“Come, come. It’s over here.”
The place Eru led Rio and Sora to was a restaurant established several hundred years ago. They stopped in front of an upscale-looking building.
“This sure brings back memories. How long has it been since I was last here?” Eru said, looking somewhat sentimental.
“Hmph. It’s so obvious you’re just trying to act like a grown-up,” Sora muttered.
They indeed look just like a child... But there’s something about them that makes them feel older than they look.
They spoke very intellectually for a child, and they carried themselves with an extremely calm air. There were people like Celia who never appeared to age, so it was possible Eru was of a similar constitution. Although they probably weren’t over the age of twenty, Rio wouldn’t be surprised if Eru said they were in their early teens.
Besides, Celia had graduated from the Royal Academy and become a researcher when she was only ten years old. It wasn’t out of the question for there to be other scholars of a similar age.
If anything, Sora’s the one who’s trying to act more mature than she looks...
Sora was an innocent girl in both appearance and everyday behavior. Rio glanced down at the little girl walking beside him.
“Hmm? Is something the matter, Dra... Master Rio?”
“No, it’s nothing,” Rio said with an awkward laugh.
“Come, let’s go in.” Eru led the way through the door.
“Welcome!” An older gentleman who appeared to be a host greeted them, bowing his head respectfully.
“Table for three. Can you show us in?” Eru asked on behalf of their group.
“Of course. May I inquire if you have a reservation today?” the gentleman asked, checking the ledger at the reception desk.
“No, we don’t.”
“Understood. A private room just opened up, so I will lead you there.”
The gentleman swiftly closed the ledger and showed them through the door within. In the Holy Capital of Tonerico, the temple had a large influence over everything. It was possible they were only shown through without a reservation because Eru was wearing clothing clearly affiliated with the temple.
In any case, they were led to a private room and seated.
“I believe the signature dish of this store was the pope-style paeja, wasn’t it? We’ll start with three servings of that, thanks,” Eru said, giving the older gentleman their order. He swallowed his breath in surprise.
“Hmm? Is something the matter?”
“Please excuse me, I was just surprised to hear such an old menu item. It brought back some good memories.”
“Old? Does that mean the dish is...”
“Oh no, it’s just been renamed. We can serve it without any issue. Three servings of the pope-style paeja it is. It will take some time to prepare, so we ask for your patience,” the gentleman said, repeating their order with the old menu name.
“That’s fine. Why did the name change, if I may ask?”
“I believe it was over a decade ago now... Some priests that visited the restaurant pointed out how the use of His Holiness’s title in the menu was irreverent...”
Perhaps it was because Eru appeared to be affiliated with the temple, but the older gentleman looked rather awkward as he explained why the menu item had been renamed.
“Oh, is that all? How ridiculous. My big brother would never be bothered by such things. If anything, you should have pointed out how impudent it was of mere priests to pick fault with a product named after the pope,” Eru said with a dramatic shrug.
“Huh...?” Rio looked at them in confusion. The older gentleman’s eyes were similarly widened in surprise.
“Hmm? What is it?” Eru asked Rio in a casual tone.
“Sorry, I’m just a little curious... By ‘big brother,’ do you mean...?” Rio asked hesitantly.
“Oh, him? Yeah, I mean the pope of Tonerico. Pope Fenris Tonerico. Even a traveler like you would have heard his name before, right?”
“Y-Yes...” Rio replied, face twitching from the shocking revelation.
“A-A blood relative of His Holiness?! I-I apologize for not realizing sooner!” The old gentleman paled and immediately prostrated himself in a panic.
It was a most reasonable reaction; in the Holy Kingdom of Almada, there were two leaders: the king and the pope. The king was the political ruler, and the pope was the spiritual ruler. The pope had sole sovereignty of the Holy City Tonerico, so it was natural for the older gentleman to feel awe in front of a blood relative.
I had a feeling they were no ordinary person, but...
