Final Chapter

Final Chapter

“You more than tripled the number of repelled intruders, and not one of them a repeat. Splendid!”

“Oh, you’re being too kind. I only barely made the minimum.”

I was still stuck recuperating in the cabin’s bed when Karumi arrived to accept my written report.

“You can look forward to a bonus and a raise, as well as another spot bonus for unexpected risk to life and limb. We’ll have those all to you right away.”

“Yeah, can’t wait. Hey, maybe you could tell me a little more about dark knights?”

“Let’s see, is that information restricted? Well, no, I suppose this qualifies as a need-to-know situation. The guardians of humans aren’t always called knights, by the way; the term used varies depending on where they’re from. But at any rate, when one of them decides to stop protecting their people, they usually lose their powers.”

Usually?

“However, if the protector’s covenant is overwritten by another oath, they instead become a dark knight, and the sworn guardian of their new people. Typical dark knights tend to be inferior to normal knights, in exchange for casting off their restraints, however...”

“It seems like the class change actually powered her up instead.”

“You should have heard my father laugh. The recipient of the oath was a labyrinth manager, and it was sworn inside their labyrinth, but still, such a simple, obviously romantic oath ought never to have reached all the way to him. Certainly, he would have conferred his blessings and protection as soon as it came to his attention that a labyrinth personnel member had become a dark knight, but this was an unusual case. The wish was so fervent, so powerful, that he bestowed greater power upon her than is typically done in these cases. Miracles sprout up around you, Kousaka.”

Well, now it all made sense. But why did Karumi sound a little annoyed?

“Not at all. I was just doing my job.”

I’d told her much the same before. I was just making sure that I would be able to rest easy at the end of the day, knowing I’d done all I could.

“I see. Well, I shall take my leave. Father will be wanting a detailed report.”

Karumi sighed and left through the door which returned to the office, just like always. As I saw her off, I vowed to get a recording the next time Karumi appeared wearing a dress. I mean, she was the one benefiting from all my hard work, so it was only fair that I got something out of it, right?

A UI window had started flickering while I was speaking to Karumi, and I looked over to see I had an incoming call. The oddly persistent person who’d stayed on the line waiting for me this whole time turned out to be Suzu.

“Pick up the phone faster if you’re there, stupid! I heard you passed out while defending your labyrinth!”

Suzu was hopping up and down so much, I thought she was going to burst right out of the window. Did I just see a strawberry pattern? Probably better not to say anything. Suzu seemed worried about me, so I set to explaining.

“Haahh. Can’t believe I got so worked up over nothing. You poisoned yourself by drinking too many potions? How dumb a dummy are you?”

Here I did my best to offer a full explanation, and all I got in return was verbal abuse. She seemed pretty angry, though, so I kept my peace. She’d just get even more annoyed if I tried to defend myself. I’d been in bed ever since the whole Theodoran thing had wrapped up. I’d fainted after the fight, and they’d had to carry me back to the cabin. The girls had called Karumi, and she’d rushed over to diagnose me. She’d immediately pronounced I had a severe case of potion poisoning. Apparently one of the effects of overdosing on magic potions was a huge, temporary status debuff, which explained why I’d been unable to move for a while and had eventually passed out. Even though I’d recovered from the worst of it, I was still feeling pretty sluggish.

“I swear to god, Aoi, most people don’t give themselves potion poisoning! I’ve never even heard of that happening to someone before. Hello! Earth to Aoi! What is wrong with you?! How many damn potions did you chug down?”

She was still going at it. You know, even if I wanted to tell her—she was already on to complaining about something else anyway—I wasn’t even sure how many I’d drunk. I’d been basically pouring stamina potions down my throat during the lightning-fast remodel, and then there’d been the battle with Theodoran where I’d taken a few vitality potions. Apparently those had been the straw that broke the camel’s back. Well, I’d learned my lesson. I didn’t even want to think about how many potions I’d used in the last week.

“Aoi, I locked the front and back doors to the labyrinth’s first stratum.”

The door opened, and Mary entered the cabin. Her black hair and crimson eyes had turned back to their original blond and blue. They changed whenever she picked up a sword, though. If I’d been a little younger, I would’ve thought maybe it was some kind of super cool special power that sapped your life force every time you tapped into it. Like, the kind that necessitated wearing an eyepatch. That’d be awfully inconvenient when it was both your eyes, though...

In its current state, the labyrinth was a dangerous trap for any kids from the village who wandered in by accident, and there was even a risk of monsters nesting in it, so I’d asked Mary to lock it up for the time being.

