A formation of Felinella and Seniat in the vanguard and Illumina at the tail end of the squad.
　There were several formations that I had assumed beforehand, but none of them fit the bill.

　It can't be helped. There were only a limited number of people who could fight, and those who were injured would require full-scale treatment immediately.

　The boys would have no choice but to lend their shoulders and proceed slowly. If it were true, they should be put on a stretcher or something and put into a state of rest, but that is not desirable in the deposit.

　Felinella also knows very well that it would be better to lend a shoulder to it. However, the possibility of falling behind against the demons cannot be dismissed, which means that it will lead directly to the destruction of the troops. The number of people who could fight could not be reduced any further.

　It's a good thing that you have a good idea of what you're looking for, because there are only two people who can quickly detect and deal with the demons: Felinella and Illumina.
　Seniat will have to concentrate on providing a protective barrier for the wounded in case of an emergency.

　The situation was more pressing than the word 'retreat'.
　With demons roaming inside the intricate deposit, there was no way the place they had already defeated could be safe. If they learned from the outside world, there was a very high chance that they would come to the magical residue of the demons they defeated in the first place, due to their habits. Even if they followed the path they came from, they might have to face twice as many demons.

　Then, grasping at straws, including the treatment of the wounded, Felinella and the others decided to seek help from the troops of the Fourth Academy of Magic, who would be investigating the nearest center. It would be a large group, but they should be able to return more reliably than they are now.

　Since it was difficult to communicate with the outside from inside the deposit due to the influence of mithril, they didn't even bring emergency smoke coins or anything else from the beginning.


　Ferinella, who was walking in the lead, glanced at the boys, who had beads of sweat on their foreheads in pain. The wound on his leg would begin to bleed with each step, and sooner or later, he would begin to draw a line of blood on the ground.
　He's lending his shoulder to me, and in terms of the extent of his injuries, he's not a minor injury either. His face was contorted in pain, though that didn't stop him from taking each step toward his return.

　The map was handed over to Seniat, and Felinella turned her attention forward with caution.
　They had deviated far from the compartment that Felinella and the others were in charge of, and had reached a point where it was difficult to follow the exact return path without a map. The Ferinella and her team, who had been investigating the perimeter, were proceeding directly toward the center. No, they had to.

''This is the fifth crossroads, we're going straight ahead.

　Seniat stared at the map so intently that it had holes in it, and indicated a course of action.

'Thank you,' came the weak sound of Felinella's voice.
　Jiri Jiri rubbed his nerves and paid close attention. I've identified about two demons so far, but I've acted cautiously, restraining my impatient mind from avoiding the battle and taking a detour.

　I try to avoid demons other than those that I know as knowledge as much as possible. We had to avoid just the same mistake that drove our unit to a devastating situation.


　And once again, I realize that this deposit is a heavy burden for students. Feeling this way, Felinella remembered Kalia's story.

　Maybe there was something here.
　Maybe the words that were spat out inwardly like a complaint were because the inside of the deposit felt different from the outside world.

　No, the demons he encountered were too special. The preliminary investigation that should have been conducted by the association should have determined that there was no problem. It should have denied the existence of an unknown demon........

　Despite that, the demons that Felinella and the others encountered from earlier must have all been new species. Although I don't have a grasp on all the demons, but even so, if a demon that I don't remember appears to this extent, my suspicions begin to disturb my mind.

''Seniat-san, what's wrong?''

　Seniat, who had been guiding him without hesitation just now, couldn't take his gaze off the map as he hit a crossroads and clammed up.
　Sweat poured from his cheeks, forming a ball under his chin and dropping water droplets on the map.

''.........Felinella, from here on out.......''

　Seniat, who somehow managed to squeeze out of her trembling voice, had a hint of regret for her mistake.
　Ticking away, she looked for it in the map - the undrawn terrain that had suddenly appeared in front of her.

'This, from here on out, it's not on the map!　Why, why, why........I didn't even draw this place!
Unsurveyed areas!

　It couldn't be. Felinella spun on her heels as if she were being played and turned her attention to the map she had spread wide.

　Next to her, Seniat's face was pained as she pressed her forehead with all her strength.

'Why, how could it be!

　He pointed out the way Seniat had come with his finger on the map.
　'I remember it right. Where did I turn!　I'm sure I remember it correctly!　So why--

　The self-doubt was wildly upsetting. Next, large tears began to flow from Seniat's eyes. It was my own fault, so much so that I could even hear such a cry.

''Calm down!　Calm down!

　Her open pupils were focused only on the map. Holding her head and gripping her hair, she was so crushed by the 'blunder' that she was about to lose her mind.
　With all her strength, Felinella grabbed her by the shoulders and made her turn to herself. The open eyes Ferinella forced her to turn to him.

　He didn't let her have any room to think, making her look straight at him.

'Take a big breath, and then exhale slowly!　It's okay, it's okay. You didn't make a mistake you didn't..... You know what I mean!

　A cocooning, powerless nod was returned.
　Without looking at the map that spread soundlessly across the ground, Felinella strained her voice so that everyone could hear.

'Okay?　The path to this point is exactly as the map says. But if it doesn't match the map from there and from here on out, it's still okay. It's not like we took a wrong turn somewhere.

　The words he spat out to calm himself down.
　But Felinella had noticed at a glance - the map and the actual structure were different.

　The association's research is meticulous and elaborate. If that's the case, it's unlikely that they would make such an elementary mistake. It's possible that they made a survey error due to a malfunctioning piece of equipment, but they should have actually checked it out in person, not just once.

