Foreigner Volume 5, Chapter 45

Volume 5 Chapter 45, Labyrinth ~ 03

　In the city of Ares, the Academy of the Wise.

　In a corner of the world's premier academy, a project is in progress that only a few are aware of. At the urging of High Mentor Graham Coogan, the Academy of the Wise's patrol squad, a group of people who need to be watched, is working. The other day, the head of the unit was replaced by a new head, and the small unit, which had been considered a window unit, was now booming for the first time since its establishment.

「The target has been confirmed... but this...」

「What happened?」

　The man who had used the art of 【Detection】 to find a specific item, combined with 【Signpost】to derive the number of its location, looked quite tired and told the team leader who had ordered him.

「It's quite a distance. It's hard to say exactly how far, but I'd say about 150 miles east.」

「150 miles ...... You mean, around this time they've already reached the canyon!?」

「Perhaps.」

　The art of 【Detection】 is the art of searching for a specific item, but of course the accuracy varies depending on the distance from the target and the amount of magic power used. 【Signpost】 is a art for clarifying location information, and finding something over a distance of 150 miles is proof that the magician is quite skilled. Sheryl shuddered at the speed of the target's movement, as she taking care of the magician, who looked exhausted. Since the decision was made to go after Satoru, twice a day she has been using a art that combines 【Detection】 and 【Signpost】 to target the 【Giant Killer】 without setting a time. The reason why she doesn't set a time is because she want to keep a steady rhythm so that there is no chance that the other person will notice her.

　The last time she used this art, she couldn't find the 【Giant Killer】 because it was hidden in the warding art. She unfolded a map of the area and drew a rough outline of where Satoru and others would be going this time. Like last time, there have been a few times when they've been trapped in a 【Ward】 and not been discovered, but even so, she have been able to track their steps without fail. The speed at which they move is not even comparable to that of a horse.

「It's too fast. ...... That remind me, there was a flying dragon girl. Because of her, huh.」

　If it's a flying dragon, the terrain does not matter. Flying dragons can soar through the air at a speed that is not very fast, but it is still faster than walking by far. They can travel 3 to 40 miles (4 to 50 km) per half koku (2 hours). If you think about it, this is a very fast way to travel. Considering that, this speed is not surprising, but it is a painful story for Sheryl.

「Flying ...... Dragon girl?」

　The tired-looking 【Detection】caster looked at Sheryl with a curious expression. Sheryl noticed his gaze and gave him a soft smile.

「What's wrong?」

　Sheryl is definitely a beautiful woman. The man was frankly embarrassed by the soft smile of this beautiful woman, and pulled out a portrait from the papers beside him. It was a drawing of Minerva based on the image captured by the 【Mental Image】.

「No, you're talking about this woman who is using 【Mimicry】, right?」

「Yes, but?」

　The man tilted his head curiously.

「I thought most flying dragons were male.」

「―Ah!」

　The point made by her subordinate made Sheryl realize a fact that she hadn't noticed until now.

　Come to think of it, why hadn't I noticed that? The balance of males and females in flying dragons is remarkably poor, with 10 to 15 males for every 1 female. The female flying dragon is revered by the males as the Nushi of the pack. In the art of 【Mimicry】, one's physical appearance is determined by one's original gender and human age. In other words, this Minerva is a female who is a little older than Sheryl or Satoru in human terms.

「That's what I thought. I hadn't noticed that. ...... Thank you for your help.」

「You're welcome.」

　His boss, whom he respected and admired, smiled kindly at him, and the man shrugged. After seeing his boss off to somewhere else, the man leaned his tired body against the backrest and gazed blankly at the portrait. The painting depicted a beautiful woman with an outstanding style and a calm impression.

「If she's this beautiful, I'd like her to be my partner even if she's a Flying Dragon.」

　While her subordinates were muttering something, Sheryl walked to the High Mentor's office. Normally, it would not be easy to meet the High Mentor of the Academy of the Wise, but by special arrangement, Sheryl was allowed a pass. After confirming with the magician, who serves as the High Mentor's secretary, that the High Mentor was present, Sheryl gasped for air and ran into the room without knocking.

「High Mentor」

　High Mentor Graham Coogan greeted his subordinate who had suddenly entered the room with a good-natured look. There was no sign of blaming her for her rudeness. Rather, he held out a piece of parchment to Sheryl with a smile on his face.

