"Lea, Kuro! I'm counting on you!"

"Leave it to me! Is Nanami okay?"

"She's fine. Ai-chan's with her."

"I'm done over here! Heading to join Jeanne!"

"They're here! Scylla!"

We were deep within the fourth layer of the Meltya Labyrinth.

Today was the battle against Scylla.

Though much has happened since then, I'm still here in Meltya.

◇◆◆◆◇

That day was truly eventful.

The rapid changes in circumstances left even me bewildered, but even after leaving the labyrinth, more things happened.

　

At the entrance to the labyrinth, the guildmaster—the boss of the Adventurer's Guild—and the high priest of the temples of Water and Earth were waiting for us—more precisely, for me and Jeanne.

I briefly considered using dark spirit magic to escape, but since the guildmaster said, "I won't harm you, so come with me," I followed him to the noble's manor we had visited long ago during the demon king's defeat party.

The commotion caused by Ferdinand seemed to be an incident the town couldn't overlook. Naturally, the matter had reached even the noble himself.

We were questioned about the situation, and while we kept our identity as transmigrants hidden, we explained what had happened.

The temple side requested to take custody of both me and Jeanne.

As for me, it must mean they want me to serve as food for the Great Spirit. I find it utterly terrifying that such a thing is casually requested by the temple, but perhaps that's just their way of thinking.

It's similar with Jeanne—once it became clear she was an outcast, they apparently couldn't just leave her alone.

Apparently, being an outcast means you're a natural enemy of the Great Spirit, and normally, such individuals are culled at birth during baptism.

That's why few outcasts survive to adulthood. They only exist in places without the custom of baptism, or where there are no temples dedicated to the Great Spirit.

That's probably why, among the high priests of the grand temple, Jeanne's presence became the greater concern—more so than mine.

In the end, if I were moved to the temple, my fate would likely be much the same as theirs

. I'd even considered escaping by force, but unexpectedly, I found allies in the form of the Adventurer's Guild and the nobleman himself—the count. Jeanne and I are

among the few Gold-ranked adventurers in Melthia, numbering fewer than a dozen, and we're both young with great potential. Rising to Gold rank (Gnome level) in just a few months is nearly unprecedented. The count and the guildmaster protested

fiercely against the temple's attempt to eliminate such promising adventurers. Thanks to their efforts, we

secured a policy of non-intervention.

I must admit, I'm deeply grateful to both the guild and the lord. As a result, we'll be staying and operating in this town for the foreseeable future.

From the count's perspective, it was said that no lord would willingly let capable explorers go to waste, especially considering how expensive the labyrinth city was to maintain.

It might have been a pragmatic calculation, but that very fact made it seem trustworthy.

Even if the temple was good, what about the Great Spirit itself?

It seemed unlikely that such an entity, closer to a natural phenomenon than a sentient being, could even be reasoned with—yet that wasn't a problem either.

After all, the Great Spirit couldn't perceive those it favored from afar; its range of awareness was limited to about one hundred meters at best.

Even now that the Great Spirit knew of my existence, it was still fine—so long as I didn't approach the great temple, there would be no issue.

Ferdinand's case was an exceptional circumstance. In reality, up until then, I'd managed just fine—even though I had once entered the awareness range of the Fire Great Spirit, it hadn't caused any problems.Well, the temple personnel probably would've preferred if I'd moved to some other town, but the lord and the guild seemed to have more influence. After that, they never interfered with me again.

　

I decided to continue my activities in this town, and the only thing still worrying me was the other transmigrants.

Given what happened with Ozawa and Ferdinand, I knew I had to be cautious around the other transmigrants, but thanks to Nanami's sensible suggestion—“Just meet up and talk. We’re stronger here”—we ended up joining forces.

In reality, when we met, they were all just ordinary people.

I did apologize to the three who we’d previously ignored, and they actually understood, probably because of the incident with Ferdinand.

I even bowed nearly to the ground to apologize to Mr. Orikami.

Apparently, he’d received some harsh messages from viewers, really scolding him.

Still, I suppose it was unavoidable—they were good at disguise.

And so, here we are, still living as dungeon explorers in that mansion.

◇◆◆◆◇

"PROTECTION!"

As the spell activated, a translucent shield appeared, blocking Scylla's tentacle attack.

It's a new spell I've learned. Capable of deflecting both physical attacks and spirit magic, it's become a valuable new weapon for me, given my low defense and reliance on evasion.

The recent upgrade to Spirit Power Level 1 helped a lot too.

I no longer tire easily when casting spells in succession.

Since Protection doesn't consume much spirit power, it perfectly suits my fighting style—closing in to strike at the enemy's vital points.

"DARKNESS FOG! FEAR!"

