◆Dark Knight Kuroki

  At the outskirts of the freedom city, Teseshia.

  The sound of an explosion resounded in the plains that was slightly separated from the highway.

  「I DID IT, KUROKI-SAN!」


  The one who exclaimed with such a delighted voice right now was Kyouka.

  She was currently firing her magic to hit the target.

  After many tries, she managed to land a hit on her 36th attempt.

  Though this seemed natural for other magicians, it was a huge achievement for her.

  Mainly because her magic couldn’t even properly activate prior to this.

  「E~r… Midou-san. I think you can train by yourself afterwards, just to let your body get used to this sensation.」


  I told Kyouka about the plan for her future training.

  「You’re Kyouka’s best teacher, Kuroki-san!!!」


  Kyouka grabbed my hand.

  「Eh, no… I don’t think my little advice is worthy enough for you to call me as your teacher…」


  I felt really embarrassed when she called me “Teacher” just now.

  I mean, I simply guided her a bit, it wasn’t like I taught her some kind of heaven defying secret art.

  The cue that led to all of this happened during last night’s dinner, Kyouka-san suddenly asked me out of the blue to teach her magic.

  However, I personally don’t think I’m suited for that job.

  At first, I turned down her request but I was forced to compromise and limit it to advising her after she sincerely bowed to me.

  This led us to our current situation. We departed in the morning towards the outskirts of Teseshia for Kyouka’s training.

  Kaya and Shirone tagged along with us.

  Once Rena returned to Elios, it seemed that she couldn’t remain absent for any longer than this.

  At present, Regena and the lizardmen were waiting on standby at Quiche river.

  Novis and the others were banned from traveling outside of Teseshia, it was simply to prevent them from creating more trouble for us.

  Kyouka looked for a place to practice her magic, but there was no need for that.

  I mean, the reason for her failure in activating spells was simply because she injected too much mana in, it caused the magic to explode instead.

  This was why I only told her to relax her shoulders when invoking a spell.

  Naturally, telling her this and her actually doing it were two completely different matters.

  Even when she tried lessening the amount of mana, she would still subconsciously inject too much.

  If this was the root of her problem, then the only way to fix it was to let her get used to casting spells. This was a matter of feeling it proper after all. It was something that she had to realize herself.

  Thus, she finally got the “feel” on her 36th try.

  「Let me to try it once again, FIREBALL!」


  With these words, the fireball that came out of Kyouka’s cane went in the wrong direction.

  「MAGIC ERASER!」


  I hurriedly erased her magic that strayed from its supposed orbit. It would be disastrous if a passerby accidentally got hit by that magic.

  「Another failure…」


  Kyouka slumped down. Her mood swings were basically from one extreme pole to another far end.

  「I think failure is a part of the natural process. I mean, not everything goes according to your will in the real world too. You don’t need to feel down just because you failed.」


  I’m consoling Kyouka.

  I felt that I needed to inform her that failure was normal in life. Someone who paved their way through hardship would do better than people who never experienced it.

  「But… Onii-sama and Chiyuki-san can use magic so easily on their first try. It seems like it’s easy as breathing for them…」


  Kyouka complained with a gloomy look on her face.

  「It doesn’t mean that everyone can achieve such a feat on their first try. I mean, I myself failed so many times in the past…」


  According to Kyouka, Reiji seemed to have been able to do everything ever since he was a child.

  However, that didn’t mean everyone could be the same. Every human was born with their own gifts after all.

  I mean, I wasn’t able to succeed on my first try too. My talents were a tad below Reiji’s.

  However, nothing would change if you only kept envying another person.

  All you could do was fight back with whatever means you had in your disposal. Any other parts that felt lacking could only be supplemented with training and more training.

  This was the conclusion that I came with from my slump after I got miserably defeated by Reiji years ago.

  Kyouka was clearly impatient. I mean, she was surrounded by a genius when she alone couldn’t do anything, this making her irritated.

  Her approach in things was wrong from the very beginning, she should’ve taken things slowly. The more she got impatient, the more likely would fail in her attempts.

  This was the lesson that I learned during my training, never be impatient.

  That’s simply why I think telling this to Kyouka would make her realize that her perspective on things were wrong.

  Suddenly, Kyouka made a surprised look on her face.

  「Really? Even though I feel that Kuroki-san seems to be really powerful to the point that you can do anything?」


  「I have no intention to become that kind of broken character. The me in the past was even weaker than Shirone… Will you believe me if I say that in the past and even until now, I still train really hard so I wouldn’t experience defeat anymore?」


  I laughed as I told her about my true feelings.

