Unwanted Undead Adventurer - Episode 34

That name sounds familiar. Of course, it’s that girl adventurer who saved me in the labyrinth. I wonder what she’s doing now. Since then, I’ve been careful to keep a low profile when I go out, so I’ve never run into her. Because of that, I don’t have any information about her current situation.

Did she ever manage to find a way out of being a solo? Her skills weren’t bad, so I’m sure the Adventurer’s Guild would be able to help her find party members…

Well, never mind that right now. More importantly, there’s the knightly-looking man in front of me. With his light golden hair and blue eyes, his fearless, refreshing appearance is just like a knight in a painting.

“…First, who are you…?” I ask, thinking that I should find out who he is before deciding to talk to him or not.

He gets a look on his face that says, “Oh, right,” and introduces himself.

“That was rude of me. I am Idress Rogue, a knight of the First Knight Order of Yalan Kingdom.”

The first knight order is the most powerful knight order in Yalan Kingdom, with only the elite among the knights. Those who belong to it are the sons of powerful nobles and talented swordsmen, all of whom are expected to become prominent figures in the future. Ordinary people cannot belong to it. Someone like that is looking for Rina? I wonder why.

“Why would such an important person be looking for a girl…?” I ask curiously.

The man looks hesitant at this question, but doesn’t do anything to hide it.

“Well… I’m ashamed to tell you this, but this girl Rina is my sister. I’m not going to go into detail because that would be embarrassing, but one day she ran off and disappeared somewhere. I came here because I heard that she became an adventurer and I received a testimony that a similar girl was seen here in Malt.”

“Then, by Rina, you mean… Rina Rogue-sama?”

“That’s right… You wouldn’t happen to know her, would you? I’ve asked around at other places, but the Adventurer’s Guild won’t give out personal information that easily, and knights are shunned in bars…”

So he went around to blacksmith stores and other stores that adventurers might use and asked the them about it, as well as their customers. The Adventurer’s Guild would not be able to refuse a request from the state, but this man did not go to such lengths and just walked around asking questions. The Adventurer’s Guild would not easily give out information if he asked them as an individual. Most of the people who belong to the Adventurer’s Guild have something weighing on their conscience. If someone comes along and tries to find out something about their past that they don’t want dug up, they basically turn them down.

So what do I do…?

“I don’t recall anyone by the name of ‘Rina Rogue’.”

“…I see. That’s too bad. If you find her anywhere, please contact me. I will be staying in this city for a while. The Order has given me a leave of absence. It won’t be much longer, but… I’d like to find her and bring her home.”

He then tells me where he’s staying and trudges into the store. I guess he’s going to ask Clope and Luka. Something about the way he walks away feels sorrowful and a bit lonely, but it’s not a good idea to mention Rina without her permission.

I’m pretty sure that the Rina that Idress was referring to is the Rina that I met. I’m one of the oldest members of the Adventurer’s Guild in this city, and there’s only one female adventurer named Rina that I know of. Well, it’s possible that another one appeared at the Adventurer’s Guild while I was away, but it’s highly unlikely. The only problem is that the name is different, but I’m pretty sure that Rina LePage is an alias.

The registration system of the Adventurer’s Guild is very simple, and it doesn’t matter if a name is fake or not. The only thing they rely on is how someone identifies themselves. And even if they’re found to be lying, there’s no punishment. The basic attitude of the system is that it’s all right as long as you do what they ask.

Of course, if they’re found to be a criminal on the run, they’re turned in to the government or authorities, but there are many cases where they work without being recognized as such. This is unavoidable since they can’t be identified as criminals at a glance. Moreover, the Guild is a very convenient organization for adventurers. That’s why adventurers are often looked at with suspicion.

Of course, I have no intention of saying that Rina is like those people. But since she’s hiding her name, she probably doesn’t want to be found. That’s why I told Idress that I’ve never heard of her. In fact, even though I’ve heard of Rina LePage, I’ve never heard of Rina Rogue, and that’s not a lie… Though it’s intentionally misleading. After all, I’ve pretty much inferred that they’re probably the same person, and I’m probably right. Well, I’m sure it’s fine.

I have my own things to do, and if something happens, I can help Rina then. If a knight like that is doing something in this town, he’ll stand out…

And so, I start walking and think to myself, “For the time being, I’ll search the labyrinth.”

◇◆◇◆◇

The place where I’m heading is, of course, the uncharted area of Labyrinth of the Moon’s Reflection. In other words, I’m heading for where the Giant Skeleton appeared.

The Labyrinth of the Moon’s Reflection is quiet as usual. Every once in a while, I come across iron-class adventurers fighting, but they’re so desperate that they don’t notice my presence as I pass by at a distance. It’s partly due to the fact that I’m trying to suppress my magic and spirit energy as much as possible so that they won’t notice me.

In the past, I didn’t need to use such techniques because I didn’t have much power, and with a bit of stealth, neither people nor monsters could find me. I’m not sure if I should be happy or annoyed that I’m now strong enough that I’ll be found if I don’t do this, but it’s not a big problem at the moment. Hiding your magic and spirit energy is also a good way to practice manipulating them.

After passing through the hidden passageway and arriving at the teleportation circle, I don’t hesitate to use it. Since I’ve already used it once, it doesn’t feel dangerous. I’ve heard that there are teleportation circles that don’t always take you to the same place every time, but I’d like to believe that this labyrinth doesn’t have that level of nastiness. I’ve heard that it’s relatively common in high difficulty labyrinths, but things aren’t like that here, and… And no matter how much I say that, it’s just a hope.

Fortunately, that hope is fulfilled and I’m sent to a place I’ve seen before. It’s the place where I fought the Giant Skeleton, and I step forward gently with my sword at the ready. The reason I’m doing this was because there’s no guarantee that the Giant Skeleton won’t respawn.

This is probably a boss room, but monsters in boss rooms are divided into two categories: those that reappear after a certain amount of time, and those that appear only the first time. I can’t be sure which one this is without a detailed investigation, but I have to assume that there’s a possibility.

However, no matter how long I wait outside the magic circle, there’s no sign of the Giant Skeleton spawning. I don’t know if I just didn’t wait long enough or if it’ll never appear again, but for now I can rest easy and lower my sword. I’m not going to put it back in its sheath just yet, though…

I look around and see nothing but empty space. There’s a reason why I came here again. The teleportation circle I just transferred to appeared right after I defeated the Giant Skeleton. While Loris, the owner of the restaurant, was unconscious, I looked around and found it.

But that wasn’t the only thing I found.

There was actually another teleportation circle. It was in a position symmetrical to the one I used to get here, and it probably leads to somewhere else.

Yes, the Labyrinth of the Moon’s Reflection still has more to explore.