Death March kara Hajimaru Isekai Kyusoukyoku (LN) - Volume 14 - Chapter 2

Reunion 

Satou here. They say boys grow up fast, but it’s not just boys who can change a lot after you haven’t seen them for a while. If anything, I’d say girls change even more drastically. 

“When did you get to Labyrinth City?” 

“Late last night.” 

Zena and friends had joined a force called the “Labyrinth City Celivera’s Elite Training Corps.” 

I had already noticed on my map information that she was in Labyrinth City Celivera, but it would’ve been a little creepy to coincidentally show up at their base, so I held off. 

“Excuse me; pardon meee. Back away, please and thank youuu.” 

“Mm, shameless.” 

Zena and I hadn’t even realized that we were still embracing as we talked, but Arisa and Mia shoved their way between us and pushed us apart. 

Once she noticed our position, Zena flailed her hands wildly and backed away. 

“I-I’m sorry; I’m so stupid…” 

“Not at all. I’m glad you were so excited to see me again, too.” 

Zena had always had an unexpectedly passionate side. When we’d reunited during the Seiryuu City labyrinth incident, she had practically tackled me. 

“Hmm? Is this your sweetheart, Satou?” 

The guildmaster came over to stick her nose in my business. 

“This is an ally who helped me out quite a bit in Seiryuu City, Miss Zena of the Marienteil house, a magic soldier in the county army.” 

Something about my introduction made Zena’s face fall a little. 

Should I have introduced her as a dear friend instead? 

Behind us, the crowd was murmuring rumors about Seiryuu County: “I heard a new labyrinth formed there.” “They were attacked by a powerful demon but escaped unscathed.” “Their army makes all the soldiers fight against wyverns.” 

It must be a pretty famous place, if this many people knew about it even in a territory on the other side of the kingdom. 

“…Lady Zena.” 

Liza placed her Cricket Spear on the floor and got down on a knee to show her respect to Zena. 

“My name is Liza. You may not remember me, but you saved our lives in Seiryuu City. It’s thanks to you that we’ve been able to serve our beloved master and grow stronger. I cannot possibly thank you enough.” 

She had already thanked Zena when we met up in the Demon’s Labyrinth, but Liza had a very strong sense of duty. 

“Of course I remember you!” Zena looked bashful about Liza’s approach. 

“Whoa, Liza of the Black Spear laid down her weapon!” 

“That girl must be crazy strong to have saved her life!” 

“I guess the rumors about the Seiryuu City army seeing wyverns as low-threat are true.” 

“That girl’s a little plain-looking at first, but she’s actually kinda cute, isn’t she?” 

The peanut gallery was getting annoying. 

“Gratefuuul?” 

“Thank you, sir.” 

Liza’s actions reminded Tama and Pochi who Zena was, and they quickly knelt down next to her. 

“Though there is little I can offer you, please let me know if there is ever anything we can do to be of assistance. With master’s permission, we will come running to your aid at a moment’s notice.” 

“Goodness, your words of thanks are more than enough!” 

Blushing, Zena politely deflected Liza’s earnest offer. 

At Liza’s current strength, she could probably take down a wyvern solo, if not a dragon. 

“Oh dear, sir.” 

“Pochiii?” 

Pochi lost her balance and tumbled over, then went “hee-hee, sir” to cover her embarrassment. Miss Zena ended up giggling as well. 

The other people around us all smiled at Pochi’s cute actions. 

But then a man’s gruff voice broke through the peaceful mood. 

“Liza of the Black Spear! I am Kerun, Knight of the White Lance! I challenge you to a one-on-one duel!” 

The man who called himself Kerun was equipped with a white lance and familiar-looking armor: the armor of a Holy Knight. 

“Master. May I?” 

“Sure, go ahead. Just don’t kill him.” 

“Yes, sir.” 

Next to me, I heard Zena exclaim “Wha—?!” in a panic. 

“Ha! You won’t be so confident once we get started!” 

The Holy Knight Kerun readied his spear, looking self-assured. 

Wait, you’re planning to fight right here? 

“Fighting is forbidden inside the guild hall. Take it outside, please.” 

There was a temporary battleground area set up outside the garrison of the labyrinth army. 

During special events in Labyrinth City, it was very common for people to get carried away and start fights. Since many residents of the city were strong fighters, they had to take measures like this to avoid buildings getting destroyed in the process. 

“Very well.” 

Liza nodded and beckoned the knight to follow her outside the guild house. 

“Um, Satou, shouldn’t you go with her?” 

Zena glanced anxiously between Liza’s retreating figure and my face. 

“It’s all right. Liza will be able to win without hurting him, I’m sure.” 

There was a significant level gap, so it would likely be a one-sided battle. 

If I went to watch, Liza might get carried away and end up injuring him more. 

“B-but…he looked very strong, didn’t he?” 

Perhaps Zena didn’t realize how strong Liza had gotten? 

“Don’t worryyy?” 

“Liza is strong, sir!” 

Tama and Pochi beamed up at the nervous Zena reassuringly. 

“Are you certain it’ll be all right?” 

“Yes, Liza can definitely handle it,” I said. 

As she opened her mouth, probably to ask why we were so confident, a young voice interrupted us. 

“Aaaah! Arisa, there you are!” 

“Arisa, Lady Mia, come over to the stage right away, please. Pochi and Tama, too.” 

“We asked the opening act to stall for time, but that won’t work for much longer!” 

The young maids Iruna and Jena of the Lovely Wings, who were in charge of running the entertainment on the stage, came to get Arisa and the others. 

Oh, right. They said they were putting on a concert. 

“Whoa, it’s time already? I completely spaced.” 

“Mm. Forgot.” 

“Hurryyy?” 

“Oh no, sir!” 

The younger group ran off to the stage in a hurry but then paused. 

“Master, you’d better stop standing around flirting and come watch us!” 

“That’s right, sir! I want you to see our heroics up close, sir!” 

