episode_0096

“Finally… !”

At the sight before her eyes, L was delighted with a face full of emotion.

Was it because the journey was so difficult, or was it because I had so desperately envisioned arriving here?

I wasn’t sure about the answer, but… … .

“Hmm… … .”

“… … .”

The party’s reaction was subtle.

No, to be exact, Charlie and I’s reaction was subtle.

Dorothy didn’t seem to care much about this scene.

As such, the reason Charlie and I had such a subtle reaction was because the sight we saw in front of us was very different from what we thought.

“What should I say… Wreckage, I guess.”

Charlie described the scene before his eyes in just one word.

wreck.

Yes, it was rubble.

What I could see now were the remains of a fallen old empire, which were often scattered throughout the forest.

There is nothing special about its size or state of preservation.

It is clear that there was a building there, but only one building was left standing, and even that, including the walls, had all collapsed, leaving virtually only the foundation.

Truly a wreck.

This seemed to be our destination.

“… … .”

I didn’t expect anything special.

However, this was a bit beyond my imagination.

At first, I thought there was no way this place could be my destination.

However.

“Finally! Arrived!”

Seeing L so happy, it seemed like this was the right destination.

“I… Miss, is this the right destination?”

Charlie hesitated for a moment and asked, as if he had the same thought as me.

At this, L had a smile on his face.

“Yes! This is the destination!”

It cruelly shattered my and Charlie’s expectations.

“Hmm… … .”

This is the destination, this is the end of a fairly long journey.

I felt bitterness blooming in a corner of my heart.

It wasn’t a big struggle, and I didn’t have high expectations, but the result was disappointing.

I looked everywhere in the wreckage just in case, but I couldn’t see anything special.

It was small enough to be seen at a glance, so it didn’t take long to look at it.

“Hmm… It’s my job to guide you to your destination, but… For what purpose?─”

Charlie, who seemed unable to overcome his futility, tried to say something, but before he could finish, Elle moved.

El, who jumped into the wreckage with a smile, started moving her feet as if she were dancing before the group could react.

“… … ?”

Charlie gave me a puzzled look, but I recognized him right away.

It’s not like dancing, and it’s definitely not like moving your feet around without any meaning.

L’s footwork was purposeful.

It’s just that it has certain rules and looks like it’s dancing.

And the feet that moved like that pounded the bottom of the wreckage.

How much time has passed in that state?

Coogung─

Suddenly it started vibrating.

“What… ?!”

Charlie was embarrassed, and my eyes widened as well.

I immediately realized that the vibrations were coming from the wreckage.

Naturally, my eyes turned to the wreckage again, and I was able to see it.

“That… … !”

The bottom of the wreckage is opening up.

Coogung─

The floor slowly opened with a heavy sound and revealed… … .

“Stairs… ?”

It was a staircase leading down.

“What the hell is this… … .”

Charlie muttered, dumbfounded.

For me, the emotions I felt were similar, just with different facial expressions.

However, we did not have time to slowly ponder those feelings.

Because L immediately started going down the stairs.

“Lady!”

Dorothy, who saw this, was startled and ran towards El.

Of course, we couldn’t just send them away, so Charlie and I followed right away.

After going down the stairs, which was longer than expected, we found ourselves in a large room.

An empty room with nothing except one door.

“This is… … .”

Charlie looked around with a frown.

“What on earth is this place? Miss.”

In the end, I couldn’t control my curiosity and asked L again, but L didn’t give any answer.

Her eyes were fixed on the door across the room the whole time.

“Do you know something, Dorothy?”

The subject of Charlie’s question changed from Elle to Dorothy.

Dorothy, Elle’s bodyguard, must have thought there was a possibility that she knew something.

However.

Dorothy shook her head.

“I don’t know anything about this either.”

“… I see.”

In response to the calm answer, Charlie reluctantly nodded.

“Still, I’ll have to explore here first, so do some research─”

Charlie tried to do his duty even in this situation.

If this is the client’s destination, if exploring this place is the client’s goal.