「Ohhh, Sheryl. Just in time. Rejoice, the 『Holy Sword Clan』 has accepted our request. The head of the clan is coming here himself.」

「That's a great news」

　Sheryl tried to make up for her jovial High Mentor, but inwardly she could not honestly agree.

　The fact that the head of the 『Holy Sword Clan』 himself is coming to the table means that Satoru is recognized as a disaster-grade risk. At the same time, this means the beginning of an all-out war between the Academy of the Wise and Satoru.

　It's an all-out war with a man who, although she hasn't even come face him with a sword, gives off a strong sense of fear just by facing him. Will things be all right―Sheryl can't help but feel a chill. Even though it was the clan that defeated the demon king, which was handed down from ancient times.

　Sheryl shook her head and drove her own fears away. It's not my job to think about it.

「Be that as it may, High Mentor, have you noticed?」

「Hmm? Of what?」

「The flying dragon's girl, who was accompanying a man named Satoru. ―That she's a female.」

　There was a pause. The somewhat buoyant atmosphere disappeared, and the High Mentor looked at the sky and sighed heavily. Apparently, he hadn't noticed it either. He hadn't realized that he had missed the slightest hint of discomfort in the satellite of a star so huge as Satoru.

「...... I've become an old geezer, haven't I? That's true. So she's a Nushi in some nest―Hmm?」

　The High Mentor's mind flashed back to the literature he had read. A flying dragon that understands human language - he remembered that in the literature of the ancient magic kingdoms, there was an example of a female dragon that understood human language.. Right, according to the literature, that individual was―

「I see, that girl is the daughter of one of the Four Holy Dragons.」

「Wha―」

　Cheryl was absolutely stunned. Sheryl had heard the story of the Four Holy Dragons frolicking with the female flying dragons. It is said that it is a miracle that the Four Holy Dragons bestow on the flying dragons on a whim, but the truth is not clear. In the first place, the flying dragon race is extremely dangerous, and research has not progressed much. However, if High Mentor say that, it makes sense that they understand human language. The children of the Four Holy Dragons are said to be extremely intelligent compared to other creatures.

「Judging from the color of her hair, she was either Erdeade or Suirei. So perhaps what this man was trying to find out about was 『Ryujin』?」 [TLN: Ryujin, literal meaning=Dragon People]

　From a single clue, the High Mentor quickly put the pieces of the puzzle together. This was indeed the work of a knowledgeable head of an academy.

　Fire Dragon Roth is red, Thunder Dragon Jet is gold, Water Dragon Suirei is blue, and Earth Dragon Erdeade is blackish brown. Each of the Four Holy Dragons has its own distinctive color. He can guess that the dark indigo color belongs to Suirei or Erdeade.

「『Ryujin』.....As I recall, they were a race of people with extraordinary fighting abilities who were said to have existed in the early days of the ancient magical kingdom.」

　Sheryl also had some knowledge about 『Ryujin』 in her own knowledge. Of course, her knowledge was only modest compared to that of the High Mentor.

「Indeed. It is believed that the origin of the 『Ryujin』 was when the children of the Four Holy Dragons and flying dragons were using 【Mimicry】 and bred with humans. It was said to be a species that died out due to excessive inbreeding. ......」

　The story of the 『Ryujin』 race itself has been written in several books around the creation of the Ancient Magic Kingdom. However, the research books were designated as forbidden books. It's a race with combat abilities that were being leveraged even at the time of the creation of the Ancient Magic Kingdom, when they were freely manipulating magic that was superior to that of today. It's no surprise that their research is being kept under wraps.

「That man......What is he thinking?」

　The only thing High Mentor can think of is that Satoru is trying to force the 『Ryujin』 under his knees with some kind of 【Slavery】 art and use them as his own fighting force. It's true that High Mentor made this decision because he was jealous of Satoru and thought that Satoru was the demon king, but there was no way he could have predicted that the the flying dragon's girl herself would want to have a child with Satoru.

「......Wouldn't that lead to a battle with the Five Dragons?」

　Sheryl honestly voiced her concerns. Even if it is one of the Five Dragons, there is no way a person can win. It is believed that the Five Dragons with more than ten thousand souls have never fought with anyone other than those who invaded their domain, but if their own daughter is involved, it may not be so easy―Therein lies Sheryl's fear. But the High Mentor brushed aside Sheryl's fears.

