CHAPTER 3
THE NIGHT BEFORE BATTLE
Behind the breaking clouds, a hazy moon shone faintly.
The rain had lifted, but the sky remained overcast. The city was as dark as the bottom of the sea. Normally the streets sparkled like a spilled jewelry box, but tonight fewer than usual magic-stone lamps had been lit, and the usual lively hustle and bustle was nowhere to be found.
The silver-haired goddess looked down on this quiet Orario from Babel, the huge limestone tower that stood in the center of the city. She was standing in front of the enormous sheet-glass window on its top floor.
“Lady Freya. May I ask you a question?”
“What is it, Ottar?” she said, responding to the voice coming from behind her.
“What are your views on the information that God Hermes presented to us?”
“About the Xenos? Well, it does match up with what Alfrik and the others told us. I am inclined to think we can trust it.”
Two days earlier, Hermes had visited the tower and told Freya everything he knew about the recent incidents. He’d talked about the Xenos and Knossos and said that Bell would be in great distress if they did not save the monsters.
She had been startled, but that was all.
The beautiful goddess’s concern, as always, lay solely with the boy. Compared to him, the fate of the Xenos and the opinions of Ouranos mattered little to her. She had said nothing since learning the full story from Hermes.
She had simply been observing the situation from her perch at Orario’s highest point, so much so that other forces in the city were starting to find it ominous.
“Hermes had his own reasons for telling me everything, of course…”
After sounding out Freya, the god had looked her straight in the face and made a request.
“Lady Freya, I am anxious for Bell. I have a few plans myself, of course, but I’d like to ask your assistance.”
“Have you forgotten what you did to me during the dispute with Ishtar?” she had replied, with a smile so beautiful it could win the hearts of a thousand men.
Hermes had frowned and thrown up his hands in surrender, perhaps because he had not expected much to start with.
“Well, in any case, I hope you will find some way to watch over him.”
Is this something that can be left to Hermes? Freya wondered.
Bell was the one point where her interests overlapped with Hermes’s. That was why he had come to sound her out. Even if he slipped up, he would not allow things to develop in a direction that Freya found displeasing. And if that was the case, she felt she might as well leave things be. But at the same time, she was the only one who should be toying with the boy, and recently she hadn’t been able to pay him much attention. Probably what she was feeling now was jealousy toward the god…No, that couldn’t be!
Her expression unchanged, Freya twined a lock of hair around her hand.
“What do you plan to do about Bell Cranell?” Ottar asked again, guessing at what was troubling her. “The townspeople have turned against him, and his strength seems to be fading. If things continue like this…”
“Considering it’s that boy, he’ll rise up,” Freya said, interrupting her boaz servant in a tone of complete confidence.
Just then, she happened to glance down at the city streets far below—and she caught sight of a figure illuminated by a clear ray of sun. Freya smiled like a young girl who had been pining for something.
You see? It’s come. I’ve been waiting.
The time had come to end her period of quiet watching. Freya closed her silver eyes.
Xenos, the intelligent monsters; the boy who threw himself into the fight even if he was hurt; the sparkle of life that smoldered somewhere even now; and—.
Emerging from the fountain of her reflections, Freya swept her gaze over the city and parted her glistening lips.
“Ottar, I would like to tell you something.”
“Yes?”
“I am going to act now. However, what I am about to ask you to do may all be in vain…I cannot foresee how events will unfold.”
“Be that as it may, I will carry out your divine will.”
“Thank you,” she said, smiling at him in the reflection of the glass. Then the beautiful goddess relayed her orders.
“Please communicate to Aren and the others what I am about to tell you.”
Late at night on the day we renew our commitment to saving Wiene and the Xenos, we quietly begin to act.
You are being watched from every corner of the city. Never forget that, Fels warned us. We engrave those words in our hearts and, following the instructions in the letter, head out into the dark city streets.
Lilly and I leave home and head northwest. Instantly, numerous “watchers” follow us. I can feel them observing us, but I make an effort to pretend I notice nothing as we head to Northwest Main Street, the so-called Adventurers Way.
The main boulevard is lined with shops with their shutters pulled closed. We turn down an alleyway and enter several of the more questionable shops that are open for business as usual despite the circumstances, where we purchase various potions and other items. Pretending to check our gear, we stop in front of a certain shop. It’s at the end of an abandoned alleyway and down a flight of stairs, below street level. I can just make out the words on the sign that hangs on the beat-up old door: THE WITCH’S HIDEOUT.
Fels’s letter instructed us to come here.
The shop is underground, where the eyes of the watchers cannot penetrate. Pushing open the creaking door, I see an ancient human with a hook nose sitting behind the counter.
“…And what have we here? I thought I did not know this face, but hee-hee, it is the Little Rookie who has been causing a stir of late. You are neither a sorcerer nor a mage…What could an adventurer like you want in this shop?” she says.
From robes to pointed hat, she perfectly fits my image of a witch. I remember the words in Fels’s letter.
There will be a shopkeeper named Lenoa at your destination. Say this password to her.
I do as instructed.
“Does Altina’s cat dream of eternal life?”
It works right away. The witch, who looks like she has more than a few quirks, opens her eyes wide and fixes them on Lilly and me as we wait nervously.
“…An errand for the Honorable Fels, is it?”
The Honorable Fels…?
We have no idea what to say in response, because Fels has not told us how the two are connected. She shakes her head slightly.
“No, no, I’ll stop my prying. The truth is you’ve come here with those words, and there’s nothing more to it. Come.”
Lilly and I follow the old woman as she retreats into the back of the shop. We pass jars containing snakes and scorpions, strange pots bubbling with bloodred liquid, and sickles and chains hanging from the ceiling. Finally, we arrive at a giant bookcase.
The witch runs her wrinkled finger along the white spine of a book, and I hear a click. One of the shelves seems to stick out, but then it slides horizontally—revealing a storeroom hidden behind it.
“Th-this is…”
“What the letter mentioned!…And these are all the magic items…”
Pairs of twin crystals, a silvery-white cup made from a unicorn’s horn, a treasure chest filled with precious stones of every color, a leaf-decorated music box crafted from elven tree wood…The cavernous room is overflowing with magic items I have never seen before, each carefully constructed by the Sage. Lilly and I are struck dumb by the hidden storeroom, which brings to mind a treasure house—no, more like a secret magician’s room of the sort I read about in childhood fairy tales.
The first request Fels made in the letter was that we visit this hidden storeroom, entrusted to a guard for use under extraordinary circumstances, and retrieve several magic items.
“The Honorable Fels only has time for those twisted gods and goddesses. That immortal being has no love for those who wither and die. In all the generations that my family has watched over this storeroom…you are the first to have come bringing words from the Honorable One,” the shopkeeper whispers slowly from behind us.
