Nox and Nana cautiously descended through the second and third levels, but thanks to the fact that Lano’s group had killed the beasts beforehand, the journey was peaceful.
“Lano’s sword cuts cleanly, as expected.”
The number of beasts cut in half gradually increased, while the amount of traps decreased in inverse proportion.
“It seems that Lano’s minions are also starting to realize his true power.”
As Nox swelled his chest with pride as if it were his own achievement,
“…Lano-sama may be indulgent with Nox-sama, but he is also quite confident.”
“What’s wrong with being happy about your companion’s growth?”
“Companion… hm? Indeed, Lano-sama and Nox-sama, despite being twins, seem to be opposites in many ways. Almost as if they were originally one.”
“That could be true. Lano is good at finding my place.”
In turn, Nox also instinctively knew when Lano was approaching. He wondered if it was something like a resonance.
“Speaking of polarities, Lano-sama is talented with the sword, but it seems that Nox-sama can use magic, or so I heard from him.”
“I see, so he noticed it even though I tried not to show it to the public.”
Although the library was filled with magic books, Lano lacked greatly in magical aptitude. The only thing Lano was inferior in compared to others was the amount of magic he possessed.
He could only use simple everyday magic, similar to what even a child could handle, so it was decided that he did not need further education in that aspect.
As a result, high-quality and abundant magic books, rarely seen in common households, were left unused in the library. Nox read them one after another, and fortunately, due to the abundance of his magical power, he managed to learn magic on his own.
“So, every time you escaped from home, was it to prepare yourself as an adventurer?”
“Yes…”
“Well, as long as you’re safe, I won’t say anything. By the way, when Lano-sama also mentioned that ‘it seems like Nox took all my magic,’ and his expression was identical to a moment ago, Nox-sama.”
“…”
In the midst of days when they were constantly compared for not resembling each other at all, Nox felt as if he had finally been recognized as a brother for the first time, which made him feel strangely embarrassed and look away.
“It’s time to show our true abilities in the maze.”
***
Looking up, despite being in an underground space, they could somehow see the blue sky.
“Nana, be careful, the ground is becoming unstable.”
“Yes.”
Although they were somewhat trained, the mansion’s maids rarely had the opportunity to walk through the woods. Both slowed down a bit and proceeded with caution.
Then…
“Huh?”
Next to the corpse of a beast defeated by Lano, there was a dark red stain.
“This isn’t beast blood.”
“Does it mean someone got hurt?”
Nox nodded.
“They must be very tired; they may have let their guard down, and one of them got injured.”
Nox shrugged as if it was no big deal and was about to move on, but suddenly he stopped and knelt next to the bloodstain.
“…”
He rubbed the blood with his fingers.
“This is Lano’s blood.”
“Lano-sama’s blood?”
He then clicked his tongue.
“Someone protected him. Otherwise, he wouldn’t receive a blow like this in a maze like this.”
While Lano couldn’t use magic effectively, his swordsmanship skills surpassed those of most common adventurers. It is said that he would eventually surpass Edwin, who taught fencing in the kingdom’s knight order.
Then, he turned his gaze towards the depths of the forest.
“It’s pointless to follow them aimlessly. Nana, can I pick up the pace a bit?”
“As you wish. Even if you leave me behind, I don’t mind.”
“If I did that, Lano would be angry with me. But thank you.”
Nox gave a slight smile to the talented maid and then looked up at the sky.
After confirming the direction of the light, he headed in a different direction from the tracks left by the people.
“Aren’t you going to follow Lano-sama?”
“Based on the dryness of the blood, Lano and the others passed through here over an hour ago. I don’t sense their presence, and they are no longer on this level. So, we’ll take the shortest route.”
Nox no longer pretended to hide the knowledge he had acquired as an adventurer.
“The sun inside the maze isn’t real; it’s the source of magical energy. The closer we get, the more beasts will appear, and we’ll be closer to lower levels.”
In short, heading directly towards the sun would be faster than following an apparent path.
“Sometimes there are malicious mazes that defy conventions, but this is a beginner’s maze that has been used by generations of royalty as a skill test. There shouldn’t be any traps to worry about here.”
Then, he pointed his index finger towards where the sun was rising.
“Nana, step back a bit.”
“Yes.”
Tilting her head, Nana followed Nox’s indication and moved away from him.
Right after,
“Wind-Cutting Cannon!”
With a roar, Nox released a large amount of compressed air from the tip of his finger.
The trees were knocked down with a crash, followed by what seemed to be the cries of some beasts, and a straight path opened up in front of the two.
“…”
“Let’s go.”
Deliberately ignoring Nana’s stare, Nox quickly headed down the path he had created.