「There's no need to worry about that. If that were the case, there would have been a battle in the first instance.」

　The Five Dragons do not interfere, not only with humans, but also with anything that does not disturb their domain. However, Fire Dragon Roth's territory is surrounded by the great power of Rothforts, so it has become a form of coexistence and co-prosperity, but even so, there is no example of Five Dragons helping the great power in its time of need.

「Does he want to see the revival of the 『Ryujin』? That man becoming more and more dangerous.」

　In some respects, Satoru's desire for the birth of the 『Ryujin』 is not wrong. Sheryl also saw Satoru having intercourse with Minerva, albeit after an affair, so there's no doubt about that - ironically enough.

「The target, it seems, they has made it to Dale Wood Canyon.」

「Already? Too soon.」

「Perhaps it was they use flying dragon's girl to get there.」

　It was confirmed that they left the city two days ago. It's impossible to reach Dale Wood Canyon in just two days, even if you use up all your horses. The fact that Satoru accomplishes this by riding a flying dragon is a problem for those who are trying to come up with countermeasures againts Satoru.

「.......We need to get as much leverage as possible with 『Labyrinth of No Return』. No matter how much we hurry up with the 『Holy Sword Clan』, it will take them 10 days.」

　This is one of the best labyrinths in the world, but if Satoru's ability is true, he will break through it, High Mentor thought, but there was a feeling in the High Mentor that he did not want Satoru to break through. This is because the High Mentor was also a famous adventurer in his youth, and when he retired, he challenged the 【Labyrinth of No Return】 with the members of his party at the time, and had the bitter experience of sacrificing three of his companions, half of his party. He knew better than anyone that breaking through that labyrinth would not be an easy task.

　He doesn't want Satoru to clear the labyrinth that he tried with his best friends and lost... This feeling is not jealousy of Satoru, but rather inevitable. It's only natural that every human being would want to have something they failed at cleared, but at the same time not want it to be cleared.

　But even if Satoru have the ability to break through, High Mentor can expect Satoru to spend about 50 days getting there and back.

　The situation moved at a much faster pace than the High Mentor had envisioned.

　＊　＊　＊　＊　＊　＊　＊

　The next day.

　After about an hour and a half of comparing the terrain with the map Sheryl had given him, and looking at Minerva in her flying dragon form, Satoru gave Minerva instructions and she began her descent to a place that seemed to be near the entrance to the labyrinth. Minerva carefully descended through a valley that was barely big enough for her.

　Speaking of which, they could occasionally see monsters in between the canyons. However, all of them were afraid of Minerva's huge body, and none of them tried to mess with her, but Satoru was more than a little impressed by the creatures that showed that this was a different world.

　Canyon are usually formed by the erosion of rivers. But there was no sign of water in this area. Perhaps it had dried up over the years. Of course, if they took a different route, they could find a river, and if they followed that river, they could reach Lake Raid, where there is a large waterfall. However, the area where the entrance to the Labyrinth of No Return was said to be located was far off the main line.

　Minerva swooped down with a rustling of her wings. The area is a reddish brown place with a little bit of short grass. The steep cliffs on both sides looked as if they would collapse at any moment, giving a sense of oppression, but the width from cliff to cliff was about 30 meters. There were no obvious caves.

「It should be around here.」

　He looked around, but there was no change. Minerva had changed into her human form, and was getting a change of clothes from Rico. Leia crawled out of the shadows, glaring at the area.

「Let's see...... 【Detect Magic】.」

　After a short pause, "Ohhh", Leia exclaimed admiringly.

「 ......This is pretty good. This way I think.」

　The entrance was well camouflaged by the surrounding terrain, but there was indeed an entrance on the side. In between the cliff and the ground, there was a small cave about one meter high and three meters wide. He glanced into the cave and saw that it seemed to be quite deep, and he could hear a heavy goo~ sound as the wind blew into it.

「Hou, that sounds pretty cool.」

　It may have been inappropriate, but Satoru was a little excited. It was a rare experience to be able to explore a labyrinth in real life, which in his original world could only happen in a game. Of course, since it was a labyrinth that had never been cleared before, it must be quite deep, and there must be many monsters, magical creatures, and traps.

　I have to brace myself... Satoru looked at his three magical slaves following him.

　As for Satoru, he already proven that physical attacks in this world are largely ineffective. Not to sound like Leia, but a few traps and monsters won't be a problem for him. But that's just Satoru's personal story. Leia is also one of the best 【Immortal King】 in the world, and the problem would be less severe if the fatal carelessness had not been triggered, but that was not the case with Minerva and Rico.