Not even Rio would have expected them to be a direct relative to the pope.
“Please, lift your head. I’m not publicly acknowledged as the pope’s little sister in the first place, so it’s fine. Well, it’s more like I can’t be acknowledged, but you know,” Eru said to the gentleman unashamedly.
Little sister. So she’s a girl after all.
Her childlike, androgynous features had made her gender unidentifiable at a glance, but now it was clear. But what bothered Rio more right now was what Eru had just said about being acknowledged. Just what did she mean?
“U-Uh...” The older gentleman stiffened, worried he had learned something he shouldn’t have.
“Don’t get the wrong idea, okay? The temple is in charge of numerous orphanages around the Holy City. I came from one of those. And that means... Do you know what that means?” Eru asked, purposefully making her words ambiguous.
“Ah, no...” Unsure of how to respond, the gentleman was completely flustered. Seeing that, Rio decided to offer a helping hand.
“It means you’re not a blood relative of the pope,” he answered in the man’s place.
“Exactly. That’s what it means.” Eru nodded with a pleased look. Rio thought she would follow that up with “That’s why we have no blood relation, so there’s no need to treat me so formally,” but instead—
“That’s what was decided. Officially, I mean,” she added with a suggestive tone.
“...”
A nervous tension hung in the air. Her words made it sound even more like something they shouldn’t have known.
“Pfft! Aha ha. Sorry, sorry. It’s just a joke. I normally shut myself in my room all the time, so it’s been a while since I’ve had a conversation with others like this. I couldn’t help but tease you.”
“I will refrain from asking how much of that was the truth...” Rio replied with a light sigh.
“Yeah, you do that. Either way, it’s true that I normally don’t make public appearances. Pope Fenris Tonerico has no little sister. So make sure you keep what you heard today quiet, okay? If you value your life, that is.”
“R-Right! Of course! The only thing I heard today was your food order!” The older gentleman nodded furiously, flustered in a way one would never expect of a high-class restaurant employee. It was quite understandable considering the situation.
“That’s right, we were in the middle of ordering. Did you two have anything you wanted to eat? Paeja is a dish that uses threshed grain husks. There’s plenty of other ingredients in it, so it can be quite filling. Make your order with that in mind,” Eru said, steering the conversation back to Rio and Sora.
“Threshed grain husks? I see...”
In other words, it was a rice dish. Rio could imagine the food about to be served.
“Master Rio, may Sora order meat please?!” Sora asked, gazing at the menu with restless excitement.
“Of course. Order as much as you want.”
“Thank you very much! Meat! Meat! Sora wants the sirloin steak. Five hundred grams done medium rare, please!” she said, making her order with the older gentleman happily. She was unbothered by the dangerous atmosphere that could be felt just moments ago.
“O-Okay. Understood.” The gentleman nodded awkwardly, taken aback by her attitude.
“Aha ha. You’re so absorbed in the food, Sora.”
“Of course. What else is there to be absorbed in when at a restaurant?”
“Don’t you care about who I am?”
“Huh? Sora cares about you as much as she cares about the weather of a thousand years ago. More importantly, Sora doesn’t recall allowing you to call her by name,” Sora snapped in a standoffish tone. The older gentleman’s face was twitching nervously at the thought of provoking a relative of the pope. However...
“Aha ha ha! The weather of a thousand years ago, huh? You almost sound like you were alive back then. You really are an interesting one, Sora.” Eru laughed in delight, completely unaffected by her attitude.
“Sora just said not to call her by her name. Don’t act like we’re friends!”
“Aww, don’t say that. Let’s be friends.”
Sora tilted her head and blinked in surprise. “Hmm? Did you just say you want to become Sora’s friend?”
“Yep. I’m just so happy to meet someone new I can be friends with. As fellow mature ladies, what do you say? Want to become friends?” Eru said without any shame at all, offering to form a new friendship with Sora.
“...”
