NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 70
Labyrinth Day 37.
Team 4 explored Cave No. 2 with me today.
Well, rather than exploration, it’s more accurate to say we came to tame some monsters.
[Sii!]
[Siiii!]
[Siiik!]
The habitat of the Dog Spider (Hek Hek Sil Sil Sha I I Ik).
As soon as we arrived here, memories of stealing an egg and taming it on the first day of the labyrinth came flooding back.
That monster I tamed back then was my first partner monster.
It was none other than the special evolution type of the Dog Spider right next to me, the Kinogine Aracne.
“Kino. Some of your parents might be among these.”
[Not likely. I only have my father.]
“I mean biological parents.”
[Even biologically, my father is my only parent.]
“······.”
Kino, adamantly spouting nonsense.
With him as my bodyguard, I began taming the Dog Spiders here one by one.
No combat situation arose.
All the Dog Spiders were friendly towards me.
While they’re not comparable to the Medical Mushroom or Melody Fox, their spot color-change rate was quite fast.
“This wouldn’t have been a problem even if I came alone.”
As expected, if they don’t attack first.
It seems the Dog Spider species shows a friendly attitude without harboring hostility towards other races.
Agreed.
Just as there are psychopaths among humans, there could be aggressive mutant variants among them.
Fortunately, it doesn’t seem like there are any mutants among these guys.
Anyway.
The reason I suddenly came here to tame these guys was simple.
I aimed to tame as many monsters as possible.
And I judged that the Dog Spider was a relatively easy monster to tame.
It makes sense to tame the easy ones first.
Thus, I ended up taming 24 Dog Spiders.
I intended to take the Dog Spiders to the hideout first, but they vehemently opposed moving their homes.
[We like it here!]
[We don’t want to move! Sii!]
[Siiii. We’ll continue living here and occasionally visit the Explorer’s place!]
[I’ll visit often!]
[I don’t want to move. Sii.]
I didn’t particularly mind.
In fact, it wasn’t bad.
Even though my communal place is quite spacious, it will eventually become cramped as the monsters keep increasing.
“Alright, then you can live here.”
[Sii!]
[Thank you!]
“However, you have to keep exploring consistently. Don’t forget to map it out.”
[Got it! Siiiii!]
[Sii! I draw well! I love drawing with thread!]
They will now be responsible for the exploration deep into the Cave No. 2.
I placed one Iris here as a guard and left a spare severed arm before returning to the hideout.
Come to think of it, they did mention today was the gathering day?
Before Rize mentioned it, I was also wondering why it was so quiet today.
‘They must be broadcasting while having their gathering.’
As I was skimming through the three nicknames listed in the Assistant List,
The once quiet chat of the assistants flooded with messages.
Speak of the devil!
“What the heck?”
I couldn’t understand what they were talking about.
As I expressed my confusion over the jumbled messages,
Ha Yumi began to explain the situation step by step.
*
If we lay out the sequence of events, it went like this:
1. The assistants were having a gathering at the café.
2. Suddenly, the part-timer fainted.
3. A while later, the part-timer woke up, saying they regained their memory and joyfully clasped hands with the café owner.
4. Then, unexpectedly approached the assistants, asking if they knew the Gauntlet.
5. The part-timer introduced himself as Sage Lunaris and explained his identity and purpose for coming to this world. The café owner was bewildered.
6. The assistants also explained to Sage what had happened to me.
“······.”
What could this be?
This sudden situation.
I know the name Sage Lunaris.
It’s the name of the Dimension Magician who sent me back to Earth.
And according to Alice, they crossed over to Earth to ask for help when the War Between Humans and Monsters broke out.
‘For now, it seems the part-timer isn’t lying. A regular Earth person wouldn’t know the name Sage and about Dimension Magicians.’
The probability of impersonation seemed extremely low.
【Pururu】—[Photo]
Pururu uploaded a picture.
That seemed to be a photo of Sage’s face.
Sage was a woman, huh?
I had no idea because she always wore a mask and a robe that covered her head.
Her voice was also fairly androgynous.
“Alice, you must have seen Sage’s face before.”
Anyway.
The Dimension Magician has never come to find me.
So I was worried if she had mistakenly crossed into some strange world, but it turned out it was because she lost her memory.
Moreover, it seems she recalled her memory upon hearing my name…
‘This is ridiculous.’
Why she lost her memory was still unclear.
Just as I was about to ask the assistants to inquire on my behalf,
Alice sent the first message, probably curious about the whereabouts of Sage, who had been missing for some time.
It appears there was an accident in the dimensional rift while crossing to Earth.
That was a somewhat acceptable reason.
