"I'm being followed," I told Lucy.

"What? Lucy turns around and says.
'What are you saying now?'

What? Huh?
They've been following you since before you entered the dungeon, haven't they?
　Seriously?

Say it now!
I thought you would have figured it out by now, so I'm sorry.
　Swoon, Lucy.
Oh, no. It was my job to spot the enemy. You're on to me, though.
They said some crazy shit about killing us while watching us. They're the ones who started it in the Adventurers' Guild. It's insidious that they followed us up here.
....

　Hey, hey!
　Isn't this a pretty bad situation?
　It's enough to chase them deep into a dungeon like this with a group.
　They're not thinking of something as simple as "let's punish them a little".

　After probing with our detection skills, there are only about 10 people chasing us.
　I don't know their strength, but I'd like to think they're below Iron Rank.
　If there's a Silver rank, we're stuck.
　That means Nina's class, you know.

''They're a bunch of exaggerators for breaking a mere Mithril sword.
Ummmmm...
　I actually asked Fujiyan yesterday what the price of the Mithril Sword was.

''It won't be less than 5 million G,'' he said.
　Five million G is about the same as the average annual income of an Iron Rank adventurer.
　Yeah, if someone destroyed my possessions that cost the same price as my annual income, I'd swear revenge.

''........Let's run away for now. Water Demon Fog.

　The entire cave will be filled with fog.
　Also, activate the "Stealth" skill.
　All that's left to do is just pass it by.
　There are many forked paths in the Great Maze.
　If I can take away their vision and use my Stealth skill, I should be able to sow them.

d*mn it, he knows I'm here!
Find it!　They can't have gone far.
Stay close. There are demons out there.
　The footsteps are distant.

They're gone.
　I'm sure it's because I heard it from Lucy's ears.
　There's no response to my detection skills either.


'Huh, I'm sorry. Lucy.
Why are you apologizing?
It was an error in judgment.
　I shouldn't have cut my opponent's sword in the guild.
　I didn't want them to lick me, but I ended up putting the party in danger.

'What are you talking about, I don't care,'
　He gave me a dazzling smile and told me off.
　'I'm glad Lucy is my friend.

What shall we do now?
Anyway, let's get to our original goal, the Great Waterfall. The problem with that thug adventurer from earlier was ... well, it's a bit of a headache.
Just ignore it.
You can't do that.
　I think I'll talk to Fujiyan about it when I get home.

　◇

--The Great Maze Labyrinth Labyrinth.

　The Great Waterfall, the largest dungeon on the continent and one of the most beautiful places on the continent.


'Niagara...'
Wow....
　I couldn't help but mutter about the most famous waterfall in the world, in the world before.
　Lucy was next to it, too, admiring it.

　At the back of the upper level of the dungeon, a cliff suddenly appeared and a large subterranean lake spread out.
　Around the subterranean lake was a huge waterfall that went on forever.

　The huge subterranean lake was so huge that you couldn't see the entire lake, but the sunlight streamed in from the atrium above, creating a fantastic view.
　Big birds were flying around in the sunshine.

'Hey, what's Niagara, by the way?'
　Lucy poked me.
'A tourist attraction from a previous world, I guess.'
Hmmm, by the way, is this mid-level at the bottom of the cliff?
Yeah, it's not good to fall.
　According to the map, this cliff is over 200 meters high.
　The subterranean lake below is located in the middle layer.

　In other words, it's a beautiful view, but there are strong demons lurking within it.

　That's when it happened.

''!''
　Lucy suddenly turned around.
　My 'enemy detection' skill also reacts at the same time.

''Hey, hey, there really was one.''
I told you. I told you the rookies would be here.
Hey, McAllen Adventurer. Thank you for your help the other day.

　The ones who showed up were the adventurers who got involved yesterday.
　In addition to that, they were a group of rattlers who were probably my friends.
　A total of 10 people.
　To not notice such a large number of people.

''Covert skills, huh?''
I'm sorry, really. I didn't recognize you.
No, I'm as guilty as you.
　I didn't realize that the skills I use all the time would be so tricky to use on my opponent.

'Hey, don't hurt the elves. They'll sell for a lot of money. Red hair is a rarity.
How much is it?
You need to do a proper assessment of that.
　They are grinning and having a vile conversation.
　So, these guys are slavers.

Hey, you. "Hey, we're sorry for breaking your weapons. What can I do to make you forgive me?
　I try to talk to him, thinking that it's probably useless.

'Oh?'　You're going to die here. You don't look like you have any good equipment, but that dagger looks like it's going to be a good price.
Is this your new hire?
　It was just as Mr. Lucas had warned me about.

'Oh, you know what I mean,'
The man grins.
'You guys!　Flank him!
　At the signal of the man with the Mithril sword (broken), we are surrounded against the cliff.

''The truth is........''
　Lucy grabs my clothes.
'Well,'
　I was trying to decide what to do and which of the several patterns of measures to take.


-- I got a bad 'headache'.


　The headache quickly subsided, but the noise-like ringing in my ears continued.

'Danger Detection' skill.

　Essentially a skill that detects the approach of lower, middle and upper class demons.
　It's a skill that has a warning sound in my head.

　However, it is even higher than the upper class.
　When you first encounter a demon, commonly known as a 'disaster designated' demon.
The guild's receptionist, Marie, once explained to me, "Some people get a 'headache,' so be careful!

A "disaster designated" demon means that you can't win against it individually, because it's a disaster.

　Disaster designation is divided into four categories: village, town, country and continent.

If a "Designated Disaster: Village" monster appears, it means the village will be destroyed.

　If a disaster designated demon appears, the national army is supposed to respond to it.
　Like the Knights of the Sun.

　I hugged Lucy tightly.
'Makoto...?'

'Oooh, a knight in shining armour?　That's healthy.
　The goons are saying something, but I can't hear them.


　Where is it?

　Where are you?

　Where are you coming from?


--Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!
　A voice that made the air tremble resounded.
　With a thud, the ground rose and something huge appeared.
　Just between us and the rattling adventurers.


''Do-la.......gong?'' Lucy muses.
　None of the adventurers were able to react.　　

'Dragons are all kinds of 'disaster designated'. For now, if you see them, run away as fast as you can.

　I remembered what Lucas had explained to me at the guild's stall.