Chapter 106

No Road Is Long with Good Company It had been almost a year since the demon god was defeated. Labyrinth City’s restoration efforts had reached a peak, bringing an economic boom to the city. The monster corpses from the Stampede all contained dense mana, a fact that the city advertised to invite a variety of new industries. This made up for losing the city’s core industry: adventuring. The labyrinths around Labyrinth City all went quiet after the defeat of the demon god. It would take decades—possibly even centuries—for them to become active again. This required the city to transform from a place with dangerous labyrinths and monsters that provided endless opportunity for valuable mana crystals into a safe city of trade with few monsters. The regular citizens of the city and surrounding farming villages who couldn’t fight monsters welcomed this change, but the many adventurers were left practically unemployed. Some took the opportunity to quit as an adventurer and become a knight or a guard, while others gave up their sword or staff and started a business, but the vast majority left for new lands to continue their adventure. One of the common destinations was Wegna, the Cavern City. Just like Labyrinth City had once been, it was a place that relied on the economy of defeating monsters and gaining mana crystals. Unlike Labyrinth City, however, it had only one labyrinth: the Behemoth King Pit. It was a massive labyrinth where a mysterious, powerful monster that descended from the sky called the Behemoth King resided. No one had ever seen the Behemoth King, yet the monsters it produced, behemoth soldiers, populated the labyrinth and threatened the people living aboveground. It was said that the labyrinth had one thousand underground floors, though no one had ever made it to the bottom. The record currently stood at floor five hundred and eighty-two. Every day, competition raged to break the record and achieve great fame and rewards. Cavern City also attracted criminals because of the ease of hiding in its disorderly society, as well as bounty hunters who tracked them down for a living. Some were even drawn to the city because of an interest in the behemoth soldiers and used them for dubious magical experiments or tried to make deals with them for profit. Lately, a rumor had begun to spread in Cavern City that the Survivors—the heroes who had defeated the demon god—were hiding there. The Survivors were wrapped in mystery. Some said they were an adventurers’ party of four or possibly five people, but the people who witnessed the battle had seen only one overwhelmingly powerful swordsman. No one could agree on what this person had looked like; some claimed they were a red-haired dragonian, while others said they had silver or black hair, or that they were a young man. There was even a rumor they were a female priest with a fondness for women and gambling. Whoever they were, one thing was certain: The Survivors had disappeared after the battle against the demon god. The Holy Kingdom of Dineez had been unable to reward them for their service, and the nation was determined to figure out their identity and track them down. A reward of one million dina was promised to anyone who located them and reported their whereabouts to the Holy Kingdom of Dineez, with five million dina rewarded to anyone who brought them to the capital. The Holy Kingdom of Dineez wasn’t the only nation searching for the Survivors. The Endoana Republic, where Cavern City was located, as well as Tokoku to the south and the United Cities of Eridania, were offering rewards for finding the hero as well. The nations were essentially warring to welcome the hero first and win their favor. There was also a rumor that the remnants of the demon-god worshippers were offering a bounty for the Survivors, and another that the agents of the gods were secretly competing to recruit them into their ranks. The underground struggle to find the hero had only intensified over time. Cavern City used such ambition to stoke the flames of prosperity. So many people came to seek profit from the Behemoth King Pit that the arrival of any newcomers was hardly considered noteworthy. The danger and profit that accompanied it were indispensable to the lives of many. The people in Cavern City who ventured into the Behemoth King Pit or made a living fighting people in the city weren’t called adventurers. They were called explorers. “You should just transfer here officially as a bodyguard.” “Yeah! Or even better, what about being a bodyguard and an idol?” The girl shook her head as her older sister and friends tried to keep her there. “I already handed over my duties to a rookie, and I can’t spend all my time being a bodyguard. I’ve let you take care of me for too long. I need to become independent.” They were in a dressing room in Moonlight Hall, a new all-purpose theater in Wegna, the Cavern City. The dragonian girl who’d just spoken was preparing to venture out on her own. “Karan. Are you still thinking of finding and helping the hero?” Daffodil asked. “I… No, I’m not looking for the hero…I think?” Karan said, cocking her head as if she hadn’t thought about it. “Hmm. Yeah, I’m definitely not. I’m not thinking of supporting a great hero or anything like that. But I do feel like something is missing.” “Do you know who that might be?” Daffodil asked. Karan didn’t notice that she’d said “who” instead of “what.” “…I want to do something like team up with some adventurer friends and take on a labyrinth. I guess I’d be fine doing it solo…but I feel like there are people out there who I could trust to watch my back and who would have the same trust in me,” Karan said. She stared up into the night as she spoke. Bright stars dotted the sky. Some were alone, while others shone with nearby companions. Their light was weaker than that of the stage, but they illuminated Karan and the others all the same. “Maybe I’ve been inspired a bit by the Survivors, the hero who defeated the demon god. I wanna do something on par with them,” Karan said, laughing. “Ah, the Survivors. That makes sense. They were truly amazing,” Diamond said with a smile. The hint of smugness in her expression made Karan jealous. “That’s what I’ve heard. I wish I could’ve seen them. People say that they had golden winglike things and that they fought the demon god with a golden aura blade. I’ve also heard they were beautiful, but no one knows whether they were a man or a woman.” “…You fought hard during the war, too,” Daffodil said sadly. “Apparently. I don’t remember it, though…” Karan had little memory of her time in Labyrinth City. She hadn’t forgotten everything; she remembered leaving the dragonian village alone, joining the party of a man named Callios, and getting deceived and left for dead. An S-rank adventurer named Fifs had helped her