“Okay. I’ll be right behind you.” 

“Mm. Promise.” 

“Waitiiing…” 

I waved at the young kids as they ran off. 

“Well, if it isn’t Zena’s boy toy.” 

“No wonder she ran off in such a hurry.” 

“They were reunited sooner than expected, hmm?” 

The rest of Zena’s squad—Lilio the scout, Miss Lou the tank, and the lovely swordswoman Miss Iona—caught up to us through the crowd. 

“I-I’m sorry. I know we still had things to do…” 

“It’s all right. I’m sure you have a lot to talk about, so we can take care of it.” 

As Zena apologized, Miss Iona gave her an almost motherly smile. 

“Besides, there’s still plenty of time before we have to report in. Please take your time rekindling your…relationship.” 

“Zenacchi, I’m giving you my permission. Jump his bones, ’kay?” 

“Make sure you take a break from your love affair to get some food, though.” 

“Lilio, Lou, let’s not editorialize, hmm? Just don’t forget to meet at the west gate when the clock strikes noon, dear.” 

With that, Zena’s trio of comrades vanished into the crowd. 

“Honestly! All of you!” 

Zena shook her fist after her friends as they left, but there was the hint of a smile on her face. She probably wasn’t actually all that angry. 

“All right, Satou, I’m off to drink some free booze.” 

The guildmaster and company also disappeared in the same direction as Zena’s squad. 

Without the peanut gallery, Zena and I were the only two people remaining. 

“So we’re alone…” 

“Seems that way.” 

I looked around, nodding in agreement with Zena’s words. 

Hmm? 

For some reason, Zena seemed a little dejected. 

“This guy’s the worst.” 

“That pretty girl is trying to set the mood, and he’s just blowing her off…” 

It took rude comments from the crowd for me to notice. Zena had been murmuring to me in a maidenly voice, but I’d just responded normally without a second thought. 

“I’m sorry, Miss Zena.” 

“N-no, um. It’s fine. Please don’t worry about it!” 

Zena seemed to have heard the crowd’s commentary, too; she turned bright red and waved her hands frantically, clearly embarrassed. 

Collecting myself, I tried to start the conversation over. 

“So if your squad is with you, does that mean you’re here on a mission?” 

“Yes! We’re part of an elite force assembled on the count’s orders.” 

According to her explanation, Zena and the rest of the Labyrinth Elite were sent here to study labyrinth management and law enforcement in Celivera. 

“They mentioned you were gathering at the west gate, didn’t they? Are you going into the labyrinth?” 

“Yes, we’ll be meeting up with some guides at noon to enter it and investigate how it differs from the one in Seiryuu City.” 

I wasn’t sure how going into a labyrinth would connect to learning how to manage one, but some government officials had accompanied the force as well; maybe they were going to research that side of things at the guild. 

Perhaps Zena and company were supposed to see what a labyrinth needs from the perspective of explorers. 

“So soon after arriving? That’s pretty rough.” 

“It’ll be all right. We got a good night’s rest, and we’ve trained for this.” 

Zena sounded like an overworked employee. 

But I guess I couldn’t really talk, since we’d challenged the labyrinth the same day we arrived, too. 

“Have you registered as explorers already?” 

“Yes! We went to the east guild when we arrived yesterday to fill out the paperwork.” 

Zena showed me the wood badge on her chest. 

“And you’ve got everything you need for your exploration?” 

“I believe so. Our supplies chief Morando and some of the other officials gathered all the supplies and equipment we’ll need, so all we have to do is carry our portion of the supplies and show up.” 

Zena was wearing the same leather armor and cloak I’d seen in Seiryuu City and had a short staff at her waist. Lou had left with the bag Zena was previously carrying, which meant she was traveling fairly light. 

Since Miss Iona said they’d take care of things at the guild, technically she didn’t have to stay here, right? 

“So your squad is going into the labyrinth at noon?” 

There were still two hours until then. Zena nodded, and we decided to go around to the free food stalls on our way to see Arisa and the other girls’ concert. 

“Shall we, Miss Zena?” 

“Yes!” 

Zena and I left the west guild building. 

“This is quite a crowd.” 

“Yes, well, there’s a festival of sorts today.” 

Even then, there were a lot of people. Several times, we nearly got pushed apart by the crowd. 

“With this many people around, it might be hard to find each other again if we get separated.” 

“I suppose…” 

I could still find her on my radar if we got separated, but it might be difficult to move against the flow of the crowd. 

“Shall we hold hands, then, Miss Zena?” 

“…All right, Satou.” 

Zena looked at my proffered hand bashfully for a moment, then shyly accepted it. If a situation like this had happened to me in high school, I might have fallen in love. I somehow felt a bit guilty toward my beloved Miss Aaze in the elf village, so I silently apologized to her in my mind. 

“Will you be staying in the labyrinth overnight?” 

“No, we’re planning on coming back by the end of the day.” 

She said that their plan this time was to enter for half a day to ensure that they weren’t short on equipment, then start seriously exploring the labyrinth and staying overnight two days from now. 

“So do you have tomorrow and the next day off?” 

“I’m not sure about both, but I know we have a break tomorrow!” 

Zena raised her hands excitedly as she answered. 

“If you’d like, I can show you around Labyrinth City.” 

“Really?! That would be wonderful!” She responded with a sparkling smile. 

“Ah, it’s the man of the hour.” 

“Hey, mister, let’s hear some stories of your adventures sometime!” 

“You’ll treat us to drinks, right?” 

“We’d be the ones treating him, moron!” 

A lot of townspeople and explorers I didn’t recognize greeted me, maybe because of the parade earlier. Zena seemed to misunderstand this and gave the dubious observation that I seemed to have a lot of friends. 

“Hey, mister!” 

“For you, I wouldn’t even charge to—Ow!” 

