Depths of the Otherworldly Labyrinth (WN)

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“As prominent as one can be.
She was the one who created the foundation of many things.
She created the first magic, she was also the one who built Whoseyards.”

“That is indeed amazing…”

“The other saints are just as amazing.
Most of them either built nations, saved the world, or changed the course of history.”

“Saved the world, huh… Those saints are human, right…?”

“They are.
Although, apparently, they could hear voices that couldn’t be heard by others.
Those voices taught them knowledge that didn’t belong to this world, and using that, they brought miracles to the continent, saving a lot of people as a result, so there’s no wonder people call them saints and worship them.”

The definition of a saint seemed to be similar to what I knew.
However, to be honest, I didn’t exactly remember what made someone a saint in my world.
I only had a vague idea that a virtuous person might be called a saint if he or she fulfilled certain conditions.

In this world, that condition seemed to be ‘people who could hear the unheard voice.’

“Is this voice… the voice of God or something?”

“No, what these people heard is the voice of the huge tree that grows in the middle of the continent… supposedly.
It is called the World Tree, and apparently, the Saints can hear voices from that tree—Or rather, maybe both you and I can hear those voices too, Christ.
You know, we are quite that after all.”

Indeed, the both of us were quite special, so it wouldn’t be surprising if it turned out that we could hear the voices too.
I would be tempted to try listening to the voices if I had the chance.
If I could gain knowledge from that voice, it was well worth a try.

“So, where is this World Tree?”

“Quite far from here.
What’s more, the Allied Nations are located pretty much on the edges of the continent.
It’s in the heart of the mainland, in the suzerainty of Whoseyard.
It’d take dozens of days to get there.”

As I recalled from my library knowledge, there was a considerable distance from us to the suzerainty of Whoseyards, not to mention it was a cross the ocean.
It was so far away that I would have to prepare for a trip for many days.

Incidentally, the suzerainty, or the home country of all five Allied Nations, were all far from the Labyrinth.
Since they were all large countries, it was simply not possible to have their capitals at the edge of the continent.
In effect, the condition for joining the Allied Nations was that one must not lay hands on each other’s vassal states.

“That’s a shame.
And here I thought I could get some miraculous power if I could hear this voice.”

“You’re right.
And as for me, maybe I can receive the knowledge of the basis of all magic, much like saintess Tiara.”

Lastiara and I dropped our shoulders.
I was half-joking, but Lastiara seemed to be talking on the assumption that we really could hear that voice.

Lastiara was discouraged for but a moment, as she quickly looked up and continued her story.
She recovered quickly, as usual.
Her emotions were all over the place, making her someone uneasy to be with.

“Since we talked about saintess Tiara, let’s talk about the nine attributes of magic that she created next.
For people like us who live in the rough of battles, knowing more about magic is crucial.”

“As someone who has to use my own senses to use magic, I’m glad you chose this topic.
After all, back where I’m from, there’s no such thing as magic.”

Although, strictly speaking, the idea of magic did exist in video games and other forms of entertainment, learning about its history in this world would be refreshing.

“—Mn, Christ, there’s no magic in the place you’re from?”

“Yeah.
No magic, no monsters.”

“Whoa! Now I want to hear about that more!”

“Eh, I’d rather have you teach me more about magic, though—”

“But your story sounds more fun!”

I wanted to hear more about magic, but Lastiara’s interest had turned completely to my previous world, leaving me at a loss for words.

It was hard to persuade Lastiara after that.
I had no choice but to start talking about the science and technology of my world as opposed to the magic in this world. 

After talking about science to some extent, I next told her about the heroes of my world.
Lastiara seemed to prefer epics and heroic tales, so she listened to the stories I told with zeal.
It made me that much more enjoyable to tell stories when someone listening to it was enjoying listening to me.
As a result, I got carried away and kept on telling Lastiara about the history of my world instead.

***

The next morning after the festival, while we were having breakfast in the living room, with a determined look on her face, Maria asked me to bring her to the Labyrinth.

“Please let me go to the Labyrinth too…!!”

“Eh, huh?  I thought the deal was Maria would prepare the meal for me at home?”

I was puzzled.
Maria’s role had finally been finalized after we consulted.
Her suddenly wanting to be involved with the Labyrinth again was a surprise.

