Side: Meena
After helping the Sacred Birds, and enduring several battles, we safely reached the fourth floor of the Instant Labyrinth. We managed to defeat five Winger Drakes in those previous battles, which means we can have Corner make Gate Stones for us again. I had thought that Evil Drakes, Sword Drakes, and Plate Scale Drakes defeated in the Solpreza Labyrinth could also be used, but apparently, using Magic Stones from An (abnormal species) to create Gate Stones causes their effect range to become too wide. The Gate Stones currently installed are at the Amatista family’s mansion in Memoria and their別邸 (annex) in Feel. Both are located in Rika’s private room. Corner mentioned that if a Gate Stone made with an An Magic Stone were installed, the mansion itself might even be transferred, in a worst-case scenario. We definitely couldn’t use something like that, so I’m glad we were able to defeat Winger Drakes here in the Instant Labyrinth.
“Even after coming this far, we haven’t encountered any Hunters investigating the deeper floors.”
“Indeed. I thought we might run into someone.”
“They entered yesterday, so they might be on this fourth floor, or perhaps they’ve already entered the fifth floor.”
Lydia, Flam, and Carol are discussing the Hunters who are investigating the deeper floors. According to information from the Order at the entrance, about five raids formed an alliance with the approval of the Instant Labyrinth branch of the Hunter’s Guild and began their activities yesterday. This alliance is composed entirely of High Class Hunters. With a force of five G-rank and eighteen S-rank Hunters, it has the strength of a medium-sized alliance. However, even with such strength, dealing with M-rank Monsters is still difficult. I believe they could manage if they were using weapons made of alloy. And this is a labyrinth, so safe areas exist. They say that even O-rank Monsters cannot enter safe areas, so it would be helpful if we could escape into one.
“We’ll think about them if we happen to meet. I, for one, wouldn’t mind cooperating.”
“I agree, but we don’t even know if we’ll meet them. Let’s decide then.”
His Majesty and Yamato seem willing to offer some cooperation if they happen to meet that alliance. While they would benefit from increased safety, they would gain very little in terms of defeated monsters, which is a disadvantage. I believe safety is more important, but the fourth floor also has P-rank Monsters, and M-rank Monsters have been confirmed. This means the purchase price for monsters would be at least several million El. They are likely aiming for a big score, so while it’s unlikely to cause trouble, there’s a possibility of leaving lingering resentment. Yamato is content with securing a certain amount of materials, and His Majesty doesn’t need any materials, so it might not be an insurmountable issue.
“Since they’ve formed an alliance to investigate here, they probably won’t be excessively greedy.”
“Besides, even if they say something like that, it’s instantly verifiable through Questing whether they actually defeated them.”
That’s true, but reason doesn’t work on those kinds of people, does it? Well, there aren’t any G-rank Hunters in Amister who would say such things.
“We’ll worry about that when it happens, but we’ll be camping here tonight. How should we arrange the night watch?”
“Right. The first watch will be Raus, Rebecca, and Carol. The second will be Lydia, Ludia, and Eos. The third will be Prim, Mana, and Flam. And the last watch will be me, Meena, and Athena.”
That seems like a safe arrangement. I’m a little worried about Carol, who has just registered as a Hunter, but placing her first will lighten her burden. And if she’s with Raus and Rebecca, her anxiety will likely be eased.
“No, we’ll stand night watch too.”
“That’s right. We’ve always done it before, and we’ve even done guard duty.”
Emperor Reinhardt and H.R.H. Maruca object, but from our perspective, asking His Majesty and His Highness to stand night watch is too much to ask, or rather, it feels wrong.
“Isn’t that part of being a Hunter? In fact, if we couldn’t even do something like that, we wouldn’t be Hunters at all.”
His Majesty is indeed right. Furthermore, not only Hunters but also Orders sometimes camp out. In fact, Orders have a higher proportion of Nobles than Hunters, and it’s not uncommon for the heir to be registered in an Order. Therefore, there’s no reason why they should be exempted from night watch for that simple reason. His Majesty also stated that he doesn’t want to choose not to stand night watch simply because he is the King.
“Understood. Then, would the watch after Raus’s group be acceptable?”
“Got it. Well, since it’s a safe area, Monsters won’t attack, and no one should be coming down either.”
“And we can use the observation deck and the deck, so it seems very comfortable.”
As His Majesty said, not even O-rank Monsters can enter a safe area, and Hunters rarely enter a safe area after dark. There are some Monsters that only appear at night in the labyrinth, so it’s a different story if they’re targeting those. Also, as H.R.H. Elis mentioned, the observation deck built atop the cabin and the spacious rear deck can be used. This means we can maintain vigilance without leaving the Beast Carriage, which makes it more comfortable than usual. We cannot start a fire, but the carriage has been enchanted with magic to ward off the cold, so as long as we are inside the Beast Carriage, we won’t have to worry about freezing, even in the desert night.
“It’s still a prototype, but Fiana worked hard on it.”
“Precisely because it’s a prototype, you could say we’ve equipped it with every possible feature. And the people in the carriage manufacturing department were allowed to do as they pleased since there were no budget limitations.”
