You're so weak. I could take this one down with one hand.

　Then the person laughed dismissively.
　It was an attitude that irritated my pride, but I listened to his words in silence.
　After all, that person's words are undoubtedly the truth.

　I contorted my face as I rolled on the floor of the labyrinth.
　Turning my face to the side, I saw the corpse of a ship-armed hobgoblin right nearby.
　Of course, it wasn't the one I had defeated.
　On the contrary, I had been beaten by this hobgoblin without a hand or foot at all.
　If I hadn't been saved, I would have been the one who was turned into a corpse.
　If you think about the fact that the hobgoblins had their arms cut off as a handicap, you can understand how weak I am.

　But still.
　No, that's why I had one complaint.

'Please don't compare ...... to me.

　I let out a small complaint as I looked up at the face hidden by the black robes.
　It's obvious that I'm weak, but this person tries to compare me to myself one by one.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work for you.

　It's a good thing that you're not going to be able to find a way to get the best out of it.

'What are you talking about sweetly, Raust?　To the extent of my physical abilities, I'm the weakest of my kind.

So what's the deal with that kindred?　I'm human.

You'll find out. You're not ready for that.

　That said, he never told me what it means to call someone "kindred spirits".
　He has a habit of repeating meaningful words, but he never tells me the most important things.
　Knowing this, I am frustrated, but I remain silent.
　It's because I know that no matter how much I ask, he won't tell me any more.

　Only that time was a little different.
　The man didn't break off when he would have been finished at any time.

'If there's only one thing I can say, don't give up, Raust.

　The man continued to speak with such forceful words that it was as if he had seen me in the future.

"Don't give up, even if you are weak. Keep struggling, and you will understand everything. Then you will understand everything.

　Then the person raises his robe slightly hiding his face.
　From my fallen body, the bottom of the rope becomes apparent.
　The long, glossy black hair and a well-groomed face that everyone says is an immensely beautiful woman.

　And then there's a tattoo like an eye drawn on the forehead and a hard black protrusion protruding from the center of the tattoo - a horn.

''I'm waiting for you to grow up, my last warrior.

　With those last words, the scene in front of me darkened: .......



◇◆◇



　When I opened my eyes, what was spread out in front of me was a ceiling illuminated by a magic tool of lights.
　I realized it was the ceiling of the guild.
　As I looked up at the ceiling in a daze, what I was thinking back to was the content of the dream I had just had.

　A conversation between a woman with horns and myself when I was still a boy.
　I think back to that scene, which I can easily recall if I close my eyes.
　I wonder what that dream was about, what was the owner of the voice that gave me a sense of déjà vu.

　The dream was too vivid to assert that it was a sleepy fantasy.
　Yes, so much so that I almost believed it when they told me that I had actually experienced it.
　That's why I have to think.

　It's not like we were ever involved, yet such memories don't exist.
　I wonder who that person is that makes you feel so close to them, as if you've met a family member who has been separated from you for life.

'Oh, I see,'

　Suddenly I realize the reason for my sense of déjà vu about that voice.

'Is that the voice I heard that time?

　Our bodies are built for nothing.

　During the battle with Fenrir.
　When I was on the verge of death after deciding to make a desperate attack, I remembered these words.
　It was that woman who told me this.

'......!'

　The thought of that and my remembrance of the current situation came to me at the same time.

　The fight to the death with Fenrir.
　After defeating Fenrir, I watched as Ronald knocked down the Gryphon and lost consciousness.
　Remembering all of that, I ignored the pain in my body and forced my upper body to sit up.

'Nal, Sena?'

　It was then that I noticed the blue hair leaning on the edge of my bed, slumped over.

'...... hmm, oh,'

　Perhaps in shock from my movement, Narsena shifts uncomfortably in her sleep and opens her eyes thinly.

''Onii-san!''

　Then he jumped up when he saw me up on top of him.

'When did you wake up ....... Nope, more importantly, the wound is ......!

　Narsena stood up vigorously from her chair while her expression changed from surprise to relief to worry.
　Even though I was pressured by Narsena, I opened my mouth as soon as I could.

Oh, calm down, Narsena. I'm fine. Here.

　I turn the arm of the one that was slashed as a sign of this.
　...... Instantly, I feel pain, as if it hadn't fully healed yet, but I don't let it show on my face.

'Lie, after all those injuries?'

　With that, Narcena calmed down a bit and sat down in her chair without any effort.
　After confirming that, I opened my mouth.

