The Saintess Party Gives Chase, And Ahead Of Them Encounters The Great Sage

Phylite’s party of S-rank adventurers chased after Seyi.

In addition to the adventurer party, there were the slaves, Prince Brockes, and quite a large group overall.

However…

“Seiyaaah!!!!”

“…Hah!!!”

“Nuuuuhn!!!!”

Swordswoman Phylite, Holy Knight Ufhcok, and the slave Fire Drakekin Toka cut down the monsters that appeared one after another.

“Waaah! Amazing, it is amazing—it is!”

Daphne said that in praise of Phylite and the others as they defeated the monsters.

Seeing Daphne hopping up and down, Sui of Undine also hopped up and down.

“…Still, Sui’s support magic is incredible.”

“Indeed! My body feels wonderfully light, de gozaru!”

“Sui-chan is amazing!”

“…………” Hmph.

When they were about to enter the labyrinth with this group, it was Sui who had proposed it.

She said she wanted to grant everyone the power to protect themselves.

“Sui-chan apparently drank Onee-chan’s potion and learned support magic, it is!”

“Come to think of it, I also evolved after drinking Seyi-dono’s potion, de gozaru!”

“…I see. Nonhuman species undergo existential evolution when affected by Seyi-sama’s power. Since Sui is not human either, she must have learned a new skill.”

“That means both Onee-chan and Sui-chan are amazing, it is!”

And so, thanks to Sui having learned support magic, Phylite’s party was able to advance briskly through the labyrinth.

“…This way. I can smell the Saintess-sama from this direction.”

With a serious face, Holy Knight Ufhcok pointed down one of the branching paths.

Impressed, Bols tilted his head.

“Still, are all Holy Knights able to, like, sniff out a saintess’s mana?”

“…To a greater or lesser degree, we all have the ability to sense Saintess-sama’s power. In my case, I have the ability to detect the scent of the saintess I revere more strongly.”

“That makes you less a Holy Knight and more a hunting hound.”

Though exasperated, it was true that thanks to Ufhcok, they were able to track Seyi.

It was an incredible ability.

“Still… that Saintess-sama is, well, how do I put it. Pretty damn bold.”

What Bols was looking at was a destroyed labyrinth wall.

They were tracking her, but somehow, it seemed she had simply smashed through the walls and headed straight onward.

“Really now, Bols. You do not understand Saintess-sama’s intentions at all, do you?”

“Hah? Her intentions?”

His lover Phylite snorted proudly.

“Think about it. Why is Saintess-sama advancing in a straight line? There can only be one reason—because she is making absolutely no detours and is clearing the dungeon as quickly as possible in order to save the country!”

“““Ohhh! I seeeeeee!”””

In reality, she was in the middle of a detour to get soft stones and had completely put dungeon-clearing aside…

But in the eyes of Phylite, a devout believer in the Saintess, all of Seyi’s actions were conveniently reinterpreted.

And of course, the slaves who respected Seyi, and even the prince, felt not the slightest doubt toward the Saintess’s actions.

“Sei-dono is doing this to save our country… kuuuuh! As expected, Seyi-dono is a wonderful woman… a goddess! A god!”

“Yeah, yeah… more importantly, Ufhcok, did she seriously fall down this hole?”

What Bols pointed at was, no matter how one looked at it, a pitfall trap.

“…Yes, the scent disappears below here.”

“Even so, that’s a hell of a drop to the bottom, yeah? If women and kids fell down there, they wouldn’t stand a chan—”

At that point, the slaves took Enhancement Potions out of their pockets.

Seyi had made them carry them at all times in case anything happened.

Gulp gulp, they drank them.

“Girls, what the hell is that?”

“…They are Enhancement Potions given to us by Seyi-sama.”

“With this, one can gain infinite power, de gozaru! Toh!”

Toka dropped straight down.

“Hey! Girl! Wait—hey!”

Daphne, Zenith, and then Sui followed after her.

Bols went pale and looked downward.

“Heeey! Are you all okayyy?!”

“We are okaaaay, it is!”

Hearing the reply, he was relieved.

Still, to fall such a distance and come out unhurt…

“The Saintess’s medicine sounds like some seriously insane stuff… hey! Phylite! Ufhcok! Where are you going?!”

Those two also jumped into the hole.

