Volume 1 - CH 2

Having seen the luxurities this town has to offer yesterday, I woke up before the sunrise, full of energy…About the part where people called me a lecher of a man because I had two girls with me, let’s just forget about that. Gramps also told me not to dwell in memories that I can’t influence anymore. But, Grandma always gave Gramps a harsh punishment because of that, so maybe we both have something to learn still.

Feeling slightly melancholic, I finished a light breakfast and left my lodging, heading over to the apartment Rufa and Garnet were living in.

“Good morning, Alba-sama.”

“It’s great that you get up early in the morning, but the armor of the Dark Knight really doesn’t fit you.”

These two had already prepared themselves for the departure, and we headed to the labyrinth together. Today I’ll work hard for the amount I rested yesterday! With these feelings, we entered the labyrinth, and walked to the first intersection.

He he he, now that Rufa joined my group, there’s no need to walk around in the wide labyrinth.

“Then, I will use magic to attract the monsters. Please take care of the rest.”

“Got it.” I nodded, to which Rufa started chanting.

“Strum the air, tell the evil, your enemy is right here. [Alarm].”

Rufa’s Aura passed through her wand, spreading around the area, creating an unfamiliar Beep beep alarming sound. This magical sound reverberated along the walls, reaching into the deepest parts. Waiting for a brief moment, footsteps could be heard upfront, left and right, approaching us.

In total, they seemed to be around 40…No, 50…I can’t, there’s too many footsteps, but I figure it has to be above 100.

“Hey, isn’t this far more than the day before yesterday?”

“I can also hear the footsteps of some trolls in there.”

Garnet and Rufa showed a cold sweat on their faces, hiding behind my back.

“Alba-sama, I hate to be selfish, but could I ask you to gather the monsters and defeat them?”

Gather? Since I know where they’re coming from, I can just send off a Blade of Aura, and crush them directly. That sounds much more fun to me at least.

“Aren’t you quite the fiend.” Reading my mind, Garnet showed a slightly worried expression.

That’s a bit upsetting. My teacher told me “Cowardice is the excuse of the loser. Falsehood, surprise attack, sneak attack, everything is fair on the battlefield”, so I think killing them from afar is the correct choice, you know.

“I don’t object with that logic. But, there’s no reason to defeat the monsters at a far distance like this.”

Meaning?

“If you don’t get showered with the monsters’ magical power, you won’t get stronger.”

“Ahhh!” I subconsciously raised a voice.

That’s right, by hunting monsters, you can strengthen your own Aura. Since I’ve only been fighting the spirits that Gramps summoned, the idea that I could get stronger here by fighting the monsters completely slipped my mind. Feeling motivated, I stood in the middle of the intersection.

“Alba-sama?! I don’t think that even you can handle such a great number of monsters!”

“That’s right. We should fight in one path at the time.”

Rufa and Garnet tried to stop me as they came running, but I just signaled with my hand that they should crouch down. Don’t worry, what I’m about to use is more effective the wider the location is. As long as they’re crouching they’re completely fine. Those standing are pretty much in danger though.

“…I’m putting my faith in you, so don’t betray us.”

“I don’t quite get it, but we can put our trust into Alba-sama.”

Garnet showed a terrified expression as she crouched down on the floor, and Rufa followed up. Watching this, I readied my greatsword at my waist, and turned my gaze towards the wave of monsters coming from all sides.

…Too far…too far…three more steps…two…now! I turned towards the monsters that were right up at my nose, swung my greatsword with a mowing motion, and turned around on the spot. The aura coming out from the tip of the blade formed an arc, tearing the approaching monsters to pieces.

Black Shadow Style, Sword Magic – Full Moon

Normally, you would use this technique in pitch-black darkness where you can’t even see your own hands and feet, to defeat enemies lurking in the darkness, but this is yet another use for it. With this crescent blade of aura, the monsters had been neatly split in two, turned into light, and dissolved.

So bright! Rather than some full moon, this is the sun…Ah, I happened to cut the walls of the labyrinth as well, but nobody will ask me for repairs, right? Next to me, Rufa slowly got up from her crouching position.

“Fufufufu, I can feel all the magical power pouring into my body!”

“You really are like a parasite…”

As the complete opposite of Rufa laughing maniacally, Garnet felt apologetic. Hmmm…this isn’t even 1/100 the amount of magical power I received when I defeated Ifrit-sensei, so maybe we were lacking more monsters?

“You’re thinking about something ridiculous again, aren’t you?”

I was just thinking that it might be quicker to have Gramps come over here, and have him get some high-ranking spirits that we can level quickly. I’m sure he’d come running if I told him about these two cute girls.

