Almost without a moment's pause after deciding on the members to accompany me, I decided to step further into the realm of the Demon King's Castle underground labyrinth.

　The travel time to the Demon King's Castle was even shorter than before.

　Since the war ended and the Demon King's Castle Realm was no longer within the sphere of influence of Demon King Gandalf, the transportation infrastructure connecting the human side's original base of operations, the Hollow Bottom Fortress, and the new base of operations, the Demon King's Castle, has been improving at a rapid pace.

　In particular, the shortest route connecting the two strongholds has been prioritized, and it is now possible to leave in the morning with a horse and carriage and arrive at several relay points by night if you exchange horses.

　Also interestingly, the dwarves who ran the station house at the relay points were the dwarves who had previously lived in this dungeon.

　In order to recover from the loss of the town burned to the ground by the Demon King's army, they are earning Westland's currency by doing business for humans and using it to fund the town's reconstruction.

　The kingdom and the guilds are probably aware of this and have entrusted the work to them as a kind of support.

　Passing through the castle town, which also had an increase in business for humans, and staying overnight at the Demon King's Castle, which is under the control of the Golden Fang Knights, the time has finally come for me to visit the lower realm--










Um, ...... you won't get lost on the way, will you?

　While walking through the labyrinth, which was dim compared to the outside, Erica let out an uneasy voice.

　The people accompanying me this time are Sakura, Nagi and Melissa from the adventurers, Erica from the ordinary people, and Garnett and Mark from the knights, for a total of six people.

　The reason why Hild, a member of the Knights, is away from home is simply because he has work related to construction work at the headquarters.

It's okay. I know exactly how to get to the next level. It's not a problem as long as you don't get lost on the way.

　I didn't mean to say anything particularly threatening, but perhaps she took it as a warning not to deviate, Erica squeezed her lips together and closed the distance between her and me.

　In fact, deviation does not mean immediate danger.

　There are adventurers wandering around the regular route, so it's unlikely that you'll run into a demon or something, and most of those adventurers are also regulars in the shop or are Travis' men.

　So, as long as you don't wander aimlessly, there is no danger - until you pass through the labyrinth.

''Hey, white wolf. We're just going to see what happens this time, so don't get too deep into it.

　I reaffirm the basic premise of our roles as Garnett grabs my clothes from beside me and pulls me closer.

'I know. We're not going as adventurers.

　Until Noir's escape, the Millennium Corridor of the Abyss, where no one had stepped through and returned.

　The 'Demon King's Castle Realm' spreads out beyond it.

　The place we're heading to is even deeper than these.
　I'd be lying if I said it didn't inspire the drive and curiosity I had when I was an adventurer.

　But I think I understand my current position and role in the world.

　I'm not foolish enough to step out of my territory to the point of causing trouble for everyone else.

　-- Aside from that, moving through the underground labyrinth was smoother than expected.

　Although the order is complicated, the routes are completely mapped out and there are markers placed here and there to indicate the direction of travel.

　Hidden passageways, which would normally be hard to find just by themselves, are fully open and fixed, so it's safe to say that there is absolutely no chance of getting lost along the way.

　Eventually, they reached a large downward spiral staircase.

　As we were descending the spiraling staircase along the inner wall of the hollow tower, Erica looked out of the doorless window opened in the wall and exclaimed in surprise.

'Wha, what the hell is this!　It's totally different from 'Demon King's Castle Realm': ......!
...... I knew this moment was the best part of dungeon exploration.

　The scene outside the window was the exact opposite of the "Demon King's Castle Realm" which was composed of rocky mountains and wilderness.

　Under the dark night sky, gentle green forests and mountains spread out underneath the dark night sky, and a percentage of the ground surface was covered by underground lakes of various sizes, connected to which were countless rivers.

　It's like a cold region with abundant water resources and greenery.

Wait, what?　If this is the basement of the 'Demon King's Castle Realm', was the subterranean lake where the Falcon fell in also located somewhere on this level: ......?

　In the past, the brave Falcon, transformed and controlled by the Demon King's army into a dragon man, launched an attack on the Hollow Bottom Fortress under construction.

　At that time, because he prioritized his recriminations against me, the fortress became an escape drama with no regard for the fortress, and it developed into a one-on-one battle deep underground in the ancient ruins.

　In the end, we saw a resolution by dismantling the floor of the ruins and dropping it to the lower level, but the underground lake that I saw at that time was probably the lake of this level.

''I mean, where am I!　Where are we now?　I'm looking down on you from a great height!

　As if to appease the confused Erica, Sakura calls out to her in a calm manner.

'Probably some kind of tower that runs from the ceiling to the surface of this hierarchy. I don't know who built it, but it's a big deal.'
'It's not going to collapse in the middle, is it?　It's okay!　Hey, hey, manager!
''Well ...... I did a quick [analysis] and there doesn't seem to be anything physically fragile about it. I don't know if the area around Garnett would go wild, but ...... ouch!

　With Garnet poking me in the side, I reach the bottom of the tower while calming Erica, who is filled with anxiety, and reach the bottom of the tower.

　Just by stepping out of the tower, an air of a completely different sensation from the upper level of the 'Demon King's Castle Realm' is blown in.

　The air was so cool that if you wore light clothes, you might even feel a chill, and the air was filled with the smell of earth and greenery and the right amount of moisture.

　The air is so cool that you almost forget that you are deep underground.

　The shores of the great forest lakeside near my home village also felt like this at the end of the summer season.

''It looks like the adventuring party that preceded us has a camp over there. Let's meet up with them for now.''

　Nagi spotted the camp lights.

　No matter how quiet it looks, we are in the middle of a dungeon.
　It's hard to know where the magical beasts are lurking, and we can't ignore the miasma that was reported in the report.

　Anyway, I decided to head straight for the camp, thinking that the top priority should be to join up with them.

　It's a good idea to go up the hill covered in short grass and enter the camp, which is lined with tents on high ground with a good view.

　--The place looks like a field hospital.