　For whatever reason, the fact is that there are parts of the map that don't match up.
　Normally, there should be no fork in the road that can be called a fork in the road from here onwards.

　However, there was a vast room or "pocket" there. A room that shouldn't be there, a pocket.

　No matter how many times you look at it, the scene in reality and the composition on the map do not match.
　The sweat was running down Felinella's back in the cold.

　The reason why Seniat is called an uninvestigated section is because if you were to go one more step deeper, you would certainly enter an uninvestigated section. But if that was the case, then the path to this point did not match the map.

''If we followed the map up to this point, that would mean that the room in front of us, the Pocket, suddenly appeared.
Feri, you can't go back.

　Illumina's words were letting him know that he was running out of time. Yes, it's already taken quite a bit of time to get to this point. The pace of progress is also slow because of the injuries. The choice to go back now would create a crack in the troops of 'futility' and 'pointlessness'.

　And moreover, it's difficult to escape from the deposit without the cooperation of other units.

　When Felinella, who went ahead, confirmed that there were no demons in the room "pocket", she waited for everyone to arrive.

''That's strange. There's a pile of gravel under the wall...''

　The interior of the room was dome-shaped, although the size of the room so far has been different.
　As for the space, it's not that wide. However, there are small stones scattered beside the wall.

　Above all.....
　Felinella carefully looked around the area. There were several traces of rocks on the ground that had moved enough to sit on.

　And the most puzzling thing.

　Felinella turned her eyes to it, as if she were looking at something uncanny.

'What's wrong Feri. Let's hurry onward.'

　Illumina appealed with her eyes to the passage through the room 《pocket》 as if being hurried.
　However, she also turned her face as if she was absorbed in the direction of fixing Felinella's gaze.

　''What?'' said Illumina, who involuntarily let out a startled voice.
　That reaction was just now done by Felinella as well.

　That's right, in this room 《pocket》 there is a direct pathway and.......one more.
　There was another narrow side street.

''I don't know where it leads to.

　Felinella, sensing the doubts they all had, spoke up.
　That's right, even if you look at the map, it's not as if you can see where the road leads to. Even if this was an unsurveyed section, it is strange that there is another road here.

'Of course, I'm sure it's a dead end,'

　The eerie narrow path had few mitres and was dim, and it was impossible to see what lay ahead, as if a gloomy atmosphere sat there.
　Circumstances made it impossible to explore this impenetrable path.
　Felinella turned away from it and turned her body to the original path.

'That's fine for now. Let's go further than that. The map can't be all wrong, can it? Let's look for the landmarks that the map points to. If we don't hurry, the troops from the Fourth Academy of Magic might go on ahead.

　If that happens, it will be difficult to join them.
　They might be able to share the tools they needed for healing, and if they had painkillers, they would want them.

　Whatever the case, the path that the Fourth Magic Academy followed was almost a straight shot from the entrance, so the strength was necessary to return by the shortest route.
　The survival rate would change dramatically depending on the confluence.

　He then slowly walked forward while checking the map slowly and sequentially with Seniat.
　Although there seems to be some error, but still, when they managed to see the room "pocket" as they expected, both Felinella and Seniat let out a breath of relief at the same time.

''Ah!　There it is!　That's the rendezvous point!　Thank you. Now we can all go home safely.

　The out-of-place tension was probably a reaction to the earlier blunder. Seniat uttered encouraging bouncy words and pointed towards the faint glow.

''Point [K-5], right. Based on the terrain, there's probably no doubt about it.''

　It was possible that the troops of the Fourth Academy of Magic had already moved on, but they didn't want to cause any anxiety. There is no doubt that their troops will pass through this point as an investigation route. The time schedule for each troop is in mind in one way or another. I'm sure they're on a time break.


　The original rendezvous point is ahead, but from the speed at which Felinella and the others are advancing, they should be able to make it in time.
　The [K-5] point isn't an unsurveyed section. Rather, it's before that.
　It's a good place to rest........if there are no demons or other dangers, of course.

　It's a good thing that you're on the lookout for, as well as Illumina, who is on the alert for the tail end of the line, also raised her hand to report that the demons aren't coming from behind.
　Everyone will be able to reach the rendezvous point safely.

　Felinella, who was in the lead, was the first to enter, while Seniat and the others stepped into the [K-5] point afterwards with high expectations.
　It was an arch-shaped room, a pocket, that looked like a cylindrical object split lengthwise.
　There were three passages in total. I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this.

　There were many rocks and small mithril lying here and there. Perhaps that's why it's a little less bright than other places.

　But that wasn't the problem.
　There was no sign of the........person that should be there. Nor is there even a trace of it, only a deserted silence sitting there.


''..........''
What? Why... why isn't anyone here?

　The muttering that was filled with grief was not something Seniat had intended to say. He couldn't help but feel that way at the ramshackle scene in front of him. The expectation was so easy that it vanished before his eyes as if it were an illusion.

　Then Seniat broke her legs as she crumbled on the spot.


　It was inevitable that she would be discouraged, considering the current situation. But the reason why Felinella was suspicious was because there was no sign of the Fourth Academy of Magic passing through here at all.
　Points, points are supposed to leave markers for the completion of the investigation as each unit. The point where Felinella and the others rested earlier also completed their investigation and left a mark as a proof that they passed through.

　It was a choice to increase our survival rate, but we know it can't go so well. It may have been a detour, but the time loss was small, and considering that we haven't even had a single battle with a demon so far, it's probably a good performance.

　If the troops of the Fourth Magical Academy haven't arrived here yet, there's a good chance they'll meet on the way.
　Just--.

　--something about this unspeakable anxiety.......