CHAPTER 5

Weapon of the Secret Gods

Part I: The Worries of a Valkyrie and a Swordswoman

Just one in a hundred Dirty Mushrooms could be used to make the tonic. We only defeated five but managed to find one—probably thanks to Misaki. A pharmacy would be able to provide me a sample once we delivered the materials. Madoka dealt with a pharmacy in town, which meant I’d be able to get the sample as soon as it was finished, but I still couldn’t think of a use for it. Perhaps there was a way to use it in combination with something rather than by itself. Either way, it was probably safest to have it stay in storage until I could find some use for it.

“I can’t believe the monster was still alive… I’m glad you and Theresia are both safe,” said Igarashi when Theresia and I went up to the suite and told everyone what happened.

“It rattled me a little, but we managed to get out of it somehow. Sorry to make everyone worry,” I said.

“I imagine it wouldn’t have reacted had there been anyone else in the room with Arihito. But it still attacked with Theresia present…,” said Elitia, imagining what happened in Sophie’s room at the Healer clinic.

The Vine Puppeteer had said Theresia wasn’t even “entirely a monster.” Leila from the Mercenary Office had told us that demi-humans were humans who had lost their lives in the labyrinth and come back changed. I knew it was safe to assume that Seekers who were resurrected as demi-humans gained monster-like characteristics. That might be why the Vine Puppeteer hadn’t been wary of Theresia even though she had been in the same room. It was thanks to those characteristics that she could save me from a very dangerous situation. Part of it was that she was a demi-human who could slip into cracks in the monster’s defenses, but it was more that Theresia had the courage to jab her own hand with the Puppeteer’s vine in order to save me.

She hadn’t taken a seat when we came into the room; instead, she was just standing at the edge of the room and looking at me like always, but she came over before I called her and sat at the table with the rest of us.

“Where’s Misaki and Suzuna?” I asked.

“Taking a bath. They were pretty dirty from fighting in the mud,” said Elitia.

“The tub can fit three at a time, but we didn’t want to leave you to come back to an empty suite, so we decided to just wait here chatting,” added Igarashi.

“…We were actually talking about you. You always go around with Theresia, but we were thinking it might be nice for you to switch who you take with you every once in a while. I can be your bodyguard, too,” said Elitia with crossed arms. Igarashi must not have thought Elitia was going to tell me what they were talking about because she started coughing, the tea she was drinking having gone down the wrong pipe.

“Um, cough, cough… I don’t really have a problem with staying behind. No need to worry about it. You seem most relaxed when you’re with Theresia anyway…,” said Igarashi. I was about to say she might be right, but admitting it was embarrassing enough. Even I was starting to feel uncomfortable, which meant Theresia was already turning bright red.

“……”

“…Are you saying we could take turns in a set order?” asked Elitia. “No, that’s not it… Oh, do you mean Arihito should tell us who should come along each time?” That did seem to be what Theresia was trying to convey, but she didn’t nod in response.

“I think that’s what you thought, but you’re taking it back. Do you mean that you want to go with Atobe all the time? Geez, Atobe, Theresia has really taken a liking to you… I know that’s just how it is, but…”

“Well, I suppose it makes sense, since she even helps him take a bath. If he didn’t invite her, she’d just go along anyway,” said Elitia.

“……”

How is she not embarrassed by the whole bath thing…? Well, she does actually look like she’s blushing a tiny bit. Is she trying to keep it under control because she knows she won’t be able to join me if she gets too red?

It was quite impressive if that were the case. Though, my conscience kept telling me it wasn’t okay for us to take a bath together.

“…Um, so what’s for dinner?” I asked.

“Marsh Ox steak. Apparently, you can’t normally get it in restaurants in town,” said Igarashi.

“I get hungry after a fight; I need to make sure I get enough nutrition. I’ve been so hungry lately,” admitted Elitia a little bashfully. She was still growing anyway. I just wanted everyone to be able to eat good food and be healthy.

“But first… About that bath…,” started Igarashi.

“You and Elitia can go next. I’ll go last,” I said.

“……”

“Uh… N-no, Theresia! Look, men and women generally shouldn’t take baths together,” explained Igarashi. I waited to see how Theresia would react, but my hopes that she would listen obediently were dashed when she shook her head.

“I want to respect your relationship… But we just wait nervously when you’re doing it. Do you understand that?” Igarashi reasoned.

“……”

Theresia gave a tiny nod after a pause. Both Igarashi and Elitia seemed relieved to see that.

“Well then, you can come with us today. Then Atobe can go alone—,” started Igarashi, but Theresia’s response to the suggestion was fast and very clear. She shook her head side to side, and Igarashi collapsed on the table at a loss.

“Um… Igarashi, does it really bother you that much when Theresia and I take a bath together?” I asked.

“…Uh, I mean… That’s not a question I feel equipped to answer.”

“W-wait, both of you. I know that we can’t force Theresia to act a certain way. That’s why I was thinking we could switch places with her so she can understand how we feel, or… I trust Arihito, and I don’t think anything inappropriate is happening, but if we could see it with our own eyes, then we can put this whole thing to rest,” said Elitia.

“O-okay, if that’ll convince you… W-wait, you mean now…?” I said as Elitia stood from her seat and headed toward her room. Before going in, she turned back to say something.

“…Well, Misaki and Suzuna are about to finish their bath.”

“E-Ellie, I mean, that’s definitely an option and all, but if we’re actually gonna do this, I’ll need some advance notice—”

“Sure, Arihito might be uncomfortable with three women around…but this is all just to put our minds at ease. Don’t get the wrong idea.” With that, Elitia dragged me into the room, a flustered Igarashi rushing after her.

“Haah, I feel sooo much better! Arihito, we had such a nice bath,” said Misaki.

“…Um, will the rest of you be taking a bath together?” asked Suzuna. “I’m sorry, Arihito. I’m not sure why, but Elitia seems really bothered by the fact that you and Theresia take baths together…”

The party’s mental health was an important thing for me as the leader to take care of, and I should have been able to avoid us taking a bath together… But now that things had gotten like this, I needed to prepare myself for the worst.

Bathing clothes were apparently commonly sold in the Labyrinth Country. The public baths in town were like massive pools that could be used by anyone, regardless of gender, so you couldn’t go in naked. Instead, people would bathe wearing these bathing clothes. The housing for those at lower ranks didn’t have baths in their own facilities, so those people would have to use the public baths, meaning these clothes were actually necessities for anyone who’d just come to the Labyrinth Country. Igarashi hadn’t known all that when she’d come across it in the shop during her downtime, but she decided there might be a time she needed it and bought it. On top of that, there were two sets of bathing clothes provided in the royal suite. Perhaps they hadn’t expected four people to bathe together, so we were still missing a set for me.

“…I feel like it’d be better if I went and bought one to wear,” I said.

“I-it’s all right… We’re the ones making the fuss; we wouldn’t want to make things harder on you,” said Igarashi.

“Theresia, let’s get going and wash Arihito. How do you normally do it?” asked Elitia.

“……”

Elitia seemed to be convinced that she’d be offered some respite if I would just hurry up and get in the bath. I could understand why, but I still wasn’t quite sure why washing myself wasn’t an option.

“I-Igarashi. This is really quite strange. Wouldn’t this be about when you would say this isn’t going to work?” I asked.

“W-well, this is just how it’s gotta be! Theresia’s been showing you her gratitude, and yet, we haven’t done anything… We want to express our thanks, too, y’know.”

I had assumed that Igarashi and Elitia had been talking about how concerned they were that I was doing something inappropriate to Theresia…but apparently, I was completely off the mark.

“I’ve only made it this far with everyone else’s help… I don’t think we really owe each other anything. I might sound stupid saying this, but we support one another; we’re all here for one another,” I said, but I wasn’t sure I could make it convincing, since I was sitting there covered in nothing but the towel wrapped around my waist. Or so I thought, but both Igarashi and Elitia looked impressed.

“…And that’s precisely why everyone’s so anxious. Even I’m starting to feel it a little bit,” said Elitia.

“Seriously… If I can’t even take care of you while you’re at home, then I’ll never be able to pay you back. You’ll keep saving me, and I’ll never give back to you,” said Igarashi.

“……”

I was at least aware that I couldn’t just push away their attempt now that they’d opened up to me this much.

“…I’m…surprised that you would express your gratitude with a bath, but I am really happy,” I admitted, knowing that saying that would mean any future expressions of “gratitude” could very well involve them washing my back. The bathing clothes made it so I was only a little uncomfortable with the whole thing, but I didn’t feel I could tell them it was out of the question.

“A-all right, then… Let’s get started,” said Igarashi.

“Let’s rinse him first. He’s covered in some mud from the labyrinth,” continued Elitia.

“……”

Theresia made sure the water in the basin was a suitable temperature, then poured it over my shoulders. She tried to do it gently, but it still splashed on the girls a little. When they started washing me, I suddenly realized one potentially fatal oversight.

…If they aren’t wearing anything underneath the bathing clothes…won’t it be bad if they get too wet…?

“Spread your fingers, Atobe. We have to get in between them properly…”

“…Arihito, what’s wrong? You seem really stiff all of a sudden,” asked Elitia.

“N-no… Nothing’s wrong,” I said.

“Ha-ha, you don’t have to be so nervous. We’re wearing clothes,” said Igarashi.

I wondered if bath time would end before the three realized how they looked. This would be safer if we could get them actual bathing suits, so I wanted to buy some if possible… But for the time being, my only option was to keep my mind off it.

Part II: A Suite for Eight

I meant to get out of the tub and let Igarashi and the others take it easy in the bath, but they didn’t take a very long one, instead coming out of the bathroom fairly quickly, all of them bright red.

“Um… Kyouka, can I ask what happened? I mean, I probably don’t need to ask; it was obviously something scandalous,” said Misaki.

“What are you talking about? Nothing happened; we were just trying to express our gratitude to Atobe…,” said Igarashi, thrown off-balance by Misaki’s blunt question. Elitia tried to run off to her room, but Suzuna grabbed her by the sleeve and stopped her.

“Um, we don’t doubt what Kyouka said. You should sit down and drink some water. It’s important to rehydrate after getting out of a bath,” said Suzuna.

“Y-yeah… B-but…I’m not sure we were careful enough. I mean, Arihito didn’t do anything wrong; I just can’t really relax around him right now. I sort of just want to go to sleep and ground myself,” replied Elitia.

“Oh, did you start to feel more and more embarrassed even though you thought it would be all right, since you were wearing clothes? You three are so innocent—not that I can really talk,” said Misaki.

“……”

Theresia seemed embarrassed to be called innocent. The three of them were so red that I’d fan them if I had a paper fan with me, but I couldn’t honestly say nothing happened. I felt terrible about it, but the girls weren’t angry at me when they realized their clothes were getting see-through. And while it made me uncomfortable, they had somehow all decided that it had just been an inevitability. But what I saw was burned into my memory. I had known I’d need the purest of intentions when I let all the girls join my party, but I wasn’t living up to that now.

“…Hmm? What’s wrong, Suzuna? You’re staring at me,” I said.

“It’s nothing. You should just make sure to drink some water, too…”

“Suzu was saying she wanted to help wash you to say thanks, too. She was sighing the whole time we were waiting,” volunteered Misaki.

“H-hey… Why would you say that, Misaki…?” said Suzuna.

“It’s not scary to run a red light if we’re all doing it together, right? So that’s what I’m asking of you,” said Misaki.

“Hey, what exactly are you talking about…?” I said, but she didn’t explain. She instead just went back into her room. She left Suzuna behind, who—even though she was normally such a calm girl—jumped when I made eye contact with her.

“…I… Um, I want to say thanks to you, too, just like everyone else… I was just thinking how much I really wanted to show my gratitude somehow. N-not that I’m jealous or anything…,” she said.

“…You don’t need to be so cautious, Suzuna. Arihito understands. I haven’t even known him that long, and he let me help wash his back,” remarked Elitia.

“Y-yeah… I was a little surprised. But I am the adult in the situation. I shouldn’t be so flustered…,” I replied.

