I know it's a little late for that, but...
What's going on?
How do I get out of here?


　He was currently making progress on the fifteenth layer. The maze isn't that complicated at the moment, so I'm advancing at a good pace. Just then, Aria asks me something like that.


'Well, if we go to the lowest level and defeat something there, it will be the end. We used to have a transition smelting camp until we got to the ground.
'What?　I knew you couldn't go back in the middle of the day!
I would have thrown you out if I could.
'Wow!　Mr. Fee, Mr. Elle says terrible things!
Don't get out here. You're giving me crazy ideas.
You'll get stupid!


　And that's it for us to proceed today, we decided to rest for now.


'Well, are the three of you going to cuddle up and sleep together?'
It's cold.
Nah, I see...
"Don't worry. You're right next to me. Not next to Elle.
........And, right? I knew what it was...


　And I dreamed again. But it's not that strange phenomenon I've always seen. It's a dream from the past, when I was still a student at the academy, and I was still playing around.


　I've been doing a lot of things under the guise of research back then. It's not just a matter of time before you get your hands dirty. Looking back on it now........while I was being scolded by Fee, I think I was having a good time.


　But now....we've all graduated and are going our separate ways.


　


''.........''


　Wake up. I seem to be the first to wake up, and Fee and Aria are still asleep. Aria's one seems to be sleeping disheveled with her mouth hanging open, and I can't help but laugh.


'Hmm?　Huh?　What's wrong, Mr. Elle?
No I was just amused by Aria's sleeping face.
'What?　Wait!　Did you see my sleeping face!
Well I got it in my eyes.
'Ughhhh. I can't believe a man saw me sleeping before I went to marry him...
'A prehistoric one, Aria,'
'Prehistoric!　I just have very normal values!　You two are the ones who are crazy!
Oh... we're just the two of us...
Hee ... Mr. Fee, are you awake?
Well, you'll wake up when there's a disturbance in the neighborhood.
'Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!
Well, you're forgiven for that.
No, no, no, no!　The output is a bit high!　It was really chattering!
But you're getting used to it.
Well ... it's ...
Okay, let's get ready to go.


　The three of us start preparing quickly. But when I was about to face that problem I was beginning to feel it.


"I'm hungry........
Be patient.
But all we get is emergency rations...
It's time to make a decision...


　Yes, the problem is food. Water can be easily smelted with alchemy, but when it comes to food, it takes quite a bit of work, from building the building blocks to everything else. Thinking about the future, it would be better to procure food locally.


''Does wolf meat taste good?''
Come on, I've never had one.
Wait, you're going to eat a wolf?
'I don't blame you. The smelting of food is a lot of work. If you can eat it, you might as well eat a wolf or whatever. Or even scorpions.
"What?!


　At the mention of scorpions, the Fee's ones also speak up. There are still some emergency rations left, but I want to save them for the future. Considering that, Fee reluctantly agreed.


'Well ... well ... it can't be helped, can it?
I absolutely hate it!


　Later, he hunted the scorpion and white wolf that appeared and forced Aria to eat them, calling them poisonous. The screams from that time are still in my ears.


　Well, this can't be helped. Aria, forgive me.........



　◇


"Hmm. Scorpions are delicious. Wolves, on the other hand, don't taste so good...
Really?　I'm pretty good at it, though.
Leif has a stupid tongue. He's not like my sensitive self.
'Yes, yes....'


　Me and Marie have made it through the ten layers and are now on our way to the sixteenth layer. We still have some portable food left, but we decided to get it locally for the future. This kind of thing was an everyday occurrence in the third maze, and Marie and I are quite familiar with this kind of thing.


''Hm........''
What's going on?
I've been thinking about what happened earlier and...
That golem?
No, I meant after you defeated the golem. It was too late for the door to open, wasn't it?　Nothing like that would have happened in the Third Labyrinth.
It's just a whim.
...I don't think so. In the first place, there's something else that's strange.
What?
We won't be able to meet up with Elle and the others. I can sense their presence, but I can't be sure of their exact location due to the strange jamming. But I know they are not far, and I know they are not near. So, for some reason, we can't join up with them. It's as if...
Like what?
It's like you're in control of the situation.
You think they're being kept apart on purpose?
Hmm. I can't eliminate the possibility that someone's hand is in play.
"People in the maze?　But that's....
Well, he's not a decent man, that's for sure.

That could be a coincidence. Something is wrong with this fifth labyrinth. Come to think of it, that creepy object at the entrance. That must be the work of humans. That is to say, they may think there is someone else in here and are trying to provoke us.
Provocation...
'I'm sure there are people who don't want the labyrinth to be captured... or there are people who want to use this place as bait to do something... although personally I'd like to think it's the former...'
Hey, I was thinking, doesn't the mood in the kingdom seem a little weird?
I wanted to point that out to you. The kingdom was in a state of strangeness. And the people who attacked us when we left the kingdom. Perhaps there was something about our presence in the kingdom that made us uncomfortable.
'Huh but, well, I guess thinking about it doesn't get us anywhere right now.
Right. I suppose we'll just have to move on for now.


　And so me and Marie continued on our way.


　◇


'Oh, yeah...'
Hey, look, it's kind of dirty, so I'm going to move away from...
'That's the line from the person who forced you to eat the scorpion.....oh, yeah.
It's pretty good. It's like a prawn.
It's physiologically impossible!


　After catching a bunch of scorpions, we quickly roasted them over the fire and ate them. I thought it was surprisingly tasty, and Fee ate it as normal. He looked pretty uncomfortable with it, though. But the moment Aria ate it (I forced her to stuff it in her mouth), she started spitting it out.


　Well people's tastes are different, but right now we shouldn't neglect to get the nutrients.


''Huh?　Huh!


　I take Aria's body free and lift the extra scorpion with a heave.


'Oi, no!　Oh, I'm going to be raped!
'Fee, is this rape?'
'It's an emergency, you don't have a choice. We don't want you to fall down, so go ahead and do it.
Yes, sir.
'Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!


　He stuffed two of them in his mouth at once (the poison was already dealt with) and forced his mouth shut as it was. Then, encouraging them to chew, Aria swallowed them with a gulp while getting teary-eyed.


''Uuuuuuuu.......I can't be a bride anymore. Elle-san!　Take responsibility.
If you lick it too much, I'll stuff you fuller.
'Hi, hi, hi, hi, hi, hi, hi!


　So, the food problem seemed to be okay for the time being. Except for Aria's mental aspect........