Episode 39 The Labyrinth of Raining Roses
When Kian went to the stables of the Adventurers' Guild where they were to meet, Serena was unusually the first to arrive. He had departed after eating breakfast, which Esther had prepared for him, and was probably the reason for his delay.
As Kian walked up to her, Serena, who was leaning against the fence surrounding the hut, quickly raised her body.
「I was earlier than you today, wasn't I?」
「The meeting time hasn't come yet. It's not my fault.」
「You don't have to be so defensive. I'm not waiting for much either. ...... Come here. I borrowed a horse for two.」
「Thanks.」
「Hmm.」
As he was about to walk straight into the stable, she silently held out her hand to him.
Kian stared at her white hand for a moment, then dropped to one knee, gently took her hand, and leaned his lips.
「――!? W-wait! What are you doing!?」
「What? I thought you wanted me to kiss your hand like a knight and a noble princess.」
When Kian said that with a straight face, Serena's light blue eyes widened.
「I-I don't know what you're thinking about that would lead you to that kind of thinking!」
「In my country, a woman is supposed to be raped by a man if she puts out her hand like that. Be careful next time. Especially if it's against a pretty, beautiful girl like you. I'm a man, too, and I'd have sex with you if I was invited.」
『What is this pervert talking about?』
「There is no such custom in Azrair! Don't say random things!」
Serena sighs heavily as she raises her eyebrows uncomfortably.
She shook her proffered hand and continued.
「I mean, Mo-ney. Get it out quickly. The fee to rent a horse from the guild. I just paid it for you first, and I'm not going to buy you any of it.」
「What, if that's what you mean, just say it. If it's not me, you'd be mistaken if you just held out your hand. I've been thinking for a while now that you're overwhelmingly short on words. You should reflect on that.」
「Is it my fault ......?」
Serena accepted two large copper coins from Kian, confused.
Her ears, which had stood beaming earlier, were shriveled up henceforth.
It seems that she is losing her temper.
『There is nothing wrong with you. This guy is just crazy.』
「Is your equipment in order?」
「Yes. I have torches, oil, and pine needle ready. Silver and mercury were not financially possible. Also weapons.」
Serena put her hand on the hilt of the longsword at her waist.
「Unfortunately, the magic language is still the same as the previous 【Hard Sword】. The ones in the 『Rose Labyrinth』 are ghost-type enemies, I probably won't be able to do any damage with it, though」
「Me too. I'll have to put fire on my wooden sword and swing it around to get rid of them.」
「We're only scouting today, but ......, when we going to conquer that labyrinth, why don't we hire a temporary magician? Or a warrior with equipment that can damage the ghost's body.」
「That's a good idea, ....... I was thinking, Serena can't use magic?」
「Yup.」
「I thought the mercenaries had magicians.」
「They didn't tell me. ...... because my father was against me becoming a warrior. My sword is also something I learned from my brother who was killed.」
Serena said and looked down in frustration.
(It's too good to be true from my point of view, but I guess that's because there were plenty of male warriors in the tribe who were physically superior to Serena.)
『But this girl reeks very strongly of the blood of Wolo, the wolf god. I don't think she was inferior in physical ability, but not in magic power since she is a woman.』
Kian is not in a position to tell her to stop being a swordsman and become a magician.
To begin with, learning magic requires a master, money, and plenty of time.
If you want to get a national qualification, you have to pay a lot of money to attend the academy in the royal capital, which is incomparably more expensive than the cost of a trip to Azrair.
It would be impossible with Serena's financial situation, who can't even come up with the money to carve the magic language on her weapons.
「Serena, it may be none of my business, but do you really think you can defeat a "Deadly Swordsman" with mere swordsmanship?」
「It's really none of your business. ......, Thank you very much. I will take good care of it.」
Serena receives the reins from the guild's caretaker.
Beside her, Kian also pulled the horse out.
He has no problem since he knows how to ride a horse.
