He kept rubbing his back to forgive the young child, surrounded by his arms.

A thin fingertip that tends to stretch out reluctantly clings to your chest. After several deep breaths, Theori gently let go of her body. The eyebrow buttocks are lowered in a little trouble. You think you've caused trouble again.

"... thank you. It's okay now."

"... ahh"

Though his complexion had not returned, the tremors certainly stopped.

Clement and I glanced at each other. When I nodded, the reply that I understood came back just from the gaze. Distracting Annelier's attention by shaking the conversation appropriately, he guided them to the door with careless behavior. The three men obeyed it honestly without any doubt.

"I wonder if they'll come home alone."

"Hope you're back."

Nadia followed them as they walked through the conversation, turned to us for a moment, and then went back to the beginning of their position.

"Let's go."

"... yeah"

He smiled bitterly at Shiori, whose eyebrows and buttocks were still lowered, and then Alec tapped his shoulder to cheer him up. Ruli followed me with a powder to protect my back.

"I'm always there when it's hard, so I'm fine."

The words I told her to include many times before.

When I whispered as I walked, for a moment my face was distorted like a tear. I might have really cried without anyone else, but for a while, I returned to Theori with my usual smile.

"... thank you, Alec... 'I love you'"

"Hmm?

The words that were added at the end of the dialogue were not well heard - rather, it was a foreign language that sounded unfamiliar to the ears, and Theori replied, "What's wrong? I just tilted my neck and showed it."

I felt like I had been somehow distracted, but I stopped pursuing it after seeing some redness on my cheeks. If you're feeling a little better, that's fine now.

As Clement glanced back to see how she was doing, Alec urged Theori to walk faster.

The rest of the journey upstairs was unprecedented. Nothing noticeably changed except the shredded and frozen carcasses of the beast, and the small room still scatters the wreckage of something decaying. Annelier was just getting tired of it, and he suggested with a bitter smile, "Shall we go up?"

Step into the third floor carefully. It's a different place to build than any other hierarchy. You can see two rooms, one on the left and the other on the straight corridor. I saw a place like a large hall in the back.

Ooh.

"... hmm"

"Oh...."

Not only Clement and Nadia, but even Annelier spoke out loudly, noticing that the starchy air that was characteristic of the enclosed space had been reduced. There is a slight smell, like a living odor, but it may be because it is an abandoned old building.

It's kind of changed the air.

"I don't know what the details are, but it seems that the whole hierarchy is surrounded by beasts."

That's another luxurious story.

The original technology of boundary formation is used in religious facilities such as shrines. A huge technique used to knead magic stone powder containing sacred magic elements in building materials and lay a boundary formation on the foundation of the facility.

When it comes to aristocracy, the money and power of the then lord, who set it up on his own for private use, is considerable. That being said, the empire at that time boasted enormous power.

"Maybe he was using it instead of a rest area or a shelter during the ritual."

This place hits the middle of the labyrinth in the tower. The doors that divide the rooms and hallways, unlike the small rooms on the lower floors, are made of metal reinforced and splendid. Even though it has been abandoned for many years, it seems that the deterioration is not broken or damaged.

It is the official view of the union (guild) that it was set up to take a good rest and finish the ritual unharmed.

However, even though there is a huge boundary, it is still not enough to prevent even a strong kind of magic beast. In fact, in the direction of the hall, I felt several signs like a mass of magic. There may be a beast with a magical attack as its main object.

I exchanged sights with my friends and increased my vigilance.

"That's right...."

To the right of the hallway, in front of the room.

"--It's not a sign of the Beast, after all."

Clement smiled with a subtle smile with a conspicuous bitterness.

"What?

"I think they were just there. Right there."

Theori points to the room of the Annelier tilting her neck. There were three distinct signs that the beast emitted indoors. It's human.

"Ah... that's right."

"Are you eating? I hope we split it up properly."

"Whatever, but I'm sure he'll be back soon."

"Let's see how it goes for a while. Looks like I'm pretty tired... But if you want to stay too long, you can stick the nail again later."

It hasn't been an hour since then. Annelier showed generosity when she decided it was okay to give her a little more rest. It doesn't seem like there's anything I can think of, but I've decided to keep exploring for the time being. She said she didn't want to waste any more precious time with troublesome people.

There seems to be an Empire adventurer standing in front of the door opposite the room and watching carefully. Although I am not a specialist in these aspects, I intend to have knowledge to the extent that I can understand discomfort such as the presence or absence of a trap.

"... you look fine."

There is no disturbance. It doesn't seem to be locked either.

