Chapter 74
"Even for you, isn't this too reckless?"
After my conversation with Costin about the Mana Concentrator ended.
While Costin was absorbed in examining the Divine Blood Serum that Cordelia had left behind, Rei scurried over.
I casually shook my head at Rei's worried words.
"You know. It's not a problem."
"Well, I know, but still..."
Rei scratched her cheek while mumbling, giving off the scent of someone embarrassed.
"More importantly, what's Leaf doing?"
"Hmm?"
Leaf had quietly taken the Mana Concentrator that Costin and I had used and was fiddling with it.
Simple curiosity?
Or is it mischief? Does she want to try putting in some mana?
It was neither.
Like someone who had handled a Mana Concentrator before, Leaf skillfully pulled levers and infused mana, tinkering away until the concentrator began to emit a resonance.
Along with the mechanical humming sound of the machine running, the concentrator rattled.
Then, from the discharge port at the bottom where Leaf was supporting it, crystals clinked out.
"What's that?"
"The concentrator doesn't just collect. It creates a kind of mana crystal, you could say?"
Apparently, mana crystals made this way would later become potions after being processed with magic stones and various catalysts and reagents.
"Leave that be. I'll process it and give it to you later. You don't have the tools or reagents to handle this anyway."
Costin, who had just finished his preliminary analysis of the Divine Blood Serum, spoke up, "Roman Sun."
She’s suddenly using my full name?
"Yes?"
"You..."
Costin spoke in an even lower tone than when they had addressed Leaf.
"Are you perhaps a descendant of the First Expedition?"
"Me?"
The only official descendant of the First Expedition should be the Grand Duchy, right?
Seven expedition members.
The First Expedition, existing somewhere between history and legend, had lost many records over the long years.
What little remained was preserved through Robard, the founding sovereign who established Res Limen, and Cordelia, who helped build his city and later received special privileges to establish Golden Intellect.
The other five expedition members left behind no descendants or disciples.
So how could I suddenly be a descendant?
"That must be it. It's the most logical deduction."
"I just happened to obtain it."
"Happened? Obtaining the legacy of the Ancestor by chance? That's hard to believe."
"Couldn't it just be good luck?"
"Well... we'll find out as we research this."
Costin seemed to have noticed that the Divine Blood Serum was something extraordinary just from their brief examination.
Their next words confirmed this suspicion.
"You've won."
In the end, Costin couldn't let go of the Divine Blood Serum.
"I'll go get the research journal from the Telema School myself. I can't wait even a moment."
"As you wish."
And so the negotiation ended.
§
We achieved all our objectives.
We left Golden Intellect with bright smiles.
In this good mood, Rei had even splurged all her money on gauntlets and greaves on the second floor.
As we headed towards the Telema School in high spirits—all of us feeling good—Leaf suddenly let out a gasp.
"Ah...!"
"What? Is there another problem?"
"Um, weren't we supposed to get support items for the upcoming expedition from Golden Intellect?"
Right, we were going to use Leaf's connections to get some useful supplies from Costin...
"...Let's make a U-turn."
We should at least get what we can.
§
Finally, dawn broke.
Three days had passed in a flash.
And now, the departure day for the expedition arrived.
Main Base of the Abyss’ First Floor.
We were at the location Viola had specified in advance.
While exchanging brief eye-contact greetings with Arthur who had arrived earlier, I assessed the gathered crowd.
Around 40 people in total.
Surprisingly few for an expedition meant to cover the entire Second Floor.
A small elite force, perhaps.
Though few in number, each individual's aura was far from ordinary.
While there were some who, like us and Arthur, seemed to be here for observation, such individuals were quite rare.
Perhaps one in every five or six people.
"Everyone's here!"
A booming voice that could be described as solid echoed out across the area.
Simultaneously, a woman appeared on the platform.
It was Viola Pelletier's entrance.
Viola stood proudly with her hands on her hips and feet shoulder-width apart.
From below, her entire figure was visible on the platform.
Viola showed immense satisfaction that there were no latecomers.
"As expected of those I've selected!"
Capturing everyone's attention with a single proclamation, Viola continued her speech without hesitation, "As you all know, our objective is to search for and close the suspected shortcuts that those filthy Abyss Worshipers have carved into the Second Floor!"
The content that followed didn't have much substance worth noting.
Mostly cursing those "filthy Abyss Worshipers" and confident statements about how this expedition would be nothing special.
While most people paid attention to her speech in consideration of Viola's overwhelming reputation as a Pioneer, some didn't.
"Hello, you're Arthur's friends, right?"
The friendly greeting came from a woman with a gentle impression.
Caught off guard by someone speaking while Viola was giving her speech, I momentarily stumbled over my words.