The surroundings are shrouded in darkness. I keep myself protected with a shield as I close in.

At the moment the enemy's movements slow down due to Fear, I leap forward and sever Scylla's neck.

Though Scylla is quite massive in length, its upper body is humanoid, and its vital points are the same as a human's.

As long as I can avoid its tentacles, it's a monster I can handle.

Scylla falls dead, and the surrounding Lamias are likewise hunted down by Jeanne and the others.

The battle is over.

　

"Victory! This stage is indeed interesting. After all, it's profitable."

"But we shouldn't be able to come here so often, not in normal circumstances... You're a bit too strong."

"Leia. This place is just halfway through, halfway through. It's merely a checkpoint. Who knows how far this labyrinth goes?"

"Are you really aiming to push through for real?"

"Didn't I just say that? Now that our concerns are gone, we'll go as far as we can."

The battle at the Lamiar nest was certainly exciting, but it's starting to feel a bit too easy these days.

Scylla is a powerful monster, but once you know how to deal with her, she's not so scary, and the same goes for the Lamias.

We're not overestimating our strength, but it's probably time to take on the next level.

Still, the reason we came here today was to raise Nanami's explorer rank.

"Everyone, good work. No injuries, right?"

"I'm fine. Thanks to Nanami's support. You're getting used to it, aren't you?"

"Hmm, I'm not sure. I'm still pretty overwhelmed, though."

"Nanami-san, thanks again for your help just now."

"Thank her, not me. I'm just the one asking." Nanami had acquired the special skill called "Mind Communication."

It seems that's why Ai joined the group. It's a somewhat dangerous ability—being able to understand what others are thinking—but apparently, it only works if the person consciously tries to read minds. She claims she basically never uses it on humans, though who knows. Well, since there's no way to verify it anyway, we might as well just trust her.

In any case, it's clear that this ability proves highly advantageous in battle as well.

After all, being able to predict how the opponent will move beforehand makes it inherently powerful. According to Nanami, monsters are straightforward in their movements, so any tricks or tricks are easily detectable. At most, they might say things like "Flank them" or "Attack from surprise"—that's about it—but just knowing whether those intentions are coming or not makes all the difference.

If this were against humans, it would essentially be an unbeatable ability.

That's why Nanami giving her seal of approval to the second-wave transfer group, saying "These people are fine," allowed us to relax.

　

Also, Ai is strong. Recently, she's been imitating me and even learned magic.

A monster and quasi-demon lord, she fights with mastery of spirit magic and delivers devastating bite attacks.

In reality, creatures like Lamia aren't even worth fighting. They're probably only at level six or seven among monsters.

Just the strength of the spiritual energy I can sense is stronger than Scylla's.

In fact, monsters around level four won't even approach if Aya is around, which is why Nana mi was able to reach Meltya safely.

"Anyway, let's head back to the guild for now. If we hand in this stone and get it evaluated by a guild member, Nana mi will officially become a Gold-rank."

"Hmm... But Hii-chan, I didn't do anything at all—will that evaluation actually go through? I'm still just Bronze, after all."

Nanami is indeed providing support with her bow, but she isn't actively participating in combat all that much. Thanks to her contract with the Water Great Spirit, she can perform healing and support, though she may not be on the level of a Gold Rank. In terms of spirit magic ability, Jajardan, who is Silver Rank, is far superior.

Still, explorers' parties are meant to include non-combatants who serve as healers.

"It should be fine. I checked with a guild member earlier, and apparently, the performance of summoned animals is also factored into evaluations. While it's rare, there are quite a few explorers in other labyrinths who bring intelligent animals along."

"Then it should be okay. Ai-chan is the cutest in the world, after all."

"That's right. So cute. Fluffy and..."

Janne seemed to care little as long as there was fur, and she particularly adored I.

Despite how clearly monstrous I looked, I had somehow become the guild's mascot.

Ever since I joined the guild, female adventurers flocked to pet me, treating me like a sweet and feeding me spirit stones like candy.

I had wondered if this was even safe, but apparently there were other adventurers who controlled animals, and Nanami's case was accepted without issue.

To me, I looked quite monstrous, yet I was still doted on by the members of 'Crimson Vial' and 'Goddess's Sneeze,' and Reflira didn’t seem to dislike me either.

It was strange. Was my perception just off?

Or was I perhaps being brainwashed...?

"I'm not brainwashed. Hee-chan's just being weirdly scared. Look, this is so cute."

I'm being licked all over by Ai.

Is it cute...? Is it cute because it's cute...?

For me, it's just too overwhelming to feel that immense power, so I can't really see it as cute.

◇◆◆◆◇

"S-so, shall we head home? Hehe, hehehe."

"Leiya... you've had that goofy grin all day."

