NBAA Vol. 7 Chapter 6 Part 7
Before heading to his room, Reito decided to leave the wolf carriage at the stable.
Reito moved to the stable while pulling Ullr’s reins. Meanwhile, Kotomin was still huddled against his shoulder, sleepy as ever.
After leaving Ullr and the wolf carriage in the stable, Reito returned to the inn with a sleepy-eyed Kotomin.
There were no other guests besides Reito and the others, and all six of them were assigned private rooms.
After being shown to their rooms, they gathered in Gonzo’s room. The first floor seemed to be a room exclusively for the Giant tribe, and the ceiling had been designed to be high. The room was also furnished with furniture for the Giant tribe. In another room, a room designed for the small beards dwarfs was also found.
“Mwah… this inn is not kind to the mermaid tribe.”
“Because it’s a ‘White Cat’*. There’s no way it’s kind to fish.” (ED: The name of the inn.)
“…I see.”
“You agree with that!?”
Kotomin complained about the lack of rooms exclusively for the mermaid tribe. But Dain was surprised because she was satisfied with Reito’s reasonable considerations. (This was also because there were very few inns where mermaids could stay in the first place.)
While in town, Kotomin could not leave Suramin (from her main body) and had to bathe in well water regularly.
“Everyone’s gathered. Then we’ll talk about what’s to come.”
Shizune started, and Dain said as if to confirm.
“We’re going to challenge the Great Labyrinth, right?”
“That’s right. But first, we have to decide who will stay here. The innkeeper said that she could not be held responsible for whatever happened to the monsters kept at the inn. Someone must stay here and care for Ullr and the slimes.”
“Purupuru!”
“Pururun.”
After hearing Shizune’s comment, the slimes looked lonely and approached Reito and Kotomin, but monsters could not be brought into the Great Labyrinth. Since he didn’t know the reason, Reito asked Shizune again.
“Come to think of it, why can’t monsters enter the Great Labyrinth?”
“I don’t know that either. However, for some reason, there is a mechanism that prevents outside monsters from entering. In the first place, monsters do not approach the area surrounding the Great Labyrinth. There was a time when a monster tamer tried to force the monsters he tamed to go to the Great Labyrinth, but for some reason the seal of the contracted beast seemed to disappear.”
“Huh? Why?”
“The reason is unknown. Even though hundreds of years have passed since the Great Labyrinth was built, the reason why monsters still don’t approach is still unknown. However, one hypothesis is that the Great Labyrinth itself is a building made of materials that keep monsters away.”
“But what about the monsters inside the building?”
“The monsters that have been inside the building from the beginning can’t go through the doorway, so they can’t get out. The monsters in the labyrinth are said to be more violent than the normal ones, probably because of the accumulated stress. In fact, the monsters in the Grand Labyrinth are one level more dangerous than those you encounter outside.”
“So… a Level 1 goblin is about Level 2 danger level?”
“That’s what I mean.”
The danger level of monsters could be categorized as:
Level 1 – can be handled by ordinary people.
Level 2 – can be handled by new adventurers.
Level 3 – intermediate to advanced adventurers can handle it.
Level 4 – cannot be dealt with unless you are of the highest S-class adventurer class.
Level 5 – disaster level, can be dealt with with army-sized forces.
By the way, the Rotten Dragons were level 5, while Minotaurs and Cyclops were level 4 danger level.
According to Shizune’s story, even though the monsters might not be much of a threat in the outside world, they were growing in power within the Great Labyrinth and were extremely ferocious. Furthermore, despite being in a sealed space, the monsters within the Great Labyrinth were inexhaustible, and no matter how many monsters were exterminated, it didn’t seem like they would be wiped out.
“The monsters in the Great Labyrinth are highly dangerous, but the experience points you get when you defeat them are high. Also, for some reason, there are areas within the Great Labyrinth that monsters cannot enter. Adventurers call that place a ‘Resting Spot’.”
“Resting Spot?”
“No matter what abilities monsters have, they can’t enter the Resting Spot. The reason is unknown. Even though no Barrier Stones or Decay Stones are installed, the monster still can’t enter. Also, monsters in the Grand Labyrinth cannot be controlled even by a monster tamer, and it is impossible to bring them back. A mercenary tried to use a cage to force monsters into the Resting Spot, but the monster died suddenly.”
“I see… that means Kotomin is in trouble!”
“…Suramin that forms her outfit is going to die!”
