CHAPTER 2

The First Labyrinth of District Seven

Part I: Prior Information

Kaede Akiyama, Ibuki Kasuga, Anna Winters, Ryouko Natsume—the inspiration for their party name, Four Seasons, came from their own surnames: Akiyama was written with the kanji for autumn; Kasuga with spring; and Natsume with summer; then obviously, there was Anna’s last name.

“We didn’t notice for a while after Ibuki and I joined together. Once we met Ryouko and Anna, we thought, Wow, what a coincidence!” said Kaede.

“Arihito, your party doesn’t have a name yet, does it? It isn’t showing on my license,” said Ibuki, very casually letting me see. Their licenses indicated the parties they were working with as well, so our party would be displayed there. My job would probably be displayed strangely. Ibuki didn’t really react to that, though. I didn’t think there was anyone who had written and been accepted as a rearguard before. Maybe she just wasn’t that concerned with other people’s jobs.

“Arihito… What is this job? The words on my license have gone strange,” said Ryouko.

“Huh? …What does it say?”

♦Cooperating Party 1♦

It looks different… But the display still won’t show it. Guess it really isn’t an ordinary type of job.

Regardless, it appeared rearguard wasn’t going to be displayed even when looking at it on other people’s licenses. Whoever was in charge of selecting a Seeker’s job in the Labyrinth Country was a mystery to me, but I must’ve put down something it hadn’t considered…or maybe I was reading too much into it.

“Arihito’s job is one where he protects everyone from behind. He’s a really dependable leader, so that’s sorta his job…or something like that. Even Kyouka’s accepted him as our leader. She goes on and on about how great he is behind his back, so he’s pretty awesome,” said Misaki.

“H-hey, that may be true, but you can’t just go saying that in front of people. You could just leave it at she really trusts him,” said Igarashi.

“Oh… S-so, is that really true?” asked Ryouko.

“I just knew they were a couple! They really do give off that vibe,” said Anna.

“We’re not,” protested Igarashi. “We just used to work at the same company. Then, we both ended up in the same accident, a lot of stuff happened, and Atobe let me join his party,” she explained calmly. She folded her arms and glanced at me every once in a while, but all I could do was try to show her I didn’t have a problem with what she was saying. The others didn’t need to know what a strict boss she had been for now.

The first thing we needed to do in order to be able to use the hunting grounds in the Beach of the Setting Sun, or to secure other means of fighting in the labyrinths, was to quickly get a sense for how it felt to work together. That’s what I was thinking when I realized Anna was staring at me. She was quite petite, so it felt like she was looking up at me, directly into my eyes.

“When you say protect from behind, does that mean you have a support job?” she asked.

“Yeah, you can think of it like that. By the way, I feel like Tennis Player is a pretty rare job… Do you fight with tennis serves and smashes?”

“Yes, I generally hit a ball with a racket. I need some rare materials if I want a better racket, so it’s been pretty difficult. I used a wooden one in the beginning, but the strings were weak, and I couldn’t hit with my full force.”

“I’ve heard serves can be very fast, so you would likely improve your strength a lot if you could get good equipment. The rest of your party have sports-related jobs, too… Since you’re a Kendo Master, do you know sword skills?” Elitia asked, and Kaede pulled the weapon from the sack on her back. “Is that sword…wooden?”

“Yep. I can use steel swords as well, but I find a bamboo sword the easiest to use. Wish they made bamboo ones here. This is a Wooden Sword + I found in the labyrinth, so it’s not as easy to break as you’d think,” explained Kaede. If she could increase her damage through skills, she didn’t necessarily need to use a sharpened steel sword. We had Misaki, who used dice to fight, and I wouldn’t call her damage so low that it was useless.

There was also Ryouko, the Swimming Instructor, who wasn’t even carrying a weapon. The Labyrinth Country had magic, so she could probably use special skills related to water.

“I can’t use my skills if there’s no water, so I always carry a bottle of water with me. It’s best if there’s water in the labyrinth already, though…”

“The Beach of the Setting Sun is a place where Ryouko can best use her abilities. She’s superfast when she swims. Even if we were to run as fast as we could, she’d swim faster,” said Kaede. A swimmer in the Labyrinth Country wasn’t a simple athlete. It was exciting to imagine she’d be even more powerful in battles that take place in the water. Although, to be honest, I wanted to avoid fighting aquatic monsters as much as was humanly possible.

“So your party has made it this far from exploring labyrinths that had water?” asked Suzuna.

“Both District Eight and District Seven have labyrinths with water in them. Silvanus’s Bedchamber is a field, but it’s got some bodies of water here and there. Since we’ve met Ryouko, we’ve been choosing those kinds of labyrinths. One of the reasons we’ve come this far is because we’ve been able to earn contribution points where others might not be able to,” answered Ibuki.

I wanted to ask about her job as well, since I had the chance. It was more normal to see Seekers who used weapons. People rarely fought barefisted.

“Ibuki, you fight using karate, right? Is that… I mean, how do you actually fight like that?”

“Ha-ha, you need courage to fight a monster without a weapon, don’t you? Well, what I’ve been using since I’ve come to the Labyrinth Country isn’t your normal martial arts. Boxers can shoot punches by using magic. I can do something similar, so I’ve managed to get by.”

“Do you mean you shoot out laser beams and stuff?! Whoooa, that’s so cool! I wish I could shoot laser beams now that I’ve been reincarnated,” said Misaki.

A lot of characters in fighting games carry similar projectile weapons, but I bet there were a lot of people who fantasized about being able to shoot out beams if they pushed their mastery of a martial art to its limits. In reality, it appeared there were Martial Artists who could use their aura or magic or whatever to do it—I was starting to see Ibuki’s abilities in a new light.

“Oh, u-um… It’s really not that cool.”

“Don’t be silly, Ibuki! Your Wave Thrust is awesome for taking out monsters. You’ve saved our skins so many times,” said Kaede.

“B-but…it’s only helpful because it ignores a portion of the enemy’s defense,” said Ibuki. I could see from their conversation that they’d used their own individual strengths to make it this far.

“Arihito, I’ve been thinking. Could I maybe join Four Seasons for a bit so we can all seek together?” said Misaki.

“I thought you were going to take a break? If you’re feeling worn out, it’s better to rest than to push yourself.”

“Are you sure you won’t need my skills while you’re seeking?”

“Well… Are you really okay?” I could still support her if needed since I had Outside Assist, but I would worry about her if I couldn’t keep an eye on her at all times.

“I’m sure. I’ll just be tagging along; I won’t get in the way. Would everyone in Four Seasons be all right with me joining for a little while?” asked Misaki, standing up straight and speaking properly for once. Kaede and the other girls agreed.

“Since we’ll be seeking in two parties, we won’t have monsters coming from behind as easily. It should be fine as long as you stay in the rear,” replied Ryouko.

“Ibuki and I will make sure the monsters don’t get past us to you. You can just support us when you think you can,” said Kaede.

“Okay! I’ll be really careful and do my best to help! Arihito, cover me if you can manage it!” said Misaki.

“Well, if push comes to shove, I can do that. Just make sure you stand in front of me.” I reminded myself that I could support Kaede and her party with Outside Assist if I needed to as well. I would have to pay attention to where I was in relation to everyone else, though, since my skills wouldn’t activate if I wasn’t behind them.

Louisa wrote a letter of introduction for us, and we headed to Silvanus’s Bedchamber with the Middle Guild’s permission. There was an open square in front of the entrance to the labyrinth, which was south of the center of District Seven. It seemed like one of the more popular labyrinths from among the ones that the Middle Guild suggested, since there were a lot of food stalls in the square. They filled the area with the scent of baking bread and roasting meat. We had a quick meal at one of the stalls before we went, then bought some portable food and water to take with us.

Madoka possessed a requisite Merchant skill called Inventory 1. Apparently, it let her put up to fifty items into her rucksack, regardless of their size and weight. Since water was a necessary item, we could ask her to carry it without getting weighed down.

