’No problems, everyone?’

’Yes! We’re all ready!’

Before setting off, Ian looked back and asked the members.

Everyone nodded at Ian’s question. For today, they had been managing their physical condition by resting sufficiently for several days.

Rin, who had recently been dragged away by Fray for a new supplementary lesson, was also in a state of having fully recovered her strength after resting for a few days.

Everyone answered confidently, having finished their expedition preparations.

Except for one person.

’U-um, my body feels a bit...’

Airi, whose expression was much darker than usual, cautiously raised her hand and answered.

Her expression was so seriously grim that anyone who didn’t know better would have certainly thought she was truly unwell.

Normally, if a member was in such poor condition, the expedition would be postponed or they would be left behind out of necessity.

Ian, who approached and slowly examined Airi’s condition, replied.

’You look fine. Let’s head out.’

’Please send me to the quarry instead...!’

Before departing, Airi trembled with a terrified look.

They had gone on several expeditions before, but today was on a completely different level from those minor trips.

It was the day the Labyrinth expedition began.

Seeing that Ian truly intended to leave, Airi asked while shivering violently.

’Are we... are we really going?’

’What are you talking about after all the studying you did?’

’I thought maybe it was a long prank prepared over a month...’

’...Let’s go.’

She had heard about going on the expedition about a week ago, but Airi’s mental preparation was still far from finished.

I mean, it was the Labyrinth.

She had heard stories in advance, studied, and prepared sufficiently. But mental preparation for entering the Labyrinth... was that even possible in the first place?

’Now, let’s go.’

’My heart isn’t ready yet...’

’It’ll get ready on the way!’

As Airi stood stiffly, unable to move her feet, Rin and Mika grabbed her from both sides.

Airi moved her feet with the expression of a slave mercenary being dragged into the Labyrinth.

＊　＊　＊

Whether it was a blessing or a curse for Airi.

The entrance to the Labyrinth was right in front of Labyrinth City.

Ian and the members arrived at the Labyrinth’s entrance before long.

Before Airi even had time to sort out her thoughts, she found herself in front of the Labyrinth by the time she snapped out of it.

Saying her heart would be ready on the way was an absurd lie.

However, since her heart wouldn’t have calmed down even if it took a few more days, perhaps it was better to enter the Labyrinth quickly rather than dragging it out.

Everyone, including Airi, stepped into the Labyrinth.

The darkness and the gloomy air of the Labyrinth surged over them.

While studying, she had read several exploration records and heard quite many accounts from other members. However, Airi realized that those didn’t even capture half of the Labyrinth’s actual atmosphere.

The endless stretch of darkness and the chilling energy that pierced the skin.

An instinctive anxiety of having entered a place one shouldn’t be in washed over her.

’Is this... the Labyrinth?’

Airi looked around.

At the end of a long descent down the stairs was a small room that looked like the interior of an ancient ruin.

A small space barely illuminated by a single lantern light. Rin and Lia, who had descended first, were checking the surroundings.

Ian spoke to Airi, who was trembling in the unfamiliar Labyrinth environment.

’Don’t worry too much. We won’t go deep this time; we’ll be heading out soon.’

’Can we really go back as easily as planned...? Like, what if the exit suddenly disappears, or the path gets blocked...’

Airi asked with an anxious look at Ian, who spoke as if they could leave simply whenever they wanted.

These were stories she had heard here and there while studying the Labyrinth recently. However, most of those stories were eerie rumors circulating among people who had never even set foot in the Labyrinth.

Ian shook his head as if telling her not to worry.

’Traps that big don’t usually appear in shallow areas, so it’ll be fine.’

’So they really do exist...!’

Hearing Ian’s answer made Airi look even more terrified.

She thought he would say it was just a rumor, but since he calmly told her the truth, it felt more real and thus more frightening.

’We’re only staying for 3 days before heading out, so think of it as light practice.’

’3 days...’

’Is 3 days... really light?’

Thinking that, Airi peeked at the expressions of Mika and Tanya next to her. The two of them were guarding the surroundings with very serious faces.

’...Is it really light?’

In the meantime, Rin and Lia, who had scouted the nearby passages first, returned.

’There are multiple paths this time.’

’A fork in the road appears immediately.’

Unlike the last expedition, there was a split path right from the start this time.

