After escaping back from the 21st layer, we each begin to rest.
　Maria lay down in her room and stayed in her room and withdrew, while Rustyala went out early, saying he had some business to attend to.

　I could have used this time to discuss the future with Maria, but she softly refused, saying she wanted to be left alone. I also wanted to think about things alone, so I didn't want to force myself to talk about it.

　After the labyrinth exploration ahead, I really have a lot to think about.
　Me and Maria's inexperience, but we also have to consider skills and magic.

　The new magic, Dimensional Snow, is fine. The magic Connection is also a success, and the 20 layers of doors are covered with black cloth for camouflage, so they won't break down anytime soon. Unless there's something very wrong, there shouldn't be any high-level searchers who would search every inch of the 20th layer.

　More importantly, the problem is the "? The problem is the "?
　The problem is the "? I'm not going to be able to get my hands on it.
　I'll be able to use the "? I'm not sure I'll be able to get away with it. Use the skill "? The only thing that will be lost is the ability to use the "? I never thought it would be so horrible to be able to change something about myself without my knowledge.

　To avoid the crisp confusion 10.00, I tried to avoid using the skill "? to avoid a crisp and confusing 10.00, I tried to avoid using the ? I'm not sure I'd ever use the "??" skill if it weren't as fierce as the Teeda fight or if I was involved with slaves. ?" would not be used. As long as you're not in a hurry, it shouldn't be too often that you're as powerful as I am and in a tight spot.

　I finish formulating my future plans for my magic and skills and check the time.
　It's still a little early in the day, but I decide to head to the tavern for work. The earlier I gather information, the less time I'll waste.

　I tell Maria that I'm going out, change my clothes into something new, and head to the tavern.

　Nothing happened on the road, but as I was about to enter the tavern - I run into Rastiara, who just came out of the shop. Rastiara opens her mouth and is surprised.

''Ah.''
What, Rustyala?　What are you doing here?
'Ah!　I just remembered something. I'll see you later.

　Rastiara is leaving quickly.
　Apparently, it was awkward meeting me here.

　I was going to go after him, but I stayed. I don't know what Rastiara was doing in the tavern, but if I chase after him here, there's a chance I won't be able to make it to work in time. I have no choice but to enter from the back of the tavern.

'Christ-kun?　Oops. Why are you here?

　Lin-san was waiting in the back. And he looked at me curiously as I came in.

''Would it be bad if I came in?
'Well, Christ, I heard you're off today: ......
What?　Who is it from?
The manager.
I'll go to ...... and ask him.
You should.

　Are you off today?
　I have no plans to take a long vacation.

　However, if I can think of anything, it's Rustyala from earlier.

　I pass by Lin-san and head to the manager in the kitchen.
　There was a manager in the kitchen who was preparing food.

''Manager. Earlier, Lin-san told me that I'm off .......
Hey, Jesus. You scared the hell out of me.

　The manager replied in surprise as he called out from behind him. He was so focused on the pot that he didn't even notice it.

'Excuse me,'
No, it's all right. So, you're off, right? That's what the little lady at the Hoosier's told me, right?
'You mean the lady from Foozeyers, Rustyala?'
Rustyala?　Is that your name?
No, haven't you at least heard his name?
'You said you couldn't reveal your name: ......
Don't believe anything that guy says.

　There's a Lastiara-like quality to her behavior. Based on the fact that we passed each other earlier, she was the one who spoke with the manager, I'm sure she was the one who spoke with the manager.

I'm not sure if it's a good idea, but I'm sure it's a good idea.
That Woman (b*tc*) ......
So I've been pleading with you to give Christ a break until he can get his affairs in order, because I don't want to bother the shop. We don't want a guy like Raydiant to keep coming to us," he said. I said yes. He was polite, and he knew what was going on, so I knew it was a no-brainer: ......
'Oh, I see. ......'

　In other words, he rounded up our manager with that catnip.
　For what it's worth, our store manager has a soft spot for beautiful women. That's what everyone knows, whether it's yesterday's Raydiant-san, employee Lin, or ...... anyone who is close to the store manager.