  I recalled that Shirone used to be stronger than me in the past, I always cried alone in the dojo while mulling over my weak self.

  Even now, I still don’t really feel all that strong

  After I won the fight against Reiji in front of Demon King’s Palace, it felt more like he got defeated by his own carelessness.

  「No, I trust you. I mean, all I hear about you from Shirone-san are the moments when you show your uncool sides. That’s why I know you’re telling the truth.」


  Kyouka was smiling this time.

  I looked back at Shirone and Kaya, both were standing behind us.

  Shirone turned her face to the side, she was clearly avoiding my gaze.

  What was with that reaction?

  「NO WAY! SHIRONE?! WHAT IN THE HELL ARE YOU TELLING OTHERS WHEN I’M NOT THERE~!」


  「Ahahahahaha! My bad, Kuroki!」


  Shirone smiled apologetically.

  「SHIRONE! WHAT KIND OF STORIES ABOUT MY PAST DID YOU TELL THEM?!」


  「Let see~, It’s mainly about the type of porn you hid under you bookshelves and bed…」


  Shirone did her usual scratch on the cheek while looking away whenever she felt guilty about something.

  「W-WAIT A MINUTE! WHERE’S MY PRIVACYYYYYYYY?!」


  「AHAHAHA!」


  Don’t dodge the topic with that wry smile of yours, please.

  Ever since a long time ago, Shirone had always turned my bedroom upside-down.

  On the other hand, she would always get pissed off whenever I tried entering her room. Isn’t that kinda unfair?

  Now, look. Your stories made both Kyouka and Kaya think that I’m a pervert, right?

  I tried looking at the two women’s expressions…


  Kyouka didn’t really seem to be affected by it.

  Kaya… was a little bit scary.

  「Uhm, may I…. Ask a question for you, Kuroki-sama?」


  She suddenly called out to me, I could feel the boiling anger beneath her seemingly calm voice.

  「Uhm, is something…. The matter?」


  I asked timidly.

  「Could it be that you were looking at Milady’s certain parts with lewd thoughts in your mind during training a while ago?」


  Although she was smiling while saying those words, but damn, her smile was so scary.

  「N-No way! I-I definitely wouldn’t look at someone who was doing their best with those kind of lewd thoughts in my mind!」


  I gave an honest answer.

  I couldn’t deny the fact that Kyouka was an extremely charming woman.

  Since the current weather in the western part of the continent was hotter than the eastern part, Kyouka was lightly dressed. For that reason, I couldn’t help but keep glancing at her extremely well developed chest.

  However, I wasn’t lying about the part where I didn’t want to look at someone who was doing her best with a lewd gaze.

  This was why I was definitely saying the truth about the fact that I wasn’t looking at her chest with lewd thoughts!

  I looked into Kaya’s eyes without darting my gaze around.

  「…I see. My apologies, it seems you really are telling the truth.」


  Kaya bowed as she apologized to me.

  「No, I don’t really mind…」


  This woman called Kaya was truly caring towards Kyouka.

  She kept continuously serving Kyouka even after being summoned to another world.

  Their relationship wasn’t merely master and servant, they had something more special in between.

  I was rather interested in learning about these two women’s relationship with each other.

  「But then, that’s really amazing, Kuroki. I mean, not even Chiyuki could teach her magic, and yet, with a single advice from you, she managed to reach this level in just a short while.」


  Shirone told me as she started patting my back.

  To be honest, I was doing my best in suppressing this urge of mine to interrogate Shirone of her deed in telling the others about my past.

  In addition, the one she referred to as Chiyuki just now might be Mizuouji Chiyuki, the one who went to the same high school as us.

  She was a well known figure in our school. A woman with long and beautiful black hair.

  Mizuouji Chiyuki was known as a prodigy. However, I often heard rumors about her stern personality.

  Though I met her before, anyone would lose their willingness to study once they gazed into her cold, piercing eyes.

  Maybe the same things happened to Kyouka. Just like becoming a swordmaster doesn’t equate to them being a good teacher, this also meant that even if a person was a prodigy, it didn’t mean that they would be good at teaching others.

  According to Shirone, in fact, Chiyuki was a truly kind woman. Well, that might be true for the current Chiyuki.

  It also doesn’t change the fact that she had a rather stern personality. That might be why I was so sure that Chiyuki got too scared of her eyes.

  「Well, all I did was just give her some simple advice…」


  It was too simple to the point that calling it ‘teaching’ was an overstatement.

  All I did was tell her to relax her shoulders. I thought that she was already good enough as she was. As for the next stage of her training, people from the magician association could teach her better than me, right?

