Chapter 177: Prologue
Chapter 177: Prologue
【182nd day】
I looked at the stars.I looked at the stars inside the depths of the dungeon.
I watched them twinkle in a vast empty space that seemed to have no end.
I could see a Milky Way on the ceiling that was far, far above me. And all around me stretched a darkness of nothingness.
The 45th floor of the Odoriji spire.
Also known as the Floor of Stars.
While its name makes it sound like a date spot and it does in fact boasts a spectacular view, it’s still the inside of the dungeon, so it’s fraught with danger.
Our party is centering our exploration of this floor around the portal.
All in all, this floor is very dark.
There really seems to be nothing here.
Light doesn’t extend past a certain distance here, so it seems that this is a special space that absorbs light.
「Uhmm, there’s nothing here」
「Yeah, there’s nothing here」
As I responded to my sister, I explored the area carefully. Neither my vision nor my senses seemed to be able to pick up anything. If I were alone, I would have gone crazy. Fortunately, the ground was relatively stable.
If there was a pitfall in this place, I would probably fall in quite easily.
「Hey, Souya. I’m almost out of rope」
「Already?」
「Already」
Shuna, the person in charge of the rope, showed me what little rope was left.
The party had to pause for a moment.
A stake had been driven into the ground near the starting portal and his rope had been tied to it. I drove a new stake from my backpack into the ground and then tied the end of the rope I had received from Shuna to it.
「Who’s next?」
「It’s me」
Otou-san tied the rope he was carrying to the stake, and then the party resumed exploring.
「Ummm, it’s quite “that”, isn’t it?」
「Yeah, it’s quite “that”」
Shuna and Ea muttered to each other.
Well, I know how you two feel.
It’s been like this ever since we stepped onto this floor of stars. For a floor that marks those who reach it as advanced adventurers, it’s more “that” than I had expected.
「What’s this “that” that the two of you are talking about?」
Rana isn’t very astute about these kinds of stuff. She’s the type of person who can work endless hours on the most menial of tasks. Complaints of this sort are likely outside her understanding.
「Onee-chan, (it’s) so plain」
「Eh? Didn’t you say that I’ve started to show more skin and dress up more than before?」
「No no, I’m not talking about you. It’s the adventure that’s plain. Whether it’s the Horns or the horde of polar bears, there had been a lot of flamboyant and dangerous adventures lately, right? This floor is only for advanced adventurers, so I had wondered what it would be like, but not only are there no enemies, all we’ve been doing is moving around while holding onto ropes the entire~~ time」
Otou-san cleared his throat and then replied.
「Princess Ea, you seem to have misunderstood something. Adventures are inherently plain affairs. It’s only the results of accumulated plain efforts that are talked about glamorously. I don’t know why this party always ends up in flamboyant and dangerous situations though. I wonder whose fault it is」
It’s my fault.
「Come to think of it, what kinds of things did you do when you were adventuring alone, Otou-san?」
Because I’m also interested, I won’t stop Shuna from saying unnecessary things this time.
「I was the picture of plainness. I spent five years probing every inch of the maniacal floor’s walls, and I finished probing every inch of its floor in the next five years, so I carried a ladder around and probed every inch of its ceiling. That one took me a long time.
Including the time I spent examining the floor of the floor above, it took me about eight or nine years. I looked and looked, and found nothing. And I was unable to find any way to open or destroy the one suspicious wall. Out of sheer despair, I massacred the monsters on that floor and got myself banned from going near the dungeon for about two years.
I took that as an opportunity to try and glean some information from the forbidden books of the Hohens and Jumikura Schools, but it was to no avail. After rotting away for about four years, I challenged the dungeon again. Of course, I had to start all over from the beginning, examining the walls inch by inch. How’s that? Plain, isn’t it?」
『………………Oh, yeah』
Shuna and Ea were put off by his story.
Yeah, this is the kind of person he was.
It’s not so much plain as it is maniacal.
