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Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? (Light Novel) - Volume 14, Chapter 2: Yurika's 'Stand by Me'
Volume 14, Chapter 2: Yurika's 'Stand by Me'
This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml
Part 1
Kenji was well aware that he and Koutarou didn't agree when it came to their outlook on men and women. He believed that it was only natural when he considered Koutarou's upbringing.
Having lost his mother and have his family collapse, Koutarou had become very careful when it came to making a lover. He wouldn't want his lover to face the same fate his mother did, and he didn't want to experience a similar falling out like he had with his father. That's why he wanted someone who he can have a serious relationship with and was right for him. It was only natural for him to think that way.
However, Kenji had a different view on it all. Kenji understood Koutarou's feelings. That's why he had shallow relationships with others that he could easily get out off to confirm whether or not he could have a serious relationship with them. Not only did that solve the same problem, but Kenji's method was more realistic than Koutarou's.
That's why deep down, Koutarou's and Kenji's views synched up. Koutarou's personal experience, and Kenji's experience after looking at Koutarou was what allowed that to happen. They only seem mismatched on the surface. That's why, regardless of how often they collided on this subject, the relationship between them wouldn't break down. The two both knew that it was just on the surface.
That said, Kenji was starting to worry. They were now in their second year of highschool, and Kenji figured that Koutarou should at least get some experience on love. Koutarou had gotten chocolates from several girls last valentine, and Kenji believed that it wouldn't be impossible for Koutarou to form a relationship with one of those girls. That's why he believed that now was the time for Koutarou to show some guts and take a step forward.
“Hey, Kou. You're always saying that I'm insolent or careless, but–”
“I'm right, aren’t I? I'm sure the girl you were going out with the other day is crying by now.”
“I'm not talking about me. Well, even if I reluctantly admit that I'm careless, there's a problem with you too.”
“With me?”
“Yeah. Carelessness isn't the only thing that make people unhappy. People will get unhappy if they're with someone overly serious like you.”
“That's not true. People are at their best when they're serious. That's what a man is all about, right?”
“... Geez. You know... you really are stuck in your ways...”
As expected, their talk wasn't working out. So Kenji decided to tell Koutarou about something he had been staying quiet about.
“Kou, I haven't said anything about this until now, but because of you I've had my heart broken countless times.”
Kenji had been avoiding telling Koutarou that. He had his pride to think of, however, he had pushed his pride to the side to tell Koutarou. That was just how much he worried for Koutarou.
“Don't make it my fault. They were probably just hurt because you're so careless.”
“That's not it. There have been a lot of girls that have said that they can't go out with me because they like you.”
“They were probably just using that as an excuse.”
“As if there would be that many girls using you as an excuse! What kind of coincidence is that?! Among them, there was sure to be some girls that really liked you!”
Having gotten overly excited, Kenji slammed his fist into his desk. As he did, those surprised by the sound all stared at Kenji, but they soon looked away. This wasn't the first time Koutarou and Kenji had been so noisy after all.
“That might be true, but that has nothing to do with me.”
“It does. Just think about it. You have never gone out with anyone. That means that all the girls that like you, backed away and gave up.”
Having said that much, the tone of Kenji's voice went down a notch. He then whispered so only Koutarou could hear.
“... They all noticed what was hiding behind your smile. That's why they gave up. You get it right? Just by doing nothing, you made those girls unhappy...”
“... Mackenzie...”
While Kenji's voice had been quiet, Koutarou could tell that he was serious. That was because when he said it, he had an earnest look in his eyes.
“Those girls wouldn't have had such an unhappy love life if you had a girlfriend to begin with. So what about it? Is there really no girl you're interested in?”
If there was someone Koutarou was interested in, not showing it would make everyone unhappy. That's how Kenji thought of it.
“... Hmm...”
Normally he would just ignore this kind of topic, but Koutarou understood that Kenji was worried for him and decided to think about it a little.
“For example... what about my Kotori? You know her too. She's a little obsessed with me, her brother, but she's cute in a way.”
“Kin-chan, huh...”
Matsudaira Kotori, her nickname was Mackinley. She was Kenji's precious little sister. Kotori was a spoiled girl and would always follow Koutarou and Kenji around. When left alone, she would cry out of loneliness. The image of Kotori desperately chasing after them had left a strong impression in Koutarou's memories.
Because of that personality of hers, Kenji had high requirements for anyone that would want to become her boyfriend. And Koutarou was one of the few that fulfilled those requirements. At the same time, he believed that he could entrust Kotori to Koutarou. To Kenji, having Kotori and Koutarou become lovers would solve two of his worries at once.
“I think she's a good girl, but I haven't seen her for a while now, so it doesn't quite feel right.”
“You last met her at new year, right?”
“I think so.”
To Kenji, it felt like just half a year, but to Koutarou, it was a little different. The time he had spent in the past world was added onto that half year. So strictly speaking, he hadn't met her for over a year. Koutarou did think that she was a good girl, but his last memory of her was over a year old, so he couldn't really say. On top of that, Kotori's own feelings needed to be taken into consideration.
“In that case, it can't be helped. Then we'll put Kotori to the side. How about them?”
“Them?”
“Are you getting senile? I mean the girls over there.”
“Ahh...”
Koutarou looked in the direction Kenji was pointing. There, the girls of room 106 were gathered. It was currently lunch break and they were chatting after having eaten their lunch. The only exception was Yurika, who was sitting the closest of the girls to Koutarou. She had eaten her fill, gotten sleepy and was now in the middle of taking a nap.
“You've been getting along well with them lately. Is it because of the play?”
“Ah, yeah. Well, something like that.”
As Koutarou casually looked at the girls, Sanae noticed his glance and turned around. She then cheerfully waved her hand towards him. This caused the other girls to realize that Koutarou was looking their way, and they smiled. After that, the girls returned to their conversation.
“Considering they're like that, I think you have a chance with all of them.”
“I wonder. They're just all really nice.”
“You just can't look at it objectively. Try grading them. I'm sure the girl with the highest points will feel right as you call it.”
“How am I supposed to grade them?”
“Grade their personality or looks. And then add or remove points based on eventful memories. Aim for something like 50 points for being friends, 75 being someone you'd like as a girlfriend and 100 as someone you'd like to marry.”
“Ah... Well, I kind of understand.”
“Then give it a shot. How about starting with Nijino-san who is so casually sleeping?”
