Chapter 10: Three Days in the Royal Capital (Part 1)
Ashi Mi Kue Kua
Sena I Sen O
E Anon An Pu
Sake: “Sa + A Da + Ne”
“Watch out! Mika!”
A girl in an extravagant Sister’s outfit accidentally triggered a trap. Without a moment’s hesitation, a young man with black hair pushed her aside. In that instant, a laser sliced through the ground where she had just stood.
“Thank you for saving me.”
The woman bowed her head slightly, and the young man extended his right hand toward her.
“It’s okay. I’m just glad the Saintess is safe.”
His expression was pale. A laser had pierced through his abdomen. Realizing this, she immediately cast Healing Magic on him.
“It’s my fault…”
“Don’t worry. It’s not your fault.”
“But—”
The Sister continued to protest, but the young man shook his head.
“Your role is to cast barriers and Healing Magic. It’s only natural for me to help you when your defenses are down, right?”
He tried to lighten the mood with a cool smile, as if to blow away the worries of his partner, the Sister.
“Damn it!! Retreat!! We can’t win against that thing right now!!”
After being attacked by the ferocious Forbidden Dragon Species (Dragonics), the young man made a quick decision and dashed away. He immediately scooped up the Sister and sprinted toward the entrance, diving into the Portal they had set up.
As his vision cleared, he found himself at the entrance of the Labyrinth.
“At my current level, I’d just be throwing my life away… I want to come up with strategies for dealing with the Forbidden Dragon Species (Dragonics) while training.”
Despite being exhausted, he proposed this to the Sister shortly after their return.
“But I can’t do it alone. So, even though you’re tired, could you help me?”
The boy bowed his head. Without a hint of displeasure, she replied,
“Please don’t be so formal. If you’re working hard, how can I rest?”
“That means…”
“It’s not sarcasm. I respect you for always pushing through despite being covered in wounds.”
“Stop it.”
“I won’t. Besides, I have a strong conviction. Together, we can conquer any Labyrinth.”
Having defeated many formidable foes, the two stood before the door at the deepest level of the final floor, exchanging glances and nodding. They needed no words.
Beyond the door stood a humanoid monster with a crystal-like texture. What followed was a fierce battle.
To damage the monster’s hard skin, they had to strike it repeatedly. The young man, battered and bruised, continued to attack without giving up. The Sister supported him with Healing Magic, casting it so frequently it was almost a chore.
Despite sustaining near-fatal injuries, he let out a battle cry, and with one final strike—
“Uoooooohhh!!”
The countless wounds he had inflicted began to crack and connect, splitting apart, and then—
—Paryyyyyyn!!
The crystal humanoid monster transformed into countless shards.
“I win.”
Breathing heavily, the injured young man managed to speak, just as the Sister leaped into his arms.
“We did it! Finally, we—”
He wrapped his arms around her waist and spun around.
“Yes, we—”
—Conquered the Mirror Labyrinth!!
Their voices overlapped.
“Hmm, Ichiro is a thousand times cooler.”
Sena, sitting to my left, said.
“Cooler—rather, I think the Son-in-law is a thousand times cuter,” Sensei chimed in from my right, poking my cheek playfully.
“I vote for Sena,” Anon said, leaning over me from behind. Sena immediately grabbed Anon’s head, causing a crunching sound as he squealed, “Ada da da da da, I’m gonna die!” Someone stop this already!
“I wonder how it actually feels for them? Like, a moment where they just nod at each other in trust and understand each other, or something.”
Ash was talking to Mika beside him. Speaking of which, Ash had been thoroughly beaten by Mika and the others… Although he mentioned they apologized later, he acted as if nothing had happened. That demeanor seemed to embody the essence of a Holy Knight.
“Generally, that’s not wrong. In fact, I was the one who was asked by Anon to recount that story…”
Mika’s voice trailed off. She sounded embarrassed.
“Wait, Mika helped with the script!?”
At my reaction, Mika turned to me, her face flushed. She hid her face behind her wimple.
“Was that not okay…?”
“No, it’s not that it’s bad, but when did you—”
In response to my innocent question,
“Son-in-law, it’s fine. Such doubts are trivial.”
Sensei admonished me. However, I noticed the shape of Sensei’s mouth had turned into a ‘ω’ form. There was no doubt Sensei was involved. More than that, Mika’s trust in Sensei was intense.
“Ichiro, what do you think? It’s well done, right?”
Freed from Sena’s grip, Anon, having recovered from the pain, puffed out his chest and asked me.
“It’s a bit embarrassing, you know? I appreciate the effort, but shouldn’t we just drop it?”
“Are you going to stop it?”
Surprisingly, it was Mika who first raised her voice against my modest objection. A deep sorrow appeared on her face. Seeing that, I couldn’t just dismiss it, and I found myself troubled, holding my head in despair.
“Well, it’s fine. The stage I created will become the new standard for conquering the Newly Constructed Ultimate Labyrinth. This is just the first step.”
I couldn’t help but admire Anon’s versatility. And with all the help I’ve received, I had no idea how I could repay them.
“Thanks for everything, Anon.”
I expressed my gratitude once again.
“Just hearing that from you makes it all worthwhile.”
As I reflected on this, Sena suddenly interjected, “Hmm, I still think the actor should be a bit cooler.”
Her comment was so out of place that it struck me as endearing, and I pulled her into a hug.
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Supplementary Explanation
This story also reflects how Mika perceived the events. While Ichiro-kun was internally panicking, thinking, “This is bad! This is bad!”… from Mika’s perspective…