The Strongest Onmyoji and the Shikigami With AI are Unparalleled in Another World ~ A Second Life Properly Enjoyed Using Artificial Intelligence ~ - Chapter 235

We pushed deeper in, taking down monsters along the way, but it was starting to feel like it might be about time to wrap things up.

“AI-chan, not there yet?”

Honestly, if I thought about Natalia, we really should turn back soon.
Not just her, either—Alice had been casting quite a bit, and to begin with, she doesn’t have much stamina.

“If you keep going straight ahead, that’s the end point. Let’s head there, and then return.”

“Got it.”

Thinking the labyrinth was nearly cleared, I kept walking—when suddenly, I felt a trace of mana.

“Hm?”

What’s this?

“Master, is something the matter?”

AI-chan asked, and everyone came to a stop.

“Hmm?”

Tilting my head, I stared hard at the wall.

“What is it?”
“……Is there something on the wall?”

Natalia and Alice asked as well.

“I just… felt a little mana.”

“Really? My sensors aren’t picking up anything.”

“It’s really faint. Tama-chan, check it out.”

“Nya!”

Tama-chan scratched at the wall with her claws.

“Looks like she’s just sharpening her claws…”
“……She’s cute, though.”

True, she was cute.
I could kind of understand why Pamela and Leanne had fallen so hard for her.

“Tama-chan, how is it?”

AI-chan asked.

“Nya nya nya~!”

“Ohhh. That is quite fascinating.”

Uh, translation, please?

“Nya nya nyan!”

“Hmmm…”

AI-chan crossed her arms and started thinking deeply.

“Translate alreadyyy.”
“……I wanna know too.”

The two of them seemed just as curious.

“Ah, my apologies. As Master said, it does seem there’s something ahead. The concealment magic here is far stronger than before, and what little mana you sensed is probably actually quite substantial.”

Tama-chan, you really get it, huh.

“And?”

“She says… maybe it’s the dungeon core Merell mentioned, nya.”

A core, huh…

“That’s possible.”

“I believe so too. The labyrinth clearly has a will of its own, and it’s cunning. If such a labyrinth wanted to hide its heart, it wouldn’t put it somewhere obvious. Hiding it in a plain old corridor is perfectly plausible.”

If I were the labyrinth, I’d do the same.
The entrance is too risky. The very back is too suspicious.
So I’d hide it somewhere right before the end, in an ordinary hallway.

“So, assuming it is the dungeon core… we leave it be, right?”

“Yes. After all, a labyrinth should be preserved. Otherwise, it’ll only cause trouble for those who come after. And besides, I don’t want to draw its ire.”

Just like we decided yesterday.

“Alright then. Let’s ignore it and head deeper.”

“Agreed.”

We left that spot behind and went on.

Soon enough, we came to a dead end—but there was a treasure chest sitting there.

“A second one, huh.”

Lucky us.

“It must be the dungeon’s way of thanking us for leaving it alone. Tama-chan, traps?”

“Nyaa~”

“Good, good. In that case, I’ll open it.”

Seems there weren’t any traps. AI-chan approached the chest, then crouched down.

“All the treasure and all the girls belong to Masterrr!”

With a bandit-like shout, AI-chan threw the lid open.

“………………”

AI-chan just stared inside the chest, completely silent.

“What’s up?”

AI-chan reached into the chest, pulled something out, and came back to us.

“……Here.”

She held out her small hand. When I opened mine, she dropped a coin into it.

“A copper coin?”

And only one.

Pretty cheap…

“Master, shall we just destroy this labyrinth and bring back the valuable magic stone instead…?”

AI-chan suggested with a pitch-black smile.

“Don’t. It makes sense for there to be a copper coin, too—this place spits out the belongings of fallen adventurers, after all. That’s just how it is.”

Sometimes a labyrinth drops nothing more than a knife. Sometimes it drops an eighty-gold staff.

“This is definitely harassment! Let’s kill it! To insult Master, the head of the illustrious Kisaragi household, scion of the Great Golden Fox—unforgivable! Death is the only answer!”

“Let it go. Forgiving is also part of the path of a leader.”

That’s the kind of thing a head of house has to do.
Otherwise, you’ll just end up some lonely snake somewhere.

“If Master forgives it… could it be this labyrinth is actually a girl…?”

Why would you jump there!?

“Enough, we’re heading back.”

“Yeees~”

We retraced our steps.
But unlike the way in, there wasn’t a single trap this time.

Most likely, the labyrinth had gotten scared of AI-chan.

Thanks to that, the trip back was easy, and we made it out before evening.

“No traps at all…”
“……Yeah. Not a one.”

Once outside, Natalia and Alice just stared at me.

“That’s because AI-chan scared the labyrinth into backing off.”

“No, no. Obviously the labyrinth fell for Master, who gallantly defended her.”

Yeah right.
If that were true, the monsters we ran into on the way out would’ve dropped something better.
All we got were magic stones.

“More importantly, is the map finished?”

“Yes, perfectly. Let’s bleed them dry for a hundred gold coins.”

Can we really get that much out of it…?

“Yuuma, it’s still a little early—what do you want to do?”

Natalia asked.

“Right… anywhere you feel like going?”

“Hmm, shopping? But we should probably take Lily along for that… she loves it.”

Yeah, that’s true.

“……Yuuma, wanna go check out the 5-5 labyrinth?”

Alice tugged at my sleeve.

“5-5? The hardest one under Guild Five?”

“……Yeah. We already cleared 5-1, so I just want to see what the biggest one looks like. We don’t have to go inside or anything.”

Hmm. We’ve got some extra time, and just peeking in wouldn’t hurt.

“Alright, let’s do that then.”

“……Let’s gooo.”

““Go~!””

Go.