[142] The Time-Space Maze (6)
"Come on, let's get out of here! No objections, right? Hey—open that iron door!"
The leader pounded on the iron door. His pride was bruised, and he could no longer bear his comrades' cold stares.
"Does everyone agree?"
He asked, but no interpreter was needed. The mercenaries nodded without a word and moved toward the door.
They felt wretched. Entering here had been a terrible mistake. They'd tried to make a profit off the loop and ended up with their pride shredded and their money wasted.
"Come on, let's go. This way."
The mercenaries' attitude had changed. Their disappointment was deep, and unless the kids really were exceptional, it was best to be cautious.
But Shirone's group didn't take a step; they only watched the mercenaries.
The party's mage felt a prick of unease. Her bad feeling was, as usual, correct—Amy said coolly, "We don't want to leave yet."
Every mercenary turned their head at once. Rage, confusion, fear—every emotion flashed across their faces.
The quickest-thinking one swallowed his anger and spoke in a calming tone.
"Why don't you want to leave? It's over, isn't it? We're exhausted too; we don't want to keep going."
"That's your problem. Once you enter here, the whole group is treated as one. Didn't you know? You can't just leave on your own without asking. That would be troublesome."
The mage was stung, but for now she had no choice but to placate Amy.
"All right. I didn't think that far ahead. Fine—let's go."
"Sorry, but that won't work. We're passing through here to get to Kergo."
"But there's no way to get there! Ah—!"
The woman's face went pale. There was a way.
This was the Room of Achievement and Sacrifice. It didn't demand only proof of achievement.
The man with the white tattoo spoke in a low voice.
"Leave or remain? If you want to prove skill, pass through the Maze's Spacetime. If you want to prove sacrifice, sacrifice four people to send four through."
"Huh? What did you say?"
Before Rian could ask, the archer interpreted—of course, heavily distorted and mangled.
"Ah, it just means once you're done, get out."
Amy smiled.
"Huh, that's odd. I clearly heard it differently. It said, 'Sacrifice four to send four through.'"
Shock flickered in the archer's eyes.
"You… you actually understood the native tongue?"
"What are you talking about? I heard it the first time we came in. Do you think I'm an idiot? Can't I remember something I heard once?"
The archer gaped. Oh—so that was it? No, wait. Remembering a phrase you'd never heard before would be the strange thing, wouldn't it?
"Anyway—four sacrifices. One, two, three, four. Exactly four."
Blood drained from the mercenaries' faces. That girl actually planned to sacrifice someone.
Rian and Tess felt the tension of a real fight. Tess, in particular, stamped her feet in panic as cute Amy turned terrifying.
"Shirone, is this really okay? Hii, Amy's scary."
"It's fine. She's doing it on purpose."
"She's doing it on purpose? I'm not so sure."
"Wait and see. Amy will handle it."
The mercenaries looked at one another. If it came to a fight, they'd lose. Rian and the warrior were evenly matched, and Tess was stronger than their leader.
Besides, their mage had been overwhelmed in combat, and against Shirone's photon magic the archer was useless.
"Go ahead and try. Those faces show you don't want to be sacrifices. Either way, do your best."
"Why are you doing this? Because of what happened at the tavern?"
Amy cocked her head as if teasing.
"Hmm?"
The archer realized a clumsy reply wouldn't calm things. He walked up to Shirone's group and bowed respectfully.
"Sorry! We made the mistake of looking down on you. Forgive us just this once. Hey, you—come here and apologize too."
When the archer bowed and turned, the other three reluctantly stepped forward. But since it was a matter of life and death, their apologies were sincere.
"Sorry! I was too arrogant. Please forgive me."
"We won't do it again. We learned a lot from this. Could you let us forget what we did at the tavern?"
Amy frowned.
"Hmm, I don't get it. What mistake did you make against us? Wait—the tavern? You were in that tavern? Strange. Why didn't I see you?"
The mercenaries' faces went beet-red. Their pride hadn't just been bruised—it felt trampled into the dirt.
Even Shirone shivered at Amy's persistence this time.
'Make Amy angry and you get punished like that.'
Amy and Tess had taken the brunt of the mockery at the tavern.
They'd suffered insults and humiliation simply for being women—memories Amy would not forget until she'd had her revenge, even if decades passed.
In a way, it was the mage's obsession with efficiency.
Even when it wasn't strictly necessary, a mage hated wasting any advantage given. If she couldn't make full use of an edge, she was annoyed.
That's why people call mages eccentric. Many truly do lack human warmth.
But that obsessive drive for efficiency is what pushed magic forward and would continue to do so.
"What do you expect us to do? Damn it."
The mercenaries bowed their heads, not knowing what else to do. You could almost hear them grinding their teeth.
Only then did Amy get to the point.
"I'll make one proposal. If you accept just this, we might go out with you."
