I'm Not a Kid Anymore (3)
“It’s a shame, but I suppose this is where I part ways with you, Inquisitor Karen.”
“Since we entered separately, we should exit through different routes to avoid raising suspicion.”
“I was the one who suggested hiding, so if anything happens, please contact me right away.”
“There won’t be any trouble that could burden you, Lady Yona.”
“That said, don’t take any losses on your own. I may not have much to offer… but lately, I’ve gained a pretty solid backer.”
Now that it was time to head back to the surface, I reluctantly climbed down from Elly’s back, wiping away a few tears. Elly, who had been puffing on a magic herb cigarette and sighing the whole time, tilted her head in confusion.
“Wait, are you talking about me? Even if my arm were still intact, taking on the entire temple would be insane…”
“Huh? No, not you, Elly. I was referring to someone else.”
With that, I subtly pointed upward. Naturally, looking up at the sky from the first floor only revealed thick tree branches and patches of blue peeking through. But when you factored in everything I’d shown so far, the meaning became crystal clear.
“You’re seriously saying Yona is a saint? I just can’t believe it.”
“Of course not. I’m not actually a saint.”
“You’re really not?”
“Hmm. If the definition of a saint is a recognized proxy of the Goddess acknowledged by the temple, then no, I’m definitely not. That said, it’s true that the Goddess has taken an interest in me and is watching over me.”
“…Isn’t that what a saint is?”
Elly tilted her head again. Karen, who had been listening quietly beside us, drew a holy sign across her chest and spoke with solemn reverence.
That is the standard of a saint from before the War of the Gods' Fall, the kind you only find in fairy tales. In the current era, only the Goddess of Love remains among the divine. She focuses her attention on managing the labyrinth. In other words, it is no longer possible for the divine to walk the surface as they did in the age of myths.
“Oh…”
“And yet Lady Yona has manifested a small sanctuary without any holy power in this very age.”
“Oh…?”
That was only possible thanks to the Goddess statue made of spirit stones. It wasn’t some special ability of mine. Maybe the problem was that I’d deliberately avoided pulling it out to prevent it from being mistaken for a suspicious toy, only secretly deploying and retracting the sanctuary.
Karen clearly believed the Goddess had opened the sanctuary purely because I was struggling. She continued with eyes shining with near-fanatical devotion.
No matter how close this labyrinth brings us to the Goddess, a sanctuary is something that normally requires years of massive preparation to manifest. Even on a small scale, it is not something that can be created so easily.
“Uh, well, you see…”
“I am not trying to deny your thoughts, Lady Yona. Perhaps it feels burdensome. Or maybe you truly believe that. Or there may be reasons you must insist otherwise. I simply wish to inform you. The favor you receive from the Goddess is no ordinary thing. And that you, Lady Yona, are fully worthy of such favor.”
“……”
Having said her piece, Karen offered a faint smile despite her exhausted face.
“Now that I’ve said everything I needed to, I’ll take my leave first. As for the hostages…”
“Ah, I’ll explain things properly to Lemon and Apple.”
“Then I’ll trust in you, Lady Yona, and go on ahead. I will testify exactly as we rehearsed, so please rest easy.”
“Come on, I don’t doubt you at all. Thanks for all your hard work today. If something comes up later, we’ll meet then. …Wait, that sounds like I’m hoping for trouble. Even if there’s nothing urgent, feel free to drop by The Elf and the Silver Coin whenever you’re bored!”
“Thank you. Until next time.”
Karen gave a polite bow, placed her hand on the monolith, and ascended to the surface first. When we had entered the labyrinth, she had waited around awkwardly before taking a long detour, so this time we had agreed to exit later. That meant we had about thirty minutes of idle chatter ahead of us…
“Elly. Lady Rydia. Before we head straight home after reaching the surface, there’s one place I’d like to stop by. Is that okay?”
“Are you sure? Your body might be healed, but your mind must be exhausted.”
“Yona. Are you planning to visit Eden?”
“That’s right.”
Rydia, who had once accompanied me to Eden after we rescued Lemon and Apple, immediately understood my intention. Elly, who had been tilting her head in confusion, suddenly perked up her ears and tail as if something had clicked.
“Ah! Eden—that’s the place that sells cheap, high-performance, but weirdly flawed magic tools, right? Hasn’t it gone out of business yet? I stopped by a few times right after I crossed into the second floor and nearly had a heart attack.”
