Roxy was stunned.
A miracle truly happened to me.
Deep within this dark, cold, seemingly endless labyrinth, she had countless times contemplated the possibility of dying there.
Loneliness, hunger, exhaustion, and endless despair gradually eroded her last vestiges of will.
Just when she had almost given up, that familiar figure passed through the layers of rock walls and appeared in front of her.
At that moment, Rudeus seemed like a god who had truly stepped out of mythology.
"I'm sorry, teacher, I'm late."
The man's voice was still familiar, but his tone carried an undisguised apology.
Roxy stared blankly at his profile, her heart suddenly racing without warning.
" Rudeus..."
She opened her mouth, but couldn't say anything for a moment.
However, the next second, Rudeus suddenly frowned, his nose twitched slightly, and then he chuckled softly:
"Teacher, how long has it been since you took a shower?"
"Huh?"
"I'm all dressed up~"
The emotion on Roxy's face froze instantly.
It was only at this moment that she suddenly realized she hadn't showered in who knows how long, and more importantly—
He was currently being held tightly in Rudeus's arms.
A wave of heat instantly spread from my neck to my cheeks.
"Let me go!"
Roxy hurriedly struggled to break free from his embrace, her ears turning so red they almost bled.
"Ahem... In short, this maze is even more bizarre than I imagined."
She tried to steer the conversation back to the main topic.
"This place is full of Teleportation Magic circles and spatial traps. One wrong step and you'll be transported to a completely unfamiliar place."
"I... I have no idea how long I've been trapped here."
As she finished speaking, her voice gradually faded.
During this time, she couldn't even distinguish between day and night.
Rudeus looked at her, his expression gradually becoming serious.
"It's alright, teacher."
He extended his hand, his tone firm and without the slightest hesitation.
"I'm right here now."
Leave everything else to me.
"Believe me."
In that instant, as Roxy looked into his eyes, she suddenly felt a strange sense of peace.
It was as if, as long as this man stood beside her, no matter what monsters or traps lurked ahead, there was no longer anything to fear.
"Um..."
Roxy nodded gently.
The next moment, Rudeus grasped her hand and turned to walk towards the solid rock wall beside him.
The warmth emanating from Rudeus's palm constantly soothed all the unease in her heart.
Roxy stared blankly at their tightly clasped hands.
That hand was broad and strong, the palm carrying the warmth of young Rudeus.
She was so engrossed in watching it that she was completely absorbed.
Until Rudeus's figure completely disappeared into the rock wall.
"This is..."
Roxy suddenly came to her senses.
" Rudeus?"
The next second, she felt her body being pulled forward by a force.
"Wait a moment--!"
She closed her eyes tightly in alarm.
However, the imagined pain of hitting the wall did not occur.
There wasn't even a sound coming from my ears.
When I opened my eyes again, the scene before me had changed completely.
"This... this is..."
Roxy looked around and found herself in another unfamiliar cave.
She stared at everything before her in disbelief.
"How exactly did they do that?"
" Rudeus, was that magic too? It actually managed to pass right through the rock wall... That's amazing!"
"Teacher, that's just a simple application of spatial magic."
Rudeus smiled.
"I can teach you slowly after we get out of here."
With that, he took Roxy's hand again and walked towards where Paul and the others were.
Roxy glanced down at their clasped hands, her cheeks flushing slightly.
" Rudeus... I can walk by myself now!"
"Yeah?"
"Yes, yes!"
But despite saying that, she didn't actually pull her hand away.
at the same time.
In another empty cave within the maze.
The pale yellow defensive barrier, like a semi-transparent dome, enveloped everyone.
The eight people sat together in two circles.
Having survived the previous crisis, everyone was still on edge, but compared to the initial panic, there was now a sense of relief and relief.
Except for those three little ones.
Aisha curiously observed the silver-haired, animal-eared girl beside her.
Are you really the legendary Sacred Beast?
Norn, standing to the side, was even more direct than her.
She reached out and gently touched Leona's ear.
Leona's ears twitched slightly.
"This is the body my master bestowed upon me."
"What? Master?"
Aisha's eyes widened immediately.
She glanced instinctively in the direction Rudeus had left.
"That brother of mine... really."
They wouldn't even spare such a young girl.
"I'm not young anymore."
Leona retorted seriously.
