I Became the Guardian of Big Shots in the Game

「Levin and Dolty are beastkin.
They were once part of a fairly famous labyrinth exploration team and grew close rapidly while overcoming near-death experiences together.
Levin proposed to Dolty, and they retired from the exploration team to settle in Ligrion.
After all, Ligrion was famous for having the least discrimination against beastkin on the continent.
The couple was happy for a while after having a daughter, but tragedy soon struck.
A friend with whom they had opened a tavern together fled overnight with a huge debt, and Levin, as a joint business partner, was left holding the bag.
Suddenly saddled with an enormous debt, Levin was devastated, but Dolty persuaded him that they could quickly pay off the debt if they worked in the labyrinth exploration team again.
The couple left their daughter with a neighbor and headed for the labyrinth.
But when there was no news from the couple who said they would return within 3 months at the latest, the neighbor judged that the two had died and.
Abandoned the child in a quiet alley.
The abandoned Ponya sometimes resented her parents but also became curious.
What kind of people were they?
Why did they abandon me?
That question was only answered after the Dark Lion of the Battlefield was abandoned by the knights after the Great War.
Ponya, who wandered the continent aimlessly, challenged the labyrinth Storygia to test her skills.
Reaching the 100th underground floor, she discovered two petrified beastkin hidden in a trap.
Though they were clearly people she was seeing for the first time, somehow they looked familiar.
Soon, tears flowed endlessly from Ponya’s eyes.
And she instinctively knew it was too late to break the curse.
There was nothing Ponya could do.
She couldn’t restore her master’s honor, nor save her subordinates who were directly hit by magic on the battlefield.
It was the same with being helplessly driven out of the knights after the war.
She couldn’t do anything.
It was exactly the same as back then.」
Ethan closed the story window.
The reason for coming to the labyrinth was partly to check the children’s skills, but.
-Do you perhaps know where my parents are?
The words Ponya said that day.
Just wouldn’t leave his mind.
Of course he knew, but.
He couldn’t just tell the child who was crying profusely.
‘Your parents are trapped in the labyrinth.’
Instead, thinking it would surely help if she got used to the labyrinth.
He planned this labyrinth exploration.
Fortunately, Ponya showed an active attitude, not getting scared and enthusiastically hunting monsters.
In the story, Ponya much later discovered two rocks presumed to be her parents, but.
She couldn’t save them from the petrification curse.
‘It said too much time had passed.’
It varies depending on the type of curse, but.
For simple ones like petrification, it can be lifted within 10 years.
‘It’s okay. There’s still plenty of time.’
It had only been about 1 hour since entering the labyrinth.
Yet Ethan and his group had already reached the 40th underground floor.
With this level of skill, they could easily reach the 100th underground floor within 1-2 years.
Sir Rashid, standing next to him, muttered briefly.
“Truly amazing.”
Ethan thought it was understandable.
Honestly, even Ethan watching from the side couldn’t help but be shocked at the monster slaughter by the trio of Levi, Hwaryon, and Ponya.
Ponya stands at the vanguard, Hwaryon at the 1.5 line, and Levi at the 2nd line.
Ponya takes and counterattacks the frontal attacks while Hwaryon protects her.
Finally, Levi sweeps everything away.
When mid-boss level large monsters appear or.
Monsters the three miss are dealt with by Ethan, who makes judgments using .
Thanks to this, they didn’t need to use a single recovery potion out of those brought just in case.
Leaving Sir Rashid marveling at the children’s achievements behind.
Ethan arrived in front of the crystal sphere leading to the 41st floor.
The warning sign painted in red letters is striking.
[Warning: Unprepared shallow depth exploration teams do not touch.
If you value your life, turn back here.]
If we push a little, we could go down to the 41st underground floor like this, but.
It’s only the first day, so there’s no need to overdo it.
“Shall we head back?”
“Already?”
Ponya asked back, seeming somewhat regretful, but.
Sir Rashid backed up Ethan.
“You shouldn’t take lightly the lessons written in blood by the advance teams, Ponya.”
“But, I’m not tired yet and I can do more.”
Since they’ve come down smoothly so far.
She can’t help but think the 41st floor would be similar.
Here, we must speak firmly.
Just as Ethan was about to remind them of the dangers of the labyrinth again.
-Tssst!
An exploration team returning from the 41st floor was summoned right next to them.
A 3-person party consisting of a mage, swordsman, and archer who looked quite old.
Among them, the mage spoke to Ponya with a startled look.
“My goodness, a cute little beastkin has come to the labyrinth. Hey, did you bring a gas mask?”