“Yurika, huh? Alright, wait a second.”
Kenji pointed to Yurika who was the closest to them. As Koutarou looked at her, he began grading her in his head.
Yurika doesn’t look bad. No, if anything, she'd be cute, I guess? But her personality's a problem, she's lazy and whiny...
From Koutarou's point of view, Yurika's personality detracted a lot from her looks. Because of that, if he were to grade her on just those two parts, she would fall below the friend line.
And then you add or remove based on eventful memories...
With Yurika's looks and personality serving as the basis, it wasn't that hard add or remove points. Koutarou traversed his memories, from everything that had happened since the day he met Yurika to today and added points to those events as he went along.
It was terrible at first... but looking back at it now, I made a lot of misunderstandings too... and lately... there have been a lot of plusses...
Yurika was timid and weak to pressure, so his first impression of her had been very bad. However, as time passed, Yurika matured. Koutarou's misunderstandings were corrected and lately, she was now leaning heavily into the plus side. Yurika rarely showed anything negative as of late. She was still lazy and whiny, but he knew that he could trust her when he had too.
“... Alright.”
“What's the score?”
“Wait a minute, I'm totaling it up now.”
After finishing grading each event, Koutarou added those points together.
H-Huh...? W-Wait a minute, is this...?
There, Koutarou started getting shaken up.
While she had gotten a big demerit at the start, Yurika's points had increased ever since. By the time they performed their first play, she passed the 50 point friend line. By the second play, she began rapidly scoring more points and easily passed the 75 point line. And she continued scoring even more points after that.
H-Hey, wait... what's up with this...?
Koutarou was astonished as he added the last two points. They were points from when Yurika scored high marks on a test and they had gone out to eat takoyaki together as a reward. However, this score wasn't something that Koutarou could agree on. That's why he redid his calculation over and over again to make sure it wasn't a mistake. But even then, the result stayed the same.
“... To think something like that was...”
“How was it?”
“I-I didn't get the kind of score I was expecting...”
Koutarou tried answering as calmly as he could. But he could feel his emotions rampaging inside of him.
Yurika's final score was 322 points. It came out the same no matter how many times he calculated it.
Indeed, it wasn't the kind of score that Koutarou had expected. He had never imagined that she would get a score that would warrant marrying her three times over. What's more, that score was increasing by every passing day.
“I see. That's too bad.”
“Y-Yeah...”
“Then what about the other girls?”
“The others...?”
However, the reality was that Koutarou would get even more shaken up.
There were still eight more girls in room 106 apart from Yurika.
And Koutarou didn't believe that their score would be that much different from Yurika's.
Part 2
As Koutarou was worried about his new problem. Yurika was worried about her ever-repeating nightmare. In her nightmare, she was walking around in a dark place, ended up in accident and suffered as death came for her. And it wasn't just once, but a total of three times. First, she ran out of food and starved to death. Next, she ran out of strength as she was being chased by some kind of beast. And finally, she was blown up by a bomb.
“Why is it always meeeeee!!”
As red flames extended in front of Yurika, she woke up.
“Eh, huh...?”
“What's wrong, Yurika?”
“M-Maki-chan?!”
Maki who was nearby stared at Yurika with her eyes wide open. She had been surprised by Yurika's sudden shout. The same was true for everyone nearby.
“A-Actually, I had a scary dream.”
Since it wasn't really anything to hide, Yurika honestly answered.
“To think you'd be able to dream in a noisy place like this... you're quite the bigwig, Nijino Yurika.”
Kiriha smiled happily. It was a very Yurika-esque reason.
“That's not what you call a bigwig, she's just an idiot.”
“Sanae-sama, isn't that going a little too far...”
Sanae was dumbfounded. Ruth tried to follow up on Sanae, but she had a wry smile on her face. After all, Ruth was dumbfounded as well.
“So Yurika-chan, what kind of scary dream was it?”
Shizuka enjoyed disturbances as long as they were small enough, and she looked at Yurika with her eyes full of curiosity. She couldn't help but wonder what kind of dream she had.
“Well, I'm walking around a dark place, and terrible things happen to me and I die. And three times at that...”
“Terrible things... like food poisoning?”
Sanae's guess was food poisoning. Considering how Yurika spent her life, that was the only thing she could image.
“No! I starved to death, was eaten alive and blown up!”
“They're kind of the same thing.”
“They're completely different!!”
Yurika's face turned red as she objected. In the past, she would have just gotten angry that she was being made out to look like an idiot, but she was different now. She didn't want the boy she loved to misunderstand, which gave birth to a powerful sense of embarrassment. That's why Yurika desperately wanted to correct their misunderstanding.
“Oh yeah, there was a game like that...”
The only one that showed a different reaction from the rest of the group was Theia. She seemed convinced of something and nodded repeatedly.
“A game? What are you talking about?”
That word seemed to catch Yurika's attention. That's why she temporarily forgot about her embarrassment and asked Theia for an explanation.
“There was a cavern exploration game that Koutarou and I used to play, remember?”
“Ah!”
As Theia pointed that out, Yurika remembered something.
It was quite a while back, but there was a time when Theia and Koutarou were playing a game where they explored a vast labyrinth while arguing.
“In that game, something similar happened to what you described.”
“Really?”
“Yes. 「Yurika」 ran out of healing items and was left to die. I think 「Yurika A」 was killed by a monster. And 「Yurika B」―”
“I remember now!”
Sanae clapped her hands together with a smile.
“Theia was haphazardly controlling 「Yurika B」 and she walked into a trap and blew up!”
“Ha?!”
At that moment Yurika clearly remembered that time.
The game in question was extremely difficult, and required the player to create many characters and challenge it several times. But halfway through, Theia gave up on thinking of names as it was becoming a hassle, and named the characters after the people in room 106. The name Theia used for magicians was 「Yurika」. But Theia's play style was very rough on magicians and they would often die. After that, she created two more new characters, naming them 「Yurika A」 and 「Yurika B」. A total of three Yurikas were created.
Yurika remembered that all three Yurikas had all died violently. But since it was too much of a pain for Theia, she never recovered their bodies to revive them. She did give it a try once, but it didn't work out. After that, she reached the ending, and nobody had touched the game ever since.
That's why the three Yurikas’ corpses were still left unclaimed in the cold labyrinth despite the world having regained its peace.
