11. first co-op (1)
“I apologize. If not, this. I will kill you.”
Katie held Brian by the neck and murmured calmly.
The three of them trembled in fear.
“… … .”
Archer Dominic’s knee slowly descended against his will.
Eileen, who was in a state of panic, reflexively tried to sing the chant.
“Pa, fire… .”
At that moment, Kati approached her and put the dagger in her mouth.
The basics of anti-mage tactics.
I cover my mouth so that I can’t recite the incantation.
It was a skill that he trained while thinking of Sylvia, but it was questionable how well it would work for her, who had mastered all kinds of casting saves and casting passes.
“ah… uh uh… .”
Eileen put the tip of the sword in her mouth and let out a pained sound.
I couldn’t even move a single finger.
Kati’s sword just went into the mouth as it meant.
It did not touch the roof of the mouth, the tongue, the teeth, or the throat, and stayed exactly in the space inside the mouth.
Eileen was more afraid of the life she felt behind the blindfold than her restrained skills.
A calmly forged rage pierced his soul.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, everything… .”
Claudia sat down and apologized while gritting her teeth.
Carty turned to her and looked at Eileen again.
you are?
That was the response to the question.
Kati very slowly pulled the dagger out of her mouth.
“Huh… .”
Eileen fell to the floor right after the sword was pulled out.
It was a very brief moment.
No one was actually hurt.
However, the four just realized the power difference between Kati and themselves.
It’s not just a matter of power.
The silver-haired maid exudes a cool atmosphere that I dare not disobey.
“Mi, sorry, oh, sorry… .”
Eileen lowered her head alternately towards Kati and Vivian.
Seeing their sudden change of attitude, Vivian was honestly dumbfounded.
‘Exactly like this… .’
Brian, who crawled in behind him, also lowered his head.
He had been thrown by Kati the moment Eileen was about to sing the chant.
Brian apologized, banging his forehead on the ground.
I feared that if I did not, I would die.
It was as if his cold, thin fingers were still on his neck.
“Wrong! I’m sorry, I’m really sorry-!”
Kati’s murder, which no one can easily figure out the reason for, choked their throats.
Their heads fell off several times in their terrified imagination.
Mercy looked at them and clicked her tongue.
“Egg, you pitiful humans… .”
Kati looked at Vivian sneakily.
It meant that now it was up to you to deal with it.
I had no real intention to kill him in the first place.
I wonder if Ian ordered it.
Kati’s role in a place without him ends here.
At this point, if Vivian wanted any punishment, she could grant it.
However, considering Vivian’s personality, I guess that only Lee will step down here.
Ian, who heard this, will organize it separately later.
“ha… .”
Vivian crossed her arms and sighed deeply.
These are the faces you don’t want to see anymore.
“Come on, Carty. Helena. Mercy.”
So, I didn’t even bother and turned around.
They had their heads bowed to the floor even as Vivian walked away.
People passing by whispered, but I couldn’t move.
It is because of the fear of death Kati engraved in a brief moment.
Hot liquid flowed down the trembling lower bodies of the four people on their knees.
Returning to the training center, Vivian said.
“Kati.”
“Yes.”
“… Thank you. And Helena too.”
“As a colleague, I just did what I had to do!”
“… Thank you for that too. Also thank you Mercy.”
“Ew? Didn’t I do anything?”
“Nevertheless.”
For Vivian, the situation was a bit strange.
I was once a colleague, but meeting people I don’t want to remember as colleagues, I came to appreciate my current colleagues more deeply.
‘There are times when things I don’t want to look like are helpful.’
*
Vivian and Helena were a little uneasy.
No one was hurt, but he came back from a fight in the middle of the street anyway.
If Ian knew that, wouldn’t he be scolded?
Wouldn’t it be better to say this in advance?
Hiding might not be a good option, but rather than talking… .
Before entering the training camp, Vivian and Helena met eyes.
They didn’t say anything, but there was an implicit agreement.
‘Ian, I’m sorry… .’
Kati, realizing their intentions, intervened.
“I will tell you.”
“yes?”
“Yes?!”
“It’s what I did, so I’m responsible.”
“Aww… . Katy, yes… .”
“Oh no! I am also responsible! So me too… !”
It was a scene where solidarity was strengthened in the face of a common enemy.
Helena, who was still having trouble with Kati, was actively siding with Kati.
But Kati shook her head.
“it’s okay.”
It wasn’t really a reaction to push Helena away.
It was the attitude that he had the confidence to convince Ian.
