The moment the magic circle appeared and my vision was dyed, I suddenly lost the feeling of the ground under my feet.
　Immediately after, I felt a floating sensation, and then I fell.
　My body is falling downward somewhere.

''Puh-leeze!　Atta--tah!

"Yikes!

　It hit the ground or a strong impact on his back.
　And as if to follow up, something fell on the area between my legs that wasn't protected by the armor.
　It hurts so much........what, what happened?

'Ita... what is it...?'

Ah, ah...

　I was unable to move properly due to the intense, intense pain in my lower body, but I hear Sisha's voice above me.
　Apparently, it was her who had fallen on top of me.

''Whoa!　What are you doing, Okura-san!

Oh, you're the one who fell...

　When she noticed me underneath her, she jumped up and down on top of me.
　It's not like I liked being underneath her and she asked me what I was doing....

'There it is.......not at all, give me a break.

'Excuse me ... but more importantly, where am I?　And Mr. Knoll and the others?

What?

　I get up and look around, too, and see that I'm surrounded by a wall of green, glowing rock. It's a place just like the labyrinth.
　And there's only me and Sisha here.
　I got up and walked around a bit to look for them, but they were nowhere to be found.

"Isn't it possible that Noor and Esther are gone?

Looks like we're the only ones.

'What am I going to do... yes!　Put down the beacon--I mean, it's already out of stock!　So, then the escape device is... no!

　Impatient, I took out my phone and tried to get the beacon out.
　The beacon just wouldn't connect with the one outside, and I figured that if we were on the same floor in the labyrinth, I should be able to get a signal.
　However, the one I set up at home yesterday was the last one. So I don't have it on hand right now.

　Next, I tried to use the escape device, but it said that it cannot be moved beyond a certain distance.
　If I use it now, only I and Sisha may be able to escape.
　Oh no, this is not good. If this continues, Sisha and I will have to go on alone. I'm scared shitless.
　Besides, I don't know if they're alright.　What if I had been sent to a strange place....

Please calm down, Okura-san. First of all, we have to get our heads right. If the beacon doesn't work, shouldn't you try using a transceiver to see if you can make contact with it?

Yeah, I guess so.

　Oh, right, there's a walkie-talkie!
　Prompted by a calm-looking Sisha, I used my phone's call function to see if I could reach Noor's walkie-talkie.

'Yes, this is Noor.'

　After a few tulls and call sounds, I heard Noll's voice.
　Well, that was good. The walkie-talkie can be used in the labyrinth, right?

'Oh thank goodness. You're safe.

"It's a great relief to hear that you're all right too, sir.

　I was relieved that the girls were safe, even though I couldn't see them.
　I switched the call to speakerphone so that Sisha could hear it.
　Noor's voice sounded slightly relieved as well, coming from the phone.
　Maybe they were worried that they couldn't find us over there, too.

'Esther's with you, right?'

He is with you. Are you with Sisgah?

Yeah, yeah.

　Before we were transposed, me and Sisha were close together and Nol and the others were slightly behind.
　Maybe it was that subtle difference that changed the position we were transferred to.
　This is just my guess, though, and it's possible that it was originally a party-splitting trap.

'So, do you know where we are now?'

I don't understand it at all. It's a bright labyrinth, isn't it?

That's right. The green wall, right?

Yes, sir.

　Every labyrinth is a similar scene.
　So that alone doesn't confirm that they are in the same place.
　But I think it's probably the same place. If you don't think so, you'll feel uneasy again, but....

It's not confirmed that it's the same place, but we'll assume the same place for now. We'll have to meet up with them.

'Sounds like it. I'll use the map app to find it from here, so I'll let you know when we're in range. If you need anything else, just let me know.

"Yes, sir. Then, Okura-dono, take care of yourself. I hope that Sisuhas will take care of Okura-dono.

Yes~, I understand~

　We ended the call with a consensus that we were going to meet up.
　I tried to find it in the map app, but it didn't give me a very extensive view of the labyrinth.
　When I look at it now, I can see the red dots of the demons here and there, and the blue dots, which are party symbols, are only visible for me and Sisha.

　So first we need to walk around and expand the area that can be displayed. That way, even if we get lost with Noor and the others, the map app will show them and we can come back and join them.

'I'm relieved to see that you're okay.

'Oh, good but I'm worried. Are we going to be okay with the two main firefighters out?　I'm letting them have potions over there too, but are you okay with that?