Part 3
After dinner, Yurika sat herself down in front of the TV and grasped the console's controller with a strained look. Next to her was Sanae. The two of them were going to challenge the game in question.
“How does it look?”
“Ah, the save data is still there!!”
Yurika pointed at the TV screen with a big smile.
Since the game was very old, there was no guarantee that the save data from when Theia was playing it would remain. But fortunately, the game's battery was still alive, and the save data remained.
“That's good. But Yurika, why are you doing this? Couldn't you just erase the data and make it like it never happened?”
“Because, isn't it really scary knowing that three of your corpses are lying in an underground labyrinth?”
“... Why?”
Sanae simply tilted her head to the side in a confused fashion and blinked repeatedly. Having been a ghost until recently, she didn't really understand.
“I feel like it's a bad sign. That's why I don't want to erase the data until I've revived them or properly buried them.”
“Hmm, I kinda understand what you're trying to say. Good luck, Yurika.”
“Yes.”
Yurika was going to recover her own corpses lying in the underground labyrinth. Even though it was a game, she didn't feel alright knowing that three of her own corpses were left behind. And since Yurika was cowardly, knowing that this game was resting right below her, in other words, the lower half of the wardrobe, she couldn't sleep well. She began thinking of the inside of the dark wardrobe as a part of the labyrinth. That said, if she erased the save data and that didn't solve her problems, she would never be able to recover. That's why she wanted to find her corpses and either revive them or bury them.
“Now that I think about it, this game was quite hard...”
Theia who was staring at Yurika's back as she started the game up mumbled. Since she had played it before, she still had some attachment to it.
“You beat the last boss, right?”
Koutarou joined in and stared at Yurika's back.
“Yes. Even though the enemy was closing in, he was casually drinking tea with his subordinates.”
When Theia was playing the game, Koutarou had helped her out. Because of that, the two of them had traversed most of the underground labyrinth together. They were just like what Yurika and Sanae now were.
“But in the end, I didn't get to fight the rare monster.”
“That's all based on luck. There's nothing you could do.”
Theia had one regret after beating the game; that she had never been able to defeat a secret monster that very rarely appeared in the labyrinth. The chances of encountering that monster were very low and defeating it took a long time. At the same time, she was quite busy, so she had unintentionally moved on from the game.
“Well, you're busy so there's not much time for games.”
Lately Theia had been especially busy. She was currently chased out of her country and had to worry for the citizens that had come with her. She didn't have the time to casually play games. Partially because he has become her vassal, Koutarou understood that as well.
“That's true.”
However, Theia showed a bright smile.
“But truth be told, I played games in part because I wanted to get along with you better. And that's not needed any more, right?”
“Everyone's gotten friendly with each other after all.”
Koutarou remembered seeing Theia's lonely back as she was playing games. Unable to leave her alone, he would often sit down next to her. But now she was different. She was sitting by the tea table, smiling and surrounded by many others.
“Theiamillis-san, I understand how you feel.”
Harumi who was sitting by the same tea table joined in on the conversation.
“In my case it was the plays.”
Harumi put a hand on her chest and smiled happily.
At first, Harumi had worked so hard on the play for Koutarou. He had asked her to do it, and her wanting to draw his attention to herself served as the spark to get her started. But as she was getting into the play, a friendship blossomed with those people around her. She began thinking that she wanted to live up to their expectations.
Harumi was now sitting by this tea table because she had been led by those blossomed feelings. Overall, you could say she was just like Theia.
“I see. I'm glad it was of use to you.”
“Yes. Thank you very much.”
Theia and Harumi smiled at each other as they drank their tea. The two had changed a great deal since they first met.
“... In that case, I seem to be in quite an awkward position, since I was an enemy just a while ago.”
This time, Clan who was lying down on the wall and reading a book joined in. When she thought back to how she used to be, she felt very embarrassed. She couldn't help but turn red and smile bitterly.
“What are you saying, Clan-sama? Most of everyone here were once enemies. It's not like you were the only one.”
Ruth comforted Clan whose shoulders were slumping. Apart from Shizuka and Harumi, everyone else had been enemies with a conflict of interest. While Clan had become everyone's enemy because of the timing, Ruth didn't think she had to worry about it.
“It's just as Ruth says. And judging from the results, I was your ally from the very start.”
Ruth wasn't the only one on Clan's side, Kiriha was the same.
To Kiriha, the girl with the glasses was a precious friend she had met when she was just a child. While it had taken a while for both of them to realize that, overall, Kiriha had been on Clan's side since the start.
That's why though her words were calm as always, the light in Kiriha's eyes reflected her young self.
“Thank you, Pardomshiha... and Kii...”
Thanks to that, Clan was able to smile again. She then opened up her book once more and started reading. In order to hide the tears forming alongside her smile, that book was a must.
“Then strictly speaking, I was everyone's common enemy, wasn't I?”
“That might be true, Shizuka. In order to defeat you, I remember everyone working together to hide their wrongdoings.”
“Is that true, Theia-chan?!”
“Yes. Though it turned to nothing in the following commotion...”
“Oh my...”
The one that made the girls unite was, for good or for bad, Shizuka. Since they needed to unite in order to defeat Shizuka, that unison later allowed them to become friendly with one another. And in the end, even Shizuka ended up joining them. The relationships that had gotten their form in that small room now stretched beyond the very galaxy.
“...”
In that harmonious atmosphere, only one person refrained from joining the conversation: Aika Maki. She used to be an evil magical girl, and she had the shallowest relationship with the people of this room. She had known Yurika for far longer than the others, but she had always been after her life, so while she knew her, it didn't amount to much.
When compared to everyone else, Maki's relationships came out thinner. That was only natural since not much time has passed. Yet, she was worried about that. Time would eventually solve that problem, but she would see her shallow relationships at unexpected times, and she would begin worrying if she really belonged here.
If she had just been a captive, she might not have worried like this. The fact that she could decide on where she belonged on her own was what made her suffer. Having changed her way of life so recently, Maki still didn't know who she was. And even if she found new things she found precious, she didn't know how to treasure them. That's why she wanted to abandon her freedom and have Koutarou put a curse on her.
Koutarou's captive, his tool or his belonging.
A clear definition would provide her with a place and how to act.
It really is like landlord-san said... I have to do something...
Koutarou noticed Maki's hesitation. That said, it wasn't like he noticed it on his own. It was because Shizuka had told him the other day. As he looked at Maki, he began thinking of what he should do.
