Chapter of Midsummer, Episode 3: A Sudden S-Rank Mission

Clicking sounds could be heard in regular intervals in the dimly lit room. The sound came from the spoils from the ancient labyrinth placed on the wall of the room.

The ornament with artistic details displayed the passage in intervals of time seconds, minutes, hours, days, and years. It was highly advanced, and despite the best efforts of the country’s engineers, they failed to replicate its power supply. Anyone could see that this was a product of the most advanced technology there was. But sadly, now that it was placed in the hall of the royal family, it only served as a symbol of authority to be flaunted to guests.

Two men stood in that hall. Hakam, who was tasked with managing the raid of the ancient labyrinth, and Aja, the aged wizard. They had experienced countless battlefields and possessed the wisdom necessary to command hundreds of men at once. And these two men had been assigned new missions by the royal family. Just like the clock that was resting on the wall. Hakam finally broke the silence.

“Did you see? Zarish’s arm bone was exposed.”

“Yes, it seems he’s going through quite the treatment. I heard he spilled the truth as soon as he arrived here. So why did he do such a pitiful thing?” The old man rubbed his beard as he pondered out loud, though it wasn’t as if he was worried about Zarish’s well-being.

“He was like a different person. Before, he would have tried to lie his way out of trouble,” Hakam, the commander, agreed.

“Are there more rings that can control others?”

“You could even classify it as a relic. Its ability to control others and even drain their levels is far too powerful. It’s not something that someone should be allowed to wield. You want to know if there are others? I didn’t even realize Team Diamond had them in the first place. What makes you think I would know?”

The item couldn’t even be detected by a Wizard. This went to show just how rare skills in the form of rings were, and due to its unique nature, it was extremely hard to notice.

“You think the royal family will make a move on Eve out of greed?”

“If Zarish dies, yes. The fact that he’s not putting up any resistance tells me he’s still under her influence. They certainly don’t have the guts to relinquish that control and set the beast free. Especially considering they can’t even kill him due to his guardian power being too powerful. I suspect his arm has its bone bare because he was forcefully holding back his power.” He had seen the torture room earlier, and Zarish was like a growling beast within the darkness.

Zarish would answer when questioned, but figuring out whether his words were true was part of the torturer’s job. Armed with special tools, the torturers were pale-faced as they tried to carry out their jobs, but they were up against someone too powerful. When the torturers tried using Eve’s name to threaten him, the young man’s expression turned cold, and they were stricken with fear as invisible blades carved chunks out of the walls around them.

Zarish had already told the truth, but the royal family didn’t believe him. No, they chose not to. They thought they had stumbled upon a treasure trove, but it was just bait. Zarish had revealed the truth that not only Arilai, but the entire continent was under the threat of being destroyed. Hakam and Aja could see that the persistent torture stemmed from denial of the terrible truth lurking beneath the surface. It was their way of throwing a tantrum, hoping that Zarish would tell them it was all a lie.

“And so, we were tasked with our mission.” They sighed heavily.

It was clear by the expressions on their faces that they also understood the sad reality of things. The truth that Zarish had revealed was so devastating that anyone would want to escape from reality.

The reason the ancient labyrinths had been reopened...

The reason the oasis, the excavation site for Magic Stones, had been abandoned...

And the reason the neighboring country of Gedovar had interfered with the raid in the labyrinth.

The pieces had come together tonight... in the worst way possible. And now, the two had been entrusted with a request. They had been given the impossible task of drawing out even more information from the traitor Zarish and dealing with the ancient catastrophe to come. But there was no escaping their duty. Even if they were headed to ruin, they had already lost too many men to count. When they thought about their comrades that had fallen before they could accomplish their goal, giving up was not an option.

“The royal family is as awful as always. They’ve been benefitting from the labyrinth all this time, then give up at the first sign of trouble.”

“No matter how delicious a meal is, you have no choice but to discard it if it’s poisoned. Prepare yourself. We’re on the verge of losing an entire country. It’s your job to press on despite everything,” Hakam lifted his head and shot Aja a look that said, “That’s your job, too.”

“What can an old man like me do?” Aja responded.

They were joking around as usual in an attempt to regain a bit of composure, no matter how small. But judging by the looks on their faces, it wasn’t working.

“But why? It shouldn’t awaken in this world, according to the legends.”

“And yet, it will try. I doubt it will truly awaken, but some sort of external factor may be at play here. Or perhaps a demon’s...”

*Bzz, bzzz, zzz!*

White noise sounded from the Magic Tool, cutting off their conversation. The contents of the report mixed with screams from the special unit sent by the royal family was just as they had imagined.

“We can’t seal it! I repeat, we cannot reseal the underground labyrinth!” They could hardly even offer words of appreciation for the men that had given up their lives for their mission. That was just how badly these two—no, the entire country of Arilai were being cornered.

It was impossible to close the labyrinth. Arilai could either swallow the entire ancient labyrinth and end the raid, or be left with no choice but to walk the path to ruin. The commander understood this and stared at the expressionless old man.

“Aja, we will first stamp out anyone standing in our path. This is the whole reason we’ve been granted the authority to do anything, other than threatening the royal family.”

“Hm. Then we can accomplish that with a single move. Those who side with the neighboring countries as Zarish did, and the hooligans hanging around on the third floor... We can ruin their day in one fell swoop. And one more thing... Considering the massive scope of this mission, they may not like it, but we should make use of the king’s power, as well. Though, half of my motivation for doing so is just to annoy them.”

The two finally broke out in muffled laughter. Despite the precarious position they were in, their years of experience allowed them to laugh it off as they considered the best possible move to take.

“Let’s begin, then. Oh, and whatever you do, don’t let them catch on to what we’re doing,” Hakam said.

“Yes, I’ll talk to the raid team myself. I know what is at stake, but I have no intention of using the team as a sacrifice. I want you to swear you’ll bring your men back alive, too.”

It wasn’t something that could have been easily accomplished, but Hakam replied that he would without hesitation.

There was no time. There weren’t many people to allocate to the mission. They needed to take their time in selecting the personnel, but being in the cornered state they were, the two ran with their animalistic instincts. Aja grinned, having decided who could bring a glint of hope to this desperate battle.

