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[166] A Dangerous Deal (2)
"Rian, stop being stubborn and get a recovery spell tomorrow."
"I'm telling you, I'm fine! It's not like I've got any fatal wounds. Sure, the spot Tess stabbed is weirdly a little sore, but that's all. Hahaha!"
"Rian, the moment you collapse is the moment I die."
Rian's laughter cut off. The living room fell into silence. Everyone watched Sirone and Rian in turn, faces tense.
"Sirone, I…"
"I know. You'll protect me until the day you die. But a choice made in an instant can decide success or failure. If possible, I want you to take more of the blows for me. If you keep being hardheaded like this, I'll have no choice but to reconsider entrusting my back to you."
At a glance, it might sound selfish and cold. No—asking a friend to take a blade for you was undeniably harsh.
But Sirone knew Rian better than anyone.
Rian was fire. And the way to feed that fire wasn't with shallow praise, but by engraving the brutal reality as it was.
Rian's lips curled, slow and firm. Heat surged up from inside, and it felt like every stray emotion was burned to ashes.
"Don't worry, Sirone! One way or another, I'll get this body back to perfect condition! As long as I'm guarding you, no one will lay a finger on you."
Rian looked ready to march out and get a recovery spell that very moment. Freed from her private hell thanks to that, Tess secretly tilted her head back to the ceiling and let out a breath.
'Phew. Thanks, Sirone. Really, thank you.'
Tess had no doubt that Rian would become the greatest swordsman someday. But even if he turned into a blazing sword, she also knew the only person who could grasp that blade and wield it was Sirone.
Early in the morning, Sirone's group left the villa.
In the residential quarter there was a mage guild. The Freeman organization had seized the island, so its influence wasn't great, but since they had a recovery mage, keeping it running wasn't a problem.
Given the nature of a resort, once people relaxed and played, injuries were common.
Commoners turned to folk remedies or a local physician, but nobles went to a recovery mage even if they so much as hurt a finger.
Treatment ran from 1 to 10 gold depending on the kind and severity of the injury, and perhaps because the Freeman had a hand in it, the price was reasonable.
Recovery magic accelerates cellular activity to heal wounds naturally. That differed from a physician, who identifies the cause of an illness and seeks a corresponding method of treatment.
Among Schema users there is a profession called "Surgery" that performs emergency operations, but mages tended to reject artificial means and follow the order of nature.
At higher tiers of magic the theory grew complicated, but even simply activating cells produced outstanding results. The human body knows how to mend itself.
The recovery mage didn't seem particularly skilled. Gis and Rian's wounds weren't light either, so it took two hours before all treatment was finished.
Seeing Rian's skin knit cleanly closed, Sirone once again felt the force of magic.
Of course, two hours made it impractical for use on a battlefield where fighting unfolds in real time. But in the long run, the difference in combat power between a group with a recovery mage and one without would be tremendous.
Back at the villa, Sirone's party quickly repacked and headed out the door again.
Recovery magic only regenerates wounds; it doesn't boost one's condition outright. Even so, Rian was such a sturdy type that he seemed to be brimming with vigor.
Gis, too, apparently confident in his toughness, shouldered his pack without showing much fatigue.
Rian glanced at Gis's bag, puzzled. As their guide, Gis was supposed to part ways once they entered the autonomous zone; he didn't especially need gear.
"Huh? What's that load?"
"Oh, this is lunch. Yuna made it while you were getting treated. She's got killer cooking skills—works at a restaurant."
"Oho, a pro, huh? Perfect. Let's eat now."
As Rian approached, practically drooling, Tess pinched his side and scolded him.
"You just ate. Why are you eating again? Let's get to the ruins first. It'll be trouble if it gets dark."
Everyone knew it was better to set out quickly, since they'd been there once already. Maybe that's why even the girls finished getting ready earlier than usual without a peep.
When they reached a point one kilometer from the ruins, the coachman, as expected, halted his horse. Sirone's group, long used to this, climbed down and went on foot to the site.
Nothing had changed since their last visit.
The noisy crowd, the natives standing guard without expression, even the tavern where they'd met mercenaries were all the same.
They headed for the outskirts of the ruins and decided to eat lunch in a park. Yuna's boxed meal was rice balls—she'd chop the remaining ingredients, soak the rice, then form it. It wasn't a familiar dish, but supposedly it was quite popular on the island.
When Sirone tried it, the taste really was distinctive. All sorts of ingredients mingled for a savory, salty bite.
He worried the portions might be small, but once it settled in his stomach, it felt heftier than bread, which was nice.
Gis looked over the manual written on the note the Freeman had passed along. The information was brief, but after working for the organization for years, he quickly understood how the deal would go down.
He led them to the opposite side of the entrance that led into the Chamber of Achievement and Sacrifice. There, too, a native in civilized clothing stood watch.
"Hello."
"Who are you?"
"We're from the Freeman organization. When can we depart?"
The native looked Gis up and down. But when he produced a pass, the man immediately shared what he knew.
After exchanging a few words in the native tongue, Gis turned to Sirone.
"We have to wait for the ride to arrive. About an hour?"
