We, who escaped from the 21st floor, began to rest.
Maria confined herself to her room, and Rustiara quickly went out, saying she had something to do.
I could have used this time to discuss the future with Maria, but she gently refused, saying, “I want to be alone.” I also had things I wanted to think about alone, so I didn’t feel the need to force a conversation.
After finishing the labyrinth exploration, I have a lot of thoughts.
Not only Maria’s and my immaturity, but we also need to consider our skills and magic.
The new magic “Dimension Snow” is fine. Magic “Connection” was also a success. The door placed on the 20th floor is covered with a camouflage black cloth, so it probably won’t break immediately. Unless something extraordinary happens, there shouldn’t be any high-level explorers searching every corner of the 20th floor.
More importantly, the problem is the skill “???”.
After several days without using the skill “???”, the abnormality of that power has become even more apparent.
We may need to be more cautious than to be optimistic that the skill “???” only causes what is shown on the “display.” Using the skill “???” means abandoning doubt and thinking everything rationally, which is nothing less than altering one’s own values. I never thought that being changed without my knowledge could be so chilling.
To avoid reaching a critical level of confusion (10.00), I had been trying to avoid using the skill “???” as much as possible, but I now have even more reasons not to use it. However, unless there is a fierce battle like the one with Teeda, or if I get involved with slaves, I probably won’t need to use the skill “???.” As long as I don’t panic, with my current strength, I shouldn’t find myself in a desperate situation often.
I solidified my future policy for magic and skills and checked the time.
It was still a bit early for sunset, but I decided to head to the tavern for work. Getting information early would not waste time.
I informed Maria that I was going out, changed into new clothes, and headed to the tavern.
The road was uneventful, but as I was about to enter the tavern, I bumped into Rustiara, who was just leaving. Rustiara’s mouth fell open in surprise.
“Ah.”
“Huh, Rustiara? What are you doing here?”
“Ah! I remembered what I had to do. See you later!”
Rustiara quickly walked away.
It seemed meeting me here was an awkward situation for her.
I thought about chasing after her, but I held back. I didn’t know why Rustiara was at the tavern, but chasing her now might make me late for work. Reluctantly, I entered the tavern from the back.
“Christ? Huh? Why are you here?”
Rin-san was waiting at the back. She looked at me as I entered with a puzzled expression.
“Is it bad for me to come?”
“Um, I heard you were on vacation starting today…”
“Hah? From whom?”
“The shop manager.”
“…I’ll go ask.”
“That would be best.”
Vacation starting today?
I had no plans for a long break.
However, thinking back, it was probably Rustiara just now.
I slipped past Rin-san and headed to the shop manager in the kitchen.
The shop manager was in the kitchen, preparing food.
“Manager. Rin-san just told me I was on vacation…”
“Whoa, Christ! Don’t surprise me like that.”
Since I spoke from behind, the shop manager replied with a start. He seemed to have been focused on the pot and didn’t notice me.
“Sorry.”
“No, don’t worry about it. So, about the vacation. I was told that by the young lady from Fuziaze, but was I wrong?”
“The young lady from Fuziaze, you mean Rustiara?”
“Rustiara? Is that her name?”
“No, you haven’t even asked her name?”
“She said she couldn’t reveal her name…”
“Please don’t believe what she says.”
Her actions were very much like Rustiara. Given that I just passed her, the person the shop manager spoke to must have been her.
“Well, she said she was the young lady from Fuziaze whom you charmed, so I couldn’t ask for more details.”
“That woman…”
“She pleaded with me to let you take time off until she could sort out her personal affairs, saying it would be a bother to our establishment. We also had trouble with that Radiant-like person coming here frequently. I agreed without hesitation. She was polite and well-informed about the situation, so I thought it was correct…”
“Ah, I see…”
In other words, she charmed our shop manager with her deceptive act.
Despite everything, our shop manager has a soft spot for beautiful women. Everyone close to him knows this, whether it was Radiant yesterday, or Rin-san, an employee…
She must have been swayed by the beautiful Rustiara and didn’t question it further.
