Chapter 85

The fairy, without moving her transparent wings, was floating in the air, staring intently at us—then, after a while, she flapped her wings and flew right in front of me.

Up close, it was clear that she was modeled after an elf, with the same long, pointed ears as Verlene when she took the form of a white elf.

However, her appearance itself, if I wasn’t mistaken, bore a resemblance to my master. She looked like a younger version of my master.

"The one who offered blood, I will issue a warning. Simultaneously, if you wish, I can guide the human child to the depths. With my power, I can teleport to several places scattered throughout this labyrinth."

(Really... can she do it? If we proceed as is, it will take at least 18 days to reach the 100th floor. If it’s not necessary, we should postpone exploring the middle layers.)

Even after sealing the snake, even if it’s deep underground, leaving unknown monsters in this labyrinth directly beneath the capital would pose a risk in the future.

If we defeat the snake, the monsters it summoned might all disappear, but there’s also the possibility that they won’t—and it can’t be denied that, like in other labyrinths, monsters might spawn independently of the snake.

"By 'places scattered throughout the labyrinth'... can you explain the principle behind these locations?"

Cody voiced his question. The fairy, perching on my shoulder, rested her wings and answered.

"The teleportation arrays created by humans in the kingdom only connect up to the 50th floor. Most of them were destroyed by the labyrinth’s beasts. However, this labyrinth has a 'spirit vein.' Altars are built at the points where the power of the spirit vein converges. Monsters do not touch the altars. This is because the altars carry the power of the snake."

"Is it because they are under the control of the 'snake'? The monsters in this labyrinth are created by the snake, right?"

"Not all of them. Among the monsters in the labyrinth, only a part is summoned by the snake."

One of the monsters that fit this description, with the characteristic of a snake’s tail and which does not naturally occur on the surface, was the Dragon Chimera.

Why was the Dragon Chimera on the first floor? It might be because the snake was trying to completely eliminate the kingdom’s army.

If the teleportation array on the first floor had been destroyed, we would have lost our means of entering this labyrinth. In that case, we might have ended up not knowing anything until the capital sank.

(I can understand why Lowe wanted to borrow our power... He, too, is paying off the debt left by the past kingdom.)

However, that has nothing to do with Miralca. I sympathize with him, but it won’t change my evaluation.

"On the seventh floor, we found an altar. How far can we delve from there?"

"That, I cannot determine until I touch the spirit vein."

"If the spirit vein is the source of the snake’s power, can the snake prevent our teleportation...? I think using the enemy’s power carries a significant risk..."

Following me, Miralca asked the fairy. The fairy, without much delay, flew to Miralca and answered.

"The spirit vein was created by the one who created the snake. The snake can only utilize it. It can draw power from it but cannot control it. The fact that the spirit’s power resides in you is not by the snake’s will."

Hearing this, Sherry seemed somewhat relieved. When facing the snake, she, who harbors the spirit, won’t be controlled by the enemy.

"...I want to be of some help. I don’t want to feel regret anymore."

"Sherry, you’ll be fine. Don’t rush, listen to Dee, and fulfill your role. If you do, it will surely go well."

"That’s right. With Dick around, we won’t make mistakes."

"Are you getting a bit too religious? I’m just a skilled but poor guy. Don’t call me someone who understands everything; I’m far from that."

It’s not good to have too much expectation, even if responding is a given; the weight on my shoulders doesn’t change.

However, when Cody walked over with a serious face and, for some reason, placed her hand on my shoulder, she said, "You said I could be your pawn. I’m working hard to become one, so I hope you’ll use me with confidence."

"Are you bringing that up now...? I feel like it might be misunderstood... Whoa!"

I let out a high-pitched voice. How Cody’s statement about being my pawn was misunderstood, everyone was looking at us with red faces.

"Pawn... can also refer to a horse, you know."

"Ah... you mean that? For Dick, Cody is..."

"Being one with the horse is a term often used to praise strong knights. I want to be my master’s pawn... Should I strengthen my legs to be chosen?"

"You’re misunderstanding terribly, but I have no such intention. Hey, Cody."

Thinking I would get immediate agreement, Cody just laughed. This mysterious side of hers, which she shows from time to time, is one of the reasons for her popularity among noblewomen.

