"My advice to you, my dear old woman, is that I am always open to giving up. If you really feel that you can't, don't hesitate to jump into my chest. I'll be a good boy.

'Please don't treat me like a child. How old do you think I am now?

You're as old as her brother, you're still her brother.


　Cephiro said in a voice that only I could hear as he opened the door to the basement that was hidden at the back of the workshop.

　Sure enough, the door, which was tightly covered by a number of sorceries, took a few minutes to open. The sight of her breaking the locking sorcery one by one reminded me now that she was a top-notch sorceress.

　Eventually, the rusty door opened with a disgusting sound.

''Well then, I'm off. Commander.

Yes, I wish you well.

　I took the lead and sank down in a heap into the doorway.
　I used a ladder to descend to a dark passage that stretched out on either side.

　This level of darkness may not be too much for the demon race, but as a human, I can't see an inch ahead. I had no choice but to light the magic of "Magic Light" on my fingertips and look around to be cautious of my surroundings.

''Oh.........''

　I let out an exclamation of admiration.

　There were a number of magic circles set up in the passageways on either side, as blatant as this. It's probably a mechanism for magic to attack you just by passing near you. The magic method is complicated and I can't read all of it, but it was quite challenging for the beginning of the game.

　Still, there is some difference between the left and right sides.
　There were more magic circles on the left and slightly less on the right.

''Whoa!　Da, sir, Ike's husband. That's an amazing amount of magicians.

　The orc Jiron, who followed me down to the basement, let out a panicked voice.
　Apparently, this man is quite the little guy.

''What do we do now?　Right and left, although it's suddenly a fork in the road.

Well Giron, which one would you choose?

Yeah.... Okay, uh... I don't know anything about that...

I don't care if it's a hunch or not. Just say it.

Yeah Yeah, well, you're on the left then.

What makes you think that?

There are more magicians on the left side. Isn't the workshop an important place for a sorcerer like Master Sephiro?　I think it's only right that we set as many traps as possible so that they can't get in.

Hmm, I see.

　You have a point. This orc seems to have a surprisingly sharp head.
　But that's still a red herring.

''Well then, let's take the right path.

Oh, uh, sorry.... I don't get it...

''If you think that, it means a lot of demons think that way. The Commander is deliberately setting a lot of traps in anticipation of that. Just to lead you down the wrong path.

Yeah, is that all right?

That's just the way he is, you know?

　I couldn't help but let out a sigh as I imagined Cephiro rolling around laughing when I was choosing the left.

　It sounds good if you call it scratching the back of people's minds, but the root of the idea is to figure out how to successfully set people up in the traps you've created. In that sense, there's no one more venal than Cephiro.

　On top of that, he's terrifying because he misses the mark about once every three times.
　Anyway, to the right path, I walk with the demons in tow.

　There are traps that activate if you pass near them, traps that trigger at random, and traps that activate regardless of distance. There are a wide variety of them, and in addition, they are not consistent. Most of them were embedded in the walls and were difficult to find.

　It was really helpful that I was familiar with Sephiro's personality.
　Thanks to this, I was able to anticipate the location of the traps.

　With the help of my intuition and the magic of the 《Spectacle (Skeleton Eye)》, I could accurately read the location of the traps and communicate it to the army of demons that were following behind me. Some traps will only work if you don't step on the floor in the correct order, and I'll tell you where they are in detail.

　Thanks to that, the number of times the traps themselves were activated was considerably reduced.

　However, there are still a lot of guys who are rebellious about following me. There were many guys who disobeyed my instructions just because of their bouncy guts, or who simply had a sketchy personality and lost their footing.

　Every time that happens, there's a disgusting sound of 'click'.

''Ugh, ugh!''
The barrier

　At the same time as a scream erupted behind me, I unleashed the magic of the "barrier" that skipped the chant.

　The fireball flew toward the center of the line, and I used my "barrier" to catch it. The fireball still tried to charge into the crowd of demons, but it eventually faded into thin air.

　Phew, dangerous.

"Ah, Ike.........................sir. Thank you.

That's fine. Just make sure you get it right.

Yes!

　He gives a good reply, but I didn't trust his reply.

　With this large group of people, it's inevitably difficult for the message to get through. It's probably the same when you're out on the battlefield. No, my instructions may be more difficult to convey on the battlefield, where information is constantly changing.

　You can't make every soldier do what you want them to do.

　This was a valuable lesson for me, as I would be leading the battlefield as a commander. Or perhaps he set up this stage to show me that.

　Nearly half an hour has passed since we went into the labyrinth. But the number of casualties is still zero.
　I have no intention of causing any deaths, even if it's just the wounded.

　Nevertheless, I was able to defeat Sephiro's prophecy, and it was an inspiring feeling.

　Besides, my magic skills and my ability to find traps are gradually being passed on to my troops.

You know. Have you found the location of the trap?

I have no idea. But Ike, that guy, he knows, right?

Yeah, and it's also showing me how to avoid the trap.

If the traps move, they'll protect you. You won't feel a thing.

'Didn't Master Cephiro say that if you dive alone, you're sure to die?

Not at all.... maybe she's great, huh?

　I know I'm speaking in a whispering voice, but my voice can be heard in the underground labyrinth, where it's easy to echo.

　At any rate, it seems that my abilities are steadily being accepted by the demon tribe.
　It would be nice if things continue to go well for them.

What? You can't measure your strength like this. Don't be fooled, everyone.

　Sure enough, there's someone who will say something to the contrary.

　It's Lilith, the girl of the Whore Tribe. This brown-skinned, good-looking girl must have had high hopes of becoming a brigade commander, because she is so loud that even I, who is far away, can hear her as she talks to me.

You are leading us not to activate the trap, but you don't know if there was a trap or not since it hasn't been activated. It's possible that they are just trying to make us believe that there is a trap. After all, Master Cephiro has a soft spot for the man.

"...Shut up, Lilith. Even Lord Ike can hear you.

I don't care if he heard me. Anyway, I'm not convinced.

I think the magic behind the barrier is quite impressive. Even an attack by the magic of a named human would be prevented by this.

Hmph. You can't win a war by constantly defending yourself. You have to attack and attack and attack.

Well then, you'll have to tell Master Cephiro. We'll have to see if he's good enough for a duel or something.

I do if you don't mind me saying so.

　The dragon tribe's Shigan seems to be quieting down Lilith, who is puffing out her cheeks in a puffy manner.

　It's annoying that Sephiro is suspected of holding back, but at the same time it's unavoidable. To play it safe, I'm the one who's preventing the trap from working in the first place. If you ask me if there really was a trap, then why don't you try triggering it?　I can't say that it's a quandary.

　It would be ridiculous to cause casualties from such a thing.

　

　I wonder if this could even lead to a duel with Lilith after the underground labyrinth's errand is over.
　I don't want to fight among my friends too much, but if they don't trust me this much, I don't have a choice.
　What a thought, that time.

"Kyaaaaaah!　What is this, what is this?

　A high-pitched Lilith's scream echoed through the underground labyrinth.