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Karem corrected his thoughts.

As he descended, he had experienced the sensation of dried salted fish under the humid sea breeze, but now that he was down, it was quite different.

Moreover, the underground tunnel of the ice worm was much wider than he had expected.

No, thinking back, it made sense.

Of course, if the tunnel had been completely blocked, it wouldn’t have made sense, but with dozens of holes presumed to be entrances, the airflow and ventilation were only natural.

Plus, there was the fur.

The downy fur of the horned rabbit rolled around his feet, pushed by the irregularly blowing wind.

Thanks to that, the tunnel was surprisingly pleasant and warmer than the surface.

For a brief moment, when the wind stopped, the floor covered with spun fur looked like a carpet.

In addition, the illumination magic hovering around the party brightened the darkness, creating a rather charming scenery.

However, there was also something interfering with that entirely pleasant environment.

Creeeak-! Bang!

Karem swung his frozen shield surrounded by divine power. The intruding bio-weapon that had lunged at them fell dead, crashing to the floor.

“Is the frequency usually this high?”

“It varies depending on the situation.”

Catherine nodded while glancing at the thin silver chain. Even though the fragment of armor dangling at the end moved here and there, it continued to point in one direction.

“This tunnel is currently in the territory of the horned rabbit. It’s only natural for creatures to repel intruders in their domain.”

Still, isn’t this a bit excessive?

That thought naturally occurred to him.

Of course, they had passed through quite a bit of the web-like ice worm tunnels, but every horned rabbit they encountered charged at them, making it impossible to count how many they had killed.

He felt they had probably dispatched hundreds by the first intersection.

Of course, not Karem, but the adventurers, knights, and nobles who had volunteered to come down with him had done the bulk of the work.

So far, Karem’s contributions had only been a few that had rushed at him like earlier.

Thinking about this made him a little embarrassed. Attempting to change the subject, he asked while looking at the fragment of armor hanging on Catherine’s thin silver chain.

“So, what is that? It feels like a compass.”

“Something like that. It’s a simple tracking charm made with a few materials, including a mediator, with a little magic added.”

As they reached the crossroads in the tunnel while Catherine spoke, the party stepped in the direction indicated by the blunt end of the armor.

“Just in case, extra measures were taken to prevent confusion with surviving ice worm larvae.”

“I don’t see that.”

“Well, I simply gathered and amplified my vitality.”

“Chief Magic Consultant, your skill is as potent as your concentration.”

Karem’s comment was meant to imply it looked a bit crude, but the noble magician who had volunteered to solve the incident, who had been silently listening, suddenly had a look of dismay on his face.

“Isn’t it simple when the materials weren’t handpicked and the space is an outdoor setup?”

“If it’s to survive an accident in this dungeon, what can’t be done? The flaw is in the skill.”

“Not all magicians in the world are consultants.”

“In that case, it’s a lack of experience.”

Hearing such a ridiculous comment, the noble magician’s face twitched.

Indeed, who wouldn’t be flabbergasted if an engineering student was scolded by their professor for not being able to make even one piece from scrap parts?

Yet, he couldn’t respond.

After all, when a sage-tier grand wizard told you to study more as a valid argument, how could a lowly noble magician, who wasn’t even a grand wizard, retort?

Of course, Catherine had no awareness that she had done just that.

If one were dissatisfied, they simply needed to accumulate enough skill and experience to argue back.

At that, Karem was taken aback.

The tyranny of a powerful individual!

“Karem, your expression looks unusual.”

“He’s probably lost in unnecessary thoughts.”

Unnecessary thoughts? Karem simply decided to keep his mouth shut, not having anything in particular to rebut.

“More than that, Karem. Isn’t it light on your feet?”

“What do you mean?”

“The horned rabbits. You said you wouldn’t fight at all, yet here you are, fighting quite well.”

“Well, I couldn’t just tell Catherine to fight as they charged suddenly. She’s focused, after all.”

“Considering what happened at Afterglow Fortress and Karem’s strength now, this dungeon is probably easier than eating cake.”

“Ugh, what kinda terrible thing to say to a cook?”

At that remark, all the adventurers, nobles, and knights surrounding Catherine’s party thought in unison.

‘Where on earth is a cook like you!?’

Even the weakest adventurer present was already at the low-level knight rank.

Level two out of four. It meant they had at least cleared the basics.

Thus, there was no one who failed to notice Karem’s strength.

They could feel it even more clearly from this close distance—the overwhelming divine power.

Was the rumor that the Three Gods favored him true? If he immediately joined the church, high priest was surely guaranteed. Had he been brainwashed by the Chief Magic Consultant’s allure? The rumors said he had devoured a young serf according to his taste. Already on a first-name basis?

As they fought back against the waxing horned rabbits, thoughts of various kinds crept into their minds.

Especially, there was one thought that particularly irritated them.

Horned rabbits? No, not that.

“It seems…mealtime has passed. Catherine, what should we do?”

“We’ll eat when the work is done.”

That had been weighing on their minds quite a lot.

After all, the rumor was already well-known in Iceland, stating that the Chief Magic Consultant of the Duke of Iceland had nurtured a full-time cook out of a serf to become his lover.

Of course, some said it was because of age that he intentionally cast the Curse of Aging, or that he had slathered some innocent kid’s brains to charm them.

Normally, one would filter out such rumors.

After all, not many took them seriously—most people just spoke for amusement.

Furthermore, as time passed, the correct facts spread adequately.

But seeing them treat each other so casually, dropping all forms of address, reignited doubts about whether those twisted rumors were true.

“Hmm… Karem.”