「.......I don't think I can win with the way things are going. Because my brother was killed so easily.......I am a Silver Wolf tribe, and although I think I am at least much more physically superior to normal humans, I am a woman after all. I think my purely physical abilities are inferior to my brother's. But...」
The horse that Serena was pulling made a bururu mouth sound.
「But if you know your opponent and make a proper strategy, you will surely win. The disadvantage is always on the side of the hunter. The "Deadly Swordman" has to feel the fear of becoming his own prey.」
「That's quite a mentality, but if we're being realistic, it would be better to learn something other than swordsmanship so that you have more tools.」
「True. I thought about having someone teach me magic too, but it was difficult to find a decent teacher. Paying tuition would be of little use if the person is a lower-level magician. I wouldn't mind investing in someone if I could find someone good.」
With that said, she looks at Kian with a staring look.
Apparently, she suspects that Kian might be able to use magic.
「I am a warrior monk of Azrair, not a pure magician. I can only teach you healing arts and the basics of Azrairian Dancing Swordsmanship.」
「Fair enough. Since we're in a party, I'd like to accompany you in your self-discipline, if you don't mind.」
Serena leaned forward as if she had been waiting for him and said so.
Kian shrugged his shoulders.
「I don't mind, but I don't want to teach you my skills for free.」
「You don't have to teach me. I'll just watch and steal it.」
「That's not very efficient. You should be mature enough to pay the price and take my lessons.」
「I don't want to.」
Serena said, her eyes glazing over again.
「Because, Kian, you are going to ask me to do something naughty for a price, aren't you?」
「Yes, but which is more important to you, your chastity or avenging your brother?」
「Both are important. I have no intention of submitting to anyone weaker than myself, and I have no intention of having children with a man I don't approve of deep down in my heart.」
「To put it another way, all I need is your approval.」
「There are other financial and other things to talk about. Let's see, ......, my father and mother ― I don't think I'm going to be dating anyone after I join up with the "Storm Crowd". Too bad, I'm not very easy.」
「Hmph, I see」
Kian said and averted his gaze from the light blue eyes that glared back at him.
He recoiled and straddled the horse.
「...... Surely it's easier to get pleasure from a quick, bitchy waiter at a bar than it is to drop a woman of quality and substance who looks like she's made of muscle all the way to her brain.」
「That's what I mean. If you get what I'm saying, you're going to have to take me out of your love life. I'm not going to stop you from flirting outside of work, but I don't want you to do anything pervert while we're at work ...... Honestly, you are such an attractive warrior that I would love to bring you back to our flock, but even if that happens, please find a mate other than me.」
「Women other than Serena, huh? I hear there are a lot of beautiful women from the Silver Wolf tribe, so that's nice too.」
「If you say that, I'll take you home for real. I'm telling you, if the leader of our tribe approves of you, you will be preyed upon by the women of the tribe in order to bring in "new blood". They might even force you to have ten wives.」
「That's nice, it's more than welcome.」
「...... an unusual human you are. Since you don't seem to know, let me tell you that all the women in our tribe are as vigorous as whores. If there were more than five of them, I think you would really die, not just metaphorically.」
Serena said with a sigh and poked the horse in the belly.
「Now, enough chitchat. Let's get on with it.」
× × ×
The dungeon 『Rose Labyrinth』――.
It is a large maze composed of rose walls with black roses in bloom.
It is roughly three kilometers long and wide.
Inside the walls is a complicated labyrinth, and even if you try to look down on it from above, it is a tricky place because of the magic of illusion that distorts your perception.
In the center of the labyrinth is a western-style house where an ancient countess is said to have spent the last years of her life.
It rains in the labyrinth all year round, and somehow the surrounding plants and trees do not die even though they are exposed to the rain all the time.
The temperature is low and the footing is poor.
A maze is a place that does not accept swordsmen, with many ghostly monsters appearing in the maze.
In addition to the terrible climate, the enemies are also troublesome monsters.
Even if there was a request, adventurers would not take it.
