Chapter 86
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 86
Chapter Title: Alensia
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While Sia roamed between the 28th and 29th floors preparing for her promotion to Advanced Adventurer, Allen's skills had ripened even further. By then, no one among Cain's disciples could keep up with him.
With reliable party members at his side, Allen's group tore through the labyrinth like a whirlwind. They were expected to conquer the 40th floor, known as the Devil's Wall.
And the day came when Allen's party challenged the 40th floor.
"Aaaah! Allen oppaaaa! Aaaah!"
"Si... Sia! Someone help stop her!"
"Uwaaaah!! Allen oppaaa!"
The party's total annihilation.
Allen's party, which had been expected to break through the 40th floor of the labyrinth, ended up with every member dead. They challenged the 40th floor, but even after a long time passed with no sign of their return, those unfamiliar with the labyrinth's deep levels just assumed it was taking a while...
"Ah.... Master! This isn't true, right? It can't be!"
"M... Master. Is it really true that Allen's dead?"
A week passed, then two, and nearly a month went by with no return from Allen's party. Despite the committee's warnings, Cain himself grabbed his sword and headed into the labyrinth...
He returned alone, without a single other soul. And he brought back the news of Allen's party's total wipeout.
And Sia... she shut herself in her room for a time, sobbing through three days and nights. Reliving memories of their time together, crying until exhaustion lulled her to sleep, only to wake and cry again...
The name of Allen's party, known to every adventurer and once buzzing with expectations of conquering the 40th floor, soon faded from people's memories. After all, the labyrinth was a place where countless adventurers were born and died.
Just like the people back in her hometown, who swore they'd always remember her parents but forgot them entirely.
Witnessing it all, Sia stopped crying. Instead, she strapped on her sword and stepped out of her room.
"Um... Sia? You're suddenly asking to change the name registered with the Labyrinth Guild?"
"I've made up my mind."
The bright smile she always wore was gone. The friendly tone that won everyone over had vanished. With the cold expression and demeanor of a stern knight—like her brother Allen—Sia went to the Labyrinth Guild and requested to update her adventurer information.
"I am Alensia."
"Give it up."
"Master."
"Don't enter the labyrinth."
Cain tried to dissuade Alensia like that, but she kept plunging into the labyrinth anyway. She pushed past the 30th floor, claiming the rank of Advanced Adventurer. With her party named <Erdas>, she even garnered expectations of following in Allen's footsteps to reach the 40th floor.
And then.
"Si... Sia!"
"Kuh! Cough!"
"Don't push yourself! If you keep squeezing out mana like this, your mana circuit will..."
On the 35th floor of the labyrinth, her party faltered. Determined not to lose her precious comrades, she took the Elder Basilisk's poison head-on and wrung every last drop of mana from her body, barely saving her party members...
"Sia, your mana circuit..."
"......."
Her mana circuit was ruined.
Her party members scattered desperately, each seeking ways to heal Alensia.
Gloria entered the Temple of Light as a cleric to hone her priestly skills and divine power. Daphne traveled the continent, gathering information on elven mana circuits from scattered elves. Bella sought out her kin, the witches, and began researching mana circuits.
"Sia."
"It's Alensia, Master."
".....You won't even call me Father anymore."
She showed cold indifference to her master, who always tried to stop her, ignoring the trembling in his eyes.
"I'll fetch an elixir."
"Master."
"But promise me one thing. Never set foot in the labyrinth again."
".....I can't do that."
"Allen's dead. What you're doing is just self-destruction. What do you even hope to accomplish by going deeper? You'll die for sure."
"I said I can't."
She stormed out of the swordsmanship guild where she'd spent half her life. Then she joined the Labyrinth Guild. While working as an instructor there, she frantically searched for a way to heal her mana circuit.
In the process, she even encountered a theory called 'Resistance Training' proposed by some otherworlder...
And so, ten years passed.
With her mana circuit broken, as time wore on, Alensia had no choice but to accept it.
'Ah, Allen's really dead.'
Deep down, she might have been denying it. She never saw the body herself; it was just her master's word that 'Allen's dead.' But as the years flowed by, she finally clutched her ruined shoulder, shed a single tear, and accepted his death in the corner of her room, belatedly.
Accepting the death of Allen, who had been her everything, she began to face reality. All that remained for the girl who had blindly chased after him was a shattered mana circuit and her party members who toiled for her sake.
Thanks to them, her completely broken spirit slowly regained some stability. Occasionally, she'd even show them glimpses of her old bright self.
"Sia."
"Master."
Around that time, her master visited. Promising to heal her wounds again, in exchange for her abandoning the labyrinth. He'd noticed that Alensia had finally accepted Allen's death.
"...I can't do that."
Even so, Alensia refused.
"Why?"
"Master... Do you know why I chose the name 'Alensia' as an adventurer?"
".....To honor Allen, I suppose."
"That's part of it."
Allen. Her one and only family. The pillar that supported her. The brother who always sacrificed for her. There were only two times he ever openly revealed his own desires, not for Sia's sake.