“I’ll gladly pass on that. I can already see things ending badly.” Garnet complained, shaking her head.

Yeah, Grandma would probably keep Gramps locked up in fear of him running off and cheating again.

“Now then, Alba-sama, let’s keep going like this and kill monsters until the area is absolutely empty!”

“Wait a second.”

Rufa was about to cast another magic spell to call over the monsters, but I raised my hand and stopped her.

“…Maybe we leech off Alba-sama too much?” Rufa asked with a saddened expression, but I shook my head.

I don’t really know what she means by leeching or whatever, but there’s something more important than that.

“Let’s collect the magic stones.”

This is all for my objective of buying my own house!

*

“This will be 500 gold coins.” The employee at the bank told me, and handed me the bankbook.

After that, we continued to gather monsters by using Alarm, until we killed more than 500 monsters, and exchanged the magic stones into coins. Adding together the trolls we killed, we actually gathered some insane amount…Continuing this for 200 more times, I should be able to amass the 100.000 gold coins.

Of course, this goal is still a long distance away, but the realization that it wasn’t impossible gave me a boost in confidence, as I flashed a smile inside my mask, and left the bank behind me.

“Fufufu, my body is overflowing with Aura. In terms of skill, we should be ready for the 2nd floor.”

“Don’t rush things now. Though, I get what you’re saying.”

As we walked to the lodging district, Rufa and Garnet were smiling themselves. All the reward was given to me again, are they going to be fine in terms of rent and all that?

“No need to worry. We have enough wealth that we can leisurely live like this.”

“Yes, I’ve sold all the useless metal accessories in my possession after all.”

The two said, trying to dispel my worries…I mean, if they say so…But, when she says accessories, I can’t help but feel worried.

“Of course, I will never give away this precious item you’ve given to me, Alba-sama,” Rufa said, as she showed me the amber pendant hanging down from her neck.

I bought it on a whim, but I’m glad to know that she likes it.

“Fufu, that’s more points for me.”

“You really are an underhanded princess.”

Rufa was muttering something to herself, only to receive a tired gaze from Garnet. She might look younger than Rufa, but this attitude and act makes her feel like an older sister, or a mother even.

“I don’t want my future daughter to be such a stupid moron.”

“How rude. I don’t mind calling you Mama, Garnet.”

“Can you not!?”

Garnet seemed to be in a bad mood, as she pushed away Rufa, who was clinging to her face.

“But, with this much strength we have accumulated, albeit by using foul methods, we might be able to challenge the Guardian soon.”

The Guardian, huh. I heard words here and there, but I don’t know too much. Garnet picked up on my lack of knowledge it seems, as she let out a sigh, and explained.

“Together with the floors inside the labyrinth, there exist these so-called ‘Guardians’, which are essentially extraordinary monsters.”

“As long as you don’t defeat that Guardian, you won’t be able to make your way to the lower floors.”

So they’re protecting the stairs that lead to the lower floors?

“No, it’s a bit more complicated. You see, stairs don’t exist in the labyrinth.”

What do you mean? How can you move deeper then? …Ah, I see, there’s gotta be a ladder or a pit!

“It’s not anything like that either. Though, it might be similar.”

“To put it frankly, by defeating the Guardian, you will be teleported to the floor below.” Rufa said, sending a glance at the waist of an adventurer that just passed us. “Did you see that white medal hanging down from his waist?”

Yeah, he was wearing that. I always thought it was some special fashion of the capital, but apparently I was wrong.

“If you defeat the Guardian, you can earn yourself such a medal. If you carry this with you, a secret passage will open at the entrance of the 1st floor. Using the magic square found there, you can teleport to the lower floors immediately.

Eh, the labyrinth had such a hidden gimmick?! So cool! Seeing me getting excited, Garnet gave a warning comment.

“The white medal is the proof that you’ve defeated the Guardian of the 1st floor, the ‘Indolent Sloth1’.”

“Basically, he received the right to move on to the 2nd floor of the labyrinth, making him a 2nd floor ranker.”

I see, so that’s how you split apart the different ranks of the adventurers.

“However, there are lots of adventurers who hide this medal somewhere in their clothes.”

“I’m sure he must be intent on bragging that he just became a 2nd floor ranker.”

Rufa and Garnet showed a wry smile, but I can totally sympathize with him. It’s like wanting to show everyone the cast-off skin of a snake! Though I got hit with a Meteor Kick by my childhood friend when I did that.

“Well, even if you were to get it stolen or lost it somewhere, the Guardian will reappear the next day, so you can fight them again to get it back.”