The rewards are usually not worth the trouble at all.
「We can't afford to get our borrowed horses wet, so that's as far as we go.」
In the wilderness, with their destination getting closer.
Serena stopped her horse and got out of the saddle when she saw that the sky was beginning to be covered with thick clouds.
Kian followed her down.
A damp, cold wind blew, rustling the branches of the shrubs and the brown, dead grass in the wilderness.
「Shall we leave the horses here?」
「Yes. Leave them here. If the wolves attack them, they will run away to the guild on their own.」
Serena patted the horse's face and took down the baggage strapped to the saddle.
She pulled a black raincoat out of her saddlebags.
It was one of those sold at the guild.
Apparently, she bought it during her vacation yesterday.
Kian had a handmade one, so he put it on.
「Speaking of which, I heard the kidnapper of the woman was caught.」
「Kidnapping of a woman? Ahh, they say a waitress at a bar called Matilda and Sophie were kidnapped.」
「Matilda is a woman I met on the way back from a previous 【Spoon Wing】 assignment. Her body was apparently found in the sewers under the city early this morning. The blood and skin fragments under her fingernails led them to believe it was one of our clients, a guard, who was the culprit.」
「Hmm. Does the guard admit to the crime?」
「Sounds like it. Another victim ― They are questioning Sophie about her whereabouts with the Schwarzer knights, but he hasn't confessed yet.」
「............」
「There was a high-reward search quest out there yesterday, so much so that I was going to call you and discuss whether or not I would take it. But in the end, I decided not to, because I also have today's request and I didn't think it would be a good idea to take it badly and fail both.」
「That's good. A request that is too competitive is as good as a gamble. Rather, it is the first request. You should prioritize the request you decided on first.」
「You are absolutely right. I don't often get along with a flirt like you, but we seem to be on the same page when it comes to the adventurous business.」
Serena said and quickly unfolded her raincoat.
She is checking to see if the sword on her waist is easy to pull out.
「No problem. As expected of the Adventurers' Guild. They have good quality raincoats.」
「You sound as if you think my raincoat is of low quality.」
「I don't mean to imply that. ......, ......Muh」
「What's up?」
Kian asks Serena, who suddenly twitches her dog's ear.
Serena squints her light blue eyes and looks past Kian to the wilderness behind him.
「Serena?」
「 ....... There was a sign. Not a beast. The presence of a human.」
「What did you say?」
Kian also looked back behind him.
In the dim light, there were only pine shrubs and various weeds swaying in the wind, but not a single beast could be seen.
「Over there, ten o'clock. At the base of the pine tree」
「Crow.」
Kian pulls a crow out from under his raincoat, puts it on his right hand, and lets it fly away.
At that moment, two black figures rise from the base of the pine tree Serena pointed to, turn their backs to them, and begin to flee at once.
The fleeing figures looked thin, but their legs were incredibly fast.
They were probably beastmen.
The crow still chased them, but suddenly the connection with the crow was severed.
It seems that the crow was killed by an arrow, knife, or ...... some kind of long-range weapon.
「They've been laying low to shake off the pursuit. Serena, those two aren't the only ones. There are a few more of them out there.」
「Hm...... but so far there's no sign of any more of them.」
Serena said as she ran her eyes around the area without letting her guard down.
Kian clicks his tongue as he releases a few crows.
「No, they're faster. I can't keep up with them. I'll just fly the crows just in case.」
「What about the quest? After we're worn out from scouting, we might get attacked on the way back.」
Kian thought for a moment, then turned to Serena.
「No, if they attack us, that's fine. The most troublesome thing is that they will keep watching us long after we return to town and attack us at a critical moment. We're going to scout out the Rose Labyrinth as planned. If they plan to attack us, we will make it easier for them to attack us.」
「You're going to lure them in by pretending to fall for their tricks on purpose, aren't you? Understood. I have no objection.」
「But be careful. As long as we can't see the enemy, we'll be at a disadvantage for a long time.」
「A surprise attack won't work on me. My intuition is more powerful than that of the elves with their 【Future Vision】.」
「The 【Divine Intuition】 of the Wolf God Wolo, as the lore goes. I'm counting on it.」
「Did you check it out?」
「Sort of.」
Kian swallows the "every inch of your body functions―" word.
