--something, I hear a voice.

　It's not like I'm in heaven or anything, but it's a familiar voice, and I feel a sense of relief that it's apparently alive.

''.........Brother, Brother Aricht!''
Brother, get a grip!　If my brother is gone, I'll go with you, too!
Mr. Aricht, Mr. Aricht... please wake up... oh...!

　I open my eyes thinly - and Suzuna, who was right beside me, drapes herself over me.

''Good... good, Arihito-san...''
"I'm sorry I misjudged my chances and I ran out of breath before I could get to the surface from the dive...

　I can feel the relief of everyone around me as I barely make a sound - you never know what will happen underwater. It seems that we have dived too deep from the beginning, as diving takes some getting used to.

''........Thank God......I didn't know what was going to happen......''
Really Aricht, don't make me worry too much.

　I can hear Igarashi-san and Elitia's voices. Suzuna calmed down after a while and looked up at me - wiping her tears and smiling at me while wiping her reddened eyes with a shy smile.

''Hmm.......Where is Teresa.......?
'What?　When we came here, my brother was the only one who was here. I was worried because my brother was laid out there, and he didn't seem to be injured, and he seemed to be sleeping, so I was worried...

　So, that means that I was still just distantly conscious, and my breathing was still strong.


Theresa, were you going to call for help?
..........

　Theresia seems to be nearby, and she appears from behind a tree - but when I look at her, she pulls back in a hurry.

''...?　I don't know what's wrong with you, Miss Theresa.
Aricht, are you feeling better than that?　Do you know our names?
Yeah, no problem. I'm sorry, I'm sorry to worry you...
''I was really ... worried. Atobe-san, I have to get used to the 'diving' of the labyrinth country, little by little.

　Ryoko-san and Louisa-san come in - I tried to get up, but for some reason the two of them put me to sleep again.

''Well, um ... you mean it's not like a normal dive?''
'Yes, sir. So it's not that Mr. Atobe has gone reckless, it's just that he needs my skills as an instructor of diving...
'There is an aptitude for diving, and Theresa seems to have it. There is no license or other indication of how well we are used to diving. I'm told that if you have the skill of 'diving,' you won't drown as long as you can with that skill.

　Ryoko-san and Louisa-san talk to me from both sides of me - their tone of voice sounds like a teacher chiding a student, which makes me a little embarrassed.

　In other words, if you suddenly dive too deep, you could drown regardless of whether you can hold your breath or not, that's what you're talking about - a dangerous place to be. And thank goodness Theresa had an aptitude for diving.

　The members here are all of us except Melissa, Sion, Seraphina-san and Adeline-san. It seems that they split up and were looking for us - if we don't meet up with the other members later.

''Brother, you were swimming in this spring. Did you find anything?
'Ah yes there is something at the bottom of the fountain. Theresa found it and informed me. But if I want to find out what it is, I can't do it in one dive.

　If there's something, if it's dangerous, I shouldn't touch it - but I don't think it's a trap if it's not caught by Theresia's 'Trap Sensing 1'.



　--that's when an idea came to mind. Suzuna seemed to realize that at the same time.

'Aricht-san, if there's anything in this fountain.......'
'Oh, yes. Maybe Suzuna's 'morale release' will tell us something.
''So.........you need my help too, brother......?''
You don't have to say it in a thoughtful way, though I certainly think it's necessary.

　Elitia nails him, and Misaki flicks her tongue out.

　In the third level of "Akebono's Field", the linkage connecting "Fortune Roll" to "Tsukiyomi", which found the transition floor leading to the hidden hierarchy. That would be useful here as well.

(Is it possible that the reason "Named" no longer appears on this island has something to do with what's at the bottom of the fountain...?

　I'm sure someone with 'diving' skills has been here before, but if you're hidden by the sand at the bottom of the water and didn't notice what's there - there are secrets on this island that have yet to be discovered.

'Rear-kun, Melissa is preparing a meal with the staff, so let's go back for a moment, shall we?
'Well then guys, let's pull up for once.

　As everyone else takes off back down the forest path, Theresa is still hiding and hasn't come out - I go around the hidden tree and peek at her, and she looks at me with a look of horror.

'I'm sorry for worrying you, Theresa. "I'm sorry for worrying you, Theresa, but it seems like the diving process is going to be fine once you get used to it.
..........
Don't worry, I'm fine, as you can see I'm fine.......Teresa?

　At that moment, Theresa's lips moved as if she were saying something - but she couldn't hear it as a sound.

　If I could read lips, perhaps I would be able to understand the words without being able to speak? I think so, but with my lips trembling slightly, it seems difficult to interpret them as words.

