Boundary Labyrinth and the Foreign Magician

Defeat the big man and he will destroy the miscellaneous fish.

Defeat Marfolk, crush the onions, and magically cut seagrass from the edges… and all that remained was a pile of material.

The peeling is not delicious, but there is just a lot. To some extent, you'll have to choose what to take home.

We will use Aqua Golem because we are short on manpower and divide the materials by type.

"First, as Nautilus and Archeron take it back as it were"

They're both precious, so let's send them with a transboundary stone as a top priority. He also decided to forward the stubborn marfolk.

Then the disposal of the remains of the Dead Shark.

This will extract the Demon Stone. The undead system cannot be edible, and often the material cannot be stripped off. Instead, if you extract the Demon Stone, you can extract something of good quality.

The next priority should be - maybe a cow over seagrass. I just want to stick it in the bag and take it back.

"What is this?

"What is it..."

Serafina picks the onion and lifts it...... Ashley and Mallane are tilting their necks when they see it.

"I can eat the contents. Let's bring it back as much as we can."

Arrow artin is also eaten by Termwilds, but it's the contents that line the table. They won't know the original. Because it's a big fish, is it a crab today? It's going to be a pretty luxurious dinner.

... Kelp is just too much, so send him as much as he needs, and let him take advantage of the rest in vain with demon stone extraction.

Still. You've had plenty of groceries since you started exploring the Devil's Light Watercourse. Arkeron and Nautilus need to think a little about the use of the material for the first time in a long time, so I'm looking forward to processing it now.

I finished stripping and transferring all the way back to exploring.

There's no passage in the water, but there seems to be room above the room. I sprinkle jellyfish appropriately and put my face on the water... and there was an unexpected face there.

Long black hair with wet feathers. Golden eyes. Girl in a dress.... Claudia.

If you look out of the water and look around, it's like an underground lake.

By such a lake, he soaked his white barefoot on the surface of the water... causing him to jump the pasha and water at will. What are you doing?

He said he'd show up, disappear, slip through. I was imitating it like a ghost, but when I see where I was playing with water, some of it looks like entities. That's a lot of mystery.

"... the next time we met, we thought it was around the sealed door of Great Decay Lake."

"Me too... though I was going to be asleep for a while now"

To my words, Claudia leans her neck.

"Looks like the Guardian's been knocked down, so I woke up."

Really? Even when I first met him, I thought it was after I defeated the Guardian. You said you were here to investigate with that last time... I guess that's where you were coming to see how it went. Because of the appearance of the soldiers being explored and the approaching time for the sealed door to be released, I may have guessed this situation somewhat.

I guess I haven't hidden myself like I did before, because once I've gained face-to-face knowledge already, it's clear what this one is all about. If so, does she have a purpose in showing herself in this way as well?

"Dear Claudia..."

Ilmhilt with his face out of the water rounds his eyes.

"That one..."

Grace and the others were equally surprised by Claudia's appearance.

"Nothing... I don't need a word of respect. I don't know what you think, but I'm not good enough to be treated like that."

I say that to us. What does that word mean... is that Claudia is used by the labyrinth management?

"- I've been thinking a lot, too. It is inevitable that you will come closer to the depths than you will fight demons. But even with me, I have some reason to want to work with you guys. Illumhilt wants to go to that place too... so maybe I should just take you guys to that village and convince you."

"... you think you can do that?

"Yeah. If you'll keep your secrets and your promises, but"

Think a little when you're told. That means - leaving the destination to Claudia. That's what Labyrinth Management would do, so there's no choice but to discuss the impossible and the means. But... can I trust you?

I don't know what Claudia's purpose is, but for now, the interests seem to be in agreement in terms of not letting the demon go deep into the labyrinth.

You think you can control the demons of the labyrinth to a certain extent? Is that where it turns out in the conversation so far?

If Claudia is willing to do that, I guess there are many more possibilities. In some cases, it may be possible to render the transboundary stone unusable.

Assuming it's harmful here, if you're offering to fit in a trap, would you do something this roundabout?

To be clear, it's the same thing you're swallowing in your belly at the time you get inside the labyrinth, so you can put whatever you want in the trap. You can hit as many tougher attackers as you want, even if you don't take the risk of showing yourself, etc.

Right...... Is it possible, for example, that the earlier Guardian room was a Claudia manipulation?

… it is decided that there is no such thing. Claudia watching the Luceriage fight must have known from the beginning that she lacked the strength to hit me.

Judging by the information, Claudia seems to have some kind of secret she wants to keep about the labyrinth, or something of herself.

Then why would Claudia make such an offer if she should want to keep her secret down?

... because you don't want to be searched for a route to the depths? If you fly directly to the village of Illumhilt, you will not be searched for and found what is happening on the road or which section to go through.

"... if it has nothing to do with the devil."

"Then you can say there isn't. Isn't that what you're after about Illumhilt?

Yes. That's true.

"Is keeping secrets okay with the understanding that you don't tell people what you see and hear there?

"Right. If you're the ambassador, let me trust you. Most of all... this story has the premise that you can trust me. Do you have any other questions?

"Why invite everyone?

"Though I thought about keeping only Illumhilt or something like that. So you're not worried? You know, if you suspect me of inviting everyone, I don't know what else to do."

"... no, I wouldn't do that on purpose."

It was a dialogue after much thought... but Claudia seems to have been surprised by the words, and I'm going to stare at them to ask my sincerity.

"I don't know what to say... but I think I look very suspicious."

"If you were going to trap me, you'd be doing it right away."

"... I see"

Claudia is good at it, so close your eyes. Then he nods small and looks at me.

"... in the end, if Illumhilt is going to be able to fly to that compartment, you can accompany him if you want. I thought it would be better if we all came from the beginning to convince each other of our credibility. Make a promise to everyone. Still, if you've been betrayed, there's nothing I can do to break it."

... there is certainly a way to get some concession and trust.

And I made my own concessions, so if I was betrayed, I wouldn't have to feel comfortable, would I? I think I know how that feels. Just as I chose Forestbird to accompany me on my journey from Count territory.

"... ok. So, what's a promise?

"There is a path downstairs in the village to go further back. I don't want you to move on."

Hmm...... Well, is that a convincing story, too? If you're going to trap this promise too, you don't have to offer it from the beginning.

Further back from the village, huh? It's not that I'm not interested in the secrets of the labyrinth - my current purpose is not to unravel them in the first place.

"I hope that's all right."

Spin your gaze on your people. There's no objection - I don't think so.

"So - shall we go? You want to move on to the next floor, don't you? Shall we go down to the next floor and move out of the tablet? If I don't come from a stone tablet, I'll be inactive again."

Hmm. If they did call it a transfer right now, the exploration of this floor would have ended in vain. The care is eloquent.

"Okay. Then let's go."

But she doesn't try to move. It's like tilting my neck and waiting for me to come out.

"... uh. Aren't you going to give me directions?

When asked, there was a slight gap between the responses.

"… even if you can move to the desired hierarchy, you don't know how to navigate a hierarchy that changes with age"

That's how Claudia turns that way. I can't peek at the look on your face, but am I wrong to see that your cheeks were reddened somehow...?

I don't know. I don't know the directions, even if I can make a transfer...