“And, even if you were to suddenly get the medal through any means, as long as you haven’t defeated the Guardian, you can’t move to the lower floors.”

Phew, so such a complicated system existed in the labyrinth. Just who made this? …Wait, that sounded weird. Why is there something inside this labyrinth that feels like ‘someone has set it up with a concrete purpose’? I stopped walking after hearing my own words, and the other two must have felt my discomfort.

“That’s—”

“Don’t move, you three!”

Surprised by this loud scream, I looked around, only to see a great number of guards appearing from the shadow of the buildings, surrounding us. Eh, did we do something bad?! Appearing in front of us was a middle-aged man with a stern expression, riding on a military horse. His entire body was clad in silver armor, an expensive-looking sword hanging down his waist, giving off the air of a knight.

“Sir Ox, what is this about?”

“Princess, could you please follow us.”

Rufa had readied her wand with a rebellious expression, but the knight calmly responded, and glared over at me.

“The same goes for you. Don’t you dare injure the princess or the daughter of Redberyl-dono.” He said, putting one hand on the hilt of his sword.

I mean, I wasn’t planning on rebelling in any shape or form, but aren’t you embarrassed to threaten girls in such a way? When I sent back a gaze with these thoughts in mind, the knight furrowed his eyebrows even further, and the soldiers around us took a step back. Hold on, isn’t this almost like I’m the one threatening them?

‘That Dark Knight is gonna have a battle with the soldiers!’

‘So he really was sending a declaration of war towards the Empire by wearing these clothes?!’

‘That jet-black armor sure is cool.’

People started to gather around us, clearly getting the wrong idea about the situation…Also, that young man with the great fashion sense, let’s have a talk once this chaos is over!

“Alba-sama, I understand how you feel, but please leave this to me.”

“That’s right, this is a free country for adventurers, but fighting against a knight will be regarded as a crime.”

Rufa and Garnet stopped me as well. Did I really seem that angry? Though I really didn’t want to, I was forced to agree, and nodded. Then, Garnet stood on her toes, and whispered in my ear.

“I doubt you realized it, but whenever you get emotional, there’s pitch-black aura leaking from your entire body.”

Eh, really!? Woah, that’s pretty embarrassing then. My teacher even warned me to take keen control of my Aura so that the enemy can’t read my movement…Seeing me back down (because of my embarrassment), the soldiers around all sighed in relief, as the knight removed his hand from the sword hilt.

“Come with me.”

The knight turned around on the horse, and we followed him, surrounded by the other soldiers. Slowly after, we arrived at the 8th area, which harbors the entrance to the labyrinth, but more specifically barracks for guards and soldiers. We were led through a wide open room that seemed to be resembling a cafeteria, sat down at a table surrounded by city soldiers, with the knight sitting across from us. He took a close gaze at Rufa.

“Now then, you must understand why you have been taken here, right?”

“No, I have no idea whatsoever.”

Not backing down at the knight’s stern gaze, Rufa gave a resolute response. That’s right, we didn’t do anything bad!

“Please refrain from playing innocent. You should know that using the forbidden magic ‘Alarm’ in the labyrinth is a violation of laws.”

We actually did something bad?! But, why is it so bad that we used that? In confusion, I looked over at Garnet, but even she couldn’t help me.

“Apologies, I’m not too familiar with magic. Though it makes sense that such magic, able to summon large amounts of monsters, would be called a forbidden magic…”

With these words, the two of us gazed over at Rufa, who whistled as she averted her gaze. The knight saw this suspicious reaction, sighed, and gave a quick explanation.

“By using Alarm, you can gather almost all monsters on a single floor. If you have the necessary skill, you can use this to kill a great number of monsters in a short period of timing, making your work highly efficient. But, I don’t think I need to tell you what could happen if another adventurer were to get wrapped up in this tsunami.”

Ah, I never considered that! What if someone got wrapped up in this and actually died!? I started panicking.

“We went early in the morning so that no accident like this could happen though?”

“Indeed, we have received no reports of anybody dying or injured in this incident.”

Hearing the knight’s words, I sighed in relief. As if he had guessed my relief, the knight put a bit more force into his words.

“However, that was nothing more than luck this time, and there is no guarantee that nothing will happen the next time!”

Ugh, he’s not wrong. There’s lots of adventurers who go out to the labyrinth at noon, but there’s no guarantee that some early birds might be around.

“However, that is not the biggest problem.”

I’m pretty sure it’s a big problem though?!

“You lured in all the monsters on a single floor, and monopolized them. That is the biggest problem.” The knight turned towards Rufa, and spoke with calm words.

