Flowing
by Afuhfuihgs
I spent the grace period sightseeing around Paradise. There were many things to see, and there were hotels nearby where I could relax comfortably, so time passed faster than I thought. I half-expected the guinea pig to come back, but no one came looking for me during that time.
I headed to the building at the appointed time, and everyone was waiting for me. Without hesitation, I went to see Kayu on the 5th floor. Kayu, who was reading a book strangely as usual, sighed when he saw us.
,You really came… It’s amazing, you know. To not be satisfied with Paradise.”
Muttering like that, Kayu took our citizenship cards and filled out an application to go to the 5th floor. I was quietly watching him, when Ellie came close and our hands touched. I subtly pulled my hand away, and Ellie, who had been glancing at my expression, nodded in satisfaction.
,…?”
I was puzzled by her meaningless actions for a moment, but then Kayu handed us the completed application.
,If you go to the 8th floor and submit the application to Oracle, you can open the door to the Labyrinth, you know! Good luck to you all!”
With a thank you, we took the application and headed to the 8th floor. Unlike the 6th floor, which had ordinary paintings hanging, we passed the 7th floor, which was full of desert sand, and finally arrived at the 8th floor.
,Looks like the inside of a clock tower.”
I nodded in agreement to Raellan’s explanation. It looked like the inside of a clock tower, and all sorts of clocks were attached to the walls, each showing a different time. Underneath the clocks, all sorts of doors were opening and closing repeatedly, but strangely, even when the doors were open, you couldn’t see inside.
,Ooh, a guest who came to the 8th floor?”
A fat, blonde man who introduced himself as Oracle moved his wheeled chair and approached us. Oracle took the application from us, pushed his chair to a desk hidden behind a pillar, placed the application on it, and gestured to us.
,I’ll find you the door that goes straight to the 5th floor.”
Saying that, Oracle looked at the largest clock on the wall, pushed his chair, checked another clock, and gestured to us.
,Quickly, the door will close again in a minute.”
At Oracle’s urging, we all moved to the door.
,You know that once you open the door, you can never return to Paradise, right?”
At Oracle’s last warning, I grabbed the doorknob without answering.
[You have reached the 5th floor.]
[We grant causality to you, who have become a formal challenger of the Labyrinth.]
[It is a rest period. 24:00:00 remaining until re-entry into the Labyrinth.]
***
I left the Labyrinth and headed to Modest’s secret hideout. This time, the re-entry time is quite short. I felt a little impatient because I had wasted time in Paradise. I wondered how far Roel had gone. He might already be in the final stages of the 5th floor.
I arrived in the basement and listened to what had happened while we were in the Labyrinth. The most important thing was that the war caused by the Church had ended.
,The Imperial Family and the Church have announced that the Chaos Church has completely disappeared from the continent. All the executives and followers of the Order were buried alive in the city.”
,…I guess that’s how it turned out.”
It wasn’t that surprising because Raellan had already explained how the war would proceed. Seeing that I could face the Pontiff on the 5th floor, I could see how great Lamine’s survival instincts were when she said she would only challenge up to the 4th floor of the Labyrinth.
To be honest, I wasn’t confident that I could win against the Pontiff. Judging coldly, the best thing I could do was to avoid the Pontiff and head to the 6th floor of the Labyrinth. However, I had a strange feeling that I would definitely clash with the Pontiff on the 5th floor.
,Ah, and… I finished the preparations that Raellan asked for.”
At Amber’s words, Raellan twisted one corner of his mouth and nodded.
,As expected, your work is reliable. Good job.”
Amber smiled bitterly and left the basement, then Raellan turned his head and looked at Lamine.
,You’re not with us anymore, so go back to the Imperial Palace and report to Bella.”
At Raellan’s eviction notice, Lamine smiled bitterly and looked at me.
,Ross, I’ll look for things I can do to help you even outside the Labyrinth.”
,Thank you.”
,…What’s there to thank me for.”
After Lamine left the basement, Raellan spoke to Ellie this time.
,We’re going straight to the 5th floor when the re-entry time passes. If you have anything to do, take care of it and come. We have things to do separately to prepare for the 5th floor.”
,…Okay.”
I nodded to show that I was okay, and Ellie also left the basement.
,Do you need a rest?”
