Two monsters which didn’t belong here, appeared in the Gate of Trials .

The Great Kong which was a higher-rank species of gorilltype monsters that possessed unusually developed muscles and thicker hair and the Goblin Knight, another higher-ranked species of goblins which possessed higher intelligence and the ability to wield a sword .

They were both monsters that belonged in the upper level thirties and wasn’t supposed to be strong enough to match us in battle .

However they had evolved and became equivalent to a monster around level 50 .

… It was a level where even top tier parties would had problems defeating them .

At our levels, encountering them was a death sentence . However we were stronger than our level implies . Even if they were both evolved, they can be defeated if we dealt with them properly .

  [Lutra!] (Yuuya)

I raised my voice towards Lutra who seemed absentminded in this battle . Lutra who had a shocked expression prepared her stance as she held her shield . She too, suspected that it was Princess Aure who brought them into the dungeon, making it impossible for her to stay rational in the battle . Even in such a state, I wanted to praise her for keeping up her role as the frontline .

  [Everyone, we’ll be acting as one to four . ] (Yuuya)

  [Uhn . Understood!] (Luna)

  [Ok~ leave it to me!] (Til)

  [Roger that . ] (Phil)

  [That is reasonable . ] (Lutra)

Since we were a five-man party, we were able to perform several different formations . This was one of them .

The evolved Great Kong and Goblin Knight were running towards us . The Great Kong was slightly quicker as it ran ahead of the Goblin Knight . Lutra then used War Cry to attract it’s attention, causing the Great Kong to charge straight towards her instead . Meanwhile Phil and Til focused on drawing the Goblin Knight’s attention by concentrating their attacks onto it .

The one to four strategy was simple .

Whenever we encountered two powerful enemies, Lutra who was the st.u.r.diest among us would take on one of them while the four of us focused on bringing down the other enemy as quickly as possible .  

No matter how we tried, it was impossible for us to take out two evolved monsters simultaneously .

  [… . If possible please wrap up that side as soon as possible . I don’t think I’ll be able to last long . ] (Selene)

  [Leave it to me . ] (Til)

  [Uhn . Luna will a.s.sa.s.sin it!] (Luna)

Luna and I began running towards the Goblin Knight, rushing right past the Great Kong who seemed to ignore our existence . As expected, War Cry was an amazing skill .

Despite the close distance, Til and Phil continued to rain arrows onto the Goblin Knight without any misfires, a feat not many archers were capable of as the fear of accidentally attacking your allies was crippling, causing their accuracy to decrease .

  [Uohh . If I worked together with onee chan then I won’t even need to use triple shot . ] (Til)

  [Til, just focus on bringing down the monster even a second faster . ] (Phil)

The Goblin Knight’s swordsmanship was impressive as it was able to cut down the arrows fired by Phil and Til . However it was impossible for it to cut down every single arrow as it slowly acc.u.mulated damage from the constant barrage . Furthermore, it was full of openings as it was completely preoccupied with our archers . In this situation, we’ll finish it off with our strongest combination .  

While I was running, I glanced towards Luna, synchronizing our strides as I began my chant .

It was my spell that focused on increasing the target’s attack power .

  [G.o.d’s Strength!] (Yuuya)

  [a.s.sa.s.sinate!] (Luna)

Luna perfectly landed her attack with a.s.sa.s.sinate boosted by G.o.d’s Strength as the sound of ringing could be heard . This would be a pointless combination if Luna couldn’t land a critical hit, however me and Luna were perfectly in sync down to our breaths . Furthermore against an opponent full of openings, there was zero chance of Luna missing her critical attack . However, as expected of a monster equivalent to level fifty, even after that attack it hadn’t fallen yet .  

This was still within our expectations as I had activated a second chant after G.o.d’s Strength .

I chased after the sliding Goblin Knight, rapidly closing the distance between us .

Even though it was in such an awkward position, it proceeded to swing its blade upwards towards me . It was an amazing display of swordsmanship as it managed to put strength into its blade in its weakened state .

Unfortunately, that level of swords play wasn’t enough to defeat me as I used the blade in my right hand to deflect the attack while twisting my body before stepping forward and closing the distance between us .

