Chapter 118: Humanity’s Greatest Carrier
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 118: Humanity’s Greatest Carrier
“Oh, Sion!”
“Gah! Guild Master! Wait a second!”
The moment I stepped into the guild office, Moira lunged at me and pulled me into a tight embrace.
“You made it back alive. I heard the news yesterday, but it’s good to see your face in person.”
“Thank you for the welcome. Oh, about the armor you gave me... everything except the helmet was completely smashed to pieces.”
“That’s fine. What matters is that you survived. Was the armor useful?”
“It saved my life about three times.”
“Good. Then it did its job. Armor is a consumable, after all.”
Moira patted my back firmly, promising to get me a new set, then began absentmindedly stroking my arms and chest.
It seemed she’d been quite starved for company during the two weeks I was gone. Both the daughter and the mother were far too fond of me.
“By the way, Sion. Why is this woman here?”
“Ah, about that...”
“Urgh...”
“Lafnel, it’s been a while. What brings you here? I thought you said you’d never crawl out of that hole of yours. Did you finally miss the fresh air?”
“You rotten wench...! You’re the one who blew up my atelier!”
“Hmm? Me? When? What are you talking about?”
As expected, Moira had no idea she was the one who had leveled Lafnel’s hole-in-the-wall shop. She looked at me with a confused expression as she listened to Lafnel’s indignant accusations.
I explained the situation to Moira—how a portion of the Eastern Red Light District had been demolished, taking half of Lafnel’s atelier with it.
“So, you’re saying that shop, which happened to be right in the middle of the demolition zone, exploded.”
“Yes. And because of that, Miss Lafnel has nowhere to go.”
“Is that so? Doesn’t this woman have plenty of money? Buy a decent house for once. Stop hiding away in those strange places and setting up shops there.”
“...Ugh. If I’m too conspicuous... too many people come looking for me. It won’t do.”
“And who exactly would go looking for you?”
“The head of the Alchemist Guild... the Tower Lord... even you would surely come for me! Can you deny it? You’d call on me incessantly whenever you needed something. Isn’t that right? Why do you think I went into hiding? It’s because all of you try to use me like some sort of servant!”
“Ahem. Well, one might ask for a little help when necessary. No need to make such a fuss.”
“You shameless woman! You were the first to seek me out whenever anything happened! I am not someone who works year-round without pay! And yet you came to me even on my days off! Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten what happened ten years ago!”
“Has it been ten years already? I miss those days.”
“Don’t change the subject!”
“Haha. It was a mistake of the past.”
Lafnel argued that having Moira nearby would mean being pestered all day, and Moira couldn't bring herself to deny it.
I suppose if a legendary gearhead lived next door, it would be impossible not to take an interest.
In terms of this world, Lafnel was a master tinkerer. She could whip up just about anything. The only problem was that every single one of her creations came with side effects. Still, if one knew how to utilize those side effects, she was essentially a creator of top-tier items.
“Sigh. Fine. I’m sorry. So, since you have nowhere to go, what do you want me to do? Should I find you a back room somewhere?”
“No. That is not it...”
“Um, Moira. Actually, I was thinking of taking Miss Lafnel into the Labyrinth...”
“SILENCE!”
Moira immediately cut us both off, pointing a finger at Lafnel and shouting.
“I don’t know how you bewitched this boy, but the answer is no. Sion, do you have any idea what this woman has done?”
“Well...”
“She conducted all sorts of experiments inside the Labyrinth and caused monsters to go into a frenzy twice. She also has a record of blowing up the base sectors of the Underground City three times. Absolutely not. This woman is obsessed with the Labyrinth; once she loses herself in it, there’s no telling what she’ll do.”
“Those were all mistakes of the past!”
“Well, me using you was also a mistake of the past, so why don’t you just move in next door to me?”
“Urgh.”
Moira seemed to have no intention of letting Lafnel enter the Labyrinth.
“Listen, this woman doesn’t do anything that causes massive casualties. But she causes incidents and accidents right up to that point. Inside the Labyrinth, she loses her mind, performing all sorts of experiments and creating bizarre things. It’s Mana Poisoning. The moment she breathes in that magic source, her personality shifts. I can’t see how she’s any different from someone in the early stages of Labyrinth Assimilation.”
“Hey, don’t you have any faith in me? I’m different now! I’ve learned self-control!”
“I’m simply making an easy deduction based on your track record.”
“...Sion. Help me. At this rate, I won’t be allowed into the Labyrinth until Moira dies of old age.”
“Moira. Could you please help me out here?”
“No, why on earth are you trying to drag this dangerous woman into the Labyrinth? What’s the reason?”
“That’s... Sigh. I don’t even know where to begin explaining this.”
The idea for the Underground City development project ultimately came from Helena.
She had warned that the Nightmare of the Labyrinth would soon awaken and that only I, as a possessor of the Spiritual Eye, could stop the Labyrinth Eruption. That was why I wanted to send Lafnel to the Underground City—to turn it into an outpost and a safe zone.
‘Helena. Can I reveal information about you? Without you, there are parts of this I just can’t explain.’
—Hmm. Revealing my existence, is it? As long as it isn’t Freya... it might be fine.
Helena gave her permission. If it was just Moira and Lafnel, it should be okay.
“Then, I’ll explain why I need Lafnel.”
“Fine. Let’s hear it.”
“Actually, I was curious as well. Why you were going to such lengths to help me get into the Labyrinth.”
Moira and Lafnel sat across from each other at the office table.
After checking their faces one last time, I decided to let Helena out.
‘I’ll borrow your body for a moment.’
—Very well. I shall use it well and return it.