Yeah, that makes sense. I never thought about it before…On the first day I went into the labyrinth, a previous group of adventurers had cleared the floor, leaving almost nothing behind for me. That is probably exactly what we did this morning after killing around 500 monsters, leaving the first floor completely empty.

“We received reports from 1st floor ranker adventurers, saying ‘There were no monsters whatsoever’, so we figured someone must have been using ‘Alarm’.”

Judging from that tone, someone in the past must have been doing the same. Well, in this thousand years of history this labyrinth possesses, that’s not really a surprise. But, how did they figure out it was us this quickly? I thought that something was off, to which Rufa clicked her tongue.

“From the amount of magic stones we exchanged at the bank, is it.”

Ahh, I see. With the type and amount of magic stones, they could figure out just on which floor we’ve gathered them from. Asking the bank, the knight found out it was us, and surrounded us.

The resourcefulness of his Empire’s soldiers sure is amazing, we have to be more careful in the future. The knight looked over at Rufa once again.

“From that reaction, I figure you already knew about the dangers and possible negative effects, and you still used it.”

“No, I had absolutely no idea that these actions could possibly bring harm to someone else. I am terribly sorry, I swear to never do it again.” Rufa deeply lowered her head.

Was it just my imagination that she didn’t seem sincere about it at all? But, now that she has admitted her mistake, I doubt that the knight will complain any further.

“Although the use of Alarm goes against the law, it is an unwritten law in the rows of adventurers, and cannot be punished by law. Now that no victims had originated from this, I cannot punish you.”

“Then, we will make our way home.” Rufa showed a fresh smile, and stood up.

However, the soldiers around us swiftly blocked off the only exit.

“Sir Ox, what exactly is this about?” With a cold gaze like I’ve never seen before, Rufa glared at the knight. “Adventurer Law article one, as long as an adventurer has committed no serious crime, his own freedom will be protected…You’re not saying that you don’t know about that, do you?”

“………”

“Crims regarded as these would be ‘Having another person end up as [Lost]’ and a ‘Rebellious action against the royal family’, which cannot be soothed with money nor magic, but instead is regarded as a great crime with punishment on the level of death penalty. I don’t remember us ever committing such a crime?” Rufa spoke with a calm, yet terrifyingly cold and pressuring voice, as the knight stayed quiet.

It’s almost as if she’s a princess…No, a queen!

“She has the blood of it, even if she doesn’t want it.” Garnet muttered with a quiet voice.

Blood? What is she talking about? I tilted my head in confusion, when the knight spoke up.

“Princess, or should I say your Highness Rufa Auram Goldot, 7th princess of the Goldot Empire, would you please stop with this idle child’s play?”

…Eh, 7th princess?

“Sir Ox, do not refer to me with this name. The me right now is a mere adventurer, the elf sorceress Rufa.” Yet, the way she named herself, and her posture as she spoke, resembled like a princess all too much.

She was actually a princess all this time?!

“Way too late…”

I was left baffled, Garnet yet again sighed in disbelief, whereas the knight and Rufa continued to glare at each other.

“This Goldot Empire was built by the very first adventurer, namely the first Emperor. It is a country brought to today’s prime by the shed sweat and blood of many other adventurers. That is why, no matter the origin, or race, an adventurer shall never be restrained, no matter the cause.”

“Even if it’s the princess, is it.”

“If you know it, then have these people pull back right away.” Rufa turned her chin over at the soldiers blocking the exit.

“Or, are you saying that you will be able to stop Alba-sama?”

Eh, me?! Why did she suddenly involve me?! In shock, I jolted up from my seat. Following this, the knight did the same, drew his blade, and aimed at my neck with it.

Woah, careful! I faced the approaching blade, and reflexively blocked it with my backhand. A metallic sound rang out, and the knight’s blade snapped in half.

“Wha…?!”

The knight fell backwards in shock, and the broken blade stabbed right into the wall…Ahhh, damn it, now I really did it…! That sword looked really expensive! Am I going to lose all the 500 gold coins we earned today already?! I was about to collapse from the shock, Garnet supported me.

“Come on, let’s go home.”

Wait, I at least have to pay him back for the broken sword, you know?! But, my plea was ignored, as Garnet kept pushing me towards the door. The soldiers standing guard there didn’t give much resistance, and quickly moved out of the way.

“Then, farewell.” Rufa gave a polite bow, and stepped out onto the hallway.

At her back, the knight raised his voice, with the harshest tone of the day.

“You expose yourself to danger because of some foolish lie about the Empire falling to ruin, and you do not feel sorry for the Emperor, whose heart is about to break from worry! Are you not ashamed!?”