　He must have been so bonded to the beautiful Lastiara that he didn't ask deeply.

　I understand the situation.
　But now we have to figure out why Rustyala acted this way.

　Perhaps, but it's an extension of my upcoming labyrinth exploration time. I'm pretty sure she was unhappy when I tried to cut off the search for work reasons.

　And one more thing. Maybe he's also collecting information. The guy tends to hate spoilers. It's possible that he didn't like the fact that my gathering of information up to layer 23 would be less fun.

　A really nasty one.

　But what's truly troubling is that he may have subconsciously calculated those two reasons and thought he was acting in good faith himself.
　The more time I've spent in contact with that guy, the more I've come to understand a little bit about how he thinks.

　I'm sure Rastiara is thinking, "It's more efficient to spend more time in the labyrinth than in the tavern--" "If you get used to exploring in a state of information gathering, it's dangerous after the 23rd level-- No doubt.

　I let out a deep sigh and continue to speak.

''Surely that guy is the young lady from the Hoosier's for example, that's for sure. What I'm saying isn't wrong either, so that's fine now: ......
Oh, you're right. The little lady's right. I'm taking a break.
Yes ......

　The leveling up on the first day, the fact that he had counted on the "Seven Celestial Knights" (Celestial Knights), the participation in the party, and the advice to Maria, all started from his own good intentions.

　Even though it was unnecessary meddling, once I realized that it was so, I was hesitant to repel that good intention from my head.

　However, I'm going to firmly blame him later for his selfishness. It was probably because Rastiara also knew she was being pushy that she escaped earlier.

''Well then, I'll get some time off: ......
Oh, go pay your bills. Colored man.

　It's too unwilling a title: .......
　Come to think of it, I think a knight told me that in the labyrinth: .......

　I'm going to be able to forgive the others, but I'll return the resentment of this dishonorable title one day.
　I'm not going to be able to get it right.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make the most of it.


◆◆◆◆◆ ...


　After leaving the tavern, I looked for Rustyala without a trace, but she never showed up because of the debt she owed me.
　Maria didn't come out of the room either.

　I had no choice, so I decided to show up at Dia's, the last member of the party.

　I walk past the hospital's reception desk to the ward where Dia is admitted.
　As I walk down the corridor, I notice that the area is changing.

　There's something about the corridor that is full of holes .......

　Scared to go down the airy corridor, I enter Dia's hospital room.
　Dia's hospital room is even worse than the corridor.

　The floor and walls are scorched and discolored, with holes everywhere boarded up. Many of the furniture and equipment were damaged and there was no longer any sense of security or cleanliness that I had experienced on previous visits.

　In such a changed hospital room, Dia was relaxing on the bed, unchanged.

'Dia ......?'
Oh, Christ.

　Me and Diah exchange greetings.
　The devastation doesn't seem to bother Dia.

"Hey, Dia, what's going on here? What the hell happened to this?
"Oh, oh, this room. ...... Sorry. I think this is going to cost me a bit of money to fix. Would you mind paying the receptionist out of my share?
'No, that's fine. It's Dia's money, of course. But more importantly, why don't you tell me what happened?
"Hmm. ...... enemy attack?

　Dia is a semi-questioning type, and she asked me back.
　I don't know if she's asking me.

'The enemy is here?　To the hospital?
Yeah, that's Alty. You know, the one I was in the back of when I fought Tida. I fought him.
Oh, that guy?

　It certainly makes sense then.
　Only guardians can operate outside the labyrinth, and the magic that guy deals with is the flame attribute. It explains the scorching of this floor and wall.

　But it doesn't conjure up images of Arti trying to fight. Rather--.

Did Alty put you up to this?
'Well, uh, ......, he didn't mess with me at all. It's all damage from my magic.
I knew it. ......

　That's not to say that they fought.

　Apparently, it was the result of Dia overreacting to Arti who came to mess with him.

　Come to think of it, when she tried to place the magic 《Connection》 at the 10th level, she said that the main body was busy. Maybe she was in the middle of having her magic shot by Dia.