“You’re pretty relaxed about it now… Even though you were the most uncomfortable at first,” said Igarashi. She seemed the most embarrassed about the whole wet clothes thing. That was understandable considering the size of her chest. I could just see the way the wet cloth clung to her…but I couldn’t let my mind drift any further, lest it show on my face.

“…Does karma not go up for someone you’re in a party with?” she asked.

“H-hey, give me a break. I don’t want to go to jail,” I said.

“It seems that the karma isn’t reacting, since both parties are on the same page… But your license is always watching, which is an unsettling feeling. You should be careful,” said Elitia, slowly downing a glass of water. Soon, it would be time to wrap up for the day and prepare for tomorrow.

“Now that I think of it, what about Melissa and Madoka? They’ll be staying with us starting today, right? Since they’re in our party now,” continued Elitia.

“Oh… Yeah, that’s right. We need to assign rooms,” said Igarashi, and I finally had a thought. Where were those two? Just as I was thinking that, there was a knock at the door, followed by a voice.

“Arihito, we’re back. It’s Madoka and Melissa,” came Madoka’s voice.

“Oh, welcome back. Let me unlock the door for you,” I said, opening the door to let them in. Melissa seemed to have taken a bath earlier somewhere else; perhaps she was being considerate, since she had probably been dissecting earlier. Madoka wasn’t wearing the turban she normally had on, so I wondered if she had joined her. Her black, bobbed hair was slightly damp.

“Did you take a bath somewhere else? You can use the one here if you want. It’s not a problem,” I said.

“Yeah… And thank you. But Melissa wanted to take a bath at home today, so I went along, too. I had some business outside and took Cion along as well,” said Madoka.

“I see. Did she go back to the shed out back?”

“…She’s a good girl. So strong but listens to everything you tell her,” marveled Melissa. She must like dogs as well, because I saw a tiny smile on her face. She was wearing a dress instead of her normal overalls, and her hair, which was usually all over the place, had been neatly brushed. Perhaps Madoka had helped her once they were done with their baths.

“Here’s the tonic you requested from the Pharmacist,” said Madoka.

“Uh… R-right. That was a lot faster than I expected. Thanks for taking care of that,” I replied.

“No need to thank me. It’s part of my job. I’m glad I could help out.” I wanted to just say thanks and move on, but obviously, Igarashi wasn’t going to let this pass without asking about it.

“Tonic? Like, some sort of revitalizing tonic? I guess even the Labyrinth Country has health drinks,” she observed.

“They’re often made from mushroom-type monsters, but I didn’t realize you could make something from Dirty Mushrooms, too. We must have gotten some rare materials because Misaki was with us,” said Elitia.

“Some mushrooms are poisonous, but some are really good for you, too. I assume those were the kinds of components used here,” added Madoka.

Igarashi would occasionally drink health drinks at work, so she was probably curious that there might be something similar here.

Melissa didn’t really say anything. She seemed hesitant to talk about the tonic earlier, which was why I’d been certain it was used for…that. But maybe I was wrong.

“If someone’s feeling really worn out, they can drink it,” I offered.

“Huh? …You sure? But isn’t this valuable…?” asked Igarashi.

“We could hunt Dirty Mushrooms if we really wanted to, so I wouldn’t say it’s so rare that we could never get our hands on it again. It probably has a strong taste, so I’m a little curious to have someone taste test it,” I said.

“Geez, Arihito… But I guess you’re right. If it tastes terrible, then we wouldn’t be able to make ourselves use it even if we needed to,” replied Elitia.

It could be helpful if it could make someone in the party feel less tired after our days of seeking. I thought that would be a better use than if we held on to it forever.

Well, then it would make the most sense if I tested it, but my opinion was that anything we obtained from the labyrinth belonged to the entire party, which meant everyone who wanted to taste it could. It wasn’t like I was afraid or anything. “It’s a nice amber color and looks like it might taste nice… But I’m not sure about the smell,” said Igarashi.

“Sometimes, it’s hard to just dive in and try it…,” said Elitia.

“Misaki and Suzuna might want to try it, too. We should ask them later. And Theresia looks like she wants to try…right?” asked Igarashi, but Theresia didn’t nod. I had no intention of forcing them to drink it if they didn’t want to. As it was, everyone was tense, and no one was making the first move.

Later, once everyone had left the living room, I used a Novice Appraisal Scroll just to see what it’d say:

Good thing I didn’t drink it… Seems high-risk. What exactly are these “side effects”?

Since it came from a Dirty Mushroom, I understood why it would have dirty in the name, but the fact that it also had spirit made me think it was alcohol. If it was made by soaking the colored portion of the inside of the Dirty Mushroom in alcohol in order to draw out the effective components, then it wouldn’t be a good idea to let the underage party members try it. I hadn’t actually confirmed whether or not the Labyrinth Country had any laws regarding minors, though.

It said it improved endurance, which could mean something like stamina, but it would be foolish to try it, considering these unknown side effects. I placed the dirty spirit vial on the shelf in the living room and returned to my room.

“Oh… Arihito, what were the appraisal results?” asked Suzuna when I came in.

“The name makes it sound like it’s a type of alcohol. I think it’s better if the minors don’t drink it.”

“I see… So the Labyrinth Country uses alcohol in its medicines as well.”

She was sitting on her bed and appeared to have been thinking before I came in. We had decided it was too much hassle to choose rooms using a lottery and change rooms every night, so we were waiting until tomorrow to shuffle around.

“Suzuna, are you sure you’re comfortable staying in the same room as me?” I asked.

“Yes, I’ve been able to get plenty of rest as is. Actually… I was wondering if you were comfortable being in the same room as me… If you were with Misaki, for example, you’d probably have lots of exciting conversations.”

“It’s better to keep things calmer and more relaxed before you go to sleep. Besides, Misaki just makes fun of me most of the time anyway.”

“Ha-ha… She’s always like that with people she likes.”

You often hear about kids teasing people in order to get their attention, though I couldn’t decide if I should be happy or not that Misaki was targeting me.

“Do I make any noise when I’m sleeping? Or do you not know, since you’re probably sleeping, too?” I asked.

“You sleep very quietly. I was worried that I breathe loudly or something…”

“You’re fine; I didn’t hear a thing. Well, hearing a little bit of breathing is fine anyway; it’s when people start rolling around and kicking blankets off that it gets annoying.”

“Ha-ha… Misaki does that a lot. You should tell her not to sprawl out and stick her tummy out if you end up in the same room as her. She’ll listen if you’re the one to say it.”

What could I actually do if the person I shared a room with was sleeping like that…? Probably just cover them with a blanket. I wasn’t the kind to wake up once I’m asleep anyway, though, so I probably wouldn’t even notice.

“…Ah, sorry. I can’t believe I’d say those things about Misaki when she’s not even here… I shouldn’t be gossiping,” said Suzuna.

“You haven’t said anything bad, so it’s not a problem. Even if you did—she’s a mess when she sleeps—it’s not something I couldn’t have guessed just by knowing her.”

“I don’t think she wants you to see her in a poor light, though. She really does respect you…”

“R-really…? Misaki’s always so glib, though. I feel like I should take everything she says with a grain of salt.”

“Ha-ha… Well, I think she feels better that way, at least for the time being.”

Talking like this, I couldn’t help feeling amazed that Suzuna was the same age as Misaki. I wasn’t nearly as composed as Suzuna when I was her age.

“Arihito, you don’t barge into other people’s business without reason. I think that’s part of the reason everyone feels so comfortable with you.”

“I’m honestly just not quick-thinking enough to do that. It’s probably because I’m a bit slow.”

“Oh… You are aware of that…”

“Hmm? Suzuna, what did you say?”

“Ah, n-nothing. I just always thought that men like you only existed in stories… It’s unbelievable…,” she said, her cheeks turning red. It’d be easy to misunderstand her right now, but it didn’t seem that she meant unbelievable in a good way.

“…Oh, s-sorry, I think I said something rude again,” she apologized.

“No, you didn’t bother me. Anyway, I’m just glad that we can chat like this with each other. I want you to be able to talk to me when… Hmm?” I started but noticed that the small box on Suzuna’s bedside table was glowing a dim neon blue. It was her license. It was steadily glowing stronger, then fading, as if trying to notify her of something.

“Arihito… Would you mind taking a look at this?” she asked.

“Yeah, sure…,” I said and got out of bed to scrutinize it.

“Is this…a message from Ariadne? Is it saying I should use Medium now…?”

“…Licenses don’t show everything, but I don’t think this is a mistaken notification. It’s definitely a request from Ariadne.”

We couldn’t go so far as to say we could communicate with Ariadne, who was on the fourth floor of the Field of Dawn, using our licenses, but there must be a reason for her to request Suzuna use Medium. I had no reason to doubt what the license showed, and it wouldn’t be a good idea to ignore it if it was urgent.

“Suzuna, I’ll be right here with you. Would you mind trying Medium?”

“All right. I think Ariadne definitely has something she wants to tell us.” Suzuna nodded resolutely, then knelt on her bed and closed her eyes to concentrate. A mystical light that I could only describe as an aura surrounded her body.

“…Enter this vessel and let the world hear your voice…”

“Whoa…!”

Suzuna recited a short incantation, and her body was encased in a pillar of blue-white light like when she used Moon Reading. One significant difference between this and Moon Reading, though, was that I could sense some presence behind Suzuna for this.

“…Are you the rearguard? I am not yet used to borrowing this Shrine Maiden’s sight. My perception is flawed. Please respond if you are the rearguard.”

“Yes, it’s me, Arihito. Thank you for your help today; you saved us.”

Suzuna’s hair color and speech patterns had changed to those of Ariadne. I could assume that Ariadne’s spirit or something like it had come to reside in Suzuna’s body when she used Medium.

There hadn’t been any emotions in Ariadne’s eyes when we woke her from her sleep at the bottom of the labyrinth. A chill ran down my spine now as Suzuna’s eyes had turned lifeless in the same way.

“Just to check—are you truly Ariadne?”

“Such proof will appear somewhere on this Shrine Maiden’s body. My spirit is capable of intervening through a devotee by using their covenant talisman as my target. My crest will appear here when the Shrine Maiden uses Medium to contact me.”

“Whoa, wait! You don’t have to show me! It’s Suzuna’s body; respect that!”

Ariadne had started to unbutton Suzuna’s pajama top. She suddenly undid the buttons over Suzuna’s chest, and I could see the area between her breasts. And there really was some sort of glowing symbol there. Ariadne’s crest was a geometric design, symmetrical from left to right and about the size of an adult’s thumbprint.

“…Humans feel shame. This Shrine Maiden understands what is happening even while she is a medium. She is thinking, ‘Thank you for stopping her.’”

“All right… We’ll just keep this between us, then.”

“Understood. I will rectify my behavior going forward. I am equipped with a learning function, but it is not incredibly advanced. Repeated exposure will form a neural network, which functions similarly to a human’s collection of neurons.” What she said didn’t fit the medieval level of advancement I’d seen so far in the Labyrinth Country. I could only assume that she had been created from some advanced technology.

I felt quite strange speaking with her, since she was borrowing Suzuna’s body and speaking so dispassionately, but while I had felt no emotions from her in the beginning, I was starting to see a flicker of something in her. When I noticed it, I stared into her eyes, but Ariadne looked away.

“…This must be…embarrassment. Suzuna’s emotions run deep, and she has a strong sense of right and wrong. However, when it comes to you…,” started Ariadne, but she stopped partway through. It looked like Suzuna was strongly resisting. For good reason, too. Nobody wanted to say everything they ever thought.

“…I have decided that instead of requesting Suzuna to use Medium whenever I please, I will only speak through her when she wishes.”

“Oh, that’s good… And speaking of, what is it you wish to tell us?”

“Yes. I have come to warn you of the Black Box you recently acquired.”

Apparently, anything that was displayed on our licenses was conveyed to Ariadne as well. She was referring to the Black Box we found when we defeated the Vine Puppeteer. I had been carrying it around in my leather bag. I took it out and showed it to Ariadne, who nodded in confirmation.