It seemed Alice didn’t intend to blame Sage.
It was because the incident preventing Sage from asking for help was an unfortunate accident.
However.
If she had properly handled things, Elemenzia wouldn’t have ended up like this.
But Alice’s character wasn’t the type to blurt such things out.
What a considerate person.
Indeed, she was the true hero I recognized.
“Pururu. Can you ask Sage if she can connect a portal to the ancient labyrinth where I’m located?”
I had no intention of asking about my seal.
Sage is a Dimension Magician, not a seal magician.
By the way, I heard almost all the seal magicians of Elemenzia are dead.
“Why?”
Alice and I asked simultaneously.
She can’t open the portal?
A Dimension Magician?
“Did she lose her power too?”
“Okay. Please tell her to focus on her recovery and thank her for me.”
Honestly, I didn’t have high expectations.
I was just asking in case.
I heard from Azelas that even gods capable of handling dimension magic can’t open a portal to the ancient labyrinth.
Of course, that might also be because they have no target to track…
I couldn’t see Sage being able to connect to a world that even gods couldn’t.
“Ah. And one more thing I want to ask.”
“Recently, monsters have been occasionally appearing on Earth. Can you ask if that’s perhaps Sage’s doing?”
“I was wondering if the barrier protecting Earth might have torn when she crossed dimensions.”
This was just an inquiry as well, nothing serious.
It didn’t seem likely that such a solid barrier would rip because of just one person, Sage.
So it seems it wasn’t Sage that was causing the monsters’ appearance.
What a relief.
“Do you know why monsters are appearing?”
*
Some time passed.
It seemed Sage finished her meditation as Pururu’s chat popped up.
It seems there was indeed a problem with the barrier.
But since the Dimension Magician said she would directly restore it, I felt a bit relieved.
“Did you ask her what caused the breach in the barrier?”
“I truly appreciate the help… Please sincerely convey my gratitude to her once again.”
The unexpected reunion.
Well, it’s not like I have reunited, but still.
I slowly organized my thoughts about Sage, the monsters on Earth, and the dimensional barrier.
‘…I hope to keep in touch with Sage frequently for information sharing in the future.’
Unfortunately.
Unless I obtain an invitation ticket higher than the Mid-Level Invitation Ticket, there was no way to make Sage an assistant.
“Pururu.”
“Can you ask Sage if she has a personal phone number? So we can contact each other immediately regarding the progress of the barrier restoration and the cause of the breach.”
Fortunately, it seemed she had a phone.
Did the café owner buy one for her?
“Really? You seem to have a good sense, Pururu.”
“But who is Hwang Mir?”
“Why are we suddenly talking about a chaebol third-generation?”
“…Pururu, how did you become friends with someone like that?”
It was surprising enough to encounter a Dimension Magician by coincidence.
But equally surprising was that Pururu was friends with a chaebol’s third-generation child.
And upon listening, I learned that Pururu had already spilled various stories about me.
So Hwang Mir seemed to have somewhat accepted things like the ancient labyrinth and monsters, along with the otherworldly elements.
‘A chaebol third-generation, huh…’
I should eventually invite her as an assistant when the opportunity arises.
If I can obtain an invitation ticket higher than the Mid-Level Invitation Ticket.
I don’t have any connection with Hwang Mir, but…
Once I get an Upper-Level Invitation Ticket, I should be able to specify friends of friends.
If not, no choice.
For reference, it’s just my speculation that an Upper-Level Invitation Ticket can invite one designated person.
“Anyway, does it mean that Mir is giving her a new house, and Sage is living together with her?”
“Isn’t it uncomfortable living together?”
“That’s good to hear. Sage is okay with it too, right? It’s not like she’s being dragged off against her will?”
And thus.
The Dimension Magician Sage decided to live together with Hwang Mir, Pururu’s friend.
She said she would continue working at the café.
So as to repay the owner’s kindness.
*
At the pond located in Cave No. 8.
[When will you take off my panties?]
“Once we get closer.”
[Hehe. I’m looking forward to it.]
“Don’t expect too much.”
While washing my body alongside the Centauress, a loud voice erupted from Iris on the screen accompanying me.
—[Doo Doom Bar!!!]
—[Pii!!!]
The source of the sound was Team 2, exploring Cave No. 7.
The Hedgehog Summoner and Jellyfish summoned quite a commotion.
What in the world are they making such a ruckus about?
When I zoomed in on the screen, one familiar-looking object came into view behind the monsters.
—[We found it!! We totally found it!!]
—[Pii, piiii!]
It was a vending machine.
A bit more dazzling than the ones I’d seen before.