Serena turned her back toward the wilderness, her face as cool as ever.
「Elves use their keen senses to sense their surroundings and estimate physical calculations to foresee the near future, but my 【Intuition】 is a genuine sixth sense. I can predict the near future by sensing all kinds of 【Chi】, from the magic power in my body to the flow of magic power in nature. You should never be overconfident, but you can rely on it to some extent.」
「That's very promising.」
「 .......Let's go. You know what I mean, but let's avoid the ghosts as much as possible. We don't have any real means of attack.」
「Yeah」
Kian nodded and followed Serena out of the wilderness onto an abandoned farm road.
Behind them, the guild's horses neigh and neigh as if to send them off.
Ahead of them, they could see a long, black wall.
That was the outer wall of the 『Rose Labyrinth』
A damp wind blows from the labyrinth, and the sound of rain begins to be heard from far beyond.
Looking up at the black, stagnant rain clouds, Kian thought, uncharacteristically poetic, that the 『Rose Labyrinth』 seemed to be crying.
× × ×
The intensity of the rain falling on the labyrinth was such that the sound of raindrops could be heard quietly.
However, the continuous rainfall made the ground muddy, and large puddles formed in some places.
The wall of blooming black roses was high and thick.
If you stood facing the labyrinth, it extended all the way to the left and right.
Kian and Serena decided to first circle the perimeter of the labyrinth in a clockwise direction.
A quick look from the front revealed no entrance in the rose wall.
So they decided that there must be a regular entrance on the side or in the back.
「I can't find the entrance.」
Serena, who was walking in front of Kian, often made such comments as they walked along the narrow path between the rose wall and the field where pine trees and dark-green grass grew.
Kian followed her, periodically looking back and toward the wilderness.
「Right.」
So far they have been able to continue their search without encountering the ghostly monsters they had feared.
At this pace, it seemed they would be able to complete the perimeter of the labyrinth in two hours.
Serena turned her head toward him.
Her breath was pure white.
「I didn't think it would be so hard to find even the entrance.」
「......Even if we did find a way in, I'm not sure if we'd attack it the right way. If we get lost in the labyrinth and can't get out, we'll be fodder for the ghosts someday.」
Serena turns around and starts walking backward.
「I was thinking, the Western-style building should probably be built about in the middle of the labyrinth, right?」
「If the person who designed the labyrinth is a person who cares about symmetry and stuff like that, then yes.」
「So how about knocking down this wall of roses?」
「That's an interesting idea. Why don't you try it?」
「Mm-hmm.」
Serena nodded and took out the explosives from her backpack without hesitation.
However, the rain seemed to make it difficult to set it on fire.
After struggling for a while, she threw away the barrel containing the explosives and silently pulled out her sword.
「Hey, what are you――」
「Haaa. ......」
Holding the sword in the lower position, Serena let the magic power burn out of her body.
Then, she stepped forward with a ripping spirit and cut both walls of roses.
The sword, which had been strengthened by the magic language, further extended the distance and became a shockwave, gouging the rose wall. It was the 『Arrow』 of Azrair's Dancing Swordsmanship.
About three meters of the rose wall was blown away without a trace, and the black roses scattered miserably fell around Kian and Serena.
「Oh, it's pretty easy to imitate.」
「――――――」
「I might be pretty grateful since I didn't have a long-range means of attack. It's simpler than magic and suits me better.」
「――――, well. ......, well, guess you're good.」
『What's with that vocabulary-impaired, five-year-old impression?』
Kian, whose technique was easily stolen, was in deep shock despite his glasses state.
The words, "You idiot, how long do you think it took me to shoot a decent 『Arrow』" were swallowed with pride.
