As Lobelia approached, the once noisy surroundings fell silent.
Passing Heroes turned their gazes toward them, followed by low exclamations of surprise.
“That emblem… is that the Rose Vessel?”
“You mean that pink-haired girl is Lobelia? The Mage from that legendary squad? The one they call the Witch of the All-Attribute Harem? With a muscle-head on one side and a little boy on the other, it really is…”
“Look at the guy across from her. Isn’t that Weakest Winless Gray? I heard he was kicked out of her team before?”
“Shhh, she’s still an A-rank Hero regardless. Keep your voice down.”
Bathed in the attention of the crowd, the curve of Lobelia’s lips deepened.
She walked gracefully up to Gray, but her gaze swept past him, landing on the blonde girl hiding behind him.
“Fate is truly interesting. I didn’t expect the two of us to meet again in Valhalla.”
Contrasting with her friendly tone, the woman slightly narrowed her pink eyes, a cold glint flashing within them.
The magical fluctuations coming from this little blonde brat were an absolute match for that little rooftop peeping thief who had kept her from getting a good night’s sleep.
Although she didn’t know what methods the girl had used to evade her perception and pursuit before, now that she had delivered herself right to her door… Lobelia sneered inwardly.
“Gray, since we share such a deep bond of fate, how about we do the next mission together?”
Lobelia raised her arm toward Gray, her tone so intimate it felt like she was inviting him to kiss her hand, as if the two of them hadn’t gone through everything they had in the Dawn Blade.
“The Rose Vessel still has a few spots left. As the navigator, I don’t mind issuing a ticket to an excellent A-rank Warrior. After all, we used to work together with such perfect chemistry, didn’t we?”
Gray frowned, his hand remaining on the hilt of his blade.
Perfect chemistry?
Did she mean how he had to rely entirely on his speed to dodge Lobelia’s indiscriminate carpet-bombing?
Just as he was about to refuse, Katy poked her head out from behind him, her smile innocent and naive.
“There’s no need, big sister. Aside from the fact that I am the Captain of the Black Crow Squad and I don’t agree to a ship-merge, there’s also…”
She pointed at Timmy, who had been staring here with a spiteful gaze from behind Lobelia.
“Little Timmy over there doesn’t seem to want another person around. What if Mister Gray joins the team and he starts crying?”
“You—!”
Timmy’s eyebrows shot up as he prepared to rush forward, but Lobelia raised a hand to stop him.
The gazes of the two women locked in mid-air.
On one side was a pink bottomless abyss; on the other, a vast and boundless blue sea.
Though both Lobelia and Katy were smiling, sparks seemed to fly through the air.
After all, they both knew the other was acting, yet both lacked the evidence to take the other down on the spot.
Halfway through the clash of their gazes, a plan formed in Lobelia’s mind.
Since I can’t catch you red-handed, I’ll just let you die in a Labyrinth.
“Since your new Captain is so intent on keeping you, I won’t force the issue, Gray.”
Lobelia slowly pulled a card shimmering with golden light from the cleavage of her chest.
It was engraved with the pattern of a bright star.
“However, for a team with you in it, Gray, it would be a waste of talent to always hang around newbie villages like the Gold Shine Level.”
She held the card—one that eighty percent of Heroes could never hope to touch—between two fingers and waved it in front of Gray.
“This is a request card for a Starshine-level Labyrinth. The goal is to search for missing Association staff in the Graveyard of Ghost Ships. I originally planned to take the Rose Vessel there, but as you can see, I’m busy taking care of little Timmy, and that place is far too dangerous for him.”
Lobelia reached out and poked Timmy, her lips curling into a generous smile.
“How about it, Gray? This is a lucrative job that will help you maintain your A-rank status, you know?”
Gray’s frown deepened.
The Graveyard of Ghost Ships. He had heard of this Labyrinth.
Although it was rated at the Starshine-level, it was said that the casualty rate for first-timers was extremely high due to the complex terrain and enemy density.
Furthermore, would a woman like Lobelia, who never acted without profit, be kind enough to give away a gift?
His intuition told him this was a trap.
“Can requests be transferred?”
Katy suddenly asked from behind him.
“It is possible, as long as both Captains agree, but—”
Gray explained in a low voice.
Just as he was about to dissuade his Captain, Katy had already taken the card.
“We accept! Thank you, Sister Lobelia! You really are a great person!”
“Katy!”
Gray was getting anxious.
“That’s Starshine-level! There are only two of us—”
“It’s fine, it’s fine~”
Katy hugged his arm and winked at the A-rank Hero.
“We have the Return Crystal anyway. At worst, we just lose our equipment.”
“And if we succeed, won’t Mister Gray be able to keep his A-rank title?”
“But—”
“As the Captain, I refuse Mister Gray’s buts!”