Even when she got close to people, they would always forget her. Because of that, Sora had always distanced herself from others—that’s what she had done for the thousand years after she lost the Dragon King. And her social awkwardness left her at a loss as to what to do now. Unsure of how to respond, she fell silent. But then...
“What do you think, Sora? I’d personally love to see you making more friends,” Rio said encouragingly, peering into Sora’s face from the side.
It would be one thing if she truly looked like she hated the thought of it, but if Sora actually wanted to make friends...then Rio wanted to support her. Even if her friend would eventually forget her, that was what Rio sincerely believed.
“F-Fine... If that is what Dra— If that is what Master Rio wants, then Sora will make an exception this one time and allow you to call her by name. Ahem. Being a mature lady doesn’t sound too bad either,” Sora said, clearing her throat stiffly. The faint blush on her cheeks probably wasn’t Rio’s imagination.
“Really? I’m so happy. Let’s be good friends, Sora.”
“Yes. Sure,” Sora replied, avoiding Eru’s gaze shyly.
“I wish I had met you both earlier... But that means we wouldn’t have been able to become friends like this. Things never go as planned.” Eru stared into the distance and chuckled with a hint of sorrow.
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“I don’t mean anything deep. Anyways, let’s finish ordering first.”
Sora tilted her head curiously, but Eru casually redirected her attention. They proceeded to complete their order of food and drinks. The gentleman who took their order quickly left the room, leaving the three of them alone.
“Now, you were interested in the history of the land, right? What specifically did you want to know more about?”
“Right...” Rio pondered how he would word his questions for a moment.
“Oh, but before that—Rio, you can keep speaking the way you did when we first met.”
“No, I couldn’t do something like that...”
“There’s no need for formalities between us.” Eru smiled as though she could see straight into Rio’s heart.
“Even if you say that...”
We’re strangers who just met—were the words Rio swallowed with a troubled smile.
“I see... It’s true that we’ve only just met, but I still don’t feel like this is our first meeting. Pardon my impoliteness... I’m just not a big fan of standing on ceremony. Sora and I are friends now, so I’d be glad if you could speak to me more casually too. Besides, I should look like no more than a child to you, no?”
“I understa... No, I get it. Is this okay?”
Rio gave in with a small sigh and changed his speech to something more frank.
“That’s great. Now, ask away! What did you want to know?”
“Are there any records of all the abnormalities or odd incidents that occurred in the past thousand years?”
“Abnormalities or odd incidents, hmm? That’s a rather vague question. Before I answer that, can I ask how much you currently know about this nation and land?” Eru asked, placing a hand against her chin in thought.
“We’ve only just arrived in this kingdom, so our knowledge is very superficial. For example, we know there’s a pope that rules this Holy City instead of the king. We know that this city and its labyrinth were the source of the Divine War. And we know that the adventurer’s guild here is the general headquarters of Strahl’s adventurer’s guilds.”
“I see. There’s one item in that list that is crucial to the history of this land. Do you know what that is?”
“The labyrinth, I guess?”
The Holy City and kingdom had an inseparable relationship with the labyrinth. Rio had no hesitation in his answer.
“That’s right. Well done. Then let’s start with looking back at how the labyrinth plays a part in the history of this land. First, this Holy Kingdom was founded 950 years ago.”
When the kingdom was first founded, Tonerico wasn’t yet a holy city, and the pope didn’t exist. Instead, it was the royal family of the kingdom that governed this land.
Eru got straight to talking about the labyrinth. “The enchanted gems found by defeating the monsters in the labyrinth were an attractive resource, you see. The king wanted nothing more than to pocket them for himself. But the labyrinth was quite a peculiar place. You might know this already, but there are times when a large number of monsters overflow outside.”
“They’re called dungeon catastrophes,” she continued, “and the first one after the end of the Divine War was especially big. According to some sources, hundreds of thousands of monsters were released from the labyrinth. As a result, the city that was here before the Holy City was wiped out. Damages spread across the Holy Kingdom of Almada, eventually causing chaos throughout Strahl.”