“That’s an amazing skill… Did you use it to load up and carry around all your equipment back when you were selling stuff at your stall?” I asked.

“Yes, I did. Roughly fifty or so items were enough to cover almost anyone’s needs in terms of weapons and armor. Every day, I’d make a few adjustments to what I brought before setting up my stall.”

“…I can carry defeated monsters with my Dissector skills,” said Melissa. “We get a Repository skill, so I can do almost the same thing as Merchants. I can’t send living creatures, though. That could be abused. You have to use special tools to send living monsters to the Monster Ranch.” I thought both skills were incredibly useful, but it meant there was overlap. Neither had doubts about taking it, though; they were required for both of their jobs. And thanks to that, our lives as Seekers had gotten way easier. So far, we had just sent things to our storage unit if we weren’t able to carry them, but that meant you couldn’t retrieve them easily if you wanted to use them. Now we could have Madoka bring potions so she could get them to us quickly.

“Arihito, mind if I tell you about the monsters on the first floor before we go in?” Kaede offered.

“That’d be great… You sure, though? Info like that has to be really valuable.”

“We’re the ones who wanted to work with you—I’d feel bad if I didn’t do this at least. Don’t worry ’bout it.” Kaede pulled a notebook out of her bag. When she opened it, I saw a number of drawings that looked like monsters, with notes on what kind of enemy they were.

Is this…a mole? It kinda looks like it’s wearing a helmet…

“Don’t mind the pictures too much. I ain’t that good.”

“No, these are great! You get a real sense of what the monster actually looks like.”

“Y-you think…?” Kaede had a fiery spirit, but she looked cute and innocent as she blushed from my compliment.

I realized Suzuna was staring at me with a cheerful expression as I talked to Kaede. It was her normal bright smile, but for whatever reason, I felt kind of intimidated.

Part II: Silvanus’s Bedchamber, First Floor

I continued to flip through the pages of Kaede’s notebook until I found one monster that looked like a rhinoceros beetle.

“This one’s called a Fake Beetle. Looks like a huge rhinoceros beetle,” explained Kaede. “We haven’t beaten one yet ’cause they fly away if you approach ’em directly. I’ve heard they need to gather a lot of nutrition during their breeding season before they’ll attack anything.”

“Freaky… Hey, let’s have Suzu take those down for us with her bow,” said Misaki.

“Arihito’s slingshot should be able to hit enemies at a distance as well,” Suzuna replied. “But if there’s no need to fight it anyway, it’s probably best to just leave it at that…”

Kaede’s drawing wasn’t very detailed, perhaps because she only saw it from far away. There was a note saying, It flew away so I didn’t get a good look. I assumed the handwriting was Kaede’s. The uniform size and shape of the characters showed a methodical side to her.

“We’ve gone as far as the second-floor entrance… Once you get there, sheep-type monsters begin to show up,” said Anna. “The material I need for my racket is actually the intestines of that monster.”

“Really…? Oh, right, like catgut,” I said.

“Um… So what kind of special attacks can all of you use?” asked Ibuki. “They say it’s best if you can put a monster you’ve never encountered before to sleep, or slow it down, but we aren’t good at anything like that. Ryouko’s the only one who can use attacks that inflict status ailments.”

“I can add a number of different effects to my attacks through magic stones,” I replied. “I can also stop an enemy’s attack by Stunning them. I can Confuse them, Poison them… Just leave all that stuff to me.”

Everyone in Four Seasons was staring at me in admiration. We’d found quite a few magic stones, but maybe they hadn’t been lucky enough to find any.

I was thinking about how chests usually contained magic stones when I remembered: We’d gotten quite a few stones from the Black Boxes, but we also had two red chests and one wooden chest, which was dropped by a Fear Treant, none of which we had opened yet.

“What’s wrong, Atobe? You look bothered,” said Igarashi.

“No, something just slipped my mind. We’ll set it aside for now and take care of it when we get back.”

“Wooow, Arihito, you sound so capable and cool!” gushed Misaki. “Like you’re gonna get real serious. Ooh!”

“Misaki, you’re going to be joining another party, even if it’s just temporary. Maybe you should tone this down a bit…,” I said after rustling her hair.

“…Must be kinda nice gettin’ your hair tousled like that,” said Kaede.

“So lovely, so youthful! I’m trying to remember if anyone ever did that to me… Guess not,” said Ryouko. I had been trying to warn Misaki, but for some reason, the members of Four Seasons were all blushing and looking at me. Maybe I’d gotten caught up in Misaki’s behavior and done something the girls considered stepping over a line—I gotta hold myself back a little more.

“……”

“…Theresia?”

Theresia stared at me, then touched the top of her lizard cap with her hand, though I couldn’t really stroke her head. Actually, I had no idea that was what she actually wanted.

“Oh, right,” said Kaede. “You guys cool with making this just a day trip? A lot of parties in District Seven do multiday expeditions, but…”

“Yeah, that’s fine for now,” I replied.

“Don’t forget, I can carry camping equipment in my Inventory should we need it,” Madoka reminded me. If, for some reason, we did need to stay in the labyrinth during an expedition, we’d start to have problems with day-to-day necessities like changes of clothing, but…the girls did seem prepared for those issues to an extent. I didn’t think anyone would be entirely against doing that if we needed to.

“We’d need a change of clothes at the very leeeast… Don’cha think, Kyouka?” said Misaki.

“F-for me…I’d at least want to be able to take a bath and not just cover up any smells with perfume,” replied Igarashi.

“…Good. I’m glad we’re all in agreement about that. I mean, some people think it’s totally fine not to take a bath every day,” said Elitia. She seemed to place a lot of importance on cleanliness, but I didn’t think we’d have many opportunities to take a bath in the labyrinth. If only there was some sort of portable changing-room-type equipment—I bet Seekers would kill to have something like that when camping.

The entrance to Silvanus’s Bedchamber resembled a cave. There was light coming from the other side, and it felt like we teleported when we passed through, because the atmosphere seemed different. The Field of Dawn had been a fairly flat and vast field, but this labyrinth had hills, dips, and valleys. The sun shone brightly from high in the sky, and the sky itself was so blue that I felt like it snapped me awake. Flowers bloomed throughout the field, adding dots of purple amid the plentiful green grass.

“It’s a bit like the lavender fields in Furano.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought, too. I’ve been there once before, but I don’t remember much since I was just a little kid then.”

Maybe it was a little off the mark to call a labyrinth picturesque, but it was only in that moment that I realized this could be one of the perks of the Seeker life. The Shrieking Wood had been really unsettling, so I was thankful this labyrinth was bright and sunny instead.

“What should we do, Arihito? Should we start by fighting a monster?” asked Ibuki once we’d all stepped into the field. “Not that you can afford to drop your guard around here, though.”

After Theresia confirmed with me that no monsters had entered her scout range, I answered. “For now, let’s head toward the entrance to the second floor and deal with any monsters we run into on the way.”

“Sounds good. That way, we can get experience while making progress,” said Kaede.

“All righty, Arihito, we’re off… Oh, Cion? Nooo, you’re in Arihito’s party! You can’t follow me,” said Misaki as she and the other party took the lead. Cion, our guard dog, seemed concerned. Actually, I would feel better if Cion did go with Misaki.

“Cion, use Covering to guard Misaki if anything targets her, but only if you can,” I ordered, and Cion replied with a woof before taking the lead to protect Misaki. If one of my party members was moving along with another party, I could still support them if I needed to, as long as I was still behind them.

I was the very last in the battle formation. In front of me were Suzuna, Madoka, and Melissa. Madoka held a sasumata, a Japanese polearm used more for controlling the enemy’s movements than actually killing them. She still didn’t have any attack skills, so I told her to use Hide if we started fighting.

We had been walking for a little while when Suzuna turned back to me and smiled. As the leader, I probably should tell her to focus on seeking, but I decided I shouldn’t be so strict.