“Aoi, what shall I do from now on? I feel as though I can do anything!”

Mary looked ready to take on the world, but sadly I had to burst her bubble.

“You locked up the labyrinth, right? That means there’s nowhere left to protect, except the cabin and the area around it. We won’t be reopening the labyrinth for some time.”

I’d worked my ass off on that labyrinth, so of course I wanted to expand it, but I had no budget. Every last DL I had to my name had been spent on building the first stratum and then on remodeling it in the last few days. I was thinking it’d be nice to build another stratum to serve as sort of an apartment complex, so we could host more residents. Getting a bunch of tenants paying rent sounded like a lovely way to make some passive income.

“All right, then I’ll protect you, Ann, and this cabin. Um, what shall I protect you from?”

You know, it’d be pretty awesome if she could protect me from the hardships of the world, or the bureaucracy of labyrinth management, but that didn’t really seem up her alley.

“Yeah, dude, what are you gonna do, make her a mall cop? Anyhoo, I got places to be. Catch you on the flip side.”

Stay classy, Suzu.

“Aoi, what is a mall cop?”

“Uh, yeah, dunno what she meant by that. Better ask her next time she calls.”

Mary looked at me in confusion. Damn it, it was hard to keep up a poker face when I could barely move. I’ll get you for this, Suzu.

◇

“Allow me to apologize for everything I’ve put you through.”

After Mary had captured him, Theodoran had been sent back to the city along with his entourage of hunters, and a huge fine had been levied against him for attempting to bribe a labyrinth manager. It seemed they hadn’t imposed any manual labor or community service, though.

He’d now returned to the village once again, and had specifically asked to see me, so we met up in the mayor’s house. Walking there under the effects of the potion poisoning had been tough. Even with Mary supporting me the whole way, the trek to Milt felt like it’d taken forever. Theodoran began apologizing profusely the moment I set foot in the mayor’s living room.

“Tell me one thing. Why apologize now?”

“I have been informed by one of the hunters working here that your labyrinth is the only one in these parts, and that you live there and operate it with your family. Knowing what I do now, the conditions I sought to impose on you were beyond unreasonable. That I attempted to negotiate such a position means I am a failure as a merchant.”

Well, that made sense. He wasn’t actually so much apologizing for doing something bad as admitting a failure on the job. That seemed more his style.

“I accept your apology. However, I have a feeling you’ve got another reason for coming.”

He seemed sincere, but surely he wouldn’t have come to apologize when the wound was so fresh unless he had some ulterior motive.

“Well, yes. You see, there have been a number of accidents affecting my core business as of late. I consulted a fortune teller, and mysteriously enough, she implied that my spate of poor luck might dry up if I came to see you.”

Oh yeah, that reminded me. I’d gotten a bunch of letters while I was stuck in bed. One of them was a letter from the company bigwigs, praising my performance and promising me a promotion and a raise. I’d also gotten a bunch of get-well cards from fellow employees, but I’d forgotten there was one that had Theodoran’s signature on it. In the rush of remodeling the labyrinth and fighting, there was one more angle we were pursuing which I had neglected. Apparently the sabotage efforts against Theodoran’s business interests had been more effective than I’d given them credit for.

“No doubt a wise woman, that fortune teller. This is the first I’ve heard of your business troubles, but I’m sure that, now that you’ve made amends, fate will smile down upon you.”

“What a relief to hear. I do believe you’re right.”

We were dancing around the issue, but this was more like a peace talk than anything else. Anyway, I had no reason to keep fighting him, now that he wasn’t demanding I hand over Ann. This guy was probably ruthless when you drove him into a corner, so knowing when to let go was important. And honestly, it wasn’t like I objected to every part of the contract. I wasn’t going to teach him how to make my potions, and I certainly wasn’t going to let him lay a finger on my family, but as long as he didn’t touch those things, I wasn’t going to put my life on the line to squabble with him. You don’t get continues in real life.

“Anyway, what made you come all the way out here in the first place? Why are you so desperate for magic potions?”

If Theodoran had just been looking to make a profit, he would’ve backed off when I first showed teeth. There were other, less hostile markets to play in than going toe-to-toe with a labyrinth manager.

Theodoran brooded a moment before speaking up.

“It’s my sister. She’s the only family I have, and...”

He trailed off. Well, that sure sounds familiar. I didn’t know exactly why she needed magic potions, but for my part, I’d heard enough.

“If you did this for your family, that’s good enough for me. Write up a new contract. I’ll sell you the potions you need for cheap. A steady supply.”

