Tibaut started observing the pile as well but the most he could do was pick up the rubble and go "yup, that's a rock." before putting it down.

An awkward minute of trying to be hopeful to the maid passed until the other two came into the space.

("Finally they're here.") Tibaut thought as he walked over to them.

Jake stopped and looked to the rubble, with his hand covering his mouth, in thought.

"So that was the purpose of the first fuse."

"Are you saying this was on purpose?" Tibaut asked.

"Probably so. If I had to guess, the purpose of the trap was to injure the stragglers in a group that'd accidentally step on it and force the whole group to walk through here and then get trapped on the other side of this."

"Huh? But isn't where they said their boss was? Did they lie to us?"

"I mean he could be." Albus stated.

Jake and Tibaut listened keenly for his reasoning for believing this.

"I mean, I've always heard he's confident and as we've seen his men are a bit of a joke. Maybe he just wanted to take on all of his attackers by himself." He said as he raised his arms, sounding unsure himself.

"For the time being let's see if there is an alternative route we can take," Avis suggested as she walked back towards the passage.

They decided to follow her back and began questioning the men Avis had traumatized and exploring the area for any clues.

After tying all the men in various of her wires, some much so it began to cut slightly into the skins of those it touched, she gave the advice, "Don't move too much or you might sever an artery." and left them in a corner of the large space.

They all gathered around a table they decided to borrow and shared the information they collected.

Jake started off.

"Based on a map I found, it seems that it was a storage area for valuables, so it has more than one way to enter, but…"

He pointed to three lines beyond that pathway.

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"It seems like it's being protected by a big steel door. And considering there are three of these lines I'd assume they are three."

"My, they really have turned this into a wild goose chase. No wonder those idiots kept talking about three key holders." Avis stated.

"?"

"?"

"?"

The group turned to her as she muttered something cryptic.

"I see you haven't heard. The men around kept saying we should ask the three key holders how to get to him. It seems the keys function as some sort of status symbol here. Young man, did those doors have keyholes?"

"Well, the one I saw did, so assume the others would be similar."

"So where the hell are they, don't tell me they escaped!?" Albus asked.

The two started to look worried but Tibaut tapped the table to draw attention to himself.

"I see it's my time to present what I found to the class." He said sarcastically before continuing. "I asked around and it seemed they're hiding in the other areas here waiting for an ambush."

Tibaut pulled the map over to himself and based on what he worked out earlier, he pointed to the three rooms. There was the entrance to the main mine, an area to store explosives, pickaxes and other miscellaneous items and a canteen.

"So they've split themselves up in each room hoping to ambush us. What fools, this won't take me more than fifteen minutes." Avis commented as she got up.

Upon hearing they likely split up, Albus had a gleam in his eyes which Tibaut did not like the look.

"Since they've split up, why don't we split into three and take them down."

"Jake, I'm not the only one who thinks that's a terrible idea right?"

"No, it's as you say, it'd be better for us to stick together and defeat them." He said this softly, trying his best not to sound insulted at the lord's idea.

"Avis?" Albus the lord sympathetically asked.

"Fine. But make sure you don't injure yourself."

"Wait, did you not hear hi-"

Albus pressed his finger against Tibaut's lip which Tibaut responded to by trying to bite it.

"Woah, easy there Maid Red. I'm just trying to be more time-efficient here. Besides he could have some secret exit, he told no one, so shouldn't we do this as quickly as possible."

("Maid Red? Wow, was Tibaut a fan of what the lord did to him?") Jake thought.

"Tch, whatever, do whatever you like."

"Alright let's go, Avis."

The two got up and started walking towards the passageways.

"By the way, we'll need someone here to ensure the big guy doesn't have his own keys and try to escape."

"My and Jake wil-"

"Actually Tibaut…"

"Hmm?" Tibaut turned around.

"We might as well commit to their plan. After all, they might hear the commotion they cause and seal off the entrance with explosives. Your magic is especially loud so you should stay out here and watch out. (To be honest, I just want to look good in front of my junior since I wasn't able to earlier. Though will he really believe such reasoning? Wait why am I even doing this, I can easily jus-)" before he could even stop himself from committing to this Tibaut placed his hand on his shoulder and looked him in the eyes.

"You're right Jake. It's amazing you managed to find logic out of Albus's seemingly dumb idea. I'll stay here on guard, you do what you have to do."

After giving him a look of confidence and giving him a thumbs up he walked over to the passageway to the exit and stood guard.

For a moment Jake stood stunned before turning around and heading to the only passageway that hadn't been chosen.

"Sigh Why'd I even think this was a good idea."

As he entered the passageway the other two entered their respective ones as well.