“Are you saying this is dangerous somehow? There’s probably a lot of money and equipment in here, but…”

Ariadne shook her head and pointed at the box in my hand. “Some Black Boxes contain armaments.”

“Armaments…?”

“Yes. The proper name is armored attachment. I told you about parts for us Hidden Gods. Originally, those parts were held in Black Boxes. However, the Black Box you received from Juggernaut did not contain any parts for me to use. Instead, it should have contained something in place of a part of my body: a small crystal.”

I realized exactly what she was talking about. I had asked Madoka to investigate it, but we still didn’t know much about it. It was the alkaid crystal.

“Do you mean this? We don’t really know what it’s used for…,” I said, showing her the crystal.

“That is a sacred operation crystal for a sword. It will become functional when you equip an armament,” explained Ariadne.

“Sacred…operation crystal?”

“You may think of it as an armament controller. Armaments are parts that Hidden Gods equip… They are sacred artifacts. These sacred artifacts have their own wills; they act of their own volition. In general, they will defend themselves so that they are not obtained by others.”

It was hard to keep up with her explanation because I had to deal with all these new words I’d never heard before… But I’d actually bought a small notebook, which could be used for things like this, so I pulled it out from my bag and wrote down the information that Ariadne gave me.

“So what you’re saying is that when we open the Black Box, one of these sentient sacred armaments might come out… And it will attack anybody who’s trying to take it. Is that right?” I asked.

“Correct. There is danger that all who are in the vicinity will become involved in the ensuing battle.” That meant we’d have to ask Falma to get out as soon as she opened the box. It might also be best not to take along Misaki and Suzuna.

“Steadfast rearguard,” she continued. “You who has bound yourself to me. As a person who is under my protection, I wish to propose one way that may help protect you against the attack of the sacred artifact.”

“Do you mean with that mechanical arm…your Guard Arm? Do you believe you can defend against it?” I asked. Ariadne hadn’t spoken highly of herself, telling us she had been disposed of. I wanted to believe she could defend against an attack from a sacred artifact that a Hidden God would equip, but I didn’t want to ask her to protect us when it would be impossible.

“If my devotion level is high enough, I should be able to nullify more of the attack’s damage using my Guard Arm. I ask for your cooperation to that end.”

“Devotion level… Is that us showing our devotion to you, the Hidden God whose protection we’re under?”

“Indeed. I naturally receive devotion whenever I protect you, but I can also receive it when I improve Trust Levels with you. Devotion levels do not decrease over time, so the protection I can provide becomes stronger the more devotion I receive.”

Ariadne was magnificent when she protected Ribault from Death from Above’s attack using her Guard Arm. I was certain my Defense Support couldn’t have protected him then, so I knew her Guard Arm was a fairly strong defense as it was. If we could improve that even more, we could prevent even greater amounts of damage. But how could I improve Trust Levels with her? I didn’t think my conversational skills were good enough to increase it just by chatting.

“So I can assume that we should be able to defend against the sacred artifact’s attack if we increase our Trust Levels.”

“…Hence, why I asked this Shrine Maiden to use Medium. Your devotion levels toward me will naturally increase if I do something that you are grateful for. One part of that can be if I have relations with you while in this Shrine Maiden’s body…”

“Uh… N-no. There’s got to be another way. Suzuna didn’t use Medium for you to do that.”

“That is the method that requires the least amount of time. It will deepen Trust Levels with you and the Shrine Maiden, and you can marry if a child is born.”

“Uh, uhhh…”

I bet Suzuna was resisting as much as she could… She’d probably be disgusted with me forever if I agreed to what Ariadne was suggesting or even hate me. Though, it did make me think of the period in history far removed from our own in which shrine maidens would sleep with men in order to spread the religion. Not that all traveling shrine maidens did that, nor did Suzuna become a Shrine Maiden with that in mind.

“A-anyway… While it might strengthen the party that I am the leader of, that is one thing I can’t do.”

“…If you agree… No. I will say no more or Medium will be canceled. We shall build mutual trust in a way that the Shrine Maiden approves of.”

…Wait. By mutual trust, does she mean I need to increase her Trust Level? In which case…

“Ariadne, how about we try something? Sit with your back facing me.”

“Understood… Though, I question the logic in such a request.”

“Just wait a minute; it activates every once in a while.”

“…? This body feels warm, and its healing processes have quickened. What is the purpose of this healing activity?” asked Ariadne. Based on the display, I knew that I activated Recovery Support on Suzuna, but apparently, that didn’t mean Ariadne’s Trust Levels would increase.

“I used one of my skills to heal Suzuna because healing builds trust. Though, I assume your spirit presence here is more similar to magic?”

“Yes. The Hidden Gods’ spirits are made from magic.”

“If that’s the case…it might take some time, but how about this?” I held my hand up toward Ariadne’s back and hoped I was right… Hoped that if I recovered her magic instead, that Ariadne’s trust in me would go up.

I’ll give Ariadne a portion of my magic… Charge Assist.

“Ah…”

This time was different; I could see a change in Ariadne. She was looking back at me, her cheeks slightly flushed.

“…A skill that provides magic. I had not thought of such a direct way of building mutual trust. A portion of my spirit is now formed from your magic,” said Ariadne.

“All right, well, if we set aside some time and continue this… It even says on the license that your Trust Levels increased. How much was it?” I asked.

“…As far as I can sense, it was not a large amount, but it did increase. I recommend you repeat that a number of times in order to improve the defense of my Guard Arm.” Ariadne looked again over her shoulder at me. She pulled her hair forward, exposing the pale white nape of her neck, which really unsettled me.

What the hell kind of adult am I for having thoughts like this about a high schooler…? I mean, we’re not actually doing anything indecent, though. I just need to get rid of the inappropriate thoughts and focus.

“I have a skill that gives magic. If I use that to recover your magic, then the amount I will recover when you use Charge Assist will be increased. You and I can create a perpetual loop using only recovery skills.”

“That’s incredible… If you can give the magic you recover to the whole party, then we’ll be able to fight at full charge forever.”

“Unfortunately, I can only provide magic to the person who has entered into a contract with me, which would be y…you…”

“Oh… Sorry, maybe it’s best if you don’t talk right when I’m about to use Charge Assist.”

“…That is not necessary. The Shrine Maiden feels things very strongly. I will reduce sensitivity.”

Ariadne had originally asked Suzuna to use Medium so she could warn us… She was a being that protected us, so it didn’t seem out of the ordinary, but I was grateful. However, I hadn’t yet realized that night what using Suzuna’s body to increase Trust Levels with Ariadne would do.

Part III: Energy Sync

Ariadne was possessing Suzuna’s body through Suzuna’s Medium skill and returning the magic I charged her with back to me, after which I would use Charge Assist again. Well, that was the plan anyway, but when it got to the point where Ariadne would use her skill to return the magic, I suddenly felt really uncomfortable.

Her skill was called Energy Sync, which sounded like it would even out the magic between the user and the person it was used on. My magic went down when I used Charge Assist, but it refilled Ariadne’s magic more than mine went down. The amount I lost would be filled using Energy Sync, and I’d use Charge Assist again. That meant my magic would always return to the amount it was before I used Charge Assist.

This was all in the realm of possibility, but we had to be physically touching for Ariadne to be able to use Energy Sync. It shouldn’t have been a problem if I touched her somewhere that wasn’t problematic, but when it came down to it, I realized I wasn’t comfortable touching her anywhere.

“U-um… Arihito, you can touch me wherever; don’t worry about it.”

“Whoa…! S-Suzuna? You can talk even though you’re using Medium?” I said, quite surprised since just before, it had been Ariadne’s monotone voice, but it suddenly changed back to Suzuna’s normal voice.

“You seemed so hesitant, so I asked Ariadne to let me switch with her… It feels very strange, though.” Suzuna wasn’t completely unable to act of her own volition while using Medium, but she seemed uncomfortable because it felt strange having just gotten control of her own body back.

“…You have to give her a lot of magic in order to strengthen…Guard Arm…right?” asked Suzuna.

“Yeah… Apparently, her defensive abilities will improve if we improve Trust Levels between her and I.”

“And if you do that, it will be more capable of defending against attacks… We should improve trust between you two as much as possible tonight.”

“I’m grateful that you’re on board. No, not just me. This is about the whole party.”

“Yes, it’s for the party… All for one and one for all, right?” said Suzuna, a little jokingly, which was unusual for her. She wanted to protect the party, the same as me, and that mind-set directly influenced the strength of our party’s bonds.

Thankfully, there was no animosity between any of the party members; we all got along, but that didn’t mean we could forget to be considerate of one another and focus on ourselves instead. That was just how relationships worked. I had to be especially careful, since I was the only man in a group of women.

“…Um. She’s going to use Energy Sync soon. Could you touch me somewhere?” asked Suzuna.

“Oh yeah… Where? …I think I’d feel better if you tell me.” I knew I shouldn’t really be thinking about it this much, but I was worried she might be ticklish or something. I just wanted to be incredibly cautious about it.

“Anywhere on my back is fine. Go on.”

“Okay… Is this all right?” I said, placing my hand on her back between her shoulder blades. Suzuna put her hands together like she was praying. She was activating Energy Sync.

“…It’s warm. I can tell that my magic flows into you and your magic flows back, leveling out,” observed Suzuna.

“If only it could be used with multiple party members. We could recover anyone who was particularly low and even out everyone’s magic,” I said, and Suzuna switched back to Ariadne so she could speak.

“It would be possible. As of right now, I can only use skills on you. However, a Hidden God’s skills become more powerful when the party becomes stronger. Once your party’s level passes a certain point, my skills will advance to their second stage,” explained Ariadne. If she could come out from the hidden level in the Field of Dawn, then she could even join the party itself. If that happened, she’d be able to use her skills herself.

“That would be possible if you gather enough parts for me.”

“Oh… I guess you can still read my thoughts even though you’re just here through Medium.”

“Yes… And no. I am not certain. Humans tend to conceal things when they wish to remain private. I will not reveal any of your thoughts to others.”

“I appreciate it… I mean, I don’t actually mind that you can hear my thoughts; I’m just worried it might annoy you.”

“I wish to further understand human emotions. Relations between men and women would be greatly helpful for deepening my understanding—”

“L-look, I already told you…”

I wouldn’t have been surprised if Suzuna took over at any point now, since she was listening to this conversation as well. The best I could really do was explain to Ariadne that men and women didn’t engage in such things without good cause.

There was a limit to devotion levels that Ariadne could have based on the party’s level, and it had reached that limit. Every time I used Charge Assist, I felt there was some sort of change in Ariadne’s behavior as she looked back at me. She seemed more conscious of the fact that I was touching her.

“Are you all right, Ariadne?” I asked.

“…I am being influenced by emotions. Perhaps it is an effect of the medium…”

“Wh-what’s wrong? Do you not feel well?”

“…No. Both my and the Shrine Maiden’s vitality are full. There is no issue.” Ariadne clenched her hand to her chest. She really didn’t have any life in her eyes, so I definitely did feel strange when she stared at me. She kept saying she wanted to understand humans, which was probably why my thoughts and emotions were going down a certain path. But what could you really expect from a healthy man? I just hoped she wouldn’t judge me too harshly.

“Devotion levels have reached their maximum. Now I will be able to protect you with Guard Arm. It will be even safer if you have a companion who excels at defense.”

“I see… Well, right now, Cion, a silver hound, is in charge of our defense. Would a guard dog work?” I asked.

“I am not specialized in protecting beasts. The most appropriate match would be a humanoid warrior who is equipped with metal armor.”

If that was the requirement, the people in our party most suited would be Igarashi or Elitia, but Elitia was focused on offense, and it was safest for Igarashi if she could dodge instead of taking the hit.

Specialized in defense with metal armor… The only person I can think of would be Seraphina, of the Guild Saviors. But she’s probably not even in District Eight anymore.

“All right, I understand. Thank you for everything. I think we’ll be needing your help soon, Ariadne.”

“Understood. I…believe it has been good for my circuits…to have a conversation with you…”

Suzuna’s head suddenly hung limply. Perhaps Medium only lasted a set period of time.

