Chapter 41: …You’ve Lost Your Mind

Was it because of the cave?

Every step echoed in my ears.

“It’s really spacious…”

“Yeah.”

The passage was just wide enough for two people to pass, but as we went deeper, the space gradually widened, and once we entered the interior, a vast, dark limestone cavern greeted us.

“Doesn’t look like anyone lives here.”

“Of course not. This is a dungeon.”

Marcel, who was walking ahead, muttered such an obvious thing so seriously that I was dumbfounded and shot back immediately.

“…Right. Why did I say that?”

Marcel scratched his head and answered in a deflated voice. Seeing that, I realized something and felt a pang of guilt.

‘He must be really nervous.’

Marcel’s expression didn’t look good no matter how I saw it.

No matter how much he’d gotten back on his feet, facing past trauma isn’t easy. He’s probably holding it together well right now.

Maybe that comment was his own kind of humor? A joke to ease his own tension.

Thinking that, I felt like I should cheer up the gloomy Marcel quickly.

…But what do I say? I’m no good at this stuff. I’ve barely interacted with people.

At most, it was just Mr. Luca and that old comrade of mine.

Can someone like me really pull off a conversation that lifts Marcel’s spirits…

‘I feel like a babysitter.’

Thinking about this seriously made that thought pop up naturally.

I was the one who offered to help Marcel, who’d been broken, get back up, so maybe that’s fitting.

The funny thing is, Deneb isn’t any different from Marcel. She asked me to be her teacher, and since we’re together now, it’s like I indirectly agreed.

‘Man, here I am, the one who looks the youngest out of all of us.’

Though inside, I’m more rotten than both of them, and even the other team members.

Oh right, now’s not the time to be thinking about this.

“Hey.”

I called out to the two as we walked.

I need to explain the plan.

The plan to reach the boss room faster than the other two teams.

“Yes?”

“Yes.”

They both turned their heads toward me, answering as if they’d been waiting.

Seeing them, I thought of baby birds starving from hunger.

‘How desperately were they waiting…’

Not a babysitter, but a mother bird, huh.

Their faces still didn’t look good.

I’m worried if they’ll follow my plan well.

Should I try to boost their spirits first?

“Why are you all so—”

Whoa, I almost said “scared” or something.

That sounds a bit harsh.

“Why are you all so nervous?”

So I quickly corrected myself. My old habits really don’t go away.

“Don’t worry. We’re definitely not losing.”

When I said that, I saw their faces relax a little.

Seeing that, I think I understood why Deneb and Marcel looked so tense.

Deneb was nervous even in a C-Rank Gate, so coming to a High-Rank Gate for the first time must have made her even more anxious.

Marcel probably worried that after finally gathering the courage to come to a High-Rank Gate, he’d end up not getting any rewards and just suffer humiliation.

“Do you have some kind of method?”

Marcel asked me with a face that had found hope.

“It’s simple. From now on, we ignore all the Demon Beasts we encounter and head straight to where the boss room likely is.”

“But if we do that, the Magic Stones from the remaining Demon Beasts…”

Marcel said with a reluctant face. Well, that makes sense. Even non-boss Magic Stones from a High-Rank Gate are pretty valuable.

But if you try to grab all that, you can’t win this competition.

“If you get greedy over that, you’ll lose this competition. If we stop to catch every Demon Beast on the way, another team will have already taken the boss room.”

Right now, I estimate Marcel’s skill is even a step below Hames, who looks like the weakest of the other teams. No matter how frivolous Hames seems, he hasn’t neglected training or had his career cut off like Marcel.

Objectively speaking, our team is the weakest of the three. Of course, that’s excluding me.

“Profit is important, but there’s something more important than that, Mr. Marcel.”

That’s pride.

Can you stand being looked down on by those three?

Marcel might not, but I’m not.

I always pay back what’s done to me.

So I have no intention of losing.