“What’s up? You’ve been in a really good mood since this morning,” I said.

“Yes, thanks to you. This place is so beautiful,” she replied.

“Yeah, it is. I’d want to take a nice stroll around the place if there weren’t any monsters…”

“……!”

Theresia was the fastest to react thanks to her Scout Range Extension 1 skill. I had thought the skill only increased her range a small amount, but she noticed the enemy before the leading party with Kaede did.

“Ah… Wh-what the…? The ground is shaking!” cried Igarashi as she nearly lost her balance, then activated Mirage Step when she sensed the incoming danger. Elitia had readied herself to use Sonic Raid at a moment’s notice.

“—Okay, guys, let’s do this! Be careful; the enemy’s underground!” I shouted, activating Morale Support 1. Mounds of earth formed on the surface as something came our way.

“—Shit, they’re working together! There’s two coming!” called Kaede.

“Wha—?!”

♦Monsters Encountered♦

The rumbling that shook the ground was joined by another tremor. The first monster erupted from the ground in the front, near Kaede and the others. The ground mushroomed up as the second crossed toward us from the right, on a path to attack.

“GRRAAAAAAHHH!”

“Urgh…!”

“Elitia, I’ll support you!”

♦Current Status♦
> ARIHITO activated	DEFENSE SUPPORT 1	Target: ELITIA
> GRAND MOLE B’s attack hit ELITIA
No damage
> GRAND MOLE B followed with MUD BLAST		Hit ELITIA

“Guh!”

The attack got through. The monster was able to do more damage than what Defense Support 1 could reduce. Either that, or my skill only applied to the first attack. There was a huge difference between whether this Mud Blast did over eleven points of damage or if my Defense Support 1 didn’t work on the second hit.

Elitia still had plenty of vitality left, but she was clearly wounded. Even single-digit damage left scrapes and bruises on her.

No attack is too small to ignore… Best to avoid taking a direct hit whenever possible. No, better yet—keep the attack from happening in the first place!

“Grrr… You won’t get away!” shouted Elitia as she tried to counterattack, but the mole looked at her with what was almost a taunting smile before diving back into the earth. The fact that it could toy with her like this likely meant she’d worked her way up to the higher districts through the other labyrinths, without having fought this monster. Whether or not you knew how the enemy moved could have a huge impact on how much of a threat it was.

Is it a good idea for us to try and lure out an enemy that can hurt even Elitia? …Wait, Four Seasons has fought this monster before! They ought to have a good strategy we can use.

“Guys, fall back!” yelled Kaede. “I’ll make us an opening! …Yaaah!!”

“GRROOOHHHH!”

The mole—which was significantly bigger than a human and more like a bear—burst from the ground, scattering dirt everywhere and slashing out with its claws. Just as I thought it was going to hit someone, Kaede, sword in hand, leaped backward so fast that she left an afterimage in her place.

♦Current Status♦

“GRROOOH!”

A loud crack pierced the air, followed by a horrific roar that you wouldn’t believe came from a mole. Kaede’s attack threw off the Grand Mole.

“Kaede, switch with me!” shouted Ibuki.

Kaede yelled back, “No, you won’t make it!”

♦Current Status♦

“Aw man, I was so close…!”

“Get back! We’ll take the next opening!” called Kaede.

It was hard to get the timing right for a sequential attack since the enemy could evade so quickly. Misaki and Cion were keeping a close watch on the monsters’ attacks, in order to prevent the girl from getting in harm’s way.

“Uh, um… Any little bit helps… Hyaa!” she hollered.

♦Current Status♦

“…Doesn’t it feel like it’s gotten slower?” asked Ibuki.

“Now we might just manage this…,” said Kaede. “Next one’s on you, Anna!”

“Got it!”

The monster swam through the ground, veering every which way. My concentration jumped up a notch when I tried to see the members of my party in the distance, so that I could support them if need be.

♦Current Status♦

Nice—now I’ll be able to take advantage of opportunities to support them as well… But first, we need to handle this one!

“Come forth, Demi-Harpies—come!”

♦Current Status♦

“Whoa… Did Arihito just summon a bunch of monsters?!” asked Kaede.

“It’s all right; these Demi-Harpies are our allies! Don’t worry about them and keep fighting!” I replied. The Demi-Harpies took to the air and circled above us as they began to sing. However, they only managed to put one of the Grand Moles to sleep.

“Die—!”

“…!!”

“Here I go!”

“Do it, Arihito!”

The underground beast that had been trying to attack us stopped in its tracks. Everyone understood without me having to tell them that we needed to take it down with our combined attacks right now.

Trying this out here is risky…but let’s see how far Attack Support 2 will go!

The set damage from Attack Support 1 had been invaluable up to this point, but this time, I used my newly learned Attack Support 2. This would let me stack my attack onto my allies’. I could learn plenty just from trying to add my magic stone strikes and seeing exactly what that would do.

“Everyone, I’ll support you!”

I pulled back my slingshot, envisioning what a follow-up attack was going to look like in tandem with everyone else’s. I could even select what support method to use.

♦Current Status♦

We could pull off some incredible stuff using Cooperation Support with attack chains like this… I really want that skill!

I imagined what we would be capable of with that, but for now, I was just shocked at what happened when I used Attack Support 2. I’d followed my allies’ attacks with a full-strength blast of my own, adding my Force Shot (Stun). It was almost like one of those laser beams Misaki talked about had appeared from thin air to join with my companions’ attacks.

♦Current Status♦

“GROOO…OHHH…!”

Elitia came from the left, slashing the mole twice. Igarashi charged it from the front, jabbing it two times with her spear, and Theresia threw a Wind Slash at it from the right before falling back again. Suzuna pierced it with two arrows shot in quick succession. The monster snapped out of its slumber and let out an enraged roar, but it was Stunned, leaving it defenseless.

Elitia was about to lash out again to finish it off, probably planning to use a Blossom Blade to make sure she put an end to it, but that would take too much of her magic, considering this was our first battle in the labyrinth.

“—Melissa!”

She should have been near me, but she had rushed quite far ahead. She brandished her butcher’s knife and caught up to the mole instantly.

“I can do this… I’ll split that thing’s helmet…!”

♦Current Status♦

“GRO…OOOOOH…”

Melissa struck the Grand Mole’s head with her butcher’s knife, splitting open the helmet-like structure on top. Following right behind was a hit from my Attack Support. It seemed Dissectors were skilled at finding and exploiting the enemy’s weaknesses. Also, Melissa’s butcher’s knife was a far stronger weapon than what any other level-3 Seeker might wield—another factor in this attack’s success.

There was one mole left. It was slowed by Misaki’s skill but still trying to attack, this time heading for Cion as it dug through the ground. But Cion was ready for it.

“GARGRAAAH!”

Let’s use a different status effect this time… How about Confusion?

♦Current Status♦

“GRAR… GAH…”

Cion’s attack was powerful enough to send the Grand Mole flying backward. After it skidded across the dirt, it started to move differently from before. That was the Confusion kicking in.

“Let’s use the chance Cion gave us!” shouted Ibuki.

“““All right!””” replied the rest of their party, piling attacks onto the mole before they lost their opportunity. First up was Kaede.

“Haaah!”

“Here we go!”

♦Current Status♦

“GAARAARRR!!”

Kaede landed a solid strike with her wooden sword, then Ryouko formed a ball, drawing the liquid from her bottle, which Anna served straight into the mole. The moment the Aqua Ball smashed into the shrieking monster, it exploded into a pillar of water. They had incredible coordination.

♦Current Status♦

“Agh!”

Just when I thought they’d be able to defeat the creature with their series of attacks, the mole started stampeding around. Ibuki had been moving in to attack and couldn’t stop herself.

“GRAAAAAH!”

“Please, God…!”

I decided I needed to use Outside Assist to protect Ibuki with Defense Support, but in that moment, I heard a voice.

