Chapter 117
Chapter 117
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 117
Chapter Title: Sisterly Affection (5)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“The initial preparations are done. Since that's the case, I'm thinking of heading into the labyrinth.”
In the morning, I kicked things off with those words, and as always, the plan was for me, Mina sis, and Karin to head in as a trio.
Riza, who's minding the cafe in our stead right now, had expressed interest in joining, but unfortunately, without sufficient skill, she'd just end up as dead weight, so I turned her down.
Reimi sis said she'd use the labyrinth time to do more research instead, so she skipped.
Mr. Dras turned it down too, saying it didn't seem like his kind of thing, and Cosetica sis had her own reasons—“If I go in, it'll just attract disaster”—so she passed as well.
After all sorts of discussions, we settled on the three of us going in.
“Hm?”
“What's up, sis?”
“Hang on, I see an adventurer I don't recognize. Decent plate too, but it's my first time seeing it.”
“Must be a skilled newcomer who joined recently. Should've asked Cosetica sis about it.”
“...Let's head in for now.”
I followed after Mina sis, who advanced with a somewhat uneasy expression. We couldn't just stop because of some unknown newbie here.
From my previous two visits—where I got kidnapped and the labyrinth itself tried to swallow me whole—I'd wrapped myself twice over in protective magic tools I'd gotten from Reimi sis.
My steps were a bit wobbly from the weight, but survival comes first.
With me up front and Mina sis guarding the rear, we descended vigilantly until we reached that underground sewer-like layer that had looked like guts or an esophagus last time.
Everyone drew their weapons in high alert, but surprisingly, nothing happened at all.
“...So once the event ends, it reverts to normal... Well, not sure if you can call this normal, but it seems to reset anyway.”
“Yeah. The bracelet and first entry were the triggers.”
“My bracelet hasn't changed much either.”
“Then, for the sake of figuring out why this layer of all places, shall we explore a bit?”
A nod.
With their agreement, we started moving like regular adventurers again. Needless to say, Mina sis had it covered, but even I could filter out most physical traps by spreading my senses, and Karin could easily detect weird magic signatures or warped spaces, so we progressed smoothly without a scout.
No chance of tripping traps anyway, and while this was supposedly a high-difficulty layer, with me handling the front perfectly and both all-rounder sisters, no obstacles we couldn't smash through appeared.
“A chest too.”
“Occasional blatant rewards like that pop up.”
“All of them real?”
“Nah. But that one's legit.”
I'd dreamed of chest-smashing in a dungeon once myself, so I approached cautiously, checked for anything off, and opened it.
Inside was...
“A ceremonial dagger.”
“Yeah. We had tons of those at home.”
“Labyrinth rewards. Sometimes stuff from the past turns up.”
“Oh, so actual relics get sucked into the labyrinth and become rewards? Pretty interesting phenomenon.”
No curses attached, and it was pretty and lightweight, so I gifted it to Mina sis.
She let out an impressed “Ooh” as she took the dagger, her face lighting up with delight. She sheathed it and tucked it into her bosom.
Lately, I'd been wondering: when you start liking someone, do you really get happy over anything they give you like that?
What does it feel like to love another person?
Looking at Mina sis smiling so prettily, vague thoughts swirled in my head.
Anyway. Since this incident had blown up without us knowing the cause, we'd decided to fully clear this layer before moving on, which meant investing a ton of time.
And just as boredom and fatigue started weighing me down...
“Uh... Manager. The bracelet.”
“Huh?”
I rushed over and checked the bracelet, and a hazy light began flowing out, guiding the way.
Worth sticking it out for a full clear.
Mina sis and I exchanged looks and nodded. Grabbing Karin's hand in case of surprises, we bolted.
Damn underground sewers, all twisted and tangled—no running at top speed possible. But with this faint guidance, if we didn't make it now, finding the next clue would get tough, so I ran while cursing inwardly.
Karin, being pulled along by my hand, started screaming, so I had no choice but to yank her straight into my arms and keep going.
