Chapter 43

“Not really. No matter how I think about it, I feel like I’ve only been giving without getting anything in return.”

“Utter nonsense. It’s all in your head.”

“…Tch.”

“Such insolence in your eyes is difficult to accept. I am joy itself for you. To have a girl this cute, this beautiful, this charming clinging to you all day—what greater happiness could there be?”

“Says the Demon King whose only weapon is being cute…”

“Ah, ah! Don’t pet me so roughly! If you’re that forceful, I— I… eek! My carefully styled hair is turning into a bird’s nest!!”

While Shia and I were messing around at the back of the party, utterly devoid of tension, the priestess walking right in front of me—Illeia, whom I’d dubbed “Sensible”—slowed her steps and addressed me.

“Um…”

“Hm?”

“What are you mumbling about to yourself back there?”

“Oh?” Shia widened her eyes, looking a little surprised.

“This one’s perceptive. She can feel a faint sense of wrongness against the concealment field.”

Right. The Concealment (Domination) Earring’s recognition interference was currently maxed out—so much so that even a seasoned mage wouldn’t have been able to notice Shia’s presence.

Originally, Shia was supposed to join the labyrinth run openly as a “monster tamer.” But…

—Since it’s a rare opportunity, I want to properly test the earring’s performance.

That little whim had her crank the artifact’s concealment to its maximum and tag along not as a party member, but as a hidden spectator.

At first I thought, “Come on, no matter how strong the artifact, how could you completely hide someone walking right beside us?” But no—it really was that broken.

The earring didn’t just erase Shia’s presence. It even erased the indirect effects of her actions. Which meant that from the others’ perspectives, not only was she invisible, but even our conversations were filtered out of their perception.

And yet, this priestess had managed to sense something off with her natural sensitivity.

“Likely an inborn gift,” Shia whispered. “Sensitivity to mysteries is a valuable talent for a priestess. This girl will grow greatly one day.”

“Huh. If you say that much, she’s too good for this little Goldie’s party.”

Since I didn’t respond directly, the priestess must have thought I was ignoring her. With a faintly frosty look, she asked again.

“Um, are you listening?”

“Oh, that? Just talking to myself. It’s a habit. I’ll probably grumble like a monk caught in the rain now and then, so just let it slide.”

She tilted her head, then nodded like she’d accept it. But she wasn’t done—matching my pace, she seemed to wrestle with something she wanted to say.

“Anyway… I’m sorry.”

I blinked at the unexpected apology.

“Sorry? For what?”

“That burden you’re carrying.”

“This?”

I looked at the giant pack strapped to my back and chuckled.

“Honestly, it’s shameful of them. Even if tempers aren’t good, we’re still in the same party. To play pranks with luggage like that…”

“Eh, this kind of hazing is fine. Don’t worry about it.”

See, we’d each been loaded with supplies, food, and gear for the labyrinth—but about a third of the total weight had been shoved into my pack. Sure, the others’ looked equally bulky, but they’d cherry-picked the heaviest stuff for mine.

It was a petty kind of hazing—half pathetic, half cute. And I chose to just shoulder it without complaint.

“Still, I didn’t expect you to accept it so easily.”

“What, did you think I’d throw a tantrum?”

“…A little?”

I laughed, waving my hand.

“I’m stronger than I look. This isn’t even heavy for me. Actually, want me to carry yours too?”

“Oh, no. That won’t be necessary. I’m stronger than I appear as well. But thank you for the offer.”

“Fair enough.”

An awkward silence stretched between us. With nothing in common to chat about, the conversation fizzled out.

Sensible fidgeted, chewing her lip like she had something real to say but couldn’t bring herself to.

“Um…”

But before she could, it happened.

“Monster! Get ready!”

Goldie shouted unnecessarily loudly from the front, glancing back to make sure we’d heard him.

From around the corner ahead, seven goblins came scrambling out.

Kik! Kigik!!

Kek! Kekek!!

“…Seriously? Just goblins?”

My deflated reaction made Shia snicker.

“Of course. What were you expecting on the first floor?”

“Nothing, but he made such a huge fuss I thought it’d be something big…”

That’s when Goldie yelled again.

“Newbie! It’s your turn! Show us what you can do!!”

“Eh? Me? Why?”

Seven goblins? Sparks could wipe them out with a single spell. Even Timid could poke a few arrows from behind Oxhead’s shield and finish the lot. And yet Goldie shoved the task onto me?

The reason became clear in his next words.

“And Illeia! Why are you dragging your feet at the rear? If the priestess gets ambushed, what then? Your place is always right behind me! You know that!!”

Ah. So that’s it. Jealousy.

He’d cobbled together this harem-party, and now the prettiest one of them showed interest in another man. No wonder it grated on him.

Which meant… if I made a point of getting close to Sensible, it’d grind his nerves raw. I liked this plan already.

Swipe, swipe.

I deliberately plastered on a greasy smile and brushed my hand over the priestess’s brown hair.

“Eh? Wh–what?”

