The wall separating the eighth and seventh wards was thicker than I had imagined - but after walking to some extent, I felt a sudden blur in my vision and suddenly saw a light ahead.

I don't mind hiding it, but I don't want you to distrust me, so I'll explain it here.
No, it's just that I don't feel comfortable with it.
It's true, it was pitch black for a long time and then suddenly there was a light. I was asking Ellie if this was a transference, but........what, what.......?

　The purple-haired woman, if you can call her a guide, makes a regretful face, saying she was told first. This flirtation that tends to take things in the direction of mischief has something in common with Misaki.

'Haha, why are people with large breasts so insensitive? They don't have the energy to go to the finest of nerves to maintain their large parts, I'm sure.
'Nah.......why are we being shown around as well as Rear-kun, but you're being nice to him and cold to us.......?
'I'm cold to you, not 'us'. I know about your preincarnation background, you know?　You used to bully Arihito at work, didn't you? I don't forgive that kind of thing, but it's something I can't forgive. What do you think, do you think you'll like me a bit?
'Oh, you know... no. You know, just be modest about disturbing our party. Igarashi-san has already apologized to me, I don't mind.

　She didn't seem to listen to me at all if I was using respectful language, so I voiced my opinion a little too strongly, something I don't usually do, but I did.

　I thought she was going to be in a bad mood, but she looked into my face while she seemed to be enjoying herself - not that she was particularly wary, but when she suddenly closed the distance between us, I felt like I was beaten.

''You're kind, aren't you, Arihito-kun? As a guide, I sincerely hope that you don't lose that kindness in this labyrinthine country.
...What does that mean...
'I mean it as it is. If you've created something important, you have to protect it. But there's no 'absolute safety' in this labyrinthine country. That's why this Seventh Ward is full of people.

　It was probably from the seventh ward, a sign that could be felt from the front - it was a completely different density than the eighth ward.

''If we talk too much beforehand, it will lose its freshness. I'll have that receptionist show me around and then we'll start with that, shall we?
Oh yes, yes of course.
'Don't be so nervous, Louisa. I've been able to be a lot more of a seeker than 'the others'.

　I call out Louisa-san, who appears to be older than her - and Louisa-san seems to be hesitant to even open her mouth in front of her, too.

''Oh, um... I don't think I should be outspoken, but I'm still curious, so I'll ask.''
Why would you do that?
'....You call Aricht so friendly, do you like him?

　When the younger members of the group, Misaki, Suzuna, and Elitia, asked one after another, the guide, who was a guide, said with a squeaky-clean smile, repositioning the hat she was wearing.

'That's true for all of your party. We have the greatest respect for the party that has turned heads. Please keep running up, rookies.
Wait a minute. Aren't you gonna tell me your name?

　Our name is known, but we don't know her name. That seemed to be an imbalance, to say the least.

'I'm sure we'll see her again next time we go to the Sixth Ward. If so, I'd at least like to hear her name.''
You won't be able to move my heart with that kind of logic.

　Even getting the name out of him is a high degree of difficulty - but when you say that, it's human nature to be even more curious.

''Then, shall I have you call me 'Yukari'? Arihito-kun, you're wondering about my purple hair, aren't you?

　The character purple can also be read as 'purple (Yukari)'. I'm no longer surprised that I know the kanji, but I'm wondering if it's not a fake name.

I don't need to worry about my name right now. If you also pass the seventh district as fast as possible, I'll reward you, Arihito-kun, for living up to my expectations.
'That one's going to be fun I'll just say that. I'll thank you for the send-off.
'Yes, you're welcome. I like that kind of discipline on your part.
Wha...?

　After saying only speculative things until the end, the woman who calls herself 'Yukari' goes back to the eighth ward - I guess she's still transitioning, but the signs have suddenly disappeared.

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

　Theresia turned back to look at Yukari, as if she was curious about her. But when I tapped her gently on the shoulder, she finally looked forward.


'Civil servants that's an odd thing to say. There are people on the system side of the labyrinth country, or rather, the people who manage it. Louisa-san, is it different from the guild again?
''Well, how should I put it.......the 'Administration Department' that is monitoring this bulkhead is a high-level organization that guides the guild. Therefore, that person is also one of the people managing this labyrinth country.

　Why would such a person care about us, acting as a guide for the reincarnated, etc.?

　Does this mean that the only people who can serve as guides are the people who manage the labyrinth country? In any case, as long as we are still treated as rookies, it seems unlikely that Yukari will talk to us about the management department.

''Ladies and gentlemen, I will now take you to the top guild in the seventh district.
''Upper ... there are multiple guilds in the Seventh District?''
'Yes. The Seventh Ward is the most populous of all the other wards.
'We're talking about 10,000 people, but if there are three times as many explorers, does that mean there are three guilds?

　Igarashi-san said, and Louisa shook her head. All of us immediately make questioning faces, not understanding the meaning.

''Ten thousand people are the number of people who are still exploring the labyrinth in order to move up to the higher wards. The other forty-two thousand people remain in this seventh ward.......If they don't explore for a certain period of time, the contribution of the explorer will drop, but there are many people who have to increase their contribution a little and then drop back down again. They can be counted as the population of the entire labyrinth country, but they are not incorporated into the 'Seventh Ward Pecking Order'.

　That means that out of 10,000 active explorers, we're 294th in the pecking order. But in the seventh district, there are forty-two thousand people whose ranks have been going up and down, and they have been excluded from the ranks.