“But to think, we’ve been granted the authority to do anything other than threatening the royal family. Ha ha ha, they must have been quite desperate to approve that. I wish I could’ve seen their faces!”

“I couldn’t have you with me, because you would’ve burst out laughing. Enough of this. Let’s begin,” Hakam said, but there was a smile on his own face, as well. However, the smile wasn’t as cheerful as their conversation would have suggested, but was instead that of a beast gleaming in the dark room.

§

I had the ability to travel into my dream world just by going to sleep.

And by sleeping or dying on the other side, I could return back to Japan, in my own world. That was why I could lay a blanket down anywhere and fall asleep, and I wasn’t fazed by waking up in an unfamiliar place. Whether it be on a mountain, or in a river... Well, actually, I would probably have panicked if I woke up underwater.

Anyway, I had to award a gold star for how good I felt waking up this morning. My blanket was cozy, and the morning sun shone in between the curtains. A single flower sat by the window, and there was even a cushion under my head. And to top it all off, I was on a luxury bed that was likely made by an expert craftsman. I had a reputation for giving high ratings to bedding in general, but this one was fantastic without a doubt.

“Hmm, so this is the Manor of Black Roses. It’s hard to believe this is just a guest room, with this level of comfort. It might be even better than luxury beds in Japan.” I stretched out my arms, then let out a long yawn.

One may have wondered why a commoner like me was living like this. It was because we had been given permission to stay here by the top team of Arilai, Team Diamond. Ever since we had defeated the hero candidate, Zarish, and dispelled the control he had over the women in Team Diamond, Puseri had allowed us to stay at the manor for as long as we wanted. We were incredibly grateful for this, considering we had no place to stay.

As I sat there appreciating our lodging situation, my companion seemed to have finally awoken and stirred next to me under the blanket. Her characteristic long elven ears twitched, and she let out a big yawn. Her long, white eyelashes quivered, eventually revealing her pale purple eyes. Those fantastical and beautifully colored eyes I loved so much slowly focused onto me.

“Hey, there. Good morning, Marie,” I said, but she simply stared back sleepily without uttering a word. I wondered if she was still half-asleep. Then, she began crawling up my body. She reached out, and her hand moved past me and toward my pillow.

“Pumpkin... seeds...”

It seemed there was something occupying her mind more than the usual morning greeting. She was talking about the pumpkin seeds we had prepared the previous night to see if we could bring them over to this world. Although we had the ability to import food and drinks, I had no idea whether seeds counted, as well.

But there was one problem. Marie’s lumps were closing in right in front of my nose, and they threatened to touch my face, despite my efforts to lean back out of the way. Just as I grew increasingly flustered by her faintly sweet and feminine scent, Marie exclaimed with a cheerful voice.

“Oh, oh, they’re here! There’s something in the bag! I think it’s the seeds!”

“What? Really? I’m glad we were able to bring them over.”

Marie shook the paper bag, and it was clear from the sound that there was something inside. Maybe it was because they could be roasted and eaten, but luckily, they seemed to pass the restrictions.

I considered how unpredictable the world could be sometimes, when another unexpected thing happened. Marie sat... on my stomach, with her legs on either side of me.

“Yes, there are so many seeds in here! Look, look, we brought over so many!” Marie giggled and showed me the seeds in her hand. She seemed completely oblivious to my distress from feeling the fresh-out-of-bed warmth of her butt on my stomach. This was bad. I had to distract myself from focusing on that sensation.

“Y-Yeah, looks like it worked. Then let’s try bringing them over to Shirley later.”

“Let’s do that. I feel like she wouldn’t mind us starting a farm if it’s small.” Marie now seemed completely awake from the excitement, and a happy smile spread across her face.

There was something peaceful about the sight of her poking at the pumpkin seeds with the sunlight peering in from the curtains. It seemed Marie was excited about farming, especially considering her elven background. Of course, I was interested in farming too, even though I was what one might call a modern man. Land where one could partake in gardening was quite rare in the city.

*Knock, knock*

We turned toward the knock at the door.

The room was quite big for a guest room, which made the door seem all the more distant. The bed with a canopy, the serene furniture, and sunlight coming in from the embroidered curtains felt a bit above my means. There was something very courteous about the way the owner of the manor was treating us.

“Heeey, Kazu, you awake?”

“Yeah, I’m awake,” I answered. The doorknob turned with a click, and the door was pushed open. The face that peeked in, of course, belonged to Evelyn the dark elf. Her blonde hair was tied back, and she wore a headband like that of a servant working in the manor. Her shoulders were exposed in her maid’s outfit, which seemed to be a modification tailored to her tastes.

But her face turned pink as soon as she saw me, and she hid back behind the door. She then peeked back in from the door’s opening.

“Oh, sorry to interrupt. I didn’t think you two would be doing that so early in the morning... but it’s understandable, considering you’re both young. I forgot you weren’t as innocent as you look, Kazu. Guess I’ll have to be careful, too...”

Marie and I stared at each other for several seconds, completely confused. Then, it hit me. She saw Marie mounted on top of me and misunderstood the situation. Marie’s entire face turned red at once.

“N-No! We didn’t... Eve, don’t tease us! It’s not like that, so come back in here, please!”

“Sorry, I don’t think I can enter your love nest. You were saying something about seed? Sounds kinda like some grown-up talk. So, when are you planting it?”

Welp, I hadn’t seen that coming. Marie didn’t even know how to react to the dirty jokes being directed at us. She stammered, at a loss for words, and looked at me for assistance. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the guts to explain away what had just happened.

“I feel like she was mocking me, for some reason. I’m going to teach Eve a lesson, so you stay here.” With that, Marie climbed out of bed. She then turned to me as if she just remembered something and whispered “I forgot to say good morning,” and ran out the door. Soon after, I heard a voice shouting “Get back here!” and Eve’s bubbly laughter. I noted how energetic they were so early in the morning.

Left alone, I had no choice but to get up, as well. I let out a big yawn and stretched. It was my routine gesture I went through upon waking, and another adventure in the dream world had begun. The raid on the ancient labyrinth hadn’t been resumed yet, and I was enjoying the peaceful, leisurely days in the meantime.

I tidied up and left the room into a spacious corridor of a noble’s manor. There were windows lining the corridor to let in some natural light from outside.