  Kyouka simply feared failure too much and ended up loading too much mana when invoking her spell

  And here I was, wondering why the other girls in their group didn’t teach Kyouka something as simple as this…


  Then, I suddenly remembered what kind of people were around her. The women around Kyouka were those who often hung out with Reiji.

  In addition, both Reiji and those girls, all of them were prodigies.

  Everyone else in their group might be the type who could do anything on their first try.

  This might be the reason why they couldn’t do anything regarding Kyouka’s situation.

  In addition, she herself started losing confidence upon seeing what the other girls around her could do.

  The reason why she couldn’t practice magic properly was because she was constantly under pressure.

  In a way, she was kind of unlucky…


  「Not at all, the one who helped me use magic is you, Kuroki-san!」


  Kyouka took my hands and jumped in joy as she thanked me.

  「Er, that is…」


  To be honest, I don’t think I did something that great which deserved this much gratitude. But I guess I really couldn’t win against a beauty’s smile/

  「I’m all fired up now! I mean, even the super-duper useless Kuroki-san can win against my dear brother, this is the result of him always striving to be better than before!」


  When Kyouka said these words, I couldn’t tell whether it was praise or not due to the carefree smile on her face.

  I know she hadn’t spoken those words out of malice but… it really stung.

  Putting the fact that I’d told them that in the first place aside, it hurt me when my secret was leaked out by my childhood friend to other people.

  「Then, I just need to train more to get better!! Kaya, prepare more targets for me!!」


  「Right away, Milady.」


  Kyouka released my hands before turning around to face the newly prepared target.

  Well, though some of her actions didn’t make any sense to me, I was glad that she was really motivated right now. At least, she wouldn’t force herself like before.

  Though it was just little by little, Kyouka’s control over her magic had already improved. I guess it won’t take her too long before she masters her own style.

  At that moment, a sudden realization dawned on me regarding an extremely important matter. Had I just created another dangerous opponent for my enemy’s side? Though I’d initially just been caught up by her simple wish, I’d forgotten the fact that she was on my enemy’s side.

  Basically, I would have to fight her along with the other women if Reiji ever came to invade Nargol. And at that time, the target of her magic might be me.

  I couldn’t help but think… had I just dug my own grave?

  「What’s the matter, Kuroki? You look like an idiot right now.」


  Shirone called out to me with her voice carefree as ever.

  「No, it’s nothing….」


  I replied to her, pulling myself out of my thoughts. Kyouka might be able to solve her own problems by herself even without my advice. I guess I shouldn’t worry too much about this matter since I was just accelerating that progress.

  It would be fine as long as I got stronger than I was currently.

  I mean, Kyouka was smiling happily right now after she’d realized the trick to using magic. That’s why I’m happy for her too, even if that progress meant that my life was shortened.

  I decided to be positive.

  ◆Goddess of Wisdom and Victory; Rena

  I’d come back to my house in Elio since my valkyries would ramble non-stop if I hadn’t come back soon.

  My residence in Elios was located on top of a floating island anchored to the peak of the Elios mountain and connected to the main island via a rainbow bridge. There was a lake on my island with a garden at the center of it. This was the usual scenery of my home.

  「Welcome back, Rena-sama.」


  Upon seeing me coming back, my valkyries, led by Nier, came to greet me.

  「Yes, thank you for your efforts in keeping my home safe during my absence.」


  I took off my hood and gave it to one of the angel’s[valkyrie type].

  「Have you taken care all of your business in the mortal realm?」


  Nier asked me.

  「Yeah, I’ve had enough of it.」


  I’d replenished my ‘Kuroki vitamin’ more than enough. I wonder how long it will be till I can see him again.

  「Enough? But… Reiji doesn’t seem have to been saved yet?」


  Nier who followed me from behind asked with a worried voice.

  Why did she suddenly mention Reiji’s name here? It’s unpleasant.

  「I’ve no idea what you are worrying about, Nier. It’ll be fine, he’s Reiji after all.」


  Nier seemed to be puzzled when I turned around and told her so.

  「Is that so?」


  「Yes, it is exactly as I say.」


  I replied to her, filled with conviction.

  Kuroki went into Labrys labyrinth too afterall. As if that Labrys could beat my Kuroki. Him saving Reiji is just a bonus, there’s nothing to worry about when my man made his move.

  That’s why I could say this to Nier with a confident voice.

  「I mean, my knight is the strongest.」


  ===

  ◆Sword’s Maiden Shirone

  Both Kuroki and I dove into the Quice river in the afternoon. Naturally, our goal was to save Reiji and co.

