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Hometown of Life Is the Territory of Death
After being attacked by Glutton and Eclair’s team, together with my duel against the black-haired female samurai Chidori-san, we all opted to take a day off. Now that this day had passed, I, the Dark Knight Alba, went down to the bottomless labyrinth with my two allies, now reaching the third floor.
“Whoa!”
Ultramarine color filled my view, urging me to let out a voice of admiration. I was a bit shocked to see a sea of trees on the second floor, but this third floor was even more surreal. The ground was made of white stone, but the walls and ceiling were made of water. It’s like we were passing through a tunnel in the middle of the ocean. Either way, this was a sight you’d rarely get to experience in life.
“This beauty must be seen rather than be told, yes?”
“If we weren’t inside the labyrinth, I’d be bringing out some lunch right now.”
The elf magician Rufa and dwarf warrior Garnet were equally taken in by this beauty and forgot themselves. Still, this sure is a weird passage. My curiosity got the better of me, as I reached for the blue wall with my finger. As a result, it got sucked into the wet wall.
“Wah?!”
I frantically pulled back my fingers. I thought it was just a translucent wall, but that wasn’t it. Is there some weird power at work that keeps the water in shape like that? This time, I pushed my whole hand inside, as water started dripping out of my armor’s gaps. It’s cold…But there’s no pain, so it’s probably not poison and just regular water. Now you might be able to swim inside of it. But as I was thinking that, Garnet and Rufa pulled me away from the wall of water.
“Alba, I understand how you feel, but you should not get too close to this.”
“I heard the pressure of the water isn’t too dangerous, but your dead body could get washed away in the current.”
So then you can actually get inside of this? Since I was living on an island surrounded by water, I’m confident in my swimming skills, but I should probably refrain from showing off here. And this jet-black armor I received from Gramps—the Fairy King Oberon—might protect me against most attacks and dangers of the labyrinth, but there wasn’t much to save if I suffocated and died.
Death…
I felt a shiver run down my spine. It’s been around two weeks since I began wandering the labyrinth, but this might be the first time I felt the genuine terror of death. The previous two guardians were plenty strong, too, but I still had the upper hand. And I may very well have died during my battle against Chidori-san, but we ensured our revival there, too. However, if I were to suffocate inside this giant mass of water, my corpse rotting away without ever being recovered, I would turn into a genuine Lost.
And winning against this fear…is what it means to be an adventurer, huh.
I always held a naive thought that, as long as one person would survive, they could save the rest of their party, but I may have never even stood at the starting line of this profession in the first place. But when I was reflecting on my determination, Garnet poked her finger into my hip.
“I don’t mean to burden you further, but if anything happens, I’m counting on you. I cannot swim.”
Wait…were dwarves known to be bad swimmers? I see! Maybe because they are smiths!
“Well, dwarves’ muscles are known to be heavy, so they’re simply not made out to be good swimmers, but I myself am a bad swimmer.”
“There may be a river near the capital, but the absence of swimming lessons probably contributed to that.”
Garnet delivered an explanation, with Rufa following up accordingly. I’m a bit sad that they just ignored my joke like that, but what can you do? But from the looks of it, I doubt that Rufa’s that good of a swimmer, either. I’m doubtful royalty like her would be allowed to swim in the nearby river. In other words…I’m the only one who can save those two in case we get decimated. Guess I gotta focus up.
We progressed along the pathway, when the wall of water ahead of us started bubbling, followed by several shadows leaping out at us. Just like humans, they stood on two feet, holding tridents with both their arms. However, their whole bodies were covered in bluish-black armor, dorsal or tail fins growing from them, glaring at us with deadpan eyes.
“Sahuagins, I presume.”
They must have reacted to Garnet’s comment, as all the Sahuagins attacked us simultaneously. I immediately readied my greatsword and swung it horizontally. Kurokage Style Sword Technique—Rice Mowing. A wave of black aura filled the path, making it virtually impossible to evade the attack—or so I thought, but the two enemies to the left and right jumped into the water to avoid it, as their three friends were split in half, turning into particles of light.
“What?!”
I was utterly bewildered, as the two Sahuagins leaped out of the water once more to jump at me with their tridents.
“Hah!”
“O Flame, roam free and burn everything to ash—Fireball!”
Garnet swung her mace in one fell swoop, as Rufa’s magic fired at the attacker, sending them both flying.
“Thanks for that.”
I thanked the both of them for coming to my aid as I finished off the incapacitated enemies. Like this, they turned into particles of light all the same, leaving behind only their magic stones.
“Who could have imagined they would dodge Alba-sama’s technique like that.”
“It seems like we can’t just proceed as we usually have.”
“Yeah.”
Rufa and Garnet’s expressions grew clouded, to which I nodded along. I guess the third floor is where things start to change up a bit. We went to recover the magic stones dropped by the monsters and made our way deeper into the floor.
This is slowly wearing me down…
Walking down this floor completely different from the previous one, we had to be wary of all our directions at the same time, gradually dropping our speed. Even though the water around us should make it chilly and comfortable to walk around, I could feel drops of sweat on my forehead. And the fact that we can clearly see inside the water only makes it worse. The water swaying in the distance could easily be mistaken for an approaching monster. With things like this, I’d prefer this floor to be filled with mud.
“Are you two okay?” I turned around to ask the two, with Rufa answering me with a pleasant smile.
“Thank you for your consideration. But, since we have you by our side, there is nothing to be afraid of.”
Oh geez, you’re gonna make me blush…Seeing me flustered, Rufa showed a teasing expression.
“Hee hee, I guess that earned me a lot of points.”
“I can’t tell if you’re being calculative or just hiding your embarrassment, but you always say one word too much.” Garnet sighed in disbelief as she rammed a chop onto Rufa’s head, which had me burst out laughing.
