3
At least he worked himself up thinking that, but after proceeding a short distance past the door…
“—A second door. And it disappeared again.”
Subaru watched as another iron door glowed and disappeared before his eyes.
It happened right after Subaru touched it. It was hard to believe he had just awakened to some new ability, so the only other explanation was they were designed to do that, but…
“What’s the point of a door in a dungeon that doesn’t actually block anything?”
Subaru was at a loss trying to explain the purpose of having a door like that.
It wasn’t dividing up rooms or anything, so there was little reason in having a door that anyone could open. The obvious reason to have one was to block anyone trying to get through, and yet…
“It doesn’t feel like it because we haven’t run into any yet, but maybe it’s something to stop demon beasts.”
“Demon beasts… So like the barrier? I guess I could understand that, but…”
“Maybe demon beasts just can’t open it, but if a person touches it, the path opens up… Still, that’d be a little loose on security when it comes to closing the door behind you— If there’s a third one, we should have someone other than you touch it.”
Anastasia’s eyes narrowed as she hypothesized about the point of the door. There was just too little to go on, though, so it was hard to come up with a convincing explanation.
And what bothered Subaru more wasn’t the mysterious doors.
“ ”
Ram, who was riding Patlash with Anastasia, had stopped talking. Part of it was anxiety and unease probably, but the bigger issue was fatigue. Her body was in bad shape to begin with, and the miasma in the labyrinth—
“My body’s really heavy…”
Wiping away the sticky sweat in annoyance, Subaru slowly started walking again, dragging his feet out of the sand.
Ram wasn’t the only one being weakened by the miasma. Subaru and Anastasia were feeling it, too. Their moods and their bodies were getting heavier. Every cell in their bodies, the blood flowing through their veins, the drumbeat of their hearts, it was all telling them to get out as soon as possible.
“ ”
If they kept moving forward, they could get out of the miasma. If they kept moving forward, they could find everyone else.
Subaru believed that— By making himself believe that, he could keep his legs from stopping.
Without that spurring him onward, the weight of the sand and sweat would force him to start questioning himself.
Questioning whether this was really the correct path.
“This isn’t the time to be whining.”
His whole body was pleading with him as he ground down his molars.
He was the one who had picked this direction. He had no right to be the first person to start complaining about it.
“It’s a little difficult to walk, but that’s all. It not so bad. I thought it would be more outrageous than this, but at this rate, maybe the end isn’t even that far aw—”
“Barusu—shut up.”
“Eh, ah. Yeah…”
He had tried to put on a brave face, but Ram’s curt jab shut him down. It had been a while since she had said something, but there was no trace of consideration in it at all. Subaru shrugged as Ram seemed irritated.
“If you ask me, it’s boring to just stay quiet.”
“Do you think we’re doing this for fun? Remember the point of all this.”
“I mean, yeah, but…”
“Just shut up and walk.”
It was a reasonable point. Her attitude left no room for maneuvering at all.
But Subaru had a point, too. He thought that if the miasma was bringing their moods down, then maybe it would be a bit easier if they distracted themselves somewhat with conversation.
“But—”
“Natsuki, just leave it be.”
He understood Ram’s feelings, but Subaru was annoyed at her prickly attitude. Sensing that, Anastasia shifted, blocking Ram from his gaze.
“I understand how you’re feeling, but Ram’s exhausted. Nothing good ever comes from trying to talk to someone when your heart’s worn down to the nub, right?”
“ ”
“Right?”
It pissed him off, but there was some truth to what Anastasia/Foxidna was saying, too.
He had gotten so anxious about moving forward and meeting up with everyone else that he had been inconsiderate of Ram and Anastasia. The same was true of them, but what good would come of arguing that?
—There’s no point in saying it. It would just be a waste of time. It would simply be better to not even look at each other.
“…Let’s go…”
Noticing that he had stopped, Subaru started moving his legs again, holding the lantern and lighting the labyrinth of sand.
Having failed to raise anyone’s spirits, his legs moved forward just as heavily as before—no, they were even heavier now.
Forward.
“ ”
Forward—
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