Unlike the slaves, they did not descend straight down, but went down by kicking off the walls.

Scratching his head roughly, Bols spoke up.

“Your Highness, we’re going down with ropes, yeah?”

“Y-Yes… we cannot move in such inhuman ways…”

And while climbing down the ropes, Prince Brockes murmured in admiration.

“Still, professional adventurers truly are amazing. To break through such a high-difficulty labyrinth so easily…”

“Well, a big part of that’s thanks to that spirit girl. Normally, all the monsters appearing down here are S-rank. In other words, crazy strong.”

Bols recalled the road they had taken so far.

The golem waiting at the bottom of the stairs, and the fire dragons roaming inside the labyrinth.

All of them easily possessed strength on the level of S-rank monsters.

Ordinarily, this was not a labyrinth that such a small group—especially one made up only of amateurs, women, and children—could break through.

And yet they had advanced without a scratch because…

“The Saintess did clear out some obstacles ahead of us, and after that, it’s thanks to support from that spirit girl.”

“She said her support was thanks to Saintess-sama, so that means in the end it is all thanks to Saintess-sama! Amazing!”

“There are way too many believers now…”

Before long, they arrived at the bottom of the pit.

They reached a wide hall, but…

“It’s got that kind of vibe, but there’s nothing here. You’d think a place like this would have some kind of gatekeeper, yeah?”

“That is obvious! Seyi-sama must have defeated it!”

Certainly, the ground was scorched.

It was true that some kind of battle had taken place.

“Saintess-sama really is all-purpose, huh.”

“Please look! There is a path continuing deeper inside!”

When Phylite said that, the slaves followed after her.

And beyond the passage…

“““Oooooohhhhhhh!”””

Before the mountain of gold and silver treasure, the slaves’ eyes sparkled.

“It is amaaaazing! There is so much treasure!”

“That is an incredible amount of gold, de gozaru! If we take it home, we shall be millionaires, de gozaru!”

However, the elf slave Zenith tilted her head.

“…Why did Seyi-sama leave all this treasure here untouched, even after coming this far?”

“Now that you mention it… that is strange, de gozaru. With this much, one could play and live comfortably for life.”

Heh-heh, Phylite laughed.

“It seems you slaves still have much to learn.”

“““What do you mean…?”””

“I understand Saintess-sama’s thoughts… I alone do!”

Phylite spread both arms dramatically.

“She chose to prioritize human lives over treasure like this!”

“““S-So that is it!”””

In other words, without even glancing at the treasure, she had hurried onward to save people…

That was how they interpreted it.

Well, the truth was simply that she had dismissed the gold and silver treasure as trash she could make herself and left it behind…

“We press on!”

“Hah? Hold on there, Phylite. Leaving all this treasure behind is way too wasteful, isn’t it?”

“What leisurely nonsense are you talking about! While we dawdle here, Saintess-sama is getting further and further ahead…”

And then, at that moment.

Crash!

“! The entrance closed!?”

“!? Look! Gold dust is falling from above…!”

That was what Bols and Ufhcok shouted.

The entrance had been completely sealed off, and a huge quantity of gold dust began pouring from the ceiling.

“Damn it! It was a trap!”

“As expected of Seyi-sama! She had noticed the trap as well, hadn’t she! That is why she did not linger…!”

“Quit the nonsense and look for an exit!”

But no matter how much they split up and searched, they could not find anything resembling an escape route.

Ufhcok had been trying to destroy the wall for some time now, but it would not budge.

It was all over.

“We are done for, it isss~”

And then, at that moment.

BBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM!

“The labyrinth’s thick wall was destroyed!?”

“If someone can do something like this… could it be, Saintess-sama?!”

From beyond the smoke, that person emerged slowly.

“Hm? What is this? I sensed a nostalgic magic power from here… hmm, it seems I was a step too late.”

It was a tall woman.

Young, beautiful, and… with an outstanding figure.

And what drew the eye most was her long, brilliantly multicolored hair.

In the dark labyrinth, that gleaming, radiant hair stood out enormously.

“W-Who the hell are you…?”

Bols asked that, but the multicolored woman ignored him.

“And you are… who, exactly?”

“Ohh, me?”

Despite ignoring the man’s words, she responded when it was Phylite, another woman, who spoke.

“I am Flamel. One called Nicholas Flamel.”