“By the way, how about we split up directions we pay attention to? Since Alba takes the front, he should look ahead of us, Rufa checking left and right, with me being careful of behind us. That way, we won’t be too exhausted when being on guard.”
“I see,” I nodded.
That method sounded a lot more efficient than what we were doing.
“The fact that we didn’t come up with this from the beginning presumably shows our inexperience.”
“We just relied on Alba, I dare say. And this shows our lack of experience as adventurers.”
Rufa and Garnet sighed in unison as we split up our directions and made further progress down the path. Finally, we reached an intersection, when Garnet screamed.
“They’re coming from behind!”
“Got it!”
I hurriedly turned around, when I saw three more enemies jumping at us. However, they looked completely different from the Sahuagin we previously encountered. They had long blond hair with blue and translucent eyes, lush and red lips, and a feminine, charming face. Not to mention they didn’t wear anything, boldly revealing their well-endowed chest. And with that in itself, they looked like your average beauty, but instead of legs, these women had tail fins with scales.
“So now it’s Mermaids…” Garnet grumbled with a complex expression.
Since they looked close to the average human instead of a vile monster, she probably held some level of resistance to fighting them. I felt the same way, I don’t like fighting women like this. Also, since they’re basically on full display, I don’t know where to look. Then again, the majority of fairies at I-Rapsel were living naked, so it’s not like I wasn’t somewhat used to this. However, I was worried if Rufa felt the same way and turned towards her—
“…So even monsters are now making fun of me?”
Her eyes were blood-shot in rage, as she glared at the Mermaids’ voluptuous breasts…Well, I somewhat expected this to happen, but I have no clue what to even say to cheer her up.
“Leave her be. Any weak sympathy will only hurt her more,” Garnet commented after she presumably read my thoughts, but that seemingly didn’t work well either.
I heard a vein pop in Rufa’s head, as she swung her staff in anger.
“O Flame, stir up, run wild, and cut through everything—Firestorm!”
‘All huge breasts should be burned!’ — is what I heard her scream alongside that, but it was probably just my imagination. The aura fired off from the tip of her staff turned into a large storm of fire roaring through the path, attacking the Mermaids. However, the enemy seemed to have anticipated this, as they kicked off the ground with their fins and jumped back into the wall of water, watching the storm of fire pass them by.
“Tsk!”
“What a troublesome arena this is.”
Rufa clicked her tongue as Garnet voiced her discontent, but the Mermaids didn’t wait long to attack us again. And before we could fight back with our own methods, they all roared in unison.
“““RAAA!!”””
Three overlapped explosive sounds reaching our eardrums.
“Ugh…!”
Suffering an attack not even my jet-black armor could defend against, I was assaulted by severe dizziness, as I ran towards the enemy. However, when they saw that, the mermaids once again escaped into the water. Damn it! How about this then?! I stabbed my sword into the wall of water and fired off a wave of aura. Kurokage Style Sword Technique – Explosive Needles. Several tens of black needles headed for the enemy and exploded. They probably let down their guard because they thought they were safe, but after being riddled with holes, the two mermaids who attacked us immediately separated into particles of light.
However, one of them managed to escape just in time, presumably because the water slowed down the needle’s speed. A bit close…Ah, wait. Now we can’t recover their magic stones! This realization hit me a moment too late as I was careless enough for the mermaid to once again leap at me from the water and scream.
“HAAA!”
Because it was just one out of the three, the damage to our ears wasn’t as strong as before. Or maybe this was just a different type of scream? I was lost in thought pondering about its implications, as Rufa swiftly cast another spell of magic.
“O Flame, stand tall and cover their path—Flame Wall.”
Walls of fire stood tall all around the mermaid, leaving her unable to run.
“Well done!” Garnet didn’t let this chance go to waste and slammed her mace right onto the mermaid.
They may be difficult to handle if you give them too many opportunities, but just as they looked, they didn’t hold much danger if you knew what to do. Crushed under the mace, the mermaid quickly dispersed and left behind the magic stone. I know I’m not one to talk with my own attack, but this just looks grotesque. The sight had my face tightening up, but Rufa just wiped the sweat off her face with a beaming smile.
“Phew! The enemy has been dealt with!”
…Well, it’s their fault for attacking us, so I shouldn’t be questioning Rufa’s motives.
“You’re sounding more and more desperate now,” Garnet retorted and picked up the magic stone at her feet.
All that hard work, and she’s kicking the stone around…
“—?!”
Immediately after, I felt a shiver run down my spine. Is there another enemy?! I frantically looked left, right, ahead, and behind us, but couldn’t find anything.
“What happened?” Garnet looked at me with a dubious expression.
Right after, a shadow dropped down on her.
“Run!” I screamed but at the same time, a giant jaw appeared and swallowed Garnet, disappearing back into the water ceiling.
“Garnet?!”
“Tsk!”
Hearing Rufa’s scream behind me, I kicked off the ground and jumped into the water. Water gushed inside my mask, leaving me unable to breathe, but I didn’t have time to bother with that. Luckily, the monster that swallowed up Garnet was still nearby. Its body was at least a hundred feet (30m) long, resembling a large snake or eel.
So that’s a Sea Serpent, huh?
The monster caught on to my arrival and headed my way. Thanks for that, you’re saving me a lot of time. To not waste any air in my lungs, I just let the giant monster chomp on me. It probably struggled a lot more since I wasn’t as tiny as Garnet, as its fangs bit into my armor. However, my armor was stronger than that to give in. Meanwhile, I rammed my greatsword into the Sea Serpent’s head, sending off needles of aura. As a result, the giant sea snake convulsed once and turned into particles of light, revealing Garnet.
“Garnet!”
