Foreigner Volume 5, Chapter 53

Volume 5 Chapter 53, Labyrinth ~ 11

　Then a hole opens up to the last layer.

　He jumped down and immediately realized that this place was slightly different from the previous ones. After all, the height was much different. Up until now, the height of single layer was about half a majors (4.5 meters), but here, the height of the layer was three times as high. Satoru landed softly, without taking the impact of the fall because of his 【Glide】 art, and looked around in circles. With only the lights from Rico's torch and Leia's wand, it seemed a little darker due to the weaker reflection from the ceiling.

「The 100th layer ―― perhaps this is the deepest.」

　As you can imagine, Leia looked a little nervous as she stepped down from Satoru's shoulder. Rico and Minerva also moved a little away from Satoru and looked around. A bleak rock wall and floor. The ceiling has been raised, and it seems to be no different from the previous floor, but that's impossible. Each of the four of them tightened their minds at the sense of tension that had somehow come over them.

「I'm going to use 【Clairvoyance】 the floor to see if there's anything further down.」

　Just to be sure, Satoru put his hand on the floor and sent an image of looking at the other side. But no matter how far he went, he couldn't get a clear image of the other side. Even by simple calculation, this was 100 layers below ground, and considering the height of one layer, it must be about 600 meters below the ground.

「.......It seems that there's nothing more below. I'm pretty sure this is the last layer.」

　Satoru stood up and glared at his surroundings. It was hard to tell exactly what the temperature was around him, thanks to the self-regulation of his body temperature by his own magical power. Leia, whose body temperature does not fluctuate much, but Minerva and Rico, who are lightly dressed, are not showing any signs of being cold, so the temperature must be comfortable in their own way.

　The area was quiet and still, and there was no sign of any monsters lurking about.

「Somewhere on this floor, there must be the Lord of this labyrinth. According to my intuition, it's not a living creature.」

　Satoru was in the lead, with Rico right behind him. Leia and Minerva lined up a little farther back, and they began their search of the 100th layer. There was a double trap on the way, but Rico found it easily, and Satoru's 【Disintegration】 saved the day.

「But every time, how do you know there a trap?」

　Satoru muttered, half-amused. Since entering this labyrinth, Rico has seen through all the traps. Her intuition is almost divine. Rico shrugged her shoulders.

「Ah, right. I don't know how to say this, but I can feel the air flow on my skin.」

　"Oya," Leia said.

「【Sensory Perception】, I guess. But that's the thing. The duration of the effect is long, but it shouldn't have been the type of art that always activates. Rico, maybe you've been using it unconsciously, too.」

「It could be. But only recently, you know? It's only recently that I've been able to feel this way.」

　Rico has always had a keen sense of intuition. Her biggest mistake was choosing Satoru as the target of her pickpocketing, but that turned out to be a good thing, so she guesses it's a matter of opinion. Leia smiled a little.

「........If you receive my Lord's semen, that's what happens.」

「Ah ...... ahhh ......」

　The intercourse with Satoru increased her soul. As a result, the magic that had not been manifested until now became clearly revealed, Leia predicted. It made sense to Rico. It is true that her senses have been sharpened since she started working with Satoru.

　As for Satoru, he couldn't help but frown.

「...... It's kind of complicated」

「Ah, ahahaha! You don't have to worry about it, Satoru. And it's not that I don't like it, it's just that I'm glad to have you do it ...... *mumbling*.」

　Satoru stroked Rico's head, her face red and the end of her words muddled, and muttered to herself.

「Rico's pretty cute too.」

「......auhh」

　Immediately, Rico's face turned red and she looked down. Rico is not accustomed to receiving praise. As was the case with her earlier exchange with Leia, there was a side of her that could not accept praise in a straightforward manner.

　Come to think of it, he probably hadn't praised Rico as honestly as he had in the past. Rico has been very helpful to him in many ways, and he have thanked her at every opportunity, but he have never praised her, Satoru realized.

　Satoru stroked Rico's cheek, which was gradually shrinking, and smiled at her. There was no more distorted sweetness in her. Her dependence on Satoru was deep, but it was a dependence that she had to face head-on. It may have only been a few days, but Rico is growing up. There is no doubt about that.

