And They Traveled Again
Early the next morning, Ria trained with Carlos and Gig as her opponents.
Even though she was already aware, her physical abilities clearly improved. Rather than her status, the Body Strengthening and Bone Strengthening levels included in her Gift improved.
Though due to her height suddenly becoming taller, she couldn’t use the techniques she’d learned so far correctly.
“Even though my level went up…”
She didn’t feel like she’d become stronger.
Handled bare-handedly by Ria, Gig and Carlos were gasping for breath at her feet.
“Come ooon, seriously, this girl. Since before, even though, she’s been strong, at least then, I lost, like normal.”
“As expected, Anego.”
Carlos used the magic sword that used to be the Specter Knight’s, while Gig used his familiar warhammer. However, they were toppled just by Ria fighting barehanded.
Contrasting that, Maal practiced her spirit magic.
“Hmm.”
She could see the flow of magic in the air. From inside that, she particularly felt the power of wind, synchronizing her emotions to it.
The wind blew softly, stirring Serge and Lulu’s hair.
Opening the grimoire, Serge was eager to develop a method to reduce the magical power required for s.p.a.ce magic.
“That’s so nice~, I also wanted something~”
Although it was good that Maal’s magic could be seen, it was out of her expertise. To begin with, unlike ordinary magic, no one could use it in theory. Lulu really only just studied it.
“Well, if Lulu wants a magic, I’ll look it up.”
“I already know about it. The problem is magical power and its configuration.”
In the fight against the Cyclops, Lulu was of no use at all. Though it was the same with everyone else, for Lulu, who appointed herself as Ria’s protector in her heart, she felt ashamed.
It can’t be helped. Though Serge thought that, he couldn’t explain it to Lulu since she didn’t know about their previous lives nor the Gift’s details.
“Well for the time being, it’s going to be busy for a while.”
Comforting them like that, Carlos whose stocks should have risen just caused the boy, who was over thirty years old including his previous life, to sigh like an old man.
As expected, it caused a fuss. Also as expected, it was more than they expected.
Along with taking the sixth floor’s guardian’s magic crystal to the guild, Serge announced the s.p.a.ce-time magic he’d been concealing until now, saying he was awarded it from the lord of the labyrinth.
Though it was fine since the mayor, Klaus, already knew about it, a parade would be formed on the main street. It would take up a lot of time.
They left it to Carlos and Lulu to follow the procedures, but since they were dead when the final guardian was defeated, it mainly turned into Ria and Serge speaking from there on.
“A Cyclops… is it?”
Hearing that, the guild master who was listening became speechless.
“Yeah. Since neither swords nor magic were effective it was troublesome.”
Since Ria gave the explanation like that, it was natural he’d have questions.
“Then how did you defeat it?”
“I got eaten on purpose, cutting it up from inside its stomach.”
Serge looked at the guild master, who was lost for words. I should have aimed for the inside of the mouth as well, he thought after the fact.
The pastries they ate while talking were delicious.
That afternoon, a grand labyrinth exploration was declared in front of the guild.
The next day’s parade was announced during the banquet at town hall.
The town’s influential people and merchants continually chased Carlos in hopes of meeting Ria’s group.
Influential people among explorers turned up, wanting to hear the story. The wizards went to Lulu and the warriors to Gig. Both of them looked like adults on the outside.
Though flirtatious men tried to approach Ria with the wrong idea, they backed off in droves after she gave a demonstration of breaking a sword with her bare hands.
Maal was also popular. Originally living in Labyrinth City for so long, she gathered a lot of beastkin explorers. She had good communication skills.
Serge was leisurely. Though he was surrounded by Onee-san explorers for some reason, he was pampered. No matter how you looked at Ria, she was jealous.
Even though they were finally liberated by evening, Klaus told them their schedule for the next day while seated for dinner. It was going to be another long day.
Brushing Matsukaze, taking the h.e.l.lhound for a walk, and ma.s.saging Maal’s paws, her mind healed.
“Nee-chan, now that I think of it, what’s the dog’s name?”
Serge asked while patting the fluffy h.e.l.lhound without reservation. If they called it h.e.l.lhound it’d be inconvenient.
“I decided on a name. It’s Rudolph.”
