Takatsuki-kun...?

　Huh?

　What did this monster say?
　The alert of the 'danger detection' that had been so noisy stopped suddenly.

The truth?　There's a demon!
　Lucy screams at Lamia, who suddenly appears.
　Until now, she had never allowed a demon to get this close to her, until now.

''Takatsuki........you!
　Lamia shouted with a joyful(⋅) expression!

　Screaming my full name, monster.
　It sounds like a Japanese person.
　This is....
　There's no doubt about it.
　This is Lamia, my classmate from Class A.
　But how is this possible?

(YEAH!　(If not, it's still under!)

Hey, do you know where we can find someplace to hide?
　Ask the Lamia.
　The Lamia have a territory in the middle of the Great Maze.
　They must have more land books than we do.

This way!
Okay.
　Lamia pointed to a waterfall that was larger than most of the large and small waterfalls.
　I guessed that probably meant we should go behind the waterfall.　

'Lucy, hold on to me.
Yeah, I get it!
　Lucy clings to my waist.
　For some reason, Lamia looks a little miffed.
　She's even clinging to Lamia!

"Hee!　What the hell is this?
Lucy, don't worry. I'll be fine.
　I'm not so sure about that.
　You're not going to catch me off guard like you did with Arachne earlier, are you?


'Spirit!　Help me!　Water Magic: The Violent Water Dragon

　Unlike the Arachne's Nest, on the subterranean lake, you can use all the water you want.
　The water dragons, twice as many as before, are rampaging.

　Surrounding us, we fled to the back of the waterfall with an eye on the demons being blown away and swept away.

　The back of the waterfall is a wide open space, and there is no shadow of the demon in sight.
　Did we get away?

''Ha, ha, ha it was so hard!

....
　Lucy jumps away in a hurry.
　Lamia looks at me - or rather, stares at me.

'Takatsuki-kun,'
Yes, sir.
　I can't help but reply.
　But this girl ... who is she?

It's Takatsuki-kun....
　This time, he touches me all over my body.
　Mmm-hmm.

"Hey, oh, what are you guys doing?　
　Lucy has a don't-so-distant look on her face.
　From the outside, it's like being hugged by a demon?

''........''
　Lamia is stumped about Lucy.
　Or rather, she's only looking at me.
"Well, you know what?
　Hesitantly, I talk to Lamia.

　He's an acquaintance of Class A. He speaks to me in a friendly manner.
　Aside from Fujiyan, I can only think of one other person.
　He looks completely different, but....

　Well, I'll apologize if I'm wrong.

You're Sa-san, right?
You didn't notice?
　Wow.
　He sounded terribly grumpy.

'No, because. You look so different.
Oh, I see. Hey, "The Magic of Humanization.
　Oh, the lamia is becoming more and more human... wait a minute!

You could at least put your clothes on!
　Miss Lucy!　
　Nice tweak.
　He turned into a human form, Lamia was completely naked.
　He turned around in a hurry.

''Sa-san!　Do you have anything to wear?
Well, because he's a monster.
　You've lost your shame!

Lucy handed me the cloak, "You can borrow this," she said.
　Saasan wrapped the cloak around him like a dress.

"Here, put this on.
　I'll put my jacket on.
　Great, now we can talk face-to-face.

Hello, Mr. Sa-san.
Takatsuki-kun!
　He grabbed me.

'Hey, Makoto. Who the hell is this guy?
　Lucy is not happy.

'I'm sorry, I'm sorry. This is Aya Sasaki. She's from the same other world as me. Sa-san, this kid is Lucy. We're in the same party.

　Lucy and Sa-san look at each other.

''It's nice to meet you, Lucy.
Nice to meet you, Aya. For now, get away from the truth.
We haven't seen each other in a while. I hope that's okay. ...Are you Takatsuki-kun's girlfriend?
No, no!
　Sa-san let out a small breath of relief.

'Sa-san. By the way, why are you doing lamia here?
　I have so many questions.

"Takatsuki-kun!　Listen to me!
　He hugs me even tighter.
".........
　Lucy glares at me with her eyes.
　Well, I'm sure she's had a hard time, so let's be nice to her.

'You know what, I........'


　◇


Well, there's a thing...
　We asked Sa-san to tell us about his tumultuous lamia life.

'I can't forgive you, those harpies and traitors!　I'm going to blow you away with my magic, Aya!
'Yeah, yeah. Thanks.....
　Lucy, with her hot bloodedness, seems to be inspired and angry.

''.........''
"Takatsuki-kun?　What's going on?

　I was in shock.
　Sa-san's story of being reborn as a Lamia tribe.
　His life in the dungeon.
　The daily battle against the swarms of demons.

(You're in a much harder mode than I am...)

　Honestly, I came to this side of the world.
　When I came to the temple, I found out I was low on the totem pole.
　I thought I was the hardest person in the other world to deal with.

(Compared to Sa-san, you're slimy!)

Try harder...
You're having a hard time. Takatsuki-kun.
　I don't know why, but they looked at me with sympathy.

'You're the one who's having a hard time, aren't you, Sa-san? By the way, we're trying to get up to the upper level of the dungeon, do you know the way?
'Upper levels?　If there's a loophole up above the subterranean lake, I know it because my sisters told me about it.
'Yes!　Lucy, let's go. We'll be back.
Hey, do I...?
　Sa-san gives me a worried look.

'Come with me.'
　He's not going to leave you.
Yeah!
　He grabbed me again.
　Lucy, don't look at me like that.

　

　We're going to the upper levels of the Great Maze.

"This one, I think, is a little tight, so be careful.
No, it's just too small.
You're on the edge...
　It was a path, or rather a hole.

'It would be so much easier in Lamia's form...'
'Ugh, the rocks are craggy and my knees hurt...'
How much farther?
We should be out by now. I found a way out.
　The place we came up to was indeed a water cave.

'There's no one there,'
Maybe it's because it's so early in the morning.
'What!　Has it been that long?
　Lucy exclaims in surprise.

'This is the upper level,'
　Sa-san is looking around the dungeon as he scurries around.

'Is this your first time here, Sa-san?'
Yeah, I hear there are a lot of people up there and it's not safe.
''Is the upper levels dangerous to the middle level demons...''
　That's pretty interesting.


True, which part of the water cave do you think we're in?
Maybe halfway between the entrance and the Great Falls.
　The mapping skill confirms this.
　Enemy detection is only responding to weak demons.

Looks like we're going to be okay for now.

　We were able to get out of the Great Maze for the first time in a day.

　It was already dawn and the sun was rising outside the dungeon.