Chapter 52
There were some inevitable flaws in Sean's scheme.
If it had been structured so that only we provided mana while he didn't, we would have felt something was wrong and refused.
The linked mana consumption was essential for him to influence the familiar and control our mana consumption at will.
Seeking Novices was probably both for easier subjugation and to preemptively prevent cases where targets might have more mana than him.
Based on Berk's words, they must have done this several times before.
But by choosing our team, their luck had run out.
When Sean completely lost consciousness, Berk finally grasped the situation.
"Tch!"
True to his Senior candidate status, Berk's escape attempt was immediate.
But we were already in the sky.
The only escape route was jumping.
Sure enough.
He stood at the edge of the ray's wide back.
"Hmmm~ Not gonna jump?"
"Kuh...!"
It felt like certain dialogue should follow, but Berk just gritted his teeth.
Well, it wouldn't be appropriate dialogue for a male human anyway.
"In that case..."
Berk changed strategies.
From escape to frontal assault.
But that seemed like an even worse move.
"I'll handle this. I didn't get to properly vent earlier."
"We already caught one, so no need to hold back."
"Roger."
I instructed the ray to stop flying and hover.
The ray effortlessly achieved hovering, something difficult even for most flying creatures.
As expected of a flying ray.
At least it was worth the mana consumption.
"You'll face me alone? A Novice, against me, a Senior candidate?"
With stable footing, Berk spoke more confidently, seeming psychologically steadier.
As his dismay faded, what remained was self-loathing and anger at having chosen flight from mere Novices instead of fight.
Escape was impossible anyway.
So, the path to survival...
"I'll just subdue all three of you and force you to move."
Is just that.
§
"Nice try, but..."
Rei dusted off her hands after soccer-kicking Berk's head as he lay sprawled on the ray's back.
"You need to work on your judgment first."
Not a drop of blood stained her hands that had been wrapped in Argentooth's mana.
She seemed to be shaking off the lingering sensation of impact rather than blood.
"How was that? Caught him properly this time?"
We didn't really need to keep this one alive, but…
Having a spare is better, I guess.
"Yeah. Well done."
"Hmph."
Rei tilted her head up with a snort at my brief praise.
The way she put her hands on her hips and shrugged her shoulders somehow triggered an urge to tease her.
What was it called again?
Smug? Mesugaki?
Something along those lines.
A strange irritation crept up, too awkward to say anything to Rei but too annoying to just ignore.
I can't take it out on Rei who fought hard and won splendidly.
I'm a very rational and cool-headed team leader.
There should be no unreasonable punishment.
But it's fine.
There’s someone here who can receive my irritation.
"Hey, you're awake, aren't you?"
Oh, playing dead are we?
I stopped feeding mana to the ray and confirmed with magic vision that he had properly recovered.
"Answer."
Sean hurriedly sat up at my words filled with killing intent.
"Y-yes."
"Yes?"
"...Yes, sir."
Sean carefully clasped his hands together in a respectful posture.
"There are more accomplices, right?"
"Pardon?"
"Besides you two. They're on the Floating Island, correct?"
"Well..."
You seeing this?
He’s still trying to be clever, even in a situation like this.
But directly pressuring him with anger would be unwise.
I employed a more refined interrogation technique.
"Don't tell me if you don't want to."
"What?"
"Thanks to my friend's excellent work, we have another mouth to feed. However, we don't necessarily need... two."
If you won't talk, I'll just kill you and interrogate Berk.
Sean's pupils shook violently.
Berk was the one who immediately tried to save himself when Sean became incapacitated.
Camaraderie?
He'd be a saint to have any left.
If he chose to maintain loyalty to Berk and accept death, I was prepared to respect his wishes and handle it accordingly.
But there was no need.
"Y-you're right."
Sean started talking, "There's a ruin on the Floating Island."
"A ruin?"
I found another undiscovered ruin this easily?
Isn't the First Floor's exploration rate quite high?
"It's under the Floating Island."
"Ah, that explains it."
Most people didn't think to dig into the ground after getting on a Floating Island.
Or rather, even if they thought of it, it was hard to implement.
Even getting onto a Floating Island was by no means an easy task.
And bringing excavation equipment on top of that?
If nothing's found, the losses would be astronomical.