I couldn't use magic above the 4th Circle through my body. If I did, my Mana Circuits would burn up.
However, I could briefly lend her my body on the condition that she didn't use magic.
That would be enough. Lafnel and Moira were the people in the Labyrinth City who knew Helena best. They would recognize immediately that Helena had returned.
“Ah. It is good to see you.”
“...Huh?”
“What is it, Sion? What’s wrong?”
I was pushed to the back of my consciousness.
It was like looking out from a cockpit; I could see the outside world. This must be how Helena had been viewing the world from within me.
“Moira, and Lafnel. It has been a very long time. I wonder how many years have passed since we hunted the Magic Dragon. For Lafnel, it must have felt like a mere moment. For you, Moira, it must feel like the distant past.”
“You... who are you?”
“...That energy feels familiar.”
Using my body, Helena slowly began to radiate her aura.
Through the fluctuations of magical power, Lafnel seemed to realize who was occupying my body.
Moira, with a look of disbelief, placed her hand on the hilt of her sword.
“Moira, do not be so tense. I have not stolen this child’s body. I am merely borrowing it for a moment.”
At Helena’s words, Moira’s eyepatch flickered.
“It’s not a lie. Where did Sion go?”
“He is watching from within. The boy decided it would be easier to show you directly than to try and explain it himself.”
This time, Lafnel asked a cautious question.
“What exactly are you trying to make us understand...? You should be a ghost of the past. Why have you not passed on and instead borrowed his body?”
“Those who die in the Labyrinth cannot pass on to the afterlife on their own. They all wander the other side of the Labyrinth, eventually losing their reason and fading into nothingness.”
Moira looked shocked by Helena’s words and asked if that was truly the fate of those who died in the Labyrinth.
Helena nodded, stating it was something she had seen and experienced firsthand.
“...So you were wandering the Labyrinth.”
“I was. Thanks to this child’s eyes, I was finally able to come up to the surface. Normally, I would have simply passed on and vanished.”
“He-Helena. Why did you stay in this world? Did you have lingering regrets?”
“No, I had no such regrets. It was simply what this child wanted.”
“What? What did Sion want? Power? Magical talent? Or perhaps a teacher?”
“You are all wrong. This child wanted nothing else from me. He simply desired peace for the city.”
“Peace for the city?”
“What nonsense is that? The Heretics have mostly been dealt with. There shouldn't be any problems.”
“The problem is not with the city itself. It is those beneath us who are causing a stir.”
“Beneath us? You don’t mean...”
“Yes. The Demon Kings of Utopia are targeting the 5th floor.”
At Helena’s words, Lafnel gasped and covered her mouth in shock, while Moira wore a look of confusion.
“Demon Kings? No, never mind the Demon Kings. You said ‘Demon Kings,’ plural. What does that mean? Have more beings like that one we know appeared?”
“As I thought, you truly do not know the situation in Utopia. I heard that humanity’s progress in the Labyrinth has regressed, and it seems it was true.”
“That’s because there was no need to go down to the 7th floor. In the first place, there are almost no talented individuals left who can make the descent. More than anything, the exploration of the 6th floor hasn't even been properly completed since the Great Cataclysm.”
It was then that I heard for the first time that most of the sane Platinum Badge adventurers in the Labyrinth City were currently down on the 6th floor.
No wonder they said they were short-handed when we were catching the Heretics. They really were gone.
“I told you clearly before I died. I told you to focus on nurturing talent because a great problem would arise in the future.”
“It’s not like I didn’t try.”
“Even so, it is not enough. It is a fact that the level of adventurers in the Labyrinth City has dropped compared to the past.”
Helena waved her hand in the air and produced a sheet of parchment.
“In the first place, the Demon Kings are a trivial matter compared to the real problem.”
“Trivial?”
“Yes. For humanity must now conquer the 7th floor and descend even further.”
“What is that parchment?”
“Information I gathered while I was dead.”
What Helena handed over was a sort of journal. She said she had recorded it in case someone appeared who could communicate with her spirit form. Thanks to meeting me, it was finally seeing the light of day.
“This is...”
“Information on the entrance to the 8th floor, which I happened upon while wandering the darkness of the Labyrinth as a spirit.”
Lafnel and Moira fell silent as they reviewed the information on the parchment. Most likely, everything Helena had told me verbally was recorded there.
“....”
“Darkness. Nothing but darkness.”
“The current Platinum Badges cannot handle the 8th floor. Until the Labyrinth exploration begins in earnest, we must live with a ticking time bomb beneath us. Lafnel must be allowed into the Labyrinth. Developing the Underground City is no longer an option, but a necessity. We must create an environment where adventurers can operate freely on at least the 7th floor. We must raise the overall level of strength. That is, if you don’t want to die.”
Moira wiped her face at Helena’s words.
“Developing the Underground City. It has been a long-held dream. But you know as well as I do that it’s impossible.”
There were two major problems.
The lack of a response plan for when a Great Cataclysm occurred, and the lack of control over randomly spawning monsters.
“We must find a way to solve those points. There is a clue.”
“What clue?”
“This child. Sion’s eyes. And the beings he has contracted with.”
“.....No way.”
‘No way.’
Lafnel and I, who had been listening to Helena, were both shocked at the same time.
It was because we realized what alternative she was about to propose.
“We will summon the Three Villainesses to the Underground City. They will become the managers of the city.”
My head began to spin.
Now I had to persuade the Three Villainesses as well. I had to drag the three women, who said they could never enter the Labyrinth, down there with me.
How?
Of course, that wasn't a problem for me to worry about. I was, after all, just the carrier.