Ten days had passed since leaving Tsutorail. Apparently things had gone smoother than planned, and we were now scheduled to arrive at our destination—the city of Roils in the Reglif territory—the day after tomorrow in the afternoon.
During these ten days, we had stepped outside for sleeping arrangements, meals, and breaks, but for the most part, we stayed inside the carriage.
You would think that spending so much time together would eventually run out of conversation topics, but we never once hit an awkward silence where no one knew what to say.
Most of the time, Carol was the one providing topics and tossing them around to everyone. You could say this was largely thanks to her.
I was honestly impressed at how she kept coming up with new subjects one after another.
That said, she wasn't constantly talking. When I was reading or when others were focused on their own tasks, she didn't force conversation.
She was exceptionally considerate in that way—more like she just naturally did it rather than trying to.
From what I could see, Carol wasn't forcing herself, but she carried past trauma.
It had quieted down recently, but trauma doesn't resolve so easily.
Even now, she often prioritized others over herself. That said it all.
"It's about the right time. Shall we start today's lecture?"
When the conversation reached a natural pause, I spoke up.
We hadn't spent the entire journey chatting.
Though the time was shorter than usual, we had continued our regular lessons during travel.
The clan had asked me not only to teach them as explorers but also about party and clan management—the behind-the-scenes stuff.
These children, who were expected to become central figures in the clan someday, still had a lot to learn.
"Yay! It's Master's lecture time~! What's the topic today?"
"Today it's about labyrinths. A lot will be review, but since we're about to start actual labyrinth investigation, let me explain labyrinths again from the beginning."
After confirming that the three nodded, I began the lecture.
"First, the absolute basics. A labyrinth is an underground space found in various places across the continent where magic beasts appear. No one knows why labyrinths exist, but according to records, they suddenly appeared in various locations hundreds of years ago—back in the age of fairy tales. We explorers dive into them seeking resources unobtainable on the surface and the magic stones that appear when we defeat the magic beasts inside."
Magical tools were now indispensable to daily life.
Most of their outer materials came from labyrinths, and they required magic stones to function.
In other words, without explorers, producing new magical tools would be nearly impossible.
Because of this, the general public held explorers in a certain degree of respect, and explorers themselves took pride in supporting people's lives.
"Some people lump regular labyrinths and great labyrinths together, but they're completely different things. Do you know why?"
"Yes yes! The number of floors! Great labyrinths have a hundred floors, but regular labyrinths max out at thirty, right?"
Carol answered my question immediately.
"That's right. The deepest regular labyrinths are said to reach only thirty floors. No deeper ones have been discovered so far. As for great labyrinths, the western one had a hundred floors, so that's the standard we use—but whether the southern great labyrinth we're active in actually has a hundred is uncertain. The only way to know is to reach the bottom floor. —There are other differences too. Can you think of any?"
"Perhaps the fact that the appearing magic beasts don't change?"
Sophie answered next.
"Correct. In regular labyrinths, while the types of magic beasts vary, they remain consistent from the first floor to the bottom. The only change is that their numbers tend to increase the deeper you go. In contrast, great labyrinths see changes in the appearing magic beasts every set number of floors. From the lower layers onward, even the environment itself changes. —Anything else?"
"...No floor bosses?"
Rogue answered hesitantly.
"Yes, that's probably the biggest difference. Great labyrinths have powerful magic beasts—floor bosses—every ten floors, but regular labyrinths have none."
"That's also why the deepest floor reached in a great labyrinth serves as a kind of status symbol for explorers," Luna added.
I nodded at her comment and continued.
"Even if you conquer a regular labyrinth—meaning you obtain the huge dungeon core at its deepest point—it's hard to objectively judge its difficulty. But in great labyrinths, the magic beasts grow progressively stronger, and every set number of floors you must defeat even more powerful ones. Being able to defeat them serves as objective proof of strength, which is why reached floors became a status symbol for explorers. Well, there's also the rule that 'you may not conquer a labyrinth without permission from the Explorers' Guild,' which plays a part too."