The Empire is falling to ruin? What is he talking about? I tilted my head, but chased after Rufa nonetheless. She left the barracks without a single word, gazed up at the sky about to be colored in red, as she muttered in a dejected tone.

“That man would never worry about his daughter.”

Her profile looked so sad and hurt, I couldn’t ask her anything.

*

This entire time we walked back to the lodging boulevard, Rufa kept quiet, not saying a word. They invited me into their apartment, guided me to their room, and just when I sat down on the chair, Rufa finally opened her mouth.

“Alba-sama, I am terribly sorry about deceiving you.” Rufa deeply lowered her head.

Deceiving? Is she talking about her being an actual princess?

“I assume you must already be aware that I am the 7th imperial princess.”

Nope, not at all.

“Even though you must be aware that the deepest part of the labyrinth doesn’t actually grant you any wish, you kept going along with my selfish behaviour, and I know I can’t be forgiven…”

This is the first time I heard of that. Why are you telling me all these things I never heard of? At times like these…Garneeeet, help meeee!

“Don’t act like I’m your mother! Well, I also kept quiet about it, so let me tell you the truth.” Garnet sighed, and started explaining. Thank you! That’s what I love about you!

“Don’t overdo it, or I’ll break your neck.”

I meant to purely praise her, and yet she clicked her tongue in an annoyed manner, picking up her mace. Weird…my childhood friend’s mood would improve immediately whenever I said something like this.

“You airheaded gigolo…”

“Garnet, what have you been talking about for a while now?”

“That you both are idiots. Just shut up and listen already.” Garnet landed a jab on Rufa’s head, who showed slight confusion, and finally started explaining. “First, as you should know, there’s a rumour that if you make it to the lowest floor of the labyrinth, namely the 7th, a wish of yours will be granted, no matter what it may be.”

It ends with seven floors, and yet they call it the bottomless labyrinth? Isn’t that a bit of a hyperbole?

“Don’t just add more questions! Anyway, this rumour exists, and results in countless adventurers trying to reach this last floor. However, the truth is different.”

“On the last floor, the ‘Devil of Demise’, able to bring ruin to the world, has been sealed away.”

Rufa finished Garnet’s words, with a tense voice…The Devil of Demise…Gaah, what a cool name! Wait, this isn’t the time to have my childish heart tickled. Isn’t this a big problem?!

“That’s great, a super big problem. However, out of all the 200.000 citizens in this capital, not one of them knows about this.”

Really? Then again, only a few seconds ago, I thought that I would actually have my own wish granted, so this feeling of reality hasn’t quite set in just yet. But, on my way here to the capital, I did not once hear of anything resembling that. If anything, I would have remembered such a cool-sounding name.

If such a cool existence—excuse me, terrifying existence really lingered at the bottom of his labyrinth, I feel like Gramps or Grandma would have told me about that when I departed…Seeing me tilt my head, Rufa continued with a saddened tone.

“I know that it might be hard to believe. I have talked to several people about this, but only Garnet was kind enough to believe me.”

“No way would such a rotten idiotic princess come up with such a stupid idea.” Garnet gently rubbed her hand on the softly smiling Rufa.

Of course, I don’t doubt these two and such a heartwarming scene in the slightest. What I am concerned about is the possibility that these two might have gotten some fake information. Of course, Garnet had picked up on this uneasiness of mine, and responded to it.

“No need to worry, we have proper proof. Though nobody actually believed us.”

Hmm, I wonder what that is.

“It started two years ago, when this girl snuck into the library of the imperial palace.”

“Excuse me, at least say that I borrowed a book for all eternity.”

Isn’t that what you would call theft?

“The only reason she stole it was to get back at her older sisters, so she even laid hands on the sealed forbidden book storage.”

“I can’t hear you~” Rufa just covered her ears, humming to herself.

I know that she was acting childish, but since I was used to this already, it looked more cute than anything. Picking up on my gaze, Rufa blushed ever so slightly, and cleared her throat.

“Cough…Anyway, this book that I found in this book storage told about a history long past. Namely, it depicted a time a thousand years ago and more, before the Goldot Empire even came into existence.”

Isn’t that basically back during the ancient myths?! I jolted forwards in shock, and Garnet nodded.

“Indeed. During the era when gods and monsters still traversed the earth, the weak human race was driven on the verge of extinction, just fighting to see another day.”

“The benevolent gods couldn’t keep watching it, defeated the evil god that brought forth all these monsters, and created a safe world for us to live in. You must know these stories as well, Alba-sama.”

Yeah, I heard something similar from Gramps. I guess the small differing details are just a regional thing.