“Suzuna, are you okay?” I asked, and she slowly opened her eyes and looked in front of her, where I was. She jumped back a little and covered her mouth with her hands.

“Wh-what happened? I’m sorry, did I surprise you because I was suddenly right in front of you?” I asked.

“…N-no… I was looking out from inside Ariadne… She said she was going to sleep for a little bit…,” said Suzuna, touching her ears and brushing the bed. She didn’t seem able to calm down. I didn’t think it was that she’d suddenly become more aware of the fact that she was alone in a room with me. After a moment, she noticed I was looking at her, and she jumped a little again.

“Um… I’ll go get some water or something. You’ve been concentrating this whole time; you should relax,” I said.

“Ah… N-no. I’ll go. You can just stay there… B-be back soon.” It was strange to see her so flustered when she was normally so calm, though she was still a high schooler, so it wasn’t like she’d be calm in every possible situation. I knew that, but…if Misaki saw her now, she’d probably assume the wrong thing. I hoped she’d be able to calm down by morning.

I finally fell asleep sometime after midnight and woke up thirty minutes before breakfast. Everyone was able to order what they wanted, so I had a bacon sandwich made from the meat of a wild boar monster. Even though it was boar, it’d been treated with fruit juice to remove the gamy taste and was really quite tender. It was freshly prepared, and the meat was still juicy.

Kinda tastes like pig, though…and pig makes me think of ginger pork, but you can’t get the flavors right without soy sauce… That’s something I’ll probably never be able to enjoy again.

Igarashi chose a grilled fish, which seemed to suit her tastes, because she was really enjoying it.

“Thank goodness they’ve got fresh fish in the Labyrinth Country,” she said.

“Suzu, your mom used to always grill fish in the morning, wouldn’t she? My mom also— Hmm? Suzu, what’s wrong? You seem out of it,” observed Misaki.

“…Sorry, what?” said Suzu vaguely, surprising everyone. I’d thought she’d seemed a little off all morning, but apparently, what we did last night wasn’t good for her.

“…Arihito, did you do something dirty to Suzu?” asked Misaki.

“No, I would never! Why would you say that?”

“But Suzuna’s so shaken up… You can’t blame us for thinking something happened,” said Elitia, shocking Madoka, who was joining us for breakfast for the first time while Melissa just steadily ate her chili.

“Um… Has Arihito done anything with any of you…?” asked Madoka.

“N-no way! Atobe’s too honest. He’d only do something if he imagines a future with them…”

“Kyouka knows him best, after all. Oh! You know, I never asked him if he’s got any ex-girlfriends,” said Misaki.

“…I don’t…think so… But I wonder… He was normally just working with me on his days off, and he rarely slipped out to answer any phone calls…,” said Igarashi.

“So you noticed that, too… Were you always paying that much attention to him?” asked Elitia.

“Uh, n-no, I, um …” Igarashi was at a loss. I wanted to come to her rescue, but I felt it might be stupid to say she didn’t really pay that much attention at all. Considering she was so controlling a boss that she’d care whenever I got up from my desk.

“…Anyway. Atobe, what happened with Suzu?”

“Uh… I—I guess you could say we had a late night.”

“A late night… So you mean you guys—?”

“Pull it together, Misaki! We’ll never hear the rest of the story if you keep cutting him off,” snapped Elitia, effectively silencing Misaki. I wanted to get the others’ feedback on the situation anyway, so I decided I should just spit it out already.

“Well, I figured I should report it to you anyway, but we had a message from Ariadne last night. Suzuna used her skills and called on Ariadne’s spirit so we could speak with her.”

“So that’s what happened… And what’d she say?” said Igarashi.

“There’s a chance that a part of a Hidden God will come out when we open the Black Box, and it’ll attack anyone who’s trying to obtain it… Which means there’s a chance we’ll end up in a fight when we have the box opened,” I explained, and everyone suddenly looked serious. Even Suzuna, who’d been blank and inattentive a moment before, returned to her normal self.

“In order to defend against that attack, Suzuna helped me to increase Ariadne’s devotion levels. But if we’re going to play it safe, it’d probably be best to wait on opening the box and level up first,” I continued.

“…Yeah. If this part is incredibly powerful…,” Elitia started to say.

“But it’s one of Ariadne’s parts. Isn’t it likely that she’d be able to defend against it with her power? I don’t think she’d suggest we do something incredibly dangerous,” said Igarashi. I honestly agreed with both of them. Should we put off opening the box and avoid all potential risks? Or should we open it, knowing we might get the part along with other magical equipment?

…We can’t risk it, can we? There’s no guarantee that Guard Arm will prevent all damage…

“…I’m going with Arihito. I’ve already decided that much,” said Suzuna.

“Yeah… It’s a weighty decision, but I don’t think we’ll easily lose as long as Arihito is there. It’s because of him that we’ve been able to beat monsters I never thought we could,” agreed Elitia.

“……”

Theresia was looking silently at me. I think she was trying to say she would be with me no matter what. Safety was most important, but it didn’t feel right to put this off in the name of safety considering there was a high probability we’d get one of Ariadne’s parts.

“…I want to open the Black Box. It’ll probably be dangerous, but we know that the rewards will likely be high,” I reasoned.

“Yeah, I agree. Monsters will be more powerful once we move up to District Seven. It will be safer for us in the future if we can change even one piece of equipment up to something better,” said Elitia, nodding without hesitation. She wasn’t afraid at all; no, it was because she had faith in the party.

“Atobe, it’d probably be good to make sure we’re ready to use our Morale Discharges, right? It’ll take time to prepare it, but I think it’ll be worth it,” said Igarashi.

“That means you’ll be telling us Let’s go! or Keep it up! ten times, right? Reminds me of a sports coach. I could be into that,” added Misaki.

“Which means we’ll get to hear lots of Arihito’s voice…,” said Suzuna.

“Yeah… That’s pretty normal now. Are you sure you’re all right, Suzuna?” I asked.

“Yes, I’m fine. Actually, for some reason, I feel I can do more today than usual…,” she said. She seemed somehow more alluring than normal… Or she was just giving off that kind of vibe. I looked at my license; there weren’t any status ailments at work, but I was already aware that the license didn’t always show everything.

Is it just that…her trust in me increased because I used Charge Assist? If that’s the case… I used it quite a lot…

“Suzu, you seem like a caterpillar who’s turned into a butterfly for some reason…,” said Misaki.

“I think that sort of thing is normal for her age… Or if Atobe’s to blame, then he can explain what exactly happened when it’s our turn to share a room.”

“N-no, it won’t work if it’s not Suzuna… I don’t mean that in a weird way at all,” I said. The only reason we could do our perpetual loop of magic restoration was that Suzuna was acting as Ariadne’s medium. If that wasn’t it anyway, it was possible that Recovery Support increased trust far too much while we were asleep… If that was the case, then the thing this party needed the most was some sort of skill or something that would keep me from rolling over in my sleep.

Part IV: The Second Black Box

I considered having Melissa join the party so I could see how strong she was, but she and Madoka were prioritizing their production work.

“…I’ll do any modifications. Bring back good materials,” said Melissa.

“Make sure you all stay safe…,” added Madoka.

“Yep. We’ll probably get a large amount of equipment again, so I hope you can help us then,” I said to Madoka.

“Of course. I’ll use my connections and negotiate to get you the best possible price for them,” she replied. The two saw us off as we left the mansion, and the seven of us, including Cion, went to the Chest Cracker shop.

…Hmm? Is that…?

We passed near the Guild and saw Louisa speaking with a row of armored individuals. They were the Guild Saviors. Maybe they were saying their good-byes because they were about to leave District Eight.

“…Ah, Mr. Atobe. Perfect timing,” said Louisa.

“Hmm… Me?”

“Yes, Seraphina of the Guild Saviors would like to thank you again for saving Polaris yesterday,” she explained.

Seraphina turned to face me, her smooth hair pulled up this time. She was as beautiful as before, but I couldn’t show that on my face in front of Louisa and everyone else.

“As Louisa explained, I would like to thank you again. I would also like to offer your party a Savior Ticket. While you have this, you can use your license to submit a support request to ask for our help,” said Seraphina, holding out a rectangular piece of thin metal with rounded corners. It was made of a light blue metal; I had no idea what kind of material it was.

“A Savior Ticket… This seems valuable…,” I said.

“It’s made from a metal called crystium. You can think of it as a step up from a Mercenary Ticket. You can’t hire any mercenaries that are above level five in this district, and Guild Saviors must be level eight before they can even join the Saviors,” explained Seraphina.

Higher than level 8… I was starting to think as she spoke. If we asked someone as strong or stronger than Elitia to front our defenses… Before we went to open the Black Box, I wanted to find someone who could protect us, even if they were only with us for a short time, so that they could defend against the first attack that would come out of the box.

“Seraphina, could I ask you something?” I said.

“Go right ahead. We don’t have any current support requests, so we have some time until we’ll be returning to headquarters.”

“Thank you. As far as I can tell based on your large shield, you act as your party’s vanguard, or primary defense, right?”

“My job is Riot Soldier. I was originally part of a squadron that worked to maintain the peace, if that makes sense.”

Riot Soldier… Was she in the military, then?! I knew there were women in the military, so she must have been reincarnated, too…

“I use this riot shield to defend against and suppress enemy attacks. There are no guns in this world, so I don’t have one of those. I use a baton instead, making my job here in the Labyrinth Country focused almost entirely on defense.”

Her shield had a small window in it. It was made of a silver metal and polished to a mirror finish. It was the kind of high-quality piece of equipment that you’d never manage to find in District Eight. I also understood why she looked like a knight, since the Labyrinth Country didn’t have any modern equipment. Even the baton she carried had a mace-like weight on the end and looked like it could do serious damage.

“Thank you for the information. I need to speak with my party for a moment; could you please wait for me?” I said.

“Sure,” she replied, agreeing to hang around a while longer as I went back to my friends, who were waiting behind me.

“Atobe… Are you thinking of using that Savior Ticket to ask her to help us?” asked Igarashi.

“You guessed it. I don’t think we’ll have a chance like this again, so I really want someone with a high defense to join us for opening the box.”

“I wonder how dangerous the first attack will be… I don’t think it’d be so powerful that even a Guild Savior can’t handle it. It’s dangerous to ask Cion to use Covering to take it, since she doesn’t even have any equipment,” said Elitia as Suzuna stroked Cion, who was sitting obediently next to her. Like she said, Cion might be a guard dog, but I was worried about having her take attacks without having any equipment.

“I haven’t seen any defensive equipment more impressive than that anywhere. It looks super sturdy,” said Misaki.

“You’re right… It’s incredible that she can move so quickly with armor that heavy…,” said Igarashi.

“……”

Everyone seemed to be in agreement. Even Theresia was looking at Seraphina, but it didn’t seem like she was wary of her.

Seraphina was waiting by the wall of the Guild building so as not to get in the way. I went up to her and held out the Savior Ticket she’d only just given me.

“Seraphina, if you have the time, I would like to request you join my party while we open a chest,” I said.

“…Are you sure? It’s not generally recommended that you allow someone outside of the party to be present when opening a chest. A chest and its contents are the property of the party,” she said.

“Well… There’s a high probability that an enemy will appear when we open this one. We need to defeat it. I understand that there would be risks in you agreeing to help us in that you’d be faced with an unknown attack, so I understand if you decline,” I said, and Seraphina stared at me. Her eyes were so sharp and bright that I had the urge to look away. Her hair color couldn’t be natural if she was really a reincarnate. It must have changed to this fantastical color sometime while she was living in the Labyrinth Country.

“If that is the request, you won’t need to use the Savior Ticket. One of our duties is to support any particularly promising rookies,” said Seraphina. “Chests are rarities, and while it isn’t common, it does occasionally happen that a rookie party is completely killed by the traps on a chest. Considering the situation, I would hope to prevent that from happening if at all possible.”

“Ah… Thank you so much! But I feel like I have to give you something in return. I don’t want to feel like we’ve gotten some sort of preferential treatment…,” I said.