“Just so you know, Kazu, no one got near you two while you were sleeping.”

I nearly jumped in the air. I didn’t sense anyone approaching, but the voice had spoken from right next to me. I whirled around to find a familiar woman standing there with her back against the wall, smiling with amusement.

“I thought you were being chased around by Marie?”

“Well, I’m one of these, after all.” With that, Eve put her hands together to gesture as a ninja would. She stuck her tongue out playfully, seeming to enjoy the fact that her trick had worked. Marie was probably walking around somewhere in the manor right now, looking lost.

Eve moved away from the wall and started walking beside me. I was much younger in this world, so I had to look up to meet her eyes.

“Thanks for looking out for us. I didn’t want people finding out that we can travel to and from Japan.”

“Ah, it’s nothing. Don’t even sweat it. When you’re as skilled as I am, you can react to someone approaching even while asleep. But you know, there’s something endearing about boys who keep secrets.”

Girls these days sure did say odd things. Though, I hadn’t ever asked her about her age, so I could have been younger than her. In any case, our friend protecting our secret, Evelyn—also known as Eve—had been keeping watch for us even as we slept to make sure our secret didn’t get revealed. She was quite the incredible dark elf ninja. It was thanks to her support that we were able to safely and comfortably enjoy our time in the dream world.

“This might be rude of me to ask, but how old are you, Eve?”

“How old do you think? I’ll tell you if you guess it right. You have until we find Marie.”

Maybe it was because of the height difference, but she said it with the tone of an older sister. I decided to play her guessing game while we looked for the missing Marie. And so, we started walking under the sunlight.

Team Diamond’s home base, which was known as the Manor of Black Roses, was massive compared to the homes of other aristocrats, and had an incredibly deep history. The black roses in the garden, which were the namesake of the manor, had bloomed beautifully now that the rainy season had passed.

Some time later, we were guided to the best seats for sitting in the sun filtering through foliage. Marie, the black cat, and I sat down, and we were thrilled when tea and snacks were immediately brought out for us.

“I feel a bit bad about having everything taken care of for us,” I said.

“Don’t even worry about it. You know what? You should just join us as members at this point.” Eve, who was still in her bare-shouldered maid outfit, rested her chin in her hands.

I was fortunate enough to become close friends with her ever since the incident from the other day. This was my first time having a dark elf friend, and not only did I feel comfortable interacting with her in a casual tone, but she was surprisingly very kind. Honestly, I thought she was wonderful enough to cancel out the bad reputation of her whole race.

That aside, my eyes went wide at the sudden invitation to join her as a team member.

“What? But Team Diamond has like ten members already. You have room for more?” I asked, and the woman in a dress sitting across from us looked up as she poured some tea. The woman with twilight eyes and hair, that hair wavy like rose vines, was named Puseri, the new master of Team Diamond as of a few days ago.

“As a matter of fact, there are plenty of teams that would love to recruit you into their ranks. As the ones responsible for defeating the floor master of the first and second floors, many would spare no expense to have you on board.”

“We’re actually here because we want to avoid that very thing.”

The look in Puseri’s eyes told me she expected as much. I figured the other teams would give up on trying to recruit us if we got familiar with Team Diamond, which had a reputation for being the most capable team there was. Marie, who was listening to the conversation, took a sip of tea and opened her mouth to speak.

“I’m sorry for staying at your home like it’s a hideout. It’s so comfortable and lovely here.”

“Thank you. Though, we’ve been benefiting from your stay, as well. We don’t want you to join another team and threaten our position at the top, after all.” I was surprised by how much credit she was giving us, but knowing both sides were mutually satisfied put my mind at ease. Although, there was also the fact that we were a bit concerned about the ladies after they had reformed their team.

Something crossed my memory just then, and I looked at Eve.

“Zarish hasn’t returned from the castle yet? How many days has it been?”

“Five, I think... I think it’ll take a while longer, but he’s tough. I know he’ll be fine,” Eve replied with a hint of sadness in her eyes and nodded. Zarish certainly was a cruel man, but thanks to the fact that he had been under the control of these women, he was currently under questioning regarding the neighboring country of Gedovar.

“I think it’s important for him to pay for his crimes. Zarie is remorseful for those crimes, but he needs to show it to the others around him.” There was pain in Eve’s expression, but it was because she loved him that she wanted him to be properly punished for what he had done. Puseri gently touched Eve’s shoulder.

The crimes Zarish had admitted to must have been grave. But it seemed these women chose not to flee so they could continue living with each other here. Seeing Puseri’s compassion, it seemed to me that she was heading in the right direction as the master of the team. In any case, it was thankful that they were moving things along properly. We were only visitors in this country, so we wanted to avoid making any moves that would make us stand out. Nothing good came from standing out, after all.

Eve took another slow sip of her tea and looked up at the blue sky. She must have been hoping for a day when her life would go back to the way it had been.

Marie was getting fidgety after our light meal, and I suspected her mind was set on our trip to the sea and the farming that we had planned out. She was so excited about them that she was having trouble sleeping back in Japan. I took a map out of my bag and laid it out on the table for her. If we were going to enjoy our trip, it was better for us to understand the location and distance.

“Hey, hey, where is that sea you mentioned?”

“Let’s see... It’s around the middle point between Eske and Bisse, around the spot facing the Ord Sea.” My finger glided across the crude map. Our midsummer paradise was far to the east from here, and it would likely take several months to get there on foot. It would have been more realistic to get there via sea than land, but renting a ship would have cost a ridiculous amount of money.”

Eve listened to our conversation blankly, then looked at me with her blue eyes.

“Are you guys seriously about to leave to go that far?”

“Yes, why?” The elf girl was already daydreaming of a tropical world, and she seemed completely unconcerned by Eve’s comment. Eve blinked.

“Don’t tell me you can actually go there?”

“Yeah, we can. Movement skills are my specialty, remember?”

“No! Way! I wanna go, I wanna go, too! Take me with you!” Eve slammed the table as she stood up, her face moving right up to mine. I couldn’t help but flinch back as she came closer and closer.

Wait, hadn’t she been worried about Zarish? It almost seemed like she’d already forgotten about it, but come to think of it, Eve was born by the sea. Maybe the sea held a special place in her heart. Even so, I shook my head.

