"···Phew."
Right after the strategy was established, the Saintess quietly sighed in relief when no one was looking.
*Thank goodness.*
Because they would be taking a different approach than in her regression.
The reason the Saintess recommended the second method wasn't anything special.
First, it was because she already had memories of failing with the other approach before her regression.
She still remembered it. The creepy bugs filling every direction, and the dark walls closing in.
The Insect King's castle was a maze in itself, the Insect King was a monster, and we were fools for trying to break through that maze with determination alone.
*This time will be different.*
The Saintess calmed her anxious heart with those words.
It's okay. This time is different from the beginning.
Unlike her past life where she ignored and isolated him, this time she would actively listen to what he had to say.
Thinking this, the Saintess opened her mouth to encourage Luke to speak.
"But won't the Insect King notice if we make such a commotion?"
The Hero responded to her words.
"It's fine. This place is unbelievably vast, so we won't be detected no matter what we do in the outer areas. We just need to catch the scouts properly."
"...Scouts?"
"The One-Eyed Big-Eye Bugs. They're the Insect King's eyes and ears. If you infuse mana into their eyes, you can 'share' what they've seen. They're one of the masterpieces the Insect King personally cultivated. So we need to prioritize catching these ones above all others."
Yulice felt intrigued.
This party was quite elite. They had studied the Demon Kings, albeit briefly, before entering the Demon Realm.
In other words, many of them were well-educated.
Yet somehow, this man knew detailed information that even his own party members didn't know... it was fascinating to watch.
Of course, because of his curses, he didn't seem very trustworthy.
The Saintess knew that everything he said was true.
After all, she had heard these words in her previous life too.
Of course, the others who didn't know about her regression wouldn't understand.
That's when Lily spoke up with an irritated voice.
"Hmph, nonsense. How would you know something that's not even in the Magic Tower's ancient books? It's obviously a lie."
"It's true. Why would I lie? What would I gain from it?"
"Well..."
"If you don't believe me, see for yourself. Here."
Luke handed Lily a bug with his characteristic smiling expression. It was about the size of a thumb, with a disgusting eye on its face... that kind of bug.
Anyone could tell it was the One-Eyed whatever bug he had mentioned.
After hesitating briefly, Lily grabbed the bug and channeled mana into it.
Suddenly, another view was projected before her eyes.
It was the image of the Hero's party walking through the castle interior until just moments ago. Since the bug had been attached to the wall, she could only see their side profiles.
Seeing her own side profile through someone else's eyes was quite a strange feeling. In the end, Lily had to admit it, however reluctantly.
"It's real..."
"That's what I've been saying. So please catch these bugs whenever you see them from now on. If we miss even one, we'll be in serious trouble."
Squish!
After saying that, Luke crushed the one-eyed bug in his palm. Perhaps because it had an eye, white fluid trickled down his hand.
The Saintess nodded vigorously.
Like in her previous life, she could already envision the worst-case scenario. Missing one of the one-eyed bugs, it returning to Valkan, and reporting their presence...
Then they would be surrounded by bugs and isolated again.
If that happened, it would just be a repetition of the past.
This time, she would prevent such a situation at all costs.
Yulice was determined to burn every single bug with eyes.
*
Fortunately, catching the one-eyed bugs seemed easier than expected. Once they understood the principle, Adel and Lily collaborated to create a detection spell specifically for the one-eyed bugs.
Adel would narrow down the search range to identify the targets, and Lily would use that data to create an automated macro spell.
This meant they no longer needed to search vigilantly for the one-eyed bugs. The spell would alert them if any were nearby.
I nodded with satisfaction.
*As expected, they're capable.*
Even for a simple spell, they created it so quickly. Of course, there was some nagging from Yulice during the process... but their competence was undeniable.
Anyway, thanks to this, we could hunt more comfortably.
Perhaps because we were still in the outer areas, there weren't many strong monsters either.
Thanks to that, we were progressing smoothly so far.
["Bright Style Swordsmanship" level has increased!]
["Mana Blade" level has increased!]
The System's level-up notification rang after a long time.
Skills that hadn't leveled up even when we defeated the Minotaur finally increased. The experience that had accumulated then finally paid off.
Swoosh!
The mana flow along my blade became more natural, and my footwork became more stable.
Even so, the improvement was barely noticeable.
I was convinced that these small improvements would accumulate and eventually become significant.
I kept slashing at the monsters that continued to charge at us.
After cutting down a Sand Worm, my body was covered in slime, and the humid air gradually soaked my entire body with sweat.
After wandering around like that for a few hours, we could see mountains of monster corpses.
"Wow... we really killed a lot."
"Indeed, the number of monsters is different... Where do they keep coming from endlessly?"
Lily and Camilla looked back briefly and let out small exclamations of admiration. There were mountains of insect-type monsters piled up there.
It showed how hard we had fought.
I hope they won't ask us to dismantle all of that.
"Let's rest here for today. We need to conserve some energy."
"Sounds good. With this many, we don't need to dismantle them all, right? They'll pile up like mountains again later anyway. Let's just extract the valuable materials."
"Everyone did well. Now let's set up camp and decide on watch shifts."
That's a relief. We don't have to dismantle them.
Hearing that, I slumped down on the ground. After hunting monsters all day, my entire body felt as heavy as lead.
On top of that, the slime and bug remains stuck to my armor were absolutely disgusting.
That's when Lily stretched and said:
"Whew... it was a tough day. I want to wash up quickly..."
At this point, even I had to interject.
"What are you talking about? How are you going to wash up here?"
"Huh?"
"Go ahead and look around. See if you can find a stream or a lake. I bet you won't find anything even if you look carefully."
At the entrance of the Demon Realm, there were relatively clean water sources.
There were more monsters there due to the higher magical energy transforming living beings, but it was still a place where life existed.
But not here.
This environment was thoroughly created by bugs, for bugs to live comfortably. It was obvious there wouldn't be the clean water she wanted.
Despite telling her the truth, Lily seemed unconvinced.
"What do you know! You haven't explored this whole place! There must be somewhere to wash up!"
I have explored it all.
Even breaking down walls looking for hidden pieces.
Looking at her, I thought:
*Indeed, this is similar to a game.*
From Lily's perspective, someone who likes cleanliness and luxury, this must be an extremely uncomfortable environment. It's natural for her to be somewhat irritated.
Meanwhile, the Saintess, who hates bugs the most, remains quiet.
Anyway, unwilling to believe me, she spent some time searching around the castle. She walked endlessly through corridors and checked rooms they hadn't explored yet.
When she couldn't find anything to wash with, she made a dejected face.
"Sigh... I feel so grimy."
"Don't worry. I'll keep you clean with purification magic."
"That's nice of you, but... even that isn't a perfect solution."
She's right.
The Saintess's purification magic could maintain some level of cleanliness, but it couldn't solve everything.
The air was humid, and cockroaches and maggots crawled everywhere.
We'd probably get dirty again quickly. This was daily life here.
Perhaps realizing this already, Camilla spoke to Lily:
"Stop complaining and set up your sleeping bag. We need to sleep early to fight tomorrow. At least we're tired enough to fall asleep easily..."
"Sigh... Can't we just charge in and catch Valkan right now?"
Looking at her, I said to myself:
You'll have to stay here for months more.
*You're already complaining and we've barely started.*
I wonder how much stress they'll accumulate here.
I don't know. I'm just watching.
Thinking that, I lay down in my sleeping bag.
A long day had passed.
And yet, only one day had passed so far.