We were at Mr. Khalifa's house.
Leonardo had given us a ride in the carriage, so we were able to arrive ahead of schedule.

In the carriage, Leonardo was surprisingly quiet.
I was expecting to hear about the empire or my country anyway.
But it was surprisingly easy, and I had to ask him about it.
However, there is not much new information.
Francesca was rather more knowledgeable about something about the rage that had been fighting with me in front of the dungeon, and Leonardo said he didn't know why the Empire had attacked Radshausen.

-- "Then what do you know?"
When I asked him if he thought it would be a good idea, he said, "One thing I can tell you is that there's been no movement, and yet their power has only grown," which was odd.
And that's been the case for the last 20 years or so, apparently.

I don't particularly understand the country, but is 20 years a long time?　Is it short?
Of course, on my own personal level, 20 years is a long time.
I have a feeling that I'll probably be a little taller than I am now, and my face will be wrinkled.
........I don't know.

I told Leonardo to pass the time appropriately, because it might take a little longer.
I didn't bring him here because I didn't want him to listen to me.
It's just the four of us and Mr. Khalifa who are here now.



　After a while, Mr. Khalifa brought us our drinks.
He put the cup down in front of us and took a seat.

'So?　How was the dungeon?　Was it a fun place?

To be honest, it was a disappointment. A dungeon is more like a treasure trove, but it's just a house.

Well that means you were a candidate after all, weren't you?

Mr. Khalifa said, as if he had known all along.

'How did you know?　He said I'm an abyssal user.

Well, if you ask me, it's a hunch.

A hunch, sir?

''Yes, you're an ordinary person by all appearances, and I didn't feel that you were anything like that age to be able to take on an S-rank at the same time. But you actually managed to do it in Rathhausen, didn't you?

Well, yes.

But I didn't use magic at that time.

You're not going to be able to find out what's going on. It's not just a matter of time before you get to the point where you can get your hands on it. But now, even I don't feel anything anymore, but...

Apparently I've exceeded the level of Khalifa-san.
Well, it's Lv:2009, so it's not surprising.

Then let's hear it.　What Mr. Khalifa and the others saw in the dungeon.

"Fine. You already know, though. You can pretty much guess, right?

Well, yes.

Zephyr he's the candidate.

So that dungeon was Zephyr's, right?

'From what you've told me, I'm sure you're right. It means there was an Old Gelt, too.

So, as I expected, that wine was purchased by Zephyr at Rougegelt.

Then Mr. Khalifa began to speak slowly.



o



--this was hundreds of years ago.
There were once five adventurers who were called heroes.
Their name was the Heart of the Dragon.
It has been five years since the end of the war that engulfed the entire Vanome Continent.
One day, a dungeon appeared in the middle of the Vanome Continent.
The Dragon's Heart has become a challenger and has reached the depths of the dungeon.


--This is inside the dungeon.
But it was on a small hilltop that looked like somewhere else.

''This place is...''

Khalifa was puzzled.

As it should be, the five of them had been walking through a dimly lit ruinous area earlier.
Then an old wooden door appeared in front of them.
Some parts of it were rotten.
Without hesitation, Zephyr grabbed the handle of the door.
It was at that moment that the landscape changed.
In an instant, the view cleared and a hill appeared in front of him.

'There's no mistaking it for something else. It's the Hill of Beyoment.


For Shaoan, it is a place with a special place in his heart where he watched the town slowly recover.
The town was destroyed and its people died in the war.
But this hill was the only one that hadn't changed.

Then a wand appeared in front of me with a light.

'What is it? ... you?

The Zephyrs flinched.

'My name is Maxwell, the Forgotten Half,'

A saint-like statue dug into the tip of a white staff.
But its eyes were red, giving it an air of not looking like a saint by mistake.
And then it opened its mouth and spoke.
As soon as it appeared, its eyes caught Zephyr intently.

Zephyr was immediately alerted by the strange presence.

"I've been expecting you, my dear. Welcome to oblivion.

Surprisingly, however, the wand, which called itself Maxwell, showed its respect by calling Zephyr "home."
Zephyr had no idea what he was talking about.

Then Maxwell explained some things to Zephyr.
Zephyr didn't understand what was being said.
But gradually he digested and swallowed it in his own mind.

'The Abyss?　What's that?

That magic of mine is the magic of the abyss.

Zephyr knew.
The existence of the Abyss.
It was written in the grimoire. What is the meaning of the word abyss.
And who Maxwell was.

'It's ... how do you say ...'

If you don't want to believe it, you can forget about it.

Maxwell looked at Zephyr with red eyes.
A chill ran down Zephyr's back for a moment.
Zephyr knew what the words meant.
And then he thought.