Then I stuck out my left palm .

[Napalm Strike!] (Yuuya)

My left hand cloaked in extreme heat pierced through the Goblin Knight . The smell of charred meat spread through the air as a large gaping hole appeared in its chest . It’s body then finally began turning into blue particles for good .

Compared to the battle against the Killer Ape, the ability’s skill level was significantly higher and its firepower couldn’t even compare to before .

[I knew it, we are definitely stronger . ] (Yuuya)

If we worked together, then even level fifty monsters weren’t a problem for us .

This was significant for us although it didn’t mean that we could immediately set out for the most difficult dungeon since monsters at this level appeared in groups or frequently .  

[Everyone, hurry up and finish up! I’m about to reach my limit!] (Lutra)

Lutra shouted at a volume that closely resembled a scream . She had been taking on the Great Kong this entire time which was a heavy task . There wasn’t any time to be idling around as everyone immediately rushed to Lutra .

Several minutes later, the Great Kong was defeated .  

Unlike the Goblin Knight which possessed both toughness and ability, the Great Kong was a monster which emphasized its toughness, making it harder for us to defeat . Although it wasn’t dangerous for us regardless .

Our party Twilight Home already possessed combat prowess rivaling the top parties . After completing the battles, Phil began recovering Lutra’s wounds using her Heal .

[Surprisingly, the battle wasn’t dangerous at all . This was the first time I had to repeat the same skill this much . ] (Lutra)

[Being able to take on a monster at this level alone, is something to take pride in . This was a feat only first tier tanks were capable of performing . ] (Yuuya)

[I humbly accept your praises . ] (Lutra)

Lutra’s smile felt unnatural .

  [Lutra . ] (Yuuya)

  [I know . Once we leave the dungeon, I’ll listen to whatever she has to say . ] (Lutra)
  [When that time comes, I’ll be by your side . ] (Yuuya)

If these monsters were indeed sent by Princess Aure, then there should be more of them . At the very least, there should be at least two more of them around . If she sent two or more of them against Lutra, then she will have no options against them .

  [Yes, please do so . ] (Lutra)

  [Luna will go together too! Even if you say no, Luna will hide somewhere and watch . Luna is a fox after all and she is good at hiding!] (Luna)

  [And since I’m an elf, I’ll be hanging off a tree and prepared with my bow!] (Til)

  [Kyu!] (Erik)

The two girls and Erik’s support were overwhelming . I couldn’t understand the reasoning behind being a fox however it seems that Luna was good at hiding her presence, making it possible for her to hide somewhere although Til’s comment was rather realistic .

  [Well, let’s think about it once we leave the dungeon . Let’s exit the dungeon first . ] (Yuuya)

More importantly, we came here to have Lutra obtain the special abilities for a ruler .

That was our main objective .

After exiting the large corridor, we entered the audience chamber of the dungeon as the throne at the end of the chamber was glowing brightly .

. . It was said that practically everyone who challenged the Gate of Trials would never make it back . However this time we had the answer to practically every single one of the seventy two questions and we had made preparations for everyone excluding Lutra . Furthermore since Lutra had strong escorts, there wasn’t any risk involved .  

The reason I hadn’t informed Lutra about it was due to my suspicion towards Princess Aure .

This time, we were able to overcome the dungeon this quickly was due to us although it was likely that Lutra would have been able to overcome the dungeon on her own given enough time .

In any case, we weren’t escorts prepared by the royal family but her friends who she acquired through her own power .

  [Yuuyojisama, what should I be doing right now?] (Lutra)

  [You’ll sit on the throne . ] (Yuuya)

Lutra really seemed to know nothing about the Gate of Trials

She seemed to only know about the condition of having royalty in the party to get access to the dungeon however she hadn’t known about the puzzles set in the dungeon as well as the method to receiving the power in the first place .

  [I’m a little nervous . Isn’t it disrespectful to go ahead and sit on the throne?] (Lutra)

I couldn’t help but laugh as it does sound like something Lutra would say .

  [It’s okay . You’re going to win the inheritance ceremony aren’t you . You’re qualified to sit on the throne . ] (Yuuya)

After pushing her back slightly, she slowly approached the throne and sat on it .