After we win, I plan to pay him back for every bit of mockery he threw at Marcel.

“…You’ve got a point.”

Hearing my words, Marcel nodded in agreement with a faint smile.

I handed Deneb over to Marcel.

With that high-speed movement he showed me last time, he should be able to shake off a pack of B-Rank Demon Beasts.

“I feel like I’m just being a burden…”

“It’s fine. That’s what party members do—help each other.”

As Marcel lowered himself, Deneb hesitated, as if feeling the weight of it, but just as I had encouraged Marcel, Marcel encouraged Deneb.

“Then… I’ll leave it to you.”

Bolstered by those words, Deneb climbed onto Marcel’s back. Whether she was light or not, he stood up without a wobble, carrying her.

“By the way, Ms. Verdi.”

“Yeah?”

“Do you happen to know where the boss room is?”

“No?”

“…?”

When I answered without a moment’s hesitation, Marcel’s face scrunched up with a question mark.

‘Ah… maybe I should’ve thought before I spoke?’

Answering so bluntly made me feel like I sounded irresponsible. If I’d explained it a bit more convincingly, he might’ve bought it.

“This is… well, it’s hard to explain easily, but I’ve got a sense for it. Where the boss room is… like, I can just look at the path and know?”

I tried to wring my brain for an explanation, but… when it comes down to actually explaining, I’m at a loss for words. Back in my original world, I could just compare everything to a game, but this world doesn’t have games.

“A sense… well, it is Ms. Verdi’s sense, after all.”

You don’t have to butter me up, you know.

“I trust Ms. Verdi too!”

Deneb chimed in from the side. Why are you joining in too.

* * *

‘Feels like we haven’t seen a single ant of a Demon Beast.’

They’d been running for quite a while, but Verdi’s party hadn’t encountered a single monster the whole way.

‘I wonder if the other teams are the same…’

A faint unease crept in.

Verdi was currently matching Marcel’s pace.

If the other teams also avoided encountering monsters, they might head straight for the boss room.

The thought crossed her mind that maybe one of the other two teams—Hames or Lilian—would find the boss room first…

‘But no one’s ever found the boss room faster than me before.’

Her experience from before her body changed was telling her that.

That the other two teams were probably in the same boat as them.

So her worry didn’t last long.

“Let’s take a short break here.”

“Understood.”

They’d been moving longer than expected.

Judging it was a good idea to rest for a bit, Verdi gave the order, and her group took a break in a corner nook.

Normally she’d want to hurry, but Marcel’s expression didn’t look good. Verdi figured he was tired from the long trek.

“Are you okay?”

Deneb, who had been riding on Marcel’s back the whole time, asked him carefully.

“Yes, I’m fine.”

Marcel smiled as he spoke, so Deneb wouldn’t feel uncomfortable.

But when Deneb’s gaze turned elsewhere, a shadow fell over Marcel’s face.

‘I thought I was going all out, but I couldn’t catch up even once.’

Thinking that, Marcel’s gaze shifted to Verdi.

“Have a drink.”

“Thanks.”

Verdi was drinking water from the canteen Deneb had handed her.

Marcel knew Verdi’s skill was no ordinary thing.

She was the disciple of Yoschuko Verdiol, an S-Rank Hunter.

But… even for a disciple, she was too outstanding.

Throughout the entire journey, Marcel had tried to keep up with Verdi, who was leading the way.

Yet he couldn’t close the distance at all. Even going all out. In fact, she was the one matching his pace.

Even carrying Deneb on her back, she felt as light as a feather to her, an A-Rank Hunter, so that wasn’t an issue.

‘I didn’t know the gap in skill was this big…’

High-speed movement is a basic skill for High-Rank Hunters. Being fast means your fundamentals are solid.

Even if he had neglected his training, the fact that he couldn’t even keep up with a little girl like that made Marcel feel a faint self-loathing.

‘…I just have to do it right from now on.’

