Arc Lab 8
The place resembled a warehouse where giant iron boxes were piled up like mountains.
It was dimly lit, with red lights flashing here and there, and unbelievably vast.
It wasn’t just iron piled high. There were also boxes made of wood, copper, silver, gold, and minerals I’d never seen before.
Shelves were arranged like a maze, with various boxes placed haphazardly upon them.
Is this the world of boxes?
Hayarn looked around and shouted.
“What is this place!?”
“Hee hee, hee hee, this place, y’see? It’s the Black & Dark Shop. There are surprisingly many things you can’t get even if you pile up the money, but still, you can get quite a lot of things here, y’know.”
“Uh, so basically?”
“It’s a shop where you can get lots and lots of things, y’see.”
I understood it wasn’t just any ordinary shop.
Black & Dark Shop… The name is lame.
But even though she mentioned buying something, The Witch started walking, so we followed her.
“…You’re buying a Disposable Teleportation Array here, right?”
“Yep, yep. But that’s not all, y’know.”
The Witch stopped her words meaningfully.
Times like these, I don’t really have the best memories.
Suddenly, Hayarn, who was perched on my head, spoke.
“What a magnificent view, Wof.”
“Here? Full of boxes?”
“What are you saying? The Witch’s butt. No, her tail? No, her butt.”
Where are you looking? I sighed, and The Witch stopped.
She reached behind her, covering her rear through her tight skirt, and glanced back slightly.
Her cheeks were red with embarrassment. Did she hear that?
“Hey, hey, don’t be looking at Kon’s parts like that, y’know. Wof (boy)!”
“Why me!? It was this Hayarn who was looking!”
“Wof. If you’re a man, it can’t be helped if you look.”
I’m going to strangle this rabbit.
The Witch deliberately swished her three tails as she walked.
She kept her tails hanging low so her rear couldn’t be seen.
“So, where are we heading?”
“Why, why, to the counter, y’see. We should be seeing it soon, y’know.”
There, suddenly, a counter shaped like a semicircle appeared, standing alone.
Iron boxes were piled up around the counter too.
There was a call bell on the counter. The Witch rang it.
“Yes, yeees. Welcome— Geh, The Witch!”
A short figure wearing a deep yellow robe and hood emerged from under the counter.
Seeing The Witch, they made a sound of disgust. They were smaller than me. Their voice was high-pitched too.
A child? No, probably not a child. They used a stool to peer over the counter.
“My, my, what wonderful customer service for a regular, y’know.”
“Well, y’see— The Witch’s shopping trips are kinda scary— Wha— A guy!?”
“H-Hello, nice to meet you.”
“Whoa— The Witch brought a guy—”
They leaned over the counter, looking at me gleefully.
Deep within the hood, grey eyes shone brightly.
What is this? Those aren’t human eyes.
“Wait, wait. This is Kon’s disciple, y’see.”
“Whoa— I didn’t hear anything about The Witch’s disciple being a guy—”
“Why, why, that’s because I didn’t tell you, y’know.”
“I see— So The Witch is also of that age… wait, how old is The Witch, wai-wai—stop—it’s a joke—just not that Herbal Tea— Aah!!”
One must never ask The Witch her age.
They prostrated themselves before being forced to drink a particularly sludgy Herbal Tea and were forgiven.
“Hah… hah… honestly— That was awful. Ah, I’m Chive, of the ‘Sensible Beasts’. I’m the manager of the Dark & Black Shop. Also a Tier I Seeker— Nice to meet ya— okay?”
“A T-Tier I…”
Being told so casually left me bewildered.
Chive-san laughed and asked.
“That’s right— So, what’s The Witch’s disciple’s name?”
“I’m Wof.”
“Heeh— That’s a nice name—”
“Th-Thank you.”
“I am Hayarn.”
“Whoa-hyan— You scared me— A rabbit talking. Hmm? Hayarn, as in from Three Eggs—?”
“Is it always gonna be that!?”
“Well, I suppose it is… Please don’t despair on top of my head.”
Seriously, what does this rabbit think people’s heads and shoulders are for?
“What a— fun group you’ve got there— Witch.”
“Hee hee, hee hee, I suppose so, y’know. Now then, Chive. I want to do some shopping, y’see.”
“Hmm— Okay, but— I kinda have a bad feeling about this—”
“Worry, worry, no need to worry, y’know. I want two things. A Disposable Teleportation Array and a technician who can connect it, y’see.”
Chive-san twitched slightly.
“Hmm… What are you planning—?”
“Oh, nothing, nothing, just my disciple entering a sealed Dungeon, y’see.”
“…Wof-cchi. What’s going on—?”
Wof-cchi!? Ah, but those grey eyes are scary. No, they’re like a beast’s.
Hayarn must have sensed it too, trembling fearfully on top of me.
Like a herbivore being glared at by a carnivore.
“I absolutely have to go.”
