I run through.
It’s hard to run because of the mire underfoot, and the sound of splashing mud is jarring.
Right now, I’m running through a corridor that is dark and damp like a sewer and emits a strong foul odor.
This is a special area located a little off the beaten path of the labyrinth. As I pass a centipede-like monster that easily exceeds two meters in length, I swing my sword horizontally.
The centipede-like monster lets out a dying scream and perishes.
The monster, cut in half lengthwise, turns into a Magic Stone, scattering particles of light. I watch it disappear with my Dimension, and continue running without picking up any of its Drop items.
I don’t even glance at common monsters.
My objective is singular. Phobiafly, the boss of this marshland area.
I have confirmed with my Dimension that a fly-type monster about the size of a person is waiting a few hundred meters ahead. I run towards it, panting, at full speed.
“Hah, hah, hah—!”
However, my speed isn’t enough.
Time is not enough.
Defeating the boss will be easy.
Since this is still the shallow tenth floor, I can defeat any monster alone.
What’s not enough is the distance between me and Rustiara, who is running ahead.
The purpose of this Date is to chase Rustiara, catch her, and get ahead of her. I find it incredibly dissatisfying, but for some reason, that’s how it is.
Rustiara, running ahead, is sprinting at full speed just like me, and laughs breathlessly.
“Hah, hah, hah, hahahaha—! Is this the classic chase for lovers? This is a chase, right!?”
It’s not.
It’s not good at all.
Give me back the excitement I felt when I heard we were going on a Date.
However, without time to complain, Rustiara covers the remaining few hundred meters and attacks the area boss, Flyphobia, before I can.
The battle was over in an instant.
By the time Flyphobia noticed Rustiara closing in rapidly, its body had been cut in half vertically. The momentum of her Full Dash, combined with her Strength and the sharpness of ‘Heavenly Sword Noah,’ resulted in an incredible attack power. Even as a Boss Monster, it was impossible to withstand that single strike.
Like the centipede-like monster I just cut down, the Boss Monster fades away.
Within the particles of light, Rustiara stops and proudly declares her victory in the chase.
“Yes! I win!”
I catch up a few seconds later, panting, and voice my complaint.
“No, this isn’t a chase… And more importantly, this isn’t even a Date…”
I still can’t accept that the Labyrinth was chosen as the destination for our Date.
I also can’t accept how, as soon as we arrived at the Labyrinth, Rustiara suggested a chase, and then, for some reason, started reading a script like, “Fufufu, try and catch me,” leading to a quest to defeat a boss with a time limit, typical of game Adventurers.
When I heard “Date,” I had expected to chat on the ship’s Deck or go out in the night town together via Connection. But reality wasn’t that sweet.
Whether she knows it or not—no, she definitely knows it—Rustiara, with a beaming smile, shares her thoughts on the chase we just had.
“Ah, Dates are fun…! After all, this is exactly what lovers do, right?”
“If this were a sun-drenched beach, I wouldn’t have any complaints…”
“Huh? Isn’t this more romantic than a beach? Doesn’t it make your heart race?”
“Well, my heart races because I don’t know when we might be attacked by a Monster.”
Along with my shortness of breath, my heart pounds.
Furthermore, the air in the labyrinth is thinner than on the Ground, so my pulse rate is definitely higher than usual.
Still, no matter how much my heart races, this labyrinth lacks any romantic charm compared to a beach.
The environment is awful, truly awful. For a while now, my nose has been assaulted by a noxious odor, and the cuffs of my shoes and pants are covered in sewage. It’s filled with the earthy smell characteristic of Labyrinth Explorers.
Only Rustiara could call this romantic.
Her sensibilities will never change—and I want them to—so I sigh, give up, and respond to her impressions of this supposedly romantic chase.
“Sigh… But I was actually quite serious, and it didn’t work out. I can win in terms of bursts of speed, but I lose in endurance.”
“I’m confident in my Physical Ability, so I’ll never lose in that regard. Plus, thanks to my mother, I was in good condition today.”
Rustiara picks up the Boss Monster’s Magic Stone and tosses it to me.