“Um... I’m sorry. But we can’t. My skill has a strict weight restriction.”

“But I’m not fat! I’m average! See, look at my stomach!” With that, Eve pulled up the top of her maid outfit to reveal the curves of her hips and toned abs. Of course, all I could do was spit out my tea in response. Then, Puseri slapped Eve on the head, as if to reprimand her.

“Cease that this instant! You must not act so indecently in front of a gentleman!”

“Uu... I’m not fat...” Eve sobbed, though it was probably because the trip to the sea was getting out of reach and the perceived accusation of being overweight, rather than because she got slapped upside the head.

“Um... Eve, you’re not fat. And it’s more of a shortcoming with my skill than anything else. It’s use is actually supposed to be limited to one adult, so it will only work with me and Marie.”

“Hm, right... Then how can I go with you guys?”

We all let out an “Oof” at once. I was surprised by her persistence, despite having explained the situation thoroughly. She was definitely a type of person I hadn’t met before.

Puseri then had a dubious expression on her face. She had known Eve for a long time and knew her personality, which was all the more reason why a question had crossed her mind.

“Eve, why are you behaving so spoiled? Kazuhiho is still young. You are being unreasonable.”

“What? I mean, Kazu is so calm, mature, and dependable.”

I paused.

“Huh?!” Marie and I said at once, and even the black cat, which was scratching its own head at the time, looked over with furrowed brows, as if to say the same thing. It was hard to believe a cat could make such a face, really.

It felt a bit uncomfortable having Puseri’s gaze fixed upon me so intently. In this dream world, I looked to be only about fifteen years old. Plus, my face had looked naturally sleepy since birth, and my hair and eye colors were plain black... Wait, those parts were the same as before.

I smiled loosely, and Puseri cocked her head several centimeters. As for Eve, she grabbed hold of my shoulders from behind and nudged me repeatedly, saying, “Come on, come on!” adding to my discomfort. Also, I mentally wished she would stop pushing against me with her breasts.

Puseri pressed her eyebrows with her fingers and let out a heavy sigh.

“Eve, I feel as if I understand you even less now.”

“Hey, that’s kinda mean, don’t you think?!” Eve and I reacted with shock at the same time.

But the real shock was soon to come. Not for us, but from the elf girl sitting near us and giving us a judging look.

“Whaaat?! What do you mean?!” The loud voice sent the birds resting at a nearby tree scattering into the sky.

I was surprised myself. It wasn’t like the proper and polite Marie to shout so loudly, and her shoulders were trembling in rage. Meanwhile, Puseri continued her explanation apologetically.

“Last night, the king gave an official order restricting cross-border travel. Crossing the borders is strictly prohibited, no matter what one’s position may be. Asking for aid from the god of travel, who cannot be restricted by anyone, is against the law, as well. I can only say that the timing is very unfortunate.”

“But... we aren’t from Arilai. Making us stay here for their own selfish reasons is tyranny!” Marie pressed on, but Puseri didn’t know the details of why the order had been given, and so she couldn’t provide an adequate explanation.

Just what was going on?

To be honest, I didn’t know the details of Zarish’s confession, myself. All I knew about him was his connection with a neighboring country, and that he had been interfering with the raid on the underground labyrinth. I also understood he was trying to gain power, but I didn’t know anything about the neighboring country of Gedovar’s intentions. Maybe it was all related to this measure that was just taken.

Any country could freely issue a cross-border travel restriction. This was a powerful order that prevented me from using long-distance travel skills or crossing the border in secret. However, it came with significant risk, and it caused a heavy strain on the flow of distribution. The country of Arilai wasn’t blessed with bountiful land, so they obviously relied heavily upon imported goods. This meant that a prolonged travel restriction could lead to their ruin, due to having insufficient food. As such, the situation was quite grave.

I was curious as to why this was happening, but I was more concerned about Marie and Wridra, who had been looking forward to their trip to the sea. But I didn’t understand why Eve looked so disappointed, too. I did firmly tell her she couldn’t go not too long ago...

Anyway, soon after that, a black carriage approached the manor. It parked near the premises, and someone familiar stepped out of the vehicle. The white-haired old man with deep wrinkles was Great Aja the wizard, who was a key figure in the raid on the labyrinth.

I couldn’t help but wonder why he would visit here, and why he looked somewhat pale. I looked over to Marie, who was sitting next to me, and she had the same look of confusion on her face.

The old man looked around slowly, and then a smile spread across his face.

“I see you are having quite the elegant morning. As one might expect from the Manor of Black Roses.”

“I am honored by your kind words. The roses have finally bloomed this year, so we all decided to come out and enjoy them. Would you perhaps like to take some home to use for flower arrangements?” Puseri asked as the master of the manor as she walked closer to the old man. She performed a graceful bow befitting of a noblewoman, then led the visitor to an empty seat.

Maybe she meant to invite him in the first place. I couldn’t help but think so, seeing the complete lack of surprise in her expression. But as Aja gazed at the group gathered there, he made a curious expression upon seeing Mariabelle’s face.

“Hm? What is it? Your pretty face looks rather displeased today.”

Marie was blatantly frowning, still seemingly upset about her trip being put on hold. Eve had the same expression of discontent right next to her, and Aja blinked blankly.

“Ha ha ha, I see. Your fun vacation was interrupted by the travel restriction. I’m sorry about that.”

“This is no laughing matter. Not being able to go to the sea is one thing, but I can’t believe we can’t leave the country. We’re being prevented from returning to our own country.” The old man sat next to Marie and patted her shoulder as he told her he was sorry. He had an apologetic look on his face, as if he was watching his granddaughter have a tantrum, and he took a snack from the table. Then, he raised his white eyebrows, as though he had just noticed something.

“Hm, I suppose I will tell everyone here. This travel restriction is to wipe out the traitors who had been assisting Zarish in one swoop. Of course, the members of Team Diamond did nothing wrong. We already know that you were under the influence of his control. This was a decision by the king to prevent those traitors from fleeing the country, and I suspect it will all pass soon. But there is one more problem.”

“Another problem? What is it?” Marie asked as she looked at him in confusion.

