Chapter 65

“Hey—! Misaki, don’t just run away…!” “Calm down, Misaki… Ahhh…?!” Misaki flung the door open to find Igarashi, Louisa, and Falma on the other side. “Oh my,” said Louisa. “I’d thought perhaps we could all enjoy a bit of fun as we would on a little adventure, but…” “I do apologize,” Falma added, “but it was past the time we had expected Suzuna to return, and we were debating whether to come in and call her…” “Sorry, I thought we should’ve been a little quieter…,” said Igarashi. “No, I’m sorry for keeping her for so long…” “Thank you. We’re all done now. Well then, Arihito, I’ll head back to my room.” Suzuna got her things and went back to the bedrooms with the rest of the ladies—or so I thought, until the door opened once more and Falma popped her head inside. “…Mr. Atobe, have you been naughty?” “N-no. I promise I didn’t do anything.” “Hee-hee… Considering what Misaki said, then… Oops, I think perhaps I’m teasing you.” “Falma, what—?” “Good night, Mr. Atobe.” Before I could ask what she meant, Falma’s smiling face disappeared behind the door. “……” “…What’s up?” Theresia had made to touch my shoulder, but when I turned around she snapped her hand back. “Guess we should get to bed… You should get a good night’s rest, too, Theresia.” “……” She nodded and curled up on the sofa. I brought her a blanket and laid it over her so she wouldn’t catch a cold. Theresia drew it in close, only her head peeping out, and looked at me. I didn’t check the curse mark on her nape. Evidently, the Evil Domination had not progressed much since we’d last left the labyrinth. I followed suit and lay down, then closed my eyes. Just as I was wondering whether I’d be able to get some sleep, I heard Ariadne’s voice. “…My dear devotee, may you rest soundly in my protection.” It echoed like a lullaby in my mind. Rest when you must; that was the quickest route to reaching our goal. I cracked my eyes open one last time and saw Theresia still facing me, already fast asleep. Part IV: Unlocking The next morning, Maria ordered supplies from the Forest Diner and prepared breakfast for us. She’d apparently stayed up talking for a bit with Louisa and the others the previous night, but she was still the first to emerge from their bedroom ready for the day. By the time she entered the living room, she’d already donned her apron, now over casual clothes instead of her uniform. “Good morning, Mr. Atobe. Would you like bread with your breakfast? I’ve also cooked some rice if that’s what you prefer.” “Sure, I’ll have rice, please… Ah, uhhh, sorry. You just woke up and I’m already putting you to work.” “…On the contrary. Thank you for allowing me to stay the night. I hadn’t planned on it, but it made me very happy to hear you welcome me so warmly.” “I’m glad to hear it. Are the others still asleep?” “Ms. Kyouka and Louisa are awake. I also saw Ms. Suzuna in the bathroom.” Evidently, the adult faction of our group rose early to prepare for the day, while I was still rubbing the sleep from my eyes. I should learn to be more like them. “……” Theresia also had already woken, her blanket folded neatly on the sofa. She toddled over to me and folded my coverlet, too. “Thank you. Did you sleep well last night?” “……” She nodded. I didn’t want to seem overly worried; she looked fine, so I figured I could rest easy for now. Melissa and her family were staying in another room we’d been able to rent. After deciding I’d go over and ask them to join us for breakfast, I started changing into my usual suit. Before returning to her party’s home base, Ferris told us she would stay in District Five for the foreseeable future and once again promised to help with our mission—or at least that’s how Melissa interpreted her mother’s thoughts for us. We were just about to head out for the day, but not before a chat with Melissa. I’d told the others, who had already stepped out, that we’d catch up after. “My mom’s twice as strong as I am. She’ll be a big help. She used to be a Ranger, but now she’s a Felid Fighter.” “Ranger… Is that similar to a member of a specialized military force?” “She said before she came to this country, she was a…parole officer?” She must’ve been much more active than I’d been as a regular office worker. And yet even she had experienced the cold grip of death. That was what it meant to be a demi-human. I wanted to learn how to turn Theresia back into a human, a technique Ferris and I both longed to discover. But helping us with our battle against the Simian Lord would eat up the time she would otherwise be spending on that. “I…don’t understand everything my mom is thinking. But if I go, she’ll fight with me… That’s what it seemed like she was saying.” “…I see. We’ll have to find a way to thank her, for sure.” “I think she’d say she doesn’t need