Even Enigma, one of the Five Great Guilds, attempted Floating Island exploration several times before washing their hands of it, saying it wasn't profitable.
This happened despite Enigma being a guild of pure hardcore explorers who enjoyed all sorts of bizarre activities, unlike other major guilds.
If they failed despite investing the resources of a major guild, would other Explorers not know about this?
Therefore, except for academically passionate school members or those like me challenging it out of curiosity and adventure, most organizations didn't even glance at Floating Islands.
There was a reason few Explorers attempted Floating Island exploration.
But despite previous examples, some people still dug into this Floating Island claiming they were different.
The answer was obvious.
They had targeted this specific Floating Island based on definitive information.
Information that convinced them a ruin was definitely here.
"Explain in more detail."
"Well..."
"Kuhek, S-Sean... shut... up..."
"Leaf."
"Got it."
Gurgle—
Leaf immediately covered Berk's face with water to silence him.
Already crushed by Rei, Berk had no strength left to pull his head out of Undine's water prison.
"Continue."
"Y-yes... but we haven't seen the end of it yet."
"Why?"
"Well, I don't really..."
Sean didn't know much.
Sean and Berk were procurement agents.
Sean was essential for his flying ability, and Berk, his long-time partner nearly at Senior level, served as Sean's guard.
They were responsible for supplying not just living necessities but also bringing in outside manpower for ruin exploration.
Thus, they weren't privy to the exploration team's situation inside the ruin.
They didn't even know their classes or affiliations.
"Then what exactly do you know?" Rei asked sharply.
Sean stammered in response, "...T-the n, n-umbers?"
"Well, as a supplier, you'd need to know the headcount."
They couldn't perform their role properly if that was hidden too.
"You managed to carry out missions with such fragmentary information?"
Rei clicked her tongue with a "tsk tsk," wondering if he was stupid or just simple.
"Hmm... maybe there's a definite leader whose trust keeps the structure working?"
"Oh?"
"If it's a cell organization structure, with upper management firmly controlling subordinates, it makes sense that people at lower levels don't know each other."
Rei's eyes widened at Leaf's unexpectedly sharp analysis.
I also tried to hide my surprise.
Wait, Leaf has this kind of analytical ability hidden away?
Is Leaf hiding her analytical skills or something?
Even Sean stared at Leaf with a blank face that clearly showed, "How do you know all that?"
However, Leaf seemed more confused by these reactions.
"Huh? Eh? Didn't everyone think that much?"
"Uh, well..."
"Even Roman? No! Aren’t we like that too!?"
"We... are?"
What's this, were we?
Meeting my questioning gaze, Rei shook her head, indicating she didn't know either.
Frustrated with us, Leaf thumped her chest with her fist as she spoke, "Remember our classmates!? They wouldn't really meet without Roman, but when Roman's there, they all gather around!"
Ah, the classmates.
"That's what you meant? Just say classmates from the start."
Leaf threw light Elf punches at Rei with the same fist she'd been thumping her chest with.
Rei, the Battle Mage who had demolished even the martial artist, Berk, didn't even react.
"I understand your organization's level now."
I threw my final question at Sean, "Tell me everything you know about that boss."
This time, Sean hesitated to speak.
Fear, guilt, skepticism—various emotions created hesitation.
But, all was ultimately meaningless in the face of death's terror.
Sean spoke, "The boss's name is Jan Wasik."
...Hmm?
Jan Wasik?
§
The leader of the Floating Island excavation team and an Explorer from the Gravediggers±not one of the Five Great Guilds but still quite renowned.
Jan Wasik muttered while waiting for the procurement team that hadn't sent any word despite being due:
"The suppliers are late."
"Maybe they picked the wrong target and got caught?"
"Hmm..."
Wasik thought his subordinate's suggestion wasn't impossible.
Berk and Sean.
Though strong by First Floor standards, they'd definitely lose against a proper Senior rank.
They might manage to escape if they fought together, but Senior ranks didn't travel alone either.
While Berk was secondary, losing Sean with his flying familiar was quite regrettable, but even that couldn't disturb Wasik's mood now.
Because it would end soon.
"It doesn't matter. We're almost there."
Though not visible to the naked eye, Wasik could feel what he wanted was right ahead.
"The altar is right in front of us. Move out."