Having accidentally discovered a labyrinth, I, along with my party members Leticia, Rin, and Asura, hurried back to the capital and headed straight to the guild.

Upon reaching the guild, we reported to Father, who was the guild’s employee, about the labyrinth. He had been severely injured when he was kidnapped by the Holy Kingdom, but he had recently recovered and was able to return to work safely.

Upon explaining the situation, Father  immediately stood up and said, “Follow me.” Thinking it would be bothersome to have everyone go, I decided to accompany him as a representative.

Father brought me to the Guild Master’s room.

Upon opening the door and entering, I saw Guild Master Fia, known as Leafia, and the Vice-Master Lala, known as Laladeena, doing their paperwork.

I reported to the surprised pair about how I found the labyrinth and its location.

After listening to my story with a serious expression, Fia slowly opened her mouth. “I understand the situation. Thank you for the report, Lark-kun. I’m glad you and your team accepted this request. It could have been a deadly situation for a normal D-rank adventurer… I’m truly sorry.”

“No, it was unexpected, and there’s no need for you to apologize, Fia-san. Plus, it allowed us to gain some good experience.”

When I said this, Fia gave a small smile.

The matter of the labyrinth was settled with the Guild members agreeing to investigate at a later date and then announce it to the adventurers. For now, we disbanded.

Father and I returned to the reception desk to receive our quest reward. We received more than the initial amount because our early discovery of the labyrinth was appreciated. It was lucky.

While equally dividing the reward, I relayed to everyone what happened in the Guild Master’s room.

Father and I returned to the reception desk and collected our mission reward. We were lucky to receive more than the initial amount, as we were recognized for discovering the labyrinth early. While distributing the reward evenly among us, I shared what happened in the Guild Master’s room with everyone.

“For now, the disclosure of the labyrinth has been postponed. To prevent causing a disturbance, please don’t tell anyone,” I said.

“I understand,” one answered.

“Mm-hmm,” agreed another.

“Got it,” confirmed a third.

Once everyone nodded their agreement, I announced the disbandement our group temporarily and went home.

Upon returning home, I sat in my room, lost in thought.

“Labyrinths are known for spawning monsters stronger than those on the surface… We’re not planning to explore the labyrinth immediately, but it might be a good idea to update our party’s equipment, just in case…”

There was a time when I was too busy running my shop to explore labyrinths. But recently, things have calmed down and it’s easier to focus on adventuring. I’ve been thinking of opening a new store in the capital soon, but that’s still a future plan. Also, money isn’t an issue for purchasing equipment. Thanks to various methods I’ve used to earn money, from managing my shop and other ventures, I have enough to live on for decades. It would strengthen our forces to renew everyone’s equipment, but…

“But all our current equipment is really good…”

Rin and Leticia’s gear, created by a skilled craftsman named Forno, far surpasses the performance of ordinary weapons. The same goes for Asura’s gear. As the second prince of the Leblanc Kingdom, he is equipped with top-tier gear.

“Lark, what is it that bothers you so much?” asked a voice.

“Nya~?”

Shafal, my summon and a spirit in the form of a black cat named Noir, came into the room while I was brooding. In reality, Shafal is a massive dragon, but because his large form is rather inconvenient, he usually takes a human form. I decided to share my thoughts with Shafal.

“Hmm, improving our battle strength… Focusing on equipment is a good idea, but it’s true that you all are not equipped with inferior goods,” he reasoned.

“That’s the problem…”

As I lay down on the bed, Shafal suddenly remembered something. “By the way, what have you done with our materials?” he asked.

“Huh? Are you talking about your previous body?”

When Shafal was nearing the end of his life, he had the ability to reincarnate into a new body. I’ve been storing the remains of his previous form in one of my initial skills, “Useful Box”.

“I haven’t done anything with it, just kept it stored. Selling the material of a legendary dragon isn’t easy, after all.”

“Hmm… Then, how about crafting accessories from my remains? Something that could symbolize the party members might be a good idea.”