She speaks to us as if we are nobles worthy of the greatest esteem and affection. Her words are suffused with compassion. Then she retreats, leaving us alone in the storeroom.
“Take whatever you wish…I hope you will be able to help the Honorable One in some way,” she says on her way out, without turning around.
Lilly and I nod at her back.
Time is short. We search through the storeroom, hastily stuffing our backpacks with magic items.
“Mikoto, are you sure we’re not being tailed?”
“Do not fear, Lady Hestia. Most of them seem to have followed Sir Bell and Lady Lilly.”
Hestia and Mikoto had waited for a while after Bell and Lilly left home, then snuck out as well. They planned to carry out another of Fels’s requests while the bulk of surveillance was focused on Bell. Evading the few people shadowing them with a stealth that would put ninjas to shame, they arrived at a dim street with a sign reading FOURTH STREET. Hestia had seen it before.
“I’m sure I was brought somewhere nearby…and the letter said it was around here, too…Oh!”
As Mikoto peered cautiously around, Hestia found what she had been looking for: a certain wall near an alleyway. She manipulated the pattern carved into it as the letter had instructed and then pushed. Without a sound, an opening leading underground appeared.
“Okay, Mikoto, I’ll be back!”
“All right, I’ll be waiting for you.”
No sooner had Hestia slipped through the hole than the stone wall closed behind her. She recognized both the stone passageway before her and the chill air floating through it.
“I never thought I’d be back here,” she mumbled.
Holding a magic-stone lantern in her hand, she proceeded down the man-made passageway as if the mage had kidnapped her and was pulling her along. At the end of the corridor, she again followed the instructions in the letter, unenthusiastically chanting the words “Open sesame.” As the wall slid open, she saw a large altar on the other side.
“…Oh, Hestia, is it?”
“Hello, Ouranos. I hope you don’t mind that I took the secret passageway.”
She was standing in the Chamber of Prayers beneath Guild Headquarters as per Fels’s instructions.
“Oh, has someone been here?” she asked, noticing the displaced chair and chessboard.
“…Yes. Hermes,” Ouranos replied.
She was puzzled but, wanting to finish her errand quickly, said nothing more as she approached him.
“I have a message from Fels. The mage says to speed up the evacuation of civilians from Daedalus Street. You’re probably already doing that, but apparently the battle is going to begin very soon.”
“I understand…”
“In addition, you’re to give us the map of Daedalus Street that Fels drew up before…along with all the information you currently have about Knossos.”
Ouranos closed his eyes. Then he slowly opened them and pulled out an old volume. It was Daedalus’s Notebook, which Hermes had given him.
“…”
He looked down at what he grasped in his hands, then held it out to Hestia.
“Take this. It is Daedalus’s Notebook.”
“Hey…Are you sure we’re doing this right?” Welf asked, not hiding his unease.
“I—I don’t know, but…all we can do is trust Fels and wait…” the flustered Haruhime answered.
Bell, Lilly, Hestia, and Mikoto had returned home and were currently gathered with Welf and Haruhime around a crystal set on the table. They had been waiting with bated breath in a back room of the building, with no change in the crystal—when suddenly it began to glow with a faint light.
“Can you hear me, Bell Cranell?”
“Fels!”
At the sound of the mage’s voice, Bell let out a joyful greeting. The image in the crystal showed Fels and a number of Xenos gathered in a dim space that appeared to be a sewer.
“First, let me express our gratitude. Goddess Hestia, we deeply appreciate your generous compassion,” Fels said.
“Let’s skip the formalities, Fels. This is only the second time we’ve talked, but there was no way I could leave Wiene and the others to their own devices. Anyway, it was Bell and the other children who decided.”
Suddenly, the vouivre poked her face out from beside the black-robed mage.
“Bell! Haruhime!”
“Lady Wiene!”
Then Lido was there, too.
“Bellucchi! And Lillicchi, too! I’m so sorry to ask your help like this again…”
“That ship has sailed.”
They were using one of Fels’s oculi, which were the most important magic items of all, according to the letter. When Bell and Lilly had returned from retrieving it and a great many other things, they had given one of the twin crystals to the owl familiar to deliver to its master.
As Hestia spoke to the image of Fels in the crystal, Haruhime and Lilly talked to Wiene and Lido. The excited voices of the Xenos echoed from the oculus.
“Quiet down! We’ll be discovered!” the gargoyle Gros scolded.
The emotional reunion via the crystals was brief, however. Soon, Bell and the others began to discuss their plans for the coming hours and days.
“We have six possible routes,” Fels said, holding the brightly shining oculus.
After asking Bell to aim the crystal at the plan of Knossos in Daedalus’s Notebook, Fels had carefully copied it out onto a parchment, which was spread on the stone floor so that the mage could use it in explaining the plan to the Xenos and Hestia Familia.
“According to the Notebook, there are six entrances to Knossos, which lie below the central zone of Daedalus Street: northeast, northwest, west, southwest, southeast, and east,” the mage said, one black-gloved finger tracing a circle on the map as it moved from orichalcum door to door. The Xenos stood motionless, gazing down at the map.
“We will break through to one of these six doors and head for the Dungeon.”
“By ‘break through,’ you mean…?” Lilly asked, her voice echoing through the crystal.
“Yes,” Fels responded. “Loki Familia is tightening their defenses. We probably won’t be able to avoid battle with them.”
A heavy silence fell over the group on Lilly’s side of the oculus.
The Xenos were equally hushed. The monsters and humans shared a single terror as each imagined the coming fight in Daedalus Street and the dreadful battle prowess of the city’s largest faction.
“…If we’re going to do this, first we have to get as many Loki Familia guards off the route as possible—is that what you’re thinking?” Welf asked.
“Precisely,” Fels said. As Welf had implied, they would need to keep the scale of combat as small as they could.
“Bell Cranell, I want you to distract Loki Familia,” Fels continued.
“M-me?” Bell replied, staring at the oculus that flashed as the mage spoke.
“Given your current situation, you are the most suited to this role. I’d like you to draw as much attention as possible.”
“Um, pardon me, but may I suggest something? In that case, it seems Bell will not need to go to Daedalus Street…” Haruhime interjected shyly.
“No, I want him to come here. If he’s off in some distant corner of the city, Loki Familia will send as few people as possible to pursue him. But if he goes right to the heart of their position, it will be a different matter. Moreover, if he’s very conspicuous about it, they will not be able to ignore him.”
All eyes on both sides of the crystal were fixed on Bell. His palms were slick with sweat.
“Can we count on you, Bell Cranell?”
“…Yes. I’ll do it. Please allow me to do it.”
He pushed the air from his lungs and nodded. As Hestia, his other familia members, and the Xenos all continued to watch him, he squeezed his palms into tight fists.
“Bell, I’m sorry…We are always hurting you…” the siren said.
