Return of the Former Hero - Chapter 151

Chapter 151

Chapter 151 – Former Hero is impatient

When I think about it again, we are already on the 11th floor .

It’s an unknown place…not really just because very few people had ventured here .

[So dark! How scary!]

The path was leading downward .
Beyond that, the lighting had yet to be installed so it’s pitch dark there .

This is much scarier than I thought .
It’s not like I believe in ghosts or something . It’s just my human instincts kicking in .

But well, there ARE ghost-type monsters .
Ah, no, I don’t know about this world, but probably there is .

That said, if something jumped out from the shadow, I had all the confidence that I won’t shout in fear .

Well, not like I can say [Yosh, let’s head back] either .

Everyone invoked magical light on their hand and proceeded onward .

Along the way, we also installed some lightings .
After a while, while absorbing the surrounding magic power, the light fixtures began to shine dimly .

This could count as a marker, signifies that we’ve passed through here .

[It’s almost like Hansel and Gretel . ]

Looking back at the passage we’ve passed through, the light fixtures gave me such impressions .

[Who again?]

Celes, who was drawing the map next to me, responded .

[Ah, it’s a fairytale from my… . Ah, yeah . well… my hometown . ]

Whoa there, Elcure does not know that I came from a different world yet .
Apart from that, Elcure won’t have any idea what ‘Earth’ is, so I chose to rephrase my words .

[It’s about a brother and sister who got lost in the forest . They used something like a pebble; no, crumbs of bread as a marker to return back home safely or something like that]

[I see . That sounds similar to Stock’s Great Adventure . ]

Sto . . ck? Eh?

Celes looked back at me, nodding in confirmation to my confused look .

I’m not really sure yet, but apparently there is a similar story in this world .
The gist of the story is pretty much the same despite being an entirely different world .

We chatted casually as we proceeded through the labyrinth .

Unlike the 10th floor, we had no detailed map so more time is spent exploring .
In addition, the monsters had not been cleared yet so we encountered quite a lot along the way .

There seemed to be no change in the monster’s strength . Tanya and Leon made short work of them .
And as before, I was left with nothing to do .

At best, all I could do was to install light fixtures along the path .

When I think about it now, did Elcure do anything at all?
Aside from that .

While I was in the process of installing yet another light fixture on the wall, it happened .

Pichon

[Hiiee…!?]

Suddenly, a cold sensation spread ran through my neck, making me yelp involuntarily .

Everyone’s attention was focused on me, and it’s embarrassing,

[Ermm, there is something on my neck…]

When I put my hand on my neck, I felt that it’s a little damp and sticky…
Uwa…what the hell is this? Definitely not water .

Looking up at the ceiling, I expected something sticky hanging there .
I was pretty sure that a monster was hanging there a moment ago, body fluids dripping on me . But when I looked up, I saw nothing there . Just the ceiling .

No, really, some kind of sticky liquid was dripping down from there .
Apparently those slimes has also been accumulating together on the corner of the wall .

[What is this?]

I squatted down and scooped up some of those slimy things and nudging it with my finger .

Glomp glomp

It’s not as solid as a slime, but it’s also too thick to be called a liquid .

[Isn’t this magic water?]

[Magic water?]

As I played around with the slimy substance, Leon told me its real identity .

[Yes . This place has so much magic power that it can turn rocks into magic stones . So the spring water might have accumulated a lot of magic power as well . ]

Eeh, is that so?
Certainly it’s not something I’ve ever seen or heard before .

[Can it restore magic power when drunk?]

[Some say it’ll restore a very small amount, but it’s a common mistake . ]

I wonder .
If it brings more benefits when drunk, I guess it should be a more well known and popular item .

However, it won’t hurt to give it a try, right?

Glomp glomp

Hmmm…hmm…

[Is this ‘magic water’ a rare commodity?]

As I hadn’t moved away from my earlier spot, Celes peeked back curiously .

[Nn~… . no, speaking of rare, the greater the magic power absorbed, the more viscous it will become, right? That made me thinking . ]

[That’s right . The stronger the magic power, the more viscous it’ll become . Why does Onii-san ask… Aah…!]

Celes finally realized what I’m about to do .

[Ahaha… well, no… Never mind…]

Her face promptly turned bright red . Damn, she’s cute .

What am I going to do?

You also considered the possibilities after thinking about it, didn’t you?

Let’s talk about it more thoroughly when there is no one to disturb us next time .

Fuhehehehe .

[Oーy! Come on now, let’s get going!]

Tanya who was very focused on her job urged us to continue .

[Nn . That’s right . Let’s go . ]

I ran some water over my hand to wash off the magic water, then gave Celes, whose face was still covered with blushes, some pats in her head . We resumed the exploration afterward .

[Uu…]

It wasn’t easy to recover her composure after that, so Celes walked around with her face still blushing for a while .

Leon didn’t really understand the meaning behind our exchange just now, but he decided not to say anything, as it didn’t bother him .
Elcure seemed to be in a weird condition when we started exploring, but now she looked alright after glancing at Celes, nodding once while whispering something to herself . What is going on with her?

=====
――――――――――

After about 4 hours of exploring, we reached the 14th floor .
I knew it . Mapping the labyrinth would take a lot of time .

