Part 4 of 8
She might be able to handle physical combat to a certain extent, but she doesn’t even have a weapon.
This Sophia girl is way too scary to challenge unarmed.
I don’t see how she can win.
“Ms. Oka!”
The second I move to help my teacher, I’m stopped by a blade whizzing past my eyes.
It’s a round throwing weapon that practically grazes my nose on its way by.
A chakram?
Changing its trajectory in midair as if it has a will of its own, the chakram whips back toward me.
I knock it away with a sword, searching for its owner.
My Presence Detection skill alerts me to a figure standing on the roof.
All in black, the figure looks just like a ninja.
“Ngh!”
Turning around to seek the source of the short grunt, I see Hyrince being attacked by another black-clad assailant.
The ninja’s movements seem about on par with Hyrince’s, but since Hyrince is holding the unconscious Anna, he’s hard-pressed to keep up.
“Ahh!”
A cry of pain from my other side draws my attention to Ms. Oka, who’s being lifted into the air by the throat by Sophia.
Shit!
Hyrince is barely keeping up with the ninja, and Leston and Klevea have their hands completely full with the other soldiers.
Every time I try to move, the flying chakram cuts me off, so I can’t even take a step toward anyone.
Worst of all, if I make one wrong move now, Sophia might snap Ms. Oka’s neck.
Shit. This could be the end.
“Swooping in to the rescue in your time of need!”
A strangely out-of-place line echoes telepathically in my mind.
At the same time, a loud whoosh cuts through the air above.
Something dives toward us out of the sky, shining as if reflecting the light of the sun.
It bombs the soldiers and ninjas with balls of light, probably a Light Magic attack, then attacks Sophia.
Sophia dodges, releasing Ms. Oka in the process.
The flying creature turns and lands directly in front of me: a beautiful, glittering white wyrm.
“A true hero always shows up late!”
“Fei?”
Her telepathic voice and, more than anything, her familiar presence make me believe without a doubt that this is Fei in a newly evolved form.
But how did this happen?
Fei used to be a black, wingless earth wyrm.
But now, the creature before me is a white wyrm with wings.
Does it have something to do with her entering that mysterious shell after I became the hero?
Well, I guess that doesn’t matter right now.
“I just woke up, so I don’t really know what’s going on, but you are in trouble, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, you’re just in time.”
Even so, the situation remains grim.
The soldiers definitely took some damage from Fei’s attack, but Sophia, our biggest problem, is still unharmed.
Not only that, but the two black-clad ninjas seem strong.
They might be too much for me and Hyrince to handle while we’re carrying Katia and Anna, respectively.
“Shun! Get on that wyrm and get out of here!”
My older brother Leston shouts.
But if I followed his orders, then I would be leaving him behind.
Fei has gotten pretty big now, so she should be able to carry several people, but I don’t think she could fit all our allies.
“Don’t worry about us! Shun, and Hyrince, too! Take Ms. Oka and run!”
Leston clearly intends to stay behind as our rear guard.
However, I can’t imagine he and his soldiers could take Sophia and the ninjas on their own.
As I hesitate, Hyrince distracts a black-clad assailant long enough to grab the unconscious Ms. Oka and run up to me.
“Shun! Let’s go!”
Holding Anna in one arm and Ms. Oka in the other, Hyrince urges me on.
“Do you think we’ll let you escape?”
“No, but we’re going to anyway!”
Sophia and the two ninjas come after us, so Fei lets loose a breath attack at them.
At the same time, she grabs Hyrince and me in her claws, taking off with us by force.
“Fei?!”
“I’m sorry, but we have no other choice against that thing! We have to get away!”
In a matter of moments, we ascend into the sky.
Below us, I can see Sophia, standing unharmed despite Fei’s breath attack.
“There’s no way we could’ve beaten her, even if we stayed.”
I’d like to object to Fei’s bitter words, but I can’t deny them.
And so, we run away.
Leaving Klevea and my brother Leston behind.
THE RULER AND THE NINJA
“Oh dear. They got away.”
“That’s rich, considering we let them get away on purpose.”
“I suppose. In fact, if that dragon hadn’t come along, I was starting to wonder how we would let them escape.”
“Yes, since Master told us not to lay a hand on the hero. Yet, why did you disobey that order by fighting him?”
“I just wanted to see how strong he was.”
“Is that really all?”
“Of course.”
“…I shall have to report this incident to Master.”
“You helped me, didn’t you? Will you take part of the responsibility, then? Or keep quiet and become an accomplice?”
“…I shall report it.”
“Come on. We’ll get in trouble.”
“Perhaps you should’ve thought of that before you made that decision, then.”
“You’re such a stickler.”
“Be that as it may. Even if I don’t report it, Master is sure to find out what happened soon enough. If we report truthfully, perhaps our punishment will be lighter.”
“Knowing our master, there’s no telling if that’ll be the case, though…”
“At any rate, the master’s plan has begun. We must not disrupt it by acting on our foolish impulses.”
“All right, all right. I’m sorry, okay?”
“If you are truly sorry, please restrain yourself in the future.”
“Hmph. Hey, where’d the other one go anyway?”
“Burned by the dragon’s breath attack, and now baking in the sunlight.”
“How embarrassing.”
“Not everyone can be as strong as you.”
“Oh really? Does that include you?”
“Save your jests. If you decided to get serious, I could not even dream of posing a threat to you.”
“Well, aren’t you rebellious, then?”
“I am not. You are simply being dishonest with Master. And I am simply faithful to Master’s decrees.”
