Chapter 445 - 445 - Just What You'd Expect from the Perseus, Tool Characters Sure Are Useful

Asfi drew a deep breath, lifted her eyes to the man standing there with that easy smile, and, with no other choice, gave in.

"...Fine. But give me some time."

Leon waved a hand generously.

"No rush. Just don't forget."

Asfi nodded and put the list away.

"Then we'll take our leave. This Withered Bone Wasteland is too dangerous for weaklings like us."

Leon glanced over the Hermes Familia's group. With his eyes as they were now, he sized up their rough strength at a glance.

Most of them were veteran Lv.2s, and the few Supporters were Lv.1s who only needed a Great Feat to go up. The strongest of them by his read was the young weretiger, Falgar. With the natural physical advantages of a weretiger, plus a Beastification skill he had most likely awakened, and with Asfi's support and the Mages backing him, he probably had combat ability on par with a Lv.3, maybe a high-end one.

No wonder. With him as their vanguard, and a little caution, exploring Floor 28 wasn't out of the question for them. Provided, of course, they didn't lose their heads and go toe to toe with a monster head-on, and didn't take on more than two at once.

"All right. Be careful out there."

Asfi nodded to Leon and the others, then led her party along the wall toward the floor passage.

Why hug the wall?

Because Leon had turned this entire wasteland into his battlefield, and the battlefield was now a land of ice and snow.

"Oh, there's one thing I forgot to mention."

A few steps on, Asfi turned back, her tone serious.

"Mr. Leon, when we were coming back from deeper in, we caught a glimpse of two figures. If I saw correctly, the clothes they were wearing were Evilus. What they were doing on this floor, I couldn't say."

She paused, and lowered her voice a little.

"I thought it was better to tell you."

"Those lunatics will do anything, even down in the Dungeon."

"Please be careful."

Leon's eyes narrowed slightly as he listened.

He exchanged a look with Jeanne, Rose and Persephone, then nodded gravely.

"Information received. Thank you, Asfi."

"When we're back on the surface, Hostess of Fertility. It's on us."

"Then I won't say no!"

Asfi answered with a smile, and she and her companions put on the Hades Head. Their figures melted into the air without a sound.

Leon watched the line of footprints in the snow recede, and only after a long moment did he look away.

"The Hades Head... a magic item that turns you invisible. Now that's a convenient thing to have. Shame it's not for sale."

He clicked his tongue, pushed down the envy, and turned his thoughts to the information he'd just been handed.

"People who look like Evilus, and on the Withered Bone Wasteland of Floor 28. Interesting."

He said it under his breath, then looked at his companions.

"Any Adventurer party that can operate in the Lower Floors long term and come back whole is nobody's pushover. Forget going looking for trouble with them, one slip and we could be the ones who go down. So what do you all make of it?"

Before Jeanne or Rose could speak, Kureha, fresh out of the fight and still riding the edge of it, snorted first.

"In the Dungeon, Evilus tricks amount to luring monsters and swarming you. What else could they pull? This isn't the surface, there aren't that many places to hide and plot in the dark. This is the Dungeon, Floor 28 in the Lower Floors. Monsters don't care whether you're Evilus or the Order Alliance. If you came down from above, they treat you all the same."

She gave a cold snort, contempt in her voice.

"For all we know they'll be dead under a monster's claws before they get anything done. If you ask me, the odds of that aren't small at all."

Margaret and Iri traded a look and clicked their tongues.

"Ugh... what are these people even after?"

Rose cupped her chin, thinking.

"Luring monsters? Monster Delivery... that would be their usual style."

She raised her eyes to Leon.

"Leon, that welcome ceremony we ran into right when we entered Floor 28, plus what Asfi just told us... do you think it could be those people behind it? And if it is, what would they be trying to accomplish?"

Before Leon could answer, Persephone pushed up her glasses and analyzed it calmly.

"That Strengthened Species Gun Libellula we ran into in the Great Tree Labyrinth had their shadow behind it."

"But we're on Floor 28 now. Evilus is mostly Lv.1 and Lv.2, with maybe the odd Lv.3. What can they even do here? What do they want to do?"

She paused, then went on.

"The worst case, I think, is that they want to keep us here. But with the strength they have, they'd surely know that isn't remotely realistic. And when we were under attack by the monsters, they didn't come out to kick us while we were down. That attitude is a strange one. Maybe they only want to obstruct us, to slow us down?"

"All right. Rather than waste energy guessing at this and that, let's use the time to rest."

Leon looked around, his gaze passing over the battlefield strewn with corpses and the snow stained red, and settling at last on the panel only he could see. On the level line, a bright Lv.5 stood out clear as day.

Then, with everyone watching, the corners of his mouth climbed until his smile was pure undisguised arrogance.

"Heh, let those rats scheme in the dark all they like. Every plot and trick is a paper tiger in front of absolute power."

Laurier pulled a face.

"Hmph, so you're Lv.5 now, big deal. Tsk, tsk, ever since His Lordship became a First-Class Adventurer, even his voice has gotten louder."

Leon's face darkened, and he flicked her hard on the forehead.

"Go on, get some rest while you can."

"Fine."

...

...

Three days later.

While Leon and the others pushed steadily toward unexplored territory at a rate of one floor per day, the situation on the surface was growing more turbulent.

On the top level of the Guild, in the meeting room deepest inside, argument tore through the heavy air.

"Impossible! Absolutely not!"

"How many days has it been since the attack? If you pull part of our strength down into the Dungeon now, who maintains order in Orario?"

"Tsk, don't play dumb. Doesn't the Guild keep a private force of its own on the quiet? Pull them out to fill the gap. Besides, we're Adventurers. If we don't go into the Dungeon, are we supposed to live off the subsidies you hand out?"

"You..."

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