During that time, I check our Statuses.
【Status】
Name: Aikawa Uzunami HP 369/369 MP 1312/1312 Class: Explorer
Level 29
Strength 15.97 Stamina 17.78 Dexterity 23.67 Speed 30.00 Intelligence 23.59 Magic Power 53.78 Aptitude 6.21
【Status】
Name: Rustiara Fuziaze HP 923/923 MP 521/521 Class: Knight
Level 24
Strength 22.12 Stamina 21.89 Dexterity 12.56 Speed 15.78 Intelligence 19.23 Magic Power 16.25 Aptitude 6.50
Empowered by Tiara, Rustiara’s overall stats have increased compared to before.
However, she is not complacent with the power she has gained and seeks her next challenge.
“But Physical Ability alone isn’t enough. After all, if I don’t have a specialty Magic, I won’t be able to keep up in battles against the Guardians… I need a finishing move, so to speak. A special attack.”
Rustiara, having experienced fighting both the Thief of the Laws of Wood and the Thief of the Principles of Water, seems to believe she lacks a decisive blow.
No matter how superior her physical abilities, there are limits to physical attacks alone. While Dia and Maria’s maximum firepower could level a town in seconds, Rustiara, being an all-rounder, cannot achieve that.
The “Thieves of Principles” generally have high magic power. Above all, they are professionals of magic in the attribute they are named after. Even Rowen, who struggles with magic, possessed a proper finishing magic move.
I agree that ordinary magic is meaningless against their true “Magic.”
…I agree, but I also think it’s a matter of using each person’s strengths appropriately. It might be my gamer’s perspective, but I feel a team where everyone has high-powered magic lacks balance.
“No, the mistake is trying to fight alone in the first place, Rustiara. You should focus on flanking and disruption, and let your companions deliver the finishing blow—”
“That’s unfair! You get to take all the best parts! I want to shout my finishing move too! I want to yell with all my might at the very end!”
“Ah, I see… So, that’s what it is…”
I completely understand the sentiment. I too have the desire to perform cool “Incantations” from the heart and shout the names of great magic. Honestly, I have it just as much as Rustiara.
Right now, my maximum firepower is probably “Dear Affectionate Flash.” The magic itself isn’t bad. It’s not bad, but… it originally belonged to Rowen, and if you ask me if it’s my decisive blow, I’d tilt my head a little.
Also, this “Dear Affectionate Flash.” Surprisingly, its appearance is understated. Frankly, it’s just swinging a sword. As Rowen also said, it’s just swinging the basics of the Aleis style with all your might. It would be a different story if Reaper supported me from behind, but alone, it becomes a performance appealing only to connoisseurs.
As someone specializing in swordsmanship and support, whatever I do lacks flash. Rustiara is probably thinking the same thing. I’m genuinely envious of the magic of Maria and Dia, which is almost indistinguishable from a game’s special effects, and I’ve been desperately trying to imitate it since our voyage a year ago. The exhilaration of clearing out a large number of monsters at once is probably a privilege of magic alone; it cannot be achieved with just the body and a sword.
“—Yeah. I definitely need my own magic.”
“How can I learn it? …Hmm, I guess I just have to steadily level up first?”
“I suppose so… I already tried and found out that using a fake, ostentatious magic wouldn’t work… This time, I need to create magic that properly utilizes my own strengths.”
“My strengths… Hmm, being a jack-of-all-trades, my body being a ‘Magic Stone Human,’ memorizing all magic, and then—”
Rustiara and I found a common goal and began walking through the labyrinth, confirming it with each other. Although I had been complaining about it not being a date earlier, walking together while thinking of finishing moves is a little fun.
It’s fun—and it’s also calming. In these aspects, we truly connect. Unlike Titty, our tastes are similar, so we don’t clash over move names. Because we can share common hobbies, even a little chat is calming.
Rustiara probably feels the same way. She couldn’t have this kind of conversation with Sera or Ragune-chan. They would probably scold her, wondering why she’s being picky about finishing moves when she possesses such talent. She’s likely often been met with inexplicable expressions when she’s boasted about her hard-earned move names.
