Chapter 165
Chapter 165. Conditions
One early morning, after I'd begun adjusting to life in the labyrinth, the clamor outside reached my ears through the hall.
At first, I thought Rizai and the others were working on something, but when I sensed the presences, I realized not only Phil but also Hymes had gathered near the labyrinth's entrance. And among them was Sarhas.
Seems he finally returned…
Noticing the overlapping presences with Phil, I stood up.
Returning Hymes' silent bow, I stepped outside, shielding my eyes from the early summer sunlight flooding the square as I glanced around.
Sarhas, Rizai, and the others were gathered before the labyrinth, while a child of Eras Rhino crouched at a distance.
"You're late, Sarhas."
"Ran into some trouble. Seems that human's awake too."
"I am Hymes. Thanks to Sarhas' cooperation—" "H—Hold the introductions! Do something about this first!"
A unfamiliar voice cut off Hymes' words.
Scratching my cheek, I turned to the young beastman.
Phil perched on his shoulder, sharp claws pressed against his throat.
"You let go first. Phil understands human speech. If it's a misunderstanding, talk it out yourself."
The youth's hand hovered over his sword. Probably panicked and tried drawing it upon seeing the labyrinth.
Prompted by Sarhas' silent glare, the beastman reluctantly released the hilt.
"My apologies. I meant no hostility."
Phil peered into the youth's eyes, then suddenly looked away.
With a light leap, he landed beside me.
As the beastman sighed in relief, the tension in the square dissipated, and the Eras Rhino child, poised to charge, relaxed.
"You must be tired from the long journey. The report can wait until after you've rested—"
"No need."
"Understood. Shall we talk inside?"
Sarhas hesitated but nodded after glancing at Hymes' smiling face by the entrance.
With the two still tense, we entered the labyrinth's hall.
Seated across from Sarhas and the youth were me, Hymes, and Phil.
The youth fidgeted, eyes darting around until Uruk brought hot water, his calm demeanor seemingly steadying the beastman's nerves.
After a sip, he spoke.
"My name is Quid."
Introducing himself, Quid laid out the beastmen's proposal.
It was simple.
Deep in the forest lay a village called Jisero. Over a decade ago, it was destroyed by a monster attack. The creature still lurked in a nearby lake, making it impossible to reclaim.
Their request: help retake Jisero, and they'd consider opening relations.
Turns out, the beastmen's village isn't the only one.
More importantly—I sipped my water, glancing at Hymes.
His expression was calm, but when our eyes met, his gaze flickered down briefly.
Keeping my face neutral, I asked Quid:
"A monster even beastmen can't defeat together? Must be formidable."
"Killing them isn't hard, but there are too many. Over a hundred confirmed."
"A horde? That's trouble. What's the monster's name?"
"You wouldn't know it. They're rare even here. Shelled monsters—Garneles."
His casual tone froze me in place.
Garneles… those insect-men?
Quid's words raced through my mind, pieces falling into place.
Over a decade ago, a village deep in the forest…
Could this be a coincidence?
I dredged up hazy memories but found no contradictions.
Back then, I'd been too focused on survival to notice the villagers. The only clear memory was headless corpses carried by the insect-men's guards.
Besides, Garneles don't inhabit the Empire.
If this was another village, it'd be deep in the frontier—unlikely for settlers.
A beastmen village made more sense.
Lost in thought, I missed Sarhas and Quid exchanging puzzled looks until Quid spoke again.
"When was the attack?"
"Fourteen years ago. I was a child, but I remember it well."
Fourteen years. That settles it…
I looked at Hymes, and we nodded in silent agreement.
"We need to discuss. Give us a moment."
"Understood. We'll wait outside."
Once they left, I turned to Hymes.
"What do you think of their proposal?"
"'Consideration' is the key word. They likely expect mutual destruction. Even if we retake Jisero, they'll strike while we're weakened."
"They know we'd see through that. They're betting we won't refuse since they made the first move."