　Minerva has also learned some physical magic from Leia's recent magic course, and under the circumstances, she might be able to use 【Hardening】, an art that blocks out physical attacks by hardening the skin. Minerva also learned some fire and wind attack and defense magic, so considering the size of her soul, she should be able to provide a certain amount of strength.

　The problem is Rico. The only problem is that she has one of the better souls of the average person. She'll be able to make use of the agility that she always been good at, such as 【Contraction】 and 【Light Work】, but her defense is only general. Surely there are some monsters out there that could take Rico's life with a single blow, even if a few wounds aren't a problem at all because Leia is good at holy magic. Anyway, there's no end to Satoru's worries.

　Rico herself seemed to be nervous. When she was a member of Galhassan's Thieves Guild, her father-in-law Threnody, the guild master at the time, took her to explore a labyrinth that had already been conquered once, but she had never tried to conquer a labyrinth that was still in operation. Leia and Minerva showed no signs of nervousness. Aside from Leia, Minerva doesn't seem to understand what the danger is in the first place.

「I'll check our formation.」

　Looking back at the group, Satoru declared.

「Aside from before I was ......」

「There are traps and stuff, so I think it's fine for me to be in front while we're moving. If it becomes a battle, I'll move back.」

　Satoru nodded in response to Rico's offer after some thought. Thieves are probably the best at detecting traps and the like. They don't even know if Satoru's sensing ability will be used in that direction.

「Right. Minerva and Leia are in the back. Minerva, follow Leia's instructions and use your magic. Rico, you don't need to push yourself to attack. Concentrate on avoiding the enemies. Leia.......I leave the judgment to you」

「Leave it to me.」

　After all, Leia was the master of the labyrinth until recently. In addition, she is one of the best magicians in the world. It would be better to leave it to her judgment than for Satoru to say anything at all. He nodded and picked up the 【Giant Killer】. He doesn't know if there's enough room to wield this big sword.

「Before we go in, my Lord.」

「Hmm?」

「Would you please apply this art to all of us?」

　Leia held out a piece of parchment from the shadows to Satoru. It has a not-so-long chant written on it.

「What kind of art is this?」

「I enhanced【Hardening】 art, and put 【Control】 on it. I and Minerva can apply it ourselves, but it's more effective if my Lord applies it to us. And if something happens to Rico, it may be too late.」

「I see.」

　Leia seemed to be paying proper attention to Rico and Minerva. Satoru nodded and gave each of them a 【Hardening】. Rico and Minerva were tapping their own stiffened arms in wonder.

「If you think about my Lord's soul, it should last for a day or so.」

「By the way, why 【Control】?」

「It's not proven, it's just a possibility, but I once told you that the art of 【Control】 is an impossible in my Lord's world.」

「Yeah」

　It may be a system that uses magic to erase physical laws such as inertia, but it's impossible in his original world.

「When I heard my Lord's story, I thought it over. Perhaps the art of 【Control】 could be the strongest defensive magic in the physical system.」

「Hmm......」

　In order to eliminate forces such as inertia, a force equal to or greater than the energy applied is required. The art of 【Control】 is to compensate for this with magic power―but then she realized. Indeed Leia is right. If an attack can be counteracted with an equal or greater amount of energy, it can be the strongest defensive magic. What if such a magic is applied by the hand of Satoru, the strongest cheat in this world?

　This is the reason why Leia did not apply the art herself. Of course, the power of these defensive techniques will increase depending on the soul of the users and the qualities of the system.

　【Control】 itself is an elementary art, but of course the amount of energy that can be removed varies depending on the art users. Basically, it's a art that only works on the user, so there has never been a case where the art of 【Control】 has been studied in such detail. The only thing she was aware of was that it was just like that.

「Of course, there was no proof. I'm just hoping it works.」

「No, I think it's an interesting idea. Leia, if you can think of anything else, let's try it out. In any case, the less danger, the better.」

「Yes, I suppose so.」

　Rico doesn't have a clue about the laws of physics. But if there's a chance that the level of protection might increase by one, then she can see why it would be better to do so. Minerva, of course, doesn't get it at all.

「Rico, get the lights ready.」

「Roger」

「In the meantime, I'll put the 【Light】 art on my wand.」

「Yeah. Well then, let's get started.」

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