101-95 An incident in the labyrinth of maze




 After dinner last night, I signed a contract of employment with all of the Hatches.
 This time we didn't make them verbally, but rather with a written pledge.

 I. The salary.
 Three meals and housing are guaranteed, and wages are subject to the decision of the Chief.

 2. About going out
 Do not leave the house without permission when you go out. Always call in, even in an emergency.

 3. Holiday
 A weekly vacation will be provided. However, it is prohibited to leave the home until domestic politics are settled.

 4,Others
You'll be dealing with many different tribes at work, but don't get in trouble.


 We decided to let him be employed for six months first, and then switch to full employment once the honey production business was underway.

 There were no complaints raised about this contract.

 They would immediately start working today.



 I'm currently on my way to the labyrinth to secure the magic stone.
 Lionel and Ketty, Kefin's squad and Yalvo's squad.

I'm not sure why you guys are here and not the Basel squad, though I gave you the go-ahead last night, Keffin.
 My guards always switched my squad, but yesterday they asked me if it was okay to do so, so I agreed.
 However, I was too bored on the road to the labyrinth of the lost heart, so I decided to ask Kefin why we were taking turns.

''Actually, it seems that some of the Basel Squad have been attracted to the slaves Nahlia-san is teaching, and she asked me to protect the Healer's Guild if I could.
'A love affair, huh...you're so young! But those feelings are important...
"Master Luciel smells like an old man. Master Luciel must be twenty years old.
'It's a little too early for that side to grow old, but I've heard many of the same from church officials.

 When I made the old man remark, Ketty poked fun at my remarks, and Lionel described the church people as such in a nutshell.
 It did say that when you stop drinking Object X, that one will be diminished because of JOB...............do you drink Object X again?
 But first you have to tweak the statement back?
 But before I could deny it, I could see the labyrinth.

''Well it's kind of bad timing.''
 I muttered to myself.

We arrived in the labyrinth and I used the hermit's key to open the stables, and Forenoire entered the stables, too.
 It was probably a good thing I explained to him that the labyrinth was indeed dangerous.
 I decided to talk to him once before entering the labyrinth.

''........We're going up at once based on the map from the last time. I'm sure there aren't many demons, but let's not let our guard down.
"Ha.

 We entered the labyrinth of the lost mind.

''........Am I the only one who thinks the number of demons isn't decreasing somehow?''
Lionel and the others answer my question.
'No, there are more of them than ever before.
There are more of them, but the demons that come out only change a little.
Isn't a little bit of that the problem?

 Immediately after entering the labyrinth, many demons appear from one level, unlike when I was previously exposed to them.
''Labyrinths usually have a weaker activation after you traverse them, right?
 But none of them have the knowledge to answer that.

 The demons that appear this time have undead parts mixed in with them, so I purify them even though I think it's not funny.
 I didn't know what the hell was going on, but I was beginning to hope that I could get the target magic stone in a day for this amount of time.

 He compared the map to the map at each level and proceeded. It would take about five minutes to feel.
 If it's a demon of this level, everyone was able to get around in plenty of time to advance.
 There were changes in the demons, but fortunately there was no change in the passage of the labyrinth, and there was no problem in going up the hierarchy.

 After repeated battles and collecting the magic stones, we came to the tenth level in just over an hour.
''I don't think there will be any problems, but safety first!''
 Everyone laughed at me, who never blinked at safety first, and nodded.

 Two Red Lizardmen and an undead Red Lizardman came out of the boss' room.
 I immediately used purification magic to cleanse the undead Red Lizardmen, and at the same speed, Kefin's and Yalvo's squads were all attacking and defeating them.
''As expected of the two squads, they're both trained.
 Lionel and Ketty both seemed a little unhappy when I complimented Kefin's and Yalvo's squads.
 I decided that they probably wanted to fight themselves anyway, but I didn't feel the need to bother asking them about it, so I praised Kefin and the others before heading to the upper levels.

