Vol 1 Chapter 4 (1/2)

Chapter 4: The Snow-white Dragon’s Fang Gem

Early, before the rising of the sun, a lone girl walked the road to the labyrinth.

Stefan had said his party’d set out in the morning. If she left now, she could beat them there.

Franka hoped to negotiate with her brother, to have them take her with them.

She wanted to demonstrate her abilities, to be acknowledged by them.

Stefan and Bertolt were both adventurers who respected only power. Thus, as far as they were concerned, she had no value.

“Where I stand is a place you can’t even dream of challenging,” her brother had said.

So she’d show him. Afterward, when she stood on equal footing with him as his peer, they’d be able to have a true dialogue.

——Franka suddenly noticed several figures farther down the road, blocking her path forward.

She was instinctively wary until one of the figures called out to her with a voice familiar to her ears.

“See? Here she comes. What did I tell you?”

It was Alfred, with Yuuki and Tina standing by his side.

“Wha? You guys…? Why?”

“Your master saw right through you,” Yuuki said with a shrug.

“You weren’t thinking of doing anything rash, were you, Franka?” Tina said, with a look of unease and concern.

“Um, well…I…”

Caught off-guard by the unexpected turn of events, Franka’s gaze strayed.

“…I’m sorry.”

“So what was the plan? Beg Stefan to take you with him? Or perhaps you were planning on tailing him? That’s what Uncle guessed.”

“Well, both, I guess. If asking him failed, then I’d follow——”

“Let me be the one to tell you: you can’t go. You simply don’t have what it takes yet,” Alfred said with a heavy sigh. “You want an open conversation with him about your father, right? There will be many more opportunities after today. If he won’t talk to you unless you’re of equal standing, then it can wait until you’re stronger. I can tell you right now that you have that potential.”

“I appreciate your words Master… but I’ve waited long enough.”

Franka smiled sadly.

“Father was the most important person to me. He was so strong and kind; we shared so many precious memories. Although as an adventurer, he was in the labyrinth more than he was home, but every time he came home, the first thing he’d do would be to wrap his arms around me in a hug. He made me so, so happy. That’s why——”

How her expression had twisted as she spoke, she herself was more aware than anyone.

“I can’t forgive those who stole that happiness from me, nor any who would dirty those memories. I know what you’re saying but, still, someway, somehow, I have to——”

“You asked a s.h.i.+nki, didn’t you?” Yuuki murmured.

Franka lifted her head and looked at him.

“Yesterday, you were so combative… The way you interrogated him, it was almost like you knew for sure, like you had some kind of proof. You’re the kind of person who suffers quietly on her own – who won’t let anyone know what bothers you. Am I wrong?”

——He wasn’t wrong.

“For you to have gone after him so aggressively means that you’ve already decided. Moreover, it’s happened recently.”

“…”

“Although offering Reliquia to the s.h.i.+nki is the domain of the Oath Legions, it’s not like anyone else is forbidden from doing so. Anyone can make an offering, and anyone can be rewarded for doing so, whether that reward be money or a miracle. ——You asked the s.h.i.+nki to reveal the criminal’s ident.i.ty, didn’t you?”

“…More accurately, what I asked was to ‘see my father’s last moments.’ It was the day before; I went after parting with Tina-chan once the show was canceled.”

Franka’s father had also been Stefan’s mentor in spear combat.

Even if she and her brother were estranged, it had been the earnest hope of her heart that he would have approached her on his own, and openly and candidly shared the details of her father’s death.

It had been then – when Stefan had affirmed that he saw Bertolt as a companion of his, and made light of her father’s death – that that hope had died.

Afterward, she’d visited the Sanctuary of the “s.h.i.+nki who Supports the Sky” and, offering up one of her father’s Reliquia, had been bestowed with a miracle in turn.

Her actions had been more than hasty, to be sure, but – what had been seen could not be unseen. Now that she knew, she could not not act.

“What did you see?”

“…Something I had no desire to ever see, though it wasn’t all that unexpected.”

“It doesn’t matter what you do now; it’s too late to change what you saw. There’s nothing whatsoever to be gained by taking these risks now.”

“——At the very least, my conscience will be clear. Yuuki-san, can you possibly understand the feelings of my father as he was murdered?”

“…”

“I’m sorry. Please move.”

Sighing in resignation, Yuuki gave in to her request.

Franka sensed that if she left now, it would be the end of their friends.h.i.+p.

He would not approach her again. Of this, she felt certain.