Katy put on a display of Captainly authority, directly silencing his opposition.
Watching this scene, Lobelia’s smile became even more brilliant.
“Since Captain Katy is so confident, I can rest easy. Come, I shall guide the way for you.”
She inserted the mission card into the nearby Teleportation Terminal.
The portal slowly lit up, a swirling blue curtain of light rotating toward unknown dangers.
Gray sighed, helplessly tightening his grip on his blade as he stepped into the light curtain first.
“Follow me closely. Whatever you do, don’t wander off.”
After the young man’s figure disappeared, Katy didn’t follow immediately.
She stood before the light curtain and turned back to look at Lobelia.
“Sister Katy, it’s your first time in such a big dungeon. Do your best.”
The smile on Lobelia’s face was as gentle as a kind older sister’s, but her heart was viciously cursing the girl to die inside, hoping the undead would tear her soul apart.
However, in the next second, the obedient expression on Katy’s face vanished.
Replacing it was a mocking sneer that absolutely shouldn’t have appeared on that angelic face.
“Ignorant fool.”
Immediately after, the girl turned around and leapt nimbly into the portal, as if she wasn’t the one who had just launched a direct verbal attack.
Lobelia froze.
Staring at the empty portal, her exquisite face gradually distorted, and the veins on her temples throbbed.
That little bitch!
“Heh, hehehahahaha—!”
Lobelia laughed from sheer rage, pink magic crackling at her fingertips.
That bitch can only smile for now.
When she’s at her last breath in that Labyrinth with the highest rookie mortality rate, being torn apart by the undead, I will enjoy her tears and screams!
“Sister Lobelia?”
Timmy approached cautiously.
“Ah, it’s nothing.”
The woman took a deep breath and instantly shifted her expression, returning to her image as the perfect Captain.
“Let’s go. We should head back too. Tonight… I’ll give you a good reward.”
***
After a bout of spatial displacement dizziness that was all too familiar to Gray, a salty, fishy sea breeze blew against them.
Katy opened her eyes and found herself standing on a deck by the shore.
The surroundings were filled with a gray mist so thick it wouldn’t disperse.
In the gloom, the ruins of countless dilapidated ships were faintly visible.
This was the Graveyard of Ghost Ships.
“We’re here.”
Gray, who had drawn his blade immediately, entered a combat stance.
He surveyed the surroundings warily, but Katy unhurriedly pulled a round metal ball from her pocket and pressed a button on its side.
As mana was injected, the eyeball-like machine hovered.
With a faint buzzing sound, it flew into the air, and a red light on the lens turned on.
[Live-stream signal connected successfully. Channel: Black Crow Squad. Current viewers: 3]
“Are we starting the… streaming thing now?”
Gray looked at the little flying ball with some restraint.
He didn’t know where to put his hands other than on his sword hilt.
As a habitual lone wolf, he wasn’t yet used to the feeling that his every move might be watched by others.
Katy, however, showed the composure of a modern person.
She waved skillfully at the lens, showing a sweet, professional smile.
“Hello everyone, meow! This is the newly formed rookie team—the Black Crow Squad! I am the Captain and Priest, Katy, and beside me is the squad’s only member, the A-rank Hero Mister Gray.”
“Today is our first live-streamed Labyrinth exploration. Our goal is the Starshine-level Labyrinth Graveyard of Ghost Ships. Please take good care of us~”
Gray’s lip twitched as he whispered,
“Miss Katy, no one is responding. Who are you talking to?”
Katy also realized she wasn’t actually a Vtuber and couldn’t see the comment interactions.
She cleared her throat awkwardly.
“Cough, Mister Gray, please don’t worry about the details. Alright, Black Crow Squad, prepare to set out!”
What the two of them didn’t know was that although the Black Crow Squad was a rookie team with only a few viewers, they were drawing attention due to the bizarre composition of an A-rank leading an E-level.
Add to that Gray’s Weakest Always Defeated title—which was notorious even if it wasn’t honorable—and Katy’s breathtakingly angelic looks…
[Hey, isn’t that the Weakest Always Defeated lone wolf A-rank? He actually joined a team? And he’s just a member?]
[Holy crap, the Captain is actually a beautiful healer? She’s way too pretty! Is she some noble lady coming out to experience life?]
[An A-rank carrying an E-level into a Night Glow Level dungeon. They’re either boosting her or just throwing away their lives. (Tangyuan)]
[Bringing a pure newbie into a Night Glow Level… I bet Gray will never get rid of that Weakest Winless title in this lifetime. This Priest looks like a total trophy; she’ll probably be so scared she’ll drop her wand the moment she sees a magic monster.]
[I bet 50 silver coins that within an hour, this Warrior will crush their Return Crystals and run for it.]
Amidst the scattered voices of doubt, the Black Crow Squad’s first adventure officially began.