  As for the reason we’d departed during the afternoon, it was because Kyouka-san had booked Kuroki to train her this morning. Since Kuroki might be back right after we saved Reiji and co from the labyrinth, it was why Kyouka-san had asked Kuroki to teach her before we departed to save them.

  Both Kyouka-san and Kaya-san were still training right now. It seemed that Kuroki felt that he no longer needed to give any advice to Kyouka-san.

  According to Kuroki, Kyouka-san was already extremely talented from the very beginning, all she needed was a trigger to awaken her talent and she would naturally understand what she needed to do after that.

  I looked at Kuroki by my side.

  He was currently clad in that hateful Dark Knight’s armor.

  Even though it would be fine even if he kept staying with us without returning to Nargol. But, in this matter alone, Kuroki stood firm in his decision to go back to Nargol. Even though it’ll be fine even if he kept staying with us without going back to Nargol.

  He’d basically ignored any kind of persuasion, even when that persuasion came from me. Could it be that his current condition was also due to that woman?

  Yeah, it was definitely due to that woman. Wait for me, Kuroki, I’ll definitely get you back.

  But it has to wait till we’ve saved Reiji and co.

  Kuroki and I kept diving deeper and deeper into the river. I could breath in the water thanks to the assistance of the water spirit. As for Kuroki, it seems he used the power of the water dragon in his body.

  The one who led us were the Lizardmen.

  After investigating the blueprints of the labyrinth, which for some reason had ended up in Kuroki’s hands, the Lizardmen had found a canal that would lead us towards the labyrinth. According to the labyrinth’s blueprint, this canal was connected to the 5th floor, the place where Reiji and co currently trapped in.

  Naturally, the canal was too small a human to go through it. We might be able to enter if we could turn our body into smaller size but, I can’t use such magic.

  In addition to that, there’s something like a membrane of light which acts like some sort of barrier around the labyrinth. But, that barrier wasn’t flawless. We should be able to pass the barrier as long as we entered via its gap. The most difficult part of this was looking for the gap in the barrier.

  I alone might not be able to find that gap without Kuroki and the Lizardmen’s help.

  We could go to save everyone as soon as we bypassed this barrier.

  I drew my sword, readying myself for battle.

  「Wait for me, everyone, I’m gonna save you soon.」


  I raised my sword, and swung it down.

  ◆Black Haired Sage; Chiyuki

  「What…. happened just now….」


  I unintentionally muttered out loud.

  A moment ago, I’d felt a wave of magical power. It seems that Rino and Nao, who were currently enjoying tea with me, had also felt something.

  「Chiyuki-san…. It seems the barrier has vanished.」


  「I can hear spirit-san’s voice again too, Chiyuki-san.」


  We nodded as soon as we exchanged glances.

  It seems that Shirone and co have come to save us.

  「Is something the matter, everyone?」


  Reiji-kun entered the dining room with Sahoko and Euria.

  「Fufufu, the barrier has vanished, Reiji-kun. It seems Shirone and co have come to save us.」


  The three of them were really surprised when I told them the news.

  「As expected of Shirone. It seems my prediction is spot on again.」


  「Fufufufu. yes Rei-kun, I’m glad that we chose to wait for them on this floor.」


  Both Reiji and Sahoko were smiling happily.

  「Such a thing… the barrier is…. Atla-… doing…?」


  Yet for some reason, Euria was muttering something with a low voice.

  「Is something the matter, Princess Euria?」


  She looked flustered when I asked her.

  「I-It’s nothing! I’ll go to inform everyone of this news at once!!!」


  Euria left the dining room in a hurry.

  Just what in the world was her reaction just now?

  「Since the barrier has vanished, it means that we can finally leave this place.」


  「Come to think of it, Reiji-kun, we might be able to use transfer magic and bring everyone to escape from this place right now!!」


  ◆Evil God; Labrys

  「WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THE BARRIER HAS VANISHED!!!!?」


  I yelled back at the minotaur who came to report about the vanished barrier. Hearing that, the human females in this throne room were trembling non-stop.

  Those females were really irritating.

  They were the females that were kidnapped from their home outside of this labyrinth. They’re my favorite being kept on the 13th floor.

  Though the human females looked much better than other races, they were far too fragile and died from just my caress. The ones who’d managed to survive so far didn’t reach even ten percent of their original number from when they’d first been brought here.

  This was far from enough to appease my raging lust.

  That’s why I’m looking for a tough female. Naturally, toughness alone isn’t enough, they’ve got to be beautiful too.