It might be best if I do something at least for the short term... Alright.
He still hadn't found a solution, but he had come up with a way to alleviate her worry for the meantime, and Koutarou moved to implement it right away.
“Aika-san, do you have a moment?”
“Yes, what is it?”
When Koutarou called out to her, Maki quickly looked up. Before he even really said anything, she already came up to his side. To Koutarou, she looked like a puppy waiting for her master's orders.
This really isn't good...
Koutarou could feel the anxiety coming from Maki and once again decided that he needed to do something.
“Aika-san, how much do you weigh?”
“Ehm, probably 42 or 43 I think.”
“So you're below 45?”
“Yes. Is there something wrong?”
“We'll be going insect hunting later right? When we do, I was thinking of suspending you in the air with a rope and having you go further above us.”
Koutarou drew a simple figure on the back of a newspaper. It was an image of Maki being lifted into the air using a pulley and rope.
“Like that, you'll be in charge of the top. If you're 43 kilos, using a pulley and rope that can handle 50 kilos shouldn't be a problem.”
“I understand, but... Satomi-kun, is this supposed to be me?”
“Yeah.”
“Fufufu, I'm not this cute, you know?”
Maki had been perplexed at first, but after Koutarou explained the circumstances, she returned to her normal expression. As a result, she didn't seem as gloomy as she had been just a moment ago.
Aika-san...
And that actually caused Koutarou pain. If this was enough to help her get back to her normal state, just how worried and lonely was this girl feeling? Thinking like that, Koutarou had to put in a lot of effort to keep his smile from disappearing.
“You know, you can tell me that I suck at drawing.”
“You suck.”
“Shut it.”
“Geez... you're the one who said I could say it. And besides, Satomi-kun, I can use magic so something like this isn't necessary.”
“You idiot.”
Koutarou smacked Maki's forehead.
“Ouch?!”
Maki let out a cry of pain and held her forehead. But in contrast to her cry and mannerism, her eyes seemed quite happy.
“Using magic during the insect hunting is forbidden.”
“Why? It will be more convenient that way. Ah, I won't charge you.”
“That's not the problem.”
“... Then what is it?”
“Insect hunting only has a meaning when it is done using a child's intelligence and courage.”
“A child's... I understand. Fufufu, a child... ufufufu.”
Maki slightly narrowed her eyes and cheerfully giggled. Seeing her like that, Koutarou was finally able to relax.
This girl really needs to find happiness...
Seeing Maki finally regain her smile, made Koutarou feel that way.
But Aika-san isn't the only one that needs to find happiness...
Alongside Maki's were eight other smiles. Koutarou had only realized their value very recently.
But behind those smiles lied all kinds of circumstances. And every time those circumstances came to the surface, the smiles would vanish. Koutarou hated that, because every single one of those girls had a score over 300 points.
Although that's a problem I should have noticed by now...
Koutarou had a reason to stake his life to protect any of the nine girls. He could probably die for any one of them. That's what it meant by them having a score above 300. That's why Koutarou wanted to let them find happiness, regardless of what shape that happiness was. That's just how much they had done for him. He didn't mind if he found his happiness last.
Landlord-san?
Looking at each of the girls in turn, Koutarou's eyes met with Shizuka's, the last girl. She was looking back at him as well. As she glimpsed at Maki for a brief moment, she gently narrowed her eyes. That gesture was enough for Koutarou to understand what she was thinking.
Yeah. We can't have anyone become unhappy...
Right now, Shizuka just happened to be sympathizing with Maki, but this wasn't something limited to just the two of them. All of the girls would pay attention to each other, and Koutarou firmly believed that people like that should never feel unhappy.
It was at that moment–
“Koutarou, Koutarou, this is terrible!!”
Sanae's face filled Koutarou's view. Seeing her serious expression, Koutarou's face turned pale.
“What's wrong?!”
“Yurika died again!!”
“What?!”
Since Koutarou had been seriously worrying about the girls, he thought that Yurika had actually died for a moment. But that soon turned out to be a misunderstanding.
“Uuuuhhh, I... I...!!”
The Yurika in question was crouching down in front of the TV and bitterly crying. She was continuously hitting the floor.
“I hate gameeess!!”
The reason was obvious. Yurika's adventure had ended in a grand failure.
Part 4
Unlike modern games, many old games were harsh and hard. That's why just a slight misjudgment could cause you to lose, and the game Yurika was playing was one of those kind of games.
Shortly after Yurika had started her exploration of the underground labyrinth, her party had been wiped out. She got lost, walked into a trap and was attacked by the enemy.
“Well... that was kind of expected.”
“Satomi-sa~n, if you knew, then help instead of being so mean!!”
“That's because you were so enthusiastic about doing it yourself.”
“Please don't only put your trust in me at weird times like that!!”
Yurika was carefree, careless and let her guard down often. Because of her peaceful personality, she wasn't suited for games like this. Lately Yurika's sloppy life had started to become more proper, so Koutarou believed that she might even be able to handle a game like this. But just like with studying, it wasn't something she could do right away.
“Okay, okay. Theia?”
“Yes.”
Being called up by Koutarou, Theia dragged herself closer. Since she was the one who played it before, she should be perfect to recover the corpses. She was also the one responsible for them in the first place.
“Theia and I will help, so give it another try.”
“You can leave it to us.”
“Really?! I knew you were good people since we first met!!”
Yurika took Koutarou's and Theia's hands and shook them.
Ah...
But as she realized that she was holding Koutarou's hand, she instinctively stopped.
“You're so selfish... what's wrong?”
“I-It's nothing! Let's start right away!”
Since she didn't want Koutarou to ask her any more about that, Yurika quickly let go of his hand and picked up the controller.
Yurika would follow Koutarou and Theia's advices, while Sanae would cheer her on. But the situation was wretched.
“You died quite a bit.”
“Yes. You've almost reached the character limit.”
“Koutarou, what happens if you reach the limit?”
“If you reach the limit, you'll have to delete old characters to make new ones.”
“But the old ones are dead inside the dungeon, right?”
“Yeah. That's why if she dies any more, she'll have to delete the dead characters.”
“I can't do that! I'm doing this so I don't delete them!”
“Settle down. You still have one last chance.”
Having adventured haphazardly, Yurika had gotten several adventurers killed. She only had one final chance left. She was now standing on a razor's edge.
“To begin with, let's create the last party. Lend me the controller.”