It seems that as the person in charge of the request, you have to do your job.

And he must have thought this.

Once you start exploring, you should proceed with safety in mind as much as possible.

It is a space whose identity is unknown.

We don’t know what traps might be set, and we don’t know what awaits us.

So, the plan was to proceed with the search after conducting a thorough investigation as per the norm.

But this time too, it did not work out as he intended.

Because El ran forward again this time.

“Lady… !”

Shouting out in shock, Charlie immediately tried to grab Elle.

But that intention never came to fruition.

“What… !”

Because Dorothy stopped Charlie.

Without even paying attention to what was going on between them, I followed El’s back with my eyes.

While Charlie and Dorothy were having a little fight, Elle reached the door and grabbed the door handle with her two pretty hands.

Eventually, the door opened—

The world suddenly changed.

***

The moment the door opened, everything around changed.

The stone room and door had disappeared, and before I knew it, I was standing in a completely black space.

Although this is my first experience, I have had similar experiences before.

It was a space that felt similar to the dungeon I entered at the academy.

However, I had no idea what principle it was made of.

All I knew was that magical power was emanating from the door and that it was surrounding me.

To tell the truth, I could have easily resisted.

It would be impossible for an ordinary person or an ordinary martial artist, but perhaps a martial artist who had reached the state of intention would have been able to sufficiently resist even if it were not me.

Or even a magician who reached the level could have done it.

But I didn’t resist.

Because I didn’t feel any ominousness from the magical power emanating from the door.

No, I felt something.

After coming down the stairs, I felt a rather strong intuition.

I had a gut feeling that I should open the door.

That’s why they didn’t stop El, and they didn’t resist the magic power of the door.

And, the result is this situation.

“… … .”

As usual, I trusted my intuition and acted, but honestly, I had no idea what to do.

There was nothing around, it was just black.

I couldn’t even see my companions, and I couldn’t even feel their presence.

Should I wait for something to happen like this, or should I take some action on my part?

While I was worrying so much.

Suddenly, El appeared next to me.

“Huh?”

L, who was looking around with a puzzled expression, eventually saw me and opened her eyes wide.

“Mr. Andel? What about Dorothy and Charlie?”

To the question asked as if I knew nothing, I thought for a moment before answering.

“Well. I can’t see it.”

“Really? How did this happen… ?”

Elle looked around again with her eyes wide open.

“… Miss, don’t you know anything?”

Seeing that, I couldn’t stop myself and asked.

“Me?”

“Yes. It was the destination chosen by the young lady, and she was the one who discovered the hidden space.”

That was the unclear part.

It was El’s designated destination in the first place, and it was El who discovered the hidden stairs and opened the door as if he had been waiting.

But her reaction now seemed like she didn’t know anything.

“How does the lady know about this place? Who on earth taught you this place?”

If we were to make a likely guess, we would have to say that the person who created this space, or someone who is familiar with this space, taught her the information.

Or maybe it’s because it’s strange that she, who has never been to Darville, let alone the forest, knows its location and how to reveal hidden spaces.

The problem is that even if we assume that, unresolved questions remain.

If she heard about this from someone, why doesn’t she know anything about this black space now?

Maybe someone didn’t tell you.

However, no matter how curious El is, her judgment is not so impaired that she risks her life over suspicious stories.

I’m not foolish enough to believe just a suspicious story and travel a long distance into a very dangerous forest.

It would be possible to believe and act if the information was received from a very trustworthy person, but this time, the question arises as to why that ‘someone’ did not inform her of the information about this space.

In many ways, this means that there are some unclear corners.

I wanted to resolve that question here.

however.

“No one told me this.”

The words that came out of her mouth were beyond my expectations.

“… Yes?”

I asked a question without thinking.

Well, because it was nonsense.

How on earth did she find out about this, unless someone taught her?

Was my unbearable doubt revealed in my eyes?

El opened her mouth again.

“I saw it.”

“Yes?”

Her green eyes sparkled.

“I saw it. The sight of me coming here. Ever since I was young.”

With incredible words.