Chapter 6: The Hero’s Retreat and the Saintess’s Rumors (Retreat)
The moment I drew the Holy Sword, a piercing noise surged through my head.
───Honestly, I don’t want you to follow me because it’s dangerous.
───Well, I am your master, after all. I won’t say it’s guaranteed, but I’ll protect you, without a doubt.
───Hmm, if things get really bad, use this to escape.
───Huh? You want me to say “Ahh” after we clear it? We do that all the time!!
───You want me to share a bed? No, we’re already doing that, right!? Every day!!
Every single day, tangled in a web of confusion and chaos.
Another wave of noise crashed over me, and a sharp pain shot through my temple. In a panic, I sheathed the Holy Sword, only to feel a warm trickle beneath my nose. When I touched my upper lip, it seemed I was bleeding.
To avoid hindering the battle, I had stowed a pouch-like Magic Bag inside my battle dress.
From it, I pulled out an item given to me by someone.
“Everyone! Gather around the Hero!”
Sword Saint Eris raised her voice.
“I’ll say this only once! Please listen!”
Eris, without consulting me, the Hero, was trying to unilaterally set the party’s course. Ryuguin sensed this.
“You!”
Ryuguin glared at Eris with a fierce expression.
“You! What do you think you’re doing? Making decisions without my input! I’m the Hero! My opinion matters! Who do you think you are?!”
Seeing Ryuguin trembling with rage, Eliza shivered.
She felt as though she had glimpsed the unfathomable darkness that lurks within humanity, not just the power of swordsmanship or magic.
The Sword Saint murmured, “I’ll apologize to the Hero when we return,” and then declared,
“From now on, we’re retreating from this Labyrinth!!”
She desperately fought to protect everyone until the very end.
“What do you mean?! What are you talking about?!” Ryuguin shouted, his eyes filled with sorrow.
“If we have this, we can escape from this boss floor to the outside of the dungeon!! I’ll count to three!! Ready?!”
She deflected a folding sword that nearly struck the fallen Ange.
“Three!!”
She elegantly redirected a spear that had been repelled by the barrier surrounding the Hero.
“Two!!”
Then, she bent her sword and launched a spear aimed at her upward.
“One!!”
Finally, she faced the folding sword and a double throw aimed at her—
“Here we go!!”
In that instant, the Arcana Saviors successfully escaped from the Labyrinth of Time—only to find that the attempt to conquer the Labyrinth had ended in failure.
Even for the experienced Eliza, that had been a death trap.
Stepping into the Labyrinth of Time felt akin to throwing one’s life away.
She couldn’t fathom how the Sword Saint had come to possess such a rare item for returning, but we, the Arcana Saviors, including my daughter, returned without losing a single member.
Thus, she thought it was a miracle, something uncharacteristic of her. And she could only feel gratitude toward Eris, the Sword Saint.
After exiting the dungeon, she couldn’t recall what the leaders discussed. She only remembered that the Hero Party, the Wandering Zephyranthes, and the Caduceus were all exhausted and spoke little.
In the end, when the Hero spat out, “Why do we have to bear your burdens?” his party distanced themselves from the joint party and returned first. The remaining Caduceus and Wandering Zephyranthes had to rely on the relatively uninjured daughter to carry their unconscious comrades, pushing through their fatigue until they finally returned to the town with the Guild.
They reported the failure to the Guild and returned to the Atlas branch, continuing to care for the daughters who remained unconscious. When their conditions finally stabilized, and I sat in my own comfortable chair, dozing off—
“Mom!”
Looking up, I saw Jessica had awakened.
“We made it back! We’re okay, aren’t we? We’re really okay!”
Her daughter spilled out words that were barely coherent.
Eliza embraced her daughter, who was crying uncontrollably, not knowing how to stop the tears that flowed despite her age.
After that.
The Hero retreated from the Labyrinth.
The Sword Saint unilaterally decided to retreat.
The major clan, the Wandering Zephyranthes, and the clan Caduceus.
───And the kingdom.
Eliza didn’t want to know what kind of discussions they had or what resolution they reached.
She had a feeling that her daughters, including herself, would be involved again soon.
Eliza suddenly recalled the Hero’s ugly face and the Saintess’s expression, which showed no emotion toward others.
There were others in the party who had seen their expressions too.
You can’t shut people’s mouths.
How the party members felt upon seeing them would likely become clear through the rumors that would soon circulate in the town.
Eliza shook her head at that thought.
She knew that even without her pondering, events would unfold, and those rumors would reach her ears eventually.
So until then—
“Mom! Dinner’s ready!”
She decided to take a little more time with her daughters.
Eliza hurried to the warm dining table—back to her precious family.
────────────────
This concludes this chapter.
If you found it interesting, please consider leaving a rating, review, or follow the work to support the author! It would bring them joy!