Chapter 3: Fairies in the Forest

Squish, squeeze! Jiggle, bounce!

Ahhh… Being stuck between my master’s breasts is as wonderful and calming as ever…

On the way home from the labyrinth—today, just as any other day, Tama is tucked snugly in Aria’s cleavage, which bounces with each step she takes. The soft vibrations put the little kitten completely at ease.

“Meown—! How cute! Tama looks so beyond relaxed right meow!”

Vulcan can feel the motherly love flowing from Aria’s warmth and softness, and seeing Tama’s expression, her heart skips a beat.

“Grrr…! Someday, I’ll be the one to make Tama that happy!”

Next to Vulcan, Stella—who lost to Aria in the first battle for Tama’s affection—looks positively dejected as she spits out her words. At this point, she doesn’t just want Tama’s seed. She now craves being able to dote on him, just like Aria does.

However, Aria can’t even hear her rival right now. She’s absorbed in Tama loving on her and looking completely safe and secure. Before she realizes it, the party has arrived at the Adventurers Guild located in the city center.

They were able to collect materials from only a small number of monsters, but they will still earn some cash today. They need to take what they can get—and they also have two more reasons to stop by the guild.

The first is to show Stella how materials collected from monsters can be sold—a chance to teach her how money is made.

The second is to properly register her as an adventurer. She intends to continue working in this profession moving forward, and most importantly, her adventurer’s tag will act as her identification.

Stella has lost her memories (at least that’s what everyone thinks), so the tag will be very useful as she comes into her own.

Aria opens the door to the guild. It’s early evening, and the place is packed with people—in front of the noticeboard, at the registration counter, around the meeting tables, and in the bar.

The adventurers clamoring at the noticeboard are choosing quests of their liking for tomorrow. Avid adventurers can’t afford to lose a moment preparing for the next day.

Others who have just received their pay dash directly to the bar in the back to wash down salty snacks with a cold ale.

As usual, several drunk adventurers are making passes at a guild staff member busing dishes, pulling her toward them.

“Wow! So this is an adventurers guild!”

An excited voice cuts through the chaos—it’s Stella, standing next to Aria.

Labyrinthos is a city bustling with activity, but the interior of the guild is positively teeming with life.

Stella appears excited by everything around her—her eyes are lit up like a Christmas tree.

“Yo, lookit that chick! She’s a total babe!”

“Maybe she’s new? Check out that body and outfit—she’s showing under boob and her ass is half-out… Drives me crazy!”

Stella’s boisterous exclamation draws the collective gaze of the adventurers. The men are instantly transfixed by her gorgeous looks and cry out in amazement at her provocative outfit.

Stella has a perfect face; two perfectly ripe, bouncy breasts; a pert, juicy round ass; and tight lines running down her abs. She’s covered by a thin piece of fabric across her chest and wearing hot pants that show the top of her butt… The men reacting like this is really no surprise.

“Hold up, she’s hot, too, but look at Aria! She’s wearing bikini armor…! Her old adventuring outfit was great, but this shows off her cleavage to the max…!”

“Side boob is definitely even more salacious than Aria’s cleavage! I’m team Vulcan for life.”

A single adventurer’s comment has brought all eyes in the guild to Aria and Vulcan. Just as they claimed, Aria now wears bikini armor that is even more highly revealing than her previous ensemble. Of course this brings focus to the deep valley between her melon peaks.

As an added bonus, the gorgeous porcelain skin of her waist, back, and thighs is also fully exposed. Plus, the bottom of the bikini is so tiny, the men can barely believe it—what’s known as “low-rise.”

Of course, this allows for Aria’s perfect hip lines and plump thighs to be fully admired.

Lastly, Vulcan isn’t showing quite as much skin as Stella or Aria. That said, her outfit consists of a pair of overalls with nothing underneath. Her healthy, straw-colored armpits and perfectly ripe breasts visible from the side of her overalls will dig deeply into the perverted mind of any man.

All three of the girls are quite frankly bombshells with amazing bodies, so much so that a number of the men staring are holding their crotches and bent forward, unable to move.

“Hmm? It seems these human males are staring at me. And their gazes are rather unpleasant.”

“Ugh… I feel like we’re getting even more stares than before…”

“Meown, what can you do? Stella’s joined us now, and you’re wearing a new outfit…”

Seeing the men’s reactions, Stella looks upset, as if she knows instinctively that they’re all staring at her licentiously.

Aria, who dislikes human males, is similarly taken aback. Her expression is tense as she unconsciously clutches Tama to her chest even tighter.

Vulcan already knew this would happen, and her speech reflects this as her tiger-clan ears fold down—she’s already given up.

At just that moment—

“Rrrroooowwwwlll—!!”

“““What the—?!”””

Tama bristles while ensconced in Aria’s bosom and growls in fierce intimidation toward the adventurers and their vulgar gazes.

Tama looks cute and cuddly, but he’s an S-ranked monster, after all. The power latent in his body—not to mention his aggression—is beyond exceptional. The adventurers in the guild are getting just a glimpse of his fearsome power.

They also now understand that anyone who brings harm Aria’s way will not be forgiven…

Hmm. That should do it. I will not excuse any brute who casts a filthy glance my master’s way.

Seeing the men quaking in their boots, Tama gives a satisfied “Meown!”

“Hee-hee, Tama, thank you so much.”

“Meown—Tama, you are such a good boy.”

“Incredible! A single cry from his mouth…! My future husband is so cool!”

Responding to Tama’s actions, Aria, Vulcan, and Stella all praise him gleefully.

Stella was a dragon in her past life, so if she wants to, she can be just as formidable as Tama…but never mind that.

Just as Aria nuzzles her cheek against Tama for saving them from the men’s licentious gazes, she hears someone say, “Hey now, if it isn’t Aria and company. And…is this a new friend of yours?”

In the same moment, the male adventurers’ faces all freeze in even further shock. It’s a reasonable response. The voice is accompanied by a six-foot-tall, muscle-bound, bald-headed, strapping beast of a man (or lady?) in full bondage gear.

Affectionately known as Anna, Arnold Holzweilzenegger—this guild’s receptionist girl (???)—has appeared.

“Hello, Anna! Yes, this is Stella, and starting today, she’s beginning life as an adventurer with us!”

“Anna, we’d like to register Stella, okay meow?”

Aria’s and Vulcan’s smiles widen when they see Arnold. This is because Aria has always stuck by Anna’s side like a sister, and Vulcan knows how great of a person Arnold is.

“Before that, Aria, I have something to tell you—is now a good time?”

“…? What could that be?”

Arnold has something to share that eclipses Stella’s introduction or registration as an adventurer. Aria is endlessly curious and has a puzzled look on her face.

“Please allow me to explain.”

Who now? A voice can be heard from behind Arnold, where a man stands.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Aria. My name is Leis. I have a special mission for you, which is why I’m here today.”

The man named Leis steps out from Arnold’s shadow. He looks to be in his mid-forties. White strands streak through his brown hair, and a number of wrinkles have worn themselves underneath his eyes.

Leis is of average height and average build, and he’s wearing an expensive suit with an overcoat. He likely holds some high status or is quite wealthy.

However, rather than noticing his clothing, Aria is focused on something about his eyes. His pupils are gray and sorrowful…or perhaps some form of mistrust is growing within Aria.

The intuition of an elf who grew up in the wild is sharp as a razor. It’s often said they can tell if someone has ill intentions the moment they meet.

What is this? He doesn’t seem to be a bad person…but…

Aria senses something off about Leis…but she can’t determine its exact nature.

Just then—

“A special-mission request just for you, oh mew god! It appears word is getting out about your strength, Aria!”

Hearing that Leis has a special mission just for Aria, Vulcan is elated, as if Leis was talking about her. A special-mission request is definitive proof of prowess and name value. Because Vulcan trained Aria, she’s ecstatic that her pupil is now getting recognition.

Hearing how happy Vulcan is, Aria decides to quell her misgivings and first asks Leis, “A special-mission request… Just what sort of errand does this entail? And why are you asking me? There are far more experienced adventurers here in the guild…”

“The mission is an escort quest. I am a merchant and transporting a certain item from the town of Renald to the earl’s territory, Gladstone, and I require protection for myself and my cargo.”

“They requested you specially because I referred you, Aria! You succeeded in driving out the demons from Renald with Vulcan, and you have Tama, who can take down four trolls all by himself, right? Above all else, Leis has requested someone he can trust explicitly, which is why I thought of you and your strong sense of justice. ”

Leis and Arnold answer Aria’s questions in turn.

Huh… They’ve asked for Aria by name—not me—due to her strength and trustworthiness…

Hearing the two speak, Tama nods slightly in distinct agreement. Vulcan is equally happy, seeing so much trust being placed in Aria, who was just a D-ranked adventurer when the two met.

“Well, we can only do so much standing here—shall we have a seat, and I’ll explain the matter in detail? Actually, I have something I’d like to ask of Vulcan, also…”

“Meown? Something for me, too? I’m sorry, but right meow, I can’t leave my shop unattended for an extended period. I’m afraid I’ll have to refuse in this meow-ment.”

“Is that so…? I understand. What a pity.”

Leis had intended to ask Vulcan, from Aria’s same party, to undertake a different special mission, it seems. However, she’s tasked with the responsibility of running her shop.

The trip from Renald to Gladstone is over three days by horse-drawn carriage. Thinking of the round-trip journey, Vulcan had no choice but to refuse.

“Okay then, please provide further details. Stella…should probably not be present, judging by her appearance. Vulcan, can you please go ahead and get her something to eat?”

“Okay meow!”

Aria originally thought to encourage Stella, the other member of their party, to listen as well, but seeing the look on her face, she gave up. A whiff of the tantalizing aroma wafting from the bar at the back of the guild has Stella lost in a trance, drool streaming from her mouth.

Vulcan leads their drooling companion away while Aria, still holding Tama, sits to continue her conversation with Leis and Arnold.

“Okay then, let’s explain. As Leis said earlier, what we want you to do, Aria, is guard a convoy. The items requiring your diligence are Leis himself and his cargo, the skeleton of an earth dragon.”

“An earth dragon skeleton…! And from the town of Renald…”

“That’s right. About a month ago, an earth dragon corpse appeared, and the skeleton was harvested from it. Right, Tama?”

Responding to Aria’s surprise, Arnold affirms her suspicions. The “certain item” they’ll be transporting is the earth dragon Tama destroyed in the labyrinth approximately one month earlier in order to save his master—in other words, Stella’s skeleton.

The sudden appearance of an earth dragon corpse coincident with Tama’s battle wounds had sent rumors spreading far and wide.

The stories are circulating, and it’s clear that Arnold, who shoots a wink Tama’s way, already knows them. The little cat, however, merely cocks his head to the side as if to say, What are you on about?

Aria asks how exactly Leis came into possession of the earth dragon skeleton, and he replies, “Actually, there was an auction for the corpse in Renald. I bid on the skeleton only, because it can be used in trading.”