“Master, might I suggest that the best defense is a strong offense? I’d like you to use me to test out Attack Support 2.”

It was Murakumo, the sword strapped to my back. I drew the sword without a second thought.

“Ibuki, I’ll back you up!”

“Rrgh… Take thiiiis!”

♦Current Status♦

The mole shook the ground and slowed the attacks coming at it, but even so, Ibuki’s strike came in a moment before the monster could react. Right when I swung my sword down, the earth split at the mole’s feet. The slash from my blade had struck the enemy from above, before gouging a hole into ground. However, that wasn’t enough to split the mole’s helmet-shaped head.

♦Current Status♦

The earth shuddered with the impact, and the Grand Mole collapsed backward.

“Did we…do it…?” asked Kaede.

“I—I thought it was gonna get me…,” stammered Ibuki. “Why is the ground so smashed up…?”

“…I heard Mr. Arihito’s voice, and then, something happened the same time you attacked… So did he do this…?” wondered Anna.

“I-incredible… Who knew a job like his even existed?” said Ryouko. “And I was so rude because I didn’t understand it…” They had supposedly fought a Grand Mole before, but all of Four Season’s members seemed relieved they had finished the fight without injury. My party managed to come out unscathed as well. Elitia’s scrapes had healed completely once Recovery Support 1 kicked in. She sheathed her sword and turned to me with a smile.

“You really can help us out with any weapon… I knew you’d be able to use your slingshot, but you can even use that sword…”

“Atobe!” called Igarashi.

When I used Attack Support 2, it consumed enough magic for one strike and added it to all my allies’ attacks. That was nice to know, but just a single use of Blade of Heaven and Earth drained quite a lot of my magic. It was so low, I almost passed out.

“……”

“O-oh… Sorry, Theresia,” I said. “I’m always making you worry…”

“……”

She ran to me and propped me up right as I was about to fall over. Madoka also came out from where she’d been hiding. She opened her eyes wide when she checked my status on her license, and she handed me a blue potion.

“It doesn’t matter how much vitality you have; you can’t go on with your magic that low,” she said.

“Sorry, I’ll be more careful… I think this sword will have to be a last resort.” I was happy that Murakumo had suggested I use the sword, but now, she’d become quiet. I guessed she also hadn’t realized how much of my magic it would consume.

Even though potions were so valuable, I couldn’t very well do without one, so I accepted it from Madoka and drank it. I only needed half to bring my magic up to full.

I think my max magic is up to about sixty points after having eaten the Apple of Wit. That means one use of Outside Assist with Force Shot uses about five points, and Blade of Heaven and Earth uses around twenty points…

Attack Support 2 could drain my magic quite a lot depending on what attack I was supporting with. It made me realize how convenient Attack Support 1 was, but the addition of status ailments could greatly affect the flow of the battle. It was vital that I understand when it was best to use which skill.

“Oh… I-it dropped a wooden chest! Arihito, a chest—it dropped a chest!”

“It’s been a while since I last saw one of those…but really, it belongs to Arihito and his party. They helped us out so much,” said Ryouko.

“No, it’s fine. You keep it, since it’s such a find. If there’s any equipment in there that we want, we can negotiate for it,” I said. It was the mole they’d been fighting that dropped the chest, so I thought it would be obvious that it belonged to them…but for some reason, all four girls were looking at me incredulously.

“B-but, it’s a chest! You basically can’t improve your equipment without the equipment or magic stones that come from chests, right?” said Kaede. “Everyone would be scramblin’ to get their hands on this.”

“Ah-ha-ha… And we’re no different,” said Ibuki. “But we only beat that monster thanks to your party.”

“You should actually just let us negotiate if there’s anything we want. This chest is yours, Mr. Arihito,” said Anna. I should probably keep quiet that Misaki being there made it more likely for chests to appear. Seeing how valuable they were, other parties would try to force her to join them if they found out about that ability.

“How about we decide who takes what when we get back? We don’t need everything, so we can decide later,” I suggested.

“That sounds good. Thank you. Ah, Atobe, I’m so embarrassed; I can’t believe I decided you were harmless just based on your appearance…,” said Ryouko. In the beginning, she’d just called me by my first name, but now, she was being more respectful and calling me by my last name. Maybe part of it was that she learned I was older than her. It actually made me pretty happy, since she made the switch after fighting with us.

“It was kinda reassuring to hear a manly voice cheering us on. Thanks, Arihito,” said Kaede.

“I’d like to thank you as well, u-um…Teacher!” said Ibuki.

“…Is this the latest trend, calling Mr. Arihito by different names?” asked Anna.

Perhaps Ibuki was calling me Teacher since I supported her and split the ground with my attack. But that was only because of Murakumo’s high attack power; my own wasn’t nearly that powerful. I had a feeling she got the wrong idea there. I couldn’t very well tell them all about the Hidden Gods, though, so I couldn’t correct her.

Speaking of which, I wasn’t sure it had been a good idea to show them the protection we received from a Hidden God, as well as my trump card that was Guard Blade…but considering how the Grand Mole would have hurt Ibuki while she was in danger, I didn’t regret doing it.

“B-by the way… I get the feeling that skill you used when you saved me is…probably your secret technique, so I definitely won’t tell anyone about it! I will always keep your teachings safe!” said Ibuki.

“W-well, uh… Thanks, I appreciate that. But really, calling me Teacher is maybe just a little bit much.”

“S-sorry… It’s just, you saved me, and I really respect you…”

I got the impression there was another reason why she started calling me that, but pressuring a girl and her emotions wasn’t wise.

Anyway, I used the key for our storage unit to transfer the chest. I spoke with Kaede and her party about what to do with the materials from the moles’ bodies, and we decided to put them in Melissa’s Repository.

“One of them is almost completely intact. We’ll get good materials out of it. The broken parts can’t be used, so I will be more careful for next time,” said Melissa.

“You were so brave, Melissa! You just came in and hacked that mole’s helmet apart with your butcher’s knife before Ellie and I could get another attack in,” Igarashi cheered.

“Yeah, I was surprised,” agreed Elitia. “I can’t believe you have that much attack power at only level three!”

“It’s because of this knife. My dad got it to save my mom,” said Melissa.

Her mother was a demi-human who was currently seeking with another party in hopes of finding a way to lift the curse and make her human again. Rikerton probably got that weapon for seeking so that he could save her himself, and that goal was passed down to Melissa. I truly hoped both Melissa’s mom and Theresia could return to their former selves.

Even the Demi-Harpies didn’t have unlimited magic, so I sent them back to the Monster Ranch for a rest. The Fake Beetles here were a higher level than them, so they would be in danger if the insects attacked from the air.

“…Speak of the devil. Is that a Fake Beetle over there?” I asked.

“Ah… And there’s a Grand Mole, too,” said Kaede. “It’ll probably come this way if we end up in a fight again.”

“All right, let’s split up… Misaki, mind joining us again?” I asked.

“Suuure! I feel like I was at least a little helpful back there!”

“You really were. Come and fight with us again sometime,” said Kaede. It might have helped that they were close in age, but they seemed to be getting along quite well. When they thanked her, Misaki blushed like crazy before coming back to join us.

“Atobe, since I have Wolf Pack, should Cion and I transfer to their party together?” suggested Igarashi. Her Valkyrie skill Wolf Pack increased her abilities as long as she was in the same party as Cion. If possible, it would be best to keep them together.

“Yes, but be careful. I’ll support where I can. Let’s do our best, everyone!”

“““All right!””” the girls replied as they gathered around—they couldn’t be too loud or they’d attract nearby monsters. I activated Morale Support to shore up their spirit. I was hoping to save the Morale Discharges for the sheep monster on the second floor. Things were going well at the moment, but I wanted to keep moving forward with caution.

Part III: The Paradox

After defeating the two Grand Moles, we continued carefully across the uneven ground. There was one Grand Mole at the top of a hill on our right and a monster flying directly ahead of us. I was able to clearly tell how far away it was thanks to my Hawk Eyes, but it looked far more massive than any beetle I’d ever seen.