''..........''
Hmm, what's the matter?　Something's turning red.
.........

　Theresia has flopped off and run off - it's good to see her fine, but she seems to be acting a little strange, so I'm worried about her.

　For now, I collect the clothes I left behind and I decide to go back to the beach too. Then I start walking and I notice - my cheeks and chest area are wet.

　I'm not sure if it's just a matter of time before I'll be able to get a good look at it.

　◆ ◆ ◆.

　Speaking of sandy beaches, barbecue seems to be the same in the labyrinth country, and we enjoyed ourselves immensely, grilling fresh seafood and meat to our heart's content on the magic stove.

　Maybe it's because lunch was a little late, or maybe it's because we took a short break to clean up after the meal, and the sky has already begun to turn the color of sunset - is it the sun that is setting on the horizon? Or is it an otherworldly star that plays a similar role to the sun?

'Something like that in the forest - that's interesting.
'I knew Atobe-san's party had something to offer. To discover something new in a guild retreat that has been used for so long.

　I told Seraphina and Adeline about the situation and told them that I was considering whether to investigate the spring.

''If you mean underwater, I can't dive with my shield, so...''

'If that's the case, I'd stay home with my senior. It's like I'm running out of time to go when my seniors can't go.
I don't think so, but even if there is little chance of a battle, we need to think about it just in case. Please prepare your formation and equipment carefully, Mr. Atobe.
Thank you, Miss Seraphina.

　Seraphina and her friends are going back to their rooms. The girls are using a double room, so it's next to the room I'm using.

　It's a risk to have to dive in a swimsuit, but the sling won't rust, so I'll be able to bring it in. There are various restrictions on party members' equipment as well, such as the fact that the armor is almost useless - the ones made of 'steel' can rust, so Misaki's weapons are only dice, and so on.

''Brother, you're cheering me up until the barbecue.......I'm already fully motivated!
'Thank you, Mr. Aricht. We're ready to go on our end.

　I'm ready to get everyone's morale up to maximum, not just Misaki and Suzuna. I've decided to have Madoka and Louisa-san stand by with Seraphina and the other two - if she's here, I can contact her by license.

　◆Current Party ◆.

　1: Arihito ×★* Level 6
　2: Theresa Rogue, Level 6.
　3: Kyouka Valkyrie Level 5
　4: Elitia Carth Blade Level 10.
　5: Misaki Gambler Level 5
　6: Suzuna, Priestess, Level 5.
　7: Theon Silverhound Level 6.
　8: Melissa, Demolition Shop, Level 6.

　Standby Member 1: Madoka, Merchant, Level 4
　Standby Member 2: Louisa Guild Staff Level 4

　Party in Combat

　Party name: The Four Seasons.
　1: Maples Level 5 Kendoist
　2: Ibuki Level 5 Karate Artist
　3: Anna Level 5 Tennis Player
　4: Ryoko Level 5 Swimming Instructor

　Party name: Guild Saber Unit 53
　1: Seraphina Mobile Infantry, Level 11
　2: Adeline, Hunter, Level 8.

　The Four Seasons team wanted to come with us, so they agreed to come with us. If they use Ryoko-san's skill 'Lecture', they will be in the same state as having the 'Diving 1' skill for a certain amount of time, so the risk of drowning will be eliminated.

'But it's getting dark already...'
'But it's still light after dark. Maybe the moonlight is enough for you... or maybe it's dark in the woods.
On this island, it's never dark at night. One of the staff members told us that the island is popular as a recreational center because it's open day and night.

　Serafina is right, with this view, there's no particular danger underfoot. Rather, the fantastic landscape of this island seems to stand out at night - some of the plants in the forest emit a faint light, and the firefly-like light is fluffy and wavering.

'Be careful out there, folks,'
'We'll be waiting for you as we talk. I'll rest at lunch and have some energy left.
I'll be home as soon as I can. Okay, you two, I'm off.

　We said our departure greetings and we headed for the forest. It was well-lit in the forest, and it wasn't difficult to get to the spring we were looking for.

　--But the spring looks different than it does in the daytime. The white sand at the bottom of the water emits light as the moonlight hits the spring.

It's beautiful...I never thought it would look like this at night...

　Igarashi-san is gazing at her - she's wearing a swimsuit and sandals and a rented harpoon, a rather gaping piece of equipment, but for once they're all similar since they don't have a choice.

Then, I'll get ready to dive. It will take longer to catch your breath, but please do not push yourself too hard.

　Current Situation

　Ryoko activates "Lecture: Diving 1" →Target: "Party of Arihito" and "Four Seasons
　Arihito activates the Other Assist → Target: Ryoko
　Arihito activates "Assist Charge" → Lyoko's magic power is restored.