「When we get through this labyrinth, I want to do something to all of you.」

「Sex?」

　Minerva said immediately. Satoru smiled bitterly.

「That's fine, though. Each of you, think of something you want me to do for you. I just want to return the favor.」

　After saying this, Satoru realized that this was a subtle flag of death――However, it would be foolish to retract it now. Leia and Rico exchanged glances with each other.

「No need, I already happy enough to be with my Lord.」

「Me too.」

「Minerva, you know, I'd like to have sex with Danna-sama all day long!」

　The words of Leia and Rico, so reserved, were followed by Minerva's all-too-familiar desire. At first it was just a wish to have a child, but lately she has become completely addicted to sex itself.

「Is Minerva okay with just that?」

「Yup!」

「All right, I got it. I'm going to have sex with you until I or Minerva can't move.」

「Really? Yayyy!」

　Both Rico and Leia looked enviously at Minerva's honest and innocent joy. They were even envious of Minerva's innocence in being able to say what she wanted so honestly.

「Leia and Rico, think about it. If you want to hang out together, that's fine. I want to spend a day with both of you.」

「No, but ......」

「Leia.」

　Leia was about to argue with him, but Rico put her hand on Leia's shoulder and shook her head from side to side. Rico felt that It was not a good for a magical slave to ignore the kindness that Satoru has shown them.

　They are here to fulfill Satoru's wish to return to his world. But even so, they should be able to afford to respond to the kindness Satoru had shown them.

「I'll think about it. Leia, too.」

「...... hmm」

　When Rico interceded, Leia also broke down. This is a rare sight, as Leia has always been able to discourage Rico, but never the other way around. Leia is a bit paranoid about returning Satoru to the world he came from. Riko put a nail in Leia's coffin.

　Leia must have thought it was nothing to be self-centered about. She honestly withdrew. This may be another example of Leia's growth.

　They continued their search for about 30 minutes without encountering any monsters. The four of them looked at each other in front of a door that looked like that. It was the largest, most ornate door they had ever seen. Perhaps they needed to pick up a key from somewhere, but of course they didn't. They had only done a minimal amount of searching up to this point.

　However, the key was not even a problem for Satoru. He would just smash it down with his overwhelming magical power.

「It's a big door. Maybe it's over here.」

「It's locked, but  ......,you're going to smash it down, right?」

「Of course. All right, let's do it with gusto!」

　The four of them nodded vigorously to each other.

　After looking around at the expressions on each of their faces, Satoru quickly held out his hand in front of him and used 【Disintegration】. The door bent and literally shattered, beyond the power of a material that should normally be impervious to magic.

　There was a cloud of dust and a roar. On the other side of the room was a large room with a large humanoid weapon that made a rusty sound and began to move. It must have been five meters tall. It looked like something out of an anime from a long time ago, a Golem.

「Golem...... it's also made of mithril!?」

　Leia's voice trembled.

　He vaguely recognize the golem, but he have only heard of mithril in the game.

「Mithril. What kind of material is it?」

　Satoru asked Leia with one eye while holding the Giant Killer at the ready. The Golem, which is moving slowly, looks sluggish and sturdy. Therefore, it seems to have a lot of power.

「Anyway, it's sturdy material and great for crafting magic ......, my Lord!」

「Whoa!」

　The Mithril Golem struck at Satoru with a ferocity and speed that did not match its appearance. Without panic and unperturbed, Satoru catches the Golem head-on with his Giant Killer. Satoru's legs slumped back at the sheer power, but it was a power that Satoru could control without any problem.

　Leia gulped. The power of the Mithril Golem is undoubtedly one of the strongest in the world. It's just that Satoru's power is also a step above the strongest in the world, since he can easily take it.

「Quite a power, huh!」

　With a great deal of strength, Satoru swept aside the Giant Killer and blew away the Mithril Golem. Of course, the Mithril Golem has no intelligence. Even so, it seems to be confused by an existence that surpasses its own power. Satoru distanced himself and pointed his palm at the Mithril Golem.

「How about this!」

　Satoru's 【Disintegration】 explodes. The air twists, and the Mithril Golem's chest armor burst open. It swayed heavily, but managed to regain its balance and came at Satoru again. Satoru crouched down and easily dodged the powerful arm that was thrown at him.

