'Hah, hah...'

　I kept running and reached the third level of the labyrinth. The time changed rapidly to night, and any sign of the prickly fish demon that had been following me ceased.

　The terrain was like a canyon, sandwiched between high rock walls on either side. There were oddly shaped rocks in places, and I approached one of them and leaned against it, resting my back.



　After I joined the 'Brigade', it was natural for me to have a party.

　It was just back to the time before I joined the group. The party I belonged to was destroyed, and at one point I was thrown out, and at another time I was tricked into being thrown away as a stone.

　That's what living in a labyrinthine country is all about. If you don't take advantage of your friends and try to get to the top, even if it means cutting them down, you'll have to compromise and rut somewhere and settle in a ward that's within safe reach of exploration.

　Even if you don't aim for a higher ward, even if you can't move up the pecking order, if you can find a group of people who can help you live a peaceful life - it's been a long time since I've imagined such a sweet thing.

　As long as I could contribute, there was a place for me in the brigade. The leader of the brigade had acknowledged my existence.

　But to get to where the brigade was going now, they didn't need me. Even when I was a twin swordsman, I couldn't use the twin-sword type 'color name equipment'.

　I have nothing more to offer. I knew, even I knew that I was clinging to my current place of miserable, unrewarding efforts and expecting warmth.

　The Commander never changes his criteria once he's made up his mind. He didn't even listen to his sister's (Ellie) wishes, and he doesn't see any more value in me, who had no blood ties or usefulness to offer.

'There is no role for you to play in remaining here,'

　The ultimatum handed down to me by the leader of the brigade. The last opportunity given to me was to leave the brigade and retrieve Elitia's sword.

　No one but Elitia could use that sword. Nevertheless, the Commander told me to retrieve the sword alone. That meant that even if it wasn't Elitia, as long as someone else could use the sword, that was fine.

　Elitia hasn't given up on rescuing Ruury, who was trapped in The Burning Monkey Duke. However, the members of the brigade were not allowed to help her.

　Alone, Elitia may be just as lost as I am. Having heard rumors about her being called the 'Sword of Death' and being evaded by the explorers, I had only assumed that she would be alone too.

　--when I found Elitia in the seventh ward. When I heard that she was acting in a party, I couldn't accept my feelings right away.

''I tried so hard to stay in the brigade, but even though I tried so hard, I'm alone...''

　The deputy commander of the brigade was concerned about me. But even for the deputy commander, the commander's decision was absolute.

　The other comrades realized that I would eventually be removed from the brigade due to the unlikelihood of finding another twin-sword type 'color name equipment', so they only had minimal conversations with me.

　Elitia was rebelling against the brigade's policy of using cursed weapons to gain an advantage. And yet, she couldn't refuse to use the sword given to her by the Commander - she was chosen. I changed to a profession I had never seen before and gained strength above my level.

　It was too much, it was unreasonable. There was something I couldn't get, even if I wanted it, and Elitia took it with her, but she gave it away from me, looking like she was the only one in the tragedy.

''It's not fair ... it's not fair, Ellie ... even I ... I'm .........

　It messes with my head. When I saw the party of Ellie and the others' acquaintances enter this labyrinth, and then followed them - when I met the 'golem' type demons, I had come up with a plan to break up Ellie's party.

　At the time, I thought it would work. The 'planting' I was doing against Ariehito was also successful, he didn't come back, and the 'Four Seasons' had to retire as an explorer - and Ariehito, who picked up 'poor Elitia', must have felt responsible for it and broke down, and Elitia, unable to give up on rescuing Ruilly, will be alone again.

　Then surely I will be able to bring Elitia back. If I complete the task of retrieving the Scarlet Imperial Sword, the time I can stay with the brigade will be extended.

　--and yet.

　And yet, Aricht came back. With unbelievable speed, as if doing so was the norm, he had saved the party from being destroyed. Without taking a single casualty - I don't understand half of what he was doing in the fight.

　What I do know is that despite his supportive profession, he is the keystone of the party, combining a terrifying calmness to analyze the situation with a terrifying calmness to inspire his friends.

''We will never let Elitia die.''

　Without hesitation, Aricht said. The leader of any party wouldn't be able to say, 'I'll never let her die' if she knew how cruel the labyrinth was.

''And her goal is our goal, too.''