I understood the situation.
But next, I need to consider why Rustiara took such action.
Most likely, it’s to extend the labyrinth exploration time. She seemed displeased when I tried to cut short the exploration due to work, so I’m sure of it.
And another thing. She might be trying to block my information gathering. She has a tendency to dislike spoilers. She might have thought that my gathering information up to the 23rd floor would diminish her enjoyment.
She’s a truly troublesome person.
However, the truly troublesome thing is that she might be unconsciously calculating these two reasons while believing she is acting out of goodwill.
As I’ve spent more time with her, I’ve come to understand her way of thinking a little.
Rustiara must be thinking things like, “Time spent in the labyrinth is more efficient than time spent at the tavern” and “If I get used to exploring with gathered information, the floors beyond the 23rd will be dangerous.”
I let out a deep sigh and continued, speaking to the manager.
“Indeed, she is the young lady from Fuziaze. What she said is not wrong, so it’s fine…”
“Oh, really? Alright, I’ll let you take your promised days off, just as the young lady said.”
“Yes…”
My leveling up on the first day, assigning me to the “Seven Knights of Heaven,” the party participation, the warning to Maria—it all started from her good intentions.
Even though it was interfering, now that I understood it was her goodwill, I hesitated to reject it outright.
However, I intend to scold her thoroughly for her selfishness later. Rustiara probably fled earlier because she knows how pushy she can be.
“Well then, I’ll take some time off…”
“Yeah, get your affairs in order. You handsome devil.”
What an unwanted title…
Come to think of it, I think a knight in the labyrinth said something similar…
I can forgive other things, but I’ll get revenge for this dishonorable title someday.
I swore to myself.
Then, enduring the meaningful gazes of the shop manager and Rin-san, I left the tavern without doing any work.
◆◆◆◆◆
After leaving the tavern, I vaguely looked for Rustiara, but she didn’t show herself, perhaps out of guilt.
Maria also didn’t leave her room.
So, I decided to visit Dia, our last party member.
I passed the hospital reception and walked to the ward where Dia was hospitalized.
As I walked down the corridor, I noticed the surroundings changing.
The corridor seemed to be full of holes…
I cautiously proceeded down the now well-ventilated corridor and entered Dia’s hospital room.
The condition of Dia’s room was even worse than the corridor.
Holes were patched up with boards everywhere, and the floor and walls were scorched and discolored. Many pieces of furniture and equipment were also damaged, and there was no trace of the sense of security and cleanliness from my previous visit.
In this drastically changed room, Dia was relaxing on his bed as usual.
“Dia…?”
“Ah, Christ. You’re here.”
Dia and I exchanged greetings.
He didn’t seem bothered by the disastrous state of the room.
“Hey, Dia. What happened here?”
“Ah, this room… Sorry. It seems there will be some repair costs because of this. Could you pay the receptionist from my share?”
“No, that’s fine. It’s your money, so it’s natural. More importantly, can you tell me what happened?”
“Hmm… an enemy attack?”
Dia asked back in a questioning tone.
I didn’t know either.
“An enemy came? To the hospital?”
“Yeah, it was that girl, Arti. You know, the one who was behind you when you fought Teeda. I fought her.”
“Ah, her?”
Indeed, that would make sense.
Only Guardians can act outside the labyrinth, and the magic she uses is fire-attribute. This would explain the scorched floor and walls.
However, I couldn’t imagine Arti initiating a fight. Rather—
“Did Arti start something?”
“Uh… she didn’t lay a hand on me at all. It was all collateral damage from my magic.”
“As I thought…”
That’s not what I’d call a fight.
It seems that Dia overreacted to Arti, who came to pick a fight.
Come to think of it, when I tried to place the magic “Connection” on the 10th floor, she said, “The main body is busy.” Perhaps she was in the middle of Dia firing magic at her.
“Sorry. We reconciled, but by then, it was already like this.”
“No, it can’t be helped. It was also my fault for not explaining about Arti.”