“Just how big can Hercules beetles get…?” I grumbled absentmindedly.

Suzuna dutifully answered, “U-uh… Maybe about six inches, I think…?”

Misaki and Elitia heard the exchange as well and chimed in while they looked at the airborne monster.

“I mean, it’s called Hercules, right? I thought they could get up to, like, a whole foot.”

“…I think the largest is closer to eight inches. Right now, that monster might look like a speck of dust, but when it gets closer…it’ll probably be bigger than us…”

We’d fought quite a few monsters that were bigger than us so far, but this Fake Beetle was way bigger and a different color from any rhinoceros beetle I’d ever seen. The shape was pretty similar, though. What really threw me for a loop was the additional horn sprouting from its back.

…So is it fake? Like a rhinoceros beetle but not really? We won’t get anywhere just looking at it, though.

“……”

Theresia turned to Four Seasons, Igarashi, and Cion, who were surrounding the Grand Mole to our right. Igarashi must have discussed her position with Kaede and Ibuki, who were vanguards in the party, because now she was in the midguard position. I wondered what they were going to do, then saw that she made a doll with her Decoy skill and used Force Target to draw the mole’s attention, before they leaped at it with a joint attack.

“—GROHHHH!!”

“—It worked! Now’s our chance!”

“Let’s go, Ibuki! …Hyaaa!!”

“Haaah!”

“I’ll support you guys!”

I tacked Attack Support 2 onto their assault as they rushed in, and I also added the status ailment Confusion, which I now knew was effective on Grand Moles.

♦Current Status♦

They could keep the battle under control as long as they could get that status ailment in. Since the mole was Confused, Anna and Ryouko guessed it might activate Ground Stomp, so they racked up damage from afar. Cion avoided an attack from the Confused mole, then hit back with a Tail Counter. They could win safely with how things were going.

“Suzuna, let’s attack that thing. Can you manage from this distance?” I asked.

“I’ll try… Countless Gods, I ask you to guide my arrow with the light of the sun…” There was no way an arrow would make it that far if shot normally, but if we took the explanation for her skill Auto-Hit as it was, we knew that her next two shots were “guaranteed to hit their target.” Since it was our one and only attack before it came at us, I added Attack Support 2 to it. I couldn’t use the Blade of Heaven and Earth since it drained too much of my magic, but I was prepared to take it out if push came to shove.

As I ruminated over our battle plans, Ariadne’s voice called out to me.

“For humans who have not trained much with the Stellar Sword, a certain amount of time must pass after activating it before you can use it again. There is no limit to the number of times you can use Guard Arm, but it does consume magic every time you do. Also, once your party’s combined level reaches twenty, you will gain Guard Variant, a higher skill, though you can only wield its full power if you have the shield part and someone equipped with it in the party.”

“Guard Variant”? I should keep that in mind… Guard Arm and Guard Blade are more than enough right now, though.

I wanted to practice attacking with the Stellar Sword—if only I had the time. I could normally use my slingshot to attack, which didn’t take any magic, then improve my sword skills for when we needed it. It made me realize how convenient it was that my rearguard job let me equip any weapon, regardless of whether it was close- or long-range.

But for now, I needed to deal with the enemy in front of us. Four Seasons would likely come rejoin us once they’d defeated the mole they were up against, but there wouldn’t be anything wrong with beating our target before they did.

Suzuna took in a deep breath and nocked an arrow. I heard the string stretch as she pulled it back. After a moment of tension, she opened her eyes and released the arrow.

“Strike your target!”

“I’ll support you!”

As long as she used Auto-Hit, two consecutive arrows would hit their target. If I activated Attack Support 2 both times, I could hit the monster with two different status ailments.

It takes a lot out of me, but since we don’t know how strong the enemy is, we need to do everything we can in the first volley!

♦Current Status♦

It was so far off in the distance that I wouldn’t have been able to tell what happened without my Hawk Eyes, but I could see that both of Suzuna’s arrows hit the Fake Beetle.

Confusion didn’t affect it…but Poison did!

I didn’t know how much it would reduce its vitality points, but I expected it to help. Or maybe, since it was so far away, we could even wait from afar until it was weakened—

“Here it comes…!

“……!”

Something was wrong. I didn’t know what, but the size and shape of what I saw with my Hawk Eyes sent a shiver of dread running down my spine. I regretted not checking with Kaede and her party what the monster was.

♦Monster Encountered♦

♦Current Status♦

We didn’t have long to savor our advantage when the attacks hit at long distance, because the massive beetle came hurtling straight at us, fast as a meteorite plummeting to earth.

“Wh-what…?” said Kaede. “We…we n-never saw this thing here before…”

“R-run! Teacher, an enemy like that will kill you!” shouted Ibuki. It wasn’t the Fake Beetle we thought it was. It had a before its name, meaning it was a Named Monster. For better or for worse, we’d grown used to encountering Named Monsters. But the same couldn’t be said for Four Seasons.

The beetle crashed down at full speed, whipping up a gale in its wake. I could tell by the four girls’ terrified expressions that they were certain we would die.

♦Current Status♦

“Y-you guys… Run! Your party, too, Atobe! Hurry!” Ryouko shouted to us.

“Mr. Arihito, this enemy is too strong! It’s too dangerous to fight it!” called Anna. Just because they’d been reincarnated and fought countless monsters didn’t mean they were immune to fear. Actually, their reaction was appropriate. We simply weren’t capable of taking an attack like that.

We could remove their Fear status with Mist of Bravery… No, first, we need to survive this next attack… That should give Four Seasons some of their courage back…but who…

“Nooo—it’s coming again! …Everyone, run!”

“M-my feet won’t move!”

“Kaede, Ibuki!” called Ryouko.

The massive beetle loomed over them almost like it were laughing at them, their Fear status having rendered them immobile. The monster flapped its transparent wings rapidly and rose again into the air.

♦Current Status♦

“Run, Theresia! It’s after you!” I cried.

“……!”

My heart skipped a beat. I instinctively knew that if I made the wrong decision, I could lose my friend.

I won’t let that happen!

My vision went red—I didn’t even have time to breathe before my brain kicked into overdrive and I made my decision.

“—Ariadne, I request your help!” I shouted.

♦Current Status♦

I definitely saw it—the moment before the beetle struck, a mechanical arm appeared in the monster’s path in response to my request. There was an earsplitting boom from the high-speed collision as it veered off course, plummeting into the earth somewhere to the side of its target, Theresia.

“Ack!”

The impact was powerful enough to form a crater in the ground. I protected everyone from the resulting blast with Defense Support, but I couldn’t support myself. However—

“……!”

—Theresia stood in front of me, covering me as she held her targe up. The moment the attack had been deflected, Theresia’s highest priority was protecting me.

♦Current Status♦

“…The heck was that just now…?” asked Kaede.

“Arihito shouted… And its attack was knocked off course…,” said Ibuki.

“…Was it luck…or did Atobe do something…?” wondered Ryouko.

Four Seasons stood there dumbfounded. They had no idea what had just happened. If so…

“I’ll protect you all even if that thing comes after you,” I told them. “We ought to be able to win this if we take it seriously… So please, don’t be afraid and help us fight!”

“…Mr. Arihito… Why would you go this far for us…?”

♦Current Status♦

We managed to get past the first major threat, but the battle was just beginning now that they knew I could still stop the enemy’s attacks.

The beetle was upside down, its gigantic horn thrust into the ground. It was covered in a thick, glistening carapace, all the way to its feet, which ended in sharp, hooked claws. It looked just like a rhinoceros beetle with heavy armor on. It used its arms as much as it could, barely managing to reach the ground as it dragged its claws into the dirt to extract itself. It flung its body over and righted itself, brandishing its vicious horn. Its carapace was a silvery color, and it glittered like it was made of a metallic substance.

