GILF Hunter

Ian and the group began their search of the dungeon’s interior.

Before that, Ian turned to the members and advised them.

’Don’t wander around alone. There might be traps.’

’Yes!’

Frey also spoke to her own member standing beside her.

’Lisia. Light it up a bit more.’

The tall mercenary wearing a hood, called Lisia, muttered something, and a cluster of light like large fireflies bloomed from her fingertips and spread throughout the room.

The room brightened in an instant as if the lights had been turned on.

’Oh... this is.’

’Ah, did I not explain? This one is a Spiritist.’

’A Spiritist?’

Everyone had assumed she was definitely a warlock. They were all slightly taken aback by the completely unexpected introduction.

Hearing that, Ian’s members all stole glances at Tanya.

’...?’

Lisia, noticing the strange reaction, also turned her head slightly to look at Tanya.

Seeing how they reacted to the introduction of a Spiritist, she seemed to have realized that Tanya was also related to spirits in some way.

’Co... Could it be you are one too?’

’Yes... a little.’

Lisia, who had been quietly following behind Frey without a word until now, suddenly brightened and spoke to Tanya.

’Then which temple are you from...?’

’Eh...?’

’Ah... then who is your master?’

’...?’

’Then perhaps the Spiritist Guild is...’

’....’

The conversation was cut off just like that because it couldn’t be sustained.

For Tanya, these were questions she hadn’t expected at all and couldn’t answer.

Ian, who had been listening to the two talk, asked Frey in a low voice.

’Spiritists are quite focused on academic lineage, aren’t they?’

’Yeah. Since spirit contracts are... hard to do in nature these days, you have to be introduced to a spirit by a teacher or join a temple to do it. They say the competition to enter a temple is the problem lately. Your kid is really lucky.’

Ian hadn’t known about the internal affairs of Spiritists at all. No wonder he hadn’t seen many Spiritist mercenaries around...

He was curious where Frey had managed to find and hire a Spiritist mercenary.

From then on, Lisia hovered around Tanya subtly.

When Tanya, feeling slightly pressured, hid behind Ian, Lisia went back to Frey’s side and whispered.

’Leader, what should we do? That Spiritist kid over there says she hasn’t been to a temple... Should I write her a recommendation letter?’

’You’re just a regular student. What kind of recommendation can you write?’

’Then couldn’t you write it, Leader...?’

’How can I give a recommendation to a Spirit Temple? Be quiet and go find some gold chests.’

’Ah, aaaaah!’

Lisia, who kept pestering Frey, eventually had her cheek pinched.

Meanwhile, everyone slowly circled the room, checking the chests one by one.

In the first room alone, several types of chests were hidden here and there. Everyone realized for the first time that treasure chests could be so diverse.

’What is that? It looks unique...’

Rin pointed to one of the chests and asked. It was a chest with a suspicious stone tablet attached to the front instead of a lock.

’This is... a Cipher Chest.’

Ian, who checked the chest’s appearance and detailed information, replied. Upon checking the details, it was a chest containing magic materials.

’Then it only opens if you solve the code?’

’Yeah. If you fail, a trap activates, but if you solve it properly, there’s more benefit.’

In this place, the trap gauge rose every time a treasure chest was opened.

Specifically, if a trap was triggered by failing to disarm a chest, it rose even more significantly, and if this gauge exceeded the limit, all chests would be locked down.

That could be called the limit for opening treasure chests in this area.

A Cipher Chest like this hardly raised the trap gauge if successfully disarmed, so it was a good choice to start with.

Opening these small things in the beginning and then opening the largest chest at the very end when the gauge was almost at its limit was the most efficient way to loot this place.

Seeing Ian and Rin talking in front of the chest, Frey approached but recoiled upon seeing the stone tablet.

’Ugh. A Cipher Chest...’

’Would you like to open it, Miss Frey?’

’Ah, I’ll pass on that.’

Frey shook her head vigorously. It was the type of chest Frey hated most.

Lisia, who was following behind her, raised her hand high.

’Then... I’ll open it.’

’Go ahead.’

Lisia stepped forward confidently. She seemed to like these kinds of chests that required brainwork.

Lisia checked the information on the stone tablet and carefully began her work while interpreting the content.

Ian, who had yielded the first chest, watched from behind as Lisia disarmed the trap.

’You should send that to the right first.’

’....’

Ian, who was watching Lisia’s work from behind, muttered.

’She’s trying to concentrate, but he keeps being noisy...’

Lisia, who couldn’t even get angry because he seemed to be a guest close to her Leader, tried to ignore him but her hand faltered.

’...Huh?’

...He’s right?

Lisia, who belatedly confirmed that his words were correct, was startled.

’Not that way, connect to the bottom first...’

As Lisia began disarming according to Ian’s words, Ian’s instructions from behind continued.

Moving her hands according to those words that followed without hesitation, Lisia was astonished.

’How can he interpret it at such a speed...?’

Ian gave directions as if he already knew the answer beforehand.

-Click.

’It opened...’

It was the fastest speed among all her attempts so far. It felt like she solved it several times faster than when she did it by herself.

Inside the chest were several high-grade mana crystals.