''Oh, thank you very much Mr. Atobe. Great, I used a lot of magic, but I'm recovering at once.
No, don't worry about it. It's because of Ryoko-san's skills that I can dive.

　And after using 'Assist Charge', the 'Monk's Ankh' hanging around my neck with a string attached to it glowed, and my magic power recovered a bit. This is helpful - about a third of the magic power I supplied to Ryoko-san was returned to me.

　I take a sip of the mana potion to recover my magic power to the maximum, just in case. Then we all entered the water - the entire fountain was luminescent, so everyone was able to enter without much hesitation.

It's a fun nighttime recreational activity, and there's no scary feeling of testing your mettle.
'This spring is filled with a clean air. There don't seem to be any demons here, but...

　That may not lead to the discovery of 'named', but I'd like to unravel the secrets of the spring first.

''We're going to dive in around here, but don't take it too hard, guys.

　First, Ryoko and Theresia lead me down, and then I follow - the first time I dove the first time it felt like a long time, but the second time I got to the place I wanted to go without getting out of breath, probably because of my 'Diving 1' skills.

　She looked at Misaki first, and she responded with a circle of her thumb and forefinger. Suzuna nodded as if to say that Suzuna is always good - and.

　◆Current Situation ◆
　Misaki activates the "Fortune Roll" and her next action is sure to succeed.
　Suzuna activates "Tsukuyomi" → Success

....?

　Suzuna's body is enveloped in a pale light - a divine figure, as if she is collecting the moonlight that falls on the spring.

　Then she holds her hand to the bottom of the water, which is now buried in the sand and can't see anything - and five places on the bottom of the water shine in response to Suzuna.

　We split up and tried digging in those areas - and what we found was a round, marble-like stone that looked as if it had been embedded by someone's hands.

(What can I do with this - nothing happens just by touching it. Is there something in this position, or do we not meet the requirements now... hmm?)

　As I think about it, I get a tap on my shoulder - it's Igarashi. At the destination she indicates, Suzuna continues to hold up her hand towards the stone at the bottom of the water.

(Suzuna you know what to do? Can the power of "Moon Reading" go that far...?)

　A light shoots out of Suzuna's hand and runs through the water. She shines the light on one stone, then the next - and so she draws a figure of some kind.

　A pentagram - the moment it is completed. A trail of light emerges in a circle, surrounding the star.

'The forced transition is about to begin. Believers, it is better to avoid complete dispersion.'



　I don't know if I heard it in the water - but I followed Ariadne's warning and took someone's hand that was nearby to avoid being split up.

　◆◇◆

　My eyes were covered with light, and after a moment of levitation - I had been sent away into a forest somewhere.

''Huh.........A, brother Aricht. What happened to you, over there...?
'Excuse me, Aricht I reflexively grabbed Aricht's hand...'
BOW!

　The maple, Anna, Theon - and me. Sion must have been close to me because he was swimming in from the back of the boat.

　I look up the location of the other companions on the license, but it only shows 'Small Island of Illusion, Level 1'. However, when I displayed the map, I couldn't believe my eyes - we were supposed to be in an as-yet-unidentified area, far away from the island we were on a moment ago.

'....That was a trick to transfer. And this is a different island than the one we were on earlier.
A different island........oh, that's what it is?
"So.........this labyrinth was a vast labyrinth in the form of islands scattered throughout the sea. I'm sure they would have explored it by ship or other means, so they couldn't come to this island unless they were transferred...

　I support Anna's reasoning as well - fortunately, the environment isn't that different from the first island, and we have visibility in the forest.

'If that's the case, then I guess that means everyone's been sent somewhere on this island too. I don't want to call out loudly.......if there are demons there, it would be dangerous.
Well, let's look around carefully. If it looks like it's hard to find everyone else no, you know that they're likely to be here for some reason.
Really?　Brother, you have a great sixth sense, don't you, we don't understand it at all.
Theon's sense of smell doesn't seem to be working since he came out of the water too, but it will kick in soon.

　Sion knew not to shout loudly, and he didn't bark, but instead shook his body with a buzzing motion to get rid of the water.

　Kaede pulled out the wooden sword that was strapped to her back and dispelled the water. Anna's racket seems to be waterproofed and seems to work fine - my sling is also fine, but I'll drain it just in case.

'Brother, if the demons come out, should we re-group the party?'
'Let's do that shall we, guys, stay in front of me if you can. I'd appreciate it if you'd be aware of the ranks.
Then I'll try to stay ahead of Ariecht.
I think we should be in the front row with Theon.

