After spending a long time rolling through the labyrinth together, you can reach a level where just exchanging glances with your comrades is enough to communicate.

Just like now.

“Whatever it is, let’s just catch it first.”

The comrades who caught that look from me nodded and drew their weapons.

And at that moment.

“Seems like they have no intention of answering willingly.”

Coincidentally, the enemy leader made the same judgment as me and charged at us.

“Subdue them first!”

There were fourteen enemies in total, including the leader.

I felt uneasy since it wasn’t a multiple of six, which could be coordinated well...

Well, this isn’t a labyrinth but the middle of a city.

「Character has cast [Gigantism].」

「Character’s body size increases, and threat level and physical stats increase proportionally.」

Not knowing the opponent’s level, I grew my body first. Maybe because I got bigger, something occurred to them.

Suddenly, the charging guys stopped in surprise.

“B-Bjorn Yandel...?”

“...A giant!”

“The one who was missing, why is he here...?”

Well, thanks for recognizing me, I guess...

“R-Run away!”

“We need to call for backup—!”

Where do you think you’re going now?

It didn’t take long to subdue the Noirak group we met in the ruined dimensional plaza.

Though the fourteen of them became twelve during the process.

Ah, of course, it wasn’t because we missed them.

They just died while fleeing.

‘They were better fighters than I thought.’

They scattered like cockroaches, as if they were used to working together often.

Two of them were quick and nimble enough that trying to capture them alive risked losing them entirely.

“Well done, Elwen. If we’d missed them, it could have been troublesome.”

“...Not at all.”

Anyway, the suppression was over, so I approached the kneeling enemies.

“Twelve.”

Definitely a much more comfortable number than before.

“Emily, strip their gear off including the dead ones.”

Not knowing how much time we had, I decided to loot while interrogating.

This guy should be the one to talk to, right?

“...Ugh!”

I grabbed the leader’s head, who had been silent and burying it since being subdued, and lifted it.

“Hey, eyeball.”

When I called him, Ainard nearby tilted his head.

“Huh? Bjorn, did you know this guy?”

“No idea.”

“Huh? Then how do you know his name?”

“...What are you talking about? I just didn’t like his eyeballs, so I called him that.”

How could a person’s name be “eyeball”?

Honestly, Ainard really has zero prejudice.

“Haha... I thought...”

Ainard awkwardly scratched the back of his head, and I casually ignored him.

“Anyway... Hey, eyeball.”

I called again, but he didn’t respond, so I asked him anyway.

“We came back to the city after a long time. Why the hell are you guys here?”

As expected, no answer came back, so I immediately smashed down with the hammer.

Not the leader...

Crash-!

At a subordinate’s hand beside him.

“Aaah!!!”

Subordinate A screamed in pain, shocked by the sudden attack.

Starting from him, I smashed one hand after another ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) with the hammer.

Then I asked the leader again.

“We came back to the city after a long time. Why the hell are you guys here?”

The same question as before.

Of course, no answer came.

I smashed the already shattered hand of subordinate A again.

Crash! Crash! Crash!

I asked the leader the same question once more, and still no answer.

However...

“...!”

Seeing the subordinates tightly close their eyes, it seemed they understood the rules of this interrogation.

“Make sure to catch him well this time, Auyen.”

“Yes...!”

As I kept hammering mechanically, one subordinate shouted desperately.

“I-I will!”

“...Huh?”

“I can answer that question!”

“Oh, really?”

It wasn’t surprising to me since I somewhat led him to that, but maybe the leader who watched subordinate G’s betrayal felt differently.

“You worthless bastard...!”

The silent “eyeball” glared fiercely at subordinate G.

But being from the macho society of Noirak, subordinate G was no pushover.

“Damn, so what? You keep your mouth shut, and it ends, but we’re getting smashed.”

“...Do you think that bastard will save you?”

“No. But if I’m going to die, it’s better to die less painfully, right? What’s the point of loyalty if you’re just going to die anyway?”

“If your betrayal is known, your family in the village will never—”

“Damn! Spit! You idiot. Didn’t you know your subordinate is a family-less orphan?”

“......”

In my view, subordinate G won that argument.

His logical yet selfish words left eyeball without any rebuttal.

Though he seemed about to curse belatedly...

“You damn—.”

“Quiet.”

“Ugh—!”

I didn’t waste time watching their petty fight.

“Alright, enough. Tell me. Why the hell are you here?”

I quieted eyeball and asked, and subordinate G explained what happened in the city while we were gone.

To summarize, it was simple.

About two months ago.

Noirak remnants who had left outside the city walls secretly entered the underground city, their old residence.

To invade Lapdonia.

“An invasion...?”

“...You’re out of your mind.”

My comrades listening were surprised, and Amelia shook her head in disbelief, but I wasn’t that shocked.

I had heard this before from the jester at the round table.

‘I didn’t expect them to act so quickly, though.’

Versil, who had been beside the jester when he told this, seemed calmer than others.

“So? How’s the war going? Did you win? Is that why the 7th district is in such a state?”

“No... We didn’t win. It’s just a temporary lull.”

“...Explain in detail.”

“Two days ago, we used the sewers to sneak into the city and launched a surprise attack on several districts of Ravigion, capturing them within a day.”

“Two days ago...?”

Listening further, I realized today was exactly one day after the labyrinth closed.

