The Wind Labyrinth's Decline and a Moment of Rest

After parting ways with Kazusa, Azu and the others headed for the inn.

Their legs were heavy with exhaustion, but they managed to reach it. They stored their gear in the depot, scrubbed off the grime and fatigue at a nearby public bathhouse, and slept like the dead.

Even Alexia, who had the most stamina of all of them, was visibly worn out.

Azu was especially drained. She slept for a full day straight.

She felt like she'd seen something in her dreams. But when she woke, it had already scattered like mist.

They took three days of rest to be safe, then set out for the Wind Labyrinth again. But…

"No monsters?"

"Yeah, it's a real problem."

A party of adventurers they'd seen before in the Wind Labyrinth was standing at the entrance.

When they exchanged greetings, the adventurers explained the situation with clearly troubled faces.

"To be precise, there are still some monsters on the first and second floors. But below that? Nothing. We haven't checked the really deep floors since it's too dangerous, but it's probably the same."

"That's… a problem. Can't hunt if there's nothing to hunt."

"Exactly. And it was such good money, too."

After a brief exchange, the adventurers moved on. Probably off to find another hunting ground.

Azu's group was in the same boat. There was no point coming here to earn money if there was nothing to fight.

"Want to check inside?"

"… No, it's probably true. They didn't seem like they were lying."

"This place was never hugely popular to begin with, so there'd be no reason to lie about it. Their packs were empty, too. Come to think of it, the Guild didn't mention anything about the labyrinth expanding, did they? Maybe they don't know yet."

"Well, the expanded area closed up almost immediately. You wouldn't know about it unless you were inside the labyrinth during that earthquake."

"I wonder if Kazusa told anyone?"

Azu recalled the wild-cat-like girl she'd come to think of as a friend.

She hadn't seen Kazusa at the Guild.

No matter how effective a healing miracle was, Kazusa had taken serious injuries. She was probably still resting.

"That type is loyal to a fault. She won't trust strangers, but she never forgets a debt. Hunting together must have meant something to her."

"You think so? I… hope you're right."

"Anyway, this is a problem. We could head to a different labyrinth, but there's nothing great within range from here."

"Hmm, we were specifically told to come here and earn, so rather than going somewhere else, let's just head back. But I wonder why all the monsters vanished."

Azu turned to look back at the Wind Labyrinth, puzzled.

It might have been her imagination, but it looked more faded than the last time they were here.

As though some fundamental source of power had been drained away.

She recalled that some labyrinths lost their power when their master disappeared.

Ruined Heim Catacombs had been like that.

Maybe this was what the Wind Labyrinth had always been, at its natural level.

If this labyrinth had a master, it would have been the strange Undead called Kiyo and the girl who'd named herself Apostle of the Creator King.

The Apostle had faded away, and Kiyo had departed for parts unknown.

Their stored gear had already been shipped out, so they used a portal to return to their home city.

The familiar sights stirred a warm sense of homecoming.

They hadn't actually been gone that many days, but it confirmed what she already knew: this city was where her heart lay.

In the town square lined with food stalls, preparations for that statue's construction were underway in the center.

From here, she could see Sun God faith priests conferring with carpenters.

She glanced at Elza's face. No change in her expression.

"Something wrong, Azu-chan?"

"Nothing."

And then they returned to Master's shop.

The shop was doing its usual steady business.

He called it a tool shop, but the man's dealings sprawled far wider than that.

When he'd started selling smoked meats, she'd done a double take.

They entered through the back door, dropped their luggage in their rooms, and knocked on Master's door.

His reply came immediately.

She opened the door to find Master at his ledger, same as always.

Just seeing that put Azu at ease.

This was a home she was allowed to come back to.

"What's the matter? I thought you'd be over there a while longer."

Azu hurried to her usual seat before he could say another word.

Master kept his eyes on the ledger, working as he listened.

His voice was businesslike, but she could hear a trace of concern in it.

"Well, the thing is…"

Azu recounted what had happened in the labyrinth.

The business about the Apostle of the Creator King was honestly hard to explain, but Master didn't seem interested in anything that wouldn't make money and brushed right past it.

He was far more delighted that the Skeleton had cleared out the deep-floor enemies, letting them scavenge a mountain of items. "That's a good skeleton," he said, and that was that.

A good skeleton, sure, but Azu, who'd been one wrong move from decapitation, couldn't exactly agree.

Master was a good person, but when money was involved, he got a little… eccentric.

Then again, the man had bought slaves and sent them out as adventurers. Eccentric was probably an understatement.

"So the Wind Labyrinth's dried up, huh. It was bringing in good money for the Earth Labyrinth business, too."

It seemed their hard-won spoils had translated to quite the profit.

"Oh, right. These."

Master produced the elemental crystals.

"Nice work, Azu. And the other two as well. They went to auction and fetched a very nice price."

He reached over and ruffled Azu's hair.

"Thank you."

She still wasn't used to being praised. But it soaked into her heart all the same.

"A porter, huh. That's a real thing?"

"Of course you wouldn't know. You're glued to your desk and your abacus."

Alexia's quip earned nothing but a shrug and open palms from Master.

"That is my job. And it's not like I'd be any use out there. You've got your front-liner, your mage, and your priestess. What exactly would I do?"

"Be a porter, perhaps?"

Alexia's suggestion made Master go quiet.

This was probably his deep-in-thought face.

The man was the type to do something dangerous if the numbers worked out.

Master looked up.

"Thought about it. No good. Work would pile up and the shop wouldn't run."

"When you were thrown in jail, didn't the shop run perfectly fine without you?"

Elza's remark left Master with no comeback. Instead, he placed a finger between her brows and gave it a little push.

Elza let out a little "wah!" He was obviously just goofing around.

"Actually, the next job is already lined up. I was going to recall you at some point, but you saved me the trouble."

He produced a sheet of paper. On it was written:

The 7th Continental Martial Arts Tournament — Ocelot Colosseum — Now Confirmed.

Grand prize: 600 gold coins.

Master was wearing a very, very pleased smile.