They managed to descend to the 5th floor in about half a day.
“〈Layer〉〈Teleportation〉”
Keke chanted a spell to return to the entrance of the Labyrinth’s 1st floor.
Torupa (Rayos) and the Queen Ant (Scarlet Queen), who had been holding hands, were also affected by the spell and safely teleported back to the entrance’s vicinity.
At the Labyrinth Management Bureau, they cashed in the monster materials and medicinal herbs from treasure chests (items they didn’t need).
“Wow, we made a killing ♪ Even though it’s just the shallow area (floors 1-10 and 30, as those involved in the labyrinth call them)!”
“I was also lucky to find the medicinal herbs I wanted quickly ♪”
““Haha, let’s drink today~ ♪” “Let’s drink~ ♪””
“……Click click (……Envious)”
In the two-person room they took upon arriving in town, they thoroughly discussed their earnings for the day.
The Scarlet Queen was in one of the rooms prepared by the inn for large monsters and magical beasts.
She understood why Rayos wasn’t paying attention to her, but she patiently waited for him to come for her the next morning.
The inn’s food was decent.
She waited with a burning heart for Rayos to say, “Let’s go,” the next morning.
*Crunch, crunch.*
With her three-fingered limbs, she masturbated while thinking of Rayos.
“Faster…… faster come……♡”
She considered using her skill, Egg Laying, to produce an ant for self-gratification but stopped.
She wouldn’t let anyone but her beloved use this hole.
If she brought in another male, it would be adultery.
She was devoted~♡
“Chiiiiii♡ Chiiiiii♡”
The Scarlet Queen was a higher species.
The magical beasts belonging to other guests trembled in fear at her moans.
The magical beast right next door, in particular, thought, *The walls are so thin, I’ll be eaten, master, save me.*
It shuddered and cowered.
Their masters had purchased and trained these magical beasts to show off their superiority to those around them.
Some were chosen for their looks, while others were reasonably strong individuals.
However, all of them were mid-tier species.
They instinctively sensed the difference in their standing.
But their masters likely thought the Scarlet Queen was just a fattened mid-tier Princess Ant.
“Good♡ I’m coming~♡”
The Scarlet Queen reached her climax and drifted off to sleep.
After a moment of silence from the magical beasts, the inn staff diligently brought their meals, and they finally began to eat.
Then, they went to sleep quickly.
Normally, she would groom her wings and fur and do a little post-meal exercise.
But she went to sleep to avoid waking the higher species with any noise and drawing its attention.
She couldn’t sleep right away due to fear but made herself sleep.
In the two-person room.
Rayos and Keke were reveling in their day’s exploration.
“The surprised expression of that magic ape was hilarious♪ Keke-san, your medicine is amazing♪”
“Oh no, no♪ Torupa-san, it was amazing how you leaped into that group of magic apes♪”
“No, no♪”
“Not at all, not at all♪”
Alcohol bottles they had emptied lay scattered on the floor.
The plates with snacks were also empty.
““Ahahahahahahaha♪♪””
The two were happily drunk.
Looking forward to tomorrow’s labyrinth exploration.
They couldn’t get into bed and, leaning against it, fell into a deep sleep on the floor with a plop.
The next morning.
The two suffered from hangover headaches.
Keke quickly took a detoxifying medicine from his tool bag, which held more than its appearance suggested, for hangovers.
“Torupa-san, please drink this.”
“Ugh…… gulp. ……Oh! My head is clearing up. It’s not just for attacking monsters; there are medicines useful for everyday life like this too♪ Truly, if I could act with you, Keke-san, forever♪”
“I’m sorry, Torupa-san. Once I’ve gathered a certain amount of medicinal herbs, I have a place I need to go. It’s not a labyrinth there.”
“Ah, I see. That’s right. But we’re not parting ways yet, so I’ll be happy to enjoy our exploration♪”
Rayos decided to change his initial plan, hoping to learn Keke’s medicine-making skills.
After finishing breakfast at the inn.
He wiped the Scarlet Queen, who was inexplicably sweating.
They went to the 1st floor of the 〈Labyrinth of Medicinal Herbs〉.
Keke chanted the spell, “〈Layer〉,” and they used 〈Teleportation〉 to jump to their desired floor.
“Alright, let’s hunt monsters again today~♪”
“Kisha~♪ (Please praise my achievements. And, if possible, a reward tonight~♪)”
“If you push yourself too hard, it’s dangerous. As the floors get deeper, the monsters get stronger, faster, and more cunning, oh dear♪ Please don’t leave me behind~♪!”
The two and one beast began their labyrinth exploration from the entrance of the 5th floor.
Exploring the labyrinth would be easier if they bought a map from the Labyrinth Management Bureau.
Keke, however, thought having a map would be problematic for luring Rayos into traps.
Therefore, he never told Rayos that maps existed for labyrinth exploration, nor did he answer Rayos’s questions about whether maps could be created, by saying they weren’t very reliable. He deliberately kept the convenience of maps from Rayos, though he secretly made his own maps during breaks.
He also didn’t tell Rayos that spells could only be activated near the entrance and exit.
“Kee kee”
“You’re here, monkey♪”
“Kisha, click click!”
“Sprinkle a little monster-repelling medicine♪ Torupa-san! There are new ones coming from the back!”
“Whoa! Let’s finish them quickly.”
“Nod.”
“Kiiiiiii!”
“““Kee kee! Kee! Ha!! ”””
Rayos and the others continued their descent to the lower layers by sheer force.
They repeatedly went through intricately winding cave mazes, found stairs, and butchered monsters and magical beasts whose numbers and strength increased, one after another.
On the 6th floor, a pack of wolves, magic wolves (8-12 heads) appeared.
“Cain!”
“Can!”
They attacked with claws and bites from their forelegs.
They had to keep their center of gravity low to land attacks.
If a strike was lucky enough to hit the neck, it was a one-hit kill, slashing upwards as if to scoop them up from below.
If not, they would cut off one of the legs and then, using their opponent’s inability to maintain balance, strike down from above as if crushing their heads.
The passage was not narrow, so today, the Scarlet Queen used her six limbs to slash and trample.
For enemies that kept their distance, she unleashed a wide-ranging rain of formic acid from her mouth—an amount impossible to evade.
By the time it hit the ground, it vaporized and entered the enemy’s body, damaging their cells.
By the end of the battle, the formic acid would dilute enough to walk through.
This was because the Scarlet Queen calculated and controlled the concentration of the formic acid she released.
Truly a higher species. Truly the queen of a kingdom (an ant kingdom).