As a merchant, perhaps Leis intends to sell the skeleton as raw materials to a blacksmith, or maybe he has a different use for it in mind…

Aria is definitely curious but declines to pry further. Her intuition as an elf is telling her that Leis doesn’t have ulterior motives, and above all else, she trusts Arnold. He always takes thorough measures and strictly vets the requestor, to make sure he passes on only legitimate requests.

“I would like to leave as early as possible. Tomorrow, if feasible… How does this amount strike you for payment?”

Leis answers Aria’s questions while detailing the conditions of his request, pushing an official form from the guild toward Aria.

“…Th-this price… You can’t be serious…?”

“I am very serious; my cargo is extremely precious.”

The quote on the request form is staggering, vastly eclipsing the estimate for the quest Aria had accepted previously, the one that led to the defeat of the demon Beryl.

“Yes, and there’s a chance the earth dragon skeleton will be preyed on by thieves. That’s why the fee is quite high. There’s a certain level of danger involved, but you and Tama can handle it, I’m sure. ”

“…In that case, I believe I would like to accept this quest. Tama, you’re okay with it, right?”

“Meown—!” Of course, master!

Aria has made up her mind and accepted the mission. Tama, lying quietly on the table, enthusiastically affirms her decision.

“By the way, can she…can Stella come along with us, too?”

“If she’s your comrade, then of course she can. The more bodies the better for a convoy.”

Aria can’t afford to leave Stella alone in Labyrinthos and is relieved when Leis readily and affably consents to having her accompany them.

Fighting a number of monsters in a confined space like the labyrinth is one thing, but along the route they’ll be traveling, Stella can’t be expected to cooperate quite as closely. If she runs off on her own, it will be slightly more tolerable.

Also, Aria is confident this will be a good chance for Stella to get used to fighting while defending a specific item.

Hmm… Will this work out? If Stella is joining us, that means she’ll see the earth dragon skeleton—her corpse from her previous life. She could be scarred beyond repair…

Hearing that Stella will join them, Tama can’t help but imagine the possibility. His old enemy is now a comrade joining him on the front lines of battle.

Tama turns to see the former earth dragon tearing into her food playfully with Vulcan by her side. The former knight inevitably fears for the girl’s state of mind.

“This is incredible… It’s really just the bones, isn’t it?”

“Yes, the dissection was performed by professionals who removed the skeleton. It remains in pristine condition.”

Two days later, Aria and company have reached the town of Renald.

Aria and the requestor, Leis, are discussing the earth dragon skeleton—Stella’s corpse from her past life.

“…”

—Stella, are you okay…?

Tama gingerly engages Stella in telepathic conversation as she stands next to Aria and Leis, looking up at her remains silently.

Last night, Tama told Stella that the object they’d be protecting on this quest is her past self’s corpse. As expected, she was deeply scarred by this revelation. She currently seems very dejected.

She used to be able to eat mountains of food, but now her appetite is only as much as a normal human’s.

Seeing Stella’s sudden change in mood, Aria thought she should leave her behind with Vulcan, but Stella put up a fuss, claiming she “doesn’t want to be separated from Tama…,” so they brought her along.

The party was attacked by a number of monsters on the way to Renald, but Stella refused to help fight them off. Tama cleaned them all up with Elemental Howls.

—Tama…

—What is it, Stella?

—It’s so strange… When I saw my corpse, I remembered the moment you took my life…and for some reason, it made my lady parts throb!

—……

Tama is left completely speechless.

“By the way, Leis, how are we expected to transport this massive skeleton? I don’t think that horses will be of any use…”

“You don’t need to worry about that, Aria. I have six carrier lizards pulling a specially made orichalcum-alloy carriage. It will hold under the weight.”

“I see. Then I guess we don’t have anything to worry about!”

Carrier lizards are a particularly rare species, about seven feet long. They are as intelligent as horses and have strong, powerful bodies—the perfect creature to carry heavy cargo a long distance.

“Hey now, if it isn’t Aria and Tama!”

As they converse, Aria and Leis hear a voice call out to them.

“Mr. Town Headman! It’s so nice to see you again!”

“Meown—!”

The town headman, who submitted the request that resulted in the death of the demon Beryl, appears before them, grinning from ear to ear. Of course he is—Aria and Tama are the heroes who saved the town of Renald.

“I’m so glad to see both of you are well again! Are you the adventurers I heard will be protecting this earth-dragon-skeleton cargo?”

“Yes, that’s correct. We received a special request from this man, Leis…”

“Wooow, isn’t that something! And it seems that your adventurer rank has gone up, too. Maybe that’s a given for someone who’s defeated a demon?”

The headman looks toward Aria’s chest while he speaks. Just as he claimed, her adventurer’s tag has changed from silver to gold—in other words, she’s increased from C to B rank.

Though Vulcan’s cooperation always helps, her prowess in taking down the demon and Tama’s record of defeating four trolls by himself was recognized, and she was promoted just as they left on their journey. Of course, that means that Vulcan also rose to B rank.

Grrr. Damn headman, pretending to look at Aria’s adventurer’s tag while he stares at her resplendent valley. It’s time to teach you a lesson.

Realizing that the headman is leering, Tama jumps up from the ground onto Aria’s chest and burrows in between her breasts before turning to the headman and narrowing his adorable little eyes.

No matter how cute he might look, Tama is a powerful elemental cat that can take down multiple A-rank monsters single-handedly.

The headman yelps in fright and quickly averts his eyes.

Attempting to change the subject, the he looks toward Stella and says to Aria, “W-well, let’s forget about that for now… Who is that girl over there, breathing so raggedly…?”

Stella’s cheeks are visibly red, and she’s panting excitedly.

This foul creature! Is she recalling the moment I put her to death and getting all hot and bothered by it?!

Tama had been devoting all his strength to protecting Aria from the headman’s wandering gaze, but seeing Aria’s current condition, his eyes go wide as saucers in surprise.

No matter what the circumstances, getting turned on from recalling the moment of one’s death is simply more than Tama can comprehend.

Well…in reality, Stella isn’t getting excited by the fact that Tama killed her but rather recalling his strength once again and wondering, What would happen if Tama had his way with me in that behemoth form…? I’ll bet one shot would be all it would take to impregnate me…

That much was beyond the scope of Tama’s imagination.

Well, I guess that’s that; no matter what shape or form it takes, she’s clearly overcome her trauma. This means she should get her appetite back, and she’ll be able to return to battle.

Tama forces himself to believe it’s all true.

The town headman invites Aria and the party to stay a night at Renald’s inn. They accept, including a delicious meal and an open-air hot bath to relieve and soothe the fatigue of their travels, preparing them for tomorrow’s journey.

“By the way, can I ask you something?”

“What is it, Aria? Provided I’m able, I’m happy to answer any questions you might have.”

Leis responds to Aria’s query with a cheerful smile. Their journey has been pleasant thus far. A few monsters, including goblins, attacked them, but because they’re on convoy protection duty, Aria and company stayed in the back and allowed Tama to clear the path with Elemental Howls, just like on their journey to Renald.

They’ve proceeded along their route and have currently entered their second evening. The group dines together as the campfire crackles.

According to their itinerary, if they leave early tomorrow morning, they should arrive at their destination of Gladstone just before noon.

Meanwhile, Aria continues with her question.

“What sort of merchant trade will the earth dragon skeleton be used for? The auction price you told me makes it seem like it’s not really that profitable…”

Adventurers generally do not ask those requesting their assistance such deep questions. However, over the past two days, Aria has come to realize that Leis is a kind man with a good heart. Given this fact, she made up her mind that getting a little curious and asking a few questions couldn’t hurt.

“That’s a good question… Between you and me, I have an arms dealer merchant friend who has wanted an earth dragon skeleton for quite some time. He had a premonition of a massive war that is soon to come…”

“Is that so? Well, I better not pry any deeper for details, in that case…”

Aria is convinced by Leis’s story.

A massive war… Will it be a struggle over territory by the aristocracy, or will two nations collide suddenly? Large mercantile families are often well-informed when it comes to such matters, and the information is kept strictly confidential.

Leis has divulged this insight to Aria, although it is ambiguous. For the elf, however, that is more than enough.

If a huge war starts, so many innocent lives will be lost…

Imagining the horror, Aria casts her gaze downward. It’s easy for her to fight in the name of righteousness when her opponents are demons and monsters, but against another human, it’s nearly impossible.

Aria feels lost, and this immovable truth rankles her sense of righteousness.

“Meown…”

“Hee-hee, Tama, are you consoling me? You are such a sweetheart.”

Tama’s cheeks are stuffed with grilled meat, but he hops onto Aria’s lap and rubs his head lovingly into her stomach.

Aria smiles faintly and strokes Tama’s head with tender love and care.

“Grrrrr… Just what do you love so much about this weak little girl?”

Stella hasn’t had another chance to hold Tama since the first time. This is because Aria hasn’t let her guard down around Stella, who is prowling after Tama’s manhood.

“I’m more interested in how gorgeous girls like you and Stella became adventurers. It’s mysterious. With looks like those, you must have a multitude of high-level adventurers and aristocrats lining up to take your hand…”

With a smirk in Stella’s direction, Leis compliments her and Aria while expressing his fascination that they make their living as adventurers despite their obvious beauty.

In response, Aria says, “You’re right. I have been pursued by an aristocrat before. However, I am not fond of human men. And I need to get stronger, to save as many people as possible. That’s why I’m training to be an adventurer.”

Recalling how Kussman pursued her, Aria looks embittered, but she answers Leis regardless. Hearing her reply, he stares back at her with a distant look in his eyes and says, “Saving as many people as possible…really. I have already heard that your sense of virtue is so strong that you threw yourself into battle without concern for your own life. Apparently, the rumor is true. Can I respectfully ask the reason for your devotion to righteousness?”

After a lengthy pause, Aria begins speaking slowly.

“…A number of years ago, when I was still a child, my hometown was attacked by a demon army. Amid the confusion, I wandered off with my mother, but a demon captured us. But…just when I thought we were going to die, she appeared before us: the beautiful, virtuous elf the Holy Blade!”

“The Holy Blade…the same person who single-handedly defeated the demon army that fell upon the elf homeland Lumilus and, according to one theory, smashed a pillar of the great demon lord… That Holy Blade? I see—you were enamored with her after she saved your life and decided to travel down the path of righteousness… Is that correct?”

“Yes. I am still far from the strength that the Holy Blade possesses, but someday, I promise to save many people, just like she did…!”

“Saving many people…is an incredible goal in life…”

Realizing that Leis had fallen silent and was staring at her, Aria stammers, “A-anyway, you haven’t ogled Stella or me even once. That makes us so happy. Almost every man we encounter looks at us like pieces of meat…”

“Ha-ha! Well, yes, that’s true. If I looked at you in that way, my fiancée would not be very pleased with me.”

“Oh, you have a fiancée? She must be just as lovely as you.”

