“…What are you doing? Did you reject me?”
Eliya asked with a voice of disbelief.
This is a reaction I’ve never seen before.
I felt strangely guilty.
Sweat was trickling down my back.
I hurriedly made excuses.
“Well, I don’t exactly look presentable right now.”
Only then did Eliya look me up and down.
I had come all the way here without showering or changing my clothes for just over a week.
I had even fought a red orc and was covered in blood, plus had corpses all over me thanks to that dark wizard.
I wiped my face and armor roughly, but I wasn’t exactly clean.
I still had a foul odor.
I was glad I at least wiped down my armor earlier.
I almost got blood on Eliya’s face.
“…….”
Eliya seemed to finally understand and nodded.
However, she muttered to herself, not appearing too pleased.
“I’ve been alone for a few days… on your bed…”
“…Huh? What do you mean…?”
“Don’t ask. You don’t need to know.”
“Y-yes…”
Eliya glanced around with a sulky expression.
I didn’t know what made her look like that, but she was cute anyway, so it was fine.
‘Honestly, I’ve been having a tough time for days, but seeing her makes me feel all better….’
Is it okay to feel like this? I don’t know.
Still, with Eliya in this dreary space, it felt like a light had been turned on.
Her yellow dress made her look like a chick.
With a resigned sigh, Eliya smiled lightly.
“Looks like you found it well. Is that why you called me?”
“…No, that’s not it. There appears to be a research facility here that seems to be used by wizards. There are some documents too. I thought they might be useful to you, so I called you.”
“Hm. I’m impressed. You’re doing things I didn’t even ask for.”
Eliya looked around and said,
“You can get up now.”
Everyone stood up at once.
“What about the dark wizard?”
“He’s over here.”
Dylan and Argon dragged over a sack.
They had stuffed the corpse in it to take care of the dark wizard.
“It looks a bit….”
“I don’t care.”
Eliya cut me off and peeked into the sack.
She nodded.
“It’s a match. The mission is concluded.”
Eliya looked at me and said,
“Good job.”
I quickly shouted back,
“The lady thanks you for your hard work!”
“Thank you-!”
Everyone kneeled in unison while shouting.
Eliya covered her ears and puffed out her lips, looking up at me.
She looked displeased.
‘What if she only says I did a good job….’
Eliya, lowering her hands, said,
“I’ll set up an official recognition later. For now, gather the documents from that dark wizard.”
“Should we gather the ones about dark magic too?”
“Yep. Don’t leave anything out. All records.”
We moved in unison, each grabbing a sack.
We decided to return to our assigned areas to gather the documents.
Jerry, Perlyn, and I each took a sack.
As we headed to get the journal we saw earlier, Eliya followed closely behind me.
“…….”
Jerry and Perlyn glanced at me and quickly moved ahead.
I subtly asked Eliya,
“…What’s the matter?”
“What?”
Her expression said she didn’t need a reason to follow me. Well, she didn’t, but—
“Never mind.”
“No, wait?”
Eliya walked beside me, speaking in a very small and careful voice.
“…You know.”
“Yes?”
“I… don’t want to see you…. Never mind. It’s nothing.”
“Eh?”
“Shut up.”
Why did she start to say something and then stop? She’s making me curious.
She spoke too softly and too quickly for me to catch.
I looked at her, pressing her to say more with my gaze.
Eliya met my eyes and gently smiled.
‘Hmm… it’s unfair to brush this off with that smile.’
In the end, I couldn’t pry more out of her.
We passed through the area where Jerry and Perlyn were searching and entered the deepest room.
Where letters and various journals were laid out.
I started gathering the journals from the bookshelf.
Meanwhile, Eliya was looking at the letters.
“Should we pack those letters too?”
“…….”
“Miss?”
I called out again, but Eliya was staring at the letters intently.
Is she deciphering them?
She eventually lifted her head.
“…Oh, right. We need to gather them.”
She rolled up the letters and stuffed them into the sack.
Once everything was gathered and we returned, our group members started coming back from other directions.
“Did you gather everything?”
Dillon asked again, and everyone replied confidently.
“Well then, let’s head back. But, dear lady….”
I cautiously looked at Eliya.
She was a teleportation expert.
She didn’t have to struggle like us.
Eliya looked at me seriously and replied,
“I’ll teleport everyone together.”
“T-thank you!”
“It’ll take a bit of time to concentrate. There are a lot of you.”