“After that, humans could comfortably live above ground, and grew in numbers. A single young man found the bottomless labyrinth, gained a new strength after having defeated the monsters residing in it, and became the first emperor of the Goldot Empire. That is the general history that is being taught.”

“But, in the book Rufa found, it’s being told differently.”

Huh, I wonder what that is.

“This evil god that can create monsters—The Devil Of Demise wasn’t actually defeated, but was instead sealed deep underground. A thousand years later, he will come back to life, and destroy the world for sure this time. That’s what it said.”

E-Excuse me?! I desperately held back a desire to scream. I can’t bother the neighbours and give Rufa and Garnet a bad impression.

“Our impression on others is already the worst, so let’s talk about this Devil of Demise some more. Do you really think such an evil god really exists?”

…Eh, he doesn’t?

“Why do you seem so disappointed about that?”

I mean, it’s the Devil of Demise, you know? The name sounds so friggin cool! I bet he has jet-black armor, looking like a Hecatoncheires2, a cursed sword that has killed over 100 races, swinging around ancient magic that can destroy the whole world!

“Your imagination is on an entirely different level I see.” Garnet gave me a lukewarm gaze.

I guess a girl wouldn’t understand the romance of a man?

“Instead of being afraid of the Devil, you are more excited than ever I see. That’s Alba-sama for you.” At the same time, Rufa seemed to have gotten the wrong idea about something.

I mean, I love the way he sounds, and I’d die to see him in action, but having him destroy the world and me actually dying in the process is something even I have to refrain from. So, does this Devil of Demise actually exist or not?

“He doesn’t—is the normal answer. If it was me, I’d shake it off with a snort. However, the forbidden book Rufa found has actual proof.”

I swallowed my breath, waiting to hear of this proof. Rufa pointed at the ground, and answered.

“It’s the bottomless labyrinth. At its final floor, the Devil of Demise has been sealed.”

“Wha?!” Finally, I couldn’t hold back my surprise.

The Devil is sealed away at the depths of the labyrinth…Ugh, it sounds so cool it’s unfair!

“I’m not gonna retort on that anymore, okay. Also, it might be the proof, but don’t you think that the labyrinth is a weird place in itself?”

Garnet was right. The very existence of the labyrinth is questionable. How did the labyrinth even come into existence? There’s no way these beautiful stone floors just appeared out of nowhere, and this teleport circle where you need the medal of a Guardian, this reeks of human engineering.

But, creating such a gigantic underground labyrinth just with human power seems difficult to pull off, and automatically summoning hundreds of monsters each day feels like something out of reach for human magic. The labyrinth was created by someone. But, humans were nearly not powerful enough, which means—

“An evil god could create such a bottomless labyrinth.”

“Indeed.” Rufa nodded in satisfaction at my response.

“The sealed Devil brought forth the monsters as vanguards to invade the surface, which created this labyrinth.”

I see…Wait. But, why is there a need for the labyrinth if it’s just sending up monsters? Garnet and Rufa apparently had a similar doubt, which is why they took a bit to respond.

“The Devil created a straight path, but the benevolent Gods saw this, and must have changed it into a twisted labyrinth. So that the monsters can’t make it above ground.”

Yeah, that makes much more sense.

“Of course, I don’t believe everything in this forbidden book to be true. There are a lot of contradictions and unclear statements.”

Now that she says it, this might just be something artificially created.

“However, if this Devil of Demise, or an existence equally dangerous, were to be sealed on the deepest floor of the labyrinth, then I think it should be fine to at least put some faith in the fact that it might be resurrected after a thousand years.” Rufa said, opening a scroll. “This forbidden book storage had even more important and very interesting information concerning the labyrinth. This is one part of it.”

Let’s see…the total number of monsters making frequent appearances on the first floor?

“Especially about these past one hundred years, the growing amount of adventurers correlates with the growth of the Empire, and there have been several times when the amount of monsters hunted on the first floor have become zero.”

“But, that’s only the case once a month at best. A normal adventurer only makes his way every two, three days, and there’s those that only go once a week.”

I see, so there’s days where the amount of adventurers overlaps to a level that they hunt all the monsters.

“An investigation team of the Empire was formed to use this day as a chance, and calculated the monsters making frequent appearances on the first floor.”

Just like the knight had concluded our crime, they must have used the amount of magic stones brought to the bank to calculate it. Since there’s times where weak monsters like kobolds don’t drop magic stones at all, getting a truthful value is probably impossible, but if you go ask the adventurers, you should get a fairly accurate number.

“Three years ago, during the most recent investigation, there were around 490 monsters.”

