Chapter 37

Chapter 37

Forgotten Shrine

[Entering Basement Floor 41 of the Labyrinth, ‘Forgotten Shrine’!]

“Oh...”

“Du...”

“Oh...”

We let out sounds of admiration and looked around.

A forest so bare that all its leaves had fallen, and the cawing of crows coming from within it.

The atmosphere felt as if something troublesome would jump out at any moment.

“Boss. I realized when to use the word desolate.”

“Nice. There’s nothing better than experiencing it directly. But Poporu.”

“Du?”

“Why are you already clinging to me like a rice cake?”

“The atmosphere is unusual, du. It is so I can protect my lord from closer by, du!”

“Look at that lousy seal. Every time he opens his mouth, honestly. Seeing his eyes all teary, it’s clearly because he’s scared.”

“Gal!!! Du! For a true martial artist, death is like the wind, du! Because it is always by one’s side, du! Do you think someone like me would be afraid of ghosts or monsters—”

CAW!

“Dduaaaaaagh!!”

Not satisfied with clinging, he climbed up my body and buried his face in me.

As expected, he was a coward who would be second to none in the world.

“Don’t wipe your snot on me.”

“Boss. It’s already smeared all over. Throw him away once we leave.”

“I can just wash it. Why throw it away?”

With Poporu on my shoulder, I moved deeper inside.

‘I thought so when I saw Shrine in the floor name.’

A massive torii gradually revealed itself.

The world called the Labyrinth was truly difficult to understand even when one thought they understood it.

A torii was one of Japan’s representative symbolic structures, so why was it standing here?

Poporu poked his head out and examined the torii, then frowned.

“My lord, du. Something seems to be there, du! It is unusual, du!”

As expected of a martial artist. His intuition was good.

I stared at the torii ahead with Evil Eye.

It was not simply identical in shape.

Ordinarily, a torii stood at the entrance leading to a shrine.

It carried the meaning of a boundary through which one entered a god’s domain, and the one before us was similar.

Although it was one floor, the area on this side of the torii and the area on the other side were completely different worlds.

After going right in front of the torii, I lowered my gaze.

“Aris, what are you doing?”

“Pardon? Me? Was I supposed to do something?”

“You need to put on the bulletproof helmet.”

“Why?!”

“I won’t make you pull monsters, so don’t worry.”

With eyes full of suspicion, Aris slowly put on the Child-Sized Bulletproof Helmet.

Click.

The moment the chin strap was fastened, I lifted Aris and threw her with all my strength.

“Gieeeek!”

Aris flew like a missile and disappeared into the dark forest.

A moment later, a bang rang out from the forest that had been silent.

‘Du!?’

Poporu, who had witnessed the ruthless atrocity, got down from my body and took a few cautious steps away.

Judging by my lord’s personality, it would not be strange if he were thrown anytime, anywhere.

At the clattering sound, Ryu Jin quickly moved.

“Don’t let go! Hold on tight!”

“What is this?! The bulletproof helmet slipped down, so I can’t see!”

“Just hold on for now!”

When I entered the forest, I saw Aris tangled with a translucent being.

The being struggled, trying to get away somehow.

When Poporu and I approached, its panic was obvious.

“Du? What is tha... Duaak! It’s a ghost, du!”

“What?! This is insane! I’m holding a ghost!?”

Aris, who barely lifted the bulletproof helmet, looked at the being in front of her.

It was true.

The being was translucent, so the space beyond its head was clearly visible.

“Gieeeek!!”

Instead of Aris, who released it in horror, Ryu Jin grabbed the being by the scruff of its neck.

“Let go of me!”

It was a language I had heard for the first time.

But thanks to the Labyrinth, the meaning was conveyed as it was.

“Calm down. We came here to talk.”

“What kind of talk comes after throwing something like that at me first!”

“Hey, you little pipsqueak! How dare you call someone ‘something like that’!”

After hiding the snarling Aris behind me, I continued.

