Camillo’s Case
Camillo first heard the rumor at one of his usual bars.
Adventurers belonging to the Crown can obtain information directly at headquarters or branches, but to get firsthand information, they often visit bars like this.
Therefore, most adventurers usually have one or two favorite spots besides the bars directly managed by the Crown.
Many people go to bars to eat, even if they don’t drink alcohol.
There are also adventurers who don’t drink, but they are mostly young female adventurers, so few people admonish them.
Conversely, if one tries to force them to drink, they are usually looked down upon by others.
Camillo himself can drink a decent amount, so he can blend in at the bar without any problem.
Today, he entered the bar alone and saw a few familiar faces.
“Yo! Isn’t that Camillo! Long time no see!”
“Yeah. It’s been a while.”
Exchanging the usual greetings, Camillo took a seat at a certain chair.
After placing a few orders, he began his information-gathering conversation, but since he joined in the middle of others’ talk, Camillo ended up hearing the story to the end.
This was not unusual for Camillo; it was a perfectly normal scene of daily life.
Camillo heard the story when the boisterous talk had ended and the noise in the bar had somewhat subsided.
“A house that shines in the dark night…?”
“Yeah, it’s said to be in a certain floor of this Maze Forest, and you can see it if you go to the center.”
Hearing this story, told by a man whose face was completely flushed from alcohol, Camillo initially suspected it was another usual piece of fake news.
The man who told the story himself seemed to be half-believing it.
He didn’t say anything further when Camillo showed his expression.
“Well, it’s the kind of story you hear anywhere.”
“Yeah, that’s right. But if the origin of this rumor is clear, it’s another story, isn’t it?”
“…What do you mean?”
As Camillo cast a sharp gaze, the man shrugged.
“Nothing. It’s nothing big. The origin of the rumor is that it’s from a member of ‘Flame Wolf.’ My acquaintance heard it directly and apparently got an easy confirmation.”
At the man’s answer, Camillo closed his mouth.
The man, perhaps satisfied with Camillo’s reaction, didn’t say anything more that day.
***
The day after Camillo gathered information about the “House that Shines in the Dark Night.”
It turned out that two of his party members had also heard the same information.
One of them had more specific details, and since several members of the party were interested in the story, it was decided that they would actually go to the location to confirm it.
Of course, they would also be heading there after accepting a proper request, so they judged that they wouldn’t be operating at a loss.
For some reason, Camillo himself had been drawn to the story since he first heard it, so he went along with it.
And now.
“Twilight Sunset,” led by Camillo, had arrived at the Maze Forest mentioned in the rumor.
“Is this it…?”
“Still, it’s a strange forest that chooses who enters, isn’t it.”
“What are you talking about? Isn’t that what a Maze Forest is supposed to be?”
While listening to his party members murmur such things, Camillo unconsciously offered a silent prayer to the Avatar in his heart.
It was a brief prayer, offered by Camillo, who wasn’t particularly devout, and went unnoticed by his party members.
Camillo himself stepped into the forest with his companions, not knowing why he had done so.
Although it looks no different from the surrounding forest, it has been confirmed as a Maze Forest based on information from the Crown.
Whether such forests accept people involves various factors, and a single answer cannot be derived.
Therefore, many existing Maze Forests remain as forests that still repel people.
The Maze Forest that Camillo and his party entered this time had only recently been discovered, so the procedure for proceeding deeper was even less certain.
Despite this, they intended to move forward because there was already an adventurer party that had brought back information about the “House that Shines in the Dark Night.”
Camillo believed that discovering sights that most people have never seen before was also one of a role as an adventurer.
The members of “Twilight Sunset” proceeded cautiously through the forest, but without any obstacles such as monsters appearing, they made steady progress.
Several hours after entering the forest, the house they were aiming for finally appeared before them.
Moving through the forest at night is dangerous, but since the house itself was said to shine at night, they believed the rumor and decided to arrive after sunset.
Whether their plan worked, it was just before sunset when the shining house appeared before them.
“Is this the rumored house?”
“The shape itself is just like any ordinary house, as the rumor said.”
“We can comment on it later. For now, let’s prepare to camp here. According to the rumor, monsters are not supposed to appear, but you never know.”
The rumor did not mention anyone living inside the house.
There were even some who speculated that the manager of the Tower built it as a hobby.
However, since there was no rumor about the house itself doing anything strange to adventurers, they decided to set up camp near the house.
Afterwards, after sunset.
The house glowed fantastically in front of Camillo and his party.
In the towns on the Fifth Floor, more and more households are using light Magic Tools inside their homes.
Therefore, having light at night is not an uncommon sight, but they had never seen a house glowing entirely.
“…Is this the rumored ‘House that Shines in the Dark Night’?”
Everyone involuntarily gasped at the sight, which seemed as if it were from a story.
It was understandable that some adventurers would aim for the Maze Forest just to see this scenery.
Camillo, looking at the shining house before him, thought that this was why adventurers continued their profession.
Adventurers, for whom life-or-death situations are commonplace, sometimes witness sights that ordinary people do not.
The shining house before him taught him that this too is part of the thrill of being an adventurer.
Seeing the shining house, Camillo felt that he had been able to renew his spirit as an adventurer.
***
Pompeo’s Case
“Damn it! Are you kidding me!! Why can’t I proceed!”
Pompeo, who had rushed to the Maze Forest after hearing the rumor, raised his voice in anger upon seeing the mark he had made earlier right in front of him.
His companions around him also wore expressions of irritation, just like Pompeo.
They had repeatedly tried to advance deeper into the forest, but no matter how much they tried, they were sent back to the same spot.
Some of his companions were already murmuring about giving up.
Pompeo and his party had come to the Maze Forest after hearing the rumor of the shining house because they thought they could obtain rare materials from it.
The rumors only spoke of people successfully navigating the Maze Forest, so none of his companions had expected to be blocked by the forest before even seeing the house.
If they were to be told their expectations were too simple, that would be that, but if they had thought that way, they wouldn’t have thought of obtaining materials from the house in such a short-sighted manner.
Because they didn’t understand that, they also didn’t understand the meaning of a house being built within the Maze Forest.
Ultimately, no matter how many times Pompeo and his party tried to enter the forest, they were blocked and could not proceed deeper, failing to find the house they were looking for.
The reason why no rumors circulated about their failed infiltration was because no one publicized their failure, and whether this was a good thing for Pompeo’s party or not could not be confirmed, as no one saw their subsequent activities.
This is the final interlude in the “Shining House” series.
Although I wrote about a failure as a bonus, it was written to indicate that some people do fail, so it doesn’t hold any significant meaning.