"What…?"
"You said you needed a passphrase to enter here, right? What is it?"
The archer realized they were planning to come back. After countless investigations to verify the possibilities, Shirone's group intended to re-enter.
"Kertia, ro Hoima. Acrasia, Widmia Benzen. That's the passphrase."
"What does it mean?"
"Knock on my door and it shall be opened."
Amy turned to the man with the white tattoo and repeated the ancient words the archer had given them—not a syllable wrong.
"Kertia, ro Hoima. Acrasia, Widmia Benzen?"
The natives guarding the exit noticed Amy's intent and nodded.
The archer was stunned. No—impressed. He was speechless at her thoroughness.
"Damn it! Have some faith in people! Do you think I'd lie even now?"
"Who said anything? It's fine to be sure. Anyway, got it. Thanks."
Amy grinned and skipped back to her friends as if nothing had happened. Tess clicked her tongue at the way Amy's emotions shifted like a chameleon.
"You were trying to figure out the passphrase? I thought we were going to fight—my heart was racing."
"Heh. If we're coming back anyway, better to know it. Let's head out."
When both Shirone's group and the mercenaries expressed their intent to leave, the man with the white tattoo pulled the device beside the iron door.
The entrance vibrated and opened the way out.
As when they'd come in, the mercenaries climbed the stairs first.
But the atmosphere was different now. They walked with their heads bowed like the defeated, and no one spoke.
Shirone's group was silent too.
They hadn't reached the autonomous district, but that could be planned for later.
Right now their heads were full of thoughts about the Maze's Spacetime they'd just experienced.
'Maze's Spacetime. Why did the Maze create such a device? Why set such cruel rules? What's in Kergo? Was there some connection between Kergo and the Maze from the start? I want to know. Maybe the Maze is—'
While Shirone analyzed the maze, Amy walking behind him was lost in her own thoughts.
'There isn't only one way to investigate ruins. Let's plan every possible strategy. Shirone seems to have ideas, but we can't rule out exploring underground via the Spirit Zone. Even if we pass, there'll be the interpreter issue. Once we're out, we need to find someone who can interpret. We'll find someone among the locals.'
Tess was impressed too. Being able to quantify her own strength had been a real gain.
'The impact of the holy blade can outdo a blunt weapon. But magic still beat it in the end. Could a swordsman pass that door? If so, to what degree? Shirone's magic nearing 5,000 means my strike would be roughly a tenth of that. If the passing standard is about twice that, could my father manage? Ugh, if only I knew the cutoff I could set a goal. Shirone said we'll come back—I'll investigate more then.'
Rian, at the rear, was also quiet, a crease forming between his brows.
'What should we eat once we get out?'
After about thirty minutes of walking, Shirone's group reached the surface altar.
They knocked and a native opened the door, but inertia from the underground kept everyone on edge.
The fresh air outside cleared their lungs. Though it had been only a few hours, the sun above felt different, as if it belonged to another day.
Shirone's group and the mercenary band split off in opposite directions. They didn't disappear from each other's sight—Shirone's group wanted to savor the aftertaste, and the mercenaries looked like they might collapse.
Shirone summed up the day's work.
"What now? We got more than I expected. Shall we end the ruins exploration for today?"
Amy was all for it.
"Yeah. I'm tired from all that. Let's go back early and plan."
Rian, as if he'd discovered something important, spoke up.
"Before that, how about a bowl of noodles? That place earlier was good."
Tess shot him a look.
"You eat noodles and then you eat more? At least let it be buckwheat noodles. That's what I mean by simple."
"What are you on about? I put a lot of thought into my decision!"
"And what does that matter? We end up in the same place anyway."
While Rian and Tess argued about the menu, the mercenaries approached. Shirone's group fell silent and turned to them.
There was the warrior, the mage, and the archer—but the leader was nowhere to be seen.
The mercenaries hesitated and exchanged glances. Eventually they picked the mage as the spokesperson and shoved her forward.
She seemed awkward in the role, and it took her a moment to find words.
"Um… would you like to join our mercenary band?"
"A mercenary band?"
"Yes. Believe it or not, being a mercenary has many benefits. Honor, and lots of money. With your skills, you'd be a star right away. As you can see, the leader quit… ah, of course you could be the new leader. If you give orders, we'll follow you, and if others join you'll be well treated. What do you say?"
Shirone looked straight into the mage's bright eyes. Then, as if he hadn't given it a second thought, he answered immediately.
"No."
With that, he turned and walked away; his friends followed without hesitation.
"Come on, just let's eat noodles. It honestly tasted good."
"No. You just want to fill your stomach first. If you wait a bit, we can eat something much better."
The mercenaries stared after the departing group in dazed silence.
The mage's face fell into a frown and she let out a heavy, regretful sigh.
"Ugh… my unlucky life."
(End of Volume 6)