When we reached the 10th layer, we spoke to the flame and got in touch with Arti.
　After that, when we told him about our situation, Arti gladly agreed to do so.

''- I see. I'll teach you a spell to avoid the lava, and I'll also teach you a spell to avoid the heat. And I'll also teach you a spell to avoid the heat. That high temperature would be a deadly weapon for humans.

　The fire in front of him, Arti replied.
　Rustyala, who was behind him, squealed with delight.

'Arigato, Arti!　It was hot and I was at my limit, me!

　Rustyala returns Arti's thanks without question.

　But I can't rejoice as easily as Rustyala.
　My anxiety has not cleared up. I'm not done talking yet.

'Arti, who are you going to teach (...) that magic to?　If I could, I would--
Except for you and Rustyala.

　Arti brilliantly responded to my concerns.

'Why not me and Rustyala, ......?'
'First of all, you're not cut out for it (・・・・・・). I'm not harassing you or anything, you're too specialized in dimensional magic to be able to do it.

　I specialize in dimensional magic, Arti assured me.
　This was something I was dimly aware of from my previous experience as a magician. I had no aptitude for anything other than dimensional magic, and it was possible that I wouldn't be able to learn any magic other than dimensional magic.

　I grit my teeth and answer my next suggestion.

''Then what about Rustyala?''
'Rastiara has no room to learn magic (・・・・・). It's impossible because it's already completed. You know that, Rastiara, don't you?

　Arti's fiery mouth says something about Rastiara as well.
　Rastiara agrees, though he's surprised.

'Wow. You know exactly what I'm talking about. It's true, I'll never learn magic. There's no room in my blood to write a new magic formula.

　That information was new to me.
　I'm even more surprised than Rustyala is.
　Then Arti gives me a chase, surprised.

'So, I'm going to tell Maria, how about this?'
............!

　It's not a good idea.

　It's the worst suggestion.
　I didn't think that me and Rustyala, who I thought were all-powerful, would actually be so inflexible in terms of magic.

　However, I quickly regain my mind.
　I'm not going to be able to get a good idea of who I can trust in terms of magic.

"Well, wait. 'Well, wait, not Maria. If you can, send ...... and let me know. You know Alty, don't you?　Maria isn't cut out for the labyrinth.

　I hesitated for a moment in mentioning Dia's name. However, I didn't want to strengthen Maria any further here, even if Rustyala knew about Dia.

　If truth be told, I wanted to carefully and carefully set up the meeting between Dia and Rustiala, but I couldn't say that.

''It can't be. I'll teach Maria a lesson.''
Why?

　Arti cut the cry to pieces.

'Because, of course, Maria is in love with you,' he said, 'and I have to support that. I have to support that. Well, I'll leave it at that, whether her love is pure or impure.
What?

　On top of a single sword, a bomb is dropped.

　My mind goes blank for a moment.

　I can't process Arti's words, and I can't speak back.
　Ignoring my confusion, Arti continues to speak.

'I will support Maria's 'fulfillment of love'. And, if possible, I'd like you to help me too: ....... Christ the Collaborator: ......

　Arti flickers the flames and smiles at me.

　It's not even close. 'Maria is in love with me,' is all I can say, but it's not enough.

　I try to understand that one word, but my body refuses to do so.

　It doesn't want to admit it.
　I can't believe that Mary is in love with me. I don't want to believe it.
　The first time we talked, she said she despised me. She's always been a rebel, never seemed to be pining for me. She has always been bitter and sassy with me, never in the way of a girl in love. I'm the one who has known Maria the longest of all of them. The fact that I didn't have any sense of humor about it doesn't mean that Maria is in love with me. Absolutely not. I would never, ever--

'Alty!　Oh, my God!　Maria, you worked so hard to hide it from me!　I can't believe you just let it slip away so easily here!

　My desperate resistance is countered by Rustyala's cheerful voice.

'But you know what, Rustyala. This kind of third party meddling can make a couple. At the very least, I have no taste for watching a girl who is trying to do her best to be healthy without ever intending to confess her feelings for the rest of her life.
'I have one!　Oh, I wish I could stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay, stay. ......
It's in bad taste. You have a different sensibility than I do.
Moo.

　Their conversation is overheard.
　Rustyala doesn't try to deny about Maria's love interest either. On the contrary, it sounds like she's known about it for quite some time now and has kept it quiet all along.

　That is to say, .......
　In Rastiara's eyes, there is no doubt that Maria's love interest is ......?

　Then how am I right to respond?
　How am I right to respond?

　I think about profit and loss first - no, I think about my stress first - no, I think about morality and Maria's feelings first - no, no. No, no, no. No. ......!

　My goal is to get home.
　That's what coming home is all about.