“Boy, now you’ve said it.”
“If that angers you, perhaps you can refrain from actions that go against the master’s wishes.”
“All right, I get it already.”
THE GREAT ELROE LABYRINTH DISASTER INVESTIGATION CORPS
I look around at the gathering troops.
These are knights of the Renxandt Empire.
I’ve been recruited to guide them through the Great Elroe Labyrinth.
Unlike us labyrinth guides, the knights have never entered the labyrinth before.
As a result, my son is explaining the basics of the labyrinth to them.
“The place you knights have been sent to survey is in an area about ten days’ journey from the entrance. That’s ten days to get there. Ten days to investigate. And ten days to go home. If we don’t have at least thirty days’ worth of rations, we’ll have to go back partway through. Ideally, it’d be best to bring at least ten days’ worth of extra supplies.”
The reason the knights are being dispatched is that the number of monsters in a certain area of the labyrinth has recently increased.
Their goal is to investigate the cause and thin out the monster population, but I question whether knights who have never once entered the labyrinth will truly be able to do this job properly.
The area where the monsters have been appearing in great numbers is the shortest route between the continents of Kasanagara and Daztrudia.
The Great Elroe Labyrinth, which connects these two continents, is the largest and most dangerous dungeon in the world.
However, as the ocean is occupied by fearsome water dragons and thus too hazardous to sail across, this valuable passage is the only reliable way to travel between the continents.
Therefore, despite being aware of the danger, there are many people who use the Great Elroe Labyrinth to travel.
Which is exactly why our occupation of labyrinth guide exists.
This is also the only means of cross-continental trade, so our kingdom of Ohts profits greatly from having an entrance to the labyrinth.
So if the number of monsters keeps increasing and it becomes more difficult for people to traverse the labyrinth, it’s a problem for both the Ohts Kingdom and the labyrinth guides.
If the kingdom loses some of its commerce and labyrinth tolls, there’ll be less jobs for us.
So the troubled Ohts Kingdom asked its ally, the Renxandt Empire, for help.
Though it’s technically an alliance, the reality is more like Ohts is a vassal nation of Renxandt.
Ohts is a small kingdom whose only source of income is the Great Elroe Labyrinth.
Its military power is low, its territory small.
Without the entrance to the labyrinth, it probably wouldn’t even be able to keep up the pretense of being its own kingdom.
This current problem is too much for such a kingdom to solve alone.
Though it could also be said that this reflects just how impressive the wealth Ohts gains from the labyrinth is.
The profits from intercontinental trade. Traffic to the labyrinth. And the materials obtained from the monsters in the labyrinth.
This all enriches the Ohts Kingdom.
In exchange for a portion of that wealth, we’ve gained the backing of the powerful Renxandt Empire.
The Renxandt Empire doesn’t want its share of the profits to disappear, either, which is why they’ve sent their knights to deal with the problem.
So it would be best for everyone involved if the cause of the monster outbreak could be found and destroyed during this outing.
One can only hope.
“There are many poisonous monsters in the labyrinth, so carrying an antidote is essential. Not to mention a light source, and fuel for it. One that uses fire is best. That way, if you get caught in a spiderweb, you can burn it immediately. And so, knights, we have provided a list here, if you would be so kind as to procure the supplies. Your guide will be equipped with a Spatial Storage item, so you can leave the transportation of the supplies to us. Oh, and why not write a letter to your family? This will probably be a long journey.”
After my son’s rapid explanation, the most the knights can do is nod dumbly.
If this is what we can expect from the knights sent to resolve the incident, then I fear for the future.
I’ll just have to support them as best I can, so the letters they send to their families won’t become their last will and testament.
It’s been eight days since we entered the Great Elroe Labyrinth.
We’re drawing close to the area where the outbreak is occurring.
I wasn’t expecting very much from the knights, but they’ve turned out to be rather skilled as far as battle is concerned.
At first, I was afraid we’d just been given a bunch of spoiled young men from noble families, and they did indeed largely turn out to be the second and third sons of aristocrats.
However, the Renxandt Empire’s strength is not to be underestimated.
This unit is not playing around.
“Our unit may be a mishmash of noble blood, true enough, but we have as much training and battle experience as any other corps. And this is a group of people who are unable to inherit titles of their own, after all. Everyone here is desperate to improve their standings through success in the field.”
Or so I am told.
Some of the knights scoffed at my role as labyrinth guide at first, but once they experienced the difficulty of navigating here for themselves, their complaints soon subsided.
After a few days and nights in the constant darkness of the labyrinth, it becomes impossible to distinguish the passage of time, which is taxing on the mind and body alike.
We must pause for rest from time to time, of course, but this is a dangerous labyrinth where monsters are constantly roaming around.
Since it’s impossible to relax completely in these circumstances, one can hardly get enough rest to fully recover, and soon no one has the energy for grousing.
It was also a great help that the captain of the knights quickly picked up on the difficulty of the labyrinth and instructed his men to follow my directions at all times.
The captain seems to be quite a capable man.
Thanks to him, the group has proceeded without losing anyone thus far, despite it being their first trip through the labyrinth.
Usually, a few people drop off, and we have to retrace our steps to find them.
But while I’m glad the knights turned out to be more competent than I expected, I still can’t shake the feeling that something is going to go wrong.
We haven’t reached the area the reports were about yet, but there are already more monsters than usual.
No casualties, either, but there have been several injuries.
There’s a healing alchemist in the party, so it’s not a major issue, but not knowing what might happen is the most frightening aspect of being in the labyrinth.