We proceed through the labyrinth, having a conversation that only the two of us can have. Along the way, Rustiara stops at a single monster.
“Ah, a Minotaur.”
A large, humanoid monster with a bull-like head stands in our way. I “display” it for confirmation.
【Monster】Carmine Minotaur: Rank 20
This is information I’ve seen before. The moment I finished viewing this information, Rustiara had already severed the Minotaur’s head.
“Come to think of it, we fought this same one when I first explored a labyrinth with Kanami. It’s a bit nostalgic.”
“It was a dangerous opponent back then, but now I can handle it with ease.”
It’s no longer even a fight. Picking up the Minotaur’s magic stone that was defeated in an instant, Rustiara reminisced about the past.
“Maria-chan was with us back then too.”
And then, her face becomes a little somber. When they fought this Minotaur, Rustiara had treated Maria as a hindrance. While it was out of concern for her life, she had condescendingly pointed out Maria’s lack of “aptitude.” However, now that she herself has become weaker than Maria and is a hindrance in battles against the Guardians, she seems to feel a bit ironic.
I watch her from the side. Rustiara, perhaps sensing my concern, quickly shakes off her somber expression.
“Don’t worry. I have Tiara, my mother, with me now. I’ll quickly find my own way to fight, so don’t you worry, Kanami.”
She declares this with a determined look, as if recalling something.
“I’ll catch up too. I’ll definitely catch up. I want to stand beside Maria-chan—”
Rustiara probably regrets not being able to help Maria during her previous battle against the Thief of the Laws of Wood, the Thief of the Principles of Water, and Apostle Sis, the three of them.
“Let’s stop talking about gloomy things. We’re on a fun, fun date right now.”
Rustiara looked at her goal firmly and, regaining her composure, started walking ahead of me. I called out to her from behind.
“Hey, about this date… is this seriously a date? Are you really enjoying walking around here?”
“I am! Compared to being stuck in the Cathedral, of course. The air is stale, it’s dark and damp, and there’s a real danger to my life. Doesn’t it feel like being alive?”
Rustiara, who I called out to, turned around with a smile full of vitality, just as her words suggested.
“Oh, I, I see. That’s good then.”
I couldn’t bring myself to interfere with her enjoyment, so I didn’t argue further.
However, the desire to go somewhere else didn’t disappear.
Honestly, I had always longed for a date with a girl.
If it was a first date, it would be especially special. It would be a memory for a lifetime, so I wanted to have planned it thoroughly. There were plenty of options, like booking a somewhat expensive restaurant and enjoying the night view together.
I remembered how envious I was of the dates my male friends from my old world used to talk about.
Of course, in this Another World, dates at tourist spots or movie theaters would be practically impossible. However, I thought we could have at least gone shopping or seen a play somewhere.
If only it wasn’t in a Labyrinth, I could have enjoyed these trivial conversations more—
“Hmm, I see. You’re saying that the enemies are too weak and it’s too easy, Kanami. I get it, I get it. There’s not enough thrill or unexpected events, is there? Around this Floor.”
“You know that’s not what I’m looking for, don’t you?”
Seeing me walk with a displeased expression, Rustiara said something mischievous.
“Hehehe. Of course, I know. We had a similar conversation before, didn’t we?”
Rustiara confessed that she understood my feelings, but she didn’t slow her pace.
“Ah, that did happen before…”
I felt nostalgic, just like Rustiara.
We had the same clash of opinions when we were walking around Floor 20 before.
Rustiara wanted to go deeper into the Labyrinth, while I wanted to do something akin to harvesting rice.
Back then, we compromised and progressed through the Labyrinth smoothly. Following that pattern, I also self-servingly voiced my demands.
“Rustiara, sorry to interrupt your enjoyment… but I want to do more date-like things. I want to feel more like lovers. Preferably, something sweet and sour rather than thrilling.”
“Hmm, hmm—”
Rustiara put her hand on her chin and thought—and answered without much delay. Perhaps she had already decided from the start.
“Then, to make it more like a date, how about this?”
She stood next to me and took my left hand.
It seemed she wanted us to walk hand-in-hand, like lovers on a date.
