"..."
After lowering his head and pondering for a while, the wily old Duncan had no choice but to turn his gaze once more toward the other two possible variables present.
That's right!
The little girl Annie, who called herself an Archmage, and that overly confident "Gray Witch," Elaina!
Although Duncan still didn't know exactly how strong the two of them were, and had never seen them fight for real, he had to assume they were no pushovers. Otherwise, they wouldn't be traveling with Frieren and the others.
His gaze lingered on them for only a moment before settling on the examiner, Sense, instead. He decided to look for a way forward by starting with her.
After a brief pause, he asked, a glimmer of hope and resolve on his face:
"Lady Sense!"
"If we don't defeat Frieren's clone, none of us will be able to reach the deepest part of the dungeon and complete the exam."
"You..."
"As the examiner, do you have any ideas or advice?"
"Or..."
"Could you step in?"
"You'll have to go through there eventually, won't you?"
The examiner would certainly have to reach the finish line, or the exam couldn't proceed. With no other options, Duncan could only try his luck this way.
"..."
At last, Sense stirred. She raised her gray eyes and glanced at Duncan, then slowly and firmly shook her head.
After a long moment, she replied clearly in a voice that seemed just as devoid of emotion:
"I won't help you."
"That's the rule."
She paused, perhaps afraid that Duncan would try to persuade her again, then added:
"Besides, even if I stepped in, I couldn't beat Frieren's perfect clone."
"I'm no match for her."
"Talking to me about this won't help."
Her tone remained flat, conveying a clear understanding