213 - - Episode 211 Emperor Bird

When I descended to the seventy-sixth level of the labyrinth, there was a blizzard. I annihilated the Ice Wolves in a subtly uncool way, followed by a huge Emperor Bird ...... penguin standing in front of me.

Well, it's as big as a house, but it's an icy land, so why should there be penguins?　The "jar" or "go" sound was the sound of his belly sliding across the snow. Am I the only one who thinks it would have been more dangerous if they had not stood right in front of us and charged at us with their huge bodies?

But you know what, ...... it's huge, but it's stocky and kind of cute. If I could take a nap on its belly, it would be the world of Jiuri.

"Big!" "Coo-coo!" "I want to jump in!" "Coo-coo!" "Maruyaki daze! ......"

Bell and his colleagues seem to generally agree. Cute penguins. Flare is saying some disturbing things, but he doesn't seem to be serious as he gazes at the penguins with his sparkling eyes. It's a peaceful time in spite of the appearance of a huge monster.

"Peeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

The giant penguin makes a surprisingly high-pitched cry. I thought it would have a more profound cry because of its size. I guess that's one thing.

"Yuta, why aren't you moving?"

"What? Why?"

I look at Sylphy in doubt, and she is pointing diagonally upward. I follow the tip of Sylphy's finger and see a giant penguin with its large fins raised high in the air.

I wonder if he is going to strike me with his fins.

"Yes, I'm going to slap it."

I mean, they're already starting to swing them down. They're scrambling out of the snow in a hurry. I'm sure Bell's wind wall won't hold up to a direct hit from that big fin.

Boom!　There is a loud noise and vibration behind me, and the ice crumbles against the wind wall. That's a lot of power.

"That was close, thank you Sylphy.

You're welcome. This is a labyrinth, and you mustn't let your guard down."

"Yeah."

I felt like I was in a complete zoo. Normally I wouldn't let my guard down in front of a giant monster, but penguins are terrifying.

"Beep, beep!"

He is thudding his head against the ground, as if he doesn't like the fact that I dodged him. She looks cute, but the vibrations caused by her clogs are not so cute. It feels as if my body is floating.

The giant penguin swings its huge fins at you again, as if it will not let you go. This time, don't panic and intercept them. Match the flippers of the penguins and hit the magic hammer of the largest size with all your might.

......Magic Hammer indeed. The large fins are bounced off with a dull thud. The giant penguin loses its balance and rolls. I don't know if penguins have bones in their fins, but the dull thud would have shattered anything that looked like a bone.

"PIGGYAAA!"

A giant penguin rolls over, probably in pain. I feel like I've done something very bad. I never felt this way with Giant Toad or Assault Dragon. Even if it's a demon, it's a weapon just because it's cute.

But letting them go just because they're cute isn't the same as letting them go in this situation. I approach it so that I don't get caught up in its rolling around, and I stab it with my magic hammer.

I drive the hammer straight into its head, but my heart aches. But slicing its head open is also miserable. I'd like to avoid these demons from now on, but I hear that their meat is delicious, so I can't say so. I've never heard of eating penguins on Earth, and I've heard that they have a lot of fat, so they don't taste so good, but penguins in this world are different.

But penguins in this world are different. They also have a beak, feathers, oil, and other things that they don't have any place to throw away. Maybe Marie will be overjoyed.

We put the giant penguin in the magic bag, and heal ourselves from a bit of a down feeling by rubbing Belle's cheeks. For some reason, Moon floats in front of me as if she's competing with me. ...... Maybe she's asking me to make a moo-moo?

I'm not sure, but I'm going to try to mooch on Moon anyway. Yeah, it feels great. Moon seems to be pleased with it, so I guess he can't give up the monu-monyu even if it's Belle. I think I know Moon a little better now.

**

"Whew, I finally made it to the stairs!"

"Hmm, it was definitely a bit of a struggle. But I'm proud of you for trying."

"Ha-ha, thank you."

Sylphy compliments me on my complaints. I don't mind that she praises me like a child.

I was bored because the scenery didn't change when there was a blizzard outside. If I had asked Sylphy to stop the blizzard, he would have taken me to the stairs in no time, but we said we would do it by ourselves, so I guess we had no choice.

We walked around for a while, killing Ice Wolves, Emperor Birds, Ice Golems and White Ape, but got bored with the unchanging scenery and asked Bell and the others to go find the stairs.

As usual, Bell and his friends scattered about saying "Kyousou-". This time, Bell was the first to find them. It was a feat for the wind spirit to be the first one to find the staircase in the poor visibility. She was so happy that I gave her a lot of stroking.