“If we had approached normally, you would have run away.”

When I first read about it in the Great Labyrinth Library, I had been a little surprised.

To think there was another being inside the Labyrinth that was neither a demon nor a monster.

And on top of that, if that being did not cooperate, the Labyrinth destruction condition could not be achieved.

It was a type that had never been known even on Labyrinth Site.

“Let go of me first.”

“I’ll let you go if you promise not to run away.”

The child stared at me, then let out a deep sigh and nodded.

“I promise. I absolutely won’t run away. I swear.”

I smiled and let go of the nape of its neck.

Whoosh!

The moment its feet touched the ground, the child bolted.

Of course, it did not get far.

The fishing line pulled taut and stopped the child from escaping.

When I dragged the child back, it looked at me with trembling eyes.

“You put a fishing line on a person? Are you an evil spirit?”

“Hey, pipsqueak! Don’t say true things. Stay still!”

Aris, who had moved far away in case she was thrown again, shouted.

I bent toward the child I had dragged back.

Then I asked.

“Name?”

Perhaps realizing it could not escape, the child clicked its tongue.

“Tsumugi.”

Even the name had a strong Japanese feeling.

“I’m Ryu Jin.”

“So why did you catch me? I don’t have any power. I won’t be any help to you.”

Tsumugi shrugged and lay down on the ground.

“I’ll stay still here, so do whatever you want. If you talk, I’ll listen at least.”

It looked like a little child, but it spoke as if it had lived through everything the world had to offer.

I spoke to the back of Tsumugi’s head.

“I’ll take you inside.”

Tsumugi sprang up as if it had never lain down and looked at me.

“You were born in there, right? And you were chased out because of the monsters.”

“What are you? How do you know all that? How much do you know?”

“I don’t know everything. I only know fragments of information related to the condition I need.”

“Hmmm... What do you want? You’re not taking me there for free, are you?”

I pointed at the sky.

“The destruction of this space.”

Tsumugi frowned.

Its face openly showed the question, Are you insane, by any chance?

“Boss, I think that thing is insulting you with its face.”

Since she often did the same, she noticed quickly.

“Of course, I don’t mean I’m going to erase it entirely. The Labyrinth regenerates right after destruction. So, what do you think? You want to go back too, don’t you?”

Tsumugi turned its head and stared at the torii standing below the stairs.

“To be honest, I’m not sure.”

“You’re not sure?”

“I know I have to go back someday, but I don’t know why I need to. I definitely knew before, but now I can’t really remember.”

Tsumugi frowned fiercely as if trying to recall something.

Poporu approached that Tsumugi.

“What does Tsumu-du usually do, du?”

“What are you, and why are you du-duing?”

“I am a Kung Fu dugong, du.”

Perhaps feeling that its head would hurt, Tsumugi did not ask any further.

“I just wander around the forest here and there. I swim in the lake and sleep under the trees. When I wake up, I wander a bit, then sleep again.”

“You’re completely living the honeybee life.”

“It is at the level of honey, du.”

“It can’t be helped. That’s all there is to do here.”

Tsumugi shrugged and rose.

Then it looked at me with a rather serious face.

“If you want to go in there, you’ll need to prepare yourself. It’s not like I haven’t tried. The moment I took one step inside, all kinds of monsters came out, and I came back out.”

“We’ll handle that ourselves.”

“Well, then let’s try going once. If it doesn’t work, we can just come back out. Before that, let’s go to my house. There’s something I need to take.”

After saying that, Tsumugi looked at the fishing line attached to the nape of its neck.

“By the way, can’t you untie this? Being dragged around feels kind of unpleasant.”

“No. You have a prior offense.”

“Really? Then it can’t be helped. Follow me.”

The house of a translucent friend located in a forest like this.

What would it look like?

---

Tsumugi’s house, which we reached after walking for about thirty minutes.

“Boss! Can something like this even be called a house?”

