A deafening sound echoed through the dungeon as boulders crashed against the overhang of the ledge where Meikyo Shisui was sheltering. Haruka screamed helplessly as she watched Nao and Natsuki fall together, but her voice was lost in the cacophony. The rest of Meikyo Shisui had been able to retreat to the plank trail, away from the cliff edge, but that meant they had been some distance from Nao and Natsuki. Nao had been able to catch Natsuki because he’d acted swiftly. Given the distance between them, he’d had no time to ponder the decision.
“B-Big bro Nao fell down!”
“Wh-What should we do?!”
The blood had drained from Metea’s and Mary’s faces, and they were scampering aimlessly back and forth along the ledge. When Haruka saw that the sisters were panicking, she took a deep breath to calm herself.
“Don’t worry. Nao didn’t fall,” she said. “He made a conscious decision to leap after Natsuki.”
“...He didn’t leap without thinking, did he?” Mary asked.
“No. I’m confident that he had a good reason for acting swiftly.”
Though Haruka’s tone was calm, her face, too, was white as paper, and her fists were tightly clenched, as if she was fighting to restrain her emotions. Before the dust from the rockslide had fully settled, she dashed up to the edge of the cliff and looked over. However, she saw nothing but mist. There was no sign of Nao and Natsuki.
“Damn it!”
Haruka had expected this outcome, but she clenched her fists even tighter. It was as if reality had slapped her in the face. Yuki walked over to Haruka and gently caressed her hands in an attempt to soothe her. Haruka shook her head before relaxing and holding hands with Yuki.
“Calm down, Haruka,” said Yuki.
“I know, I know.”
Haruka kept repeating those words to herself in an effort to steady herself.
Suddenly, a voice from behind them asked, “Did you see them?”
When Haruka turned, she saw Touya. “You sure got here quickly.”
“I mean, yeah, considering what just happened, I had a reason to hustle.” Looking troubled, Touya pointed behind him, where the very end of the rope ladder was visible under a pile of rocks. “The rope ladder is under there, though.”
This was inevitable; the rope ladder had been secured to the section of the cliff that had collapsed earlier. It wouldn’t be impossible to retrieve the ladder, but the rocks that had fallen onto it were taller and bigger around than Touya himself, so it would have taken the party a considerable amount of time to shift them.
“So what next, Haruka?” Touya asked. “Do you want me to use the longest rope we have on us and climb down after them?”
“Well...”
Haruka looked back and forth between the cliff and the somber expression on Touya’s face. Finally, she shook her head.
“I don’t think you should attempt that without Nao’s help,” said Haruka. “I know you’re equally capable of scouting out foes, but there are still the flying needlefish to deal with, and we might encounter new monsters as well. It’s all too risky.”
“Gotcha,” said Touya. “By the way, I’m kinda surprised by how calm you are.”
“I have to be calm in order to fulfill the role I took on voluntarily.” Haruka gently touched her left ring finger. “If I were to collapse right now, I couldn’t face Nao later.”
Still, she wasn’t able to conceal her true feelings perfectly: Her hands were trembling.
“Personally, I think a little panicking might do you some good,” said Yuki. “But anyhow, you said you’re pretty sure Nao had a good reason for doing what he did?”
“I am. I’m sure you’ve observed it yourself from time to time—after Nao and I learned what this floor would be like, both of us invested considerable time in practicing the spell Airwalk,” said Haruka. “Neither of us has mastered it yet, but we can slow our speed of descent while falling. The only trouble is that I’m more proficient than Nao is. I’m the one who should have jumped after Natsuki. Ugh...”
“It’s not your fault,” said Yuki. “Nao just happened to be in a better position. And besides, if we have to split our party into two groups, it’s better not to have you and Natsuki in the same group, so I think Nao made the right decision.”
“Yeah, I agree,” said Touya. “This way, we’ve got people with Time Magic and Light Magic in both groups. It could be worse. I’m sure they can teleport back in no time if Nao’s still alive.”
The two youngest members of the party immediately interjected.
“That’s really mean, big bro Touya!”
“Why did you have to say something like that, Touya-san?!”
“O-Oh, uh...”
The sisters even went so far as to express their anger with their fists. Although they were still children, their punches were powerful, and Touya’s chain mail wasn’t very resistant to blunt force, so he covered his chest and groaned in pain.
“Mary, Metea, please calm down,” said Haruka. “I’m sure Touya didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.” She shot Touya a glance. “Right, Touya?”
Touya swiftly nodded.
“Gosh, you really picked the wrong time for that kind of chatter, Touya,” said Yuki. “But yeah, you’re right—they should be able to teleport back. They might go back to the entrance of the twenty-first floor, but still, I think it would be a good idea to bury a teleportation marker here.”
“Mm. Let’s do that and wait here for a bit,” said Haruka.
“I guess I’ll go and dig the rope ladder out from under those boulders,” said Touya. “I hope it didn’t get completely crushed.”
“We’ll have to examine it,” said Haruka. “Of course, it’s made of wire, but even so, I’m not sure whether it can withstand that kind of damage.”
“Can you handle all those rocks, Touya?” Yuki asked. “It would be easier if I did it with magic, but...”
“Yeah, don’t worry about it. You need to save your mana wherever you can. But the biggest chunks are gonna be a pain in the ass to break up, so I may need your help.”
“Okay,” said Yuki.