"Master, may I ask a question?"
"Of course. Ask anything."
"I know that conquering labyrinths without permission is prohibited. But I don't understand the reason. Why does the guild forbid labyrinth conquest?"
"The reason is that the disadvantages far outweigh the benefits. We know labyrinths appear in uninhabited places, but we don't understand the mechanism. If every existing labyrinth suddenly disappeared, magic stone supply couldn't keep up."
"Hmm? But there are great labyrinths, right?"
"There are only four great labyrinths on the continent. They might secure the volume of magic stones, but if they're physically far away, it takes time for stones to reach people, and shortages could still occur. That's why regular labyrinths are managed by the Explorers' Guild and conquest is generally prohibited."
"Um, I heard that conquering a labyrinth without guild permission can result in having your explorer qualifications revoked. Is that true?"
"That's not wrong. Depending on the circumstances, if you conquer one without permission, you should assume your qualifications will be revoked."
"Having qualifications revoked sounds like a heavy punishment."
"Labyrinths are that deeply rooted in people's lives. The three of you must never conquer one without permission."
"Yes!"
The three answered seriously when I cautioned them just in case.
"Now, next is labyrinth investigation. I'll explain the details once we're actually inside one, but for now, here's a broad overview."
With the explanation of labyrinths wrapped up, I moved on to labyrinth investigation.
"As the name suggests, it means investigating newly appeared labyrinths. The main tasks involve gathering information necessary for exploration: internal structure, appearing magic beasts, obtainable materials, and so on. It might not click just from hearing about it, but this work is quite dangerous. Sophie, do you know why?"
"Um... because there's no prior information?"
"Correct. For great labyrinths, information up to the middle layers is gathered with 100% certainty. That's how much has been accumulated. You three managed to conquer the 30th floor of the great labyrinth easily the other day—but if you'd gone in blind with zero information, how do you think it would have gone?"
"It definitely wouldn't have gone so smoothly. We might not have been able to conquer it at all..."
"Exactly as Rogue says. With your current strength, you probably could have done it, but it would have taken far more time and stamina."
"Information really is important, huh~"
"Yes, extremely important. The deeper you go in a great labyrinth, the less reliable the information becomes. That's why you need to carefully verify it and gather it with your own feet. Labyrinth investigation is perfect practice for that. In unknown places, you never know what might happen. If you can act normally even in that situation, it will definitely benefit you in future great labyrinth conquests."
"Labyrinth investigation requests normally go to A-rank explorers or higher. For a party that only recently reached B-rank, opportunities to participate are almost nonexistent. Thanks to Orun-san's kindness, let's make the most of this."
"Yes!!!"
◇
"...Well, let's end today's lecture here."
"Eh, already?"
Even though lectures during travel were shorter, they usually lasted a bit longer.
But today, this was it.
"Today's over. All three of you, look outside."
I pointed toward the carriage window and urged them to look.
At that moment, the carriage made a sharp right turn onto the coastal road.
Beyond the window I had pointed to, the scenery changed—and the sea spread out in full view.
Since Carol and the others had talked about wanting to see the sea, Elvis had kindly chosen a slightly longer coastal route.
The weather was perfectly clear, not a cloud in the sky.
The water's surface reflected the sunlight with an almost divine brilliance.
"Wooooow...!! Amazing! So blue! So wide!"
Carol cried out upon seeing the sea.
Sophie and Rogue also stared wide-eyed, murmuring "beautiful" and "amazing."
Even I, who had never seen the sea on quite this scale before, was nearly speechless with awe.
"Hahaha! How's that? Pretty impressive, right?"
Elvis, riding alongside on horseback, called out proudly.
"...Yes. It's breathtaking. Thank you so much for letting us see this view."
"Don't mention it!"
As the carriage continued parallel to the sea, the distance to our destination—the city of Roils—steadily shrank.