LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 30
Entering the 5th District.
Tynia with her radar and Saha with her flamethrower, beep, whoosh.
They truly could dash in a straight line all the way to the exit.
But.
“Meow…”
“Lumi? What’s wrong?”
“Meow… I don’t know…”
While breaking through the 5th District, Lumi kept sniffing and fidgeting.
Even while swatting at spiders, she would suddenly whip her head around to stare at the empty air.
Even while following the ‘right path’ marked by Tynia, she kept swaying her tail and trying to take a detour.
…They say if a dog stares intently at nothing, it’s seeing a ghost.
“Lumi, do you see a ghost?”
She shook her head.
Phew.
I let out a sigh of relief.
Well, even if there was one, wouldn’t Yo-hena take care of it?
“…Er, there isn’t one, right…?”
Excuse me?
Saint?
“I-I don’t believe in ghosts, but… I’m a little scared…”
If the Saint is scared of ghosts, then who on earth is going to exorcise them?
“Ha-ha-ha! Yo-hena! Are you scared of ghosts? Tynia isn’t scared at all!”
Bing!
Just when Tynia poked Yo-hena in the side, her head got whacked.
“…I’m not scared of demons!”
Well, I suppose that’s true.
Even I can see Tynia isn’t scared.
“Wahh! Master, the Saint hit me!”
“Well, why are you teasing people? I’m scared of ghosts too.”
Typical of a man.
Frankly admitting it.
Even until they finished purifying the 5th District, Lumi was still anxiously spinning around.
…It wouldn’t be good to say she was like a puppy looking for a place to pee, right?
“Lumi, what’s wrong? I really need to pee! Woof!”
But carelessly, Tynia ended up saying that terrible thing.
She got punished for it.
Is it a reward?
Tynia looked at me desperately.
I turned my back to Tynia.
Why would I take a hit for you?
There are things you can and cannot say.
“Arc. I believe there’s definitely a reason for Lumi’s strange behavior. I also feel something is off.”
“Is Saha feeling the same way?”
…Hmm.
To be completely honest.
I wanted to get through the maze section as quickly as possible.
I couldn’t produce unlimited antidotes.
Since it was a narrow area, there were too many factors threatening my life.
Still.
“All right. Then let’s try breaking through the 5th District once more. We can always quit and exit in between anyway.”
Lumi’s sudden behavior.
No, I decided to trust my instincts.
When a dog does something it usually wouldn’t, it means something unusual is happening.
Thus.
“Woof!”
This time, Lumi would take the lead, using her instincts to guide us.
“Meow!”
She would occasionally punch the spiders in the head with dog punches.
“Arf, arf!”
When it seemed like they were coming out in droves, she’d switch to autonomous Robo-Lumi mode, using provocations strategically to draw attention.
“Tynia, woof!”
“Lumi, meow!”
When Lumi threw a spider into the air, Tynia finished it off with a magical shot—creating a combo show.
“…Um, how long do we have to do this?”
“As long as I sense… er, until the danger passes.”
I was.
Being cradled in Saha’s arms, enjoying the cold metallic material of her armor.
“I was going to say until I’m satisfied.”
“No. That’s a misunderstanding.”
Hmm.
Is this an excess of self-awareness?
She made a serious face and said “no,” and I felt really embarrassed…
Anyway.
While I was reminded that if I kept my feet on the ground, I could get caught by the approaching spider webs like tentacles, I ended up in this humiliating situation.
At least if I had armor…
Wait a bit… Saha…
Then.
“Arf! Arf! There’s something here, woof!”
“Oh!”
Finally, Lumi found something.
Jumping out of Saha’s arms with a “hup,” she got closer to see.
There stood a massive closed iron door.
“Saha?”
Saha walked up silently, then—
BANG!
The door was smashed inwards.
…I really shouldn’t provoke her. Oh dear.
In that way.
BANG!
BANG!
The iron door (which it had been) opened, and we were greeted with—
“Huh…”
“What is this…”
“Wow, Ara-krene. Such a disgusting smell…”
“Oh gods…”
“Ugh, this is just too much!”
Thicker spider webs, far more than those that had previously blocked our path, adorned cocoons everywhere.
Inside the cocoons.
One person was tied up in each.
Approaching as if in a trance, I placed my fingers below the noses of the people.
Fortunately.
They were breathing.
“Do we have any sharp objects? Ari, even an arrowhead will do. Yo-hena, please heal after checking their condition.”
Instinctively.
The thought of needing to rescue them came first.
“Cursed things!”
Occasionally, several strands of spiderweb twitched as if in a convulsion, targeting us, but Saha lit them up with flames, burning them without harming the cocoons.
For a while, it calmed down.
We lost track of time as we focused on rescuing the people inside the cocoons to the best of our abilities.
“Hah, hah.”
Even though my body was weak.
I did my utmost to carefully peel away one cocoon.
As slow as I was.
Lumi sharpened her claws and made quick work of it.
Ari smoothly used her hunting dagger that she always carried.