  I still remember the shock when I first saw Rena’s beauty many years ago. That time I decided to make that beautiful goddess into my wife.

  That’s why I definitely can’t allow that wretched existence called Hero of Light who was rumored to be Rena’s lover.

  Just what in the world is Atlankua doing right now?

  Something must have happened outside since the barrier suddenly was torn to shreds, and yet, there’s no reports coming from her.

  That ugly spider is really useless after all.

  At this rate, it’s only a matter of time before that hero escapes from this place.

  I couldn’t help but grit my teeth in frustration.

  And the one who could erect the barrier again, Zarxis, isn’t in this place right now. I can’t erect a powerful barrier without that guy.

  But, I can’t just let them escape regardless.

  「Tell everyone to not let the hero escape from this place!!」


  ◆Black Haired Sage; Chiyuki

  「What!!? Zuun kidnapped Princes Euria!!!」


  I was currently interrogating Euria’s attendant in Uz’s center plaza.

  The other people had already been sent back outside of the labyrinth with transfer magic. We only know later that Zuun, the minotaur, had kidnapped Princess Euria.

  「Yes, Chiyuki-sama. It happened so fast and by the time I realized, the minotaur called Zuun had kidnapped my princess. Oh, and he left a message for you guys too. Here is his message: “Don’t you dare to leave the labyrinth, otherwise, I don’t know what will happen to her”.」


  Her attendant bowed to me. Even though I can’t see her expression, she looked as if nothing had happened even though she was reporting the matter of her master being kidnapped. Shouldn’t she be worrying more about her master at this point?

  But since she could report this news calmly without being agitated, even after seeing the event herself, I guess she was originally a girl who couldn’t express herself.

  「No, we’ve to save her quickly!!!」


  Sahoko was starting to lose her cool.

  「How dare that sh*tty minotaur!! So he’s just been pretending to be docile all this time huh.」


  Reiji seems to be extremely vexed at the news.

  「Indeed but… I think it’s strange for Zuun to lie about that. We found out that he wasn’t lying when we questioned him before while using Rino’s lie detector magic after all.」


  I also felt that something was off regarding this matter since we knew that Zuun didn’t lie to us. In fact, the treatment he received here was even more horrible compared to the humans who lived in this city so he should have no idea about how to get out of the 5th floor. Plus, I don’t think he can lie to us in front of Rino’s magic. Besides, I couldn’t find a reason for such a kind and gentle minotaur to do such a thing. Despite only having known him for an extremely short period of time, I already regard him as our friend.

  「Look at the facts, Chiyuki. I don’t know what would’ve happened to Euria if we hadn’t come quickly to save her. Since he told us not to leave this labyrinth, that means we only have to go down and go after that guy!!」 [TL : Haah, maybe this guy’s brain is located in his d1ck]

  Reiji spoke confidently, flashing a daring smile on his face. He couldn’t abandon a damsel in distress, and at the same time, he wanted us to go along with him.

  「Then, do you know the way he took to go down to the floor below? I mean, we really have no leads about that.」


  We, who had no idea as to how to get down to the floor below, had no choice but to stay on this floor till we could figure out a solution. But, if we didn’t leave this place soon, the barrier might be erected again. If that were to happen, it wouldn’t be just Euria that would be in trouble. The rest of us would end up in a similarly dangerous situation too.

  I felt bad for Euria, but everyone’s lives were far more important than that of a single person. We should abandon her right now.

  「That might have been true before, Chiyuki-san, but it seems we can go down to the floor below from the bottom of the lake.」


  Nao, who stood by my side, spoke up.

  「The bottom, of the lake?」


  There’s a giant lake on the 5th floor. Does it mean that we can go to the next floor from the bottom of that lake?

  「Yes, no doubt about it. My perception ability has recovered after all. Rino-chan has also confirmed it that the water of that lake was flowing toward its bottom.」


  「Nao-chan is right, Chiyuki-san. I’ve confirmed that the lake’s water was flowing toward its bottom, and continued further below.」


  I guess there’s no mistaking it if both Nao and Rino said so. I looked over to Reiji.

  「Then, I guess we’ve no choice but to save Euria.」 [TL : D1ck brain]

  「Haah… It finally came to this huh… let’s go to save her then. Can you two tell Shirone and co about this matter for us.」


  Euria’s attendants nodded expressionlessly as I instructed them so before proceeding to send them with teleportation magic. Thus, this left me, Nao, Reiji, Rino, Sahoko alone on this floor.

  「Let’s GO!!」


  We started making our way towards the lake.

  ◆Black Haired Sage; Chiyuki

  We arrived at the lake located just outside of Uz.