We brought a great deal of antidotes, and some of the knights have acquired Poison Resistance in battle along the way, so nothing too terrible should happen.
But the ominous feeling still persists.
Could the queen be lurking somewhere near?
It’s not impossible.
The fact that taratect hunting has been all the rage on the Daztrudia side lately must mean the queen has laid eggs.
In other words, it came to the Upper Stratum.
The queen taratect is a walking natural disaster, one that transcends S rank.
The only record of one ever being defeated was very long ago, and it came at the price of the life of a hero as well as an entire army.
Even with that one gone, there are still five remaining in the world.
And one of them lives in the great labyrinth.
It usually stays in the lower areas, but when it lays eggs, it ascends to this layer, the Upper Stratum.
Hopefully, it went right back down afterward, but it’s occasionally been known to stay around for a while, so we can’t let our guard down.
Still, since the taratect outbreak is near the Daztrudia entrance this time, it’s doubtful the queen would come all the way here to the Kasanagara side.
If, however, by some tiny chance we should run into that creature, all our lives may very well be forfeit.
We should avoid any large passages the queen would be able to traverse.
I suppose my other big concern is that there’s an entrance to the Middle Stratum near the site of the problem.
Could it be that some powerful monster has emerged from the Middle Stratum and chased the monsters that lived there from their home?
But does such a powerful creature even exist in the Middle Stratum?
The adventurer who explored the Middle Stratum in the past reported that the monsters there were not particularly strong.
Though it wouldn’t be surprising for a powerful monster to emerge from the Lower Stratum beneath it.
The queen is said to make her home in the Lower Stratum, but there are rumors that an even lower layer than that exists, the Bottom Stratum.
It’s not known for sure whether this is true, though. It would be foolish enough to deliberately enter the Lower Stratum, never mind an even lower area.
I suppose the other possibility is that some monster from those depths somehow crawled its way up through the Middle Stratum.
What a ridiculous idea.
Our thirteenth day in the labyrinth.
We arrive at our destination, prepared to exterminate monsters and investigate the cause of the outbreak.
But there’s just one problem.
“There aren’t any monsters.”
“Hmm. The report said there was an abnormal number of monsters around here, but I don’t see any signs of that.”
“Yeah. If anything, there were tons more on the way here.”
The number of monsters we encountered along the way certainly was large.
Normally, we’d try to avoid battle as much as possible, but this time, part of our mission is to thin out the monster population.
So every time we spotted one, the knights went into action.
As a result, the journey that was supposed to take ten days ended up taking twelve.
If we want to have enough supplies for the journey back, we have to finish our investigation as quickly as possible.
“Well, this is still only the first day of the investigation. No need to panic. Besides, if the monsters aren’t here anymore, that’s a good thing for us. It means the incident has already been resolved.”
“I certainly hope so.”
I respond lightly to the captain, but personally, I doubt things will wrap up that easily.
The bad feeling I’ve had since we entered the labyrinth has only gotten stronger.
When I get such a premonition, it usually doesn’t lead to anything good.
Better to stay on our guard.
The fifteenth day.
“There really are no monsters here. Perhaps we should explore the large passage we’ve been avoiding?”
“Hmm. The large passage…”
Our investigation hasn’t yielded any results.
It’s only natural, since the monsters we were told to investigate aren’t here.
But I’m reluctant to agree to the captain’s proposal.
It’s unlikely the queen would be about, but still, there are other strong monsters lurking in the larger passages.
In particular, the earth dragon, a dangerous monster with exceptional physical strength.
I would rather avoid entering the large passages if possible, but given our current goal, we might not have much of a choice.
“Very well. But, Captain, if it turns out to be too dangerous, we must retreat immediately.”
“Of course. Listen up, everyone! We’re heading into the large passage now! We’ll be retreating at the first sign of danger, so keep your wits about you!”
The troops advance at the captain’s command.
“Here it is.”
“Understood. We’ll proceed with caution from here.”
We enter the large passage. I look around carefully. There don’t seem to be monsters…at all.
“No monsters here, either?”
“Hmm. From what I’ve heard, isn’t the large passage supposed to have a lot of monsters?”
“Indeed. I’ve never seen one this quiet. It’s rather eerie.”
“Then we should proceed even more cautiously.”
My terrible premonition gets even stronger.
Every instinct is telling me that heading this way is dangerous.
“This can’t be good. My bad feeling about it isn’t going away.”
“Me too.”
The captain is sweating.
Similarly, cold sweat appears on my forehead.
We move ahead carefully.
Then my eyes fall on something.
“Is this…a spiderweb?”
“It must be a taratect-type monster.”
An enormous spiderweb.
Its creator is nowhere to be seen.
Judging by the size of the web, the creature that created it has undoubtedly grown to adulthood.
“Do you think…whatever made this web…is the source of the disturbance?”
“I’m sure of it. Look at this.”
I point farther down along the web. There, the half-eaten corpse of an earth wyrm is caught in the thread.
It’s even defeated an earth wyrm. At this rate, it might have evolved into the greater classes.
Taratects increase drastically in strength as they evolve.
At the top, the queen is a legendary-class beast.
Newborn spiders, on the other hand, are F rank, the lowest possible.
It goes without saying that the changes brought on by each evolution are huge.
The greater taratect is a very rare evolutionary form.
Its strength is rank B, nearly even rank A.
If one of them has defeated an earth wyrm, it’s possible that it’s already reached A rank.
“Can you take on an A-rank monster?”