recover in secret, during which she had developed a love for gourmet dining and formed a party with…someone. Everything after that was hazy. She felt like she’d gotten her revenge by defeating Callios, but a part of her also felt like she’d suffered a miserable defeat. She knew one thing for sure: She had somehow gotten involved in the decisive battle against the demon god during her time in Labyrinth City, and she had lost those memories. There were other adventurers who had suffered similar memory loss. The reason for this was unclear. The most plausible theory was that the demon god’s near-resurrection had produced a thick miasma that had a harmful effect on the minds and bodies of people. Some occult magazines offered more eccentric theories, such as distortions in space-time or causality, but those were laughed off. Karan had been worried by her memory loss at first, but it soon stopped bothering her. The main reason for that was the job she’d found after being unsure about what to do with her life and asking Daffodil for help. Her cousin had gotten her a job as an idol bodyguard, which turned out to be pretty fun. The idols treated Karan with a strange kindness. That was especially true of Agate, who treated her almost like a little sister. She frequently invited Karan to eat or hang out, and eventually invited her to accompany her on tour to Cavern City. Agate had insisted on Karan coming with her, even going so far as to say she would cancel the tour if she didn’t. That was how Karan had ended up coming to this city. And yet, the more fulfilling her days became, the more she felt that something was missing. Her job was fun. She enjoyed spending time with her friends. Yet she had a nagging feeling that she used to share that fun with someone else. “All right, Daffodil and Agate! You two are way too overprotective of her. Karan wants to set off on her own—you should be supporting her!” “But Diamond… It’s too s—” Daffodil began before being interrupted. “Karan came with us on this trip. Now it’s our turn to hear her out,” Diamond said. Agate and Daffodil couldn’t argue with that. “Sorry… You’ve all already done so much to help me,” Karan said. “Geez, you’ve always been so headstrong,” Daffodil said. “Don’t push yourself too hard,” added Agate. They both smiled, their expressions pained. They relented to their little sister’s—and little sister figure’s—desire with affection. “That’s right, Karan. Don’t let anyone scam you,” Diamond warned. “Don’t worry, I’ll be just fine!” Karan said. And so Karan took her first steps as an explorer of Cavern City. Her goal was to find what she had lost. She was almost immediately scammed. Though they hadn’t succeeded in the end. “Let’s see, you said they tried to steal your wallet while you were sleeping?” asked the Sun Knight, who’d arrived at the scene to get Karan’s account of the incident. “Yeah,” Karan replied. “We’ve had a lot of trouble lately because of all the adventurers flooding in from Labyrinth City. But that’s pretty impressive. Capturing the inn proprietor and his explorer accomplices and handing them over to the knights yourself is no small feat.” “They were just careless.” “Still.” The Sun Knight looked at the proprietor and explorers, who had been tied up with rope, and laughed derisively. Karan’s first destination after leaving Moonlight Hall had been the Mine Seekers Explorers Guild, which operated for the purpose of exploring the Behemoth King Pit. It was a place where many new explorers gathered, making it similar to the Newbies Guild in Labyrinth City. Karan had found a recruitment poster, spoken to the people who’d put it up, and quickly been admitted into their party. It was a well-balanced team with a male light warrior, a priest, a swordsman, a female mage, and a priestess. They went right to an inn they used as their base to celebrate the addition of their new member. “It’s the middle of the day, but who cares! Drink up! This is a day of celebration!” Strangely, Karan’s new party members had all been drinking water; she could tell from the scent of their drinks. Her cup, meanwhile, was full of strong alcohol and had a strange herb-like smell to it. She quickly realized what this meant: They were after her wallet and equipment. Karan had pretended to be deceived. She’d drunk the alcohol along with an antidote she always carried around and feigned sleep, and she let them steal the money in her wallet and the idol badge she’d gotten as a souvenir. Then, when they were about to grab her most valuable possession, the Dragonbone Sword, she pounced. It had taken less than five minutes for her to incapacitate the proprietor of the inn and the five explorers. They insisted on their innocence, of course, claiming that Karan had suddenly attacked and tried to rob them. Unfortunately for them, however, the Dragonbone Sword had retained a bit of its functionality from when it had been the Sword of Resonance and could amplify voices and record sound. The sword had recorded the criminals saying things like, “She doesn’t have much in her wallet, but that sword looks like it would fetch a great price,” and “Same plan as always, old man. Mix that into her drink so we can knock her out.” When Karan played these voice clips for the Sun Knight who came to restore order, he whistled and showered her with praise. “Well done. My job would be a lot easier if all the adventurers who came from Labyrinth City were as careful as you.” “I learned during my adventurer days that it’s dangerous to trust people too easily,” Karan said. “…You’ve been through a lot, haven’t you? Well, good luck.” The knight left, leading the proprietor and explorers tied up behind him with ropes. Karan collected herself and went back to the Explorers Guild. Her entrance caused a stir; some of the people in the guild probably knew she’d joined a party of scammers, and seeing her come back alone frightened them. That was when Karan realized forming a party here was going to be harder than she had thought. The wary eyes of the explorers irritated her, and she lashed out by turning to a guild employee, raising her voice loud enough for all to hear, and saying, “Those explorers who tried to trick me were pathetically weak,” and, “The con men in Labyrinth City are a million times worse.” That only made people more antagonistic and wary toward her, though, and no one had responded when she’d asked them if they wanted to form a party. “…Who did I get that big mouth from?” Karan said with a sigh as she sat down at the bar area of the guild. It was busy, but everyone gave her a wide berth. She felt a strange sense of loneliness. Not because she wasn’t with Daffodil and the others, and not because she was in a foreign land, but because she felt like she’d just imitated someone who wasn’t there. She found herself irritated by his absence.