thanks. She was always the driving force pulling my dad everywhere. She’s pretty open and frank.” Melissa’s gaze softened with fond recollection, though it was also undeniably tinted with sadness. “My dad wouldn’t stop talking about you last night. He said you’re amazing.” “O-oh yeah…?” The compliment left me a little embarrassed, but once I realized that meant he trusted me, I felt a sense of relief. Rikerton was lending us the assistance of his entire family, after all. “My mom kept nodding along… But then I felt like a third wheel, so I asked Suzuna and Misaki to go outside with me.” “You did, huh…? W-well, that’s, uh…” I stayed cool as she related the story, but Melissa was essentially telling me she’d given her parents some private time, right? Her consideration impressed me, but I wasn’t sure how to handle this extremely delicate topic. “…By the time I got back, they were both asleep. It looked like my mom had put my dad to sleep.” Why is she telling me all this? Maybe she wants to keep me up to date with whatever she does when she’s away from the party, even if it’s with family? I appreciate that. “Did you share the bed with them, too?” “…My mom said it was okay.” “Right… That’s good. It feels nice, doesn’t it?” I didn’t grow up with my parents, but sometimes the teachers at the orphanage would take naps with us, and it was incredible how much it put me at ease. Melissa was mature and a formidable fighter, but she still had some childish aspects that were more in line with her age. As the adult in the situation, I knew I’d need to keep watching over her. Although I can’t say that sharing the same bed is how we should all be going about that. “…!” I patted Melissa’s head, which startled her at first. But then she lowered her eyes just a little. “…I’m not a kid…but…” I’d thought she might protest along those lines. But before I pulled my hand back, I heard her whisper: “…I guess…I don’t mind so much…if you do it, Arihito…” “A-all right…” Although I was relieved that she wasn’t angry, I wasn’t sure whether I should continue since Melissa was acting so different from normal. “…Suzuna said you patted her head, too. Misaki said her heart pounded just watching.” Yeah, I guess they would share that info among themselves. I wonder what they think of me, the constant head petter… Just imagining it gives me the creeps. “But…that wasn’t all they said…” “Hm…? Wh-what wasn’t?” “…Never mind. I don’t want you to change.” “Huh…?” “I’m gonna go.” With that brief goodbye, Melissa left. In any event, it seemed the head pets hadn’t been a fiasco. Not that I should break them out every day, but… It sounded like she was trying to say something… Maybe she wanted me to activate Charge Assist? Magic should be replenished with a good night’s sleep, but maybe there’s some kind of mood aspect to it, too? “……” As I got lost in my thoughts, the door opened and Theresia peeked in at me. She’d apparently been loyally waiting for me outside. I double-checked that I hadn’t forgotten anything and then rushed out into the hall. We first asked Falma to continue where we’d left off the day before and open the remaining Black Box. We couldn’t dismiss the chance that we might face off against another armament, so I had everyone gather and prepare for battle. After teleporting to the chest cracking room, Falma held her hand over the Black Box. A half-translucent, three-dimensional maze unfolded from within. Falma guided her magic through it. “Ohhh… So we’re going easy on me today, are we…? But I know the truth. There’s always a catch… Heh-heh, see? What did I tell you? There’s no point in trying to fool me, my dear… I see right through you… Not there, here…!” She must have been getting used to opening these Black Boxes; usually, our palms would get sweaty with anticipation as we watched her fiercely tackle the mazes, but this one took hardly any time at all. “It’s opening…!” Lines etched into the surfaces of the black cube glowed with a faint blue light, which then expanded and blinded us with a sheet of white. ♦Chest Opened♦ Black Box: Acquired in ?TREASURE LABYRINTH > ?Magic tool > ?Rusty weapon > ?Plate mail > ?Charm > ?Cloak > Mystrium Medallion > Gold coins x832 > Silver coins x158 > Copper coins x153 > White olden kingdom coins x18 There were also a few more items not listed, but they were either damaged or things we could easily buy, so I decided to ignore them for now. “So many coins, just like always…and that’s awesome and all, but what the heck is this…?” “Misaki, you’d better not touch that just yet,” Elitia warned. Misaki chuckled bashfully. Misaki—not to mention the rest of us—already had a few chilling experiences with unexpected teleportation, like when she’d found the platform leading to a hidden floor in the Field of Dawn.