66 - Sixty-four Volcanoes

We proceeded through the labyrinth and reached the volcano on the 45th layer. I hear that there are adventurers ahead of us who are working hard on the front lines of the attack. What should we do?

Imagine. Me, showing up on the front lines of battle, all alone. I'm gonna get a lot of questions. Hmm. I'm sure they'll talk about me when they get back to the guild, and I'd hate for my information to get out to the ...... Adventurers' Guild.

I'd like to see the Adventurers' Guild suddenly get panicked when some of the labyrinth materials they can't get suddenly hit the market. They'll be in a hurry to find out more about me than if they can easily find out about me. Guilmouth is surprised. This is definitely more dramatic.

Sylphie. Can we go on without being spotted by the adventurers?

"Wait a minute. ......The adventurers seem to have chosen a route that bypasses the dangerous places, so if we take the shortest route, they won't find us. By the way, the detour is a route that goes right behind the mountain and then climbs up. It's going to take a long time.

Did you even finish your route search while you were at it?　I think Sylphy is better than a car navigation system.

"How is a dangerous place dangerous?"

"Places with poisonous gases and rivers of magma . Around firebird nests."

You have volcanic gases. Magma rivers and firebirds, it's a fantasy. Firebirds are too cool.

We're gonna be able to get through all right, right?

"Yes, I'm fine."

I'm counting on you. I'm tempted to say I'll leave it all to you.

Then, please take the route that avoids adventurers.

Sylphy guides us onward.

**

"Oh, Yuta. There's pepper growing over there. Do you want to pick it?

"What?　Is that pepper?　Let's see, I'll collect it. Wait a minute."

Why pepper in a volcano?　I know they grow in warm places, but a volcano would be too hot. It doesn't make sense. I can understand the fantasy of a firebird or something like that. No, in a way this pepper is also a product of fantasy.

The lush foliage stands out amidst the almost complete absence of vegetation due to the volcano. It is said that the pepper in other worlds has a strong spirit.

I've only seen processed pepper, but I didn't know pepper could grow like this. The fruits are so well attached and so conspicuous that they would normally be collected, but are people not coming this way because they are taking the established detour route?

The vine has a cluster of small berries like grapes. You should be allowed to take green berries and red ripe berries ...... green berries too. Depending on how they ripen and how they are processed, they can become a variety of peppercorns. Should I leave some of the berries in the labyrinth?

...... I'll leave a little bit of it, because resources are important. But in the labyrinth, even if you get all of them, I have a feeling that new ones will grow before you know it.

Beru mo tetsudawoo queue take coooo.

Bell and his friends are willing to help. Each of them brings peppercorns in their own special way. They receive the peppercorns one by one, pat them on the head, and store them away.

Whenever I pat them on the head and thank them for their help, they all seem happy and excited, and I feel relieved to see them go back for the peppercorns one more time. It is easy to forget that this is a dangerous labyrinth.

They did the same thing when they were harvesting in the field. I've repeated the conversation in front of the great spirits, so I guess the fields are in good hands, but I wonder what's going on there. I hope we will be able to harvest something next time we come back.

"Thank you, everyone. I'll leave a few berries for you, and then I'll be done.

I thank Bell and the others for their help and finish collecting. We can never have enough pepper, so let's pick as many as we can find. The problem is how to process it. We could easily sell them to the Adventurers' Guild, but I don't want to do that.

I should talk to Marie at the general store. She's definitely the type of person who's interested in profitable deals. I'll ask her when I get out of the labyrinth.

I should also ask him for some materials from the labyrinth, as if I have a good deal for him. If you have more than you can handle, you can take them to the guilds of commerce. If you take it directly to the guild, you may get some troublesome people, so you should ask Marie first.

Climb the volcano while collecting peppercorns that are sometimes found. Do volcanoes in the labyrinth erupt?　Labyrinths are unreasonable. There is a staircase at the top of the mountain, and when you go down the staircase, you start climbing again on the lower level. It's heartbreaking.

However, no demons have appeared since we entered this level. Is it because adventurers take a roundabout route so that no demons come this way?

"Yuta. It's a river of magma."

Sylphy points in the direction of a glowing red river. I've never seen magma before, but it looks beautiful from a distance. I approach the river of magma with a carefree thought in my mind. The river is smaller than I expected, about two meters wide.

Sylphy. An adventurer could jump over a river this wide, but what makes it so difficult?"

Yuta is cool because he has my wind, but it is very hot without it. Do you want to try it?"

...... was so comfortable I forgot that magma is a hot substance. How hot is it?　You might want to experience it at least once, just for the sake of conversation.

"Can you turn off the wind for a minute so I can experience it?"

"...... I said, are you sure you want to try it?"

It's a look that says, "You'd better not.

"Yeah. "Yeah. It sounds awesome. It'd be a good conversation starter."

In my mind, people who are interesting to talk to are popular. Topics come from experience. We need to prepare ourselves for the encounters that are bound to happen.