“It wasn’t just that you saved Polaris. I heard that you also visited the patients we took to the Healers and returned one to consciousness. I am personally interested in what kind of Seeker you are. Don’t worry about compensation.”

I didn’t want my rearguard skills to become widely known, but I had a hard time believing anyone would choose to come to see us open a chest, knowing it was going to be dangerous, just to use my skills somehow.

“…Lastly, I will abide by your decisions. I wish to work with you for the time being. I won’t speak of anything I see during that. You may do with me as you see fit if I break that promise,” she continued.

“…All right. Though, you don’t need to say it like we’d threaten you,” I said.

“Threaten… That was not my intention. I was simply providing a suggestion as to what cost I would be willing to pay to gain your trust.”

Ariadne was like that, too; I felt like they didn’t treat their own femininity with much regard. It bothered me that I got so thrown off by it. I wished I could just be calm like you’d expect from someone my age.

“…I’m getting the impression that Japanese people don’t like inelegant women,” observed Seraphina.

“Th-that’s not true at all… Also, I wouldn’t call you that,” I said.

“Hmph… Is that so? …I’m glad you think that way… In some ways, I think my Guild Savior training was lacking… Ahem.” Seraphina seemed genuinely concerned about it, but she saw her squad looking at her, cleared her throat as she got ahold of herself, and went back to her normal demeanor.

“Ms. Seraphina, will you be joining these Seekers? We plan to return this evening. I hope to be on the way by three PM,” said one of the women, who appeared to be Seraphina’s assistant, carefully interjecting. Seraphina looked up at the clock above the square; it was nine in the morning. There was still plenty of time.

“Um… Would you mind coming along?” I asked.

“I will join you. Everyone else, patrol the area. Respond as necessary to any request from the Guild,” ordered Seraphina, and the five men and women who’d been standing at attention the whole time broke into grins. She’d said patrol, but maybe in practice, that meant they were allowed to do whatever they wanted. Seraphina was the only one left after her squad saluted and went their own ways.

First things first, I wanted to use Morale Support on Seraphina. It would take time, but having her Morale Discharge or not could be the deciding factor in the battle. The rest of my party came over now that it was official she’d be joining us. Now we needed to introduce everyone.

“Wow, I can’t believe you’ve found a second Black Box already. I was wondering if I’d see you again,” said Falma when we arrived.

“I’m sorry to bother you, but I want to ask that you teleport away as soon as you open the box… We might have a fight on our hands,” I said. I had thought she’d be surprised to hear it, but she was oddly at ease.

“I will know whether a monster will come out or not when I undo a trap. I will inform you right before I do,” she said.

“Understood. I’ll leave the rest to you, then.”

“As you wish. Eyck, Plum, you two hold down the fort for a bit, okay?”

“All right! Be careful, everyone!” said Eyck.

“I’ll wait here with Eyck!” said Plum.

We left the children behind as we descended the stairs that led to the teleportation door. Cion’s mom, Astarte, wasn’t at home. Being level 13, she was probably off on some Guild mission in the higher districts.

“…I should tell you that I have a number of skills that allow me to draw the enemy’s attention if I’m in the vanguard. I can increase their hostility, or hate if you will, toward me. The one most effective against a lone enemy is Provoke. If successful, the enemy will prioritize me for their attacks,” said Seraphina.

“All right. I can support your fight from behind. I can increase your attack and defense, for example…,” I said.

“You were increasing my morale before… I’ve never had my morale reach maximum.”

“You probably know that you can use your Morale Discharge when it reaches maximum… But I suppose if you never have, then you might not know what your Morale Discharge does?” I asked, and Seraphina nodded. When I first met her, I’d gotten the impression that she was a very strict and disciplined soldier, but she’d become much more compliant when she joined the party.

“I can’t be certain it’s combat-oriented, but… It might give us an edge when we’re in a pinch. If you use it, it takes a while before you can use it again, so we can’t really test it out,” I said.

“Since we don’t know what will happen, I’ll save it as a last resort, as you said. How does that sound?” she asked, but Igarashi seemed bothered by something and jumped into the conversation.

“It’s hard to know who you’re referring to when you keep just saying you. It’d probably be easier to follow if you addressed people by their names.”

“Oh… Good point. Uh, you can address me however you like,” I said to Seraphina.

“Then, I will call you Mr. Atobe, though I suppose it would be more appropriate to call you captain as you are the party leader,” replied Seraphina.

“You know, that salute from before was sooo cool. We’ll call you Captain Arihito. Oooh man, I wanna be called captain, too!” shrieked Misaki.

I wondered how useful Misaki’s Gambler skills would be for this fight. There was a possibility she’d be useful, but her defense was so low that I wasn’t certain I wanted her to participate.

“Misaki, this fight’s going to be really dangerous…,” I started.

“Mr. Atobe, please trust in Cion’s strength in times like this. I can tell she’s becoming stronger, like her mother,” said Falma.

“Woof!” barked Cion.

“Whoooa… Falma, could you tell he was about to leave me behind? Can I call you mom? You’ve got a mother’s intuition,” said Misaki.

“Ha-ha… I’m just perceptive when it comes to these kinds of things,” replied Falma as she put a finger to her lips and smiled. It probably wasn’t the right time to be thinking this, but she seemed to be getting more flirtatious the longer her husband was away.

The number on the teleportation door this time was twenty-five. Like Falma had explained before, it was a room that no other parties were currently using to open their chests. We opened the door, passed through, and found ourselves in a huge room that looked the same as the one before. Falma stood where she could make a speedy getaway if necessary, and we fell into battle formation.

That was our party of eight. Seraphina was level 11. With that giant shield of hers, she was clearly the person with the highest defense in the party. Leading the formation was Seraphina; making up the second rank were Elitia and Igarashi. Behind them were Theresia and Cion, then Suzuna and Misaki. I took up the rear.

“I will begin unlocking it now. Oh… I can’t believe I get another chance to open a chest this difficult…,” said Falma. She was as attractive as always, but she was fairly far from me, so I didn’t get drawn in by her allure. I needed to focus for when the box opened.

Falma held her right hand up to the box, which was in her left, and the three-dimensional magic field unfolded. That was the Dimensional Barrier Lock. It was significantly bigger than the one for the last Black Box—and far more complicated.

What is this feeling of dread…?

“It’s… Ah, what is this…power…? I need to let it out or the box won’t open!”

“This is it, everyone!” I shouted.

Falma’s magic was flowing down the paths of the mazelike Dimensional Barrier Lock. In its path was a red light. Her magic had to pass through there, but the light completely blocked the way forward. Which meant that there was no choice but to let her magic run into it. The moment she did…the box opened. The last time, the surface of the box had glowed with blue lines, releasing a flood of light. But with this box, the light that flooded the room was purple. It was so intense that it hurt to keep my eyes open. Falma fell to the ground shaking and stared at the scene in front of her.

“Falma, keep it together! Get out of here; leave it to us!” I shouted.

“Ah!”

Falma pulled herself up and started moving, and the purple light started to fade. As it did, our vision was filled with the sea of gold that had been in the box and was now swallowing the ground. In the air was a single sword. It gave off a purple glow and had a shape similar to a Japanese katana.

Intelligent Stellar Sword awakens; Self-Defense Mode activated.

It wasn’t just floating there; it was swaying up and down. Lightning raced out from around the sword, which gave a menacing aura to the blade. Even I, in the far back and before the battle had even started, could only think of death.

“There’s a sword…in the Black Box… Is that a katana?”

“Seraphina, I’ll lend you my support! Ariadne, give us a hand!” I shouted, and a moment later, the sword floating in the air suddenly came down to attack Seraphina in the front line.

“I, Ariadne, grant my devotee and his allies my protection!”

“I’ll stop this attack… That’s my job…!” cried Seraphina. My Defense Support made an invisible barrier over her shield, and in front of her appeared not one but two mechanical arms to stop the incoming sword. Those two arms were the result of our work on increasing our devotion to Ariadne. It was completely different from the last time she’d helped us—these were evolved Guard Arms.

Please… If we can’t stop this attack, we’re done for!

The sword struck down from above, cloaked in lightning. The Guard Arms stopped the blade with their hands, but even though they stopped it from advancing, the strike unleashed a shock wave that crashed into Seraphina’s shield.

“Gah… Argh…!”

The damage was reduced a lot, but it wasn’t eliminated completely… She can’t keep doing that forever. Wait, she’s not just going to stop the attack…!

“—Haaaaaah!”

“It worked… It worked against a metal opponent!” I cried. Seraphina hadn’t just defended against the attack—she had pushed back and sent the sword flying, and I saw that the set damage from Attack Support 1 worked as well. She seemed surprised, but I was relieved… It had worked for the Giant Eagle-Headed Warrior, which had been metal, but I hadn’t been certain we could hurt a sword.

The sword bounced back, twirled in the air, and righted itself, but it didn’t come in immediately for another attack. It waited there, suspended in midair.

“Pant, pant… Those mechanical arms just now… What were—?”

“Seraphina, I’ll explain later. It’s coming again!” I shouted.

“I can dodge. I have to make it easier for her!” said Igarashi.

“Don’t push yourself! This enemy’s attacks aren’t normal!” I called.

Elitia and Igarashi advanced. I knew Elitia could keep up with the sword if she used her skills to speed up. Igarashi could help draw some attacks, since she could use Mirage Step to evade. We needed to end this quickly.

“The damage from my skills is as effective as it has been! Find an opening and attack—,” I started.

“—?!”

The sword’s next target was Elitia. She reacted immediately, bringing the Scarlet Emperor up to stop the blade.

“Argh!”

Slash, parry, thrust. The sword’s attacks came one after another, forcing Elitia to defend, unable to counterattack. Blocking a swing with her sword apparently didn’t count as an attack, as there wasn’t any set damage from my skills.

We need to break this up and make an opening… But we can’t use projectiles. The only thing that would hit for sure…

If Auto-Hit always landed, then it would still be able to hit that sword, but there was no way to break into their close combat.

“Ellie, fall back!” called Igarashi.

“Kyouka…!” answered Elitia.

Igarashi’s movements were significantly different from before; she was moving much more quickly.

That’s right, her abilities are increased with Wolf Pack… She can probably break into their fight with an attack!

“Hyaaaa!”

“Gah… I dodged it, but it’s so fast!” said Igarashi.

Everyone put some distance between them and the sword for a moment. It wasn’t just the physical attacks from the sword that were dangerous—there was also the lightning surrounding it. It would be bad to get too close.

Seraphina adjusted her stance and fell back into battle formation. She had been able to stop the first frightening attack… But the enemy moved too fast, making it difficult to get in any significant amount of damage.

If we can draw its attention, we can get in Elitia’s Blossom Blade and our attacks. We have to stop its movement somehow…

The floating sword readied itself for another attack. That’s when Seraphina activated the skill she’d told me about earlier.

“I won’t let it pass me. I’ll stop it here in the front!” shouted Seraphina.

“Everyone, Seraphina’s going to take the attack like the first time. When she does, concentrate your fire on it! Igarashi, Theresia, Misaki, use your Morale Discharges!”

“Okay! Let’s do this, everyone… Soul Mirage!”

“…!”

“Thanks for not forgetting me… Fortune Roll!”

A mirage warrior appeared for each member, and our total number of attacks doubled. Seraphina was surprised but seemed to understand what was going on right after. I was watching the enemy for the moment it started to move… Seraphina would stop the attack, and we’d counter with everything we had. We couldn’t miss our chance.

Part V: Reversal

Eight party members and eight mirage warriors totaled sixteen people. If we all attacked at once, we’d have incredible firepower, even if only the set damage made it through the enemy’s defenses.

“I will stop you!” cried Seraphina, having used a skill to instigate the enemy’s hostility. Almost as if it were responding to her words, the sword turned its edge toward her and started rotating violently, like the wheel of a speeding car.

“Seraphina, use your mirage warrior! It’ll act according to your will!” instructed Igarashi.

