«...Tell me more. What happened?» Before jumping to conclusions, I asked him for the full story.
«Oh, that?» raven asked absentmindedly. «He disappeared the day we were supposed to leave, so the commander personally went to look for him. When they found him, he made up an excuse about his stomach hurting or something to say he couldn't go. He complained so much that they ended up calling a magician to check him out».
«For what...?»
«I found out that they used magic to check his stomach, but they couldn't find anything wrong with him. So, based on that evidence, they threatened to punish him for attempted desertion, and he ended up joining us as he should...»
«...And then?»
«Well, the news of what happened spread, and the people in the expedition group do not see it favorably. As far as I know, most of his peers don't even treat him like a person.»
«I see...» I interrupted myself, sighing. I shouldn't have asked. If he tried so hard not to join the expedition, that could only mean that his sixth sense had been activated somehow.
Fuck it!
But I wouldn't have to go through hell like Frozen Rock again, would I?
***
After setting sail from Stone Island, our four ships soon arrived at Library Island and, after establishing some basic formations, we immediately descended the stairs. Squad Four was at the head of this formation, which meant that the thirty-eight of us were the ones on the front line.
Maybe that's why I felt a little uncomfortable with all this. Still, I quickly shook my head to shake off the thought that was tormenting me.
...The only reason they put us in front is because we were the first to arrive.
Yes Yes. They didn't use us as cannon fodder. I would have done the same if I were the strategist... But why did my back feel so sharp?
...Damn those palace crazy people.
Between Berzak and Ice Rock, he had already been stabbed in the back by the palace twice, so he couldn't really trust those bastards.
«We have arrived.»
Since I distrusted my back more than my forehead, we ended up reaching the underground library before I knew it. A look around showed that the books had been cleaned since the last time.
«(...Are you here? You arrive before me... Huh...?)» Hamsick had come out to greet us, but tilted his head when he noticed the group of expedition members behind me.
I sighed. Why was this guy here?
I quickly shooed him away with my hand to tell him to hide, but Hamsick still didn't understand what he meant. To help him, I pointed my thumb at the expedition group and pointed my finger at Hamsick before slowly drawing a line over my neck.
These people were not as nice as me. Without exaggeration, they would shoot spells at Hamsick as soon as they saw him and kill him before asking questions.
My message seemed to have been received. «(Eep!)» As soon as Hamsick realized what he meant, he snuck away with a screech.
«Your Honor», someone shouted immediately afterwards, »Is something wrong? I thought I heard a horrible screech from somewhere nearby». The people from the main expedition group finally closed the distance between them and Squad Four.
Well, it looked like they hadn't seen Hamsick. «It's nothing.»
«Excuse me?»
«I don't know why, but sometimes you hear sounds like that when you're here».
«Ah, I see. Understood, I will pass it on to the rest of our group».
With that in place, the expedition group shouldn't find anyone suspicious if they heard noises when I secretly met with Hamsick to talk to him. Well, if someone decided to do it, they could always investigate where the sound was coming from, so you should be careful.
«So this is the place I was talking about, Baron Yandel», Jerome commented.
«What do you think?» I asked, without revealing anything.
«What do I think? What I think doesn't matter. Let's not waste time and get to work. We are not just here for adventure. The palace has bequeathed us a sacred duty».
Wow, look at this crazy man from the palace.
Jerome then handed out orders to the deputy commander, who proceeded to shout an order to the rest of the group. «Attention! We will start by inspecting the area. Squads, disperse and search the entire room».
And with that, they began with recognition.
I approached Jerome. «You said yourself that we have no time to waste, so does it make any sense for you to search the area again? We already did it on our last visits». Even as I said that I had the thought that just as I didn't trust the palace, Jerome might not trust me.
«Oho, our expedition group is made up exclusively of exploration experts handpicked by the palace. I am not questioning your skill as an adventurer, Baron Yandel. However, please sit back and watch. We may find something new».
Reading between the lines, however, he was definitely putting us down.
What exploration experts?
All he could see was a combat squad made up mostly of knights and priests along with some wizards who were also part of the army. «Do what you want, but then we'll stay here», I said dryly.
«Clear. Still, it's unlikely you'll find something new that you haven't found before».
...Can I slap him? At least once?
The idea seriously crossed my mind, but I managed to contain myself with superhuman self-control.
«...We haven't found anything worth mentioning.»
«Nothing here either».
In the end, the «scouts» came back with nothing, and only then did we begin the process of cleaning the library.
«I think we should proceed with your initial recommendation. Unlike you, we have the ability to traverse even the highest shelves».
Although every word that came out of his mouth was annoying, he proved to be incredibly skilled once we entered combat.
«That's how it works».
After using the summoning books a few times, he quickly restructured our formations, effectively distributing the nearly two hundred members of our battalion as efficiently as possible. A few dozen people stayed near the shelves to bring us the books, and twice as many people stayed at the stone gate waiting to hunt down any monsters that entered.
