<h1>Swaying Spring (2)</h1>
After Harumachi Sensei had shown her interest in exploring the labyrinth in my basement I prepared some adventurer equipment for her.
They belonged to my mother. A used safari jacket, long trousers, leathered belt, and a proper hat, not that we would need one down there but she looked glamorous in those clothes.
Only the area around her chest is a bit tight, but that made her look only more seductive. Overall, the fit was just perfect. Sensei changed clothes quickly and also carried a backpack with some equipment, and after that, we immediately set off for the dungeon's entrance.
“ All right. Saino let’s go.”
Sensei encourages me to start the exploration. I nodded towards her feebly, sighing to myself before stepping into the Labyrinth.
Inwardly I was full of doubt about what was going to happen. What if she discovers the truth?
If at any point we were to come across a monster, Sensei would immediately conclude this to be a precarious place. And based on what I’ve experienced so far, if we keep exploring this dungeon, in about 30 minutes we’ll definitely come across a monster.
This was going to be a disaster.
“……Please follow me. This way.”
For now, I went ahead of Sensei and proceeded down the stone corridor. I didn’t want to put a woman in danger, and I already knew the path I was taking like the back of my hand.
It would also be safer with me going first and having Sensei trail behind me. Going forward, Sensei and I went down the stairs and into the 1st Floor.
But I suddenly noticed something strange and instinctively stopped.
The moment I stepped down these stairs I could feel there was a change in wind pressure, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on the source. And reaching the bottom of the stairs at the entrance of the 1st Floor, it felt subtly different than before.
Wasn’t the path before just a straight line!?
The first time I explored the 1st Floor there was only one single path, yet now there was a fork branching to the left of the straight path.
Rather than a straight dungeon alley, there was an intersection, more like a Y-split. The reason for the change in wind pressure was that the structure of the dungeon had changed as well.
“Ah, oh……Nothing, it’s nothing.”
I hurriedly raised awareness in my mind while answering Sensei appropriately. And a theory emerged of what caused the change in the dungeon’s structure.
The reason for this new path’s existence is because it leads directly to the 2nd Floor and this branch is probably for the 1st Floor. The stairs going down to the 2nd Floor were in the center of the 1st Floor.
In other words, the roughly two hundred meter meters we walked just now was that straight path to the 2nd Floor. Reviewing the evidence of the corridor we traversed, it matched my hypothesis so far.
I wonder what caused it to turn out this way. Could it have been related to when I finished acquiring the final item on the 1st Floor? Maybe, once one completely gathers a floor’s items then a direct path to the next floor appears.
Or another possibility is that I’ve defeated all the enemies of the 1st Floor. Fighting through floor after floor in a dungeon doesn’t have much merit, so having a shortcut like this isn’t so bad.
Either way, this labyrinth is quite canny.
All right then. Seems like it’s all or nothing now…..
Making up my mind I stepped onto this new path. I had half given up on being exposed to Sensei, but knowing this is a direct passage to the next floor, I just followed it instinctively.
The further I dive into a dungeon, there is a high chance of always running into a monster. But with this direct path to the 2nd Floor, I can now traverse the Labyrinth without having to be in that situation.
I’ll search for a magic item on the 2nd Floor and immediately use it on Sensei……
Hopefully, it’s an item that can alter memories or something to control her thoughts. That way I can persuade Sensei from stopping me in case she refuses me to explore this dungeon.
I motivated myself to what was about to come on the 2nd floor. The odds aren’t looking that great, but I’m willing to bet on it. In order to break out of this situation, I’ll need the power of a magical item.
Even though it was underhanded of me to repeat the same thing and involve sensei in something improper and illicit again. I was willing to take responsibility as long as everything goes back to normal and I can continue to safely explore the dungeon without any interference.
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