?


    Stepping out of the Mine Dungeon


    Together with me, the soldiers also emerged from the Mine Dungeon.


    lightsΝοvel We didn''t rush out. Although we quickened our pace, we didn''t flee like prey being chased by wild beasts.


    The same went for the ves who exited with us.


    The ves came out in an orderly manner. They didn''te out empty-handed; most of them carried a wooden bucket or a wheelbarrow filled with Magic Stones they had mined today.


    After handing over their mining results to the waiting soldiers outside, they immediately lined up to receive food.


    The food was prepared by the female ves.


    As the ves lined up for food, they whispered to each other. It turned out they were discussing the dungeon explosion.


    The soldiers had not previously announced to the ves that a dungeon explosion was about to ur. Perhaps they were afraid the ves would start causing chaos. However, it seemed that the ves were beginning to realize that something was happening.


    Maybe a ve identally overheard my conversation with the soldiers earlier.


    Unlike the ves lining up for food, I was guided towards the master district. Along the way, I passed by the ves in the food queue and unintentionally noticed a gaze from a woman who was distributing the food. It turned out to be the woman who had flirted with me before.


    I thought she would look at me angrily upon seeing me carrying Sharon, but she still gave me a flirtatious look. Truly a consistent woman.


    "What''s the matter?"


    "Nothing."


    ***


    I arrived in front of thergest building in the master district.


    Not only was itrge, but the building was also magnificent, luxurious, and aesthetically pleasing. The pirs supporting the building were enormous. The roof tiles covering the top of the building were neatly arranged, resembling ck waves.


    The day had turned into night. There was no longer sunlighting through therge round hole in the ceiling. However, the building emitted a bright light from the magicmps ced at various points.


    Entering this grand building, I was guided further inside.


    "I can''t take you directly to meet Lord Rafferty. So, for the time being, you have to wait in a room first."


    I was not immediately taken to the room where the boss of the Nest of very was located.


    He said it was just to follow the procedure, but I was sure he was afraid of punishment if he suddenly brought a ve before the boss himself.


    ***


    Finally, Sharon and I were ced in a room. This room was simr to the living room. But this room was less luxurious than the living room I had seen on my way here.


    There was a sofa inside. Iid Sharon down on it.


    "Should I call someone to take care of her?"


    Before leaving, the soldier who escorted me made a reasonable suggestion. He wanted to call a nurse to thoroughly examine Sharon''s condition.


    I certainly wouldn''t allow him to call someone to take care of Sharon because Sharon was only pretending to be injured from a fierce battle.


    Fortunately, Sharon immediately told the soldier that there was no need to call a nurse.


    "In that case, wait here for a moment. I wille back here shortly after informing Lord Rafferty."


    And so, the group of soldiers who had escorted me here disappeared.


    I realized that the courteous behavior of the soldier was not directed towards me but towards Sharon.


    After we were left alone in the room, Sharon sat up, holding her head as if she were truly in pain.


    I also sat on the sofa.


    In front of us, on a table, were fruits and a bowl filled with cold porridge. All of it had been brought by a servant before our arrival.


    How did I know? It was because, on the way here, the soldier who escorted me ordered a servant.


    Perhaps because my footsteps were slow on the way here, the servants had time to go to the kitchen and get the food.


    Don''t be surprised, even though this ce was underground, inside here—inside the residential building of the ruler of Nest of very, there were servantsplete with nurses. The nurses here were people who possessed healing abilities.


    The food here was also abundant, unlike the food given to the ves, which was only a steamed parsnip.


    "Do you already know what you need to do next?"


    I asked Sharon.


    Beforeing here, I had given Sharonplete instructions on what she needed to do next.


    Before chaos truly erupted, there was one thing I needed to ensure, and that was to save the ves.<snext></snext>


    I didn''t want them to get caught up in the chaos and potentially be sacrificial victims.


    To seed in the n to rescue the ves, I nned to send Sharon to secretly move the ves out of the Nest of very.


    Sharon nodded while reaching for the porridge that was already on the table and started eating.


    "But what about you? If I follow your n, won''t you still be here?"


    "Don''t worry, I can take care of myself. Besides, you will need a lot of time to transport all the ves, right? I will buy you and the ves enough time to escape from here."


    Sharon had previously mentioned that she could activate the teleportation gate. So, I just needed to buy time during the chaos inside the Nest of very.


    "Furthermore, if I truly want to free the ves, I have to find the very agreement papers, which are most likely kept by Rafferty."


    My n was quite simple.


    I would meet with the boss of the Nest of very to inform him about the dungeon explosion. Then, the boss of the Nest of very would mobilize the soldiers to stand guard at the entrance of the Mine Dungeon. While everyone''s attention was focused on the Mine Dungeon, that''s when Sharon could move freely to save the ves. And I would be able to search for the Agreement Paper.


    Furthermore, my task was to oversee the progress of my n as a whole.


    "Use this to activate the teleportation gate."


    I handed Sharon a bag filled with magic crystals. I had reced the previous contents of the bag, which were food, with magic crystals.


    Although the quantity was smaller than the number of magic crystals used by the soldiers who had brought the new batch of ves into the Nest of very, the high level of the magic crystals made me believe it was enough to transport all the ves inside the Nest of very.


    "Why are you doing this?"


    Sharon asked while epting the bag full of magic crystals.


    Ugh! Please don''t look at me with those sparkling eyes.


    I felt like closing my eyes because Sharon was looking at me as if I were an exceptionally kind-hearted person.


    "Don''t misunderstand, I''m not doing this because I want to be a hero, but because I have my own reasons."


    Although I answered like that, it seemed Sharon didn''t believe me.


    Even though I felt like crying when I handed over all those valuable magic crystals.


    But I managed to convince myself that I would soon receive a greater return.


    It''s the nature of poor people to always want to cry when they lose money.


    "Remember, you should only move when the circumstances allow. Don''t force yourself."


    "Don''t worry."


    "Take this too."


    I handed her the final item.


    I took off the earring I was wearing.


    It was a Slime that I had transformed into an earring. This Slime was a magic item that could change its shape ording to what I imagined.


    I couldn''t give it in the form of a jelly lump. I was afraid she would find it too disgusting. So, I immediately gave her the Slime in the form of an earring.


    "W-What do you mean by suddenly giving me this?"


    Sharon looked puzzled. It was understandable; anyone would never expect to receive a piece of jewelry in such a tense situation. However, I quickly exined that the earring was a magic item.


    "This magic item can change its shape. You just need to imagine what item you want it to transform into while channeling your Mana into it. Since you''re a magician, you can surely do it. I don''t think I need to provide an example."


    "I thought you were giving me this as a gift."


    "Do you think I intended tomit suicide and leave this as a memento or inheritance?"


    Then I exined further.


    I instructed her to transform the Slime into a key, a key that would unlock the shackles binding the ves. It would be extremely difficult to rescue the ves if they were still wearing shackles. On the other hand, it would be easier to transport them if they werepletely freed from the shackles.


    Knock. Knock. Knock.


    I stopped exining to Sharon as a soldier came knocking on the door.


    For thest time, before parting ways with Sharon, I looked into her eyes, and we nodded simultaneously.


    "Don''t forget, prioritize the ves of the beastman race!"


    That was my final important message.