Volume 9 Chapter 5 PaRT 7
「That sounds reasonable.」
「Right?」
「Didn’t you also say that this was a Labyrinth without any Explorers to manage it properly?」
「Yes, I think I did say something like that.」
「The Labyrinths that are listed in the Explorers Guild are the ones that are managed by the Explorers Guild itself, so there should be an Explorer responsible for managing it placed at the entrance. This Labyrinth here is called the Labyrinth of the West Forest, so going by this, there should be several Labyrinths around Zabir. This one is located in the most remote area, so its only natural that the Labyrinths in the frontier would be outside of the Explorers Guild’s control.」
I feel like I have heard this somewhere before. Does this mean that the Labyrinth in the Western Forest near Zabir is under the Explorers Guild’s control, and that is why its information are posted here?
「I see. Well then, I guess that means that our next step should be the Adventurers Guild in Zabir.」
「Yes.」
I warped us from the Quratar adventurers Guild to Zabir’s Adventurers Guild, and then we enter inside. It seems that I managed to remember the place properly and was able to warp us there without any issues.
「May we have a minute of your time?」
We immediately started interviewing the Adventurers who were inside.
「Is the Labyrinth in the Western Forest different from the one located just outside of the city?」
「It is a different one indeed. First and foremost, it’s going to be a bit of a long walk to get there. I can carry you there with 「Field Walker」, but that’s going to be two silver coins per person.」 As expected. For him it’s a form of business after all.
「Here. I want you to take me there by myself.」
「Alright. Now I will wait for a moment while you make me the member of your Party.」
I handed over the silver coins and waited to be made a member of the Explorer’s Party. My Party counts five people currently, so I still had room for one more person. When the Adventurer casts 「Field Walker」, I followed him inside of the portal that he created and emerged at the other side, inside of the woods. Is this where the entrance to the West Forest’s Labyrinth, located to the west of Zabir, is placed?
I then removed the Adventurer from the list of my Party Members and promptly returned back to Zabir where Sherry was waiting for me. I always make it appoint to go back right away. Since the Adventurer came back to the Adventurers Guild right after me, then that probably means that he didn’t get any passengers coming back to Zabir with him on the way back. Considering that, is the price of a single silver coin per fare a reasonable one for the transportation services?
「Welcome back. I’ll give you the money now, twenty-two silver coins. Do you have any space left in your Item Box?」
「Yes. I’ll put it in my bag.」
I take Sherry to the corner and hand over the money to her.
An Explorer stood at the entrance to the West Forest’s Labyrinth in Zabir. Since he’s standing there, it means that he’s going to guide us to the floor that we’d want to go to as long as we give him the money. The payment for a single floor is usually a hundred Nars, so if we want him to take us to the twenty-second floor, it means that we would have to pay him twenty-two silver coins.
Well, the reason that I took Sherry to the corner like I did is not only for the purpose of giving her the money. I have done it like that so that no one could overhear me using my Bonus Spells. I then whispered the incantation for 「Field Walker」and moved with 「Warp」instead.
The destination of my 「Warp」is the inside of the West Forest’s Labyrinth.
「Mabreams are the monsters native to the twenty-second floor of this Labyrinth, right?」
「Yes, that’s right.」
「Okay, then we are going to be heading to the twenty-second floor.」
I confirmed the information that we gathered with Sherry, and then we approached the Explorer at the entrance, since if we want him to transport us, I’d have to make him a member of my Party. 「Hm? You want to go to the twenty-second floor?」
「Yes. Now give me a moment so that I could make you a member of my Party.」
「I understand. Now then, please make sure to stay close to me the entire time.」
The Explorer used 「Dungeon Walker」 and opened the portal. He went through it first, and I followed after him. When I was entering the portal I also saw that another Explorer appeared at the entrance, most likely to replace the one that was guiding us.
This time I am asking the Explorer to guide me to the floor that I want, but I am only doing that to make sure that I will have a proper destination for my own travels.
When the two of us went outside of the Labyrinth, this time I was the only one to enter the Labyrinth. Yup, as soon as I checked it when I found myself inside, I saw that I had a choice between going to either the first floor or the twenty-second floor of the West Forest’s Labyrinth. It seems that the Explorer guided me there properly, exactly how I requested of him.
「Everything should be fine.」
「Then I will give you the money.」
When I went outside and gave her the signal, Sherry handed over the money.
I see. Is that why she put the money into her backpack instead of her Item Box?
If she took out the money from her Item Box, she would make it known that she was a Master Smith.
Well, I cannot say that this would be what would have happened with one hundred percent confidence, but that would definitely be suspicious.
She is a Dwarf with an Item Box and entered the Labyrinth with me, so even if Sherry is not an Explorer or an Adventurer, her being a Master Smith can still attract unnecessary attention to us, so it is best to not reveal that fact about her too openly.
In that sense, it was a correct decision to not allow her to use the Item Box.
「Thank you for your business.」
「Shall we be on our way then?」
「Yes, let’s go.」
After paying the money to the Explorer, I entered the Labyrinth. 「Was that Explorer surprised when I told him to take me to the twenty-second floor?」
「Yes, he definitely was. That is because the twenty-second floors of the Labyrinths are considered to be quite difficult, and very few people choose to go out of their way to enter them.」
The Explorer’s surprise when I asked him to take me to the twenty-second floor caught my attention, so I asked Sherry about it, and it seems that it was not just a misunderstanding on my part.
「Are the floors here really that difficult?」
「The monster native to the twenty-second floor of the West Forest’s Labyrinth is Mabream, the one native to the twenty-first floor is Pig Hog and the one native to the twentieth floor is Fly Trap, which means that so far it is the same as in the Nordselm’s Labyrinth.」
I was about to protest why did she chose such a difficult Labyrinth for us to go to, but then Sherry hit me with the information that the lineup of the monsters here is pretty much the same as the one in the Labyrinth of Nordselm. In that case, it might be more convenient to let the other members of my Party enter the Labyrinth of Nordselm, but I feel like it might not matter all that much at this point.
I think that Sherry is the only person in the world who would be diligent enough to go out of her way to investigate the monsters present in the Labyrinth of Nordselm one by one like that.
「Is that how it is? I am sorry for doubting you then. As expected of Sherry.」