"Or they're luring you out to destroy Mei. Either way, cooperation seems unnecessary. If their story's true, they'd prioritize Jisero over the labyrinth. A non-aggression pact would suffice."
"So you're against it."
Hymes paused, then nodded.
"A hundred monsters, even Goblins, would be dangerous. If they want mutual destruction, they'll push you to exhaustion. That said, my opposition isn't absolute. Non-aggression pacts work with third-party oversight. If beastmen betray us, no one would condemn them. Without helping retake Jisero, they remain potential enemies, and the encirclement could happen anytime."
In short, he opposed it out of concern for me.
Whether the beastmen planned that far was unclear, but refusing now would be tricky.
Plus, as 'allies,' we wouldn't need to fight to the death. We could always retreat.
"Forgive my presumption, but… did you know Jisero?"
Hymes' sudden question interrupted my thoughts. Had he noticed something?
"…Hard to say. The situation matches a village I knew. I can't deny wanting to confirm, but Quid left something out. Garneles have a unique variant—one that uses holy magic."
"A holy attribute magic stone?"
"The material for revival potions. Hypothetically."
"Then I have no objections. I'll await your return."
Hymes smiled faintly and bowed.
With my sole subordinate's approval, my decision was made.
Whatever the beastmen's plans, their request wasn't unreasonable.
Minimize losses while exterminating or driving out the Garneles. Whether it's the teleportation site matters less than fostering relations and securing holy magic stones.
I informed Quid outside that we accepted, then began preparations.
The round trip would take nearly half a month, possibly three weeks including the reclaimation.
Plenty of bear meat would last, but potion containers were scarce.
As a stopgap, I mass-produced makeshift plates with [Earth Shield] to store Rizai's potions. They'd degrade faster unsealed, but it'd suffice for our absence.
Incidentally, Sarhas' explanation to Rizai's group caused—unsurprisingly—a commotion.
They'd just returned, and now he was leaving again without them.
Rizai insisted on coming, but Sarhas refused.
Eventually, he relented after being reminded of their duty to protect the others.
My own persuasion went less smoothly.
Hymes was worried, Mei needed feeding, and separating me from the labyrinth might be their goal.
I wanted Phil to stay, but he refused outright.
Having witnessed the discussion, perhaps my shift in demeanor concerned him.
I could force compliance, but Phil wasn't a subordinate or tamed beast.
He stayed by my side by choice.
Leaving him behind during the Selen trip had been one thing—doing it again felt unfair.
Unless absolutely necessary, Phil should have his freedom.
Besides, his [Pursuit Tracing] could monitor the labyrinth, and at full speed, he outpaced even me. If trouble arose, he'd return in time—probably.
As a precaution, I told Hymes not to resist if beastmen attacked.
The remaining concern was Zoptom.
Once the beastmen replied, we'd schedule its removal.
Though unrelated to me, leaving it felt wrong.
When I raised this, Hymes assured me:
"The salt mine won't reopen soon. They must calm the miners, restore collapsed tunnels, and gather materials. They're also short on slaves for Zoptom's removal. At best, it'll take months."
He added the mine might be abandoned, though neither of us believed it.
After finalizing plans, we set out the next morning in proper adventurer gear.
With great effort, we restrained the Eras Rhino child from following and left the labyrinth.
◇◇◇◇
We circumvented giant trees, hacked through thickets, and vaulted moss-covered rocks.
As the blank zone's edge neared, the presence of monsters and animals thickened.
Pricking my beastman ears, I glanced at Quid leading the way.
In his early twenties, he brimmed with youthful vigor compared to the seasoned Sarhas.
If that energy was mere recklessness, it'd be trouble—but as their envoy, he proved capable.
His skills leaned toward scouting and skirmishing, placing him around mid-to-high C-rank for adventurers.
[Tracking], [Stealth], and [One-Handed Sword] were Rank 6, [Presence Detection] a high Rank 5.
He also had [Beast Transformation], alongside decent combat skills like [Martial Arts] and [Claw Techniques]. While overall inferior to Sarhas, the gap wasn't glaring.
