After defeating the giant snake at the end of an exhausting, protracted battle, we finally stepped onto the 94th floor of the Great Labyrinth of the South.
"Kyah! Everything's so white! And it’s so coooold! Ahaha!"
Despite the blizzard howling across the 94th floor, Lucre was frolicking about like a child.
"After slinging that much magic, she still has the energy to fool around like that...?" Wil muttered, watching Lucre’s high-spirited display with an exasperated look.
I had to agree with him.
Lucre had cast spells a staggering number of times—not quite as many as Rain, perhaps, but her count was well into the double digits. Even if she hadn't performed the most brain-taxing tasks like massive parallel construction or activation standby, the mental fatigue alone should have been crushing. The fact that she was still this energetic was a testament to her sheer endurance.
Given that the rest of us were practically dead on our feet, Lucre might actually be the toughest member of the party.
As it turned out, the 94th floor was a realm of perpetual, bone-chilling cold. Similar environments existed in the lower floors, but this was harsh on an entirely different scale. The blizzard was relentless, choking visibility until we couldn't see more than a few meters in any direction. To make matters worse, the whiteout threatened to strip away one's sense of direction; getting lost in the vastness of the deep floors meant certain death as the sub-zero temperatures sapped one's life force.
Since even the Golden Dawn hadn't conducted a formal exploration of the 94th floor, there was far more about this place that I didn't know than what I did.
"We finally made it. The 94th floor."
Rain, who had been watching Lucre with a fond, sisterly gaze, turned to look at our surroundings before speaking.
"Yeah. We’ve finally caught up to Golden Dawn. Now, all that’s left is to surpass them."
A fierce resolve burned in Selma's voice as she answered.
Information on the 94th floor was non-existent, and even our physical sight was blocked by the storm. It wasn't hard to imagine that conquering this floor would be exponentially more difficult than anything we had faced before. There was a very real possibility that some of us might not make it to the end.
Nevertheless, it is specifically because a person conquers the highest reached floors and steps into unreached territory that the public hails them as brave explorers—or more simply, Heroes.
Selma must have felt the same anxiety we did, yet she stared straight ahead into the white abyss without flinching.
It’s this quality of hers that draws people to her, I thought.
After that, the four of them touched their guild cards to the crystal at the entrance of the 94th floor to register their progress. Then, we began our return to the surface.
By the time we emerged from the Labyrinth, the sun had already vanished beneath the horizon.
"Ah! The Silver Rabbit of the Night Sky is back!"
A massive crowd had gathered near the entrance. Someone spotted us immediately and raised a shout. Judging by their clothes, while there were a few explorers among them, the majority were ordinary citizens.
I remembered then that the morning edition of the newspaper Blanca published had made a huge spectacle of our attempt to conquer the 93rd floor. We were mobbed instantly, pelted with a barrage of questions from every side.
Exhausted from the battle with the White Snake, I honestly just wanted to go home and collapse, but I reminded myself that this, too, was an explorer's duty. Putting on my professional "public" smile, I did my best to answer the questions flying at me.
The news of our success spread through Tsutrail like wildfire, and soon the entire city was swept up in a celebratory fervor. Watching the city come alive, I realized once again just how much the fall of Golden Dawn had demoralized the populace. It made me realize that I wanted to continue being the kind of explorer who could live up to their hopes.
The days that followed were a blur of interviews with newspaper agencies and parties hosted by our sponsors. Before I knew it, only a few hours remained of the year.
Having finally found a moment of peace, the five members of the First Unit gathered to spend a quiet evening together.
"Orun, you joined us this year, and because of that, we were able to make incredible strides. Thank you again for choosing the Silver Rabbit of the Night Sky."
"Thank you, Orun-kun." "Thanks a bunch!" "Much appreciated, man."
Selma’s voice was uncharacteristically soft as she offered her gratitude, and the other three quickly followed suit. All four of them were wearing bright, genuine smiles.
"Where... is this coming from all of a sudden?" I asked, slightly taken aback.
"The year is ending, that's all. I wanted to say it properly. There's no doubt that we only made it this far because of you, Orun."
"She's right," Rain added. "This time last year, we were staring at a wall we couldn't climb. We were stuck. You're the one who broke that wall for us, Orun-kun. We really can't thank you enough."
"Mm-hmm! Everything has gone perfectly since you joined us, Orun-kun! We've relied on you for so much, but now that we've reached the 94th floor, I feel like we've finally started to catch up to you. From now on, we’re going to work even harder so that you can rely on us!"
"Well said. Who knows if things will keep going this well," Wil chimed in, "but I feel like as long as it's the five of us, we can handle whatever hell the Labyrinth throws at us. So, let's keep at it, yeah?"
The warmth in their words hit me one by one, stirring emotions I couldn't easily put into words.
"......"
"Um, thanks. I’m not really sure what the 'correct' response is here, but hearing you say all that... it makes me really happy. Honestly, I’m the one who should be thanking you. You accepted me as a comrade. I can say with total confidence now that this is where I belong. Finding a place like that... that's been the best part of the whole year for me. So, well... I look forward to next year, too."
The conversation drifted into a nostalgic look back at the year’s highlights and failures. It had been a truly momentous year. At the start of it, I never would have dreamed I’d be seeing the year out like this.
Wishing for the next year to be even better, we saw out the final moments of the year together.
A few hours later, we welcomed the 630th year of the Four Holy Era.
In other words, the year that would become a definitive turning point in my life had finally arrived.