-- How did this guy know?　And.

Then, as if Maxwell had read Zephyr's mind, he replied

'That's because I am, of course, half of you.

Maxwell's words were difficult to understand.
Even Zephyr didn't understand many parts of it.
But the other four would have been even less clear.

Maxwell was silent when Zephyr understood, and when he questioned him, he answered.
It was as if he could read Zephyr's mind....

And then, when the conversation had come to an end.
-- Maxwell said one strange thing.

After talking about some of his assumptions, Maxwell spoke up.

'I do not advise anyone but Myself. I do not advise anyone but myself, and I am only waiting for the time when I will be king. But let me tell you something.

Then Maxwell didn't even look at Zephyr, he just stared at the ground.
Then he said this.

''-- Don't get swallowed up by the abyss, okay?

And he didn't say anything more.
Neither Zephyr nor the other four knew what the words meant.
But there was a lot of weirdness in Maxwell himself, and Zephyr didn't care.
This was just another nonsense by a piece of missing memory, or so he thought.

'My dear, this is your castle. It is your castle, and from now on you can do with it as you please. From now on, do with it as you please, and by the time you reach it, you will have accepted the abyss.

Then Maxwell looked at Zephyr.

'Don't doubt the abyss, do you?　It's me--

But at this time, Zephyr still doesn't know what it means.
It was a little later than this that Zephyr realized it.

And at this time, for the first time, all five of them knew the word abyss.



o



--and time returns to the present.


I knew the full extent of what they had seen in the dungeon.

'By the way, about that colossal statue of Adams that you say was in the Godland, you were slurring your words before, weren't you?

'Oh, it's not even particularly important. It's just that Adams had a wand in his right hand. A strange wand.

Is that a strange wand?

"Yes, we recognized it right away. And then Guinevere, who was just passing by, told us. She said it was a talking stick."

What does that mean?　After all, are you saying that this Adams was a candidate too?

I suppose that's the way it goes.

Apparently, it was just as Vel had expected.

''Well ... how much do you know about the candidates for the King, Khalifa-san?''

Then Mr. Khalifa let out a sigh.
He looked awkward, as if he didn't want to be heard.

'Mr. Khalifa?'

Yeah. I'm sorry. I don't know that much about the Abyss. If anything, that was Zephyr's purview.

Jurisdiction?

'I don't know what to say but you know as well as I do that Maxwell's memories were terribly fuzzy and the deficiencies were severe.

So was Vel.
So I tried to get Mr. Khalifa to answer that, and....

'Perhaps what I know isn't much different from what you already know.

So what about Adams' warning letter?

I just want to know this.
If it's something that could be a risk, I'd love to know it and avoid it.

I'm sorry, but I don't know that either. "Except for the word 'swallowed', it was probably Adams' own idea, and I don't know what it means...."

'Doesn't it say that in that grimoire?

'That grimoire doesn't have anything in particular about the abyss. It just contained some magic. And those warning notes you just mentioned?

So you can't solve a single mystery........

'Maybe Zephyr would know something about it.

For example, is it possible that there are memories that haven't yet been revived?

In other words, it's about Mr. Khalifa's memory.

'I don't know...'

Well, even if that were the case, how could I know?
Then Khalifa-san made a slightly troubled expression, and then replied as if she remembered.

'But Zephyr seemed to be doing a lot of research. As I recall, Adams had two disciples, and he was looking for a book that they had left behind. I don't know if he found them after that.

'An apprentice to Adams.....

'What did Zephyr want to find out about that stuff? .....

Mr. Khalifa clammed up.
Perhaps he didn't know any better.

I was suddenly tired again.
I couldn't solve the riddles I thought I could solve as a matter of course, and as a result, when I went to the dungeon, I was left with only questions.

'Well, but it can't be helped,'

I'm sorry...

No, it's okay. I'll find the rest on my own. Why don't we talk about the object?

Right?　I think it was in the village of Tanya, right?

'Yes, there's Oliver Joe's body in there. It's probably already decomposed and may not be there if it's not good enough, but... well, Zephyr didn't say anything about that in particular, so I'm sure it's okay.

All right. So, what are you going to do?

I've been thinking a lot, okay?

Yes, of course. Tell me.

I told him about what I had in mind beforehand.

'I need you to go and collect that Oliver cocoon, Khalifa-san. You'll have to ask the people in the village for the exact location. If I tell them my name, they'll probably get the word out.

I said that first.

"Okay. And?

'I'll go to the underworld. I don't know how to retrieve the cocoon, so I'm going to bring the whole body with me, is that okay?

Yeah, no problem. I don't know what specific part of the body you need or anything, and if you can bring the whole unit to me, it's just fine.