　I have a reason to return. I've been avoiding it, trying not to think about it (・・・・・・・), trying not to get in too deep - a solid reason to leave.

　That's right.
　If I don't go home, I have to .......
　If I don't go home, my family, that guy ......--.

　--Don't even think about it. Don't even think about this.

　No more (・・・・).

'Huh--!　Hah, hah, hah ......!

　When I think about it, I lose control.
　If that happens, it will be a repeat of the first day.
　The "?" skill will be activated as much as possible. will be activated as much as possible.

　Of course, it's not a bad idea to activate the skill once here and chill out.

　Even if you're worried about your confusion reaching 10.00, the patience of the past few days has helped you recover until you don't hit the 10.00 mark with a single activation.

　If there is an urgency, the skill '??' It's not a bad idea to use the power of the '??' to clear up this trouble and everything else.
　When activated, all emotions will be calmed down and a rational answer will be given. That's not a bad way to 'return'.

　It's not bad, but ...... the body gets stronger.

　I don't think that's a good thing for a person to do.
　If activated, I definitely wouldn't be willing to accept Maria's love interest. It's because, rationally speaking, it's completely unnecessary for The Return.

　A skill like this is a ridiculous thing that would end one girl's love life.
　It would be terribly dishonest and a disgusting thing to do.

　If Maria is really in love with me, it's something I'll have to think through and answer on my own.

　My shallow life experience of about a dozen years or so gives me that answer, and stamps out any further confusion.

　It's not unbearable. It's not urgent. It's still (...), okay.

Phew. ......

　I had been breathing shallowly and repeatedly, and I exhale heavily to calm down.
　Seeing this, Arti speaks to me with a look of admiration.

'Oh. It looks like you've calmed down,

　I return the words, trying to be calm.

'I'm not calm. I'm freaked out.
You seem calm and collected.
'Anyway, I found out that Maria might be in love with me. That's why I know that she doesn't want to retreat to Arti. This can't be helped. ...... I don't want to interfere with Arti's wishes, so I don't mind telling Maria about it. But I want you to promise to tell Dia later. I have a policy of not letting Maria get involved in the labyrinth.
'Hm. ....... Okay, I'll let Dia know. I'm a mentor to both of you.
A master is .......
'As a matter of fact, I've met the two of you quite a bit in places you can't see. We're so close now that he calls me his mentor.

　I'm almost confused when another fact is revealed to me that I didn't want to know. But I remain firmly conscious and continue to talk.

'Also, be prepared for Maria's 'love fulfilment' to have little hope. I'm not going to be as cold as I was with Franlure ...... but still, I'm sure I don't have the desire to do so. It's not about Maria, it's about the fact that I don't have time to do that right now. I have to go to the 'deepest' part of the labyrinth, first and foremost. First and foremost.
I thought you might say that. You know, I'm not trying to force Christ and Mary together, either. It's all about the feeling of each other in these things.
...... Okay, no pressure on each other. Let's do that.
"Sure.

　Okay, I got over it.
　I didn't want to get upset here and have a weird conversation about it.

　I finish negotiating with Arti and move on to talking about when he's going to teach magic to Maria and Dia.
　But Rustyala, who has been quiet until now, interferes with me.

'Hmmm. So, what does Christ think of Maria after all?
'What does that mean ....... I like you in your own way, as a mate. It's just that we're far apart in age, and I've never thought of him as the opposite s*x.
'Heh, are you going to tell Maria that when you get home?'
'I won't tell. There's no guarantee that Maria's love interest is a hundred percent. You're saying that's how it looks from Arti and Rustyala's point of view. It would be embarrassing and awkward if I told them and they said they didn't like me.
I'm one hundred percent sure of that.
'If you can confide in Maria herself, I'll give you an answer. But I don't have anything else to say to you. I will treat you the way I have always treated you, the way I have always treated you.
"Humph, humph. ......

　Rastiara examines my story, nodding repeatedly, just as she did when I spoke to her.
　Then, after a few moments, he continues to speak with a big smile on his face.

'That's a Christ-like answer, isn't it? And that's not bad for me. It's delicious: ......
...... Yes, yes, yes.

　I leave Rustyala alone and talk to Arti about it.
　He says he's going to teach Maria and Diah magic today and tomorrow. Apparently it won't take long for the two of them to learn magic.

　-- and I made a detailed check, thanked Arti and left the 10th layer.

　On the way back to that ground, Rustyala asks me a lot of questions.
　It's not only about Maria, but he's also curious about Dia, who I mentioned the name of earlier. I had no choice but to explain about my fellow member, Dia.

