[Status]
　Name: Maria HP 92/92 MP 102/102 Class: slave
　Level 7.
　Strength 2.92 Strength 3.12 Skill 2.25 Speed 1.75 Wisdom 3.07 Magic 4.91 Qualities 1.52
　State: confusion 0.28
　Experience: 221/6400
　Equipment: iron knife
　　　　A sturdy cloak.
　　　　light skinned armor
　　　　leather gloves
　　　　clothes made of silk


I was told it was level 7: ......
Yeah, congratulations.

　After many experiments, we returned to earth, and the first thing we did was to level up.

　Maria was wandering and trembling as she stared at her two palms, knowing the results.
　I sipped on some tasteless soup and sent out appropriate congratulations.

　We're sitting in a corner of the bar having a light meal. After stopping by the church, the time was right.

'But I ....... I'm not doing anything ......?
That's a skill I have. It's a skill that raises the level of the people I'm with. That's why I took Maria into the labyrinth.

　Maria was taken aback by my actions, but now she would understand the justification for my actions.

'It's crazy!　Even the adults in the village were around level 5!　And yet, in just one day, it was so easy!　It's not supposed to go up to level 7--!

　Maria couldn't seem to believe that fact when she saw that the level had actually gone up, and she slammed the table with a shrill voice.

'Be quiet. I don't want people to know about this, it's too much trouble.

　I put my index finger up to my mouth.

　Honestly, it's a power I don't want people to know about.
　For example, if this leveling ability were to be known to the authorities of the country, I would definitely be ordered to be restrained.
　But even if that happens, I'm not going to get caught easily anymore. My level has grown since day one, and I've become an order of magnitude stronger in a literal sense.

'S-Sorry, sir. I'm distraught, Master .......

　Maria looks at me and immediately becomes sullen with an apology.

''So, don't do it master ....... Anyway, you've found out that with my abilities, Maria can explore the labyrinth too. In the past few hours, Maria has become stronger than most adults out there.
'It's foul. That skill: ......

　A shrill Maria mutters as she begins to eat.

　--Foul.

　Maria's 'penetrating eyes' decided that this was a foul.

''Yes. I agree with you.''

　I agree and continue to take my meal.

　With this party system, it is calculated that one skilled explorer a day will be produced. If my level of skill increases, I will be able to produce a number of substandard humans a day someday.

　I call the experiment a success.
　Now that I understand this system, the number of options has increased dramatically.

　I reaffirm the importance of understanding the 'display' and 'system'.
　I want to exceed the intentions of someone (...) who prepared this by repeating detailed experiments. If we do so, the time to reach the 'deepest' part of the labyrinth will be reduced at once.

''Welcome!''

　As Maria and I were quietly taking our meals, we heard the cheerful greeting of Lin-san, the waitress.

　It was supposed to be deserted during the day, but it seemed that a rare customer had entered the restaurant. I tried to look at the face of the customer who had come for a drink during the day, and the moment I recognized it, my face tightened up.

''--!　Maria, get your face out of the way, not unnaturally.
'What?　Oh, yes.

　I instruct Maria in a small voice.
　Maria is surprised by the suddenness of my instructions, but she quickly turns her head down.

　I kill myself and try to get past the customers who have come to the store.

　Maria is quietly sipping her soup as she watches it curiously. Then Maria's eyes move, and she catches something. The movement of her eyes stops behind me.

'Hey, Christ. Odd.

　My wishes were vain, and I heard a voice behind me calling my name.

'............,'
You need me?

　Maria shook the spoon in her hand, prompting me to respond.

　I really wanted to pretend not to notice. But now that Maria has responded, I can't continue to do so.

　I have no choice but to turn back.

'Alty, what do you want?'
That's cold. They're good for each other. --Yeah, sweetie, I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to sit with you.

　The one who turned around was Alti (how did this guy get his uniform ......) in the Eltralieu Academy uniform. In addition, there was one more woman in the company.

''Eh?　It's Christ!　Really!

　It was Flanlure.

'Hi. It's been a while. Mr. Flanlure: ......'
'I'm so impressed!　Alty says he's going to take us to a good place, and guess what!　I didn't expect to be able to see Christ so quickly and in love with Him!

　No way, really.
　How is it possible that it's so early?
　They're supposed to be at Etralieu College in the northwest corner of the Federation.

Here. Move in, Christ.

