Chapter One Hundred and Sixty-Six: Mediator
When summoned, Karen dove headfirst into the midst of a dispute between knights and adventurers.
“Alright, alright, alright, everyone, stop for a moment!”
“Big Sis Karen!”
“I am not your big sister.”
The ones calling Karen “big sis” were the adventurers. When she shot them a deadpan glare, she checked on the knights’ condition. Neither side had major injuries, and Karen exhaled before saying:
“I’m Karen, dispatched by Her Highness Waltride, who was entrusted by His Highness Boromias with supervising and managing the adventurers. Could everyone please tell me the situation?”
Karen asked the Royal Knights. She ignored the adventurers for now.
Whatever Thor had been spreading around, from the day of their reunion, D-rank adventurers had somehow started calling Karen "big sis." C-ranks were still normal, but Gunther’s attitude toward Karen had clearly become more respectful. As for the few B-rank adventurers, aside from Thor’s party members, she barely interacted with them, so she didn’t know much.
In any case, the fact that they called Karen "big sis" meant these were D-rank adventurers. Since they would wait obediently even if left alone, Karen decided to leave them be and concentrate on dealing with the knights.
The knights cast dubious looks at the adventurers, who had gone as quiet as scolded kittens, and then turned their eyes down toward Karen.
“These people falsely accused us of crossing into their exploration area.”
“It’s not a false accusation!”
“Could you stay quiet for a moment?”
“Yes! Sorry!”
At Karen’s sharp rebuke, the adventurers straightened their backs, and the knights frowned and said:
“Perhaps they ate something bad? Or is it the influence of monsters? If so, they should be treated quickly. We can resolve the border crossing issue later. Drink a potion quickly. If you don’t have any on hand, we’ll provide some.”
“No, they’re not like that, so it’s fine.”
Apparently, thinking the adventurers had been affected by monsters, the knights spoke with concern. The adventurers, having been worried about by proper knights, looked at each other with deflated expressions.
“Well… for now, how about we check each other’s exploration areas?”
The nobles nodded at the adventurers’ suggestion.
“Let’s do that. Perhaps there’s been a misunderstanding. But are you really alright?”
“Even if adventurers don’t have a hierarchy, there are human relationships.”
“I see? Humans are the same everywhere, aren’t they?”
After somehow settling things peacefully and confirming each other’s exploration areas, it became clear that the Royal Knights had indeed crossed the boundary.
“We’re sorry about this. Allow us to apologize. Could you tell us your affiliation and names?”
“Nah, don’t worry about it. Seems like the Rock Labyrinth right now is even more confusing than usual.”
“That’s what we heard at the previous meeting. That’s why we had one person keep their hand on the wall as we walked, but I wonder where we got lost.”
“So even that method doesn’t prevent getting lost. We’ll test it ourselves on the adventurer side.”
“We’ll inform the noble side about our trespassing. Until we determine who crossed where, let’s avoid unnecessary conflict and create an environment where we can calmly discuss things.”
“That’d be helpful. There’s a chance we might cross over too, so we’ll mention it on our side as well.”
“Lady Karen, thank you for mediating.”
“I’m glad you could understand each other.”
“We’ll be going too!”
“See ya!”
As Karen saw off the grateful Royal Knights and polite adventurers, Thor approached her. If she avoided Julius, there would be no one to guard her in the dungeon. So Karen had Thor accompany her. This was the main reason the adventurers were so well-behaved.
Karen said with lowered eyebrows:
“Thor, maybe those Royal Guards who entered your exploration area didn’t have bad intentions either…”
“Even if that’s true, they’re the kind who held a grudge because I cut off—even if just for a moment—the head of the idiot who tried to rape our mage. They came after us for revenge, remember?”
“So it was Ms. Wanda who was almost attacked.”
“Well, she kicked him away instantly. Then, when I crushed their so-called avengers, they threatened to go after my family next. There was no saving them, so don’t worry about those guys, Sis.”
“I see.”
Since entering the eighth floor, disputes between adventurers and knights had increased unpleasantly. But fortunately, because the adventurers showed restraint toward Karen—toward Thor who stood behind Karen—the disputes were kept to a minimum.
“Well then, shall we go back to Her Highness?”
“Yeah, let’s do that.”
When Karen reported the situation to Waltride, received instructions, and left the tent, Julius was there as well.
Thor, who had been with her, looked at Karen and said:
“I reported to Julius for you, Sis.”
“Thanks, Thor.”
“Karen, I’d like to talk with you. Do you have a moment?”
“I have work, so can it wait? I received orders from Lady Waltride.”
This was true. Karen showed Julius the documents she held in her hand.
“Look at this. It’s a dungeon map with marks where there have been clashes between knights and adventurers.”
“This is… Is it surrounding this location?”
“That’s what it looks like, right? According to Thor, this enclosed area is apparently a somewhat open plateau.”
When she marked the locations where troubles had occurred, they formed a distorted circle as if surrounding a certain place.
“I intentionally tried to head toward this circular location, but I got lost and couldn’t reach it. Even with Thor guiding me.”
When Julius looked at Thor, Thor nodded in confirmation.
“It’s been a while since I explored the eighth floor, and this area isn’t on the path to the gate leading to the lower floors either, so I thought maybe we were just lost, but in times like these, we should think there might be something there, right? If you want to know more details about this floor, I think you should call E-rank adventurers and ask them. Not just me, but D-rank and above have never dawdled around in a place like this.”
“Lady Waltride told me to report this to His Highness Boromias.”
“I’ll inform Sir Tristan and have him report to His Highness.”
Julius, who received the map from Karen, ran off immediately with a stern face.
He seemed to have had some business, but apparently it wasn’t urgent.
“Sis, you get really, really stubborn sometimes, you know?”
“What do you mean, Thor?”
“Nothing!”
As Thor played dumb, Karen pursed her lips and also began moving to prepare for what lay ahead.
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