8 – Vanguard of Miracles #3
The number of female adventurers a male can handle is limited. That’s why most parties exploring the labyrinth consist of three or four members.
But that doesn’t mean they couldn’t form a large party.
They met up with Brown and joined forces. Two guys and three girls. A party of five was formed.
While the two guys were practically useless, the three girls were different.
Kek! Kek!
Kelgek!
Goblins sprang up from the ground. The newly born goblins exposed their teeth towards us.
Swoo, who was in the vanguard, leaped forward.
Swish!
Swoo easily swept away the goblin. He lifted his leg up to waist height and kicked it away.
The goblin’s neck snapped back.
“They must think we’re werewolves. They hunt so savagely.”
The goblin’s small head was completely destroyed. With one powerful kick, it made a gruesome sound and turned into a lump.
The female thieves who swung their daggers around were sticking out their tongues.
“…Sis, looking at it now, your thighs seem really thick. Just like a person’s head.”
“Quiet. We’re in a dangerous place.”
The “Poison Dagger” sisters whispered behind them. In the silent labyrinth, even their small whispers echoed loudly as they collided with the walls.
Fortunately, Swu had no interest in the two of them talking about whatever.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
Swu’s attention was completely focused on me. Every time she dealt with a group of goblins, she would check on my condition.
Even though she was the one moving around busily.
But still, it felt good to be worried about.
Although my conscience pricked at me. A corner of my heart felt warm and cozy.
Kill the goblins and collect the mana stones. I couldn’t do the former, so I tried my best to do the latter.
“Why are you picking them up?”
“…I mean, someone who has spare hands can pick up the mana stones, right?”
“Ah, it’s okay. Just take a break.”
But the “Poison Dagger” sisters always stopped me whenever I tried to do something.
“Just maintaining peace is enough for a guy.”
“Don’t try to do more than necessary. If you exhaust yourself, it’ll be more of a loss. Calm your mind and focus on ‘Soul Protection’.”
The guy’s role is not to help with the hunting. It’s to maintain ‘Soul Protection’ so that hunting is possible. That was the mission given to the guy.
Brown entrusted everything to the “Poison Dagger” sisters. All he did was walk behind them like a baby duckling following its mother duck.
“This way.”
The thief sisters had even found traces of Nicola and Chelsea.
As they followed the thief sisters, they thought to themselves.
It’s a relief that we met Brown. If we hadn’t, we wouldn’t have been able to find the sisters.
“Who said we don’t need thieves in a hero party?”
To depict such an important class as incompetent.
Keruk! Kongkong!
Goblins and Gnolls. They looked quite similar. Their level was average.
They filled their leather pouches generously. Having two or three was much more stable and faster than having just one.
They quickly dealt with the twenty goblins and gnolls.
“We don’t have to do this, do we?”
“The Beastman’s specs are amazing… What are humans supposed to do to survive…”
If the Beastmen and humans demanded the same cost, humans would have lost their place in the Labyrinth City. Because the maintenance cost of Beastmen was high, humans were able to stay in the Labyrinth City and find men.
How long have they been wandering around?
“I don’t see them. Nicola? Chelsea?”
“The party members Ray mentioned. The traces abruptly disappeared.”
The Dagger Sisters declared their surrender. No matter how much they looked, it was difficult to track them further.
We were in a large common area. The height was incredibly high. We were overwhelmed by the atmosphere of the labyrinth.
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“Ray, I don’t know about you, but Brown needs to rest now.”
To the thief sisters, Brown was more important than me. Right now, Brown was feeling the limits of his stamina and gasping for breath.
“…There’s nothing else we can do.”
“Is the ‘Soul Protection’ still working? Are Nicola and Chessy still alive?”
“Yes, it’s still connected.”
I did not release the ‘Soul Protection’ that I had cast on them.
The fact that they were still connected meant that my sisters were still alive. I couldn’t give up.
“What should we do?”
“We can rest here together and then move on. Or we can just stay put.”
The thief sisters asked me. Swoo looked at me intently.
The decision was up to me.
“Can Swoo and I find my sisters?”
We needed the help of the expert trackers in the thief class.
“Rest… and let’s move together.”
“Okay, then.”
The ‘Poison Dagger’ sisters gladly accepted my request.
They started a small fire and began preparing a meal. Swoo didn’t have anything, so we decided to share mine.
Swoo sighed as if feeling guilty.