“And, this must be reported to the master.”
“ah… .”
Vivian and Helena then realized what they were about to do.
The intention was to trick Ian anyway.
“I’m sorry… .”
“sorry… .”
Kati shook her head at the two’s apology.
I was very grateful for that expression of sincere apology.
Because he also thought of Ian.
It should be otherwise in the future.
Mercy laughed and helped.
“Yes, yes. No matter how worried I am, can Ian not know about this? And, there is a way to speak well. Do you want to watch?”
“yes… .”
“Yes… .”
*
“Well done.”
“thank you.”
Vivian and Helena were dumbfounded when they saw Ian praising her.
No, I was more surprised by the eloquence and cooperation between Kati and Mercy in persuading Ian.
Katie went to Ian and reported what had happened.
Instead, it was exaggerated that they insulted and threatened Vivien and Helena with all sorts of foul language.
However, even though it was exaggerated, it was not a lie.
On closer inspection, it wasn’t even that much of an exaggeration.
Anyway, isn’t it true that Brian’s group interrupted Vivian in the first place and cursed at her?
Ian, who listened calmly at first, frowned when he heard that Vivian and Helena were insulted, but was very satisfied when he heard that Kati had punished him.
“Did you keep me from messing around?”
“I think you understand.”
“Yeah, it’s Katy you too. You did very well.”
“thank you.”
Vivian and Helena suddenly laughed.
I thought it was Kati who just obeys and obeys Ian, but I didn’t expect it to be like this.
“Are you two okay?”
Ian asked.
Kati and Mercy, who had finished persuasion, turned their heads and met Vivian and Helena’s eyes.
Katy didn’t say much, but Mercy showed a happy smile of victory.
As much as Ian knows them both.
Both of them know Ian.
In this situation, there are many ways to tell the story while satisfying him.
In fact, even if I didn’t exaggerate, it’s not the kind of thing Ian should blame at all.
However, Kati and Mercy are only satisfying Ian a little more for Vivien and Helena who don’t know about it yet.
An unspoken bond developed between the four women.
“Yes, we are fine.”
“Yes! All right!”
“I’m glad. So who were they?”
“ah… . My old colleague… It’s kind of like that. They’re just people I’ve partyed with in the past, people I’ve known.”
“Does Vivian feel sick to her stomach?”
“Hee hee, I guess so.”
“They are tired… . I want to have a private conversation, what are their names?”
“Brian, Dominic, Eileen, Claudia, these four.”
“… ?”
When Ian heard the name, he stroked his chin.
It’s a very familiar name.
Are there any other coincidences like this?
Thinking about it, Ian smiled.
“Good for you.”
Even if you didn’t have to go looking for it, it was fate that you would meet on your own.
“… Yeah? What?”
“There is such a thing. Oh, by the way, I just found out about the dungeon you two will enter today. I have also completed the registration process.”
Helena’s eyes lit up with anticipation, and Vivian was uneasy.
“I-I can’t use magic properly yet… Would it be okay?”
“It will be fine. Because there are ways.”
Those words eased Vivian’s worries a little.
If Ian said yes, he would.
“The dungeon to go this time is… .”
Ian began to explain the E-class dungeon to the two of them step by step.
*
The morning before the dungeon departure.
– Smart smart.
Someone knocked on Ian’s door.
-Are you there?
It’s a completely unknown voice.
“Come on in.”
The person who opened the door was a woman with black hair in pigtails and large glasses.
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Judging by the simple yet neat and quite expensive-looking uniform, he was no ordinary person.
Ian recognized the small but colorful badge pinned to his collar.
‘It’s the pattern of the Imperial Magicians… .’
Overall, I felt the atmosphere like a model student or a scholar.
“hello! Are you Ian-sama?”
“you’re right. Who are you?”
“I’m Iris, a member of the Imperial Magician Order.”
Iris.
It was the woman Ian had told the emperor about who would later invent the warp portal.
“… What business did a member of the Imperial Magicians come for?”
Iris pulled out a neat letter from her bosom and showed it.
“This is an order written by the captain.”
Ian took it and read it.
In summary, Iris, as a researcher specializing in the Imperial Magicians, had the authority to request cooperation from facilities in various cities or the hero’s party.
There was also a stamp that the lowest emperor acknowledged the authority.
“You were a very important person. It’s an honor, but wouldn’t it be better to go to a party with a higher level than mine?”
“that is… The captain recommended Ian.”
Iris handed over another letter.
It was openly in front of Ian.