"Eh~ but what can I do? It's unavoidable, isn't it? Hehe."

"Hmm, maybe I should switch the order after all."

"Eh, really...! You can't be serious...!"

"Just kidding. I'm not going back on my word to a woman now."

　

Exiting the labyrinth and on our way back after reporting to the guild, Refleia, Jeanne, and Nanami are chatting.

Today, I have a meeting with Refleia... I'm supposed to keep the promise made back then.

Somehow, Nanami came to tell me about it and forced me into making the promise.

No excuses would be accepted.

"Hee-chan, this place isn't Japan anymore, you know? You prefer forceful methods? I don't mind, really... but I'd rather it be a beautiful memory, don't you think?"

Nanami's eyes weren't smiling.

I understood her feelings—not just because I'd read the words in that album, but because I just knew. I'm not going to make excuses now, like 'we're childhood friends' or anything like that.

But Nanami does seem more possessive than anything else...

Perhaps she sensed my thoughts, because Nanami quietly began to speak.

"Hmm, if someone felt only halfway about it, I'd be annoyed too. But if you're willing to risk everything on Hii-chan, then I can accept that. And... to be honest, it's originally just a one-sided crush of mine. I just took advantage of the situation and forced my way in. I know Hii-chan is kind-hearted, so I calmly secured my place without making a fuss. I fully understand that."

"Nanami... you're saying things like that..."

"That girl... Reflair, right? Even though I've come and started living with her, she doesn't seem to hate me or think I'm an annoyance at all. She truly, innocently believes that my coming has made Hii-chan feel better... I'm such a fool for wanting to know about her powers like that. I really hate myself for it. Even now, she's thinking only about Hii-chan, isn't she? I can't even bring myself to pull her away from that, not even I."

"Is that so..."

I knew I'd have to think about how things would go with them from now on.

Now that I've become an ordinary transfer user, there's nothing left but to live a normal life. I need to accept that reality, and above all, I'm just an ordinary guy in the end.

"Well, anyway, I plan to spend time with both Jeanne and you from tomorrow on. You'd better prepare yourself."

"Wait, really?"

"What did you expect? Seriously, Jeanne, Reflair?"

"We wanted you to attack us, but oh well."

"Hehehe. Can't wait, Hikaru♪"

Their eyes, fixed on me, gleamed with a predatory light, and I shrank back.

◇◆◆◆◇

I found comfort in that darkness.

In a labyrinth where death loomed at every turn, I crouched in silence, wrapped in shadows, holding my breath.

So no one could see me.

So no one would notice me.

So everyone would forget about me.

In this world, I believed only darkness was real—filthy, rotten, and stained with death and malice.

Only when embraced by darkness, when I melted into it, becoming one with the shadows, did I find peace.

That was my truth.

Morning came, and I crawled out of bed to open the wooden window.

The morning in this other world is full of energy.

Today, too, the chatter of people radiates an intensity that feels anything but early.

The sun shines brightly, illuminating the world.

Even now, the overwhelming number of viewers makes me feel uneasy.

But I no longer think that darkness alone is comforting, as I once did.

I’ve come to understand that I’m here today, right now, because of everyone’s help.

There are people who support me.

There are people who stay by my side.

There are people who love me.

I’ve learned that the real world is bright, and shines this brilliantly.

I’ve been taught this truth.

I’ve been made aware of it.

It's so wonderful to be here right now.

"Hmm, Hikaru. You're awake?"

"Yeah, Refreia. Good morning."

"Hehe... It's kind of embarrassing, isn't it?"

"I'm the one who's more embarrassed..."

I tried a few tricks—pausing the stream using Crystal, switching the camera to manual mode—but instead of dropping, viewership kept rising. I decided to just drink and forget about it.

According to Nanami, my younger sisters will be excitedly streaming live.

That kind of thing couldn't possibly be sustainable for someone with a sane mind.

But that's just one fragment of the world. As Jeanne said, it's now nothing more than a dream or a mirage.

The time that felt like a dream last night—something I thought was real, right in front of me, constantly accusing me—was actually the illusion.

"Refréa. I'll be counting on you from now on."

"Huh? What's this sudden? I'm the one who should be saying that—please stay by my side for a long time. Hehe."

Refréa, whose facial muscles had been slack since yesterday, smiled sweetly.

Her platinum blonde hair, kissed by the morning sun, shimmered as it slid down her shoulders.

(Beautiful... She's truly beautiful.)

Even though I've seen her countless times before, she felt more beautiful than ever—just like the first time I laid eyes on her. Was it because I'd held her in my arms, or was it because my own heart had changed? I couldn't tell.

But this—right here, right now—was the truth.

—It's still early morning. Maybe we could stay like this in the room a little longer.

I opened my status board and pressed the stream stop button.