Since we defeated around 500 that day, it should be fairly accurate.

“50 years ago, the investigation came to around 470.”

Eh, it’s gone down in number?

“One hundred years ago during the very first investigation, it was around 430 monsters.”

So it’s really going down in number…No, wait, the closer the year to the current one, the higher the number?! Utterly shocked, I looked up from the scroll, and met eyes with Rufa.

“Anything before this, we sadly have no way to confirm it, but according to our experience today, there were around 500 monsters, so there’s no mistaking it. The number of monsters appearing in the labyrinth are gradually rising.”

I see, so the reason we used the forbidden Alarm skill today wasn’t just to raise our Aura, but also to investigate the amount of monsters!

“I wonder about that.” Garnet complained.

“Of course, it was all part of my plan.” Rufa said, looking the other way.

“Why would you avert your gaze then?”

“A-Anyway, since the number of monsters is going up inside the labyrinth, we can assume that the strength sealing the Devil is starting to weaken.”

“And, even if this Devil doesn’t exist, the sheer fact that the amount of monsters is growing is enough of a problem. If they start making it to the surface and attack the town, this will end as a disaster.”

Imagining an amount of monsters the adventurers can’t handle ravaging through town, I felt a shiver.

“In that event, the capital will get destroyed without a doubt. And, knowing of this, the other countries won’t hold back from invading the Empire.” Rufa denounced with a cold tone.

…Yeah, that makes sense. The countries that had lost in the war against the Empire surely are filled with hatred. I highly doubt another country would come to help the Empire in the event of a monster invasion.

“On top of that, they don’t even think about the idea that their country might be next to be attacked by monsters. That’s just how humans work.”

“After finding out about this truth, I couldn’t sit still any longer.”

While being a princess—No, exactly because she is one, she felt the need to do something about this Devil of Demise that was threatening the inhabitants of her beloved capital.

“I first appealed to the Emperor—My shitty old man. But, he wouldn’t listen to me at all.”

I know it must be tough, but was there really a need to rephrase that.

“I tried seeking for help from other cabinet ministers or the generals, but their grudges directed at my beauty and race led them to just ignore me as well. Nobody vowed to help me.”

Even though they’re blood-related, just because of a different race, she’s being scorned by her siblings…Scary.

“You’re not going to report on the fact of her calling herself a beauty?” Garnet muttered.

“It’s the truth.”

“Oh my, please praise me more.” Rufa smiled happily, her cheeks blushing.

As always, she looked cute, especially with that gesture, but at the same time, it feels like an act.

“So you’ve finally grasped that idiot princess’ real identity.” Garnet fought hard to hold back the tears, as she tapped me on the back.

I’m sure that she normally puts on the mask of a perfect princess, with her close friend Garnet the only one knowing about what she really is like. In other words, she has nobody else where she can open her heart. I guess that the imperial palace must have been much darker of a world than it leads to be believed from the outside.

“Anyways, nobody inside the castle has opted to act. That is why I decided to defeat the Devil of Demise myself.”

That is how she ended up as an adventurer, and challenged the labyrinth, huh. What amazing driving force and sense of duty. It makes me feel pathetic for just wanting to build my own home.

“However, motivation alone doesn’t give me the strength necessary. I cannot do this on my own.”

It pains me to say it, but that is the truth. Even if Rufa’s Aura leveled up quite a bit through the use of Alarm today, she still can’t hope to win against the proprietress of the Eternal Lady, nor the samurai girl Chidori-san.

“Sadly, there is no time to calmly strengthen ourselves, because only one year is left until the revival of the Devil of Demise.”

I see, so we have another year left…Wait, one year?! T-That’s too fast. We haven’t even prepared yet…

“We humans had more than a thousand years to prepare for our battle with the Devil of Demise. However, we wasted all of that.”

Not knowing anything is not a valid excuse. There’s no way the Devil of Demise would just listen to that and when he gets resurrected.

“There is also the possibility that nothing will actually happen. However, rather than standing in front of 200.000 dead bodies, I don’t mind being ridiculed now.” Rufa announced, gazing straight at me. “Alba-sama, I don’t expect you to forgive me for lying to you. However, in order to save the citizens of this capital, I need your strength!”

“Alright, I’ll do it.”

“I-If that helps in conceiving you, I don’t mind doing whatever you want me to—Eh?”

“I will help you.”

Since it was very important, I repeated my affirmation, which left Rufa baffled for some reason. Maybe I didn’t express myself well enough?

“I will defeat the Devil of Demise.”

That should have been clear enough, right? I spoke with full confidence, but Rufa was still quiet, gazing at me like I was the devil himself.

