Lydia was taken back to her home country. The charge? Surprising enough, it was treason.
“No way, what do you mean all of a sudden?!”
After trying various things all night, I was proudly thinking about what to ask for this morning.
“It’s literal! The knights came rushing in, claiming Lydia is a traitor and took her away!”
“I can’t even begin to understand how that works… They mobilized forces strong enough to take a High-Ranking Adventurer? Was Lydia from the Empire?”
The Empire. The strongest nation on the Pan Continent, simply referred to as ‘the Empire’ without any specific title.
Of course, it’s weaker than Pangrave, which has a labyrinth, and countless superhumans… adventurers drawn to it.
That’s why there are those who keep an eye out, thinking about conquering Pangrave and claiming the labyrinth for themselves.
They actually have the power to do so.
Since the labyrinth is open to everyone unless you’re a criminal, they send loyal knights and mages to build strength or scout high-ranking adventurers from above by offering money and status.
So there’s a special force created, and while they live under the decree that they must show absolute loyalty to the Emperor, they are rewarded and grow stronger for the day they’ll invade Pangrave.
If Lydia were indeed from the Empire, and if she’s been lost in thought over some boy lately, avoiding the frontlines and sticking to the lower floors.
Then it’s possible the Empire viewed her as a target for recruitment. A very strong recruitment target, especially given that her family is a fallen knight household.
Well. The response from Benny didn’t align with my concerns at all.
“No? Lydia is from Historia!”
“Ah…”
While not the Empire, if it’s Historia, it explains Lydia’s usual behavior.
Historia was originally a northern barbarian tribe, but as civilization progressed and warriors began to be called knights, the tribe became a nation that has persisted to this day.
The barbaric and dueling god they served eventually became the god of knights and honor over time.
Having dealt with aura since ancient times and been obsessed with duels, it’s also called the land of knights.
Though the Knight God met his demise during the God-slaying War, that didn’t mean the fall of Historia.
Having gone through the barbaric era and golden ages, and even the God-slaying War, they developed their unique handling of aura to the point that they survived until now.
“Hold on, then what does it mean that she’s accused of treason in Historia? I mean, Lydia’s family has long been fallen, so it can’t be a political reason…”
It’s likely that it’s not an external reason, but something they want from Lydia herself.
Benny sighed deeply, shaking his head.
“I don’t know either. Lydia barely talks about her homeland, and when she does, it’s nothing significant. No matter how I think about it, there’s no real issue.”
“And Historia, despite everything, is a nation that still values honor. It’s fundamentally a nation that despises underhanded dealings… But how on earth did they take Lydia?”
Historia is indeed a great power, yet to engage with Lydia, they’d need to mobilize core forces from their country.
Besides, it’s very far from Pangrave.
Did they really intend to capture Lydia even at the cost of power depletion?
“Hmm… that’s different. The ones that showed up were weak enough for me to wipe them out single-handedly. However, they whispered something to Lydia, and she gave up resisting and climbed into the carriage! They must have caught onto some weakness!”
“Lydia’s weakness… to the point of being labeled a traitor?”
Naturally, if Lydia is indeed from Historia, it’s understandable why she was obsessed with noble behavior.
And treason is the utmost disgrace for knights. What could have happened to Lydia where she’d willingly bear that disgrace? I can’t think of anything that matches Benny’s words.
“Sigh…”
A sigh escaped me involuntarily.
Unlike Elina and Eve, Lydia is someone I hadn’t directly set up.
Considering the previous incident with Benny’s ambush, it’s likely that Lydia’s original fate was to die at that moment too.
Yet, I intervened, and both Benny and Lydia survived, and the current talk of treason stems from that very incident.
This situation makes it hard to decipher the truth based on my existing setup.
Besides, Historia wasn’t all that important in the first place.
As I pondered over where to start solving this with Benny, we found ourselves frowning.
Our conversation naturally continued while at Fairy and Silver Coin, and Ellie, who was casually preparing breakfast, was also listening.
Ellie turned off the fire for a moment, then took out a closed sign and set it up at the door.
Then, in a surprisingly light tone, as if she were just heading out to the local market, she spoke.