　Arti approached me to share a seat, as he should. I'm reluctant to do so, but I move next to Maria to make room for the two of them to sit.

　They sit down with great enthusiasm and begin ordering from Lin-san.

　The four of us have to sit around the table, with no peace of mind.
　I begin to ponder how to get out of this place while watching their faces as they order.

　And while I was peeking at their faces, I realized that Arti was concerned about Maria. Since she doesn't know her name, I wonder if she's peeking at the right time to introduce herself. Franlure is ...... yeah, Maria doesn't seem to be in the eye.

　For now, it seems like it would be best to introduce ourselves.

'Ah, this is Maria. I've become your companion in the search for the labyrinth.
Hi, I'm Maria.

　Without pulling back on their odd presence, Maria thanked them firmly.

'I'm Arti. Nice to meet you.
It's Flanlure, the seventh daughter of House Helvillestein.

　Arti curtsied lightly, and Flanlure stepped back and told him his name.

'So Arti, what do you want? 'I'm busy,'
Well, I just happened to meet you here.
'No, of course not. There's no way we'd accidentally run into each other while having lunch, and I didn't tell you about this tavern. You had some kind of ability to know where I was, didn't you?

　I'm sure Arti doesn't know that I'm a clerk in this tavern.
　Even if he did know, it would be strange for him to come here at this time of day. In other words, Arti is likely to have the skills to find out where I am. From the way he talked yesterday, he could expand his hearing if there was a fire.

As you can see," he said, "I use the fire to increase my perceptual range. I can increase my perceptual range with flames. As you can see, I can increase my perceptual range with fire. Yes, this is fate. And that fate is my business. You see, Christ.

　Fate is the use.
　In other words, I suppose it's the fulfillment of love that brought Franlure to me.

　I will deal with Arti as coldly as possible. Never let him have the slightest hope in this regard.

''That fate, you said you couldn't budge it yourself, didn't you?　Be quiet and find someone else.
Well, it's something I'm willing to try.

　We talk in the abstract about love requests.
　Franlure and Maria looked like they had no idea what they were talking about.

'Alty, just relax and wait. I have some things to do on my own. Don't rush me.
'I can't help it. It's not my intention to interrupt you. I'll keep my mouth shut any longer.

　With that, Arti would be quiet.
　When that happens, it's Franlure's turn to look for an opportunity. He immediately leans forward and asks a question.

'Dear Christ!　I have a question for you!　Well, well, I guess the first thing--

　Franlleure is trying to figure out where I am - where I live, where I eat, what my favorite places are, etc. - at every moment. ...

Yeah, I'm always staying at the wrong place. I don't eat much or anything.

　In response, I told a big lie that I didn't live in a certain place. I answer the questions, making sure not to give Franlleure any information about me.

　In this way, as I chatted with Franlleure, the topic of conversation naturally turned to the labyrinth. It could be that I'm only interested in the labyrinth, but it seems that Franlleure doesn't dislike talking about the labyrinth either.

　In order to make the most of the time, I'm going to gather information while eating.
　On the way, Arti interrupted me as if he was curious about something.

''--Eh, did you run?　All the way to the fifth level of the labyrinth with Maria on your back?

　Arti curiously asked back about my method of exploring the labyrinth.

'Yes, but shouldn't I?'

　Arti, who had been trying to stay out of Franlure's conversation as much as possible, interrupted, and I was curious to ask him back.

''No, I just thought it was surprising. Christ is a dimensional attribute wizard, right?　Then I thought you could do space transfer magic?
Wait a minute. How do you know I'm a dimensional wizard?

　Although there were other words that came up that bothered me, that's the first thing that's important.
　I've never mentioned such things, and I've never actively used magic 《Dimension》 in front of Arti.

''Oh, you hid it from me. Then I'm sorry. I know your fighting style and magic very well, and it was very much like an old acquaintance of mine. I think this acquaintance used to do space transfers: ....... I'm pretty sure he did, and I'm sure it was .......

　Arti let his words fall on their asses.
　He said it himself, and looked like he couldn't believe what he was saying.

'What the hell. It's not clear.'
'No. Suddenly I remembered something from the past. I don't know why: ....... Anyway, there's some dimensional magic that can shorten the movement of the labyrinth. --right?　Fran, the top classroom student at El Tralieu,

　So he shakes the story to Franliure. Arti may have thought he was shaking her up to let her have flowers, but she gives him a troubled look.

