Volume 7, Chapter 8 – Dominic Taris

“Hurry, hurry! Warriors, carry the magic chanters who can’t run! We have to make it before there are any casualties!”

“D-Dominic, the ones who went to the guardian’s room were asking for it. We don’t need to help them, do we? Hah—hah—I can’t run anymore.”

“Even so, we should rescue them first and judge them later. Axis, the adventurers who can reach the guardian’s room are skilled people. Helping them will benefit our own subjugation effort tomorrow night.”

“What about the people back at the camp?”

“I’ve arranged for people to stand guard. The riot won’t affect them.”

“Axis, you should stop complaining. Dominic won’t change his mind.”

“Damn it, Nana, you only ever side with Dominic—ugh, who’s there!?”

The echoing footsteps in the tunnel came to an abrupt halt. The adventurers who had been talking loudly stopped about thirty meters behind Yisi’s group. There were seven of them in total, and most had wary expressions.

Should I introduce myself now?

Just as Yisi stopped and hesitated, the young man at the front of the group—who had a strong build, neat blond hair, and handsome features—took a step forward.

“We are the Mithril-rank adventurer party, the [Sword of Gota]. I am their leader, Dominic Taris. May I ask if it was you who just entered the guardian’s room and triggered the monster riot?”

His every move was flawless. One could tell at a glance that he was a man who had received a noble’s education.

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However, it wasn’t the man’s etiquette that caught Yisi’s attention, but his name: Dominic Taris. If Yisi remembered correctly, that was the name of the second son of the House of Marquis Taris, and also the city lord of Gota.

Why is he so young!

When she saw the third son, Derrick, Yisi had assumed that the second son, Dominic, would be an older man in his forties or fifties. But now it seemed that perhaps the third son just looked old for his age.

No wonder the third son was always staring at me and Camilla. Turns out he’s only in his twenties.

By the way, is the first thing you’re supposed to announce here your adventurer party’s name, instead of your title or noble rank? But she hadn’t formed an adventurer party, nor had she registered at the adventurer’s guild when they passed through the city of Antonio.

Yisi could only let out a dry cough.

“Ahem—”

“Watch out!”

Before Yisi could finish, Dominic, with an expression that screamed “This is bad!”, drew his longsword and charged straight at her as if he had seen something terrifying.

A man-eating spider had dropped from the ceiling.

Unlike common spiders, this was a monster over three meters long. It liked to build its nest up high and would silently drop down on any creature that passed below, crushing its prey’s skull with its massive mandibles before it could react.

Rеαⅾ оn ΚаtReadiոɡСαfе

The spider fell so quickly that neither Camilla nor Mary had time to react. Yisi could only pull an iron sword from her inventory and thrust it toward the falling spider, piercing straight through its open mouth. As the spider thrashed about in agony, she cleanly flung it to the side.

Then, the now-reacted Camilla and Mary smashed the spider to a pulp with magic and a shield, respectively.

“Uh…”

Dominic, who had been preparing to assist Yisi, froze. Not just him, but the adventurers behind him also stood rigid.

“To think she dealt with a man-eating spider so easily…”

“It’s j-just a man-eating spider! I could flatten one with a single swing of my axe!”

The one who spoke was a man about Mary’s height, with a bushy beard and a grog-blossomed nose. The [Omniscient Map] identified him as a dwarf.

A tall female elf standing next to the dwarf scoffed.

“Stop bragging, Axis. This was a surprise attack. It would have bitten your head off before you could even react. If Lord Dominic hadn’t saved you last time, you’d be buried in the ground by now.”

“I was just giving Dominic a chance to show off.”

Smiling wryly at his companions’ bickering, the man who called himself Dominic sheathed his longsword. After glancing at the smashed spider, he approached Yisi.

“I feel this might be unnecessary, but I’ll ask anyway. Miss, were you injured just now? Not many people can react before a man-eating spider strikes. Judging by your attire, you must be from a royal or noble house. But even among the nobility, it is rare for a woman to choose a sword as her weapon. Could you be the fourth daughter of Duke Wozwal, hailed as the Flower of the Kingdom?”

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“Wozwal? No, I’ve never heard of that person…”

Yisi flicked the green blood off her iron sword. She had chosen to kill the spider with one blow only because it was just level 15. But from the adventurers’ conversation, it seemed the man-eating spider was a difficult opponent. She had revealed too much of her strength.

I hope they don’t ask me to clear the labyrinth with them.

Yisi smiled shyly.

“I am Yisi Enya, granted the Crest of Saint Mistilteinn by the new Pope of the Ymir Church. I have not yet formed an adventurer party. This is my family, Camilla Enya, and Mary. You may simply call me Yisi.”

“The Crest of Saint Mistilteinn? Isn’t that the highest-ranking crest of the Church?! The last time it was granted was three hundred—no, four hundred years ago?” the female elf in Dominic’s party exclaimed.

Dominic himself looked just as shocked.

“I recall that the Crest of Saint Mistilteinn holds a status equivalent to a cardinal… So you are a Cardinal. This is wonderful news.”

“Wonderful news, you say?”

She had a very bad feeling about this.

“Ah, we were stationed in the safe zone on the twelfth floor, but we were suddenly attacked by a monster horde. Under normal circumstances, monsters do not enter the safe zone. When this happens, it means someone has entered the guardian’s room. Based on what we know of the guardian’s power, it would take at least four Mithril-rank adventurer teams to defeat it. For safety’s sake, we decided to come and see who had trespassed. Since you are standing here safe and sound, Your Eminence, it means no one is in danger. This is truly wonderful.”

Visibly relieved, Dominic broke into a bright smile.

Rеad оn ΚаtReaⅾіnɡСαfе

Is he unexpectedly kind-hearted?

To be suddenly attacked by monsters lured by someone else while stationed somewhere… if it were me, I would definitely get angry first.

But Dominic had the wrong person.

Yisi’s gaze shifted awkwardly to the side.

“Um… actually… The ones who entered the guardian’s room were my other companions. We are on our way to rescue them…”

“What?” Dominic froze for a moment, his expression immediately turning grave. “Cardinal Yisi, I believe we should head to the guardian’s room at once. The guardian’s power far exceeds our own. If we do not hurry, your companions could be in grave danger. No, after this much delay, perhaps someone has already… Nana, Axis, we must pick up the pace!”

Yisi glanced at the [Omniscient Map] again. After recovering half of their magic power, Pepe’s group had started to engage the guardian again. Although they were on the defensive, the guardian’s HP had already dropped by 10%, while Pepe’s group had suffered almost no losses aside from magic power. It seemed Pepe intended to wear the guardian down in a battle of attrition.

Pepe might actually be enjoying this feeling of defeating a strong enemy.

Yisi could even picture Pepe wiping the corner of her mouth, facing the guardian with a provocative gaze.

“Waiting a little longer won’t—”

However, before Yisi could finish, Dominic and his group had already rushed past her, heading straight for the guardian’s room.