Ian let out a blank laugh as he read the stiff, formal yet careful letter.
‘Hayden this human… .’
To sum it up, it was about taking good care of Iris.
“Actually, I don’t know much about this… . Haha. I’ve been doing research all my life… .”
It wasn’t without reason at all.
Although she is skilled enough to join the Imperial Magicians, Iris is still young and immature.
He was worried that he would make a mistake or disclose the contents of his research.
Hayden knew Ian’s identity, so he decided that it would be better to leave it to Ian.
“Still, I decided to come out because I thought it would be better to check the details of this research myself. Oh, by the way, the research contents are confidential, so I can’t tell you… .”
Even if you don’t tell me, I know, so I don’t regret it.
It was out of the blue, but rather, Ian thought it was fortunate that he was attached to him.
‘Because I know a little about portals. If you tell me indirectly, it will help the progress of the research.’
With good care, Iris might secretly help Vivian with magic training.
There must be some advice that only a member of the wizarding corps who has spent his entire life researching can give.
“Well, I see. We will do our best to cooperate.”
“Take good care of me!”
“You are welcome. Tomorrow is the day we depart for the dungeon.”
That day, I briefly introduced Iris to my colleagues.
Iris told them that they had occupied the large room on the first floor of Building C of the training center, and told them to just tell them if they needed help.
*
Ian’s party arrived at the entrance to the dungeon a little far from Superbia.
A guide and guard guarded the entrance.
Vivian still hasn’t completed the coordinate point type magic that Ian taught her.
Time was running out to get help from Iris, so Ian couldn’t help it either.
I was anxious, but I couldn’t wait until it was done.
Vivian knew that all too well.
‘Let me do better… .’
As we waited, four other party members approached to enter with us.
Vivian was surprised to find them.
“Brian, Eileen… .”
They look back at each other with surprised faces, as if they didn’t know that Vivian was there.
Their manager had no idea what was going on.
The four of them stood at a distance next to Ian Party with their eyes down, as if they remembered what had happened the other day.
Seeing them, Vivian made up her mind.
‘I will definitely win… !’
I tried to do well from the beginning, but now I have to do better than that.
Helena was also enthusiastic.
She still remembers vividly how they insulted Vivian.
Since this is the first time I’ve been here, I promised myself to do it safely.
Ian also told me not to overdo it.
However, the desire to win even by overdoing it burned.
After being comforted by Ian, his ability to protect and heal miraculously increased dramatically.
A little overdoing it can restore it right away.
Feeling the desire to win, the two women met eyes and nodded their heads sadly.
Soon, the guide opened his mouth.
“I will start entering the dungeon. The E-class dungeon has yet to be summoned before the guild investigators are dispatched, so there is insufficient known information. Warriors, please be extra careful.”
Vivian and Helena were puzzled by that statement.
‘Ian knew exactly which dungeon this was, right?’
Actually it was.
Ian informed me that he was coming here and gave me detailed information from the composition of the monsters to the structure of the dungeon and the hidden devices.
So the two of them thought it was information provided by the Managers Guild.
It was questionable, but I believed that it was possible with Ian.
“Both parties, are you all ready?”
“It’s done.”
“Hey, wait a minute… .”
Ian immediately agreed, and the party next to him was discussing something.
In the meantime, Iris showed the guide the order and was allowed to enter.
Ian sneaked up to Vivian and whispered in her ear.
“Vivian, aren’t you still not good at magic?”
Vivian also whispered in a small whisper.
“yes… .”
“Then, I don’t know how helpful it will be, but once I remembered that time… .”
He reminded me of some memories from the past and told me to cast magic. It was only a temporary measure, but it gave me a useful tip.
“… !”
Vivian nodded as if she had come to a realization.
“I will try… !”
I’m not sure, but Ian’s advice sounded plausible.
“It is done now.”
“I will start entering.”
“Have a good trip!”
Mercy and Kati, who had to stay outside, saw them off.
Vivian and Helena eagerly waved, and Iris followed them in greeting.
Ian lightly raised his hand once.
Looking at them in a friendly manner, Brian and his party looked at each other.
It was an awkward situation to go in first or to wait and then go in.
Right before Ian and his party enter the dungeon entrance after greeting them.
Vivian and Helena took a quick look at Brian’s group.
Seeing that firm yet fierce gaze, the four shrugged their shoulders.
“What the hell just happened… !”
Their manager, who didn’t know the truth, was flustered, but no one answered easily.
Leaving them servile to the point of servility, the four members of Ian’s party descended the dungeon first.