Sighing, she was struck with a deep feeling of loneliness. Nevertheless, she pressed on.

“I did what I could. Things turned out as I knew they would, though,” Yuuki said softly.

It had been hopeless from the start. It was meaningless to try to convince someone of the folly of their ways when they had chosen to act despite knowing that very thing.

With a quick “I’m sorry for the trouble,” Alfred left to follow her. He intended to follow her and try and convince her once more.

“Alright Tina, let’s go——”

“You big duuuuuuuuummy!”

Accompanying the yell was a vicious kick to his calf.

“Ow!”

“And here I thought you had some other plan in mind. The h.e.l.l do you mean ‘things turned out as I knew they would’! Have you no heart at all, Master?! Just how cold-blooded can you be?!”

“Well, they did, didn’t they? I tried. You saw it yourself – she didn’t want to stop. What else could I have done?”

“…Forget it. You’re not the person I thought you were.”

Tina gave him a piercing glare and then turned.

——Toward the labyrinth.

“And where do you think you’re going?”

“To stop Franka, of course. And if I can’t stop her, then to help her.”

“Are you planning to tell her you’re a s.h.i.+nki?”

“If it comes to that. I’ll just ask her for a Divine Pearl, and once I work a miracle, then it should all be clear. At the very least, I can still be a s.h.i.+eld; it’s not like those Void Beasts can hurt me.”

“You’re violating the terms of our agreement. You promised me you wouldn’t reveal your ident.i.ty, remember?”

“Agreement?”

Tina stopped and looked back.

“Who gives a d.a.m.n about your agreement?! ——You need to understand something, Master. Tina is a s.h.i.+nki, and it’s only for that purpose that she’s even here. The very reason I exist is to protect the city and its people. If I can’t even save someone in front of me who needs my help, then how could I possibly call myself a s.h.i.+nki? If food and housing have to come at the cost of denying my very self, then forget it!”

Having screamed that out in a single breath, she panted for air.

“That’s gonna be a problem for me.”

“…Don’t worry – I won’t cause any trouble for you.”

Tina’s breathing returned to normal, and she continued.

“Thank you for everything you’ve done for me. Now then——”

“That’s not what I meant. Business is founded on the principle of investment – you spend money in hopes of earning more money. I have yet to receive anything from you. Are the s.h.i.+nki really the kind of people who would forgo repayment of a debt?”

“T-Then what do you want? I have no money…”

“And that’s why canceling our agreement right now is unacceptable. So let’s meet halfway, alright? It’s not like there’s any other choice.”

“Eh? Eh?”

Tina blinked vacantly, puzzled.

“You mean… you’ll help?”

“Let’s just say it’s a compromise to further the value of my investment. In any event, I think I know how to help Franka.”

“What’s that – so you did have a plan!”

She brightened.

“That’s Master for you! Sorry for calling you cold-blooded.”

You’re right on that point, Yuuki thought to himself. I’m not cold-blooded… just a coward.

Without finding some sort of excuse with which to rationalize his actions, he couldn’t bring himself to involve himself in others’ affairs.

“So? So? What’s the plan? Hurry up and tell me!”

Facing Tina, whom was leaning in eagerly, he gave a wry smile and answered.

“Franka’s goal is to have Stefan acknowledge her strength, but that guy’s a rank one adventurer – Franka’s only a fourth-rank. Even if we tried to help, Uncle Alfred’s only a third-rank, and I’m a ninth. Trying to beat that group to the punch is impossible. ——So we’ll rely on the privilege of the weak – trickery.”

“And that would involve… what exactly?”

“We’re going to deliver Franka one heck of a meritorious deed – courtesy of your powers, O Great s.h.i.+nki-sama.”

Tina could only stare in response.

Stefan double-checked that everyone was ready before nodding.

“Let’s move.”

The party had arrived at the labyrinth. The forward guard consisted of Stefan, Bertolt, and Jahar – these three. The two clerics taking up the rear brought the total to five.

Their raid today had several goals.

The 62nd floor was far as anyone had explored so far. They aimed to exceed that.

Confirm the existence of Bertolt’s humanoid Void Beast, and defeat it, if possible.

Most importantly: to find and retrieve the Snow-white Dragon Fang Gem.

And last, but not least, a newly tacked on goal: to find the counterpart to the stone discovered the day before.

The investigations by the Sky’s Oath Legion had determined that the stone was more than likely a teleportation device. It seemed to be part of a set of connected stones that enabled travel between them.