At that instant, the brightly shining light began to turn red, turning into red particles before entering Lutra’s body .

  [Strange, power seems to be flowing through me… It was the same as when we defeated the Coronoa Dragon . ] (Lutra)
  [In reality their the same thing . Attaining a t.i.tle is equivalent to getting stronger, although this is only valid for the royalty of the Laluzulu . ] (Yuuya)

By overcoming the Gate of Trials, the royal family could obtain the t.i.tle Rightful Ruler .

  [Envious! Luna wants it too . ] (Luna)

  [Me too me too!] (Til)

  [You two, that’s impossible since the two of you aren’t royalty . ] (Yuuya)

  [Muu, that’s unfair!] (Luna)

  [That’s right thats right!] (Til)

  [If you continue behaving like this, Luna’s fox ears and Til’s ears will both be pulled along . Everyone has their own advantages . ] (Yuuya)

The two girls gave in immediately after my warning as Lutra descended from the throne .

  [Hey, Yuuyojisama . What if, I confronted my elder sister . . And she said that she wants to kill me, what should I do then? I’ve always thought that I should leave the country to her . ] (Lutra)

  [I don’t have the answer for that . It’s something you’ll have to think about yourself . The reason why Lutra thought of making Princess Aure the queen is because you thought that the people would be happier if she was made the ruler . If that is the case, then face reality and find the answer yourself . ] (Yuuya)

Purely based on reason, if the country were to prosper under Lutra’s rule then there shouldn’t be any worry for her life .

  [You’re right . I just made a mistake in my judgement . Then I’ll just have to properly talk to them once more . My sister, and my brother too . ] (Lutra)

  [Please do so . ] (Yuuya)

  [Then afterwards, I hope to talk to the people that Yuuyojisama was talking about . I wish to hear the details from them personally… . It’s embarra.s.sing but in the castle, both my eyes and ears were practically nonexistent as I hadn’t received any information . In hindsight, it could be that both aniue and aneue were trying to keep information from reaching me in the castle . ] (Lutra)
 

A young and supportless Lutra was an easy target, making it easy to manipulate the information being fed to her .

  [I understand . Then let’s do that… For now, let’s head back . ] (Yuuya)

This audience chamber was our objective . As proof of that, there was a magical vortex waiting in the back of the room .  

After dragging Luna and Til who were playing with the Throne, then Erik, we finally decided to return to the castle .

After returning to the castle, we immediately set out to pay a visit to Princess Aure . However, it seemed that she had been busy ever since we entered the dungeon . It was probably her insurance plan should her ambush failed . Since it would likely take a long time, I decided to arrange a visit for Lutra with my old allies .  

Although all of them were paid a visit by Princess Aure, they decided to reveal everything to Lutra after they heard that it was a personal request by me . After realizing how much information was hidden from her, Lutra continued to ask questions . Afterwards, she once again reinstated her decision to visit her elder brother, Prince Aleck .  

If it was the current Lutra, he would be unable to continue avoiding her . Lutra was already in a desperate state as she needed to confirm all of the new information being pumped into her, hence this meeting was something she definitely needed .

Currently, it was finally the day of the Inheritance Ceremony .

Even after all this time, Princess Aure did not return to the castle . Meanwhile, Lutra was having an honest discussion with Prince Aleck with open minds .

  [Lutra, did you come up with an answer?] (Aleck)

  [Of course . The answer is already out . The only thing left is it’s execution . ] (Lutra)

  [In that case, move forward without any regrets . I’ll be watching over you . ] (Aleck)

That was without a doubt the brightest expression I have ever seen .

She had zero uncertainty about her decision . If it’s like this, then I’ll show her my full support .

We began heading towards the venue for the Inheritance Ceremony . It was a dome-shaped Coliseum which was also used to determine the strongest knight in the country . The seats in the stadium was already filled to the brim, . There was no grander stage than this as Lutra headed to her waiting room while we headed towards the VIP seats .

I hadn’t heard Lutra’s answer nor have I given here any advice since the dungeon .

However, I’ll be sure to watch my dazzling disciple’s appearance as her master .

That… Was all I could right now .