Chapter 19
AFTER ACCEPTING Martel’s request to save the wolf, Mira entered the seal-turned-labyrinth.
The place where the wolf was sealed was further back from Martel’s home. The outer seal, covering the corrupted part, looked like a large tree trunk but was actually an entrance to another dimension. It was an incomprehensible place, as if the tree’s hollow had fused with a forest. Perhaps as a result of the seal’s corruption, it was all decayed. That only added to the uncanniness of it.
“This is…even worse than I was told…”
The wolf Martel had spoken of had considerable power. Mira had heard that he’d turned Martel’s seal into a labyrinth recently, but it looked ancient. She then considered that, when tackling a labyrinth, she normally had friends to rely on. She summoned an indispensable ally for the task.
“Water or fire, heaven or hell, labyrinth or not, he scampers onto the scene! It’s me, your reliable cat thief!”
The cat’s-eye-shaped summoning circle glowed stylishly, and from it came First Pupil Cat Sith, who could do everything a rogue could—scouting, lockpicking, mapping, trap-disarming, and more. He made a flashy appearance as usual, proudly bearing a sign that read, “I’m getting so much screen time this season!” He was dressed more like a phantom thief than a regular thief or rogue; it seemed this was his favorite of late.
Despite his dramatic appearance, these weren’t the mysterious ruins he’d been expecting. Faced with this terrifying labyrinth, he began to quiver in fear as he looked around. “This place is too scary for li’l old meow…”
“Well met, First Pupil.”
While he was flustered by his flubbed entrance, Mira caught him and explained everything she knew about the labyrinth ahead.
***
Now that he had a grasp of the situation, he straightened up. “Nyaow, that’s a big job! You mean that wolf’s future is on our shoulders?!” Cat Sith normally lived in the moment, but he knew how to get serious when the time called for it.
However, the sign on his back read, “Top-Tier Fruit Forever!” This mission’s reward was Martel’s special-made fruit, and she and Mira had already agreed to the terms.
“Now, we’re going to be exploring an unknown labyrinth. Prepare yourself!”
“Sir, yes, sir!”
After finishing this routine exchange, Mira and Cat Sith stepped into the labyrinth. Two holy knights went with them—one ahead and one behind—to guard them in case of emergency.
Mira’s destination was the wolf, but she didn’t know the route. So, she made use of First Pupil’s rare mapping ability, having him search ahead to check the construction of the maze. Though it had been rapidly made, it was truly a full-fledged labyrinth. Despite their surprise, they proceeded onward cautiously. In the process, they checked the route and the situation of the decayed forest.
“Meow meow meow… I feel something scary. Right in the middle of that…” Cat Sith said fearfully, faced with a small forest clearing. “Hmmeow… A trap?”
Persuaded by that series of meows, Mira warily checked the place. At first glance, it didn’t look any different from the rest of the forest. But despite how much her First Pupil goofed off on other assignments, he was no slouch when it came to scouting. If he believed that there was something dangerous up ahead, then she had every reason to trust him.
“I’ll try my paw at it,” Cat Sith said quietly. He took a card from his cloak and threw it sharply at the center of the clearing. Of course, he had to strike a cool pose once it was thrown.
The card only flew about two meters before it suddenly lost its momentum and fell to the ground.
“I’ll try my paw at it,” he repeated, pretending he hadn’t just said that. He threw another card. This time, it struck near the middle of the clearing, despite being slightly off-center. “Meow?!”
“Oh?!”
Countless vines appeared out of nowhere, wrapped around the card, and yanked it to the ground.
A trap, indeed. According to Martel, who watched things from Mira’s eyes, that was one function of her seal. Whenever anyone approached, it would drive them away—though now that it was corrupted, it seemed to be more…dangerous.
Things really have changed for the worse. There might be other functions that had turned into traps as well, Mira realized, so she asked Martel for more details.
As a result, she learned that there were others. However, none of them had the power to kill; most of them would return her to the entrance. Martel believed the labyrinth’s traps weren’t too dangerous, but now that it had been corrupted, she couldn’t be certain. The wolf’s power might have turned them into different things or made them more powerful. As such, the only option was to proceed with caution.
Mira and her First Pupil carefully took things step-by-step as they continued on. After walking around for an hour, they found a familiar place.
“There don’t seem to be any monsters around…but this is a problem,” Mira mused.
“It sensed our intent to intrude…” Cat Sith shuddered.
Because this labyrinth was made from an altered seal, they found no monsters inside. However, the labyrinth itself was the problem; on top of being complicated, Cat Sith said that the paths themselves were changing over time. They’d ended up going around in circles and had wound up back at the entrance.
“As I recall, there must be some rule to it,” Mira said.
“I couldn’t tell just from looking…”
Martel had told Mira that intruders would get lost, returning them to the entrance. She’d claimed that there was logic to getting through it, but thanks to the corruption, it was unknown to her. In other words, the duo was on their own.
When Mira had gone to the dungeon under Alcait Academy, she was beyond fortunate to have Hinata, a puzzle master, on her side. Unfortunately, the current pair lacked the mental faculties that would prove valuable in this endeavor.
“It seems we have no choice but to use the full formation.”
Most labyrinths required intuition and insight to discern traps and gimmicks. Sometimes, one needed pure intelligence to unveil the hidden mysteries. When a labyrinth had puzzles, Mira and Cat Sith alone would almost always end up defeated. That didn’t mean she was unprepared, though. She often cleared dungeons solo, so she’d learned some evocations to keep herself from getting stuck when she didn’t have smart companions.