If the teleportation device had the ability to warp between floors, it would be a momentous discovery. If adventurers could instantly move between the upper and lower floors, then the efficiency with which raids were performed would increase dramatically. Accordingly, further investigation was an absolute necessity.

Abruptly, Stefan flashed a sign to his party members, and they all pulled to a stop.

At the stairway leading from the first floor to the second, several familiar figures stood, barring their way.

“Morning there, Stefan.”

“…What do you think you’re doing, Alfred? Are you planning on getting in our way?”

From the looks of things, they’d been waiting for him. Although the labyrinth had many entrances, there was only one stairway connecting the first and second floors – all adventurers had to pa.s.s through here.

“Of course not. I’m not crazy enough to interfere with the Oath Legions’ raiding. ——This girl has something she wants to say. Will you hear her out?”

“This some kind of joke?! Get the h.e.l.l out of——”

Stefan raised his right hand, silencing Bertolt.

Franka stepped forward.

“Please, take me with you.”

“Reason being?”

“I… want to demonstrate that I have the ability to stand on equal footing with you.”

“That’s not even worth responding to,” Stefan answered coldly.

Franka inhaled sharply.

“The purpose of the Oath Legions is to serve the s.h.i.+nki, as well as to explore the labyrinth – to search for a way out of this doomed world. That is our raison d’être. You are a freelancing adventurer – just how self-serving is your need to prove yourself?”

“——! T-That’s why, let me come——”

“Okay, okay. Let me interrupt for a bit.”

An easygoing voice cut in.

“——A breakdown in the negotiations, right?”

Two figures walked over, pus.h.i.+ng Bertolt aside.

It was the owner of the store which peddled the garbage of the labyrinth and the young girl that was his a.s.sistant.

“Y-Yuuki-san? And Tina-chan…”

“What do you want?” Stefan asked.

Yuuki chuckled.

“Well, yesterday you claimed all the credit for our hard work. That doesn’t sit too well with me, so I thought I’d come watch—— Watch Franka find that teleporter’s counterpart before you, that is.”

Stefan frowned. What madness was this man rambling off now?

“You Oath Legions have checked it out already, right? That teleporter on the third floor has a pair somewhere else. Finding it would be the discovery of a lifetime – an act worthy of distinction.”

“…”

“Now, my dear Lord Stefan, didn’t you just say that the Oath Legions’ power is for the sake of serving the s.h.i.+nki – for the purpose of exploring this labyrinth? In that case, if you were to play second fiddle to such an important discovery as this… wouldn’t that imply that your ‘power’ was inferior to hers?”

“Such an occurrence is simply impossible. She lacks the strength to even reach the deeper floors; the addition of an inconsequential ninth-rank adventurer doesn’t change a thing.”

“Oh my, you know my rank?”

“…As the sole failure of a student within the advanced cla.s.s, you are, of course, well-known.”

“Then there’s nothing for you to fear. Why not join us in this little wager?”

“There’s nothing to wager on. I don’t have the authority to restrict the movements of another adventurer, nor do I have the authority to deny the fruits of their labors. If you somehow manage to do something of note before me, then I’ll acknowledge it.”

“That’s all I ask. Right then, sorry for the delay.”

Having said what he’d wanted to say, Yuuki stepped off to the side.

“The h.e.l.l do you mean ‘sorry’!? Ugh, this stupid piece of s.h.i.+t!”

Bertolt angrily stepped forward and grabbed Yuuki’s shoulder.

“You’ve really stepped in it now. To shamelessly get in our way like this. You really stand out – as a troublemaker!”

“Bertolt, leave him be.”

Stefan ordered him to stop before continuing on.

“But——”

“That’s an order.”

“…”

Bertolt clicked his tongue in displeasure, but let Yuuki go.

Their party started down the stairway. Out of the corner of his eye, Stefan noticed Franka, whom he could tell wanted to speak to him, but he ignored her.

Their raid this time would require their all. He couldn’t risk being distracted by something inconsequential.

“…Hey, Stefan.”

As they descended the stairs, Bertolt whispered to him.

“I have to say I’m pretty grateful to you. Because I was able to join your party, my arm was healed and I have this chance to clear my name. In truth, this party of yours is many times stronger than that useless bunch of misfits I used to run with. However——”

He intentionally lowered the volume of his voice yet further still.

“To give me an ‘order’ – who the h.e.l.l do you think you are? Believe me, you don’t want to get on my bad side. I’m sure you understand – it’s best for everyone if you’re in my good graces, no?”

“…I understand.”

Was Stefan’s sole response.

