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Chapter 4: Labyrinth City Fiezel
—— [Dungeon]
It is a labyrinth that is scattered all over the world. That’s how it is called. Sometimes it’s called the den of monsters. And sometimes it’s also known as the unexplored places where treasures are buried enough to make you live in luxury for a lifetime.
Every dungeon has different features; for example, “parties of four or less” are the only ones allowed to enter, or no physical forms of attacks are allowed. There are also no safety points in the dungeon. Various restrictions are imposed on those who enter the dungeon as a feature of the mysterious system.
And those who continue to dive into dungeons in search of the treasure or fame that exists after overcoming these obstacles are called by people as——”Adventurers.”
* * * *
The North End, it’s a land adjacent to the northern edge of the Gardana Kingdom.
Located there is——the labyrinth city of Fiezel.
After graduating from the magic academy four years ago, Jorha, a girl with a short bob haircut who I met again by chance in the royal capital, and the others, headed to that place and have been working hard to conquer dungeons for four years without even changing their base.
The reason for this was simple and clear, Fiezel was a rare place in the world where many dungeons existed, as it was called a labyrinth city. And the levels of difficulty were much more difficult than the dungeons in the royal capital.
According to some people, the features of the dungeon were extremely vicious.
“The dungeon in the royal capital had a limit of four people in the party, but Fiezel’s dungeon had a limit of four people, and in addition to that, recovery magic was not allowed. That’s right. It’s really full of restrictions.”
However, that’s why it’s worth conquering, and what you get out of it is also great.
On the day we met again, coincidentally, I grasped Jorha’s hand that she stretched out to me, and we traveled by horse-drawn carriage for five days.
When we finally arrived at the labyrinth city of Fiezel, I spoke with Jorha as she guided me to my old friends and former party members, Ornest and Clasia.
“…But, is it really okay?”
“Hmm? What is it?”
“I know it’s a little late now that you’ve brought me here, but I believe that Fiezel’s dungeon had a lot of restrictions, right?”
“Yeah…”
Basically, dungeons are managed by the country in which they are located. For example, if the dungeon is located in the royal capital of Gardana, it is governed by the Gardana Kingdom.
That’s how it works.
For this reason, there are restrictions on how old a person must be to enter a dungeon. Such restrictions are imposed by the country that manages the dungeon.
…If I remember correctly, the dungeons in Fiezel only require those who have at least two years of experience as an adventurer in Fiezel to go deeper than the 30th floor.
It seems that there were such conditions.
When I pulled up my hazy memory and asked her about it, Jorha, as expected, looked uncomfortable and let out an awkward laugh, “Ahahaha…” with a frown on her face.
“I-I was going to tell you about that later… but you know what! Don’t worry about it! Clasia has already solved the problem for us!”
However, even though she says they have solved the problem, the expression on Jorha’s face showed signs of anxiety and frustration.
There were so many emotions scattered all over the place that I couldn’t be reassured even if I was wrong, and there was no way I could honestly say, “Oh, I see.”
“C-Clasia, huh…”
More importantly, the girl I know named Clasia Annerose is a real muscle brain. She was a person who could never sell a word, act intelligently, or persuade anyone. She would have been a person who had nothing to do with such actions.
As someone who has been involved with her for the past six years, I can’t think of a better word to describe her other than I’m worried.
“I already talked to the guild master of the Fiezel branch before I went to pick up Alec…?”
“Why is that a question mark?”
…I mean, how come you don’t know about it? Or rather, you don’t have too much trust in Clasia.
She didn’t say anything, but I guess she was uncomfortable with how I was staring at her and appealing to her.
Jorha turned her head away and said, “…I wonder why?” and continued to say words that couldn’t even be considered an excuse…
“…Well, I’m relieved to see that everyone is still the same. Jorha, Clasia, and Ornest have not changed at all.”
I had already heard from Jorha about my other friend, Ornest, who was not here, while we were riding in the carriage.
She said——.
We were trying to conquer one of Fiezel’s dungeons, but it was too complicated, and we got stuck. When we were trying to decide what to do, Ornest suggested that we should find Alec. It’s a rare thing to see Clasia agree with Ornest’s opinion… So, yeah, let’s find him?
The person who said, “Go find him,” was apparently Ornest.
Ornest, who is a self-confident person with proven abilities, will never change his opinion no matter who denies it.
I’m sure that when Jorha came to pick me up like this, he stubbornly refused to listen to her, saying, “Let’s just go get him.”
But Jorha also said that she came alone because she had a feeling that if she left it to Ornest, it would only lead to trouble.
“Well, it’s only been four years.”
We laughed together and agreed that if things had changed in four years, that would be a surprise.
Meanwhile, we found ourselves in front of the guild, the place that manages the adventurers.
We tried to step into the Guild building. But…
“——Yo!”
A voice suddenly called out to us, and our feet stopped reflexively.
The voice sounded unfamiliar.
But somehow, I knew it was directed to Jorha and me.
“It’s been a while, hasn’t it, Miss Jorha? It’s been half a month, right?”
Jorha’s name was spelled out shortly after.
“It’s been a while, Guildmaster.”
In response to his remark, Jorha replied politely.
I looked back over my shoulder to see who it was.
The guild master, as Jorha called him, was a big man, a size bigger than me, who reminded me of a giant rock.
With his right hand touching the beard on his chin, he would occasionally make eye contact with me and look at me as if he was trying to evaluate me. However, it was only a few times. So I didn’t feel particularly uncomfortable.
“It was really hard work, you know? Without Miss Jorha, no one can mediate between Miss Clasia and the idiot Ornest… The last half month has been extremely rough.”
“I-I’m sorry…”
It was the same when we were at the magic academy. However, now that they are already working as an adventurer, those two are still known as troublemakers.
…I’m not sure why. My stomach suddenly felt a sharp pain. I fell into such an illusion.
“Well, that’s fine. It’s good to have Miss Jorha back, after all.”
——I feel relieved to know that my role of keeping those two at bay is over. I can finally sleep with my pillow high. I can’t avoid feeling sympathy for him as he continues to say this because I can understand what he’s going through.
But his words didn’t seem to end there.
“——So. Since Miss Jorha is back, am I correct in assuming that you are the Alec Huguette that Miss Clasia was referring to?”
He looked amused and happy. The big man who had been called the Guild Master smiled wickedly.