I screamed in the heat of the moment, as water filled my mouth. So it wasn’t seawater…Wait, this isn’t the time for that. Garnet seemed conscious, as she frantically flapped her limbs up and down. She won’t make it back to the path like this. And honestly, I’m starting to reach my limit here, too. I was reaching my limit as my view turned darker, still frantically making my way towards Garnet, when I was suddenly able to breathe again.
“Huh?!”
I was gasping for air out of sheer shock, but even as water entered my mouth, I didn’t suffer. I could breathe just fine. Looking ahead of me, the same seemed to be the case for Garnet, as she stopped struggling and just looked at me with a troubled expression. What even…Ah, it must be Rufa! I looked below me, finding Rufa pointing her staff at me.
Must be Water Breathing magic. That’s a huge help.
I made my way towards Garnet, gently grabbed her body, snacking the Sea Serpent’s magic stones on the way, and headed back down. After making it out of the water, gravity took care of the rest and let me land on the ground. Argh, my legs are feeling numb…I should have gone in from the side walls. At the same time, Garnet left my arms and apologized.
“Sorry about that. I guess I owe you one.”
“You sure do. I thought my heart was about to stop.” Rufa ran towards us and slammed her head on Garnet’s drenched head, only to follow up with a passionate hug.
“I don’t mind if you die for my sake, but I will not allow you to become a Lost, you hear me?”
“You’re the real monster here,” Garnet retorted, but her hands were quivering slightly.
She was probably feeling the terror of dying a death which won’t allow you to come back to life. It’d be even weirder if she wasn’t terrified. Even I tried to reach for her with my hand, but she just bluntly brushed it aside.
“Can you not? More importantly, we should get away from here. There’s no guarantee this is the only ally the mermaid called for.”
The mermaid called for that thing? Ah, that explains why that final scream was different from the rest. It probably had some Alarm effect that could summon other monsters.
“That’s right. I should have known that mermaids could control other monsters, and yet…” Rufa bit her lip in regret.
It’s probably because she’s lacking experience. When being met with a stressful situation, you sometimes forget the simplest of things. That being said, this pain will turn into a great experience, so I should leave it at that for today. With that thought, I went ahead and tabbed Rufa on the shoulder.
“What do we do now?”
Should we proceed or get out? It was all up to her answer, which she delivered instantly.
“We should retreat. I used too much magic, leaving me with barely half of my initial aura.”
“Got it.” I nodded.
Unlike previous floors, we’ll definitely be in trouble without Rufa’s magic. And if she runs out of it, we’ll get decimated for good.
“Then let’s do that,” Garnet agreed, and we went back the way we came.
On the way there, we happened to encounter a few more Sahuagins, but we managed to deal with them just fine.
*
After sending off the exhausted Rufa and Garnet to their apartment, I made my way to the Eternal Maiden to take a break, grabbed my wooden sword, and headed to the corner of the 8th district. After doing a few swings there, Chidori-san arrived, holding a wooden sword of her own.
“Let us begin.”
“Yeah.”
We exchanged a few words and then began polishing our sword skills. Once that was done, we headed for the Eternal Maiden and talked about today’s events while having dinner.
“Getting attacked by a Sea Serpent on the first day…that is some horrible luck.”
“Really?”
“Excluding the guardian, it’s the strongest monsters of the third floor, feared by many because it obliterated countless parties. You’re lucky to even make it out alive.”
“I see.”
Listening to Chidori-san, I nodded in relief. The Sea Serpent was a truly terrifying monster, but it’s good that this is the worst we have to prepare for. And the guardian of this floor won’t just randomly attack us out of nowhere…right? Now I was actually feeling anxious again, as Chidori-san spoke with a nostalgic tone.
“The third floor…huh? That was troublesome, indeed. Rather than the monsters in the water, the walls of water itself were much more terrifying.”
That’s right. They can just evade inside the water, and you’re surrounded by it, which allows the monsters to attack from all sides. In a way, this must be our most dangerous foe so far. Granted, the usage of magic could prevent most problems, but that would just be too much of a burden for Rufa.
“Is there no other option?”
I asked Chidori-san for any advice to allow safer traveling through the third floor, who gave me an answer after a bit of thinking.
“The simplest method would be to have more magic users join your group, but that should prove difficult for you.”
People were probably concerned with the fact that the 7th princess Rufa was part of our party, which is why no other people approached us and asked to join. In fact, Eclair-san and her team, part of the Emperor’s loyal followers, tried to assassinate me twice, so it might scare off other people, too.
“On the days the White Wings are taking a break, I wouldn’t mind helping out…”
“That won’t do.”
I immediately rejected Chidori-san’s offer. I can’t have a 6th-floor ranker like her help me even on her day off. And additionally, Rufa asked Chidori-san to keep quiet about the Evil God of Demise in front of her allies, so if she suddenly teamed up with us, it would be seen as a betrayal. Even just eating with me has the adventurers around us muttering and cooking up rumors, so I don’t want to make things even worse. That thought crossed my mind, so I took Chidori-san’s hand in order to stop her, as she blushed ever so slightly.
“Never have I resented my wrist armor more than today.”
“Huh?”
“Don’t mind me. Thank you for your concern.”
She lowered her head towards me, who was utterly flustered, and offered me another option.
“If you can’t raise your numbers, then your only option is to strengthen your powers. Though, you can easily defeat a monster on the third floor, can’t you?”
“No no no…” I frantically shook my head.
They could escape to the water, making me suffocate if I’m not careful. The monsters on the third floor are extremely dangerous. They’re not unbeatable, but definitely not “easy.” When I gave her this as an explanation, Chidori-san looked at me in surprise, flashing a teasing smile.
“You’re strong enough to even beat me in a battle, yet you can be awfully dull at times.”
Yeah, my childhood friend has told me that many times…
“Especially when it comes to women.”
