Chapter 48: 47

Depths of the Otherworldly Labyrinth

Chapter 47 – The Sane Decision to Lose Sanity

When we reached the 10th floor, I spoke to the flame and contacted Alty. After which, I informed her about our situation, and she gladly offered a solution.

“—I see. If so, I will teach you the magic to avoid lava. I should also teach you the magic to ward off heat. That high temperature is deadly for humans, after all.”

The flame in front of me, Alty, answered. Lastiara, standing behind me, hooted with delight.

“Big thanks, Alty! Heat is the last thing I’m good at, you see!!”

Lastiara met it with a huge thanks and zero questions. 

I, however, wasn’t as easily pleased. My anxiety wasn’t cleared. There was more to what she offered.

“”Alty, who are you going to teach it to? If possible, I—”

“Someone other than you and Lastiara.”

And true enough, my anxiety found its answer.

“Why…?”

“First off, you are not suited for it. I’m not trying to pull your leg, you are too specialized in ‘Dimensional Magic’, so it’s simply impossible.”

I specialized in ‘Dimensional Magic’, so Alty refused to teach me. That was something I was dimly aware of from my previous experience with magic. I had no aptitude for anything other than ‘Dimensional Magic’, and it was possible that I would never learn any magic other than ‘Dimensional Magic’.

I gritted my teeth and brought up the next candidate.

“Well, what about Lastiara then?”

“Lastiara doesn’t have any more slots to learn magic. She is already completed, so it’s impossible. And I’m sure Lastiara herself is aware of this, no?”

Alty’s flaming mouth also made a point about Lastiara. Lastiara looked surprised but readily approved.

“Huh, wow. I’m surprised you know. You’re right, I can’t learn magic. There is no more room in my blood to write a new formula.”

That information was new to me. I was even more surprised to hear it than Lastiara, if only Alty didn’t follow up with an even more outrageous idea.

“That’s why I’m thinking of teaching it to Maria, how about it?”

“…!!”

How about ‘hell no’?

That was the worst suggestion. I had no idea that both Lastiar and I were actually so inflexible in terms of learning magic, even though we were so versatile in using magic.

However, I quickly regained my composure. There was still one other person I could trust in terms of magic.

“H-hold on. Stay off Maria. If you wish…you can teach it to Dia. I’m sure you can, right? Maria simply doesn’t suit the Labyrinth.”

I hesitated for a moment to mention Dia’s name. Even so, I wanted to avoid further strengthening Maria, even at the cost of Lastiara learning of Dia’s existence.

I actually wanted to set up the meeting between Dia and Lastiara with great care and discretion, but things weren’t so convenient.

“That won’t do. I’m going to teach Maria.”

“But why?!”

Alty interjected right away.

“Why? It’s because Maria is in love with you, why else? I have to support her, putting aside whether her love is pure or otherwise.”

“—eh?”

Not only did she cut in, but she dropped a bomb on top of it.

My mind went blank for a moment. 

I couldn’t process her words, and I couldn’t say anything back. And yet, Alty continued to talk, ignoring my state of mind.

“I am supporting Maria so her love will be fulfilled. And for that, I wish to get your cooperation…. My dear collaborator, Christ…”

Alty’s flames flickered as though to laugh at me.

But that wasn’t the time for that. Maria was in love with me, and that statement was much more than I was ready for. 

I tried to comprehend it, but my body did everything it could to refuse to even process it.

I didn’t want to admit it. I couldn’t believe that Maria had such a feeling for me. I didn’t want to believe it. Maria had scorned me ever since the first time we spoke. She was always defiant and never seemed to have any affection for me. She was always harsh, brash, and she never showed any signs that she bore such an emotion. I was the one who had known Maria the longest amongst the three of us. There was no way Maria was in love with me and I just happened to be unaware of it. No way. Never. Such a thing is——

“ALTY! How could you!! Maria-chan did her best to hide her feelings! You can’t just say it so casually in a place like this!!”

My frantic reluctance was drowned out by Lastiara’s animated shout.

“Nevertheless, Lastiara. Sometimes, meddling from a third party can make the coupling happen. At the very least, I don’t have the hobby of watching a girl trying to do her best with hiding her feelings for the rest of her life.”

“Well, I do! That kind of never-ending love that makes a girl frustrated, that makes her feel so powerless she wishes she could just run away, it’s just great, you know…”

“You’ve bad taste. You seem to have different sensibilities than I do.”

“Hmph!”

Their conversation entered my ears. Lastiara didn’t try to deny Maria’s love for me either. On the contrary, it almost sounded like she had known about it for quite some time and had been staying silent the whole time.

Which meant… which means… From Lastiara’s point of view, Maria’s yearning for me is true…?