“Not likely. Perhaps if we were fully prepared to be completely wiped out in the process, we could take it down, but short of that, it would be virtually impossible.”
“Thought so. Then we should go back. We’re out of our element here.”
“I agree. Better to escape as soon as possible.”
The captain and I are in total agreement.
Just as we exchange nods and turn to leave, a powerful chill assaults my senses.
My breath catches in my throat.
The spiderweb behind us…
Something has appeared there.
I exchange glances with the captain.
Nodding again, we slowly turn back.
Then my eyes meet with something else.
A spider.
It looks similar to a normal taratect but not quite the same.
A small black spider monster, with its front legs shaped like scythes.
Immediately, I know.
This thing is bad news.
I don’t know how it appeared so suddenly, but it’s extremely dangerous.
My body stiffens with fear.
Greater taratect?
No.
This thing is far beyond that level.
“Retreat!”
The captain’s exclamation brings me back to my senses.
We run away at full speed.
Formation be damned.
We simply pump our legs as quickly as we can, desperate to escape from that thing.
I don’t know how far we ran before we finally escaped the large passage.
I looked back several times, but it wasn’t chasing us.
Sighs of relief run through the group.
Once the captain, too, has taken a deep breath, he immediately does a roll call.
Not a member is missing.
“Let’s leave the labyrinth right away.”
“Yes. We must contact our kingdom. The likes of us can’t do anything about a beast like that.”
It’s not as if we fought it at all.
But it was easy to tell at a single glance.
That thing was a horrifically strong monster.
The reason why there were so many monsters on the way here must be that they were chased out of their homes by that thing.
And the reason why there were no more monsters in this area was that they had all fled.
That monster is easily above an A rank.
At worst, it might even be an S rank.
Only a hero or a group of elite warriors from every kingdom could take on a monster like that.
Ordinary people like us would never stand a chance.
“Zoa Ele.”
Someone mutters.
“What’s that?”
“That monster. It’s a spider monster that’s supposed to be an ill omen. But I didn’t think they were normally that terrifying.”
Apparently, that monster is a species called a Zoa Ele.
But I’d never heard of such a creature appearing in the Great Elroe Labyrinth.
Perhaps it’s a mutation of the taratect species?
The knight says it was different from any normal Zoa Ele, so it must be a mutation of some kind.
At any rate, there’s nothing else we can do here.
We escape from the labyrinth shortly thereafter.
HIDING
Ten days have passed since we escaped from the kingdom.
An old friend of Hyrince’s is letting us stay in his home in a town some ways away from the border.
We’re also able to get information through this person’s network, which has been a big help.
However, that’s exactly why I can’t stay here for long.
As of now, my position has deteriorated to something terrible.
The prince who murdered his father and plotted a coup d’état in his kingdom to forcibly take the throne.
That’s my current reputation.
Although the coup d’état failed, the king still fell in the assassination attempt, so the kingdom’s been thrown into chaos.
Leston, the third prince, has been condemned as my accomplice, and people like Katia’s family and the elves have been accused of helping me put together a rebel army.
That’s the scenario they’ve devised.
It seems Leston ended up being captured after that battle.
I’m relieved he wasn’t killed on the spot, but it may be only a matter of time until he’s executed for treason.
I should have forced him to escape with us…
…but I know that wasn’t possible, or we’d be in a different situation now.
At the time, I had no way of opposing Sophia.
Magic doesn’t work on her, and I was carrying Katia at the time, so there’s no way I could’ve fought her.
I understand that, but I still can’t help regretting it.
Our escape isn’t the only part I feel guilty about, either.
Thinking back, when I used Telepathy to communicate with Sue and Katia before, something did seem off.
Sue was definitely acting strange, and Katia stopped using Japanese, even when it was just the two of us talking.
Katia always speaks Japanese when we talk alone.
Something was happening.
But I didn’t notice.
If I had, I could’ve stopped Hugo from doing all this.
Trying to banish those thoughts, I swing my arms, practicing my form without a sword in hand.
When I’m exercising, that’s the only time I don’t have to think about anything.
As I immerse myself in practicing to avoid thinking useless thoughts, I hear a knock at the door.
“What on earth are you doing?”
“Katia, are you sure you should be walking around on your own?”
Katia, who was bedridden until very recently, opens the door and enters.
“Yeah. My body’s fine. My head still hurts from time to time, though.”
“Don’t push yourself, all right? I know the brainwashing’s gone now, but it could still be affecting you.”
Hugo’s influence runs deep.
Katia managed to come to her senses for just a moment through sheer force of will, but when she did, she tried to kill herself.
The indoctrination was so strong that she had no other choice.
Although the effects of the brainwashing should be gone now, Katia still gets headaches for some unknown reason.
“I told you, Shun, I’m fine. Oh, right, I actually wanted to ask you to Appraise something.”
“Appraise?”
“Yeah. I got some new skill, but I’ve never heard of it. I don’t remember ever seeing it in the skill encyclopedia, so I have no idea what it does. I thought maybe you could look into it with Appraisal.”
“Oh really? All right.”
I activate Appraisal on Katia.
She definitely does have more skills than before.
Including some I don’t have.
<Divinity Expansion: Expands divinity field>
Even after Appraising it, I don’t understand.
Maybe I can Appraise it further.
<Divinity Field: The deep field of a living thing’s soul. It is the basis of all life, as well as the self’s final field of dependence.>
I still don’t understand.
“I’m sorry. I don’t really get it.”
“Even after Appraising it?”
“Yeah. It seems to have something to do with your soul, but I’m not sure what it does exactly.”