“It’s all right, Miss Rei. I’ve already made my decision. I’ve decided to help you and the other Xenos…”
“Bell…”
“Rei? Why is your face red? Does something hurt?”
“W-Wiene?!”
The siren’s pained whisper had set off a sudden flurry of activity on the Xenos side of the crystal, starting with Wiene’s question. As a different sort of excitement from before descended over the monsters, Gros shouted at them for a second time.
“I said, shut up!!!”
The image in the oculus wavered furiously, and Bell felt his hands getting clammy with sweat.
“Ouch?!” he yelped. Hestia and Lilly had pinched his behind.
“Bell Cranell, please refrain from unnecessary outbursts,” Fels said.
“But that wasn’t my fault…Oh, never mind. I’m sorry…”
“Let’s get back to the topic at hand…Not all the news is dark. We have the plan of Knossos. There is a high likelihood that Loki Familia is unaware of the entrances we know about.”
Ignoring Bell’s slightly dejected expression, Fels pointed out this single ray of light for their side. Daedalus’s Notebook thoroughly explained the structure of Knossos; just like the ariadne that pointed the way through Daedalus Street, it might show them an escape route.
As Lilly, Mikoto, and Haruhime listened, hopeful expressions spread over their faces.
“But to think that Ouranos actually obtained a copy of Daedalus’s Notebook! It’s extraordinary…I had hoped he at least knew the locations of the entrances to the labyrinth, but this has allowed us to improve our plan significantly,” Fels said.
“It seems that Hermes was the one who obtained it. He said he got it from Ikelos.” Hestia related what the elderly god had told her about the notebook.
“Ah, I see…I do recall that God Hermes came into contact with God Ikelos at the time.”
Fels sounded quite satisfied by this explanation.
“There are things I’d like the rest of you to do as well,” the black-clad figure continued, laying out the strategies currently open to them.
“Mr. Bell will be in danger, but it seems Lilly’s role is also fairly risky…!” Lilly noted when the mage had finished, pressing her hands to her head.
“Do your best. We’re counting on you, Li’l E!” Welf laughed.
“Grr…don’t act like this has nothing to do with you…!”
“Sir Welf, our position is not easy, either…We must focus our attention,” Mikoto said.
“Haruhime and I will be acting behind the scenes, but our task will be difficult in its own way,” Hestia said, her arms folded.
“True, but I am ready to take on the challenge!” Haruhime replied, pressing her hands to her chest.
“Bellucchi, everyone…I am truly sorry. And truly grateful.”
“Lido…”
“There is much I would like to say to you…But let’s meet up after we escape from this and have a proper conversation.”
“Yes!”
The face of the monster floated in the center of the crystal. By now, Bell had learned to tell whether he was happy or angry or sad.
He smiled back into the crinkled yellow eyes of the lizardman.
Day and night, a whirlwind of activity consumed Guild Headquarters.
Staff members were constantly running up and down the hallways, while pretty receptionists attempted to calm residents at the front desk. Some of these visitors were even sprawled on the floor in a corner of the lobby they had taken over, perhaps unable to control their anxiety. However, this overwhelming crowd included very few of the adventurers who usually populated the lobby, aside from the few who came to get information. Instead, it was packed with ordinary citizens, making for an unusual scene.
And the current situation was a lull in the storm. The ensuing chaos and noise after the armed monsters appeared on the surface had been even worse than the aftermath of the destruction of Rivira, the town on the eighteenth floor. Each time an adventurer reported a monster sighting, the news had fed the flames engulfing the Guild.
Now, after an interval of several days, the staff finally had time to chat. Many were unhappy with the management’s gag order on information about the existence of Knossos, and speculations were constantly flying.
These comments often expressed criticism of or animosity toward the Little Rookie.
“—It’s just so weird!”
The moment Misha Frot returned to her desk in the office, she couldn’t help a frustrated outburst about a conversation that she had overheard in the hallway. Some of her coworkers had been blaming the boy for the current situation.
“Ikelos Familia’s members are the ones to blame! Why are they acting like Eina’s little brother…I mean Bell…is the criminal here?!”
Her voice was totally disproportionate to her tiny 150-celch frame. Her peach-colored hair shook as she spoke. The other staff and receptionists on break in the office all pressed their lips together uncomfortably.
“Frot, calm down,” her animal-person boss said. Misha’s patience had reached its limit over the past several days, however, and she ignored the request.
“But Section Chief! Bell’s actions may have been questionable, but everyone knows it was Ikelos Familia who was capturing monsters!”
Her boss recognized the truth in what she was saying but tried to explain the other side.
“If you think back to the war games, the Little Rookie has drawn too much attention, both good and bad. The current loss of hope is a sign of just how much the townsfolk liked him before and probably also their reaction to having their expectations betrayed. Then add envy of the adventurers on top of that, and you get an eventual explosion.”
In other words, it was not only a case of disappointed expectations but also of long-held resentment toward the “super rookie” coming to the surface. That was the fate of an adventurer who made a name for himself as a record holder too quickly.
“But more than anything, the town has been damaged,” her boss continued.
“…”
“Frot, you saw it with your own eyes, didn’t you? That one part of Daedalus Street was reduced to a burned-out wasteland. When something like that happens—even if Bell didn’t cause it himself—it’s going to aggravate people. Ouranos is now personally directing the evacuation of civilians and the repair of the streets, and yet…”
Indeed, the sight of those smoking piles of rubble gave people plenty of reason to harbor dark feelings.
And if Misha was honest with herself, she, too, had been unsure how she felt about Bell’s actions. He seemed to have lost his head and acted imprudently.
But she had seen her coworker and friend Eina in such low spirits ever since that day, and Misha had begun to question whether he’d really done anything wrong. Now she found herself rushing to defend the boy.
“Eina…”
She looked toward her half-elf friend. She was sitting at her desk, head bent over her work. Her bangs hid a face devoid of its normal brightness, while the hand that moved the feather pen shook as if struggling to endure something. Unable to stand the sight of Eina in this condition any longer, Misha approached her, while the other staff looked on.
“Hey, Eina, cheer up…” Misha said, watching her sadly.
“…hasn’t…”
“What?” asked Misha, unable to make out the faint whisper.
“He hasn’t come…”
This time, the half-elf formed the words clearly. She looked up. Her face was full of anger.
“Why? Why hasn’t he come to see me?”
“E-Eina?”
“I did hit him, after all, and at first, I was miserable about it! But…but…what am I supposed to make of the fact that he hasn’t shown his face here once, let alone explained to me what happened?! It’s weird, isn’t it? Totally weird. What does he think I am?!”
“M-Miss Eina?”
“And to think I’d never cried in front of a guy before!”
With emerald eyes opened wide behind her glasses and her cheeks flushed scarlet, Eina vented all the indignation and dissatisfaction that had been building up inside her. She sounded just like a woman criticizing a lover she’d quarreled with.