“Mirage warrior…? Is this like my clone…? If so…” I realized then that I could’ve improved our tactical abilities if I’d taken Cooperation Support… But we could win this fight with what we had available now.

The mirage warrior’s skills were half as strong as the original. Even so, it was a significant increase to the strength of the shield of light emanating from Seraphina’s riot shield as it joined the light from the mirage warrior’s shield.

“Wha—?!”

It wasn’t just a weapon. It was intelligent, and it could use skills. Our skills seemed to ignore the laws of physics, and this sword’s skills were, in the same way, far beyond anything we could have imagined.

Full-body…no, multiple attacks!

The spinning blade unleashed attack after attack like an automatic rifle, and it wasn’t just Seraphina it was aiming for. Elitia and Igarashi were behind her and within the arching path of the blade, but—

“I said I will stop you here!” roared Seraphina.

“Ariadne, help us!” I called.

It was like an immobile shield, a wall that no one could pass. The surface area of her shield expanded and defended against each of the attacks from the spinning blade. The two Guard Arms grabbed one each, stopping them in place. Two remaining strikes crashed into Seraphina’s shield, but—

“Seraphina!” cried Elitia. The attacks didn’t stop at the fourth stage. The final attack landed, and Seraphina shook violently, but she did not fall. She cried out, her hair in disarray.

“I’m not going down! Haaaaah!”

The attack from Seraphina’s full-body shield stopped the sword’s rotation. Seraphina hadn’t missed her opportunity to counterattack in the short moment the sword slowed after finishing its attack. Her body glowed slightly as she recovered the portion of damage she did with the counter.

She made an opening for us. We intentionally staggered our attacks to hit it with a continuous stream. First up was Elitia, sped up with her Sonic Raid, along with her mirage warrior. Next came Igarashi with her spear, followed by Cion, who was in the third rank.

“—I’ll cut you down!”

“Hyaa!”

“Awooo!”

Raging attacks sent sparks raining from the sword, but it still seemed in good condition despite it all. A membrane-like barrier of light appeared to protect it from the blows. The party carved away at the barrier, but it still held intact. I tried to give the order for the remaining four of us to combine our attacks, but there was a vague sense of unease in the back of my mind.

“Suzuna! Misaki!” I shouted.

““Okay!”” they replied. I could have given the order to Theresia as well, but I expected her to act on her own without it. She hadn’t attacked yet, and I couldn’t help feeling there was some significant reason behind this choice.

The three of us will corner it…and push through!

“I hit it! B-but…it didn’t really do much…,” said Misaki.

“My arrow didn’t land… It only works with your help, Arihito…,” added Suzuna.

My Attack Support should be working. If I shot my slingshot, we’d get in one more set of attacks.

But… What is this terrible feeling…? Wait!

The sword we’d just been attacking suddenly split into a number of swords and surrounded the entire party.

“Wha—?” I murmured.

“Arihito, run!” cried Elitia. “This thing’s attack will—!”

There I was in the very back, but even farther behind me, I could feel its fierce aggression. That was the weakness of the rearguard job. I was weak if anything attacked me directly. I’d kept thinking about how I needed to find a way to defend against that possibility.

“Atobe!” called Igarashi. I tried to turn around quickly, but I had no remotely decent way of defending. Could I block with my slingshot and prevent a fatal wound? But its attacks were so powerful that even Seraphina with her special defense skills and Ariadne’s help couldn’t completely block it.

But I’d rather die facing it than get stabbed in the back!

“—Haaaaaaaah!”

I looked over my shoulder, holding my slingshot out behind, trying just to avoid death.

“—!”

Theresia had guessed this might happen. She was the only one close enough to protect me. That’s why she didn’t attack and instead pulled backward, but—

Theresia, stay away!

I wasn’t about to let her die a second time. I prayed she wouldn’t approach.

The back of the sword lowered slightly, almost as if there were a person holding it. The next moment, it thrust forward, and I noticed something. It was slower. It had slowed enough that I could likely twist mostly out of the way.

“Gah!”

The blade slid by me, cutting shallowly into my torso. It burned like fire, but it missed my heart.

“—!!”

Theresia rushed forward, sped up with Accel Dash, and pushed the sword back. The blast of wind made the sword drop, and I wasn’t about to miss my opportunity. I put everything I had left into a shot from my slingshot.

“—Haaaaaah!”

How was I able to make the attack that powerful? The slingshot creaked from the force of my draw. The magical bullet I shot struck the hilt of the sword with a sound like a bullet from a rifle.

“Pant, pant… Owww…”

“…!!”

Theresia ran up to me. My hardened leather armor had been like paper to the sword. It was slashed clean open, a single gash visible on my skin below.

“Atobe!” cried Igarashi.

“Arihito, use a potion! Suzuna, can you do some sort of first aid?” said Elitia.

“Yes… I have some handmade bandages… But we should take him to a Healer clinic immediately,” replied Suzuna. I was bleeding a fair amount, and it did hurt, but I still felt bad for making everyone worry.

The battle was over; the mirage warriors faded. I looked at the display on my license and double-checked what exactly happened to me. It was Rearguard General. That skill had activated, so I’d been able to keep up with the enemy’s moves. And while I couldn’t say I’d gotten out of it unscathed, I did get out of it alive.

…It’s all thanks to Theresia. She suggested I take the skill. Without it, I’d be…

As the skill description had said, your own abilities improve the more allies you have in front of you. It’s likely that the mirage warriors had been counted, too. Including my own mirage warrior, that’d make me the “rearguard general” of a party of sixteen, and my abilities improved accordingly.

Seraphina had taken a hit as well; there was a scratch on the metal plate of her headband, but I didn’t see any open wounds, perhaps because she recovered using the effects of Triple Steal. I had recovered, too, but even though I had, that didn’t mean I stopped bleeding immediately. The edges of the wound were starting to slowly heal, and the pain was beginning to subside.

“Incredible… I’ve never seen a rearguard capable of such damage. I feel like I’m seeing slingshots in a whole new light,” said Seraphina.

“I can’t always do that much; it really depends on the situation… But that was close. And I’m sorry for asking you to put yourself in so much danger.”

Seraphina smiled. It wasn’t the kind of face that implied she’d been forced into a risky situation. It was a genuine smile. I’d had the impression she didn’t smile often, so it was unexpected, in a good way.

“I should actually thank you for allowing me to participate in such an extraordinary experience. I didn’t know that Black Boxes could contain such enemies…,” she said.

Cion was wary of the fallen sword. She came over to stand guard against it. I let the others do some first aid on me, then went to examine the sword.

I couldn’t learn anything about it without having it appraised—or maybe I could have Ariadne take a look.

…Dormant… So what happens if it activates? I really don’t want to have to fight it again.

The hilt of the sword fit in my hand, implying that I could, even as a rearguard, equip the weapon. But the slingshot was my primary weapon, so I should probably give it to Ariadne. If this was one of her parts, it might give her back a portion of her power.

I looked around at the pile of treasure that came out of the chest and at my companions, relieved to have finished the fight, and finally realized it was over.

Part VI: Gathering Clouds

I realized that I was just casually holding the sword. That was careless, considering it could have been cursed. Though, if this was the armament that Ariadne told me about, she probably would have warned me if it were dangerous to carry. There weren’t any issues in the end, so it was fine.

“Atobe, your knapsack is glowing…,” said Igarashi.

“Hmm… Wh-what?”

I looked at the knapsack I’d thrown aside during the battle and saw that it was emitting a blue light.

“A-Arihito, the sword’s glowing, too! You sure it isn’t dangerous?” cried Misaki.

“It’s not… I don’t sense any dangerous spiritual presence. I don’t think anything bad will happen,” said Suzuna.

“……”

Theresia was incredibly worried, but as Suzuna said, I didn’t feel anything ominous or threatening. I looked closely at the sword and noticed a cavity in its hilt. That’s where the blue light was originating before it ran down the length of the blade. It almost seemed to pulsate.

It’s blue, or I guess closer to aqua… Kind of like the color of Ariadne’s hair… Is this a sign that it’s connected to the Hidden Gods?

Glowing inside my knapsack was the alkaid crystal. Ariadne had said that was a “sacred operation crystal” for a sword. This sword was really more of a katana, but I felt safe assuming that they were treated as the same weapon in the Labyrinth Country.

“You think this stone goes in the hole in the hilt…?” asked Igarashi.

“…Careful, Arihito. I trust Suzuna’s senses, but we don’t know what’s going to happen,” said Elitia.

“Woof!” barked Cion.

All three of them were watching over me. Even Seraphina seemed uneasy about what might happen—her eyes never left me.

“…Mr. Atobe, are you sure it’s all right for me to stay for something so important to your party?” she asked.

“You fought with us; I’m actually grateful that you’d be willing to stay even after the battle is over,” I said.

“I—I see… If that’s how you feel. I promise this will remain a secret. I am interested in seeing this, as a member of the party,” she replied.

The moment I picked up the alkaid crystal, silent, blue sparks began to fly from it, though they didn’t hurt to touch.

“Ah… No, it’s okay. It’s just… I feel like this is a way bigger deal than I’d expected!” I said, placing the alkaid crystal in the recess in the hilt. As I did, blue circuit board–like lines spread across the surface of the sword, and its shape changed. The blade and guard morphed from its current Japanese katana-like shape, greatly transforming its appearance.

My name is Murakumo, the Gathering Clouds. I accept Arihito as my master and hereby fall under the Hidden God Ariadne’s jurisdiction.

“Oh…!”

The voice I heard in my mind was the same mechanical voice I’d heard when the battle started, but this time, I didn’t feel any intent to destroy us coming from it. I released the sword, and it floated in midair, stopping where there was nothing.

“…There’s a spirit in the sword…which is why it was moving like it was alive…,” murmured Suzuna.

I made a guess as to what was really going on. The sword wasn’t moving like it was alive. The only time the sword had really moved on its own was when it used the skill that made it spin like a wheel; all other times, it’d moved as if it were being used by a skilled swordsman. That was because of the spirit inside, Murakumo.

That spirit suddenly materialized in front of us. It was a girl, standing there and gripping the sword, looking at us with artificial-seeming eyes. She looked like a younger version of Ariadne wearing very strange clothing, completely different from anything a civilization such as the Labyrinth Country could make. It was a close-fitting bodysuit made of some sort of polymer. It looked mechanical in nature, and she wore some type of headgear with it.

“You…are the consciousness residing in that sword. Have you been hiding your presence until now?” I asked. She replied with nothing more than a slight nod. The voice I’d heard in my mind must belong to her. She likely communicated in a similar fashion to Ariadne, without actually speaking words.

“Woooow, that’s so coooool! You look like you could go to outer space with that bodysuit, don’t you think?” said Misaki.

“Yeah… Even so, I still can’t believe a cute little girl put up such a fearsome fight,” marveled Igarashi. Murakumo didn’t show any emotions, not even at being called cute.

“She’s like a solid projection. We couldn’t see her at all earlier…,” continued Igarashi, but Murakumo didn’t nod. Perhaps she wasn’t quite like a projection; it was more likely that she could choose to show or conceal herself, since she was a spirit.

I asked a question to Ariadne in my mind, assuming her answer could reach me here.

“…I am glad your party is unharmed. I am able to confirm that the Stellar Sword has entered my jurisdiction. I only hope that I was able to assist you,” came her voice.

You did more than help. The only reason we’re alive is because of your protection.

“It was an incredible feeling when I stopped the Stellar Sword’s attacks with my hand and realized that we fought together. I am grateful to have met someone like you who would wish to become bound to me.” I could hear more emotion in her voice than when we’d met. It was still faint, but it was a significant change from before. I thought that it might have to do with raising our devotion, but even if it didn’t, it was a good thing to build a strong and trusting relationship.

“…I have received the confirmation code. I will use Murakumo as one of my parts. You, as Murakumo’s owner, can equip the sword, or you can allow someone else in the party to equip it. There are limitations on who can equip it, but you will not find a sword more powerful even once you advance to District Seven.”

Oh, right. Since it’s your part, don’t we need to bring it to you?