'-Heh, I see. Before you teamed up with Maria and me, you were working with that Dia person.
That's what I'm saying. It's not that I didn't want to tell you. I just didn't know whether to tell you or not because I'm in the hospital and I don't know when I'll be back. He's got some serious magic.
But a wizard that Christ trusts so much: ......
'Yeah, it's top class. Yeah, it's a little short, but I think we'll catch up there soon. He's talented enough to keep up with us.

　I praise Dea with open arms.
　If you look at simple numbers, she's a person who surpasses even Rustyala.
　And above all, she has a good personality.

　Good character.
　That's very important.

''But I don't think there are many people with talents like ours.
No, really.
'No, no, no, Christ is not well assessed, you know. ...... Yeah. I'll take a look at this place and make a hard decision for you.

　Rustyala says, "That would be good," and walks forward.
　Apparently, I'd like you to introduce me to Dia today.

'Ha, okay, ......'

　I nodded my head and agreed, since they would meet at some point.
　Just in time, since we have free time, it's decided that the two of us will now head to the hospital where Dia is hospitalized.

　On the way, I guide Rustyala, who is filled with anticipation, while calming her down.
　It's not far to the hospital. It's not even an hour away from the entrance to Valto's labyrinth.

　The sun hasn't even set yet when we walked out of the labyrinth to the hospital.
　Taking Rastiara with me, I walked to the wing where Dia was admitted, just like before. And then I suddenly remember the devastation from before.

　When I was here before, Dia's room was full of holes and there was even damage to the hallway.
　When I entered the wing while thinking about how much has been fixed in the past two days - the hallway was in the same disastrous condition as before.

　To be precise, there were some signs of repair, but further destruction had left it in the same condition as before.

　I walk down the breezy corridor and enter the room of the likely culprit of the destruction. Rustyala, who was watching the devastation of the destruction behind me with amusement, follows suit.

　The inside of the room is the same as before - no, this one is even more messy than before.

''Hey, Dia. Isn't the room more broken than before ......?

　My first words were not a greeting, but a pursuit of how I got into this situation.

'Oh, Christ ......!　Hey, there's a deeper reason for this: ......!

　Dia, who was sitting cross-legged on the bed, notices me and hurriedly returns my words.
　Rastiara and I walk into the hospital room, leaving Dia, who is impatient with my sudden appearance, to be the other side of the room. And as it is, I'm about to introduce Rustiala, but I'm interrupted by Dia's words.

''--?　Why are you here!

　Dia finds Rustyala behind me and gives him a startled look.
　In response, Rustyala greets me with a fluttering wave of her hand.

''It's been a while. Sis-san.''

　Rustyala said to Dia, "It's been a long time. Then he changed to a calm demeanor as if he was dealing with the knights. Apparently, they seem to know each other.

　I'm surprised by the unexpected and am speechless.
　Dia is equally surprised - but, unlike me, she replies.

'What ......?　Hey, why is Mr. Rustyala here?

　Rustyala looks calm and catcalls and talks to her, but Dia is the opposite. She stands up on the bed in a panic and confusion, ready for battle.

'I'm the one who is surprised. I'm surprised to see you here, Sith-san.'
'No way!　Mr. Rastiara has come to take me back!
'Please calm down. I'm only here as a companion of Christ. Nothing more, nothing less.
Huh?　Mr. Rastiara is one of Christ's friends?

　Against Dia, who was about to cast an attack magic now, Rustyala approached with a gentle voice and took her hand with a soft movement.

''Yes. Therefore, it won't be what you think it is, Sith-san. Rest assured.''
Really? ......?
It's true.

　Rustiala smiles softly, and Dia relaxes her body as she catches it.

　As usual, Rustyala is good at playing the catnip, as usual. In the blink of an eye, she let Dia's guard down.
　Seeing that their conversation has come to an end, I enter into the conversation.

'Dia, it's true that Rustyala is my mate. ...... More importantly, I'm surprised that I know them both. Where did you guys know each other?

　I ask, looking at their faces.
　Rustyala was about to answer that, but Dia hurriedly interrupts her.

''--Hey, I know him from back home!　I don't know you that deeply, though!

　The interruption was so unnatural that I look at Rustyala's face to check it out.
　Rustyala has a strange look on her face for a moment, and then quickly turns into her usual cheerful smile. Then, he agrees with Dia's story.

'Yes. I'm a bit of an acquaintance. With Sith-san.'
'Oh, I'm a bit of an acquaintance. But, Mr. Rustyala. I call myself Dia here, so you can call me that.
Okay. Okay, Miss Dear.

　I feel uncomfortable with their conversation. But I don't pursue it. It's not something that Dia would want to know about.
　If possible, I didn't want to do anything that would embarrass her.

I'm glad we know each other. I'm sure we'll be friends from now on as we explore the labyrinth together.