“...Phew, found it.”
“Yeah. Looks like the real deal, right?”
“Pretty much certain.”
“Eek, ow. What is it?”
As I tried to set her down, Karin—who seemed to want to cling a bit longer—made a half-hearted attempt to hang on, but I gently placed her down, and we approached the stone slab.
“The text is ancient. Even I struggle to translate it, Manager.”
“That old...? From what we've investigated so far, the labyrinth's creation didn't seem that far back.”
“Could be an item from outside that got pulled in...”
“Aha.”
Mina sis's face scrunched up—probably because it was from so long ago. It took her a good while before she shared the translation.
“Skipping the verbose parts: this stone slab was originally in one of the Demon God's lairs. That's why all these waterways and bricks are infused with the Demon God's power.”
“Meaning it got connected here from what'd now be demon territory.”
“Yeah. If this is the labyrinth, the bracelet's a space magic item, and this Demon God-infused space got incorporated...”
The labyrinth itself is made by ripping chunks from various spaces or copying them. That's how places like sunlit plains can appear.
And considering the traces left throughout the labyrinth lean more toward the Demon God than the Goddess, it was probably prepared for the Demon God originally.
But it got mixed with the lake formed along the Goddess's river, turning into this complex space...?
I laid out my thoughts, and Mina sis added one key fact.
“If that's true, then the labyrinth's purpose is to aid the Demon God.”
“...Since its foundation was for the Demon God, yeah.”
“Exactly. Extremely dangerous depending on the situation.”
Then why don't the demons come looking for the labyrinth? If they knew about it, they'd fight tooth and nail to reclaim it, no matter the distance or terrain.
But current demons stick to their territories and the border regions—they don't think of punching through Imir Kingdom or elf lands to push deep into the continent.
So, the most realistic answer is...
“All records here got erased for the demons, right?”
“Could be.”
“Um... Manager. Mina sis.”
“Yeah.”
“So, finding a space magic user is to make me do Demon God-related stuff?”
“Could be.”
“Then maybe that Svetlana demon too...”
“That's iffy. Not many demons know the labyrinth's true nature. Could just be bad luck running into a nasty one.”
At the even worse implication, Karin let out a whimpering “Hiiing.”
If it were that simple, we could hunt her down and deal with it, but she's just some freak who acts on whims if she feels like it.
Unless it's Demon God revival-related, she probably wouldn't even care.
Karin caught on to the type from my subtle expression and gave a wry smile.
“Anyway, I don't think she targeted you on purpose.”
“...And now that you mention it, a bit.”
“Yeah.”
“When I'm alone at your place, Manager, it feels like something's trying to mess with me.”
“Like a prickly zap?”
“Yes, that.”
Then it's almost certain something's hiding in Astraea.
Now that Karin's learned something Demon God-related in the labyrinth, it'll start targeting it aggressively.
“...Let's clear this out too. Can we pull it up?”
“Tough.”
“Can we smash it then?”
“Labyrinth parts sometimes break, sometimes not.”
“Worth a shot.”
Holding the holy sword in my left hand, I took a deep breath, then instead of slashing outright, I pressed the blade and sawed through. The stone slab separated from the floor and thudded down.
Easier than expected.
“Grab and run. Wait, I'll carry it.”
“...It worked. Anyway, let's go.”
Ignoring the dumbfounded looks from Karin and Mina sis, I dashed through the labyrinth amid roars like a beast mourning a lost treasure.
This time, unlike before, we scooped up the panicking adventurers too and made it up to the next layer.
A thunk, and we confirmed the lower layer sealing shut, letting out a sigh of relief.
We handed a few silver coins to the adventurers whose business got cut short unexpectedly and shooed them off, saying we'd report to the guild master ourselves.
“I'd like to store it in my private room, but it's not fully safe anymore since Karin's been interfered with.”
“Move in with me and it's solved. Good at demon extermination.”
“That's a bit...”
At my troubled smile, Mina sis plastered herself right against me and wouldn't let go.