“Gas mask? What’s that?”
“You don’t have one? Then you should turn back now. There are poisonous monsters swarming below here. Unless you can withstand poison, but I doubt you can.”
The mage, who had been staring at the tilting head of Ponya for a while.
Added with a bright smile.
“If you want to go further down, turn back for today. Sometimes strong people need to know how to be patient too.”
The mage, skilled at handling beastkin, persuaded Ponya with the word ‘strong’, and.
“Okay.”
Ponya nodded, feeling pleased.
“Good child. You remind me of those friends.”
“Hey, Dusty. Stop with the unnecessary talk and let’s go up.”
“Right, let’s do that.”
The swordsman with a gruff voice urged the mage.
The mage bowed his head slightly in greeting and left for the 39th floor.
‘Dusty. Ah! That famous 6th circle mage Dusty.’
The leader of the Douglan exploration team, which became a legend of the labyrinth Storygia after the start of the main story.
There’s a tragic story that they reached the 150th underground floor with just a 3-person party, but never made it back to the surface.
However, he still seemed fine for now.
“Let’s head up too.”
“Yes, Ethan-nim.”
After taking a short rest, they took the somewhat regretful Ponya and went up to the surface.
*
Meanwhile, the Douglan exploration team that went up first.
Had a rather meaningful conversation.
“Who was it that said half the people entering the labyrinth are foolish and the other half are crazy?”
“It was me.”
“Then why did you so calmly go and talk to them? Tell me, Dusty.”
The swordsman Slan thought Ethan’s party was on the ‘crazy’ side.
A very sloppy party of three children, one knight, and one novice with only equipment somehow reached the 40th floor.
He judged they were either just lucky, or quite thoroughly crazy.
“I was sincere when I said that beastkin child resembled our friends. And…”
“And?”
Dusty’s gaze turned to the archer Osten.
“Didn’t you feel it a little too?”
“…A bit.”
“I mean the man wearing that peculiar armor. You probably didn’t feel it, Slan, but the energy emanating from that man was-”
What was it?
It was a third energy that was neither magical power nor holy power.
At the precarious moment when a mage’s curiosity and a labyrinth explorer’s survival instinct conflicted.
Dusty judged that investigating it would be extremely dangerous.
“It was something alien, far beyond understanding. That’s why I intentionally tried to fix my gaze on the child.”
So as not to let on that he had noticed.
“Were the children a distraction and that man the real deal?”
“Probably. How could newcomers come down to the 40th underground floor in one go? We’ve been living in the labyrinth for how many years now. We’ve never seen such people before.”
Slan agreed.
Anyway, Dusty was the leader of the exploration team.
He was a mage who had learned more than the swordsman.
“So, what do you intend to do?”
“Well, it’s just talk for now. He didn’t seem to be doing anything dangerous right away, and the energy coming from him didn’t feel evil either. It should be fine to just watch from afar for the time being.”
“How bland. Anyway, I’ll be cautious too.”
Slan turned around but then stopped.
He turned back.
“By the way, Dusty. Did you tell them about the recent increase in looters in the shallow depths?”
“Ah, I forgot about that.”
“It probably doesn’t matter.”
Osten added.
Dusty agreed with him too.
“That’s true. A man of that caliber wouldn’t fall victim to mere looters, would he?”
Trash that roams the shallow parts of the labyrinth looting exploration teams.
There’s no way he would fall to such people.
Instead of needless worry.
Dusty hoped that man wasn’t evil.
Children are easily tainted by evil, after all.
*
The drafty walls and chilly air that made his body shiver.
And decisively, the hard bed caused Ethan to wake up at dawn.
He was thinking of going back to sleep when.
“Hup! Ha!”
Hearing strange sounds from outside.
He roughly put on clothes and went out of the inn.
It was the sound coming from Ponya, who was swinging a greatsword hard.

She swings the sword with well-controlled movements in the proper stance as taught by Sir Rashid.
That appearance looked quite plausible.
He had been watching with folded arms for a while when.
Ponya suddenly perked up her ears.
She turned her body to confirm Ethan and came running pitter-patter.
“Did I disturb you?”
“No, not at all.”
Ponya said with a shy expression unlike usual.
“Thank you for the greatsword and amulet.”
“That’s nothing. Do you need anything else?”
“Then if it’s okay, can I ask for one thing?”
“What is it?”
Ponya slung the greatsword on her back.
She carefully held out a wooden sword.
“I wanted to learn a lesson from Ethan-nim. If it’s alright, would you spar with me?”
Ethan regretted not going back to sleep.