　How can you say that much? Elitia's purpose should be behind a tremendously high wall, even for Aricht.

　The labyrinth is something to dive into at the risk of your life. No one would want to dive for someone else's purpose if it were not for their own benefit.

　Even the Guild Sabers are under the control of the Guild organization for a purpose. They couldn't in principle cooperate with the general party outside of their own mission - and yet, some of the Guild Sabers were personally cooperating with Aricht and the others.

　I don't know. He should have only spent only a few days in the labyrinth country, which would make him a rookie.

　Elitia put her full trust in Aricht, he had turned the impossible into possible and would surely continue to go on without stopping.

　The strength leaves his body. You won't even know where you stand.

　--Eritia, I can't help but be envious of her.

''Well what's the difference between you and me?　Why am I....

　I know what I'm doing. That I made my choice and I deserved it. I chose a way to bring people down for myself and put myself in a position to be judged by the law.

　I can't just leave the labyrinth and not have anyone notice me. My karma has been greatly increased by the fact that I put a demon on that party, and I'm now in a position to be arranged in any ward.

　Until my karma is reduced to zero, I will be bound by the guild saber. My level will be lowered and my contribution will be lost - I won't even be able to enter the fifth ward unless I'm a member of the brigade.

''........It's all gone. Oh no........I didn't want it to happen again....

　I can't help but whine, even though I know it's a vain thing to do. Self-loathing floods my mind as I remember myself when I provoked Arikhit.

　Even if I had been able to bring Alihit back, I would still be worthless to the Commander.

　I knew it, but I was clinging to a future that never was. There was nothing else I could do, but I couldn't even turn myself in to the Guild Saber.

　--Then, with a flutter, a blue thing crossed the edge of my vision.

''A........butterfly......such a small butterfly, a demon.......?''

　The demon you encountered
　? Blue Butterflies A: Level 3 Neutral Unrecognized Resistant Drop: ?

　Not all of the demons in the labyrinth are necessarily hostile to the searchers. Some demons are neutral, and some species can communicate with each other at will.

　This butterfly has not been identified by the guild. The blue butterfly is an unidentified name, indicating that either we still haven't figured out who it is or someone hasn't defeated it and brought back the material.

　If I had come here when I was at a lower level, I might have been interested. But for me now, and for the brigade, there is little benefit that a level 3 demon brings - unless it is 'named'.



　I'm still thinking about the brigade. I feel like I'm still a part of the brigade until the commander tells me in no uncertain terms to leave. I hate myself for that.

　I can't go on deeper into the labyrinth and return to the brigade even if I survive. I didn't bring Elitia back, I lost my weapon and raised my karma enough to cause trouble if I didn't leave the brigade.

''-- She was not chosen as a weapon. At that point, unfortunately, we had no choice but to leave her in this ward.''

W.........Commander........?

　From somewhere, I hear a voice. The voice of the Commander, who couldn't possibly be here - calm yet icy cold, and just listening to it is enough to draw your consciousness to it strongly.

　There can't be a Commander here. This is an illusion of something - but the voice I hear is the very voice of the Commander, and it stirs my mind.

'I don't call it faithful to the way things are in Silone. It's just that the experience of being abandoned once has given rise to an obsession with me. I'm not special to Syrone, and I'm sure she is too.'



　--I couldn't be calm. I couldn't ignore the voice, even though I knew it was either an illusion or a demon attack.

　It was the very thing that I myself had always feared was 'what the Commander might really think'.

''You're going to cut her off after she even changed her profession and tried to serve the brigade?''

　Now I hear another voice. A woman who joined the brigade after me and is now an integral part of both the brigade and the leader of the brigade - the deputy leader, Agnes.

''Even if you can't use a cursed weapon, you're still enough of an explorer--''
''Even if you can play an active role, it's still within the scope of an ordinary person. In order to break into those monsters, you need to have enough power to make sure you don't fall outside of the eight members of your party. The possibility of Sirone obtaining that power is infinitesimally low in the current situation.''

Stop it.

　There are more butterflies. I couldn't think of anything else, as I realized what that number meant - from only one butterfly to two now - and I couldn't think of anything else.

　◆Current Situation ◆
　'? Blue Butterfly A activates 'Guilty Feel' → Target: 'Shirone'

"The members are supposed to be replaced. "It's not like Cyrone expected to be here forever--

Huh...!

