Chapter 99 – Labyrinth

“…What the.”

I blinked at the unexpected figure approaching us.

Round, pumpkin-colored eyes. Rich golden hair.
A confident smile that revealed sharp canines.
Twitching ears and a gently swaying tail.

And.

“ELIARNESSSSS!!!!!!”

An exaggeratedly cheerful voice.

“Vice Headmaster?”

Leona Megenberta approached us.

“…Why are you here?”

“Hmm? Shouldn’t I be asking you that? Eliarnes, Stella. What are you two doing here? Isn’t there still a lockdown in effect?”

Her light footsteps—splash, splash—came to a halt before us. As she emerged from the shadows into the dim lantern light, I could clearly see it was indeed Leona, the lion beastkin.

“Hmm? Don’t tell me you came to rescue Pina?”

“…Is that why you’re here too, Vice Headmaster?”

“Of course. Those bastards who kidnapped Pina deserve to be torn apart and devoured.”

“So when you mentioned having external duties… this is what you meant?”

“External duties?”

Leona tilted her head.

“Ah, I see Sedil explained it that way. Well, I suppose it is external duty. Originally, I came here for something else, but somehow I ended up in a position to rescue Pina. Nya-ha-ha-ha.”

“Hmm…”

I wanted to ask if she knew what was at the end of this labyrinth, but I kept my mouth shut.

For some reason, I didn’t want to ask.

“So, you came to rescue Pina too?”

“That’s… right.”

“Hmm? You must really be friends! Nya-ha-ha!”

Leona laughed heartily, looking back and forth between Stella and me before nodding with satisfaction.

“Such good children. Yes, very good indeed. But! It’s time for you to head back now!”

“Uh, umm…”

At Leona’s instruction to return, Stella hesitated momentarily. Then she sidled up to me and tugged at my sleeve.

“Why aren’t you answering?”

Seeing us, Leona tilted her head with a meaningful smile.

“Don’t tell me you’re planning to ignore me, the Vice Headmaster of Karelai Academy? That could get you into serious trouble, you know?”

“Uh, um… well, that’s…”

“We’re not going back.”

I cut off Stella’s stammering and answered directly.
My response made Leona’s eyes widen.

“I won’t feel at ease until I see Pina safely out with my own eyes. And I—no, we—won’t get in your way.”

We would be more helpful than hindrance.

“Besides, we don’t even know the way back. This labyrinth seems to shift its paths continuously.”

“Huh? Really?! I hadn’t noticed that?!”

“Stop sidling up to me. You smell like pee.”

“No I don’t! No no no! I DO NOT!!”

Stella, who had been pale and stammering just moments ago, now flushed red and shrieked at the top of her lungs.

“Eliarnes. Aren’t you being a bit too bold?”

“Are you only realizing that now?”

“Nya-ha-ha… Fair point.”

Leona gave a wry laugh. I looked directly into her eyes and asked:

“Do you know where Pina is?”

“In the center of the labyrinth.”

“And the path to get there?”

“Naturally, I know it.”

“Ooooh…”

Stella marveled while Leona snickered.

“I guess it can’t be helped. Follow me, then. We don’t have time to stand around chatting.”

With that, Leona took the lead.

“Eliarnes.”

A moment later, Stella, who had somehow positioned herself behind me, tugged at my clothes and whispered:

“…I really didn’t pee myself.”

“Let me borrow your pen. You brought one today, right?”

“A pen…? I did bring one… Take it, but please believe that I didn’t pee myself.”

“Alright.”

“…I really didn’t, okay? Seriously?”

“For crying out loud.”

***

We walked for quite some time. Strangely, no monsters appeared during our trek.

By monsters, I mean creatures like Lizardmen—ones actually worth fighting. Of course, Human-Faced Worms kept crawling out constantly.

“Still, being 4th Circle is quite impressive! You should be proud of that level!”

And Leona killed all of those worms.

“H-hehe… Right? Did you hear that, Eliarnes? Even though Circles are technically one tier below Ranks with the same number! It’s just because the first Circle naturally takes longer to form, so it can’t be helped!”

Somehow, Stella and Leona got along surprisingly well, chattering back and forth like old friends.

Leona’s slick conversational style and Stella’s pure-hearted tendency to take everything at face value made them a perfect match.

“Sure, pee-pants.”

“AAAAARGH! I DIDN’T!!! You promised not to call me that anymore! Why do you keep doing this?!”

“Nya-ha-ha-ha! Why does Eliarnes keep calling you pee-pants, Stella?”

“Because she is one.”

“It’s a physiological response that everyone experiences.”

