Thunder's Fangs

After finishing their registration at the guild, they split up to purchase necessary supplies.

Since it was a dangerous town, the women and children made sure not to be alone. That said, Ria deliberately went alone.

If trouble came her way, it couldn't be helped. A town where killing your opponent in a duel wasn't even a crime—she truly thought it was a good place.

The first thing she set her eyes on was, of course, the weapons shop.

Due to it servicing people who challenged the impregnable demonic area known as the Dark Labyrinth, it was filled with high-quality weapons and armor.

However, as expected, there were unfortunately few quality katanas. While there were decent items available, the ones Ria could create with magic were probably superior.

Other than that though, magical weapons were sold normally.

Swords, spears, axes, hammers, and other such weapons, along with many unusual ones too. When she asked the shopkeeper about them, it appeared they were brought from a dwarven village.

She asked if there were any dwarf swordsmiths who made katanas, but unfortunately he didn't know of any.

She bought a dagger for Maal to use at the shop. There was also a good deal on a magic shield, so she bought that too.

While there, she sold the swords and spears she'd made for practice. The spears with iron pipe shafts and fitted spearheads sold for a lot. The swords weren't evaluated as highly, and the blunt weapons fetched reasonable prices.

After leaving the shop, she browsed the food stalls on her way back to the guild.

As she tossed meat skewers to Rudolph, who was lying down in the stable, she sensed a presence standing behind her.

"Got a moment?"

Though it was a massive figure that couldn't be hidden, he moved surprisingly quietly.

Ria accepted Vargas' invitation.

When Ria said she planned to return to the inn by evening, Vargas invited her to the tavern.

"I don't drink alcohol. My favorite beverage is milk."

"Come to think of it, how old are you?"

"I turned fourteen the other day."

As expected, Vargas furrowed his brows. Ria's strength wasn't something one could acquire at that age.

"By any chance, are you a reincarnated person?"

He saw through her well. In response, Ria didn't answer, instead ordering milk at the counter. Fortunately, this shop served goat's milk.

Vargas ordered ale. Lukewarm ale was poured into a large wooden mug and brought out.

"You and that small mage companion of yours. No matter how you look at it, for your ages… it's too much. You're too strong."

He'd seen through not just Ria but Serge's power as well. Perhaps he used Identify magic, but simply sensing magical power wouldn't be too difficult.

Serge was letting his magical power leak out freely, which had been a concern for a while. If Lulu didn't teach him how to control it, they might encounter unnecessary trouble sooner or later.

"Well, if you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. There are a few other things I wanted to ask."

Vargas scratched his head. Despite being the one who invited her, it seemed he hadn't organized his questions.

"Right. First, what did you come to this town for?"

"I'd think there's only one thing explorers do."

"That's not necessarily true. Power, money, honor. What people seek varies quite a bit."

Now that he mentioned it, that was true. Explorers whose goal was to conquer labyrinths were probably few and far between. Or rather, perhaps there were almost none.

"What about you? From the looks of it, you seem to have plenty of strength."

If you had power, wealth and fame would follow. That's what Ria believed.

"Me? It's for my livelihood. I have a wife and two children below Shizuna."

Vargas spoke frankly without hiding anything. What an ordinary reason.

"Honestly, I wanted Shizuna to marry normally. Instead she went and became an explorer. She'll be eighteen soon."

In this world, marriage came early. For commoners, the marriageable age was around twenty or younger.

"Yet she spends all year swinging her sword, with no sign of any men around her."

Since it was turning into grumbling, Ria decided to change the subject.

"My reason for entering the labyrinth is one thing: knowledge. I have something I want to ask the Dark Dragon Valis."

Vargas wasn't surprised. He didn't laugh either.

He simply nodded with a serious face.

"If a noble young lady has come all this way, it must be something important."

"No, it's certainly important to me personally, but…"

She didn't correct him about thinking she was nobility. Even if she said she was actually royalty, this man's attitude probably wouldn't change.

In her previous life, she often chose men like this as friends.

After that, the two just had their drinks and talked a little.

She also decided to discreetly return Shizuna's sword to Vargas.

They talked about what kinds of demons her party had fought during their journey.

However, she kept silent about conquering Labyrinth City's dungeon. Rumors traveled fast, so Ria's identity would probably become apparent sooner or later, but she didn't want to provide information that would hasten it.

First of all, a country's princess being homosexual would be quite the scandal.

Then, when it came time for Ria to leave, Vargas said softly:

"Would you all join up with my party?"

After returning to the inn, Ria discussed Vargas' offer while eating dinner.

"The advantage for us is being guided through an unfamiliar labyrinth. Honestly, against enemies that attack with status ailments, we could be killed on our first encounter."

Unlike the labyrinth in Labyrinth City, in the Dark Labyrinth you really died when you died. And there were said to be many unique enemies like Death Knights and Dogazers.

"I'm against it. After what happened earlier, there should be hard feelings between us."