“Please don't call it the last!”
“It's okay, just calm down.”
“I can't calm down!”
Taking the controller from Yurika, Theia began the creation of new characters. There was a trick to making characters, and since explaining that would take too much time, Theia did it instead.
“Ah, my name?!”
“Fufufu, I'm forming the Satomi band of knights.”
In total, Theia created five characters. Two fighters called Koutarou and Theia, a thief called Ruth, a priest called Sanae and a magician called Yurika C. Apart from Yurika C, they were the elite characters that she had created several times before.
“Why am I the only one done half-assed?!”
“I didn't feel the motivation coming. Why is that I wonder?”
“Don't ask me!!”
After creating the characters, buying weapon and armor, Theia headed for the underground labyrinth. Entering the labyrinth, it was time to level up their characters for a while, so Theia handed the controller back to Yurika and returned to the tea table.
“Yurika, don't go too far in right away.”
“I know. I've been punished for it several times already.”
“Yurika, I'll look at the map, so just walk the way I tell you, as I am the leader.”
“Thank you very much.”
Until the characters grew stronger, there wasn't that much to do, so Theia left that to Yurika.
“Good work, your highness.”
“Thank you, Ruth.”
Ruth put a cup of tea in front of Theia. She then handed out tea to everyone in the room in order, with Koutarou as the last.
“... Here, Master.”
“Thank you.”
She then pressed the now empty plate against her chest and began looking at the game being played on the TV. It was rare for Ruth to be interested in games.
“Ruth-san, are you interested in that game?”
“Well... I was a bit curious about what her highness said before.”
“What I did?”
“Yes.”
Ruth sat down on the opposite end of the table from Koutarou and nodded to Theia. She then began talking with a serious expression.
“There is actually something I wish to request of you, Master.”
“A request? Sure, I don't mind.”
Koutarou had no reason to decline any of Ruth's requests. She was always helping him out after all.
“So what is it?”
“Uhm...”
For some reason, Ruth hesitated. Since she was always one to give clear answers, this was quite a rare sight. At the same time, her cheeks were dyed red. After hesitating like that for a while, Ruth cast an upwards glance at Koutarou as she spoke her request.
“... Ehm, I was wondering if, Master, you could form a band of knights...”
Ruth typically didn't ask something of others. That's why she thought that itself was shameless, and what's more is that she was asking for something as strange as a band of knights. This was something she was only able to ask because it was Koutarou she was talking to, but she was still embarrassed. Ruth felt like she wanted to dig a hole and bury herself in it.
“Band of knights... you mean that?”
Koutarou pointed at the TV. Just before, Theia had created some characters and called them the Satomi band of knights, so that's what he naturally thought of. However Ruth shook her head.
“Not that, I mean a real band of knights.”
“A real one? What do you mean?”
“Master, you are a knight that has been appointed directly by her highness, which means that you are a holy knight, or a high ranking nobility in Forthorthe.”
“Nobility... when did Satomi-kun become so great?”
Harumi who was sitting nearby listening in opened her eyes wide. To Harumi, Koutarou was Koutarou, being told that he was now a noble didn't feel real to her.
“I don't think I've become so important either, ah, sorry Ruth-san, please continue.”
“Yes.”
Ruth continued explaining after nodding slightly.
“Master, a holy knight is permitted both territory and the right to form a band of knights. In this world, it would be equivalent to the Satomi family's private army. I want you to establish that.”
“A-An army?”
Koutarou was astonished.
“You mean having an army in this room?”
There were already 10 people in this small six tatami mat room. It was impossible to station an army in the room on top of that. The best he could do would be to arrange some miniature soldiers. This seemed far too unreasonable for something Ruth would say.
“Are you serious?!”
“That's not what I meant, I just wanted you to establish the band of knights as an organization! A band of knights doesn't necessarily mean you have a lot of soldiers! There are examples of pacifist families who have very few soldiers!”
With her face still red, Ruth hurriedly shook her head. What she wanted was for Koutarou to create a band of knights that he was affiliated with. She never expected him to gather an army.
“A-And then... if you'd let me join...”
Ruth herself was a holy knight as well, so she also had her own band of knights.
But since Koutarou held the highest rank of knight that was given to him by Alaia, Ruth could join his band of knights.
In other words, Ruth wanted the title of being a member of Koutarou's band of knights, even if that could never be publicly revealed. On top of that, the band of knights formed by the Blue Knight would also hold a lot of historical meaning. Having been born a knight and as a woman of Forthorthe, belonging to the Satomi band of knights would be like a dream come true.
“Oh... that's something interesting you've thought of, Ruth.”
That was when Theia who had been listening to Ruth joined in.
“But it's unfair if you're the only one!”
Theia puffed up her cheeks. As a princess, she couldn't join a band of knights, and she was dissatisfied with that.
“Your highness, you are the one who makes use of the band of knights. If anything, I would love to trade places with you.”
“... That's true. Then I am in favor of it too!...but I won't trade.”
“Yes, your highness. I will forever serve you alongside Master.”
“Good. So there you have it Koutarou, hurry up and announce your establishment of a band of knights. I will approve it right away.”
“Wait a second! What are you going on about with me?!”
“Are you not satisfied with something?”
“This comes even before dissatisfaction! I don't know what's going on!”
“Ruth is saying that she wants to join your band of knights. As a knight, you must know what that means, right?”
“Well, I understand but...”
For a knight, choosing a band of knights was a life-changing decision. It was on the same level as something like marriage. Koutarou understood that well.
“Or are you scared of taking the responsibility?”
“...”
Truth be told, that was exactly what Koutarou was feeling uneasy about. Having Ruth join his band of knights meant that he would need to take responsibility for her for his entire life. That wasn't a decision so easily taken. It was like taking Ruth as his bride.
“Don't worry. Nothing will change from what’s normal. You made a promise with me, right? That you won't die until you've seen us all live a happy life to our fullest...”
“That might be true...”
Koutarou had made a promise with Theia in the past: that he would see through it that all the girls lived their lives happily. He felt like he would do so even if there wasn't a promise. Then, having Ruth join his band of knights shouldn't change anything. It was just as Theia said.
“Besides... Master, in the past you said that you would fulfill any one wish I had. That's why I want to make this my wish. Please.”
“I did, didn't I?”
He had also made a promise with Ruth during the last battle. He would fulfill any one wish if he came back alive. He couldn't simply break that promise, even if it meant forming a band of knights.