'Well, wounds like this were an everyday occurrence. ...... But more importantly, can you tell me what the situation is now?

　I'm watching Mr. Ronaldo defeat the Gryphon, and I don't think it's the worst thing that could have happened to him.
　However, at that point in time, the battle was still not over, and we don't know what happened to Rich and the others who were fighting Narsena.
　If the people of the city were harmed, I would regret it, but I can't regret it.

　I'm not sure if Nalcena sensed my inner feelings and opened her mouth as if she was in a hurry.

'Oh, yes. That's right, your brother was asleep until now.

　Then Narsena told me what the hell had happened from the point where I had fainted, that is, from the point where Ronald-san had defeated the griffon.

　Apparently the battle ended soon after I passed out.
　When we defeated Fenrir, Ogre and Rich were already defeated, and all that was left was to pull out.

"Thanks to that, we were able to show your brother to Lyra-san right away. ...... Lyra-san says that if he had been attacked in that state, his life would have been in danger.

　Realizing the reason for Narsena's concern, I awkwardly looked away from her.
　It's true that I thought I had pushed myself too hard, but I didn't think it was going to be that bad.

　What comes to my mind when I think about that is the abnormality I faced before I passed out, the 《Heel》.

　Remembering that at that time, the healing effect was far greater than I had expected, I pondered.
　I wondered if it was true.
　Until now, I had never experienced the effects of the Heal to be extremely low.
　The "Heal" that I handle uses magic tools to achieve its effects.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find out what's going on in the world, and I'm sure you'll be able to find out what's going on in the world.

''...... Properly, you were taking care of your magic tools as well, right?

　Checking the magic tool on the side of the bed and confirming that there is nothing wrong, I am convinced that the reason why the effect of the "Heal" has fallen off is not because of the magic tool.
　If that's the case, I can only think of that incident as my own delusion, which was in an extreme situation.

　It was when I was thinking that that Narsena opened her mouth, revealing her concern for me.

''If [Heel] was so worn out that he couldn't use it like he normally does, then it's good that you treated your brother first.

　At those words, I couldn't help but look back at Narsena's face.

''...... Was the effect of the 《Heal》 you put on Narsena also low?

'What?　Yes. I felt like it was less effective than some of the other times: ......

　It wasn't just me, Narsena also felt the low effectiveness of Heal.
　Knowing this, I understood that I hadn't been mistaken.

　During the fight with Fenrir, I put my hand to my forehead, which felt itchy.
　The only reason I could come up with for the decrease in the effect of the 《Heal》 was the abnormal sensation I had at that time.
　I don't know what happened back then, but I wonder if it had anything to do with the sensation I had at that time.

　......, but no matter how much I thought about it, I never got an answer.

　No matter how much I think about it here and now, it would be a waste of time.
　I've realized that, and I open my mouth to Narsena, who looks at me with concern.

''I'm sorry, it's okay. Can I ask you to continue the conversation?　The adventurers can go to ........

　Wow, a huge crowd cheered.

　That's when I was about to announce the words.
　I understood that the commotion was a celebration, and I told Narsena with a bitter smile.

'...... Yeah. You look well enough to celebrate.

'Yes. Not that there wasn't any damage, but according to Mr. Ronald, it's pretty minimal.

　Having said that, Narsena told me that the death toll of the adventurers was about thirty.
　It's not a small number, and considering that the number of injured is many times that number, it wouldn't be normal to say that the damage is small.

''Indeed, quite a few,''

　However, during the battle with Fenrir, I couldn't help but mutter to myself as I watched the adventurers being tossed around by the worms that were probably strengthened by the labyrinth runaway.
　Although I didn't confirm it clearly, the adventurers must have been in a state of confusion at the time.
　In such a situation, a dozen or so deaths is indeed a small amount of damage.
　In the first place, just by dealing with the strengthened hobgoblins and orcs, a hundred or even more deaths could be expected, even over two hundred.

　The two people I could think of as the factor that kept this kind of damage at bay were two human beings.

"Thanks to Aamir and Lyra-san?

　Aamir, whose talents regarding magic were undoubtedly at the top level, and Lila, who was in a party that was called top-notch in the royal capital.
　I can't think of anyone else who was able to get out of that situation but these two.

''It's not.''

　But Narsena dismissed my judgment.

''There's no doubt that those two have done remarkable work, but the person who has done the most to protect the adventurers is another person.

What?

　Narsena tells me, looking straight at me speechless as if I hadn't imagined her words.