「Hou! You survived!」

　There was a hint of enjoyment in his voice. To be honest, Satoru's previous enemies were not enough for him. This was the first time his enemies had endured his own magical power, and a feeling of elation dwelled in his heart. But even so, it seems that he had taken a lot of damage. It was thrown off balance by the large swing of its arm.

「I can see the core in Golem's body! If you break it, it's over!」

　Leia's voice flew. A dark purple light could be seen deep within its bounced surface armor. That must be the it's core. He doesn't know how it works, but the armor seems to be slowly but gradually recovering. From the looks of it, the core will be hidden by the armor again in less than a minute.

　Satoru was tempted to fight a little longer, since he had just encountered a worthy opponent, but if the attack was directed only at him then he wouldn't mind, then what if the Golem directed its attack at Rico and Minerva. Satoru held the Giant Killer in his opposite hand, carved out a step and hit the Mithril Golem's leg with all his might. The Mithril Golem, which should have a greater sense of weight, loses its balance.

　Satoru thrusts the Giant Killer in his opposite hand into the breakthrough as if it were flowing while its body was in a collision position.

「There you, go!」

　The magic power of 【Disintegration】 is sent through the 【Giant Killer】 as it is. As the core shattered with a *crack*, high-pitched sound, the Mithril Golem slowly stopped moving and came to halt. Even though mithril is an excellent material in the world, if it is subjected to magical power that far exceeds its power, there is nothing that can be done.

　The armor that was recovering has also stopped recovering. It would not be able to move anymore. The Lord that had protected this labyrinth for hundreds of years had been destroyed by a visitor from another world.

　He doesn't know if it's just his imagination, but the atmosphere in the labyrinth seems to have changed.

「You didn't even try. You're too strong, my Lord.」

　Leia blurted out, releasing her tension. The Mithril Golem is the strongest physical monster, aside from the Five Dragons. Even Minerva in her flying dragon form her attack can't get through that Golem properly. The only way to defeat it is to destroy its core, but it is extremely difficult to break through its surface armor. The Golem has a resistance againts a normal magic, but to smash through the magic resistance barrier and destroy it - this is far beyond Leia's prediction.

「......I didn't get a chance to use my bow after all.」

　Rico smiled bitterly and put the short bow back on her back. Even though she had been told that evasion was her top priority, it was hard for her to accept that she had cleared the labyrinth without launching a single attack.

「As expected of Danna-sama.」

　In the first place, Minerva doesn't even think that Satoru will not be able to handle the Goldem. She doesn't believe that Satoru, who easily defeated her as a Flying Dragon in battle, will be able defeated by Golem. She has complete trust in him, so she doesn't mind turning her back on the front line when the battle begins.

　Satoru, a little embarrassed by everyone's flattery, stroked the Mithril Golem that had defeated as his first challenger and looked around. It looked like the room Leia had summoned Satoru to. The ceiling is high and the room is spacious. The Mithril Golem, which was moving quickly despite its dull appearance, would certainly benefit from a space like this to fight in. However, there is nothing but Mithril Golem. It's odd that this is the last room.

「...... There's a very powerful 【Concealment】 art here. My Lord.」

　Leia narrowed her eyes and muttered to herself. Leia still has a long way to go when it comes to using magic. "Hou," he groaned, and Satoru concentrated. Searching his senses for suspicious spots. He felt something strange in a corner of the surrounding wall - perhaps that was the part that was being "concealed".

「...... That's place, huh. 【Remove Spell】」

　Gughh, And there is resistance. Satoru concentrated even harder. Eliminating what is hidden - for some reason, the image of a skirt being rolled up passed through Satoru's mind. There was a ripping sound, and the skirt was torn, or rather, the art of 【Concealment】.

　A small door appeared in the middle of the room. The rock wall had been empty a moment ago, but now there was nothing to hide.

　Rico quickly approached the door to check for traps. Rico carefully touched the door a few times and nodded toward Satoru. There seems to be no trap.

　Satoru asked Rico to take over, and he gave the doorknob a firm squeeze. The door opens easily.

　The room on the other side of the door is much smaller than the one the Golem was in. There was only a large cocoon-like structure covered in dust in the center of the room, with a few sticks sticking up around it. He cautiously entered the room.