Then, how do I react to this correctly?

How am I supposed to respond to this correctly?

Let’s weigh the loss and gain—no, I should prioritize my stress level—no, this is about my morals and Maria’s feelings—no, no! No! No! No no no no NO——!!

My aim is to go home. Going Home is everything.

I have a reason to go home. Don’t think about it, just evade it, don’t try to go any deeper—I have a definite reason to go home.

That’s right.

I have to go home…

If I don’t, my one and only family, my sister will……—

—No. Don’t think about that either.

Don’t let your mind wander any further.

“Haah—! Haa, haa, haah…!”

I would lose control if I thought about it. It would be a repeat of the first day. The «???>> Skill would be repeatedly activated.

Of course, activating the Skill once there to cool off wasn’t a bad idea. 

Even if I was anxious the ‘Confusion’ would reach 10.00, I had recovered enough so that it wouldn’t hit the 10.00 mark in a single activation after patience over the past few days. 

If there was urgency, the «???» Skill wasn’t such a bad means to get rid of all that distress and some in one single swoop. It would calm all of my emotions and give me a rational answer. It wasn’t a bad tool to reach an end. 

It wasn’t, but… my body shook at the thought.

It didn’t sound like the right thing for a person to do. If activated, I would definitely not accept Maria’s love for me at face value. After all, rationally speaking, her love was completely unnecessary for me to go home.

A girl’s love would end because of something as silly as that Skill. That would be the most dishonest and disgusting thing I could do.

If Maria really had feelings for me, then it was something I must think through and answer on my own.

My shallow life experience of a dozen or so years had led me to such an answer, and it would keep me from sinking deeper into ‘Confusion’.

It wasn’t something I had to brave myself to. There was no urgency in that matter. It was still all right.

“Phew…”

After having repeatedly taken quick, shallow breaths, I exhaled heavily and calmed down. Alty saw that and spoke, looking impressed.

“Oh, you seem to have calmed down.”

I replied, trying to remain in my right mind.

“I am not calm. I’m standing on edge.”

“You sure look calm for that.”

“Either way, I understand that Maria may or may not be in love with me. That also explains why you are not going to give up teaching her. This is something outside my power… I do not want to interfere with your wish, Alty, so you can teach Maria if you want. But promise me you are going to teach the same magic to Dia. I have a policy of keeping Maria out of the Labyrinth.”

“Mhm… Very well, I’ll teach Dia too. After all, I am their mentor.”

“Mentor, you said…”

“Actually, I’ve been meeting them behind your back, you see. We’re close enough that they start calling me Mentor.”

Once again, I was confronted with information I didn’t wish to know, leaving me almost disoriented. However, I kept my mind clear and continued the conversation.

“Also, keep in mind that Maria’s hopes for her love to be fulfilled are slim. I won’t say it will be as cold as Franrühle, but… It still stands to the fact that I have zero interest in such a thing. It’s not about Maria, it’s about me having no time for romance. I have to go to the deepest depth of the Labyrinth—that takes precedence over everything.”

“I knew you’d say that. What, it’s not like I’m going to force you and Maria together, Christ. It’s all about mutual feelings in this kind of thing, you know?”

“…Good, so we’re not going to force each other. Let’s go with this arrangement.”

“Fine by me.”

Great, I overcame it. I managed to avoid agitating anyone and turning the whole conversation south.

I finished negotiating with Alty and moved on to when she would teach Maria and Dia magic. But Lastiara, who had been quiet the whole time, started to poke at me.

“Hm, hm. So, in the end, what do you feel about Maria-chan, Christ?”

“Well, if you ask me… I quite like her, as a companion. However, she’s quite younger than I am, and I don’t see her in that light.”

“Huh. Are you going to tell Maria-chan that once we’re back?”

“I’m not. I can’t guarantee that Maria is 100 percent in love with me. The two of you only spoke because it looks like she is. If I told her that, then she said to me she didn’t like me like that, it would be embarrassing and make things bitter.”

“I’m sure she’s 100 percent in love with you, though.”

“I’ll give her my answer if Maria herself comes up to me with her feelings, but I won’t say anything from my end outside of that. We will act like always, and interact like always.”

“Mhm, mhm…”

Lastiara nodded her head repeatedly as I gave her my answer. Then, after a while, she spoke up with a huge grin on her face.

“That’s very you! And it’s not bad, me-wise. It’s delicious…”

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“…Yeah, whatever.”

* * *

* * *

I left Lastiara to her own devices and settled down to talk with Alty. She said she would teach Maria and Dia the magic that day and the the next. It wouldn’t take long for them to learn, or so she told me.

