I headed toward my assigned rookie parties and found eight boys and girls waiting.
A small whisper rippled through them: "It's the hero!"
…I'm not the hero, though…
Checking the lineup: ninth squad had five members, tenth had three.
Sophia was in the tenth.
Makes sense—she'd held her own alone against over ten orcs closing in. Calling her a promising rookie was fair.
Her outfit matched the other rookies now. Honestly, the one from before suited her better—cuter, too.
"I'm Orun, the one Selma introduced earlier. Three days—let's make it work."
"Nice to meet you!"
They replied in unison, voices bright despite the nerves.
"So… is someone from tenth squad running late?"
Standard party size is five, six at most.
Too few risks being overwhelmed in emergencies; too many makes coordination hell, plus monsters target bigger groups harder for defenders to pull aggro.
Five is the sweet spot these days.
"No—we're a three-person party."
A boy with golden hair and purple eyes answered confidently.
Ninth squad: three boys, two girls. Tenth: one boy, two girls.
"Three-person party? That's unusual."
The words slipped out before I could stop them.
Fewer members spike the danger level. A clan like this should know better—why force a trio?
I'd spotted a couple six-person groups earlier. Just shift one from each and balance it out.
Rookies can swap parties easily at this stage.
"It's because no one else can keep up with us."
The boy said it with total self-assurance.
Ah. So they're leagues ahead of the other newbies—too strong for normal groups.
Still, that attitude at his age? Trouble brewing.
Some explorers get cocky as their strength grows. If he's like this already, the future looks rocky.
…Am I supposed to fix his personality too?
…No, the clan must have some plan. Yeah, definitely. Messing with it as an outsider would be wrong.
Not because it sounds like a hassle or anything.
"Got it. Everyone's here, then—no problem. Time's short, so just names and roles, please?"
I had them introduce themselves one by one.
Ninth squad finished; tenth's turn.
"I'm Logan Hayward, leader of this party. Position: enchanter. One day I'll surpass Selma."
Tenth's enchanter, huh.
In "Silver Rabbit of the Night Sky", enchanters handle combat command across all parties.
Already uneasy about this kid calling shots…
Maybe he's fine in practice—we'll see in actual fights.
"Right. Good luck with that. Next."
"Hi~! I'm Caroline Inglet! Defender!"
A slightly wavy chestnut-haired girl with emerald eyes spoke up next—hair down to her waist.
Same height and build as the others, but one part was noticeably more developed. Not saying where.
Energetic kid.
Time was tight, but next was Sophia—I already knew her—and I had to confirm something with Caroline.
"No armor or shield? Planning to equip after we enter?"
"Ugh, you too, mister? I'm a defender who doesn't wear armor or carry a shield!"
…Proudly announcing that doesn't help.
Defenders draw and tank hits for the team. Armor and shields are non-negotiable.
…Except one.
There's one in an S-rank party—right behind the hero party and "Silver Rabbit"—who skips both.
"Are you aiming for an evasion-style defender?"
"Bingo~! I hate getting touched by monsters. But I wanna slice up tons of them—so I became the defender who stays closest!"
I wanted to cradle my head.
Evasion defenders scale purely with combat experience. Not rookie material. Useless against unseen monsters too.
That S-rank one pulls it off with a special power. With insane effort, maybe someone could approach her level—but without that gift? Impossible to match.
And her reason for picking defender: "I wanna cut up lots of monsters"…?
Is tenth squad just a collection of problem children?
…No, Sophia's fine—wait, she did break her promise with Selma and sneak into the labyrinth alone.
Okay, maybe 100% problem children after all…
"Evasion style's a bad idea. The clan hasn't told you to stop?"
"Of course they have. This guy just ignores them."
Logan answered for her.
"Logan ignores the teachers too! You can't talk!"
"U-um… fighting is… bad…!"
They started bickering; Sophia tried to mediate.
My head was starting to throb.
"Sigh… next."
"Y-yes! Sophia Crodel! Rear attacker—mage!"
Same format as the others, yet somehow reassuring.
"Alright—faces and names memorized. Three days, let's do this. Other squads are moving. We're going too."
I took point, following behind eighth squad.
Into the great labyrinth we went.
The guided exploration had officially begun.
"Inside the labyrinth, I'll bring up the rear. You all follow seventh and eighth squads."
I told the ninth squad leader and Logan, then dropped to last position.
Rookies advanced in two columns; escorts covered rear and flanks, staying vigilant.
◇
"Hey, hey! Why's someone from the hero party joining our expedition? Does that mean the hero party doesn't see us as rivals?"
A while after entering, Caroline piped up.
While the other rookies were stiff with tension, she seemed unchanged from aboveground.
Bold, or maybe just thick-skinned.
"Didn't you hear Selma? I left the hero party. That's why I could join. And yeah—they definitely saw "Silver Rabbit" as a threat. We always kept tabs."
"Ehh, why'd you leave!? The hero party's everyone's dream! Such a waste!"
She pressed right in…
No filter, either. Definitely my type to avoid.
"Doesn't matter. None of your business."
"Aw, come on! Tell me! For… um… educational purposes!"
"…Difference in direction, I guess."
"Ooh! 'Difference in direction'! Sounds so cool!"
Classic dodge phrase, but cool? Kid's tastes are a mystery.
She seemed satisfied, though—so mission accomplished.
But Caroline wasn't done.
Annoying as it was, I couldn't just brush her off completely. I half-listened, giving vague replies while she rambled on.
◇ ◇ ◇
Two white wolf-like monsters—white wolves—closed in from behind the "Silver Rabbit" group.
Relying on their keen sense of smell, they steadily narrowed the gap.
—But they never caught up.
Suddenly the ground erupted, spearing them through like lances.
The reason was simple: Orun had set timed magic in the earth.
Impaled, the wolves dissolved into black mist, leaving only magic stones behind.
All while chatting with Caroline, Orun had sensed the distant presences.
He'd calculated when they'd pass his current position, then planted spells to trigger exactly then.
Since entering the labyrinth, he'd already taken down several monsters this way.
If any had reached the group, combat would've halted progress.
The escorts thought they'd been lucky with few ambushes.
In reality, Orun had silently cleared every threat from the rear without anyone noticing.