  「So, the bottom of this lake will led us to the next floor, right?」


  「Yesh, Chiyuki-san. The water is flowing toward its bottom, falling even further down.」


  Nao replied to my question.

  It was the lake we’d visited during our previous picnic.

  The 5th floor had similar brightness as it was above ground despite being underground. This was thanks to the bright luminescence emanating from the giant crystal hanging down from the ceiling of this floor.

  The lake’s water was clear and its surface sparkled like a sea of stars, reflecting the light of the artificial sun. There’s no way a stagnant lake could have such clear water. Seeing this place with my own eyes, I knew that the lake’s water was definitely flowing to another place. The reason we didn’t investigate this important fact earlier was because I’d felt it was too risky to dive into the lake when Nao and Rino’s abilities were still sealed.

  Rino, whose ability to control spirits was sealed before, hadn’t been able to fight underwater. Thus, we still had yet to check inside of the lake. We couldn’t act recklessly by forcing Rino just because we wanted to leave this place.

  「Come forth, Kelpie-san.」


  Rino summoned several Kelpies, a mid rank water spirit.

  Following her command, the lake’s water swelled up, followed by the appearance of grey horse-like beings whose numbers equaled our own.

  「Everyone, Let’s go.」


  Reiji mounted a Kelpie to ride it, followed by the rest. Once everyone was situated, the horse-like water spirit dove under the water.

  The Kelpie was a terrifying spirit that would drag everyone who rode on its back into the depths of the water. But, since we’d already cast magic that would allow us to breathe and act freely underwater, we didn’t have to worry about drowning.

  Following Rino’s orders, the Kelpies continued to five further towards the floor below. The inside of the lake was bright thanks to the several spots of light that appeared every now and then. There were also many fish we passed by that were swimming around freely in the lake.

  Thinking about it now, they’ve served us a carp-like fish for our meal before. That carp was in fact often eaten as an inland-type seafood by the people who lived in the inland area, so it wasn’t limited to this labyrinth. They also had strong vitality and could even survive for a while after being hauled out of water. The most popular way to eat them wasn’t to eat them as sashimi, but rather most recipes involved mincing their flesh and mixing it with vegetables and herbs. Thanks to the varieties of the herbs used, it eliminates their earthy smell and tastes quite good.

  My mind wandered a bit thinking about the fish as we advanced through the blue field, passing by the schools of fish swimming by once in a while.

  「Everyone Halt!!」


  Nao suddenly stopped everyone.

  Realistically speaking, we shouldn’t be able to talk underwater water, but communication magic made it possible.

  「Is something the matter, Nao-chan?」


  Sahoko asked with an anxious voice.

  「There’s something huge ahead of us.」


  When I looked into the direction she was pointing at, I saw something huge was moving at the bottom of the lake.

  「Woaaah, it’s giant turtle~」


  Rino spoke cheerfully at seeing the form of the huge creature moving.

  Just as she’d said, that huge thing was none other than a giant turtle. And yet, the head that came out from its point-shaped shell was similar to that of a lion. I could make out the lines of a huge tusk in its mouth.

  It wasn’t just your normal everyday turtle.

  「It isn’t a turtle, Rino-san. It’s called Tarrasque.」


  I declared it.

  The thing Rino called a turtle was a Tarrasque, a dragon type demon beast. We’d met a Tarrasque once before.

  Normally, it lives in the jungle near Eldia kingdom, a large kingdom located south of the Holy Republic Lenaria. We were the ones who’d subjugated that Tarrasque, but the one we’d brought down before was on land, while the one before us is underwater.

  The Tarrasque was a ferocious and carnivorous demon beast. It could enter the state of pseudo death and survive for a few hundred years without eating anything. The Tarrasque before us might have just woken up from its sleep. It seems that our presence woke it up from its slumber.

  The Tarrasque opened its mouth and before rushing towards us to attack.

  But, it couldn’t catch us who rode on kelpies. We scattered to dodge Tarrasque’s attack and then gathered again at one location.

  The Tarrasque was really slow, and that fact didn’t change even in the water.

  The Tarrasque would take quite a lot of time to change its course.

  「Well, maybe we have to defeat it then.」


  Reiji was looking at everyone’s face.

  No one had a second opinion.

  The Tarrasque was a kind of monster with an absurdly high defense. It’s a demon beast that was born from the union between a mid rank fire spirit, Bonakon, and a Sea Dragon King of Blue Scale, inheriting both fire and water resistance.