“Of course it’s a natural physiological response, but anyone with intelligence should know the time and place—”

“AAAAAAH! STOP! STOP! STOOOOOP! That’s not true! Don’t lie!”

The filthy-stinky-pee-pants girl reached out to cover my mouth, but I easily dodged and jabbed her side with mana-infused fingers.

“HYAK?!”

As she let out that adorable yelp and doubled over, I caught her by the waist. Simultaneously, I slipped the pen and bandages into her pocket.

Stella didn’t notice.

I continued to tease her, giggling softly.

“What? Did you wet yourself again?”

“Y-You…! Stop it! Stop! Enough!”

“Hmzzmrghl! Strhp! Strhp!”

“AAAARGH AH! You’re so infuriating!!”

Seemingly genuinely angry, Stella hissed sharply as she writhed and shook me off.

“I really hate you. Stay away. Don’t talk to me. I’m not joking.”

I shrugged at her reproach and looked ahead. Leona continued walking as if nothing had happened.

I moved up to walk beside her.

Left alone at the back, Stella muttered, “You’re really leaving me…?” before stomping loudly after us.

“Who could have done this?”

After walking for another thirty minutes or so, Leona spoke up.

“I wonder.”

“Any guesses?”

“Shouldn’t you know better than I do, Vice Headmaster?”

“True enough.”

Leona chuckled.

“So who’s behind this? This labyrinth seems to be on an entirely different level compared to the one that appeared in Arant.”

“Indeed. Though I didn’t personally see the one in Arant, from what I’ve heard… it would be vastly inferior to this one.”

“Exactly. That one wasn’t really a labyrinth—it felt more like an academy corridor. This one distorts your sense of direction and even blurs your perception of time. That one had none of these effects.”

Leona raised an eyebrow at me.

“You noticed the time distortion as well?”

“Of course.”

I’d kept track of time by monitoring my personal maintenance—changing my sanitary products. That’s how I realized that what felt like barely ten minutes was actually an hour.

Even without that method, I would have found another way to track time precisely.
When you enter a labyrinth, these small details become critically important.

With just that clue, I understood.
They were trying to buy time.

It seemed Pina’s spirit power alone wasn’t enough to easily open that door.

“Nya-ha-ha-ha! Impressive! How did you figure that out?”

“I read a lot of books.”

“…There she goes with that answer again.”

Stella grumbled beside us.

I ignored her and continued:

“If we’re dealing with a labyrinth, it must be one of Labyrinth’s subordinates, right? Or perhaps even one of her vassals. A mere underling couldn’t create something of this magnitude.”

I spoke with an innocent tone.
An uncharacteristically cheerful manner completely at odds with my usual self.
Stella’s expression contorted strangely, but I paid it no mind.

“But Vice Headmaster, why do you think the culprit acted so hastily?”

“I wonder. The lockdown hasn’t even been lifted yet. If they were planning to make a move, wouldn’t next week have been safer? Well… I suppose I’m not one to talk, given that I didn’t even notice someone infiltrating the Academy.”

“Nya-ha-ha…” Leona laughed awkwardly while scratching her cheek.

“What kind of bold villain would dare sneak into the Academy? A Black Magician, perhaps? Or maybe a Demonkin. Many Demonkin can change their appearance, after all.”

“I wonder.”

I giggled along with Leona.
Unlike her, my laughter wasn’t awkward.
It was clear and innocent.

“Vice Headmaster.”

“Yes?”

“I’m curious about something. May I ask you one question?”

Leona’s steps momentarily halted.

“Hmm? Ask away!”

Natural voice. An expression of curiosity about my question. Eyes filled with anticipation.
Watching that perfect expression, I stepped closer.

And asked:

“Hey, you piece of shit.”

The beastkin’s face froze.

“Did you really think I’d fall for that?”

I laughed brightly, innocently. Simultaneously, the mana I’d been suppressing exploded outward. Without any intermediate process, it instantly enveloped my entire body, transforming into aura.

In a moment split into hundreds of fragments—so brief that no one present could perceive it—I raised my fist. In sync with my movement, the aura along my right arm flared brilliantly.

Too late, the creature pretending to be Leona finally reacted.

I was faster.

My fist shot forward. The aura at its tip exploded outward with devastating force, unleashing a sinister light. My fist connected and—

CRACK! With a violent impact, fragments of cherry-blossom aura and pieces of flesh scattered in all directions.

The underground waterway was dyed entirely pink, and everything fell silent.

And then,

Thump

Stella, upon witnessing the false Leona’s head explode, promptly fainted.