"Okay, I'll take it off, but it's not safe, so let's move a little further away."

This distance is dangerous. I'm getting a little scared. I move another two meters away.

"Okay, I'm gonna take it off."

"Uh-huh. Hot!　That hurts!　Sylphy."

Quickly, Sylphie puts the wind in my sails. I was licking magma. Sorry to be a buzzkill. I'm a little tingly where my skin is exposed.

"Whew. Magma's dangerous. I get it now. What?　Where's Belle and the others?"　

Over there.

"Well... You're okay with this, right?　It's a genie."

Lately, I've finally gotten used to the fact that Bell and his friends are spirits.

"Yes. I'm fine."

Bell is blasting through a river of lava on Rain. Tulu and Tamamo seem to be enjoying the chase and ...... we should take a break.

"Sylphy. We'll take a little break here. Would you like a drink?"

I don't need it.

"Okay."

I was afraid to sit on the ground, so I pulled out a rock and sat on it. I'd be shocked if my butt got burned. I talk to Sylphy over a cup of tea.

Hey, Sylphy. Can't the other adventurers cross the magma river?"

There are sorcerers and such, they should have at least built a bridge.

"If you try hard enough, you can cross over, can't you?　But I heard there are magma fish in the magma river, and they can't just withstand the heat.

"Magma fish?　What's that?"

An adventurer who was bypassing the island told me that it is a fish that wears magma and spits magma at you. They say it's the best delicacy."

Do fish live in magma? .......

"Hey. Can you eat a fish that lives in magma?　I mean, can it be cooked when you cook it?"

...... maybe the heat from the magma has already cooked them?　Maybe you could even dance and eat them, though they look hot.

"What do you think?　The adventurers didn't go into that much detail either."

I see. Well, I'm just picking up the conversation, so they don't tell me everything I want to know.

"I'm sure you could sell the best delicacies and have some adventurers come over here."

"We have to get through the poison gas zone, block the heat from the magma, and catch the magma fish. It's pretty hard to do that with magic."

...... Did I not just say something that surprised you?　

"Sylphy. You said you got out of the poison gas, did I get out of the poison gas too?"

"Yes, I did."

It's a little ...... exciting to hear you tilt your head back and ask me why I'm asking you that.

"When was this?"　

"In the beginning. Shortly before the pepper. There were a couple of places after that. Should I have told you?"

Ah, so the reason no one came for the pepper was because of the poison gas. That makes sense.

"Hmm. I'm surprised to hear that now, should I have asked you to tell me?"

I feel like I could have walked in normally because I didn't know anything about it, but it's sad to go through an eventful scene unnoticed in a way.

"Okay. I'll tell you next time."

Please. Well, I thought we should get going ......, but I'm curious about the ...... magma fish. Let's see what we can find."

If they say it's the best delicacy, I can't help but check it out.

"I'd like to try it, too."

Sylphy is interested too, so we try to find some magma fish. I can't fish for it because the line will burn. How will we find them? I don't understand what you mean by "fish in magma" after all these years.

"Sylphy. Can you find it?"

"I'm no expert in lava. Tulu might be able to figure it out, but it might be tough for a lower level spirit. The simplest way is to shoot down a person who crosses the river of magma by shooting out magma, so if Yuta is the decoy, it should be easy to take him out.

"I see. I'll be the bait and Sylphy will catch him. ...... Let's give it a try. Sylphy's magic can't be broken by a fish, can it?

"Of course. I think a cocoon of wind will be enough, but I'll add a wall of wind. You know how to use the cocoon of wind, don't you?　Don't put too much magic into it."

"I've learned my lesson. We'll just fly across. If they come out, Sylphy will catch them.

If he sees you, he won't let you go, so you'll be fine. If it's safe, it's nothing more than a decoy. Let's go for the good food.

Okay.

Okay, let's go.

Carefully, we cross the river of magma with our magic power. We reach the other side without incident. It doesn't always attack us?

We move back and forth along the river of magma a little at a time. I'm getting a little tired of it. Belle and her friends pass by me laughing. ......　Isn't there some kind of fish-like shadow chasing Belle and her friends?

Sylphy notices it, too, and captures the shadow that was chasing him. Ten fish are floating in the magma, sealed in a ball by the wind.

What's that?　Magma fish?　I mean, why are they chasing Bell and his friends?

"Sylphy. The magma fish was chasing Belle and the others, can you see the spirits?"

"I don't think so. I think they were swimming with their magic power and interfering with the magma, so they were just attracted to the sound of it."

Oh, I see. You were drawn by the sound. I felt so empty after I had walked back and forth across the river of magma. A little pissed off, I look at the magma fish. A meter long. It looks like a sea bass and spits magma out of its big mouth.　

I've caught ten of the best delicacies. What does it taste like?　I'm very curious about it, but I have no idea how to cook it ....... Let's store it and gather information in the city.

When I shime the magma fish for storage, the magma hardened and turned into a rock. Is it really edible?