“They deliberately waited until the explorers were in the labyrinth. Most royal troops were inside the labyrinth as well.”

“Yes, that’s right...”

Hearing this, my first thought was why I’m so unlucky.

We were quiet all this time, only to come back just as the city was invaded.

Unlucky people always get hurt no matter what.

“Keep talking, don’t stop.”

“Ah, yes...”

Subordinate G continued describing the war situation.

They aimed for the day the labyrinth opened and the day the explorers returned.

Thanks to that, they easily drove out the security forces and took over the city.

And...

“Yesterday, they surrounded the returning explorers in the dimensional plaza, subdued them at once, and took them hostage, now standing off against the royal forces.”

Finally, the current situation.

“The royal family values their lives more than ordinary citizens, so they haven’t pushed in easily.”

“Then why were you guys here?”

“We were patrolling. In case the royal family sends infiltrators, and to find hidden remnants. Then our mage sensed something near the plaza...”

“Any other patrols?”

“Not around here...”

He hesitated as if holding back something.

It was time for the trump card.

“It’s okay, just say it. If it helps, I’m willing to spare you. No, I swear on my honor as a warrior to let you go safely.”

My warrior’s oath that’s been useful since the start.

Hearing that, subordinate G hesitated briefly then confessed.

“It’s almost time for the regular report. If we don’t report in time, another patrol will come here—”

“You bastard...!!”

Maybe that was their last stronghold.

As subordinate G spilled everything, eyeball lost his patience and flared up.

Ugh, annoying.

“Can you make the regular report?”

“Yes. I’ve done it several times. I often got bothered and passed it to me.”

“Really?”

“You bastard! Do you know how much—!”

Well, he’s useless now.

Crash-!

His superior’s head was smashed before his eyes, but subordinate G only flinched briefly and quickly regained composure.

“There should be a Message Stone in the luggage you took. If you give it to me, I’ll handle everything.”

“So that’s it.”

Amelia, watching nearby, immediately found the Message Stone and handed it over.

“Go ahead. Don’t bother with pointless acts.”

“Yes...”

Subordinate G used the Message Stone to report no issues to the higher-ups, and thanks to his record, it was settled without problems.

So, it was time to continue the conversation.

“So, you said several districts, but which ones exactly?”

“The 13th and 7th districts.”

“Ha...”

“Why? Why do you ask...? Did I make a mistake...?”

Really bad luck struck.

Out of so many districts, they invaded two, and one was our 7th district.

I sighed heavily but gathered myself to continue talking.

“Enough, tell me. What happened to the sacred sites?”

The 13th district holds the beastmen’s sacred site, and the 7th holds ours, the barbarians’.

As the barbarian chief, my worry naturally went first to our sacred site.

“The sacred site is currently cut off from the city.”

“Cut off?”

“I’m a low-ranking member, so I don’t know well, but they say the royal family used a magic circle long ago. They say it was made to control other races at any time, but it’s just hearsay.”

Subordinate G added, realizing belatedly I was the barbarian chief.

“Still, thanks to the ability to completely isolate it, the sacred site probably suffered relatively little damage.”

Relatively.

That word implied there was some damage...

Well, what could I do?

Better to be thankful it was only relatively little.

“How about the 13th district... the beastmen?”

Misha, worried about her hometown, asked, but didn’t get a detailed answer.

“It’s a different district, so I don’t know well... But probably it’s not much different.”

“I see...”

Misha pursed her lips, maybe worried even about the hated family.

“Yandel, I think we got most of the info we need. How about moving out now?”

“Moving?”

“Just in case. If we get surrounded here, even we would be in trouble.”

Following Amelia’s advice, we decided to leave. Even if the regular report went well, someone could find us.

“Then clean up the rest. Leave no traces.”

“And that one?”

Amelia glanced at subordinate G after my order.

And...

“We’re taking him alive.”

Subordinate G jumped up at my answer.

“I-I trusted you, Baron! I knew you’d keep your oath!”

“Not funny.”

Amelia chuckled dryly watching.

She knows I don’t put any value in oaths.

‘Still, with Ainard here, I can’t break it so easily.’

The biggest reason was that I still had more to hear from him.

Ssssss—

After Versil’s magic and Amelia’s exploration gear erased the traces of the corpses thoroughly, we moved as quietly as possible.

Since the entire 7th district was occupied by Noirak scum, we had to find a hiding place for now...

“How about the old house? It shouldn’t be far from here...”

Following Elwen’s suggestion, we headed toward the mansion I had once mortgaged.

With high walls and a basement, it seemed a suitable place.

But no house would be intact in a city turned battlefield.

“No, no... My house full of memories... I was going to work hard and buy it back someday...”

The mansion we arrived at, avoiding other patrols, had its second floor collapsed, possibly hit by fire magic, with scorch marks everywhere.

“Still, not bad. The outside looks like this, but the first floor is intact. This worn appearance helps us hide. The fence is partly broken, but not enough to see inside from this angle.”

Amelia gave it the go-ahead, and we cautiously entered.

Then...

“Auyen. We’re going to talk among ourselves now, so lock that guy in the basement.”

“Yes.”

Auyen took subordinate G to the basement.

“No sunlight, but he should get decent food.”

“...?”

“Probably.”

For some reason, he looked very excited.