There may not be a trap if it was used instead of a rest area during the ceremony, but it is not unlikely that visited bad jokers will set up a trap on their own, so it is never too late to be careful. As a precaution, I pushed the door carefully with my opposite hand to the dominant hand.

When I first asked him to enter the room, Clement and the others came in carefully.

"Well... this is the only place where you can clean and bring in furniture and keep using it."

"That's right. You may as well stay here tonight. I think I'll be safer."

I'm not joking or serious, but this room is in good condition for Annelier and the others to start exploring. There is no extra arrangement, and there is no appearance of being roughed up because of it. Window armor doors were made of sturdy material or not damaged, and kept their role closed. The glass seems to be safe. They were exposed to the outside air and prevented from being covered in dust like the lower hierarchy. The windows are more numerous than the other tiers of small rooms, and if we open the armor doors, we'll be able to capture enough light during the day. Even if the dust accumulated is removed, there is no doubt that it cannot be used.

Nevertheless, there is nothing to note except that the room is in relatively good condition, and Annelier said we should observe the room for a while before going next.

Return to the hallway.

It seems that the Empire adventurers are still in the opposite room.

"Still... the same A class as you, but that magician didn't seem very strong."

"Ah... well, that's..."

Even amateurs seem to have figured it out. Alec looked at his friends and smiled bitterly.

"There are some criteria for ranking, but it is left to the discretion of each branch. Even though there is no problem in Japan....."

"It seems that empires vary in ranking criteria depending on their status. The higher the rank, the more likely it is to rise, and conversely, the less likely it is to rise. On the contrary, rumor has it that only noble classes are above class B, and civilians are capped at class C."

In other words, they are given a rank that is not commensurate with their abilities.

"Wow... there's so much nobility in it."

Annelier and the others looked impossible to describe. Balt and the others laughed bitterly with stunned voices.

"Well, in fact, it might be lower rank."

"That's what happens. It's only my opinion, but it's good and Class C. The magic seemed pretty high, but I didn't feel like I could use my powers at all. I wasn't good at activating magic either."

"I don't know about the woman who seems to be a therapist, but at least the swordsman seemed to be able to use it more. Judging from the carcass incision, it looks like a pretty good user. I wonder if getting the right training would give me a higher rank."

As I walked through the Empire Adventurer, I arrived in front of a large room close to the main hall. The building of the room and the door in front is the same. As you can see on the map, it's probably not that different from the previous room.

In fact, when I opened it, it didn't look particularly rough except for the pile of dust, and it looked like I could sleep if I just cleaned it.

"But...."

Alec looked at Clement and the others with a difficult face.

Theoli and Louis were also worried about the door in the room opposite them.

"... I kind of smell it, but... is it your fault?

Dennis also noticed something. His nose caught his nose when he was thinking about his specialty on the road.

"I don't think it's my fault. Look at that."

Pointing to the hallway floor, Annelier and the others looked down.

"You're wet. What's wrong with that? It certainly smells alive, but maybe it's because of this."

"I guess. The problem is - stay wet and not frozen."

I felt the smell from the third floor without anything. At first, I thought it was because of an old building, but when I came here, I found out what the smell was.

The hallway was wet. Just because the magic barrier is applied does not mean that the internal temperature is kept comfortable. In other words, the temperature is still slightly higher than the outside temperature and it reaches below freezing point, so naturally wet areas should be frozen. Nevertheless, staying wet without freezing...

"What do you mean?

"Honestly, I don't know. But it looks like there's definitely water leaking from this room."

The room in question - I've been feeling it since I stepped into this hierarchy, that strong magical signs are stagnating under the door of the room, slightly, but it looks like the water is soaking out. If you look closely, the door itself looks wet.

"... that's creepy."

Nadia murmured with her willow eyebrows.

I wonder if the windows or the walls were broken and the storm water was accumulating.

"Even so, it's this temperature. It's strange if it's not frozen."

Keep your friends away from the front of the door, then gently touch them. It was still wet. The inner door did not open as long as it was pushed lightly, but considering that the accumulated water would have prevented the door from opening by compressing, I couldn't really feel like forcing it to open to confirm the inside. As always, there is no movement in the room.

It could be a magic stone of fire.

Ah.

I can feel the magic of fire. If life runs out, you won't be able to feel the magic. The fact that the signs don't move at all means that there is a high probability of magic stones rather than beasts. For some reason, multiple magic stones of fire in the room may prevent the freezing of water accumulated in the room.

"As far as the report goes, there was nothing unusual at least until this summer."

This August was the last time an adventurer from the Tris branch visited the Tower. It appears that we have explored all levels, but the report submitted does not contain any information about this room. Does it mean that something abnormal has happened since then?

