“Don’t the security force members of Centanid have much leeway?”
“But the lord…”
“What will you do if a monster appears in the city during the search?”
“However…”
“There will be a monster beast inside.”
“…What?”
The beastkin who had been burning with determination for the search were dumbfounded by those words. A monster beast was a monster far more powerful than ordinary monsters. It was an enemy that only knights could face.
“And…”
Taeyon, who stopped speaking while glancing at Kaniel, spoke again.
“Let’s talk separately.”
Taeyon took Oderic and Dorbella to a spot a little distance away, then took something out from his chest and showed it to them. When he craned his neck to peek, it looked like a plaque.
What could that be? Just as Kaniel tried to sneak another peek, Arkan suddenly appeared and blocked the way.
“No peeking.”
Kaniel’s eyes widened, having thought that Taeyon taking the two people to talk was to prevent the security force members from hearing.
It was a secret from me too?
And the next moment, Kaniel was horrified at his own inflated self-consciousness. Taeyon had definitely been too good to him all this time. Otherwise, there was no way he would have thought that secret conversation wouldn’t be a secret from him.
Had he gone crazy because for the first time since kindergarten, he’d gotten someone close to him?
Kaniel vowed never to be like this again.
By the time he did, Taeyon’s conversation with the two people had already ended. Oderic and Dorbella walked over limply with somehow dazed expressions.
“Well… Yes. We will guard the city…”
“I’ll leave the rear to you.”
“Yes. We’ll contact the other cities too… confirm and manage… Yes, yes.”
Proper words didn’t flow out, but Taeyon nodded as if he understood the meaning and turned around. It was toward the lord’s manor entrance. Kaniel immediately moved to follow him.
When he turned around because he strangely didn’t feel the large presence following from behind, Arkan was in the middle of grabbing sandwiches prepared for the security force members haphazardly.
Though they did need lunch boxes since the search might drag on, grabbing over a dozen like that was somehow a bit embarrassing.
“Hahaha! We’ll be able to eat lunch heartily.”
Kaniel shook his head from side to side.
* * *
In the corridor with the broken floor, Arkan flinched. No one blamed him, but he felt guilty for no reason and his words and actions became suspicious. His desperate attempt to avoid eye contact looked just like a dog that had caused trouble, making the feeling strange.
‘He’s a bear though.’
Anyway, perhaps because he was simple-minded, he felt more like a furry friend than a person.
‘Maybe it’s because I’m not in a position to clean up after him.’
The accidents Arkan caused were usually cleaned up by Taeyon. It seemed to be because Taeyon was Arkan’s superior at Oblyad Castle.
No, looking at their relationship, he still seemed to be his superior.
“This side is also dismantled.”
“Right. This time, over there. There seems to be an arrow launcher, so deal with it.”
“Yes!”
Arkan, who walked in the direction Taeyon pointed, felt around the wall and discovered an arrow cleverly lodged between the bricks. Once he confirmed the arrow’s position, the rest was simple. He broke the wall below it with his hand to trigger the firing mechanism. Then the arrow shot out into an empty space with no one there.
“Complete!”
Taeyon, who nodded, this time turned his head toward Kaniel. It was because a fork in the road appeared ahead. At the suddenly appearing five-way fork, Kaniel pointed to one side without much deliberation.
“That way. The demonic energy continues that way.”
“Good work, Kaniel.”
“No, it’s nothing…”
Kaniel, who answered with a shy expression, followed behind Taeyon with a flushed face.
It was strange. Kaniel kept being swept up by the impulse to prove his abilities, his competence, to Taeyon. He wanted to be recognized by him. He wanted to hear that he was helpful to him. Without even knowing what lay at the foundation of that desire, Kaniel moved according to that desire.
“Arkan, throw a brick at the grooved side over there. Something will fall from above.”
“Yes!”
Taeyon broke through the traps using a different method than when he came with just Kaniel. Unlike before, when he carefully tried to stop the mechanisms after finding the trap locations, he changed the breakthrough method to one where he just identified where the traps would cause damage and then triggered them. It was somewhat more aggressive and dangerous, but in exchange, it was much faster. It was a method they could choose because there were two knights.
Thanks to that, Kaniel only needed to help by floating an orb of light to brighten the view and point out directions whenever a fork appeared.