"A-ah, hello."
"Pfft, don't be so nervous. Our captain tends to be quite talkative. Though she has the skills to back it up."
Ah, someone from the Frontier Guild.
I immediately shot a glance at Rei, expecting her to bridge the social gap, but she just shrugged.
Haven't met them before? What did you do during training?
Got beaten up.
Okay, understood.
Naturally, the shy Leaf stuck close to Rei, avoiding these social butterflies.
"Oh! I've only been talking about myself. Hmm... do you know who I am?"
"I'm sorry, but not at all..."
"Well, Arthur isn't the type to go around talking about such things."
While justifying my ignorance about them, she immediately admonished me, "But it's not good to be completely uninterested in other Explorers. You should at least be familiar with Master-rank Explorers and the notable members of major guilds."
It was perfectly sensible advice, truly befitting a senior's guidance.
However, the reason this advice didn't quite resonate with me was probably because of Rei.
The person talking to me was a lion beast-folk.
Can lion Beast-folk... be smart?
Is that even possible?
Rei was, essentially, my only frame of reference for beast-folk.
My understanding of beast-folk had been completely corrupted by Rei.
"That's Ruslan. Expert rank, specializing in martial arts."
While my brain was frozen by the appearance of a wise lion beast-folk, who might actually be the normal one, a gentle female voice calmly provided information.
"I'm Lyudmila. Lyudmila Ilyin. Pure human as you can see. I'm a mage, typical support role. Same rank as Ruslan—Expert!"
Lyudmila's explanation didn't stop there.
Perhaps when she mentioned being talkative, she wasn't just referring to Viola but herself as well.
Still, Lyudmila's words provided useful information.
The Frontier Guild members included herself, Arthur, and...
"That child."
The girl sticking close to Arthur.
"Deina Collen. She'll probably be teamed up with you."
"With us?"
"Yes. Your team with Arthur and Deina. That makes five people under our Guild Master's direct supervision."
"Ruslan and I will be in charge of another team."
Viola had divided this operation into four teams.
The intention was to spread out in all directions from the gathering point to sweep everything thoroughly.
One team led by Viola herself.
One team led by Frontier veterans Ruslan and Lyudmila.
So what about the other two?
"See over there?"
The person Lyudmila pointed out had an appearance that would be impossible to forget once seen.
Full body armor.
However, rather than plate armor typically chosen by martial artists, they wore scale armor.
The design was more reminiscent of Eastern rather than Western style.
"That's Grant Dexter from the Conquerors."
"The Ghost Warrior?"
"...So you know that much."
Ahem, sorry about that.
But the name Grant Dexter was quite famous after all.
Unlike the two Expert-ranked individuals, Grant Dexter was a Master-rank Explorer.
As Ruslan said, while I couldn't memorize every Master-rank Explorer, I did know the more famous ones.
There were only a few dozen Master-rank Explorers.
However, since many of them stayed holed up in the depths and rarely showed their faces in the city, it wasn't easy to remember all their names and faces.
But with Grant Dexter, I could match the name to the face immediately despite never meeting him before.
How should I put it?
It was like meeting someone for the first time but knowing a similar face.
"I have some connection, actually."
"I know. Blair Dexter. Grant's younger sibling, right?"
"So you know."
Well, being my classmate meant being Arthur's classmate too.
A major guild like Frontier would naturally keep track of such personnel.
Especially since Arthur was known as the next Guild Master candidate and Viola's most recent disciple.
It was only natural that other guild members would be interested in Arthur-related matters.
"And the other team—"
"Well!"
Just as Lyudmila was about to tell us about the last team.
Viola's voice cut off Lyudmila's words.
"We're moving out!"
§
"They've moved."
"How many?"
"42 people. Led by Viola Pelletier."
The figure in a hood and long robe that completely concealed their body had even their voice altered by magic, making it impossible to determine their gender or age.
The person listening to their report turned a page in the book they were calmly reading and spoke.
"Viola. She'd make quite a suitable sacrifice for Their return."
"Can we capture her?"
"You dare have doubts? Against those frauds?"
"...A Pioneer is the pinnacle of the current generation. Though they pale in comparison to the First Expedition, we shouldn't underestimate them."
"She's been away from the front lines, hasn't set foot in the Abyss for years."
"...We can wait until Jegan completes his revival and obtains definite information."
"Hmph, what good is Jegan who was defeated by mere training school brats."
Thud.
The man closed the book with an irritated gesture.
"Besides, we don't have the luxury of waiting that long."
The man carefully secured the book in its holder and stood up.
With exaggerated movements, he spread his arms.
Like someone welcoming and embracing another.
"The Holy Maiden will return soon."