After Urza-san and I defeated the Fire Giant and stepped out of the room, we found ourselves in a literal labyrinth.
I mean that quite literally.
It wasn't just a simple trap designed to disorient us; the door led to an entirely different location. Even though it was a different place, it was likely still within the same labyrinth, making it a trap intended to ensure we stayed lost.
Incidentally, the path seemingly changed depending on whether one was coming or going, making a return to the original hall feel nearly impossible. It would have been fine if we had kept the door open, but it was closed for us—by those figures covered in black hoods.
Urza-san was leaving them be, so I didn't make a move against them either, though I wondered if we were truly safe.
"It seems like there's a rule against laying a hand on them," Urza-san said.
"A rule?"
"The rule of this place. As long as we follow it, they won't treat us as hostiles. We don't want to add to our list of enemies in this situation, do we?"
That was true. Every time we emerged into an unfamiliar hall, we were attacked by monsters. The fewer enemies we had to deal with, the better. I understood her point.
...
While I was thinking about that, I noticed something else.
"Are they included in that too?" I asked, gesturing to the three small monsters trailing behind us.
There was the Small Fire Monster, the remnant of the Fire Giant we had defeated. Then there was the Whirlwind Monster, what was left of a mass of storm-like creatures. Finally, there was the Stone Monster, which remained after we took down a massive golem made of stacked bricks.
After being defeated, they had all stood back up and, for some reason, started following Urza-san.
She told me not to worry about them either. They had certainly attacked us at first, but they didn't seem to harbor any lingering hostility now.
Eventually, Urza-san decided it was time for a break.
I set about preparing some hot water, but the Small Fire Monster approached me as if asking to take over the task. His flame looked like it was on the verge of flickering out; I wasn't sure if he could handle it.
Still, I put some water I gathered with magic into a small pot and handed it to him.
Just then, one of the hooded figures brought over a small stone pavement slab. I suppose they didn't want the fire to scorch or dirty the floor directly. The Whirlwind Monster and the Stone Monster also seemed eager to help. It was surprisingly convenient.
We drank our coffee and took the time to reassess our situation. We had been separated from Isree-san and the others.
The "split-team protocol" dictated our actions now. The group with Urza-san was considered the main force, acting under her command. The group without her was expected to promptly withdraw and return to base to call for reinforcements once they determined that reuniting was unfeasible.
"Do you think Isree and the others could make it this far, even if they found the teleportation trap?" Urza-san asked.
"We've moved quite a distance," I replied. "I suspect a reunion would be difficult."
"I thought so too. A fair amount of time has passed, as well. Let’s proceed on the assumption that Isree and her group have already withdrawn. If we’re lucky, help will come eventually."
There was the possibility that Isree-san and the others were also lost after falling into a different teleportation trap. Urza-san surely considered that, but she didn't voice it. At the moment, we weren't the ones in a position to be worried; we were the ones people were worrying about.
Once our break ended, we resumed our search for an exit. It would have been helpful to leave marks on the walls or floors, but the hooded figures—Kuro-san-tachi—wait, that abbreviation wasn't allowed?
Since Urza-san gave me a firm "no" on that name, I called them the Kurokuro-san.
The Kurokuro-san kept erasing any marks we made, and they seemed to prefer that we didn't damage the architecture, so leaving a trail was impossible. I had a feeling that if we simply asked the Kurokuro-san for the way out, they might actually tell us, but Urza-san stopped me from trying. She insisted that was also against the rules.
By my internal clock, about one day had passed. The Kurokuro-san prepared a bedroom for us, allowing us to get some proper sleep. I felt a bit conflicted about being guided all the way to the outhouse whenever I had to ask, but since it was a necessity, I kept my thoughts to myself.
The next morning, the Kurokuro-san provided us with breakfast. I made sure to thank them.
"Urza-san, it’s about time to wake up."
As for the Stone Monster, he seemed to have grown quite attached to Urza-san, but I had to tell him to stop sitting on her stomach while she slept. It might have served as decent core-strength training for her, but it wasn't the time or place for it.
Sometime past noon, I asked Urza-san how she had produced the sand used to repel the Vampire's Evil Eye. Thinking back, there hadn't been any sand in that room. It was unlikely she had prepared it before being teleported. I had seen her doing something with her hands, but... stones?
She explained that she had rubbed two stones together to grind them into sand. Stones could be thrown as weapons or held in the palm to add weight to a punch, so she always made sure to keep a few suitable ones on hand. It was a very practical lesson, and I decided to follow her example from then on.
Later, an Ice Monster appeared, which we defeated with a coordinated attack.
...
It seemed the Ice Monster was also going to follow Urza-san. Wait, could he actually speak? He was quite an exceptional creature. He seemed to be an old acquaintance of Urza-san's, but I decided not to pry into the details.
The Ice Monster informed us that if the Stone Monster had access to soil, he could heal himself and even grasp the entire layout of the labyrinth. That was excellent news.
However, we lacked soil. The entire area was nothing but stone walls and pavement.
But I wondered what lay behind those stone walls. I suspected it was earth.
Urza-san immediately prepared to take action. As expected of her, she didn't actually have to break anything; the Kurokuro-san would have been distressed by the property damage. When she merely took a stance as if she were about to demolish the wall, the Kurokuro-san quickly brought us some soil. They were remarkably attentive.
With the soil in hand, we could finally heal the Stone Monster and find our way out, or so I thought—until a Vampire suddenly grabbed my leg.
"Wait. Please don't leave yet. We're preparing a proper welcome," he said.
"Even if you say that..." I started. Besides, hadn't he previously claimed they weren't welcoming us?
"That was just a formal greeting. Don't let it bother you. My Master is waiting, as well. At the very least, please just meet my Master face-to-face."
I looked to Urza-san to see what she wanted to do. I already knew the answer. This Vampire was strong—strong enough that he probably could have defeated us back in the hall if he hadn't chosen to retreat.
The fact that I hadn't been able to gauge his true strength until he touched me made me realize I still had a long way to go. Even now, I couldn't shake off the hand gripping my leg.
"...Very well. We will go meet this Master of yours, so please let go. Also, it's exhausting to stay on guard against your Evil Eye. Would you mind wearing a blindfold?"
He already had an eye patch ready. He was surprisingly prepared.
"Ekate, don't let your guard down," Urza-san warned. "His Evil Eye isn't just in his right eye."
...
The Vampire admitted he'd been caught and removed the eye patch, instead using a black cloth to blindfold both of his eyes.
I was struck by a keen sense of my own inexperience.