“Yes, of course. She has chestnut brown hair and a gentle smile, a heart so big that she’s kind to everyone, and she loves flowers. She is always looking after me… It’s certainly wasted on a man like myself…”

“…?”

Aria now has a sense of Leis’s amiable nature, and the reason that she doesn’t feel him leering at her is because of his fiancée. In the same moment, she experiences a strange sensation at his reply, because when he spoke, he stared up at the stars as if remembering his fiancée like a whisper of the past.

“…To tell the truth, she got upset with me a number of times during our dates because I was clearly distracted by other women. She was incensed and wouldn’t listen to a word I said for a while. However, when I traveled deep into the forest to find her favorite flowers and gave them to her, she forgave me somehow.”

“Hee-hee! Well, it sounds like you deserved to be in the doghouse.”

Realizing that Aria is staring at him, puzzled, Leis is taken aback and recounts a memory of his fiancée getting upset with him. Aria laughs wryly at his story. Tama chimes in by nodding repeatedly, almost as if interjecting in the conversation.

“At any rate, this elemental cat of yours is truly a sagacious being.”

Seeing Tama nodding, Leis changes the subject to him.

Did I say something wrong?

Aria wonders as Leis changes the subject suddenly. She decides not to dig any deeper, answering, “Tama is especially intelligent. He seems to fully understand human conversation, and he has a number of innate skills.”

“Wow, does that mean others in addition to the elemental attacks I witnessed this afternoon?”

“I have confirmed a number of them, but I don’t think he has any close-quarter-combat skills. Then again…he has a habit of hiding his abilities from me, so I can’t really be certain…”

So far, Tama has unleashed unbelievable skills at the very last minute, and Aria looks at him reproachfully. He merely shakes his head—“Meown?”—and feigns ignorance.

“Okay then, Leis. We’ve finished our dinner, so let’s get ready for bed—Oh? What’s that sound?”

Just as Aria suggests bedding down for the night to Leis, the focus of her protection, she hears a strange noise.

Leis and Stella look at Aria quizzically—they don’t hear anything.

However…

It sounds like something being dragged along the ground…and something heavy…

Tama can hear it, too.

The cat (behemoth) Tama and the elf Aria have far superior hearing compared to normal humans. They cannot ignore the far-off sound.

“It’s coming closer quickly. Tama, Stella, prepare for battle!”

“Meown!” You got it, master!

“Hmph! I don’t care what kind of monster it is; I’ll rip it to shreds!”

Aria grabs her knives, and Stella hoists her Mega Shield and greatsword, both in full battle-ready position. Leis moves to the rear of the party so he can escape at a moment’s notice.

“Meown—!” Divine Lion Protection!

This time around, Tama activates Divine Lion Protection on everyone before the enemy can get close.

Leis exclaims in wonder. “Wow! This is incredible—I’ve been given night vision!”

Tama has activated Divine Lion Protection to increase everyone’s physical capacity, but night vision is the primary reason he used it.

Aria speaks out, saying, “That’s a…small treant, right? I’ve seen them in my studies before.”

The tree monster slowly creeping toward them is called a small treant, approximately ten feet long and relying on skills and the hefting of its body on top of enemies to attack.

Puzzled, Leis remarks, “This is strange. There shouldn’t be any small treants inhabiting this region…”

Normally, small treants appear only in forests or forest labyrinths, and to the party’s knowledge, there is no such place nearby.

“Don’t think too hard about this one, Tama! It’s time for you to burn this thing to a crisp with your Flame Howl!”

“Meown—!” Leave it to me, master! Flame Howl!

Tama answers Aria with an adorable meow and activates Flame Howl, one of his Elemental Howls.

“Grrr-awwwwrrr—!!”

The small treant screams in utter agony along the night road.

Tama’s Flame Howl has the fearsome capacity to completely evaporate a troll’s life force. The small treant’s wooden body was instantly engulfed in flame and burned to ashes and dust.

Suddenly, Leis yells, “Oh my god…! This is bad, Aria. There are a number of them flanking from the rear!”

Just as he said, a herd of small treants is encroaching on the party. One, two, three… There must be at least ten of them.

“Let’s prepare the carriage! Traveling by night is dangerous, but there could be even more coming!”

“Understood!”

At Aria’s command, Leis packs into the carriage as she jumps into the driver’s seat. Tama hops onto Aria’s shoulder and readies himself to attack monsters at any time.

Stella gets onto the cargo platform with her sword brandished, prepared to leap out as necessary.

“Meown—!” Divine Lion Protection!

Tama activates the powerful buff skill again—this time on the six carrier lizards supporting their carriage. He’s given them night vision to navigate the dark path.

“Hahhh—!!”

Aria cracks the lead, and the carrier lizards cry out and stampede forth as the small treants all scream, “Grrr-awwwwrrr—!!” They’re upset their prey is escaping.

“Is this…?”

“It’s…a forest, I think? It’s growing very close to the road.”

Leis responds to Aria’s query from inside the carriage. A while after setting forth with the carrier lizards, they came across a number of small treants, but Tama either annihilated them with Elemental Howls or Stella split them in half with her greatsword.

Now, a forest looms in front of the party, and it isn’t included anywhere on their map.

Shrill cries erupt from the tree line.

“Keekeeee—!”

Immediately after, a seven-foot-tall monkey monster flies out of the darkness.

“It’s a giant ape…!”

Aria’s eyes go wide as saucers at the monkey monster—a giant ape—coming toward them. They are formidable creatures, well-known for the pleasure they take in causing pain to humans.

However, that’s not the reason Aria is in shock. Giant apes should also appear only in forest labyrinths or areas near one. However, this one flew directly out of the forest… In other words—

“Is this forest a labyrinth in itself—?”

From within the carriage, Leis is the one to verbalize Aria’s and Tama’s suspicions.

“Let’s forget about that for now. Stella, can you handle this?”

“Hmph, being of use to you offends me, but I do feel like causing a ruckus. I will accept and show you how it’s done!”

As she speaks, Stella leaps from the cargo platform. At the same moment, her body morphs into dragonewt form, increasing her menace.

“Meown!” Divine Lion Protection!

Tama jumps down behind Stella. Giant apes are C-ranked monsters. They may not be a challenge for Stella, but Tama has cast a buff to bring up their base-level skills. He’s prepared to serve as backup and hasn’t forgotten to be ready to cast an Elemental Howl whenever necessary.

“Keekeeeeeee!”

The giant ape brings a fist down in a rush, but Stella welcomes and deflects it with her Mega Shield.

Bonnng—!

The creature’s fist and her Mega Shield collide in a thundering echo.

“Rrrngah—!”

Stella’s expression is indescribable as she whips her shield from side to side. The giant ape’s eyes widen in shock as it realizes that tiny little Stella has blocked its fist smash like a falling feather.

Stella’s prowess with her shield has increased even further. Until now, she’s been able to use her shield only as a blunt instrument, but at this point, she has developed more advanced attack techniques.

That makes all the difference.

In a single flash, her greatshield rips across in a perfect horizontal line, splitting the giant ape’s belly in half.

“Leis, if this forest is indeed a brand-new labyrinth that’s just been conceived…”

“It would be a magnificent treasure trove for any adventurers who found it, I’m sure.”

It is possible for labyrinths to suddenly appear in places where there was nothing before. Labyrinths that have just been conceived into existence are wholly untouched, filled with valuable materials and treasure boxes the likes of which one hears of only in fairy tales.

For any adventurer who fancies getting rich quickly, such labyrinths are like a dream.

However, first we must deliver the earth dragon skeleton and Leis safely to Gladstone.

Aria is highly attracted to the prospect of a newly conceived labyrinth, but as an adventurer, she must properly carry out the quest with which she’s been entrusted.

Though painfully reluctant, Aria puts Stella and Tama back in the carriage, and the party leaves the newfound forest in their wake.

Just before dusk—

“Phew, we managed to arrive safely somehow. I must express my thanks to you, Aria, Stella, and Tama.”

Leis offers his thanks to his escorts at the entrance to Gladstone, their final destination. They’d encountered a number of monsters, were ambushed in the middle of the night, and what they thought to be a labyrinth had appeared suddenly along their path—without Aria’s quick decision-making, Stella’s battle prowess, and the night vision bestowed upon them by Tama’s Divine Lion Protection, he likely wouldn’t have made it safely.

“Not at all. This is our profession. For now, let’s proceed and deliver the earth dragon skeleton to your company storehouse. Afterward, in the morning, we’ll have to inform the guild of our quest completion and about the labyrinth that cropped up so close to the road.”

“It’s just that…but, Aria, how would you feel about heading back to the labyrinth right away?”

“…Are you sure?”

Aria’s response is immediate.

“Of course. Once we deliver the skeleton, my employees will begin unloading it. You’ve been a great service to me, and I would love for you to make some money from that untouched labyrinth.”

Any adventurer would die to enter a virgin labyrinth, and Leis understands this as he makes his proposal.

“In that case…we’d love to take you up on that.”

“Please, please. If it suits you, you may bring whatever materials you collect back to my company storehouse. I’d love to study them with you!”

“That would be a great help… Stella, Tama, do you have another one in you?”

“Meown—!” You got it, master!

“No problem at all! If anything, after our battles thus far, I’m on fire and want to crush some skulls!”

Tama and Stella are both ready to rock. Stella doesn’t quite understand the allure of an unexplored labyrinth, but that’s no bother.

“Aria, if you’d like, I will loan you a carrier lizard. Because it’s dangerous out there, please command it to return here before you arrive. That does mean you’ll have to walk home…”

“Thank you! That will be more than satisfactory.”

At Aria’s reply, Leis smiles cheerfully and sends the party on their way. “Okay then, I will wish for your triumphant return.”

Seeing his smile, Aria again senses a dark shadow or hint of remorse…something just not quite right. Yet, at this juncture, she can’t let it bother her too much, because in addition to the chance to delve into what they believe to be an untouched labyrinth, she will have the opportunity to sell the materials gathered to a merchant without the guild as an intermediary.

Going through the guild means paying a commission. With a direct merchant connection, she’ll be able to profit without any extra fees.

Aria is not particularly greedy. In the future, she wants to travel the world as a warrior of justice. To this end, she believes she’ll need to establish several bases for herself across the land.

Furthermore, she requires a decent amount of savings to apply to Stella’s future.

From these two perspectives, venturing into the labyrinth they’ve discovered is now her number one priority. Even on the off chance that someone else gets there before them, if the labyrinth has indeed just been conceived recently, they will be able to make a generous profit.

“Tama, Stella—let’s drink a stamina potion while we’re at it.”

While swaying back and forth on the carrier lizard’s back, Aria reaches into her leather satchel and brings out two magic stamina potions that heal exhaustion. She gives one to Tama perched between her breasts and the other to Stella sitting behind her.

“Gehhh—this is so bitter! But I do feel less tired…?”

