GILF Hunter

Chapter 453: 453 Sus Offer

The expedition members set down their luggage and settled into their respective spots for a rest. It felt as though nearly a full day had passed since their last break.

’If you notice anything unusual, report it immediately. Focus on recovering as much as possible. We still have a long way to go.’

’Yes, ma’am.’

The knights responded weakly to the commander’s orders.

Looking at it objectively, they hadn’t actually exhausted themselves that much... but in a place like this, it was crucial to rest as much as possible whenever the opportunity arose. Everyone set aside their armor without any useless bravado and lay down.

A very faint light was maintained in the simple, temporary resting area.

Due to the environment, they couldn’t light the area properly even during rest. They kept only a minimum light source to avoid being affected by the darkness while they slept.

On one side sat a knight holding a torch. She was the one tasked with managing the fire during the break.

It could be considered bad luck to be assigned the fire duty during a rest period, but it was a job someone had to do anyway.

The knight holding the torch kept a watchful eye toward the passage, doubling as a lookout. Although they were told it was a safe place with no worry of ambush, she couldn’t bring herself to leave the area completely unguarded.

Deep darkness flickered beyond the gloomy corridor.

’Haa...’

A small sigh escaped the knight’s lips.

Even though the torch was burning right beside her, an eerie chill crept in instead of heat. It felt as if a gaze was staring intently at her from somewhere.

Inadvertently turning her head to look at the torch, the knight’s eyes became fixed on the flickering flame.

...Suddenly, she was seized by a powerful, surging impulse.

I have to put out the fire.

It was an incredibly strong and chilling urge.

She felt as though something truly terrible would happen if she didn’t do it immediately.

’...’

No way.

Realizing that this was an absurd thought, the knight shook her head.

The sudden impulse remained, but she thought rationally once more and did not act on it.

The knight realized this was the influence of the wicked mana filling the Labyrinth. However, no knight would fall for such a simple trick.

She pulled her eyes away from the torch and turned her gaze back toward the passage.

...Still, what a truly bizarre place.

Even if she were to boast of her heroic deeds here somewhere else, would people actually believe what happened in this place?

While she was sitting there with those thoughts, someone spoke to her.

Thinking it was another hallucination, she tried to ignore it, but this time it wasn’t a voice in her head; it was real.

Feeling a tap on her shoulder, the knight finally turned her head.

’Are you alright?’

’Ah, yes. More or less...’

The one who spoke from behind was Lia.

Lia had been very awkward around the knights during their first meeting, but after taking charge of their training for a while, she had become somewhat acquainted with everyone.

Lia stared intently at the face of the knight holding the torch before making an offer.

’Give the fire to me and go rest for a bit.’

’Pardon? Really? No, I couldn’t possibly...’

The knight thought again that the Labyrinth’s auditory hallucinations were whispering strange things.

But... the Lia before her eyes was no illusion. The knight saw Lia’s expression and realized the offer was sincere.

’We aren’t included in the fire rotation, so we have some leeway. As long as the torch isn’t extinguished, it’s fine to pass it to someone else for a moment.’

’It’s my turn; I can’t let you do that.’

The knight seemed to think Lia was overstepping to do her job for her. Lia shook her head and corrected the knight’s misunderstanding.

’I came after receiving permission that it’s okay to take over for a moment if someone looks like they’re struggling.’

’Oh, I see...’

’Come on. Give it here.’

It was a tempting offer, far too much to reject flatly.

Relinquishing something held in one’s hand was a mistake even an apprentice knight wouldn’t make, yet Lia was able to pull the torch from the knight’s hand quite easily.

In the end, Lia took the fire from the knight.

Upon taking the torch, Lia felt a slight chill. The expressions of the knights who held the fire were all the same, and she realized this was probably why.

However, perhaps because she was more accustomed to the Labyrinth than the knights, it wasn’t that difficult for her.

’There’s about ten minutes left until the next rotation, right? I’ll swap with the next person, so go rest early.’

’...Th-then. I’ll take you up on that.’

Sending the knight off first, Lia sat in her place instead.

Of course, Lia hadn’t done this solely on her own whim. It was true that she had received permission.

Before entering here, Ian had truly told them to take over the fire for a bit to let the knights rest if they looked like they were having a hard time.

