After all that, the 11-hour exploration came to an end.

　In the end, Rifaera and I just followed behind without actually fighting.

　We had considered quietly dropping out depending on viewer numbers, but battles between high-level exploration parties aren’t something you see every day. In fact, the viewer count kept increasing rather than decreasing, so we ultimately decided to stick around and watch.

　The seamless coordination of the "Crimson Vial," the overwhelming advance with heavy gear from "The Goddess's Sneeze"—it was all incredibly impressive. The viewers probably found it exciting too.

　…My own fighting style, though, is one of stealth and shadow, so visually it must have been incredibly dull.

It was disappointing that the Demon King didn't appear, but given the remaining days, we might say we managed to shift the climax to near the final day.

That's not a bad situation.

The relief team arrived, and they took over the exploration of the third floor.

The first half of the team, forty in total, will all be pulled back for proper rest and will descend again tomorrow. Tomorrow will finally be the fourth floor.

The second half of the team will not go down further but will continue exploring the third floor.

According to Miss Gloria, it's officially decided they'll explore the third floor too, but the Demon King is likely still in the fifth floor, or if he's coming down, he'd be in the fourth.

If it's inconvenient for you to come up, isn't staying relaxed too risky? I thought about asking, and apparently it's safer to go only up to the fourth layer rather than fighting the Demon King in a strong area with ordinary monsters like those on the fifth layer.

Indeed, since even regular monsters exist when defeating the Demon King, that makes sense.

On the fifth layer, even Silver-ranked individuals would likely just be a hindrance.

The second half of the team continues exploring the third layer, primarily monitoring whether the Demon King ascends to the third layer, and almost all of them are Silver-ranked.

The first half of the team is solely responsible for defeating the Demon King.

Given that the first half consists of half Silver or Gold-ranked mages, the second half seems rather under-equipped and somewhat unreliable by comparison.

"What if we find the Demon King during the second half of the expedition? What then?"

"We'll hold him off at the staircase while calling in the first half of the team, right? We're staying at the inn the guild provided tonight."

"Then the second half of the team is taking more risk, isn't it? It's not like we can easily hold someone off like that."

"Well, that's true, but in the past, the second half of the team has almost never encountered the Demon King. The reconnaissance of the fourth floor was already completed by Garnet and her group, so unless there's a very strong reason, he won't come up here."

"I see, I see."

Apparently, the Demon King's behavior patterns have been quite thoroughly understood, which is why the second half of the team is kept as a precaution.

Apparently, some of the Demon Lords are hard to spot, so the schedule has shifted to a 24-hour operation, but before that, regular 12-hour explorations were the norm.

Either way, what I’m going to do was decided from the start.

"……Sorry, Refrea. I’m staying behind."

I stopped in front of the staircase leading back down to the second floor and announced this.

　

"Huh? But..."

"I’m not leaving the labyrinth until the Demon Lord appears. I’ll stay with the second wave, so you should go back for now, Refrea."

There are only three days left. I can’t afford to waste time sleeping when I need to secure first place in the ratings. Because of the time difference, there’s always a region on Earth experiencing prime time, no matter when we start.

If I’m not around when the Demon Lord first appears, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.

Forty days and a bit since the transfer to another world.

According to Alex, no one who's been transferred has ever encountered a demon king.

Well, maybe they've encountered one—just no records of defeating it exist...

Either way, viewership will definitely increase. We still haven't reached the top spot overall. There's no time to relax. That's why I slept in yesterday.

After all, I'm only participating as Refreia's porter; if I start doing things on my own, I might cause her trouble. Still, I couldn't back down here.

If I exchange crystals for stamina potions, I won't have to worry about getting enough sleep. Luckily, I've accumulated a decent number of crystals during my reclusive period.

"Then I'll stay too. I'm still a party member, after all."

"But..."

"But there's no need to worry about it. We're still party members... right? Besides... camping out after entering a maze is actually pretty normal. It's just Hikaru who's the odd one out."

Refrea said, pausing slightly.

I had expected her to say something like that. I hadn't suggested it with any expectation, but her kind and caring nature had already become clear during our brief time together.

"You don't have to stick with me if you don't want to. It's just my own selfishness."

"There's a review process for defeating the Demon King, and the special award comes with a significant bonus. Even the discoverer receives a special commendation."

Refrea replied, clearly trying to be considerate.

"I see... Thanks, Refrea. I really appreciate it."

Afterward, Reflair explained the situation to Garnet, the leader of the crimson small bottle, and received permission to remain.

Explorers are, after all, just a gang of thugs.

They’re not office workers, so there’s no need for such strict discipline.

While absence isn’t allowed, they’re quite lenient about everything else.

“Shall we hunt on the third layer, mingling with the people from the second half?”

“No, Flue isn’t here, so let’s rest on the stairs.”

In truth, the boost in viewership from combat isn’t expected to be significant anymore. Still, if she were alone, she could have freely descended to the fourth layer or fought on the third, but with Reflair around, she couldn’t push too hard.

She decided to focus her actions on participating in the battle against the Demon King.

“Then, should we head back? We’ll rest on the stairs between the second and third layers, right?”

"No, let's set up the lookout between the fourth and the lower levels. That way, if the Demon King comes up from below, we'll notice first. ...Wait, though, wouldn't that mean I'm practically inviting the Demon King by being here?"

"Even the Great Spirit needs a reasonable range to sense 'the beloved,' so I believe we'll be fine."

The Great Spirit's range for detecting 'the beloved' is about 100 meters.

I haven't personally tested it by playing hide-and-seek with the Great Spirit, but since the priest at the shrine told us Reifrea confirmed it, it should be accurate.

Incidentally, the staircase from the third to the fourth level easily exceeds 100 meters. The chance of the Demon King ascending from much deeper below to seek me is probably low.

...No, that's not right. If that were to happen, it'd be exactly what I'm hoping for.

After all, I'm here to fight the Demon King.