“Hey, Aris, du! What kind of rude remark is that, du? Even if it is an extremely old, shabby, and lousy place that looks as if it would fly away with the slightest breath, it is still someone’s precious house, du!”

“Stop. You’re really going to hurt their feelings.”

Looking slightly gloomy, Tsumugi entered the cave.

I followed inside and examined the interior.

I could not see even the basic things necessary for food, clothing, and shelter.

Was it because our translucent friend did not need those things?

Tsumugi, who walked deep inside, bent down.

It had said there was something to take, and it was a bracelet with a small bell.

When I stared at it, Tsumugi held out the bracelet to show me.

“It’s precious to me.”

Aris quickly approached and examined the bracelet with Evil Eye.

“Well, it doesn’t have any functi—”

CRACK!

After being struck on the right side of the jaw, Aris flew away.

Poporu, who had thrown a right hook with all his might, stuck out his thumb.

“I have dealt with the rude remark steamed bun, so do not worry, du. But who gave you that bracelet, du?”

“Hmm.”

Tsumugi tilted its head a few times, then frowned.

“Who gave it to me? Now that I think about it, I don’t even know why it’s precious in the first place.”

It seemed Tsumugi had forgotten many things.

“What is this?”

I pointed to the pile of books that had been bothering me since earlier.

“Right? When did those start being there?”

Tsumugi walked over and opened the book on top.

Whoosh.

At that moment, a strange energy entered Tsumugi’s eyes.

As if possessed by something, Tsumugi quickly flipped through the pages.

The next book, and the book after that as well.

After reading all the books in an instant, Tsumugi looked at me.

Its atmosphere had changed quite a bit from before.

“Let’s not go. You will die.”

“What kind of contents are in there?”

“These are records left behind by my past self. To be exact, they are records of failure. You are the 371st. The 371st person who said they would take me beyond there.”

This was a little strange.

According to the records of the Great Labyrinth Library, I was the first one to meet Tsumugi.

At the possibility that came to mind, I walked toward the pile of books.

“Can I take a look?”

“Of course.”

I opened a few of the books.

They were records made of writing and simple drawings.

As expected, their appearances and clothes were completely different.

On top of that, judging by the degree of weathering on the paper, these had been written at least several decades or several centuries ago.

‘Different worlds, then.’

At this point, it was not particularly surprising.

Even from Poporu and Aris’s cases, the Labyrinth was highly likely to have been created by several worlds gathered together.

“Okay.”

I closed the book and raised the corners of my mouth.

“Shall we go?”

“What did you even hear? If we go, you’ll die—”

Jingle.

Tsumugi’s eyes widened.

What was this strange sensation?

It was as if the bracelet was speaking to it.

As if it were saying the one before it would be different.

“Boss. Your nose is bleeding.”

Aris, who had walked over, pointed at her own nose.

“It’s fine. It’ll stop if I leave it alone.”

“It will, right? But Boss? Why are you pushing my back?”

“You need to lead the way.”

“Huh? Me!? Even though my nose is bleeding?!”

“A nosebleed has no bearing on the overall situation. And you have the bulletproof helmet.”

Aris swallowed dryly.

It felt as if he was growing more evil by the day.

Aris reluctantly took the lead, followed in order by Poporu and Ryu Jin.

Tsumugi, positioned at the very back, stared at this strange party with a face full of suspicion.

‘It feels like they’ll all die in the end.’

Because of the bracelet’s ringing, Tsumugi would follow for now. But no matter how it looked at them, they inspired no trust at all. They were the sloppiest group Tsumugi had ever seen in its life.

By contrast, what came out from beyond that place was the real thing.

It was not something that could be handled with this level of sloppiness.

“Haa.”

Tsumugi let out a small sigh.

It did not know.

Whether it was right to follow this brave advance, which would stop before long.

---

How much time had passed after they crossed the torii?

At the unexpected flow unfolding before its eyes, Tsumugi’s mouth fell open.