“J-just for a little while.
Please, let me try it.
I’ve gotten stronger in the past two days, after all…”

“Stronger?”

Did that mean she was training behind my back? Had Maria never given up the idea of exploring the Labyrinth?

As usual, I couldn’t read what was inside her mind.
People say that a girl’s mind is an enigma, but how am I supposed to solve it if it changes every second?

As I was puzzled over that, Lastiara called to me with a whisper from behind.

“Christ, look at Maria-chan’s ‘Skills’…”

As was told, I focused on Maria.

 

【Status】

Innate Skills: 

Insight: 1.45

Acquired Skills:

Hunting: 0.67

Cooking: 1.08

Fire Magic: 1.00

 

“F-fire magic…?”

There was an addition to her ‘Skills’, and it was ‘Fire Magic: 1.00’.
She didn’t have that ‘Skill’ the last time I checked.

It surprised me deeply.
I had seen a lot of ‘Skills’ of a lot of people in this world, but I had never seen someone whose number of ‘Skills’ increased.
As far as I had heard, it was said that an increase in ‘Skills’ might happen only once in a lifetime.
Seeing that there was a separate column with the name ‘Acquired Skills’, I had thought that it shouldn’t be impossible for Skills to increase, but I hadn’t expected Maria to increase her ‘Skills’ in just a couple of days.

Seeing my jaw drop, Maria began to talk about the fire magic.

“Ah, right, I forgot you can see it too, Master… That’s right.
I was taught fire magic and practiced it for quite some time…”

“You were taught…?”

“Yes, Alty-san taught me.”

“By her?”

That cleared the doubt in my mind.
Alty could even teach Dia.
She should be able to teach Maria and Lastiara too, given the chance.

—But there was no worse timing for this.

Her giving a shine of ray to Maria right when she had finally given up on the Labyrinth was past the line of a small trouble.
No thanks to her, Maria was all gung-ho to follow us.

“Alty-san taught me magic that will be effective even on the twentieth floor.
She also taught me a lot of other magic tips and tricks.”

She’s overstepping her bounds…! If she wants to teach someone, she could have taught me…!!

“By taught, you mean you can use more spells?”

“Yes.
I can use more than just «Firefly» now.”

“That means she gave you a magic stone, right?”

“…Yes.
I received a magic stone.”

I almost caught her mumbling her last words.
Was she feeling guilty about receiving the magic stone because she knew how expensive it was?

“Well, if you have more to your arsenal, then I too want to see what it is…”

Depending on what kind of magic she received, we might have a means to counter the leagles on the 22nd floor.

It wasn’t realistic to bring Maria through the 21st floor, but I did have a method to summon her when and only when we reached the 22nd floor.
I could activate  «Connection» when we reached the 22nd floor, bring Maria out, and return her home through the same magic right when we reach the 23rd floor.
It might save us a lot of trouble, depending on her newly found magic… but still—

“I’m begging you.
Please let me try challenging the Labyrinth.
If it turns out to be no good, I’ll return right away.”

Maria pleaded, her eyes reflected a strong will.
I looked at Lastiara, at a loss for a response.
She looked amused, smiling, and was not going to say a word. 

I mused.
What would happen if I gave a yes? What would happen if I gave a no? I tried to calculate the profit and loss of both options, but inevitably, a certain emotion manipulated the scale.

I gave up on trying to choose the optimal solution and presented a compromise.

“…Fine.
But I will see how your newly found magic performs on the shallow floors first, and only then we’ll formulate an effective tactic.
Also, as soon as I deem that you are in danger, you leave.
Is that clear?”

“It’s more than enough.”

Maria nodded emphatically.
There was the will to be useful in the Labyrinth reflected in her eyes.

I racked my brains to figure out how to extinguish that will.
I couldn’t help but get annoyed when Lastiara giggled behind me.
If she wasn’t going to give advice, then she should be quiet. 

Maria told me further about the fire magic she had, and I was surprised by how convenient it was.
It was a power that couldn’t be dismissed with excuses such as ‘it’s useless’ or ‘you still can’t follow us.’

Thus, reluctantly, I took Maria to the Labyrinth.
Again, to the Labyrinth, with Maria in tow…

 

『12th Day Finished』