Along the way, some women of various ages accosted me, too, but the lovely lady who seemed to be their leader called it off when she noticed Zena at my side. 

“Oh my, I see you have an adorable young lady with you.” 

As they left, she seductively whispered, “Do come by our place sometime,” in my ear. 

According to my AR display, they worked at some kind of high-class adult establishment. 

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t interested, but I couldn’t let that show while Zena was with me, so I brushed it off with a light excuse, and we kept moving. 

“Looks like they haven’t started yet.” 

When we arrived at the stage, Arisa and company hadn’t emerged yet. We were just in time to see the opening act leaving the stage, so they must have been in the middle of changing things over. Since Mia had to summon her musical assistant pseudo-spirit and all, it would probably take a bit longer for the girls’ concert to begin. 

“…Let’s take a little detour.” 

“O-okay!” 

Looking around, I saw that Lulu had begun her demonstration, and I led Zena that way. 

“What an enormous fish.” 

“It’s called a maze bass, and it lives in the Middle Stratum of the labyrinth. I’m told it’s delicious, but it’s difficult to transport, so you don’t see them very often.” 

It was apparently used occasionally at some high-class restaurants in Celivera, but because we didn’t eat out very often, I’d never tried it before. Nobles usually avoided monster meat, which was why it never showed up at their dinners or anything. 

“Wow, Satou, look at that! What an enormous knife!” Zena exclaimed in surprise when she saw the broadsword-size giant knife, which was an inferior copy of the orichalcum knife I’d made in the south seas for butchering giant tuna. 

“Amazing! It’s huge, but she’s so delicate with it!” 

As Lulu began fileting the fish, Zena tugged on my clothes with her free hand. 

Of course, the rest of the crowd around us was watching Lulu’s knife work in admiration, too. 

“Wow, she’s slicing up that maze bass like it’s nothing. Normally even a steel sword would have trouble cutting through it…” 

“I guess that’s the Maid King for you.” 

Some of their remarks were a bit strange, but I decided to ignore them. 

Once Lulu finished breaking down the fish, she smoothly transitioned into frying up filets of the maze bass. 

The sound of the sizzling pan alone was enough to make you drool. 

“Freshly fried maze bass! Please give it a tryyy!” 

The young maids from our mansion began distributing the fried filets with bright voices. 

The kitchen maids Rosie and Annie, along with the head maid, Miss Miteruna, were in the booth helping Lulu cook. 

“Young master!” 

One of the maids noticed me in the crowd. 

“Hi there. Thanks for all your hard work. Could we have two pieces?” 

“Yes, right away!” 

The cheerful young maid mimicked Pochi and Tama’s trademark salute pose. 

I heard Zena quizzically murmur “young master?” so I explained that she was a servant employed at our house. 

When I turned back, the little maid was still frozen in the same pose. 

“Wait, huh? There’s a new lady with you!” 

She seemed to be surprised by Zena’s presence. The little girl’s eyes shot back and forth between us and Lulu, who was still cooking behind her. 

“Don’t worry—Lulu already knows her.” 

“Oh, heh-heh… M’kay, I’m gonna go get your fish!” 

The maid giggled awkwardly, forgetting her manners as she dashed back to the booth. 

She and the other maids had learned a lot under Lulu’s tutelage, so they must be firmly on her side. 

“Thanks for waiting, young master!” 

“Thank you.” 

I accepted the paper-wrapped fried fish filets from the maid and handed one to Zena. She hesitated for just a moment before releasing my hand and taking the fish. 

“We’d better eat them while they’re still hot.” 

“R-right…” 

Since the maze bass was a rather grotesque-looking fish, Zena seemed reluctant to try it at first, but she gathered her courage and took a bite once she saw me digging in. 

“…It’s delicious!” 

Zena’s eyes widened in surprise at the taste. 

“Wow… It looked so unappealing, but the taste is so delicate! Even though it looks just like a Seiryuu croquette, it really melts in your mouth… And this white sauce goes unbelievably well with it!” 

After her first bite, Zena unleashed a torrent of opinions. 

In a matter of moments, her fried fish filet had disappeared into her stomach. 

“That was so good. She’s incredibly talented for such a young age.” 

Hearing Zena praise Lulu’s cooking made me as proud as if she were my own child. 

“Thank you very much. Lulu is really one of the best chefs in Labyrinth City.” 

As I bragged a little, I looked around the area to hide my embarrassment. 

Before my eyes, a long line had formed in the time it took to eat our filets. 

Considering how delicious they were, it was no surprise that so many people were lined up. 

“Lulu, that was so tasty.” 

“Master! I didn’t know you were here!” 

Lulu burst into a smile when she saw me. 

“I watched your demonstration, too. It was fantastic.” 

“Oh my goodness! I still have a long way to go compared to you, sir!” 

Even as she smiled bashfully, her hand was moving nonstop as expertly as a veteran chef. Her cooking skills were getting so impressive that I could imagine her becoming a household name throughout the Shiga Kingdom in the near future. 

“Well, I don’t want to be in the way. We’d better get moving.” 

Lulu seemed busy, so I waved at her, and we left the fish fry booth behind. 

“Looks like it’s about to start.” 

The kids’ concert was just beginning as we returned to the stage. 

In addition to the noble seats, there were seats reserved for our group, since we were the stars of the day, but Nana, who was looking after the orphanage kids, was the only one sitting there. 

I tried to head over, too, but there were so many people in the way that we decided to sit in the ordinary seats instead. 

“Listen to my sooooong!” 

Arisa began the concert by shouting like a certain galactic songstress. 

“What wonderful music. Is the sphere behind them making those sounds?” 

“Yes, it’s fairy magic called an ‘Instrumentalist.’ But it can only perform as well as the one who summoned it.” 

I gave a quick explanation of the pseudo-spirit Mia was controlling. 

“Ah… I see now. It sounds wonderful.” 

Mia performing an entire orchestra on her own was certainly impressive, but Arisa using that as accompaniment for an anime theme song was a feat in itself. 