“It is within my domain simply by it being in your possession. I can summon Murakumo if necessary. If you discover one more part, my ability to teleport would extend to your entire party. However, there is one drawback in that you would lose your equipment when teleported.”

That would still be useful in an emergency… Even better if it could be used in areas where we can’t use Return Scrolls.

“Skills used by the Hidden Gods are fundamentally different than the skills that humans use and make into tools. In general, there are no places where a Hidden God cannot teleport.”

The more I talked to her, the more I realized how big a deal getting this part of hers was. It really was a good thing we decided to try and open the box.

I finished my conversation with Ariadne and realized that Murakumo was looking at me—and that she was starting to fade.

“My manifestation only lasts for a very short time. Master, you must equip me and carry me with you,” she said.

“Ah… Y-you can talk? Okay, so I can just take you along?” I asked.

“Truthfully, I should not speak. A weapon must remain a weapon.”

“…Sooo cute… Seriously, don’t you guys think she’s super adorable?” gushed Misaki.

“Misaki, don’t you dare try and hug her,” I warned.

“I knooow, but… Something about her just makes my maternal instincts kick in…”

“…She seems even cuter in person,” said Suzuna.

The entire party was crowding around Murakumo; everyone was completely comfortable despite the fierce battle we’d just been in. It was good to know that everyone was willing to accept her now that she was an ally of ours. Murakumo eventually disappeared as she said she would and didn’t become visible again. The morphed sword changed back to its previous katana shape. I decided to ask Madoka for a special sheath so that I could carry it on my back.

“Woof, woof!”

“Cion… Oh, such a good girl, working so hard without us even having to ask!” cooed Igarashi.

Cion had brought the scattered equipment from the box over to us. There didn’t seem to be many magical items, but there were some things that I looked at and thought they would be good. We’d probably be able to swap out a few people’s equipment.

We spent the next two hours gathering the money that came out of the Black Box, finding a total of 5,500 gold pieces and another decent amount if we added in the silver and copper coins. There were even some coins I’d never seen mixed in the lot. We also found some equipment that I thought might be the equipment Polaris had dropped. There were a few magic stones of types we’d not yet encountered as well as two runes.

Falma had done so much for us that I gave her usual fee as well as a bonus of one hundred gold coins. I wanted to give her more, but apparently, she had a limit to the amount she could accept.

“There’s no such thing as having too much money. There will be situations you will need it when you go up to District Seven, but one hundred gold coins is a huge amount for my little family. I would feel bad accepting any more for simply opening the chest,” she explained.

“But it’s because you opened such a dangerous chest for us. We really are grateful, Falma,” I said.

“No, no. Nothing but incredible things have happened since I met you and your party. I have always wished I could go on adventures like everyone else, but it makes me so happy just to listen to the stories of yours,” she said, making everyone feel a little bashful, myself included.

Part VII: The Gateway

First things first, we called the Carriers to come and take what came out of the Black Box. We waited a little while for the Carriers that Falma called for us. The person who arrived was a man about my age with a friendly disposition. He might have even been Japanese. He looked exactly like a delivery person back on Earth—either he had been wearing that uniform when he reincarnated or he’d had it custom-made. But that wasn’t very strange considering I still had the suit I’d been wearing when I reincarnated, and everyone else seemed to treasure their clothes from their life before.

“Hey, how’s it goin’? I’m a Carrier from Golden Cat Corp. I’ve got a request to move unwanted goods from a chest for a Mr. Arihito Atobe. Is that correct?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

“I keep hearing about you. It was incredible last time. I was here doing the job with some newbies. I’d never seen an orc that ginormous,” said the man. Apparently, this Golden Cat Corp. had been in charge of moving Juggernaut. The fact that they could move that mountain of a monster meant they must be transportation professionals.

“So I believe you’ve already taken anything of value you wish to keep, correct? Is it all just goods you’d like to sell?” he asked.

“No, I’d actually just like to donate the beginner equipment. Selling it won’t make much money, and when I think of how it’s likely that this equipment was lost by a novice when they were defeated…”

“Yeah… I know what you mean. The Labyrinth Country has its dangers. I can’t even say that being a Carrier is safe, but we do have specialized skills, and I have the confidence to go and do my job properly even when there’s some danger.”

“That is impressive… Does the Golden Cat Corp. operate in District Seven as well?”

“Whoa, you’re moving up to District Seven?! Congrats! That’s right, Golden Cat’s in District Seven as well, but obviously, the people in charge there are a higher level than me.”

I told him that I hoped I could continue using their services and took a business card. His name was Naomasa Sakai—his card even had his name written in kanji.

“All righty, we’ll start moving things, then. We’ll process all damaged coins and deduct our moving fee from that. I assume you’d like the excess delivered to the bank?” asked Mr. Sakai.

“Yes please,” I replied, and he straightened the cap he was wearing and descended the stairs with light steps. Behind him followed three people who were probably his workers.

“Mr. Atobe, will you be taking Cion along with you as well?” asked Falma.

“Well, are you sure? She’s a great help to us, but she’d be wonderful at defending you and your family as well…”

Falma smiled, walked closer to Eyck and Plum, who had fallen asleep in their chairs waiting for us, and stroked their heads gently.

“They say that you must allow your children to experience the world themselves, without your protection. Astarte became this strong while traveling with my husband. I want to give that same experience to Cion… But if that’s too hard to do, then like you say, I would choose to have her stay here with us,” said Falma.

“…I think that would be a good option, too, but Cion has helped us so many times. I would like her to seek with us if possible,” I replied.

“Thank you. Ha-ha… Even Cion looks happy. She doesn’t do that too often, wag her tail like that.”

“Woof!” Cion’s tail was wagging vigorously back and forth while she sat there. I glanced at Igarashi to see how she was reacting, and she looked completely enamored with Cion.

“Awww, she’s just too cute… I wanna squish her! Cion, you’re so attached to Atobe… What can I do to make you love me like that?” she lamented.

“…I prefer stuffed animals to real ones,” said Elitia.

“What did you just say, Ellie?” asked Igarashi.

“Erk… N-nothing! By the way, what are we going to do now, Arihito? We still have some time until Seraphina has to rejoin the other Guild Saviors.”

Seraphina needed to go back before dinner, but we still had a couple hours. What could we really do with the time…? In any case, it was around lunchtime, so I decided we could go have some food.

“Urgh…”

All of a sudden, we all heard a gurgling noise and looked at one another. I was about to suggest to Seraphina we go get food together, when her stomach had let out the loud grumble. She realized she couldn’t act like it wasn’t her and pressed her hand to her stomach. Her breastplate was quite thick, but it didn’t cover her abdomen, so I could see the clothing she wore underneath. Her armor was most likely fashioned to be lightweight, but I’d be willing to bet it was still quite heavy.

“…P-people with heavy armor burn a lot of calories… I usually need to eat at least five times a day. I didn’t bring lunch with me this time, so…,” she said.

“Do you always make food to bring with you?” asked Igarashi.

“Mm… No, but I do usually cook for myself. I generally cook at least two of my meals a day. My lodging has a very nice kitchen,” Seraphina explained. She was speaking in a far more relaxed manner than she had been before; maybe the military air was only for when she was working. “I say cooking, but it’s really just cutting some crusty rolls and putting vegetables and smoked meat in them. It’s nice when I can get my hands on some cheese, too.”

“Ooh, sounds delicious. I do like a good raclette, though I’m not a fan of stronger cheeses,” said Igarashi.

“I’ve heard there are some people who can make Japanese food. I’d love to try it sometime…but I bet cooks like that are probably very busy,” said Suzuna. She seemed to prefer Japanese food. I was fine with whatever, but I started craving something rich, like junk food, when I started thinking about the set meals from the beef bowl and burger joints I used to frequent.

“Well, how about we enjoy this last meal from District Eight? I’m hoping to move to District Seven tomorrow, so today, we can say our good-byes,” I suggested.

“Yeah… We should make sure we don’t have any unfinished business here. It’d be nice to say our good-byes to the people who’ve helped,” said Elitia. She’d already made her way up to District Five. I wondered how she went about moving from one to the next. I knew that I was suddenly starting to feel nostalgic about the streets of District Eight, even though it hadn’t yet been a week since I was reincarnated.

“Uh, ummm… I don’t really mean this in some haughty way. It doesn’t matter where we go, since we’ll be together. So we won’t be that lonely… Um, oh man, what am I trying to say…?” said Igarashi.

“You’re right. Our party will be together wherever we go. We’ll never be alone,” said Suzuna cheerfully. Misaki didn’t even do anything stupid; she just smiled brightly. I decided these two girls, who seemed like polar opposites, got along so well because they understood how the other thought.

“…I would do well to learn from your party’s inner relationships. I believe Mr. Atobe is able to maintain equilibrium within the party by not having too deep a relationship with any one member,” observed Seraphina.

“Ha-ha, you know, Seraphina, I think that soldier-like tone suits you better,” said Misaki.

“I agree. I find I can’t get in the right mind-set when the time comes if I act too relaxed all the time,” replied Seraphina. In a way, the Seraphina with her rumbling stomach was the most refined Seraphina I’d seen thus far…but that wasn’t the face she normally put on; it was a rare occurrence.

“You know, it feels like you’re already a member of the party,” noted Igarashi.

“I know, right? But there’s such a huge gap in levels, and she’s a Guild Savior,” said Misaki.

“There isn’t that much of a difference between Seekers and the Guild Saviors. You can apply as long as your level is high enough, and you can leave the Guild Saviors as long as you provide them with one month’s notice. I have been with the Saviors for about two years, but that is fairly uncommon. Usually, there’s quite a high turnover,” explained Seraphina, getting me interested in learning more about the Guild Savior system. I’d see what else she could tell me during lunch.

We went to one of the cafeterias in town and each ordered whatever we liked. Elitia and I both ordered grilled “Gun Fish”; apparently, that was a monster that was hard even for a level-3 party to take out. It had a barrel-like horn on its head, which it used to shoot pressurized water bullets. Its meat was soft and white with a delicate flavor. There was a higher-level monster in District Seven called the Cannon Fish, which was known as a rearguard killer… I guess I was grateful for the information. Igarashi must have started craving cheese from our conversation earlier, because she ordered pasta with a cheese sauce made from Marsh Ox milk, and Seraphina ordered the same thing. Misaki, Suzuna, and Theresia split a seafood paella, and one of the workers cut up a roast Sweet Bird for Cion so she could eat it more easily.

There were foods made from monsters that we hadn’t yet encountered, but that was because they were hunted in one of the three labyrinths in District Eight that we hadn’t gone in. Most Seekers only ventured into one or two labyrinths, but even so, they could spend days exploring and never make it to the end. The Guild’s policy was to advance any party who went to first place on to the next district, instead of having all Seekers try and seek in every labyrinth.

According to Seraphina, once you advanced to a higher district, you could request information regarding a labyrinth in a lower district. Though, apparently, dealing in information was an important source of funds for the Guild, so it didn’t come cheap.

“The Guild has data repositories in the odd-numbered districts. You can submit requests for information to the librarians, and they will research it for you. I use it when I have the time,” explained Seraphina.

“Is that like a library? I don’t really like them because I have to stay quiet the whole time, but Suzu can spend hooours there,” said Misaki.

“I like to read. I often went to my school’s library,” added Suzuna. I didn’t hate books, either, so I’d like to visit it at least once when we got to District Seven. I was starting to feel excited the more I listened to Seraphina.

“I hope you’re finding this information useful, Mr. Atobe,” said Seraphina.

“Yeah, I’m really looking forward to going to District Seven now. Oh, by the way, you’re level eleven—would that mean that District Four is an appropriate difficulty for you?” I asked.

“Yes. You are about two levels higher than is average for District Eight. Ms. Elitia worked her way up to District Five. Seekers there are normally level eight or nine,” replied Seraphina.

“I feel this force when you ready your shield, like no attack could ever make it through, Seraphina. Level eleven… We’d have a pretty amazing party if we ever get that high,” said Igarashi.