“That’s… a great idea! I believe if we ask Forno-san, he can add effects to the accessories that will be useful in our adventures. I’ll go ask him tomorrow.”

“Hmm, I’m glad I could help… So Lark, it’s about time for dinner…”

“Well then, I guess I should start preparing dinner. You’re skipping your meal today as usual, Shafal.”

“When you say that,” Shafal showed a face of despair.

I’ve been keeping Shafal without food for a while as a punishment for lying to me before, and I have no plans to stop it yet. 

“But, you were of help—” I cut Shafal’s words short, left the room, and headed to the kitchen.

◇

The next day. As I have the day off from adventuring activities, Leticia and Rin are helping out at my store. I, on my own, am headed to Mr. Forno’s shop.

“Welcome! Oh, is that you, Lark? Long time no see.”

Upon entering the shop, Forno greeted me with a smile.

“It’s been a while, Forno-san.”

After exchanging greetings, I told him what I decided yesterday.

Upon hearing it, Forno grinned. “Making accessories for party members using Silver Dragon materials… sounds fun. I’ll make it. It’s amazing to be able to use materials from a legendary dragon!”

“Thank you. But there are many types of accessories, aren’t there?”

“Yes… there are rings and pendants… but how about something safe like earrings? If you have a few scales, that should be enough for the material.”

“Earrings… sounds good. Please wait a moment.”

I dissected the body of Shafal before reincarnation, which I had been keeping in the “Useful Box,” with my skill, and took out a few scales.

“Oh… They’re even more radiant than silver ore… So these are the scales of the Silver Dragon,” Forno murmured in admiration.

“Thank you very much. May I ask how much it will cost?”

“Well, let’s see… four silver coins for all four should be fine.”

“Really? Is it okay to be that cheap?”

Considering the general market price at an armor shop, it’s an exceptionally good deal.

“This time I’m just processing the materials you brought, and above all, I’m dealing with materials from a legendary dragon. Don’t worry about the price.”

Forno said, gazing at Shafal’s scales. No matter what I say after this, Forno-san probably wouldn’t change the price. I then took out four silver coins from my wallet and hand them to him.

“Thank you, Forno-san.”

“Yep, it should be done the day after tomorrow.”

“Understood. I’m looking forward to it.”

With that, I left the shop.

Earrings made from Shafal’s material… I can’t wait for them to be completed.

◇

The day after I asked Forno to make earrings.

When I tried to accept a request at the guild, Father, who was at the reception, told me to go to the Guild Master’s room.

Wondering what was going on, I left the request to Asura and the others and climbed the stairs alone to the Guild Master’s room. In the Guild Master’s room, there were Fia, Lala, and several guild’s staff.

“Lark-san, thank you for coming. Actually, there are some things we want to confirm about the labyrinth you found the other day.”

One of the guild staff said so and handed me a map. When I spread it out and looked, the location of the village I had visited when I found the labyrinth was marked on it. Nearby, a red ‘X’ mark was noted, the same location as the labyrinth I had found.

“Is the place where the labyrinth was the same as the mark?”

“Yes, no doubt about it.”

“Thank you. Yesterday, we went with the Master to investigate the labyrinth at the marked location. We wanted to confirm just in case if it’s the same location that Lark-san reported.”

I see, so this was why I was called. 

Then a discussion started between Fia and the guild staff.

When I was about to leave the room, thinking it was something I shouldn’t hear, Fia said it was okay for me to stay, so I listened to the conversation for future reference. The discussion was about something called the Labyrinth Rank.

What’s a Labyrinth Rank? Just as I was wondering, Lala told me from the side that “It’s a rule in the Adventurers Guild to classify how difficult the discovered labyrinth is.”

According to the conversation, the average abilities of the monsters that appear in the labyrinth seem to range from D to C rank in strength. However, since they couldn’t see the lowest layer even after diving five layers, it seems to have a difficulty higher than D rank.

