Chapter 4 – Labyrinth City Fezel

…Dungeons.

They are labyrinths that are scattered all over the world.
Sometimes, they are monster nests.
Sometimes, they are places with enough treasure that you can live the rest of your life in luxury.

Each dungeon had its own distinct rules. For instance, there was one where you could only enter if your party had no more than four people in it.
There was one where all physical attacks were impossible.
And one where there were no safety points at all. They had such mysterious systems that were forced on any who stepped foot into them.

And those who entered such dungeons and overcame all obstacles in order to acquire the treasures and become famous…they were called Adventurers.

—

Northend was a country that was just north of the Gardana Kingdom.
And it was there that it existed. The Labyrinth City of Fezel.
The girl with the short bob that I had reunited with by accident in the royal capital, Yorha, had headed to it with the others, four years ago, after graduating from the magic academy. And that place had become their base ever since.

The reason was simple. It was called the Labyrinth City, after all, as it was one of the few places in the world that had many dungeons.
And as for the difficulty, it was so high that it could not be compared to the dungeon in the capital.

According to her, the rules of the dungeons were especially malicious.

“In the capital, there were restrictions, like four party members. But in Fezel, you also are not able to use healing magic. There are many restrictions like that.”

Of course, they were still worth attempting, as the rewards were that much greater.

And so after that day, when I reunited with Yorha and took her hand, we rode in a carriage for five days.

When we finally reached the Labyrinth City of Fezel, I talked with Yorha as she guided me to my other former party members, Ornest and Clashia.

“…But, are you sure about this?”
“Huh? About what?”
“I know it’s a little late, seeing as you already brought me all of the way here, but you know… I thought that Fezel’s dungeons have different regulations.”
“Ah…”

In general, dungeons were managed by the country they were located in.
For instance, if the dungeon was located in the Gardana Kingdom, then the Gardana Kingdom would manage it.

Because of this, sometimes countries would have regulations. Such as not allowing people under a certain age to enter them.

…And if my memory serves, Fezel only allowed people to go deeper than 30 floors in their dungeon, if you had been an Adventurer in Fezel for at least two years.

It was only a vague memory that I managed to pull out, but when I asked about it, Yorha chuckled uncomfortably and then her expression became serious.

“I meant to talk to you about that later, but… But! You do not need to worry! Because Clashia will solve that problem!”

But in spite of saying that it would be solved, Yorha’s expression showed she was both anxious and frantic.
It was clear that she wasn’t completely confident, and so I could not feel relieved about it either.

“Cl-Clashia, huh…”

After all, the Clashia Annerose that I knew was an extreme meathead.
Not only would she fight anyone who challenged her, but the idea of acting with intelligence and persuading someone…that could not be farther from her.

As someone who had worked with her for 6 years, I could not feel anything but worried.

“Even before I went to fetch you, Alec, she said that she had gone to talk to the Fezel Guild Master…?”
“Why are you saying it as if it’s a question?”

…How was it that she wasn’t even sure about it? In fact, she did not seem to have much faith in Clashia at all.

While she did not put it into words, she must have felt uncomfortable as I stared at her questioningly.
Yorha turned her nose away and muttered, ‘…I don’t know.’ Which was not even an excuse.

“…Well, I’m just glad that it seems like everyone is the same. Yorha, Clashia and Ornest. No one has changed much.”

Ornest, the other friend who was not here. Yorha had told me about him as we rocked in the carriage.
According to her…

‘The three of us were making our way through a certain Fezel dungeon. But we got stuck, due to the difficulty being so high. And as we wondered what to do, Ornest started talking about how we should invite you. And can you believe it? Clashia actually agreed with Ornest for once… So I said, uh, then I guess I’ll go and fetch him?’

Go and get Alec.
Apparently, it had been Ornest who started it.

Ornest was confident, but no one could say that he didn’t have the ability to back it up. And once he had an opinion, he would not bend, no matter who argued against him.
And so it must have been his stubbornness that forced Yorha to come and get me like this.
However, Yorha had also said that she came instead of Ornest, because she had a feeling that leaving it to him could cause some unnecessary trouble.

“Well, it has only been four years.”

If anything, it would be surprising if we had all changed so much in just four years. We laughed at the idea.

As we talked like this, we soon arrived in front of the Adventurers Guild building.
I was just about to walk in when…

“…Hey.”

Suddenly, a voice called to us, and I instinctively stopped in my tracks.
But it was not a familiar voice.
However, for some reason, I had known that it had been directed to Yorha.

“It’s been a while, young Yorha. Half a month, I think?”
“It has been a while, Guild Master.”

Yorha replied politely.

I looked over my shoulder and saw the person she was speaking to.
The man that Yorha called ‘Guild Master’ was huge, and reminded me of a boulder.

And as he scratched the stubble on his jaw with his right hand, he would occasionally glance towards me appraisingly. But only a few times.
And so I didn’t care too much.

“Really, do you realize how hard it’s been? Without you here, there is no one to mediate between Clashia and that idiot, Ornest… It’s been a disaster…”
“I-I’m sorry…”

It had been like this during our time at the magic academy as well. But ever since they started working as Adventurers, those two had become known as troublemakers.

…For some reason, my stomach suddenly started to hurt. Or I thought it did.

“Well, it’s fine. Because now you have come back to us, young Yorha.”

…It takes a great load off of my shoulder, knowing that I don’t have to restrain those two now. I can finally sleep in peace.

He continued. As someone who understood where he was coming from, I could not help but be sympathetic to him.

However, that was not the end of it.

“…So. Since you are back, this must be the person that young Clashia was talking about. Alec Ugritte?”

The Guild Master seemed amused as he then smiled broadly.

Next Chapter

A Court Magician Who Was Focused On Supportive Magic Because His Allies Were Too Weak Aims To Become The Strongest After Being Banished Aims To Become The Strongest After Being Banished