The first dungeon catastrophe occurred roughly a hundred years after the end of the Divine War, when the Holy Kingdom of Almada was only half a century old.
“Every nation was in an uproar, thinking the Divine War hadn’t ended after all. They eventually settled on the conclusion that without their leaders, the monsters had suddenly fallen into a type of group panic.”
This was because the monsters had seemingly moved with no particular objective. They didn’t invade one area and turn it into a large-scale base like they had during the war, instead scattering about the Strahl region and forming small groups to live in instead.
“And so, people across the nation—and outside it—started expressing their criticisms and discontent with the king of Almada’s management of the labyrinth.”
Of course, there was no way for mankind to predict the movements of monsters. The monsters had rushed out of the labyrinth of their own accord, spreading out and living wherever they wanted. Since it wasn’t a phenomenon caused by Almada, the other nations eventually decided that the Holy Kingdom wasn’t to be blamed.
However, there were still voices of criticism despite that. Were there no signs foretelling what would happen? Couldn’t they have forecast such an event?
“Well, that was how great the damage had been, after all. It’s even said that all the monsters across the world today originate from the first dungeon catastrophe.”
It was only natural for all the discontent of the kingdoms affected by the dungeon catastrophe to be directed towards the Holy Kingdom of Almada, where the labyrinth was located.
“The king of the time must have been at his wits’ end. If another dungeon catastrophe caused damage across Strahl again, he’d have to take responsibility for it. He must have been desperate to escape the duty of managing the labyrinth,” Eru said with an amused look. “But he couldn’t abandon it. The first nation to be affected by a dungeon catastrophe would be Almada, which shared the land the labyrinth was located on. Besides, the enchanted gems obtained from the labyrinth’s monsters were still an attractive resource.”
That’s why the Holy Kingdom of Almada had to continue managing the labyrinth.
“And so, the king came up with an idea. While he didn’t want to manage the labyrinth directly, he still wanted a way of pocketing the enchanted gems obtained there.”
It was a truly egotistical and selfish way of thinking.
“That was why the papacy and adventurer’s guild were established. The Holy City was separated from the kingdom into an autonomous region, and the management of the labyrinth was forced onto the pope. Adventurers would go through the adventurer’s guild to explore the labyrinth and gather enchanted gems.”
The kingdom audited the adventurer’s guild, but its administration was independent of the nation. The kingdom had invested in its establishment, but there was no need for the kingdom to fund any further administration fees afterwards. It was a far more cost-efficient way of clearing the labyrinth than mobilizing the kingdom’s army.
The problem was how to direct the enchanted gems collected by the adventurer’s guild to the kingdom, but as long as the adventurer’s guild of the Holy City existed within the kingdom, there were plenty of ways of getting around that.
The earth around the Holy City was extremely acidic and unsuitable for farming, so they were dependent on the kingdom for food resources. Just like how the Holy Kingdom couldn’t survive without the Holy City, the adventurer’s guild couldn’t exist without the Holy Kingdom.
“Don’t you think it’s such a well-planned system?” Eru said proudly, almost as though she had come up with it herself.
“Now the question was if there were any records of any abnormalities or odd incidents that occurred in the past thousand years, right? The first thing that came to my mind was the very first dungeon catastrophe. Does that answer your question?” she said, wrapping up her speech.
“Yeah, that was fascinating to hear. There were a few things you mentioned I’m curious about too...”
“Sure, go ahead and ask them.”
“Thanks. Then first, you said there are times when monsters will overflow outside the labyrinth, but how often do those dungeon catastrophes occur?”
“Hmm. It isn’t that rare for monsters to overflow from the labyrinth. But for it to happen on a scale large enough to be called a dungeon catastrophe, I’d say it’s about once every one hundred years or so? The most recent one was thirty-eight years and seventy-five days ago, I think.”
