After leaving the A rank party, I aim for the deep part of the labyrinth with my former students
“You came, ‘Clover.’”
Benwood greeted us from his seat as we arrived at the Guild Master's office.
“Yeah. But still, what was with that kind of summons?”
“Ah, I had something I wanted to show you.”
The content of the delivered Mail Bird was a simple request to come.
The sender was Benwood personally, not under the Guild Master's official title.
Sending something so personal in the formal adventurer's guild format felt... off. Like he was subtly trying to tell me something.
“Mamal, show them.”
“Yes.”
Mamal, who was waiting by the wall, inserted what looked like a recording magic stone into the wall-mounted tablet.
After a short moment, the screen displayed a group of figures wearing deep hoods.
They were all dressed in pure white robes with peculiar symbols—highly suspicious looking.
“It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
“We are the ‘Seventh Order.’ Those who know the truth of this world.”
“Ignorant masses, and adventurer’s guild that blocks the truth.”
“The time for revelation and ascension has come. A transformation of the world is at hand.”
“It is useless to try and close your windows. The path to the summit is already open.”
“The end is coming. Our truth will be revealed, and the world will accept it.”
It looked just like some promo from a cult-like new religion.
Yet, there was something off about the wording.
The phrases seemed intentionally cryptic, hiding something—leaving a disturbing and uneasy impression.
“This was a live broadcast from the western residential area of Finis. Around that time.”
“What...?”
“Baron Tsormi of the Royal Broadcasting Bureau barely managed to cut the stream in time, so the public didn’t see it. But the timing is just too perfect.”
“You think it’s connected to the recent monster attack?”
I asked, and Benwood shook his head.
“Can’t say for sure. But there’s more.”
He tossed a letter onto the desk.
The envelope was plain, something you could buy anywhere, but it bore the same symbol from the video.
The letter inside was filled with incomprehensible phrases—and a single ominous line at the end:
“It has already begun.”
Given the situation, there’s no doubt it’s a message from the self-proclaimed Seventh Order.
The vague unease I’d been feeling was starting to take on a more defined shape.
“That’s a blatant provocation.”
“Yeah. This recent monster attack... might be connected to them.”
“I think that’s very likely. Honestly, I was already suspecting this incident wasn’t just a natural occurrence. I’ve got no idea how, though.”
“Our investigation found no signs of an ‘Overflow’ from the Achromatic Darkness, but there were some signs of a collapse in the underground cavern that serves as its entrance.”
“So something came out of there?”
“No, no way something as big as those monsters could come and go through there. But there might be something happening to the Achromatic Darkness itself.”
He was being vague.
In short, the investigation had hit a wall.
Time for a different approach, then.
At that moment, I realized why Benwood had called us here.
“So, Benwood. You’re planning to dump this job on us, huh?”
“Yeah. I can’t make any big moves on this right now. Marquis Bedibore personally instructed me to handle it discreetly... I want to disguise this as a routine royal commission mission and have you investigate them.”
Prompted by Benwood, Mamal handed me the job request form.
“The destination is... the Edright Republic? Across the border?”
“Just so happens they put in a request for skilled dungeon explorers. We’ll ride that wave.”
“From my research, the ‘Seventh Order’ seems to have a base of operations in the Noed District of Edright.”
Benwood and Mamal added to the intel I was given.
So the timing worked out well, huh?
“Anything else about them?”
“Nothing. Even I, as Guild Master, didn’t know about them. They’re that obscure.”
Or perhaps someone didn’t want them to be known.
If that’s the case, why did they suddenly step into the spotlight?
Why now? Why here?
An obscure cult from a neighboring country, appearing so abruptly.
“I promised you a vacation. Sorry.”
“You’d better make it up to us, Benwood.”
“I know. But for this, I can only rely on capable and trustworthy people like you.”
I feel like he asked us the same way during the investigation request for the Achromatic Darkness, too.
Well, being trusted this much by Benwood—a member of the legendary party Anubis—isn’t exactly a bad feeling.
Besides, now that Uncle Saga isn’t around, I want to be someone this man can rely on.
“Everyone, are we good to go?”
“Yes. I have no objections. Finis is like a second home to me, after all—I can’t allow these people to do as they please anymore.”
“I’m fine too. Let’s do our best!”
“I’m in as well. Honestly, if you decided, Yuke, I don’t think anyone would object anyway.”
“Same here! Leave the local scouting, intelligence gathering, and recon to me!”
Each of my teammates nodded in agreement.
All except one—Marina, who was usually the first to respond, stayed silent.
“Marina?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah! I’m fine too! Totally fine.”
She responded quickly, looking a bit startled and flustered.
“If something’s up, just say so, okay? Even if it’s a direct request from the Guild Master, it’s not like we have to accept it.”
“No, really, I’m fine. Sorry—I just zoned out a bit.”
Maybe she’s just tired.
It’s only been a few days since we returned from the last expedition. Even I and Silk have been busy buried in paperwork and report writing.
Marina handles video editing—which requires a lot of concentration. It’s the kind of work you overdo precisely because you love it.
“Benwood, even if we’re going, we need prep time and rest. We’ll need at least five days.”
“Of course. It'll also take some time to arrange your identification and border pass through the guild.”
“Alright. I’ll leave it to you.”
I gave a small nod and stood up.
If Marina’s that worn out, the others probably are too.
If needed, I’ll drop by later to check on her personally.
“Nene, don’t overdo it. I’ll put together some basic intel on the destination in advance.”
“That helps! But I’ll also do my own digging!”
“Alright then. I’ll just pick out some documents from the guild archives—come grab them later.”
“Will do!”
Nene responded cheerfully to Mamal’s gentle smile.
After going through a number of adventures together, their relationship seemed to have softened.
More than a teacher and student, they were starting to feel more like parent and child.
“Well then, we’ll be going now.”
Silk bowed her head politely, and the others followed suit as we left the room.
Marina still seemed a bit stiff, and that worried me just a little.
Maybe I really should talk to her properly later.
If I can’t even notice when my teammates are feeling off, I’m failing as both a leader and a supporter.
At the very least, I need to be there to back them up.
“Alright. Let us know if anything comes up.”
“Yeah. Sorry for dumping all this on you again.”
Benwood gave me a sheepish smile, and I returned it with a small grin and a nod, before leaving the Guild Master’s office behind.
The character we will explore next? Probably Marina, given the odd behavior this chapter. We already heard an offhand comment about her being related to noble/royal blood early on, so it could be further exploring that.
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