Chapter 22: Mirialia (Middle Part)


TL: Scaramochi


***


[Mirialia's POV]


We left the village and came to the nearest city.


The city was filled with many people.


Not only humans, but also my people, beastmen, dwarves, and many other races I didn't know.


Unlike the elves in the village, the people seemed to be living each day to the fullest.


Everything I saw was new, and my heart soared even higher than when I first met Tom.


I didn't become an adventurer right away, but tried to get used to a normal life at first.


I learned about houses to live in, shopping, and other common sense to live in the city.


It was a lot of work, but once I got used to it, it was no big deal.


After getting used to life in the city, I finally went to the Adventurers' Guild.


The registration was easy, and I became an adventurer in a matter of seconds.


I visited a beginner's labyrinth a short distance from the city, and for the first time fought a labyrinthine monster.


I had feared I would get nervous and not do well, but that wasn't the case at all.


I had plenty of time to spare. A simple attack spell would bring the monster down.


It wasn't much different from wild animals or stray monsters.


Well, maybe it's because...... it was the upper level of the beginner level.


But I soon left the upper level and proceeded to the middle level.


There was no difficulty in the middle level, and I defeated the monsters thinking that it was just like this.


It was more difficult to go through the labyrinth than to fight the monsters.


The labyrinth's corridors were wide, and for some reason it was light, so it wasn't difficult to conquer the labyrinth itself, but the ground was made of soil and iron, and walking for a long time would make you tired.


I wasn't so confident about my physical strength, so I was a bit troubled. And even if I tried to take a break, the monsters would attack me without mercy, so I felt limited in my ability to conquer the area alone.


Some adventurers gathered a large number of people and formed a party.


In other words, adventurers who entered the labyrinth alone were rare, and most of them formed a party.


So I decided to join a party.


Just when I was thinking about it, a rumor spread among adventurers that a new rookie, a strong magician elf, had appeared, and I was invited to join many parties.


However, I refused all of them.


The reason was the words of the spirits.


There were surprisingly many subordinate spirits in the city. The spirits who liked me told me that the party was a bad idea.


While there was no party that could get the genie's seal of approval, I found a girl.


"Beautiful......"


That was Athena.


Athena was the most beautiful and sparkling girl I've ever seen - including elves.


I wanted to talk with her. I wanted to be friends with her.


It was the first time I was interested in someone.


The spirits also told me that Athena was highly recommended.


I thought it was fate or something that she had the genie's seal of approval.


I immediately approached Athena and asked her to let me join her party.


"In the party? Good, please join us. We'll work together."


Athena looked at me and immediately accepted my offer without a moment's hesitation.


I was so happy.


There was another boy in the party, Est, who was a enchanter, but I wasn't interested in him at all, only in Athena.


I talked with Athena about many things, and we had a lot of fun just talking.


Athena seemed to want to be the best adventurer in the world. It didn't really hit me, but Athena was so sparkling and nice as she talked about her dream.


And Athena was very strong.


She was so beautiful as she fought and wielded her sword as if she was dancing, and I was happy to be able to watch her.


A little while after the party of three began to conquer the labyrinth, Athena said that she wanted to recruit a man to the party.


That was Dale.


He was older than Athena and the others, with a cut on his left cheek and eyes like dead fish.


I had known Dale for a long time. He was a son of a b*tch who was always drinking alcohol in the daytime at the liquor store in the guild.


There was a bad rumor that he was a Silver rank, but he didn't have a party, and he was a b*stard who earned pennies in the beginner's labyrinth.


I had a hard time understanding why Athena would invite such a guy to the party, but surprisingly, the spirits didn't have a bad impression of Dale.


So I didn't have any opinion and watched what Athena did.


The invitation to the party ended in failure, but for some reason Athena didn't give up and kept inviting him again and again.


Perhaps broken by her enthusiasm, Dale joined the party as if he had no choice.


Dale was a man I didn't understand.


He was usually so brusque, but he would politely tell Athena and me about the labyrinth and the monsters.


He was acting as a teacher, just like Tom.


He wasn't that strong, but I could tell right away that he was hiding his power.


