The Fat Aristocrat Waltz in the Labyrinth

Chapter 5: The Fat aristocrat joins forces with an elf girl

“Shh!”

The kobold dodged the attack coming from the side with agility. Lightly stepping back, it looked at Mitrof. Mitrof also looked at the kobold.

It was a size bigger than a goblin. Its distinctive feature would be its face. It was that of a dog or wolf. An animal that stood on two legs and held a blunted hatchet in its hand, possessing both the agility of an animal and the intelligence to handle tools.

“…You’re that man from before! Quickly, run!”

The elf girl spoke from behind.

“We should help each other in the labyrinth.”

“That’s a kobold. They usually live on the fourth floor. We cannot beat them.”

“So you should just give up then?”

“I’m telling you so! It’s targeting me, so you should run away now!”

“What kind of self-sacrifice is that?”

He turns around involuntarily. However, the girl looked back at Mitrof calmly without changing her expression.

“The two of us can win. We should try before giving up.”

It surprised Mitrof that such words came out of his own  mouth. He hadn’t thought about such things for years.

The girl widened her blue eyes and was in shock.

“…You’re a good person.”

The girl said.

“Yeah, I am a good person. It’s boring to die here, don’t you agree?”

A chuckle spilled out from the corner of her mouth.

“Then, shall we go together?”

At the same moment the girl spoke, an arrow passed by Mitrof’s side. It was aimed squarely for the kobold’s face but was avoided easily. The kobold could see it.

And he had excellent agility.

The kobold flew towards Mitrof in one fell swoop. His movements were not comparable to the goblin’s.

Mitrof raised his rapier before him.

Concentrate, he told himself.

One false move, and he would die.

But that’s why he couldn’t back down. He had to move forward.

He couldn’t win if he dragged it out. He knew that. His own body was a lump of laziness. It was too heavy to move.

The kobold lifted his axe from a low position on the ground.

Mitrof dodged to the side at half-body length. Death passed before his eyes. The cold wind chilled his spine.

It was aiming for his face.

No, it’s wrong.

He had to avoid it.

That was his intuition.

In a split second, Mitrof changed targets and sliced with his rapier.

It tore through the right knee of the kobold that stepped forward.

Immediately after, Mitrof leaped aside.

There was a sharp breeze.

A elf girl who had taken aim with her bow behind Mitrof fired her arrow as soon as she found an opening.

The kobold saw the arrow. In the split second when he attempted to jump aside, his body sank.

His right leg.

When he realized it, the arrow had pierced through the kobold’s chest.

Still moving.

Mitrof took a stance with his sword. His graceful movements were reminiscent of a nobleman’s duel.

His slender sword pierced kobold’s neck accurately and sharply.

At the same moment, the girl fired her second shot into the kobold’s right eye.

Life quickly faded from the one remaining left eye.

Mitrof watched it. His sword slipped out from the weight of the crumpling body.

The encounter was brief.

But he might have died.

He realized that he was alive. Burning with life, he desperately clung to it.

Like molten iron flowing into his mind, Mitrof clenched his teeth tightly. A sudden numbness ran through his entire body, making him shudder with heat.

Looking around, the elf girl also curled up, with a pained expression on her face as if she was enduring something.

“…So, this is sublimation, I suppose. It’s quite something,” she said.

Sublimation is a phenomenon that occurs only in the labyrinth. Mitrof only knew it through books.

“Does this mean we have ascended to a higher level as organisms? I don’t feel it,” he said, clenching his fists. He didn’t feel any stronger than before.

“It takes time to get used to the body after sublimation. For a kobold, a night’s sleep is enough.”

“So we’ll feel it tomorrow. I’m looking forward to it,” Mitrof said as he sheathed his sword.

The passion and tension, the feeling of risking his life, they had all faded away. The square was silent.

The only memory of the battle lay before them as the kobold lay motionless on the ground.

“I’d like to thank you again. Thanks to you, I was saved.”

The elf girl approaches Mitrof. Her blue eyes are soft and narrow.

“It’s okay. You helped defeat the kobold too.”

“Did you know what I was aiming for when you opened fire so quickly?”

“Somehow I had a feeling.”

Why did he know? Mitrof also wonders himself.

Could it be eye contact?

Since childhood, Mitrof had been aware of other people’s gazes. How his father looked at him, what he thought. Or his brother, or the maids.

Gazes have a unique presence. He learned that he could tell where they were directed.

During the fight with the kobold, Mitrof felt the elf girl’s gaze on his back. It was sharp and piercing.

“Maybe we have good compatibility,” the elf girl murmured. “Are you exploring alone?”

“I’m alone and inexperienced. I just entered the labyrinth for the first time today.”

“That’s a bold move. It took me four days to finally get used to it.”

“Are you alone too?” 

“Indeed. I can’t bring myself to find a trustworthy partner through taverns or introductions from strangers. But I have found one now,” the girl said, looking directly at Mitrof.

“I am Grace.Switz, a huntress who resides in the forest. I desperately want to delve deep into the fifth floor of this labyrinth. If you are also seeking a reliable companion, how about teaming up with me? You can trust me.”

Mitrof read her blue eyes’ gaze, which shone with a straight and beautiful light.

Strangely, Mitrof could agree with what she said.

“…I’m Mitrof. I am a former third son of a noble family  who was disowned as of yesterday. I also feel like I can trust you.”

“Then, does that mean you accept my proposal?” Grace asked, tilting her head slightly with a hint of unease. Her platinum hair slid off her shoulders.

Mitrof nodded.

“Please take care of me. I was afraid to explore the labyrinth alone. It’s reassuring to have Grace with me.”

“Glad to be of help.”

Grace replied with a sweet smile.