SAE 04

chapter 04

I frowned and turned to the guy.

“Can you not read ancient script?”

“……”

“It’s written right here. Bring the bones stained with the blood of a pure maiden. If you place that here, the door will open.”

Pure maiden, my ass.

There were all kinds of ridiculous things in this world.

Still, that was what the inscription on the door said.

Among Leonhard’s companions was someone from a devout priestly lineage, so they immediately understood exactly what it meant.

Though when I picked up the stones earlier, they all looked at me like I was insane.

Anyway, because I had already gathered several stones in advance, they were able to open the door and go down to the lower floor without having to turn back.

And they left me behind after opening the door with a stone stained by my blood.

“So just let go of this.”

“……”

Isal reluctantly released my wrist.

“Then what about that stone?”

“You saw the crying statue on the way here, right? It’s one of the pebbles from beneath it.”

“You managed to pick that up in advance?”

“I knew it was needed to open the door.”

As I answered without hesitation, he clicked his tongue.

“And you’re going to say you found that out with your so-called clairvoyance?”

“Of course. I knew it from the upper floor.”

“……”

“Anyway, just place this here and the door will open.”

Ignoring Isal’s suspicious gaze, I placed the blood-stained stone in front of the door.

A moment later, the tightly shut door—sealed as if it would never open—swung wide open as if nothing had ever been wrong.

Once we stepped through, the door behind us closed and vanished.

Ahead of us stretched a staircase leading downward.

Without a word, Isal and I began to descend.

The stairs seemed endless, as if they would go on forever.

But we both knew from experience that the moment we reached the final step would eventually come.

After what felt like a long silence, we finally arrived at the fourth underground floor.

What greeted us was nothing but emptiness.

A vast open space filled entirely with smoke.

The thick haze made it impossible to even gauge the size of the floor.

“…So it’s true,” Isal said.

“There really is nothing here.”

He muttered in disbelief, then turned to me with a strange expression.

“Told you, didn’t I?”

“……”

“It’s basically a resting floor. We just wait until the door to the next floor opens.”

“Wait… from what?”

“From everything that makes it impossible for us to endure.”

I said that and looked around again.

We needed a place to settle.

There was still a chance that Leonhard and his companions hadn’t left this floor yet.

It’ll take time before I can properly use the fruit’s power.

Until the door to the fifth floor opened, I needed to use that time efficiently.

“We need to find a dead end first. That’s where we’ll settle.”

I grabbed Isal’s forearm as he walked ahead.

His body flinched sharply at my touch.

“What—what are you doing all of a sudden?”

“Ah… sorry. Did I startle you?”

“……”

“Sorry. But bear with it even if you don’t like it. If you get lost, it’ll be a problem.”

The place was so thick with smoke that if we drifted even slightly apart, we’d easily lose each other.

Though, on the other hand, it was also perfect for hiding from unwanted pursuers.

Anyway, I held onto Isal and groped through the air with my other hand as we walked.

Soon, my hand hit a wall.

We might not know when or where a door would appear, and finding one in this smoke-filled floor was going to be difficult.

But that was something I could solve easily once I fully regained my ability.

Come to think of it… this guy doesn’t even bother correcting me for not treating him like a prince.

If it were me, I would’ve said something long ago.

Even though he was a literal prince.

Isal didn’t seem to care that I spoke casually to him from the start, or that I treated him too comfortably.

Still, in a place like this where you could die at any moment, rank and status didn’t mean much.

“Wait here. Don’t move.”

I warned him firmly.

Then I pulled out the flower he had retrieved from the cliff earlier from my bag.

“What’s that for?”

“I’m going to plant it here.”

I squatted down and planted the flower into the dirt.

Watching me quietly, Isal eventually sat down beside me.

He rested his arms on his knees and tilted his head, staring at me in a very relaxed, almost insolent way.

“…Suspicious.”

“Huh?”

“You’re suspicious.”

He muttered it flatly, his eyes filled with doubt.

My gaze kept drifting toward the sword at his waist.

A thought flashed through my mind.

But first, I needed to deal with his suspicion.

“What’s suspicious?”

“It’s not just that you can see through things. Your attitude is too calm for someone who supposedly figured all this out.”

“……”

“It’s like you can see through everything here.”

…That was a sharp suspicion.

Well, I did push it a bit far when I made you gather items for me.

But I was injured at the time, so I couldn’t help it.

“Actually, I have a more exceptional ability than clairvoyance.”

“What ability?”

“Insight.”

“……”

“It’s innate.”

Isal looked at me, speechless.

I avoided his gaze and changed the subject.

“But I’ve been curious. That sword—did you get it from the tower?”

“I found it on the second floor.”

“Can I see it?”

After staring at me for a moment, Isal unsheathed the sword as if there was no reason to refuse.

The blade was heavily chipped and damaged.

But I recognized it immediately.

No way…

That’s a holy sword.

Holy Sword Exolid.

I had wondered where it had gone after searching everywhere.

So this guy had gotten to it first.

That’s why I couldn’t find it on the second floor.

I didn’t know how it ended up in Isal’s hands.

But that sword originally belonged to Leonhard—the protagonist of this world.

Maybe this is actually good luck.

At least this way, I didn’t end up retrieving it and handing it over to Leonhard like an idiot.

I hadn’t become some expendable extra who personally equipped the protagonist and then got discarded.

“…It’s usable enough.”

Misinterpreting my stare, Isal muttered and returned the sword to its sheath.

How do I make him awaken as the true master of that holy sword?

Since he’d already taken the protagonist’s weapon first, maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea for him to become its true owner.

Just as I was lost in thought, my vision suddenly went black.

It’s starting.

I spoke calmly to Isal.

“Just wait. It’ll pass if you stay still, so don’t be too afraid.”

“…Do you know what this is?”

“Void.”

“Void?”

“Yeah. Dark, quiet. It’ll repeat like this over and over.”

The trial of the fourth underground floor was simple.

An empty space. Darkness. Silence.

All you had to do was endure the passage of time.

But enduring it was not easy.

If you kept facing endless time with no idea when it would end, even a strong mind would eventually crack.

It felt like the cycle would never end.

Like there was no way out.

And from time to time, hallucinations would creep in.

However, the flower I had planted earlier neutralized the demon’s power governing this trial.

So there was no need to worry about hallucinations.

“…Hmm.”

Just in case, I asked Isal,

“If you’re scared, want me to hold your hand?”

“…Hah. No need.”