“Alright. Let’s turn Historia upside down and see what comes out.”
“…Huh?”
Ellie clenched her new prosthetic fist lightly and continued.
“I mean it! Let’s go cause some chaos to find out what’s going on, and if it looks like a false accusation, we’ll beat them all up and bring Lydia back.”
“Uh, um. What if it’s not a false accusation but real?”
“Then we beat Lydia up and bring her back.”
“…”
Goodness.
I was momentarily speechless at such a reckless plan. But above Ellie’s reckless move was that subtle glimmer of confidence.
Ellie seems to genuinely believe she can go to Historia, cause some mayhem, and return safely.
“Of course, Jonah, you’ll need to stay here,” she quickly added.
“Wait? How can I not join if we’re going to rescue Lydia?”
“Exactly, but Jonah… you’re weak.”
“…”
That stings a little.
While it’s true I’m weaker compared to the two of them. A high-ranking adventurer reached on the seventh floor. Even Ellie was stronger than most high-ranking adventurers even with one arm missing, and now that she’s got it back, how strong is she now?
I do have someone designated as the strongest adventurer, so I wouldn’t match them…but still, in the realm of Pangrave, I’m definitely in the top five for strength.
Yeah. To Ellie, I might genuinely appear weak. But hearing that I’m an obstacle sends me into a bit of a rage!
I’ve cleared the third floor and pulled various items from gacha, and most importantly, my masculinity from Earth is quietly surfacing.
“I’d prefer not to.”
“Jonah, this is serious…”
“Then I just have to prove I won’t be a hindrance, right?”
“How?”
“Honestly, I’ll agree to almost anything, but putting your life at risk is non-negotiable.”
Before Ellie, who entered lecture mode, could elaborate, I blurted out, “Fourth Floor!”
“Yeah?”
“There’s a dungeon guardian appearing three days from now on the fourth floor. I’ll defeat it within three days and come back. That should prove it, right?”
“…You’re planning to clear the fourth floor? Adventurers at the entrance of the fifth floor are at a level similar to the captain of the knight order in Historia. It’s true that should ease some worries. But do you really think you can pull that off?”
The third floor is harder than the second, and naturally, the fourth is tougher than the third.
Especially since the undead on the fourth floor have numbers beyond imagination, and there are mentally exhausting traps, it’s not a place that can be cleared in a short span.
Yet here I am declaring I’d clear it in just three days.
No matter how unbelievable my actions have been thus far, it’d still be hard to believe. Ellie looked at me with a doubtful expression.
“I know you have the Unicorn Dagger and that it’s effective against the undead. But that alone won’t let you defeat the dungeon guardian in three days. You could very well end up in danger in the labyrinth, not even in Historia.”
“Just attach a Shadow to me. That should make it alright. No way would you just charge into Historia unprepared, so while you’re gathering supplies, I’ll prove myself.”
“…”
As Ellie fell silent and began to think. After a lengthy pause, she finally spoke.
“No matter how much you pump up your specs, it’s still impossible to take on a dungeon guardian.”
“Well then…”
“Okay. If you manage to take down the dungeon guardian as you said, then I’ll go to Historia with you.”
“Yes! Great call, Ellie!”
As I was grinning, feeling overjoyed, Ellie pointed a finger at me with a stern expression.
“However, make sure to take Benny instead of Shadow.”
“Hmm. I’m okay with that, but doesn’t Benny have a lot to prepare too?”
Turning my head towards Benny, he shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly as if to say, “Doesn’t matter.”
“I don’t need as much stuff as the other mages. Of course, I have some, but…”
“If you let me know, I’ll gather it for you.”
“Thanks, Ellie. Yeah, if someone else gathers it, that’d be fine.”
Since he waved off my concerns, I decided not to worry.
I suddenly stood and grabbed Benny’s hand roughly.
“Eh? Wha—?!”
Ignoring Benny’s confused reaction, I confidently said towards Ellie, “I’m heading to the labyrinth right away! We don’t have much time, so we need to hurry.”
A speed run for the fourth floor?
I only said it because I believed it was possible.
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