  We should be able to defeat it by using lightning element attacks, but that would mean we would get zapped too since we were underwater along with it. In addition, its extremely tough shell invalidated almost all physical attacks. It was the kind of opponent we could beat but it would take a long time to do so.That was why no one had a second opinion.

  「Let me try. Please protect everyone.」


  I guess everything is up to me now.

  I rode my Kelpie towards the Tarrasque to approach it while taking out six cards with runes inscribed on them from my bosom pocket. These cards allowed me to use any kind of magic engraved on its surface.

  The Tarrasque, which had finally changed its course, went towards me this time.

  I ordered my Kelpie to dodge right just as the Tarrasque had almost reached us. Before we dodged, I threw my cards into the Tarrasque’s mouth. The cards sliced through the water and successfully entered the Tarrasque’s mouth.

  「Now Reiji-kun! Attack the Tarrasque with your full power!!」


  I shouted the instructions at Reiji.

  「Roger that, Chiyuki!!」


  Reiji’s light bullets rained down upon the Tarrasque without mercy.

  In response, the Tarraque pulled back its limbs and head back into its shell immediately. All of the light bullets were repelled by the Tarrasque’s tough shell.

  But this was all going according to my plan.

  I invoked the card that was swallowed by the Tarrasque.

  The magic cards can be activated from anywhere and anytime that I wanted and no barrier could interrupt this activation.

  As I triggered the activation for the card, a small shock wave generated inside the lake with the Tarrasque at its center. The Tarrasque that had previously pulled in its limbs and head into its shell was now floating upside down in its spot.

  The cards that the Tarrasque has swallowed were loaded with hundreds of air bullets each. Since the Tarrasque swallowed six of them, the inside of its body was destroyed by the sudden onslaught it couldn’t defend against. Additionally, thanks to the Tarrasque being so kind as to hide in its shell, the violent bullets of air were limited to the inside of the Tarrasque’s shell without affecting us whatsoever. Everything had gone according to my plan.

  I hadn’t heard anything regarding this Tarrasque from the citizens of Uz. More than likely, this Tarrasque had been sleeping at the bottom of this lake for a very long time, maybe hundreds of years. It might’ve been placed in this place to kill anyone who tried to go to the floor below and it was probably why it woke up when we came to this place.

  I’m sure that it was sleeping because it was hungry for a very long time.

  「I wonder what became of its stomach now?」


  I couldn’t help but laugh at the condition of the Tarrasque now.

  「Splendid.」


  Reiji came to my side.

  「As expected of Chiyuki-san.」


  「That turtle-san is no match for you.」


  「That’s amazing, Chiyuki-san. Now we can go to the next floor.」


  Everyone offered their praise for me.

  「Let’s get going.」


  Having taken care of the obstacle, we continued towards the bottom of the lake, and then further below to the next floor.

  ◆Dark Knight Kuroki

  「Hu~m. So Reiji-kun went down to the next floor to save the Princess called Euria.」


  We were currently gathering in a room within Rena’s Temple in Republic Ariadya. Shirone was currently listening to the report from the attendants regarding the one named Princess Euria. After we’d broken the barrier, everyone who was held captive in the labyrinth was teleported to Rena’s temple.

  Looking around Ariadya, everyone was so delighted and sang praises for the hero Reiji. The one’s who’d come last were Princess Euria’s attendants, who informed us that Reiji had gone down to the lower floor of the labyrinth to save the kidnapped Princess.

  By the way, the only ones in the room currently were me, Shirone, Kyouka, Kaya, Regena, and five of Euria’s attendants.

  「Yes. Reiji-sama went to save our princess. Shirone-sama, please assist him to save our princess too.」


  They made such a brazen request with a face devoid of any emotion. I mean, even Kaya, who was currently standing next to me, would show at least a slight change in her expression. Comparatively, these attendants looked and felt like emotionless dolls.

  「Do I really need to save her? I mean, that princess called Euria is the daughter of an evil god, right? We heard everything from Atlankua.」


  All five of the attendants visibly trembled at hearing Shirone’s words. Their jaw moved slightly, but Kaya moved even faster than they did, knocking out the five within a second and causing them to vomit out the thing in their mouths.

  I moved in closer to take a look at the thing they’d been forced to spew out.

  「Is this poison? Maybe they were ordered to commit suicide if the truth was revealed…」


  The thing they’d spewed out was definitely poison, perhaps the kind that was planted in their molar to be used to commit suicide. They might have been ordered to swallow the poison if the truth were to be revealed.

  「Poor thing.」


  Kyouka spoke softly while overlooking the unconscious attendants. They were being treated as disposable tools. Maybe their minds were blinded by some sort of magic.