There was also one more reason giving Koutarou a push forward.
It's possible that with this... that problem might get solved as well...
He was thinking about Maki, who was currently happily counting money before their insect hunt. The existence of a band of knights might give Maki a mental ground to stand on.
“How about it, Koutarou?”
“Wait a minute, Theia... Aika-san.”
“Hm? What is it, Satomi-kun?”
Maki stopped counting and spun the pen in her hand around as she looked at Koutarou. She was in a good mood, and that cheerful smile contained none of the gloominess she had shown before.
If this smile is because she had a purpose, then...
That was where Koutarou made up his mind.
“Aika-san, you're greedy, right?”
“What are you telling a girl all of a sudden... Well, I might be a little strict when it comes to money.”
“I have an offer to make to you.”
“What?”
“It seems like I'll be making my own band of knights, so how about you work for me?”
“Work? What do you mean?”
Maki had a perplexed look on her face as she blinked repeatedly.
“Since it's a band of knights, you'd technically be a squire, but you would primarily be the treasurer.”
“Treasurer?”
“Since you would become my employee, I want to make sure the capital can flow properly. But I’m not really good at that kind of thing.”
“Master, if you need someone to manage finances I― mghm?!”
If you need someone to manage finances I will do it.
That was what Ruth was trying to say. She was also confident she could do it properly. However, Koutarou didn't let her finish her sentence. Koutarou forcibly caught Ruth, pulled her closer and restrained her while blocking her mouth. Surprised by that sudden action, Ruth froze up and also began panicking because she was so close to him.
Master, what are you?!
Koutarou was holding her down firmly, and Ruth's struggling a little wasn't doing a thing. Ruth had no choice but to give up resisting. At the same time, she began imagining things.
“It's a boring job, and you can refuse if you want... so how about it?”
“I’ll do it!”
Maki answered immediately with a smile. At the same time, large tears formed in her eyes and fell.
“I see. Then it's decided.”
“Yes!”
Maki nodded with a very happy expression as tears fell, like a stranded person that had just been saved. The only one who could properly understand what had happened was probably only Shizuka. Ruth still hadn't understood the situation and was confused by both Koutarou's actions and Maki's tears. There, Koutarou let go of Ruth and whispered the circumstances into her ear.
“... I'm sorry for taking your job away. But Aika-san needs a goal to strive for right now...”
“Eh...”
At that moment, tears began pouring out from Ruth's eyes as well.
Master... you...
It wasn't the answer that Ruth had expected, but it exceeded her expectations in a different meaning. Koutarou was going to form a band of knights like Ruth and Theia wanted, and he was going to take responsibility for those who joined. Ruth wanted to join his band of knights, even if it was just a title, and that was all she expected. But Koutarou had surpassed her expectations and made a major decision. That's why despite being released, Ruth wasn't able to move until a little while longer.
Part 5
By the time Yurika had gotten her characters up to a sufficient level, room 106 was currently in the middle of discussing a topic completely unrelated to games.
“How cool, Maki, you're a magical knight now!”
“A treasurer really, I'm just a knight by name.”
“Koutarou! I want to join the band of knights too! I'll be in charge of the chores!”
“Not yet. You can't become Theia's ally yet. Keep trying to take over this room for a while.”
“Boo, why can't I join under the assumption that I'll overthrow my lord?”
“Higashihongan-san, let's wait for everything to calm down a little more before we join the band of knights.”
“You're joining too, Harumi? What position do you want?”
“Uhm... maybe his secretary?”
“Alright, with me, Maki and Harumi, we'll form the magical knight team!”
“You're not gonna let Yurika join?”
“Tsk tsk tsk. Maki, magical girl teams have always consisted of two, three or five people.”
“I see... I'm a magician, but I never knew that...”
“Kiriha-san looks like she would get to join as a normal general.”
“And with your martial arts, you could probably join as a normal knight.”
“Your highness, it seems like there are a lot of applicants.”
“Very good! That makes me proud!”
“Bertorion, of course I will be your science advisor, right?”
Yurika had put down the controller to report on her progress, but she was perplexed by the situation.
Uhm, aren't I being forgotten? In more ways than one...
Yurika's eyes started to moisten. Being unable to sleep because she was scared of her corpses in the game was one problem, but having Koutarou and the others forget about her was an even bigger problem.
“Oh, Yurika, are you done grinding?”
“How's it look?”
But it seems like Yurika was worrying over nothing. Koutarou and Theia noticed her right away and returned to in front of the TV, which made Yurika feel puzzled once again.
Something really is different from before...
With that vague thought in her mind, Yurika looked up at Koutarou and Theia. As Koutarou sat down next to Yurika and his face drew closer, she recalled when she had hugged him from behind a while back. Back then, she had felt that they needed one another. Yurika's heart suddenly started to beat faster and she got embarrassed.
“I-I've gotten to the level you told me to get to!”
Yurika wiped her tears with both hands. She couldn't show the tears that had formed because of her misunderstanding, and that action hid her blushed cheeks as well.
“Yes, it seems like you've reached level 8. With this, we should be able to proceed.”
“Good job Yurika, this is where the game really gets started.”
“Y-Yes.”
Fortunately, neither of them seemed to notice, and Yurika nodded firmly as she stroked her chest in relief.
In total, there were now three dead Yurika's in the game. Theia recalled the location of one, 「Yurika」.
“It's just past this point.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. Back then I ran out of healing items, and the magician, 「Yurika」 was out of magical power, so I prioritized the other characters. That's why she died.”
“Theia-chan!!”
“That's why I sent another character with a bunch of healing items here―”
“And replaced the dead 「Yurika」.”
“That's right.”
“Heeee~yyy!!”
“S-Sorry! But it was thanks to 「Yurika」's sacrifice that we were able to beat the mid boss! So rejoice!”
“I can't rejoice if I'm dead!”
“Okay, okay, I was wrong, so let's push on ahead, okay?”
“Uuuhh, something still feels wrong.”
Theia was guiding Yurika by relying on the map she had drawn herself. Since the labyrinth was made using simple wireframe, every place looked the same. If it wasn't for Theia, any kind of searching would have been difficult.
“It should be around here.”
“Really?!”
The characters Yurika was controlling reached their destination. She then operated the controller and had the party characters search the area.
'Found Yurika's corpse!'
“There she is!”
