“There sure is a lot of security here.” [Ryner]

Ryner commented as he looked at the large entrance to the ruin of Ofauvra. Just like the last one he visited, it was a ten meters tall building that was squared-shape and seemed to be made of grey rock. They had finally reached it after a few hours of driving by carriage. There were several armed guards stationed there as well as crates and a simple, small barricade made of wood and metal.

It was a sharp contrast compared to the previous ruin he visited, located near Elura, which was devoid of any security. Their job must be quite hard since the land around every ruin would suffer from earthquakes every day. Nevertheless, they vigilantly stood with their backs straight and saluted them before they entered. One of the guards also went to get their two horses so that they won’t panic during the earthquake.

“Of course. This ruin doesn’t just hold Artifacts like magic swords and magic gauntlets. It’s got a relic that we consider sacred, so we can’t just let anyone in without permission.” [???]

“What’s that?” [Ryner]

“It’s what gives beastmen the ability to transform and become more powerful. It’s what grants us beastification, but not everyone gets it.” [???]

“Seriously?” [Ryner]

“Seriously. That’s why it took a while to get permission for you.” [???]

“I thought humans just weren’t allowed.” [Ryner]

“There’s also that. You and your blonde cousin are the first humans to enter.” [???]

The group that went inside and was descending the stairs consisted of Ryner, Evelyn, Maya and their guide.

“… By the way, why is the prince of the kingdom leading us?” [Ryner]

Ryner asked the young man that had lion ears on top of his orange hair. It was Kirial, the oldest child of the Ofauvra family and next-in-line for the crown. He didn’t look that old and was perhaps a year older than the black-haired human. Although looking quite laidback, he carried himself with the certain confidence that a prince possessed. Hanging on his belt was a sword and a grey, cylindrical object that had a cone on both its extremities. The object had a round hole on its surface and a whitish gem could be seen inside it.

“Well, we can’t let you guys in without supervision. I’ll guide you guys and make sure you don’t break anything.” [Kirial]

“I’m surprised they allowed a prince to accompany us to a danger zone.” [Evelyn]

“Like she said. What if you get killed?” [Ryner]

Ryner bluntly put what Evelyn was concerned about.

“Don’t worry. I’m pretty good in a fight, though by the standards of the Adventurer guild, my mana pool is below C rank.” [Kirial]

He tapped the sword hanging on his waist and grinned.

“No, I’m really worried. Will I get blamed if you die?” [Ryner]

The question that the human asked as he stared straight at the prince with his sleepy-looking eyes rendered him speechless for a moment. He stopped descending the stairs and froze for a while. Then, his shoulders shook and laughter leaked from between his lips.

“…Pfft! Hahahaha! You’re like how Snow described you!” [Kirial]

“Didn’t think you would laugh… And what was that brat saying about me?” [Ryner]

“Ahh nothing, nothing. The truth is, I wanted to meet you to thank you for saving Snow and her mother, so I asked to be your guide. They’re like family. Also, my old man, well, the king agreed with me and gave me his permission. My moms did made a fuss, but that can’t be helped since they’re moms, and you won’t be hanged or anything.” [Kirial]

Saying so with a smile, the guide resumed walking and led the group down the stairs.

“Besides, Argos said that you passed his test and vouched for you. According to him, you’re trustworthy and I’ll be safe if I stick with you. Seeing as how he told me you actually beat him while he was beastified, I see no reason to doubt him.” [Kirial]

“That brat, he actually set me up for this.” [Ryner]

“Brat? He’s older than you.” [Kirial]

After their duel, Argos told Ryner that he had permission to enter the ruin, so he left right away for it. However, the huge beastman stopped him and told him that he had to do a certain thing in exchange and that was to allow the first prince to guide them. He didn’t explicitly tell him to protect the heir to the throne, but Ryner could guess what would happen if he didn’t. Whether Argos didn’t voice it because he trusted him to ensure Kirial’s safety or he simply thought it was a natural thing to do, he didn’t bother to ask. Truth be told, he wasn’t pleased with this. Now that the prince was accompanying them, he wouldn’t be able to move as he wanted.

“Well, we’re here.” [Kirial]

The group of four arrived at a circle with intricate patterns that was faintly glowing on the ground. They stepped on it and were automatically teleported to a corridor with walls of rocks. The place was lit up clearly by lights on the corners of the ceiling, so they had no trouble seeing where they were going.