“The rebels who are hiding within the labyrinth. According to the surveillance team, they’ve been making moves to smuggle out Magic Stones, and this restriction is meant to put a stop to their activities, as well.” We all looked at each other. This meant we could probably have gone on our trip if we captured those rebels, but it wasn’t as if we wanted to go out of our way to do that either.

“Oh, then let’s go capture them, Kazu!”

But it seemed that wasn’t the case for Eve. She touched my shoulders in an overly friendly manner as she made the suggestion, and her eyes were lit up with excitement at the thought of going to the sea, but it wasn’t as if we were about to go capture some beetles in the forest or something. This was a bit too heavy of a task just to go play at the sea. That was my honest opinion, but I decided to ask Aja anyway.

“Well, when is the raid on the labyrinths planned to reopen? They’re still sealed off, as far as I’m aware.”

“It will still be sealed for some time. We will need to restructure the raid team first. A large-scale formation like before won’t be possible, and we can’t just request help from adventurers this time around.” Our eyes widened in surprise, and the old man looked around at each of us before continuing. It seemed this was where the main topic would begin.

The ancient labyrinth was currently closed off. We had heard this was because it would take some time to appraise the treasure found there, but when I brought this up, Aja shook his head.

“If that was the case, it would be just the management of the treasury that would be the issue. No, the real problem is the difficulty level of the third floor where the rebels are hiding.” According to him, the investigation on the next floor was ongoing, even now. However, the third floor was so difficult that the issue couldn’t have been resolved by just throwing a large number of soldiers at it. Not to mention, they had to deal with the rebels themselves hiding within that floor.

“If you ask me, there were far too many casualties on the second floor. We ended up in a strange situation where the main forces were wiped out, and your team cleared the floor.”

“Do you mean that even if we increase the number of soldiers, it would only end up slowing down their overall mobility?” Mariabelle asked after listening to the old man with great interest. It felt as if she had been changing little by little lately. She had started to show an interest in group battles, the placement of soldiers, and overall strategy like what was being discussed now. It seemed like she had grown after we had launched a joint operation with another team. The old man seemed satisfied by her comment, and he smiled fondly, as if he was talking to a capable student.

“Indeed. The labyrinth is big, and it’s impossible to control every part of it completely. Our casualties will only continue to increase if we try fighting the infinitely spawning monsters. We must avoid losing any more lives at all costs.”

“So the methods used on the first floor aren’t going to work anymore...” Marie noted, and the old man wordlessly asked what we should do under these circumstances. I was curious about the answer, but I decided to think of something else while Mariabelle groaned and deliberated the question. What I had to know was, why was it so important to go through all that and continue the raid?

If it was impossible to get through with the country’s military forces, then the obvious move would have been to hire some other organizations like adventurers, as mentioned before. As long as they put in the time, they could have received payment in exchange for treasure, and all those who gathered would have provided the additional benefit of improving the economy. But for some reason, Aja didn’t want to do this. This meant that he either didn’t want to share the treasure with the adventurers, or he didn’t want to invest the time that would be required.

Another thing that caught my attention was the way he had said that we couldn’t afford to have any more casualties. Up until now, they had been sending in their forces without concern for casualties. Did that mean they wanted to preserve the forces they had left? There could have been other reasons, but it was difficult to speculate at this point.

Now, I decided to look at this from another angle. The one thing that differentiated the ancient labyrinth from any other labyrinth was the massive increase in difficulty. The treasure that could be obtained there was also far more valuable, especially Magic Stones, which I hadn’t seen anywhere else. Yes, the Magic Stones. This made me question what they even were in the first place.

But my train of thought ended here. Mariabelle had raised her hand as if she was in class, seemingly having reached her conclusion.

“Is there a need for a small team of elite soldiers? It seems to me that unlike the kind of deployment that would be needed in a war, we would require a more powerful, concentrated force in the ancient labyrinths.” The old man gave a satisfied nod, then looked around at those sitting around the table.

“Exactly. That’s why I came here, to assign a special mission to you elites.” He produced some sort of card from his chest pocket, then placed it in front of Puseri and me. It was my first time seeing the object, which shined as if it was made of plastic. Puseri gasped.

“Could this be... an S-rank mission?! Unbelievable... it even has the king’s name written on it. That means this must be a direct order from His Majesty himself.” We were all surprised by her statement.

On the front of the card was a picture of a pair of scales, and the text indicated the god of arbitration. This meant the contract was absolute, and breaking it would have inflicted a punishment that was appropriate to the gravity of the contract. In other words, the king of Arilai himself was personally taking on the risk for this agreement.

“The objective is to clear the third floor. If you can wipe out all of the rebels there, you will be granted additional rewards. Not only will you be able to travel freely afterward, but you will be granted a more luxurious vacation than you had planned.”

I thought he was joking at first, but it seemed Aja was serious. He went on to explain that they would provide all the backup, intel, and food provisions required, and we finally understood. This was the highest difficulty mission we had faced yet.

Aja told us that he wanted us to consider it, then left the manor.

We went outside and slowly walked along the pavement.

We were told we could use the horse-drawn carriage there, but we politely declined. It wasn’t that we wanted to go somewhere specifically. We just wanted to take a walk to sort out our thoughts.

“An S-rank mission... who would have thought?” I mused.

“And to think, it was from Aja the Great himself... I was so surprised,” Marie agreed as she walked alongside me. She held the cat in her arms as we stared at the card curiously. The card emitted a pale light under the blue sky, making it obvious that it wasn’t just made of plain paper. I flipped it over to find the signature section was blank, and it seemed that was where we were expected to sign to seal the contract. Just then, Marie pouted her lips.

“I’m glad they have high expectations of us, but I don’t know if we should accept this. Something about this bothers me.”

“I feel the same way. It sounded like they wanted us to be part of the main forces, and it’ll be more dangerous than ever before. Seems like Puseri and the others are going to hold a meeting about it, but they’re probably going to accept.” It seemed their team was still struggling with financial concerns, having just reformed under new management. Although they no longer had Zarish, they would likely want to succeed in their mission with their pride on the line as the top team.

I looked to my side to find Marie was still pouting. And yet, when I reached out, her fingers intertwined with my own. She squeezed my hand even while maintaining that displeased expression. She was probably doing it subconsciously, but the way she rubbed my hand with her thumb kind of tickled.