“That’s pretty long ago... And I’m impressed you remember the exact date.”
“I am a scholar, after all. I’m pretty confident in my memory—though not as much as those Wise Gods, of course,” Eru said with an alluring giggle.
“Right... That’s amazing. In that case, can I ask how large an overflow has to be before it’s called a dungeon catastrophe?”
“There’s no exact definition for it. Two thousand and a few hundred monsters was considered a dungeon catastrophe before. In fact, that was the size of the last one.”
“That’s pretty small compared to the first one that occurred.”
“The first one that occurred was the outlier. Even the next biggest one after that was only a few tens of thousands strong. They’ve gotten smaller and smaller over time, and haven’t surpassed five thousand in the past few hundred years.”
“I see. And it’s pretty much a daily occurrence for monsters to leave the labyrinth in smaller numbers?”
“Yup. But on a daily level, it’s probably ten or fewer monsters a day. A group of a few dozen might form around once every few months at most.”
“I see...”
“Is there something you’re worried about?” Eru asked, looking into Rio’s face.
“I was just wondering if there was any conscious pattern to the monsters’ movements. I know you said they were concluded to be a type of group panic, but what if there was something lurking deep within the labyrinth commanding them?”
“Oh? So you think something has been lurking in the labyrinth for over a thousand years since the end of the Divine War... Is that what you’re saying?” Eru asked, mouth twisting in delight.
“Yeah. If a large number of monsters remained in the labyrinth after the Divine War ended, it wouldn’t be strange for there to be a high-ranking leader hidden among them. If there’s a conscious pattern in their movements, it could serve as proof.”
“How interesting. The movements of the monsters are truly primitive. They will swarm together and fight one another at times, but they’ll rage and attack indiscriminately if they see a human. There’s no sign of intelligence or thought behind their poor fighting. Your point would be much more plausible if there were any sign of strategy or intention to their behavior.”
“What’s your opinion as a scholar, Eru? When you look back on the past thousand years of dungeon catastrophes, do you see any conscious pattern?” Rio asked, getting straight to the point.
“There really aren’t enough cases to investigate properly. In order to determine any pattern, you’d have to analyze monsters’ movements outside the labyrinth. But the only time the monsters won was the very first dungeon catastrophe. And I just told you how they moved, right?”
“After the city here was destroyed, they scattered without another target...”
“That’s right. If the monsters had intended on invading the surface, they would have formed a base right beside the labyrinth. But the monsters back then didn’t do that. They blindly scattered in every direction, searching for their next target to attack. There was no command or leadership. They all moved in random directions. Does that sound like they were following a plan?”
“It sure doesn’t sound possible...” Rio replied with a sigh. It didn’t sound like something any good strategist would do.
“If you look at the movements of the monsters that got away, you’ll find they all just rampaged about as they pleased. There were no damages to support the notion they were moving with any sense of planning, and another century passed before the next dungeon catastrophe occurred. That’s why the politicians of the time and the historians that came after them all concluded that it was a type of group panic caused by the monsters.”
“I see...” Rio said while thinking about the labyrinth.
Is what Lina foresaw unrelated to the labyrinth after all?
There was still something about it that bothered him.
The labyrinth ended on the eleventh floor. At a glance, there were several thousands of monsters on the eleventh floor, but we defeated them all. Does that mean there won’t be another dungeon catastrophe for a while?
The more he thought about it, the more it seemed like the labyrinth was unrelated. In fact, it might even be a bad move for them to go into the labyrinth and kill so many monsters again. If they delayed the dungeon catastrophe, they could accidentally end up infringing the rule against supporting certain groups or individuals.
Rio fell silent with the look of someone hiding something.
“You’re not convinced. That’s what your face is saying right now,” Eru said, bluntly guessing.