“Purupururu…”
The clothes Kotomin normally wears were the transformed state of Suramin, and if she took on the Great Labyrinth, she would not be able to use Suramin’s power. Mermaids could only be active on land for a few hours, and could not function unless they regularly replenish large amounts of water.
“ I guess I have no choice but to use storage magic to bring in a large amount of water…”
“That’s not necessarily the case. Some of the resting spots have drinkable spring water, and there are floors where rivers flow.”
“River!? Why is it inside the building!?”
“You’ll understand that once you enter the Great Labyrinth. However, it’s still a harsh environment for the mermaid tribe. I’ll leave the role of house-sitter this time to Kotomin-san.”
“…I can’t help it, I’ll just stay in my room and learn the jiggling dance from Suramin and Hitomin.”
“Purupuru.”
The slimes were happy when they heard that Kotomin would remain, and expressed their joy by shaking their bodies. However, Reito was worried about whether it would be okay to leave Kotomin alone, who was said not to have great fighting ability.
『Airis.』
『What is it? Right now, I’m reading “I Was Ridiculed As A Useless Angel, But It’s Not That Bad At All” and “The Most Powerful Angel, Before I Knew It, I Was Called The Thousand Magicians.”.』
『What kind of book is that? That’s your autobiography, right? It’s guaranteed to be canceled after the first volume.』
『What are you talking about?! Both are masterpieces that are sure to have sold over 100,000 copies!!』
『No, no, absolutely not.』
This time, Airis’s side was unusually dull, but rather than that, he asked if there was anything he should pay attention to when challenging the Grand Labyrinth.
『Is there any problem if we challenge the Grand Labyrinth as it is?』
『Well, I think it will be fine. Are you worried about leaving Kotomin alone?』
『I saw a strange person on the street. That’s what I was worried about…』
『A strange guy? Please wait a moment, I will review Mr. Reito’s actions today in the replay…』
『Oh, that’s how the system works?』
When Airis fell silent for a moment, Reito looked into the space where time was suspended to see if anyone else’s fingers were moving.
Airis once told him that there were people in this world who had the ability to stop time. If she was not joking, he wondered if only thoughts, like his own, were not affected by time-stopping. As Reito was pondering this question, Airis spoke to him.
『Ah~ yes, yes, this is him, isn’t it? His name is Gari, and he is a thug in this town. He’s a small-time crook who steals from tourists. He seems to view Reito and the others as sitting ducks.』
『What? That’s not good.』
『It’s okay. Right now, Ullr, who noticed someone strange trying to sneak into the wolf carriage, is biting him in the ass. Because time is suspended, a humorous scene unfolds. I’ll save the image.』
『I really want to see that.』
Reito was relieved to hear that Ullr had already fought off the thief, but Airis further explained the precautions to be taken in the Grand Labyrinth.
『Ah, and if you are going to challenge the Tower’s Great Labyrinth, there are some things you should be careful about. First of all, you cannot communicate with me.』
『Eh? What!?』
『As I have said before, I cannot interfere with reincarnated or summoned people from other worlds, and it seems that one of these exists in this Great Labyrinth.』
『Is the reincarnated person or the summoned person still in the Great Labyrinth?!』
『That’s what I’m thinking. It is unlikely that there is a human being who has lived for hundreds of years, and it is possible that there is a lich being trapped in the Great Labyrinth.』
Reito couldn’t hide his agitation at Airis’ unexpected statement. He didn’t expect to get information about the second person connected to Earth in such a short period of time.
『Who built the Great Labyrinth in the first place? According to legend, it is said to be the first hero who was summoned long ago…』
『Well, let’s talk about the creation of the Great Labyrinth another time.』
『Eh? Ah, yeah…』
When the topic of heroes came up, Airis suddenly stopped talking.
Reito wondered, but she didn’t try to explain any further and just told him the things to be careful of before taking on the Great Labyrinth.
『Besides, I can’t interfere in the Tower’s Great Labyrinth, so I can’t give you advice as usual. Don’t forget that, okay?』
『I understand. But if Airis can’t find out what’s going on in the Great Labyrinth, it’s going to take a lot of time to explore.』
『I’m sure it will be alright. As long as you are not letting your guard down, Mr. Reito and the others will be able to overcome the difficulties.』
The fact that he couldn’t talk to Airis about any problems that may arise in the Great Labyrinth was a pain, but he could just assume that he was back to being a normal human again. Reito vowed to take on this adventure with his friends without her help.
Reito thanked Airis for her help and cut communication, and his companions, who had been suspended in time, began to move again.