—Then, after making the detailed confirmation, I thanked Alty, and we left the 10th floor.

On the way back to the surface, Lastiara asked me many questions. She asked me about Maria, but she was also intrigued about Dia, whose name I had mentioned earlier. I had no choice but to explain to her about my other companion.

“—Huh, I see. So before you teamed up with Maria-chan or me, you teamed with this Dia person.”

“That’s right. It’s not like I keep it a secret. He’s hospitalized and we don’t know when he can walk out, so I’m not sure whether to tell you or not. He’s someone with great magic power, you know?”

“Still, a magician that you trust so much, huh…”

“Yeah, a top class at that. He’s lacking in the level department, but I’m sure he can chase after us quite fast. He has the talent to reach us.”

I gave Dia unreserved praise. In terms of simple numbers alone, he was a talent that surpassed even Lastiara. And above all, he had a good personality.

A good personality—that’s what is important.

“However, there shouldn’t be that many people as talented as we are.”

“No, it’s true”

“No, no, your assessment is too naive, Christ… Yup. At times like this, I should take a look and give this person a fair assessment.”

With the words “Yeah, that’d be best,” Lastiara walked forward. Apparently, she wanted me to introduce her to Dia that day.

“Haah, fine…”

Since they would meet sooner or later anyway, I just nodded. We had some free time, to begin with, so it was decided that we would head to the hospital Dia was staying in.

I guided Lastiara along the way, calming her down as she was filled with anticipation. The hospital wasn’t far from where we were. It took less than an hour from the entrance of the Labyrinth to reach Varte.

The sun had not yet set when we left the Labyrinth for the hospital. Taking Lastiara with me, I walked to the wing where Dia was hospitalized before I suddenly recalled the devastation that took place the last time I was there.

Dia’s room was full of holes, and the damage spread even to the hallway. I entered the wing, wondering how much had been fixed in the past two days—only to find that the destruction was left the same as it was before.

To be precise, there were some signs of repair, but the state of the corridor had stayed the same following further destruction.

We walked down the airy corridor and entered the room of the person who was probably responsible for the holes. Lastiara, who had been looking at the devastation with amusement, followed suit.

The room was as devastated—if not more devastated—than before.

“Hey, Dia. Isn’t the room more broken than the last time…?”

My first words were not a greeting, but rather an inquiry into the reason for that state of swiss cheese.

“Ah, Christ…! Th-there is a deep, deep reason, you see…!”

Dia, who was sitting cross-legged on the bed, noticed me and hurriedly made up an excuse. Putting aside him being flustered at my sudden visitation, Lastiara and I entered the room together. I was about to introduce Lastiara when Dia’s words were interrupted.

“—?!! Why are you here?!”

Dia spotted Lastiara behind me and looked aghast. In response, Lastiara greeted with a flutter of her hand.

“Long time no see, Sith-san.”

Lastiara said ‘long time no see’ and changed to her calm demeanor as though she were dealing with one of the knights. It seemed that they knew each other.

That was so unexpected to me that I was at a loss for words. Dia was equally surprised, but unlike me, he responded back.

“Eh…? Wh-why are you here, Lastiara-san?”

Lastiara put on her perfect mask and spoke calmly while Dia was the exact opposite. Dia was flustered and confused and even got up on the bed as if to get ready to get down and dirty.

“I’m just as surprised. I didn’t expect to meet you here myself.”

“Don’t tell me! You’re here to bring me back?!”

“Calm down. I’m here as Christ’s companion. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“Eh? You’re Christ’s companion, Lastiara-san?”

While Dia was ready to cast offensive magic, Lastiara approached with a gentle tone and took his hand with a soft movement. 

“Indeed. It is nothing that you may think, Sith-san. Rest assured.”

“R-really…?”

“Really.”

As Lastiara offered her gentle smile, Dia relaxed his body as though he was lured by it.

As usual, Lastiara was an expert at playing her perfect lady’s role. She had Dia’s guard down in no time at all. Seeing that their conversation had come to an end, I jumped in.

“Dia, it’s the truth that Lastiara is one of my companions. …I’m actually more surprised you two knew each other. How did you meet?”

I asked, looking at their faces. Lastiara was about to answer, but Dia hurriedly interrupted.

“—W-we’re acquaintances from our hometown! We don’t know each other that well, though!”

It was so unnatural that I turned to Lastiara for confirmation. Lastiara had a strange expression flash for a moment which quickly turned into her usual jovial smile. She then tuned in to Dia’s story.

“Why, yes. We just happen to know each other, Sith-san and I.”

“Yeah, just an acquaintance. But Lastiara-san… I call myself Dia here, so please address me as such.”

“I see. I understand, Dia-san.”