“…What?”
“Since we can’t spend much time together, it is like a blessing in disguise for myself.” Chidori-san sighed and looked at me with a jealous gaze.
I had no idea what she was talking about, but I was pretty sure she was angry at me.
“Leaving the idle grumbling aside, you just have to change your train of thought. Use the wall of water as your ally instead.”
“O…okay?” I couldn’t hide my confusion.
I get what she’s trying to say, but I was lacking one step to solve the question. I was lost in thought, as Chidori-san brought her face closer to mine, whispering into my ear.
“As this is closely related to the Hakuyou Style, I cannot disclose this easily, but…would you like to know, Alba-dono?”
“Yeah!” I nodded strongly, to which Chidori-san flashed another devious smile.
“Then in return, you’ll do whatever I say, yes?”
Same with the duel she requested, she really likes these sorts of absolutes, doesn’t she? Well, I doubt she will ask for anything crazy,
“Got it.”
“Then let me tell you,” Chidori-san said, finished her food, and grabbed my hand.
“So first that man and now the Dark Knight…She’s two timing? That’s such a shock…”
“Now hold on, are you sure those two aren’t just the same person?”
“Am I not good enough for you?!”
The adventurers around us were mumbling something, but Chidori-san didn’t mind much as we left the Eternal Maiden, heading back to the 8th district.
*
The following day, Rufa, Garnet, and I once again headed down to the third floor.
“I’d rather not get eaten alive yet again,” Garnet spoke with a jokester tone, but she looked above her like her life depended on it.
She’s probably earned something of a trauma from what happened yesterday.
“I’d like to at least defeat twenty monsters today, in fact…” Rufa was worried her aura would hold up enough in the future.
But, there’s no need for them to be anxious. I have just the thing today!
“Why are you looking so arrogant now?”
“The thing is—”
Right as I wanted to explain my attitude, several shadows leaped at us from the wall ahead of us. Judging that this was the perfect opportunity to show off, I sent another blade of aura down the path. The monsters immediately leaped into the wall of water, evading my attack.
“Alba-sama, we have to seal off their escape, or…”
“It’s okay.” I ran towards the water wall and pushed my left arm inside.
While watching the monsters swimming in the water, I poured some aura into my fist. Hakuyou Technique – Empty Sound. An explosive sound rang out, as all the monsters in the water shook. Yikes, some water splashed into my armor.
“What was that?!”
“This,” I answered and pointed inside the water.
There, all the monsters were floating powerlessly.
“They’ve lost consciousness…Are the fish monsters inside the water weak against noise?”
“Correct.”
Rufa realized what was happening, as I nodded along. After that, I pushed my body into the water and finished off the monsters. The monsters are nothing but lumps of mana, but they possessed hearing abilities like regular living beings. If so, they should have sharp earrings if they can pick out adventurers from afar. With that logic, you could create an explosive sound inside the water and knock them all out at once.
“I think I’ve heard of this before. When hitting a stone underwater, you could knock out all the fish.”
“Yes.”
“That sounds ridiculous.” Garnet couldn’t believe what she’d just heard, giving me a dubious gaze as she finished off the mermaids I pulled closer from the water.
But at the very least, this lessens the burden on Rufa, and we can easily defeat monsters. After finishing off the final monster, I raised my thumb with a grin. In response, Garnet showed me yet another complicated expression.
“It’s good having things easy, but you’re slowly turning into a fisherman rather than adventurer.”
“I’m a bit worried this noise may have summoned a monster like the mermaids did with their alarm.”
Rufa delivered a genuine concern, which had me frantically looking around. Luckily, no shadows were currently approaching us, but it might not be a good idea to only keep relying on this. As this worry filled my mind, Rufa flashed me a gentle smile.
“It’s the technique Alba-sama has come up with, and it has proven itself to work, so we should carefully confirm if we can rely on it without summoning any further danger,” she said, which made me happy, but there was one part I had to correct.
“I didn’t actually come up with it.”
“Huh? Then who did?”
“Chidori-san.”
It’s what she taught me yesterday. It seems to be slightly difficult to pull off as a 3rd-floor ranker, but with my aura on the level of the 6th floor, it should be easy—or so she said, and it worked out just fine. By the way, that’s also when she taught me the exact specifics. Normally, you’d be using this technique next to the opponent’s ear to temporarily knock them out instead of kill them outright, which was developed by the disciples my master left behind. It was the exact opposite of techniques for instantaneous murder that was the Kurokage Style. Truly befitting the name of the Hakuyou Style.
In fact, I was feeling bad using this technique to kill monsters. But as a promise to have her teach me this, I agreed to teach her a technique that only exists within the Kurokage Style. Oddly enough, when I was recounting yesterday’s events to the two, Garnet showed a bitter expression as she rammed her head into my jaw.
“How do you keep stepping on landmines all the damn time?”
What is she talking about? Chidori-san is a genuinely good person who went out of her way to teach me. She’s not deceiving me or anything.
“That’s not the problem right no—”
“So Chidori-sama has been thoroughly teaching you, I see. How admirable of you to train this much.”
Before Garnet could finish her words, Rufa immediately spoke up with a smile and praised me. Heh, you’re gonna make me blush.
“…She’s gotten better at sealing away her true emotions. You’re slowly raising a monster here, Alba,” Garnet mumbled as she looked up at me with a sigh.
Honestly, you should stop sighing like that. You’re wasting all your happiness.
“And whose fault do you think that would be?! Whatever, let’s go,” Garnet roared in anger as she slammed her hand into my waist, pushing me forward.
I felt it a bit weird but still did as she told me and kept on walking.
“…I should…and…supervise…”
I heard Rufa muttering something behind me, but she was probably thinking of ways to prove if my technique was good to use or not. We continued our adventure on the third floor, and after defeating around thirty monsters, we opted to stop for the day.
