3 bar menu

The Fourth Girl Finally Discovers the Truth – Part 01

“Ugh, so annoying!”

With a sweep of her right hand, the stack of papers scattered across the table flew into the air.

“What is wrong with you?! Trespassing again and again! Just get out already!”

She pounded her fist on the table several times, breathing heavily.

Soaarunay Saak was furious. The reason was simple: someone kept entering the Great Labyrinth of Runay-aas where she resided, triggering alarms. Normally, the alarm just involved blinking lights, but now…

Screeeeeech!

In addition to the blinking, it emitted a sound like a monster’s death throes.

“Ugh! They’re here again!”

Every time someone entered the dungeon, Soaarunay’s sleep was interrupted, and her frustration from failing to capture Hikaru the other day only added to her rage.

Apparently, this malfunction started either because she had activated the Golem on the seventh floor or because Hikaru hacked the wall’s magic circuitry to send messages. The quickest way to fix it was to go to the seventh floor and check the situation, but it was incredibly far from the deepest part where Soaarunay stayed. While struggling to fix it from her current location, that grating sound echoed again.

Screeeeeeeeeech!

“Argh!”

Someone—either adventurers or soldiers—kept sneaking in and out. For the infiltrators, it was only natural to explore a new dungeon, but they had no idea that Soaarunay was tearing her hair out every time they did.

“Ugh, I’m at my limit.”

Staggering to her feet, Soaarunay moved deeper from her living quarters. The room illuminated by blue light had trees bearing fruits on both sides, which served as her food supply. She walked further and arrived at a vast space.

In the center of the room floated an unbelievably huge boulder. It emitted a blue light and even rotated slowly. If it fell, it would crush Soaarunay’s body like an insect under its immense weight.

This was the mass of energy at the core of the Great Labyrinth of Runay-aas, sometimes referred to by adventurers as the dungeon core.

Historically, Runay-aas o Saak had decided to create the massive labyrinth upon discovering this mass of energy.

“Heh… hehe… you’ve made me mad.”

Soaarunay tottered toward the control panel under the floating boulder. Made of golden metal and slanted, it displayed a magic array.

Generations of ancestors had written numerous manuals about this array, and having deciphered them, Soaarunay knew how to operate the great labyrinth.

And that wasn’t all.

“Coming to this era was fortunate for me. Thanks to what I saw, I now understand many things that were unclear before. So now! I’ll show you a thing or two, silver-masked boy!”

Blaming everything on Hikaru, Soaarunay slammed her palm onto a spot on the panel.

Light radiated from there, and like ripples on water, the magic array shone intensely and spread out.

The earth—no, the dungeon rumbled. The ground where Soaarunay stood trembled.

Her eyes were fixed on the slowly rotating boulder. She was smiling.

This event coincided with Hikaru’s meeting with Yoshino at the research facility.

---

Around the same time, a girl was strolling through the streets of the Holy City of Agiapole. She wore a mage’s robe with her hood down, letting her long black hair sway freely.

“Ugh, when are we going back to Ponsonia already?!” Serika grumbled.

The Four Eastern Stars had ventured into the Great Labyrinth of Runay-aas on a commission from the Adventurers Guild to rescue Gerhardt, the leader of the Confederacy of Einbiest. They had successfully completed their mission, even killing a gigantic chimera that was spawning demonic monsters within the dungeon. Their efforts had been duly rewarded by Pope Luvain.

Therefore, they had no more business in Agiapole. But that was only their perspective. Influential figures in Agiapole, like esteemed priests and heads of major trading companies, were keen on meeting Selyse and the Four Eastern Stars.

As adventurers primarily operating out of the Kingdom of Ponsonia, they could have simply declined these meetings.

“With Sophie, there’s really nothing we can do about it,” sighed Sara, the party’s scout.

A Healer and devout follower of the Church, Sophie was merely loaned from the organization, so she couldn’t refuse a request for a meeting from the Church. They might threaten to reclaim Sophie if they declined.

Despite their numerous services to the Theocracy of Bios, being treated unfairly in this manner understandably infuriated Serika.

“Well, they probably just want to meet Selyse. Let’s just suck it up for a bit.”