(It's been a long time since I've seen this type of genius. It was about the time when my memories of Jibril and Sara were fading, but seeing this brought back bad memories again. ......)
「Kian?」
「Nope. Nothing. I'm not jealous at all.」
「Oh, you were jealous? ...... I see, I'm sorry. It would indeed be hurtful if someone stole your skills so easily. My brother had a similar reaction, so I know how you feel, probably.」
「...... Well, it's a pleasure to have a strong party member. Serena, that was an okay 【Shoot】 you just made. Keep up the good work.」
Serena burst out laughing at Kian's sarcastic comment.
She opened her mouth again to say something ― and in the middle of it, she opened her eyes and turned her attention back to the rose wall.
「Wha!」
「Hou, this is ......」
Kian squints behind his glasses.
Serena had gutted the wall of roses, but what she saw beyond the wall was another wall.
And the wall of roses, which had been blown away and disappeared, was quickly plugging up the hole as the roses thrived like a tangle of ivy.
In a few seconds, the original magnificent rose wall rose up.
It was an instantaneous restoration as if the labyrinth itself was alive.
「Regenerated ......」
「It's a rose that can take the rain all year round and still not wither. I'd say that's extraordinary.」
「Kian.」
Serena turned to him and made a serious face.
「I think we need to change our means. After all, it's strange to go around here and say we can't find the entrance. Maybe the entrance is blocked, like this wall of regenerated roses.」
「Hm......, the question here is whether the labyrinth itself is alive and willfully blocking the gap, or whether something inside the labyrinth is intentionally blocking the rose wall.」
「Evil spirits」
Serena said quickly.
「My informant said there's an evil spirit living in the labyrinth.」
「Yeah, it's very likely that this evil spirit is repairing the labyrinth or rejecting intruders. So, unless we kill it who is locked up inside, we can't break in the right way.」
「Can we lure it out? But I don't think it's realistic to at least try to hold out here. Fire and tents are useless because of the rain, and if we stay in one place, we risk being surrounded by ghosts.」
「We have no choice but to force our way in by any other means other than a straightforward attack. Wait a minute.」
Kian says and walks up to something brittle in a nearby pine shrub.
He steps halfway up the trunk and breaks it, creating a thick wooden stick.
Gathering four of them, he returns with them.
「Thus, with two sticks, stand it up against the rose wall...... and place two more sticks on to make a bridge. Now you have a straight line to the Western-style building at the back.」
「It's not long enough. Maybe we should make a ladder and bring it ...... Kian!」
In the middle of her words, Serena opens her eyes and pulls his arm away.
After a moment's delay, the pinewood stick that had been propped up was sucked into the rose wall as if sinking into a bottomless swamp.
Within the rose wall, he hears the eerie sound of the fallen wooden stick being snapped and shattered as it is sucked into the rose wall.
「Well done, Serena. I'm glad you didn't waste any magic power.」
「Yes, yes, you're welcome.」
With a sigh, Serena crosses her arms and sighs.
Kian felt furiously embarrassed inside but decided to push through pretending not to be upset at all.
Serena turns to the wall with a difficult look on her face.
「Using the ladder is dangerous, isn't it? Then again, we should break down the wall by 【Shoot】 or using herbicides and go straight through the maze? But then, if we lose our senses inside the maze, we would be in big trouble.」
She took out a rope and inserted it into the rose wall.
But as expected, the rope also got caught up and was chewed up by the rose wall.
「No, let the crows fly.」
Kian said and released the crow.
But when the crow went over the rose wall, the link of magic power was forcibly torn apart.
「So?」
「No good, it makes it impossible to operate. ...... In addition, the crows say that from the sky, the rain makes the landscape so hazy that you can't even see the Western-style buildings.」
Kian said, putting his ear to the crow that he had somehow managed to call back.
