97人人模人人爽人人喊谢绝

Vol 3: Chapter 13

「Well… anyway, that’s about all I have. Eh, what’s wrong Muge-san?」

When I finished talking about my hypothesis, Muge-san looked at me in blank amazement.

「I-Is that really true? Like really, really, really true?」

「Well, I can’t guarantee that is the case without actually solving the magic… But it’s almost certain that you can’t manipulate emotions that easily unless there is a trap that can build up enough mana into your body in advance.」

「That is a terrific discovery, you know!?」

「……Eh?」

Excitedly, Muge leaned forward and grabbed my shoulders.

「Every labyrinth that was failed to capture was due to losing control of one’s emotions! If Reiji-san’s guess is correct, the stopped capture points can progress forward at once!!」

「Did they not notice it before this?」

「I don’t know, but I’ve never heard of anything like Reiji-san’s theory. Everyone was just thinking about how to keep their emotions in check.」

「I see.」

I noticed that my idea may be close to what modern people from Earth would conceive; a scientific idea. It may be an idea that is foreign for people in this world with magic.

However, I realized that there was another more important factor than that.

「Skills…」

Lev people cannot acquire skills. That’s why they must not know of【Human Magic】. Even I just faintly remember something old man Hinga said long ago.

The magic tools brought about by the “Labyrinths of 9 Emotions” have brought wealth to the Lev people, but on the other hand, it seemed ironic to me that the Lev people who cannot use skill orbs must capture the dungeons with nothing but their wits.

「By the way… why can’t Lev people use skill orbs?」

「I do not know that. Well, you see, I was interested in knowing that too, so I tried various things, but…」Muge-san said dejectedly.

Apparently, Muge-san bought a skill orb outside the Empire and tried to absorb it many times. But nothing worked, it seems.

「Because of that, we are called the “cursed race”. Ahh…」Muge-san said, shrugging his shoulders.

I understood him all too well.

(“Shunned child”, “Child of Disaster”…Because I experienced the same.)

I was persecuted just because I have black hair and black eyes.

I pinched a lock of my bangs. Now, at the request of Mimino-san, my hair was orange-ish in colour. I was told, “We’re matching again!” by Mimino-san, but her hair is amber-coloured.

「Well, anyway!」Muge-san said, clapping his hands.「So, everyone, I feel like I’ve made a lot of money, but what do you wish to do now?」

「Eh? You made money? I burned the automatons quite a bit with magic, though…」

「The driving part of the wheel remains intact, and the broken magic stone can be sold for a reasonable amount of money. You can easily defeat it with Magi Lightning, but if you do that, it will fry all the sorcery inside.」

「Ahh…」

I heard that the Labyrinth Capture Division also has such weapons.

Certainly, electricity would be super effective against a machine enemy.

However,【Lightning Magic】is infamous for its inconvenience. You can’t control the direction when you shoot. Though, if the opponent has a spear or something, it will be easier to hit them, because then it works like a lightning rod. And its output power being weaker than the mana consumed is also one of its characteristics.

Maybe it’s possible to shoot it in direct contact in close quarters?

Until now, I have dealt with the automatons with Flame Tornado, but maybe I should come with other methods. Shall I bind the enemy with【Flower Magic】? But there are no plants here…

While I was thinking about that–

「Uhihihi. I earned more on this one day today than going around for months in a caravan, hihihi! I don’t know if I can’t stop going into the labyrinth after this.」

Oh no, this is not good. Muge-san’s eyes have turned into gold coins.

「Yes, but this is also like gambling, because you’re betting on a chip called life.」Non-san said with a pure smile, before I could say something.

「R-Right…」Muge-san nodded quietly.

You understand right, Muge-san? That Non-san is scary…

「But… Muge-san, if you wish to turn back, we’ll exit the labyrinth. Our job is to escort you, after all.」Dante-san said.

The request fee is nothing to write home about, but we gain half the profit from selling the loot. Since Muge-san seemed quite happy, it must be quite a large sum, I imagine.

「Well… what do you think, Reiji-san?」

「Eh, me?」

「Yeah, yeah. You came up with that wonderful guess before, so you must have a plan, right? Do tell me please〜!」

「…………」

Muge-san, who has now seen money, became a little noisy.

「Hmm. I want to verify the trap, so I have a desire to proceed.」

「Then, let’s go forward! I will make more profits from this exploration and renovate the store, which I have dreamed of for many years!」

Hmmm, that sounds like a flag, so please stop that…

「Hell Yeah! I’m going to make a lot of money here and pay back all my debt to bocchan!」Zerry-san jumped up excitedly.

Another flag! I feel like we’re steadily going in the direction of failure!

* Lulusha *

「The enemy… is annihilated.」

「Did we beat them?」

Lulusha was about to plop down on the floor.

She was forced to use most of the Magi Lightnings, but she somehow managed to repel the additional automatons. The group was faced with a surprising number of automatons, and a considerable number of people got injured.

She asked the heavens if she had no choice but to withdraw.

(I was too naive…)

She honestly thought she could manage with just Magic Gears. That she may be able to capture the Labyrinth of Fear. She also thought that her supply was solid.

But looking at the current situation… there is nothing she can do if the catalyst supply runs out.

「Oh dear, is it finally over?」

「I didn’t think we would survive that.」

「You guys have adventurers to protect you, right?」

The Lev people of the company that accompanied Capture Division 4 said this and that, but Lulusha couldn’t afford to care about that.

「Treat the injured! Hurry up! Check the number of people who can move!」

「Chief, the loot…」

「Leave it to the company.」

As far as the eye could see, there were no unscathed combatants, and smoke-spewing automatons were sprawled about. Just looking at the situation, you can tell further battle will be impossible.

(But… I can’t give up! Is this how it’s going to end? Is this what a labyrinth is? No, if only I had more supply. No, there are members who are not accustomed to fighting. No, were my orders wrong? No…)

Rambling thoughts swirled around in her head.

「Chief, enemy sighted!」

「What……」

An additional enemy—as expected, despair crept into her heart, but she took a small breath when she saw the automaton that appeared from the other side of the passage.

It was smaller than any automaton she’d ever seen.

Until now, only animal-type automatons had appeared. Those were simply the types which charged at you. She even wondered “What about this is the Labyrinth of Fear? Is this a zoo?”

「It’s got a unique shape, but… it’s small. What’s the remaining number of Magi Lightning!?」

「12 more.」

「Then we should be able to bring it down.」

Feeling relieved, she exhaled a little.

What appeared this time was about one and a half meters in size, but it had four spear-like arms, no head, and three jewels embedded in a triangle in the center of the torso.

「OK, let’s get rid of it.」Lulusha said, raising a fist to rally the combatants who could still move.

『…………』

She didn’t notice that the jewels were gleaming. She didn’t realize that was the beginning of a nightmare.