''Well isn't the number of undead increasing every time we go up?
''That seems to be the case. But being undead slows you down, so it looks like it would be good for Luciel-sama to gain some combat experience.
'I'll do my best, but I haven't gained a single level since I entered the labyrinth?
"We defeated the red dragon, so it's no wonder these demons can't get up there.
 Apparently, I heard that the levels won't go up easily in the future, so if that's the case, shouldn't I be taking Object X?
 No, when the dust settles, the watchword should be to raise the bar.
 The two ideas were at odds with each other.

 The bosses of the twenty levels were two red orcs and a large firewolf, but this was not my place.
 Lionel slashed the Red Orcs, Keti dropped the Fire Wolf's head, and the fourteen members of Kefin's and Yarbo's squad used coordinated attacks to gradually damage and defeat them.
'You could have taken them down easier than that, right?'
 I'm sure they are capable of defeating the Red Orcs alone.
 They're stronger than me, so I hope they are, but........
''It's a confirmation of coordination. The demons will gradually become stronger from now on, so I don't want them to become a liability like last time.
 Kefin said and they all nodded.
'No problem then. Safety first, you know.'
 I laugh and aim for the higher levels.

'Then how did you get the urge to go up the stairs more and more?
 Lionel asked as they were climbing the stairs to the twenty-fifth level.
''I wouldn't want to enter the labyrinth if I were alone, but it's because some battle madman somewhere is reliable. And if there are more magic stones from stronger demons, then the number of magic stones needed will be less, right?
 I said and walked up the stairs, showing them a scare.

 The ones who appeared in the boss room on the 30th level were Fire Bear and Wraith.
 The moment I saw the Wraith, I reflexively activated my purification magic.

 The Wraiths changed their appearance into magical stones as if they were melting.
 He checked to see if anyone was out of state, but this time it was fine.

 The firebears were a few members of the Kefin squad, and although they were mildly damaged, it was enough to call it a complete victory.
 And here we decided to take a lunch break.


''The demon just now was definitely a Wraith. You told me that the forty levels of this labyrinth were chimera when you first met with Lord Jasuan, right?
'He said it. But more importantly, Luciel-sama was too awesome to make the Wraith disappear that easily.
''That was definitely awesome. I think he did a great job of climbing to the rank of S-level healer at such a young age.
''........Wraith will be a small fish to me. I can't use any of the state magic that Wraiths unleash on me so I've still almost died once.
Why?
'It's fine if you're on your own, but the others around you were in a delirium, and they were attacking you. Even if I took out the Wraiths first, the delirium would continue, so my companions didn't stop until I applied a recovery.
'I see. So that's why you were activating your magic so quickly.
 Lionel thought as he touched his beard.
'Nahlia has made a great meal for us today, so let's eat it.
 I took the food out of the magic bag and began to purify it, instructing them to eat first because I had forgotten to cast a purification spell on the room.

 None of the people I dove with in the Labyrinth of Trials died, and none of them quit being holy knights or priest knights, but.........

 I shook off my darkening feelings and decided to have a good lunch.


 For some reason, there were no more undead from the thirty-one levels.
 Although I felt a bit uneasy about this labyrinth, I advanced through the labyrinth without struggling and reached the 40th level.

 It was Kefin who opened his mouth there.
'Funny, they're gone.'
"They?
"S class........Luciel-sama, these are the adventurers who were building their base here last time. These guys are adventurer-hunting sweepers (sweepers), it's strange that they're not here!
 Kefin was in a state of excitement, but after Lionel's admonition, he gradually regained his composure.
 I had a bad feeling while looking at such a kefin.
 The labyrinth that was supposed to be calming down has been activated, and even the undead demons that weren't there have appeared in the labyrinth.
 The adventurers called sweepers hunting adventurers who are not where they should be.

''Remember what I said about not taking a big magic stone on the fifty-first level?''
 Everyone nodded.
''Perhaps those cleaners could have touched the magic stone.
But I don't think they have any blessings.
'The flame dragon said I can only go to the fifty-one levels once. If I did that, it wouldn't be surprising if the Demon Stone moved to the fifty level boss room.
So maybe...
There's a good chance the cleaners got the magic stone, but I didn't take it because my gut told me I shouldn't take it, or maybe it was just my luck telling me that.
 ........Because I thought that the story was going to be a new enemy or, at worst, an evil god would get to me.


 I was going to be forced to choose between proceeding here or turning back.