Misha reflexively took a step backward. The other staff, too, was taken aback by the sudden change in the half-elf, who was normally kind and sociable.
“Ugh, it’s driving me crazy…”
Eina violently scrawled her name across the bottom of the parchment she’d been working on, then leaped up from her chair.
“Section Chief, I’m going to patrol the city!”
“?!”
Everyone reacted with a start. The entire staff in the office looked distraught.
“W-wait a minute, Tulle! What about this mountain of papers…?!”
“Yeah, Eina?! I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but calm down!”
“If the absence of one employee brings the entire operation grinding to a halt, we’ve got a problem on our hands! Maybe it’s time for some reorganizing!”
“S-sorry,” the animal person stuttered, overwhelmed by Eina’s intensity.
“You’re right!” Misha said, pressing her hands to either side of her head.
All Eina’s disconcerted coworkers could do was watch as the talented receptionist stormed out. Driven by her emotions, Eina slung a pouch containing patrol supplies over her shoulder. Then she cut across the lobby, her leather shoes slapping the floor. The startled townspeople opened a path for her, and a moment later, she was out on the street.
“If he won’t come to me, then I’ll go to him, damn it!”
Through the narrow gap in the curtains, I look up at the night sky. Delicate, fanlike clouds still linger. In the faint moonlight that slips through, I sense that the rain is gone.
“…Time to go,” I whisper in the darkened room.
I am the only one left at home. As Fels instructed, Hestia and the others have headed for Daedalus Street first, after spending the day making preparations. I’ll lock the doors, but no doubt someone will break in while we’re gone. They’ll find no clues to our recent activities, however. Lilly and the goddess have hidden everything of value in Welf’s workshop or the basement.
Normally when we’re away, we ask Miach and his familia to watch the building for us, but in this case, they might end up getting pulled into things. It would be wrong to rely on them now and get them involved.
“…”
I stand up from my chair and look at myself in the full-length mirror. I am wearing my familiar armor and pouch, and over that a mantle that will blend my figure into the darkness. The goddess said it looked good on me, but that was probably an overstatement. I’m armed with the Hestia Knife and Ushiwakamaru. Which reminds me, my crimson dagger is still lying in Knossos, where I lost it during the fight with the hunters. Maybe I can get it later.
As I leave the room, I rub the oculus set in the top of my gauntlet, where the ruby normally is.
The building, cloaked in darkness, bids me farewell as I pass through the gate. A figure is standing on the other side.
“Lord Hermes…”
“On your way, Bell?” he asks with a smile and a tip of his traveling cap. He seems to have been expecting me.
“Yes,” I reply with a nod.
“Ah, I see…Well, I’m rooting for you. Do your best.”
“…Thank you.”
After this brief exchange, I slip past Hermes. I can feel the eyes of the watchers as I head toward Daedalus Street.
“…”
Hermes kept an eye on Bell as he disappeared into the night-darkened alleyway, a smile lingering on his lips.
As he turned to leave, he caught sight of a figure approaching Bell’s home. This was no ordinary criminal preying on an uninhabited building. The figure conscientiously rapped the metal door knocker, then scowled up at the darkened structure. He made out the profile of a beautiful half-elf, eyebrows raised in anger. Dressed in the uniform of a Guild employee, she made a beeline for Hermes.
“God Hermes. Do you know where Bell…I mean Mr. Bell Cranell has gone?”
“E-Eina? What’s wrong? You seem to be in a bad temper.”
As the leader of a neutral faction, Hermes sometimes received requests from the Guild, and he knew all the pretty receptionists by name. He recoiled slightly at the unfamiliar expression on the popular receptionist’s face. But then his yellow-orange eyes narrowed.
“Eina, I believe you are Bell’s adviser, are you not?”
“Yes I am. And that’s why I would like to know where he is going.”
“I do know where he’s headed. Apparently, he is off to Daedalus Street.”
“Thank you,” Eina said curtly. Hermes called after her as she turned to leave.
“Wait a minute, Eina. Will you give this to Bell?”
“This…?”
Hermes withdrew from his pocket a bracelet with a purple stone set in it. Careful not to raise her ire by touching her skin, he very nonchalantly placed it on Eina’s wrist.
“Bell dropped this. I wanted to return it, but I missed him on his way out. Sorry to ask a favor of you, but could you return it?”
At first she looked suspicious, but after hearing the god’s excuse, she consented.
“…All right. I’ll do it.”
Hermes smiled slightly at her back as she walked away. Then he, too, vanished into the night.
From our home in the southwestern section of the city, I head to Daedalus Street, in the southeast.
The instant I step into the tangled streets of the Labyrinth District, the other adventurers all stare at me.
“…!”
They’ve been peering around the streets suspiciously, and now they direct those suspicious glares at me.
…No, it’s okay. This is fine. I’m not afraid.
I wander aimlessly down the street, succeeding in my goal of attracting attention.
“Hey, Little Rookie! If you know something, how about telling us?”
“…I don’t know anything.”
“My god won’t shut up about it. Keeps on saying you must know something about monsters.”
I’m drawn into several exchanges with ill-bred adventurers whose names I don’t know. My response to them is always the same.
All of Daedalus Street is on edge. Perhaps it’s because now, five days after the monsters appeared on the surface, adventurers are tired and irritated after their efforts have led to no noticeable progress.
Or perhaps they sense something.
Perhaps they know something is about to happen.
After surviving several quarrels with other adventurers without incident, I approach an elven archer.
“Um…What’s going on with the civilian evacuation?”
“…Not a soul is left around here. The Guild moved them all out. Those who haven’t evacuated by today seem to have gathered on the northwestern side of Daedalus Street,” he answers courteously, although with an uncomfortable look on his face. The Labyrinth District is located in the city’s third section, squeezed between East and Southeast Main Streets. As far as I can tell from the elf’s responses, the bulk of the civilian residents have evacuated to a section of East Main Street.
Pain pierces my heart as I think of Lai and the other orphans, but at the same time I’m relieved. Most likely, the battle in Daedalus Street will take place between its southern and western sections.
Now, what about Loki Familia…?
Taking care to not let the other adventurers distract me, I scan my surroundings. I search along the grimy brick boulevard for the emblem of the Trickster…and there it is. Demi-human men and women stand against a wall whispering to one another, their armor bearing the crest. The members of Loki Familia glance at me, then scurry out of view.
“…?”
I don’t know what to make of them. They clearly recognized me before moving away, but I can neither talk to them nor follow them. Pretending to be searching for information, I gradually make my way toward the south side of the Labyrinth District.
Those people…Did they go to tell somebody? Who? Finn? Or—?
A moment later, the answer to my question falls from above.
Stomp! Stomp!
The grating sound of boots landing on a hard surface draws my gaze upward.