The party walked on in silence. The lights of our lanterns were unreliable. Now that no one was speaking, the darkness felt even thicker.
Come to think of it……
「What kind of lights are those?」
『Who knows? What are they, indeed. None of Yukikaze’s sensors are picking up anything though』
I talked with Yukikaze in whispers.
About the lights, or perhaps stars on the ceiling.
I can’t see them being artificial lights like those in a planetarium. Don’t tell me, are those lights coming from monsters? If every one of those stars is an enemy, we’ll be in for a world of hurt.
『Next time, Yukikaze will bring a flying observation drone』
「This space feels so strange. If things go wrong, won’t we lose control of it?」
『The possibility of that is high, indeed』
The drone’s parts can be repurposed into mini-pod parts. They’re invaluable and irreplaceable in the alternate world. I don’t want to risk them unnecessarily, but………
「For now, I’ll take it under consideration」
『Roger』
I don’t want to spend endless hours wandering around this place. But I want to go where we need to with the utmost caution. Finding the right balance is the hardest part.
「You know something, Onii-chan?」
「Hmm, what’s the matter?」
「You were just whispering with Yukikaze, right?」
「That’s right」
My sister asked me a weird question.
「Is it my imagination? When Yukikaze was speaking, the stars above seemed to flicker at the exact same time. Try saying something as a test」
Could it be………
『Amenbo, akai na, a i u e o.
(Pond skater, is red, pure pronunciations)
Ukimo ni, koebimo, oyoideru.
(Little shrimps are swimming among the seaweed)
Kaki no ki, kuri no ki, ka ki ku ke ko.
(Persimmon tree, chestnut tree, pure pronunciations)
Kitsutsuki, kotsukotsu, kare keyaki.
(Woodpeckers pecking untiringly, withered zelkova tree)
Sasage ni, suwokake, sa shi su se so.
(Soak cowpeas in vinegar, pure pronunciations)
Sonou o, asase de, sashimashita.
(That fish was stabbed in the shallows.)
Tachimasho, rappa de, ta chi tsu te to, indeed.
(Let’s stand up with our trumpets, pure pronunciations)』
While Yukikaze was playing the Japanese syllabary song[1], I stared at the ceiling.
「Huh? That’s weird. Was I just seeing things?」
There had been no changes in the stars.
This isn’t a thirty-minute mystery episode. Hints aren’t going to just fall out of the sky at the drop of a hat and in convenient fashion, I guess.
「That’s it for mine」
Otou-san had also run out of rope. Lys was next.
Without saying a word, she tied the ropes and we started moving again.
Time after time, when the ropes ran out, we would drive a stake into the ground, tie the ropes to them, and then move on. And that went on and on.
And then………
「Ah」
Finally, my rope also ran out, and today’s exploration was over. We had no choice but to go back.
When there’s no rope to follow, all that awaits is to get lost amidst this darkness and die.
As there were no monsters to fight, there were no materials for us to sell as well. However, we aren’t returning empty-handed. We had learned the valuable lesson that exploring aimlessly in the dark is futile.
Should I use the drone, as Yukikaze suggested? Or should I get Rana to light the place up spectacularly with her magic?
Well, for now, we should head back first.
「Let’s head back. Roll call」
「Yeah」
That was Otou-san’s voice.
「Here」
Shuna’s voice.
「Here~」
Ea’s voice.
「Here」
Rana’s voice.
「………………」
Lys replied with silence.
「I’m here」
Someone’s voice.
「!?」
Who’s there?
I drew the cane-sword and turned towards the direction the voice had come from. There was………………no one there.
「Dear, what’s the matter?」
「Well, I heard a voice」
「A voice?」
Rana looked around cautiously, but she had a quizzical look on her face.
「I don’t hear anything. Ea, did you hear something?」
「Nope. But when it comes to short-range enemy detection, Onii-chan is better than me………」
My sister also looked around. But she also didn’t find anything.
