Volume 25 - CH 44

We traveled all the way to the central desert of the Kingdom of Toran, known as the 『Desert of Death』, in search of the fourth trial.

What we found at the center of the desert was a huge bone.

「Letty, what is this?」

「Hmph, well, I don't know.」

Maybe it's because she failed to get the last kill earlier, but Letty doesn't want to answer properly.

「Probably. According to tradition, there is a Gate to the Underworld in the 『Desert of Death』, and that you must pass through the bones to reach it.」

Selma answered for me, but if that's the lore of the Dark Elves' village, it's worth a try.

「How's the situation over there, Saki?」

I asked her, who had already entered the hollow in the bones to check the inside.

「There's a path that people can follow, and it's going down gently, so I think we can get there.」

「Okay, then, let's go in.」

「「「Roger!」」」

Relying on the light from the magic lantern that Lily illuminates, we make our way through the cavernous bone cavity.

The sound of our footsteps echoed, but there was no other sound.

「Even so.........What kind of monster is a carcass of this size, anyway?」

Hannah was concerned about that, but if the monster didn't attack, there was no need to check. If there were more of them, it would be a problem, but a monster this large would be easy to spot from a distance. So it would not be so difficult to escape.

「Look, it's a spiral staircase from here. It looks like someone has modified it to create a pathway.」

Serina said, but it seems to have been cut down to the bone, making it a staircase that people can walk on.

But ...... I don't know how far down it goes, but it's a daunting amount of work to build these stairs.

「Wooow, they had to cut it all down! I can't do this kind of boring work!」

「Lily too~!」

Jouga and Lily said, but it couldn't have been the work of just one person. It may have been a mind-boggling task that took years and generations to complete.

「But for what purpose ......」

Serina asked, but perhaps someone had started it because there was a hole there that they could climb down. There is no reason for human curiosity.

We go down because there is a hole there.

We peek in because there is a hole there.

The hole is there for us to enter.

「Hawawa, I'm scared without the handrail」

Nene walks down the stairs with trepidation, leaning against the wall, but it's not clear how far the center of the darkness extends.

「Don't look too far into the hole, Nene. It will scare you even more.」

「Okaay.」

「It looks like there are no monsters.」

Serina said, but nothing has come out since a while ago. Well, that's probably for the best. If there's a battle here, we'll have to worry about someone accidentally falling down the stairs.

「Hmm, I'm tired of walking. Carry me」

Lily, who seemed to be enjoying the feel of the bone stairs at first, started to complain again.

「Lily, we're all walking now, so let's be a little more patient.」

Ione gently admonished her.

「Don't wanna! Carry meee!」

Good grief, she's really unreasonable

「Letty, cast a 【Levitation】 spell on everyone. We'll get down to the bottom in one go.」

If the monsters don't show up, I say, deciding that it would be faster.

「Ah, you can't just rely on me in situations like this.」

You're rather deep-rooted.

「Well, if you can't do it, that's fine.」

「Hey! Who said I can't do it? There's no magic that a genius who graduated seventh in her class from Austin Academy of Magic can't use!」

「Then, let's see what you can do. Fufu.」

Serina asked the simple Letty with a funny laugh.

「Watch this, you fools. ――Lighter, lighter, lighter than feathers, all fluffy, perfect texture, 【Feather Body!】」

「All right, everybody, down the hole.」

「All right, let's go!」「Craaap!」

「There!」「Ooohhh!」

We dove into the hole in the dark, but Letty's magic made us as light as feathers, and we fall gently down.

「The speed is a bit slow, isn't it? As a genius, I'll go down first and wait for you. ――Golden specific gravity, deceive Archimedes' balance with the glitter of your body! 【Gold weight!】」

Letty chanted a spell and went downstairs with a tremendous speed ......

「I hope she's okay.」

Well, it's about her. She's not going to die, even if she fails.

After a while, I heard a nice sound from below, but I think she might have failed to land.

It's because she's trying to look good.

「Lily, drop the high potion on the ground.」

「Nihihi, Got~it. There!」

You don't have to throw anything, but Lily threw the glass bottle of potion downward as hard as she could.

「I don't care if Letty gets mad at you later, okay?」

「Because Alec told me to do it.」

「Well, I'm sure it was my order, so I'll apologize later.」

I didn't know if she'd hit the target, but when we got dow, Letty was holding a piece of a medicine bottle with a resentful look on her face.

「This thing! It hurt like hell!」

「My bad, Letty. I made her throw the bottle, but I didn't think it would go that fast.」

「Be careful, geez. 【Feather Body】 is a body-only spell. Anything that's too far removed from the body is also removed from the magic designation and becomes heavier.」

「Yeah, looks like it. Is your body okay?」

「I made it just in time, so―― Ahem, noo, what are you asking me, a genius, Alec? Can you please stop asking me like I made a mistake?」

「Yes, you did. All right, I hope you're okay. Let's move on.」

This is where the bones and the spiral staircase break off, and we are surrounded by a vast cavern.

「Yep. Cerberus is over there.」

Letty points.

「How did you know?」

「Because I heard a growl earlier. Even Now.」

「GURURURURU......」

There was certainly a little growl.

「All right, everyone, check your gear. Selma, you stay here.」

「P-Please wait, Alec-sama. I, too, would very much like to see the gates of the Underworld.」

「But the enemy's level here is definitely staggering. You're gonna slowing us down.」

「Kuhh, I understand. Now, I'll wait here for your return. Uh, ...... you'll be back, right?」

「Of course. Tama, you wait here too.」

「GAU」

The big lion (Tama) attached to me and follows me this far, but Tama might get in the way when I put Cerberus to sleep, so I take out some bread from the 【Item Storage】 and give it to Tama.

「GOROGOROGORO......」

After swallowing the bread happily, Tama laid down on the spot quietly.

「Okay, let's go.」

「「「Roger!」」」

After walking for a while in the great underground cavity, Cerberus and the 『Gate of the Underworld』 came into view.

Cerberus was as big as Tama, and the gate was even more massive.

「Saki, are you ready?」

「Leave it to me. I've got the pudding. Cat――No that's not it, It's a dog, for sure!」

「I hope so.  All of you, keep your eyes open in case the Cerberus doesn't sleep.」

I instructed, drew my sword, and approached Cerberus.