While following the path like that for a while, a maze appeared before their eyes.
Beyond the round entrance were twenty steps leading downward, and from below them, the maze continued. Because the maze walls reached the ceiling, the maze’s scale couldn’t be guessed, but it seemed like it definitely wouldn’t be small.
The problem was that from about the bottom step, demonic energy was thinly pooled on the floor. Until now, they’d been following the demonic energy left behind by passing monsters, but from down there, that became impossible.
At this rate, I’ll become useless.
Kaniel thought inwardly, his complexion pale. Wouldn’t it be better for him to go back from here? If he followed when he wasn’t even helpful, he might just be in the way. Taeyon would definitely think so too…
“Kaniel, what are you doing?”
“…Taeyon-nim. From here on, I don’t think I’ll be of help…”
At that gloomy attitude, Taeyon tilted his head to one side with a frown as if he didn’t understand.
“Something might come up that needs a mage. Of course, if you don’t want to go further, I won’t force you.”
“I can go?”
“What a useless question.”
Taeyon, standing three or four steps down and turning back, extended his hand toward Kaniel. Kaniel’s face brightened instantly and he excitedly grabbed his hand and went down the stairs.
So he won’t just send me back for being useless. Thank goodness.
“And you’re helpful even now.”
“Me?”
“Without you, there’d be no light either.”
“Uh… but, weren’t you able to see ahead even in the dark?”
“Stupid question. I can see ahead in slightly darker conditions than humans, but being able to see even in pitch-black darkness…”
Kwang!
Along with a ringing sound in their ears, the entire cave vibrated. Kaniel, who was startled and clung to Taeyon, looked in the direction of the sound.
Before he knew it, Arkan, who had descended to the bottom of the stairs, had just struck the maze wall with that bear fist of his.
“Arkan!”
“Ah… Well. This is really solid. Haha…”
In front of the maze wall that didn’t even crack despite the powerful punch—made of who knows what—Arkan laughed with an awkward expression.
Just then.
Kuuuung—
Along with a rather dull sound, the cave entrance they’d just passed through was blocked by a stone door that descended from above. Now they’d ended up in a state where they couldn’t go back even if they wanted to.
At the same time, with squeaking sounds, rat monsters began pouring out from somewhere.
“Damn…!”
It wasn’t just a few dozen or so. The number of monsters had already surpassed a hundred, and yet they kept pouring out. Rat monsters that had swarmed even to the stairs in an instant bared their teeth while shining their creepily bright red eyes. They were a size you could call dogs, just as the raccoon boy had said.
It was a difficult number to fight in a place without cover like this.
“Arkan!”
When he called his name, Arkan immediately understood his intention and raised his fist to strike the stairs.
Kwang!
As the stone stairs broke apart, the rat monsters that had been nearby were sent flying. Taeyon took advantage of that gap to tuck Kaniel under his left side and leap down below the stairs.
“We’re entering the maze for now!”
“Won’t it be dangerous?!”
“Better than now!”
That was true. Arkan ran ahead first, checking for traps, and Taeyon followed behind him. Kaniel was still being carried by Taeyon, tucked under his side.
His head grew dizzy at the shaking view, and Taeyon’s firm arm pressed against his organs.
However, he couldn’t bring himself to say he’d run on his own. It was because the running speed of Taeyon and Arkan was so fast that Kaniel couldn’t possibly keep up.
At Kaniel’s running pace, the moment his two feet touched the ground, he’d fall behind and obviously be attacked by the pig-like rat monsters chasing them. Perhaps in less than five minutes, only bones would remain.
Kaniel felt like he’d go crazy from the squeaking cries heard from behind.
“What if a dead end appears at this rate?!”
Straight, left, straight again, right, right.
Arkan, who had been running by feel whenever a path appeared, suddenly asked.
“Then there’s nothing we can do. Still, with a wall behind us and on both sides, it’ll be easier to fight.”
“That’s true.”
The moment Arkan giggled and turned left, a dead end appeared. Was this what they meant by words becoming seeds? A startled Arkan scratched his cheek while gauging Taeyon’s reaction.
However, Taeyon had no intention of reproaching Arkan. From the start, he’d thought they’d end up like this eventually since they’d been running wildly without knowing the way.