　In the formation with Sion and maple as the vanguard, Anna as the middle guard, and me as the rear guard, we are advancing through the forest - there are two directions in which we can vaguely feel our companions are there, but both of them are in the direction that seems to be deep in the forest.

"You can't find out the direction from the position of the stars... right?
We don't know if the sun is coming up from the east and in any case it's transitioned, so we don't know the direction.
No, if the licence says so, we're moving northwest now.
Wow, that's a handy feature. You don't need a compass.
''Once again, I think that this license is the best of the Guild's technology...''

　As Anna was about to say, Sion, who was ahead of us, walked a little faster and looked back at us. It seems that he has found something.

　When I catch up with Sion, I see some large depression at my feet - a huge trench with three branches.

''Could these be....footprints?''
It's so big.
'It is very similar in shape to the footprints of 'Coral Pigo'. But it is many times larger ... if there is an individual with a length in proportion to this one...

　The 'named' is somewhere on this island - I decided to look through the 'owl scope' that I had carried with my weapon and check the area I could see.

'.........There's a little bit of open space ahead. Looks like the watering hole is near there too.
Could it be that the demons are using it as a watering hole?
'Let's proceed with caution. Either way, we'll need to explore the island to get back to our original location.
If push comes to shove, I've got the Scroll of Return, so let's take it easy.

　The scrolls can be used even when wet - in the old days they were ruined if they were submerged in water, but the ones that are now in widespread use are designed to prevent such accidents from occurring.

The only thing we have with us is a wooden sword. We only have a wooden sword with us...
'Our preparations have been a little too relaxed...'
'I'm the one who wants to bang on a stone bridge... is this situation too adventurous for me?

　I could have just enjoyed my vacation and left this labyrinth, but the fact that I didn't is now nothing short of an occupational hazard - it seems that the 'explorer' can't get out of the day off, either.

　I stood at the position where Sion was and looked through the 'Owl Scope' that I had carried with me - I made sure it was waterproof, but I was able to use it as it was without any problems.

''........hmm?''

　I felt as if something large had crossed my vision. However, even if I moved the scope around, I couldn't see anything.

''Brother Arihito, I saw something...?''
Yeah I knew there was something up ahead.
It's a little scary, but I can't help but think of it as something to look forward to... is it inappropriate?

　Anna says refrainedly - she always speaks in a restrained manner that is inappropriate for her age, but it means that she is also curious for her age.

'It's not inappropriate. It's certainly better to have fun than to fear those things... though when you're fighting so hard, there's often no room for it.
That's right. I'm glad I followed my brother's lead. Beach volleyball is fine, but it's also fun to get blown off to strange places and explore together.
''If you make it home safely, it will be a pleasant memory. I'll brace myself from here on out.

　Anna grips the racket - the ball was tied to the racket with a string, but she removes the ball for use.

'Are you sure you're okay with one ball?'
'Yes, I can activate the skill a few times and hit it and it won't break.
Anna's ball comes back to her hand, so she can play one. It's really magical tennis.

　I've seen them once, so I'm still expecting them to be a force to be reckoned with - even if it's going to be a battle, ideally after they meet up with their friends, but for that, we'll have to get through the square a little further on.

''Sion, if the enemy comes out, we'll have to wait and see first. It's not safe to rush in, you know.

　Zion waves his tail in place of a reply and leads us forward. It's hard to walk in a ditch of giant footprints - if we're not careful about our footing, we're likely to kick and stumble.

　Eventually the forest breaks off and we come to a meadow by the river. It would be easier to find them if my companions would come this way too.

The place looks like something out of a hunting game.
Maybe you're all just down that path we'll have to go through here.
"Phew!

　He tried to reply without squealing, and Theon made a noise that sounded like a sneeze. He's really smart - although I couldn't help but smile at the same time as I was impressed.

　But from here on out, Anna is also right to brace herself. We're about to go out into the meadow - and on our way forward.

....What is it.......is there a shadow over there?
Hmm...?

　There is a gaping shadow in the meadow. It shouldn't have been there a moment ago - a chill runs down my spine.

''--Kueeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

　With a deafening, bird-like cry, something fell - it was using its ability to keep its shadow from being reflected on the ground while it was in the sky. It recognized us as its target and fell with its appearance.

'Theon, get back!
Gullllll...!
"Kyah...!

　The giant body lands on the ground with a thud - the ground trembles and maple and Anna scream.

　◆ Encountered demons ◆

　Treasure Wings Dancing in the Snowfield Level 8 Alert, Ice Disabled Drop: ?

...Is this the owner of the.......footprints.......?

　The 'named' ones that have come out so far, even Watadama's, were vicious to look at.

　However, the monster that fell in front of our eyes was about three meters long, but it still retained the loveliness of the Coral Pigo.