“No, the best case would be that it’s nothing. It just feels like we’ve overlooked something. The labyrinth is a mysterious place to begin with...”
“Since we’re here already, I’ll answer any of the questions you have on the labyrinth’s mysteries too. You might never get a chance like this again, you know?” Eru said with an ominously bewitching smile.
“Thanks. Then first, about the ecosystem within the labyrinth: there are so many monsters gathered within it, yet there are no traces of any civilization. I don’t know what the monsters eat, but they’re not farming or raising cattle. Is it possible they’ve created a base or residential space somewhere that humans are unaware of?”
After that, the conversation moved on to the ecology of the monsters. Monsters were omnivores that ate everything from plants to rotten corpses. There were countless witness accounts of them eating dirt and stones in the labyrinth. They didn’t excrete anything, so they were probably able to convert everything they ate into energy.
Rio’s face twitched when he learned about how the monsters lived. Sora also pulled a disgusted face.
“Also, monsters are highly fertile, but because the females don’t have breasts, it’s hard to distinguish their sex at a glance. It’s theorized that the reason they have no breasts is because the offspring do not need to breastfeed. From the moment they’re born, the offspring feed just like the adults.”
“I see... How do I put this...”
“What is it?”
“Even though we’re both bipedal organisms, they’ve clearly evolved in a fundamentally different way from us humans. How harsh would their environment have had to be for them to evolve in such a way?” Rio mumbled quietly.
“Oh? A harsh environment, you ask. How fascinating indeed. Why, that’s a very sharp observation you’ve made. As expected of you, Rio.”
“That’s right! Master Rio is wiser than anyone in this world. Good job noticing, Eru,” Sora said, agreeing with Eru proudly.
“Aha ha... Thanks,” Rio said bashfully. They were the only people in the room, but anyone looking on would only see a man being praised by two children far younger than him.
“Judging by their biological features, your theory is quite on the mark. In the first place, the monsters are invaders from another world. To them, this world might just be a very harsh environment,” Eru added with a giggle.
“Right...”
In the first place, monsters were beings that turned to dust upon death, dropping their enchanted gems. It was only natural for them to have evolved in a completely different environment from that of the organisms of this world. If anything, it was a miracle that the humans and other creatures of both Earth and this world had evolved in such a similar way.
“Thank you for waiting.”
It was at that moment that the food they’d ordered arrived.
“Whoa! It’s here! The food’s here!” Sora cheered at the mouthwatering scent of meat.
“Let’s continue this after we eat. For now, tell me more about yourselves as we enjoy our meal.”
Thus, Rio and the others dug into their meal.
◇ ◇ ◇
After that, dishes were carried in and laid out on the table.
“Now, this one is the pope-style paeja. Doesn’t it look great?” Eru said, introducing the dish to them proudly. It was a round, shallow frying pan filled with rice, meat, fish, and vegetables.
I knew it. This is the “paella” I’m familiar with.
Rio looked at the pope-style paeja and smiled happily. Indeed, it was extremely similar to the Spanish dish paella from Earth. Rio had had his suspicions when he first heard Eru describe the dish, but he hadn’t expected to be right.
“Yeah... This will definitely taste great. I’m sure of it,” he said with firm conviction.
“Oh? That reaction almost sounds like you’ve had paeja before, Rio,” Eru pointed out.
“Yeah. I can’t say for sure until I eat it, but I’ve had something similar. The burnt parts at the bottom are the best.”
“Oh! You know your stuff. Let’s dig in, then.”
“Okay. I think you’ll like it too, Sora.”
“Sora’s looking forward to it!” Sora’s eyes glistened with excitement as she stared at the paeja.
“In that case, I shall proceed to serve it,” a male waiter said. He had a large spoon to serve the paeja into portions for them.
“Avoid the vegetables when you serve Sora’s,” Sora immediately directed.
“Understood.” The waiter nodded with a smile.