“L-look at that massive crater… Urrrgh…,” Misaki muttered in total shock.

“I doubt people regularly run into monsters this powerful here… Otherwise, there’d be far more victims,” said Elitia. I could see from her profile that the blood had drained from her face, but she immediately collected herself and drew the Scarlet Emperor from its sheath.

This monster was most likely a Named version of the Fake Beetle. I looked at my license and saw that it had a surprising name. We should have been more cautious when it had just come up as Out-of-Range Monster.

“……”

“…Theresia.”

She seemed to guess what I was thinking just by looking at me, because she shook her head, then pressed her fist to her chest. She was saying she’d follow my orders.

“Thank you for covering me. You really saved my neck back there… We don’t want to have to come across a monster like this twice.”

“Should we test to see if it can hurt me even with your support, or should we just avoid it…?” Elitia asked me.

“If we leave it be, it’ll attack anyone who comes in the labyrinth after us. It doesn’t sit well with me knowing we made it hostile and then ran.”

“…Madoka, you hide. I might hinder the party as well, but I have a skill called Partial Destruction that’s effective against bug-type monsters. I want to try it,” said Melissa. The other party had been wearing down the Grand Mole. I checked how far they’d gotten it down before the beetle attacked, but they would likely still need another ten or twenty seconds of fighting.

We need to keep this thing from targeting that party. We need to flank it. Should I go ahead and try…?

“Uh, Arihito, the monster seems…different,” said Suzuna.

“Huh…?” I looked up and saw that its entire surface was turning purple. Even its eyes, sitting at the base of its horn, were purplish.

♦Current Status♦

A weak cry came from the creature’s mouth, and I made a guess.

“…It’s heavily armored, but maybe in exchange, it actually has fairly low vitality?” I wondered.

“Oh, that’s right…”

“Ellie, did you just remember something?” asked Igarashi.

“…I’ve never defeated an enemy with Poison, but I have heard that monsters with strong defense are often weak to it. Some people Poison them, then buy time until their targets die. That’s why long-lasting poisons are sold for more than poison runes on the market,” she explained.

I wasn’t sure I would generally choose to use that strategy of waiting while the Poison slowly wore down the monster’s vitality, but I guess there really was no reason to directly fight a monster this large and heavily armored.

“If that’s what we’re going with…let me bring up the rear as we disengage.”

“You can’t stack Poison, so I do think that’s the best option while the current Poison works at it. I’ll use Sonic Raid to lure it while everyone else runs ahead.”

“Um… We’ll be fine as long as we’re in front of Arihito, right?”

“Yeah. If it goes after you, I’ll get Ariadne to help protect you like I did before… This battle is one of patience. Let’s go, everyone!”

“““Okay!””” they chimed back, coming to an agreement. Elitia was the only one who faced the enemy now, moving so fast that she left a blur in her wake.

“—I’ll tear you to shreds…!”

♦Current Status♦

I had a feeling an enemy like this would appear eventually. It blocked Elitia’s blade with its armor, as you would expect from its appearance, and it used a special skill to defend against the set damage of my skill.

“Grr… Not another monster immune to physical attacks!”

“It’s okay, we just need the Poison to wear it down! Pull back, Elitia!”

“Understood…!”

“—KYEEEAAA!”

Elitia deflected the beetle’s attack, leaped backward, then came next to me, sped up by her skill. I signaled with my eyes, and she moved ahead of me. The ten-foot-tall beetle followed easily, flying low in the sky, but that’s where my weapon and skills would be useful.

“Stop right there!”

♦Current Status♦

The magical bullet from my black slingshot struck the beetle’s face with a sound like gunfire. Even though that magical bullet was strengthened from the effects of Rearguard General, I saw it strike the enemy’s carapace and bounce off. The Stun from the gaze stone that I added to the shot apparently activated even though the damage done was negligible. The beetle’s wings stopped moving, and it dropped to the ground, indenting the soil of the field where it landed.

If we just keep that up… No, doesn’t look like it’ll be that easy!

♦Current Status♦

“Uh, wha…? Arihito, what’s happening…?”

“—Magic won’t work on it anymore! Meaning, run! We’ll let the Poison take effect!”

“Okay…!”

“……!”

Thankfully, it hadn’t targeted Madoka while she was hiding. No other parties had come into the labyrinth yet, either. I didn’t like the idea of this beetle thing going after someone who happened to be here at the same time.

I turned back while I ran and saw Igarashi with her spear and Cion on top of a hill in the distance.

I’ll back you up!

“Let’s do this, Cion!” urged Igarashi.

“Woof!”

“—Ryouko!” called Igarashi.

“Yeah…!”

♦Current Status♦

The Grand Mole took a total of six attacks from Kyouka and Cion as they worked together. Anna and Ryouko then circled around behind the mole and shot a ball of water at its back. This was different from Ryouko’s previous move—it followed a straight path and made a fierce impact. The mole took it right in the back of its head, before falling flat on its face.

I’d been able to successfully support their party when they needed it. Now we just needed to finish what we started. The Poison on the Paradox Beetle cut its vitality by 10 percent of its maximum amount every ten seconds, which meant we would be able to beat it if we could just outrun it for a little under a minute and forty seconds—but right around when we were taking a quick breather, we saw something different about how the beetle moved.

♦Current Status♦

“The Poison is gone…!”

“KYEEEAAAAH!!”

Its entire body glowed red like it was on fire, and bits of its carapace broke off—actually, it was intentionally removing unnecessary parts to speed itself up as much as possible.

♦Current Status♦

It must have been close to dying…but now it’s brought its remaining time up to 100 seconds!

It was determined to chase us down. We all felt dread looking at the changed beetle. Monsters in the Labyrinth Country really didn’t ever want to give us an easy time.

“Arihito!” cried Suzuna.

“Ugh…!”

♦Current Status♦

If my abilities hadn’t received a boost from Rearguard General, that would have been a direct hit. I reacted immediately when Suzuna warned me, but the arm of my suit jacket was torn, and I felt pain. Did it vibrate its horn to generate a sound that it attacked with? Thank goodness no one was running in front of me. A line had been carved into the field from the invisible attack.

I don’t know if I can dodge the next hit… I can’t simply rely on my allies’ intuition to warn me about incoming attacks. What should we do…? What can we do…?!

“……!”

“—Theresia!”

♦Current Status♦

“—GYEE!”

For some reason, it wasn’t using its arms—only its horn to swipe away the dirks Theresia threw. She had staggered her throw, hitting it with the second dirk and making it flinch ever so slightly as it took the set support damage.

Wait… Something’s off. It still has armor on its arms, but it only defended with its horn. Is that thing particularly sturdy or— No… it’s something else, something…

I recalled the beginning of the battle. Did something happen when I added Attack Support 2 to Suzuna’s first attacks? The second arrow hit and poisoned it, but I couldn’t see an arrow stuck in the monster’s body or a wound from where the arrow struck. It was called Paradox Beetle. It had developed arms it could use for defense but didn’t. Was that because it couldn’t react that fast with them? If so, why?

Suzuna’s arrow struck the thing’s front… So this entire time, what I thought was the monster’s back is actually its front!

The part that Suzuna’s arrow and my Attack Support 2 hit was, from where we were, its back, which we couldn’t see. We should be able to take it down if we piled attacks on there. I didn’t know exactly how fast it could move now, but it was worth aiming for its weak spot since I knew it was there.

“Elitia, the spot Suzuna’s arrow hit should be on that thing’s back,” I said.

The fire grew in her eyes before I even asked if she could hit it.

“…Someone would need to draw its attention. I won’t force anyone to take that risk.”

“You’re right… I’ll leave it to your best judgment. If we fight it straight on like this, it’ll still take damage from my support. Its horn can’t stop more than one attack at a time.”

“Good suggestion, but we don’t know what it’ll do when it’s backed into a corner. We should finish it off as quickly as possible… Yeah.” She grinned. Even in tragedy, she would not despair—her expression was graceful and powerful, and just looking at her gave me courage.