Sensible had been frowning at Goldie’s nagging, but my sudden show of familiarity made her blink wide-eyed.

“I’ll be back. You looked like you had something you wanted to tell me—save it for later.”

“Uh… y-yes. S-sure.”

Goldie’s face twisted up like mashed potatoes, and I enjoyed every second of it as I launched myself at the goblin pack.

“A first showing against goblins… well, not the worst.”

“Hup!”

Before they even registered me, I was in their faces. Using my momentum, I delivered a soccer kick.

BOOM!

Not a “smack” or a “crack”—a detonation like a cannon. The goblin’s body split in half, the upper and lower pieces slamming into the ones behind and popping their heads like melons.

SPLAT!

Kek! Kiiik…?

Three gone in an instant. The rest froze, stupid expressions plastered on their faces.

But of course I didn’t stop.

I twisted into a spin, swinging my mace (well, staff disguised as one) in a full arc, smashing it into the nearest skull.

KWAANG!! BURRRRRRT!!

The explosion of force sounded less like meat breaking and more like a bomb going off. Bone fragments and gore ripped into the others like shrapnel from a claymore mine.

The surviving goblins were blasted apart, their bodies riddled with holes. Only the last one in the rear survived, shielded by its companions. But even it collapsed on the spot, pissing a yellow stream down its legs in terror.

The entire fight had lasted three seconds.

A battle that was more like an airstrike than a skirmish ended with just a kick and a swing.

The others finally snapped out of their daze, staring at the pulverized goblins with blank looks.

“Holy shit…”

“Wh-what?”

“Wasn’t he a Novice?”

“…Amazing.”

The only one not impressed was Goldie, scowling and shooting daggers from his eyes. Why was he pissed? He was the one who ordered me to do it. Did he actually expect me to struggle with goblins?

He spat on the ground, then cut down the last trembling goblin. Gesturing sharply at Sparks, he barked,

“Tch. Scala. Magic stone.”

“Oh, right.”

Sparks dashed forward, swinging her oversized staff etched with runes and chanting a spell.

“Ancient flow of mana, obey my command. Manastone Detection!”

WOOM!

A red flare burst from her, sweeping across the goblin corpses and scattering fragments. Moments later, faint crimson dots floated up, marking the locations of embedded stones.

“Good. Cheche, Selan. Collect them.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Y-yeah.”

At Goldie’s order, Oxhead and Timid hurried over with butchering knives, rummaging through the bloody carcasses without hesitation—clear veterans of the grisly task.

SQUELCH! RIP! CRACK!

The haul: three manastones. Two pried from shattered skulls, one lodged in the fragments I’d blasted apart.

Oxhead grinned at the pebble-sized gems. “Three stones from the first hunt—great start.”

Sparks brightened as well, holding one up. “They’re even bigger than usual. This could pass for an orc’s stone.”

Of course they were excited. Stones were the real gold of labyrinths.

To explain—more than half of an adventurer’s earnings came from manastones. They powered magic, fueled Steel Body techniques, and, with some processing, could be turned into heating stones. Those reacted with water to release long-lasting heat, making them the backbone of Kion’s civilization. (Basically their equivalent of oil back on Earth.)

“Newbie. Step back. I’ll take it from here.”

Goldie slipped the stones into his pouch without hesitation, then pushed past me to the front. He wanted to show off—that he could handle things too, not just me.

“You’re gonna do it all solo? Don’t think there’s any need to compete.”

“I said move. Don’t get in my way!”

I shrugged and stepped aside. Whatever. Easier for me.

“If that’s what the leader wants, be my guest.”

“Hyaaaah!!”

CLANG! CRUNCH! SLASH!

“Haah!”

THUD! CRACK!

Goldie hacked and bashed with gusto as the party advanced deeper.

Not surprising, really. This was only the first floor. Even apprentices could handle things here with a party. For a group already half a step into Silver, clearing out goblins was child’s play.

“Hff… huff…”

Still, our dear leader insisted on taking every kill himself. By the time he caved in the last goblin’s skull with his shield, he was panting hard. He snatched the waterskin Sparks offered, gulped deep, then straightened his back with forced composure.

“Of course,” he muttered, sweeping his gaze around.

His loyal followers scrambled to deliver their lines.

“Yep! As expected of you, Hank!”

“Indeed, Young Master.”

“Uh, um… r-remarkable.”

“……”

To be honest, he was exactly what he was—an average Mana User. And his party could see it. Their praise came out lukewarm, thin as watered wine.

Compared to me? Yeah. No contest.

“Kh…”

Goldie noticed, of course. His jaw clenched, and he glared daggers at me again before spitting on the ground.

“Seriously. Why keep blaming me for your own lack of skill? Dumbass.”

I muttered under my breath.

Shia burst out laughing, her voice dripping with amusement.

“Jealousy is the chain mortals can never escape. But for transcendent beings such as you, should it not be met with patience?”

“Oh, that’s a good one. I’ll save it—next time I really want to drive Goldie up the wall.”