The Fat Aristocrat Waltz in the Labyrinth - Chapter 83
Chapter 83: The fat aristocrat is grumpy
There’s a problem with the assumption that medicinal herbs grow on the 14th floor—where exactly?
Perhaps it was thought that this floor alone might have rich soil, but upon arrival, it was still a cave tinted with reddish hues. There must be a special place on this floor where only certain parts have medicinal herbs growing.
“I guess it’s all about the money—information about medicinal herbs is quite valuable…It’s best to find it ourselves, but…”
Most of the information about the labyrinth can be solved within the guild without relying on information brokers. The guild itself buys information from adventurers, scrutinizes it, and sells it to other adventurers.
There are also self-proclaimed information brokers who resell information purchased from the guild, but such people are quickly punished by adventurers seeking rewards for tipping off the guild.
However, even at the appropriate price, bankrupting oneself by buying any information from the guild is a problem, and the freshness of the information is lost from the time the guild sends out people to investigate until the time it is sold.
Therefore, information brokers are still a sought-after profession that has not become obsolete.
Deciding how far to search on their own and when to buy information is also a quality required of adventurers.
This time, Mitrof came without buying any information. They decided to try on their own first, and if that failed, they would buy information at a higher price.
“In this level, snake-like monsters appear.”
“Snakes? That’s different from boas, isn’t it?”
Snakes can also be found on the surface, but they are all small. It is said that there are giant snakes feared as boas in the southern forests, but both of them only have second hand knowledge.
“It seems like it’s a barrel-shaped snake called a tsuchinoko—it’s a strange picture.”
“The name also sounds mysterious—I wonder what language it is from.”
“Well, the discoverer has the naming rights for the monster—It could have been discovered by someone from some foreign country.”
The path in the cave gradually sloped upward. It was only a small uphill step, but as they continued, the burden on Mitrof’s bodies grew. He could feel their breath becoming heavy.
‘It’s strange, my weight should have decreased compared to before… Yesterday, I even held back from asking for seconds to save money… It’s strange that my body feels heavy… Could this be the influence of the labyrinth…?’
As Mitrof tilted his head and proceeded up the slope, a small shadow suddenly rolled towards him.
It was round like a carriage wheel and yet wide, sticking to the ground as it rolled towards him.
Mitrof squinted his eyes. Despite the fact that the first sight of this thing confused his thoughts, he had previously encountered similar situations several times. He thought about what it could be and immediately came to the answer.
“Canule!—It’s a tsuchinoko!”
Mitrof quickly unsheathed his rapier. He sat back and waited for it, but as the tsuchinoko increased in momentum, his cheeks began to twitch.
Canule had placed the large bag at the end of the passage, taken her shield, and returned to stand in front of Mitrof. As soon as she got into position, the tsuchinoko was just around the corner.
It was clear that the tsuchinoko had reached tremendous speed after coming down a long slope.
“Mitrof-sama, please step back—I’ll try to stop it.”
“… Are you sure about this? It’s like trying to stop a carriage.”
“Next time, let’s try stopping a carriage too.”
Canule replied with a joke as she checked her footing. She pounded the ground with her black leather boots to secure her stance, then lowered her body and held up her round shield.
Mitrof had some lingering worries as he pressed his back against the wall.
Rumble, rumble… Before he knew it, the sound approached, and then it collided with Canule’s shield.
“—Uh.”
It was a dull sound, as if someone struck a bag full of water.
Canule, who was carrying the curse of the labyrinth’s relic, possessed strength beyond that of a human being. She demonstrated her ability to even block a powerful hit from a troll, standing like a lump of iron, slightly tilting her shield to deflect the impact.
The tsuchinoko bounced into the air and slammed into the wall.
Mitrof ran up with a drawn sword in one hand.
When it fell to the ground, the tsuchinoko was no longer round. It certainly had a snake’s head and a tail, but its body was flattened and widened horizontally, resembling a fat cylinder. By rolling up, it seemed like it could turn into a wheel and roll down the slope.
While Mitrof was observing, the tsuchinoko turned its head towards him.
It was a strange sight. The tsuchinoko’s body was getting shorter and shorter, until eventually the head and tail seemed to connect directly together.
It was then that Mitrof remembered the contents of the research he had done in the guild. Among the adventurers’ scribbles was a note that said, “Like a swordhorned rabbit.”
As the tsuchinoko jumped, Mitrof instinctively stepped to the side.
A gust of wind rushed past him. The weight of the wind was evident from the sound. Its tightly packed airstream had a force that could freeze one’s blood, even more so than that of the swordhorned rabbit.
Mitrof slipped and changed his direction. Turning around, he saw that Canule had slammed the tsuchinoko to the ground.
However, the tsuchinoko showed no sign of weakening, even after being knocked back.
Using its strange bouncing and sliding movements, it moved away. It wasn’t to escape, but undoubtedly to perform another tackle like before.
Mitrof chased after it, running clumsily.
The tsuchinoko, which neither bounced nor rolled, was slow. However, Mitrof, who was running, was also slow.
Finally catching up while panting, Mitrof saw the tsuchinoko turn around and face him, crouching its body again.
Realizing the danger, Mitrof put more effort into running and extended his thrust sword.
At the same time, the tsuchinoko jumped.
A tremendous impact hit Mitrof’s right arm, causing the sword to be knocked away. Mitrof reflexively dodged to the left.
His hair fluttered in the wind, and his right eye closed. He became aware that his sword was skewering the tsuchinoko as he struggled to straighten himself out.
He stopped where it hit the wall and went to retrieve it. Canule joined him.
“…it seems that the tsuchinoko’s charge was met with a sword.”
“Mitrof-sama, that was impressive.”
“Of course, it was just a coincidence.”
Mitrof wobbled his right hand. He couldn’t handle the impact, which felt like his sword was being ripped out of his hand.
“Should we dodge with our backs against the wall like we did to the swordhorn rabbits?”
“I thought it would bounce.”
“…Yeah, maybe we shouldn’t stop moving.”
Ochre boars and swordhorn rabbits stop moving when they hit a wall during their charge, but this tsuchinoko bounces off when it hits a wall. They can’t wait for it to attack.
In the face of tsuchinoko skewered on a stick, their conversation is turning into a simple strategy meeting.
“How about Canule? Can she guard against it?”
“It might be difficult to deal with if it gets a running start on a slope—It’s not a problem to block it, but it still bounces back.”
“Bounces back, huh.”
The Tsuchinoko, viewed from above, had thick leather from its back to its head. When it curled up and rolled, its back would shrink, and if it charged forward, its head would hit you.
“It’s not just hard, but it seems to have elasticity.”
Mitrof squats down and presses his fingers onto the tsuchinoko’s head and back.
“…It’s squishy. It’s hard and soft at the same time…It’s a strange sensation.”
“If it was as hard as a shell, it would break under pressure, so it’s using that elasticity to absorb the impact—that’s why Mitrof-sama’s sword was able to penetrate it—sharpness may be the key to counteracting it.”
“We know the attacks work, so the problem now is how to stop it.”
Squish, squish.
“…Mitrof-sama?”
“This feeling is becoming addicting—Canule, try touching it too.”
“If you say so.”
Canule squats beside Mitrof and gently presses her fingertips onto the Tsuchinoko’s back.
Squish, squish.
Squish, squish.
“Indeed…this is quite strange.”
“That’s right.”
Squish, squish.
Squish, squish.
“How do we stop the tsuchinoko?”
“I wonder what we should do.”
Squish, squish.
Squish, squish.