“I’ll lure it. Arihito… Things might get dicey, but just hold on until the end.”

“Yeah. We’ll probably end up leaving the labyrinth after this fight… But we need to make sure we finish our first joint seek with a win.”

Could the level-9 swordswoman, admittedly stronger than what you’d expect in this district, surpass a level-6 monster that was fighting with its every last ounce of strength?

I took a deep breath so I wouldn’t mess up our final attempt. There was Theresia, Suzuna, and Misaki, who was gripping her dice in trembling hands after having done nothing but flee. The other party was running this way from behind the Paradox Beetle, which was trying not to waste any of its remaining time left. Elitia readied her scarlet sword and rushed straight toward it, her golden hair fluttering in the wind.

Part IV: Beneath the Underside

“—Let’s do this, you piece of shit!”

Elitia raced off like a golden gale, plenty fast enough at her base speed, but she let out a dauntless shout not quite suited to her appearance and sped up even more with her skill.

It may just be Elitia’s personality, but people do seem to change in battle… It brings out their fighting spirit. I couldn’t ask for more!

“Elitia, I’ll support you! Everyone, stay on your toes!”

“““Got it!”””

♦Current Status♦

I can’t get their morale up to a hundred in this battle, but I have to keep it up!

Just then, the unarmored Paradox Beetle started emitting a bloodred steam. It wasn’t the sort of thing that had an effect on the things around it—it was more like the steam from an engine that was fueled with the creature’s own life.

“—KYEEEEAAAAAH!!!”

♦Current Status♦

It was fast. I couldn’t make out its attack even while trying my best to follow it with Hawk Eyes. Yet somehow, Elitia, sped up with Sonic Raid, managed to barely avoid the attack by swinging herself up into the air. The beetle’s horn looked like it sliced through the head of the afterimage she left in her place. Everyone held their breath. I was the only one who could see that she had actually evaded, counterattacked, and gotten out of there.

“—Ellie, it still has a decent amount of time left! Finish it if you can!” I shouted.

She was around the side of the beetle, but her follow-up attack was terrifying. Right before her Sonic Raid cut out, she leaped up, then activated another Sonic Raid, before lashing out with a series of counterattacks into the gaps in the beetle’s defenses that no normal person would ever be able to see.

“FREEEEEEZE!”

♦Current Status♦

“GYEE… GYEEE…”

The Stun wasn’t working. Was it immune to status ailments now? Only one Stun needed to work out of the twelve stages, then the other party closing in from behind would have a clear shot at its weak spot.

“…I always… Right at the most crucial moment… Rrgh!” I could feel her anger and frustration; even now, I could see her fragility—and yet, she never felt inferior, and she never gave up.

Our party always fought together; it had always been that way, and it was how we’d gotten through as much as we had.

“Ellie, I’ll help you! …Strike your target!”

“Here’s a Dice Trick and a Lucky Seven! Cheating is awesome!”

“……!”

The three girls combined their long-range attacks and struck the Paradox Beetle after it bounced back from Blossom Blade, before it could return a counterattack, and they used what skills they could.

I’ll support you all!

♦Current Status♦

Misaki rolled her dice, and I could see the aura surrounding the beetle fade. The support damage threw it off-balance, and it fell to the ground, Stunned.

“We did it!”

“—Melissa!”

“That horn is…all mine…!”

♦Current Status♦

“GYEEEAAAAA!!!”

Melissa wielded her huge butcher’s knife with two hands and cleanly chopped off the beetle’s shiny horn, which tumbled through the air before piercing deep into the ground as if to demonstrate how truly sharp it was.

By that point, Igarashi and Four Seasons had gotten close enough to attack. I didn’t just tell them it was weak on its back and let them go in for the attack. I had a hunch, and I gave Igarashi one order based almost entirely on that hunch.

“—Igarashi, use Decoy first!”

“A decoy… All right!”

“Wait, wh-what…?”

“Kaede, trust Arihito’s orders!” yelled Ibuki. “I’m sure he’s right!”

Kaede pulled back, slowing her attack. Igarashi immediately activated her Decoy skill.

“Human form born from the earth, imbued with my magic! Rise up and be the vanguard to draw the demon’s gaze!” The small doll that Igarashi needed to use Decoy absorbed her magic and grew larger and larger until it was the size of a human, then closed in on the beetle.

♦Current Status♦

“Eeeek!!” Igarashi was so surprised that she shrieked. Guess it was a good thing I decided to be extra cautious. The decoy was sliced in half by the massive set of pincers that sprung out from the Paradox Beetle’s back. The front of the Paradox Beetle worked like the back of a normal rhinoceros beetle. Its pincers were hidden inside its armor, but really, this monster was more of a stag beetle than a rhinoceros beetle.

“Ew, gross… The heck was that?!” cried Kaede.

“Holy crap, that scared me… Don’t do that!”

“It looks like a rhinoceros beetle, but that’s all a trap… It’s actually…”

“…A stag beetle…? Those are huge pincers.”

Each member of Four Seasons looked shocked and afraid. I couldn’t blame them; a human caught in those pincers wouldn’t get out with just some cuts and bruises. They’d probably be chopped in two and die instantly. However, it looked like once the pincers closed, they couldn’t be used again for an attack immediately. The Paradox Beetle had lightened its armor and sacrificed defense. Now Igarashi, Cion, and Four Seasons concentrated their direct attacks on it.

“—Cion, everyone, let’s go!”

“Bowwooow!”

““““Yeah!””””

♦Current Status♦

Igarashi used Mirage Step just to be on the safe side, then made the first attack. The damage from her spear wasn’t that great, but it was followed by Cion’s rush, then a series of thrusts from Kaede’s wooden sword, and flying kicks from Ibuki, which struck the stag beetle right on its head. Anna saw the creature flinch and leaped up as high as her small frame would take her, before smashing her racket right into the beetle’s face. Last up was Ryouko, who brought forth far more water than could fit in her small bottle; she summoned an aqua dolphin and launched it at the beetle.

“…GYEE…EE…”

It was hostile to the very last moment. It finally managed to open its pincers again and tried to catch someone in its grasp…but it lost the last bit of its strength before it could and stopped moving.

“…Did we do it…?”

“…Whoooa! Awesome! So cool! I can’t believe we beat such a powerful Named Monster!” At first, Kaede was dumbstruck, but it wasn’t until she looked at her license and saw that it said we’d defeated it that she let out a cry of joy, finally realizing what we’d done.

Elitia looked at their party but then turned and walked back toward us. “…Looks like I did my part. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to at first.”

“You did great. Um, also… Sorry I accidentally called you Ellie in the middle of combat,” I said.

“Uh… N-no, that’s…that’s fine with me…,” she said. Then, in a voice so soft that scarcely anyone could hear her, she whispered, “Besides, other people call me that, too.” Her face was bright red. “…I don’t really mind if you call me that anyway. It’s just, Ellie was my nickname when I was a kid, so it feels a little awkward getting called that now.”

“G-got it… Guess I ought to stick to calling you Elitia, then.”

“Geeeez, Arihito, why so formal?” teased Misaki. “Ellie says it’s fine, so you should make an effort to call her by that name. Right, Suzu?”

“M-Misaki… You’ll just embarrass Ellie if you make fun of her like that.”

“I-it’s all right. Thanks, Suzuna. Arihito, you can just…call me whatever you like, I guess… Wh-what?”

If this had been Igarashi, she would have started apologizing out of sheer habit, but Elitia was different. Even though she could be stubborn, she had her timid side and her fragile side. Maybe she had been lonely until she’d met Suzuna. Now she might be trying to avoid being too pushy for fear of upsetting me.

What I needed to do, as the leader and the oldest in the party, was maintain my composure. I had to work to make sure Elitia felt comfortable and at ease.

“In that case, how about I sometimes call you Ellie?”