Stella furrows her brow at the bitter potion and is perplexed to find that it already seems to be working. It’s no surprise, given she was a monster in her past life, so healing exhaustion with an item is definitely a first for her.

All right—I was getting sleepy, but with this, I should be fine.

The behemoth cub Tama was due for an afternoon nap, but thanks to the stamina potion, he’s fully alert.

As Tama suckles the bottle and drinks it down, Aria thinks:

Ohhh… It’s like he’s sucking a nipple… It’s turning me on!

Her mind begins heading in a certain direction…but let’s forget that for now.

Hmm. It seems nobody has actually set foot in here. Surely master will be pleased.

Tama realizes it’s very likely that nobody has entered before them. After doing some reconnaissance, the party finds nothing but grass and trees, along with one spot that could possibly serve as an entrance or exit.

They work feverishly to cut away the brush and attempt to enter, but an invisible wall prevents them from going any farther. The party surmises that a barrier of sorts separates the interior of the labyrinth from the outside world.

This labyrinth isn’t an underground cave like the one in Labyrinthos, so they were excited to delve inside, but they aren’t having any luck currently.

Aria isn’t aware of it, but only in very rare cases do labyrinths have more than a single way to enter and escape.

The party is unable to confirm any footprints around the spot they’ve found, the presumed sole entrance. In other words, they’re treating it as proof that nobody has been in the area.

And this sensation…it’s the bloodlust monsters emanate. This has to be a labyrinth.

Tama’s feral instincts convince him of this fact.

“Hmph, I can smell a bunch of pitiful small fry.”

“I agree; I can feel the presence of monsters. I realize you’re tough, Stella, but don’t let your guard down, got it?”

Stella was a dragon in a past life, and Aria was born and raised in the outdoors. They’ve both recognized the aura of monsters hanging in the air inside the forest.

Stella’s mouth twists into a delighted grin while Aria rubs her arm in anxiety about the upcoming battle.

“Meown—”

“Ohhh, Tama…you’re encouraging me, aren’t you?”

Tama nuzzles his head against Aria’s cheek from his perch in between her breasts, trying to lift her spirits. Aria’s shoulders drop and relax in response to his tender concern.

“Grrrr… Why only you, always, Aria?! No fair!”

“Stella, this time around, we don’t have Vulcan with us, so we need to cooperate even more than before.”

“Hmph, if you want us to fight together so badly, then you’ll have to do it on my terms.”

Stella doesn’t give a rat’s ass about Aria’s words of admonishment. Once she realized that Aria is weaker than she is, her attitude toward the elf turned pompous and hasn’t changed in the few days since.

This is not ideal… Even though we have the rare chance to delve into an untouched labyrinth, we might end up having to fall back immediately… I wish there was a way to resolve this—Wait a minute!

As Aria racks her brain for a way to get Stella to cooperate, one particular idea flashes into her mind…

“Tama? You definitely prefer girls who cooperate with others to fight, right? Not girls who just go wild all on their own?”

Aria turns to Tama and speaks to him with a loving smile. Seeing this unfold, Stella’s eyes grow wide in surprise.

S-so that’s what you’re after, master… You’re going to use me as bait to get Stella to listen to what you’re saying, right? It’s a bit awkward taking advantage of Stella’s feelings like that…but what other choice do we have?

Tama has read Aria’s intentions and come to a conclusion—

“Meown—!” Of course, master! Tama mews adorably and nods to show his agreement.

“Grrrrrrrrrr—! I’ve changed my mind! I will fight alongside you, Aria! I am a girl who can cooperate with others in battle!”

The result is immediate.

Stella had been tromping on ahead by herself, but she now rushes back to Aria and hoists her shield, as if covering Aria.

“Hee-hee… Tama, it looks like Stella wants to work together after all! Isn’t that great news?”

“M-meown—!” Master, I didn’t know you could be so ruthless…, Tama thinks.

“Okay, for now let’s keep pushing forward… But first, can you put a buff on us, Tama? It’s to enhance all our faculties, but also, this is a forest labyrinth. There will likely be mid-level monsters that can cause status ailments dwelling within.”

Wow…master, you knew that could happen? It’s apparent that you’ve been brushing up on your monster and labyrinth knowledge with Vulcan during your daytime study sessions.

Tama is impressed.

Until now, Aria has been invested only in refining her own skills. After forming a party with Vulcan, though, she’s been learning so many things that have proven indispensable when fighting monsters or venturing into a labyrinth.

Partially thanks to this, the Aria who previously couldn’t tell the difference between a regular goblin and its mutated form, a goblin mage—and was ambushed as a result—can now calmly approach a brand-new challenge standing before her.

And that isn’t all—Aria has also absorbed some of Vulcan’s battle strategy know-how. This is why the party was able to complete their mission, despite a number of incidents along the way. She’s also succeeded in reining in Stella.

Aria is starting to develop as a person, not just as a warrior. Tama almost feels like he’s watching his daughter growing up—it’s a warm, fuzzy, and proud feeling.

“Meown—!” Okay then, Divine Lion Protection!

Tama cries out, and a bright golden aura envelops Tama, Aria, and Stella. All three of the party members receive dramatic buffs, allowing them to protect themselves from the monsters they were worried about—those that cause status ailments.

Not to mention, this labyrinth is filled with thick brush, and hardly any light can enter from outside. Their field of vision would normally be extremely limited, but the night-vision effect provided by Divine Lion Protection allows them to proceed with ease.

“Ki-ki—!”

“Ki-kiiii—!!”

A few minutes’ walk into the labyrinth, two giant apes appear in front of Aria and company.

“Well hello there, ape brutes! I’ll slice you to ribbons with my sword—or whatever, just bring it on!”

Stella instantly races forward to attack but then suddenly stops in place. She hoists her Mega Shield, ready to strike at any time.

Tama thinks, Well isn’t that something…, and is impressed. He was convinced that Stella was all talk and that, when she had the chance, she would instantly rush out to attack with abandon.

However, it turns out Stella’s desire to be loved by Tama is not superficial or halfhearted. As a dragon—an all-powerful being—even if she must cast her pride aside, she wants to fight alongside Aria and win Tama’s affection.

“Tama, first and foremost, let’s see what kinds of combo attacks Stella and I can do! Please support us when you see an opening!”

“Meown—!” Roger that, master!

Tama mews in affirmation and hops out from between Aria’s breasts down onto the floor. In the same moment, the giant apes rush forward —one heading toward Stella and the other toward Aria.

“In that case…ummm, let’s try this!”

Stella transforms into her dragonewt form in the face of the giant ape bounding at her and unleashes a shield-bash attack.

The beast is forcefully blasted backward. Seeing this, its companion recoils in surprise, stopping in its tracks for just a moment.

“Nice one, Stella!”

In the brief opening this causes, Aria activates her Acceleration skill and gives her movement a speed boost.

And then—whoosh! Aria races forward and steps inside the giant ape’s stance, stabbing forward with her knife and aiming for the heart.

“Gi-iiiiii—!!”

The giant ape screams in the throes of death. It flexes both arms and uses all its strength in an attempt to strangle Aria, yet—

“Meown—!” No chance!

Tama is watching vigilantly and activates Summon Tentacle to wrap up the giant ape’s arms. It resists in vain and collapses to the ground.

“T-Tama…! Send me some tentacles, too!”

—You got it, Stella!

Stella calls out to Tama, and he answers her through telepathy.

The first giant ape is just standing up as Tama sends tentacles to trap it.

“You’re finished—!!”

Stella growls, rushes forward, and raises her greatsword toward the immobilized giant—the battle has been won. She feels extremely awkward, but in terms of properly cooperating, she has likely cleared with a passing grade.

“Good job, Stella! You did a great job for disliking working together so much!”

“H-hmph! It’s not for your sake, Aria. I only did it to show Tama that I’m a girl who can cooperate for the benefit of her party members!”

“Hee-hee! You can be so cute, Stella.”

Aria’s approval of Stella’s diligent partnership must have embarrassed the former earth dragon, as her cheeks flush red. She did it for Tama, but being praised by Aria makes her a bit happy, too.

—Stella, great job. Keep it up.

—T-Tama, you’re praising me, too? Okay, you got it!

Tama’s telepathic message of support instantly lights up Stella’s eyes. Her face blossoms into a smile that makes her look so much like a cute young girl, one would easily forget that she was an oversized lizard in her past life.

Hmm… Stella and Tama are staring at each other silently again. Just what is going on between them?

Watching from the side, Aria notices Tama and Stella seemingly staring into each other’s eyes, and feeling a tinge of jealousy, the elf puffs out her cheeks.

But let’s forget that for now. Aria shakes it off and switches gears, looking down at the corpses of the giant apes at her feet.

“Normally, I’d like to skin their hides and bring them back with us, but there’s a limit to what will fit in my backpack, and since it will be cumbersome as we delve deeper, I guess we’ll have to give up on that…”

Aria casts her gaze away from the giant ape corpses and sighs heavily. A giant ape hide will fetch a considerable price when sold. She wants to take them with her but also doesn’t want to be encumbered as they progress through the labyrinth. Plus, they might find some treasure boxes.

Aria and Stella are both wearing backpacks, but they want to refrain from collecting too much baggage right away.

Hmm… Giant ape hides… Leaving them behind is definitely a waste. I know—I’ll put a new skill on display. If we’re asking Leis to purchase the items, I’m sure he’ll keep the skill a secret for me, too.

Tama has made up his mind and approaches Aria’s feet, mewing at her.

“What’s up, Tama?”

“Meown—!” She’s looking at me. Activate skill: Storage!

“Wha—?! The giant ape corpses completely disappeared!”

“Just what does this mean?!”

As Tama activates his skill Storage, the giant ape corpses disappear into thin air. Aria’s and Stella’s eyes are wide as saucers in surprise. However, Aria quickly realizes something is up and looks back at Tama, as if saying, Tama…it was you, wasn’t it?

“Meown—!” You know it, master!

Tama mews while nodding and activates Storage again. This time, the giant ape corpses he just stowed away reappear in front of them.

“T-Tama, were you hiding this skill from me, too…? Once again, you are such an incredible kitty.”

“That was amazing! I knew you were the mate for me!”

The skill Storage is extremely rare, often said to be one in a million. The amount of items that can be tucked away varies by user, and Aria has heard that, in most cases, the skill is usually limited to small items. For Tama to be able to stow away two entire massive giant ape corpses…

Aria stares at him, slack-jawed, while Stella loudly exclaims just how amazing he is.

“If Tama has this skill, we won’t need to leave anything behind! Tama, is there still room for more items using your skill?”

“Meown—!” Don’t worry—there’s plenty of room, master!

“Okay—let’s keep on going!”

“Aria, why do you look so happy?”

“Stella, selling monster corpses earns us money. With more money, we can eat a whole bunch of delicious food!”

“Say what?! Aria, you must tell me these things sooner! Yes! We will kill many monsters and eat lots and lots of delicious food!”