I was ready to burst out laughing. So we’d been fighting for the same reason all along, eh? No wonder he’d been in such a rush to patch things up.

“But why...?”

“I just can’t hate a guy who goes to the wall for his family.”

I was giving Theodoran a long-suffering shrug when something warm and soft pressed against my back and a hand descended on my head and began patting me.

“That’s a good boy. You’re such a dear.”

Seriously? It was nice and all that Deneb had brought us tea, but she was really taking the wind out of my sails. It’s hard to look like a badass when an overindulgent elf is patting you on the head.

◇

“I’m all done making potions for the day, Aoi!”

I was lazing around in bed, reading a gaming magazine Karumi had brought me from Japan and fighting off the drowsiness of the potion poisoning, when Ann slipped under the covers and wrapped her arms around me.

“Ann, I don’t mind if you wanna snuggle, but could you maybe stay above the waist?” I was under strict orders to avoid all medicines, and that included my go-to sedative herb. I hadn’t had to endure the full force of Ann’s cuddling in a while, and keeping my composure was proving difficult.

When Ann had told me about how she’d taken Donnel, Carla, and their crews into the labyrinth that day and gone after the straggler hunters from behind, I’d scolded her for putting herself in harm’s way. But then Mary had muttered under her breath about how I’d already nearly died just from facing nine of them, and it’d come out that Ann had saved me from another twenty. After that, Ann had gotten hopping mad at me instead and chewed me out for always overdoing it. The way she’d teared up as she chastised me was horribly unfair. I never stood a chance.

“Aoi, Mary, let’s take a nap! C’mon, we already wrapped up our work for the day, so we deserve a break.”

Ann and Mary were even closer of late. Had something nice happened between the two of them? Mary was playing Gun Gust more and more on her new computer, which she rationalized by saying she had to keep training. Yeah, she was hooked.

“That’s a splendid idea, Ann. To tell the truth, I’d been hoping our whole family could sleep together today.”

Even Mary hopped into bed. She looked happier these days, and I felt like she’d been taking on some of Ann’s carefree nature.

Ann’s soft snores tugged at me to go to sleep, but when I tried to close my eyes, Mary whispered to me.

“Aoi, isn’t my salary a burden?”

“I wouldn’t go that far, but yeah, it’s going to be tough to scrape up the money.”

Mary had signed a contract and was formally my labyrinth guardian, and her rate was not cheap. Well, I mean, I’d set it myself. But after I’d gone so far to recruit her to my party, I didn’t want to compromise on her pay and look bad just because I was kind of broke.

“I’ve been fretting over it, to tell the truth, but I think I’ve come up with a solution, a way you won’t be obligated to pay me anymore. What do you say we give it a try? I think it will solve all our problems.”

She was right, but that was something we were better off saving for the future. She murmured something about just not feeling right without a last name.

“...Not just yet. I think we’re fine the way we are.”

I was half-asleep thanks to the potion poisoning, but even in that state, my instincts still preserved me from danger, like the way I dodged mines in an FPS game.

“What a stubborn man. Oh, wait. Does that mean we’ll do it someday?”

“Someday... Okay.”

“It’s a promise, then, and I never forget promises. I look forward to that day.”

Mary nodded, looking satisfied by my answer, and closed her eyes with a cute little yawn.

“Wait. What?”

I came wide awake, my eyes popping open. I had the strangest sensation, which was somehow incredibly familiar, like I’d put my foot down on a trap and felt it sink in, and yet I’d still miraculously evaded it.

“Hmm...?”

I sat up and looked around, but all I could see was Ann and Mary, both sound asleep. Maybe it’d just been my imagination?

I lied down again and looked at Mary. As her little hand clung to the hem of my shirt and her angelic face drifted up and down from the deep breaths of sleep, I made her a promise in my heart. Mary, I know you’ve been through a lot of hard times, but I promise you, I will never let you face them alone again. No matter what life throws at you, playing on a team makes it more fun. I can’t guarantee there will be a reward at the end of every stage we clear, but even if there’s no treasure waiting, Ann and I will make one for you. I mean, c’mon, you never read about a character going through hell in the main game, finally reaching a happy ending, and then see the fandisk come out and undo all the good things, right? No writer is that dumb. They’d get flamed right off the internet. Hell, their company building would probably get burned to the ground. I’ll spoil you every day. I’ll make you so happy you change class from Dark Knight to Delight. So prepare yourself, because you’re going to see just how fun the game of life truly is.

The End