As I listened to the music, I was equally soothed by the sight of Pochi and Tama twirling in time to the music onstage. Shrieks arose from the crowd at the pair, who were dressed like winged fairies as they jumped and spun. 

Listening closely, I realized that Pochi and Tama were singing as they danced. 

There were singing voices coming from the crowd, too. Maybe from the orphanage kids Nana had brought along? 

Arisa was too engrossed in her heartfelt singing to notice, but Pochi and Tama spotted me in the crowd and waved at me as they spun. 

When I waved back, they did even more airborne spins in their excitement. 

“They’re so nimble! Just like you, Satou!” 

Zena’s compliment was very characteristic of her. 

I suppose she wasn’t wrong, though. 

“…Wow, that was amazing.” 

Zena looked flushed as she gave the concert a rave review. 

After an hour or so, the kids’ performance had just come to an end. 

It was energetic from start to finish; like Zena, the rest of the audience around us still looked airily excited. 

I wanted to go backstage and congratulate my girls on their show, but Zena had to be at her meeting point soon, so I praised the group by way of the Space Magic spell Telephone and let them know that I was seeing Zena off to the west gate. 

“Sorry to take up your time right before you enter the labyrinth.” 

“Not at all! It was so much fun!” 

Zena looked pleased from the bottom of her heart. 

“That’s good, then. So, want to grab a light snack on our way to the west gate?” 

“Yes, that would be lovely! Satou!” 

Zena seemed a little more high-pitched than usual today. 

I guess the atmosphere of a festival is exciting even when nothing in particular is happening. 

We quenched our thirst with some veria water, then munched on various skewers and labyrinth manju as we made our way through the festivities. 

It was reminiscent of when we toured through the shopping stalls in Seiryuu City. 

That reminded me—since Zena had introduced me to some of her favorite products of Seiryuu City, maybe I could show her some rarities here in return. 

With that thought, I suggested we take a little detour and led her to the area where Neru and the other girls from the downtown tenements—now employees of the Echigoya Company, Celivera branch—were working their food stalls. 

“Satou, what are all those casks and boxes piled up for over there?” 

Zena was looking at the sloped plaza near the west gate of the labyrinth, where there were huge stacks of casks, barrels, and crates. 

“Oh, those are empty. They probably held all the food and supplies for today’s festival.” 

“A-all for this festival? That’s incredible!” 

I didn’t know why they were over there specifically, but it probably just happened because there hadn’t been any designated spot to put them, so they just piled everything in a random corner. 

It was the same kind of thing you might see at a poorly planned college festival. 

“What did you say?!” 

“Oh, did I hit a nerve, Sir Ashinen?” 

As we were approaching the food carts, my “Keen Hearing” skill picked up an argument from some young boys ahead of us. 

“Is someone fighting?” 

“It happens a lot in Labyrinth City.” 

The voices sounded familiar, but since I didn’t think it was an adult’s place to interfere in an argument among children, we ignored it and kept moving. It sounded like it was some distance away from the food carts anyway, so we probably wouldn’t get caught up in it. 

“Hey, good to see you, mister! Come have some grub!” 

Neru, a redheaded girl around high school age, waved at us from one of the stalls and called out casually. 

Since she worked in front of a hot iron plate, she was wearing a tank top that left me carefully averting my eyes. 

“Hello, Miss Neru. Quite a line you have.” 

“Yeah, ’cause everyone’s food is free today, courtesy of the higher-ups. It’s been like this all morning.” 

Ah, so kids who normally couldn’t afford to buy much food were lining up to eat as much as they could. 

We would probably have to line up for at least an hour to get anything. 

“I don’t think we’ll be able to get to your meeting point in time if we wait in this line. Shall we go to another stall, Miss Zena?” 

“It’s too bad, but I guess I’ll have to come back some other time.” 

Zena looked around at the signboards and nodded, looking disappointed. 

Like so many others, her appetite had probably been attracted by Tama’s masterpieces Twirling Takoyaki, Dancing Croquettes, Winning Skewers, and Flying Fried Potatoes. 

“Here you are, young master.” 

Someone handed me bundles of takoyaki and the other dishes. It was Polina, the manager of the Echigoya Company. 

“We wouldn’t want to cut the line, though—” 

I guiltily tried to decline the special treatment, but she shook her head with a smile. 

“We’re celebrating your achievements today! I’m sure no one will mind.” 

She looked back at the people in line, who all grinned and chimed in with agreements. “Yeah, of course!” “It’s thanks to you that we get to eat so much good stuff today!” 

“Well, thank you very much, then.” 

I bowed to the people in line and accepted the package from Polina. 

“Satou, this festival…is for you?” 

Zena tilted her head in confusion. 

“Do you know what we’re celebrating today, Zena?” 

“Y-yes, I thought—” 

“Zenacchiiii! Over heeere!” 

A loud voice interrupted Zena’s words. 

“Lilio!” 

Amid the crowd watching the kids’ quarrel was Lilio and the rest of Zena’s squad. All three of them were holding wrapped food, too. 

“Did you guys line up as well? This takoyaki stuff is amazing!” 

“The skewers, too.” 

“I liked the fried potatoes best.” 

Zena tried each of their recommendations in turn, exclaiming “delicious!” each time. 

I didn’t mind standing and eating, but it might be nice to sit down somewhere. 

As I looked around for a spot, my eyes met across the crowd with a very young-looking girl. 

“Sir Satou!” she exclaimed. “Sir Satou! Over here, no?” 

It was Princess Meetia of the Nolork Kingdom, jumping up and down and waving at me. 

She was a friend of Arisa and Mia, but after rescuing her from the Plunderer King Ludaman, we hadn’t seen her much between my group’s training and our floormaster battle. 

Standing behind her was her stony-faced and dependable lady knight, Ravna. 

I couldn’t just ignore them. I headed over with food in hand. 

