Chapter 177: Prologue (1/2)

【182nd day】

I looked at the stars inside the depths of the dungeon.

I watched them twinkle in a vast empty space that seemed to have no end.

I could see a Milky Way on the ceiling that was far, far above me. And all around me stretched a darkness of nothingness.

The 45th floor of the Odoriji spire.

Also known as the Floor of Stars.

While its name makes it sound like a date spot and it does in fact boasts a spectacular view, it's still the inside of the dungeon, so it's fraught with danger.

Our party is centering our exploration of this floor around the portal.

All in all, this floor is very dark.

There really seems to be nothing here.

Light doesn't extend past a certain distance here, so it seems that this is a special space that absorbs light.

「Uhmm, there's nothing here」

「Yeah, there's nothing here」

As I responded to my sister, I explored the area carefully. Neither my vision nor my senses seemed to be able to pick up anything. If I were alone, I would have gone crazy. Fortunately, the ground was relatively stable.

If there was a pitfall in this place, I would probably fall in quite easily.

「Hey, Souya. I'm almost out of rope」

「Already?」

「Already」

Shuna, the person in charge of the rope, showed me what little rope was left.

The party had to pause for a moment.

A stake had been driven into the ground near the starting portal and his rope had been tied to it. I drove a new stake from my backpack into the ground and then tied the end of the rope I had received from Shuna to it.

「Who’s next?」

「It’s me」

Otou-san tied the rope he was carrying to the stake, and then the party resumed exploring.

「Ummm, it's quite ”that”, isn't it?」

「Yeah, it’s quite “that”」

Shuna and Ea muttered to each other.

Well, I know how you two feel.

It's been like this ever since we stepped onto this floor of stars. For a floor that marks those who reach it as advanced adventurers, it's more ”that” than I had expected.

「What's this ”that” that the two of you are talking about?」

Rana isn't very astute about these kinds of stuff. She's the type of person who can work endless hours on the most menial of tasks. Complaints of this sort are likely outside her understanding.

「Onee-chan, (it's) so plain」

「Eh? Didn't you say that I've started to show more skin and dress up more than before?」

「No no, I'm not talking about you. It's the adventure that's plain. Whether it's the Horns or the horde of polar bears, there had been a lot of flamboyant and dangerous adventures lately, right? This floor is only for advanced adventurers, so I had wondered what it would be like, but not only are there no enemies, all we've been doing is moving around while holding onto ropes the entire~~ time」

Otou-san cleared his throat and then replied.

「Princess Ea, you seem to have misunderstood something. Adventures are inherently plain affairs. It's only the results of accumulated plain efforts that are talked about glamorously. I don't know why this party always ends up in flamboyant and dangerous situations though. I wonder whose fault it is」

It’s my fault.

「Come to think of it, what kinds of things did you do when you were adventuring alone, Otou-san?」

Because I'm also interested, I won't stop Shuna from saying unnecessary things this time.

「I was the picture of plainness. I spent five years probing every inch of the maniacal floor's walls, and I finished probing every inch of its floor in the next five years, so I carried a ladder around and probed every inch of its ceiling. That one took me a long time.

Including the time I spent examining the floor of the floor above, it took me about eight or nine years. I looked and looked, and found nothing. And I was unable to find any way to open or destroy the one suspicious wall. Out of sheer despair, I massacred the monsters on that floor and got myself banned from going near the dungeon for about two years.

I took that as an opportunity to try and glean some information from the forbidden books of the Hohens and Jumikura Schools, but it was to no avail. After rotting away for about four years, I challenged the dungeon again. Of course, I had to start all over from the beginning, examining the walls inch by inch. How's that? Plain, isn't it?」

『………………Oh, yeah』

Shuna and Ea were put off by his story.

Yeah, this is the kind of person he was.

It's not so much plain as it is maniacal.

The party walked on in silence. The lights of our lanterns were unreliable. Now that no one was speaking, the darkness felt even thicker.

Come to think of it……

「What kind of lights are those?」

『Who knows? What are they, indeed. None of Yukikaze's sensors are picking up anything though』

I talked with Yukikaze in whispers.

About the lights, or perhaps stars on the ceiling.

I can't see them being artificial lights like those in a planetarium. Don't tell me, are those lights coming from monsters? If every one of those stars is an enemy, we'll be in for a world of hurt.

『Next time, Yukikaze will bring a flying observation drone』

「This space feels so strange. If things go wrong, won't we lose control of it?」

『The possibility of that is high, indeed』

The drone’s parts can be repurposed into mini-pod parts. They're invaluable and irreplaceable in the alternate world. I don't want to risk them unnecessarily, but………

「For now, I'll take it under consideration」

『Roger』

I don't want to spend endless hours wandering around this place. But I want to go where we need to with the utmost caution. Finding the right balance is the hardest part.

「You know something, Onii-chan?」

「Hmm, what's the matter?」

「You were just whispering with Yukikaze, right?」

「That’s right」

My sister asked me a weird question.

「Is it my imagination? When Yukikaze was speaking, the stars above seemed to flicker at the exact same time. Try saying something as a test」

Could it be………

『Amenbo, akai na, a i u e o.

(Pond skater, is red, pure pronunciations)

Ukimo ni, koebimo, oyoideru.

(Little shrimps are swimming among the seaweed)

Kaki no ki, kuri no ki, ka ki ku ke ko.

(Persimmon tree, chestnut tree, pure pronunciations)

Kitsutsuki, kotsukotsu, kare keyaki.

(Woodpeckers pecking untiringly, withered zelkova tree)

Sasage ni, suwokake, sa shi su se so.

(Soak cowpeas in vinegar, pure pronunciations)

Sonou o, asase de, sashimashita.

(That fish was stabbed in the shallows.)

Tachimasho, rappa de, ta chi tsu te to, indeed.

(Let's stand up with our trumpets, pure pronunciations)』

While Yukikaze was playing the Japanese syllabary song[1], I stared at the ceiling.

「Huh? That's weird. Was I just seeing things?」

There had been no changes in the stars.

This isn't a thirty-minute mystery episode. Hints aren't going to just fall out of the sky at the drop of a hat and in convenient fashion, I guess.

「That's it for mine」

Otou-san had also run out of rope. Lys was next.

Without saying a word, she tied the ropes and we started moving again.

Time after time, when the ropes ran out, we would drive a stake into the ground, tie the ropes to them, and then move on. And that went on and on.

And then………

「Ah」