Aria’s simple explanation has Stella’s eyes burning brighter than ever before. Her mind is filled with images of all the food she’s eaten in the past few days.

Aria leads her along as they march farther into deeper recesses of the labyrinth. It’s certainly a forest—thick brush threatens to conceal their path forward, and the configuration would leave anyone who lets their guard down for just a moment lost.

Without Aria’s superior sense of direction honed from her upbringing in the wild, the party would have likely already lost track of the labyrinth’s exit.

Additionally, this place has a very particular aura. Traversing the entire perimeter of the labyrinth from the outside didn’t take long at all, but no matter how deep they go inside, they can’t catch a single glimpse of the outside world.

“Tama! Please use Aether Howl!”

“Meown—!” Leave it to me, master! Aether Howl!

At Aria’s request, Tama unleashes his Elemental Howl, Aether Howl. He’s aiming for two massive hornet enemies diving down on Aria and Stella with their stingers. They’re as big as a human head and called poison bees—C-ranked monsters in terms of danger.

Just as their name states, the stingers on their rear ends contain a poison that not only quickly drains their victims’ life forces but also causes confusion. They’re a truly bothersome monster.

Thanks to the effects of Divine Lion Protection cast on the girls by Tama, the poison won’t have any affect, but being stung in a vital spot is very dangerous regardless.

Landing a hit on the poison bees buzzing around them with her throwing knives is a nearly impossible task for Aria. This is why she’s asked Tama to attack them with Aether Howl, a wide-range skill.

Wrhoosh—!

Tama mews adorably and sends a powerful blast of air rushing above Aria’s and Stella’s heads. The poison bees are blasted off-balance a split second before landing their attacks and are blasted off course, crashing on the ground.

“That’s it—Acceleration!”

“No way they’ll take us down!”

Aria immediately boosts her speed with Acceleration and chases the poison bees. Thanks to the added effects of Tama’s Divine Lion Protection, Aria is faster than a speeding bullet.

Stella also activates her dragonewt form and gains incredible speed, although she’s not quite as fast as Aria in front of her.

Bzz-bzzzz… The poison bees’ wings flap wildly in an attempt to right themselves and fly. However, due to the damage taken when they were blasted against the ground, neither can get airborne.

Shrrrring—!

A fierce shrill pierces the air—Aria has sliced the first bee directly in half horizontally. The sharpness of Aria’s tamahagane-and-orichalcum-alloy blade combined with her speed makes it a piece of cake.

“Not letting you get away!”

Just as the second poison bee seems like it will succeed in taking flight, Stella uses the hilt of her greatsword to smash it flat.

“Oh, what a waste!” Aria moans. Poison bee wings and stingers can be sold for a decent price—her reaction is understandable given that the monster is now flat as a pancake.

Mm? What’s this presence…?

As Aria pouts, Tama senses another unknown being.

“There’s something hiding in this brush!”

“It seems like you’re right. Stella, I’ll attack with a throwing knife. When the enemy jumps out in surprise, I want you and Tama to attack!”

Stella and Aria can feel the presence drifting out from the brush, too. Aria gives Stella and Tama their orders and removes a knife from her garter belt to throw it in the enemy’s direction when…

“Wahhh! Halt, human! I’m not your enemy!”

“That’s right! Please don’t attack us!”

Two adorable, tiny voices can be heard from within the brush.

“Who are you? Show yourselves!”

“O-okay, we’ll come out.”

“Wahhh, wait, don’t leave me behind—!”

In response to Aria’s demand, two different voices can be heard as the creatures emerge from their hiding spot.

“W-wait…a pixie? For real?”

“Meown—!” And a dryad, too?!

Aria and Tama cannot hide their abject surprise at the two newcomers. One of them, a tiny peach-colored creature with wings on her back, is small enough to fit in the palm of a human hand.

The other is the size of a little girl with dark-green hair and eyes and light-green skin.

“Yep! I’m a pixie! Lily’s my name!”

“And I’m a dryad named Feri. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

The winged girl sniffs proudly, and the green-skinned girl quietly introduces herself.

“A pixie and a dryad? What are they? Delicious?”

“Stella, they aren’t food. They’re both types of fairies who live in forests and forest labyrinths. I’ve only ever seen them in my study materials…”

Stella looks perplexed as she asks about the two creatures, prompting Aria’s explanation. The elf looks happy, in a sense. Just as she said, Lily and Feri are a pixie and a dryad, both members of the fairy family. They are extremely rare, and even if you come across one, they usually run away immediately.

However, if they do show themselves, whoever beholds them is said to receive a great fortune.

“Ah-ha-ha! And look at you—such an interesting little fella, aren’tcha?”

“Yeah, you’re so small and fluffy and cute!”

While Aria gives her fairy lesson, Lily and Feri both come closer to Tama, wide-eyed with curiosity.

Feri reaches out and scoops up his tiny body. Lily yells out, “Wheeee—!” and flies onto his back, rolling around in his fuzzy fur.

“M-meown—?”

Tama isn’t sure how to respond to the two tiny creatures suddenly playing with him and mews awkwardly.

“Ummm… You said your names are Lily and Feri, right? This is Tama. My name is Aria, and this girl here is Stella. It seems that you were observing us from within the brush. Is there something you want with us?”

“Ah-ha-ha, his name is Tama! His name is just as cute as he is!”

“So your names are Aria and Stella. We were watching you because Tama is so cute, we wanted to be friends with him…”

“No, it’s because whatever you have in your bag smells so good, Aria! Won’t you give us a little bit?”

While they play with Tama and pet his fluffy fur, Lily and Feri answer Aria’s question in turn.

“Something in my bag…? Could it possibly be this?”

Aria takes a small container out of her bag and opens the lid. The sweet aroma that wafts from it elicits goofy grins on Lily’s and Feri’s faces.

“Ahhh! I want some!”

“My goodness, what a lovely smell!”

The food Lily and Feri are going crazy over is fruit preserved in honey. It seems they both were entranced by its fragrance and have been following Aria and company.

“Hee-hee, you’re both so cute. Please have some.”

““Yayyy—!!””

Lily and Feri lunge at the container containing the honey-preserved fruit as soon as Aria offers it to them. Feri digs in with her hands but brings the fruit to her mouth with a delicate elegance. Lily picks up a piece with the strength of her tiny body and nibbles on it excitedly.

“Wooow—Feri, human food is so good, isn’t it?!”

“Yeah, you’re right—and it’s been so long since we had food a human prepared!”

Lily and Feri banter while devouring the honey-preserved fruit almost immediately.

Aria realizes something from their conversation and asks the girls a question.

“Does that mean you’ve met other humans before? This labyrinth is newly formed, so there shouldn’t be any other humans who’ve set foot in here…”

“‘Newly formed’? You mean…?”

“Maybe this place reincarnated again?”

Lily and Feri turn to look at each other while they speak.

“The labyrinth reincarnated… Does that mean this is a ‘reborn labyrinth’?”

There are a number of different types of labyrinths. There are those like the one in Labyrinthos that stay in the same place and continuously generate monsters. Some can also be relocated in space and time, and others, for unknown reasons, can be reborn once their initial purpose as a labyrinth has been fulfilled, at which point all their internal characteristics reset. That’s the “reborn labyrinth” that Aria mentioned.

“That’s exactly right! Hey, human—I mean, Aria, if you want, we can guide you through this labyrinth. How about it?”

“Ohhh! Really? Are you sure, Lily?”

“Of course—! You gave us delicious food. We want to become friends with Tama, and you guys definitely don’t look like bad people!”

Feri’s kind reply prompts Aria to quickly accept Lily’s sudden proposal. It seems both fairies are very interested in Tama.

While they chat, the two start petting Tama’s fluffy fur again.

“Grrrrr—! And I’m still not allowed to hold Tama! Get away from him, you little scamps!”

“Wahhh—! I thought she was just mad, but she literally transformed!”

“She looks just like a dragon!”

Seeing Lily and Feri playing with Tama as much as they want, Stella’s jealousy boils over. She’s transformed into her dragonewt form and is frantically trying to chase them away.

—Stella, that’s enough!

—Erk. Tama…

Just as Lily and Feri start shuddering in fear, Tama attempts to defuse the situation through telepathy. A direct command from Tama will quell even the fiery Stella.

She reluctantly disengages her dragonewt form.

“Well, there’s no other way around it. I concede—once we finish clearing this labyrinth and arrive back in Gladstone, I’ll let you hold Tama just once, okay, Stella?”

Wh-what are you saying, master?! Don’t be hasty…!

Tama is taken aback at Aria’s promise, and his eyes go wide as saucers.

“What?! Are you serious, Aria?!”

“It will be a reward for cooperating and fighting with us. But only once, you got it?”

“This is excellent news! Okay, little pixie and dryad. Hurry up and show us the way so we can get out of here quickly!”

Aria and Stella have hatched their accord without any regard for Tama’s feelings. He sighs, Oh, master…, as he watches how accustomed Aria has become to controlling Stella using him as bait.

However, hearing that this is a one-time offer, Tama also realizes that Aria still considers Stella, another woman, a threat…

“In that case, we’ll guide you! Tama, when we finish the labyrinth, you have to become our friend, okay?”

“Petting Tama’s fluffy fur feels so good!”

Lily and Feri are obliged to help Aria and company, if only for the sake of befriending Tama.

A fairy’s senses are difficult to comprehend. However, for the party, this is an unexpected windfall—they’re delving into an untouched labyrinth with two fairy girls as navigators, after all.

“Okay, so what kind of items are you after?”

“Yeah, are you in the market for monster hides or medicinal herbs?”

“Both are tempting, but what I really want is a treasure box. Have you seen any highly decorated chests before?”

When Lily and Feri ask what kind of items Aria is after, she expresses her desire for a treasure box.

In an untouched labyrinth, the chances of finding one shouldn’t be too low—at least, that’s Aria’s impression.

“If that’s what you’re after, we definitely saw one, right, Feri?”

“Yep, you’re right, Lily. Okay then, we’ll guide you to it!”

The little fairies’ reaction confirm the elf’s hunch.

Aria is uncontrollably happy and scoops up Tama, exclaiming, “Yes! We did it!” as she squeezes him tightly against her breasts.

“Meown—!” Aqua Howl!

Some time passes after the party delves deeper into the labyrinth following Lily and Feri’s navigation—and four small treants appear. They must have picked up on Aria and company’s scent.

Small treants look like plant monsters, but they are carnivorous and violent. They’ve targeted the adventurers to eat their flesh.

Tama activates one of his Elemental Howls, Aqua Howl, against a small treant. He’s aiming for the thick, armlike branches on both sides of the monsters. His high-pressure blast of water rushes against the appendages and rips them to shreds.

“Wooow, that’s amazing, Tama!”

“He’s so strong for being such a tiny little cutie!”

Lily and Feri rave excitedly—they can’t believe that Tama has such incredible battle prowess, even though he’s so fluffy and cute.