Even so, with the current pace, we should be able to reach the 20th floor, mine the magic stones, and return back to the city in a single day .

We should find a good place to spend the night soon .

[Haruto . ]

[Nn?]

Tanya who walked ahead of us as usual, suddenly called out to me .
And then, she conveyed her intention so directly .

[Pee…]

Now now, Tanya-chan .
It’s been several times already today, but would it hurt for you to say that you want to go to the toilet instead?

Certainly, during normal occasions, that [pee] would sound like music to me, but there is Leon with us here too .

[Ah… okay . Let’s take a restroom break for a bit . ]

With the exploration on a short break, Tanya and Celes immediately disappeared to a corner .
Now that I think about it, considering the risk of surprise attack, wouldn’t it be unwise to act separately? Or is it?

Without Leon here, I would’ve had to be more careful .

First and foremost, I need to enter a distance where I can still confirm those two’s conditions with Search .
The flow of magic is particularly strong in this labyrinth, so using Search in a wide area is impossible .

Celes seemed to be on the lookout, while Tanya had already started squatting down .

… . .

This is so that the two will still retain some wariness of the surroundings, so there won’t be any unnecessary troubles . There is no other way .

Now, if there was no one to bother us, normally, I would just let them take a piss here so that I can watch them directly, wouldn’t I?

……

Yes, I would .

[Speaking of which, is Elcure alright? You haven’t gone to have any restroom break today, have you?]

Originally, I refrained from asking because I don’t particularly know how to say [Do you want to go to the toilet] to this girl from Demon King Army, but she didn’t show any sign of wanting to go up until now .

[I’m fine…it’s alright . ]

However, for some reasons she responded with a blushing face .

Tch .

Really now, I didn’t feel that I’ve done something wrong just now . That’s strange .
Then why did I feel that I was at fault?

Well, if she said it’s alright, then it’s surely alright .
In fact, maybe she’s just too shy . Later, once we decided on the place to spend the night, maybe she’ll go on her own secretly .

I need to be more vigilant .
It’s my duty as the party leader .

Yep .

After a while, Celes and Tanya returned .
Then it’s Leon and my turn . We both went together .

After I’m done, it’s time to talk about how we should spend the night .

[Let’s explore a little more, then secure a place to rest . If we find a good spot, we could stay there . And if we don’t, we can just backtrack a little . ]

[That’s right . I think that’s a good idea . ]

Celes supported my suggestion and no one showed any objections either .

The best spot we are looking for is a dead end where there is an open space and wide enough for all of us .
It’ll make it more convenient for us since we’ll only have to watch over one passage .

We found one spot like that along our way here, but it’s a bit bothersome to backtrack our way there, so I hope we’ll find similar place ahead .

And so, as we continued to forge on ahead, I felt somewhat uncomfortable .

Thankfully it’s still within the area where my Search can reach .

[Tanya . Be careful with your steps . There is a hole there . ]

[Nn? Whoopsie, it’s true . ]

Tanya stopped walking in lieu to my advice .

And right before her was a large and seemingly deep hole .
It’s dark so I couldn’t see it clearly, but I think it’s at least 20~30 meters deep?
No, probably deeper?

[Waa, amazing . ]

Celes looked down from the edge of the hole .
She immediately drew the huge hole on the map .

I tried to look for the bottom by shedding some light from the magic light, but I still couldn’t see the end of it . Only utter darkness .

[Uwaa… scary . ]

As if it’s a bottomless hole . I have no idea how deep this hole goes .
At the very least, I couldn’t judge its bottom through Search .
Standing at the edge of such a big hole felt like it’s calling us to jump in .

[Is it…a cave-in?]

Leon muttered as he looked at the hole .

A cave-in?
Is that really possible?

[So, what do we do? If we jump in, it may lead us to the deeper level faster… . But I guess it’s too dangerous, right?]

[Better refrain from doing so . ]

[I know right?]

Celes denied my idea this time . Naturally .

Fortunately, the road was not broken off completely so we could still proceed forward .

[Okay, let’s ignore the hole and move on . ]

[Understood . ]

With my command, everyone walked around the hole .
At that point…

[Wha-!]

I heard a small voice from behind me .
There should only be Elcure behind me .

However, when I looked back, Elcure was not there anymore .

Eh? Are you kidding me? She didn’t fall into the hole, did she!?

I thought she was a bit under the weather today, but it couldn’t be, right?

[Uo!] [Kyah!]

While I was looking back, voices could also be heard from the front .

Eee!?

When I hurriedly looked to the front, there was only Leon .
Celis and Tanya weren’t there .

I asked Leon what had happened, but I could already guess the situation here .
Leon is looking from the edge of the hole .

[Haruto-san! Something grabbed the two of them instantly! Sorry!]

Leon shouted with an unusually impatient face .

[Elcure is no longer behind me as well! Probably the same thing]

I suppose I also felt impatient as well .

Dammit!
To think it would only target the girls while in our presence .
How come we didn’t even notice?

No, we must not waste any more time . We should go for the chase instead .

[Follow me . ]

[Yes . ]

And with that, Leon and I jumped into that hole .