''Eh. Jitsu, it's dimensional magic ......?　Sure, I feel like there were some minor attributes like that ....... But even I, a quintessential stone, can't get to every single magic attribute that won't be tested: ......
'Huh?　Are dimensional attributes that minor in this era?
Yes, it's a level of attribute that no one else in the institute has.
'Wow. I feel a generation gap.

　Arti looks truly surprised, but for me, I'm concerned that she's been using expressions like an old man without reservation since a while ago.
　From the way she speaks, she seems to be telling Franlure that she is not old enough to be her age. I was curious about what kind of relationship Arti had with her, but I didn't want to get too deep, so I decided to keep quiet.

　Arti finds out that Franlle doesn't know and starts to explain herself.

''Since Fran-chan doesn't know, I'll explain it to you. The property of dimensional magic is to control space. That means understanding, manipulating and connecting space. Ultimately, it creates and destroys space. There is a magic in that magic that connects space to space. As I recall, it's called the Connection. If you use it, I don't think you'll be able to run with Maria as a piggyback.
Is that really possible: ......?

　I'm surprised by expressions like destroying space.
　I knew that as the level went up, the magic would transform into something substandard, but my body trembled when I heard that it would destroy space.

''I can do it. See, imagine the magic. Let's imagine a door connecting space to space, let's create a bit of magic (...). I'm sure Christ can do it. --I'm sure Christ can do it.

　Excitedly, Arti tells me to create magic.

　I'm skeptical and try to construct an image as Arti tells me.
　But when Franlure and Maria see this, they shout out, "Arti!

''What? Arti!　You can't create magic!
'Yes, that's right!　Creating magic is only in fairy tales!

　The sound of their voices startles me and I let the image fizzle out.
　Me and Arti look at each other.

'Yes, Christ. Can't you create magic in this day and age?

　Arti backs away from the two swordsmen and passes to me.

'Don't ask me. I only know it to the extent that I thought you'd learn it on your own as you progressed through the levels, this one.
'No, I'm like that too. That magic is usually woven through talent and ideas.

　Arti and I unexpectedly disagreed with each other.
　Hearing the opinions of Arti and I, Maria quickly refutes them.

''There's no way. Basically, you can't learn to use magic on your own. The exception to this is that children of wizard families may recall and use the magic of their ancestors, but they are far from 'creating' it. You can only get magic by imprinting the wisdom of our ancestors in their blood. You can't create magic from nothing.

　In line with Maria's rebuttal, Flanlure is next to continue with his words.

To be precise, the magic stone carved into the magic formula is swallowed and memorized by the blood in the body. You will be able to see that there are some children who are able to use magic from the time they are born. But that's on the premise that there are parents who drank the magic stone. In other words, the only way to learn to use magic is to drink the magic stone. There's no magic like you two think.

　Franlure supplemented Maria's story with terms that she would have learned at the Academy.
　This is first-hand information that could not be gleaned from the discourse of the searchers.

　Apparently, Maria and Flanlure seem to have a deep knowledge of magic.
　I'm not going to be able to get any more stimulation from the two of them, who are a little bit angry, so I reply.

'Wow, okay, ....... Thank you for telling me about magic. Um, I mean, is drinking a magic stone with a magic formula in it the correct way to learn magic ......?
You will.
Yes,

　Maria and Flanlure nodded at the same time.
　Apparently, there was no mistake in my answer. I think it's a good idea to continue talking about the magic stone.

It's a good idea to go out and buy that magic stone today: ......?

　I make sure Maria and I are done eating and begin to make an excuse to get out of here.
　Maria agrees, as if she doesn't want to prolong her meal with a stranger.

'That would be nice. Now that we're all full, let's get going.'

　Me and Maria try to sit down to do some shopping.

'So, then!　Christ, I'll show you around!　I know of a shop that has the finest magic stones in the world--
'Hey, hey, Fran. You have things to do today, right?　We're on the edge of time for stopping here. We'd better give that up.
'Guh, guh, guh. That was it. ....... I'll have to give up this time. ......

　Apparently, the two of us don't have much time to spare.
　Arti stops Flanlure, who was about to follow us.

The best thing to do is to have a good time. The two of you can have a leisurely dinner.

　I pay Lin to leave as quickly as possible and turn to leave the shop.
　Maria thanks them both and tries to leave quickly as well.