“Meow?! Meowstress, you’re not gonna summon him, are you?!” Cat Sith, who’d been staring into the labyrinth to this point, panicked upon hearing Mira’s words.
“I am. We’re hopeless otherwise.”
When Mira and her First Pupil alone couldn’t clear a dungeon, they summoned a certain brainiac as their trump card. In contrast to her First Pupil, who used his sharp intuition and experience, this one used deep intelligence and theory. They were true counterparts.
[Evocation: Cu Sith]
A small summoning circle appeared. From it hopped a shih tzu-like pup, who promptly tumbled over onto the ground. The pup stood up, brushed the dirt off of his clothes, and gasped at the sight of Mira. He’d quickly realized that it was her. Though surprised, the Cu Sith bowed respectfully. “Mr. Owner? Oh, woof! It’s been so long!”
The dog wore a black coat and hat, as if trying to dress like a detective, and acted like a gentleman. However, he didn’t look the part of a gentleman, due to being a dog. Despite his best efforts, cuteness defeated dapperness by a landslide.
“That it has, my dear Woofson.”
Mira couldn’t help but smile at him. Overjoyed to see her again after so long, the Cu Sith ran over, his tail wagging madly—then he fell over again. This was another thing that set him apart from Cat Sith; while he specialized in brainpower and magic, his dexterity was devastatingly bad. However, he never gave up and kept right on running. One might even call it peak adorability. Mira caught the desperately running Woofson and petted him to her heart’s content.
Cat Sith glared at Woofson like a jilted lover, but nobody noticed.
***
They sat in front of the labyrinth’s entrance and held a meeting. Holding Woofson in her arms, Mira summarized their predicament and the labyrinth itself. She was especially detailed regarding the wolf, the corrupted seal, and the changed traps.
After quietly listening to Mira’s explanation, Woofson proposed nullifying the trap as their first priority. “First things first. We’ll need to deal with that route-changing trap.” The other traps were all localized, but this one affected the entire labyrinth, so they either needed to disable it or understand its rules.
“Yeah, duh. We already know that. The problem is how.” Cat Sith plopped down in Mira’s lap and shrugged his shoulders in annoyance. They already knew that much after an hour of wandering around, and discussing how to deal with the problem was frustrating.
“Woof course, I already have the answer to that,” Woofson replied smugly to First Pupil’s challenging words. And he wasn’t just boasting; his voice was full of confidence.
Though taken aback by Woofson’s assuredness, the cat snapped, “Well, I’m sooo excited. Let’s hear it then, buddy.”
“No need to rush. I’ll explain it so simply that even a kitty can understand,” Woofson said, stroking the bushy fur around his mouth like a detective.
“I’m not your average cat. Don’t start that with me!”
“Oh, you’re right. You’re far below average.”
Sparks seemed to fly between Cat Sith and Woofson. Perhaps they weren’t on the best of terms… Though they both specialized in recon and investigation, their approaches were entirely different. A sort of rivalry had developed.
“Leave it, you two. We must proceed. Woofson, please tell us the way.” Clearly used to this, Mira petted both of them and asked how to get to the depths of the labyrinth.
With his tail wagging like mad, Woofson proudly began. “I’d be glad to!”
Woofson’s strategy was bold yet secure, made possible only by his ability to track scents. He didn’t track things like a normal dog, however; his magic was a special tracking method. After smelling any scent once, Woofson could find its spatial position with precision. He could even analyze how long it had been since the smell was left. And now this labyrinth had the faint scent of Mira, after her hour of wandering. In other words, by using his magic to find the smell, he could tell how the labyrinth had changed with their movement.
“The labyrinth is moving a lot, for sure. But the key to it is already in my paws!”
Incredibly, Woofson had used his magic while Mira told him the problem and had already unraveled the mystery of the labyrinth. It must have been reset when they returned to the entrance. After offering that hypothesis, Woofson added that Mira’s scent seemed to jump here and there in the labyrinth, in random places.
“This differs from what you told me, but it seems like there’s a loop-style trap set here too,” he analyzed. According to Woofson, there wasn’t just a seal that changed the labyrinth and returned them to the entrance; the corruption had also added a loop. If they’d assumed that it was only the former and rushed to find a solution, they could have gotten lost in an unsolvable labyrinth forever.
“I see… They’ve thrown that in too. Well done, Woofson!” Mira thanked her excellent colleague and petted him all over. He’d acted rather pretentiously before, but the moment Mira’s hands touched him, he happily barked and wagged his tail. He might have had real knowledge and brainpower, but his behavior was still that of a puppy. And that was exactly why Mira loved him so much.
“Your praise honors me, woof!”
Subjected to this sight, jealousy burned in Cat Sith’s eyes. Unfortunately, nobody paid him any mind.
The labyrinth had become more difficult than Mira had thought. But thanks to Woofson’s uncanny ability, they’d had a breakthrough. As such, the labyrinth’s schemes were laid bare. Or at least, Woofson had a working hypothesis and could seek out decisive proof to be sure. Once that was done, though, he boasted that he would be able to conquer the dungeon’s traps once and for all.
His claims were very persuasive, and the labyrinth expedition team stepped into the maze once more.
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