In reality, Tama could use Flame Howl instead of Aqua Howl to torch the small treants and clean them up all at once, but he chooses not to given that this is a forest labyrinth. If he uses fire-based skills here, the entire area will go up in a sea of flames.

“Gi-gyaaaa—!”

The small treant erupts in a scream of pain at having its branches blasted off—or was it anger? Probably both. The monster lashes out in a desperate final attack. Without its branches, that’s its only option.

“I’ll handle this!”

Stella steps up to the vanguard and faces the small treant. It’s not exactly the ideal formation, but she raises her shield to protect Aria and Tama, intercepting the monster. Stella’s Mega Shield and the small treant’s trunk collide.

“Giii—?!”

The monster screams in shock as the entire weight of its sizable body is blocked easily by Stella and her tiny frame.

Stella ignores its reaction and puts all the strength she can muster into her Mega Shield, sending the creature flying backward. It loses its balance and falls to the ground, dragging the other treant behind it down with it.

“Meown—!” Summon Tentacle!

Tama activates his absorbed skill Summon Tentacle, and a number of tentacles sprout from the ground at lightning speed, successfully ensnaring the last two small treants rushing in from the rear.

“Time to die!!”

Stella brings her greatsword down with abandon on the pair of trapped small treants collapsed in front of her. With the other two trapped by Tama, she can obliterate the trunks of these ones without a care in the world. Stella tears into both at once, ripping through their midsections.

“Gi-gyaaaa—!”

Their death throes reverberate throughout the labyrinth.

In that moment, a shadowy figure rushes with blinding speed toward the two small treants entrapped by tentacles. Of course, it’s Aria, who’s activated Acceleration. She’s holding her knives, specially made by Vulcan, in both hands. She approaches the immobilized small treants and thrusts her blades into a spot on the upper-left portion of their trunks.

Small treants have a core that is necessary for all their life functions, located in the same place as a human heart. Aria knows this—she’s learned from Vulcan and studied the best way to deal with all sorts of monsters.

Without emitting a sound, the two small treants begin spasming wildly before suddenly falling on the ground with a thunderous crash.

“Phew! That wasn’t exactly perfect, but with Stella as our tank, me as the ambush, and Tama as our support, our teamwork has reached new heights…”

After hearing that she’ll have the chance to hold Tama, Stella is more motivated than ever and has performed her role as tank with ease. She’s still treating enemies lurking in the rear as perfunctory and largely devoted to focusing her attacks on power, but Aria doesn’t have any complaints about her general progress.

Her cooperation is more than enough for a labyrinth of this level, and with Tama’s precise support, the party should be just fine. At this rate, Aria expects an even deeper level of collaboration moving forward.

When Vulcan, who’s currently holding down the fort in Labyrinthos, joins them in the vanguard, they’ll be able to take on their most optimal form yet.

“Whoaaa, that was a surprise! It’s not just Tama—Aria and Stella, you’re so strong, too!”

“Yeah, Aria’s as fast as the wind, and Stella has the power of a dragon!”

As Aria sheathes her knives, Lily and Feri express their admiration.

“Before this labyrinth reincarnated, what sort of fighting styles did you see in other adventurers?”

Aria gets curious about Lily and Feri’s conversation and asks the two fairies, who respond:

“Good question! All the people we watched from the shadows definitely worked together in battle!”

“Yes, and I don’t think we’ve ever seen anyone like you guys, each with your own individual superior battle skills.”

The girls haven’t seen many parties that suddenly activated unique individual skills.

“But anyway! The treasure box you wanted, Aria—is that it?”

As she speaks, Lily points forward to a tiny ornate treasure box that would fit in Aria’s hands, left behind carelessly.

“This is a treasure box…?”

Aria races forward toward it and slowly, cautiously reaches out her hand. Seeing this, Tama rushes to jump onto her shoulder, reminded of his experience discovering a Warp Crystal in the labyrinth in Labyrinthos and being teleported to a lower level. If that happened here, Aria would likely not return alive.

Aria takes the treasure box into both hands. It’s made of gold and adorned with precious stones all over. The chest alone could garner an incredible profit.

“Ah-ha-ha-ha! Whenever humans find those chests, they all react the same way!”

“Yeah, Aria, you look so happy.”

Seeing Aria shaking with excitement, Lily and Feri are thoroughly entertained. They’ve seen the same scene play out a number of times before this labyrinth reincarnated.

“Okay, let’s open it! I wonder what’s inside…”

Aria nervously opens the lid.

Seeing its contents, Stella says, “Whoa, it’s so tiny, but the stuff inside is so shiny and pretty!”

The treasure box holds a small, clear glass bottle that contains a translucent blue liquid…and the liquid itself glitters like the Milky Way.

That color and that sparkle… Could it be?!

“Teardrops of Truth…?”

Just as Tama surmises what’s in the bottle, Aria has the same realization. Teardrops of Truth—a most sacred magical potion that causes anyone who drinks even a single drop to reveal the underlying intentions and truths that lie in their heart, without any prevarication.

“I’ve heard that its method of refinement has never been known…and maybe this is why…?”

Aria closes her hand on the Teardrops of Truth, visibly shaking. Just as she claims, the method of refinement used to create this potion is unknown—which is why it is considered sacred.

The reason Aria speculated, “…and maybe this is why?” is that she surmises that perhaps Teardrops of Truth appear only in treasure boxes in labyrinths.

“Stella, you must never tell a single soul that we discovered this item, okay? If our adversaries find out about it, they will certainly come hunt us down.”

The effects of Teardrops of Truth are powerful, and for this reason, the potion can be used for evil. Aria pushes the reality of how important it is for their adversaries to never know they have it, but Stella clearly grasps the seriousness of the situation, saying, “I am only interested in Tama and eating food, so I don’t care at all about that silly liquid.”

“Hey, Aria, you sure seem excited for some reason…”

“There are still more treasure boxes, you know?”

Aria’s eyes practically beam at Lily’s and Feri’s claims.

Following the two fairies’ lead, the party presses onward.

“Haaah—!”

Aria’s powerful voice echoes across the labyrinth as she rushes forward with her innate speed. She’s aiming to step inside the stance of a giant ape looming before her. With her rapid approach, the beast doesn’t have the chance to move. It doesn’t even matter. The ape already has a massive gash running across its stomach—an open wound caused by Stella’s greatsword. In addition, Aria has stuck throwing knives in its shoulder and arm.

Squelllch—!

Aria takes a knife in her hand and plunges it into the weakened giant ape’s heart.

“Wow, our collaborative powers are even more refined now!”

“Yeah! If we flip the switch, this is a cakewalk!”

Shortly after obtaining the Teardrops of Truth, Aria and company have come across a few monsters, but they’ve successfully taken them down by working together. It hasn’t been very long, but their synergistic skills are increasing faster than the eye can perceive.

“Ummm, I think it was around here…”

“Look over there, Aria—!”

Feri’s glance starts to dart around their area and Lily points in a specific direction, where another of the adorned boxes—a treasure box—lies waiting for them.

“Hee-hee, I wonder what will be in this one?”

Aria excitedly reaches her hand toward the chest. Of course, Tama is stuck right to her shoulder, a preventative measure in case the box contains a Warp Crystal.

This treasure box is really small, too.

“Is this…a key, I guess?”

Aria removes a small key-shaped item crafted from iron ore that fits in the palm of her hand. It must be a magic item. Sparkling blue ripples pulsate intermittently on its surface, spreading in all directions.

“Oh wow, that key was hidden in a treasure box?”

“What do you mean, ‘that key’? Does it fit into a door in the labyrinth, Lily?”

“Yes, it does. Because it’s a magic item that unlocks the boss room!”

Aria is a bit shocked by Lily’s explanation and she responds, “‘Boss room’…?! That means that this isn’t a multitiered labyrinth—and it explains why we haven’t seen any stairwells.”

A boss room is the space in a labyrinth where the strongest enemy lies in wait. In the labyrinth in Labyrinthos, this space is where Stella spent her time as an earth dragon.

Among the different types of labyrinths, there are multitiered versions where the monsters get stronger as you proceed down through the floors and single-tiered versions that don’t have upper and lower levels. Because the latter doesn’t have levels, most examples of single-tiered labyrinths have a separate space locked by a special door, known as a boss room.

The key that Aria has just found is the magic item required to enter that room.

“Lily, Feri—do you know what kind of monster the boss of this labyrinth is?”

“Ummm, it’s like a huge tree monster… What did the last party of adventurers call it?”

“I think it was ‘treant drake,’ right?”

Lily and Feri confer to answer Aria’s question.

A drake is a wingless dragon that walks on two legs. They’re approximately fifteen to twenty feet long and exist in every possible elemental distinction. For this reason, their strength can vary in rank from C+ to B+, depending on their element.

“A drake, hmm… That shouldn’t be too much of a problem for us…”

Aria ponders. If she can defeat a drake, she’ll definitely make a lot of money from its materials. And that’s not all—there is a high possibility that a treasure box containing high-ranked items can be found in the boss room.

Given these facts, Aria would love to take on the battle and collect the rewards. However…

“Let’s call it a day for now. Everyone is getting pretty tired, and we have the key, so we don’t need to worry about someone coming in and taking it.”

Nice! I’m so impressed by my master stepping up to make tough calls.

Tama mews in admiration at Aria’s decision-making and nods repeatedly.

Stella responds with a touch of dissatisfaction, saying, “Hmph. We’re done already?” However, when Aria suggests they go back to the city and eat some delicious food, her eyes light up like stars, and she follows suit.

“Hey, Aria, bring us with you, too!”

“Yeah, now that we’re friends with Tama, we don’t want to leave his side!”

As they speak, Lily and Feri surround Tama and start rubbing his fluffy fur.

“Grrrr—! Get away from him! …Although, since I’ll get to hold him once when we’re done, I’ll tolerate this for now.”

Stella gets jealous of Lily and Feri surrounding Tama, but remembering that Aria will allow her to hold him, she quickly concedes.

“Hmm, well, we do owe you, Lily and Feri, for showing us the way through the labyrinth…”

Aria looks at Tama, who’s a bit troubled by Lily’s and Feri’s incessant touching, and mulls over her options.

The idea of Lily and Feri joining them is more than welcome. If they stick together, there’s a good possibility the two will guide them through the labyrinth again in the future.

Above all else, Aria is quite fond of the pair of pure, adorable little fairies.

“Lily, Feri—you’re welcome to tag along with us, but human cities can be very dangerous. Are you sure you still want to come?”

Just as Aria states, human civilization can be quite dangerous for fairies. Members of the fairy family are rare, and some megalomaniacs practice the buying and selling of them at high prices. This is not commendable behavior, but it isn’t specifically outlawed, either.

Lily and Feri are particularly good-looking, even for fairies. If someone sees them, there’s no guarantee they won’t be preyed upon for their monetary value and sold for ransom.

“Not to worry!”

“Yeah, we have battle skills, too, and if you and Tama are with us, we’ll be fine!”