Both of us frown in thought for a moment.
“Oh well, I guess that’s fine. I also got something called Heresy Resistance.”
“Right. That’s probably because you broke through Hugo’s brainwashing.”
“And then there’s, uh, Parallel Minds?”
“When you turn it on, it’s like you temporarily have a split personality.”
“Wait, really? What’s the point of that?”
“Well, one side can fight like normal, and the other can use magic.”
“What? Isn’t that basically cheating?”
“I guess so, if you think of it as temporarily doubling your battle abilities.”
“Ooh. I’m gonna turn it on, then.”
“Ah, I wouldn’t keep it on all the time if I were you. I tried the same thing when I first got it, but if you leave it on nonstop, you start to lose track of which personality is the real you. I mean, having multiple personalities is called a disorder for a reason. It’s better to keep it off except when you’re in battle.”
“Oof. That’s kinda scary.”
“By the way…”
“Yeah?”
“Aren’t you a little close?”
Katia is standing in front of me.
Like, right in front.
Since I’m taller, I have to look down at her, which means I end up, you know, looking at her chest.
“Don’t worry about it.”
“I kinda can’t help it. I know you were a guy before, but you’re a girl now.”
“Oh? So you do see me that way, do you? Iiinteresting.”
“Ah, no, I mean, uh…you know, it’s, like, a guy’s nature or whatever… You get it, right?”
“Hmm. How would you respond if I do something like this, then?”
Katia takes a step closer, her chest pressing against mine.
“Okay, okay, you win! I surrender! Don’t tease me like that!”
“Ah, so innocent.”
Katia grins as she steps back.
“Well? Feel a little better now?”
“Oh…y-yeah. I… Thanks.”
So that’s what she was up to?
She must have been messing with me on purpose to get me to relax a little.
Really, she’s always so thoughtful.
“Hey, can I ask you something? That Healing Magic you used on me before wasn’t normal Healing Magic, was it?”
Katia looks at me inquiringly.
How should I answer…?
“Would you rather not tell me?”
“No, no. It’s not that…”
“Oh, it’s all right. I don’t wanna force you. I was just wondering if you could use it to heal Ms. Oka.”
It’s not that I didn’t want to tell her, exactly, but she didn’t seem to want to press the question.
“I tried a while ago, but it didn’t work.”
“Gotcha.”
Our teacher is currently suffering from a status condition called Coma.
It’s a condition that prevents her from waking up.
Her life doesn’t seem to be in danger, but she’s sleeping like the dead.
By Appraising her, I learned that the condition should wear off on its own in fifteen days.
Today’s the tenth day, so even if we don’t do anything, Ms. Oka should wake up in five days.
I have no doubt Sophia is the one who put her in that condition.
Why would she do something so inconvenient, and why would she set it up to wear off on its own?
I don’t get it.
But I’m guessing that part of it is because Ms. Oka knows about Sophia.
At any rate, we can’t access any of Ms. Oka’s information for five more days.
The Seven Deadly Sins skill that Hugo possesses. Sophia.
The slain Potimas. My brother Leston. There’s so much I want to ask about.
Judging by their interactions that day, Ms. Oka and Leston seemed to know each other.
But I have no idea how.
I also didn’t know until that day that Leston had his own soldiers.
But Ms. Oka knew all about it, as if they were old comrades.
It’s obvious my brother Leston had some connection to Ms. Oka and, thus, to the elves.
But what was he trying to do, and why did he have soldiers?
I want to ask, but Ms. Oka won’t wake up, and Leston’s been captured.
All I know is that my brother was seriously concerned for my safety, and he helped me escape.
I know he never held any ill will toward me.
Is it possible he knew somehow that all of this was going to happen?
“How’s Anna?”
“She’s recovering, but she still can’t speak yet.”
Anna, who was also brainwashed by Hugo, hasn’t recovered from that yet.
I’m working on undoing it with status condition–canceling magic, but she still has to be confined to a room for now.
Unlike Ms. Oka’s Coma, this will be permanent if we don’t figure something out.
Whenever I have time, I use the canceling magic until my MP runs out.
It’s a slow process, but I have been seeing signs that it’s starting to work.
If it keeps going well, I should be able to remove the brainwashing completely.
Although I can’t deny that prioritizing Anna is delaying Ms. Oka’s treatment.
Since we know she’ll wake up before too long, I can’t really help it.
I’m sorry, Ms. Oka.
But I have things I want to ask Anna, too.
Anna was with my brother Leston.
Which means she knew what he was doing.
On top of that, since she was brainwashed, she probably knows about Hugo’s actions to some extent.
Katia’s already proved that memories from when someone was brainwashed stay intact after they’re released from it.
As soon as she woke up, she told me everything.
How her family had been keeping an eye on Hugo.
How the guards who were watching him were brainwashed.
And how the brainwashing spell eventually reached Katia herself.
After being converted, she said she accepted Hugo’s every word as absolute truth, without ever questioning it.
Turns out that instead of feeling like you’re being forced to do something against your will, it feels like voluntarily vowing absolute loyalty to Hugo.
Just hearing about it is terrifying.
The victim has no idea they’re being manipulated.
They think they’re acting of their own free will, so they make no effort to resist it.
Katia told me she thinks the only reason she could fight it at all was because the spirit of her former male self was still present inside her.
For some reason, when she explained this, she seemed to put a lot of emphasis on being a former man who’s now a woman.
“Man, though, I was pretty surprised at Fei’s transformation.”
“Yeah.”
