Chapter 24

The magic circle faintly shimmered, filling the room with a mysterious light.

Standing before Aichi in the center of the house, the young man, upon closer inspection, was wearing the same robe as the skeleton on the chair.

"O traveler who has crossed the trials to reach this place, I am Oscar Orkus, the creator of this labyrinth. The so-called rebels, do you understand?"

The one who began to speak was apparently named Oscar Orkus, the creator of the "Orkus Great Labyrinth." Aichi, surprised, continued to listen to his words.

"Ah, asking questions is of no use, please understand. What you see is a recorded image, unfortunately, it cannot answer your questions. However, those who reach this place will become the ones who know the truth of this world, and will also know why we fought... To pass on this information to future generations, we had no choice but to use this method. Please listen. ...Although we are called rebels, in fact, we have never done anything rebellious."

Then, what Oscar began to say was very different from the history taught by the Holy Church and the rumors about the rebels that Aichi had heard from Tsuki. Aichi was quite shocked.

It was a story of the battle between the mad gods and their descendants.

In the era shortly after the age of gods, the world was filled with wars. Humans, demons, and various sub-humans were constantly at war. The reasons for the wars were varied. Territorial expansion, racial values, the desire for dominance, and other various reasons, but the most significant reason was "the enemies of the gods." In an era where races and nations were more fragmented than they are now, each race and nation worshipped their own gods. People who received divine revelations from their gods continued to fight.

However, a group of people emerged who wanted to put an end to the wars that had lasted for hundreds of years. At that time, they were called "Liberators."

Their common bond was that they were all descendants of the gods from the age of gods. The leader of the "Liberators" accidentally learned the true intentions of the gods—the gods intended to use people as pawns in a war game. The leader of the "Liberators" could not tolerate the gods' subtle manipulation of people and the driving of wars, so he gathered a group of like-minded individuals.

They discovered the place the gods called the "Divine Realm." The "Liberators" challenged the gods, with seven members who had experienced atavism and possessed great power at the center.

However, the plan failed before the battle even began. The gods skillfully manipulated people to believe that the "Liberators" intended to destroy the world and were enemies of the gods. In the process, the people who should have been protected by the "Liberators" instead wielded the hammer of punishment against their protectors. The "Liberators" were labeled as "enemies of the gods" and "rebels" and were hunted down.

In the end, only the core seven remained. With the entire world against them, they judged that they could no longer defeat the gods. They then created labyrinths at the edge of the continent and went into hiding. They prepared trials, hoping that someone who could end the gods' game would eventually break through the trials and inherit their power.

The long story ended, and Oscar smiled calmly.

"Who you are and why you have come to this place, I do not know, nor do I demand that you slay the gods. I only wish for you to understand why we rose up. ...Next, I will grant you my power. How you use this power is your choice. Just do not use it to satisfy your evil desires. I have said all I need to say, thank you for listening to my words. Your future is determined by your will."

With these words, Oscar's recorded image disappeared with a hiss. At the same time, something invaded Aichi's mind, accompanied by a headache, but he understood that it was writing a magic spell, so he endured it.

Soon, the pain and the light of the magic circle subsided. Aichi slowly exhaled.

"Aichi... are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine... I feel like I just heard something great."

"..."

"What should we do?"

Tsuki asked what to do after hearing Oscar's words.

"Hmm? There's nothing special to do. Originally, being summoned and the gods' war are just troublesome things. I don't know what this world will become. Find a way back to the surface and return home. That's all. ...Are you worried, Tsuki?"

The Aichi of the past might have been roused by now. But the Aichi who had changed his heart had a different set of values and didn't care about what Oscar said. "Your world's problems should be solved by your world's inhabitants." However, Tsuki was also an inhabitant of this world, and if she couldn't ignore it, Aichi would have to consider various things. He couldn't simply ignore Tsuki's wishes as he had Oscar's. Aichi and Tsuki had an unbreakable bond.

Thinking this, he asked, but Tsuki shook her head without a moment's hesitation.

