135 - The Withered Labyrinth
"Why... why can't people stop fighting...?"
The eighth underground floor.
The interior of the cave had become a waterway due to the water filling the space.
I sat at the front of the boat, staring blankly ahead.
Waterwheels attached to both sides of the boat turned, and behind the advancing boat, other ships followed, secured by ropes.
As the light from the lanterns fixed to the boat flickered, I wore a haggard expression and further—
"...People repeat the same mistakes."
When I said that, laughter echoed from within the jewel.
It was the Fourth Generation.
'No, this time it was a total explosion, Riel-san. Oops, Riel!'
I looked down and readied the bow I held.
Standing up slowly on the boat, I took an arrow from the quiver and aimed.
A sahagin leaped out from the water's surface in front of me. I took aim and released the arrow, hitting the sahagin in the head and sending it plummeting back into the water.
A splash rose, and the boat rocked.
Sitting back down, I moved the boat forward, and Miranda, who was riding behind me, released threads from her five fingers to pull the floating sahagin toward her.
Holding a dagger in her right hand and raising her left, she recovered only the magic stone from the sahagin, which had been pierced between the eyes.
She didn't skin the rest, simply tossing it aside.
Miranda's skill [Wire] is a skill that produces threads made of magic from the fingertips of both hands. One must not think that is all.
After all, by adjusting the thinness and strength of those threads, Miranda can shred monsters into pieces.
Since when had she become able to use the skill? I didn't have the luxury to ask such things right now.
I simply stared blankly at the water's surface.
From the jewel, the Sixth Generation observed my state.
'Riel, you seem quite depressed this time... but I'm not going to comfort you.'
(You don't really comfort me normally anyway. Especially after laughing that much at my grown-up self, and teasing me when I returned to my senses... what a way to put it, just because I was a little troubled.)
I returned to my senses the next morning, after spending the previous day in high tension.
As I woke up and prayed that everything until then had been a dream, Monica said with a disappointed face, "My fever time has ended. I wonder how many months it will be until the next one."
Hearing that, I realized that none of it was a dream.
Alette-san, her face bright red, running away from me.
Aria, occasionally touching her lips and sighing with an expression that didn't suit her usual self.
Clara, who turned red even to her ears when she looked at me.
Eva, who said she couldn't wait for the confession.
Shannon, who looked at me and glared.
Mei, eating snacks as usual. However, she gave me a single skewer.
And Novem, who was more refreshing and beautiful than usual. It's a secret that I thought that refreshingness was a little scary.
Finally, Miranda, who was behind me, placed her hand over her mouth with a smirk.
"Riel, I've made up my mind today, so it's okay if I sneak into Riel's bed, right? You promised to teach me various things, after all."
My shoulders gave a start, and I looked back awkwardly.
"T-today is inconvenient. Or rather, well... uh..."
Miranda, who must have understood everything, continued to tease me.
"And here you said you'd make me happy~"
"Ugh!"
My ears turned red from embarrassment, and I cut the conversation short to look forward.
Seeing this, Miranda seemed to be enjoying herself.
From within the jewel, the Fifth Generation spoke.
'Still, it was good this time. You got to experience growth, and the party feels better than before.'
By tying ships and rafts with ropes and pulling them, we were currently handling the transport within the eighth floor of the labyrinth.
Transporting people and luggage was my current job. This was because, after experiencing the serious battle within the jewel, growth had begun for the group that stayed behind for the boss fight, starting with Clara.
Clara, Shannon, Eva. Mei didn't experience growth, but since most of the members had experienced it, we decided to spend some time warming up.
Having experienced the serious battle in the jewel, although some lingering resentment remained within the party, it felt as though a tentative settlement had been reached.
I remember that everyone except Shannon had refreshing smiles.
As for that Shannon, she was currently glaring at me from the very back of the boat.
Miranda looked on, exasperated.
"Enough already, Shannon. It was bad that you were dragged into it, but I was full up with my own things too. Besides, if you've learned your lesson, you should gain a bit of strength."