Honestly, it's just a hassle to go back to the Tanya village I've been to.
But I'm the one helping out, and I don't mind putting a little convenience first.

''By the way, how are you going to collect the cocoon?''

Then Khalifa-san took out that grimoire.

"This is the 'insulation' magic described in this grimoire. It's used to pull the vital information from the body.

Apparently, this grimoire had something to do with objects.

''.......I see.''

Then I'm still not going to be able to do it.

''So ... that's what you're saying for now?

Yeah, no problem.

Mr. Khalifa agreed.

'And I'm sorry for all that?　I had to go along with Zephyr's request...

'It's fine. It's not that I'm going to the underworld, it's just a part of the trip, and besides, I have some questions for Zephyr.

I sat up.

'Hello?　Are you going to go now?

Yes, sir. Actually, we are students from Heilkwaite. So we want to get back to the academy early if we can, since the qualifying round against the school is about to begin.

Then Mr. Khalifa touched his lips with his finger.
This habit comes out when you're thinking.

'If you're talking about a match against a school, then your opponent is Ficianatika, right?

Yes ... do you know a lot about this?

Well ... a lot of things.

Then Mr. Khalifa smiled thinly.
What is it?

Maybe you're not just lucky enough to have an abyss, but you're also lucky.

'Luck? .....

When you say this, it's usually when you know something important and you're hiding it.
And if you ask them, they probably won't tell you anyway.
That's how it was before I challenged the dungeon.

'Thanks for the treat,'

The Toa then handed the cup to Mr. Khalifa.

'The next time I see you is when you get Zephyr's corpse, but if you need anything, ask for the Academy. Or a woman named Francesca from Magical Communications, if you want.

"Magical communication?

Yes, sir.

Ms. Khalifa smiled thinly again.

'Well I get it.

So we're done here.

I lowered my head.

"Nito?

Then Mr. Khalifa calls my name.
I raise a question mark.

'I can still wait. So you need to put your own journey first. It's not too late to start.

Because of the amount of experience, I guess Khalifa-san understands the importance of adventure.

''....I understand. I'll let you do that.

But that was the plan from the beginning.
This isn't a journey to save Zephyr.
It's my journey our journey.
I'm just going on an adventure of my own free will.
I don't take direction from anyone.
I just choose and use it because I think it's available to me.



â?



We left Mr. Khalifa.

Then we headed for the place where we parked the carriage at the edge of town.
I told Leonardo to meet me there when we were done.
Then I saw Leonardo waving his hand wide enough to be seen from a distance.

'Is that all right?'

Then Leonardo said so.

'Oh, and I need a favor from you, okay?'

'Of course. What is it?

Leonardo doesn't know how to say no, as if he wanted me to help him a lot.

I told Leonardo about the Khalifa.
The point is that I want to ask him to drive to Tanya village and back.

In other words, do you want me to send this Khalifa-dono to Tanya village and then send him back to Biyoment if necessary?

That's what I'm saying. And I'll tell you one thing, I haven't decided to cooperate with you and Dames Aldan yet.

Leonardo did not change his expression when I said this.

'I'll have to go sightseeing in that country first. Then we'll decide.

'So!　You're coming with me now.

But not now.

Leonardo can be a bit quick-witted.

''I also have some business to attend to. It's true that Rashausen is involved in this matter, and I would like to put you guys first, but I'm the first priority. I'll stop by again on my journey. The war hasn't started yet anyway, right?

'Well it seems to me that the war probably won't start unless the nations respond to Razhausen's request, as it stands.

'Right?　Then we'll get to that later.

Then Leonardo gave me a dignified look of approval as he sorted out my words.

'I understand. Then come this way.

Hmm?　Fine, I'll walk the rest of the way.

When I said that, Toa looked troublesome for a moment.

'No, let me send you here,'

But then you'll have to come back here again, won't you?

I don't mind that. Besides, it's not that long a walk.

I turned around and checked the three faces.
Not to mention Toa.
Sufilia was looking at me with a fake smile.
Does Nem in particular care about either of them?

'Well then I guess so ... sorry, please.'

Then Leonardo smiled.

'Come this way then.'

We did as we were told and got into the carriage.

"Then let's go.

He made sure everyone was on board, and at Leonardo's call, the carriage began to move.

The eternal city of Biyoment.
And the dungeon.
I felt like something had changed, a little bit, in the past few days.
Not about the knowledge I'd learned, but something else.

'What's wrong with you, Master?'

Then Nem looked at me.
Apparently, she had a face that didn't float.

'No it's nothing.

I watched the bayonet fade away and said goodbye to eternity for once.