate level, grasp the situation and begin to prepare for it.
　However, half of the adventurers are still unable to understand the situation and are in a daze.

''What the hell are you doing!　Now stand up!

　To those adventurers, I shout.

"─ ─ Maze runaway!　The demonic beasts are coming!

　...... My words caused the blood to drain from the adventurer's face.