“Hello, Princess Meetia.” 

“Greetings. Allow me to congratulate thee on thy accomplishments.” 

The princess put a hand next to her face and sighed with a large smile. She must be using her Heraluon-given gift, Breath of Purification. 

“Thank you very much, Princess.” 

“Indeed. And who might this young lady be?” 

Turning around, I saw that Zena had followed behind me. 

“This is a friend of mine who saved the lives of Liza and the girls—Lady Zena Marienteil of Seiryuu County. Miss Zena, this is Her Highness Princess Meetia of the Nolork Kingdom.” 

“Oh-ho, it must have been no small feat to save the amazing Miss Liza, no?” 

“A p-p-princess?” 

Zena looked surprised and quickly bowed in respect to a foreign royal. 

“No need to be so formal. Any friend of Sir Satou is a friend of mine indeed. Thou may simply call me Meetia.” 

Zena grew only more flustered at the princess’s friendly demeanor. 

“Hereditary Knight Pendragon, congratulations on your illustrious deeds. I shall learn from your example to further myself as well.” 

As I was watching the pair interact, the stony knight offered me words of praise. 

“…Hereditary Knight? Pen-dragon?” 

Zena’s eyes widened as she stared at me as if in utter shock, stammering. 

Just as I had started to suspect, Zena didn’t know that I had become an honorary hereditary knight in the Muno Barony and taken on the surname Pendragon. 

Come to think of it, while we were walking around, everyone had just been calling me “mister” so far. And she must not have seen the parade in the morning. 

But was it really something to be that shocked about? 

According to Viscount Nina of the Muno Barony, lesser hereditary knights were appointed at least several times a year in any territory. 

“You didn’t know? I was awarded the title of honorary hereditary knight and took on the name Pendragon.” 

I was pretty sure I’d written as much in the letter I sent her from Muno City. 

“Whoa, then wait, this festival’s all for you?” 

Lilio stuck her head in behind Zena. 

“Not just for me. We challenged the floormaster in a large group.” 

To be even more exact, the festival was for my kids, and I was just tagging along. 

“I believe I wrote to you about this in the letter I sent from the Muno Barony. Maybe you didn’t receive it?” 

“N-no, the last letter I got from you was from Sedum City in Kuhanou County…” 

She’d left for Labyrinth City after that, which was why she hadn’t received any subsequent letters. 

Unlike modern Japan, it took a long time for mail to reach its destination in this world, and sometimes it didn’t even get there at all. So issues like this were inevitable. 

“Well, when I show you around Labyrinth City tomorrow, I can take you to a nice restaurant as well. If you’d like, I can tell you all about it then.” 

“R-right. You have to, okay?” 

Zena still seemed to be in shock as I made her a promise. 

It would take a bit too long to get into it here, and I didn’t really want a crowd of people to overhear anyway. 

“Sir Satou, art thou all right?” 

Princess Meetia called out to me cautiously. 

Oops. I was so busy calming Zena down that I neglected the princess. 

“My apologies, Princess Meetia.” 

“Not at all. Thou art the star today, after all, no?” 

As always, her imperious tone was at odds with her childlike features. 

“By the way, what are they fighting about over there?” 

I nodded toward the boys and girls who were still arguing nearby. 

I knew a few of them, namely Gerits, the third son of the viceroy of Celivera, and his usual hangers-on. 

We’d spoken a little bit at the viceroy’s wife’s tea parties, and then I had rescued them from the plunderers’ plot to start a chain rampage in the labyrinth, but that was about it— No, I suppose they’d also asked me to start running courses for noble students at the explorers’ school. 

The preparations for their request were almost complete, but I’d been planning to aim those toward lesser nobles’ kids, not prestigious families like theirs. 

“Indeed, I am told those are noble friends of Sir Gerits and company, but evidently they have been at odds since their elementary school days.” 

At odds—so maybe they were rivals? 

It was a group of seven or so armed boys and girls from noble families who were clashing with Gerits and friends. 

Apparently, this new group was about to go into the labyrinth, since they were accompanied by two strong guardian knights with levels in the high 20s, as well as six soldiers and four bag carriers. 

The weapons the kids were holding were clearly brand-new and unused, but they were quite well equipped. In particular, their leader was barely of adult age, but he wore a dwarf-made mithril-alloy sword at his waist. 

“I-it’s a race, Bowman!” I heard Gerits shout. “We’ll see who gets a garnet badge first!” 

“Aren’t you listening to me, pal? I don’t care about being an explorer. It’s just a stepping stone on the way to government service, that’s all.” 

“D-don’t insult explorerrrrrrrrs!” 

Gerits roared in anger at the boy named Bowman’s careless remark. 

“It’s not the kinda job any coward can do!” 

That was a bit surprising to hear. I didn’t realize Gerits had such strong feelings about the explorer profession. 

“All right, all right. Fine, it’s a race. But we’re not interested in garnet badges. Let’s see who can get to level fifteen first instead,” Bowman countered. 

“Level fifteen? But that’s on par with a knight!” 

“I’m level four, and you said in your last letter that you’re level seven, right? We’ve already got our preparations in order, so I think it’s a perfect handicap, yeah?” 

Gerits was actually only level 5. He must have been exaggerating in his letter to his rival. 

The beastfolk girls had reached level 15 or so in the Seiryuu City labyrinth alone, so that should take them only a few days, right? 

“We’re gonna spend some time in the beetle area now. If it goes well, we might hit level fifteen before the New Year. So if you wanna win, you’d better show me what you’ve got, and fast.” 

With that confident declaration, Bowman and his friends walked away toward the west gate into the labyrinth. 

“S-Sir Geriiits, should you really have made a promise like that?” 

This nervous question was from Luram, a pudgy young boy who was a friend of Gerits’s. 

I often ran into him buying food at Neru’s and the other girls’ food carts on our way out of the labyrinth, so he might be the child I knew best out of the group. 