Tynia, while using fire less than the others, gradually melted the material safely with her magic.
Booom!
Saha kept her vigilance, occasionally ripping one cocoon open with her hands.
…
The intensity was overwhelming.
So, as we rescued people from the cocoons.
When we made them drink the antidote we had prepared, those who had lost consciousness began to awaken one by one.
…Really.
It was a relief.
Thus, as the awakened people finally gathered their wits and joined the rescue operations.
When we had saved everyone—
[The Tower of Wishes 11th Floor – Hidden Clear of the Great Maze Labyrinth 5th District!]
[★★★★: Destroy the Ara-krene’s Storehouse.]
[Hidden conditions achieved! A hidden quest arises.]
“Ha.”
Normally, I would have thought, “Oh, there’s a hidden route—”
But.
“Ugh, that was scary…”
“Thank you, thank you!”
“We can go back now…”
Just like when we rescued the townspeople in the 6th District 9th Area, something welled up in my chest.
Relishing the feeling of being touched.
I checked the newly arisen quest.
– Hidden Quest ▶ Ara-krene’s Storehouse
* Destroy all of Ara-krene’s Storehouse. (1/3)
* Reward: 5,000 points / 3 Magic Random Boxes
“…?”
The points were quite generous, but what could the magic random boxes be?
I had a feeling.
They smelled like money.
Very strongly…!
With pride.
A sense of contentment washed over me, and my lips blossomed into a perfect smile.
Lumi…!
You adorable little puppy…!
Even if you lick my face while I sleep and run away, I’ll forgive you!
* * *
Fortunately.
Just like the townsfolk we saved on the 6th floor.
The people we rescued from the 11th floor were also close to being NPCs created by the tower.
But what does it matter?
After all, they were still people.
As I watched them scatter one by one, feeling the joy of survival mixed with worry, I thought—wasn’t another dimension connected to the places they went out to?
That might be the case.
But I decided not to think that far.
The worldbuilding was becoming too complicated.
If it’s not an immediate problem, let’s keep it simple.
“Woof!”
Lumi gave me a sparkling look, hoping for praise.
Pet, pet.
“Yay!”
Hmm, so cute…
While Tynia bounced nearby.
One affection per person, please.
And if I slip up, it could result in trouble for me, based on industry standards.
“With the antidotes running low, let’s call it a day for the maze exploration. We still have a little left in the entry allowance. Let’s wrap that up on the 10th floor.”
With the clues for the hidden quest secured.
Feeling good from having rescued people.
And biting off spider corpses to gather a fair amount of alchemy materials.
I could say I had a great time today.
Our brave warriors went to bathe, complaining about sticking.
And I headed to the shop with our future store manager, Tynia.
“Oh, welcome back! But, sniff, what’s that smell? It reeks of spider? Come, come.”
Spray.
Elise sprayed something that smelled like a certain product.
“What’s this?”
“It’s a perfume that gets rid of bad smells. It’s a necessity since bathing frequently is hard in the Demon World.”
The Demon World is quite an inhospitable place…
In any case, removing a bit of the smell, I dumped all the materials I had crammed into my inventory.
While our future manager grumbled as she organized, I snuck in a few materials and requested alchemy from Elise.
[Poison Resistance Ring (RANK 4)]
[An ordinary iron ring infused with alchemical energy, granting it special abilities. Increases the wearer’s poison resistance.]
[Obtains immunity to poisons of Level 2 or lower.]
The completed ring—
I slipped it onto my finger.
Fortunately, it fit perfectly without any issues.
…It seems like I’m not affected by the rank restrictions.
In that case, it’s time to test its capabilities.
Perhaps because she’s a demon, Tynia, unaffected by poisons, grimaced as she held a flask filled with gathered venom.
“Elise? If I feel unwell, please feed me this.”
“Fufufu…”
What’s with that sinister smile?
Anyway, since Tynia is here, there shouldn’t be any problems even if something goes wrong.
Cautiously opening the cork, I sniffed.
….
Drip, drip.
….
There was no reaction even when it touched my skin.
“Thank goodness…”
I had been slightly worried about living my whole life as a cursed and weak porter who couldn’t even benefit from item effects.
Although the heroes’ equipment might be too heavy and female-specific for me to wear,
I could at least share accessories and get the minimal necessities.
With a lighter heart.
“Elise? Can you prepare plenty of antidotes by lunchtime tomorrow, um, about 200 bottles? Please.”
I placed the order.
Though Elise was disgusted by the diligence of the good company,
A traitor usually has to work harder to be acknowledged.
And now I checked another reward I had been anticipating.
The additional features of the shop newly unlocked by clearing the 10th floor.
Previously labeled as ‘???’ in the UI.
What was its true identity!
It was!
“…?”
[Additional Feature: Secret Workshop]
[Not constructed.]
[Construction Requirement: Clear 10th Floor of the Tower / 2,000 Points]
What’s this Secret Workshop?
What, is today a hidden paradise?
Why do points cost so much?