Since Ian had practically solved most of it, Lisia turned back thinking of sharing the contents, but Ian had already gone elsewhere, apparently uninterested in that loot.

Lisia immediately ran to Frey.

’Le-Leader! That person, just who...?’

’Hmm? Ah... that guy. He’s smart, right? Phew. Work would be so much easier if the guild had someone like that.’

’No, that’s not it.’

’If Erika hadn’t messed up the acquisition back then... we could have bought him when he was cheapest.’

’That’s not the problem...!’

Lisia, who was making a fuss, had her cheek pinched by Frey again.

＊　＊　＊

Rin touched the chest’s locking mechanism with a tense face.

It had been almost 10 minutes since she started disarming the trap. After struggling for a while, Rin’s expression brightened considerably.

’Done! I opened it!’

’You’re too slow.’

’You told me to do it without mistakes even if I’m slow...!’

’There’s a limit to being slow!’

Listening to Frey’s nagging from behind, Rin checked inside the chest. Inside was a potion in a bottle of unknown identity.

’Ah, this is an elixir, right!’

’Looks like it. Are you going to drink it right now?’

’No, I’m going to give it to the Leader. Our Leader collects these things.’

’He collects elixirs?’

’He’s doing something very peculiar...’

Frey muttered with a look of incomprehension.

For mercenaries, an elixir is usually something they lack and consume immediately. To think he’s doing something only noble brats preparing for succession would do.

She couldn’t tell what kind of strange plan he was preparing again.

By the time Rin tucked the elixir safely into her backpack, an anomaly occurred inside the dungeon.

With a loud noise, the floor of the dungeon began to shake.

’Di-Did I touch something wrong?’

’No, it’s always like this here. Something suddenly happens once in a while as you open chests. Just wait quietly and it’ll end.’

Since they had opened several chests so far, the trap gauge was also filled to some extent.

Every time the trap gauge reached a certain level, a trap effect that hindered exploration was activated throughout the dungeon.

Sensing the abnormality, the group members scattered nearby began to gather.

Ian tried to reassure the members while checking what kind of effect was activating. Since it was something activated forcibly, it didn’t produce an effect that caused direct damage.

Usually, the effects were focused on hindering exploration. Things like lowering concentration to decrease the trap disarming success rate, or lowering strength to decrease the limit of belongings one could carry...

-Clang!

At that moment, bulkheads suddenly dropped from the ceiling.

’...A Rearrangement Trap!’

Ian, identifying the type of trap, hurriedly shouted for everyone to stick together, but because it was hard to move while the floor was shaking violently, everyone was unable to gather properly.

’Ah, Leader!’

’Kyaa!’

Mika, who was slightly further away, was trapped beyond a bulkhead.

’Mika! Are you okay?’

’Lia!’

Just before the bulkhead fully descended, Lia, who was nearby, jumped inside and moved to where Mika was. Thanks to that, Mika was prevented from being separated alone.

’Mika! Lia! Can you hear me?’

’Yes!’

’This just changes the room positions, so wait in that room! We’ll join up with you!’

’Ye, yes! Understood!’

Ian shouted to the two beyond the closed wall.

It was a Rearrangement Trap that randomly changed the positions of the rooms, resetting the map exploration progress.

Soon, with an even larger vibration, the rooms and walls began to move.

＊　＊　＊

’Ugh...’

’Ow, ow...’

Mika and Lia, who had been lying flat on the floor due to the vibration shaking as if an earthquake had occurred, barely stood up while staggering.

’To think a room moves... only truly nonsensical things happen in the Labyrinth.’

The two, complaining as such, lightly looked around. The location and path where they had been just a moment ago had completely changed.

’Ah, Lia. Look over there. There’s something there. A torch is lit.’

’A torch...?’

Mika discovered something strange in one of the passages newly connected to the room.

Something like the light of a torch was burning beyond the passage.

There hadn’t been any places where torches were hung until now... Does that mean someone is over there? Mika, thinking so, suggested to Lia.

’Let’s go check it out.’

’The Leader told us to stay in this room.’

’Maybe it’s something our party members marked. Let’s just check.’

’...Then just one block.’

Since Ian said monsters wouldn’t appear. Lia eventually nodded. Her thought was that they would just check and come right back.

Just in case, after assessing for hidden enemies or traps with an emergency Crisis Detection Potion, the two moved their steps toward the place where the torch hung beyond the passage.

’....’

Inside a dark room.

Under a torch hanging on the wall... a suspicious figure wearing a hood was sitting.

’You are...’

’Ah, what. It’s the Merchant mister...’

Mika muttered with a look of disappointment. Lia also put away the sword she was holding.

To think they don’t even get surprised or question why he’s in such a place even after seeing this. Both of them seemed to have adapted excessively to the Labyrinth.

Mika, approaching the suspicious merchant, asked.

’Mister. What are you selling this time? Pockets again?’

’Ah... Welcome.’

’It would be nice if there were some magic books.’ Mika, thinking so, looked over the stall, but this time no products were laid out.

Instead, the merchant spoke in a somewhat unpleasant voice.

’In this place... you can take the future.’

’The future...?’

’It is an opportunity to change the future.’

A slight dizziness was felt.