Chapter 254: The Reason for the Glasses
I can see it—those glasses are staring intently at Karn. The Butler and Ash pretend not to notice, while Dinoss glances at Karn, raising an eyebrow slightly before returning his gaze and continuing on in silence.
“Feel free to disperse now.”
“Yes, yes.”
The Spirits slowly begin to scatter. “W-What!? No Demon Beasts!?” I thought there might be some kind of act coming from Karn, but he doesn’t make a move. It seems he intends to quietly share information during our rest period.
Though I can sense the presence of Demon Beasts, they’re not approaching us in this large group, making for a peaceful journey. Oh, I wanted to hunt some wild chickens and boars on the way here! I ended up riding straight in the carriage. Curse those glasses…!
No, the glasses have nothing to do with the carriage.
At the resting point, the number of people has halved from when we first arrived. It seems like those who planned for a day trip have decreased. Many are here to collect medicinal moss that grows in the second and third layers.
One of the requests from the Adventurer’s Guild involves setting up torches at several locations up to the third layer. This isn’t to illuminate the area but serves as a resting place for the Light Spirits. A few users of Light Spirits have been dispatched from the Fortress City to illuminate the area at regular intervals.
There are many Spirits of Light, Darkness, and Wind, and quite a few who can use magic from those elements. Fire is also cooperative when it comes to attack magic.
We are currently at the edge of the third layer, just at the beginning of the fourth. The Labyrinth here doesn’t have clearly defined layers; instead, there are gently sloping paths leading underground, steep descents, and cliffs within caves. There isn’t just one path, and to put it another way, there isn’t just one destination.
It feels like the names have been assigned for convenience in mapping and sharing information—like Layer 1 Route A or Route B. By the way, the route we’re supposed to take is a cliff. If I were to trick Labyrinth beginners, I’d say it’s a shortcut from the fourth to the twelfth layers. I’m the one who got tricked.
We take a break at a distance that won’t cause trouble when Demon Beasts appear, yet not too far apart. It’s like the distance between couples by the Kamo River, though I feel like a solo act!
I settle at the edge, taking a sip of water and a bit of tough dried meat. The dried meat is salt-free, even harder than usual, and as I chew, saliva builds up in my mouth, quenching my thirst a little. There are very few water points in the Labyrinth, so I can’t just gulp down water.
The glasses are talking to Karn. Remembering how Retze and the others seem to be avoiding looking my way, I wander my gaze, feeling it might be strange to stare too much. However, other Adventurers also seem quite interested in the glasses and Karn. Even Dinoss.
It seems I won’t stand out too much by watching, so I decide to do so without hesitation.
Their voices drop from normal to a whisper, engaging in a secret conversation. Most are eavesdropping, but I can’t quite catch what they’re saying. The Spirit called by the glasses is singing, making it hard to hear.
From what I can see, Karn speaks little, while the glasses do most of the talking. Dinoss occasionally chimes in, but he seems to be more of a listener as well.
Is he letting the other person talk as much as they want without actively contributing? Or is he trying to make it seem like he’s extracting the information he wants rather than just sharing what he knows? If it were me, I’d probably spill everything right away; I thought Karn would put on a show.
“Well, I’ve finished explaining to the Vice Guild Master.”
As I was watching, Karn spoke up.
“What happened?”
“First, the Vice Guild Master Iskal came along to investigate the Labyrinth. To be more precise, he’s gathering information on Hero Jin. It seems there’s a cautionary judgment in place, so to avoid raising suspicion with Jin or the King Wolf, we’re a suspicious group entering the Labyrinth as a distraction.”
A counterfeit? Caution? Am I a fragile thing? A glass-hearted eighteen-year-old me?
“Anyway, the decision-making authority here lies with Dean and Chris. I’m currently discussing how to involve them. They want me and the King Wolf, who can see Spirits, to accompany them. There’s another party planning to conquer the twentieth layer, but they’ll send a request to the Guild to return after reaching a moderate point.”
If it seems dangerous at that time, Dean and the others will be told to head back up.
It seems the Guild isn’t investigating Hero Jin out of suspicion but wants to make it look like they stumbled upon traces of him. Shulm has had Hero Jin for over a year now, and it seems he recently annexed a small country in Nakahara, using rather ruthless and cunning methods, which has raised alarms.
In the past, Nakahara was a fertile land, a large country with an unparalleled wheat harvest. After the blessing of the Wind Spirit left, that country collapsed, and strong nations, including Shulm, divided it into several smaller nations.
Ignoring culture and tribes entirely, they drew borders based solely on their own interests, which inevitably led to conflict—especially as the number of Wind Spirit retainers decreased, and the land was ravaged by war. When the wheat harvest plummeted, the strong nations withdrew from Nakahara.
After that, the past wars caused a state of perpetual conflict, with food shortages leading to attacks on neighboring lands, causing further fragmentation and chaos. The strong nations at the time probably never imagined it would lead to centuries of turmoil. Moreover, Shulm seems to harbor resentment over the Wind Hero he summoned escaping to Nakahara.
Now, with Shulm gaining a new Hero, he’s starting to meddle with Nakahara again while also exerting pressure on other nations.
“Why are they so wary when they’re on the opposite side of Nakahara?”
It’s incredibly far. It would take even longer if they moved while subjugating the countries of Nakahara.
“According to Retze, there have been many instances where strong nations supported conflicts between small nations and fought on their behalf. Shulm’s burning desire for conquest is directed at those he faced back then, and Theolarl is among them.”
“Even so, it’s still far, right?”
I’d be scared if there were Teleportation Magic Circles.
“The King Wolf asked the same thing. It seems the entrance to the Fairy Path is ten days away from the Fortress City.”
“Alright, let’s block it.”
Considering Kingin, it seems there might be one near Naruadeid. I feel a bit relieved that it wasn’t a Teleportation.
I need to confirm whether the Fairy Path can only be accessed by Fairies and Spirits. The counterfeit is a Changeling, so he could probably use it normally. I need to check if my sister, or my sister, or my sister can pass through.
“…Well, if we can block it, let’s do it.”
“We’ll look for a method from here on out. By the way, the voices suddenly became unclear earlier; did the glasses do something?”
“The glasses—Iskal, it seems he used a magic to prevent eavesdropping, a simple Wind-type spell.”
…So that’s what it was. I want to ask if the off-key singing of the Spirit was intentional.