Once the silhouettes of Stefan and his group had disappeared entirely, Yuuki sighed.

“We’ve got his promise. It’s our turn to go now.”

“T-To go… Yuuki-san, why…?”

“And can I ask what’s brought on this change of heart?”

“It’s complicated.”

Yuuki answered in a fiercely oversimplified manner as he started to walk.

“I’m pretty confident in our chances, even if I’m the only one. I’ll explain as we go.”

“But… it’s too dangerous. For Yuuki-san and Tina-chan both.”

“That sure is ironic coming from the one who’d planned to follow them by herself.”

“Indeed.”

Franka couldn’t respond.

“Care to explain the reason for your confidence?” Alfred inquired.

“I already know where the other half is.”

Franka and Alfred stared dumbly.

“…Really? Er, not that I don’t trust you, but…”

“Gramps left behind some notes about it. There’s no way he’d bother to record information that wasn’t reliable, so it ought to be quite trustworthy. Unfortunately, it’s going to be a bit complicated getting there. We’ll take care of it, but we’ll need you guys to protect us in the meantime.”

“B-But…”

Franka turned to Alfred, her eyes pleading for help.

“So how about it, Uncle? I think it’s worth a shot.”

“Well… sure.”

“Master?!” Franka yelled.

The key lay in whether or not Franka would be able to pull herself together.

Truth was, setting aside whether or not victory over Stefan was even possible for the moment, it was vital that Franka be given the opportunity to exert her all.

If the process required that Franka focus on “protecting Yuuki and Tina,” and not on what had been unsettling her, then so much the better. What was most important here was restraining her recklessness.

——That was likely what Alfred thought of their plan. Yuuki felt similarly.

“It’s decided then. That said, Tina’s with us as well, so we’ll have to pace ourselves. I’ll let you know when we’ve picked up the trail, so let’s take it easy for now.”

Let’s rewind a bit.

Before the sun had risen, Yuuki and Tina walked the path back to their shop.

“So Master, exactly what kind of valorous deed did you have in mind?” Tina asked Yuuki, her eyes glittering.

“What do you think?”

“Hmm? Oh… I know, the Oath Legions think Tina’s a Void Beast, right? Well, I can put on a robe, and then when Franka defeats me before their eyes…”

“That’s way too suspicious. Your body can’t even be hurt; like h.e.l.l you’d get defeated like that.”

“Hrm… How about I, um, play dead?”

“And if they insist on inspecting the corpse? In any case, trying to fake something like that is way too hard. Whether it be swordsmans.h.i.+p or cleric skills, one’s abilities can be gauged during training. When an attack that isn’t actually all that powerful defeats a mighty Void Beast, anyone could tell that something was up.”

“Well then, why don’t we try raiding then? We can go explore a floor farther down than anyone’s ever gone before. With my help, of course.”

“Even if we could pull it off, how could we prove it? Maybe if we were front-line adventurers, someone would believe us, but our party consists of a third-rank, a fourth-rank, a ninth-rank, and a child. If we claimed to have expanded the current map, who’d believe it?”

“Huh…”

Tina sank into silence.

Once they arrived back at the store, Yuuki made his way to the storehouse. There he pulled out several Reliquia and began to carefully choose between them.

“…Then what can we do?” the s.h.i.+nki asked despairingly, having followed him into the room.

“——Before we get to that, there’s something I want to ask you. Why are you so insistent about helping her?” Yuuki asked without stopping what he was doing.

“I told you already, didn’t I? Because Tina’s one of the s.h.i.+nki. That’s why it’s my desire that all the people of this city, and adventurers in particular, can be rewarded for their efforts. That should be obv—— Actually, no.”

Cutting herself off, Tina paused for a moment before she continued.

“Perhaps that’s not quite right… Maybe it’s simply that I don’t want to see darkness and gloom engulf the face of someone I know. I don’t want to see them get hurt. Franka is my… friend.”

“In that case, are you willing to work hard on her behalf?”

Tina nodded energetically.

“Okay. I’ll explain then. We just need to find the teleporter.”

“The one on the third floor? But that one’s already——”

“It’s already under their control, yes. However, the two only operate as a pair. It’s only once both have been activated that they can do any good. That’s why finding the other half is huge. I fear that’s the purpose of Stefan’s party. ——That’s where you come in – you can skip the looking and go straight to the finding.”

“Ohh…”

“We just have to let Franka ‘come across it.’ I’ll just make up something about Gramps having written some notes on its location. Even Stefan won’t be able to just ignore her after this.”

