My impression of Leon Conti—the Guildmaster—has always been that of a mild-mannered man who never stops smiling.
However, he rose to the top of the Explorer Guild, an organization with influence across the entire continent, transcending national boundaries.
It would be natural to assume he has one or two quirks, or even more.
I can feel a glimpse of that now. The usual mildness has vanished from the current Guildmaster, replaced by eyes so coldly piercing they send chills down my spine as they fix on me.
"We both surely have thoughts about the current situation. But time is short right now. I would like your cooperation—would that be all right?"
The Guildmaster speaks before I can even open my mouth.
"...Cooperation, you say?"
"From what I can gather, your goal is to capture the mastermind behind this overflow incident, correct? I can't go into details, but this labyrinth has already been conquered by the mastermind. And according to guild regulations, this fact must be made public in the near future. That's why, using my authority, I want to frame this incident as 'Orun-kun conquering this labyrinth at my request.'"
The Guildmaster's proposal is likely intended to avoid chaos.
If it were known that the labyrinth was conquered without guild permission, it would obviously lead to troublesome developments.
That's why he wants to close this matter by saying I conquered it.
To put it bluntly, it's nothing less than the Guildmaster covering up this fact, but considering the current domestic situation, I think his judgment is reasonable.
Moreover, he is implicitly stating that he himself is not the mastermind.
Indeed, Oliver also said the mastermind is in the deepest part of the labyrinth.
So does that mean the Guildmaster was here to capture that mastermind?
It feels awfully fast for him to have arrived, though.
"That would be helpful. Assuming you don't turn around and betray me later."
The mastermind isn't necessarily acting alone.
In other words, I can't rule out the possibility that the person currently in the deepest part of the labyrinth is connected to the Guildmaster.
Even if I go along with his proposal here and proceed, if he ultimately betrays me and claims 'Orun conquered the labyrinth without permission,' I risk having my explorer qualifications revoked.
Now, what to do.
"Your concern is understandable. So to earn your trust, I'll give you this."
Saying so, the Guildmaster produces an envelope and holds it out to me.
Without letting my guard down, I accept the envelope and check its contents.
Inside are several sheets of paper. When opened, the first page contains a document granting permission to conquer this labyrinth, bearing the Guildmaster's seal.
A document with this seal becomes an official guild record, so even if the Guildmaster later claims ignorance, that excuse won't hold up.
In other words, the chance of the Guildmaster betraying me later has become extremely low.
"...If you're giving me a permit, there's no reason to refuse. Our interests seem aligned, so I'll go capture the mastermind."
"I appreciate it."
After memorizing the map of this labyrinth that was enclosed along with the permit, I store them away and step into the labyrinth.
It might be my imagination, but the air inside the labyrinth feels heavier than outside.
◇
No presence of magical beasts can be sensed inside the labyrinth.
Even after an overflow, the number of magical beasts inside a labyrinth doesn't drop to zero, so it seems safe to conclude—as the Guildmaster said—that it has already been conquered.
Following the memorized map, I take the shortest route and arrive at the deepest part of the labyrinth.
The deepest part is an open space, and at its center floats a massive dungeon core emitting an eerie light.
A man standing near the dungeon core turns his gaze toward me.
He appears to be in his forties and is clad in a robe dyed bright red.
Almost certainly a member of the "Cyclamen Order".
"......That crest on your chest is from "Silver Rabbit of the Night Sky", huh. So you're the one who got in my way?"
A voice laced with undisguised hostility and displeasure is thrown at me from the man.
"Got in my way" probably refers to dealing with the earlier overflow and defeating the skeleton.
"That's right. I have a mountain of questions for you. If you don't want to feel pain, answer them honestly."
"Do modern explorers not even know basic courtesy? Well, I suppose it's a small weak clan that only grew big thanks to Alba. Expecting courtesy from someone like that might be rude in itself."
The man looks down at me with a vulgar expression.
"Yeah. I'm troubled if someone like you expects courtesy from me. I can't see any reason to show respect to the likes of you."
"Hahaha! Ignorance truly is bliss! I'll specially enlighten you, since you're so clueless. I am Gary O'Rail—former explorer of "Golden Echo", and currently an executive of the "Cyclamen Order" that moves the world! Show some respect to your senior, you low-rank explorer!"
The man reveals his identity.
Hearing that, I doubt my ears.
Because the man before me is someone I thought had died years ago.
"......You're Gary O'Rail...? You didn't die?"
"Hou, so you know my name. I'm displeased to be thought dead, but I'll generously forgive you."
Learning the man's true identity, anger surges up inside me like boiling water.
I know this anger is irrational.
But I can't suppress the emotion welling up.
"Why... why would someone who was once part of the former hero party join a criminal organization like that!"
"What are you even saying? Obviously because I found a place far more valuable than something like a hero party."
"Where's the value in the "Cyclamen Order"! An organization causing incidents all over the continent, destroying children's hearts!"
"Good grief, the world you see is far too narrow. If anything, those brats should be grateful. They were able to become the foundation for that person!"
Gary cackles as he casually declares such things.
I feel the image I had built of "Gary O'Rail" crumbling apart inside me.
When I decided to switch from swordsman to enchanter in "Golden Dawn", to understand other parties' combat styles and role divisions, I read through various explorer reports—including those from past parties.
Naturally, among them, the reports from the party where Selma-san established the enchanter style were especially important, so I read them more frequently than others.
However, there was one explorer whose reports I read even more than Selma-san's party's, and who became the foundation for my approach as an enchanter.
That was Gary O'Rail of the then-hero party "Golden Echo".
From the reports, "Golden Echo"'s combat style—in blunt terms—was all-out offense.
The vanguards Warren-san and Albert-san were naturally attackers, and the other two besides Gary were also rear-guard attackers—a style that practically screamed 'the best defense is a good offense.'
That said, that style was the most common during their active years, so there was nothing strange about it.
Despite having the same party composition as everyone else, the biggest reason they rose to the top and reached the ninety-third floor of the Great Southern Labyrinth was, I believe, Gary O'Rail's presence.
In labyrinth exploration where the situation changes moment by moment, he instantly supplemented whatever the party lacked at any given time.
That was Gary O'Rail's role in "Golden Echo", and the ideal enchanter I aimed to become.
I know this is completely selfish.
Even so, the fact that the explorer I respected fell into a criminal organization is something I personally cannot accept.
"Then tell me. Tell me the full picture of this 'wider world' you're seeing!"
"Hmph, I'm going to kill you here anyway. I'd like to say a dying man has no need to know, but fine. As a souvenir for the afterlife, I'll tell you what that person is trying to accomplish!!"
As Gary proclaims this loudly, the madness in his eyes seems to intensify even further.
"As a premise, the world we live in is isolated—————eh?"
The moment Gary began to speak about this world, a sharp blade burst out from his chest.
Gary looks down at the blade piercing his own chest, letting out a foolish-sounding voice with an expression that says he doesn't understand what's happening.
Right after the blade emerges from Gary's chest, another presence appears behind him.
"—What exactly were you blabbing on about? I thought it was nonsense, but I never imagined it would be this irredeemable."
The one who suddenly appeared is a young man with long ash-colored hair tied at the shoulder, dressed in noble-like attire.