Carlos objected. Indeed, being suddenly attacked from behind in a labyrinth wasn't something she wanted to imagine.

"I also think it's dangerous."

Gig, who had rampaged together with Carlos, was also opposed.

"In the first place, what would be the merit to them?"

Lulu raised a question. Regarding that, Ria had received an answer.

"One is strengthening their fighting power. They want to delve into deeper floors."

On the shallow floors, equipment from fallen explorers was becoming scarce. But if they could go deeper, they might obtain the belongings of skilled explorers who had managed to delve that far.

"Another is that he wants to give Shizuna some stimulus."

Shizuna was seventeen years old and a member of Thunder's Fangs, one of Jaeburg's top explorer parties, with high combat ability herself. Ria was simply abnormal—until now, there had been no one Shizuna's age who could match her.

But this time, not only did she lose the duel easily, she suffered through something that would make her not want to walk outside for a while. Her pride had been completely shattered.

Younger than her and stronger than her. Being around such a person, he wanted her to gain something from it—that was his parental concern.

"But still, won't that girl stab Nee-chan in the back?"

Serge said while grinning. Indeed, if someone had their lips stolen by the same sex in front of a crowd, they would probably harbor tremendous hatred.

"I also want to object… but… I'll hold off for now."

Unexpectedly, Lulu took a neutral position. That was because she knew.

When Ria was in the royal palace, just how popular she was among the same sex.

Particularly when it came to winning over strong-willed court ladies and female knights, she had boasted an amazing success rate.

By the way, Lulu was also a target at first, but she had heard directly from Ria that she stopped making advances when Lulu's inner self didn't match her appearance.

"I… want to be against it, but honestly I want to explore alongside strong people."

Maal said hesitantly. She had spent the day buying maps of the labyrinth, but it seemed she hadn't gotten satisfactory results.

"I'm in favor. An enemy I've never fought is much scarier than being stabbed in the back."

Serge was clearly in favor. According to his Identify results, even if Vargas and Shizuna fought together, they wouldn't be able to defeat the Ogre King.

"For now, let's meet with their members tomorrow and decide from there, okay?"

Ria was actively in favor. While it was true she liked the father-daughter pair, she wanted to spend as little time as possible conquering the labyrinth. The Dark Dragon Valis wouldn't necessarily grant Ria's wish, after all.

Moreover, there was the battle with Cordova along the way. She should report that to her father as soon as possible.

Rather than just thinking about their own safety, she needed to keep an eye on movements across the entire continent. Through her journey, Ria's perspective had expanded significantly.

The next day, an eight-person party visited the inn.

The ones Carlos and Gig had beaten down were members of a subordinate party even below them, so there was no particular grudge regarding that matter.

There were four warriors in the vanguard, one scout, and three in the rear guard, of which two were mages.

With fourteen people gathered, it was stifling just from the numbers. Vargas immediately spoke up.

"So, what do you think?"

"I'm fine with joining forces in principle, but I think we need to establish conditions."

At Ria's response, Vargas nodded with a "hmm."

"And what about the girl over there glaring at me with murderous eyes—does she agree?"

Ria called out to Shizuna, who hadn't said a word until now.

Before she could say anything, Vargas raised his hand to stop her.

"If you can't agree, you can just leave the party."

Shizuna trembled at the cold, even ruthless voice. She understood that her real father was dead serious.

Ria liked teasing people herself, but she disliked watching others being teased, so she said nothing more.

"For the split on magic stones and monster materials, how about two parts for you and one for us?"

They got into specifics.

"Oh? Is it okay not to split evenly?"

"For the time being, there's a high chance we'll be holding you back. Treasures found in the labyrinth can basically be yours as well. However, if there's something irreplaceable, I'd like you to hand it over in exchange for compensation."

"I think there'll be a lot of magic swords and magic bags…"

"Those are unnecessary. If we need something, maybe a good warhammer or a staff."

They had no need for ordinary weapons at all, and they already had magic swords. Magic bags were expensive but commonly available. Above all, they had Serge's space-time magic.

"But Nee-chan, if there are resistance-type Skill Orbs, I want them…"

Serge murmured modestly, but that would depend on negotiations.

Skill Orbs were items that permanently granted Skills to individuals. They couldn't be made without someone capable of extremely difficult bestowal magic and someone with the related attribute magic.

Ria herself was resistant to most status ailments thanks to Dragon's Bloodline, but normally even Poison Resistance was extremely valuable.

Besides, even if there was an Orb, it wouldn't grant the Skill if you didn't have enough magical power, but Serge would probably be fine in most cases.

"I'll manage something for that, so be patient for now."

When they returned to Casalia, most Orbs could be created. She intended to exercise royal privileges to strengthen her companions.

After that, there were adjustments to conditions on minor points, but Ria generously conceded most of them, and Vargas didn't make any unreasonable demands.

"Well then, one month for now."

One month. That was how long this combined party would stay together.

Vargas extended his hand and Ria grasped it.

Hard and thick, yet flexible—a palm like steel.