“The boy risked his life to save me. I feel like I’m just causing trouble…”
“No, it’s not like that. With Swoo here, we can explore more safely.”
We could ration our food. As long as we had water, we could endure skipping meals.
“Three days? We can go without food for that long.”
Water, if not consumed within three days, will lead to death, but one can survive without food for three days. If we divide our meals over three days, even with what’s in our backpacks, the two of us can endure for a week.
“And there’s food in the sisters’ backpacks too. If we find them, that problem will be solved.”
“….”
Whenever the topic of the “Miracle Vanguard” sisters came up, Suu’s expression would suddenly harden. It wasn’t anxiety or guilt.
It seemed that Suu felt discomfort towards them.
“…Why do you dislike the sisters?”
I asked her indirectly about the reason.
“The Baekho Clan has had the ability to ‘see through’ since I was born. We can see through truth and lies.”
“Ah…”
“But that doesn’t mean we can know everything.”
Suu returned the meat I gave her back to my bowl and spoke.
“I can only sense whether the person in front of me is harboring evil or not… That’s all I can feel. Villains all emit the same repulsive odor.”
“…You smelled a repulsive odor from the sisters?”
“A lot. It was really hard to bear.”
Half of the soup in Suu’s bowl was gone.
Did Suu eat it? No.
Suu was giving me all of her soup.
“Why aren’t you eating?”
Suu is bigger than me. Most female explorers are. Naturally, they eat more.
That’s why she gave me a lot.
“It’s Ray’s food. I’ll be fine with just this.”
With broad shoulders and a large behind, he seemed like someone who wouldn’t easily be satisfied.
“Swoo is fighting at the front. Eat more. It’s an order from the party leader.”
“….”
I switched plates with Swoo. I forcefully fed him while giving an authoritative command.
“You, really….”
Swoo, facing my stubbornness, burst into laughter as if it was ridiculous. Then he gently stroked my head.
“Thank you, Ray. I can only receive from you, there’s nothing I can do for you. The only thing I can promise is….”
“I’m okay.”
“No, I’m not okay. Just receiving like this…. And on top of that, you’re a boy. Instead of offering a helping hand to a boy born as a girl, you’re only receiving excessive gifts. It’s a matter of my pride.”
“….”
Swoo’s hand quietly descended and lightly touched my cheek. I obediently felt that touch.
“…Because it’s your life that Ray saved. I’ll use it for you. Is that alright…?”
“….”
I could feel Brown’s gaze. Even the “Dictator’s Sword” sisters who had been chattering away suddenly fell silent.
Swoo’s eyes, waiting for my answer, glimmered with a yellowish hue.
I swallowed my saliva and spoke.
“…No. There’s no need to go that far.”
“Huh?”
The reason I saved Swoo was because I couldn’t bear to turn away from someone gasping for breath right in front of me.
If my “Soul Protection” rank had been uncertain like other guys, I wouldn’t have been able to attempt it because I would have been afraid of dying. Fortunately, my “Soul Protection” skill was an EX rank.
I had confidence that saving Swoo would keep me safe. Not absolute certainty, but still.
“I didn’t save you because I wanted something. It was something I could do in the situation that I had to do. That’s why I saved you.”
“……”
Silence. Swoo, who spoke, the “Dictator Swords” sisters who were watching, none of them said anything.
Only Brown opened his mouth and spoke.
“As expected, Rayah.”
“What?”
“It was the same when we first met. You took care of me without any reason. You even gave me a name.”
“…There wasn’t really a grand reason for it.”
While I was having a conversation with Brown.
The thief sisters came closer and patted Swoo’s shoulder. It was nice to see them getting closer after hunting together for a few hours.
“It’s heartwarming.”
I thought that as I scooped up some soup.
Someone appeared in the distance from the passage. Swoo and the thief sisters, who sensed the presence faster than me, were already in a combat stance.
“…Nikola sister? Chessi sister?”
The “Vanguard of Miracles” sisters. But there were more people behind them. Behind the sisters, a group of timid-looking women rushed out.
Six in total. Two sisters and four unknown women.
“What’s this? It’s not just one.”
“What happened, Nikola? Which one of them are you talking about?”
“Black hair. That kid is a B-Rank.”
“Tch, B-Rank, huh… I wonder how cute of a sound it’ll make.”
As soon as they heard the sound of Moore, Suu, who had taken on the form of Baekho using “Beast Soul,” leaped forward.
I wonder what do they do to him if he said the truth