“Such a self-important name came out–!”
Though he thought a j.a.panese name would come out for sure, his expectations were off the mark.
“I mean, see? Doesn’t he look like a Rudolph?”
Certainly, with his bared teeth and huge figure, he wasn’t inferior to the name.
Though it looked like a puppy when it rolled on its back in front of Ria. Patting him as though in agreement, Serge did so delightedly.
The following day, they carried out the parade in the morning, doing the ceremony at noon.
Moreover, from the next day on, they received party invitations from influential people every day.
Though more and more people knew their faces, the question was whether becoming famous in a small town away from Casalia Kingdom had any meaning.
And so, Ria revealed her ident.i.ty.
Like an ordinary explorer, Ria tried to be known as a daredevil that borrowed the royal family’s power.
But it was a failure.
That caused the big shots in town to try and contact Ria with the purpose of trying to get the explorers to enter government service.
Ria, who had been gathering a considerable amount of stress, rushed into the labyrinth with a party before dueling them so that it’d be safe when they died.
Meanwhile, the young trio tried to raise their levels a bit more and get some income, entering the labyrinth by themselves.
It was easy up to the sixth floor, but the seventh floor turned out to be difficult. Though Serge could use cure and restoration while Lulu wasn’t there, their decisions came too late since the people they were accustomed to weren’t there.
Even though Lulu and Carlos joined in to capture it before long as well, they were still stopped by the Dogazer on the eighth floor.
With weapons made of metal, Carlos who acted as the protector couldn’t fight. Even though Gig could fight with a club, it didn’t turn out well after being put to sleep.
Even so, focusing on the fifth and sixth floor, they continued trying to raise their levels and skill masteries.
Ria became like a Shura, thirsting for blood. [TN: You get the picture.]
Warriors seeking a match with her, even though she made it as hard for them to die as possible, were easily cut down.
Obtaining a good katana, it was the right situation for her to get drunk on blood.
However, during morning and night practice, she mysteriously turned into polite person.
Even if she was drunk on blood, she wasn’t drunk on power. She had to draw the line somewhere.
And so, one month pa.s.sed.
Though they felt like time moved too quickly, after receiving various invitations, time pa.s.sed by imperceptibly.
In order to memorize their new skills, they all partied up and captured up to the ninth floor again. They didn’t bother trying to fight the Cyclops again. With the little bit of intelligence Labyrinth gave it, they probably wouldn’t have won with the same method.
The same day they easily killed the Hydra, they informed Klaus they would be leaving the city.
“Is that so, are you returning home?”
Though Klaus sounded somewhat reluctant, his expression changed from Ria’s following words.
“No, we’re going to go challenge the Dark Labyrinth next.”
Even though the members had already heard, the mood became serious again.
The Dark Labyrinth.The most difficult labyrinth on the continent, Dark Dragon Valis resided within.
Only one group had explored it so far. That was Casalia’s founder, Leyte Anaia, and her comrades. In addition that happened a thousand years ago, so the details were unknown.
Though they could probably learn a little more if they went to Casalia’s Royal Library, if they returned now, the eyes watching her would become stricter and it would become difficult to get away. Apart from Ria, it was hard for the others.
“Since it’s different than this labyrinth, please be careful.”
Klaus said so in a genuinely concerned tone.
After arranging to depart the rest of the day, the group left Labyrinth City early the following morning.
Starting with Klaus, before they knew it everyone who was on good terms with explorers also came to the walls to see them off.
Waving until they disappeared from sight, the party advanced with their rattling carriage.
… I wonder if a carriage is alright? Though the box-shaped carriage was being pulled, the one pulling was Rudolph the h.e.l.lhound.
Maal sat in the driver’s seat, while Gig and Serge sat inside.
Though they tried to use normal horses at first, no coach horse could get accustomed to Rudolph. Even Lulu’s Donkey still feared it.
Only Matsukaze played around with him on equal footing. It was amazing that a horse was equal to a h.e.l.lhound though.
“Well then, on to the Dark Labyrinth!”
As the warm wind signalling the end of Spring blew, Matsukaze shook his mane.
Under the blue sky, Ria’s voice was one of a person in high spirits, resounding through the distant hills.