Walking along the path toward the lord's manor, they exchange light-hearted conversation.

During the walk, he inquired about why the giant crystal at the labyrinth's entrance—the spirit stone—had lost its color.

It seemed that the emergence of the Demon King was caused by the accumulation of stagnant magic within the labyrinth (referred to as "Demon Vortex") reaching a certain threshold. When the Demon King is defeated, this stagnation is suddenly released, resulting in the current state.

However, in this condition, the inside of the labyrinth becomes "too pristine," causing a significant decrease in monster generation. As a result, the labyrinth is temporarily closed off to intruders for a certain period after the Demon King's defeat.

In other words, the labyrinth is operated with the emergence and defeat of the Demon Lord already built into its design. It's a precarious balancing act, one might say, a product of humanity's own sins—but it's become nearly impossible to survive without relying on the resources the labyrinth provides.

The path to the venue drew considerable attention from onlookers.

There was an undeniable radiance about her that couldn't help but catch the eye.

She will become the greatest 'Knight of the Holy Sanctuary of Light'.

I, who can only survive by being shrouded in darkness, am the complete opposite of her.

That we, in this city and within that labyrinth, happened to meet—was itself a kind of miracle, a whimsy of the gods.

The noble's manor, serving as the party venue, was located in the territory governed by the great water spirit—a prime location within the city. It was quite far from the labyrinth. Since it was also distant from the great spirit's temple, my presence as the "beloved one" seemed unlikely to cause any issues.

Ever since I learned that the great spirit might come to eat the "beloved one," I've become obsessively cautious about the distance to the main temple.

"This place is amazing... Is the lord a noble?"

"Of course he is. The current lord is Count Perme, and it was his predecessor who invited the great water spirit here, marking the beginning of the city's history as a labyrinth fortress."

"Invited?"

"Huh? Didn't you know, Hikaru? You need to gather at least three great spirits to create a labyrinth, right?"

"I've heard that before... So that's how it is—humans gathering the Great Spirits, deliberately creating dungeons where monsters emerge."

Either way, it's a mansion.

Not a castle, but a two-story palace with a large estate and gardens.

Judging from the watchtowers and old stone walls, it's certainly an old building.

It might even predate the rise of the dungeon city.

The mansion was surprisingly accessible—no formal entry required, we could just walk right in.

As a former Japanese person, I usually imagine such places having tight security, but it seems surprisingly lax.

"Ah! You guys...!"

"Huh?"

"Ah! It really is you! Just a quick word?"

Turning around at the voice, I recognized the men—they looked familiar from somewhere.

The way they're dressed changes their impression significantly, but it seems they were scattered by the Demon King right before the staircase leading to the second floor.

At that time, when we arrived, everyone was in tatters, battered and broken, but at least they've recovered enough to still be able to form a party.

I didn't witness the full events, so I don't know whether all of them survived or if some were killed by the Demon King.

Among them, a particularly young boy is looking at us with sparkling eyes.

The young man who appears to be the leader continues speaking.

"We were saved back then. If it hadn't been for your rescue, we would have been completely wiped out. Please allow me to express our gratitude."

"No, no, it was Alex and the others who directly rescued us. We arrived a bit late."

At that time, Alex and the others had already been fighting.

We were merely reinforcements.

"Of course, we're grateful to them. The three young rising stars of the famed 'Thunder Fang' party. It's impressive they managed to hold their own against such a demon lord."

Thunder Fang...? So that's their party name...

They seem like nice guys, but with a name like that, it's kind of overwhelming—like they're not living up to it at all.

Well... maybe that's just the kind of thing teens go for. Or perhaps it's Alex's Canadian flair—something too bold for a Japanese person to say out loud, yet perfectly fine for him to go all-in on.

The explorer, while expressing gratitude toward Alex and the others, continued with, "But..."

"If it had been just them, the front lines would have collapsed immediately. We were watching from behind, so we knew. They were incredibly strong, but even they were clearly on the defensive against the Demon King. Without your arrival, it would have been over in just a few minutes. If that had happened, we would have been killed too."

Indeed, Alex still wasn't at a point where he could fight alone like that.

For someone with less than a year as an explorer and a former Earthling, that was quite impressive, but it was clear that facing the Demon King with just three people was beyond their limits.

Besides, if we had lost, they would have been killed by the Demon King as well—there was no doubt about that.

The Demon King didn't seem like the type to overlook an opponent who had fallen unconscious.

Still, that's just hindsight.

Even without Alex and the others, we would've lost on our own.

"Just take this thanks. You two... no, you were the one who led the way, which is why we managed to hold our ground there."

"Leading? I just happened to fight in a way that suited that Demon Lord."

"That's not true at all! I was watching you the whole time while blowing my horn. Whenever you gave an order, the Demon Lord moved exactly as you said... it was like watching the future unfold!"

The boy's eyes sparkled as he spoke with fervor.

He was the one who had been desperately blowing his horn the entire time.

Back then, he had been crying the whole time—completely different from now.

Still, it's odd to be praised so highly. Saying it felt like seeing the future is definitely going too far.

The Demon King didn't have many action patterns.

Rather, the monsters themselves didn't have many action patterns either.

"…………Well, I was just caught up in the moment back then, but it would've been better if someone had been saved."

In reality, it was a victory earned through everyone's combined efforts.

I just did my part, so I can't help but worry that I might be misunderstood.

"Ah, Hikaru's blushing. Even though he can fight so well, he has such low self-esteem."

"No, I'm not really good at fighting. I just happen to be good at buying time."

"See? You always say things like that right away."

Refreia's evaluation of me is oddly high too, but that's probably just favoritism from being in the same party. It's also likely because she's a warrior and our styles mesh well.

"Um, um, I haven't seen you around this town before, but were you exploring some other dungeon? With that kind of strength, you could easily be Gold Rank (Gnome)... no, even Magic Silver Rank (Ondine) wouldn't be surprising."

Even when venturing into foreign dungeons, a hunter's rank still applies, apparently.

The boy with the horn is probably assuming I'm some top-tier explorer from another dungeon.

Though telling him the truth might crush his hopes, there's no point in hiding it.

"I'm actually Bronze."

"Eh... Bronze...? You mean Spiritus rank, right...?"

"Yeah. I just became a hunter recently."

"I can't believe... you're actually a Spiritus..."