episode_0029

Late at night.

The adventurers had all returned home, and the merchants had already closed their shops.

And the Viscount and I walked along a quiet street, following a narrow path that was barely visible.

There were still guards at the entrance to the labyrinth, but they let us in without tickets, perhaps having heard something about us.

And at the entrance of the labyrinth, as the Viscount had mentioned, Specter was waiting.

“I entrust this to you.”

I placed my hand on his shoulder.

“Please return safely.”

Specter nodded briefly at us.

He would enter a little after us and follow along.

That was my condition for the Viscount.

In case something happened, or rather, with a high probability that something might happen, and one of us might even die.

If such a situation arose, Specter promised to come and take the Viscount away.

I would try to buy them as much time as possible.

Am I afraid of dying? Well, to some extent, yes.

But I have lived a long life, experienced many dangers, so the fear has dulled somewhat.

Even in truly dire situations, I may feel scared, but that’s because Misty taught me to maintain fear at an appropriate level, as it is an important emotion.

“Then let’s go.”

As we entered the labyrinth, I took the Viscount’s hand.

Even in a place like this, being a noble girl… no, a lady.

It’s proper to provide an escort.

“Yes…!”

The Viscount’s voice trembled.

Is he scared?

Or maybe excited.

Or it could be both.

The Viscount had never been to the labyrinth before, despite owning the rights to the labyrinth, which could be considered the heart of this labyrinthine city.

But as soon as we held hands, his trembling gradually subsided.

“It’s darker than I thought, so watch your step. And until I tell you to run away alone, you must not leave my side under any circumstances.”

“Yes.”

“You don’t need to be so tense up to the 5th floor… no, around the 10th floor.”

The monsters get stronger in increments of 5 floors in the labyrinth, but I heard that after defeating the boss monster on the 10th floor recently, the monsters on the 10th floor are now similar in level to the old 5th floor.

I wondered what kind of monsters would appear up to the current 5th floor, and today I would find out.

“What’s that…?”

A monster appeared quickly.

It was a type I had never seen before.

Is that a new monster for beginners?

“A Skeleton… It’s hard to call it that.”

From the perspective of an undead made of human bones, it was fitting, but its form was far from accurate.

There were three of them.

Considering that the adventurers would have cleared them out once they finished work, this number was significant.

However, they posed no real threat.

“Monsters…! Those are monsters!”

The Viscount seemed fascinated by the monsters.

“How will you defeat them? With a sword? Or…”

The trashy skeletons started walking towards us.

“Like this?”

As the skeletons approached, I left my sword untouched and extended my palm flat.

With a sharp sound, the skeletons’ necks all broke and fell down.

“Oh, you did that barehanded…! Impressive!”

“This is also a weapon.”

I clenched and then opened my hand with the gauntlet on, showing it to him.

“And it wasn’t worth drawing my sword against them.”

I didn’t draw my sword because I wanted to feel how sturdy they were with my own hand.

Although not certain due to the gauntlet, they were definitely weaker than the average skeleton.

Similar to or slightly weaker than the representative low-level monster, Slime.

Slimes are tougher than they look.

Even as weaker skeletons continued to swarm us, there was no real danger.

When we reached the 9th floor underground, the surrounding monsters were all weak.

Upon reaching the 10th floor, the situation changed.

“Ras… Wood…”

A doll.

It was that large doll that appeared when the boss monster was defeated.

In a tattered state, it crawled towards us.

“Step back…”

I raised my arm to make the Countess step back, but she didn’t flinch.

“I will take over from here.”

“… ”

Since we’ve come this far, there’s no choice but to confront it.

“Don’t get too close.”

I lowered my arm and stood beside her.

“I am the Lord of this city, Dimitri Pesto Maze.”

The Countess placed her hand on her chest and spoke.

“Raswood…”

But the doll kept advancing as if it couldn’t hear.

“I want to have a brief conversation. You understand me, right?”

It’s futile.

It doesn’t stop.

The Countess doesn’t retreat either.

It’s getting dangerous.

Perhaps it was a mistake from the beginning.

I subtly reached for my sword.

“What is your name?”

“… ”

At that moment, the doll stopped.

“Na…me…”

“Yes. Your name. I want to hear your name.”

“My… name… is… Pra…tia…”

“Praetia… That’s a nice name. Nice to meet you.”

The Countess approached the doll, crouched down, and extended her hand.

“Ni-nice to… meet you?”

And the doll, with its grotesquely twisted hand, reached out and held the Countess’s hand.

“Ah…!”

The Countess slumped at that moment.

I immediately rushed to hold her waist, pulled her back, and drew my sword with the other hand.

“Are you alright?”

“Oh, that… Just a moment, just a moment!”

The Countess struggled.

“I was a bit surprised, but I’m fine! Really!”

“You just collapsed.”

“That’s why I said I was surprised. I’m really okay, so please let go. I’m not hurt. Praetia has no intention of harming us.”

