I was awakened from my sleep by the glare that I could see even with my eyes closed.
　When I opened my half-open eyes, the morning sun was shining through the curtains.
　The chirping of birds could be heard from outside.

...... Is it morning already?

　As soon as he woke up, he raised himself up and took a deep breath to awaken his consciousness.

　I was not a good sleeper, but during my travels as a brave man, I learned the art of stabilizing my consciousness as soon as I woke up.
　I've been attacked more than once when I was asleep.

　I'm not drowsy, and I'm completely exhausted.
　Apparently, for the first time in a long time, I was able to fall into a deep, dreamless sleep.
　Since being betrayed, there has been a lot of shallow sleep, so much so that a single noise could wake me up.

'Long time no see, huh ......'

　He scattered the bedding and turned his attention to Elfie, who was sleeping in the bed next to him.
　I've slept next to this guy many times since I left the Abyssal Labyrinth, but the vigilance had kept me from sleeping.
　And yet, before I knew it, even with this guy next to me, I was able to fall asleep normally.

　Rather--.

I'm ..........
Hmmm... ...... Iori.

　Elfie responds to the muttering that was unknowingly coming out of his mouth.
　He lets out a sleepy voice and turns over with a gurgle.
　His drooling, dumb face is exposed.

'Call the chef ...... ....... ...... No ...... it's not bad. It's rather good. I want to eat more .......
............

　What kind of a bedtime story is that?
　Well ......, it's hard to stay vigilant against such a defenseless person.

Totally ......

　I re-hang up the futon that has shifted because of my sleeping patterns and turn off the lights in my room.
　Thanks to the morning sun, it's all bright outside.
　With this, I won't be scared of the dark.

　I leave the room and walk through the mansion.
　The servant is already awake and asks me what I want for breakfast.

'I will eat with you after my companion wakes up.
You must be Master Elfi. Yes, I understand.
Yes. How have you been doing since then, Ms. Cullen?
...... He's been working late at night. She said she was going to check on the warding around noon.
'I see. ......'

　Certainly Karen still has some things that need to be done.
　There are many things that are probably urgent.
　But it's not good for your body to continue without a wink of sleep in that mental state.
　It's better to take a good rest for once.

　I leave the servant and head to her room to check on Karen's condition in person.
　That's when I see the door to Karen's room that I came to yesterday.

''Good morning, Iori-san.''

　I bumped into Jean as he came out of another room.
　I had heard that he was resting up after taking care of something important, but Jean was wearing a squire's uniform.

'Is your health okay now?
'Yes, I am. It's just that my memory was a little fuzzy to begin with. I'm fine. And there is no time to rest at this difficult time.

　After a night's sleep, Jean seems to be working as usual.
　The other servants, unlike Jean, seem to be resting for a few more days.

''I'm sorry for the story, Iori-san...... I'm sorry for the inconvenience I caused you. Even though you were brainwashed, I'm sorry for the hard work I've done .......
It was all set up by that woman. Mr. Jang has no need to apologize.

　He stops Jean from trying to keep his head down.
　He has already sent Olivia to hell for being the source of the problem.
　That's the end of this matter.

　Karen understands this, so she's not questioning Jean's actions.

I heard that Olivia died in an ...... "accident". Thank you for that. Now you ...... gashmasters can go to ......
...... Jan.

　Is he attacking himself for failing to protect Gash, or is he angry at Olivia?
　Jean clenched his fists as he mouthed his thanks.

'...... Iori, are you going to Karen-sama?
''Yes. I heard you haven't slept for a long time, so I thought I'd call on you once.
'I see. ....... I approached him earlier, but he said he was busy right now and wanted to be left alone. I hope you will tell the others that, too,
...... I see.
'I'm sorry. Please wait a little while longer for Iori's reward.

　He thanked Jean, who looked apologetic, and left.
　He didn't want to talk to anyone else right now, I guess that's what he meant.

　Karen is full of herself right now.
　The reward is to be let into the labyrinth and to provide information.
　Whatever it takes, it's not right now.
　He said he'd go to check on the wards at noon, and I'll call on him again at that time.

◆

　Then I went back to my room once and woke up Elfie, who was still sleeping.
　After breakfast with a sleepy-eyed Elfie, I went to the library to gather information.
　I've been researching the "dead swamp labyrinth" we are going to challenge from now on.

It's a good thing that Iori has broken through the Swamp of Death once, isn't it?

　Elfie, who was sitting next to me, suddenly muttered.

'Yeah. Party up and get some backup from the Empire.