Since Shannon would be left alone on the surface, I had no choice but to bring her along. However, she had insisted on participating in the transport within the labyrinth.
While looking at me.
"Riel doesn't know anything! It was truly the worst! Being dragged into it isn't some mild thing! That was hell! It was terrible! To throw a person into hell, and then wake up with a smile!"
(It wasn't me. The one who did that was certainly me, but it wasn't me!)
I couldn't even understand what I was thinking.
However, that state was not normal.
Whether to call it a sense of exhilaration or something else, the feeling that I could do anything clouded my judgment and thought process.
As a result, I ended up kissing everyone...
I hugged my knees on the boat.
"...I can only say I'm sorry."
When I said that, Miranda spoke.
"Ah~ look, Shannon made Riel cry."
At Miranda's joke, her younger sister Shannon flailed her arms. Because of that, the boat rocked.
"I'm the one who wants to cry! After that, everyone had such refreshed faces... it's absolutely strange!"
Miranda brushed back her hair and crossed her legs in her sitting position.
"You should just punch someone too. Your usual frustrations will fly away, you know? Isn't there someone you want to punch?"
Then, Shannon said proudly.
"I want to kick my older sister just once."
Because she said such a thing, Miranda also reached for Shannon's head with a smile. Placing her hand on the head, still smiling.
"Ow! It hurts, Big Sister!"
She began to squeeze so hard that a creaking sound echoed.
The Seventh Generation spoke.
'This is what happens when you say unnecessary things. However, for this girl, this much will probably be dismissed as affection.'
Hearing that, the Third Generation added.
'She did seem happy when being kissed, in a way. Good for you, Riel. Your number of brides has increased. More importantly, you're going to confess to each one properly, right? I'm expecting it, so make it elaborate.'
There was no one to comfort me.
The successive heads of the family were also taking a cold attitude toward me, following the serious battle among the women where it was said a rain of blood fell.
As I let out a sigh, the destination came into view.
The boss room of the eighth underground floor.
Luggage had been brought onto the land there. With several lights prepared, it was a place serving as a temporary base for parties challenging the ninth underground floor, where the waterway ended.
Novem and the others were waiting there, and Aria, Clara, Eva, Mei, and Monica were also working at the temporary base.
Bringing in porters, they were packing materials and magic stones collected by adventurers into boxes and stacking them.
Next, they would transport the materials, magic stones collected while returning, and the returning parties back to the entrance of the eighth underground floor.
As we approached, Eva waved her hand.
――The tenth underground floor.
In the boss room, the party led by Alette was fighting the boss.
Knights clad in metal armor surrounded the boss, a giant snake, and were slashing at it with their weapons.
The snake, protected by hard scales, had eyes that glowed red in the darkness. It coiled its body once, and then, using the recoil to leap high, it soared above Alette and her group and dropped down with its mouth wide open.
The target was Alette, who was giving instructions to the knights.
Alette drew the greatsword from her back and muttered.
"Good grief... [Air Blade]."
When Alette activated the skill, wind generated around the two-handed greatsword. As the wind blew through the boss room, Alette's subordinates moved away from the monster.
"Fall back! The Captain is using a skill!"
As the adjutant made everyone retreat, he watched Alette being swallowed by the snake. In the expression beneath the helmet, there wasn't a single trace of panic.
The monster closed its mouth, attempting to swallow Alette, but—
"It's over."
When the adjutant spoke, blood was flowing from the snake's eyes.
Then, the monster was slowly split vertically in two and fell to the left and right.
The monster's blood splattered around, but bathed in that blood, the knights thrust their fists upward and cheered.
Alette, holding the greatsword in one hand, swung the sword once in front of her before returning it to the sheath on her back.
The surrounding subordinates surrounded Alette as she walked toward the adjutant.
Then, the supports who had been waiting at a distance swarmed the corpse to dismantle the boss.
Taking off her helmet, Alette said one word to the adjutant.