Mary tilted her head while looking at the back of Karem’s head.

“What’s suddenly got your attention?”

“I think you’ve grown a little taller. It might just be an illusion, but…”

Her tone was a tad ambiguous. As she compared Karem’s height with her own hand, she eventually nodded with conviction.

“No, it’s definitely true. Yes, you’re taller.”

“Really? Taller than here?”

“Are you unhappy about it?”

“Not at all. It’s great.”

For a man, the longing to be taller was paramount. Of course, looks were important too, but even if one wasn’t exceptionally handsome, exotic features were sufficient.

Thus, it was important that his height had indeed increased.

He felt around 180cm tall, but if he were to grow more—

Bwooosh—

The armor hanging on the silver chain rattled.

“Hmm?”

“Does that mean we’re getting closer?”

“No.”

Thud—thud—

With Catherine’s denial, a gigantic horned rabbit joined a line of regular horned rabbits, emerging from the shadows at the front of the passage.

“Enemies are approaching!”

“Everyone, prepare for battle!”

And thus, the clash began between those defending the territory and the intruders. Of course, they had the upper hand.

Even though the giant horned rabbit was the leader, it was still a low-level monster. For those skilled enough to accompany the Duke on a hunting invitation, it was merely a nuisance due to their numbers.

“It seems like we’re getting close to the target, right?”

“Yeah. Despite the fact that horned rabbits are based on regular rabbits, it’s only natural for them to know what could harm their kind.”

“In other words, they also understand the source of their strength?”

“Instinctively so.”

Catherine replied as if it were obvious.

“Just because they’re called horned rabbits doesn’t mean they have no brains.”

“Indeed, their numbers have definitely increased. The number of attacking horned rabbits has clearly risen compared to before.”

“As Karem said, it means we’ve gotten closer to the target.”

Whether that statement was correct or not, as they fought off attacks and advanced further, the defensive force of the horned rabbits began to multiply excessively compared to previous encounters.

At this point, even an outsider like Karem could perceive their overwhelming will to crush them with numbers. It felt as if all horned rabbits that should have been driven away to the surface were being gathered here.

Of course, their efforts were futile before this party.

“This is a steel shield! You little rascals!”

“O mighty Sorn, god of the hammer, grant us thunderous might!”

“Use arrows only on the giant horned rabbits! What about the rest? Are you planning to scratch your back with the bowstaff?”

The swarm of horned rabbits pouring in from the tunnel floor and walls, trampling over their kind, surged forward like a volcanic explosion but were stopped by the wall of violence.

The giant horned rabbits fell before they could get close, struck down by arrows and magic.

Each one that approached was fried with lightning, and even the few that barely breached the formation were unable to break Karem and Mary’s final defenses.

As they neared the nest, the battle intensified, but the party did not even mention it afterward.

It wasn’t that they were tired.

They were simply mechanically slaughtering the horned rabbits.

Several hours later, most of them just wished for this ordeal to be over quickly.

“Sigh… my back legs…”

“Karem. Not now.”

However, the leader of the nest, suddenly confronted by a powerful intruder, could only be anxious.

The leader of the giant horned rabbits, having evolved from a regular rabbit to a horned rabbit and finally to a giant horned rabbit, still had the head of a rabbit.

The current attack on their nest was an unprecedented threat in their short lives.

They instinctively knew that they were targeting the source of their power.

This was unlike the countless invaders who had entered their territory before.

They were hunting their own kind.

They understood well what kind of creatures humans were.

That made them all the more terrified.

None of the attackers who had invaded their nest before had behaved this way. They were weaker foes who crushed their numbers violently?

It would have been understandable if they were hunting to strip their own kind of flesh and eat, for humans are all such beings.

To die, in the short life they lived, in the face of their natural end, was a reality they were accustomed to.

Of course, until that moment, they would resist with all their might to survive, but they never thought to deny death itself.

Then, suddenly… the leader’s thoughts sparked with a realization of the unusual patterns of the invaders they had encountered often lately.

The current intruders and the previous ones were similar.

They were heading for the center of the group’s nest.

Right at their source of power.

Thinking back, it wasn’t the first time the ice worm’s eggs were targeted.

Of course, they had long since repelled those threats.

The current size of the group beneath the leader was proof of that.

However, the current intruders were on a different level.

Thus, their methods needed to change as well.

“Kiiieee-!”

Rabbits are inherently quiet creatures.

Horned rabbits were no different.

In such a case, when rabbits make noise, it only meant one thing.

When they felt a threat to their lives.

At the cry of the leader giant horned rabbit, the horned rabbits and giant horned rabbits scattered throughout the tunnel quickly gathered.

At one point, in the vast enclosure once claimed by the ice worm, hundreds of horned rabbits and several giant horned rabbits converged.

Even though they were rabbits, as evolved monsters, they understood.

Numbers were violence itself.

Having once taken down armored bears in a group, their leader instinctively understood Lanchester’s Law, albeit a little.

Although their group suffered some damage at that time, it wasn’t a pressing issue. They could always breed more offspring.

However, the leader was unaware of one thing.

That law only applied when both sides were of equal strength.

Kabaaaaaam-!

“Oh my God. Is the giant horned rabbit this strong?”

“Move aside. If I don’t step in, this will take ages.”

As soon as she entered, Catherine lightly tapped the ground with her staff and inclined the advanced pumpkin forward.

“The winter’s maw, the highest throne, may Pimble’s winter be unavoidable to any.”

A single verse emanated from Catherine’s lips as she summoned the spell.

The entire ice worm’s nest froze over.

And then silence descended.

 

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