'Well, I'll see you later. Christ, Maria.
'Christ. I'll see you again when I get a chance!

　We say our final goodbyes and Maria and I leave the store.

　I think back to the shop in my memory, which is related to magic, and start walking.
　Maria follows me as I begin to walk and speaks to me.

'Oh, are we really going?'

　Maria seemed to think that the magic stone thing was just an excuse to escape.

'Just in case. I'm starting to get curious.
''It's fine if you're at least curious, but magical carved magic stones are expensive. To someone who goes to the academy, it's just a purchase, but to the average person, it's a terrifying price.''
I'll be fine. I have money.

　Apparently, I need a lot of money to learn magic. But I still have my remaining money.
　Although I spent ten gold coins on the new house and four gold coins on Maria, I still have seven gold coins left. I don't intend to do anything with it, but since I'm also in possession of 20 gold coins, Dia's share, it's unlikely that I will run out of money.

　It's a good thing that you have a budget of about six gold coins when it comes to learning magic, because a single gold coin won't interfere with your life for the time being.

I'm going to go and see for now. If possible, I'd like Maria to learn some magic.
What?

　Maria's priority is higher than mine.
　I'm sure you'll be able to see that the sword is more offensive and easier to use, and ...... even if you learned a new magic, most of your MP would go to dimensional magic. It's a very good idea to have a good idea of what you're doing.

　That's why I said I would make Maria learn magic.
　Only, Maria replies with a look of incredulity.

''You're giving me magic?''
We're going to send Maria to explore the maze. I'll invest that much money.

　Now that she's at level 7, I'm going to let her help me with some simple combat.
　As far as her status is concerned, Maria's magic power is outstanding. If only she learns magic, she will surpass the average explorer.

''You don't think I'll just run away after learning magic?''
...... I don't think so. I mean, Maria doesn't have anywhere to run, does she?

　Maria doesn't seem to be keen on the idea.
　On the contrary, she suggests to me that she might run away if she learns to use magic.
　I lightly dismissed that.

''That's a case of no power. It's a different story if I've reached such a high level and can use more magic. If I was thinking of running away and selling the information on my master's abilities and using the money to stand on my own ...... what would you do!

　Maria raised her voice in response to my light attitude.
　It's true that what Maria says is fair.
　But even if that's the case, I don't mind.

You can run away, but I don't want my information to leak out ....... I'd appreciate it if you would just keep the information to yourself then. Please.
'To ......, if you run away, your master is none of my business!
'I have a feeling Maria wouldn't do that. ...... maybe.
......!

　Maria was speechless at my light tone of voice.

　This is a difference in consciousness.
　I don't care either way - I think it's an acceptable problem no matter how it turns out. That's why I'm saying all the right things.

　Maria thinks it's a mortal sin for a slave to disobey her master - she thinks it's only natural for her to serve her master. So she takes things very seriously.

............
............

　Maria continues to accuse me of being silent.

　I could go on at length about Maria's freedom again, but that would be a repeat of yesterday.
　In the first place, Maria, who has "penetrating eyes," would have guessed what I was going to say during this silence. That's why I didn't want to say anything.

'Huh ......, already ....... You can say that with confidence there: ......

　It was Maria who broke the silence first.
　As expected, she seemed to have figured out what I wanted to say with her 'penetrating eyes'. Then she blamed my lack of confidence in 'maybe'.

　Like me, he seems to have decided that it's useless to argue about the difference in consciousness.

'I don't know Maria well enough to be able to say that. It's just that the kind of girl who would say such a thing in the first place wouldn't do it. I don't think they should be .......
'What's that theory? It's naive.

　It's knowledge of movies and comics in the original world.
　That's the kind of thing that happens in a lot of storytelling theories.

'I know it's naive,' he said, 'but I'm not going to change my policy. But I'm not going to change my policy. I'm going to go buy Maria's magic now.
'It's sweet ....... Really sweet .......

　Maria walks off, continuing to mutter.
　She complains a lot, but she seems to follow my policy for now.

　I guess that if it looks like this, it will be fine.

　But to be honest, I can't rely on such a guess. I don't have the ability to see people.
　I'm sure I'll never be able to acquire the ability to steal a glance at people's statuses and judge them based solely on their numbers.

''Haha.''

　Resenting my own s*xuality (saga) like that, I laughed at Maria and we started walking side by side to the store.