’What do we do in this case?’

’We have to try them one by one. We won’t be going deep this time.’

Since clearing wasn’t the goal for this expedition, they planned to explore only the nearby rooms without searching for the boss room.

A light expedition focused on exploring rooms near the exit within a set period and bringing out only the spoils found there.

It was a simple practice expedition prepared because the opinion that it would be good for Airi to practice adapting to the Labyrinth before going deeper seemed plausible. After all, study and reality were bound to be completely different.

Hearing the plan to only tour the nearby rooms, Mika asked.

’Isn’t there not much near the exit? Last time, I think only monsters appeared...’

’That would be better for Airi’s practice.’

’Ah... I suppose so.’

Of course, it was a fairly inefficient method.

Roaming only the shallow areas was safe, but there weren’t many spoils to be obtained, and considering the cost of recovering from erosion, it was highly likely to be a loss instead.

However, Ian had already secured several ways to lower erosion without cost, including the Statues. It was a method that could be used lightly depending on the need.

’Let’s move now.’

Ian, having recorded the map of the exit area, gave everyone the signal to start.

The members, who had finished their preparations, nodded and formed their ranks.

Soon, they arrived in front of the passage that Rin and Lia had checked for safety beforehand. A fork in the road was waiting right from the start.

’Which side should we go first?’

Everyone looked at Ian before the fork.

Based on experience so far, there was no one who could match Ian in choosing a path in such situations.

However, this time, even Ian didn’t have anything specific to go on.

Making predictions required some data, and with things starting like this, it was an unavoidable situation.

’Let’s go this way first.’

But since rooms connected right at the start were rarely dangerous, Ian chose the leftmost path as per his usual habit. It was a room they would have to visit once anyway.

Following the passage Ian chose, everyone moved while guarding their surroundings.

From the very rear, Airi, who ended up standing near Ian, asked him in a low voice.

’Um, Captain... What kind of monsters appear here?’

’I don’t know yet.’

Ian looked around at the nearby terrain slightly, but he couldn’t know anything for certain yet.

Ruined Fortress. Since it was terrain with a fairly large pool of appearing monsters, it wasn’t easy to guess which monster it was based on terrain alone.

’Wait, I hear something.’

Rin, who was walking at the very front, stopped her steps and listened intently.

Rin heard several footsteps and something like a monster’s cry from ahead.

When she relayed that fact to Ian, Mika, who was listening nearby, asked.

’What monster does it sound like?’

’...I don’t know that.’

’What?’

’No, how am I supposed to know just by hearing footsteps...’

Thanks to Fray’s special training, Rin’s senses were sharpened significantly. As a result, she could pick up the suspicious sounds from ahead first.

...The problem was that she didn’t know what kind of monster it was.

Even if one could hear a monster’s cry or footsteps from afar, recognizing what kind of monster it was from that alone was a completely different domain of knowledge.

Mika didn’t say anything, but she wore an ’of course...’ expression.

Even though Rin had noticed the monster’s approach in advance, she felt a strange sense of defeat when she received Mika’s subtle gaze.

’Let’s get a bit closer. Everyone, be quiet.’

Hearing Ian’s words, everyone fell silent.

Rin’s excuse of ’discovering it first is also a big deal!’ had to be postponed for later.

Each of them moved slowly at a much slower pace than before, minimizing their footsteps as much as possible.

After advancing like that for a few minutes, Lia sent a signal to the rear. Everyone stopped their steps upon seeing it.

Perhaps thanks to minimizing the noise as much as possible, the sounds of the monsters soon began to be heard even by Ian and the other members.

Among them, Lia recognized the monster’s identity first. It was the sound of a monster Lia had encountered before.

But before Lia could inform the members of that fact, a loud beastly cry was heard from the other side of the passage.

As if responding to it, cries spread in succession, and soon the sound of footsteps running toward this way was heard.

’We’re caught? We didn’t make any noise, though?’

’They caught our scent.’

Lia, stepping forward, said while preparing her shield.

’It’s Kobolds.’

’Kobolds? Those are...’

Before Rin could finish saying ’they’re weak monsters,’ a pack of Kobolds swarmed out from the front passage.

Unlike wild monsters, they were all equipped with proper steel gear and shields from goodness-knows-where.