Lily and Feri do their best to allay Aria’s concern. It’s certainly true that anyone living in a labyrinth needs a certain level of skills to survive. That means that Lily and Feri must have some degree of battle prowess.

“Understood. In that case, let’s head to the city together! I’ll get you both as much sweets as you want as a token of thanks for today.”

“Yayyy!”

“That’s the best news!”

The fairies are delighted by Aria’s proposal. They prance around shouting with joy as they circle Tama.

They clearly love sweets just like little kids.

Hmm, looks like a group of adventurers. Heh-heh… They’re glancing this way, surprised.

As Tama bounces up and down on Aria’s jiggling breasts, he uses his superior vision to pick up on a group of individuals dressed like adventurers within the city limits. They’ve likely obtained information about the new labyrinth and are planning their own siege.

They thought they had the jump on fresh information, but seeing Aria and company coming from that direction, they’re clearly shocked.

“Hey, you chumps, could you possibly have already dug into the labyrinth—? Wait, fairies?!”

As the man who looks like the leader approaches Aria to question her, he spies Lily and Feri following behind and goes into shock.

“Yes, we just investigated it now. We befriended these two along the way.”

“Y-you became friends with fairies? And what’s with the smug look? You must have really hit the jackpot…”

The male adventurer sees Aria looking jolly and gets the gist of the situation. He looks slightly dejected at not having been the first to explore the labyrinth.

“No matter! There’s no way you scoured the entire thing with just the few of you. That means we still have a chance. Don’t let it deter us, everyone! Gear up!”

“““Raaah!!”””

The man is the leader after all. As he switches gears, he calls out to his followers to psyche themselves up and press onward. They’re more than ready to rumble by now.

“Sorry to bother you.”

“Not at all. The labyrinth is filled with small treants, giant apes, and poison bees. Make sure to be careful, okay?”

“Is that so? We owe you one for that bit of information. My name is Joey. If we meet in the city again, please let me buy you a drink.”

“My name is Aria. This girl here is Stella, and this is Tama. These two are Lily and Feri.”

After exchanging thanks and introductions, the two parties head their separate ways.

Having closely watched Joey from in between Aria’s breasts, Tama thinks, Hmm. This Joey character is certainly full of ambition, and he didn’t seem to leer at my master. He’s made a pretty good impression on me.

“A kind welcome to you, Aria and Stella. I have heard all about you from our president. Please, this way.”

Aria and her party have headed directly to Leis’s company facility after returning to the city, where a woman dressed in office garb greets them warmly.

“It’s so great to have you back, Aria, Stella, and Tama. How did everything go—? Huh?!”

Immediately after the group was welcomed inside by the office lady, Leis appears from the back with a cheerful smile on his face. However, just as he asks about the success of their journey into the labyrinth, he stops short and falls silent, eyes wide. He’s looking directly at Lily and Feri—

“Leis…?”

“Ahhh…please forgive me. A pixie and a dryad—this is my first time seeing fairies with my own eyes…”

Aria reacts in puzzlement, but Leis quickly gets ahold of himself and smiles at Lily and Feri.

“We met these two in the labyrinth. It seems cute li’l Tama caught their attention, and they came with us all the way here.”

“W-wow, it’s rare for fairies to become so enamored… Well, at any rate, let’s go ahead and appraise the items you collected from the labyrinth.”

“Okay! Yes, please. We definitely acquired quite an assortment…”

At Leis’s behest, Aria prods Tama to use his Storage skill, and he produces the different monster corpses they collected. Leis and his staff are surprised by Tama’s Storage skill, but seeing the different monster corpses in such high quality, they quickly begin the work of appraising each item.

However, Aria and company don’t notice. As Leis begins the appraisal process, his occasionally glances furtively back toward Lily and Feri. When he does, his eyes are tinged with an indescribable dread.

“Mwa-ha-ha, Tama is all mine…!”

In a room of an inn in Gladstone—

Stella is breathing quietly and murmuring in her sleep, looking content as can be. Tama is ensconced in her bountiful bosom, sleeping soundly…

After selling the monster raw materials they collected in the labyrinth at Leis’s company storehouse, Aria and her party found a reasonably priced inn and decided to rest until the evening.

Stella immediately used the “Hold Tama Just Once Ticket” that Aria had bestowed upon her and was able to cradle and sleep with him, finally. Because Aria made the decision without consulting him, Tama attempted to resist, but…

The second he ran away from her, he saw how devastated Stella looked, and he gave in. As a virtuous, noble knight, Tama could not force a lady to tears, even if she had been a monster in a past life.

Stella had so eagerly yearned to hold Tama. She must have imitated Aria, because even though she has the heart of a monster, she gently held Tama with deep affection and stroked his head as she carried him into bed.

Seeing this, Aria was assured that Stella wouldn’t actually make a move, and she let her guard down. Aria is also sleeping quietly and adorably in the bed next to them.

The pixie Lily is lying down to sleep on Aria’s melons as they rise and fall, and the dryad Feri is right next to the elf, where she fits perfectly. The two fairies saw Aria and company resting comfortably and became quite sleepy themselves.

Lily and Feri are breathing quietly and peacefully like two contented children. They’re both reposed in peace and security, thanks to Aria’s soft, enveloping melons and her affectionate, saintly aura.

That evening—

“Oh! If it isn’t Aria and her crew!”

“Hey, Joey, you’re back from the labyrinth, I see.”

After their naps, Aria and company set out to find a tavern to get a bite to eat. A voice quickly rang out to them from the corner—it’s Joey, the adventurer they met on their way back from their adventure.

His face is red as he pours drinks for his comrades. Their expressions are all brimming with satisfaction. They likely didn’t find as much as Aria and her party, but their harvest from the labyrinth must have been great.

“Given the promise I made this afternoon, why don’t you join us for a drink?”

“Don’t mind if we do, then.”

Generally, Aria would never accept the invitation of a man, but given that Joey doesn’t look at her lecherously and his party also contains female adventurers, she’s decided it will be okay.

That said, even though master would usually partake in alcohol in this situation, tonight she’s ordered a nonalcoholic drink. She’s staying vigilant. That’s a relief.

As Aria orders a juice, Tama nods repeatedly in satisfaction.

A while after Aria and company sit down, Lily and Feri cry out, eagerly seeing the food laid in front of them.

“Wow! What is this—?!”

“It’s so sweet and fluffy and delicious!”

Lily and Feri squeal with similar glee once they’ve tasted their meal: a stack of pancakes covered in whipped cream and honey. They both wanted something sweet rather than vegetables or meat, so Aria ordered it for them.

Feri looks content as she holds her cheeks with her tiny hands, and Lily has taken flight from her overwhelming enthusiasm and buzzes around the room, flapping her wings.

“Meown—!” This is so good!

“Meat is the best!”

Next to Lily and Feri, Tama is stuffing his cheeks with roast meat that Aria cut into small bites for him, and Stella is tearing into a bone-in cut ravenously.

The waitress tells the party that the meat dish is the house specialty, marinated with a special sauce made from fruits and spices. It’s second-to-none deliciousness, even compared with the food at the inn in Labyrinthos.

“So, Aria, you guys must have sold your materials directly to Master Leis at his company facility, right? That makes sense—the guild staff said they didn’t remember buying anything from you or your party.”

“Yes, we just happened to take on a quest to escort Leis, and thanks to that connection, we were able to sell directly. By the way, Leis looked a little bit off earlier, and I’m worried about him…”

Aria smacks her lips while enjoying the meal and raises her concern with Joey. She recalls Leis’s flustered temperament at his facility and once again worries if something is the matter.

“‘A little bit off,’ huh…? Maybe he was remembering the past again?”

“The past? Joey, what happened?”

“Hmm, well, if you’re going to be staying in this city, for your own safety, you should probably know the facts… I’ll need to keep my voice down about this, but the lord of this city—the Earl of Gladstone—is a real indomitable son of a bitch. If he sees a pretty young woman, he’ll use any means necessary to abduct her and abuse her in whatever ways he desires.”

Joey speaks to Aria in a hushed tone as his eyes dart around the room.

Aria responds, “The earl would do such a thing?” in shock and asks why such actions would be tolerated.

“It’s not that anyone actually tolerates it. It’s just that the earl has a litany of scurvy tricks up his sleeve. He never leaves behind decisive evidence, and if anyone tries to speak up, he uses his position to silence them real quick.”

“How can such a person be the lord…and how does this relate to Leis?”

“I’ve only heard this secondhand, so I don’t know all the details, but apparently, Master Leis’s fiancée was abducted by the earl. And after a while, one day…her corpse turned up, mutilated beyond recognition…at Leis’s home.”

“……”

Aria falls silent when Joey finishes speaking.

Leis’s smile is so cheerful—Aria cannot believe the horrors he’s experienced.

Next to Aria, Tama stopped eating once he got absorbed in the story.

“Sorry to raise such a strange topic. Let’s drink up! You best believe we’re getting the tab tonight.”

Joey apologizes for creating a tense and awkward atmosphere and orders a new round of drinks to help the group get back to feeling good again.

Aria laughs in response, but deep down, she just can’t manage to enjoy this party.

“Heh-heh-heh-heh…”

Leis chuckles in his moonlit company facility. He’s gripping a magic item in each of his hands. In the right, he holds an object resembling a silver bell, and in his left, a reddish-black arrow—

“I never thought that, after so many years, I would obtain these two items from the skeleton of an earth dragon, but what’s more, a pixie and a dryad have appeared… What incredible timing…”

Leis speaks quietly as he looks toward the earth dragon corpse stashed away in the rear of his storehouse. In the next moment, his face twists into an unbelievably contorted, grim smile that belies his usual cheerful expression.

“Ahhh… Eliza—it won’t be long…not long now.”

Leis softly recites the name of a deceased woman.

The next morning, in the labyrinth—

“So this is the door that leads to the boss room…”

Aria and company are standing near the labyrinth’s center. A black stone slab is floating in the air in front of them…

It has a keyhole-shaped indentation in it, leading them to believe this is the entrance to the boss room, a door imbued with mana. Blue ripples pulsate ceaselessly from its center.

“Okay, Aria, if you put the key in the door, the path to the boss room will open!”

“I’m sure you guys will be fine, Aria, but please do take care!”

Lily and Feri call out to Aria and her party, having guided them here on the shortest possible path.

“Thank you for everything thus far, Lily and Feri.”

“What are you talking about, Aria? We’ll be right here waiting until you come back out.”

“Yeah, we’re so happy to become friends with you all. We want to stay with you forever!”

“Lily, Feri… Hee-hee, okay, I got it. I guess we better hurry up and take care of the boss inside, then. Okay, let’s go, Tama and Stella!”

“Meown—!” Roger that, master!

“All the enemies so far have been chumps. I can’t wait to finally let loose!”

