At 7 o'clock in the morning on the 11th day of the labyrinth, after escorting three people out of the Rift, we returned to the forest.

"Maybe we should eat something first?"

— Good idea.

Feeling hungry, we packed up and cooked a meal. It is common for a person to feel sleepy with a full stomach.

— ... Let's sleep today and do the rest tomorrow.

Tired, we set up camp and fell asleep. Not only did we stay up all night, but in Chapter 3 we wasted our energy playing Mafia, and we even had a PC event, plus a subsequent boss doppelgänger fight.

*Hraaaap!*

I passed out as soon as I closed my eyes. When I opened them again, a whole day had passed.

[07:12]

Even though I fell asleep at 8 a.m., when I checked the time, the hand moved back an hour. That meant I slept for almost 24 hours.

"Oh, are you awake?"

— ... Why didn't you wake me up?

"We've just woken up, too.

This was not something out of the ordinary for me.

Quickly washing my face with water from a bottle, I caught the smell of something delicious nearby.

"If you're awake, take your plate and sit down." And before that, wake up Einar. At least she listens to you.

After waking up Einar and eating together, we went to wander through the forest and collect what we needed - wild grass that grew in the Forest of Doubles.

"Don't just follow me, check the ground as you go. That's 10,000 stones per root.

"Mr. Yandel.

*Crunch!*

Crushing useless Sealing Stones has a certain chance of obtaining Sealed Evil Fragments.

"How much does it cost?"

"About 1 million stones each.

- I see. I will buy 5 pieces as soon as they appear.

I ate five fragments out of seven, although the effect was not noticeable.

[You have absorbed a Sealed Evil Fragment. Magic Resistance +1].

For reference, the remaining two Fragments were bought by Misha.

"Huh?" I?

"You've already made a lot of money. Don't hoard them.

"I'm not going to, but...

Mike looked at Einar apologetically. She really should be more selfish, as befits a researcher. Einar had previously absorbed an essence with a lot of extra Magic Resistance, so it was wiser to give it to Misha. She will still have to pay for it.

"Phew, it looks like we won't be able to find him.

— We can allocate one day. Let's continue our search.

Although there were no monsters, it took a whole day to search in this vast forest. However, it took us even the next day to search the whole forest again, and finally found what we were looking for.

"Cover your ears with everyone..." No, just move away. I'll deal with it.

Mandrake root is one of the ingredients of the elixir.

Once Raven protected herself with magic and pulled it out of the ground, all of our tasks in the Forest of Doubles were completed.

However...

"I'm sorry, but could you give me some more time?" I would like to explore this place more.

"Why?"

"This is purely personal curiosity.

At Raven's request, we decided to stay for a while. Surprisingly, no one objected.

"That's right, [The Complete Book of Rifts]. The one who wrote it cannot know everything about this place!

"If we're lucky, we might be able to find something.

Everyone's eyes were filled with anticipation. Well, I think the probability that we'll find hidden parts, which I don't know about, is close to zero, but they probably exist.

Well, at least she asked.

When we first met in the Blood Citadel, there were no requests. Raven simply used the dwarf and me as her servants and forced her to help her with her research.

"Then where are you going to look first?"

"In the cave at the very beginning.

Starting with the "Cavern of Shadows" in Chapter 1, we moved to the "Lair of the Usurper" and searched it thoroughly. In the process of searching, we smashed everything that seemed suspicious, leaving no stone unturned. As expected, no secret rooms or objects were found. However, along the way, we encountered numerous questions.

"Why should it be a cage?" Raven asked.

"Wasn't it because we had to wait for other teams to come in?"

"Then it is more rational to just fix the time. Just like when entering and exiting a labyrinth.

Why did the Forest of Doubles start with being imprisoned in a cage? What is the Memoir of the Sacrifice that we received from the altar, and why was it described as "The Sacrifice"?

Why did clones turn into Imperial soldiers after Chapter 3? No, what is the Empire anyway?