“Sh-shut up! Nobles don’t go back on their word!” 

As Gerits snapped angrily at Luram, our eyes met. 

“Sir Pendragon!” 

He came running up to me like a man who had just found his ticket out of hell. 

“You saw that, right?! You’ve gotta open up courses for us at the explorers’ school! Starting tomorrow, if you can!” 

Without waiting for an answer to his demand, he ran off into the crowd with his friends. 

“Honestly, that Sir Gerits is a troublemaker, no?” 

Princess Meetia sighed. 

“It’s all right. We were planning on having courses for noble students anyway.” 

Of course, I’d intended to aim those toward the less financially blessed nobles, but I couldn’t turn a blind eye after hearing of Gerits’s passion for explorers. Besides, the viceroy’s wife had done a lot for me. 

Most of all, it’d be hard to sleep at night if I kept all the labyrinth glory for my group and myself. 

“We’d be so honored to be educated by a mithril explorer like you, Sir Pendragon!” 

One of Gerits’s friends, Baronet Dyukeli’s daughter Mary-Ann, clasped my hand in gratitude. 

This young girl’s desire to be an explorer was so strong that she’d once followed some nasty female explorers into the labyrinth and nearly met her death, yet she still refused to give up. 

“I’m terribly sorry, Lady Mary-Ann, but I’m afraid I won’t be personally instructing you. You’ll have another teacher.” 

I was planning on entrusting the job to Miss Ayaume or Sir Kajiro, who was currently recovering with his newly healed leg. 

“Thou must not ask the moon, Lady Mary-Ann. Sir Satou is surely quite busy preparing for next month’s kingdom meeting, so we shan’t get in his way, no?” 

“Of course… I’m sorry, Sir Knight.” 

“More importantly, thou must prepare to begin your course tomorrow. Go on, Lady Mary-Ann!” 

“Yes, Princess Meetia!” 

Comforted by her royal friend, Mary-Ann bowed to me quickly before scurrying off after Gerits and company. 

“My apologies, Miss Zena.” 

I apologized to Zena and company for neglecting them while I dealt with Gerits and the other kids. 

Since it was almost time for their departure, I accompanied the somewhat distraught-looking Zena and her squad to the west gate. 

“…Hey, kid. Was that cute little girl your lover or what?” 

“No, certainly not.” 

I shook my head immediately at Lilio’s strange question. 

“See, Zenacchi? Nothing to worry about.” 

“I—I don’t know what you mean!” 

Turning bright red, Zena looked away from the chortling Lilio. 

“Looks like everyone else is there already, yeah?” 

“They’re rather early, considering that the noon bell has yet to ring.” 

Lou and Iona waved at a group of people gathered by the west gate, wearing similar equipment. 

“All right, I guess we’ll be off, Satou.” 

“Okay. Please be careful.” 

For some reason, Zena wasn’t looking away, so we got stuck staring into each other’s eyes like the protagonists of some romantic comedy. 

“Guilty?” 

“Not sure…” 

The younger girls from my group came up behind us, snacks in hand. 

“Master sighted, I report.” 

Nana was there, too, with the orphanage kids in tow. 

“Aaaah!” Seeing Nana, Lilio exclaimed loudly. “If you’re here, does that mean John’s around, too? And that Mito person?” 

“I don’t understand, I declare.” 

“What do you…?” 

“The names John and Mito are not registered in my name list.” 

In her roundabout way, Nana was trying to say that Lilio had the wrong person. 

“Wait, did you meet Nana’s sisters, by any chance?” 

“Seven girls with the same face? One of them’s called Number Eight or Hachiko or something?” 

I hadn’t heard the name Hachiko before, but if they all looked like Nana and one was called Number 8, then there was no mistaking it. 

“Yes, I believe so. Are they all right?” 

“Oh, so he’s not with you…” 

“Yes, they were all in very good health.” 

As Lilio’s shoulders slumped, Zena answered me instead. 

She said they had last seen Nana’s sisters in Fau, a town in Zetts County. The homunculi had been working as waitresses at a restaurant there to save up money. 

Glancing at the markers on my map, I saw that they were now in an area called the Fujisan Mountains, heading toward the Muno Barony. 

They’d leveled up at some point, too: Even the lower members, who’d been around level 7, had doubled to level 14. 

A little curious, I used the marker on the map as a target to activate the Space Magic spell Clairvoyance and see how they were doing. 

Even in an unknown map, I could still use the spell if I had a marker to target, as it turned out. 

…A spider? 

They were all riding on the back of a gigantic creature that looked like a fusion between a crab and a spider. 

Number 8 now had “Animal Training,” so she had probably tamed the monster. It looked very strong and had gigantic, long legs, meaning they should be able to traverse even the toughest terrain with ease. 

I would’ve gone to help them if they were having trouble getting to the grave they needed to visit, but it looked like they didn’t need my help after all. I wasn’t going to stick my nose in and hurt their pride for no good reason. 

“…Zena, you can have this.” 

“A brooch?” 

“There’s a small water stone inside it to use in case of an emergency. If you touch the stone and charge it with magic, it’ll produce water.” 

As I was checking in on Nana’s sisters, Arisa started talking to Zena. 

They would probably be fine, since it was only a half day’s trip into the labyrinth, but I gave her a set of veria magic potions that were supposedly from the labyrinth as a parting gift. 

Zena tried to insist that she couldn’t accept such expensive items, but Arisa insisted. “Just take it to reassure our worrywart master.” 

“Thank you very much, Satou, Arisa— Huh?” 

As Zena sheepishly took the gifts, her eyes suddenly widened. 

She was staring at something behind me. 

“Pen— Erm, S-Satou!” 

A single figure came rushing over from the explorers’ guild, flying into the plaza by the west gate. 

Even silhouetted by the sun behind her, her distinctive chest and tight curls revealed her identity. 