Considering all these conditions, Fia determined the Labyrinth Rank to be “C-“. In other words, it’s a bit tough for D rank adventurers, but it should be perfectly conquerable for C rank adventurers. By the way, my Adventurer Rank is D.

Once the discussion was settled, Fia explained more about the Labyrinth Rank. The Labyrinth Rank is divided into four stages from the strongest: A, B, C, D, and to these are added +, -, Neutral, making it a twelve-step evaluation. In the case of shallow labyrinths of five layers or less, they are generally classified as “D-“. The most difficult “A+” labyrinths have over fifty layers, as far as they are currently confirmed. 

When the labyrinth rank was finally decided, the guild staff left the room, and then I heard cheers from outside the door. They must have announced the discovery of the labyrinth.

I asked Fia, “Is it a joyous occasion for adventurers when a labyrinth is discovered?”

“Well, yes. The thrill of exploring an unknown area is quite something, don’t you think? Plus, the monsters in the labyrinth drop magic stones and materials of a higher quality than those on the surface. Naturally, this means they sell for more at the guild, so if there’s a labyrinth nearby, more adventurers would prefer going there.”

“Is that so? But if everyone goes to the labyrinth, wouldn’t regular requests start piling up?”

Upon hearing me, Fia seemed troubled. “You’re right, Lark-kun. But there’s not much that can be done about it. If we leave the labyrinth unattended, monsters will multiply and spill out, endangering nearby villages and towns. If we conceal information poorly, it would lead to more harm than good.”

“I see… Well, we plan on visiting the labyrinth eventually, but we also intend to continue with the capital’s requests as we have been.”

“That’s good to hear. I want you to rise in ranks as quickly as possible, Lark-kun. So keep pushing on.” 

“Yes, we’ll do our best.”

With Fia’s support, I left the room. Descending the stairs, I found that almost all the adventurers who were previously inside were gone. I looked around and spotted Doldos, an adventurer I knew, eating in the dining hall. I approached him to strike up a conversation.

“Hello, Doldos-san. The guild seems rather deserted today.”

“Hey Lark. Everyone’s gone off to the new labyrinth.”

“Oh, I see. Aren’t you going, Doldos-san?”

Upon asking, Doldos shook his head. “Well, the labyrinth’s rank is rather low, and I’m not particularly interested. Besides, I’m taking care of Kido and his group now.”

Kido’s group refers to the adventurers I met previously. They hail from the same village as Doldos’s party members, Lubro and Robuto, and are currently staying in the capital to train and become stronger.

“I see. How much have Kido and the others grown?”

“They’re coming along. They’re not slow learners and are making steady progress. Today, they should be training in the forest with Lubro and the others.” As Doldos said this, he took a bite of his cut meat, swallowed, and continued, “Besides, if all the adventurers were gone, the guild wouldn’t function, would it? Most of those left here are veterans of that incident. Everyone is thinking about ensuring that such a thing never happens again.”

“Is that so…”

That incident likely refers to the dragon attack on the capital a dozen years ago. At the time of the dragon’s attack, the city’s adventurers were off to explore a newly discovered labyrinth, leaving the guild almost entirely unmanned. Father, who was an A-rank adventurer left in the capital, managed to repel the dragon alone but had to retire from adventuring due to the severe injuries he sustained in the process. But, well, I’ve already healed those injuries with my special ability “Divine Technique: Miraculous Sacred Light.”

“Having said that, I am starting to feel like maybe I shouldn’t go to the labyrinth after all…”

Upon murmuring this, Doldos, who heard me, opened his mouth to retort, “You guys should go. For your future, you should experience what a labyrinth is like sooner rather than later.”

“…Understood. We’ll try to visit one soon.”

“Do that. If something happens while you guys are gone, we’ll handle it.”

At Doldos’s words, the other adventurers in the dining hall responded.

“That’s right, when it’s time to step up, we’ll do it!”

“Go to the labyrinth without any worries!” “…Yes, thank you very much!”

I expressed my gratitude and left the dining hall.