　Upon closer inspection, he realized that it was not a cocoon.

「Casket ...... No, a coffin?」

　Satoru carefully walked forward. He thought that perhaps this was the tomb of a king or something from the Ancient Magic Kingdom. If that's the case, then what's in the coffin is probably a mummy or something. If that's the case, then it makes sense that it was guarded by a Golem, but there are too few ornaments around it to be considered a royal tomb. No one had ever been here before, so it was unlikely that there would be any theft.

「Lost technology .....」

　Leia muttered to herself. The technology that existed during the time of the Ancient Magic Kingdom is called that in this present world. It is possible that some of these technologies are beyond the reach of even modern Japan, where Satoru is from. Rico, who had been checking her surroundings with her eyes, nose and fingers, relaxed her shoulders.

「Hmm, there seems to be no trap.」

　At Rico's report, everyone relaxed their shoulders. Until now, Rico's sensing has never failed. Even Leia has confidence in Rico's abilities.

　Satoru approached the coffin-like object rather carelessly. It was an oval shape, two meters long, one meter wide, and one meter high, made of what appeared to be thin steel, though it was hard to see because of the dust. Satoru found a piece of parchment hanging from a stick sticking out of the ground, and he picked it up, and upon closer inspection, he saw that the end of the stick was covered with what looked like a black crystal.

「Hoo. It's beautiful.」

「Wait, my Lord! You musn't touch it care――!」

　Leia's warning was a step too late. Satoru placed his hand carelessly on the black crystal. Satoru felt a sense of dread as something inside him was sucked out of him.

　The next moment, there was a high-pitched kyuiiiiiiin sound from the coffin, similar to the sound of a motor running.

　"I've done it!" Satoru looked at Leia and the coffin with a pitying look on his face, 

　Then, compressed air erupted from the coffin. Dust flew in the air, and the four of them gathered and prepared themselves.

　Beyond the dust, there was a sound of water coming from the coffin.

「W-what, what, what!?」

「...... people?　No, ......」

　Slowly, the dust settled and they could see someone rising from the coffin. The four of them did not release their tensions. Perhaps the person in the coffin was the real boss of this labyrinth.

　There was a splashing sound. As Satoru slowly walks towards it from behind the dust, Satoru sets up his 【Giant Killer】 in his waistband.

「Subject #1096, confirmed to be activated.」

　What was there was a completely naked woman. Her skin was as white as snow, without a single blotch, and her long, straight, pale sky-blue hair was coated with liquid, as it floated in the light of Leia and Rico's 【Light】. Her well proportioned and magnificent body is exposed without any concealment - He doesn't feel any hostility. She slowly knelt down on one knee, turning her rather eerie silver eyes on Satoru, which were very neat but somewhat lifeless.

「Confirmed soul pattern. I acknowledge you as my master. Please give me your orders.」

　It seems that she's not the enemy――and judging from that, not only Satoru, but also Rico and Minerva have relaxed. However, Leia is the only one who widened her eyes and breaks out in a cold sweat.

「Ah.....ahhh, even if you call me master, I'm still confused.」

「It was the Master who poured the magic power into me. I have been programmed to revere the person who poured the magic into me as my master. Therefore, you are the only one who can be my master. I am test subject #1096, please command me.」

　There was no emotion in her voice at all. She simply said this while kneeling down on one knee to Satoru. Satoru's voice was confused as he looked at the beautiful woman who was declaring that she would follow him like an imprinted chick.

「First of all, get dressed......, and someone please explain this to me. Leiaー」

　She was down on one knee, so he caught a glimpse of something he shouldn't have. Stuck in a corner, Satoru took off his own cloak and pulled it over her. The beautiful woman stood up with a blank expression and pulled the front of the cloak up. The top half of her body was hidden, but her bottom half was not, making her look rather sensational.

　In order not to look at her, Satoru turned his gaze with a scream to the teacher who is the most reliable for magic and other things, Leia only gave them a dumbfounded look.

「I told you not to touch it carelessly. I don't even know it. I think it's probably a homunculus from the time of the Ancient Magic Kingdom.」

「Seriously?」

　Satoru was astonished. Such technology did not even exist in his original world. In the Middle Ages, many alchemists had tried to create homunculi, but had all fallen apart――If Leia's guess was correct, then the mass of such super-technology was the being in front of him. However, if it is true that she declared that she was programmed to revere the person who poured the magic power into her as a master, then Satoru thinks that Leia is correct.