“Really now, after I came back from my friend’s house, I was told that Master fought against my father and we had to escort the prince in the ruin.” [Maya]

Maya suddenly grumbled, still not sure how things turned out like they did.

“Sorry about that, Maya. Wait, Ryner should be the one apologizing here.” [Kirial]

“You’re right. Maya, I’m sorry I beat up your dad and that we need to carry around extra baggage in the ruin.” [Ryner]

“You’re saying that with a really serious expression, but I just feel like punching you.” [Kirial]

“I’m apologizing to Maya here.” [Ryner]

“If I didn’t know you beat the strongest Catallard, I would’ve punched you already.” [Kirial]

As they conversed, Kirial proved to be quite easy to talk to and had a rather relaxed personality for royalty. He also had nerves of steel to want to dive in the ruin with three people he just met today. The four of them exchanged words and sometimes horsed around with Ryner saying something to rile up the prince and for the prince to jokingly retort with an angry face. However, the time for such pleasantries was over since they reached the end of the corridor. Before them was the first room, or the first level.

“Make sure you follow me and don’t get lost.” [Kirial]

Kirial took out a folded map from his pocket, pulled the sword out of the scabbard hanging at his waist and pressed on the top of the cylindrical object. The gem inside it lit up and bright light flooded out from the round hole like a flashlight. What was before them wasn’t an open room with a lot of space. Rather, the corridor continued on, but the sources of light that came from the corners of the ceiling were now on the floor. Furthermore, their intensity was weaker, casting shadows on the walls and making it harder to see what was above their heads.

The group continued to walk with Kirial at the head who was keeping an eye on his surroundings and lighting the way with his pseudo-lantern. After walking for a while, they reached a fork in the road. The beastman with orange hair, checking his map, pointed to the left and everyone followed him. What was drawn on the map in his hand was a labyrinth.

“You sure that map of yours is accurate?” [Ryner]

“Of course it is. This was made by many who came before us and explored this labyrinth.” [Kirial

]

For the first floor, they had to navigate their way through a complicated maze. Although there was a problem with letting the prince take position at the head of the group, the individual himself insisted on it. As such, while checking his map every now and then, the lion-eared man led the four of them through the sets of corridor.

“Remember what I told you. Be careful of-.” [Kirial]

“Hey! Look!” [Ryner]

“What?!” [Kirial]

Quickly turning around, Kirial, who was on guard, wondered what Ryner found and pointed the light at him.

“A rock! Or rather, a broken piece from some wall!” [Ryner]

“…” [Kirial]

The prince of Ofauvra froze with his sword at the ready when he saw the white-eyed man kneeling on one knee and showing off a rock in his hand that he just found. The two women behind him were also silently watching him, though one of them was giggling while the other watched with a rather warm gaze.

Feeling irritated, Kirial was about warn him to not mess around, but just as he opened his mouth, Ryner threw the rock right next to his face. The small projectile diagonally flew up and hit its target, surprising the lion-eared beastman along the way. Upon hearing the small growl that came after the sound of impact, he hurriedly turned around and pointed his sword at it. There, sticking to the wall two meters above the ground like a spider, a creature similar to a reptile was watching him from the shadows above him. Only four meters separated them and its green, reptilian eyes stared at him without moving.

“Maya.” [Ryner]

On her master’s command, Maya jumped out from behind and easily shortened the distance in a blink of an eye. The ruin dweller, which was waiting for its prey to get right underneath it to pounce, chose to leap off the wall and at the prince since it was discovered. However, just as it sprang into action, the beast girl appeared next to it mid-air and sent a powerful kick to its ribs, effectively breaking them and destroying its insides. The creature slammed against the wall, fell to the ground and writhed about before finally dying.

“Oh my, it looks different from the ones in the other ruin.” [Maya]

Maya said, looking at the poor victim of her mana-fueled kick. Ryner and Evelyn also crowded around it to observe and Kirial, after blinking from the sudden events, followed suit while blushing slightly from embarrassment. Even though he was warning everyone to stay on their guard, he didn’t notice the monster at all.

“So this is one of the beasts that live in this ruin.” [Evelyn]

Evelyn murmured with great interest. It was as big as an adult human and had a skinny, humanoid body covered in yellowish scales like it was starving. Its arms were long enough to touch the ground if it stood upright and there were three fingers on its four limbs. Each one had a curved claw with the biggest being on the middle finger. It had a long and slim tail that was unlike that of a lizard and its mouth was full of crooked fangs.