As she had told the knight earlier, the main combatants were not included in the torch duty, so they had some mental leeway...

And above all, unlike the other knights... the members of the Ian Mercenary Group had a way to recover their fallen mental power.

Of course, it was a method that couldn’t be used on the knights, and a method they couldn’t show anyone... a way possible only for the members.

Lia glanced toward where Ian was. Ian and the other members had settled a short distance away.

Because they had taken a spot next to the piled-up luggage under the pretext of examining data and checking remaining supplies, they were hidden from the knights’ resting area and not easily seen.

That method was rarely used during normal Labyrinth exploration because it consumed a lot of physical strength and was inefficient, but this time Ian had no choice but to make an exception.

For one thing, everyone’s stamina had increased remarkably lately.

In such a unique environment, it was more beneficial to use recovery means as actively as possible, even if it meant sacrificing some physical strength.

Therefore, as Lia thought seriously... it was right to share the knights’ burden as much as possible while they had the leeway. The more they did, the more breathing room the expedition would have.

Lia could easily predict that preserving the knights’ strength until the very end would be a vital key to this expedition.

...For the record, it wasn’t because she expected something in return; it was purely for the sake of the knights.

She had become quite close to them while teaching. She couldn’t just stand by and watch only the knights suffer.

-Step...

Just then, footsteps were heard from behind. Was it another knight coming for rotation, or perhaps another member?

Lia turned her head with that thought, but the person approaching her was someone entirely unexpected.

Startled, Lia straightened her body slightly and spoke.

’...Priestess.’

’I told you it’s fine to call me by my name. May I sit beside you for a moment?’

Frenda, wearing a small smile, sat down next to Lia.

Being one of the commanders, Lia thought she would be resting comfortably, but she seemed to be the type with a very high interest in what was happening on the ground.

Frenda, who happened to see Lia swapping with the knight from behind, asked her about it.

’Did you take over the torch?’

’Yes. I thought the rest time for the torchbearers might be too short. I have a bit more leeway than the knights.’

’Even if you have leeway now, the battles will increase as we go.... Wouldn’t it be better to talk to Leader Ian and change the rotation schedule to be shorter instead?’

Never having expected Frenda to strike up a conversation, Lia replied with a slightly troubled expression.

’I did receive the Leader’s permission.’

’I’m not saying it because of the permission... no, shouldn’t it rather be forbidden? To allow such a thing.’

Frenda muttered with a face that suggested something was strange.

If you just listened to the logic, it wasn’t entirely wrong, so she could accept it to some extent, but why go that far?

The future in a Labyrinth is unpredictable, so it was odd to deliberately take on a burden like this of one’s own accord.

’Isn’t Leader Ian leaving too much to all of you?’

’This much is fine. We are accustomed to the Labyrinth, so doing this is actually more helpful to the expedition.’

Frenda’s eyes narrowed as she felt something peculiar.

Something... kept standing out as suspicious.

Looking at Leader Ian as she had spoken with him recently... he was clearly rational, exemplary, and not the type of person to exploit his companions or subordinates for personal gain.

Why did she keep seeing these instances that seemed to push his subordinates into hardship?

Moreover, the subordinates themselves who were tasked with such things seemed to have no complaints at all. It was clear they were hiding something Frenda didn’t know.

’Why don’t you give the fire to me instead? I haven’t done anything so far, so it would be much better than you, who has to handle the fighting.’

’No, Priestess, because it would be difficult for you to recover again...’

’Recover? Isn’t that the same for you all?’

’...You are our peak power, so I meant you should preserve your strength as much as possible for emergencies.’

’...I see.’

Perhaps not expecting Frenda to probe so aggressively, Lia made a minor slip of the tongue.

...It was a comment that sounded as if she herself could recover. Frenda stared at Lia with suspicious eyes.

Maybe... there was something Ian hadn’t revealed.

Some kind of means within this Labyrinth to resolve the negative influences of the Labyrinth.

If he were sharing that only with his own members, all the incomprehensible situations so far made sense. They weren’t sacrificing themselves on purpose; they were doing it because they could handle it.

As for the reason for hiding it... was it simply because it was a trump card he didn’t want to disclose? Or was it because it was a sinister method that shouldn’t be shown to a priestess?

Frenda’s gaze glanced toward the place where Ian was resting.