　The Dead Swamp Labyrinth, as the name suggests, is a swamp in a labyrinth.
　And it is not just a swamp.
　The swamp is not just a swamp, it is a vicious and poisonous swamp that, if you touch it, will melt your body and the miasma it emits will cause your death.

　The cave-like pit in which the poisonous swamp is located is the dead swamp labyrinth.

　I used a magic power grant to prevent poisoning, and we went inside.
　The miasma of the swamp has the effect of reducing magic power, and I remember struggling with a lack of magic power when I fought the water demon general.

''Hmm ......, but from what I've seen in recent books, the structure of the labyrinth seems to have changed a lot.
...... Yeah.

　According to the information we've gotten so far, the structure of the labyrinth is different than before.
　The number of demons coming out of the labyrinth has increased, and traps are set everywhere.
　And even the interior of the labyrinth is said to be made up of cave-like objects and castle-like structures.

''It must have been converted by Ortegia or the water demon general of this generation.
"Modded ....... Hey, Elfie. How easy is it to remake a maze?
No, it's not that easy, but it can be done just like that.

　Elfie says that the labyrinth is a kind of demon created by a demon race with a "demon king's crest" - in other words, a demon king.
　It seems that its creator, the Demon King, can manipulate the structure of the labyrinth by consuming a large amount of magic power.

　Also, it seems that the demons in the labyrinth are submissive to those who are approved by the Demon King.
　It seems that by making use of this, even those who are not Demon King can set traps and change the structure of the labyrinth.
　I hadn't wondered too much about it, but I guess that was the reason why the Earth and Fire Demon Generals were not attacked by other demons.

''If it's the Water Demon General that I modified, then it must be an intelligent and troublesome opponent.
'A demon or a demon race with intelligence like ...... Barguild.

　In a memoir that seems to be about the labyrinth left by Gash, he writes
　He said that from time to time, wounded demons would come out of the entrance of the labyrinth.
　They are said to be running away from something and try to break the wards.

　Either the demons in the labyrinth are fighting with each other, or they are being hurt by the water demon general.
　If it's the former, it means that the monsters in the labyrinth are that ferocious.
　If it's the latter, the Water Demon General must be a very bad-tempered guy.

　Or he is enjoying himself by shaking the demons very much.

　Either way, this labyrinth is not going to be a simple matter.

　When I had a serious look on my face, I was tapped on the shoulder with a pop.

"Don't worry. I'll take out the water demon general a little bit. Iori, as usual, just stall for time.

　With a crisp look on his face, Elfie said something like that to me.

'...... Oh. Now that we've got some magic back, we should be able to buy ourselves some time.

　Even without a magic stone, he can use some magic arts.
　Thanks to the Jade Tathagata and the Red Lotus Armor, his physical abilities and defense are also perfect.
　There are only a few left, but if we add the power of the magic stones to it, we should be able to fight against the demon general.

''If anything happens, Iori will stay hidden behind me. It's because my arm is back, I can now fight in close quarters. If my magic eye can't get there in time, I can use my arms to fight.
''That technique, ....... It's very powerful, but doesn't it consume a lot of magic?
You could do with a little less magic, a few times.

　It was dependable.

　Like this, we discussed the battle methods while prepping about the Dead Swamp Labyrinth.
　As for the poison, we have prepared for the two of us when we were in Hot Spring City.
　Even in the imperial city, I purchased an antidote potion, so there should be no problem in preparing.

　In the meantime, the sun was getting close to the middle of the sky.
　It was almost noon time.
　It would be time for Karen to go check on the wards.

　She had just put away her books, dusted herself off and was about to leave her room.
　'Can-can-can-can,' came the sound of a bell ringing from outside.

'It's so noisy,'

　The mansion became a bit noisier after the bells were heard.
　I could hear the sounds of slamming and running around.

　There were also sounds of people shouting from outside the window.
　Someone was apparently going around shouting something.
　Because of the ringing of the bells, I can't hear what they are saying from inside the mansion.

'It doesn't sound like ...... free stuff,'
Something must have happened out there.
Elfie, let's go check it out.
Yeah.

　I left the room and soon found Karen.
　He was not a servant, and could be seen talking with a man who looked like a lord.
　The man had a change in his blood, and he looked quite flustered.

''What's going on?''

　I run up to him and call out to him.

'Iori-san and Elfi-san ....... Something terrible is happening.

　Karen's complexion is also bad.
　Something quite bad must be happening.

'What the hell is going on ......?'

　Karen said with a serious expression on her face.


''--The warding of the labyrinth has been broken by the 'Water Demon General'.