'Please take me as your disciple!'
The first was when he begged the Sword Saint Cain to accept him, heedless even of Sia beside him.
'Sia, I want to see the end of the labyrinth.'
'The end of the labyrinth?'
'Yeah. You know what? Even Fa... Master's never reached the end.'
'Even Master?'
Sia had been shocked to hear it back then. Even her incredibly strong master had never reached the labyrinth's end.
'That's when I decided. I'd reach the end myself. Accomplish what even Master couldn't.'
'Yeah! You can do it, bro.'
'Haha! Thanks! Sia, don't push yourself. You didn't become an adventurer just to follow me, right?'
'No way, I've met great party members too!'
The second was when he shared his dream of one day reaching the labyrinth's end.
"I will reach the end of the labyrinth."
"......"
"And my name, 'Alensia.' I'll make 'Allen' and 'Sia' known to the world as conquerors of the labyrinth. So no one forgets them. That's my goal."
"...."
"Thank you... always, Father."
"!!!"
That day, Alensia saw her master's stoic expression crack for the first time.
After that, Cain kept visiting, refusing to give up on her, bringing up her treatment and urging her to abandon the labyrinth... but she clung to that single thread of hope.
And then one day...
"Nice to meet you. I'm Ian."
Ian came calling.
"Did Master tell you to stop treating me?"
"........."
"Don't worry. I saw it coming. And knowing Master's personality, he probably offered to take you as a disciple in exchange. Or maybe he's already given you some pointers. Master's surprisingly generous with his teachings."
"....You know him well."
"I've followed in Father's footsteps."
'Like Father,' huh...
'Sia is my daughter.'
"......"
They give off an oddly similar vibe. At first, seeing their frosty exchange, I thought they got along poorly...
Turns out they're just a close father-daughter pair.
"I know Master's intentions. He comes off cold, but he's worried about me."
"Back at the guild earlier..."
"That surprised me. Master rarely brings up Allen... I didn't expect him to go that far. He must really worry to speak so harshly."
"What about clashing swords right away?"
"That's our usual greeting."
That bloodthirsty atmosphere is a greeting?
"You should accept Master's offer, Ian. He seems cold, but he's kind to his disciples. If you become one, he'll teach you properly. Better than what I've got, naturally."
".....Even if that means stopping Alensia’s treatment?"
"Yes. I've already received so much from you. Just getting this far has given me hope. The rest is on me."
"No thoughts of giving up, then."
"Of course not."
With that, Alensia smiled at me. It looked a bit awkward, like she hadn't smiled in ages, but I found myself staring, entranced.
"If I could give up, it wouldn't be a dream."
"....."
"Thanks for listening to my long story, Ian. It's been ages since I shared my past with anyone—feels refreshing. You must be tired today. Get some rest."
"......"
Leaving me dazed, Alensia headed up to the second floor. I trudged back to my room.
"............."
And sank deep into thought for a long while.
"I'll pass."
"Why?"
In the swordsmanship guild's office, I faced Cain. I'd agonized over accepting his offer but ultimately decided against it.
I already had Vivian as a master, and while I was learning the sword, I wasn't aiming to walk the pure path of the blade alone. More than that...
"I can't just arbitrarily crush someone else's dream."
"Understood."
"??"
After making the offer yesterday, now he acted utterly indifferent.
"Aren't you... worried about Alensia?"
"I am."
"Then why not try harder to stop her?"
"Didn't you hear me yesterday? I even brought up my dead son to dissuade her."
Ah, he treats the supposedly dead Allen like a proper son.
"I know words won't sway that girl. And looks like you've heard her backstory."
".....Yeah, something like that."
"I have no right to crush her dream. I'm not her real parent. I just presume to think of myself as her father on a whim."
"......."
'I've followed in Father's footsteps.'
Well, damn.
"You two look a lot alike."
"Nonsense. Since you refused, get out. You're no disciple of mine."
"......."
At Cain's icy demeanor, I grumbled my way out.
Sure, I turned it down dramatically to look cool, but I'm no saint. Among my reasons for refusing was some base lust...
If I stop the treatment, I can't live with Alensia anymore.
Of course, I'd never admit that out loud...
In the end, I shook off my lingering regrets and left the swordsmanship guild.
Watching Ian go, Cain fell into thought.
'Not a bad kid.'
If he'd accepted, I'd have drilled him mercilessly... but whatever. I'd already force-engraved the bare minimum 'basics' into his body. With that endlessly regenerating frame, I could cram it all at once instead of spacing it out. It'll bloom on its own.
Dismissing Ian from his mind, Cain returned to his work.
Then his gaze drifted to a photo on one side of his office.
A stern black-haired man, flanked by a male and female elf.
He thought bitterly. Realizing he couldn't break Sia's stubbornness no matter how he tried to stop her. Cursing his own weakness for being unable to speak the full truth.
Instead, he prayed from the depths of his heart.
That his hands wouldn't claim yet another child.