"I'm the same age as my owner~"
"Ah?"
Aisha was taken aback for a moment.
"But you look about the same age as us?"
"Some races cannot be judged by their appearance alone."
Leona said in a very serious tone.
"I'm an adult now."
"I see..."
Aisha then realized that she seemed to have misunderstood something.
"How rude of me."
The words had barely left his mouth--
"Yay!"
A gasp of surprise suddenly rang out.
Aisha looked closely and saw that Norn was curiously grabbing Leona's tail.
Leona froze instantly, her tail instinctively straightening.
"That... is a place only Master can touch... um..."
Her cheeks flushed, and she quickly pulled her tail back.
"What's wrong?"
Eris, who was discussing the next move with the others, turned around upon hearing the sound.
"It's nothing, it's nothing!"
Aisha quickly waved her hand.
" Norn is just playing with Leona ~"
The group looked at each other in bewilderment.
Ultimately, they tacitly steered the conversation back to their current situation.
" Elinalise ".
After a moment of silence, Paul finally spoke.
"I'm sorry about what happened before."
His voice was much lower.
If you think I should repay anything, just say so.
Elinalise looked at him coldly.
"Ha, repayment?"
Do you think money is all I care about?
She became visibly agitated.
"From the moment you disbanded the team, you betrayed not only me, but everyone who once trusted you."
Do you think this kind of thing can be resolved with just a simple "repayment"?
Paul opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.
Just then, a hand gently rested on Elinalise's shoulder.
Eris didn't speak, she just looked at her, signaling her to calm down.
This subtle movement made even Rujierd glance at Eris again.
"I..."
Paul finally lowered his head.
"Never mind."
Elinalise let out a long breath.
Let bygones be bygones.
"I didn't come here to settle old scores."
She paused, her tone softening slightly.
"Similarly, it's not to help you."
"I did it for Zenith."
Paul stared at her, stunned.
" Elinalise... I really don't know how to thank you."
"If you really want to thank me--"
Elinalise looked at him.
"Be nicer to Zenith from now on."
"Don't let her bear these things alone anymore."
After saying that, she turned her gaze to Lilia.
"You're Lilia, right?"
" Rudeus mentioned you to me before. I also know about what happened between you and Paul."
Lilia nodded silently.
"But as a woman myself, I understand how you feel."
"Since things have come to this point, there's no point in owing each other anything anymore."
"From now on, take responsibility for yourself."
Take good care of this family.
"I will."
Lilia nodded seriously.
After a brief silence, Paul suddenly stroked his chin and looked at Eris thoughtfully.
"Speaking of which, I've long heard that the eldest daughter of the House Boreas is spoiled and willful."
"But now it seems the rumors weren't accurate..."
"That... that was all when I was a kid!"
Eris crossed her arms, trying to appear calm.
"I'm not that naive anymore!"
"Haha, really?"
Paul laughed.
"I really envy Rudeus for having a woman like you by his side."
"Ah... is that so?"
Eris was slightly taken aback.
Immediately afterwards, the corners of his mouth involuntarily turned up.
"Thank you."
Although she tried her best to appear nonchalant, she was secretly overjoyed.
That's right.
At least on this point, she had absolute confidence.
I am the one most qualified to stand beside Rudeus.
"Master."
Lilia couldn't help but remind her.
"Isn't it inappropriate to say something like that?"
"Hahaha, sorry, sorry."
Paul quickly waved his hand.
He then turned his attention to Rujierd.
Oh, right.
"You must be Mr. Rujierd?"
"Nice to meet you. Thank you so much for your help to Rudeus along the way."
Just call me Rujierd, no need to address me as sir.
Rujierd shook his head.
At first, I thought Rudeus was just an ordinary kid.
"Later I realized that the road he had traveled was far longer than I had imagined."
"And I... didn't really help him much."
At this point, his gaze became complicated.
"Your son is remarkable."
Paul remained silent for a moment.
"Is that so...?"
He said in a low voice.
"It seems Rudeus really is carrying a heavy burden that even I, his father, am unaware of."
Rujierd didn't answer, she just looked at him.
After a moment, he said in a deep voice:
"Then, for the sake of our descendants—"
"Try your best to help Rudeus."
Paul paused for a moment.
Then, he nodded slowly.
"Um."