I was curious as to why he didn't get serious, but since Athena didn't say anything, I didn't ask him either.


I was doing my job properly.


After we had completed the first level of the labyrinth, we formed a formal party.


The name was Stardust, which Dale came up with.


By the time we conquered the intermediate level labyrinth, Stardust's name was well known.


They praised us as a party of promising new stars, and Athena was praised very highly.


I didn't mind the rumors, and I was proud that Athena was being praised as much as I was.


But Stardust's rapid progress soon came to a halt.


It was because they banished Est.


Est was useless in the labyrinth, hard to protect, and a great distraction.


And he was always looking at other people's faces, which was annoying, and I didn't like the way he looked at Athena.


So I agreed with Athena's banishment of Est.


But now that Est was gone, Athena lost her luster.


Her power would clearly diminish and she would no longer be effective against monsters.


I was also puzzled by the lack of magic enchanted to Athena, but I soon remembered the old feeling.


But Athena was the only one who didn't work and seemed to be suffering.


In addition to that, Frey, the new dragon tribe member who joined Stardust, was troublesome.


She was foul-mouthed, selfish, and I had never met such an egomaniac before.


Stardust's reputation was quickly falling, and in contrast, Est's reputation, which had suddenly become stronger, was rising.


I didn't care about that guy, and I didn't care what people said about him or his reputation, but I was worried about Athena.


She was being strong, but she was clearly pushing herself too hard.


If things continued as they were, Athena would lose her luster.


I wanted to do something about it, and that's when Dale said to me.


"Let's have a game, shall we?"


In order to stop Frey's outburst, Dale offered a match.


When he asked me to help him, I agreed. If I could break Frey's nose with this, I was willing to cooperate.


The game was won by me and my team.


Frey, however, was still not satisfied, so Dale proposed a one-on-one match.


He was willing to put down his sword and step into Frey's ring.


That would be impossible.


Frey had a terrible mouth and attitude, but to her displeasure, she was a first-rate player. She was a dragonman, so her physical ability was far greater than that of a human.


I knew Dale was hiding his ability, but I still didn't think he could beat Frey in a one-on-one fight.


But my fears were unfounded.


The match was won in an instant. It was an overwhelming victory for Dale.


I honestly couldn't believe my eyes. He had defeated Frey without using any magic power.


Frey cried. She cried like a child.


I thought that seeing her cry might make me feel a little sorry for her, but it didn't happen that way.


But it was not like that. She was just a little scared of the unknown Dale.


After that incident, Frey became quiet.


I thought she might get frustrated and bully me, but she started to listen to me honestly.


But she just didn't get out of control, and it was a little better.


That's when we had to fight blue ogre.


Dale suggested that we fight with just Frey and Dale. I thought these two could win, but it would be tough.


My prediction was overturned, and the two of them won outright against blue ogre.


However, it wasn't because Frey was great, but because Dale's support was great.


As I said, Dale didn't do anything extra and only provided a little support.


But that little bit of support was steering the battle.


At that moment, I was convinced.


Dale was strong. He was probably gold rank or better.


I didn't know why he hid or suppressed his power, but he was definitely farther away than we were.


But I didn't mind. If he didn't say anything, there was no point in pursuing him.


But please don't make small talk to me.


Perhaps inspired by Frey, Dale began to lecture me on how I should be more ambitious.


At this rate, Athena and Frey would overtake me.


I snickered.


It's true that those two had been getting stronger recently, but they were still no match for me. I didn't think they could overtake me.


When I told him to stop meddling, he just sighed.


Today, Dale was unable to come to the labyrinth because he had something to do.


When the three of us decided to go to the labyrinth together, Dale suddenly said something like this.


"Mirialia, I'm asking you to take care of them."


Why did he ask me to do this?


What was his intention in telling me instead of Athena, even though Frey was an idiot?


With doubts in our minds, we headed for the labyrinth.


***


"How about this?"


"How about what? What the hell? You're making it harder for me to fight! And don't wander around in front of me, you're distracting me."


"How the f*ck am I supposed to coordinate then......?


(......here we go again.)