This many people? Including luggage?
Every day is a surprise.
Everyone was excited and thanked Eliya.
I, obliviously, had to chime in,
“Sorry, but Yuel is outside.”
“Yuel? In that case, we need to go get her.”
Eliya immediately canceled her magic.
I stood at the front as we exited the underground city.
Right behind me was Eliya. Following her were the candidates for the 13th Room….
No, they were now my comrades in the guards.
As we climbed the stairs, fresh air welcomed us.
It was getting dark, likely because the sun was setting in the gorge.
As I slipped through a gap and was about to whistle to call Yuel,
‘…!’
The survival expert sent out a warning.
I reflexively raised my sword to intercept.
A reaction faster than my cognition.
Bam! I struck something.
What lodged in the wall was a bolt.
A crossbow bolt.
“What the…?!”
There wasn’t even time to grasp the situation.
Survival warnings blared from all directions.
I dove over Eliya, shouting,
“Everyone, down-!”
The sound of slicing wind filled the air.
Something was raining down.
Thud, thunk. It struck the ground.
“Ugh-!”
Hador screamed.
He seemed to have been hit by a bolt.
At that moment, a warning bit down on my back.
But I couldn’t dodge it.
Underneath me was a startled Eliya.
As I clasped my hands,
Bam! My back felt hot.
A sharp pain dug into my body.
“Judas, you…!”
Eliya’s eyes widened.
I tried not to show it, but Eliya noticed the change in my expression.
“…It’s nothing.”
It definitely wasn’t nothing.
The bolt that penetrated my armor hurt like hell.
The spot where it struck throbbed.
As the enemy reloaded their weapons for a brief moment,
I pushed Eliya up against the wall.
I held my shield to keep an eye on the front.
Shadows started to reveal themselves one by one on the uneven cliffs of the gorge.
About twenty figures.
‘They’re not orcs. They don’t use crossbows.’
What stood before me were dark-cloaked scoundrels.
I couldn’t identify them, but one thing was clear.
They were all enemies.
There was no room for conversation.
One by one, they re-aimed their crossbows.
“The back is blocked off!”
Someone shouted.
I glanced back to see mysterious enemies emerging, cutting off the path to the underground city.
When did they even get there?
“Everyone, stay calm and draw your weapons!”
Dillon shouted.
“We must prioritize the safety of the lady!”
I said.
At that moment, Eliya behind me spoke in a trembling voice.
“Judas, here, this….”
What she referred to as ‘this’ was probably the crossbow bolt.
“I’m fine. I can endure it.”
“Hador is injured!”
“Support him and hide him behind the wall! It’s too dangerous to charge out straight! We need to eliminate the enemies in the back and escape underground first!”
Dillon’s analysis was quite sharp.
There were no enemies in the gap leading out.
As if it was safe to dash through there.
But that route was perfect for getting hit by a crossbow.
There was a high possibility that enemies were waiting outside.
Even though they had the advantage, the enemy remained calm.
They weren’t firing recklessly and were waiting for the right moment.
Enemies were slowly closing in from the back.
Just then, Eliya spoke in a cool voice.
“Among them is a wizard.”
It wasn’t discernible at a glance.
But it was a reasonable assertion.
Everyone stood on different rock outcroppings, or cliffs.
They had arranged their positions perfectly, creating a solid net.
Some of them were in spots that were impossible to reach using human strength.
Plus, the enemies appeared behind us without a sound.
‘This means there’s a wizard of considerable strength who can use teleportation on others… but where?’
Dillon was giving orders, not considering Eliya’s abilities.
If she merely assists, we wouldn’t even need to fall back.
“I’ll—”
Just as Eliya was about to say something,
A figure appeared from the exit directly in front of us.
They wore dark robes, just like the enemy with the crossbow.
It was clearly their group.
However, they looked frantic, as if they were being chased or in trouble.
The ones positioned above appeared a bit flustered, glancing back and forth to check things out.
It felt like there was a battle happening.
‘What’s going on? Are they just wandering monsters?’
I watched the situation for a moment.
And unexpectedly, a familiar face emerged from the front.
After she cut down an enemy’s neck, she wiped the blood off her face and looked this way.
When she saw us, she broke into a bright smile.
“Oh, it’s you! Judas! And Eliya!”
Hermis.
It was her and other knights.
An unexpected reinforcements had arrived.
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