Fei had evolved, becoming a light wyrm.
Apparently, this new evolution was suddenly available to her because I became the hero.
Since we have a contract as master and familiar, my obtaining the Hero title had an indirect effect on Fei.
According to Hyrince, there have been similar cases in the past.
When a hero has a monster familiar, that monster undergoes a special evolution.
This is how Fei apparently shifted gears from being an earth wyrm to a light wyrm.
With her powers as an earth wyrm still intact.
Earth wyrms are known for their exceptional defense power.
So Fei gets to keep that defense, while gaining the ability to maneuver freely on both land and sky thanks to her new wings.
Her newly acquired skills are Light Wyrm level 9, Light Magic level 1, and Flight level 1.
In terms of pure stats, she’s become stronger than the earth wyrm we fought at the academy, who was probably Fei’s parent.
Frankly, she’s even stronger than me.
Even though I’ve gotten much stronger since I became the hero and started intensely training.
Even if it’s just for the sake of convenience, it doesn’t seem right to me for a master to be weaker than his familiar.
Right now, Fei is hiding in a forest close to the town we’re in.
She’s far too large for us to bring her into the town.
If we did, she might draw unwanted attention and tip off our pursuers.
Right now, we’re spectacularly high on the “most wanted” list.
Which is why we can’t stay here for long.
We have to make sure our pursuers don’t find us.
This has gotten way past the point when defeating Hugo would solve everything.
Even people who aren’t brainwashed now think I’m a criminal who murdered the king.
As long as that misunderstanding is still in place, I can’t walk the streets safely.
Hugo, on the other hand, has become officially recognized by the Church as the new hero, Julius’s successor.
As the new hope of the human race and the next in line to rule a powerful empire, he’s admired all over the world.
If I speak up now, it’s obvious that anything coming out of my mouth will simply be dismissed as the lies of a criminal.
We need to do something.
But I have no idea how to go about it.
Far too late, I find myself regretting that I never took an interest in politics.
If I had any connections, maybe I could use those as a starting point to clear my name.
When I complain about this to Katia without thinking, she gives a surprising response.
“Well, you had no choice there. You might not have noticed, but you were being tactfully kept out of politics anyway.”
Huh?
“Shun, you know why the true queen didn’t like you, right?”
“Yeah.”
The true queen, the king’s wife, is Cylis and Sue’s real mother.
My and Julius’s mother was the king’s third concubine, and Leston’s mother his second.
“Your mother was from a weak noble family without any connections, but when Julius became the hero, many factions tried to use that to their advantage. Julius objected to that, so he spent most of his time traveling around as the hero and rarely came home. Well, the king’s wife and Cylis didn’t like that. There were movements to use you to get to Julius, or to curry favor with you yourself, so the queen and her people did everything in their power to keep you away from that.”
Seriously?
This is all directly related to me, but I had no idea it was going on.
“You never thought it was weird that you never had to take classes on politics or anything, despite being royalty?”
“No, not really. I mean, Sue didn’t, either, so I figured it wasn’t a big deal…”
“Well, Sue’s a special case, too. The queen wanted her to be close to you, since it would make you easier to control, so she made a point of keeping you together. I bet she instructed Sue to keep a close eye on you.”
“What?!”
For real?!
Then Sue’s whole “I love you, Big Brother” shtick was just an act to hide her real motives?
I don’t know how to deal with that.
“Oh…but she really has always felt strongly about you, so don’t worry about that.”
“No, but…”
“If that wasn’t real, I’ll eat my hat. Seriously, a younger sister who’s secretly a yandere or whatever? She’s one powerful rival.”
O-okay then.
Katia reassures me with such intense confidence that I guess I better believe her.
Though I get the feeling I shouldn’t ask what she means by “rival.”
“At any rate, you wouldn’t have been able to do anything about this situation even if you were involved in politics. Don’t feel bad.”
“How can I not feel bad?”
“Well, we know for a fact that the power of a duke’s entire household turned out to be useless here, so there’s that at least.”
“Ah…”
That’s right.
On top of Katia being brainwashed and used by Hugo, her parents are being framed as part of the rebellion.
My brother Leston isn’t the only one who’s been captured.
Katia’s parents are also being charged with crimes they didn’t commit.
This is all because of Hugo and Cylis’s schemes.
Even if I’d tried to make allies or gain political favor, everything would’ve been turned over in an instant thanks to Hugo’s brainwashing.
“I’m sorry your family got mixed up in all this, too.”
“Nah, that’s not your fault. It’s because of that bastard Hugo. You know, you always try to take on everything by yourself. This might not mean much coming from someone who got brainwashed, but you should really try to rely on other people more.”
That’s true.
Katia is right, as usual.
“Thanks. I feel a little better now.”
“Yeah, that’s right. You better be grateful!”
When I give my genuine thanks, Katia replies with a smug grin.
She’s probably pretty stressed herself with her family being captured and all, yet here she is trying to cheer me up.
She’s such a good friend, I almost feel like she’s wasted on someone like me.
“I really can’t do anything without you, Katia. This just proves how much I need you all over again. Don’t ever leave my side, okay?”
“Wha—?!”
Apparently embarrassed by my words, Katia sputters and turns bright red.
“Shun, are you in there? Oh, sorry. Were you confessing your love or something?”
The door opens, and Hyrince peers inside.
Apparently, Katia’s red face gave him a weird misunderstanding.
“No, nothing like that.”
When I correct him lightly, Katia’s face falls a little.
“Yeah. Right, of course. That’s just how you are. Gotcha.”