'Mist and Hanzam, if it weren't for those two, the damage would have been much worse, Mr. Ronaldo,'

　And the words Narsena announced were two names that it was as if she hadn't imagined.

'...... the misters?'

Yes, sir.

　I can't hide my surprise, but Narsena tells me about the achievements of Mist and the others.

　Mist kept the adventurers from becoming confused when the worm appeared and served as a lord until they returned to the city walls.
　Hanzam is said to have held back Ogre and Rich in place of Narsena, who was with me in a fight against Fenrir.

I'm sure that if Hanzam hadn't joined us then, a lot of damage would have been done. It's annoying to admit that ......

　I couldn't help but think about it as Narsena talked about being helped by Hanzam with a complicated expression on her face.
　I know that those two have a big war chest.
　However, I had no idea that I could address that strength at all.

　I'm not going to be the only one who has been in a cooperative relationship with Mist and the others.
　However, that's only because they don't want to antagonize us.
　I've been thinking about this for a while now, and I'm sure it's just a matter of rubbing up against us to survive in the midst of the labyrinth runaway.

　That's why I couldn't hide my surprise at the misters who were trying to protect the labyrinth city while putting themselves in danger.
　If you're cooperating with us to survive, you should take action so that you might cause harm to yourself.
　But the question of the misters not doing so is growing inside me.

　You're going to be able to find out the best way to get the most out of this project.

You're going to be able to find out what's going on. There's a reason why the mist has to protect the labyrinth city too?

　I can picture Mist asking me for help.
　Since that time, Mist had been pretending to be asking for cooperation.
　Isn't that because the misters are also trying to protect the labyrinth city for some reason?
　Thinking about that, I give a small smile.
　Narcena, who reveals her disbelief to me, opens her mouth.

''But Mist and the others are the kind of people who could be said to have created this situation. I don't even know how much they'll cooperate with us, and I don't think it would be surprising if they attacked us as soon as the ...... labyrinth runaway stopped.

　I nodded at Narsena's words.
　Even if Mist and the others were working together for some purpose, as soon as they achieved their goal, they might turn to the enemy.

Yeah, I know. Still, it's a good thing we can count on the misters to keep us going during the maze.

　I laughed, understanding this.
　Master told me that we must not make enemies of the Mist and the others, the Mist and the others are that much more troublesome.
　That, in turn, meant that they would be more useful as allies.

　Even if the period of time was limited, it's great to be able to count those two as a fighting force.
　Thinking about that, I give a small smile.

　With those two, it wouldn't be a problem to leave them to deal with Rich and Ogre.
　And if that's the case, it would be possible for me and Narsena to take on the super-difficult demonic beasts with just the two of us.
　If that happens, we won't have to struggle against super-difficult monsters like we did this time, I had confidence in that.

''We might be able to manage it.''

　The prospect of surviving a labyrinthine runaway that was thought to be hopeless.
　My voice is filled with uncontrollable excitement as I decide I've found it.
　I think as I listen to the commotion outside, which I can hear even when I'm in the room.
　The commotion, I thought, I can understand it now.

　I smiled at Narcena to share that excitement with her.

'Yes, I suppose.'

　But unlike me, the smile on Narsena's face was somewhat awkward.

'...... Narsena?'

　The reaction, which I hadn't imagined, upsets me.
　Could I have done something wrong?
　I'm going to be able to find out what's going on, and I'm going to have to think back to the past.

　You're going to be able to find out the best way to get the most out of this article.

　What Narsena taught me was quite an upbeat story.
　The damage is minimal, the adventurers are celebrating with the prospect of enduring the labyrinthine runaway, and the adventurers are celebrating.
　That would no doubt be a happy report.

　Despite ......, Narsena's demeanor as she spoke of it was not in keeping with that.
　As far as I can recall, there was no place where Narsena was revealing her joy.
　On the contrary, she had an attitude as if she was depressed about something.

　I'm going to ask you what the hell is going on,...... before that Narsena stood up.

''Well, I'm going to go get Lila-san now. I have to go and tell the others that the most meritorious of them has happened.

　Saying that, Narcena walks off at a fast pace.
　It's as if she's avoiding conversation from me.

''......!''

　I couldn't speak to its back.
　In the meantime, Narsena's footsteps are passing through.
　Realizing that Narsena has said it to the point where I won't be able to hear myself anymore, I mutter softly.

'Will you come to this room again ......?'

　The chair that Narsena had been sitting in was still in the room.