"My home is here... I don't know about the rest."

Saying this, Tsuki pulled Aichi's hand and leaned against him. The tightly held hand spoke of her sincerity. In the past, Tsuki had devoted everything to her country, only to be betrayed by those she trusted, and no one came to her aid. For Tsuki, the world that had confined her for a long time had become a prison.

The one who saved her from this prison was Aichi. That's why Aichi's side was everything to Tsuki.

"..."

Aichi was a little embarrassed. To cover it up, he coughed and told Tsuki a shocking fact.

"Cough, ah~ I just gained a new magic... I suddenly remembered the feeling of using magic from the age of gods."

"Really?"

Tsuki looked incredulous. It was understandable, after all, magic from the age of gods was truly from the age of gods and had been lost in the modern era. The transfer magic that brought Aichi and the others to this world was also magic from the age of gods.

"Is this magic circle on the floor capable of directly implanting magic from the age of gods into the mind? It seems so."

"Is it safe?"

"Yeah, it's fine. And this magic... seems to be tailor-made for me."

"What kind of magic?"

"This... is a 'Creation Magic.' It's a magic that enchants minerals to create minerals with special properties."

Hearing Aichi's words, Tsuki's mouth dropped open in surprise.

"Artifact creation?"

"Yep, that's right."

Indeed, 'Creation Magic' was used in the age of gods to create artifacts. It was a magic that truly existed for the "Alchemist." In fact, Oscar's vocation was also an "Alchemist."

"Tsuki, do you want to remember it too? It seems that entering the magic circle checks your memory. Oscar mentioned trials, so maybe it's judged that you've passed the trial and can remember the magic?"

"I can't use alchemy..."

"Well, that's true... It's not easy to get your hands on magic from the age of gods, right? Remembering it wouldn't be a bad thing, would it?"

"..."

"..."

"Okay... if Aichi says so."

At Aichi's urging, Tsuki entered the center of the magic circle. The magic circle emitted light, searching Tsuki's memory. Then, it judged whether she had completed the trial...

"O traveler who has crossed the trials to reach this place, I am Oscar..."

Oscar appeared again, feeling somewhat disrespected. Aichi and Tsuki ignored Oscar's monologue and started talking.

"How was it? Did you learn it?"

"Um... kind of. But... creating artifacts is difficult."

"Ah, I see. So, even magic from the age of gods has compatibility issues."

The two smiled and chatted, as if Oscar didn't exist in the space beside them. They were quite pragmatic. The sad expression on the skeleton's face behind them was probably just an illusion, maybe.

"Ah~ Anyway, this place is now our territory. What should we do with that corpse?"

Aichi was completely merciless.

"Um... fertilizer for the fields..."

Tsuki was also completely merciless.

Despite the lack of wind, Oscar's remains nodded in defeat. (Author's note: Readers, please observe a moment of silence for three seconds...)

---

After burying Oscar's remains by the fields, they at least set up a tombstone. After all, using him as fertilizer would be too cruel.

After the burial, Aichi and Tsuki headed to the sealed area. They also took the ring Oscar was wearing.

(We can't really call ourselves grave robbers, since we inherited the relics before burying him...)

Aichi justified it to himself. The ring had a pattern of a cross and a circle, the same pattern as the seals in the study and workshop.

First, they went to the study.

Their primary goal was to find a way to the surface. Aichi and Tsuki lifted the seals on the bookshelves and searched for valuable items. They found something like a blueprint of this residence. Although not as detailed as a regular blueprint, it contained many notes about where things were made and how the structure was built.

"Bingo! This is it, Tsuki!"

"Um-hmm."

Aichi exclaimed joyfully. Tsuki was also pleased. From the blueprint, it seemed that the magic circle on the third floor was directly connected to the magic circle leading to the surface, and it required Oscar's ring to activate.

(Stealing... inheriting it was a good thing.)