''Forty-two thousand ... so much so that it's difficult to move up to the sixth district?
''Yes. In the labyrinth of the seventh district, the demons will be even more powerful. In some cases, you won't be able to conquer a single labyrinth, and you'll have to go back and forth between the eighth and seventh wards, or make a living doing something other than exploring. If you keep doing that, your rankings will stagnate, and you won't be able to take first place in the seventh district and go to the next one.

　There are too many people like that - we, too, will depend on the first battle with the demon to determine whether this ward will be a severe test.

''Arihito, I've gone up to the fifth ward once, so I'll leave the small examination of the demons to you. In time, if you analyze it, I'm sure we won't be stuck.
'Thank you, Elitia. We'll have to make sure our levels eventually catch up.

　　　◆ ◆ ◆

　You can live safely in the eighth district, too. However, it seems that if you rent accommodation in the seventh district, you can't rent accommodation in the eighth district - if you buy a house, you can have a base in more than one district, but unless you open a black box like we did, the average explorer in the seventh district can't buy a house.

　Compared to the eighth district, the city of the seventh district was densely populated with high-rise apartment buildings. The streets I passed on my way to the higher guilds were crowded with people, and there were plenty of entertainment shops that didn't seem to be related to exploration - I looked at the entrance to the narrow alleyway I passed and saw a sign for a dodgy looking shop, but even if I knew what it was, I didn't know what it was. I couldn't be bothered to say anything.

'Well that's a place that does naughty things, isn't it?　Signs, there wasn't a whole lot of them...?
'It's a store that's licensed by the administration, and they have a lot of things for men and for women. I only came to the Seventh Ward once for training, so I don't know what's really going on.

　Louisa-san explains to me calmly, although she is a little red-faced. I think it would be better to keep the entertainment district away from the center of the city, but it's so densely populated that it's not even possible.

　--But as we pass through the district where people who have dropped out of the pecking order warfare live, and the street with the mid-level guild approaches, we see people talking in armor shops, buying food to bring to the labyrinth, bargaining for expensive potions from potion sellers, and people who seem to be avid seekers. You can now see it.

''There are thirteen labyrinths in the Seventh District. Thanks to the sheer number of these labyrinths, the food and other products from the labyrinths are able to support such a large population. After all, the population is extremely large, so we have to buy some food from other wards.''
'Thirteen ... is the labyrinth ever going to be crowded?　Even though the interior of the labyrinth is indeed large, there are far too many people.
''Yes, that's why the lower guilds are handing out labyrinthine numbered tickets. The lower guilds are giving out numbered tickets to enter six of the thirteen labyrinths, and we can only allow up to a thousand people a day to enter.

　In other words, if the people in the lower guilds messed up, they would only be able to dive into the labyrinth once a week. So if they failed to explore, they wouldn't be able to level up, and they would fall into a negative loop.

　No - does that still mean it's better than risking death? We have a purpose, but if we don't have an objective we really want to achieve, then there's no reason to stick to exploring at the risk. I guess that's not unusual.

''.....'Explorers' and 'stagnators'. ''Explorers are distinguished like that. The eighth district still has a high ratio of attackers. But from the seventh district, you won't be able to advance just because you're prepared to fight demons.

　At Elitia's words, I suddenly turned around and looked down the street where people were crowded around the lower guilds.

　I wouldn't say that they had the eyes of a dead fish, but no one was resilient. Instead of directing their strong attention to the capture of the labyrinth, they were focused on something different.

　They were them, and they found value in living in the labyrinth country. I'm going to break down somewhere one day and think about stabilizing my life too - when I was about to think about it.

'We've skipped a grade so we can start with the higher guilds, right?　Then you'll have to work hard to make the most of that environment. It's going to work out.
'Well I was surprised at the number of people who gave up, though I was surprised at the number of people who gave up, more than I expected. We can't let that happen to us, you know.
'Mr. Arihit, if you are anxious you can share your worries with us. I will do whatever I can to help you, Mr. Aricht, and if it makes you feel better, and if it makes you feel better, like Ariadne said....
Suzu!　　Onion!
When you say "you" you don't think I'd do that?

　I think they trust me in that regard, so I said it with confidence - but for some reason, they all look complicated.


''Well I'd be lying if I said it wasn't painful, but I'm the leader of this party, even if I were,''
'Before you're a man, you're a leader...?　Backwards, that's an awesome decision.......wow, I get it. I'm going to try to be a Valkyrie before I'm a woman, too.

　Igarashi-san encourages us with a firm fist. This is how a steel pact, which was not supposed to be broken for a long time, was made between our party. Is it called a treaty against impure heteros*xual intercourse?

''.........''
'Oh, Theresa-san is a special exception and she'll be fine. You're a harmless creature who doesn't think strange thoughts when you take a bath with him,
Ehhhh........would you like to say that, Kyouka's sister?
'I should say he's a trustworthy man, not a harmless one. And I wouldn't have to worry about spending a lot of time drinking in front of Master Atobe.

　Louisa will correct me, but I'm sure I'll be treated harmlessly anyway. I'd like to continue to support them frequently so as not to lose their trustworthiness - but rather, I'd like to keep my words and actions clean and innocent.

　It's not about that, it's about how we're going to capture the seventh district. After passing through the street with the mid-level guild, we can see the upper-level guild at the eastern end of the Seventh District. First of all, we want to take a look at the searchers who are close in rank to us here to get a feel for the atmosphere.