Guided by Quid, we exited the blank zone, avoiding monsters as we headed south.
By midday, Quid glanced back.
"Need a break?"
"No. And this isn't the place."
Quid tilted his head, but upon sniffing the wind, he tensed and gripped his sword.
Sarhas drew a dagger in unison.
"Smell that? Blood—wolves?"
"More like something's eating them."
Even so, I couldn't identify the culprit. Must be an unfamiliar monster.
Tracking the scent, it soon entered Quid's detection range.
After careful probing, he whispered:
"Nepro Molcas."
"A Molcas variant? Mantis monsters."
"Right. Frailer than the standard but excels at [Stealth]. If it weren't feeding, we'd have been ambushed."
He wiped his brow in relief.
"Any useful parts?"
"Just the magic stone. The scythes are sharp but rot postmortem. Either way, it won't attack while eating. Let's move."
As we advanced, the blood scent intensified.
Simultaneously, I felt a sharp gaze from above.
Looking up, I spotted a meter-long mantis clinging to a tree.
Its mottled green body chewed on a wolf while emotionless eyes watched us.
A true specialist—Strength at 23 but Endurance a mere 8. It'd lose to an Orc head-on. [Stealth 6] let it hunt via ambush alone.
The Nepro Molcas watched warily but didn't move.
We skirted the wolf's spilled blood and passed safely beneath.
Avoiding further encounters, we pressed on.
At dusk, we sheltered in a hollow, sleeping without fire, then resumed at dawn.
With everyone skilled in scouting, we avoided all fights.
The monsters here seemed weaker—nothing to challenge me or Phil.
Food, however, was meager.
To save time, we skipped hunting and fires.
I gnawed on imitation bear jerky, while Sarhas and Quid ate their dried meat rations.
Phil, unimpressed by the jerky, occasionally vanished, returning with blood or feathers around his mouth.
Three days in, Quid halted.
"We're here."
I scanned the area with [Presence Detection] but found only ordinary forest.
Phil seemed equally unimpressed.
"The middle of nowhere."
"We don't trust you yet. Wait here while I fetch the others."
Fair enough—we felt the same.
Once Quid left, I sipped [Pure Water], swapping canteens with Sarhas.
Casually, I watched Phil.
I'd agreed, but that didn't mean inaction.
Given the mood, negotiations might fail even if things went smoothly. Their 'consideration' was vague.
Sensing my intent, Phil stretched and activated [Pursuit Tracing].
He tracked Quid's position, rested, then repeated the process.
To distract Sarhas, I made small talk to pass the time.
Soon, Phil's demeanor shifted.
His gaze darted around before he looked up at me, troubled.
This gesture—had he lost the trail?
Shocked, my first thought was Sarhas' involvement.
"Something wrong?"
As Sarhas asked, I held up the jerky.
"Just checking our supplies."
"No offense to Rizai, but that bear meat's a failure."
I chuckled, tossing a piece into my mouth.
Stretching, I asked casually:
"Any monsters nearby?"
"They're everywhere here. Few are troublesome, though."
While discussing monsters, I glanced at Phil, who wagged his tail weakly.
No notable threats?
Phil hunted solo—he'd know better than me.
Which meant—concealment.
Magic or an artifact.
Like the invisible mansion, the beastmen's village was hidden.
It explained how they survived the perilous forest.
Yet something felt off.
If Jisero had been hidden too, why was it attacked?
Was this all a ruse?
Lure me away to kill me or destroy the labyrinth?
Phil periodically checked the labyrinth's direction but reported no issues.
I studied Sarhas discreetly.
No signs of deception, but who knew?
Even Lambert betrayed me. Trusting Sarhas so soon would be naive.
That said—he didn't seem the type for reckless schemes.
He'd witnessed Phil's strength firsthand. A warrior like him would recognize the danger of opposing me.
Looking away, I swallowed the smoky bear meat along with my doubts.
Too soon for conclusions.
I'd decide after seeing who Quid brought back and how they acted.