“Th-that’s fine…,” she started, and then added under her breath, “…but only sometimes?” Suzuna and Misaki heard and exchanged smiles with each other, although Suzuna seemed hesitant.

“People like you are so quick to tease others. Misaki, come with me to the Guild later.”

“Eep! …F-forgive me! I’ll do anything you say! But just know that Arihito’s my boss!”

“Should the three of us discuss it again? I’d like to talk to Ellie about it once more…about Arihito,” said Suzuna.

“A-about me…? Look, if you have any complaints, I’d rather we hash them out in the open. You can talk to me about anything—improving working conditions, party policy…”

“…Ha-ha, it’s nothing,” Elitia replied with a laugh. “Let’s go gather the loot, you two. We shouldn’t leave it all to Madoka and Melissa.”

“All right,” replied Suzuna.

“Ooooh, I wonder if we got something good. Oh-ho, these here are the culprit’s footprints!” said Misaki. There wasn’t anything like that, but I wasn’t sure it was appropriate for a girl her age to crawl on the ground looking for loot. I couldn’t help turning a little red at that.

Just as I was struggling finding a spot to look at, Igarashi and Cion came over. Cion had done such a good job that I made sure to spend some time petting her head and back. She swished her fluffy tail back and forth, wagging it happily.

“Atobe, you’re normally so cool and composed, but then you react to this sort of thing… I—I mean, it’s fine and all. It’s just a little strange…”

“W-well, I’m getting to the age where I should start settling down… Uh, not that I should be saying that in front of everyone.”

“…Actually, don’t you think it’d make everyone worry that you’re getting on in years?”

“Th-that’s a little harsh, wouldn’t you say? There’s so many girls in the party, so of course I’m going to lose my composure, but my age is another conversation altogether…”

“……”

It wasn’t just Igarashi; even Theresia was looking at me. They weren’t really worried about me, were they? I would have thought everyone would feel more comfortable with me being old, but maybe I needed to rethink that assumption.

“Hey, Arihito, c’mere! There’s another chest! A red one this time!” called Kaede happily. Of course, we weren’t going to get a Black Box. I had hoped a monster like this would have one. Chests were so rare, but they were pretty much guaranteed to drop from a Named Monster, so I wasn’t surprised by them anymore. Thinking back, this labyrinth was called Silvanus’s Bedchamber, which was connected to the sheep monster. Maybe if we ran into a Named version of one and defeated it… Or maybe it’s all up to chance.

Guess we’ll have to keep Misaki in the party permanently… I have to make sure she’s well protected. Theresia’s currently covering her right now.

Without Misaki’s luck, our seeking efficiency would drop drastically. I couldn’t let her quit just because she didn’t have good armor. I wanted to give her some enhanced armor. I could say that about the rest of the party as well, though.

“Good work, Teacher! Our first time working together went so well, and it’s all thanks to you!”

“Kyouka and Cion helped out, too. Your party is full of excellent Seekers,” said Anna. She and Ibuki were excited, their cheeks tinged pink. They were a powerful party capable of working their way up to the Upper Guild in District Seven, but their faces were as innocent as you would expect for their age.

Ryouko came up from behind them. Something about her seemed different from before. She’d always been ladylike, but now she was even more graceful and reserved.

“All of you have incredible offensive skills,” I replied. “You included, Ryoko. You looked like a magician.”

“I…I used to help out with a dolphin show, which, I think, is why I have these dolphin-related skills now… You were watching me, Atobe?”

“Of course. You dealt the final blow, after all; it was really cool.”

“Ah… W-well… S-say, Ibuki and Anna are such good kids—they were talking about how they’d love to have a party with you to relax from all this work…right?”

“Huh? We didn’t say… Oh…!”

“Y-yes, yes we did. We haven’t yet encountered the sheep monster we’re looking for, but we defeated a strong monster, and we thought it might be a good idea for us to go back to town for a bit and maybe…have a little get-together, or some such… How does that sound?”

Based on Ibuki’s and Anna’s reactions, they hadn’t talked about this possibility, but Ryouko smiled in satisfaction, her hand to her cheek as she beamed at Anna’s suggestion.

“Well, uh… I did consider going back for a little bit,” I responded. “We were probably a rare example of a group that could land a hit on that Named Monster. It most likely would be unthinkable for others in similar situations. Yet, we managed to pull it in and ended up in a battle with a particularly tough opponent. I think everyone’s a bit worn out after that. Anyway, we’ve managed to do some research on the monsters on the first floor, and if we go back now, we can make it to the second floor fresh next time.”

“All right. We’ll let your party decide how to divide the loot,” said Ryouko.

“Okay, we’ll make a list later, then you can let us know if there’s anything you want. We can negotiate who gets what if we both end up wanting the same thing…”

“What’re you saying, Arihito?” chided Kaede. “You guys beat a monster we’d never stand a chance against. This is all thanks to your party. We’d owe you for life if you even give us any of the loot.”

If that’s how they really felt, then I didn’t need to feel bad about using the materials to strengthen my party. Based on how they fought, I imagined the Grand Moles’ headgear, claws, and perhaps even fur would make good materials. And the Paradox Beetle’s entire body was likely a lump of extraordinary materials.

Melissa was trembling, her arms wrapped around her butcher’s knife. She ran her tongue over the blade, then brandished it, her face one of ecstasy. What was with this sensuality? She was just going to dissect some monsters.

“…Oh! I was just about to do the dissection now. Or should I do that after we take them back…?”

“Could you do some here and send the rest to your Repository?” I asked.

“I can. If I dissect immediately after the monster is defeated, I can use my skill Preserve Freshness to keep meat from going bad. Named Monsters are delicious. This one might make a really tasty dish.”

Eating monster meat didn’t particularly concern me, but if there was some meat that had additional effects, I suppose I’d have to try it whether or not I liked it.

“…A-Atobe, do I need to eat it, too?” asked Igarashi.

“N-no, no, I won’t force you. But there might come a time when we all need to eat something like that.”

“……”

Theresia pressed a hand to her stomach, and I heard it gurgle. She didn’t seem to have any food preferences outside of lizard-type monsters. She’d probably enjoy eating this one. In that case, I could have her eat it, too. Then we’d both be in the same boat, sailing across a sea of unknown flavors.

“Arihito, we’re done collecting the dropped loot!” called Madoka.

“Ah, thank you. And sorry you didn’t get a chance to fight… We have to find a way to make sure you level up.”

“No worries; support members get a small amount of experience even if they just use skills like Hide,” said Kaede. “Not all skills count as being in combat, but certain ones do.”

“Really? Then you probably leveled up, Madoka,” I said.

“Oh… Y-yes, I did! My license says I grew to level three!”

Everyone checked their licenses as well, and Melissa also gained a level, but the rest of the party would have to wait until the next battle to level up.

“All right, let’s go back for a bit. We’ll report to the Guild, then look over the loot we got…and maybe check in to see what’s happening at the Beach of the Setting Sun,” I suggested.

“Yes. I don’t think anyone’s opposed, including Four Seasons,” replied Igarashi. It was such a tiny thing, but I noticed that Igarashi replied formally, with yes and not yeah or sure, as if she were the assistant manager here.

“…Really, it’d be fine either way. With Atobe, with me…”

“Hmm? …Did you say something just now?” I asked Igarashi.

“N-no, nothing! …All right, Cion, you’re in charge of scouting for enemies. Theresia, you stay with Atobe and monitor our rear.” Igarashi went on ahead with Cion to guide the way. If she was trying to tell me that her situation didn’t matter, as long as she got to work with me… Well, thinking that might have been what she was trying to say made me feel like I was just being overly self-conscious. I blushed and had a hard time calming down.

“……”

Theresia seemed concerned about me or something, because she patted my back. I was touched by how much she cared, but it wasn’t good for me to constantly act like I needed to be treated with kid gloves. I was too old to get this flustered. I decided to just tell Igarashi what I really felt, back when she was in Four Season’s party—how important she was to my party.