“…What the—?”
I can’t believe my eyes. On the roof of a tall building on this street, beautiful golden hair shimmers against the black night sky.
Eyes to match the hair tossing in the wind gaze down directly at me.
Clad in silver and blue-green, the Sword Princess, the strongest in the city, has appeared above me.
Aiz…?!
“…”
Aiz had picked the boy out from the many adventurers coming and going on the street. She stared down at him as he looked up at her in amazement.
Finn. If that boy comes to Daedalus Street…I will watch him.
Earlier, as the adventurers were preparing to take their positions after having rested, Aiz had offered her services to Finn.
“Really?…Can you do it? Aiz, you’ve supported Bell Cranell too much. Honestly speaking, I’m afraid you’d purposely lose sight of him,” he had responded.
Bell’s surveillance was the one thing that Finn had not intended to hand over to Aiz.
“I’ll be frank with you, Aiz. Objectively speaking, Bell Cranell is a destabilizing force in Orario right now. He’s a risk factor. Given that, we need to do two things. First, be vigilant, and second, if the need arises, stop him from acting.”
“…”
“Can you really do those things?”
Aiz had looked down for a moment from the eyes of her leader, which would tolerate no dishonesty. Then she nodded firmly.
“If he tries anything…I will stop him. If someone has to stop him, I want it to be me.”
“…”
“And if a monster shows up…I will take it down.”
Aiz’s words were an unadorned reflection of the mixture of duty and personal desire in her heart.
Finn had peered into her unclouded eyes, then nodded.
“All right,” he had said.
“He doesn’t trust me…” Aiz murmured, returning from her reverie and looking over her shoulder. “But there’s nothing to do about it.”
The truth was, Aiz couldn’t help having a soft spot for the boy.
Chasing away these idle thoughts, Aiz focused her attention on the cityscape beneath her.
…As Olba and the other low-level members of the familia told me, he’s alone for now…
The boy was still looking up at her. She had deliberately let him see her in order to keep him in check. And so her watch began.
Aiz is here alone, watching me…?!
This is the worst. I’m done for.
Thoughts spring to mind unbidden the moment I see her. They’ve let loose the strongest weapon in the faction on me, and they don’t intend to let me do anything stupid. They plan to cut down our little tricks with one swing of their sword. Loki Familia has left my surveillance entirely up to Aiz.
As I stand frozen in the middle of the street, the other adventurers follow my gaze upward and notice the Sword Princess. A trickle of cold sweat slides down my cheek. Pretending to wipe it away, I whisper into the oculus on the back of my left hand.
“Goddess…Miss Aiz is here.”
“Ugh, really?”
The goddess’s agitated voice comes back to me through the blue crystal, which is off so as to not show an image.
“Well, in one sense, it means you’ll be able to keep that little Wallen-something glued to your side…But if you need to, do you think you’ll be able to shake her?”
“That might be—No, that definitely won’t be possible.”
My role is to attract attention and, if the need arises, to find the Xenos who got separated from the group. It’s a guerrilla position that capitalizes on my mobility. But that scheme has just gone up in smoke. I was supposed to be a diversion, but they’ve assigned only one person to watch me—Aiz. And that means no matter how much I move around, Loki Familia’s battle formation in Daedalus Street won’t budge a celch. This must be Finn’s work.
As long as Aiz is paired with me, all our tricks will be foiled.
Should I take advantage of the confusion to shake her off?
No, it can’t be done. Even if I use one of Fels’s magic items…
I brush my hand against the swell of the pouch hidden under my mantle, holding my breath. Just then…
“Hey!”
“Eeeek?!”
I let out a startled cry as hands tap both my shoulders. My heart pounding, I jump into the air.
The adventurers around me start in surprise. Flustered, I turn around.
“Huh? Nahza?”
Her eyes drooping sleepily, dog ears hanging beside her face, and uneven sleeves hiding her airgetlám—her fake arm—the Miach Familia captain addresses me in her usual flat voice and raises both hands.
“Hello…”
“Wh-what are you doing here?”
“Um…Well, I guess I’m here to help you guys.”
The words of my chienthrope acquaintance surprise me once again.
“You’re in trouble, aren’t you? You sure do hold back. It would have been fine for you to ask me a favor, considering our relationship…”
“No, but…Nahza, don’t you know…what I did?”
“I don’t know the details…But let me guess, you got yourself into trouble again by chasing after some girl’s backside. Right?”
“No, that’s not…!”
…But is she really wrong?
In the sense that I ran after Wiene, I have to admit that she’s not…
Nahza nods understandingly and pats me on the back. I can feel a sweat coming on.
“Anyway, this is what Lord Miach told me to do…”
“What?”
Nahza explained that he’d told her I had caused some problems, but she was to help me anyway without asking any questions.
“I think Lord Takemikazuchi’s familia is probably around here somewhere, too. Hermes seems to have told them that you went to Daedalus Street…Bell, I’m going to say it one more time. You’re too reserved.”
Miach and Takemikazuchi both chose to save…not the Xenos but me, who is trying to save the Xenos. They are trusting me, even though I’ve reached out to help monsters.
My vision grows blurry at the thought of their response and the kindness of Nahza, who has placed her trust in me at a time like this.
“…Bell, you’re such a crybaby.”
“S-sorry!”
I quickly wipe my eyes to keep the tears from falling. Still, Nahza—who’s older than me—strokes my hair affectionately. I blush as the other adventurers glance at me curiously.
“So, is there anything I can do? It’s just me now, with Daphne and Cassandra gone, of course…”
“Um, well…if you insist…”
Conscious of Aiz’s watching eyes, I feel under my mantle for the pouch hidden there. As I withdraw one of the items and pass it to Nahza, I mumble some instructions into her ear.
“Okay, got it…and Bell, you’d better buy a lot of potions from me next time!” she said with a grin.
“Ha-ha…Will do!”
She walks away, waving as she goes. She’s given me a jolt of energy, and courage.
A woman…a chienthrope…
From the roof of the building, Aiz watched Bell’s meeting with Nahza.
…She’s stroking his hair.
Unconsciously, her own hand stroked thin air comfortingly, like a little girl whose pet had been taken away from her.
An instant later, she realized what she was doing and shook her head as if to clear it.
Is he handing her something? I can’t watch both of them…I’d better tell Raul, she thought, as Bell and Nahza parted.
She continued to monitor Bell.
Nahza’s help may turn out to be crucial…I wonder if I should tell Lilly.
After saying good-bye to the chienthrope, I head for the southernmost section of the Labyrinth District. I glimpse Aiz out of the corner of my eye a few times—of course she’s following me—and start to bring the oculus in my gauntlet to my lips, intending to get in touch with the goddess. But before I can do so, a shrewish female voice rings in my ear.
“Bell Cranell!”
“Eek?! Aisha?”