I and the others who had come to the middle level were training in coordination against the monsters.


Mainly Athena and Frey were exploring how to stand in the vanguard, and sometimes I would a signal from behind and released magic.


I was resting by myself, exhausted because the two of them had great physical strength.


"It wouldn't be so easy to do so. In the first place, cooperation is something that can only be done after the party has nurtured and deepened its bond with each other and gradually become in tune with each other. It can't be done overnight."


"But he did it!"


"That's just Dale being awesome. That's a more advanced technique. It's not something we can do now."


Athena was right.


What Dale did in the battle of blue ogre was a higher skill as an adventurer. Athena would be able to do it someday, but Frey probably couldn't.


"Damn it...... I can't wait to get stronger."


"Don't be in such a hurry. You can do it, but you have to be steady."


"Help me, help me, help me, help me, help me, help me!"


""--?!""


As Athena and Frey were talking, an adventurer came running screaming from the back passageway.


It seemed as if he was desperately running away from "something".


"What's wrong? What happened?"


"A demon god...... has appeared!"


"A demigod! Is that true!"


Athena held the adventurer who stumbled and almost fell down, and the adventurer cried out with tears in his eyes.


Athena and the others opened their eyes when they heard the word "demon god".


A demon god.


It was a monster created by the labyrinth.


The reason why they were born was unknown, but they were feared to be such a threat that once they appear, they could destroy a city.


Such a monster had appeared? It was hard to believe.


"Ho, it's true! All my people have been killed! Other adventurers are confronting it! I was sent on the run to report to the guild!"


"Oh, come on, a demon god, are you serious......?"


"I don't know, but let's act anyway. If it's true, we're in big trouble. We have to tell the guild as soon as possible."


I was glad Athena was calm. I was also confused right now.


Adventurers who discovered the appearance of a demon god must first report it to the guild. Even if only one person survived, he had to pass on the information.


"Let's take this person and we'll go to the guild too."


"Ah, ah ...... yes."


We took the adventurer and ran frantically toward the top.


But ever since a few moments ago, I had been getting a bad feeling from behind me. It was a fearless presence that sent chills down my spine.


Just when we were almost at the top and could see the exit, we were finally "caught up".


"Gyaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!!"


"Ahahaha! I'm enjoying killing these trash!"


""--?"""


"It" had the adventurer's head.


It must had been dragged all the way here. The lower half of his body was in a miserable state. And even his life had been cut off by a decapitation.


(Oh no, oh no, oh no, that was bad! Don't ever fight it!!!!!!!)


The demon god was in human form.


Its skin was pale, its eyes were reddish-black, and its retinas were black. It had two horns on its head.


But it didn't matter what he looked like, the amount of magical power in his body was extraordinary. It was leaking out of his body, as if it was too much to be contained in a container.


The magic power was enough to uproot the will to fight of mine and the others.


"Are~~? I found it again~~. I'm going to kill that one too."


"Nah ...... that son of a b*tch!"


"We'll hold them off here. You should report to the guild as soon as possible."


"What...... me?"


"Go, go, go!"


Athena yelled at the adventurer, and he ran off, apologizing. "I'm sorry!" the adventurer apologized and ran off.


I thought she would do something like this. But I didn't think she would really do it.


So I asked Athena, "Athena, don't you want to run away?"


"I want to run away....... I honestly want to run away, but even if we ran, they would catch up with us anyway, and someone has to buy a little time."


"You......."


"I'll stay here. So Frey and Mirialia, please run away right now."


"Ha! Who's going to run? I'm not going to run away if you won't run away!"


"I'm not going to run away when you won't run away. I will not leave my friends behind. I'll fight with you."


When Frey and I said this, Athena thanked us and said, "Thank you. Honestly, you've been a great help. I don't know how many seconds I would have on my own."


"Heh? You're not going to run away?　You're going to fight? That's so good!"


"What are you laughing at?! I'm going to punch you in your disgusting face right now!"


"......"


Here, the words Dale said this morning come back to my mind.


--- "Mirialia, take care of them."


Oh, yeah.


Don't worry, I won't let them die.


So please.


Please come quickly to save them!



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