Tama and Stella both respond to Aria positively—they’re raring to go. Hearing their resolve, Aria nods and takes the key she discovered yesterday out from between her breasts. It’s the exact same size as the keyhole before her. She inserts and turns it, resulting in a loud clack. The key disappears into thin air as a brightly lit path appears before them—a path that wasn’t there before.

“So this leads to the boss room—?”

Hmm. I definitely sense a fearsome level of hostility that I haven’t picked up from our enemies so far.

Aria shudders while Tama broods over the situation. The idea of a powerful enemy at the end of this path seems to be giving Stella a rush.

“Okay, Lily and Feri—see you later!”

Aria sounds confident as she bids farewell to the two fairies and accompanies Stella and Tama onto the path.

“Goh-hhhhhhh—!!”

A thunderous roar erupts. The trail that Aria and her party have taken is void of both trees and grass and leads to a mysterious chamber that is nothing but empty space.

A fifteen-foot-tall bipedal dragon monster with a massive tree for a body is reposed in slumber in the center. As Aria and her crew approach, the dragon opens its eyes and roars.

“I knew this drake would be extremely powerful! But we will not be afraid! Right, Stella?!”

“Yeah, I know! Hmph…!”

Aria falters for a moment in the face of the first treant drake she’s ever seen, but she quickly gathers her wits and focuses, calling out to Stella, who is staring into the drake’s maw.

Stella plants herself directly in front of the treant drake, hoisting her Mega Shield.

“Gohhh—!!”

Seeing Stella jump out before it, the monster has determined that she will be its first target. It slashes its massive claws in her direction.

Shrrrring—!

The treant drake’s claws collide with Stella’s Mega Shield, sending sparks flying. It’s relatively low-level, but this is still a dragon-type monster they’re contending with.

Stella has transformed into her dragonewt form. Even though she’s also been restored thanks to the benefits of Tama’s Divine Lion Protection, the force of impact sends her backward, albeit slightly.

However, Stella has not simply deflected the attack. She brandishes her greatsword in her other hand and brings it down against the beast’s claws.

“Gohhh-bhhh—?!”

The treant drake screams in pain. Its claws have likely been damaged. Stella has attacked only once from a defensive position, but the drake’s body is made of wood. Given Stella’s power, landing a single blow is more than satisfactory.

“Meown—!” Now!

Tama races forward from Aria’s feet at high speed. With the godlike speed he’s gained from Divine Lion Protection, he slides around to the treant drake’s flank while it’s recoiling in pain.

“Meown—!” Eat this! Flame Howl!

Tama unleashes one of his Elemental Howls, Flame Howl, aiming for the monster’s feet. His howl immediately emits a rush of flame that engulfs the treant drake’s leg. It spins and rolls around, trying to put out the blaze, but its leg has been reduced to a hunk of ash in an instant. When the flames finally subside, its charred branch snaps with a shrill crack. All that thrashing has caused the treant drake’s leg to break.

Whoosh—!

In that moment, Aria—who had been watching closely for an opening—rushes forward like a speeding bullet. She intends to strike the beast in the heart.

This could be bad. The treant drake realizes it’s in extreme danger and lashes out at the elf with its undamaged claw.

“Meown—!” Fat chance! Summon Tentacle!

In the split second that their foe begins to move, Tama has already sprung into action. He activates Summon Tentacle and wraps up the treant drake’s arm, throwing it off course and protecting his master.

Aria has sensed that Tama would protect her, and she doesn’t falter, rushing the treant drake’s chest.

And then—

Thisssp—!

Aria pierces the creature’s chest with both her knives.

“Goh…ohhhhhhh…!”

The treant drake cries out in anguish.

The source of a dragon-type monster’s life force is hidden in its chest. Aria was waiting for the perfect moment to pierce it.

Between Stella’s defense, Tama’s Elemental Howl acting as a distraction, and Aria going in for the kill the moment the treant drake was immobilized—everything went according to Aria’s plans.

“Tama, Stella! We did it!”

The instant Aria confirms the light has left the boss’s eyes, Aria cries out with joy.

“Meownnn—!” Very well done, master!

“Yay! Now I can eat some delicious food again!”

Tama is beyond pleased that Aria’s battle plan was a success, and Stella goes wild imagining the huge feast she’ll get to enjoy afterward.

“Tama, are you able to store the treant drake’s corpse?”

“Meown—!” No problem, master!

Tama activates his Storage skill and stashes the entire husk inside.

“I—I can’t believe you can store something so massive…”

A sheepish grin is stuck on Aria’s face as she tries to comprehend the sheer volume that Tama can sock away with his Storage skill.

However, she quickly has a different reason to be surprised—in the spot from which the treant drake’s corpse vanished, a beautifully adorned chest appears.

“A treasure box…and from the boss room… I wonder what could be inside?”

Aria opens the chest to find a rolled-up piece of sheepskin paper within.

“Huh, is this a scroll?”

“A ska-roll? Is it tasty?”

“Stella, a scroll is a magic item that grants its user a skill. This scroll is—huh, no use—it’s written in ancient language. I have no idea what skill this scroll will grant.”

“Meown?” What?! A scroll inscribed with ancient language?! Master, you must use it for yourself!

A shocked Tama tries to pantomime with his hands and feet (?) to communicate that Aria should definitely use the item. He does so because this parchment is inscribed with ancient letters, meaning the scroll itself could contain an “ancient skill.”

There are different types of ancient skills, including low-level, mid-level, high-level, ultra-high-level, and above that, rare-level ancient skills that hardly anyone is able to wield. Furthermore, there are also innate ancient skills that have only a single user in the entire world.

The skill rankings above ultra-high-level almost always indicate extremely powerful abilities. If this scroll indeed bestows its user with an ancient skill, it will likely be a huge help to Aria, who still has reservations about her battle prowess.

“Tama, are you trying to say I should use it? But Stella might want to, or we could sell it…”

“Meow!” Selling it would be an absolute waste, master!

“Hmph. I have no need for new skills. Not to mention, I’m still hiding an ace up my sleeve! Aria, you are weak, so you should use it for yourself.”

Stella seems to understand what Tama was trying to say and repeats it for Aria. Both she and Tama encourage her to put it to use.

Then Aria says:

“I understand. In that case, I will. Here goes… Activate scroll!”

The second Aria utters those words, the parchment turns to dust, and a dazzling light envelops Aria immediately.

“…! O-oh my gosh! It’s an ancient skill, of all things! It’s called ‘Sacred Blade.’ And its elemental attribute is… It’s a holy elemental skill…?!”

“Meown!” What?! A holy attribute?!

After using the scroll, details regarding her newly acquired skill fill Aria’s mind. She whispers, shocked at the information presented to her.

Tama is similarly bewildered.

The holy elemental distinction is an immensely powerful elemental attribute that dwells within individuals known as heroes who are strong enough to contend with a demon lord, or others with similarly formidable prowess.

Holy elemental attributes are well-known as the weak point of all monsters in existence. The same can be said for demons and demon lords.

If this elemental skill…this powerful brand of ancient skill has indeed been added to her repertoire, Aria and Tama have due reason to be shocked.

“Let’s give it a try! Sacred Blade!”

Aria slashes the air with her knife, and a beam of silver-white light surges from her blade. Before she realizes it, the beam slices through the floor like butter.

In the moments after Aria activated the skill, a high-pitched sound resembling angelic singing fills the chamber…

“Th-the ground split in two…and it seems its range is about three feet. This skill is very formidable…”

Aria is further taken aback by the gift’s fearsome power and its lightning-quick activation.

Hmm, this skill is truly powerful. This will supplement master’s weak points—range and firepower—quite nicely. And the extended range during activation only means that my master’s trademark tricky, speedy movement won’t be adversely affected, either. It’s not only an exceptional skill—it also complements her extremely well.

Tama nods deeply in satisfaction at the functionality of Sacred Blade.

“Here I am practicing my new skill, but we need to head back and meet up with Lily and Feri again!”

Aria wants to keep testing it out, but with Lily and Feri waiting for them outside, she decides to return to them posthaste.

“Huh? Lily? Feri?”

A perplexed voice escapes Aria shortly after the party exits the boss room. The fairy folk should have been waiting to greet them, but they’re nowhere to be found.

“Lily! Feri! Where are you?”

Stella calls out the two girls’ names loudly. She had fully planned on returning to Gladstone and tearing into a massive feast immediately.

However, neither girl appears, and they don’t respond from afar, either.

“I wonder if something happened? Tama, Stella—we have to look for them!”

“Meown!” Of course, master!

“What a pain in the ass.”

The three party members rush off to look for their new friends…but even after searching for several hours, they can’t find the two girls.

Aria thought she heard a sound like a bell ringing in the labyrinth, but she was so invested in looking for Lily and Feri that she didn’t even realize what it was…

“We couldn’t find them…”

“Meown…” Master…

As the party returns to Gladstone, Aria murmurs with sadness in her voice. Where could Lily and Feri possibly have gone…?

Stella also looks somewhat dejected.

“Oh? If it isn’t Aria.”

A voice rouses Aria and company from their despondence. They turn around to see several men and women standing there dressed in armor.

“Danny…? And everyone else, too… What are you doing here?”

The knight squadron from Labyrinthos has appeared, including all first squadron members—Danny, Howard, Keni, and Marietta. However, their captain, Cedric, is not present…

“We came to train with Gladstone’s knight squadron.”

“A few times a year, we conduct joint training with other cities.”

Just as Danny and Howard said, the knight squadrons of Labyrinthos and Gladstone participated in joint training sessions semiannually.

“Our captain had important business, and he’s off to a different city currently.”

“He might be leading an ultra-top-secret mission, I suspect.”

Watching Aria glance in every direction searching for Cedric, Keni and Marietta realize who she’s looking for and tell her what’s up.

“By the way, Aria, who’s this beauty?”

“Ah, I haven’t introduced you yet. This is Stella—she joined our party a while back.”

“Oh, a new party member? Nice to meet you, Stella!”

Danny and his group get acquainted with Stella, who responds awkwardly.

“And that shield—is it the Mega Shield from Vulcan’s workshop?”

“Come to think of it, Vulcan once told me that her friend Sakura used to wield this shield. Wasn’t Sakura your old captain, Danny?”

“Yes, that’s right. I really didn’t think anyone would turn up who could hoist that stupid huge thing.”

“Danny, it’s about time.”

“Ohhh, you’re right, Howard; I almost forgot. Okay, Aria, we have to start practice now, so we’ll be on our way.”

“Okay, best of luck to all of you!”

Aria sees Danny and company off as they say their good-byes. She looks slightly more encouraged after running into friends.

“Huh? Looks like Leis’s facility is closed today.”

Aria and her companions have arrived in front of Leis’s storehouse, intending to sell off the materials from the treant drake. However, the facility is closed.

“Oh well. Let’s give up for now and head back to the inn.”

The party could visit Gladstone’s guild to sell their goods, but that would mean paying processing fees, which would be more trouble than it’s worth. They decide to visit Leis again tomorrow.