"Okay, I'm going down the stairs."

"Yes." "Cue." "Coming." "Coo." "......."

Oro?　Flair didn't answer. What's wrong?　I looked at Freya, and she wobbled out in front of me with her arms crossed over her chest. She was trying her best to imitate If, which made me smile.

"Flair, what's wrong?"

"I'm tired, man!"

Flair tries his best to give off a nihilistic vibe as he says this. It didn't come out. Well, I should probably think about what he's trying to say. I'm going to guess from the fact that he's imitating ifs and the word "bored" and his behavior so far.

"So you want to fight too, Flair?"

"Yes!　...... It's a given, man!"

You were being honest for a second there. But I'm an adult.

"Okay. I'll let you guys fight when I get down there."

I'll take care of it!"

Behind Flair's words, everyone except Tamamo and Moon are happy to see him. Moon doesn't want to fight, which is understandable, but Tamamo can't fight because there are no plants ...... in this layer, come to think of it.

"Since Tamamo and Moon can't fight, it would be great if they could find the treasure chest while Bell and the others are fighting, can they do that?"

"Coo-coo.""............"

Tamamo and Moon are so pleased with my words that they rub their hips from both sides. The left one is soft and fluffy, and the right one is soft and wonderful. It's like a jewel box of texture. I go down the stairs with Tamamo and Moon equipped.

"...... If it were true, we could have seen this scene at the seventy-sixth layer, right?"

Yes, it is. It's rare to see a snowstorm, so it must have been a similar scene.

"Right. I wish I could have seen this one first."

The land of ice glistening in the reflected light. It may be a cliché, but it's fantastic. The absence of snow changes the atmosphere considerably.

If the seventy-sixth layer had not been snowed, it might have been an endless silver world, but the book did not describe the pattern of snowy scenery without snow, and it might be a scenery that cannot be seen in this labyrinth. Can we see it just after the blizzard stops?

"Well, it sure is beautiful."

Come on!"

While I was admiring the view, Flare urged me to hurry. It seems he wants to fight as soon as possible.

Sorry, sorry, let's go. Tamamo and Moon go look for the treasure chest.

"Cooooo""......""

I waved Tamamo and Moon off as they flew away and stepped onto the icy land...... my feet slipped. Without snow and directly on the ice, it is extremely dangerous. For a moment I wished I had skates, but I guess not, because the ground is not flat. We have to proceed with caution.

When there is no snowstorm, the view is clear, but the lack of snow makes it hard to walk. It is indeed a labyrinth, but either way, it's not a simple task.

"Yuta, are you okay?"

Belle is worried about me walking with a hammer as a walking stick. I'm okay if I say I'm okay, but I'm not okay if I say I'm not. At this rate, I'm not sure how long it will take us to reach the 80th layer.

"Well, it's going to be tough, but I'll do my best.

Hang in there... cue... kiai, baby!

Belle, Rain, and Flare cheer me on. When I tried to thank them, they pulled my sleeve.

"Tulu, what's wrong?"

"Give me the pot I don't want."

"A pot?"

I don't know why I'm bringing out a pot here, but I do as I'm told and bring out the unused pot.

"Lift up this side of your foot.

I don't know what's going on, but I do as I'm told and raise my right leg. If I didn't have the support of the hammer, I would fall down. When Tulu puts the pot against the sole of my raised foot, the pot crumbles and clings to my shoe.

"It's done!"

I looked at the shoes and found that the upper part of the shoe was covered with metal like laces and the back of the shoe was covered with metal spikes. These are spikes.

"Now I won't slip!"

It's true!　That's great, Tulu. You could even work metal."

"I can do simple things."

That's right. I thought it was impossible to process metal since you said that mineral spears disappear after a certain period of time during magic. It's not surprising if you think about it ...... if you have the original metal to make it disappear.

"This one, too."

"Oh, please."

When the left foot is lifted, the metal entangles with the shoe in the same way, completing the spike. Well, there is no clasp, so you have to ask Tulu to help you take off your shoes. But it's more than enough.

"Thank you, Tulu."

I pat Tulu's head in gratitude. Smiling a little ticklishly, Tulu is probably a hit with those who have the "shorty" attribute.

"Now that Tulu has made it easier for us to move around, let's get going again.

They call out to Belle and the others, and step on the icy ground with the spikes that Tulu made for them. The spikes bite into the icy ground and do not slip even if we put a lot of effort into them. It is harder than walking on normal ground, but I think I can run with these spikes. I am looking forward to exploring the icy terrain.