“What are you screaming about? You sound like a monster is chasing you. Did you mistake me for that big toad of a woman?”
“S-sorry! And Lyu, too—Ergh!”
I blink in surprise as Lyu reaches out a finger and presses it to my lips. She is wearing a hood and a mask that hides her face, while Aisha is dressed like a showgirl.
“Greetings, Mr. Cranell. But please, kindly avoid yelling out my name.”
“Wh-what are you doing here?” I ask, repeating the exact question I asked Nahza.
“Andromeda told us everything. We’ve come to help you,” Lyu says calmly.
“I didn’t tell you, but I’ve joined Hermes Familia. Apparently, there’s no such thing as veto power over there,” Aisha adds with a shrug.
I haven’t quite figured out what’s going on, but…Hermes again?
Given our topic of conversation, we’re hunched together like we’re having a secret conference. The male adventurers on the street click their tongues in disgust at the sight of my face only a hairbreadth away from the masked Lyu and the gorgeous, charming Aisha. Their eyes are cold enough to freeze me solid…
“Andromeda had some requests…”
“I’ll take care of that. Is there anything you need? Just say the word.”
“Well…” Talking to talented second-tier adventurers makes me nervous, but I make my request.
“…That’s a rather difficult order,” Lyu says. Aisha is less restrained, however.
“You’ve got some nerve!”
“S-sorry! Even if you could just buy me a little time…or is that too difficult?”
To be honest, I know full well that I’ve asked a lot. But I also know that now is not the time to hold back.
If I don’t request their help, I won’t be able to do a thing.
“No, no, we’ll do it. If that’s what you want. We’ll do everything we can.”
“Lyu…I’m sorry. Thank you so much.”
A feeling of deep gratitude wells up in my chest as I look into the sky-blue eyes in the depths of her hood.
The sensation of Aisha’s arm encircling my neck startles me from this pensive mood.
“Uh…!”
“Trouble surrounds you, boy. Or should I say, you can’t help sticking your head in it?”
Both of Aisha’s arms are around my neck now, and she is pulling me toward her.
I am surrounded by soft brown skin and the scent of musk. I flush at the feeling of her large breasts against me as she sighs into my ear.
“When this is all over, I want my proper reward.”
“Huh?!”
She licks her lips and gives me a fiercely coquettish smile. I can feel the blood draining from my cheeks when—
“I thought I told you to keep your hands off him!”
Lyu jabs her wooden sword toward Aisha with frightening force.
Aisha dodges the point as if she’s been waiting for it—with me still pressed into her cleavage. From the shadows of her hood, Lyu’s eyes burn with wrath.
This is no show. She’s genuinely furious!
“Let go of Mr. Cranell this instant. If you don’t, I’ll beat you to a pulp.”
“Just you try! I’m not the type to sit there staring at my prey with my mouth shut!”
Why has the situation suddenly turned violent?! Didn’t they say they were going to help me?!
I desperately try to wriggle out of my soft brown constraints, but I can’t break free of those Level 4 arms. I’m trapped between the anger of an elf and the body of an Amazon. On top of that, the eyes of the other adventurers are filled with a mixture of resentment and malice…Ahhhhhhhhhh……!
Wait, I’m being watched right now!
I look up and right there—
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!!!!!
Aiz is staring right at me!
More women…? An Amazon and…who could that be?
Aiz looked down on the Amazon and the masked figure as they interacted with the boy.
Oh, she just pressed her fingers against his lips.
……And he’s being…embraced!
Aiz watched in silence from the edge of the roof as the Amazon pressed Bell to her breast. Seemingly of their own accord, Aiz’s legs bent into a crouch to bring her a tiny bit closer to the scene below.
She wrapped her arms around her legs and stared fixedly at Bell.
If Aiz’s surveillance were rain, this would be a downpour.
This is bad, this is bad…! I want to run to her and explain everything…!!
When Lyu, Aisha, and their argument finally leave me, I start sweating like a waterfall.
The other adventurers seem on the verge of a riot, and I’m not fond of their murderous glares, but it’s Aiz and her constant gaze that are bothering me the most!
And her expression hasn’t changed a bit. Not one bit!
It’s like she’s taking me to task for something. My heart won’t stop thumping.
Is this another one of your strategies to undermine me, Finn?! I scream inside my head, although my fear and awe for the first-tier adventurer are almost certainly unjustified.
I’d better go somewhere with less people…
Or so I thought.
“There you are! Bell!!”
The final assassin arrives.
“E-Eina?!”
“I finally found you! I’ve been looking everywhere!”
Dressed in her Guild uniform, she heads straight for me. I hear malicious whispers of “Again?” around me. My sweat is reaching high tide.
“Wh-what are you doing here?” I ask for the third time tonight.
“I heard you were in Daedalus Street! And when I asked the other adventurers, they very kindly pointed me in your direction!” Eina says passionately.
I have to admit that given the amount of attention I draw, asking other adventurers could be a good way of finding me.
But…is Eina mad?
I thought that when we met it would be more…awkward?
Ignoring my panic, she walks right up to the tip of my nose.
“Since you didn’t come after so long, I had to come to you!”
“S-sorry?! Um, I, uh, I felt embarrassed and too ashamed to show my face, so…?!”
“I bet you did. You’re just that type of guy! No matter how serious the situation, you’re such a chicken that it surprises even me! But don’t you think it would have been a good idea to at least get in touch or see me once?”
“I-I’m sorry…!” I say, flinching.
I’ve never seen Eina look this ferocious before.
The fault rests entirely with me—I’m the one who caused trouble for her and made her worry—so all I can do is apologize profusely. She’s angry with me from the depths of her heart, and she’s laying into me like a sister berating her younger brother.
“So I’m just some woman you used when it suited you, huh?!”
“Miss Eina, Miss Eina?! Someone might misunderstand you…!” I yell back as she drops today’s biggest bomb yet.
The stares of the other adventurers have become even sharper. I had already hit rock bottom, but now a scrap of garbage would have a better reputation than me. I can hear them hurling insults and curses my way.
“He’s the worst.”
“An enemy of women everywhere!”
“Go screw yourself, Rabbit!”
Ahhhhhhhhh…!!
I’m too scared to even glance in Aiz’s direction.
“I’m not letting you go until you’ve answered every single one of my questions!”
“What? That’s—?!”
Eina takes my arm, and once again I find myself pressed against a woman’s body.
I turn beet red, then white—my elbow is touching Eina’s chest and all the adventurers are glaring at me. But also because of my idol’s gaze burning into the back of my head.
It’s like some kind of divine punishment. This must be the price of making Eina cry that day.
It’s…another woman again…?
Aiz was acutely aware of Bell’s meeting with Eina.
……All women, no men.