"What do we do?

Alec choked at Clement's question.

"If you really want to pick up magic stones, you shouldn't risk them now...."

Due to the dampness of the door, there was no denying the possibility that the room was submerged to a fairly high place. The water depth is likely to be around one metel at least. I don't want to take the risk of not knowing what's going to happen, even if we're alone and have three amateurs.

Annelier seemed to have a little practice, but he understood.

"I am very interested in the situation where there may be a lot of magic stones, but I will stop. Just fulfill the purpose this time. And it looks like the water is rotting, and even if there's a rotten carcass... that's what scares me."

"Okay. Let's go to the hall."

He was an understanding client, above all else.

Perhaps with Shiori's wisdom and precision magic, she managed to drain the water, but without saying anything, she just smiled and showed her sometimes troubled smile. Maybe you've decided you shouldn't take unnecessary risks.

As he walked toward the hall, Theori said in a small voice.

"--I also thought about how to drain the water, but I don't want to do anything that I didn't think I'd do in an emergency. I don't know what's going on inside, so I don't want the tower to collapse as a bad person, and it seems like there's a lot of water...."

I see. Assuming you do, you'd better do it from outside the tower after your client's errands. "

"I'm sorry I destroyed the tourist resources to collect the magic stones."

"That's right...."

Almost uncontrolled, it is a tourist resource in the area. I'm not a thief, so I don't want to pretend to appeal to hardliners for my personal gain.

"Oh... this is going to be a little party. It's wide and elegant."

Balt murmured with admiration.

As the party stepped into the hall, they looked around the tower and boasted of its breadth.

In the back, there is a higher place like a stage, and in the corner is a spiral staircase.

To take a closer look, the stage, spiral staircases, and walls were carved. Is it an imitation of the leaves and flowers of a vine - some parts of the sculpture have been chipped or scraped due to age deterioration, and the original decoration is not understood, but once it is combined with the beauty of white shining stone, it has instead created something like the beauty of the unseen.

I even remember some kind of loneliness, making me feel like the doom of a glorious empire once full of luxury.

It seems that everyone was the same. The friends stayed alert, but looked around interestingly, Annelier and the others looked at the stage, spiral staircases and sculptures with a magical face.

"... I feel a unique interest in abandoned places..."

Just for a moment, she took out her sketchbook. Sketch roughly a few pieces of the interior, then depict the sculpture on the wall.

"Probably a Bazarova design. It was the time when the Empire was the brightest. It's not just luxurious, but even in the empire, such things as delicacy and the elegance of nature were loved, and I could not afford to love them..."

After that, the Empire began to walk the path of destruction after the Romaquina dynasty was founded after the legacy was cut off by murder and epidemics. The emperor's policy, which was a powerful militarist, gradually began to oppress the national treasury with military expenses to expand and maintain the territory, and the people and land were exhausted by repeated impossible tax collection and conscription to cover the shortfall. The occupied territories have been recaptured by the surrounding countries, and the empire, pushed into the frontiers of a harsh and cold environment, now breathes a bug. Now that a massive rebellion has broken out in the work of the Alliance, the current Emperor Auvinen will be the last.

--The day of the Empire's demise is near.

Has it been an hour? Apparently, Annelier looked back on her sketchbook with care.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. It's over."

"You want to go next?

"Yeah."

She nodded with a blurry expression that reminded her of the glorious days that had passed a long time ago, just waiting to be destroyed now.

"I didn't expect to see anything good... It's really good to be here."

"--I haven't fulfilled my purpose yet"

Dennis smiles bitterly at Annelier, who exhales satisfactorily.

"Yeah, I know. But, yeah... just look at the fourth and fifth floors a little bit, and if it doesn't seem very different from the lower level, you can just walk down the street. Take me straight to the roof."

"Oh, okay."

Line up again and start climbing the spiral stairs.

He glanced back before he hung his foot on the stairs. Beyond the hallway - the Empire adventurers have no movement. Annelier seems to have lost interest in them already.

Exhausted and torn face, dirty, debilitating, and scratchy equipment.

I have almost no money with me. Nothing can be exchanged. "

That swordsman's words will be true. We couldn't afford to replace the equipment, and perhaps we didn't have enough room to buy enough food for lack of preparation.

They look as if they were just waiting for annihilation - symbolizing the present empire itself.

The imperial aristocracy that I saw in the Empire, feeling that the time of extinction was approaching, but turning away from it and devouring the remnants of glory, and the imperial people who are tired and continue to live in detail.

He shook his head to dismiss it and began to climb the stairs, laughing bitterly at Theo and Louis, who looked down from the top of the stairs.