“That’s what pisses me off!”

Serika was fuming. The Four Eastern Stars were an all-female adventurer party with a respectable rank of B, which brought them considerable fame, for better or worse.

Among them, Selyse was the most famous—her appearance and conduct was refined like that of a noble, and her swordsmanship was exceptional—making her a sought-after individual.

“Seriously, everyone who wants to meet her is a creepy old geezer! They don’t even offer assistance. They just want to make her their mistress!”

“Some just want to use her for their own prestige.”

“That’s even worse!”

While Pope Luvain had made significant efforts to get rid of those who committed wrongdoings, not everyone had been apprehended. Some had received only suspensions for minor offenses, and those outside the Church were not subject to scrutiny. Although Luvain was unlikely to let such individuals go, they currently lacked the manpower to pursue everyone.

“There’s no use getting so worked up. For Sophie, Selyse can handle chatting with dirty old men, no problem.”

“Don’t you feel bad for her?!”

“You’re something else. I just find it reassuring to leave matters to Selyse. I don’t really think much about it past that.”

“That’s not good enough! Selyse might be suffering right now!”

“Huh? Suffering?”

“Because…” Serika stopped in her tracks. “Because Selyse is in love!”

Sara blinked repeatedly. “No, no, no. No way. Not Selyse. Nuh-uh.”

“You’ve been by her side this whole time and didn’t notice the change in her? Ever since we returned from the labyrinth, Selyse has been different!”

“That’s just you. It must be a Japanese thing. Sure, there’s been a slight change in her vibe, but that could be from the pretty grueling experience, no?”

“No, it’s more than that! I’ve figured out who she’s in love with!”

“What?! Who is it?!”

Intrigued, Sara leaned in, and Serika smirked mischievously.

“It’s Silver Face!”

“…”

“Silver Face!”

“…”

“Silv—”

“O-Once is enough. Are you serious?”

“There’s no other possibility! Especially considering the limited number of people we ran into in the dungeon!”

“But Silver Face is Hi—”

Sara stopped herself, covering her mouth with both hands.

That was a close call. Within the Four Eastern Stars, only Sara and Sophie knew that Silver Face was actually Hikaru, a secret that nearly cost Paula her life. They had made a promise to keep this knowledge safe, a promise they still upheld.

It seemed that Selyse had also deduced Silver Face’s true identity, though they hadn’t discussed it openly as a group. Sara believed this was part of their agreement. Moreover, Serika was still oblivious—or was she? Had she perhaps realized the truth? After all, Selyse figured it out herself.

“But Silver Face is what? What were you going to say?”

“Oh, um, well, anyway, don’t you think it’s about time we leave Agiapole?”

“It couldn’t be more obvious you’re trying to change the subject!”

“Uh…”

Sara really hoped Selyse wasn’t developing feelings for Silver Face. They needed his cooperation to return to Japan, and complicating things with unnecessary emotions wouldn’t help. She would be fine with it if it happened after they were settled back in Japan.

Besides, Hikaru is Lavia’s boyfriend, so where does that leave Selyse? In a love triangle? How would she approach a guy she likes? She might just come right out and say it. Wait, hold on. Hikaru is here, and Lavia is in Japan. If Selyse makes a move, Lavia won’t take it well. Things could get messy. It could turn into a soap opera!

Sara had been hooked on romantic films and TV series she had watched in Japan.

“Don’t leave me hanging here!” Serika snapped.

“Oh, my bad. It’s your fault for bringing up something intrig—I mean, absurd.”

“It’s not absurd! Silver Face may be a bit of a mystery, but he doesn’t seem like a bad guy, so I will support Selyse!”

“What?! That’s just gonna complicate things, so don’t.”

“Why would it complicate things?!”

“Don’t tell me you like messy soap operas.”

“I don’t! And when did you even learn that term?!”

As they bantered, the ground beneath them shook slightly.

Though only a small tremor, earthquakes were rare in inland cities like Agiapole. Some people noticed it and looked around nervously, while many remained oblivious.

“Serika, did you feel that slight—”

Before Sara could finish, a violent tremor swept through, accompanied by screams rising all around them. Unable to stay on their feet, they crouched down, hands braced on the ground.