I looked straight at Chive-san and said.
Chive-san spoke to The Witch, sounding bewildered.
“Your disciple—he’s got these bright, determined eyes and he’s boldly saying he’s gonna do something illegal—? What’s up with that—it’s kinda scary—”
“Yep, yep. Well, that’s how it is, y’know. I’ll pay handsomely, y’know.”
“Ugh— You’re totally not answering the question— What’s with this master and disciple pair—”
“Please!”
I bowed my head.
Chive-san fell silent, thinking.
“Guess I gotta. Mmph— You’re so bright, it’s dazzling—. Ahh, fine. I won’t ask why— sometimes ignorance is bliss, y’know—. And business comes first—. One Disposable Teleportation Array is 5,000,000 Oro. And the technician who can connect it, well, that’d be me—. Does that mean you want me to do the link design too?”
“Yep, yep. Please take care of it, y’know.”
“Ugh— From where, to where?”
“Hmm, hmm. From the 1st floor to the 12th floor, y’see.”
“Ngh— In that case— ah— even so—… Only if there’s a place on the 1st floor or somewhere to install the Disposable Teleportation Array— though.”
“Hmm, hmm. Is it impossible to connect from the outside, I wonder?”
“Im-poss-ible— You absolutely have to install it inside the Dungeon— im-poss-ible—”
“Mmm-hmm, mmm-hmm. Difficult, y’know.”
Hayarn asked me what the two were talking about.
Even the legendary alchemist didn’t understand, apparently.
Then there’s no way I could underst… no, I sort of got it.
There was something similar in my past life’s memories.
And that sparked a question in me.
“Can’t you hack the existing Teleportation Array?”
“Ngeh— Hack?”
“Ah, um, I mean, can’t you make an illegal connection?”
“Ahh— You can, but it leaves traces— If you get caught, it’s bad— That’s why— connecting Disposable Teleportation Arrays to each other is better— The Disposable Teleportation Array disappears, so even the traces vanish, see?”
“Umm… How do you install it then?”
Listening to the explanation, I couldn’t figure out how they would install the Disposable Teleportation Array inside the Dungeon.
Suppose they moved while installing them.
How would they determine the destination for that Disposable Teleportation Array? Thinking about it, I realized.
“…Use the originally installed Teleportation Array? No, utilize it.”
Chive-san’s eyes widened at my murmur. Eh, what?
“Witch— Witch!— Your disciple Wof-cchi— he’s amazing— isn’t he amazing?”
“Mhm, mhm. Kon’s disciple is amazing, y’know.”
For some reason, The Witch wore the proudest expression I’d seen from her today. It’s kind of embarrassing.
Chive-san said pleadingly.
“So— Wof-cchi. Give him to me.”
“Eh!?”
“Ha ha, ha ha, I’d appreciate it if you saved the sleep talk for when you’re asleep, y’know.”
The Witch laughed. Her eyes weren’t smiling at all.
“Ahaha— Ahaha— It’s a joke— It’s a jo—oke, so please put that Herbal Tea away right this instant, immediately. No, seriously, put it away!”
The Witch chased the fleeing Chive-san, Herbal Tea in hand.
While watching this heartwarming chase, Hayarn asked me.
“What did you mean just now?”
“You understand that the only way into a sealed Dungeon is by teleporting with a Teleportation Array, right?”
“Ah, I understand that.”
Hayarn’s ears twitched.
“Teleportation Arrays are installed on each floor of a Dungeon. Mainly for escape.”
“I understand that too. Those Teleportation Arrays are Legendary, aren’t they?”
“Yes. The Disposable Teleportation Array is Legacy. If you hack, meaning illegally connect to and use, those Teleportation Arrays, it seems traces of use are left behind, and you’ll get caught.”
“Hmm. It’s outside my expertise, but I understand the logic.”
“Since the Disposable Teleportation Array is single-use, there’s no worry about those traces.”
“Hmph, hmmm. True enough. But then, how do you install it?”
“Right. That’s the issue. Installation, and also not knowing the destination.”
“Then, what do you do?”
“You utilize the Teleportation Arrays that are already installed.”
“But the illegal connection—”
“You connect the Teleportation Array to the Disposable Teleportation Array. And then you use the Disposable Teleportation Array.”
“What………!? Is that… I see. So that way, you know the destination you teleported to, and the traces of the connection disappear?”
“Probably. I think that’s correct.”
In reality, I don’t know how Teleportation Arrays actually work.
But well, I made a guess based on how it probably worked.
Apparently, that was the right answer.
Yeah. Well, no matter how you look at it, this is definitely illicit.
Even so, I…
“Hm. Wof.”
“What is it?”
“No, just now, your pouch… Was it my imagination?”
“?”
Before long, the two returned and resumed their shopping and transactions.
Thus, preparations for the illegal act of infiltrating the sealed Dungeon moved forward.
Completely unaware of what awaited them there.