“Oh? I can’t say I’m impressed to see a mature lady being so picky about food. Food is like life: it has its sweet and its sour moments. Being able to distinguish such flavors is part of being an adult, Sora.”
“Sh-Shut up. A true adult only takes all the delicious parts.”
“I see. What a perfectly fitting phrase.” Eru chuckled in amusement at the discussion.
“Here you are.”
The paeja and other dishes were served and placed on the table before them.
“Thank you. We’ll serve the rest ourselves, so you may leave now.”
“As you wish.” At Eru’s order, the waiter left the room.
“Now, let’s eat while it’s still warm.”
“Yup.”
“Let’s eat!”
It was finally time to eat; the first dish they all naturally reached for was the paeja. They scooped the broth-soaked rice onto their spoons and carried it to their mouths.
“Mmm!”
“Hmm...”
“Phew!”
Eru, Rio, and Sora all beamed contentedly.
“That’s right...this is the taste! This is the taste I wanted you two to experience. What do you think, Rio? How does it compare to the paeja you know?”
“Yeah, it’s delicious. There’s meat, seafood, and vegetables in it, so I thought the flavor would be difficult to blend together, but this is perfectly blended. There’s no stench to it, and it’s really easy to eat.”
“That’s right. Meat paeja, seafood paeja, vegetable paeja; there are many different variations of paeja out there, but the pope-style one has a mix of all of them.”
Next to the paeja conversation taking place between Eru and Rio, Sora was stuffing her cheeks.
“D-Delicious! This is delicious! Sora can eat this rice and meat and fish forever!”
“Heh heh. I’m glad you’re enjoying it, Sora,” Eru said, smiling with satisfaction.
“I don’t know if I can recreate the way this tastes, but I’ll try to make paeja for us next time, Sora. A paeja with just meat sounds good.”
“R-Really?! Thank you so much!” Sora beamed from ear to ear when she heard the paeja would only have meat.
“Oh? Can you cook for yourself, Rio?” Eru asked, eyes widening curiously.
“Yeah. It’s just a hobby, though.”
“Then I’d love to try your paeja one day.”
“Uh... Yeah, if there’s ever a chance.”
As long as I’m a transcendent one, that wish is unlikely to come true, Rio thought as his gaze wavered faintly from his guilt.
“Then it’s a promise. You have to treat me to your paeja someday. While having a fun conversation like today. Of course, I’ll prepare something in gratitude too.” Eru leaned forward into Rio’s space and made him promise her.
“Okay, I got it. It’s a promise.” Although it was an unfulfillable promise, Rio nodded.
“You’ve agreed, okay? Like I said earlier, I have confidence in my memory. I won’t let you tell me you forgot later.”
“Of course,” Rio said, smiling somewhat sadly.
“Oh, that’s right. You wouldn’t have to make such a promise in the first place if I just became your wife. That way, I could eat your homemade cooking every day, no? I know, how about I be the thank-you for your paeja?” Eru suddenly said out of nowhere.
“Mrgh?!” Rio choked on his food in surprise. Similarly shocked, Sora had her spoon hanging from her open mouth as she froze in place.
“Don’t worry, you won’t have a boring moment with me around. Besides, I’m better looking than the average person too,” Eru said, sweeping her fringe out of her eyes to reveal her face underneath.
Despite her young appearance, her smile was alluring. The face she revealed was indeed very well refined. She looked young, but that youth coexisted with a maturity that would make adult men stop and stare if they passed her in town.
“E-Err...” Rio hesitated, unsure of what words to use to reject her.
“M-Master Rio’s wife?! What nonsense are you on about, Eru?! What do you mean by that?!” Sora snapped back to her senses and yelled.
“Well, Rio’s handsome, you know?” Eru said simply.
“Th-That’s...! That’s true, you’re right about that. You have good taste, at least.” Sora had been prepared to yell at Eru, but she instead ended up nodding furiously at the undeniable fact.