　Rico tilted her head.

「What is a homunculus?」

　Leia, who has a lot of knowledge, and Satoru, who can vaguely understand what a homunculus is, but Rico and Minerva can't possibly have any knowledge of such things.

「Golem, you know it, right?」

　"Yes", Rico nodded. A few minutes ago, Satoru had kicked it out with his impossible ability, but that was the essence of the technology of the Ancient Magic Kingdom.

「They were artificially created magical life forms. Their human form is the homunculus.」

「Eh, eeehh!?」

　Rico looked at the beautiful woman in surprise. The beautiful woman just stood there, her expression unchanged.

「It was the first time I had seen the finished product. I mean, it must have been finished........I've heard that it was abandoned because it was too difficult to research. ......」

　Leia, realizing what was going on, threw the parchment that was scattered all over the place inside her cloak――into the shadows. Both Satoru and Riko just rolled their eyes at the sudden action. Minerva "Hmm" just looks at the beautiful woman curiously.

「What are you doing?」

「This is one of the most valuable lost items. It's not a technology that should be allowed to exist in the world today. I know it's difficult to recreate, but it's still too dangerous.」

　Leia's voice had a hint of urgency in it.

「Although we have conquered this labyrinth, we came in a straight line, so there are many parts we have not explored. Even though this is definitely the deepest part, this labyrinth will not be as vicious as before. Eventually someone will be able to explore this place, but it will be dangerous to leave these research results behind in that case. Even if the best treasure is this one.」

「I-I don't know if I got it or not.」

「It's dangerous, so don't leave anything behind. That's what I mean.」

　Too much technology leads to destruction. The reason why Satoru doesn't reveal what he has brought from modern Japan is because he is worried about the danger of it. Therefore, Leia's concern is understandable to Satoru.

「If that's the case, shouldn't we destroy this area as well?」

「Hey, wai―!」

　Once again, Leia's restraint failed to reach him.

　The coffin and some sticks that were left behind were easily shattered by Satoru's 【Disintegration】 art, and turned into sand.

　Leia sighed loudly and put her hand on her forehead. Satoru's short sightedness was a new thing, but even so, what he had just done could be quite fatal. Satoru couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat at the serious expression on Leia's face.

　Leia was lost for a moment and then looked back at the beautiful woman standing there blankly.

「......Can you talk?」

　However, the beautiful woman did not give a second thought to Leia's voice. She know that this beautiful woman can talk, because she answered Satoru's question a while ago. Despite this, Leia looked pissed off at the reaction of the beautiful woman who ignored her.

「Oi, you can hear me, can't you? Don't ignore me.」

「Leia's asking. Answer her.」

　In response to Leia's irritated voice, Satoru added to the beautiful woman. If this beauty is a life form as Satoru predicted, she may be set to respond to commands, but ignore anything else.

　In other words, she's just like a robot.

　In response to Satoru's words, the beautiful woman turned around and faced Leia.

「Certainly. Is this individual name Leia correct?」

「Y-yeah」

「Registration. Please ask questions.」

　Her silver eyes were turned straight in front of Leia, and for a moment, Leia was frightened, but then she cleared her throat and looked back at the coffin that had just been destroyed.

「You know, I wonder if the things my Lord just destroyed are things you don't mind losing?」

「It is no longer possible to fill the crystals with magic power. However, it can be filled by other means, so it should not be a big problem.」

「I see.」

　While Satoru was relieved, Leia still looked reluctant.

「Honestly, we don't know anything about you. So, I'd like you to answer a few questions for me.」

「Go ahead.」

　Leia looked at the beautiful woman with a searching gaze. She was around 5.5 feet (165cm) tall, about halfway between Minerva and Rico, and was of a large build for a woman. She looked to be around 20 years old. Her big breasts, though inferior to Minerva's, are upturned, and her white skin is still coated with golden liquid, giving her a somewhat lewd appearance. However, her emotionless expression and silver eyes reminded him of a doll, and perhaps that's why the lewd atmosphere was erased.