“So, did you find out why you feel so bothered about all this?”

“Hmm... Well, I suppose it’s because I don’t understand why they shut down the borders just because someone might smuggle out Magic Stones. They may be valuable, but I doubt they’re so valuable that they would risk the entire country for them. And another thing; even if they need a small team of elites, we’re still far too few. These two points have been nagging at my mind. What exactly are Magic Stones in the first place, anyway?”

Ah, so Marie was wondering the same thing. From what we had heard earlier, it seemed like Aja was implying the border restriction wouldn’t be lifted unless we were able to capture the rebels trying to smuggle out the Magic Stones. These stones were supposedly that important, but we still didn’t know what they were. As I considered this, Marie seemed to come to a realization, and her pretty, purple eyes turned toward me.

“Say, didn’t we get a Magic Stone before?”

“Oh, I completely forgot about that! We left it at Mewi’s workshop to have it refined,” I replied, and Marie puffed out her cheeks with that displeased look again. Even the cat in her arms was giving me a mocking look... Wait, hadn’t they forgotten about it too?

“Let’s go visit the workshop now. Maybe we’ll learn something, and I’m starting to wonder more and more about the Magic Stones.”

“Yeah, let’s do that. We still have time until we need to give our reply, anyway.” Marie took me by the hand, and I got lost in her dazzling smile and white hair.

The long, straight stretch of road, the pure blue sky... This desert country was somewhat reminiscent of summer in Japan. As the sun rose directly above, I walked along the sun-shaded path with Marie.

He seemed to be careful not to damage it.

Something covered in a wrap was cautiously carried over to us in Mewi’s furry hands. He then placed it on the table, and we all leaned over to look. The lump wrapped in cloth was about the size of a fist, and it felt hard to the touch. Then, those cat-like eyes looked right up at me.

“Master Kazuhiho, would you be so kind as to close that window?” I responded to Mewi’s androgynous voice, then headed over to the window.

I moved over the wooden boards to block off the sunlight from the window, and the workshop was filled with darkness. Then, I looked around to find many Magic Stones, glinting like stars in the night sky.

In the back of the workshop, Mewi called over at us while digging through something.

“The funny thing is, there are so-called winners and losers.”

“Wait, among Magic Stones? So they’re not all the same?”

“Well... Ah, there’s Elixia.” With that, the little Neko hopped up. This darkness probably didn’t bother him at all, considering his superior night vision.

We had visited Mewi’s workshop right away, and we found out he had already finished refining the Magic Stone. The building was dim, due to the door being closed, but we weren’t too bothered by the darkness with the pale light emitting from the cloth-covered Magic Stone. I felt someone tug at my sleeve and turned around to find Marie’s large eyes staring at me.

“There’s something strange about this. It’s supposed to be a magical medium, but it feels more like... it’s circulating.”

“Umm... I’m having trouble understanding this. Does this have something to do with the winners and losers Mewi mentioned earlier?”

A furry hand reached up on the table, and Mewi’s head peeked over. There seemed to be some sort of fluid in the transparent bottle he was holding. He met my gaze with his clear eyes, then responded to Marie’s comment.

“Yes, the losers are mere catalysts that augment magical power. So, you may ask, what is a winner? The ones that circulate, as you put it... Yes, these ones are alive.”

Did that mean there were dead ones and live ones? Mewi must have figured it would be easier to show us, rather than explain, and he picked up the piece of cloth. We couldn’t help but raise our voices in surprise.

“Wow, such a pretty turquoise! It’s even more transparent than before... like it’s shining from the inside.”

“Yes, this one is incredibly valuable. I have seen many Magic Stones, but it is quite rare for them to be this beautiful.” I didn’t know how its beauty was significant here, but Mewi certainly had an eye for appraising Magic Stones. It seemed this one was pretty much first-class in quality.

“From what I can tell, there are several Magic Stones mixed within this one. Compatible stones can merge with one another over many years. Its purity was increased even further through refinement and enhancement. I do not know what its capacities are now as a result.” Mewi had become so capable in the time we had been away. He was always so timid before, but he had quickly changed since learning to speak and earning a profession.

Although his voice was like that of a child’s, his speech was confident and concise. His explanation made him seem like some sort of mystical jeweler, which gave the workshop a sort of luxurious feel to it. It made me want to treat him as a shopkeeper and say “But it’s expensive, isn’t it?” as a joke. Of course, Mewi didn’t ask for a high price tag as payment, and he instead handed me a piece of paper.

“Hm? What is this?”

“This is a permit from Aja the Great to possess the Magic Stone, so please do not lose it.”

I didn’t realize he had done such prep work for us already. Come to think of it, it was the Magic Stones that were prohibited from being taken out of the country, and Mewi’s workshop was full of them. Aja must have realized a permit like this would have been needed. But it seemed there was more procedure for us to go through.

“The Magic Stone must be registered with an owner. It is possible to register multiple owners, but... what would you like to do?”

Honestly, I didn’t know what registration would do, or what Magic Stones even were in the first place. But this was what we had come to find out, so I raised my hand to volunteer for now. Marie also raised her hand, confirming that the both of us would be registered. The black cat curled up on the table was just a familiar, rather than Wridra’s own body, which may have been why it decided to opt out.

“Then, I ask that the both of you place your fingers on the Magic Stone. I will pour a drop of Elixia, making it so you can touch the stone directly.” We pressed our pointer fingers against the Magic Stone as we were told.

As both of us touched the highly pure precious stone, Mewi brought the clear bottle closer. A single drop fell upon my finger, then Marie’s, and the liquid ran down from our fingernails to the tips. As the Elixia seeped between the stone and our fingers, before I knew it, I felt the stone growing warmer.

“There, you are now both registered with the Magic Stone. So, I will begin the incubation now,” Mewi said.

“Wait, incubation? Don’t tell me...” I asked.

“Could it be that it’s not a precious stone, but more like some sort of egg?” Marie added. Mewi smiled, seemingly pleased by our surprise. The expression reminded me of a certain mischievous black cat that lived in my room.

A gust of wind blew under the blue sky.