“I see! That’s amazing, Master! ——Oh, but…”

Tina’s face was beset with concern. Indeed, there were still many problems.

“Tina doesn’t remember on what floor she was born…”

“Right. We can’t do this the way a normal adventurer would; trying to figure it out as we go won’t work. There’s still a way, though. ——When you woke up, you heard the words of a prayer, and using your s.h.i.+nki powers, teleported over to the source of that urgent prayer. Do I have that right?”

“Mm.”

“Okay, when you described teleportation to me before, you said that in order to teleport, you first had to have a sense of both distance and direction. In other words, using the source of the prayer as your guide, you were able to determine both those values.”

“Yep.”

“Do you still remember those things?”

“Hmm, well…”

Tina pointed roughly straight up.

“About sixty or seventy meters upward.”

“The upper floors of the labyrinth have already been completely surveyed. According to those measurements, from the floor to the ceiling is roughly fifteen meters or so. Extrapolating those numbers, we can a.s.sume that the place where you were born was roughly four or five floors away from the place where Bertolt’s party was attacked.”

“Ohhh,” Tina called out, her eyes wide.

“Next, according to what Uncle Alfred said, the place where the humanoid Void Beast – that is, you – were sighted was the sixtieth floor. From that, we can determine that you were born on either the 64th or 65th floor. This is, of course, all a.s.suming those floors aren’t particularly short and don’t have anything otherwise strange about them.”

“A-amazing, Master.”

“It’s just a little math. Anyway, your praise is premature; there’s still another problem to take care of.”

“Ah, right. Yeah, even if we know the destination——”

“——We can’t get there. Exactly. We need to think about that part.”

The room in which Tina had been born was on a level even deeper than the one which had led to the destruction of an elite adventurer party. Ordinarily speaking, it was simply impossible for them to make their way there.

“Oh, that reminds me. Let me confirm something first: if you had enough divine energy, could you warp directly there?”

“…Uh, without a clear target, I can’t.”

Teleportation required a precise knowledge of both the distance to, and the direction of, the destination. When she’d saved Bertolt previously, his prayer had served as the target. When she’d demonstrated her ability to teleport in the store before, she’d targeted the divine energy contained within the Reliquia hidden among the tree branches.

“Because the prayer was spoken directly to the s.h.i.+nki, Tina could hear it. Also, because I’d seen the Divine Pearl before, I recognized the signature of its divine energy. That’s why even if I didn’t know where it was, I could still find it.”

This meant that if they wanted to teleport to the room in question, they’d either first need someone to make their way to the room where she’d been born, and then to pray in earnest or to place a Reliquia she’d once seen in that room.

“If the device in that room was activated, then it’s possible that I could home in on its signature, but unfortunately, I never activated it before arriving here. I won’t be able to use it as a target.”

“I know. ——I guess there’s nothing that can be done then?”

“Ahh! Don’t tell me you’re giving up, Master?!”

“Of course not. It just means we’ll have to rely on rather… unconventional methods. ——Here, look.”

From among the pile of Reliquia he’d taken from the storehouse, he pulled out a box and opened it.

“That’s the Divine Pearl from the other day? The one you used when testing Tina’s powers.”

“Yeah, this is the high-grade one of the pair. The only grade one Reliquia in this store. ——To be truthful, this is one of Franka’s father’s Reliquia.”

This was one of the items Franka had put up as collateral, and so it had always been stored and never made its way to the storefront. Because it was such a valuable item, Franka had yet to buy it back.

Yuuki lifted it out of the box. Its shape was that of an elongated oval, about half as long as his thumb.

“This can be used as a guide?”

“It has enough divine energy for it, yes. You ought to be able to feel it no matter the distance.”

“That’s certainly true, but… just who is going to take it there?”

Yuuki smiled.

“Why, Stefan will, of course.”

Just now, standing before the stairway from the first floor, as Stefan and Franka had spoken, Yuuki had stealthily placed the Divine Pearl in Bertolt’s waist satchel. It wasn’t so much that he’d targeted Bertolt specifically as that he happened to be a convenient target.

In this way, Tina would be able to trace them.

Even if he discovered it partway through, it wouldn’t change things one bit. There wasn’t a soul alive who would casually discard an unused Divine Pearl simply because they hadn’t noticed it before. The fact that it was a high quality item only made that a certainty. He’d either save it as a trump card to be used when necessary or pocket it to be sold. Either way, that he would continue to carry it on his person was beyond question.