She sunk into a silence that reached the depths of her heart. As she sat with her arms wrapped around her knees, her eyes relentlessly bored into the boy’s white head. She could make out phrases such as just some woman you used.
He turned red, then white, as rapidly as a quick-change artist. He looked restless.
Aiz cocked her head to one side, her golden hair spilling over her shoulder.
“Is Bell…a jerk?” she whispered to herself.
A moment later, Bell’s cry split the night sky.
“I’ve been hearing Bell screaming for a while now…” Haruhime said fretfully.
“I know. I want to warn him not to make so much noise, but since we’re separated, there’s nothing I can do,” Hestia answered, crossing her arms over her chest.
The boy’s wails were coming from the oculus. Hestia and the kimono-clad Haruhime were in the southwest section of Daedalus Street, practically on its border with the Pleasure Quarter. They had taken up a position on top of an empty tower with a good view of the city.
“And, Haruhime, please be careful about talking near the crystal because it’ll pick up the sound.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry!” the renart girl said, pressing both hands to her mouth and jumping back from the oculus.
A number of oculi were lined up on the roof, and beside them was spread a map the size of a carpet. THE LEGACY OF DAEDALUS—its name—was inscribed in one corner. The original Sage had walked the area on bony feet to create the drawing of the Labyrinth District. I wasn’t able to get out much, but I did manage to survey the area, the mage had said. Despite this modest claim of having missed some of the hidden alleys and doors, the map included routes that even residents of Daedalus Street didn’t know about. The hundreds and thousands of figures noted on the sheet—from the widths of streets to the number of potential bottlenecks—made Hestia feel faint the first time she laid eyes on it.
There was one more important point about the map.
A number of names was written on it, and they were moving about as if they were alive.
“Let’s see…it looks like Bell and Supporter are in the south section as planned…”
“But over in the west, Lady Mikoto and Master Welf haven’t met up with the Xenos yet, it seems.”
Hestia was on all fours on top of the map, while Haruhime bent over it with her hands on her knees. They were following the various names as they moved around, and Hestia traced after them with her finger.
The map had been sprinkled with Seeker Powder, one of Fels’s magic items.
The powder was kept in a large jar. To use it, one would drip blood onto it and sprinkle the reddened substance onto the map. If the donor of the blood was in the area the map showed, their name would appear, along with their location. Hestia and all her familia members had dripped their blood into the jar before giving it to the familiar owl, along with the oculi, to deliver to the Xenos. After the monsters added their blood, the owl brought the jar back to Hestia. She sprinkled the powder onto the Legacy of Daedalus she had received from Ouranos, and the magic map was complete. It allowed her to see at a single glance where her familia members and the Xenos were located.
The only drawback was that the powder could be used only with maps Fels had created with specialty handmade paper. This magical paper had to be instructed in the proper routes. A carelessly drawn map would not do.
The huge map of the Labyrinth District displayed everyone’s name in bloodred Koine, except for Fels and Gros, who had no blood to give. Perhaps Fels had been feeling playful, as the words appeared to have been written with a feather pen and moved like chess pieces.
Haruhime picked up the twin of Welf’s oculus.
“Master Welf, Lady Mikoto, uh…Please turn at the third corner,” she said.
“There will be a sewage drain running along the left-hand side of the road. That’s where the Xenos are hiding,” Hestia added.
“Got it.”
“Thank you, Lady Haruhime and Lady Hestia!”
The power of the Seeker Powder and the oculi—which together allowed Hestia and Haruhime to instantly determine everyone’s location and communicate with them—had turned the rooftop into an outdoor command and combat operations center. What happened here would determine the destiny of the Xenos, who would need to make their way through the convoluted maze of Daedalus Street and then into the underground Knossos.
Since Hestia had zero fighting ability, she was charged with directing the operation from behind the scenes. Haruhime served as her assistant and, in case of emergency, would sortie to give Bell and their other fighters a level boost.
“Now if only this told us where the enemy was, too, it would be perfect,” Hestia said.
“That is true…If that were the case, we could get through this whole thing without bumping into Loki Familia at all.”
Hestia moved off the map, sat down cross-legged, and gazed out at the central part of the Labyrinth District, where she suspected Loki Familia had located their headquarters.
Of course we can’t ask them for their blood…
The image of a certain goddess’s face floated in her mind, and her thoughts jumped back in time.
“Loki. I want to talk to you about the armed monsters.”
It was the previous day, and Hestia and Bell had just separated in Daedalus Street. Those were the first words out of her mouth after he left.
“Now, and alone.”
“…Sure, whatever. As long as it doesn’t take too long.”
Perhaps there was something in Hestia’s serious expression that made Loki agree; she followed her to an oval courtyard with a fountain in it.
“The monsters who appeared on the surface are called Xenos. They are intelligent,” Hestia said.
She went on to explain everything she knew about the Xenos and her familia’s connection to them. It was a gamble. Knowing Loki, it was quite possible that she would find the information amusing and broadcast it to the whole city. But if she knew the truth about these recent events, it would surely have some impact on Loki Familia. Hestia spoke with the hope that Loki would act with some semblance of a goddess’s character.
“Wow…Monsters who can communicate.”
Loki didn’t seem especially surprised by Hestia’s words. She narrowed her vermilion eyes.
“So now that you’ve spilled the beans, what do you want from me?”
“…I want you to help us live peacefully with the Xenos. Maybe that’s too much—if you would just ignore them for the time being—”
Loki interrupted her with a mocking laugh.
“What are you, an idiot?”
With those five words, she dashed Hestia’s hopes.
“…!”
“Little girl. Do you know who the leader of our faction is?”
“…Braver, Finn Deimne?”
“And what’s the name of our faction?”
“…Loki Familia, the strongest faction in the city?”
“You’re damn right it is. Finn is the hope of the prums and the star of Orario. It’s kind of a pain, but we’re the top familia in the city. Do you have any idea what people would do if we sided with the monsters?”
Hestia could find nothing to say.
“If I tried to force my cute little children to do something like that, they’d laugh me out of town. They’d say, ‘Loki, you’ve taken your jokes too far. Time to quit your fun and games.’ They might even turn against me and leave. As for Finn, he’s been in this for his own interests from the start—he wouldn’t think twice about deserting me.”
Contrary to her comment about Finn’s coldly calculating attitude, Loki actually seemed to be enjoying herself.
“What Finn wants is fame for reviving a familia. He’s not gonna do anything to mess up his own reputation. He can’t. So making nice with monsters is out of the question…Your kids are proof enough of what would happen if people found out.”
“…”
“Finn’s ambitions are never going to match up with what you want.”
There was no way Loki Familia under Finn’s leadership and Hestia Familia seeking to protect the monsters were going to reach an understanding. Strangely enough, Loki was saying exactly what Hermes had told Bell.
“Anyway, Finn already has a pretty good idea what those Xenos things are like.”
“!”
