Lia blocked the swarming pack of Kobolds in the narrow passage.

The lead Kobold lunged, but its attack was lightly parried by her shield, followed immediately by Lia’s counterattack.

A flash of light erupted from Lia’s sword. The brilliance of the sparks, which leapt up with a threatening sound, momentarily illuminated the passage brightly.

’Kieeeeek...’

Intimidated by the display, the Kobolds faltered and stopped, unable to close the distance.

Rin, who had been waiting for an opportunity behind Lia, seized the opening and leaped forward. Her strike, aimed at a gap, slashed through the foremost Kobold as she passed.

Eventually, the Kobolds that had tried to close in retreated hastily, creating a brief standoff.

’Airi. You see the one in the back?’

’Ye, yes.’

Ian, observing from behind, gave Airi instructions.

Airi, who had been waiting with a tense face while holding her bow and arrow, nodded. She had been waiting with that exact expression since the battle began.

’I’m ready...’

’Attack when I give the signal. Not too early.’

Airi notched her arrow and watched the battle, waiting for Ian’s signal.

Hitting a target from this distance wasn’t particularly difficult, but she wasn’t yet used to coordinating with allies.

When she traveled alone, she could just fire whenever she felt comfortable, but now she had to match the flow of the combat. She had to stay constantly alert so she could fire at any moment.

’Now.’

’Yes!’

At Ian’s signal, Airi loosed her arrow. It wasn’t a simple arrow, but one she had prepared in advance, infused with magic. The arrow, glowing with a black light, flew off leaving a long trail.

The target was the Kobold Shaman at the very rear, who was holding a staff and barking orders.

Contrary to Airi’s lack of confidence, the arrow flew true toward the target. Thanks to continuous practice, it was now a Homing Arrow she could use proficiently even during combat.

’Keek!’

The arrow’s trajectory, which drew a large arc over the heads of the Kobold pack blocking the front, curved sharply and embedded itself in the Shaman’s body.

Caught off guard by an arrow flying from an unexpected direction, the Kobold Shaman’s body staggered.

’Ah... I haven’t taken it down yet!’

Airi, watching the opponent she had just hit, spoke to Ian in a fluster. Though the Shaman staggered for a moment, it was still standing perfectly fine and glaring at Airi.

’It’s okay. You blocked the magic, so that’s enough.’

The arrow Airi loosed had hit the monster’s shoulder.

While attacks like Homing Arrow had the advantage of automatic guidance, the trade-off was that they weren’t precise enough to accurately target vital spots.

If her level of Black Magic increased, her accuracy would improve, but for now, this was the limit of Airi’s skill.

Disrupting the magic was sufficient for now. Instead, Ian told Airi what to do next.

’Airi. Next, cast Concentration Decrease.’

’Yes!’

Airi hurriedly flipped open her grimoire and activated the Black Magic.

It was a simple curse that could be triggered on an opponent hit by an arrow, linked with the mana-infused Homing Arrow.

A black light burst from the arrow. The [Concentration Decrease] curse, which slows down magic casting speed, overwhelmed the Kobold Shaman.

’I succeeded...!’

Airi inadvertently muttered while clenching her fist.

It was the magic she had been practicing after Homing Arrow, and she had been personally anxious about whether she could succeed properly.

Since the curse had to be cast on a living creature and she couldn’t find a suitable practice partner, this was her first time using it in real combat.

Meanwhile, at the front, the battle between the vanguards was unfolding.

Along with the sound of something collapsing, Rin’s shout was heard.

’I got the big one!’

The Kobold holding a shield at the very front of the enemy lines finally fell after receiving Rin’s relentless attacks.

Although the Kobold pack was fairly numerous, their mage was incapacitated and their vanguard had collapsed. The battle thereafter was one-sided.

Without the rest of the group even needing to step in, the remaining monsters were quickly cleaned up by Rin and Lia.

After finishing off the Shaman left at the very back, Rin and Lia returned to the rear.

’It’s great having a backline now!’

Rin returned and patted Airi on the back. This was the first time they had engaged in a proper battle with a well-formed rear guard like this.

’Can’t Tanya play the backline too...?’

’Tanya rarely steps in because she has to conserve her consumables.’

Rin shook her head at Airi’s question.

Sure, Tanya’s side looked much flashier and stronger on the surface... but it had the major drawback of using up many expensive consumables.

Especially in the Labyrinth, where one never knew what dangerous situation might arise, it was best to save useful items as much as possible.

In an ordinary battle like this, Tanya almost never joined the attack.

’I see...’

Airi muttered after hearing the explanation.