「Otou-san, do you hear anything?」
「To tell the truth, I do hear something. No, well, but hey, you guys, don’t be too surprised, okay?」
What’s with all the preamble?
「Since a while ago, I’ve been hearing the voices of my deceased friends. They’ve been calling out to me from all directions. Well, no need to be concerned, I’m probably just hearing things because of my age. I’ve gotten used to this kind of thing since the incident with Verxina」
A chill passed through everyone else in the party.
You should have reported such occult phenomena at the earliest opportunity.
「S, Souya, I just heard the barking of the dog I used to keep」
「O, O, Onii-chan, I just heard the voice of my deceased mother」
「What’s this, everyone? Please calm yourselves down. I’ve also been hearing the whispers of my deceased mother, but I’ve been able to shrug them off by assuming that I’m just hearing things」
「Alright, let’s all just calm down」
There was mass panic.
「Onii-chan」
「What is it, Ea?」
「Eh? What?」
Thinking that I had been called, I turned back towards the voice. There was nothing but darkness before my eyes, and the voice of my real sister came from behind me.
「Yeah, I must be tired as well」
It feels like I’m losing my mind in this darkness.
I heard giggling.
Lys was tittering with an oddly seductive look on her face. ……………… Scary!
「Get in line. Everyone line up in the order we had decided on beforehand」
It’s in times like this that the leader has to get it together.
I took the lead, with Shuna grabbing my shoulder from behind, Ea grabbing his shoulder, followed by Rana, Lys, and finally Otou-san.
Just in case, I checked to make sure everyone was present.
Other than Lys’ smile, there were no problems.
No, I get the feeling that it could be a pretty serious problem in and of itself.
「We’re leaving」
As if we were pretending to be a train, the party was off. We must have looked like a bunch of moronic advanced adventurers.
Following the map displayed on my glasses and the ropes, I made my way back. It was fine when we were exploring, but the return journey was definitely scary.
On top of that……
……I “saw” something out of the corner of my eye.
A little distance away, in the darkness, there stood a girl all alone.
She was a young girl with short black hair. She had strong-willed and unyielding eyes, and a petite, thin body. For a ghost or phantom, she seemed strangely full of life.
What stood out even more to me was her attire.
A white sleeveless top and denim hot pants. Over those, she wore a large jacket with its sleeves rolled up.
That jacket looked familiar to me. It had a simple design with no pockets and was chocolate-colored. The jacket had a smooth-looking texture. It looked like the one I bought a long time ago.
And she was leaning her weight on a single modern-looking crutch. From the crutch the young girl had to the clothes she was wearing, she was clearly not from the alternate world.
What’s going on here?
Did a foreigner die on this floor in the past?
And what’s with this strange sense of déjà vu?
Is she someone I know? But I have no memory of her at all.
It’s bothering me.
I feel strangely drawn to this girl.
『Team member Souya』
「Souya!」
I snapped out of it when Yukikaze and Shuna called out to me.
The party was quite a distance from the ropes.
「Did anyone see her?」
The place I pointed to, there was darkness.
There was only darkness.
『………………』
Oh shit. I’ve messed up. Everyone in the party has gone silent.
「Okay, let’s switch places」
「I’m counting on you」
I handed my glasses to Ea and switched positions with her.
With her in the lead, we marched off in a line with Shuna, me, Rana, Lys, then Otou-san behind her.
From that point to the portal, nothing happened. It was almost anticlimactic.
However, the fact that we were able to return safely today without losing anyone was a great harvest.
But there was just one thing.
The girl I saw in the darkness.
Even after I had returned to the outside, the memory of her stayed with me and haunted me for quite some time.
[1] This is a children’s song that’s meant to let them practice the 50 sounds in the Japanese language. And yeah, what you read there isn’t the whole song.
Woah, it went from curious to scary occult stuff and then to WTF territory! That’s Souya’s sister, isn’t it? Is this an effect of the floor or the hat the Faceless King gave him? What a way to kick off the volume, huh? Stay tuned!!!