「You are an artificial human who lives by magic power, correct?」

「It is unclear whether the term "artificial human" refers to me, but I was created by a mage in the Kingdom of Castile. As you asked, I'm powered by magic. The name of my research has been given to me as a magic doll.」

　It's a doll that's powered by magic, so it's a 『Magic Doll』――How ironic. Leia's face involuntarily broke into a small smile, but she quickly returned to a straight face. Regardless of the name, the being in front of her is nothing more than an artificial human being that was thought to be impossible to complete.

「The Kingdom of Castile?」

　Rico tilted her head slightly.

「I know! I ate that!」

「No, you didn't.」

　With a wry smile, Leia dismissed the idea with a single word.

　Minerva was referring to a self-proclaimed cutting-edge sweet from the city of Ares. Satoru said it was a Castella, but it had a name like Castile. It's not hard to imagine that the name was borrowed from a country that existed in the past.

「It was one of the countries that existed in the Ancient Magic Kingdoms. It is said to be one of the first countries to be destroyed during the Seven Days of Disaster.」

　The history of this area is not well documented. Even if you are not Rico, it's natural that you don't know about it. You need to be a student of something like imperialism to have knowledge of this area.

「The Kingdom of Castile, registered as ruined.」

　A beautiful woman muttered inanely. Satoru glanced over at her. She had described herself as a doll. She certainly had that kind of look. The robots and androids that he had seen in manga and anime, to which the three principles of robotics were applied, looked like this――I think the assessment that they were artificial was correct.

　However, even in modern Japan, the ancient magical kingdom that created an existence that existed only in the realm of fantasy seems to have undergone quite a tremendous technological development, even for Satoru. There is no inflection in her speech, and there is almost no expression of emotion, but even so, the way she moves and forms is very human.

「Wow. So this thing was made by the Ancient Magic Kingdom.」」

　Leia nodded yes to Rico's impressed voice. Leia put a small hand on her chin and pondered, then opened her mouth.

「This is the next question. Are there any other individuals like you?」

「All of the test subjects before me have been destroyed and are not included in my data. However, if there are any test subjects after me, it may be possible.」

「I'd like to believe that there isn't anymore. ...... Next question. Can you use magic?」

　Hmm?　Satoru looked at Leia. He didn't know the difference between sorcery and magic in detail, but he remembered hearing that they were different at the very beginning of his journey.

「Yes, I can use all eight types of intermediate basic magic, arts, and mixed magic and sorcery up to the intermediate level listed in the magic catalog as of yeah 963 of the magic calendar.」

　Leia secretly shivered. It's a little different in its origins, and she can use magic that has died out in modern times, albeit only up to the intermediate level――As I thought, the beautiful woman in front of me seemed to be one hell of a bomb. But fortunately.

「The year 963 ...... This is the same year as the Seven Days of Disaster. So it's hard to imagine any other individuals after this one.」

　It's a relief to know that she is the only one who could upset the balance of the world.

　However, Leia was also unsure of her decision. Without a doubt, her existence is something that should be kept secret. On a national level, she is definitely a weapon of mass destruction, and if she were to go to the Academy of the Wise, she would probably be kept as a research subject forever. Even though Yarth didn't exist in this labyrinth, Leia's not sure if it was a good idea for Satoru to have gotten his hands on her....

「Can't you use the advanced level? For example, 【Transfer】?」

「The advanced level has not been entered into my data. But the 【Transfer】 and 【Group Transfer】 that Leia mentioned have both been entered as intermediate mixed magic. So I can use them.」

「Is was true that the classifications are different between then and now......」

　However, even in the intermediate level, there are a number of widespread annihilation magic――Leia's memory tells her that. Of course, the power and range of the art will vary depending on the amount of magic power.

「It can be done later. Please write down the list of magic and sorcery you can use.」

「I'll need Master's permission for that.」

　The beautiful woman turned around and looked back at Satoru. As usual, the bottom half of her body is visible through the gap in her cloak, and Satoru has a hard time keeping his eyes on her.

「Permission granted. Please cooperate with her」

「Certainly. Well then, I'll write it later.」

「Mm, please.」

　Leia nodded in satisfaction, and then narrowed her eyes. If my knowledge and intuition are correct, the individual in front of me is probably....

「One last question for now. Are you living being?」

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