159-153 More important than a sense of mission




 I felt a few chattering sensations on the way home, but I wasn't attacked.
'They didn't attack you, did they?'
He's probably pretty good at it, too.
'Well, his tail is sweet, and he wasn't in the assassin's lineage, so even if he had been attacked, it wouldn't have been a problem.
 Certainly with Master Brod and Lionel, they wouldn't be able to lose.
 With that in mind, the strength of those who were about to attack was enough to see the strength of their opponents.
''Well, we'll be leaving tomorrow, so there's no problem.
 I managed to make it back to the inn in one piece, feeling the weight of the two people I was holding on either side of me.

 I went straight to Esther and Keti's room and sat them down on the bed, and as I momentarily lost my strength, I quickly escaped.
I'm going to quickly cast a recovery spell on the two of them, so if they get out of control, please do me a favor.
 After confirming that everyone nodded, I activated Extra Heal on both of them at the same time.
 I thought about using the power of the dark spirits on Estia, but I knew that if I pushed her too hard, both the spirits and their hosts would get tired, so I chose this method.

 The ears and necrotic legs that should have been lost under the light returned to normal, and Master Brod's tension actually became strange when he saw it.
'With this, you can fight every day with all your might. If you train Luciel to the point where you don't kill him, too, you can improve your skills to a level close to ours in five years, Lionel.
''If you raise your level in the labyrinth while training, even if you don't have a natural talent, there's still room for Luciel-sama to grow.
You still think so?
Yeah.
 This isn't a conversation I'm going to be having with you! With that tsking in my mind, their healing was over.

'My name is Luciel, and I'm a healer. You can hear my voice, so you'll know that I've completely healed your injuries and abnormalities of condition. You can check it out.
 When I called out to my sisters, their eyes gradually opened and I could feel the joy and confusion of being able to see and hear.
 Then I saw my sister next to me, and when I saw her, they hugged each other.

 But we didn't have time to watch their emotional meeting forever either, so we decided to get down to business.
'Stay tuned and listen to me. Do you guys have any blessings? I have the blessing of multiple dragons and spirits, and I've been told to look for the one with the blessing from the dragons and spirits.
 Hearing my words, the two stopped hugging each other and looked at each other before looking at me.

'I am Nadia, the swordswoman who holds the title of Dragon God's Priestess. Thank you for your help.
''I am Lydia, a spiritist who holds the title of the Spirit King's Blessing. Thank you for healing my wounds.
 They introduced themselves so and expressed their gratitude.

 But as I looked at the two who introduced themselves, I noticed something I remembered....
 So I understood that he was a maiden of the Dragon God and the Spirit King's blessing, but at the same time, wasn't he a reincarnated one?
 I have such suspicions.

 There was a reason why I felt nostalgic for them somehow, even though I didn't recognize their faces when I saw them at the slave trade.
 I know now why I was more annoyed than I ever imagined I would be when I was treated roughly with the girls I purchased, and now I know why.
 They were somehow similar to the senior who taught me a lot of things in a past life that remains in my memory, and that junior girl who always cheerfully cheered me up.

''........Do you know what the situation is between the two of you here?''
 I pose a question to both of them, feigning composure.
''Lydia and I had a party of adventurers together. However, in order to traverse the labyrinth of intrigue, we needed skills to disarm traps and a certain amount of combat power. That's where we ended up fighting with another group, and after a lot of trouble, we managed to escape to Hydra, but when we left the labyrinth, we were attacked by either adventurers or bandits, and before we knew it, we had lost the use of our eyes and ears.
'Then I'll tell you the facts I know. After those who resisted blocked your eyes and ears, I had a new adventurer who had nothing to do with it killed by you. Then you and your sisters were taken to the slavers and I purchased them at auction earlier and restored them fully with magic.

 I wasn't sure if I should tell them the circumstances of my murder, but I decided not to lie about it, including the fact that I was a slave.
 They pretended to know who I was, with their wounds healing and so on, but I couldn't read their expressions as they bowed their heads and thanked me.