  People often misunderstood Kyouka due to her high states, but, once I’d talked to her, I’d come to realize that she was, in fact, a really kind girl. She was worried about those attendants.

  「What shall we do then, Shirone?」


  I still chose to ask despite already being aware of what her answer would be.

  「Naturally, we’re going to save them, Kuroki!!」


  I’ve long since been aware that Shirone would give such a straightforward answer in this kind of situation. Even worse, it seems like she’s already decided on her own that I will come with her.

  I’m actually somewhat reluctant to go save them, but Nut was also being carried along with them so it left me no choice but to go with Shirone.

  「Let me in too, Shirone-san!」


  Kyouka was trying to go with us too.

  「You can’t, milady. It’s too dangerous.」


  Kaya immediately raised an objection.

  「Tell me why I can’t go too, Kaya!! I mean, I can use magic too!!」


  Despite Kyouka’s plea, Kaya simply shook her head expressionlessly, flat out rejecting her request for participation.

  「You can’t, milady. Your magic is still unstable and you’ve yet to be able to land a hit on the target. Diving into that labyrinth with such unstable power is simply too dangerous.」


  「Uuuh…」


  Kyouka looks about ready to cry from Kaya’s harsh words of reality. But, in the end, Kaya was right. Kyouka’s magic was still unstable and it was too dangerous to take her along to dive into the labyrinth.

  「Kyouka-san, will you be standing by here with Kaya-san? There’s something that I’m worrying about.」


  I decided to send a lifeboat to Kaya.

  「Something you’re worrying about?」


  「Yes, there might be another spy above the ground, people like Atlankua. There’s a high possibility that Shirone and I might be locked up inside of the labyrinth too. That’s why, can I ask your help to secure our path for retreat?」


  I looked at Kyouka.

  My words were half lie and half true.

  I couldn’t take Kyouka along since her power was still unstable. And, if Atlankua wasn’t lying, Zarxis should still be wandering around in this area. She had said that Zarxis wasn’t currently in the labyrinth but had no idea about his current position.

  This was why the part about needing someone to stand by outside to observe the situation was more or less the truth.

  「Yes. I understand… I guess I really have no choice but to stay as Kuroki-san had said.」


  Kyouka said those words with a slightly disappointed face.

  「And lastly, Regena, can I leave the matter of commanding the Lizardmen to you?」


  「Acknowledged, Master.」


  Regena replied promptly.

  「Huhu~m, that mean Kuroki and I will be the only ones who dive into the labyrinth.」


  Shirone said so delightfully.

  「Well, it seems to be that way…」


  Since both Kaya and Kyouka were on stand by outside of the labyrinth, the job to dive into the labyrinth naturally fell onto me and Shirone.

  「Let’s do our best to save Reiji-kun and co, Kuroki!!」


  Shirone took my hand in hers, her eyes sparkling with excitement in the face of a new adventure before her.

  「O-O~h.」


  And the poor me ended up getting flustered due to her forceful nature. Is it really that you can’t wait to save Reiji?

  I can’t help but feel complicated inside.

  「I never expected to be able to work along with you. Doesn’t that remind you of the adventure during our childhood, Kuroki?」


  Shirone spoke merrily with a carefree expression despite the danger awaiting them within the depths of the labyrinth.

  It seems that Shirone’s ability to sense danger was infinitely close to zero.

  But, she’s right. I really missed those old days when we were just running around the small hill close to our house and having play adventures with Shirone. Plus, it has been a really long time since it’s just been the two of us alone.

  Even though we were used to playing around together frequently in our childhood, we barely exchanged words now after growing up. Of course, the reason being that Shirone was always hanging around Reiji.

  Since I don’t have that many friends, I often ended up being alone by myself. Even now, I still remember some of those times.

  I didn’t even celebrate Christmas after Shirone didn’t hang out with me anymore. Besides that, there were still dozens of those lonely memories in my mind.

  I felt so lonely during those times, but it really couldn’t be helped in the end. Afterall, Shirone has found someone she likes.

  Besides, the current me isn’t alone anymore. I’ve got Kuna by my side. It’s been a while since I got to see her and I already miss her so much that my heart feels like it would burst. I guess I’ll return as soon as I’m done taking care of this trouble.

  「Let’s go, Kuroki!! We’ll definitely save Reiji-kun and co this time!!」


  Shirone flashed a bright smile towards me.

  I simply nodded in response.

  Thus, I entered the labyrinth while recalling the nostalgic memories of adventuring with Shirone in the past. I’m almost convinced right now that this adventure might possibly be my last adventure with Shirone.