If there wasn’t the condition of it being in a Labyrinth, it would have been a perfectly normal idea.
I felt a little nervous at the sudden contact.
Rustiara next to me seemed just as nervous, her voice trembling.
“This is… quite…!!”
“Yeah, quite… quite dangerous…!!”
I was moved by how much more date-like it felt than I had imagined.
Rustiara and I have been together for a long time, but holding hands like this again… it felt fresh.
Because I have various sensing skills, all the information transmitted from her palm entered my mind in detail. Things that I normally wouldn’t notice now felt noticeable. The temperature and humidity of her skin, the pulse of her blood and magic power, the millimeter-by-millimeter movements of her muscles—I perceived everything.
And, above all, the softness of a girl’s skin—its unique low-rebound elasticity made my cheeks flush, and I could tell.
Looking to the side, Rustiara’s cheeks were as red as mine.
“D-don’t look at me too much…”
Unable to bear my gaze, Rustiara turned her face away slightly.
Understanding that she was genuinely flustered, I suggested.
“…If you’re embarrassed, we can stop?”
“I wo-won’t stop. We’re doing this. The date continues as is!”
Rustiara declared with determination.
However, it was clear this was exploration, not a date.
I calmly pointed out the danger.
“No, I want to continue too… but isn’t it dangerous for both of us to have one hand occupied in a place like this…?”
“Hmm. But, both of our requests are being fulfilled…”
Rustiara replied with a strained voice.
It was true.
Rustiara wanted to experience thrill, and I wanted to do date-like things.
Indeed, this fulfilled both of our conditions.
We could both be excited in two different ways.
“…That’s right. Then, let’s go with this for a while.”
I accepted the hand-holding exploration.
Mentally, I set a condition that it would be fine as long as we were in the lower floors where I could afford to be leisurely. We wouldn’t go past Floor 40 today, so as long as we avoided the boss, it should be safe.
“Alright, let’s go! Keep going!”
Thus, we resumed our Labyrinth exploration, feeling like we were in a bit of a special bound play.
However, just a few seconds after we started walking, the exploration became awkward.
My attention was divided by the sensation of holding hands, making it impossible to concentrate on the Corridor before me. The warmth from Rustiara’s soft palm transmitted to me, and a heat many times greater ignited on my cheeks. My heartbeats grew erratic, and our breathing rhythms began to intermingle. Even being so close that our breaths brushed against each other felt oddly embarrassing.
If this were a game, it would be a state with significant penalties to accuracy and evasion. Of course, it wasn’t just that. The weakening wasn’t just physical, but mental as well.
However, she didn’t let go of my hand.
We both desired this escalating passion.
And then, with that momentum, we also fought monsters.
This was another familiar enemy.
It was a Fury, a four-armed monster from the 21st Floor.
The Fury attacked us with a monkey-like roar, but the two of us faced it head-on.
Holding hands, I gripped the Treasure Sword Rowen in my right hand, and Rustiara held the Heavenly Sword Noah in her left. As the enemy’s arm swung up, we charged forward.
If our breathing had been even slightly out of sync, we would have been forced to let go of our joined hands. But our battle began with no discernible difference in our breathing.
This was not like with Reaper or Titty, where we communicated through a “connection.” Our movements were perfectly synchronized.
In sync with the Fury’s attack, we charged low.
As we slipped beneath the enemy’s legs, I slashed at its right leg, and Rustiara struck its left. With its supporting legs injured, the enemy buckled at the knees, bringing its vital points lower. At the same time, we turned and unleashed a single, swift strike.
It was an instant kill.
I severed the enemy’s head, and Rustiara cut its torso in two.
Still in the posture from our attack, we backs faced each other, gauging the impact.
“Whoa?! Better than I expected! Kanami, you really are my best match!”
“Yeah. It was better than I imagined, I’m a little surprised too.”
We defeated the monster as if the handicap of holding hands didn’t exist.