"Now that I think about it, it's a pity. Although they spoke indistinctly, they could still speak. We could find out something if we caught one...

As a team, we discussed the topics raised by Raven, but we couldn't come up with any answer. And so the exploration of the Rift ended.

"I'm sorry. Because of me, we wasted 2 days.

"Don't apologize. You are the mage of the team. It was a legitimate request. And we ourselves agreed to search.

"He's right. And it was fun, I felt like a real explorer. Isn't it, Einar?"

"Huh?" I thought it was boring.

"Please watch the atmosphere. Ok?

Ainar followed Misha like an older sister, so when she scolded her, Einar became sullen.

Raven smiled as she watched.

— Thank you all. But now that I think about it, I don't think there was much to regret. Even if we only sell one Mandrake Root, it makes up for a few days of hunting, right?

"Our mage has finally returned to normal.

"Normal?" Mr. Urikfried, what do you mean?

Mr. Bear just shrugged his shoulders and evaded the question. Raven put on a dubious look, but did not bother.

[You entered the Sky Tower on the 4th floor].

On the afternoon of the 14th day, after returning to the labyrinth through the portal in the boss room, we continued the expedition. It took about 6 days to get to the 5th floor. After that, as planned, we set off along the route of Hellfire Gorge and pretended to be busy hunting, but in fact we were looking for Mila Rodin.

For reference: once we found the black moss, everything else was as simple as pie. I didn't even have to ask Raven to use detection magic. After enjoying the previous expedition, Raven used detection magic every 5 minutes.

— ... Not one more.

As a result, we managed to track down a total of three Mil Rodins, but they all turned out to be losers. Actually, this was the norm. There was a 20% chance that Mila Roden's corpse would not disappear when using the [Distortion] spell.

It seems that this time we were unlucky.

Although there were only 5 days left before closing, we did not look for Mila Roden anymore. Even if we got there, we wouldn't have had time to do anything. It was very bad because I was planning to try a new area with the Fire Sphere.

[You killed the Stonebite. Experience +4]

[You killed the Fiery Dead. Experience +2]

[You killed Red Mud. Experience +3]

[You killed Hellfire. Experience +5].

However, the hunt itself was not bad. This was the only advantage of failing to conquer Noark. Now that more than 90% of the clans that occupied this field had disappeared, the entire 5th floor was flooded with monsters. Of course, this situation will not last long. In a few months, the clans that have repaired the damage will return, and many clans will not come this time due to the unstable situation.

So a long time passed and the day of return came.

[You're transported to Rafdonia.]

***

The sunlight warmly enveloped my skin. As always, I stood there, enjoying the warmth. Looking around, I saw that other researchers were doing the same.

Okay, it's time to go.

As I walked towards the checkpoint of our rank, I saw that my teammates had arrived before me.

All but one.

"I see Abman hasn't come yet.

"Ah, here he is." With someone else.

Each time it was a strange sight. No matter how big the area was, how could he get lost here?

"Haha, the line isn't too long this time," Abman said.

"Not because you came earlier. Because the number of researchers who entered the labyrinth this time was small," Raven said.

"Ahem, I didn't say otherwise.

Be that as it may, while we were waiting for our turn together, she soon came. The income from mana stones was much lower than before.

- 7.08 million stones.

If divided by 5, there were 1.41 million per person, almost four times less than last time. But it was inevitable. Not only were we unable to enter the Hidden World, but the Forest of Doubles that we had invested our time in was inherently difficult to earn mana stones.

"Is that all?"

— Yes, thank you for your efforts. Congratulations on earnings.

Since the amount was not exorbitant, the clerk did not cast a suspicious glance at us. However, just as we were about to leave the checkpoint, the officer stopped us urgently.

"Oh, please wait!"

And?

— ... Any problems?

He quickly added:

— The Apple Narak team, the leader of the group is Bjorn Yandel. Is that correct?

"Yes, and?"

— ... We have to ask you to wait here for a while. This includes your team members.

It wasn't the guard who came to grab me like in the past, but it was enough for me to know something was wrong. The same thing happened with the mage of our team.