　I pretend not to notice and proceed with the conversation.

　When Dia hears that I'm one of his friends, he holds out his hand, his voice wavering upwards, and asks Rustyala to shake his hand.

'If you're with ...... Christ, you're with my people. Don't worry about me, you can call me Dia.
'Yes. If you're one of us, we should stop this stiff talk. --It's nice to meet you, Dear.

　Rastiala replies back and shakes his hand.
　He squeezes it tightly and refuses to let go.

''Don't call me Cha, Chan, please ....... Oh, I'm me, so call me ...... if you can!
'Oh, I'm sorry. You're just too good-looking for me. Well, then - I think I'll take you, Dear. No, or you can go to .......
Call me by my name!
Hmm. All right, Dear.

　The two men shake hands and argue about what to call her.

　As far as Rustyala's attitude is concerned, Dia's self-proclaimed "not a girl" statement only makes me more suspicious. However, I was not going to interrupt this argument because I was going to treat Diah as a man and let her pass as a man.

　Now, even if you ask me to treat her as a different gender, I can't ...... be bothered to do so.

　I thought they would rebel against each other due to their differences in personality, but that was unfounded.
　I sit down in one of the chairs, relieved, and watch the two of them discuss it.

　Afterwards, I told Dia that Arti was coming to teach magic.
　Along with that, I also explained the situation in the 24th layer of the labyrinth. I'm not going to be able to get out of it.

　I don't know much about the magic the two of them use, so I can only listen in the background.

　I just don't understand what I'm listening to. I've never heard of any of the words, so I think about what I'll do after I leave on my own.

　Perhaps Maria will finish cooking a meal and be waiting for us. However, things are a little different now. Because of Arti's problematic comments, I'm not sure if I can treat Maria in the same way I have been treating her. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to get a good idea of what to expect if I don't do some imaginative training while I'm at it, or I'll probably lose my attitude.

　It's a good idea to be able to have the same kind of conversation with your friends.


◆◆◆◆◆ ...


　After we finished visiting Dia, we went home as we finished preparing for our next search.

　And as usual, the three of us ate the meal Maria had prepared at home. However, there may have been some unnaturalness because of Arti's problematic comments.

　Rustyala's thin smile was 30% more pronounced, I was vaguely unapproachable to Maria, and Maria was watching her carelessly to see if she could figure out the reason for it - there were various things.

　Whenever Maria stared at me, I could only turn my head away.

　Although Maria is young and short, she has a well-defined face. When I met her, she was unappealing due to her environment, but if she keeps herself clean, there's no problem in classifying her as a pretty girl. And unlike Dear and Rustyala, she's a realistically pretty girl. The fact that she has black hair also makes me feel closer to her, and makes me aware that she's a girl I'm familiar with.

　I'm sure you'll find it hard to ignore the attraction once you think of love.

　However, I used my magic "Dimension Decisive Operation (Gradation)" to avoid eye contact with Maria - we managed to end the meal without incident.

　After that, each of us went to sleep in our own rooms in the usual fashion. Even though I found out that I was in love with Maria, I felt confident that I would be able to get by from now on.

　-- That night, I felt the wind was strangely noisy (・・・・・・・・).

　And the next day.

''--Master, go ahead,''
'Yeah. I'm off to .......

　Perhaps it's because I'm dragging out the conversation from yesterday, but just Maria's "goodbye" makes me restless. Trying to avoid looking at Maria's face as much as possible, I head to the 20th layer with my magic, the Connection. Rastiara follows suit.

　Rustiala's outfit is more heavily armed than yesterday.
　Rastiara likes to run around with light clothing, but today he is wearing multiple layers of cloak to protect himself from heat. At her waist, she has water and antidotes hanging from her waist that she can drink at any time.

　You walk through the pale purple magic door and exit into the cold, empty space.

　Then, as you are about to proceed to the stairs to the 21st level, you notice a person standing against the stairs.
　It was the blonde, beautiful knight Hain-san.

　There was no Mr. Hopes today, and he seemed to be alone.
　And unlike before, his clothes are more pompous than before. Before, he was equipped with only one silver sword, but today, he has two swords on his waist. In addition, he wears a large silver basket hand on his left hand. Although he doesn't wear any heavy equipment, he seems to have assembled a detailed set of armor. Particularly conspicuous are the ten rings that are fitted on his fingers. It's a good idea for a man to have a lot of rings fitted to his finger.

'We've been waiting for you: ....... Miss .......

　Just as before, Hein-san bowed to me.
　The gesture gave me a chill.

　Something was different.
　It's not the number of people or what they're wearing, but something decisively different.
　That's what I thought.

　And without noticing the discomfort, Hein-san and Rustyala begin to talk.