Through this practical experience, we realized this fighting style was not so bad. It was a way of thinking only possible for us, with our superhuman senses, but by touching hands, we could intuitively grasp our partner’s movements. If our partner were to create an opening and be exposed to an enemy’s attack, we could probably follow up by pulling their hand strongly. It made it easier to cast Resonance Magic, and we could also apply healing and support magic to both of us simultaneously.
It might not be such a bad fighting style—with this excuse, we decided to continue our hand-holding exploration and set off again.
We walked with a pleasant, if not skipping, joy.
Along the way, we encountered and fought several monsters drawn by the Fury’s dying scream. But none of them could withstand our synchronized barrage, and they were defeated as we passed them by.
Accumulating magic stones and experience points, we advanced to the 30th Floor.
We navigated a lava zone that sapped our stamina with its heat, and a mineral zone known for its hardness. Rustiara and I chatted about trivial things as we cleared these labyrinths we had conquered before, confirming our own growth.
As we naturally grew accustomed to holding hands, Rustiara spoke to me while we cut down crystal monsters.
“Phew, we finally made it to the 30th Floor. …Oh, right. While we were gone, how far did you clear in the labyrinth, Kanami?”
Her question had a slightly accusatory tone.
She was perhaps scolding me for enjoying the labyrinth exploration, which was her favorite pastime, without her.
“It’s hard to say I ‘cleared’ it, but I have a rough idea of up to the 66th Floor.”
“What, the 66th Floor already…!”
If she wants to complain, she should complain to Palinkron. If I hadn’t been dropped there, I wouldn’t have cleared that far either.
“By the way, the breakdown of guardian floors is… the 40th Floor was Aid’s, the 50th was Titty’s, and the 60th was Nosfy’s. Aid and Titty are gone, so we should be able to place Connections around those floors. Let’s aim for that for now. Oh, maybe we can place one on the 66th Floor too…?”
“Oh, hmm, I see… So, among those, the guardian I haven’t met yet is Nosfy? Hey, what’s Nosfy like?”
What’s she like?
To be asked that again, I was a little perplexed.
The word “malice” came to mind first.
No one had ever directed such malice towards me. She never tried to hide the fact that she was an enemy, always seeking to torment me.
But I knew that wasn’t all there was to her. Something must have happened a thousand years ago to twist her.
However, since I couldn’t recall that event, I felt like I knew nothing about Nosfy.
Reluctantly, I gave Rustiara an assessment of Nosfy based on what I currently understood.
“Honestly, I can’t say for sure… The first time I met her, she was polite and kind, the kind of girl who would be described as a ‘saint’ or ‘princess’… But there’s definitely more to her. She’s quick-tempered, tenacious, and unscrupulous… But I know that’s because she was betrayed and suffered greatly a thousand years ago…”
Rustiara listened intently to my story.
Seeing her eagerness to not miss a single piece of information about the guardians she might encounter someday, I continued to elaborate.
Because it was Rustiara, I didn’t feel the need to hold back.
“A thousand years ago, Nosfy was the ‘Southern’ ‘Banner Lord’ of Fuziaze, leading an army. Their objective was to capture Shiso Uzunami, who had defected to the ‘North.’ Shiso Uzunami and Nosfy… well, they were married, so I think she chased after her escaped husband. I can’t remember, but she’s definitely deeply connected to me.”
I told her about their marital relationship with a hint of trepidation.
I didn’t fully believe this story myself. However, I couldn’t bring myself to hedge by saying, “It’s from a thousand years ago, so it might not apply,” or “It’s just a possibility they were married.”
I dripped cold sweat as I confessed to my lover that my wife existed on our first day of dating.
Then, I cautiously looked at Rustiara next to me.
“I want to meet her.”
Rustiara was eagerly awaiting her encounter with Nosfy, as if pining for a celebrity she admired. There wasn’t a trace of anger or disappointment on her face. Instead, she was filled with joy.
Ah, just as I thought.
This is how she’d react…
I peered into her face, as if to confirm, and asked.
“Um, Rustiara…? I think I just told you something quite surprising… About Nosfy and I being married…”
“Thanks to Mother, I was able to prepare myself mentally in many ways, so that much was within expectations?”
“You were expecting it?”
