"I wonder if they're okay..."
After seeing the three off, I killed time at Grandpa's general store.
Being alone makes my thoughts drift to bad places, so I don't want to be by myself right now.
"You're pacing around like a nuisance... Are you trying to sabotage business?"
When I finally got scolded by Grandpa for wandering around the shop.
Yeah, this one's completely my fault.
"Sorry. I just can't sit still."
I never realized just waiting could be this painful.
Sending my disciples somewhere my own strength can't reach—it's this nerve-wracking.
"If you're that worried, why not tail them without being noticed?"
Grandpa says in an exasperated tone.
Yeah, that's so reasonable I can't even argue.
"But that would feel like I don't trust them, so I don't want to. They've gotten strong enough to clear the 30th floor without issues. It'll be fine."
"Then sit your butt down and wait properly."
"...Yeah, got it."
Talking my anxieties out to Grandpa actually calmed me down a bit.
Right.
I trust them.
I can't show them this pathetic side...
I slip behind the counter and sit next to Grandpa, taking another look around the shop.
"...Business has dropped off, huh?"
I haven't been able to promote the shop at all this past month.
That must be part of it, right?
"It's always this quiet during the day. Mornings and evenings are still packed like usual."
Most explorer parties dive the labyrinth during the day.
Since this shop caters to explorers, it's only natural there aren't many customers at this hour.
"Oh yeah, the Gratitude Festival is coming up soon. You'll be participating this year too, right Orun? You're part of "Silver Rabbit of the Night Sky" now, after all."
"Ah, yeah, it's about that time. I haven't heard anything specific in the clan—probably because it overlapped with the 92nd floor strategy. I don't think I'll skip it, though."
The Gratitude Festival is an annual event held in this town for ten days from late May to early June.
What are we giving thanks for? The Great Labyrinth, of course.
Thanks to the magic stones and materials brought out from it flooding the market, it's no exaggeration to say this country's economy thrives because of the labyrinth.
Plus, having the Great Labyrinth gives us access to a far wider variety of materials than other countries, and exporting them is huge.
To express that gratitude, labyrinth exploration is prohibited during the festival period.
Well, that's the official reason. In reality, leaving it alone for a while lets the labyrinth's internal balance reset.
Explorers naturally target high-demand materials.
High-demand means higher sell prices, so when risking the same danger, you'd obviously go for bigger rewards.
But that leads to over-hunting of popular materials, while unwanted ones pile up inside the labyrinth.
Obviously, the Great Labyrinth has its own ecosystem.
If things keep going like that, the balance gets seriously disrupted.
Normally, restoring a broken ecosystem would take longer than a human lifetime—but inside the labyrinth, it doesn't take nearly that long.
Leave it untouched for about a week, and it returns to normal.
That's why no one enters during this period: to let the labyrinth self-correct.
Explorers who can't dive set up stalls or join various events to help liven up the festival.
Or so I've heard—I've never actually participated myself.
When I was just starting as an explorer, getting stronger was priority one, so during the no-dive period I'd head somewhere else to explore other labyrinths.
Once I started gaining real strength, the time became perfect for handling sponsor meetings and other paperwork—so I've never enjoyed the festival.
The "Silver Rabbit of the Night Sky" explorers apparently participate every year in some way, so maybe this year I can too.
"You're basically the most talked-about explorer in town right now. It'd be weird if you didn't show up."
Ever since the 92nd floor clear, I've been getting mentioned more often—thankfully.
I don't particularly like the attention, but since I'm in the clan's first unit, I guess I have to accept it.
...Though getting praised doesn't feel bad either.
◇
After chatting with Grandpa for about an hour, the plate necklace hanging around my neck suddenly glows green.
"—Sorry, Grandpa. Emergency came up."
I leap over the counter and head straight for the door.
"Wait—"
Grandpa calls out just as I reach for the handle.
Suppressing my impatience, I turn back—and something comes flying toward me.
I catch it on reflex.
"—I tweaked the storage magic tool. Takes about ten minutes now. Take it."
It's the storage magic tool I'd been using for [Magic Sword Fusion: Alteration]—now improved.
The previous version used during the 92nd floor clear took about twenty minutes.
To cut that time in half in just a few days...
"Thanks, Grandpa. I'm off!"
"Take care."
With Grandpa's voice at my back, I step outside.
"[Strength Up][Triple], [Reflective Wall]!"
After buffing myself, I slam full force onto the diagonally placed gray semi-transparent wall at my feet.
The stomp launches me skyward toward the Great Labyrinth.
"[Technical Up][Triple], [Agility Up][Sextuple]!"
I add more buffs midair.
Then I create a [Mana Convergence] foothold and race toward the Great Labyrinth at maximum speed.
I reach the entrance in no time.
There are quite a few people around, but I ignore them—maintaining speed as I head for the crystal and transfer to the 30th floor.
Activating [Hearing Up], I sprint along the route they'd told me about beforehand at full speed.
(The necklace glowing green means something happened to Carol? Maybe they're already—)
Suppressing my anxiety, I activate the necklace around my neck.
Red, green, and purple lights all appear.
(Thank god... All three are still alive!)
To explain briefly: the necklaces I gave them at the labyrinth entrance have a mechanism to alert me if they enter a dangerous state.
And that mechanism just activated.
Which means the three of them are very likely in serious danger right now.
(I should have followed them after all...! No—stop thinking useless things. Focus everything on finding them!)
All sorts of sounds reach my ears, but not all of them are from the three.
I've memorized the characteristics of the sounds they make when walking or running.
I absolutely won't miss even the smallest sound from them...!
I've covered about eighty percent of the planned route.
Still no sign of them.
Time-wise, they should be around here...
"—Stop!!!"
—!
Log's voice comes through the wall.
This is the first time I've heard him sound this panicked.
I instantly cross-reference my current position with my mental map.
Behind this wall is an open plaza-like space.
Following the path would get me there, but from Log's tone, the situation is urgent.
No time to waste!
"[Magic Sword Fusion: Alteration]!"
I manifest Schwarzhaese and convert it to mana.
(Gonna smash through this wall!)
I further converge Schwarzhaese's mana.
"—!"
The concentrated slash blasts the upper part of the wall away.
I leap through the hole.
◇
(What the hell am I doing...)
I blow away the dust cloud with magic.
What comes into view is a man about to swing his sword down on Sophie.
I immediately rush toward her.
"—[Third Form: Mont Dry]!"
Still in magic sword form, I expand Schwarzhaese's mana to shape a greatsword.
I swing it horizontally with full force.
The man reacts at the last second—trying to block with his own greatsword like a shield—but can't withstand it. He gets blown backward and slams into the wall.
Right after, Schwarzhaese reverts from magic sword to black sword form.
Checking the situation: Carol is unconscious near the wall.
Log is conscious but injured.
I immediately cast [Heal] on Log.
The enemies: the big man I just sent flying, plus one other man, one woman, and one robed figure of indeterminate gender—four in total.
"...Sorry I'm late."
Anger rises—not just at the enemies, but at myself for arriving late.
"Orun...san..."
A voice comes from Sophie.
(Calm the anger. Top priority is reassuring her. Act normal...!)
"Yeah, I'm here. You did great. Good job. It's okay now—don't worry. I'll handle the rest."
I force a smile for the crying Sophie and say it.
"I'm going to jump you and Log over to Carol's side now. Can you look after her? I'll finish this quickly."
"O-Okay."
After telling Sophie, I activate [Space Leap] to move the two near Carol.
Then I deploy a mana barrier over all three—reinforced with [Mana Convergence] for extra strength.