　Current Situation
　Shirone activates the Demon Slayer. Two "blue butterflies" are hit.
　'? Kill two "blue butterflies".
　Shirone attacks a neutral demon → Shirone's karma increases.

　One of the spells affixed to the inside of the cloak was activated as I pulled it out - the magic blade that was generated cut through the fluttering butterflies without missing a beat.

　Even if the Commander thought so, I didn't want to hear it. It was the last thing I wanted to hear.

　There was no doubt that this butterfly was making me hear it. The skill of 'Guilty Feel' makes me hear the words I least want to hear in the voice of the person I least want said.

　-- as if it was inviting an attack against me.

''........Do you want to blame me so much?　You don't know anything about it, and you say it's my fault!

　The emotions become uncontrollable. Butterflies that I should have knocked down fly from one to the next, increasing in number to fill my vision in the blink of an eye.

　The echoing voices mingle in my head. The voice of the Commander, the Vice Commander's voice - even the Vice Commander who has been paying attention to me, doesn't offer an opinion that conflicts with the Commander. That's because he thinks it's no use cutting me off at the end of the line.

　I know that's not true. Agnes-san was seriously worried about me - she was, she should have been.

''........If it's the Commander's decision, I will try to get the members to understand.''

　I'm sure that's what he'll say, and he'll soon forget about me. Even during Loury's time, Vice Commander Agnes never once said that he was going to send the second unit to rescue him.

''I'm the stupidest person you'll ever meet.

　I knew that if I denied Elitia's attempts to help Luury, I could stay by the Commander's side. I laughed at that girl who was trying so hard.

　I think Elitia, who was able to meet Aricht, thought of me like this.

　--pity me for pretending to be oblivious to my own pity.

'You're the only one who hadn't noticed, Syrone. You're the only one who hasn't noticed, Cyrone.



　Current Situation
　Shirone activates the annihilation mark and hits 16 blue butterflies.
　Shirone attacks a neutral demon → Shirone's karma increases.
　'? Blue Butterflies" forming a cluster
　One "Winged Butterfly of Pity" appears.

　Before I knew it, I was engulfed in a thick fog. I could only see the butterfly in front of me, and I didn't realize that the fog was approaching soundlessly.

　-- and as I looked up at the sky, I saw a huge butterfly floating with its wings flickering.

　◆Current Situation ◆.
　Pity Winged Butterfly activates Redemption Pain → Target: Shirone
　White's karmic damage. White's karma is reduced.

'Aaaaah.......................!

　My whole body is in intense pain. I roll to the ground and pant in pain, unable to maintain consciousness.

　It was taken with me all at once - the amount of time I had taken down the 'blue butterfly' and elevated my karma, I received a huge recoil. Even though I know it, there's nothing I can do about it.

　◆Current Situation ◆
　Pity Winged Butterfly activates Tranquility of Innocent → Terrain Effect: Karma gradually decreases.
　Pity Winged Butterfly activates the Cocoon of Imprisonment → Target: Shirone

　That giant butterfly's karma is also up - but he's trying to lower it himself. Its behavior was as if it was creating order for itself.

　There was a rumor among the searchers for a time.

　There was a demon that would appear in front of a guilty seeker. The seeker attacked by the demon would not return from the labyrinth.

　The members of the brigade also denied that the demon would judge the sin instead of the human - there was no such thing.

　A technique that takes away so much strength that karma rises. And the white thread that was spat at me when I couldn't move took away my physical freedom.

　If this is the punishment inflicted on me, I must accept it.

　I couldn't trust the Commander or the Vice Commander.

　I knew the blue butterflies were just showing me a trick, but I let my emotions get the better of me and used the spell. If I hadn't done that, I wouldn't have had to experience this kind of pain.

(...) ...It's over. I'm done........)

　I get tangled up in threads and can't see anything. The fog that covered the area is fading - I'm being taken away, somewhere.

　The last thing that passes through my mind is the image of Aricht.

　His companions must have been dazzled by his appearance on the wheel to help, and I'm sure they thought he was dazzling.

　It was so far away from me.

　There was something there that I had longed for for a long time.

　The state of the present
　The "white" is transformed into a separate space.
　Winged Wing disables swarm formation.