Further investigation of the blueprint revealed that there was an autonomous magic puppet in the workshop that regularly cleaned the rooms, and the spherical object in the sky had properties similar to the sun, which could be used to grow crops. The cleanliness despite the lack of human presence was due to the cleaning magic puppet.

The sealed door in the workshop was where Oscar stored the artifacts he had created and the materials he had collected.

(These can be stolen... I mean, they should all be transferred to me.)

It was a convenient excuse to use the items.

"Aichi... this."

"Hmm?"

While Aichi was examining the blueprint and other documents, Tsuki brought over a book. It appeared to be Oscar's diary, detailing the daily lives of his former companions, especially the core seven.

One section mentioned the other six labyrinths.

"So, is that it? Can we also obtain the magic from the age of gods by conquering the other labyrinths?"

"Maybe."

According to the diary, the other six "Liberators" were also preparing to create labyrinths to teach the magic from the age of gods to those who conquered them. Unfortunately, the diary didn't mention what kind of magic they were preparing...

"There might be a way back."

As Tsuki said, this was a very likely possibility. After all, the summoning magic was a transfer magic that transcended worlds, which was magic from the age of gods.

"Right. This is our plan. After returning to the surface, we'll aim to conquer the seven great labyrinths."

"Um-hmm."

With a clear plan, Aichi's face relaxed, and he couldn't help but happily pat Tsuki's head, which made her smile contentedly.

After searching for a while, they didn't find any documents that accurately pointed to the locations of the labyrinths. Currently, the confirmed suspects were the "Great Volcano of the Ancient Luun Desert," the "Hartzen Tree Sea," the "Layson Great Canyon," and the "Shuni Snowfield's Ice Cave." It was necessary to investigate the surrounding areas.

After a while, the satisfied duo moved to the workshop.

The workshop had several small rooms, all of which could be opened with Oscar's ring. Inside were various minerals, unfamiliar tools, theoretical books, and more, all stored in this small space. An alchemist would mistake this place for a paradise.

What about Aichi? He was looking at these items with his arms crossed, deep in thought. Seeing this, Tsuki tilted her head in confusion.

"What's wrong?"

After thinking for a while, Aichi proposed to Tsuki.

"Um, Tsuki, can we stay here for a while? I want to return to the surface as soon as possible... but since we can learn a lot here, it would be best to use this place as a base. Considering our future plans to conquer the other labyrinths, I want to prepare as much as possible here. What do you think?"

Tsuki had been sealed underground for three hundred years, so she wanted to get out as soon as possible. After hearing Aichi's proposal, she was initially stunned but quickly agreed. Aichi found this quite surprising...

"Wherever I am with Aichi is fine."

She said this straightforwardly. Faced with Tsuki's sudden declaration, Aichi barely managed to hide his embarrassment.

In the end, they decided to stay and train as much as possible and equip themselves.

---

That night, the sun in the sky turned into a moon, emitting a faint light. Aichi, fully relaxed in the bath, gazed up at the moon. This was the first time he had truly relaxed since falling into the abyss. This was what people meant by "bathing is a cleansing of the soul."

"Ah~ This is great~"

The bathhouse echoed with a comfortable sigh that didn't seem to come from the current Aichi. Just as Aichi was fully relaxed, he suddenly heard footsteps. Completely off guard, Aichi shuddered. He had said he wanted to bathe alone!

With a splash, she entered the hot spring as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Mmm... so comfortable..."

Naked, Tsuki sat down next to Aichi.

"Tsuki, didn't I say I wanted to bathe alone?"

"But I refuse."

"Wait! How do you know that line?"

"..."

"..."

"At least cover up, there are plenty of towels."

"Better to see directly."

"..."

"..."

"Hehe."

"..."

"R-Really?"

"Really."

"So why do you know that line! I'm getting out."

"You can't escape!"

"Wait, wait, ah, yaaah────!!"

(Oscar: What happened after that is left to your imagination.)

---

At that moment, Kaori and Shizuku

"Ah? Why do I suddenly feel a surge of killing intent..."

"Kaori!? I see a female ghost behind you!"

---

(End)