 Then he kept thanking me for a while.
 And when we reached a point where we had reached a break, Nadia asked me about the future.
''........What will happen to us now? Since you have become a slave, are you going to follow your Lord, Luciel?
'Well, normally that would be the case, but the slavery contract has now been terminated. It's because we had to erase the curse as well in order to completely heal you both, but what do you two want to do now?
 The dragons and spirits wanted these two to be my companions.
 However, I didn't think I would be able to make the decision to make them my companion any time soon.
''Will you let us decide?''
'Ah. You can choose to be a slave, a squire, or go back to being an adventurer, you can make your own choice. I'd like you to be a squire if you can, but I won't force you to be one.
 When I told her that, Nadia looked at her sister Lydia and was nodded at.
 Is she hearing about the situation from the genie like a lie detector? Then Nadia turned back to me and gave her answer.
'It was Lady Luciel, wasn't it? Would you be able to help me, please?
 My sister and I bowed our heads together.
 This would mean one thing.
''........To receive the release of the reincarnated dragon and the blessing of all the spirits? Then I'll answer honestly. I wasn't, am, and never will be actively involved in those things. But if I get involved, I have no choice but to act. That's the answer.

 I don't think this answer is good, but Lionel and the others who trusted me and became my followers are more important than the two people in front of me.
 So I'm going to act for both of us. I couldn't bring myself to say that.
 I could see my master struggling to hold back his laughter in this air, and I almost laughed too, but I managed to hold it in.

 Nadia then paused for a bit before she opened her mouth.
''........Luciel-sama, may I take the form of accompanying you for a little while before I make a decision?''
 Well, maybe this is the normal reaction.
 Normally, Keti and Kefin would have complained, but this time they were able to endure it.
'....Yeah. I understand.
 I move to the table and prepare the meal.
'You can use this room for two. I'll leave some food for you. I'll see you tomorrow.
Thank you, sir.
 I watched them both bow their heads at the same time, then we left the room.

'Ketty, I'm sorry you had to switch rooms with Esther,'
'That's fine. More importantly, did Luciel-sama know about those two, Nya?
'No I was just surprised to see the vibe of someone who used to take care of me and give me energy.
'Master Luciel, you looked so pale, please don't take it too hard.
 Grateful that Keti and Estia were concerned about him, he decided to join a grinning Master and Lionel in a strategy meeting for tomorrow.

''It's a labyrinth of intrigue, but initially it was to rescue the Dragon God's priestess. However, now that that has come true, there is no point in going to the Labyrinth of Plotting. Master Brod, would you like to return to Meratni tomorrow if you continue like this?
 The others are squires, but Master Brod is not. And since he's a guild master, he won't have much free time.
 That's why I decided to work with Master this time.

''I need to vent since I'm going to be doing paperwork for a long period of time because of this matter, but then I can't use the Adventurer's Guild's underground training ground because the headquarters will be too noisy if I use it. Then you'll need a place to go, right?
 It was immediately apparent that there was no one in Meratni's Adventurer's Guild who would get involved with their master.
''How many days do you plan to stay?''
'Well can we just get this over with?

About a month at the most?
Yeah. With that much, this group of people should be able to traverse all the labyrinths in Grandle, including the Maze of Intrigue, right?
I see. That could be interesting.
 ...why do you answer to me, Lionel?
 But there was no way to stop these two.
 Well, not all of the existing labyrinths have dragons sleeping in them, so I decided to leave it to chance.

''.........I'll be buying food tomorrow, so in the meantime, please make sure you know where the labyrinth is.
Yeah. Well, now we can have one mock battle a day, so we can see how you've grown.
 I couldn't stop the master who laughed at me when he said that.

''Should I take Nadia and Lydia with me?''
"Luciel wants to take me there. If you think so, I'll take you. But Luciel, you have to assess it properly, too. I know what you said about reincarnated dragons and spirits, but if you get too wrapped up in that sense of duty, you'll probably lose something important to you.
'....Okay. I'll give it some thought.

That's fine. Well, if those two are trapped in a mission, you can save them... what are you laughing at, war demon?
'No, the fact that Master Luciel and Whirlwind are master and student is interesting.
Shut up. I've got an early start tomorrow.
So, Master Luciel.
Yeah. Master, Lionel, good night.
 They laughed and left the room.

'Where do those two want me to go? 
 After feeling sorry for myself for trying to do more than I was capable of doing myself in a good mood, I decided to go to sleep.
 If those sisters are going to come to the labyrinth, should I give them the equipment I won the bid for? 
 With that in mind, the angel's pillow would lull me to sleep.