*
To properly recover from our exhaustion, we decided to take the next day off. Unless we had any particular plans, we’d go down into the labyrinth two days in a row with one day of rest. That was our schedule recently. But unlike Rufa, who was busy training new magic, I was just wasting my time away, maybe tending to my sword and armor, or going to the bank to store my magic stones.
“I’ve gotten used to the capital a bit, so maybe I should look for something to eat by myself.”
I’ve earned a good amount of money saving up for my own personal home, so a bit of luxury should be allowed.
“Alba-dono.”
After finishing breakfast, I was just laying in my bed when I heard a knock on the door. I stood up in a hurry to greet my guest, who turned out to be Chidori-san wearing a hakama.
“I’ll be in your care today.”
“Yeah.”
I nodded in the face of Chidori-san, who seemed a bit bashful, to which we left the Eternal Maiden behind us, heading to the shopping street in the 5th district. My job today was to tag along with her shopping trip. That was the promise she wanted me to fulfill in return for teaching me.
“What are you gonna buy?”
“I was thinking of buying some more clothes.”
We walked next to each other as I asked, met with Chidori-san’s bashful response.
“It is a bit embarrassing to admit, But excluding the kimono I received from my mother, I simply own the same clothes. My maid advised—scolded me that I should get some more stylish clothes. She said I severely lack femininity,” Chidori-san said with a bitter smile.
Oh yeah, my grandma—the Fairy Queen Titania—and my childhood friend had a lot of different clothes. It must be a woman thing to be this concerned with clothes. Personally, I admire her a lot more when she’s earnestly swinging her sword.
“I think it’s much like you.”
“I shall take that as a compliment,” Chidori-san gave me another bitter smile.
But besides that, I wonder why she suddenly feels the need to get new clothes? Maybe—
“Did you find someone you’re interested in?”
“I really don’t know if you’re sharp or dense, Alba-dono.”
My assumption seemed to be greatly off the mark, as she showed me a complicated expression. I wonder why…I could practically hear Garnet screaming “You fool!” just now.
“Truly, a blessing in disguise. Well, it’s a small price to pay for the happiness of us having met,” Chidori-san said with a smile, taking my hand.
Even though I was wearing my black gauntlets, it felt like I could directly pick up her warmth, making my face turn hot. I’m just glad I’m wearing my mask—or so I thought when…
“Alba-dono, are you flustered?”
“Hueh?!”
As she hit the mark right on the spot, I couldn’t hide a flustered voice, to which Chidori-san returned a cute snicker.
“Slowly but steadily, I’ve become able to read your expressions beyond that mask.”
N-No way…Did she develop the same ability as Garnet?! I was bewildered and scared when Chidori-san narrowed her eyes as she looked at me.
“You’re comparing me to Garnet-dono, aren’t you?”
“Yeah.”
“I doubt I’ve gotten as good as her,” Chidori-san said and faintly pouted her lips. “You two are like sister and brother, and I understand that we can’t reach such a level, but I still can’t help feeling jealous.”
But…I’m older than Garnet. Why am I being treated like the younger brother? Also, why would she feel jealous—
“Alba-samaaa!!”
A loud voice reached my ears, and I turned around in shock. There I spotted Rufa, running towards me at full speed.
“Huff…Huff…Good morning, Alba-sama. What great weather we’re having today.”
“M-Morning…?” I returned a baffled greeting toward Rufa, whose face was drenched with sweat.
Next to me, Chidori-san reluctantly opened her mouth.
“Princess, what is the meaning of this?”
“What might you be referring to? I just happened to spot Alba-sama walking around outside so I called out to him?” Rufa faintly tilted her head as she wiped the sweat off her face.
If she really just so happened to see me, then I don’t think she’d run towards me frantically enough to break out in a sweat like this. Chidori-san seemed to hold the same doubts as me, as she narrowed her eyes.
“Dubious…Ah, I see.” Chidori-san observed her surroundings with a watchful eye, only to fire off an aura bullet from her finger, aimed at a small bird sitting on a tree branch.
What was that for?! But even as I was perturbed, I didn’t have time to stop her, when the aura bullet pierced the bird’s chest—And yet, no blood came out. Instead, it dropped to the ground, convulsed once, and finally dissolved into a lump of soil. Wait, so it wasn’t alive?
“…!”
Next to me, Rufa’s expression distorted in pain. Did she…feel the bird’s injury on herself or something?
“It was a Familiar. Like I thought.” Chidori-san sighed and explained to me. “The reason our little princess appeared at such good timing is that she had a familiar follow us, who she shares vision and sensations with, which she used to watch you with.”
“What?!” I looked at Rufa in shock, who dropped her shoulders in defeat.
“If you’ve found out, then there’s no point in pretending. I used a familiar of mine to follow where you were going, Alba-sama. However, I thought of you when doing so.”
“Huh?”
“I was worried that she was aiming for your life just like the previous three were…”
“Oh, I see.”
Seeing Rufa tear up like that sent a sharp pain through my chest. However, Chidori-san kept on glaring at her with a sharp gaze.
“I doubt you’re lying, but you don’t have to pretend that you didn’t want to get in my way while you were at it.”
“Leaving that aside, how did you know that that was my familiar, Chidori-sama?” Rufa dodged the question and answered with one of her own.
Actually, I was curious about that, too. It looked like your average bird, so I wouldn’t know how she saw through that. I looked over her way too, to which Chidori-san explained.
“An actual bird would have sat on that branch while looking around and observing its surroundings. However, that familiar had its gaze glued on us. Naturally, you’d be suspicious of that.”
Ah, that makes sense.