Something felt odd about their conversation, but I didn’t pursue it. From the looks of it, it was something that Dia didn’t want me to know. If possible, I’d rather not do anything that would put him on the spot.

“That’s great to hear then. We are going to be companions who explore the Labyrinth together, after all.”

I pretended not to notice and went on with the story.

When Dia heard the word “companions”, he raised his voice and held his hand to shake Lastiara’s.

“…Since you’re Christ’s companion, you’re my companion, too. Don’t be stiff. Call me Dia without any embellishments.”

“You’re right. As we are companions, I should stop speaking so formally—best of luck, Dia-chan.”

Lastiara shook DIa’s hand back. She squeezed it tightly, refusing to let it go.

“N-not with chan either… W-with who I am, you should address me as is…!”

“Aah, my bad. You look so pretty, it just slipped out my mouth. If so—perhaps, Dia-kun fits you better. Oh, but then…”

“Just Dia, please!”

“Fufu. Got it, Dia.”

Looking at Lastiara’s attitude, Dia’s self-proclaimed ‘I’m not a girl’ statement was only becoming less legitimate. However, I had no intention of interrupting their conversation, as I intended to continue treating Dia as a guy.

After all, having to interact with him as the other gender then of all times would be… tough.

I thought the two of them would repel each other due to their different personalities, but my fears were unfounded. I sat down in one of the chairs and watched them discuss.

After that, I told Dia that Alty was coming to teach him magic. With that, we also explained the situation on the 24th floor of the Labyrinth. The two of them seemed to be thinking about how to conquer the 24th floor together.

I didn’t know much about the magic they used, so all I could do was listen in the background.

Even if I did, though, I didn’t really understand. All I heard were words I had never heard before, so I busied myself with thinking about what to do once we werere back at home.

Maria had probably finished cooking the meal by then and was waiting for us. However, things would be a bit different than before. All because of Alty’s troubling comments, I wasn’t sure I could treat Maria the same way I had always been. I didn’t do some image training then, my attitude might leak out.

As they continued to talk about magic, I continued to endlessly stimulate the conversation I would have with Maria.

***

Since we were done preparing for our next exploration, after our visit to Dia, we went straight home.

As usual, Lastiara, Maria, and I ate a meal prepared by Maria at home. However, there might have been some awkwardness at the dinner table because of Alty’s problematic comment.

Lastiara’s wry grin increased by 30%, I was somewhat distant from Maria, and Maria was watching me closely to find out the reason for it.

Every time Maria turned her eyes to me, I couldn’t help but turn my face away.

Maria was indeed young and short, she was pretty and tidy. While it was true that she wasn’t looking very good the first time we met due to her environment, after keeping herself clean every day, I had no problem calling her a beauty. And unlike Dia and Lastiara, her cuteness was grounded in reality. The fact that she had dark hair also made me feel closer to her, almost making her look like a Japanese person I had known my whole life. 

Once I thought about romance, it was difficult for me to ignore her attraction to me.

However, using «Dimension Gladiator», I managed to end the dinner without incident, avoiding eye contact the whole time.

Then, in the usual fashion, each of us went to sleep in our own rooms. Even if Maria had romantic feelings for me, I should be able to handle it well, or so I told myself confidently.

—The wind was strangely noisy that night.

And then, the next day…

“—Have a good day, Master.”

“Yeah. I’m off…”

Perhaps it was because I was still reeling from the previous day’s conversation, but Maria’s ‘have a good day’ was enough to make me restless. I tried to not look at Maria’s face as much as I could and headed for the 20th floor with «Connection». Lastiara followed suit.

Lastiara’s attire was heavier than the previous day’s. She liked to run around in light clothing, but she wore several layers of cloak to protect her from the heat. Hanging from her waist was a bottle of water and an antidote, ready to drink at any time.

As we were about to proceed to the stairs to the 21st floor, I noticed someone standing with his back to the stairs. It was Heins-san, the handsome, blonde knight.

Haups-san wasn’t there that day, and it appeared that he was alone. To add, his clothes were stuffy. Before, he was equipped with only one silver one, but right then, he had two swords at his waist. He also wore a large silver bracer in his left hand. Although he wasn’t wearing any heavy equipment, it seemed he had been equipped with a fine array of weapons. What stood out, in particular, were the ten rings on his fingers. It was hard to miss when a man wore a huge number of rings.

“I have been waiting… Ojou-sama…”

As before, Heins-san bowed. That gesture gave me a chill in my heart.

Something was different. It wasn’t the number of people or what he wore, but something more conclusive. 

And without being able to notice the difference, Heins-san and Lastiara began to converse.

『13th Day Finished』

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