She did an impressive somersault in midair, although that might not be the best idea in a dress. 

Despite myself, though, I couldn’t take my eyes off the twin miracles before me. 

Finally, she landed on her feet right in front of us. 

“I am here!” 

Flushed with embarrassment, she still crossed her arms dramatically as she announced her presence. 

There was no mistaking her gorgeous good looks and her unique golden curls in their large, luxurious glory. 

It was Miss Karina Muno, the second daughter of Baron Muno, my master. 

“Karinaaa?” 

“Time for a battle, sir!” 

Ah— 

Pochi launched into the air, and Tama used the nearby wall for a double jump, both charging to attack Karina. 

“Wait!” 

Tama heard my order mid-leap and changed directions to avoid Karina, tumbling in a different direction. 

Pochi still crashed squarely into Karina, though, and the two of them went flying through the nearby pile of crates. They disappeared into the wreckage, so I couldn’t see how they’d landed. 

“Oh dear, is Miss Busty all right?” 

“Hmm?” 

Arisa and Mia blinked in confusion at the sudden development. 

“I’m sure Miss Karina is fine. She played with Pochi and Tama like that quite often at Muno Castle.” 

“I guess they played in the old capital, too, but still, that didn’t look fine to me…” 

“That could put a larvae’s life in danger, I observe.” 

Liza didn’t seem concerned, but Lulu and Nana were still looking at the pile of crates nervously. True enough, an all-out attack from Pochi could probably kill Miss Karina if it hit her directly. 

“S-Satou, we have to go help them!” 

Zena started to jump into action, but I grabbed her arm to stop her. 

There was no need to worry. 

“Ouch… Good heavens.” 

Karina emerged from beyond the wall, covered in dust but utterly unharmed. 

There were probably a few reasons for this: Pochi had held back by not using “Blink,” Tama had grabbed her at the last second to slow her down, and most of all, Raka must have protected Miss Karina as always. 

“Lady Karina, you mustn’t let your guard down.” 

“Thank you, Mr. Raka. I do believe I just narrowly escaped death thanks to you.” 

The glowing blue pendant at Karina’s chest spoke in a low, masculine voice. This was Raka, a magical Intelligent Item. 

I let go of Zena and walked up to Karina. 

“Lady Karina, are you all right?” 

“S-Satou! I-I’m fine, th-thank you.” 

I reached toward her only to brush the dirt off her hair, but Miss Karina turned bright red and backed away. 

I guess she’s still not totally comfortable around men. 

“Zenacchi! The captain says we’re heading into the labyrinth soon!” 

“O-okay! I’ll be right there!” 

Lilio, who was over with the rest of the Labyrinth City Celivera’s Elite Training Corps, called over loudly. 

“Satou, I’m sorry; it sounds like I have to go.” 

“All right. Be safe in there.” 

Zena looked like she wanted to ask about Karina, so I promised to explain the whole situation while I showed her around Labyrinth City the next day. 

“Satou, you seem quite close with that young lady, hmm?” 

Once Zena left, Karina put her hand on my shoulder and squeezed it tighter by the second. 

Could you please not make it sound like I’m a cheating boyfriend? 

“Pochiii?” 

Tama came back with a droopy-looking Pochi from beyond the wreckage. The girl’s dog ears were flat on her head, and even her normally energetic tail was tucked between her legs. 

She sort of looked like a criminal turning herself in. 

“Tama, Pochi! Come over here.” 

“Aye-aye.” 

“Yes, sir.” 

When Liza called Tama and Pochi over, their voices were stiff. 

Hearing this as well, Karina let go of my shoulder and turned to look at them. 

“How many times have I told you not to use your strength recklessly in public? And yet, you did it anyway, didn’t you?” 

“…Aye.” 

“Yes, sir.” 

Liza bopped each of them on the head with a balled-up fist. 

“And you, Pochi. You weren’t wearing your limiter bracelets, were you?” 

“I-I’m sorry, sir. I took them off for the concert, and I just kinda forgot to put them back on, sir.” 

“‘Just kinda forgot’ is no excuse.” 

Ahhh, she wasn’t wearing a power-dampening magic item. That explained why they went flying fast enough to break through a wall. 

“Liza, wait—” 

Liza looked like she was about to strike Pochi on the rear, but I stopped her. 

A little bit of light physical punishment was one thing, but considering how often Pochi got hurt in the labyrinth, I didn’t think physical pain would really do anything to deter her behavior. 

“But, master…” 

In an unusual moment, Liza started to protest, but she didn’t say anything else. Personally, I would prefer that she forget her status as a slave and speak freely. 

“Master, you shouldn’t be so soft on her,” Arisa said instead. 

“Yeah, I know.” 

If it weren’t for Raka’s protection and Tama’s help, Miss Karina could have been seriously injured. 

So I thought it would be best to teach her a lesson in the hopes of preventing her from losing control like this again. 

“Pochi.” 

“I’m very sorry, sir. Pochi did a terrible thing, sir.” 

Making little kids feel bad about themselves could have the opposite of the intended effect, so I stopped her from apologizing more. 

“Listen, Pochi…” 

I explained as clearly as I could why I was scolding her. 

She didn’t quite follow my scientific explanation, but Arisa stepped in and managed to get through to her. 

“I’m sorry, sir.” 

“No, it’s my fault, too, for letting my guard down, I must say.” 

Karina reassured the unhappy Pochi. 

I decided her punishment would be going without meat for three days, starting with tonight’s dinner. For her, there was probably no punishment more severe, so it should serve as an effective deterrent. 

I didn’t start enforcing it right away out of a samurai’s mercy. 

Arisa said I was being too soft, but it would be cruel to deprive her of enjoying the festival. 

In addition to Pochi’s punishment, I now had homework of my own. 

The power-dampening bracelets were simple and activated automatically when equipped, but that wouldn’t prevent incidents like this one if they forgot to wear them. 

