Volume 5 - CH 1

The second layer of the Labyrinth of No Return.

What I came across there was a woman I recognized.

She was dressed in a white robe, and her skin was clean, so she wasn't a zombie.

Her light blue hair was shiny, but more frayed than when I had seen her before.

"You are ......, I believe, in the West Tower. ......"

"Oh, I remember you! You're the girl from the party that got beat up by Shin!"

When Serina and Lily said that, painfully Fianna bit her lower lip and became grim.

They were the ones who were robbed of their [Unhappy Cutlass] by the hero Shin, but they weren't killed?

I thought they had been wiped out.

"What happened to that guy?"

That was the first question I asked her. I asked her about Dill something, the good-natured young man who had bragged about getting a red dagger in the West Tower.

"Dilmud was killed," she said. "And everyone else."

She lowered her gaze and said it, and though her speech was plain, I could feel the deep sadness in it.

"I see."

She seemed to have survived somehow, but it wouldn't be a very happy story if all her friends had been killed.

"I was called by the priest that day to help with the recovery at the temple. If it were true, the party would have been a holiday that day, but I guess Dilmud thought he could get the treasure again.... I later learned from an acquaintance that he went to the West Tower without me."

"......"

"I heard that you guys defeated Shin. I want to thank you. Thank you very much."

Fianna bowed deeply.

"No, you don't need to thank us. But why are you here?"

There were three strange warriors behind her, but I didn't think it was necessary to go to the trouble of crossing the border and reuniting the party to dive into the dungeon.

If I were in her position, I would have lost my closest companion and would not have felt like doing anything for the time being.

"...... that's ......."

"No need to say it. Whatever it is, follow your own path."

From behind her, a dwarf in an iron helmet said in a low voice.

"No, I'll say it. I have come here to find the resurrection spell, which I have heard is in this labyrinth."

You want to bring Dirmud back to life.

I understand that wish.

But to what extent is this a credible story?

The dwarf warrior's advice to Fianna to be silent earlier must mean that (・・・・).

"You're not a skilled party and you don't have a lot of money. You'll be throwing away the life you've just picked up."

I warned. Fianna is probably in a hurry, but it's not a normal decision.

If the party had been wiped out, they would have been forced to spend a considerable amount of money.

The cost of requesting a search, and the cost of mourning.

It was hard to believe that Fianna, who was a priest herself and had kind eyes, would come here without doing a funeral for her party.

"But that doesn't mean I can't stay put."

Fianna said in a stiff voice.

"All right. Do what you want."

"Hey!"

From the side, Serina raised her voice as if to accuse me, but Fianna and I are not friends. I've only seen her once in the West Tower.

I gave her a warning. In any case, it would be useless to stop her.

"Hey, if you want to talk, you can do it later. If you don't, I'll have to deal with the pain from the slave crest."

The younger warrior said. His left arm was stamped with the slave's crest.

"Oh, that's right. Sorry."

"All right, let's go, then. Usunoro!"

"Oh, well, then, usunoro, no!"

The largest of the warriors protested in a slightly slower tone.

"Kehh, you're too slow, what's usunoro?"

"Jouga-san, please stop fighting."

Fianna warned, like a priest.

"Oh? Oi-oi, now, where's the fight? Hey, old man."

The young warrior shrugged his shoulders and looked at the dwarf, but the dwarf warrior didn't care and started walking ahead.

"Oi! Oi, old man! Don't ignore me. Oh, that's right. That old man over there."

"It's Alec."

"Yeah?"

"I-t-s Alec."

I said it twice because it was important.

"Huh. I didn't hear any of that. Since you guys look like newcomers, I'll tell you something as a senior here. The enemies of the second layer here are not zombies, but stones. It's rocks."

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"Hehe, you'll have to think about it with your empty head. Ow, ow, ow, ow! Whoa, damn it, my slave crest."

Jouga, holding his left arm and contorting his face in pain, rushed back to his friends.

"Fianna, heal me, heal me!

"You'll have to put up with that, Jouga-san."

"Damn it, I'm in real pain. Why is it that Fianna is safe and I'm not?"

"Well? Is it because I have not been a slave long?"

With that comment, I realized that Fianna had only recently become a slave. Perhaps she had borrowed money and sold herself to a slave trader in order to raise money for her journey.

What a stupid woman. It's a shame about Dilmud.

"He's gone. It's kind of a depressing story."

Serina said.

"Yes. Once you're a slave, you don't know what kind of horrible things you're going to go through ......."

Ione also seemed to be concerned.

"But it's not all bad." Meena said with a light gut pose to encourage them.

"It's not all bad, right?"

Serina looked at me meaningfully and said. That's what she says, so take it as it comes.

"Alec-sama is an old man!"(?)

"Nene?"

"Nene-chan?!"

Why are you suddenly crying and even sniffling? Maybe it's her Empathy skills or her personality, but I was surprised.

"Come on, you have to wipe your tears. It's no good if the girl looking like that. You must smile, smile."

Serina took out a handkerchief and started to wipe her face, but I leave it to her her.

Ione and I will try to keep an eye on the area. We're in a dungeon after all.

We stopped exploring when the sun was about to set, and returned to the inn.

It might have been more efficient to bring in some food, but we couldn't leave out the delicious soup at the inn.

Besides, it would be better not to rush there.

It was still a shallow level, so we had to take our time and not get caught off guard.

It's like an awkward virgin. If you rush into the back, it won't work. No, I don't know about that.

"Master, it's about Fianna. ......"

Meena rested her hand on her soup and said.

"Hmm? What's wrong with her?"

"Is there anything we can do to help her?"

"...... How?"

"That's ......."

Meena didn't seem to have a concrete plan either. Or maybe she thought I wouldn't say yes even if she did.

I'll say.

"If you can find the resurrection spell, you can show it to her. But that's as far as we can go."

I'm not looking to buy Fianna.

She's only thinking about the resurrection spell, and sooner or later she's going to overreach and lose her life.

This isn't a half-baked dungeon.

Serina seemed to understand that, and although she looked reluctant, she didn't say anything to me.

"Even if there was a resurrection spell, she probably wouldn't know how to use it." Letty said. 

'Unless she's a high level priestess', I'd say. And time.

The more time that passes, the more difficult it will be to revive the dead.

"We're done talking about this."

I said, trying to change the subject.

"Wait. If there's going to be a lot of zombies, why don't we hire that priest girl?"

Hoshirina suggested, which didn't seem like a bad idea. Hiring her was a little different from making her a companion.

"That's good idea. Let's negotiate with her owner."

I decided to try to negotiate with the current owner of Fianna.