Chapter 81

Update ('ω')

After lightly exploring the apartment, we returned to the original street and cautiously made our way toward the main road.

This area seems to be lined with apartments designed for multiple residents, and the narrow alleys give a peculiar sense of oppression as we proceed.

"Turns out there was nothing, huh?"

"It is a residential area, after all."

Marina, somewhat dissatisfied with finding nothing during the exploration, grumbled.

We also went through the rooms on other floors, but there was really nothing of significance.

For historians and engineers, the remaining clothes and daily items might be of interest, but from an adventurer's perspective, there was nothing valuable or precious, such as gold or magical artifacts.

However, we did find a few of those gold rings.

"What are these rings, anyway?"

"Even 'Identification' doesn't reveal anything... The scholars at the Academy are conducting detailed appraisals, so let's wait for the results."

"It would be nice if they were magical artifacts."

Rain, a magic artifact enthusiast, is very interested in the gold rings.

I also hope they are valuable, but they are quite mysterious.

They are definitely made of magical metal, but their function as a magical artifact is unknown, and they are found too frequently to be considered precious.

I would like to ask the local resident, Rouge, about this.

"We're at the main road."

Nene, who was leading the way, gave a small warning.

From here on, there is a large street with little to obstruct our view.

Given our journey so far, we need to be even more cautious.

"Silk, please keep watch with Nene."

"Understood."

Silk's eyes can see through the presence of spirits and magic, and her eyesight is excellent.

For a clear line of sight, it's better to have her help with the watch.

The completely deserted main street is quite eerie as we head toward the castle.

The town area of the 'Orius Castle Ruins Labyrinth' also had a main street.

However, the lack of human presence in the ruins didn't feel odd... but here, it's different.

The streets look as if someone was there just moments ago.

The absence of a single person in such a place stirs a strange unease.

In this case, a more ruin-like setting would be better.

"Creepy, isn't it..."

Silk, who seemed to be thinking the same thing, muttered.

"Really. Rouge said there were still residents... "

"Come to think of it, we haven't seen that old man either. He seemed like a survivor."

Marina turned to me, seemingly remembering something.

"Yeah. He didn't appear in the broadcast either, so it's possible we were seeing hallucinations."

"Is that so? But Rain saw him too, right?"

"Yeah."

If that's the case, it probably wasn't a hallucination.

The magical ring Rain obtained from 'The Colorless Darkness' has the power to protect against mental interference.

If Rain saw him, it might be more natural to think that the old man tampered with the broadcast.

"…!"

Nene, who perked up her ears, stopped.

Following her lead, we also stopped and entered a state of alert.

"I hear something."

"I can hear it too."

We were about halfway down the main street, almost to the central park.

"…That's a crying sound."

"Yeah. A child… no, an infant, maybe?"

I can't hear it, but Nene and Silk apparently can.

Catfolk and elves have much sharper senses than humans, so they noticed it.

"An infant? In the middle of the labyrinth? Could it be a mimic?"

Mimics are extremely malicious magical creatures.

They are a type of mimic creature that can transform into the appearance of injured beings.

For example, when hunting humans, they transform into an injured person and cry out "help me" to lure them into a false sense of security.

"Can't tell. The direction is… that way."

"The church."

The church with the blue roof, which we could see from the rooftops.

We don't know which god it worships, but it is clearly a church.

…It might turn out to be a completely different building, but that's a possibility.

"What do we do?"

Silk looked at me with a slightly tense expression.

"Do you think it's a human?"

"There's a possibility. We also rescued that child, and it's possible that some of the residents of this world have taken refuge in the church."

Silk's reasoning makes sense.

It's possible that someone, for some reason, entered from somewhere and is still here.

Given the level of functionality in this city, it wouldn't be strange for people to live here, even within the labyrinth. From what Rouge said, it's also possible that there are survivors like him.

Furthermore, throughout history, churches and adventurer guilds are often designated as emergency shelters.

If there was some disaster in the past in 'Glad See-Im,' it's possible that the survivors are still in the church.

If they are locals, they might provide more useful information than the mad old man with his strange way of speaking.

"…Let's go check it out first."

After some hesitation, I made a decision.

Even if the source of the crying is a mimic, it will still provide information and might offer some reassurance to see a familiar monster.

"Got it. I'll go ahead and scout."

"Yeah, thanks. But don't go too far. If we need to enter, we'll go in as a group."

"Understood."

Nene ran silently down the main street.

We followed her.

After a short while, we caught up with Nene in front of the church.

"How is it?"

"…It's bad."

The church door was open.

Nene, who glanced inside, turned back to me with a pale face.

How was it? ('ω')

It's getting a bit eerie, isn't it?

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Thank you very much.

【Announcement】

With the start of the busy season, I'm diving into book production and my main job.

I plan to update on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays (I'll work on the book production over the weekend), but with the ongoing situation with COVID, there might be delays.

Please bear with me and watch the updates with a warm heart ('ω';)