“That’s right. Like I told you all before, this is a Seeker. They live in this labyrinth and crawl along the walls in the shadows.” [Kirial]

“(The new name’s cooler than Raptor class, Stealth type.)” [Ryner]

Ryner casually thought as he stared at the corpse of the War Puppet that he created to guard this place. In an hour or so, the body would melt and dissolve since that was how he designed them.

“They ambush anyone they see in here, so we need to be careful… Actually, thanks. I might have been a bit in danger there.” [Kirial]

Scratching his ear, Kirial thanked the black-haired human who stopped him from walking into a trap with his rock. At the same time, after seeing Maya in action, he confirmed that the talks about her coming back as a powerful warrior were true. Ryner, who was squatting down to get a closer look at the kill, got up, put a hand on his shoulder and smiled.

“Why don’t I lead the way from now on?” [Ryner]

Seeing as how the human’ senses were sharper than his, Kirial didn’t refuse and quietly handed over the map. However, the warm gaze that was obviously fake, which he was subjected to, annoyed him. He held on to his lantern since Ryner refused it, saying that his eyes were used to seeing in the dark.

And so, the four of them continued on their way with Ryner now at the front. More Seekers tried to assassinate them, but they were easily dealt with. Kirial and Ryner killed a few close to them, but it was mostly Evelyn and Maya who did the killing. The creatures were skilled at moving about silently and staying hidden. However, once they were discovered, they weren’t much of a threat to them.

“You’re really good at finding your way in this maze even though you’ve never been here before.” [Kirial]

Kirial said, surprised that Ryner could so easily find the right path even if it was marked. He was watching from behind him and looked at the map over his shoulder to make sure that they weren’t getting lost. So far, he didn’t need to correct him once.

“Well, I did build this place, though I can’t remember the way without this map.” [Ryner]

“Huh?” [Kirial]

“Nothing.” [Ryner]

He mumbled under his breath, so Kirial couldn’t quite hear him.

“What about you? Have you been here before?” [Ryner]

“No, but I’ve been studying the map for this day.” [Kirial]

“Is there any reason why the prince of this kingdom would want to go to this dangerous place? Is it perhaps the relic you mentioned before?” [Evelyn]

Evelyn asked, joining the conversation while Maya pulled down a Seeker by the tail and stomped on its head, crushing it to a bloody mess.

“That’s right. It grants us beastification, so a lot of people come here to get this power. Quite a few beastmen from other countries travel all the way to Ofauvra to enter the ruin. There are strong fighters like adventurers and mercenaries, but also some rich folks who want power and hire escorts. Thanks to that, the city attracts quite a few visitors and it’s good for business. Also, the Catallards, the Terdims and my family come here too. It’s like a rite of passage.” [Kirial]

“So that’s the real reason why you tagged along with us.” [Ryner]

“Guh! W-well, yeah. Since someone needs to supervise you three, I figured I might as well go and see the relic too. I haven’t seen it yet since my old man’s overprotective, despite how he looks and it’s not like everyone has the time to go ruin diving at a moment’s notice. To be allowed here, I needed to be really strong to defend myself or bring a damn strong warrior to protect me.” [Kirial]

Kirial looked away uncomfortably and scratched his ear.

“Last time, my uncle took some Terdims with him and I wasn’t allowed to go with him. He came back safe and sound and no one died, but I can’t ask them to go in again just like that. My old man would drop his fist on my head if he learned I was being selfish. So, since you beat Argos, you were my best bet to get in. BUT! It’s true that I wanted to thank you for saving Snow and Mira! Don’t get the wrong idea about this, ok?!” [Kirial]

“You almost sounded like a certain archetype.” [Ryner]

“What archetype?” [Kirial]

“Don’t worry about it, kid.” [Ryner]

“Kid?” [Kirial]

The group advanced through the dim corridors while killing any Seekers that tried to stealthily murder them. Along the way, Ryner, who was leading them towards the exit using the map and his memory, was busy thinking of various things. Although he looked calmed outwardly, many questions were revolving around inside his head.

What the hell is some beastification relic doing in my fortress?

How am I supposed to move around with that prince around?

Maybe we should just break down the walls?

Such thoughts filled his mind.