With the rainy season having passed us, the wind was growing drier by the day. The winds would soon be more like that of a desert country again. Such thoughts crossed my mind as the Magic Stone was raised above our heads. It grew even more transparent, almost as if it was about to melt into thin air.

I wondered what Mewi meant by “incubation.” And yet, I did just as he instructed us, fearfully throwing the stone into the air. Then, instead of landing on the riverbed and shattering into pieces, it froze in mid-air.

I was taken by surprise by the strong, sudden gust, but I was even more shocked by what I saw when I opened my eyes. There, a big, bug-like creature was floating in the air.

“Whoa, that surprised me. Is that a bug? A plane?”

“Ah, it’s floating a bit off of the ground. Maybe it’s those vibrating wings.”

Whatever it was, it was the color of dried sand, with what seemed like the spread wings of a bird. At the tips of those wings, there were multiple layers of transparent feathers. The feathers vibrated finely, seemingly keeping the creature balanced as it wavered in the air.

“What a large winged insect! I have never seen a flight type this big!” It seemed the Magic Stone was unusual even by Mewi’s standards. But since he called it a “flight type,” maybe there were other types, too. More importantly, I decided to observe the Magic Stone now that its incubation was complete.

There was a span of about four meters between both wings. Something like antennas protruded from what seemed to be its head, and the way it wiggled really did remind me of winged insects.

I lowered myself to the ground and peered up at its abdomen area to find there were several legs extending from it in a row. I tried poking at its body with a finger, and felt it was hard to the touch, almost like an animal’s bone.

“This is a manifestation of the Magic Stone, and it will go back to its stone form when you order it to ‘return.’ It will move in response to the contractor’s words and will. You should be able to control it freely once you get used to it.”

“I’ve never done anything like that, so it may be difficult to get a grasp of it. Hmm, can you try flying higher?” It made a strange roon sound, then vibrated its transparent wings quicker. Then, as we watched, it flew up about ten meters above the ground. Marie shaded her eyes with her hand as she looked straight up, her eyes sparkling with wonder.

“Wooow... This is strangely moving.”

“It’s like we’re using a giant remote-controlled toy. I wonder if it can go back to its original position.” It made that same strange sound, then descended to where it was before flying up. It decelerated as it came closer to the ground, perhaps out of an instinct to prevent crashing into the ground.

Then, Marie seemed to notice something and poked the bug on its head.

“Oh, are these little beady things its eyes? It’s so big, but it’s kind of cute.”

“Yeah, it’s not scary at all. It even makes a sort of silly sound.”

But watching this bug, I couldn’t help but feel an inquisitiveness growing inside me. Its size, its flat back... It was almost as if... I glanced at Marie, and our eyes met. Judging from the excitement in her expression, I had a feeling she was thinking the same thing.

“Hey...” Marie beckoned me over, and I moved my face closer. Then, she placed a hand to my ear and whispered. “Doesn’t it seem like we could ride it?”

“Ha ha, it does. I wonder what Wridra thinks of that?” The black cat turned around to face us. It nodded repeatedly, letting us know that it agreed wholeheartedly. Ride? Don’t ride? There was no question about it. It got our curiosity all riled up, after all. And so, we decided to approach the winged insect.

I placed one foot onto it. It didn’t budge.

I slowly put my weight on it, but it just slightly increased the pace of its vibrating wings. I went ahead and put my full weight on it... and it just kept hovering in the air.

The others, who were watching the whole thing, gave me a round of applause. Though, Mewi’s clapping was muffled from all the fur.

I called Marie over, who was so excited her face was flushed, and she held my hand. She crawled on all fours in her robe, and the bug vibrated its wings faster still.

“I-It’s pretty stable. I thought it would be more rocky.”

“Take a look. It seems to be adjusting its buoyancy with its wings. It did the same thing when I got on. Now, would you mind going up a little higher?” It made that roon sound again, as if in reply, and then I felt a sense of floating immediately. We felt ourselves going gradually higher, and Marie frantically grabbed onto my thigh.

“Ah, ah, ahhh! We’re floating a bit!”

“Hmm, we’re only about a meter high. Wridra, can you hop on from there?” I asked the black cat, which came running up the riverbed and jumped onto Marie’s back as if it had been waiting for the invitation. Once secured onto Marie’s shoulders with its claws, the cat and Marie each turned their eyes of marble and amethyst to me respectively.

“Let’s go along this river for now. That way, we’d be okay even if we fall off.”

“Oh, no, that would be no good. I’m not a very good swimmer. Please make sure we don’t fall off,” Marie replied.

Huh, I hadn’t known that. That was one fact I didn’t know about her. Considering she was an elf that grew up in a forest, I’d completely assumed she knew how to swim in a river. Maybe that meant that she wouldn’t be able to enjoy the sea, even if we went. In any case, I decided to worry about that later. If she wanted to learn how to swim, we could always go to the pool to practice. And so, I decided to focus on the flight test with the bug for now.

“Then, would you prefer I fly off on my own?”

“It’s hard to say. I would like to watch from here because I’m scared, but I may regret it later if I give up a chance to fly for the first time. You could end up bragging about it later, too,” Marie mumbled, though I had no intention of bragging. She was still pretty much in a crawling position as she internally debated some more. I wasn’t sure if it really was necessary to think so hard about it, but girls could be quite complicated. Then, she finally came to a decision.

“Okay, I’ve decided. I’m getting on, too. This isn’t because I’m jealous of you or anything. It’s just that I need to report about the Magic Stone to the guild. Oh, Mewi, come here so I can hold you.”

“Hm? Ah, okay. Are you certain? I would not want to interrupt your important research.”

“It’s fine. It’s not because I’m scared or anything. I just want to feel your soft fur. Ahh, so warm...” Marie held Mewi’s hand and pulled him toward her chest. He seemed rather confused, but like I mentioned before, girls were complicated creatures.

“Now, let’s try going up slowly,” I said.

“Yes, very slowly. Slow and steady enough to make us yawn, okay?”

... Roon. The Magic Stone responded after a short delay. It must have needed a moment to think about it, considering Marie’s confusing order.

It was time for the first flight to begin. I held Marie in my arms as she sat there in a curled up position, and she let out a squeak as the ground grew farther away. It seemed holding Mewi wasn’t enough, because she squeezed her soft body against mine as she held on for dear life.

