I failed. I am glad to have noticed it at the last minute, but I feel completely outsmarted.
I was too distracted by the stone statues, but the trap was right in front of us. The âbladeâ was like a âhintâ, and also was a âdeviceâ to mislead at the same time.
I wasnât thinking âIâm so glad that we dodged itâ or âThankfully everyone is okay,â rather, one slight mistake will lead to death. I finally realized that this is what a dungeon is.
**
ăThere is a mechanical reaction from the front. I will take the lead and attack with magic first!ă
Make the first move before the enemy approaches. Before being overwhelmed by the feeling of âFearâ.
I took down 3 automatons so far with pre-emptive strikes as we moved forward. I used Flame Tornado every time, but it was a necessary expense. When I got a little break, I leaned against a wall and exhaled deeply. My remaining mana is severely low. However, comparing it to the risk to our lives, I canât afford to be stingy.
ăReiji-kun.ă
A cup appeared in front of me.
ăDonât make such a grim face.ăNon-san said, offering me a cup.
It contained a beverage mixed with brown cane sugar, water, and a pinch of rock salt. Itâs similar to a sports drink and was a favorite of adventurers.
As I gulped it down, the balance between sweetness and saltiness spread across my mouth, and my bodyâs tiredness felt as though melting away.
ăThank you. Do I really have such a serious look?ă
ăâŚâŚâŚâŚă
Non-san sat next to me, with a smile. We were now in a small circular room. The walls were carved with the ancient language used by the Lev people a long time ago. Muge-san was trying to see if it can be deciphered even a little. Dante-san and Mimino-san were chatting at a distance, and Zerry-san was taking a nap.
ăSince that trap, we havenât come across anything too dangerous.ă
ăâŚâŚâŚâŚă\n
ăYou have been very careful and killed all the automatons that appeared in our way, but⌠itâs not good for you to be too tense like this.ă
ăIâm sorry⌠Iâll be careful. But it will be dangerous if I am not focused enough in a situation like that again.ă
ăWrong.ă
EhâŚwrong?
As I thought that, Non-san held my face in both her hands.
ăWe are a party. Your worries are my worries. God told unto a saint as so, âWhen you get lost, talk to your neighbor, even if heâs an inexperienced person.â So please share your worries with meâeven if I canât be of help due to lack of power, I still want you to talk to me.ă
AhâŚ
(So warmâŚ)
The warmth from Non-sanâs palms were transmitted to me.
Thatâs right! I am a party member of Silver Balance. But I was trying to do everything by myself.
(âI was conceited.)
With the power ofăWorld Ruleră, I thought I could do anything. Magic, combatâanything. Thatâs why I was frustrated that I couldnât read through the trap at that time, and I ended up going through the labyrinth with more tension than necessary.
Thinking about it, I got angry when Muge-san was ridiculed in the city and when Leon addressed Dante-san in the beginningăźeven if that emotion came from the root of my heart, I acted a little too angrily and emotional.
In other words, I got carried away.
ăAh, I⌠Iâm sorry.ă
I was embarrassed. I felt that I had become stronger with the power I gained fromăWorld Ruleră, which is not my own power.
True strength isăźnot the fighting strength which canât be seen with the eyes.\nââGoodbye, little brotherââ.
That day when the riot broke out at the Sixth Mine, I didnât take my sisterâs hand.
4 years have passed since then.
Have I become stronger?
Strong enough to take Larkâs hand on that day?
(No. Not even close.)
I donât have a heart â like Dante-san, who stands unfaltering no matter the enemy; like Mimino-san, who can accept and treat everyone with kindness; like Non-san, who abandoned everything and devoted her life for family.
ăReiji-kunâŚ?ă
I grit my teeth tightly, as my vision became blurry.
I was frustrated with myself, realizing my own immaturity.
I peeled Non-sanâs hands from my cheeks. âŚIâm so stupid. I shouldâve talked to everyone sooner. If I have the time to feel sorry for myself, I should instead spit out all the information I have and talk to everyone.
ăThank you, Non-san. I have snapped out of it.ă
ăThatâs not what I meanâă
Non-san looked confused, butâŚ
ăSeriously, you hear 1 thing and realize 10. Kind of makes me lonely. You do know I am a nun who guides lost lambs, right?ăshe said, putting on a slightly sad smile.
ăNo! I only realized it because you talked to me, Non-san. I am truly grateful.ă
ăNo, no⌠the best I can do is only quote words of the scriptures.ă
ăI think that is still wonderful. Being able to pass on the words of the scriptures at the right time like this, means that you studied a lot.ă\n\nDante-san and Mimino-san burst into laughter simultaneously.
ăWahahaha. Iâm sorry, Iâm sorry. Donât panic. Itâs just a light teasing.ăDante-san said, laughing.
ăAhaha, Iâm sorry, both of you. It just seemed like you two were talking about something important leaving out me and Dante. That is so bad.ă
ăM-Mou, you twoâŚă
Non-san heavily heaved a sigh.
âŚOh, they were just teasing? Yeah, I knew that. Honestly. I did. Yup. Though I did sense some seriousness in Dante-sanâs eyes. Yup.
ăâŚI would like to hear all of your opinions.ă
I decided to talk about everything that was bothering me.
Since we came here, we havenât come across the Labyrinth Capture Division that was ahead of us. Far from that, we couldnât even find any traces.
We didnât even run into Leonâs party whom we met earlier.
The fact that Zerry-san said, âThe air has changed.â
And that automaton that controlled our emotions with only the words âbe consumed by fearâ.
All these seem to be disjointed, and as Dante-san said, âAnything may happen since itâs a dungeon.â
I donât think that is the case, however.
There is a reason for each and every phenomenon.
And so, I came up with a theory.
ăWe are adventurers. On the other hand, we are also a party. I think this dungeon is also like that.ă
When I said that, Zerry-san, who seemed to have awoken from all the noise, looked at me with a look that said âthat doesnât make any senseâ.