Chapter intermission 2
My ears caught the talk about him from the grumbles of some eternally Bronze explorers in the bar .
That young noble man became a Red Iron explorer after his first labyrinth exploration, it was of doubtful credibility but they told me that they heard it from guild staff when I treated them to some drink .
I decided to meet the guild staff member who told them the story in order to collect the increasingly more credible gossip .
Sorry for the late introduction, I'm someone who survives by reciting the tales of explorers and heroes in the labyrinth city, Barido the minstrel .
Whether this becomes a new heroic tale or a comedic show depends on his deeds . Now then, wonder how will this turn out . . . .
◇Testimony from a certain guild staff member◇
"Yeah I know them, the 『Pendragon』 bunch right?"
An acquaintance guild staff member that I met in the staff bar easily told me the name of their party .
When I inquired him more, he asserted that the rumor saying that [Pendragon] acquired the Red Iron plates after exploring the labyrinth once was true .
Looks like the liquor makes the other staff members' lips loose, several of them start talking about it to me .
"The leader is a young nobleman . "
"Yeah, he seemed to be rich; some beautiful women, girls and little girls were serving him . "
"The main force seemed to be demi-human battle slaves, some beastkins and a scalekin . "
"There was an unattractive maid too right?"
"They said the beautiful girl and little girl were magicians . "
Having two magicians in a party is quite extravagant . In exchange they don't seem to have a priest, so it's probably a party that makes use of the demi-humans to be the disposable damage sponge .
The story about how they brought 100 Magic Cores back after their first labyrinth exploration supports that guess .
By the staff members' request, I play the lute to sing the [Great Exploit of Dozon-sama], and the [Crimson Young Noble's Hydra Extermination] .
Still, [Pendragon] huh . . . to use the name of a fictional hero like this, they have some good taste .
◇First-hand account of certain beautiful explorers◇
"Yes I know him, he saved us in the labyrinth after all . "
"Is he strong you ask? He was amazing, he sliced that hard Maze Ant right in two with a single swing of his sword . "
"It was an expensive looking sword wasn't it . "
"Yeah, it was a pretty sword . "
Even if I only take half of their story about how Pendragon saved them when they were being chased by dozens of Maze Ants, it's quite enough to be a heroic tale .
The aforementioned sword the girls talked about seems to be an excellent mithril sword made by the dwarven master craftsman, Elder Dohar .
I see, it's no wonder he could slice the Maze Ants in half with such an excellent sword .
◇Testimony of certain baggage carriers◇
"Chevalier-sama? He gave me work! Cleaning and weeding!"
"He let me ate a lot of delicious meal!"
"I also ate! It was amazing!"
It seems he employed the baggage caarries who didn't get any work to clean and weed his newly bought mansion .
They spoke truly happily about how he treated the starving them until they were full .
They also told me about how he treated the children who were looking for works in front of the gate with good food .
It'd be nice if he's a charitable person like Dozon-shi, but . . . . I'm slightly worried since there's a rumor about him having little children who are not of age as his mistresses .
◇Testimony of certain maids◇
"Ehehe, it's nice isn't it? These are work clothes you know?"
"Un, Chevalier-sama gave it to us . It was a reward when we became full-fledged maids . "
The young maids' smiles are dazzling .
However, looking at the sewing and the fabric, they must be quite expensive . Usually,, maids have to bring their own clothes each . It's very rare for the master to buy them the clothes like in this mansion .
I've heard that he's rich, but I'm interested just where does he gets his fortune from .
"Eh? Who introduced us?"
"There wasn't anything like introduction . "
"We had been saved when we were dying in the mansion's stable . "
What! Even if they're just honorary, nobles normally only employ people from fitting houses as live-in employees .
To hire uneducated baggage carriers, and even some dying children after healing them as his employees . . . .
Many people who had heard this story gossiped that he had some ulterior motives to save the girls, but my intuition as a minstrel tells me that's not it .
The proof is these girls' smiles . There isn't anyone who will smile that brightly if they're abused .
◇First-hand account of certain middle-class explorers◇
"I think 『Pendragon』 will obtain the Mithril Plate sooner or later . "
The ones speaking are the middle-class explorer who had gone to the labyrinth deep in an expedition, and his friends .
"It was amazing you know, we were in a desperate situation, being surrounded by the Maze Cockroaches all around us . Right at that time, his retainers appeared and killed the Maze Cockroaches one after another . "
"That was really amazing huh . I say those girls must have used magic swords since they easily cut through the slippery crust of the Maze Cockroaches . "
Fumu, not only the Chevalier-dono himself, his servants even have magic swords huh .
It's probably possible with his vast wealth, though . . .
"However, the real thing was after that . "
"I thought I had died when a huge 『Hunter Mantis』 reared its ugly face from the Gushing Hole . "
--What!
There are a lot of mantis monsters in the labyrinth, but if we're talking about [Hunter Mantis], it's a monster that only Red Iron explorers can handle .
Moreover, those explorers will surely escape if they encounter it unexpectedly .
Because it's an opponent that you challenge only after you're certain with the victory by investigating the terrain thoroughly and preparing various elaborate tools and traps beforehand .
"I understand your surprise . Far from stepping back, those little girls overwhelmed the 『Hunter Mantis』 from the beginning to end . "
"I thought that was the last I gonna saw 『Pendragon』 bunch who chased after the 『Hunter Mantis』 that plunged into the Gushing Hole . "
Entering a Gushing Hole willingly, unbelievable .
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