Yurika pointed at the screen with a bright smile. Yurika was ecstatic over having found 「Yurika」's corpse.
“... Koutarou, this is kind of surreal.”
“... Shh, Yurika will hear you.”
Though there had been some difference in reaction, Yurika had safely completed her first goal, and her morale was on the rise.
“Alright. Just two more to go! Where to next?”
“Before that, confirm what 「Yurika」 is holding. She might have something we can use.”
“I understand... huh? She doesn't have anything at all?”
“... It seems like the monsters devoured most of her because she was down here for so long...”
“Eeeehhhhhhhhhh?!”
Yurika imagined how 「Yurika」 must have looked, and her face turned pale. As a result, all the joy from having found the corpse was gone.
“Stop crying, we're moving on to the next! I'm curious about 「Yurika A」 and 「Yurika B」!”
“Uuhhh, I'm sure they've been devoured too...”
Yurika continued playing while crying.
However, her suffering had only just begun.
Part 6
Theia had remembered where 「Yurika」 had been because she had died before a major battle, but her memory of 「Yurika A」 was vague. Since she died during Theia's standard exploration, it had been buried alongside other memories.
“Hmm. I think it was around here...?”
Theia tilted her head as she checked her map. Based on the scribble on the map, she was certain that 「Yurika A」 was close, but she didn't know her exact position.
“How did the search spell go?”
“She’s still out of range. We'd have to try it repeatedly around this area.”
“Sounds like it'll take a lot of time. You better prepare yourself, Yurika.”
“Uuuhhhh, I understand...”
Normally, Yurika would have whined at that, but since she was too concerned about 「Yurika A」 and 「Yurika B」, she couldn't back down now. But that was when a helping hand reached out to Yurika.
“Bertorion, may I say something?”
That person was surprisingly enough Clan. She closed the book she was reading and lay down on the wall she was using as a floor, looking down at Koutarou.
“What?”
“While having me analyze the game's data to pull out the correct places might be going too far, couldn't you have Sanae use her spiritual powers?”
“I see. That would still be categorized as Sanae's talents.”
As Yurika was playing the game, she wanted to do this without using any cheat tools. That included not analyzing the data to locate the corpses. However, Sanae's spiritual powers were a talent of her own, similar to sight and hearing. Koutarou felt like it was on the okay side, though only barely.
“Sanae, can you do it?”
“I've tried it on this game before.”
Sanae pulled out a mystery game that centered around a serial killer from the pile of games lying next to the TV and showed it to Koutarou.
“But I couldn't see the killer, only numbers and old men.”
Sanae and Koutarou had played this game together once, but when Sanae wanted to find out who the killer was, she tried cheating by using her spiritual powers. But in the end she couldn't, and ended up having to play it through to the end together with Koutarou.
“What do you mean? It doesn't work on games?”
“It is probably something like this.”
As Koutarou looked confused, Kiriha began explaining her own theory.
“When humans play games, they absorb information from the TV screen. Which means that any spiritual traces are not in the game itself, but in the screen. That's why she can probably sense the feelings of the creators of the game.”
“So she could just use her powers on the TV then?”
“That won't work. Even if she tried, there are too many other spiritual traces, making it very hard to find information pertaining to that particular game.”
Far more than one game had been played on Koutarou's TV. It had also showed countless other TV shows. Extracting the information about that particular game, and then on top of that, finding information about where 「Yurika A」 and 「Yurika B」 had died was next to impossible.
“So it's no use, huh... I thought it was a good idea...”
“That still might be the case. There are other things Sanae could use her powers on.”
Koutarou's shoulders had dropped in disappointment, but Kiriha was still confident.
Shortly after she used her spiritual powers, Sanae showed a big smile.
“Ah, this works! It's probably around here!”
She then pointed to a certain point on the map. She seemed confident and her smile was bright.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah. I mostly see complaints about you, Koutarou, but I can see faint traces of disappointment in Theia as she failed.”
“Well done, you are correct.”
“But, Theia.”
“Hm?”
“If you want to kiss him, just do it.”
“Waaaaaaahhh!! You don't have to find out more than you need!!”
Sanae had used her spiritual powers on Theia's homemade map.
If she read the emotions from when the map was being drawn, she could understand what happened back then. As a result, while a lot of Theia's other emotions were included, Sanae was able to find the place where Theia had failed.
“Yurika, turn at that corner, and when you reach the end turn right.”
“Oka~y.”
Following Koutarou's directions, Yurika headed towards her destination. Before long, 「Yurika A」's corpse was found, and her second goal was accomplished.
Part 7
While she had managed to find 「Yurika A」's corpse, Yurika's face turned pale again. That was because the corpses was found in an odd place.
“... T-The corpse before was better off...”
She had died next to an underground lake. But as time passed, it seemed like the monsters had pulled 「Yurika A」 into the lake, and she was found at the very bottom. What was even worse was that as her body decayed, it spread a strong air of toxicity around the area, further decaying the corpse. Many of the girls imagining the scene before them were relieved that it wasn't them.
“D-Don't feel bad, Yurika, let's go find the last corpse!”
Not even Theia could say anything, and instead suggested that they quickly move on.
“...Uhm, Theia-chan, you...?”
With tears gushing out of her eyes, Yurika slowly approached Theia like a zombie.
“I-I'm sorry, Yurika, I never expected she would be buried under water!! It was my fault!!”
Theia lost out to the strange oppressive atmosphere and earnestly apologized.
“This is a game, Yurika! It's just a game! Calm down!”
“...Well, to Theia-chan, it might just be a game...”
Yurika continued approaching, but her oppressive aura seemed to have run out of steam and before her stretched out hand reached Theia, it stopped. But even then, her tears continued streaming.
“L-Let's move on! Sanae, could you find the last spot!”
Having narrowly escaped death, Theia picked up the controller herself so she could move away from this place as quickly as possible. She then headed in the direction of the last location that she had a vague memory of.
“Hmm~, about that... something is strange...”
That was when Sanae, who was in charge of navigation, tilted her head in confusion.
“S-Strange? What do you mean?”
Since Theia didn't want any more of this kind of trouble, Sanae's words shook her.
“Well, I can't really tell where Yurika died. Theia, is this really the place?”
“What floor does it say on the map?”
“Eighth floor.”
“Are there a bunch of marks for bombs drawn on it?”
“There are. Almost the entire floor is covered with bomb marks.”