Yamato seemed to offer a wry smile upon hearing that. I heard that the cost of this prototype Beast Carriage is at least six million El. It’s equipped not only with a warming Magic Stone that affects the driver’s seat, observation deck, rear deck, cabin, and Mirror Room, but also with a state-of-the-art stove-type magic tool in the kitchen, a refrigerated storage for cooling food and drinks, and a magic stone in the bathroom for both supplying water and heating it, as well as a shower magic tool. The bedrooms, for their part, have large beds, sofas, tables, lighting magic tools, and bookshelves with Mirroring enchantments. The rooms occupied by Ed and the others even have small workshops. The courtyard is covered entirely with grass and even has a fountain. Luna, being small, sometimes wanders into the living room.
“However, we’re still looking to improve the space. Although it’s already quite spacious, Yamato, Ed, Raus, and several others are expected to gain more wives, and their familiars are also expected to increase.”
“Ah, the precognitive dream of the Holy Mother Dragon?”
“Yes. Normally, we could reduce the number of guest rooms, but considering its potential use by alliances, we would only reduce it by about one room. We could make the bedrooms larger with that space, but the courtyard is beyond our control. Even for Ancient Class, Mirroring enchantments seem to be limited to fiftyfold.”
That is indeed a problem. There are five bedrooms, each with an area of fifty square meters. However, while Ed and the others, as well as Raus’s group, might be fine, our current bedrooms are occupied by ten people, with an additional three expected to join soon. Thus, a little more space might be beneficial. The courtyard is sufficiently spacious, but Sirius seems to have trouble spreading its wings. Jade and Fluorite are also expected to grow larger, so it feels like double the current space would be appropriate as well.
“I see. So, there are such problems.”
“Normally, being able to apply Mirroring fiftyfold, let alone Thirtyfold, is a guarantee of success for a Crafter.”
As H.R.H. Maruca and H.R.H. Elis mentioned, normal Mirroring enchantments are capped at tenfold. Being able to apply Thirtyfold, the limit for High Class, would already result in a flood of requests from Nobles and Traders. However, Mirroring is a magic that expands the original area, so even with greater expansion, there are limits.
“Does that mean creating the prototype was the right decision?”
“Yes. After all, without seeing the actual product, there are many problems that remain unseen.”
“That’s true.”
The conclusion Yamato and Fiana reached to solve this problem was simply to make the Beast Carriage larger. It won’t be a full size larger, but they plan to extend the rear deck at least, and slightly expand the cabin accordingly. Yamato seems to want to increase the Mirror Room to 1,500 square meters if possible.
“It’ll be quite spacious, but considering the familiars, it doesn’t sound excessively large.”
“That’s how large Sirius is when it spreads its wings. And besides, aren’t Jade and Fluorite expected to evolve into An species when they grow up?”
“That’s just the trainer’s prediction.”
If we secure 1,500 square meters of space, I believe the courtyard can be nearly doubled in size. With that much space, Sirius should be fine even with its wings spread, and it should also be fine even if Jade and Fluorite evolve and grow larger. This will make it easier for everyone to form familiar contracts. After returning to Feel, Raus, Rebecca, and Carol have expressed their desire to contract with Battle Horses.
“However, the problem is what to do if we contract with aquatic monsters to pull the ship.”
“Ah, that’s true. Precisiers can crawl on land, but they still need some water.”
“If there are monsters that can’t get on land, it’ll be even more troublesome.”
The biggest issue when creating the courtyard is how to accommodate the aquatic monsters that we plan to form familiar contracts with eventually. The most likely candidate is the Precisier, as H.R.H. Elis mentioned. Precisiers can crawl on land for short distances, so it’s not impossible to have them ride the Beast Carriage. However, since they are monsters that usually live in water, we will need to prepare a sufficiently large body of water in the courtyard. What’s more problematic are completely aquatic monsters. Among Hunters based in seaside towns, there are rare cases of contracting with Éclair Dolphins. Éclair Dolphins cannot even crawl on land, so they are usually released in the town’s port and accompany the contracted hunter’s ship when hunting sea monsters. Éclair Dolphins are C-rank Monsters, but their support from underwater seems effective. They also distract monsters when ships entering the town are attacked, making them popular in some towns, and it’s not uncommon for them to be fed by the townspeople.
“Alka has a lake, so they could be released there normally, but it’s troublesome to think we can’t take just one with us.”
“But we are fortunate to have the option of Alka. In fact, they said they couldn’t bring them when undertaking expeditions.”
I see. Float has a port, so they summoned them to the port with permission. However, being Éclair Dolphins, they were initially surprised. Therefore, that Hunter rarely ventures out from the town they are based in. His Majesty has met them and heard the story of their familiar contract. Apparently, they found this Éclair Dolphin when it was a child, so I understand their feelings. Perhaps due to this, the common Éclair Dolphin has evolved into a rare species called Wraithspark Dolphin, an S-R rank Monster. While the rare species of Éclair Dolphin normally evolves into Tempest Dolphin, due to forming a familiar contract under similar conditions as Yamato and Prim, this Wraithspark Dolphin is more powerful than the Tempest Dolphin, despite being the same S-R rank.
“If it were the An species Disaster Dolphin, it could fly freely in the sky, but rare species can only fly for short periods. However, the Wraithspark Dolphin, while not perfectly free, can fly for longer than the Tempest Dolphin. Moreover, as an S-R rank Monster, she and the Wraithspark Dolphin are relied upon by the Lord.”
So that’s how it is. Hearing that makes me think that Éclair Dolphins might be a good option, but realistically, it’s still difficult. It’s not yet decided who will contract with them, but the issue of aquatic monsters is important to us. I’d like to visit that town, Okeanos, and hear their story.