"Being one with the horse, what a nice thing to say, shop owner. If we reach that level, we can finally say our party is complete, can’t we?"

"...If that’s the case, the others are also my... Well, never mind."

"Oh, if I can win, I don’t mind being treated as a pawn. It depends on Dick’s attitude, though."

"Anyway, I’ve been taught by Dick. When I was caught by that slime, I realized I’m completely useless without Dick."

When Miralca’s attitude softened, I realized how my party would end up. And the new member, Sherry, also showed her unwavering trust in me.

"...Sherry, as a fellow guild master, can you sometimes keep me in check?"

"Um... that... I’m good with whips, but keeping Dick in check..."

"Dee, the fairy is getting impatient. Shouldn’t we...?"

"The one who offered blood can do as they please. I haven’t seen a human form in a long time, so it’s intriguing."

The fairy said this expressionlessly. It was a bit surprising that she found it intriguing.

I didn’t think she would answer, but I asked her something that had been bothering me.

"Can I ask one thing? The magic runes to summon you were written in the kingdom soldier’s diary. Did you have any dealings with the kingdom soldiers in the past?"

"...Those humans did not heed my warning and were surrounded by a goblin horde. I thought that when someone visited again, if they were qualified, they would summon me. Until then, I slept. It was a long sleep."

I couldn’t gauge the fairy’s feelings toward humans, but from her words, I finally understood.

She felt sorrow and loneliness as the humans she was involved with died. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have warned the garrison or guided us.

The fairy, having finished speaking, looked at my master, who was standing a bit away. I couldn’t read the emotion in her eyes.

◆◇◆

On the seventh floor—there are no more giant Sandworms like the ones we fought, but adventurers who came down from the sixth floor are battling individuals equivalent to A-rank. They can’t defeat them easily, but with the safety provided by the priests and mages in the rear, they can defeat them even if they take some damage.

"Dee, you seem to have given a lot of advice. Shouldn’t you go?"

"From what I can see, they have the skills. They can also make the judgment to retreat if it gets dangerous. It’s fine. The deputy guild master of the 'Yellow Bull Inn' is also here."

"Deputy? Oh, right. The deputy master of that guild is stronger, isn’t he?"

The deputy master of the Yellow Bull Inn is a dual swordsman, a young woman with a dancer-like appearance. Since the guild master, the owner, was injured and couldn’t leave the guild house after failing a quest, she has been handling the master’s duties.

She is a bit older than Kasumi and already has children, so I considered leaving her on the surface for this mission, but she joined us.

Even from a distance, she spotted me and waved. Training subordinates in shallow floors and bringing back the rewards from defeating Sandworms would be a considerable achievement.

Even if monsters remain in this labyrinth after defeating the snake, if it becomes known as a labyrinth city like Alvinas, many more people will gather in the capital.

However, I’m not particularly interested in this labyrinth itself. Exploring it thoroughly might be interesting, but it’s not my top priority.

I’ll leave the exploration to other adventurers and step in to defeat enemies they can’t handle. If there are more powerful monsters on the floors we teleport to, that is.

Reaching the altar, I turned to the party with the fairy on my shoulder.

"From now on, we will use the fairy’s power and the spirit vein to descend as deep as possible. Expect even more troublesome opponents than what we’ve faced so far. If things get bad, we’ll consider a temporary retreat. We don’t know what the enemy will do."

"Yes, I understand. We can be ruthless from the start when the enemy appears, right?"

"If there’s an enemy that reflects magic, Dee, Cody, and I will handle it. If I judge that we can crush it with magic, I’ll give the order to cast. Until then, everyone in the rear must absolutely avoid getting into melee range and be cautious of ranged attacks. I’m counting on you."

Everyone nodded. Seeing that we were ready, the fairy floated up and approached the magic array on the altar’s floor—then, she transformed into particles of light and merged with the array.

"Converting her body from a material form to a spiritual one and diving into the spirit vein..."

Verlene was amazed. I also felt that the fairy’s power was not to be underestimated.

"There is a path for the spirits’ power in any land, and without it, the earth would die. This labyrinth, too, is alive because of the power of the spirit vein."