I glanced at the demonic doll introduced as Praetia.

Its expression was unreadable.

But it didn’t show any sign of approaching further.

Instead…

No, that can’t be right.

Could it be… afraid?

“Possibly, even Praetia was startled and scared.”

I carefully set the Countess down again.

Surprisingly light and small.

They said it stopped growing due to a curse.

However, apart from that, its presence was not light.

It wasn’t about physical weight but the aura unique to someone in a high position.

Despite the small and slender body, the Countess exuded considerable gravitas.

I realized once again that her words about risking her life to convince me were definitely not false.

Honestly, I had underestimated her, thinking of her as just a bird in a cage. I was far off.

“Praetia, did you come all the way here following Raswood?”

“Yes…”

“Why?”

“To… catch… the… ghost…”

“Catch a ghost?”

“Yes… I haven’t caught it yet…”

“Wait a minute. So, you’ve been chasing me all this time just to catch a ghost?”

“Yes…”

“What the… Were you trying to eat me or collect me?”

“…?”

“Sigh… No, then what was that about? There were six others who came with me. Didn’t you kill them, Genes?”

“It wasn’t me… It was Lindberg…”

“Lindberg? Who’s Lindberg?”

The doll controlled by Praetia extended a finger.

“Fif…ty… first… floor…”

“51st floor? You’re saying someone from the 51st floor killed them?”

“Yes…”

“How can you believe that?”

“Mr. Raswood, Praetia wouldn’t lie.”

“How can you believe that? There’s no evidence.”

“We came to verify that evidence.”

“What?”

“Praetia.”

The Countess spoke.

“If it’s okay, wouldn’t you guide us to the 50th floor?”

“Wait, what are you talking about right now…”

“Alright…”

The doll turned its back and began crawling in the opposite direction.

“Are you out of your mind? I don’t have the confidence to protect you perfectly even if we only go to the 30th floor!”

“It’s fine. Pratia will take care of it somehow. Would she invite us without considering such things?”

“But…!”

“Pratia is a presence on the 50th floor. If what Mr. Rasiwood says is true, she possesses power akin to that of a dragon. With that level of power and status, it shouldn’t be difficult for her to subjugate the monsters on the upper floors.”

…”

It sounds plausible.

But there’s no guarantee that it will definitely happen.

“Aren’t adventurers supposed to risk their lives at times?”

“Sigh… When the Earl says so, I have nothing to say either.”

“Haha, it’s okay to call me Dmitri. We are… comrades who came to this… labyrinth together…”

As he spoke, the Earl blushed slightly and bowed his head.

However, I felt like I had been hit on the back of my head with a hammer.

To think that she, who hadn’t even set foot outside the castle, would hear about the attitude of an adventurer.

This is beyond embarrassing.

Or is Pratia still so fearful and sensitive?

“Comrades… I see. For now, let’s just say we’re comrades.”

I took a deep breath and reached out my arm to the Earl, or rather Dmitri.

“Huh? What?!”

And I placed my arm around Dmitri’s shoulder.

Due to the height difference, it looked more like I wasn’t really embracing him, but let’s not worry about that.

Because we are comrades.

“You were the one who mentioned it first. Comrades in adventure.”

“You? Oh, um… W-wait a moment…”

Dmitri’s face turned completely red.

“While we’re in the labyrinth, we are comrades.”

I was also uneasy, but in situations like this, sometimes you have to show some courage.

“Let’s go. To the underground 50th floor.”

“…Excuse me for a moment.”

At that moment, a voice came from behind.

Only then did I realize.

We weren’t the only ones here in this labyrinth…!

“Oh, right… Specter…”

“Aren’t you going to step back?”

“What?”

“That doll… It looks exactly like the one we saw before.”

Fortunately, it seems that Specter didn’t hear our conversation.

“Oh, that… It seems safe for now. Negotiations are going very well.”

“Negotiations… Really?”

Specter turned his head towards Dmitri.

“Y-yes? Oh, um, yes! Th-they are going well…”

He’s completely flustered.

Specter turned his head back towards me.

“Were you under some kind of mental attack? You look like it.”

Was he mistaken because of that, not paying attention to Dmitri and me being close?

I’ll have to use this misunderstanding to my advantage.

“It’s not that severe, just a bit surprised. As I mentioned before, the main body is strong like a dragon. Even if there’s no intention to attack, just seeing it can be startling…”

Even as I spoke, I felt a bit heavy-hearted.

Could it really be?

Have I been afraid of ghosts for 20 years?

No, not ghosts, but… Was I just blinded by the strength of others?

If that’s the case… I’ll have to apologize to Misty.

At least it means I haven’t been a proper adventurer for 20 years.

…”

I turned my head towards the Pratia doll crawling ahead.

If that’s truly the case, I’ll have to apologize to that little guy too.

Running away for 20 years while playing hide-and-seek.