«This will take too long». Jerome, however, thought that even this was too slow and took out one of his tricks. «Ebost. Increase the pace».
Necessity was the mother of invention, after all.
The aforementioned Ebost was openly surprised. «Excuse me? We can only use one book at a time, so increasing our current pace is...»
«Then find a different method».
Zylan Ebost, honoring his position as deputy commander, quickly regained his wits despite his boss's crazy order and devised an ingenious solution.
«If we could decrease the time it takes for the door to open and close, we could increase our pace even more».
«¿Y?»
«How about we destroy the stone door?».
It was a suggestion that made even the barbarian next to them startle in surprise. However, Jerome seemed satisfied with the plan and nodded to Ebost. «The idea is promising. Run it immediately».
As soon as the order came out of his mouth, the magical troops of the expedition group gathered and the dozens of wizards began to cast a massive spell.
«¡Mairti Esta Poryuiev du Teila!»
The spell I heard them cast was one I had never heard before.
After all, where could he have seen a rank one attack spell in person?
[Gahuin Versilus has cast the New World Orb rank one attack spell].
As soon as the spell was completed, the magic circle beneath them began to glow with a blinding light. The mana around him became so dense that even barbarian warriors like me, insensitive to most magic, could perceive it.
As for the attack itself, it was impossible to see with the naked eye. There was a flash of light as something shot forward, and then the sound of an impact.
¡Fwoosh!
A gust of wind hit my face, so hot I thought it would scald me. However, I barely noticed the sensation.
«...Fortunately, it worked».
The enormous stone door, almost five stories high, had been erased without a trace, leaving only an infinite void in its place.
That... worked...?
I felt like I had achieved some kind of enlightenment.
Anyway, with the stone gate successfully destroyed, the time it took for the summoning process was equally reduced to a fraction of what it was before.
«Without the door, we can kill them as soon as they are summoned. Good job, Ebost».
«He only followed the will of the royal family. No need to praise me, Commander».
The two who had eliminated our waiting time by sheer brute force picked up their conversation where they had left off as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
In the end, I had no choice but to get ahead of myself. «Wait, look there! It is already beginning to reform».
This was the nature of the labyrinth. Like the Crystal Cave on the first floor, all sections of the labyrinth, except for a few select areas, returned to their original state after a while. In other words, the mages in the expedition group had just performed a rank one time waste.
«Is that a problem?» However, Jerome's expression suggested that he didn't understand where he was going, so I kindly explained my thought process to him in a way that wasn't typical of a barbarian. However, my explanation also turned out to be a waste of time. «Well, despite everything, I still don't see the problem. If it reforms, don't we need to just break it again?»
«¿Eh…?»
«Judging by the speed of his regeneration, I don't think we need to use another rank one spell next time. And since we have many wizards, they can take turns keeping the door broken.»
«.Uh.»
«We are currently fighting monsters that are not strong enough to force our mages into battle, correct?»
Uh... that was true.
«So that answered all your questions?»
«Yeah. I'm fine.»
In the end, I had no choice but to face the facts.
The problem here... was me...
Just as a person with more power could inevitably accomplish more things, a person at the top of the food chain could look down and see more options. The reason why I myself had not been able to devise this method and thought it was a waste of energy was that I lacked the strength to carry it out. It was a force that came directly from the mind.
That is why there is strength in the power of the imagination.
People thousands of years ago must have realized this long before me, because that bit of wisdom existed since ancient times.
«Then we will resume our mission!»
In any case, oblivious to the revelation I was having at that moment, Jerome did not waste a second and continued cultivating. Perhaps it was to be expected from someone who received his orders directly from the palace itself, but thanks to his determination, our speed was incredible. If before I thought we moved like an assembly line, our new rhythm was something totally different.
«Ignore the mana stones! We will pick them up later».
The expedition group did not collect any mana stones or debate who an essence would belong to every time one fell. Since most of them were rangers, no one accidentally picked up an essence, and when melee warriors were needed, those who already had their essence slots full stepped forward to form the first line.
We are in range four after just one day...
To be more precise, we had reached the point of seeing one or two rank four monsters per book even sixteen hours after our arrival. This was almost five times faster than when the thirty-eight of us had been cultivating alone.
«We can proceed at a normal pace starting tomorrow. And tell the wizards that they no longer need to stop the door from regenerating».
«You mean...»
«We will stop here. Get ready to camp».
We had even taken our meals in turns to keep the hunt going, but eventually Jerome ended things and gave us the go-ahead to take a long break.
Despite the long day, the members of the expedition camped with practical ease, and as soon as our time of rest began, a familiar face came up to greet me. «Haha, are you busy?», asked Melend Kaislan, the knight he had worked with during the Ice Rock expedition.
«Even if I was, I would make time for you».
«It's an honor to hear that». Kaislan smiled as he extended his fist and I clashed it with mine in greeting. We had greeted each other with a gesture of recognition every time we saw each other in passing, but it had been a long time since we had the opportunity to talk like that.