“Katia?”
“I find that side of you terribly annoying, you know.”
“What? Why?!”
I don’t understand.
“Uhhh… Are you two just about done?”
Hyrince calls from the other side of the mosquito net.
“Oh, right, yes.”
At my reply, Hyrince reenters with a tense expression.
“Leston, the duke, and the duchess are set to be executed in three days.”
Katia and I both catch our breath.
Leston and both of Katia’s parents…are going to be executed.
“The announcement has been made pretty grandly. Most likely, the execution is a trap meant to lure us into their clutches.”
Our pursuers haven’t been able to find us yet.
Does that mean they’ve changed strategies from chasing us down to luring us to them?
“So keeping that in mind…what do you want to do?”
Do we plunge in knowing it’s probably a trap, or do we abandon Leston and the others?
The answer is obvious.
“Let’s go.”
ENCOUNTER WITH HUMANS
I eat.
And eat.
And eat.
Like drawing in a thread.
Slowly and carefully.
My chewing is more like slurping.
<Proficiency has reached the required level. Skill [Satiation LV 2] has become [Satiation LV 3].>
<Proficiency has reached the required level. Skill [Divinity Expansion LV 4] has become [Divinity Expansion LV 5].>
Upon reaching the Upper Stratum, I immediately started constructing a new home.
There’s a nice, wide space pretty close to the entrance to the Middle Stratum, so I decided to make that my territory for now.
In the Middle Stratum, my thread burned up so fast that I couldn’t even make a simple home, so this is my first since the one that got blown away by the earth dragon Araba in the Lower Stratum.
Ahhh, nothing beats this sense of security!
It was super-hot in the Middle Stratum, and I didn’t have the protection of my thread, so I was far from getting a restful sleep.
Now, compare that with the incredible comfort that is the Upper Stratum!
The temperature is nice and cozy, not too hot or too cold!
I can put up as much thread as I like, so my home’s totally break-in-proof!
And there are no strong monsters up here, so I can finally sleep soundly!
Ah, this is the best.
So, I spent a couple days rolling around doing nothing.
Listen, I’ve worked really hard this whole time and barely made it out alive, so I’m allowed to take a little vacation.
However, I can’t go on like this forever.
Unlike before, since I have the delightful combo of Intimidation and Fearbringer now, monsters don’t come anywhere near me.
And since no monsters are trying to charge my house, I’m not getting any food.
In order to secure food and gain experience, I have to go hunting.
Not to mention, I want to expand my map of the Upper Stratum and find an exit.
I haven’t made any preparations for going outside just yet, but there’d certainly be no harm in at least finding an exit.
But considering how large the Upper Stratum is, I doubt I’ll find one that easily, so I’ll just consider it a stroke of good luck if I happen to stumble on one.
The main purpose of hunting is securing food, followed closely by gaining experience.
Once I gain one more level, I’ll be level 20, meaning I’ll be able to evolve.
So I do some laid-back hunting in the Upper Stratum for a few days.
But there are no monsters to be found up here.
Apparently, this strange phenomenon is the work of some mysterious monster.
According to one of the few surviving frogs in the Upper Stratum:
“Yeah, it’s some dangerous creature with a super-scary aura who uses tons of poison and magic. Why wouldn’t we run away from that?”
Makes sense.
The Great Elroe Labyrinth Upper Stratum Monsters’ Union is taking the situation very seriously and plans to set up an operation center nearby to deal with the problem soon.
Just kidding. Tee-hee.
The “dangerous creature” is me, of course. Tee-hee-hee.
THERE ARE NO MONSTERS AT ALL! THEY ALL RAN AWAY!
The second I started setting up shop in this area, those cowards all up and ran for the hills!
At first, I figured it’d be easy to catch monsters here, since it’s not like they can escape into magma like in the Middle Stratum or anything. But even I have my limits, you know!
I have to travel several days away from my home to even find any monsters! What the hell is this?!
Thanks to that, I’ve been on a trip for a few days now, making simple homes instead of returning to my base!
What am I, a nomad?!
Well, I guess what I’m doing makes me more of a hunter-gatherer than a nomad, but still.
Ugh… Unreal. Seriously, there’s noooo way.
Making the trip back to my home every single time is a pain, so I’ve been raising my Spatial Magic level at top speed.
Spatial Magic level 9: Long-Distance Teleport.
A wonderful spell that lets you instantly relocate to any place you’ve been to before.
Since I learned this spell, the problem of not being able to return to my home easily has been solved.
Plus, now that I can instantly move to any location I’ve already been to, the range of my exploration has been widened accordingly.
As part of my increasingly active travels, I found a huge passage even Mother would probably be able to pass through.
Of course, since I saw Mother going down into the Lower Stratum with my own eight eyes, she wouldn’t be up here now.
But what I did find up here is an earth wyrm.
It looked more like a dinosaur than a dragon, and it was about as strong as the eels in the Middle Stratum.
But an eel-class monster is no big deal to me now.
I restrained it easily with thread and sucked its life dry with my Evil Eyes.
Out of all its stats, only its stamina was absurdly high, so that alone was enough to completely fill up my Satiation stock.
So, since I didn’t really need to eat after that, I made a simple home on the spot to keep it nice and preserved.
Since then, I’ve just been teleporting to that spot to have a nibble whenever I get hungry.
Today, when I got hungry and teleported back to the earth wyrm, there were some humans wandering around.
I was suuuuper-surprised.
Without thinking, I froze on the spot and ended up making eye contact with this foppish older guy.