“Then there's no doubt, this is the place.”
In Theia's memories, the remaining 「Yurika B」 died on this floor. But it didn't seem like it to Sanae.
“But it's strange. Yurika's position is kind of spread throughout the entire area like mist.”
“Kiriha, what could that mean?”
“Hmm. Could it mean that you weren't focused too much on Yurika, or rather the characters, as you were exploring this floor? That might be why there's no clear image on the map, but it's spread throughout the entirety of it. What were you doing on this floor?”
“Well, I think... Ah?!”
Blood drained from Theia's face again. She had an idea as to why she hadn't been so focused on the characters when she was drawing the map of this floor.
“W-Who knows? I don't really remember. I might have been busy back then.”
However, rather than revealing that reason, she attempted to hide it. She had to hide the evil she had done in the past to keep her position from getting any worse. However, inside room 106 was someone who didn't worry about Theia's position.
“I know. When 「Yurika B」 died, Theia was half-assedly exploring while humming. I think she was using 「Yurika B」 alone, and then she walked into a bomb, and went kaboom.”
“Ah, hey?!”
Even someone as unfamiliar with games like Yurika could figure out why Theia had sent down 「Yurika B」 alone into a minefield.
“D-Did you throw me... did you throw 「Yurika B」 into a minefield to use her as a living mine detector?!”
“N-No! That's not true!”
Theia hurriedly denied the accusation, but Yurika pressed on even more.
“Then why?! Why did you have me walk all alone in a dangerous place like this?!”
“T-That's...”
Theia couldn't answer her. The truth was just as Yurika had guessed.
As Theia was exploring the eighth floor, she ran into the problem of the minefield. In order to solve it, she created a large number of characters and sent them through. 「Yurika B」 was one of those characters. They were killed, revived and sent back into the minefield several times. As a result, she was able to find all the bombs, completing her map.
It was because of that that Theia's memory of each individual character was so vague. And because they had all died several times, her impressions of where they died were vague. This took place throughout the entirety of the eighth floor, which was why 「Yurika B」's location felt like a mist to Sanae.
“That's...”
“Theia-chan!!”
This day was the first time Yurika beat Theia in a fight.
However, Yurika, the supposed winner, looked like she had suffered a disastrous defeat and was crying bitterly.
Part 8
Theia was stroking her head as she explored the underground labyrinth. Theia actually had a large bump on her head. It was a dishonorable injury, but it was something she had caused herself in the past, so she had no choice but to accept it. Of course, Theia volunteered to continue the exploration herself.
“Really... Theia-chan you don't think of how others feel.”
“The past me was a fool. Forgive me.”
“Geez... just this time, okay?”
“Y-Yes. Sorry.”
Yurika was still angry, but Theia had played this game about a year ago. Comparing them, the past Theia and the present Theia were like two different people. That's why Yurika was barely able to forgive her. She knew that even if she continued to blame the present Theia, nothing good would come from it.
“That aside. How does it look?”
Waiting for an opening, Koutarou gave Theia a helping hand. Theia answered Koutarou, feeling a sense of relief.
“It doesn't look good. There's too many places to search. I have to search, fall back and repeat.”
“I see... that's not good...”
Unable to rely on Sanae's help anymore, they had no choice but to search the entire floor. It would take time to solve this problem.
“Satomi-kun.”
“Yes, senpai?”
“I was thinking about something.”
That was when Harumi joined in on the conversation. Harumi wasn't very good at games, so she had stayed quiet for a while, but sensing that they had reached a dead end, she decided to speak up. Because in this situation, they should be able to listen to what she has to say as well.
“The map of this area is complete, right?”
“Yes... right, Theia?”
“Indeed, it's completed... but what about it?”
Koutarou and Theia listened to her right away. Like Harumi had expected, they were desperate.
“Uhm, if you threw Nijino-san and the others into the minefield until―”
“Uuuhhh~”
“―the map was completed, then she should have been alive until then, right?”
“That's right. I revived and used her several times.”
“Uuuhhh~”
“Then wouldn't she be in the area of the map you finished last? You stopped reviving her because the map was complete, right?”
“Uuuhhh~”
“I get it! Theia!”
“Yes, I'm headed there right now.”
Theia had been centering her search around the path leading from the seventh floor to the ninth floor. But she had actually found the entrance to the ninth floor when the map was only halfway complete. She had completed the last part of the map visiting previously unexplored areas.
Theia listened to Harumi's idea and headed towards that place. Theia felt like Harumi was correct as well.
“How clever! As expected from Harumi, the perfect woman!”
“I'm not that great...”
Harumi started blushing as Sanae praised her. She was embarrassed from the exaggerated praise, but she was happy that she could be of use to Koutarou and the others.
“Koutarou, the search spell reacted to something! Looks like Harumi was spot on! 「Yurika B」 is just up ahead!”
“Alright!”
“... Finally, the last one... though she's been blown up...”
Koutarou rejoiced at Theia's report while Yurika started tearing up.
It was just a game, but she was deeply attached to the characters with her name. Before she recovered the last one, Yurika recalled the hardships she had gone through to get to this point. It was only natural for tears to form.
They were just a few steps away from their destination when the screen suddenly shifted. They had encountered a monster that dwelled on the eighth floor.
“Hurry up and kill it.”
“I know. It's probably just a weakling any― wait, what?”
However, a monster that Theia had never seen before appeared. It looked similar to a zombie, but it was bigger and stronger. And the song playing was different from normal. It was the same song as the one that had played during her battle with the final boss.
“Koutarou! C-Could this be–?!”
“Woah?! There it is! The rare monster!! To think it'd appear now!!”
It was the rare monster that Theia had sought after. The creator had designed this monster after a person that he hated during his time in school, and defeating it gave the player a medal as a commemorative gift. Having this medal or not was one of the biggest deals amongst the kids at the time.
And the appearance of this monster pointed to a single fact.
“Sorry Yurika! It seems like our luck is the worst!”
“W-What are you talking about all of a sudden...?”
“Yurika, calm down and listen carefully. You can't escape from this monster.”
“Then hurry up and beat it, Satomi-san.”
“But this monster is strong. Very much so. In fact, it's stronger than the last boss.”
“... Which means?”
“「Yurika C」 will die here.”
“Noooooooooooooooooooooo!!”
Like that, the adventure reached its end, and another one of Yurika's corpses was added to the underground labyrinth.