“…Why?”

What do you mean why? Hearing about the destruction of the capital, and the entire world in the process, how could I not agree to help out? If anything, I’m shocked nobody ever believed Rufa after all the proof she’s gathered.

“Not a single person has made it to the last floor of the bottomless labyrinth in the last thousand years. Are you still willing to do it?” Garnet asked, her gaze going from relief to seriousness again.

“Yeah.”

“Even if we make it down there, we have no guarantee that we can actually defeat that Devil. Are you still going to try?” Garnet continued.

“Yeah.” I nodded without hesitation.

I don’t have any confidence in myself, and my chances of winning, but that’s the best I can offer as of right now. And, in addition to that…

“I want to be the owner of my own home.”

“Eh…”

“And I don’t plan on giving up on that.” I proudly declared.

Compared to Rufa’s grande goal, it is probably just a grain of sand on the wide beach of dreams, but I think that giving up on your own goals is just pathetic. Chasing after a dream no matter how fragile it is makes you a man after all!

“You really are a moron.”

I showed a fist with an arrogant grin (behind my mask), to which Garnet gave me a dubious gaze. But, oddly enough, it felt like her eyes were smiling at me. Worried, I glanced over at Rufa, whose eyes were wide open, tears running down her face.

“Alba-sama, please defeat the Devil of Demise, and earn yourself the Goldot Empire.” She said, and lowered her head.

I mean, I’m fine with an average house, I don’t need an entire country.

*

When Alba went back to his own room, Garnet and Rufa were left alone.

“Fufufu, I’ve finally managed to completely win over Alba-sama with my perfect acting.” Rufa started laughing to herself.

“You can drop the act, okay.”

She might try to make her sound like a wicked woman, but with tears of joy building up in her eyes, and her face beet red, that was all wasted.

“I mean, he’s the first person to actually believe in your words, and even offered to lend a helping hand, so I don’t blame you if you were to fall for him.”

“N-Nobody is falling for anybody! Also, going by that logic, shouldn’t you have fallen for him way before me!?”

“How many times do I have to tell you to stop spitting disgusting nonsense!” Garnet gave an angered scream, which continued into a sigh. “Well, it’s up to you, and not my place to judge.”

“Is that not a bit too heartless?”

“Leaving that aside, Alba has promised to help us even after learning the truth. We should probably aim to defeat the Guardian tomorrow, so that we can head to a deeper floor.”

When Garnet cut into the main topic, Rufa herself sat straight on the bed, her face tightening up.

“Yes, thanks to Alba-sama’s help, our Aura has grown significantly stronger, and we don’t have any time to waste. We should definitely aim to defeat the ‘Indolent Sloth’. However…”

“Are you worried?”

Rufa nodded.

“Sloth has been defeated countless times by adventurers, so everybody knows to deal with it.”

“That sounds a bit sad, doesn’t it.”

Garnet doubted that this monster had any fear of death, seeing that it was being killed on a daily basis, but she still couldn’t help feel bad for it.

“On top of that, seeing that Alba-sama holds the strength comparable to a 6th floor ranker, there is no way that he would lose against the Guardian of the first floor. But, the recommended number to defeat SLoth is more than eight people…”

Seeing that they were only three people, it couldn’t be helped that Rufa ended up worried. Of course, a 6th floor ranker is much stronger than ten 1st floor rankers. However, even if he has allies to fight against a paralysis attack, Alba can die just as easily. As with the Guardian of the first floor, ‘Indolent Sloth’, he is known to be a ‘Loner Killer’.

“What if I just use my shield to block off his eyes, you stay behind with magic, and Alba attacks during the openings?”

“I don’t think it will be a big problem. But, I’d still prefer another two or three meat shields.”

“Can you not call them like that?”

“It is the truth, so I can’t help it.” Rufa didn’t even bother to choose her words, and instead sighed. “Why can’t there be any good meat shields around.”

“I’m honestly shocked you didn’t find anybody yet with that attitude.”

Then again, seeing that their party consisted of a fallen princess and a fake Dark Knight, Garnet was dubious if you could even pay somebody to join their party.

After complaining for a few more minutes, Rufa eventually grew tired, and went to bed. The next morning…

“You are the team member of the Dark Knight-sama, right? Please treat me well from today on!”

““Please treat us well!””

Three unfamiliar beauties appeared together with Alba.

“…Huh?”

“…Welp, good for you, I guess.” Garnet gave a sarcastic comment, whereas Rufa was at a loss for words.

1 [Sloth] written as White horned bear

2 Giants in Greek mythology with 100 arms and 50 heads