“There’s many different types of familiars, but as they are just lumps of soil controlled by the user, they tend to act off from the real deal. Seeing through that makes uncovering it quite easy.”
I see. I guess I should be more careful of my surroundings, then. Maybe there are some other familiars mixed in there. However, how could she be this knowledgeable about a spell if she isn’t even a magic user herself? I voiced that question, to which Chidori-san awkwardly explained.
“The magician part of the White Wings would always use a familiar to watch over the man she had fallen for.”
“Kanaria-sama…” Rufa seemed to know the person, as she sighed. “Unbeknownst to that, I did exactly as she would…I’m sorry, I won’t do something like this again.”
“As a fellow woman, I understand how you feel. If I had the ability to use that magic, I may very well use it myself.”
The two apologized to each other. Just who is this Kanaria-san anyway? I kinda wanna know, but at the same time, I don’t.
“Let’s leave this idle talk here and get to buying some fresh clothes,” Rufa returned to the beginning of our conversation and took my right hand to pull me along.
However, Chidori-san took my left hand and stopped.
“Princess, why are you acting like this was the expected course of action?”
“As you said, I am a princess, so I’m confident in my taste in clothes.”
“Not that. I’m telling you not to get between me and Alba-dono!”
“Right back at you. You came after me, so don’t try to steal him from me!”
“This is war, princess. There is no first or second. Only the winner is correct!”
“This is why those rampant samurai who don’t know any shed of politeness are such a pain…”
“You’ve said it now!”
“I sure did, yes!”
Suddenly, another fight broke out between those two, as they both pulled on my arms with all their strength. Stop! Please! You’re tearing me apart! I can’t afford to get hurt, but I also can’t push them away, so I sought help from the curious onlookers around us.
‘Damn two-timing bastard. Go die.’
‘I’d rather be around the guardian of the 6th floor than him.’
‘Not just Chidori-oneesama but also the princess…How inevitable…How despicable! You are the enemy of all women!’
They were all having their own misconceptions of the situation, sending me gazes of killing intent. Dangit, now there’s only one option left for me…
Garnet, save meee!!
I screamed the name of my savior with all my might. However, even her superpower must have its limits, as she didn’t appear out of thin air as I’d hoped she would. However, the help still arrived, just from a person I didn’t expect.
“Leave it at that, won’t you?”
I heard a familiar voice behind me, followed by a large fist being slammed onto both Rufa’s and Chidori-san’s head.
“Eeek!”
“Youch!”
The two let out adorable shrieks, which allowed me to break free and turn around. Standing there was the former 6th-floor ranker and karate ninja manager of the Eternal Maiden.
“Manager!”
“You sure love to attract bad luck, kiddo.”
She delivered a chop on my head all the same, fully ignoring my happiness. That hurt…despite my helmet. Is this the secret technique known as jujutsu?! I felt happy that I got to see such a rare technique, but the dizziness made me take a knee, as the manager sighed.
“I swear…You’re so diligent but have the worst luck with women. I can see the relationship now.”
Hm…? My head isn’t the freshest right now, but I feel like she said something super important just now…I was hesitating about asking her, but Rufa and Chidori-san recovered before I could do so.
“Dear manager, please don’t interrupt a maiden’s battle!”
“That’s right. My pride as a woman is on the line here.”
“Silence.”
WOMP WOMP
The manager followed with two more hits on the head split between the two.
“If you’re gonna have a fight, then pick the right place. You’re getting in the way of business.”
Ah, so she came to stop them. I stood up as the manager pointed at the bar right next to us.
“I’m the only one who can stop some 6th-floor rankers like you, which is why the owner called me here. Can you stop obstructing business?” She said and swung another chop down onto my head.
I knew it’d be coming, but I still couldn’t evade it. I once again had to take a knee, to which the manager took us to a back alley, speaking towards Rufa and Chidori-san.
“I swear, if you’re gonna have a fight about this, then at least reach a conclusion today.”
“Exactly what I was hoping for.”
“No, that’s a bit…”
Chidori-san seemed more than motivated, but Rufa was bewildered. She then suddenly grabbed Chidori-san’s hand and dragged her even deeper into the alley.
‘Chidori-sama, if we really want to reach a conclusion today, then either you or me or possibly both of us will get rejected.’
‘So what about—Ah!’
‘So you’ve realized? Can you really team up with someone who has rejected you to fight the guardian of the 6th floor? I personally wouldn’t be able to do that.’
‘Me neither. In this case, it would probably be best to ignore my own feelings.’
‘This must be the reason why Leon-sama from your team pretends to be oblivious to Kanaria-sama’s feelings, no?’
‘Urk…To think I would find myself sympathizing with Leon one day…’
‘I won’t ask you to give up on Alba-sama, but could we leave our battle after everything has been resolved?’
‘I don’t like it, but the situation demands it.’
After a somewhat long conversation, Rufa and Chidori-san came back.
“Apologies for the wait. We won’t cause a ruckus like this, so please forgive us.”
“I swear we won’t go overboard.”
The two said and lowered their heads, to which the manager shrugged her shoulders.
“I swear, adventurers always had their own struggles, but you folks take the cake.”
Huh? Could she actually hear what they were talking about? Still, that sounds like she’s been through a lot. I wonder how old—
“Don’t inquire about a maiden’s age!”
WOMP I received another chop to the head. Now this is just cruel…
“Anyway, keep it down so you don’t trouble other people. A maiden’s life is short, after all.” The manager said towards Rufa and Chidori-san and left the back alley swiftly and with no sound.
“Seems like she let us go.”
“But…she is riddled with mysteries as always.”
“Yeah.”
Chidori-san tilted her head in confusion and I nodded in agreement. That being said, standing around here won’t do us any good, so we went to the business district.
*
As always, the business area was bustling with people.
