It was a little past noon, so we decided to take a break in the passage where we could see the tower.
　For lunch, I had a pile of black wheat bread and a pot of crab soup.

　It was a bit chilly, so I took out a red magic stone and heated it up.
　The item list command does not allow for fine tuning in this area.
　It's like a microwave oven that cannot be turned off until it dings.

What's the matter, Mia?　Are you that hungry?

　I asked the girl who was staring at my hand for some reason, and she quietly shook her head.

I thought, "I don't have to light the fire anymore.
"Well, Mr. Ute used to be very angry with me.
So it's a little nostalgic, huh?
Do you miss ......?
Hmm, I don't know. I'm having a lot of fun now, but it's nice to be like you.
I'm also jealous of your ability to burn things like you do.

　Like when Paula was in danger.
　We looked at each other and smiled without saying a word.
　There's good and bad in everything. The important thing is the right person in the right place.

"Let's eat.
"Bon appétit!
"Yummy!
Mmm!

　The bread was as crunchy as ever, but the soup made from crab shells was excellent.
　As I sipped and chewed, I observed the square from the shade of the passage.

　This open space was about forty or fifty meters deep.
　It is surrounded by a cylindrical stone wall, and there is nothing to be seen except for a large tower in the middle.

　The top of the tower is too dark to see, but it seems to be three or four stories high.
　There are a number of small windows on the sides of the tower, but you cannot see what is inside from here.

　The distance from the passageway to the tower is about ten meters.
　The entrance is so large that even an assault bird could enter without bending down.

　On either side of the large wooden door stood a sentry with nothing but bones.
　In the skeleton's hands were a rusty iron sword and a battered wooden shield.
　Nothing else is on his body.

It's suspicious, but there's nowhere else we can go, so let's just check inside. Mia and Yoh should conserve their magic power in case Shadow comes out.

　I handed the potion that I had refined to the fairy and the girl who were relaxing together.
　This potion has a higher grade because of the new addition of labyrinth garlic as an ingredient, and the amount of magic power and vitality recovered has also increased.
　Thanks to this, we can now make fewer of them than before.

Since we're dealing with skeletons, let's go with Yoru and Kuu. What are you doing?



　They had already finished eating, but they seemed to be playing together.
　Yoru, who had lifted up the prone Kuu, was walking around in circles.
　He seems to be using the crab scissors from his elbow to dexterously carry him around like a lift.

　Yoru, perhaps noticing that I had called his name, walked up to me.
　He carefully lowered his brother onto the back of my legs and hugged him tightly.
　Koo also put his hands around his sister's neck to show his appreciation.

"What is this, ......?
You're probably just playing along with us.
"Huh?

　If you ask me, this is similar to the situation where I carried Paula in my arms earlier. .......
　It seems that it is Yol's turn to be carried, and the beast child lies down on the ground.
　Kuu tries to lift him up with his hand, but his arm is hopelessly short. 　

　He tries several times, but each time he flips Yol's body over.
　Finally, he stretches out his toenails, grabs his sister, and jumps up.
　It's not quite a princess hug, but both of them are smiling so they seem to be enjoying it.

"Okay, go ahead and do it, Kuu!

　At my words, Kuu flapped his wings and glided through the air, closing the distance to the tower at once.
　As soon as he got close to the skeleton, he unceremoniously let go of Yoru, who was holding on to him.

　With all his momentum, Yoru plunges headfirst into the guard.
　The demon's head, which had been faithfully performing its duties without saying a word, was easily shattered by the impact of colliding with the furball.
　Kuu also spun around and kicked the skeleton on the other side hard.
　This one, too, was instantly shattered from the neck up.

That's a hell of a blow .......

　The average level of demons in this level is 17.
　I'm not sure what to make of it.
　There is some chemistry involved, but the difference of 6 levels seems to be overwhelming.

　I pulled on the door and was able to open it easily.
　The inside of the tower smelled of mold, and from the thick dust on the floor, there was no sign of human habitation.

　What we were able to recover from the remains of the skeleton guarding the door was a rusty sword, a rotting shield, and a black magic stone.
　The sword and shield are barely usable, but they could be used as materials.
　The only use for the black magic stone is to decompose it, so it's a bit tricky.

I think I have enough time, so let's get on with it.

　Inside the tower, there are passages along the perimeter, and the center is a small room.
　The room was furnished with desks, shelves, bunks and other furniture that were almost intact.
　Torn pieces of cloth hanging from the walls are probably tapestries.

　And then there are the skeletons, the inhabitants.
　They roam the corridors and rooms, but they are all buried by Yoru and Kuu's first attack.
　It's as if they're all wearing the same armor.

　In the fourth room, I found a staircase with many stones missing.
　But the second floor is no different.

　All that comes out are useless pieces of furniture and roaming skeletons.


　In the middle of the day, we all joined the battle and just silently gained experience.

"So this is the top floor. ......

　As expected, there were four floors, but the room at the top was not what I expected.
　The ceiling had collapsed, leaving the room exposed to the elements.
　There was no sign of demons, only a half-rotted, slanted bookshelf-like object lined the wall.

There's nothing here.
"Mmm...
Huh!

　I touched around to see if I could collect anything, but there was no sign of anything appearing in the item section.
　It seems to be completely empty.

"Sir, over there.

　Just then, Paula pointed to the bottom of the tower.
　I poked my head out of the collapsed part and saw the entrance to the passage dimly illuminated by the light of fairy wings.
　I hurriedly checked the other side and found that the passage we had come through was also there.

　It seemed that there was a new passage on the other side, just hidden from view by the tower.

You didn't have to go up to .............
Yeah, it was pretty fun.
I'm not sure what the point of the place was.

　I don't know why it was there.
　I let out a sigh and was about to head back, when I suddenly tripped over one of the debris.

　I picked it up and found it was a small metal doorbell covered in rust.