"Hello. We're adventurers from E-Rantel. We've come under a direct commission from the guildmaster to provide support."
Almost the moment Lakyus finished speaking, the knocking at the door resumed. And upon hearing that the visitors were reinforcements from E-Rantel, her face immediately lit up with relief.
The Thirteen Heroes were legendary figures from two hundred years ago. Any relics they had left behind could never be ordinary.
If they were forced to give up now, there was no way Blue Rose wouldn't feel deep regret.
And so, despite being an Adamantite-ranked team, they had no choice but to seek assistance from other adventurers.
To ensure the Adventurers' Guild in E-Rantel would take their request seriously, Lakyus had even invoked the name of the Kingdom's Golden Princess, Renner.
In truth, she herself was indeed quite close to the Kingdom's Third Princess, Renner.
After Evileye gave a confirming nod—signaling that the people outside didn't seem suspicious—Lakyus stepped forward and opened the door.
And then—
She froze.
Because the "reinforcements" standing outside were only two people.
And the plates hanging from their waists clearly marked them as Copper-ranked adventurers.
When she had requested help earlier, Lakyus hadn't expected E-Rantel to send an Adamantite-ranked team. After all, there were only two such teams in the Kingdom, and one of them was Blue Rose itself.
But she had at least assumed that E-Rantel—one of the Kingdom's most important cities—would be able to send an Orichalcum-ranked or at the very least a Mithril-ranked team.
Yet the reinforcements she had waited so long for turned out to be two Copper-ranked rookies?
And only two people at that?
What in the world could they possibly do?!
"Are you the Adamantite-ranked team Blue Rose?" Ren Kuroda asked, stepping forward calmly.
"We're the adventurers sent from E-Rantel to assist you this time. The guildmaster has already briefed us on the situation. We'll do our best to help you clear the ruins."
Seeing Lakyus fall into stunned silence the moment she opened the door, Ren had no choice but to speak first.
However, Lakyus clearly still hadn't recovered from the shock of seeing two lowest-ranked adventurers sent as reinforcements. She simply stood there, staring blankly.
The silence made the atmosphere awkward.
Standing behind Ren, Yuri Alpha's expression gradually turned displeased.
A woman who always adhered strictly to etiquette and carried herself with composure, she found Lakyus's behavior extremely rude.
Countless denizens of the Great Tomb of Nazarick would never even qualify for the chance to hear a word from the Supreme Beings.
And yet this human woman dared to ignore one of those very beings?
To Yuri, that was nothing short of arrogance and disrespect of the highest order.
"Ah—my apologies! I was lost in thought just now."
Fortunately, before Yuri's displeasure could escalate further, Lakyus seemed to come back to her senses. Realizing how rude she had been, she quickly apologized and asked again:
"Are you two truly the adventurers sent by the E-Rantel Adventurers' Guild?"
"Well, unless there happens to be another Adamantite-ranked team called Blue Rose in this Kingdom," Ren replied lightly, "I'd say we're in the right place."
He didn't say it outright, but he understood exactly what she was thinking.
After all, Copper-ranked adventurers were typically only good for dealing with low-level threats like skeletons.
The gap between them and Adamantite-ranked adventurers was like the difference between heaven and earth.
"I'm truly sorry," Lakyus said, choosing her words carefully.
"It's possible the guild in E-Rantel didn't explain things clearly. The ruins we're attempting to explore are extremely dangerous."
"With your level of experience… I'm afraid your lives would be at risk."
"However, you should have brought the supplies we requested, correct? While you may not be able to assist with the exploration itself, since you've gone to the trouble of bringing the supplies, I will still pay you the agreed reward in full."
For an Adamantite-ranked adventurer speaking to two Copper-ranked novices, Lakyus's tone was already remarkably polite.
And what she said was also true.
Even for them—adventurers who had stepped into the Hero-class domain—the ruins had proven overwhelmingly difficult.
So how could two Copper-ranked adventurers possibly survive inside?
In truth, Lakyus was trying to persuade Ren and Yuri to withdraw for their own safety. And by offering to pay them anyway, she was already going above and beyond.
"I see," Ren said with a faint smile. "So you believe we're too weak to be of any help?"
"Even so, we don't intend to turn back."
"The Adventurers' Guild made us a promise—if we complete this mission, we'll be promoted directly to at least Mithril rank."
"Climbing the ranks step by step is far too troublesome. It's rare to get an opportunity like this that lets us skip a few steps."
"And… my apologies, but we're the only ones who came. We didn't bring the supplies you requested."
"Since the guild still chose to send us—and we're not the type to throw our lives away—how about placing a little trust in us?"
Ren wasn't trying to be difficult.
The truth was, the supplies Blue Rose had requested were high-grade materials in this world.
There was no way he could afford them.
The Adventurers' Guild had also refused to front the cost, fearing that Ren might either run off with the expensive goods—or die along the way, resulting in a massive loss.
No reinforcements worth mentioning.
No supplies either.
Even someone as kind-tempered as Lakyus couldn't help but feel a flicker of irritation now.
From Ren's words, it was clear he had a great deal of confidence in his own strength—believing himself to be far above Copper rank.
But even if that were true, so what?
They were an Adamantite-ranked team, the highest tier of adventurers.
And even they had repeatedly failed in those ruins.
What gave this man the confidence to claim he could help—without even bringing sufficient supplies?
"Lakyus, wait."
Just as she was about to dismiss them outright, a voice suddenly interrupted.
It was Evileye.
"These two aren't lying," the masked girl said, her tone tinged with rare surprise.
"They're both extremely powerful."
"That woman with the collar—her strength is roughly on par with mine."
"And as for that man…"
"My detection magic can't determine his strength at all."
The moment Evileye finished speaking, the entire room fell silent.
Every member of Blue Rose stared at Ren and Yuri with undisguised shock.
Within the team, everyone knew that although Lakyus was their leader, she wasn't the strongest among them.
If it came down to raw power, even the other four members combined might not be able to defeat Evileye alone.
And yet—
That same Evileye had just declared that one of the newcomers was her equal, while the other was someone even she couldn't read.
For the first time since opening the door—
Lakyus began to truly reconsider the two "Copper-ranked adventurers" standing before her.