"Huh? A ride?"
"We'll probably be taking a minecart. That's how it was written. Anyway, they said to come back when it arrives."
Tess looked around at everyone and asked,
"What should we do? Wait here for about an hour? Or look around a bit more?"
Sirone fell into thought. Was it really okay to enter the autonomous zone like this? If it was, then why did the Chamber of Achievement and Sacrifice exist?
As Tess said, it could be tradition—but he judged the odds of that low. Above all, the breath of the Labyrinth reached that place.
"I want to challenge the trial gate one more time."
When Sirone spoke up out of nowhere, his friends turned to him, caught off guard. With an easy route into the autonomous zone at hand, they wondered if there was any need to suffer through that again.
But Amy's thinking was similar to Sirone's. There was definitely something underground in the ruins that people were not supposed to know. Therefore, even if two routes led to the same place, there had to be a particular reason the paths were two.
The only problem was that they couldn't pass the trial. If they got greedy over the impossible, they'd just waste time.
"Do you really think we can pass? Are you thinking of testing it with Laser?"
"Yeah. If possible, I want to try."
"And if even that doesn't work? The minecart might not wait for us. If you enter the Chamber of Achievement and Sacrifice, it'll take quite a while."
"Honestly, even if I fail, I don't think it matters much."
When Sirone said it offhandedly, Amy asked again, baffled.
"It doesn't matter if you fail?"
"There's one thing that nags at me. I can't be sure yet, of course. So how about this? I'll go into the Chamber of Achievement and Sacrifice. The rest of you wait here and take the minecart. That way we can match the timing and experience both routes."
Amy found Sirone's suggestion reasonable. Sirone had gotten the highest score in the Chamber, so there was no need for anyone else to follow. And if he took the trial alone, it wouldn't eat up much time.
"Alright. Then let's head to the trial route first."
With Amy's agreement, the party moved toward the eastern altar. The native standing guard wasn't the same one as when they'd come with the mercenaries.
"Sirone, you remember the passphrase, right?"
"Yeah. You guys stay back. Last time you were standing nearby and they mistook you for my party. This time, I'll go in alone and come back."
"Okay. There shouldn't be any trouble but… be careful anyway."
Sirone walked toward the altar. But before he made it three steps, he stopped where he stood.
Someone must have gone in first—there was a pounding on the door from inside the altar.
The native who had been watching Sirone approach turned his body when the pounding came from within. He worked a mechanism, and the stone wall opened.
'Looks like someone else challenged it. More challengers than I thought?'
Curious to see who was coming out of the trial, Sirone watched the altar with a thrum of anticipation—then, the instant he saw the face, he was shocked out of his wits.
"H—Huh?"
Amy, standing behind Sirone, also flinched and cried out in surprise.
"What the—? How are they here?"
"What's wrong, Amy? You know them? Friends of yours?"
"Hmph! Friends? Hardly! They're enemies!"
Judging by Amy's reaction, they clearly weren't on good terms. Rian and Tess, now more curious, studied the young man and woman who emerged from the altar.
From a distance they looked so alike you might think they were siblings. Black hair and black irises, pale faces set off by a dark aura that gave them a uniquely grim air.
Sirone stared blankly at them. Kanis and Arin, disciples of Arcane.
'Why are they here?'
Of course they were free to go wherever they wished. But this wasn't some common sightseeing spot—it was a place touched by the Labyrinth's spacetime. The fact that they had come out of there set his nerves on edge.
Kanis and Arin were just as startled to spot Sirone's group. But as if they'd expected it to some degree, they quickly regained composure.
"So you were here too, after all."
Kanis approached with a mocking look. Arin, on the other hand, ducked her head shyly. Having lived her whole life shut away in Radum, she wasn't used to social interaction.
Though they had once crossed blades, they would be classmates starting next semester. The single thought in her head was that she had to say hello somehow.
"H-Hi, Sirone."
Mustering every drop of courage, Arin raised a hand to Sirone. Kanis shot her a glare from his fiercely narrowed eyes. Realizing her mistake, Arin hastily lowered her hand—but unexpectedly, Sirone greeted her warmly.
"Yeah, hi. Have you been well?"
"Oh? Uh. You know… just…"
Arin answered in a small voice, watching Kanis's mood. But when the other person was genuinely welcoming, was there any need to be this hostile?
With that thought, she slowly lifted her head—and the moment she met Sirone's First Boundary, Arin jolted and gaped.
'He was impressive then, but now it's even clearer. What a truly curious person.'
Meanwhile, Sirone's thoughts multiplied at Kanis and Arin's appearance. In any case, the fact that they were coming back out of the altar meant the Angel's Pupil had given them a failing verdict.
'So it really isn't easy. The Labyrinth's spacetime.'
As disciples of the Archmage, Kanis and Arin were strong. In actual combat experience, they surpassed anyone at the magic school by far, he believed.
True, Sirone had subdued him before—but even fighting with an elemental advantage, it had been a tough battle.
And yet even they had been unable to advance farther in the Chamber of Achievement and Sacrifice and had turned back. It gave him a sense of just how high the bar of the Labyrinth had been set.