Just as Miralca said, the magic array glowed faintly, and the particles of light gathered to reveal the fairy again.

"The spirit vein is mostly intact. However, it doesn’t reach the deepest origin. The snake’s minions destroyed the altars to prevent anyone from reaching them."

"...That’s enough. If we can dive deep quickly..."

"...Then, let’s begin the teleportation. Enter the magic array, children of humans."

Following the fairy’s words, we all stood in the magic array. The fairy’s body began to glow again, and light overflowed from our feet in response.

◆◇◆

No incantation, nothing—after the vision was filled with light, the next moment, the scenery outside the altar had completely changed.

"...What... What is this?"

Despite being underground, light was coming from somewhere, and there was a vast labyrinth with forests and lakes.

Even knowing it was such a place, it took a long time to understand the meaning of the scene before my eyes.

It was undoubtedly a 'city.' From the middle of a tower in the center, we could overlook the streets lined with stone buildings where people once lived.

Even though it was called a middle floor, it was higher than any building in the capital. The floor we were on was circular, with stairs along the outer edge of the circle, allowing movement up and down.

(If we go up this tower, we can reach the upper floors... It’s amazing that the buildings are still intact. What material is this city made of... and it’s incredibly vast.)

I had gradually expected it to be larger, but this was on par with the entire capital.

I had misunderstood the structure of the floating island. People didn’t live on the first floor; there was a city in the depths, and the labyrinth was above it. I couldn’t think of any other explanation.

The technology of the ancient people far exceeded my imagination. My companions were also speechless at the vast expanse before them.

Even knowing that this labyrinth would challenge established concepts, no one could have imagined the appearance of this floor.

"...Such a vast city, yet there’s no sign of people. Only the presence of monsters... What happened a thousand years ago?"

The fairy didn’t answer. There were things she could teach us and things she couldn’t, or perhaps she didn’t know—there was no way to confirm now.

However, the fairy seemed to be showing us the way. In front of her, there was a long corridor running above the city.

"It’s like a corridor in the air... I shouldn’t be surprised, but it’s an incredible feat of technology."

"Fe... It’s so vast, I feel dizzy. We don’t have to search all of this, right?"

"That castle-like place at the end of the corridor... from there..."

Yuma started to speak but swallowed her words. I, too, felt an indescribable sensation when I saw the massive castle-like structure.

"Master, should I summon a flying monster with my summoning magic? We can also pass through the air..."

"No, there’s a barrier. It seems to prevent our interference."

"If we try to attack, it will teleport us to another place. We can’t pass through the barrier without going through that corridor... Is that what it means?"

Yuma, with her innate intuition, and the master, with her knowledge, made their judgments. Even with my eyes, I agreed with their assessments.

With our physical abilities, we don’t need to follow the path to the castle. However, if we tamper with the barrier and get teleported, it would be troublesome.

"Following the open path is the enemy’s trap. But to advance as a group, we have no choice but to go through that corridor."

"It’s better than splitting up."

"If the path is intentionally left open, they think they can stop us there. Let’s shatter their confidence."

Irene put on her gauntlets—her demon clan’s iron claws, which she uses when fighting seriously.

Cody also summoned a sword spirit in advance and held a light sword in her hand. I cast enhancement spells on everyone for attack, defense, and agility.

"...It’s been a while since Dick cast such strong enhancements."

"My body feels so light... Ah, it’s been a while since I felt this sensation."

When you master enhancement spells, you can enhance a person’s abilities by using their own magic power. Normally, you would consume part of your own magic power to create a temporary enhancement effect, but I thought that wasn’t enough and modified the spell myself.

The more magic power a person has, the stronger this method becomes. Even Yuma and Miralca, who usually don’t engage in close combat, see a significant boost in their abilities. Sherry, who originally had S-rank magic power, has even more due to the spirit, and her abilities can be further enhanced.

"...I’m happy to receive enhancements from Dick. Your magic power is so warm."

"Um... It’s addictive, or something. Before the battle, I feel nothing but happiness, not fear. What should I do, Master?"

"That’s too sensitive...? Be careful not to let your guard down."

I patted Verlene’s shoulder casually. She touched the spot I had touched and blushed.

"Ver