The day after the Tenth Squad—Twilight Moonbow—was promoted to the Third Division.
After finishing exploration of the 90th floor with the First Division members, I headed to the reception room.
Apparently, Lazarus Eddington, the major sponsor of Silver Moon Rabbit of the Night Sky, wanted to talk to me about something.
Lazarus Eddington was that old man who had come rushing in first when Silver Moon Rabbit reached the 93rd floor.
I hoped it was not going to be troublesome.
When I arrived in front of the reception room, I took one deep breath, knocked on the door, and announced my name.
The door opened, and a woman in a maid outfit stood there.
"We have been expecting you, Lord Orun. Lord Lazarus is waiting inside. Please come in."
Guided by the woman, I entered the room. The old man Eddington was enjoying his tea.
"Lord Lazarus, I am terribly sorry to have kept you waiting."
"No, no. A busy hero who saved the city like you has far more important things to do than an old man like me with too much free time. I do not mind at all."
The old man replied with a kindly, grandfatherly air.
As always, his expression was impossible to read.
"Thank you for your consideration. May I ask what brings you to summon me today?"
"Yes. I came with one proposal for you, Orun-kun. I wanted you to hear it."
"A proposal?"
"No need to drag it out, so I'll get straight to the point. I would like to invite you to the Reglif territory, where my family serves as lord, partly as a form of consolation. I would be delighted if you could come. What do you think?"
The Reglif territory was located in the far northwest of the Nohitant Kingdom.
The city of Tsutorail, where we currently were, sat somewhat south-central in the kingdom, so the distance was considerable.
Still, this was awfully sudden.
Even for explorers from a clan they were heavily funding, it seemed unlikely they would invite someone all the way to their territory just for rest and relaxation.
There had to be something behind this.
The reason for calling me to the territory... I could not think of anything immediately.
"It is a tremendous honor, but with the conquest of the 93rd floor ahead of us—"
"Ah, that is no problem. Actually, I plan to invite Wilkes-kun and Lucrecia-chan as well. You will be staying in different places, of course. And I have already obtained Vince-kun's permission."
He was inviting Will and Lucre too, and the clan leader had already approved it?
What was his goal in trying to take three members of the First Division to his territory?
I turned various thoughts over in my mind about the old man's intentions, but with the information I had, I could not reach a convincing conclusion.
(Should I buy some time with my reply here? No... since the clan leader has already agreed, dragging it out would be meaningless.)
"Yes, yes. That high level of caution is commendable. I like that you do not jump easily onto my proposal. If you accepted right away, that would actually make me distrust you."
As I pondered, the old man spoke in a satisfied tone.
"Does that mean there is another reason besides consolation for inviting us to your territory?"
"Yes, exactly. This is still confidential information, but actually, three new labyrinths have appeared in the Reglif territory. I would like to request your investigation of them."
"Three labyrinths?"
Labyrinths appearing suddenly was not especially rare.
But three appearing in the same area at roughly the same time was an extraordinarily low-probability event.
"Yes, that's right. If it were just one, I would have asked the explorers active in my territory to handle the investigation. But three at once is too much for them. To finish the survey quickly and reliably, I thought the best choice would be to ask the trustworthy First Division of Silver Moon Rabbit of the Night Sky."
"...I see."
"I would really prefer to have the entire First Division come, but you and Selma-chan have duties as clan executives. For labyrinth investigation, since you served as the enchanter in the hero party and are now the ace here, I thought you would be the most suitable, Orun-kun. Of course, I will cover all your food, lodging, and other expenses during the period."
If that was the reason, then calling us specifically to the territory made sense.
It was quite normal, when labyrinths appeared within a lord's domain, to request investigation from the explorers they were sponsoring.
"I understand the situation. So the invitation is for the three of us: me, Wilkes, and Lucrecia?"
"Yes, that's the plan. I would like you, Orun-kun, and the Wilkes-Lucrecia pair to each investigate one labyrinth."
Since each labyrinth had different contents, their difficulty levels naturally varied.
That said, very few reached the level of the great labyrinth's deep layers, or even the lower layers.
In most cases, I could handle them alone.
It was an enormous hassle, but this already seemed like a done deal, and refusing looked impossible.
In that case, I might as well make effective use of this opportunity.
"I understand. The three of us should have no problem with the labyrinth investigations, but with such a small number there is always the chance of an emergency. To prepare for every possibility and to conduct the survey efficiently, I would like to bring along explorer parties from outside the First Division."
"Hmm. One party each, then?"
"Yes. Bringing too many would be an inconvenience to you, so I am thinking one party per group."
"You are the ones doing us the favor, so there is no need to hold back. But I appreciate the thoughtfulness. Very well. In addition to the three from the First Division, two explorer parties from Silver Moon Rabbit of the Night Sky. Yes, that is fine."
"Thank you very much for your generosity."