“How could you catch hold of someone so handsome without uttering a single word of attraction? Don’t you think that’s rude to Rio?”
“Th-That’s...true? You may have a point...”
To Sora, Rio was someone deserving of absolute respect. There was no way she could disagree with something complimenting him. Eru had seen through this and used it to her advantage, smoothly dampening Sora’s spirit.
“Come now, you still haven’t touched your steak. Eat up while it’s still warm, or it won’t taste as good.”
“S-Sora knows that! It’s all because you said something so strange! Jeez...”
Sora sliced the steak with her knife and fork and carried the meat to her small mouth.
“Wah... I’m so happy. This is bliss...” She smiled happily.
Eru lowered her fringe again and grinned at Sora. “You make the food look even better with the way you eat, Sora.”
Rio sighed quietly to expel his woes.
“You can give me your response to the wife matter when you treat me to your paeja, Rio,” Eru said with a mischievous giggle, making it unclear how serious she was actually being.
“Aha ha...” Rio laughed as his face twitched. Perhaps it was because he had broken out in a cold sweat, but the paeja he took a bite of to hide his awkwardness didn’t taste as good as before.
◇ ◇ ◇
Roughly an hour passed. While there were moments during their meal that bewildered Rio, he continued to ask Eru all kinds of questions about the labyrinth after they finished eating. Once all those questions were answered, they paid the bill and left the restaurant.
“Thank you for today. All of that information was really helpful,” Rio said, bowing his head at Eru.
Eru shook her head with a giggle. “It’s fine, I had a lot of fun myself. I’m really glad I met you two today. I’d love to chat again like this the next time we meet.”
“Y-Yeah... Next time...”
As a transcendent one and their disciple, Rio and Sora wouldn’t remain in Eru’s memories. They understood that better than anyone. Rio agreed with Eru with a sad smile while Sora peered up at him with a similar expression.
“It’ll be okay,” Eru suddenly said.
“Huh?”
“There’s no need to worry; we’ll definitely meet again. We’re friends now, aren’t we? That includes you, Sora,” she said, staring at the two of them.
“R-Right. Yeah.” This time, Rio was able to smile positively as he nodded.
“If I see you two in town, I’ll call out to you. Like I said before, I have confidence in my memory; I won’t forget your faces.”
“I see. We’ll look forward to that, then.”
“I will too. So let’s meet again, Rio, Sora.”
Sora shrugged somewhat shyly. “Hmph. Sora will consider it.”
“I’m not good at emotional farewells, so let’s just say goodbye normally.”
“Yeah. See you...” Rio turned to leave.
“Say, Rio.”
After they had each walked a few meters away, Eru stopped and called out to Rio’s back. When Rio turned, Eru continued.
“The information I gave you today is based on the floors that mankind has reached. I don’t know what it’s like on the deeper floors.”
“Yeah...”
“The various questions you have about the labyrinth... The adventurers of the Holy City challenge the labyrinth day and night in order to answer them. If you’re interested, you should go down the labyrinth and investigate yourself—to your heart’s content,” Eru said with a suggestive look.
“Right. I’ll give it a go.”
“Sorry for stopping you. It’s farewell for real this time. See you again.”
“Yeah.”
This time, Rio and Sora walked away from Eru. When Rio turned back later, Eru was nowhere to be seen. She had vanished into the crowd of people walking through the city.
“That settles it, without a doubt...”
Eru was one-sidedly observing Rio and Sora without their realizing it. She was hidden at the entrance to a blind alley, watching the two of them.
“He’s a different person who possesses the Dragon King’s power,” she muttered with conviction. “But...”
A thought seemed to cross Eru’s mind as she silently gazed at Rio with a distant look. Eventually, Rio and Sora resumed walking and disappeared into the crowd.
“Now... I’m finally on the surface for once. I should go for a walk around before I go report to my brother.”
Eru giggled happily as she disappeared in the opposite direction to Rio.
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