He was a stoic-looking fella, the type who’d seem cool smoking a cigarette.
Being the angel I am, I hurriedly turned off my Evil Eyes.
If I had kept staring at him with my Evil Eyes still active, the world would be down one stoic dude, just like that.
Apparently, the humans were just as surprised as I was.
My Intimidation skill was definitely working on them.
They suddenly shouted and took off running, so I guess they were fleeing from me, huh?
Hmm. Better that than them suddenly attacking me, sure, but still…
They were kinda dressed like knights, so they should’ve been fairly capable warriors, right?
But they got scared by my Intimidation and ran off.
Is it me, or does that mean I’m going to cause a huge panic if I leave the labyrinth?
I mean, if that’s how hardened warriors react to me, are ordinary people gonna faint on the spot if they see me or what?
I’m starting to get the feeling that even if I evolve into an arachne or pick up Telepathy or whatever, my efforts are gonna be wasted.
Either way, I can’t picture things going very smoothly.
It works out fine for me that those knights ran away, but what if they had tried to take me on or something?
I mean, they probably ran away because they weren’t super-strong, but if I meet any humans who are confident in their own strength, they might try to conquer their fears and challenge me.
It might even be possible that a human stronger than me exists.
Judging by those knights, humans seem to be weaker than I imagined, but I feel like it’s dangerous to assume that this early.
I mean, I started out really weak, and look at me now. It’s not impossible that a human being could do the same.
In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a huge variety in strength among individual humans.
I’m sure the average villager and a soldier have totally different stats, for one thing.
But I don’t really know anything about the humans in this world, so this is all just speculation.
The best way to find out more would be to make contact with humans, but the problem is that I can’t do that in the first place.
Even if I tried to use Telepathy, if those knights’ yelling is anything to go by, I think they must speak a different language here…
If I want to talk to humans, I’d have to learn this world’s language, but to learn the language, I’d have to make contact with humans, which means I’d have to talk to them… Ahh, it’s a total catch-22.
Yep. I have a feeling that communicating with humans is gonna be next to impossible.
A few days after my encounter with the knights, I stiiiill haven’t evolved.
Man, there are waaay too few monsters around here.
It feels like I’ve been stalled just before the finish line, y’know?
So of course I’m starting to get annoyed about how few monsters there are.
My home’s defense is flawless, and I still have the earth wyrm for food, so all I need now is experience points.
The table is set, so where’s the EXP?!
Oh, wait, I just found it pretty easily.
EXP, or rather, a monster.
It’s a snake.
That thing’s one of the stronger monsters in the Upper Stratum, so if I beat it, I should level up and be able to evolve.
But there’s just one little problem.
The snake is fighting some humans.
There are two humans facing the snake head-on.
Then two more injured ones lying a short distance away.
One more person is healing those two.
So five humans in total.
Judging by the view of the situation I’ve got with Clairvoyance, they’re probably adventurers who were attacked by the snake, I guess?
Hmm.
I can’t use Clairvoyance and Appraisal at the same time, but at a glance, I feel like maybe the snake is stronger?
So those two people alone can’t beat a snake, huh…?
Oh, since there are two people down already, I guess it was just five people to begin with.
Man, I guess humans really are weaker than I thought.
Ahh, what should I do?
I could probably muscle in and nab the snake myself, but if I do that, I’ll get mixed up with the humans.
It’d be a pain if they freaked out like those knights did before.
But if I just leave them be, it looks like those humans are gonna get wiped out.
But I mean, that’s fine, isn’t it?
Why don’t I just wait for the snake to wipe them out, then beat the snake myself?
That way I don’t need to get involved with humans at all.
…Yeah, I guess I can’t do that, huh?
As a former human and all, it doesn’t quite sit right with me.
Yeah, I know, I don’t exactly have the nicest personality, but I do understand basic moral principles, you know?
Although whether I act accordingly with those principles is another story.
It’s just, I dunno. I can’t bring myself to let them die just ’cause it would be kind of a pain, so I guess even I have a teensy little bit of a conscience.
I guess I’m gonna save them, then.
You guys are lucky I’m so incredibly selfless.
Dash!
I’m not going to make a show of rescuing them or anything like that.
I’m just gonna kill this thing and get outta here.
I don’t wanna stick around in case things go south.
And so, Mr. Snake, I’ll have to ask you to take your leave.
It only takes a moment for me to reach the place I’ve been watching with Clairvoyance.
I use Dimensional Maneuvering to hop right onto the head of the snake.
Then I swing my scythe. I’ve added Cutting Enhancement, stat boosts, and Deadly Poison Attack on top.
My scythe pierces right through the crown of the snake’s head before it even realizes I’m there.
Just like that, the snake’s HP is instantly reduced to 0.
The enormous serpent collapses.
I pull my scythe out of the snake’s head and shake off the blood.
Another one bites the dust.
I can’t believe I used to think of these guys as boss monsters.
<Experience has reached the required level. Individual Zoa Ele has increased from LV 19 to LV 20.>
<All basic attributes have increased.>
<Skill proficiency level-up bonus acquired.>
<Proficiency has reached the required level. Skill [Faint Resistance LV 3] has become [Faint Resistance LV 4].>
<Skill points acquired.>
<Condition satisfied. Individual Zoa Ele can now evolve.>
<There are multiple options for evolution. Please choose from the following.
• Ede Saine
• Greater taratect
• Orthocadinaht
>
Sweet! I finally leveled up!
Now I can finally evolve.
Part 4 of 8