「It can't be helped. But I've thought of a way. We'll go straight ahead while breaking down the wall. The problem is that we might not be able to get back if we lose our current location inside or if we get split up when we break the wall. ......」
「Wait. There is still a way.」
Kian racked his brains trying to make up for his failure.
「This labyrinth once housed a countess, right?」
「That's what I heard.」
「A demoness who was sipping blood, and soaking in a bath of blood ....... Even though she was forcibly imprisoned by her husband, she must have lived here for a long time.」
「Hmm?」
Kian looked down at Serena.
「It might have been fine to operate the labyrinth each time someone came in or out, but how were they handling the drinking water and sewage? If they had to adjust the labyrinth every time someone came in or out of the labyrinth, it would be very difficult for the operator. Maybe there was a certain way to get water in and out of the labyrinth? Irrigation canals, sewers, etc.」
「Rainwater is boiled for water supply. Sewerage is just dripping down the drain. ...... She's a countess, after all. Even if she was imprisoned, she must have been well provided for in terms of food, clothing, and shelter.」
「Let's look for a canal or a sewer. There must be one somewhere.」
「Yeah, good idea. But we'll end up circling the perimeter of the maze.」
Serena laughed and started walking forward.
Kian followed her.
The two of them then went around the perimeter of the labyrinth in silence, but as it turned out, they did not find any canals or sewers.
Either some kind of powerful illusionary magic had been cast on them, or the waterway had been hidden somewhere.
Even if the owner of the labyrinth has no intention of hiding it, the entrance to the waterway may have collapsed and become buried due to age-related deterioration.
(Hey, Glasses, you can see through hallucinations, can't you?)
When they finally came back to the original farm road, Kian had no choice but to call out to Glasses.
The answer was immediate.
『Indeed. But it is not possible to have powerful magic of a kind I do not know..」
(Is there magic in this wall of roses?)
『I don't know if it's a hallucination or not, but it seems to be old and powerful magic.』
Kian couldn't help but blurt out, "Of course it is".
『In other words, I don't know anything about it.』
(That's enough. I was a fool to ask you.)
「Hey, Kian. What do we do? Should we just break the wall and go straight ahead?」
Serena stopped and turned around and asked me this as we were coming back to the exit of the farm road.
Kian raised his eyebrows.
They did some reconnaissance today and found that something is not quite right with this labyrinth,
Even if you break down the walls, they regenerate, and you can't even find the entrance ― there are a lot of things that are just not right.
Kian was about to be told that this was a labyrinth, so it was only natural, but it seemed dangerous for the two of them, who had no knowledge of magic, to go in like this.
(There is a difference between boldness and optimism. We should be more cautious here.)
「It is the last resort. I don't think we can break through this labyrinth by brute force. ......I think we should have magicians take a look at this labyrinth.」
「So we're hiring a magician. Okay. It's hard for us to deal with the ghosts that appear here anyway. Well, let's go home and start looking for a party at the guild.」
「No, don't recruit them first. We don't know what kind of people will come if we, the lowest-class adventurers, are the ones doing the recruiting. We don't want idiots like Francisca coming in.」
「Idiot .......Well, she doesn't know anything about magic. But what then?」
Kian stared back at Serena, who tilted her head.
「If it's magic, I know one person.」
「What kind of person?」
「She's usually a sister at a church on the outskirts of town. She has a workshop near the cemetery, and she's also an herbalist.」
「You're running out a sister from the Western Church?」
Serena raised her eyebrows.
「But even that person must have day labor, right? I don't think she'd take it.」
Kian shook his head loosely and pushed up the bridge of his glasses.
「I'll ask her sincerely first. I'll do my best to let her know how I feel.」
「Really? Then let's skip the recruiting for now. I'll leave it to Kian to handle the magician. ...... but be careful not to ruin your friendship with her by pestering her too much.」
「I know」
Kian nodded and lifted the corner of his mouth.
「I'm sure that she―Arueno-san, will listen to my request and go along with it. I'll spend the night and make my request, so please wait in anticipation. Kukukukuku......」
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