“With the cold outside the capital and the snow not melted, I bet all the businessmen just holed up inside the capital.”
“In the snow countries, the villages are always extremely short on goods when the next spring arrives.”
“I see.”
I listened to Chidori-san’s and Rufa’s explanation and nodded. Back home at I-Rapsel, there was never any snow to begin with, so I was always interested in these kinds of snowy sights of countries in the north, but I guess the people here have plenty of problems, too. And while I was thinking that, Chidori-san glared at Rufa.
“And how long do you plan on following us, Princess?”
“Now, now, don’t be so hostile. Like I stated before, I’m quite confident in my taste for clothing, so I’ll be a good help here,” Rufa said and tried to soothe the wild Chidori-san.
In fact, it would be probably better to have Rufa around when it comes to clothes. Leaving aside gems and jewels, I have no idea what’s currently popular.
“I won’t get in the way of your dinner after this, so let’s postpone our fighting, yes?”
“Hmph. I would rather not waste my time on trifling fighting like that, so I’ll let that side for today.”
“…But you’re not allowed to sleep in his room, you hear?”
“I-I would never do such a licentious thing!”
The two were whispering to each other in a volume I couldn’t hear, but they seemingly reached a common ground and continued walking.
“How about this tailor over there?”
Chidori-san wanted to head over to the row of stores offering services related to clothes. However, Rufa grabbed her wrist and stopped her.
“Please wait. That is a store aimed at normal citizens, so a 6th-floor ranker like you shouldn’t be shopping there.”
“Hmph, really?”
“I believe there is a store better fit for you over there.” Rufa said so and pulled Chidori-san into a smaller alley away from the main street.
After a bit of walking, she placed her hand on the door of a small store that had a very clean image despite being clearly outdated.
“Welcome.”
Upon entering, a middle-aged woman came to greet us. I responded to her greeting and looked around the inside of the store. Is this really a place selling clothes? All I see is fabric at every corner, but not a single completed outfit in sight. Rufa must have caught on to my confusion, as she explained with a smile.
“This establishment produces order-made clothes instead of offering completed outfits, Alba-sama.”
“What?!”
A shriek of surprise and terror left my lips. Th-That’s extremely expensive, right?! Rufa seemingly guessed my flustered state as she asked the employee for me.
“I know it’s not good manners to ask for a price in an establishment like this, but how much does one outfit cost?”
“Let’s see…Going with a silk dress, it would be around a thousand gold coins.”
A thousand gold coins?! The clothes I wear for sleep cost around one gold coin, so that but a thousand times is just…
“Hm, that’s unexpectedly cheap.”
“Huuuh?!” I raised another voice of shock, to which Chidori-san gave me a dubious look.
“Why are you so surprised? My armor is order-made, too, and it cost me three thousand.”
I mean, armor and a dress are very two distinct things if you ask me…But, it does make sense. A 6th-floor adventurer that would earn thousands of gold coins a day, this much isn’t anything to fret over. I could afford this too if I used some of my savings. But this once again shook me to my core. Ignoring me, the employee took out a sheet of paper and put it down on the table ahead of her. Drawn on there were several designs for outfits.
“For now, I’d like you to pick a design that fits your taste the best.”
“Quite intriguing. So you’d be able to make all of these?”
“Yes. You can freely choose color and design, as well as patterns and other small details. Needless to say, I could make something completely original, but that would require more time and result in a higher cost for you.”
“Clothes made specifically for me sound enticing, but I think I will leave that for another time,” Chidori-san’s eyes lit up as she looked through the designs together with Rufa and the employee.
“I imagined dresses to be either brimming with silver and gold or sparkling everywhere, maybe with frills added to it, but some of these look comfortable to move in, too.”
“Yes. The royalty and their noble ladies prefer a simple but smart-design of a dress quite a lot lately. And if the person wearing them sparkles in their own right, then they don’t need any special attention with the dress.”
GLANCE
“Are you blaming me? I’m just aller—More importantly, don’t you think that this dress using a pelt would look great on you, Chidori-sama?”
“We’re slowly moving towards summer, yet I’m supposed to wear a pelt? And I want clothes that have a cute charm to them.”
“With your well-endowed chest, I believe a truly cute appearance would be difficult for you…”
“Not at all, every girl could become cute. For example…”
The three began looking through the designs, as well as checking out various types of fabric. They seemed to be having fun, and that was perfectly fine and all, but…I’m not really needed here, am I? That being said, I couldn’t just step out either, so I sat down in the corner of the room and waited. Roughly two hours later, they finished deciding on the outfit, as well as the smaller details.
“Thank you very much. I will finish working on it within the next seven days, so it should get delivered to you in due time.”
“Very well. I’ll be waiting.”
The employee sent us off with a smile, and Chidori-san seemed just as happy as we left the store behind us.
“This was my first time out shopping for clothes like this, and it was pretty fun, I have to say.”
“I see.”
Seeing her happy made the 2-hour wait more than worth it. However, seeing the amount of money that went across the counter during the payment was definitely bad for my heart. Well, at least we’re done with the shopping—
“Now then, let’s proceed with buying underwear.”
“Huh?!”
Rufa’s nonchalant declaration made me shriek yet again. But before I could say anything, Chidori-san agreed with a bright radiance in her eyes.
“Underwear…That is crucial, indeed!”
“Yes, very much so. A girl’s underwear is her armor for battle. A sarashi and fundoshi will not charm a soul, see.”
“If it is armor, then only the best will suffice.”
“I know just the place, so let me take you there.” Rufa stood in front of Chidori-san as she guided the way.
Um…are you really going for more shopping? I’m starting to get hungry, so maybe we could take a quick break…I chased after them and asked for a moment of respite with my gaze, but I don’t think it’s getting through to them. They were both smiling towards each other, pulling me along.