　If there's a problem, it's that her firepower has been drastically reduced.
　And since it's too far away from her, I don't know if her ability to buff her is going to go in properly either. Furthermore, there are no physical enhancements for Estelle.

　I've got me, who's stumped by the defense, and Sisha, who can recover, so we have more stability... but we might not be able to handle it if a lot of enemies come in.
　Besides, can I protect Sisha on my own?

'Well I think Nol-san and the others will be fine. We have a good balance between melee and long range, at least. If you're worried about it, it's us.

　In terms of strength, I'm sure they'll tell me to worry about myself rather than me worrying about them.
　Just like Sisha said, that one's short range and long range... even though Sisha is like a monk over here, she's still a priestess.
　I'll have to protect her from being attacked.

'So let's keep going and do our best!　You can't start thinking about all the dark things!

'Well...'

　
　For now, let's stay positive and aim to join the girls as soon as possible.
　At times like this, Sisha's flippancy seems reliable.

''Well then, I've been asked by Nol-san to do my best to protect Okura-san!

Usually I think it's the other way around...

　Sisuha clasps his hands together and strikes a gut pose. I'm very motivated.
　I thought I was going to protect her earlier but it's more convincing and frustrating to say she's going to protect me.



　I've been making progress for a while since I decided to proceed, but the Nolls' response still hasn't appeared in the map app.
　Now that we're just out in a wide open area, I'm taking a break to make sure there are no demons.
　I'm taking a break from taking off my helmet. It's hard to wear a full-face helmet all the time, so I take it off like this every now and then.

'Huh, that's a long time... how big is this place? The gnolls don't even show up on the map at all.

''Well we're still okay because our enemies are weak, but if they were strong, it could have been a close call.

　The demons that appear in this place are also of the goblin variety. This time it was even a red goblin, but that's about all we can handle now.
　The black goblins also appeared, but I had to stab them at least two times with my attacks to defeat them.
　When Noll was there, even I was one hit away, so let's just assume that this isn't the effect of her buffs on us now.

　Even when we weren't defeating the demons, the number of magic stones is increasing, so it seems that Noll and the others are willingly defeating the demons as well.
　When I see that, I feel reassured that they are safe, but I still feel uneasy and unsettled that they are not near me. I don't know how many times I've sighed already.

'No, but I didn't expect to be alone with Okura-san in this way.

'What?　Uh, yeah. Yeah.

　Sisha, who was sitting next to me, suddenly said something like that to me.
　She leans over and looks into my face.
　I'm kind of embarrassed to look directly at her face, so I reply while looking elsewhere for a bit.
　If I didn't tell her, she'd be really beautiful........

''I've usually thought that Okura-san doesn't look at me properly and talk to me, right?''

'What?　I don't think so...

Are you sure?　So let's look at each other now. Yes, Gee.

'Whoa!　Hey, close, close, close!

　They pinned my face in my hands so that I couldn't look away.
　And then he looks at me head-on with a smile on his face. So close that I can hear him breathe.

　I can't stand this, and I try to move my head to get away, but it's held so tightly in place that I feel like I'm in a vise and can't move at all.
　I grabbed a rock with my hand and moved my body back and forth, but it was useless.
　What, why?　Why are you doing this to me?　

"Oh, my God!

Really, Okura-san is the same as ever, isn't she?

"Atta you are not doing this!　And what do you mean by still the same?

　The moment he moved his body to move backwards, Sisha let go of his hands at the right moment. That made me hit my back against the wall behind me.
　Sisha, who is still in front of me, is kind of smiling.

''Would you say the reaction is new, or would you say it's fresh? Seeing her troubled and shy makes me want to tease her more because she's kind of cute. What a great reaction you had when you first met me.

　You're disgusting!　This guy is an a**h*le!　You enjoyed watching me.....
　I have a feeling you've been smiling at me on a regular basis, but I didn't think you had that in mind.
　And that you're cute.......don't say something creepy. At least make it cool or something.........

''You........have a good personality.

'I don't want Okura-san to tell me, you pervert who stares at my chest as soon as he meets me.

What?　...because I can see....

Uh-huh, I'm showing you.

　Uhii, they know I was looking at her chest first........ And every now and then her breasts would come into view and I would follow them with my eyes.
　Was that also shown on purpose?　

Well, joking around, let's get going. I can't wait to meet up with Mr. Noll and the others.

'Oh, yeah...'

　After laughing a little, Sisha stands up and offers me her hand. Taking her hand, I stand up.
　I'm a little confused, but I decide to go on again with her.
　I feel like my heavy mood has lightened, if only slightly.