When she was first encouraged to learn Black Magic, she had a face that looked like she hated it, but she seemed to have taken a liking to it once she actually used it.

’This Labyrinth thing, is it not as dangerous a place as I thought?’

Receiving praise, Airi’s face became slightly boastful.

＊　＊　＊

About two days passed after they entered the Labyrinth.

After going through several battles while roaming nearby, Ian found a seemingly decent empty room and made it their camp.

The planned duration for this expedition was three days. Since the goal was for Airi to adapt to Labyrinth combat, Ian explored the surroundings focusing on rooms with monsters.

After finishing the last battle of the day, Airi returned to the resting spot and flopped down in front of the campfire.

Having spent two days in the Labyrinth now, Airi’s expression was completely different from when she finished her first battle.

’How is it? Better than you thought, right?’

’Not at all...’

At Rin’s question, Airi muttered with a nauseated face.

’When... when does this go away?’

She didn’t specify anything, but Rin knew what Airi was talking about. She was likely referring to erosion.

Thanks to everyone’s growth, the battles weren’t significantly difficult, but they couldn’t block every variable, so they had been hit by erosion attacks a few times.

Airi’s expression, having experienced erosion for the first time, was even darker than when she first entered the Labyrinth.

’You have to endure until we leave. There are healing potions, but it’s a bit too soon to use them...’

’Actually, there’s another healing method I haven’t mentioned.’

While saying that, Rin glanced at Ian, who was sitting a short distance away.

Receiving that gaze, Ian shook his head.

That was strictly a last resort. It didn’t require preparation and was convenient, but the problem was it used up a lot of stamina.

In this place where stamina recovery was slow due to being unable to rest properly, it was actually a loss. Preserving stamina was much more important than lowering erosion slightly.

Meanwhile, Ian checked the status of the members. For having fought several battles in the Labyrinth, everyone was in remarkably good shape.

There was some stamina consumption, but compared to when they first entered the Labyrinth, it could be said there was almost no damage.

It was thanks to Airi joining and providing a means to pressure the enemy backline, as well as everyone’s levels being quite higher than last time.

’We’re in good shape. Couldn’t we move on to the next zone? Airi seems to have adapted well too.’

’True. Let’s finish this expedition first and think about it.’

Mika, sitting next to Ian, spoke up.

As her role required her to constantly monitor the party’s condition for protection, Mika felt the damage situation most accurately after Ian.

’The next one...?’

Airi, who was listening nearby, asked.

’Originally, we have to go much deeper.’

To prepare for the next invasion, they had to enter zones with higher difficulty. Their combat power was sufficient now, so once Airi’s adaptation was complete, they would have to schedule a full-scale exploration soon.

To Airi, who was inwardly thinking ’Maybe this is manageable...’, this was unsettling news. To think that just entering the Labyrinth wasn’t the end.

’How about it? Do you feel like you’ve adapted?’

’A-Ah, I don’t think I have yet...’

’I see.’ Ian nodded.

The fact that Airi could express her opinion directly meant she had some room to breathe.

Ian immediately checked the schedule for the next exploration.

＊　＊　＊

Everyone stood up after finishing their rest at the camp.

It felt like it was nearly the 3rd day. Thinking so, Rin asked Ian.

’Isn’t it almost the 3rd day?’

’Yes. Before we leave, let’s check one last place.’

Checking the map, Ian pointed to a room he had skipped in the middle. Since they had been moving focused on combat, it was an event room he had intentionally put on hold.

’Is it a room with something in it?’

’I’ll have to see what it is, but there will be something unusual.’

’Is it a treasure room by any chance!’

’Instead of a treasure chest, there’s probably something like the Fairy Spring we saw last time.’

’Fairy Spring...?’

Except for Airi, who didn’t know what it was, the eyes of the other members lit up.

If there was one major gain from the last Labyrinth expedition, it was undoubtedly Tanya’s spirit. It meant there might be another room like that.

’Let’s go quickly!’

’Is it possible there’s a grimoire this time?’

’Don’t be too disappointed even if there’s nothing much...’

Everyone suddenly became full of energy and moved their feet enthusiastically.

Airi alone followed the group silently with a face that didn’t know what was going on.

Since they hadn’t gone that deep, Ian and the group arrived in front of that room before long.

As there was a possibility of traps, everyone prepared themselves and cautiously opened the door to enter the room.

The room wasn’t dark; torches were already burning brightly all around.

In the middle of that small room sat someone.

’...Eh?’

Rin let out a bewildered voice.

Someone had taken up a spot in the Labyrinth where no person should be.

In Ian’s eyes, the name of the person sitting in the room was visible.

It was [Suspicious Merchant].