“Nnh! This is pretty scary!” Marie closed her eyes, unable to bear the sensation of floating, and I could feel her trembling. The black cat looked around, unimpressed, seemingly unfazed by the meager heights. Although the Arkdragon could fly freely through the air, flying with anything other than their own wings must have been an unusual experience.

“Okay, let’s move along the river now. Look, Marie, the view is so nice. Why don’t you open your eyes?”

“W-Wait, it’s a bit scary not standing on solid footing!” I was kind of glad that she clung on to me so tightly. Not just because she was a cute girl, but because I felt like I was really being relied upon. Of course, she did usually depend on me already, but she was the type to endure things whenever possible.

I didn’t want her to hold back when it came to these things. I definitely preferred for her to tell me all the things she liked and wanted to do. To be honest, I would have probably tried to grant pretty much anything she wished for. And so, I spoke to her in a gentler tone than usual in an attempt to take away her fear. She just needed a bit of courage to open her eyes and see a whole different world in front of her.

“Here, Marie, I’ll support you. No need to be afraid. Can you try opening your eyes slowly for me?”

“Y-Yes, I’m okay. I’m fine. I feel a little calmer listening to your voice.” I could feel her warm breath on my neck, and she slowly opened her amethyst eyes, framed by long eyelashes.

It was as if I was watching the moment flowers bloomed. Then, she witnessed the long stretch of river with greenery on both banks, along with flowering succulents now that the rainy season had just passed.

“Wow...!” It was quite a wondrous sight. We could see the river flowing beneath us from the same point of view as birds in flight. The wind gently caressed our cheeks, and both Marie and Mewi were at a loss for words.

I glanced to the creature’s side to find the wings vibrating rapidly, adjusting its flight speed as needed. The Magic Stone was much easier to control than I had imagined, and I hardly heard or felt the wings as they flapped. In fact, the sound of the flowing river was far louder. Marie turned in her seat.

“Hee hee, this feels strange. I feel very fortunate to be here.”

“This was an unexpected gift from Zera, but I think we’ll have a lot of fun with this Magic Stone. It’s useful and easy to control. Now we know why they went out of their way to impose the border restriction.” I was starting to understand just what the Magic Stones were and why they had to be prevented from being smuggled out of the country.

They were far too easy and convenient to use.

Obtaining a skill required a great amount of time to train, but these could be acquired without any need for talent or effort. In other words, the more people and Magic Stones a country had, the more powerful it would be.

As a desert country, Arilai didn’t have too high of a population. If the Magic Stones were to be taken out of the country and used elsewhere, it would have put the entire country at risk.

“So that’s why Aja the Great gave us that permit,” Marie whispered with her arms still around me. Mewi and I tilted her heads in confusion, and she went on to explain. “I mean, we wouldn’t think of any other way to use these stones but for recreation, right? Like for finding a nice spot to eat some lunch, for example.”

Mewi raised his arms and cheered in excitement, which made me laugh out loud. Marie was right. We had no interest in joining a war or using the Magic Stones to make money. I mean, we cared more about keeping all the delicious food to ourselves than all that.

After laughing for some time, I looked up at the sky. There were a few clouds present there, and now that the rainy season was over, the weather was becoming more like that of a desert.

“I just realized something. I think we’ve cleared one of the problems we were facing.” It was Marie’s turn to widen her eyes. She tilted her head and stared at me, as if to urge me to explain. I smiled at her.

“I mean, about us making a farm on the second floor. We needed some way to get up there...”

“Ah! We can get there easily now!” We pointed at each other at the same time and beamed. Everything was moving along nicely now, and all we could do was laugh as our issues were getting resolved one after another. There was still some distance to the oasis. It would have taken several hours to get there even if I had used Trayn, the Journey’s Guide, and it would have taken a whole day to get there by foot.

“Oh, this is a good opportunity. Let’s test how fast and far we can fly. We can gaze at the sand stretching across the horizon as we scatter some pumpkin seeds. I’d love to simmer them in some soy sauce once they grow.” Huh, it seemed she still remembered the simmered pumpkin dish we had a while back. Marie smiled as she recalled the warm, soft texture of the hearty simmered dish. She then looked down and spoke again.

“Also, Magic Stone isn’t a very cute name. Is it okay if I call you Roon?”

...Roon? The upward inflection in the response made me burst out in laughter. The creature’s beady eyes glinted in the sunlight, and it flapped its wings, as if to show its approval. Maybe it would be nice to go on a long stroll every once in a while. The desert sun would be rough, but Marie had the ability to control spirits to make the temperature more manageable, after all.

“Let’s see, what else would we need...? Maybe some drinks, like fruit juice?” I asked.

“Hmm, it would be great if we could play some music. Maybe we could also get some handrails, chairs, and something like a seatbelt.”

“Ah, music would be nice. The wind would have specs of sand in it, so we’d need to do something about that, too. Also, it would be nice if the ice spirit could chill our drinks.”

The excitement of having this discussion reminded me of preparing for a school trip. Thanks to the money we acquired from the ancient labyrinth, we could do all the shopping we wanted. I wasn’t too interested in gaining money in this world, but it was a different story when it involved recreation.

“Okay, it’s decided. Let’s go to the shopping district and get what we need. Hee hee, I just love shopping. I can’t wait! Hmm, the shopping district should be that... way?!” The moment Marie looked down, her smile vanished. The change was sudden and sharp, and I heard her let out a strange “Oof” at the same time.

“So high! We’re way higher up than I thought! I’m sorry, never mind! I bit off a bit more than I can chew! I’m actually very afraid of heights! Ahhh, I can’t! Help me, Kazuhiho!”

Uh oh. Marie sat there with her legs bent at her sides, her long ears drooping down. She turned to me, whining and nearly in tears... and for some reason, I felt a flutter in my chest. Marie clung on to me in a fluster, but all I could think about was how cute she was.

“There, there...” I said, patting her on the back reassuringly.

But due to the fear she had experienced, the rest of the flight test went on with safety and comfort as the top priority.

I considered that this would be quite the shopping trip as we descended to the ground. Roon made that strange, familiar sound as it circled in the air to land.