“But he hasn’t told Aiz and the others much. You know why?”
Since Hestia hesitated, Loki went on.
“Because it will slow them down. It might make his cute little underlings hesitate before acting. And most of all…if the truth about the Xenos came to light, it would shake the foundation of Orario.”
Telling everyone about the Xenos might be their salvation, but it also posed a risk to people’s lives.
Could Hestia honestly say that all the adventurers who learned about the Xenos would remain able to slay other monsters without a moment’s hesitation? She could not. And a moment’s falter would put their lives at risk. That could be fatal for Orario, the city that flourished thanks to the Dungeon’s existence. Finn knew that.
Hestia did, too. When the fighting between Loki Familia and the Xenos had broken out in the Labyrinth District, neither she nor Fels had broadcast the fact that these were intelligent monsters. They feared taking the irrevocable risk of causing chaos throughout the mortal world.
Fels also probably knew that Finn would not listen to any of their pleas. If any townsfolk were watching, he would unquestionably kill the “monsters,” even if he knew they were harmless. That was the kind of unwavering spirit and extreme ambition he had.
“Basically, it’s impossible, right? The idea of our children living together peacefully with monsters,” Loki said.
“That depends…”
“A lot of us idiotic gods would probably see it as a mystery or a bit of entertainment. But the children are a different story. They hate monsters with their hearts and souls. That’s why I’m afraid.”
Loki sighed before continuing.
“What was that sickness that killed a whole bunch of the children…? Oh yeah, the Black Death. If that sickness wreaked its havoc and then came along saying, ‘Hey, I want to make friends with mankind; I promise I won’t kill anyone else,’ do you think our children would just shake hands and make friends with it?”
“…”
“Not a chance. They’d be way too scared. They’d know that even if the sickness didn’t want to, it could make them all suffer and die. On the spur of the moment, as easily as breathing.”
Monsters had left a swath of destruction all over the world, killing hundreds of millions. Even now, they were killing people. They had menacing bodies, claws and fangs that were the very symbols of bloodshed, flames that invited death, and beastly voices. Everything about them embodied slaughter. Loki was implying that for the inhabitants of the mortal plane, monsters were the same as a devastating disease or natural disaster.
In this case, the “sickness that wreaked havoc” would be the Xenos. And letting in this “sickness” without a vaccine on hand could lead to nothing but self-destruction.
“So I’m deaf to your requests. Everything is up to Finn—all our decisions and all our actions,” Loki said.
Hestia had been looking down and biting her lip, but at Loki’s next words she raised her head.
“In exchange, I’ll keep my mouth shut about what you told me today.”
“Huh?”
“I’m saying I’ll pretend I never heard a thing from you. I won’t tell Finn what your familia is planning to do. I’ll just stand by and watch.”
“…What are you after?”
“Oh, this and that…I guess I’m just one of those gods who loves a little mystery and amusement,” Loki replied teasingly before turning to walk away.
“Wait, Loki!”
“Bye, Itty Bitty. Thanks for helping me kill some time.”
With a half-hearted wave, the vermilion-haired goddess disappeared from Hestia’s view.
I don’t know what Loki is thinking…but it seems like we won’t need to watch her.
In a sense, she was the most annoying trickster of them all, and now they wouldn’t have to worry about her getting in their way. At least something useful had come from the conversation.
That was Hestia’s conclusion as she returned her focus to the present.
“The rest all depends on Bell and the others…” she murmured.
She looked up. Thinning clouds veiled the night sky.
The broken watch lying next to the map beside her ticked. The appointed time had come.
Lido looked up at the deep-blue sky.
No longer hidden by clouds, it was an endless sea of stars.
“I’m finally able to see the sky I longed for…but only by sneaking around like this. Perhaps we are creatures of the shadows after all,” he said softly through his fangs, mocking himself.
The lizardman warrior’s two misshapen, scaly feet were planted on the edge of the dark sewer. He stayed gazing up at the sky.
He was searching for one tiny hope, fainter than a star, in the infinite heavens.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
“Welf! Mikoto!”
“Long time no see…Well, it hasn’t actually been that long…but I’m glad you’re looking well, Wiene.”
Lido turned around at the sound of Wiene’s happy voice, just in time to see her reunited with Welf and Mikoto. They were carrying a large sack stuffed with stink bags to cover up the scent of Lido and the others.
With his brethren, he formed a circle around the overjoyed vouivre and humans. The sight of their carefree smiles was priceless. They were the hope of the Xenos.
Every time Lido saw their smiles, an impudent wish reared its head. What more can you ask for than this? an inner voice warned him…yet still he felt himself reaching out for something more.
I want a future where we walk side by side.
“…Lido, it’s time. We’re counting on you!”
“Ah, yes.”
At the urging of Fels, who was looking down at the broken watch, Lido emerged from the sewer. Then, with an agility surprising for his enormous body, he scaled a building and sprang onto the roof.
He looked out over the city submerged in darkness and apologized silently to all its unknown inhabitants. Then he made his decision.
He filled his chest with air and, in a single rush, let it all out.
OWOOOoooooooooooooooooo………
The monster’s howl shook the black night.
The long, low cry echoed through every corner of the Labyrinth District and out to the edges of the city.
Adventurers everywhere lifted their heads in unison. Townsfolk shuddered with fear. All of them stopped whatever they were doing. They knew the time had come.
Once again, the war cry of the resurgent monsters sounded the arrival of upheaval in the city.
OHOOooooo………
“They’ve answered,” Fels said, turning away quickly from the sound.
The shrill howl that rent the night sky just after Lido’s resembled the cry of a young girl. The siren squinted with concentration.
“I can hear Fia and Lett but not Aruru…”
“We definitely would hear her if she was howling. Either she’s keeping quiet or something is preventing her from making any noise…” said the gargoyle.
The baying continued to echo back and forth across the sky. It was a language that only the monsters understood. Humans and deities could not discern the true meaning of those howls. They were a kind of report communicating each monster’s location, target destination, and all other important information.
“The most we can do is trust in them and go.”
At Fels’s command, the Xenos filed away from the sewer, melting into the darkness.
“Sir Royman?!”
“What’s that? What’s that? Is something going to happen?”
The pale Guild chief emerged onto the top floor of the Pantheon and leaned forward over the banister.
“Are they coming? Are they coming?”
“It’s a festival! A party!”
“I wanna go to Daedalus Street! I wanna gooooooo!”
The gods and goddesses had given themselves over to excitement. As their children cowered, they danced and skipped.
“Captain!”
“…”
The commander of the best troops in the city gazed quietly down at the Labyrinth District.
“…”
The jet-black beast looked up at the sky and began walking, its feet guided by the stars.
Hermes narrowed his orange eyes and spoke into the darkness.
“So the game has begun.”
Ever so quietly, the curtain rose on the war.
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