"As for the schedule, a carriage we have prepared will arrive in five days. Please board that carriage to travel to the Reglif territory. We will provide escorts as well, so rest easy. Depending on the weather, it should take roughly two weeks to arrive."
Not only food and lodging, but escorted transportation too—this was beyond generous.
...On the other hand, it also showed just how seriously Count Eddington was taking this labyrinth investigation.
"I am truly grateful for such thorough arrangements."
"I still have unfinished business in this city, so you will go ahead without me. My son—the current lord—will be in charge of this matter. Please take good care of the labyrinth investigations."
"Understood."
◇
After I finished speaking with old man Lazarus, it seemed Will and Lucre were also summoned by him.
Because the plans had suddenly changed, once Will and the others finished their conversation with him, everyone from the First Division gathered in the strategy room.
When everyone was assembled, Selma-san spoke first.
"I heard from the clan leader. It seems Orun, Will, and Lucre will be away for an extended period."
"Eh, at this timing?"
Rain-san, the only one who had not been informed at all, let out a surprised voice at Selma-san's words.
"Right? 'At this timing?' is exactly how it feels. Just when we were finally about to tackle the 93rd floor. Honestly, I think they could have left the labyrinth investigation to one of the Second Division parties. Why us?"
Lucre voiced her dissatisfaction.
I could understand where she was coming from.
The parties in our Second Division were all excellent. They should have been able to handle this request from the old man without issue.
Among the explorers active in the southern great labyrinth now that the hero party was gone, Silver Moon Rabbit of the Night Sky had risen to the top.
But that was only because the hero party had self-destructed.
If we could reach the 94th floor—the same level as the hero party—here and now, we could wipe away that impression and proudly claim the top spot.
That was why, from the clan's perspective, focusing on conquering the 93rd floor right now was the best course.
"Labyrinth investigation? You mean new labyrinths appeared somewhere and the three of them are going to check them out?"
"That's right. Apparently three labyrinths appeared in the Reglif territory. Seriously, what a massive pain."
Will answered Rain-san's question.
It seemed both Will and Lucre were unenthusiastic about this whole thing.
Well, I could not really criticize them.
"The clan leader apparently suggested to Lord Lazarus that he send Second Division members instead, but Lord Lazarus wouldn't budge. We owe Lord Lazarus a personal debt, so that was hinted at too. In the end, we had to accept these conditions."
"I see. For labyrinth investigation... does that mean it'll take about half a year?"
"We don't know the scale of the labyrinths yet, but if it's a thorough survey, probably around that long, right?"
Labyrinth investigation mainly involved confirming the types and distribution of inhabiting magic beasts and labyrinth materials, plus mapping the interior.
There were also many other tasks, such as selecting relatively safe routes.
I did not know what level of detail Count Eddington expected, but since he was going out of his way to summon us specifically, it was probably a serious, full-scale survey. Better to estimate more than half a year.
"Well, we'll come back as soon as possible. Thanks for negotiating so we could bring one party each, Orun."
"You're welcome. I didn't want to do labyrinth investigation alone either, and there just happened to be a party I wanted to take along."
"You mean Sophie and the others?"
"Yeah. Twilight Moonbow, who were just promoted to the Third Division yesterday. Experiencing labyrinth investigation early in their careers as explorers will give them a lot to gain. And with me and Luna there, we can handle almost any emergency. So Selma-san, I haven't told them yet, but if those kids want to come along, please allow me to take Sophie with us. Of course, I will protect them with everything I have."
"Heh, did you think I would object? Sophia is already a full-fledged explorer of Silver Moon Rabbit of the Night Sky. If she wants to go, I won't stop her."
"Thank you, Selma-san."
"Luna from the hero party, huh... I never imagined she would join Silver Moon Rabbit of the Night Sky. I'm happy about it, but is it really okay for her to be in a Third Division party?"
"She's definitely not someone who belongs in a B-rank party, but right now there are no open slots in other parties. If anything, Carol and the others are only three people, so placement-wise it makes sense. Plus, Orun-kun pushed pretty hard for it."
"Ahaha..."
Yeah, I could not deny it was forced, so I just laughed it off.
I had basically strong-armed her way into joining a Second Division party that was short on rear-line members...
But I did not regret that decision.
Twilight Moonbow would rise quickly, and there would be no problem.
"Are you and the others bringing a Second Division party too?"
I forcefully changed the subject a little.
"That's the plan. Tomorrow we'll notify the Second Division and choose from the parties that volunteer."
"Well, what's decided is decided. Everyone, don't slack on your training. As soon as the labyrinth investigation is over, we'll start conquering the 93rd floor right away."
"Got it." "Okaaay!" "Sure thing." "Understood."
And so, a few days from now, my long-term business trip was set.
I needed to return as quickly as possible and get back to conquering the 93rd floor.