“Th-that’s too harsh, ma’am! Are you saying our boss looks like she could go bankrupt any day now?!”
“But last time she even created a brand-new product—a portable safety zone kit that can be set up anywhere, anytime!”
“Oh. That actually sounds interesting. The Magic Tower only started mass-producing those in collaboration with the artisans’ union not long ago. The price is one thing, but reaching a usable level of quality couldn’t have been easy.”
“Exactly, ma’am. But the boss pulled it off. The price is less than half! Portability and stealth are superior, and durability isn’t far behind either!”
“The only tiny flaw is that if you go inside to rest, you break out in mysterious hives all over your body, and the mana consumption to maintain it is astronomical—otherwise it’s perfect, ma’am!”
“…That’s just trash.”
“You think so too, ma’am?”
“It’s the boss’s fault for pushing it through even after I told her it wasn’t ready.”
They had jumped in to defend her at first, but after Elly’s lukewarm reaction, Lemon and Apple quickly changed their tune. It wasn’t that they were intimidated by Elly’s fighting spirit or anything. It was simply because it really was trash…
Activities in the labyrinth require caution even when breathing. The upper floors might have complete maps, but once you reach the middle layers, the maps are incomplete and you often have to explore blindly. You could get poisoned without realizing it, attract monsters drawn to the sound of your breath, or find yourself in bizarre spaces where trying to breathe actually prevents you from doing so. The labyrinth is a place where anything can happen, so you must always stay on high alert.
The only place you can truly relax is a safety zone built around a small monolith. But what if that safety zone is too far away? Or if you’re unlucky and can’t find one for a long time? Then you’re forced to camp out, which only makes things even more dangerous.
That was why the portable safety zone was developed. To put it simply, artisans design the blueprint for a prefabricated house, mages enchant each material so it assembles into a specific shape, and then spatial magic compresses its size for easy carrying. That’s a portable safety zone.
It instantly erects a small but sturdy house on bare ground and covers the surroundings with every kind of concealment magic imaginable. A high-grade, all-purpose magic tool. Those are the portable safety zones that have started appearing one by one lately.
The advertising is so aggressive that every time you visit the materials guild, they either demonstrate it in person or shove flyers into your hands. It’s impossible to forget. Making one all by herself is certainly impressive. If I had to compare it to Earth, it’d be like the old man at the neighborhood hardware store disassembling the latest electric car and building something similar himself.
But I couldn’t purely admire it… because the side effects were just too fatal. You set up the safety zone in the suffocating labyrinth to catch your breath, only to break out in hives so bad you can’t rest properly, while the mana drain is so enormous that your party’s mage has to retire or you burn through every magic stone you just mined? That’s straight-up garbage.
No matter how much I care about Eve, there’s no defending this one. I let out a deep sigh and patted Lemon and Apple on the shoulders.
“You two worked hard. But after this incident, I have some things to discuss with you… and more importantly, I still owe Eve from last time.”
“Ah.”
“The appraisal dagger.”
I had promised that instead of paying for the production costs, I would use the World Tree’s power for Eve once when she needed it. I never imagined it would turn out to be something that helped with growth… but at least making plants grow should still be possible now. I’d reveal a bit about the ability and tell her to call me if she ever needed anything.
As I nodded to myself, Rydia, who had been idly kicking at the ground out of boredom, looked up.
“Yona. If going alone feels off, I can come with you.”
“It’s fine. This is something I need to handle by myself…”
When I shrugged, both Elly and Rydia suddenly looked uneasy. It didn’t seem like they were simply worried about the life-or-death fight I’d just been through. It felt like something else…
“Hah! Elly, Lady Rydia, don’t worry! I’m just going to talk business. I’m definitely not going to cheat on you!”
“Wh-who said anything like that?!”
“Mm. I’m not worried about that. …But if it’s business, shouldn’t either I or Senior Elly go with you?”
Elly shouted in denial, clearly feeling guilty. Rydia, apparently annoyed by how loud she was, covered her ears and continued.
I chuckled at their reactions and answered.
“It’s nothing major, so there’s really no need for you to come along. And I’ll be back early, so Elly, you can relax and get ready to grant my wish.”
“Ah.”
“…You were serious about that?”
“I’m always serious.”
I had already decided exactly what I was going to wish for, after all.