"Excuse me, maybe you can explain what is going on first?"

Raven spoke aggressively on my behalf when I felt like I was starting to have post-traumatic stress.

And then...

"Inspector, is that them?"

"Oh, yes, yes! Exactly!

Then a knight entered the checkpoint. Raven's face darkened.

"Why is Mozlan here...?"

Mozlan is an executive body made up only of knights of noble birth, and an organization that has many sad histories.

"Bjorn."

Seeing how Dvalki was arrested in front of her eyes, Misha shuddered.

However, the knight turned out to be surprisingly friendly, at least compared to those arrogant bastards who were then.

"I'm glad to see you." I'm Elmeras of the Mozlan Executive Council.

Although he spoke casually, like a high-born man, it was just a natural trait of a nobleman. Compared to others, it can be attributed to a softer style. Moreover, he offered a handshake. This means that he is not hostile to us.

— ... Björn, son of Yandel.

Inwardly, I breathed a sigh of relief and returned the handshake. However, my anxiety has not yet passed. Why did the inspector stop us and why did Mozlan come for us?

— Hello.

"Hmph, what about you, young lady?"

"I'm Arua Raven of the Altemion School. I'd like to hear why you've been looking for us, Sir Elmeras.

The knight answered Raven's question with a smile.

"There's only one reason why the inspector detained you. You have received an arrest warrant.

It was really unexpected.

"Excuse me?" What are you-...

"Don't be alarmed. Judging by the details of the order, the punishment does not seem very serious.

"But why are we arrested?"

The knight grinned and answered:

- For displaying special abilities within the city limits and for entering the labyrinth without permission against the instructions of the guards.

Ah, that's...

Everyone, including Raven, fell silent. Having experienced so much in the labyrinth, we completely forgot about it. We generally thought that everything would end with a fine.

"I don't understand. Isn't the standard punishment for this a fine? I could not resist asking in a questionable tone.

Whatever one may say, there were no grounds for either Mozlan's arrest or intervention. If so, how did it happen?

"We must take into account the current situation. Instead of a simple misdeed, you can say that you have all violated the royal order.

And so it was. Now the situation made sense.

Raven seemed to understand that too.

— ... Are you saying that they took up this case themselves?

"What can I hide from the mage?!" Everything is as you say. Although only a day has passed, news about your team is already spreading among researchers.

"About us?"

"They call themselves stupid for following orders instead of jumping into the maze. The higher authorities decided that this would happen again if everything ended with a simple fine.

Simply put, it was a demonstrative punishment - by punishing one person, you can instill fear in the hearts of a hundred.

"If you loosen control over researchers now, this can lead to even greater problems. I hope you understand.

I understood why they chose me. Since I had previously gained some notoriety and had become a hot topic due to unauthorized entry, they probably decided that the news of the arrest would spread easily.

"And what will happen to us now?"

When I got to the main point, the knight clarified one thing before answering.

"To be precise, this will happen only to you, not to them.

The only one who will be punished is me. Apparently, the circumstances were such that the others were drawn into the situation because of me, and since this is just an exemplary punishment, we should not have suffered all together.

"Oh, that's reasonable!" Yes, that's reasonable!

My heart hurt to see how happy Ainar was about this.

Raven didn't come forward and say it wasn't fair, either.

Mr. Bear was just glad that he had escaped being beaten by his wife.

Am I the only one who can stand up for myself?

Just at the moment when thoughts of betrayal were spinning in my head, Misha asked:

"Ah, Mr. Knight?" If it's just show-off, can I get punished instead of him?

Misha was the only one who stood up for me.

"What are you saying, Misha?" I grinned and pushed her away.

I appreciate this gesture, but it is unlikely to work. After all, I was the culprit behind this incident. Besides, judging by what he said, the punishment would not be too severe.

"It's all right. I will take responsibility. Then tell me. What will happen to me now?

Then the knight said impassively:

- Live in Bifron for 20 days.

It was a temporary exile.