«I didn't expect it to take us so long to find time to talk».
«I had heard it said before that working under Count Saintred is hell... But I didn't know it would be so bad».
Now that he thought about it, it seemed that Jerome had quite a bad reputation among his peers.
«So what happened to you?» I asked. «Did the palace order you to join?»
«That's right. It seems like they want to get everything I'm worth out of me before I graduate. Well, since one of the goals of this mission was to save you, Your Honor, I didn't care too much.»
«Disclaimer? Did you apply?»
«I submitted my resignation more than a month ago. These things take a long time to process... but I hope it will be done by the time this expedition is over.»
«Ya veo... »
«What's the point of that expression on your face?»
«It's nothing. I'm just trying to think about what I want for dinner». I avoided the question, hiding the worry that ran through me as soon as he told me his story. Hearing that Kaislan had been ordered to come here just before he was discharged reminded me of Ice Rock.
Marrone would have been put in this expedition group too if anything else had happened... but I should still stay alert.
Instead of dismissing everything as a mere coincidence, I needed to keep the worst possible scenarios in mind.
«Mr. Kaislan! We finally meet!»
After that, Versyl, Erwen and Amelia also came over to greet Kaislan. Then, a new face appeared.
«My apologies. It's the first time the archbishop has camped, so I had to lend a hand... I wanted to come right away, but in the end I was late».
Era Goblin, other Sven Parav.
As soon as he arrived, Versyl walked towards him with a withering look. «You are already here».
«It's been a while, Miss Gowland...»
«Yeah. It's certainly been 'time', Sir Parav».
They actually met at the Round Table not long ago. As someone who knew their identities, it was funny to see them perform.
«Could everyone step aside for a moment?» I asked.
«Yes of course. I can't stay long either since the church...»
«Except you, Parav.»
«...Sorry?»
Once we finished greeting each other and catching up a bit, I kicked everyone out and had a chat alone with Parav. «So...», he started nervously. «Is there something...?»
«You didn't want to join the expedition group so you faked a stomach ache, right?».
«Did Sir Kaislan tell you?»
«No, I heard it from someone else.»
«...Then, you heard it from the Golden Sorcerer». I seemed to have come to that conclusion after remembering that Raven had gotten on my boat.
But none of that mattered to me.
«Why did you do it? Did you have a 'strange feeling' again?».
«Well... this time it was a little different...».
«Different? Explain it to me in detail. I trust your instinct».
«I... I don't know how to say it...». Parav hesitated, then admitted in a low, miserable voice: «I think... that I received a revelation...».
¿Which...?
In this world, gods existed. People here sometimes heard the voices of the gods or received prophecies or messages from them. Sometimes they were even given sacred relics to help carry out these supposed prophecies.
But it wasn't about that.
I couldn't help but blurt out: «Did you receive a revelation...?».
«Please lower your voice! Someone will hear you».
A revelation was not something anyone could receive. Therefore, in the city, those who were lucky enough to hear the voice of the gods were called saints.
But this bastard is a gambler.
Sven Parav was an evil spirit from Earth, and the respective churches of the Three Gods took hunting evil spirits as seriously as the palace. And yet, this guy had ended up receiving a message directly from the head of those three gods despite being an evil spirit.
«...Are you sure? What did you receive... that».
«I think so, at least for now».
I paused, unsure. What the hell were these gods thinking?
On the other hand, I myself had once received a sacred relic to help me after the Dragon Slayer almost killed me...
«So what was the revelation? What did you hear that made you go so far?».
«Um... So...»
I was quick to ask what exactly that revelation entailed, but an interruption unfortunately cut our conversation short.
«Mr. Parav! The archbishop is looking for you! Come quickly!»
«Ah, oh...?» In his indecision, he looked at me to gauge my reaction, but when I nodded at him, he quickly replied: «Ah yes! Understood». With that, he hurried back to where the rest of the church members had camped.
...I can listen to the rest later.
It was a shame I couldn't hear what he had to say at the time, but I chewed some jerky until I was full, closed my eyes, and prepared for tomorrow.
I can not sleep.
When I got up to drink water in the middle of the night, I felt like they were looking at me. I turned my head to look, ignoring the night guard people, and saw Hamsick hiding in the distance behind a bookshelf.
«Ejem ... »
«Your Honor, where are you going?»
«I can not sleep. I need to expend some energy, but I'll wake people up if I do it here».
«Oh, sure...»
I gave a vague excuse to the soldiers on duty and approached the bookshelf. As soon as I was within earshot, Hamsick shouted, whispering: «(Who... Who are these deranged humans?)».
«(Uh... They are people of the kingdom... But they won't hurt you, so no-)»
«(Won't they hurt me...?)» Staring at the still slightly broken stone door, Hamsick clenched his furry fists. His voice became sad. «Not just once... Why do I have to experience something like this a second time...? Why are all humans like this...?»
There was nothing I could say to that.
«(Am I a barbarian, though...?)»
Nothing except that.