I was too optimistic, assuming Arti’s interest was solely in me. But now that I think about it, I wasn’t the only one who defeated Teeda. Dia was also part of it.
Therefore, it’s not strange for her to approach Dia, who fulfilled Teeda’s wish.
Regretting my lack of foresight, I asked Dia what Arti had been doing there.
“So, what did Arti want here?”
“Hmm. We just chatted a bit, and she taught me some magic. She’s a good person.”
“Magic?”
“She said my Fire Magic was unbearable and taught me various things. Most of the scorching in the room is from practicing Fire Magic.”
“Indeed, she’s a pro at Fire Magic, but…”
However, judging by the current situation, it seems she didn’t ask anything about “love.”
Perhaps she decided that Dia, with his personality, wasn’t someone he could consult about love.
“So, did your magic change?”
“Yeah, it’s on a different level. I can now adjust the power of ‘Flame Arrow.’ I’ve also regained my grasp of Divine Magic, so I’m not the same as before!”
“Whoa—”
Adjusting the power.
For Dia, who has inexhaustible MP, charging at full power all the time would be fine, but being able to adjust it is still an improvement.
“However, I got yelled at by the doctor for practicing too much and getting carried away. They threatened me, saying I’d die if I did that with mana deficiency.”
“As I said before, please don’t overdo it. It will only prolong your hospitalization.”
“Ugh, I want to avoid that too. I’ll try to be as quiet as possible.”
Dia becomes compliant when the length of his hospitalization is mentioned.
It seems he doesn’t want it to drag on.
After that, we passed the time exchanging recent news.
At one point, I brought up the topic of companions.
“—Ah, right. I’ve gained some companions, so I’ll introduce them when you’re discharged.”
“Companions?”
“Yeah, I’ve gained more people to help with labyrinth exploration. I wanted to let you know early.”
“Oh, that’s great!”
Dia happily rejoiced at gaining companions. When I met him before, he seemed to be pushing for solo challenges, so I thought he might object, but that was unfounded.
Judging by his reaction, perhaps it’s because he couldn’t gather a party before that he has a slight admiration for large parties. However, since the companions he’s waiting for are those two problematic individuals, I decided to lower his expectations so he doesn’t get too excited.
“However, they are a bit strange, so don’t expect too much.”
“You chose these companions, Christ, right? Then they must be wonderful companions for me too.”
As always, Dia trusts me completely.
Unlike Maria, who is cynical, or Rustiara, who is erratic, Dia’s innocent eyes are very comforting right now.
“…Since they have personality issues, I’m worried if they’ll get along with you.”
“I’ll do my best to get along with them. For their sake, I need to hone my magic even more.”
“As expected of Dia… But don’t push yourself.”
He’s too dazzling…
What a good kid. I’m grateful to the gods for letting me meet Dia.
“…However, if they were to interfere with Christ’s dream, I would have a few words to say.”
As I was giving thanks to the gods, Dia’s quiet murmur reached my ears.
“Eh?”
“Ah, if they interfere with labyrinth exploration, that’s a different story.”
“Ah, yeah. That’s true.”
If I heard correctly, he used the phrase “my dream.” I know Dia is a thoughtful person, but the expression felt slightly off.
“Christ. Since you’ve gained companions, your labyrinth exploration must have progressed, right? Tell me about it.”
“Ah, of course.”
However, Dia immediately started asking for details, so I didn’t have time to pinpoint that strange feeling.
Sharing information about the labyrinth was a high-priority matter. If Dia, such a talented magician, could return, I’d want him to cooperate immediately.
I began to slowly and carefully explain the monsters up to the 20th floor.
I had a lot to talk about. What kind of Boss Monsters we fought, the characteristics of each floor, situations where I struggled, and I explained various pieces of information in a digestible way.
By the time I ran out of things to say about the labyrinth, it was completely dark outside.
Finally, I promised to bring him something as a gift during my next visit and left Dia’s room.
On my way out, I paid for the damages in Dia’s room and returned home.