I thought it’d be nice enough if we could safely make our way to turning Theresia back into a human and rescuing Elitia’s friend. After that, we could live a pretty simple life. We probably had enough funds to live for a few years without working. Not having to work—that would’ve been the dream to me before I reincarnated, but if we stopped moving, we wouldn’t be able to save people like we saved Georg and his party. Maybe it’d be best if we just kept our eyes out for chances to help people while we climbed our way to the top. If we didn’t have the strength necessary, we’d just end up getting ourselves killed along with whomever we tried to save. I didn’t want to ever lose my drive to become stronger.

“Well, if we ever manage to catch up to you… Actually, we still have that Savior Ticket. Would you fight alongside us again someday?” I asked.

“A-Atobe… We just met her. Don’t you think you’re getting a little carried away?”

“I-it’s quite all right… It’s a great compliment to a warrior to want to fight alongside them. I do look forward to the day we meet again, Mr. Atobe, everyone,” said Seraphina. I would have been crazy to think she might’ve joined our party then, but I did imagine a day when she might come and act as our vanguard. Even if she didn’t, I had every intention of reaching her level and growing.

Later that day, I reported to Louisa that we opened the second Black Box. She joined us for dinner in the evening, and we all went back to our own homes. Louisa would be moving to District Seven with us to continue as our caseworker, but she still seemed reluctant to part ways with us even though, in the end, she decided not to stay at our place. Everyone needed to pack tonight for the move.

We returned home to find Madoka, who had identified the equipment we’d received from the box. I had been hoping I could upgrade some things, but nothing was much better than what I had, meaning I didn’t change anything in the end. We did get a lot of good magic stones, though. Three of them were new—a heat stone, a mole stone, and an explosion stone—giving us even more options for added attributes.

“I’ve heard a lot of people say they prepare backup sets of equipment as well as equipment that has different magic stones for the different labyrinths they go in,” said Madoka.

“Ah, that’s a good idea. We’ll keep this equipment in the storage unit, then. It might be a good idea to get some shelves in there and organize things. Madoka, do you think you could refit the storage unit? I’ll give you a budget for it, and it’s not a huge rush; it can wait until after we go to District Seven,” I said.

“Y-yes, thank you for trusting me with such an important task.” She seemed grateful, but it should be the other way around because it’d be a huge help if she did that for us. I decided I’d like to act as her investor for her to be able to try out things she wanted to do.

Standing nearby and listening to our conversation was Melissa, who looked a bit jealous.

“…Hope I can be helpful soon, too. I haven’t done much so far,” she said.

“That’s not true… It’s just that Misaki’s skills have turned out to be surprisingly useful, so we haven’t had a chance to swap out members,” I explained.

“Ah, but you know, I’m just a weak little girl. I’m, like, really burned out after back-to-back days of seeking,” said Misaki.

“Yeah… It is tiring. We should think about that actually, starting a rotation so that we don’t get too burned out,” I suggested.

“Then, I can join you. Dissectors have skills we can only use while seeking. I wanna use those again.” Melissa’s voice was as flat and emotionless as usual, but I could see a spark of motivation in her eyes. Maybe she had a lot of pent-up energy from being left behind.

Rikerton and Falma, thank you for trusting me with members of your families. I’ll make sure they get home safely. It’ll be a long journey, but I hope you won’t worry.

“What’s wrong, Atobe? You’re awfully quiet,” said Igarashi.

“It’s nothing. Once we get to District Seven, I was thinking of writing a letter to all the people who helped me out.”

“Great, then we can all pitch in on writing letters. Although, I’m sure they’ll still help you out even if you move on to the next district,” said Igarashi.

“Yeah, I know… Sorry, I’m just getting really sentimental or something all of a sudden. I don’t even know what I’m saying; I’m a full-grown man for goodness’ sake.”

Igarashi just listened without getting exasperated with me. The way she was looking at me with such kind eyes wasn’t doing much to stop my meaningless rambling.

“If you’re feeling lonely, then you can go sleep in the same bed as Theresia. Or Suzu!” offered Misaki.

“Oh… Well… I’m happy to share a room with Arihito. It might feel weird not to at this point,” said Suzuna.

“…Hmm? If you share a room with him, you’re not going to…do anything with him, are you? He is a man; I’m not sure you’ve known each other long enough to share a bed…” I got the feeling that Elitia was hinting at something crass. It even made me not want to clarify what Suzuna was talking about. It’s not like I wanted to share beds with anyone, though I guess I wouldn’t say I’d never do it… As usual, Theresia was staring at me while I was conflicted with myself.

“……”

“…I—I mean, it’s not that unusual for people to take baths together, but sharing a bed is more…,” I stammered.

“……”

My attempts to rationalize it broke against her silent judgment, and no one seemed inclined to throw me a lifeline today.

“Today’s the last day we stay in this suite… We should consider that,” said Igarashi.

“Arihito will be in trouble if we try to stop them from taking a bath together. We’ll just wait for our turn,” offered Elitia.

“Wh-what’s with you guys? …Is Theresia now Arihito’s official Back Washer? How about we pick who goes next by lottery instead?” said Misaki.

“Um… What happens if Melissa or I win? Is it really all right if we take a bath with him?” asked Madoka.

“…Hmm? Sorry, I wasn’t listening,” said Melissa, only responding when she heard her own name. She had been zoned out, entirely in her own little world. She didn’t seem the type to feel embarrassed easily, but I wondered… Or was it rude to think that?

“…Sure you’d be all right getting in with an old fart like me? Theresia, don’t pass out from the heat, okay?”

“I don’t think you’re old enough to be called an old fart yet,” said Misaki.

“Exactly… A ten-year age gap is still acceptable,” agreed Suzuna.

“…I’m worried about Suzuna. We ought to keep an eye on her. Right, Kyouka?” said Elitia.

“Hmm… Even if Atobe did something, he doesn’t seem aware of it, so it’s hard to blame him.” Even I was a bit worried about Suzuna and her recent absentmindedness, but it wasn’t like she was letting her mind get away with her during battle, so I didn’t think we needed to do something about it immediately.

“Arihito, you should go warm up,” said Suzuna.

“A-all right… I’ll be quick, since everyone else has to go, too.” Theresia stood from her seat and headed toward the bathroom. She seemed concerned I might try to make a break for it, because she turned back to check I was following. I couldn’t keep her waiting, so I tried to show everyone a grin and went to change.

Early next morning, we finished making our preparations, then went to say our good-byes to Millais and the Lady Ollerus Mansion staff that had taken great care of us, even if for such a short time. The Maids of the mansion were lined up in the front garden to see us off. Some of them were even crying. Were they really that happy at our quick climb up the ranks? Or was it a show?

“I hope that you will find time to visit the mansion again; we will always be here if you do,” said Millais.

“Yeah, we’ll stop by sometime. Thanks for everything, Millais,” I replied, shaking her hand and promising we’d be back.

We went to leave the grounds, and in came Georg and his party. They must have just been discharged from the Healers.

“Arihito… Leaving already?” asked Georg. He was there along with Jake, Mihail, Tyler, and even Sophie, who’d previously been controlled by the Vine Puppeteer.

“Yeah. I’m happy we get to say good-bye, though. I asked the Carriers to deliver your equipment for you. You should double-check that it made it to your room,” I said.

“You’d even do that for us… Thanks. We owe you our lives. Sophie finally woke up yesterday, and ever since, she’s been talking about how she wants to say thank you…,” said Georg.

The fragile girl I’d seen lying in the bed with lifeless eyes was gone. Even her pure white hair was starting to turn back to its original color. I never realized recovering could have such an impact on that. It was originally a warm chestnut color, and I was starting to really understand how she had gotten the attention of all the men in her party. She was beautiful and gave off a laid-back vibe. She walked over to me, appearing nervous but trying to express something.

“…Thank you. If you and the demi-human girl hadn’t been there, I’d…,” she said. She remembered that Theresia and I had entered her subconscious world and fought. I didn’t think a you’re welcome would really cut it here. I tried to decide what to do, then eventually shook her hand like I had done with Millais.

“I’m glad you’re feeling better. I’m sure you’ll face your share of challenges, but I hope we can help out a little. Don’t give up,” I said.

“Yeah… We’ve decided to get back into seeking after taking a short break. We fell in the ranks, so we’ve got to spread out among a few smaller places to stay now. We have to work our way back up.”

“That sounds like a pain, but you were once the highest-ranking party in District Eight. Georg was really upset before, but even he’s back to his normal self,” I said. His goggles had been repaired, and the cut on his forehead fully healed. He had been bleeding quite a bit, but the wound had started to close the moment he drank the potion, helping him heal it completely in such a short time.

“I’m a bit worried that Named Monster might appear again, but we don’t want to quit. We chose the name Polaris to show that we are aiming to be the brightest star in the Labyrinth Country. We could never compete with you guys, though,” said Georg.

“That’s not true; nobody knows what the future holds,” I replied.

“…I’d been under the impression that Japanese office workers were all corporate slaves, but that’s not the case. You’re more like a samurai. I’ve always admired samurai and ninjas.” He held his hand out for a handshake. When he did, he noticed that I actually did have Murakumo, the katana, on my back and gave a whistle of appreciation. “Whoa, so you really are a ninja. That explains everything.”

“Maybe I should’ve tried writing that job instead. I’d probably be pretty good at it,” I said, and Georg’s face cracked into a smile at our jokes. He gave me a firm handshake, then their party moved aside to let us pass.

“Arihito, don’t you think your party should pick a name? It’s easier for word of you to spread if you’ve got a good name to go by.”

“Yeah, we’ll think about it. See you around,” I replied, and we left the Lady Ollerus Mansion after finishing our good-byes. We walked out onto the street, but Millais and Polaris stood there, watching us go until I couldn’t even see the gate when I turned back.

In front of us was the soaring wall on the west side of District Eight that separated it from District Seven. We had to pass through the gate there in order to make our way to District Seven. We did see a few Seekers returning to District Eight from District Seven, but there wasn’t a lot of traffic around the gate. We went through the process of confirming our right to move to the next district, then waited in front an iron gate so large that I had to crane my neck up to see the top. The doors slid open to the left and right, and we entered the passageway to District Seven.

That’s when I saw her—someone I recognized. She was the one who’d guided us through the tunnel when we’d all been reincarnated and first came to the Labyrinth Country.

“Well, this is quite a shock!” she said to me. “You managed to qualify to move up to District Seven in no time at all. You’ve got the Labyrinth Country record for fastest advancement.” Her purple hair was separated into two braids underneath a hat. She was wearing the same shirt and skirt thing she had before, this time with a jacket on top. I guessed the jacket was a uniform that the people who worked the gate wore, since I’d seen a woman in front of the gate wearing one, too.

“Do you work here?” I asked.

“That’s correct. Oh, but don’t get to thinking that I’m some mere grunt. I’ve got a decent amount of clout. I actually asked to be assigned here when I heard you got approval to advance,” she replied. She looked at the party with a slight grin before taking my license and doing something to it. Once she finished, the words Cleared for Passage Through District Seven Gateway appeared on my license. It looked like it had space to display more authorizations to pass through other gates when you got approval.

“You should know, though, that District Eight is for the newbies—it’s like a training ground the size of a district,” she continued. “Just because you’ve made it to first rank in District Eight doesn’t mean you can handle District Se— Oh, goodness. Here I am trying to intimidate you, and you’re already flying your way up the rank here, too. These are record-breaking contribution points.”

“I believe I’m currently rank two hundred ninety-four. How many Seekers are in District Seven?” I asked.

“Ten thousand. Being rank two hundred ninety-four out of ten thousand means you’re already in the top. You’ll even be able to use housing that isn’t all that different from what you had in District Eight.”

What a relief. I’d gotten used to the luxury of the Lady Ollerus Mansion; it’d be a huge adjustment if we had to live in worse conditions.

“Well… I do wish we could chat more, but we can only keep the gate open for so long,” she said.

“Of course. We’ll be on our way, then…”

“Indeed. Now, this part is just standard procedure…” A mischievous grin played on her lips, and she lifted her arm like a tour guide to urge us onward as she announced, “Welcome, rookies, to the real start of your life in the Labyrinth Country.”