“Totally. I’ve come to think of you as someone who would do that, Kanami. And, I don’t dislike that side of you, so don’t worry. Rather… honestly, what you just told me was a very fun story. Oh, I can’t stop getting excited!!”
I was slightly overwhelmed by her incredibly broad heart.
No, if I looked closely, I could see that Rustiara’s interest was completely elsewhere.
The fact that Nosfy and I were married was truly a trivial matter to her.
“Ah… Floor 60’s Guardian, the ‘Thief of the Principles of Light,’ Nosfy! Nosfy, Nosfy, Nosfy! I want to meet Nosfy soon!”
Rustiara just wanted to meet Nosfy.
Here, she finally started skipping.
I, walking beside her holding her hand, lost my balance but somehow managed to keep up.
“She’s really in a good mood…”
“Hearing about Nosfy made me reaffirm that being with Kanami is fun.”
Rustiara, who seemed about to hum a tune, explained the reason for her skipping.
“Exploring this labyrinth—a Hand-holding Date is fun, and when we get back to the ship, everyone will be there. After I sleep and wake up, Snow and Dia and the others will be waiting, and there’s a labyrinth we need to challenge. This time, like last year, we can adventure together.”
She must have been suppressing her frustrations from her year at the Cathedral.
She declared that she was going to enjoy every aspect of her new life to the fullest.
“Because Kanami is here, I can truly believe that it will be fun forever and ever from now on. Of course, I’ll get a little carried away and make silly faces.”
Rustiara was probably trying to put on a serious expression befitting dungeon exploration, but her constant smile wouldn’t stop.
Then, while pulling my hand, Rustiara made a wish.
“So, Kanami. Let’s be together forever, okay?”
Rustiara’s shining hair flowed behind her, tickling my nose.
At the destination of her hair, which seemed like light itself, was the face of a girl about to pledge her future with me. She was smiling so happily, holding my hand so dearly—inviting me “forward.”
That “forward” didn’t just mean deeper into the labyrinth.
That “forward” meant the “future.”
I contemplated the “forever” she spoke of.
If we were together forever and ever, we would still be two people in the distant future.
I pictured that scene in my mind—
If possible, I’d prefer a quiet place.
Living together in a small house, blending into one of the scattered farming villages.
With my current strength, building a house myself and living a self-sufficient life would be easy. Ideally, somewhere near the sea.
Or, it wouldn’t be bad to use my possessions to open a shop somewhere. I gave up on being a doctor, so maybe in cooking or fashion. It would surely be very fun if we could manage a shop together.
Such a life in a remote rural area is my ideal, but I’m sure it won’t go as planned.
Rustiara would undoubtedly choose a dangerous region as our place of residence, not the countryside.
She might declare “A Hero is Here” and start acting like a mercenary alone, trying to subjugate troublesome monsters around the world. No, she definitely wouldn’t be alone. Rustiara would invite me and set off on adventures. She’d drag me along, even though I’d reluctantly agree, leaving our newly built house behind and traveling around the world.
Although our life policies are opposite, we, with our fundamentally similar hobbies, would have fun adventuring the world together. Sometimes, my requests might be granted, and we might rest in a safe town or two. At that time, I’d like to have a proper date like real lovers—
Ah, I’m really looking forward to it…
Even just imagining it makes me so happy…
Traveling to various places, seeing various sights, and having various experiences.
Over a long period of time, just the two of us.
Forever and ever together…
“Eternally”—
Smiling back with those feelings, I promised Rustiara.
“—Ah. Forever together, Rustiara.”
When I replied, Rustiara showed me her brightest smile of the day, comparable to the sun, and nodded energetically, “Yes!”
My eyes were momentarily dazzled.
Rustiara’s smile was pure innocence, but my smile contained a hint of darkness. My guilt was painted over by the light, causing me to close my eyes for a moment.
I knew what those feelings from earlier were.
However, since everyone, as humans, possesses them, I don’t particularly avoid them.
But… I can’t help but be dazzled.
Rustiara walks forward.
Believing I will always be by her side, she advances into the labyrinth.
During that time, I continued to watch her profile.
Fuse
