“I do have an idea, but you’ll need to be prepared for it, my lady.”

Unable to come up with a good way to destroy it from the inside, the three of us fell silent once more—until Fiora spoke, prompting us to lift our heads.

“I need to be prepared…?”

“We can’t just leave it alone, but destroying it from the inside is difficult in our current situation. That leaves us with only one option: an external approach. We’ll need to demolish the building above and dig down to this depth. Then, destroy that room from the outside.”

“Considering the depth, it doesn’t seem impossible, but working in this rain… it’ll take time. If we force the pace, we could shorten it, but there’s a risk of accidents and damage to the town…”

This world doesn’t have heavy machinery—everything is basically done by hand.

When Teresa says “force it,” she means using magic or some kind of magical tool. It’s less about civil engineering and more akin to demolition work.

And it’s a vertical shaft we’re talking about here…

If we leave it as is, we risk monsters or undead causing damage in the city, or even attracting other monsters from outside. But if we try to solve it properly, it costs time, effort, and could result in injured workers.

On the other hand, if we prioritize speed, the town might suffer damage…

Sure, leaving it alone is out of the question—but making the call definitely requires resolve.

What will you do, Seriana?

“No need to think it over. We’ll go with the fastest solution.”

But Seriana didn’t hesitate at all and chose the third option.

“The city might suffer damage, you know?”

“…This area is next to the city wall, right? If something happens to that, wouldn’t it be dangerous?”

Fiora and I tried to get her to reconsider, but she shook her head.

Unlike when we were in Lortle, where the church was at the northern edge of town, the current church district is near the city center.

But it’s still adjacent to the city wall.

If the damage were limited to buildings, it wouldn’t be so bad—but if it affects the wall, that’s a different story. With the number of soldiers reduced lately, that could be far too dangerous.

She should understand that…

“I understand the concerns. But prolonging the undead threat is even more dangerous. We’ll evacuate nearby residents temporarily. If the wall is damaged, we’ll have adventurers handle guard duty during the repairs. It won’t be easy in the rainy season, but if I humble myself and ask, they’ll accept.”

“Yes, that sounds right. Both you and your husband have earned the trust of the residents and adventurers. I’ll make arrangements so we can start as soon as day breaks.”

Unlike us, Teresa seemed to support Seriana’s plan.

Just a difference in perspective, perhaps.

And Fiora seemed to go along with Seriana’s decision too…

“…Nngh.”

Yes, it would be a burden on the residents—but given how few people can deal with the undead, especially Wraiths, this might be the best option after all.

Still…

“I never took this lightly, but the fact that I believed we could handle whatever came our way—this is my and Liesel’s failure.”

Seeing me groan, Seriana said that.

She admitted her mistake and moved on to the next step…

She really is quick with decisions, as always.

True, things might have turned out differently if we had acted sooner, but doing that risked provoking it and causing a sudden outburst. That’s why we tried to read its intent and completely shut it down—to minimize damage.

It wasn’t negligence.

Of course, in the end, results are what matter… but I still don’t want to see Seriana bowing her head in apology.

Besides…

“Hey, Fiora. That room drains magic and life force, right? When I rushed in earlier, I didn’t feel anything at first—but how long does it take for the effects to kick in?”

“Magic can’t be maintained because mana gets drained, but for magical or life energy, the effect doesn’t trigger unless you touch the magic circle directly. That said, we can’t use 【Floating Orb】, so it doesn’t really make a difference… Why do you ask?”

Fiora responded to my question, then asked what I was getting at… but I’d rather take a moment to gather my thoughts.

That room is about ten meters square, with the corridor slightly off-center. The stone pillar in the middle can’t be directly targeted from the corridor.

However, thanks to busting through the wall with 【Danrem’s Thread】, we now have a line of sight to that stone pillar.

If this place were like a dungeon, the wall might auto-repair itself eventually—but for now, we’re good.

It’s just under five meters to the pillar…

“Fiora, that stone pillar—it’s actually just some kind of dirt shaped into that form, right?”

“Yes… Do you have a plan?”

“Yeah… Lady Seria, Teresa!”

The two of them had been coordinating the retreat up until just now.

Apparently, since we entered that room, the layout of the corridor we passed through has changed again.

There are no more zombies, but there’s probably a Wraith roaming around in a small chamber.

Wraiths are tougher than zombies, so both of them looked serious.

“What is it? We’ve already decided to retreat.”

“I want to try something. If it goes wrong, please come save me, okay?”

Seriana had already made the call to retreat, and she wasn’t going to change her mind now.

So I didn’t bother trying to persuade her.

“Sera?”

With Seriana’s voice behind me, I stepped off the 【Floating Orb】 and started running down the corridor toward the room.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Sera ・Blessing・【Hideout】+1 【Prayer】 【Blessing of Mira】 【Water’s Garment】 Blessed Item ・【Floating Orb】+1 【Shadow Sword】+1 【Scarlet Bee Needle】 【Fairy’s Eye】 【Lung of the Dragon】 【Amber Sword】 【Danrem’s Thread】 【Serpent’s Tail】 【Ankle Bracelet】 【Amber Shield】 【Purple Wings】 【Red Sword】 【Monkey’s Arm】 ・8 cards

Seriana ・【Area Identification】・【】・0 cards

Elena ・【】・【Green Fang】 【Amber Sword】・4 cards

Alec ・【Power Strike】・【Red Shield】 【Fierce Horned Trumpet】・10 cards