"I wanted the subordinates to defeat it, but perhaps I was a bit too impatient."
The adjutant replied.
"It's still too early. It would be tough for the newcomers to face that thing. Some of them will return to the country in a few months, and while I wanted them to gain confidence by defeating it, there's no point if they die."
Alette and the others had intended to let the subordinates defeat the boss, but because it was more troublesome than imagined, Alette had stepped in.
The innermost chamber.
Once that boss fell, the atmosphere within the labyrinth changed.
As the unique suffocating feeling vanished, Alette looked around.
"It seems it has withered. I don't think it will collapse before we get out, but there are no absolutes in anything. Quickly collect the magic stones and materials, and once we've obtained the treasure, we'll head outside."
When she gave the order, the adjutant ran off to give detailed instructions to everyone.
Then, a subordinate who had checked the treasure ran toward Alette.
"Captain! The treasure is—"
"What is it? Was it gold? If so, we can take it back to the country to help with the financial difficulties..."
The subordinate did not have a face that looked like he was joking, and Alette's expression also became serious.
"...What came out?"
The subordinate, perhaps feeling rushed, opened and closed his mouth, and after steadying his breathing, stated the treasure that had appeared.
"It's mithril! Moreover, the amount is far more than what's appropriate for this labyrinth!"
(Why, of all times, does mithril have to appear now!)
Hearing the subordinate's report, Alette felt a headache coming on—
I, who was near the exit of the eighth underground floor, immediately understood that the surrounding atmosphere had changed.
The [Map] skill of the Fifth Generation underwent a sudden change.
With the [Search] skill of the Sixth Generation, the movements of the enemy monsters became invisible.
As I stood up from my seated position, Miranda also seemed to notice.
"The atmosphere changed, didn't it. It's become kind of quiet."
Monica, seeing our actions, said.
"It's shaking slightly. And there are rooms that are collapsing. As if they shrank in an instant... is this a labyrinth?"
Clara lightly lifted her glasses with her index finger, corrected their position, and looked around with her staff.
"I've dived into labyrinths many times, but this is the first time I've experienced one withering."
Withering—adventurers use the term 'withering' to describe when a labyrinth is conquered and the monsters and treasures disappear.
It varies by labyrinth, but when it withers, rooms with no one in them may collapse and vanish. Also, it seems there are cases where, despite descending dozens of floors, returning to the entrance leads directly outside.
As Shannon looked at the water's surface, she screamed.
"Ah! The water is getting less... it's gone!"
The boat we had tied was lying sideways on the ground where the water had vanished.
The surrounding ships were the same.
I said to Novem.
"...It's earlier than I thought, but we're withdrawing. Pack the luggage into the porters."
Then, Novem replied.
"I've been making preparations since the moment Alette-san and the others headed to defeat the boss. Shall we begin moving immediately?"
I nodded. There was no point in waiting for Alette-san and the others here.
It would be better to prepare a welcome outside the labyrinth.
"No, we depart immediately. The way back is safe too. There's no reaction from monsters. Let's go outside and prepare to return."
On the surface, a full-fledged town was being built.
There was no need to restore it; since we would be using it in the future, we just had to go back.
(I tried participating in the labyrinth conquest, and the earnings were better than I thought. I'll use this as capital to gather information and prepare my equipment.)
I had mass-produced memories I didn't want to remember, but for now, I'll be satisfied with having achieved the objective. Once I return to Beim, I'll spend some time alone for a while.
I need time.
Time to heal my heart...
Novem looked at me with a wry smile.
"Um, wouldn't it be better not to dwell on it too much? Everyone experiences such things, and I believe there are failures, more or less, for everyone."
From the jewel, the Third Generation's voice spoke.
'Novem-chan is kind, isn't she. But, rather than Riel's failure, Riel-san's actions were the correct answer in a sense. Riel, you should try to have that much initiative normally too.'
Absolutely not.
I shook my head and said to Novem.
"...If only I could forget, how happy I would be."
Saying that, I began the preparations for withdrawal.