'Sorry. We made our peace, but by then it was already in this state.
'No, I can't help it. I'm sorry I didn't explain to you about Arti, too.

　I was optimistic that I was the only one who was interested in Arti. But when I thought about it, I wasn't the only one who had defeated Tida. Dia is one of them.
　If that's the case, it wouldn't be surprising if she offered to negotiate with the man who granted Tida's wish.

　I regret my inadequate thinking and ask her what Arti did here.

'So, what did Arti want here?'
'Hmm. I just chatted with him at random and he taught me some magic. He was a nice guy.
Magic?
'You can't watch my flame magic and all that. Most of the scorching in the room is due to my practice of fire magic.
''Sure, that guy is a professional fire magician, but ......

　However, from the looks of it, he hadn't heard anything about 'love fulfillment'.
　Knowing Dia's personality, he might have decided that he wasn't the kind of person to ask for advice on love.

''So, has the magic changed?''
''Ah, it's a step different. I can now adjust the firepower of the 《Flame Arrow》. I've got my sacred magic instincts back, and I'm not the same person I was before anymore.
Oh.

　Firepower Adjustment.
　If you're a Deere with an inexhaustible supply of MP, you can always shoot as hard as you can, but it's better to be able to do it.

''I just got in a good mood and practiced too much, and the doctor got mad at me. He threatened me with death if I did that due to my magic deficiency.
'Like I said before, just don't push yourself. It will only extend your stay in the hospital.
'U......, that's something I want to avoid too. I'll keep it as quiet as I can.

　Deere is quiet when she is told about the length of her hospital stay.
　She doesn't seem to mean to prolong it.

　Then we pass the time by telling each other what's going on.
　Along the way, I cut to the chase about my friends.　

'- Yeah, yeah. I'll introduce you to them when I get out of the hospital, since I have more friends now.
Friends?
'Yeah, I've got more people to help me explore the labyrinth. I thought I'd let you know as soon as possible.
'Oh, that's great!'

　Dia seems happy and happy to have more friends. When we met before, she had oddly pushed for a solo challenge, and I thought she would object to it, but it seemed to be unfounded.

　From the looks of it, he has a mild admiration for large parties, perhaps because he couldn't get a party together before. However, since his long-awaited companions are those two guys who have personality issues, I'll keep the bar down so as not to raise undue expectations.

'Just don't expect too much because they're a bit weird,'
'Christ's chosen mate, right?　Then it must be a great companion for me.

　As usual, Dia is trusting me all over the place.
　It's a far cry from the twisted Maria or the crazy Rustyala. The naive look in Dia's eyes is very comforting now.

...... They're the ones with some personality difficulties, so I'm not sure I'll be able to get along with Dia.
I'll do my best. I'm gonna have to work on my magic for them.
'Quicksilver, Dear ....... But don't take it easy.

　Too dazzling: .......
　What a good girl. I'm so thankful to God that I met Deere.

'--just so long as he's the kind of guy who gets in the way of Christ's dream, I'll have a little say in the matter.

　As I was thanking God, I heard Dia's little murmur in my ear.

'Huh?'
Yeah, well, if you're going to interfere with my search for the labyrinth, that's a different story.
'Oh, yeah. Of course.

　If I'm not mishearing, I said "my dream". I know that Deere is a compassionate guy, but I feel a little uncomfortable with that expression.

'Christ. If you've made more friends, then you've made progress in your search for the labyrinth, haven't you?　Just tell me the story.
Yeah, sure.

　But soon enough, there will be no time to find out how uncomfortable it is, as Diah is pestering me to talk.

　Sharing information about the labyrinth is a high priority errand. With a wizard as talented as Dia, I want her to help me as soon as she returns.

　I start talking slowly and carefully about the monsters up to the 20th level.
　There's a lot to talk about. I explain what boss monsters I fought, the characteristics of each tier, the situations I struggled with, and a variety of information to chew on.

　By the time I had nothing more to say about the labyrinth, it was completely dark outside.

　Finally, I leave Dia's hospital room, promising to bring her a sympathy gift next time.
　On his way out, he paid for the damage to Dia's room and returned to his home.