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More accurately, it was a bluish purple. It was a very rare color to occur in nature. After all, the natural world rarely if ever meddled in the affairs of other dimensions.

 

“Would anything happen if I touched it?”

“I do not know…To meddle with dimensions means to meddle with space. But as nothing has happened since we stepped foot in here, I do not think that anything will happen…”

 

I have lived long myself, but I have never seen ore with such a strong color. It is said that teleportation technology that used such ore had once existed. But it is now considered little more than a fairy tale.

However, Asagi seemed to think differently.

 

“Space…then, if we used it…we could get out of…?”

 

That was all he needed to mumble to let me know that he was thinking of teleporting through space. To be frank, it was dangerous. There was no guarantee that he could do it safely.

 

“Asagi, I would advise against it. It is too dangerous. It will be too late when you have already lost all of your limbs.”

“You’re right…it’s crazy isn’t it…”

 

But there was something that was not quite defeat written on his face. I wanted him to stay safe. I myself wanted to be safe. I needed these limbs to hold and to entangle. Could I live after being robbed of this? No, I think not!

 

“Alright, let’s go then. Just being able to see this was enough for me.”

“Aye, not many people could have come down here.”

 

We say, and I realize that I had also just considered the possibility of someone else coming here and taking it. We really were Adventurers. And it would take immense self-control to see such a treasure as this and leave it alone. But perhaps there really was nothing that Asagi could not beat.

 

□ □ □ □

 

“Ggg-aaaaAAAAH!!”

“Damn it…! This, this…!!”

 

We covered our eyes against its monstrous power and fell to our knees. We could not win. Not against this…it was too bright…

 

“Ahhhhhh. My eeeeeeyyyeeees!”

“No, it is no use. It is so bright that my head hurts.”

 

I screeched and Daniela diagnosed herself.

 

We had come back to the surface after two whole weeks.

 

We got lost many times on our way back. Something completely unexpected had happened.

We could not have predicted that the hole moles would have created so many new paths.

We could not have predicted that they would create paths where paths already branched.

And then branch out again. In fact, there were even scratches along the walls that looked like the markings that we left but were not.

 

Damn. Who could have predicted that this would happen, forcing Daniela to create stairs that led all the way to the surface? All of this was the workings of the hole moles. And I never wanted to come down here again.

 

After going back down through the entrance a little, we came upon one of our old campsites, and so we blocked up the tunnels there. While it was just near the entrance, no one would think that it was strange, considering this was an abandoned mine. And even if they passed it and went down, they would only find boring paths that branched out.

 

I wonder what time it is? My eyes couldn’t handle the sky, and so I only knew that it was very bright. But I wanted to return to Spiris as soon as possible. I wanted to return and enjoy a bath at the Silver Sky Inn. I paid my extension fee not too long ago, so I should still have the room…

To be honest, my perception of time was a little foggy. I would just have to hope that Joshua would be nice about it.

 

“Well, let’s get going, Daniela.”

“Aye… Ahhh…my head hurts…”

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