“What sort of underwear is to your liking, Alba-sama?”
“My maid has told me that young men are into black or red, but maybe Alba-dono is different?”
What kind of torture is this? No matter my answer, I’ll just sound like a pervert recommending his favorite type of underwear.
“While we’re on the topic, I’d like to buy some new underwear myself. The one Alba-sama had seen when we first met was a plain pair I’d use for the labyrinth, after all.”
“Oh, so you got the jump on me. It appears I must pick out the best possible pair and show off to Alba-dono myself.”
Can we just stop? It’s getting really embarrassing for me, and the people we’re passing are sending me death glares already! That’s what I wanted to convey with a quiet voice, but neither of them lent me an ear, as I was instead dragged to the nearest underwear shop. And another roughly two hours later of torture and public shaming, we finally left the establishment behind us.
“Chidori-sama, we went through underwear and dress, but do you have any shoes?”
“No, I only have the boots I usually wear, together with the geta for my kimono.”
“That won’t do. Everything stylish begins from one’s legs, as they say. We should find shoes fitting your dress.”
“A saying amongst adventurers also goes ‘Lose your arms, but protect your legs,’ so we need them at all costs.”
And like this, we spent another two hours at the shoe store.
“All that’s left is accessories. As an elf, I can’t deal with metals close to my body, so I rarely wear accessories, but they should look great on you, Chidori-sama.”
“Ah, that’s what you were about to say before? But what about the pendant you’re wearing right now?”
“It is a present from Alba-sama that kept my disposition in mind, actually.”
“What?! Ugh…Alba-dono! Won’t you give me a present, too?!”
Towards the end, I was dragged to an accessory store and was forced to buy a golden pendant for her. Once all the shopping was done, the sky had already begun to turn red.
“Hee hee, I can’t wait to have all this delivered.”
The clothes and shoes ended up being tailored specifically for her, so the only thing she could take home immediately was the pendant, which she gleefully played with. She looked different from her usual dignified appearance, grinning adorably like a young girl, which completely entranced me. However, my exhaustion and hunger were far too strong at this moment, leaving me unable to properly compliment her. These two are amazing, still having this much stamina left after all that…But unbeknownst to my suffering, Chidori-san turned towards Rufa.
“Princess, I’m thankful for everything you’ve done today, but should you really be assisting your enemy like this?”
“You may be a strong rival of mine, but I still want to get along with you nonetheless,” Rufa said with a bitter smile. “Like I said this morning, we’ve promised to challenge the guardian of the 6th floor together. Granted, we may fight for the same person precious to us, but I don’t dislike you.”
“I see. That does make sense.” Chidori-san nodded two times, to which Rufa flashed a devious smile.
“And if we get along, you’ll feel guilty for trying to get ahead of me, so there’s no harm in being friends.”
“It is truly a devious plot, but the same goes for you, right?”
“…Ah!”
“I’ve had a feeling, but you’re not the sharpest tool in the shed at times.”
“Grrrr…!” Rufa grit her teeth at Chidori-san laughing to herself.
Yet again, I was mostly feeling left out, but I’m just glad they’re getting along better after today. Probably because of that, my stomach had reached its limit and growled loudly.
“Ah…”
“My apologies, I was too engrossed in our shopping trip and I completely forgot about eating anything.”
“Same here. It completely slipped my mind.”
I was so embarrassed I aggressively blushed behind my mask, when the two lowered their heads. I mean, I’m the one at fault because I didn’t bring it up, so it’s fine. That’s what I responded, only for Rufa to seem hesitant for a moment, finally smiling back at me.
“Then, I’ll be excusing myself here. You two enjoy your dinner,” she said and turned her back towards us, heading back to the residential area in the 7th district.
Hold on, is she not going to eat with us? I was bewildered and looked at Chidori-san, who sighed in disbelief.
“She’s gonna keep her promise despite being worried, I see. I’m feeling embarrassed for plotting so much.”
“Huh?”
“No, don’t mind me. More importantly, let’s invite the princess to have dinner with us.”
“Yeah!” I nodded strongly.
The more people the better, as I always say. We ran after Rufa, who seemed bewildered at our appearance, and then all headed to the Eternal Maiden together.
*
In the end, both Chidori-san and Rufa got drunk, forcing me to listen to their grumbling, until the day more exhausting than dungeon traveling finally ended.
“Ugh, I’m so tired…”
The exhaustion didn’t leave my body the day after, as I struggled to peel myself off my bed, somehow managing to slip into my armor, and left the room. After finishing a light breakfast, I headed for Rufa and Garnet’s apartment.
“Good morning, Alba-sama. I’m very sorry about yesterday.”
“I’m not bothered by it,” I shook my head.
Everything that happened yesterday led to her bond with Chidori-san deepening, so it was all worth it. Granted, I was met with severe jealousy and hostility by the other adventurers, but it’s something everyone experiences once in a while, yep.
“Seems like you had it rough yesterday.” Garnet spoke up.
However, she seemed just as exhausted.
“You okay?” I asked, wondering if we should refrain from entering the labyrinth today, but she shook her head.
“No, I’m fine. My body is okay, I just ran into a bit of trouble.”
“Trouble?”
“What happened?”
Rufa didn’t seem to know either, as she asked with a worried expression. Looked at by the both of us, Garnet sighed.
“It’s not something I’d like other people to hear, so can we head inside?”
With these words, we returned to her room. It was the same as Rufa’s, but unlike the bookshelves and countless books, her room was empty, only having a drawer for clothes with a change of clothes and other necessities.
“Sorry that this isn’t a feminine room,” Garnet said and sat down at the table, with me and Rufa facing her.
After she took a deep breath like she’d made up her mind, she looked directly at me.
“Alba, please be my lover.”
CClaw Translations 