,…I had to rest for a week, do I need more?”
At my answer, Raellan nodded with a satisfied face.
,Then let’s go near the eastern border.”
,Are you not going to explain what’s going on?”
At my question, Raellan gave a chilling smile.
,I’m thinking of bringing a monster who can fight the Pontiff to our side. It’s obvious that we’ll meet on the 5th floor, so we need to prepare to fight him.”
,…?”
Is there a monster other than Roel who can fight the Pontiff? As I tilted my head with a puzzled look, Raellan frowned as if he was frustrated.
,Did you forget the existence that you set up so that no one but Roel could beat him?”
At Raellan’s question, my shoulders tensed up without me realizing it. The only opponent that the Hero Roel can kill is….
,…Demon King.”
Raellan gave a crazy smile.
,That’s right, we’re going to make the Demon King a stepping stone to get to the 6th floor.”
***
Kane, who was tasked by Ross to find the scattered pieces of the Emerald Tablet, realized that it was impossible with his own strength, and asked Rakar, whom he trusted the most, for help.
Rakar, who had heard the explanation from Kane, realized that the two of them were not enough. Ross was always a great help in times like these. So he thought that they needed someone who could replace Ross’s absence.
,When I see Navier… I’m reminded of Ross!’
Rakar trusted that feeling and chose Navier. She was a temporary member of the Messiah Club who had good observation skills and often showed flashes of brilliance. Rakar’s choice was right. Navier was able to replace Ross’s role perfectly.
,I got it!”
When Navier shouted with a happy face, Rakar and Kane, who had been diligently knocking on the wall, rushed to Navier’s side.
,How, how did you find it?”
Kane asked with a fuss, as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Navier explained with a satisfied face, slightly pushing her chest forward.
,Yeah, I thought the structure of the room was a bit unusual from the first time I came in. Look around, the structure doesn’t use the space in the room efficiently, right? This kind of structure is often used in rooms with a specific purpose. It’s used in museums or exhibitions. But there wasn’t really anything to see here. Then there’s only one answer. There was a space behind the pillar that was not visible to us!”
Rakar and Kane nodded familiarly at Navier’s explanation. They didn’t understand the explanation anyway, but they realized that nodding when Navier was like this was the way to end the explanation quickly.
Rakar waited for a while for the explanation of the secret door hidden behind the pillar to end, and took advantage of the gap when Navier was recalling the memory of reading a book called [Phenomenological Understanding of Magical Structures] in the Academy Library to open his mouth.
,Okay, Kane. Go in and check it out quickly. Don’t forget to wear your gloves.”
,Ah, that’s right. Thank you!”
The last time they found a piece of the Emerald Tablet, Kane accidentally didn’t bring the bronze gloves he received as a gift from Ross, so he had to return to the Academy and then return to the dungeon.
Navier brought them properly this time, but as expected, Kane had forgotten to wear the gloves until Rakar told him. Kane was more distracted than usual because of Aria, whose condition had been getting worse lately.
Kane, who opened the secret door that Navier had discovered, could see the Emerald Tablet’s unique green light at the end of the passage. Kane, wearing the bronze gloves, felt a familiar pull. It was as if a part of himself was outside. The Emerald Tablet was pulling Kane like a magnet.
Kane, who approached the piece, reached out his hand wearing the bronze gloves. The piece, which had melted like a liquid, was absorbed into Kane through the bronze gloves. Kane, who had finally absorbed the third Emerald Tablet, slowly opened his closed eyes and realized what he had gained this time.
,…It’s not life.”
It wasn’t the knowledge of life related to the homunculus he was looking for. He had gained tremendous alchemical knowledge to change the properties of minerals, but Kane was not happy at all. Protecting Aria had become more important to Kane than succeeding as an alchemist.
At that moment, an invisible force acted on Kane, who was sighing.
It wasn’t luck. It was fate created by relationships, and it was the guidance of causality.
Kane was able to realize where the piece of the Emerald Tablet he needed was.
,…Labyrinth.”
Kane, who turned around, shouted as he left the passage.
,I have to go to the Labyrinth to save Aria!”
Ross, who was talking to Raellan in the carriage heading to the eastern border, never knew how the causality he had obtained as a reward from the Labyrinth had been consumed.
0 Comments