Marcel shook his head, pushing the self-loathing away. This was the price he paid for keeping his distance from High-Rank Gates all this time.

It hadn’t been long since he met Verdi. She said she would make him strong.

So, if he worked hard from now on, he would surely become stronger.

“If there’s anything else you need, please let me know!”

“Yeah.”

Whether it was because Deneb’s devotion paid off, Verdi gave a faint smile.

‘…’

She usually didn’t show her expression, so that small smile felt somehow special to Marcel.

‘Someday… I’ll be useful too…’

Marcel imagined himself being praised by Verdi. But he quickly shook his head, scattering the thoughts that had risen.

She wasn’t even his age; she was a little girl who seemed nearly ten years younger than him.

And here he was, hoping to be praised by a girl like that.

‘…I must be out of my mind.’

If anyone caught him thinking this, it might lead to unnecessary misunderstandings. So, let’s erase it.

‘Hoo…’

Marcel let out a low sigh to wipe the thoughts away.

That was the moment he exhaled.

*THUD.*

‘…?’

Unlike the two who were standing, Marcel was still sitting, leaning against the wall.

That was why he could feel it better than the other two.

A faint tremor rumbling through the ground.

Marcel quickly looked around.

The source of the rumble was still not visible.

And the other two didn’t seem to have noticed the ground shaking yet.

“Hey! Didn’t you feel that vibration?”

“No?”

The moment Deneb answered Marcel’s question and Verdi shook her head—

*THUD!*

This time, not just Marcel, but even the two standing could clearly feel it.

“…!”

Marcel quickly ran over and joined Verdi’s group.

“Is it a Demon Beast?”

“I’m not sure, but let’s move for now.”

Verdi felt the atmosphere was ominous.

Somehow, she had a feeling she shouldn’t face the source of that sound.

Besides, if they were delayed, the other team might snatch the boss.

*BOOM!*

So she tried to move as far away from the sound as possible, but strangely, the sound and vibration were getting closer and closer.

*BOOM!*

The louder the sound and vibration grew, the more the strangeness doubled. What the hell? They were moving with speed and high-speed movement—was there a Demon Beast that could outpace them?

*BOOM—!*

Verdi instinctively realized the source of the sound was blatantly chasing them.

‘Annoying. Why do I have to run away looking like a fool?’

This was a B-Rank Gate to begin with. The fact that some trash mob Demon Beast was making her feel uneasy pissed her off for some reason.

“Mr. Marcel.”

“Yes.”

When Verdi stopped, Marcel stopped too.

“Go on ahead. That thing is stubbornly following us.”

“But… will you be alright?”

“Don’t worry about me. Securing the boss room is the best option for us right now—”

*BOOM—!!*

Before she could even finish speaking.

The vibration was right in front of them, and as her body lifted slightly from the tremor, Verdi could see it.

Six eyes glowing a deep green in the darkness.

Their structure was similar to that of a spider.

So at first, she thought it was a spider-type Demon Beast.

A B-Rank could have something like that.

But when the creature’s body came into Verdi’s view, she realized her guess was wrong.

*GROOOOM—*

Its body was enormous, nearly filling the vast cavern.

Black skin covered in what looked like smooth scales.

A heavy, long tail.

Two massive forelegs that seemed to have been used as wings.

“Grrrr…!”

The identity of the giant lizard baring sharp fangs from its long snout was—

“Th-that’s… a dragon?”

Deneb shouted in a trembling voice.

“That can’t… be…”

Marcel rubbed his eyes as if he’d seen a ghost.

What appeared before them was a creature rarely seen even in A-Rank Gates and above, a being called the undisputed strongest of all Demon Beasts.

“KUUUOOOOHHH!!”

Though it crawled on the ground, it was unmistakably a dragon.

[ A-Rank Demon Beast, Earth Dragon Cancelo ]

The earth dragon roared at the intruders who had entered its territory.