Ideally, they should be worn at all times and have some kind of automated on/off feature. 

In fact, an Intelligent Item like Miss Karina’s Raka would be ideal. 

I didn’t think I could make something quite that advanced, but if I used all my current knowledge and equipment, I could probably make an inferior copy. I decided to start working on it that night. 

“Lady Karinaaa, where are youuu?” 

When I heard someone calling for Karina from across the crowd around the food stalls, I looked over and saw Erina, one of Karina’s guard maids. 

Unlike Karina, who had taken a shortcut with her several-foot-long jumps, her maids were sprinting along a normal path. 

“Erina, over here.” 

“Ah! Hey, Sir Knight!” 

Behind her was a female soldier I’d never seen before, probably a new recruit from the Muno Barony. 

“Isn’t Pina here?” 

“Sure she is. She actually went to the west guild lookin’ for you. Miss Pina’s a lady-in-waiting now, not a guardian maid, so this gal here’s the newbie.” 

Erina pushed the newbie forward as she gave this incomplete introduction. 

“Our coworker Taruna wanted to come, too, but she couldn’t make it ’cause she got assigned to escort the study-abroad students to the old capital and Bolehart City and stuff.” 

The revival of the Muno Barony seemed to be coming along nicely. 

As I caught up with Erina, I also introduced myself to the newbie. 

“Now, Erina, it’s not fair if you keep Sat—er, Sir Pendragon all to yourself.” 

Miss Karina pushed in between Erina and me, folding her arms beneath her chest. 

The volume had somehow grown since I last saw this particular sight, which was giving off a dangerous level of bewitching attraction. Talk about magical. 

“Guilty.” 

Mia yanked on my ear. 

She must have noticed the direction of my lech—erm, healthy gaze. 

“By the way, Lady Karina…” I cleared my throat and changed the subject. “What business brings you to Labyrinth City?” 

It wasn’t particularly unusual for noble children to come to Labyrinth City, not even counting the recent example of Bowman and his friends, but normally it was warriors seeking military training or children of poor nobles seeking a quick fortune in the labyrinth. 

For an upstanding noblewoman like Miss Karina, especially since she was the daughter of a feudal lord, a visit was more unusual. 

The Muno Barony wasn’t exactly prosperous, but in this world, feudal lords had special powers granted by their control of a City Core. 

Aside from certain exceptions, like when she went to the royal capital recently to represent the Muno Barony, it was unlikely for someone like Karina to go on a trip just for fun. 

“To get stronger, of course!” 

Karina gave a childishly excited grin. 

So she was taking the warrior’s option, then. 

“Very cooool?” 

“That’s our Karina, sir! You can work hard with us, sir!” 

“Yes, but of course! Perhaps I shall even become a Hero’s attendant someday!” 

Karina got fired up with Tama and Pochi. As usual, she was a bit more beauty than brains. 

“I’m impressed that Baron Muno allowed you to come.” 

“Well, that’s—erm, a secret.” 

I glanced toward Erina and the newbie. 

“The baron wasn’t thrilled, but Miss Nina said—” 

“E-Erina!” 

Karina hurriedly clamped a hand over Erina’s mouth. I guess Nina must have been plotting something. 

When I was in the Muno Barony, they had hinted at proposing a marriage between Karina and me, but what with their current revival in progress, it would be better for her to marry into a proper family than to marry a suspicious new, low-ranking noble like me. 

But of course, it wouldn’t make sense to send her on a dangerous trip to Labyrinth City just for the sake of a marital courtship. 

I would have to get the details out of Miss Karina’s lady-in-waiting Pina later. 

“At any rate, Lady Karina…” I tried to rescue Erina from being smothered at the hands of her employer. “Have you found an inn yet?” 

“Not yet. Lady Karina was dying to see y—” 

“ERINA!” 

Karina clamped Erina’s mouth shut again. 

As they reenacted the same drama, the newbie flailed anxiously. 

“Sorry, Liza, but could you contact Miteruna and ask her to prepare one of the guesthouses for company?” 

“Right away, sir.” 

With that, I accompanied Karina and the others to the west guild to meet up with Pina. 

“Still, I was surprised to see you here so suddenly.” 

I hadn’t received any letter that Karina was coming to Labyrinth City or anything. 

“It’s a surprise, like Arisa told me about before.” 

Karina looked a little pleased with herself. 

Since she was puffing up her chest as she talked, the bouncing was even more violent than usual. Around us, a murmur arose from some captivated men. 

“Pssst, look at that.” 

“I-is this real life?” 

“Oh, gods…thank you for this blessing…” 

I knew how they felt, but that last guy was being a bit overdramatic. 

“Damn, she’s gorgeous…” 

“Ah, my goddess of beauty! Have you forgotten m—?” 

A handsome explorer with a large shield came rushing up to Karina. 

“I’ve never seen you in my life.” 

Before I could intervene, Karina used Raka’s Strength Enhancement to send the man flying across the crowd. 

“She sent Jel of the Iron Defense flying with one blow!” 

“Beautiful and strong… Wait, is that the young master?” 

“So she’s another one of his mistresses…” 

“Dammit, that guy gets all the fun!” 

I should probably have a word with some of these people to clear up a few things. 

“Satou, we found Pina.” 

Miss Karina dragged me by the arm, briskly pushing through the crowd. I sort of felt like a father on his day off being yanked around by a big, excited dog. But regardless of her goal, the labyrinth wouldn’t be that dangerous with Raka to protect her, so she could probably enjoy Labyrinth City with the likes of Pochi and Tama. 

For now, though… 

“Satou, you look like you want to say something.” 

Karina stood in front of the white explorers’ guild building and turned to face me, looking slightly annoyed. 

“Yes, well, I forgot to say it before…” I gave a theatrical little flourish. “Welcome to Labyrinth City. It’s a pleasure to see you.” 

Karina’s eyes widened for a second, and then she broke into a warm smile.