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The Fourth Girl Finally Discovers the Truth – Part 03

He messed up. He never expected Serika to be here.

Not only that, Hikaru himself had been rushing ahead, wanting to quickly settle the problem. If he had his Mana Detection, he could have sensed Serika coming.

In a deserted back alley, Hikaru explained the situation in Japanese. He debated how much to reveal about Soaarunay. To avoid associating her to the Great Labyrinth, he described her as a magic researcher who had been transported to Japan.

Incidentally, when Serika showed her Rank B guild card to the adventurers, they all fell silent, and even the receptionist seemed ready to bow to her.

“So, I ended up back here due to an accident,” Hikaru finished.

“So you’re Silver Face?”

She hit the nail on the head.

“Why do you say that?”

“Now that I think about it, there were sightings of Silver Face near your location. Plus, Sophie became friends with Paula, and Sophie rarely teams up with unfamiliar Healers like Flower Face. If Flower Face’s true identity is Paula, it all adds up!”

“I suppose.”

“So, you admit it?!”

“Yeah, I guess.” Hikaru sighed.

“Why the long sigh?”

“Well, I’ve been trying pretty hard to keep this secret. I’ve stuck my nose into too many matters. Maybe I should get a different mask.”

“You’re worried about your identity being exposed? I can keep a secret, you know? Heh heh! This means my intuition is the best in our party. Or maybe my deductive skills are just too good. Ah, I scare myself sometimes.”

“Uh…”

“What do you mean uh? I’m the only one who knows your secret, right? That means I’m the… best.”

“…”

“Wait a minute. Hold on. Let me confirm something. I’m the only one who knows you’re Silver Face, right?”

“…”

“Why are you looking away?! D-Don’t tell me. Sophie knows too? Ah, of course. That makes sense. She could work with Paula no problem because she knew her real identity.”

“…”

“And since Sara was with them, she knows the truth too.”

“…”

“Wait, does Selyse know too?”

Hikaru nodded.

“I was the last one to find out?! That’s just mean! Are you even Japanese?!”

“What does my nationality have to do with this?”

“So you guys were all laughing at me for being the only one unaware. I’m gonna tell Hazuki about this!”

“Why are you bringing Hazuki into this? What are you, five? You’re older, so you should act like it. Be as mature as Selyse, at least.”

Serika instantly fell silent.

“What’s wrong?” Hikaru asked.

“W-Wait a minute. You’re Silver Face.”

“As much as I don’t want to admit it, yes, I am.”

“You appeared on the seventh floor of the dungeon and helped Selyse.”

“Surviving the fall wasn’t my doing. Her quick wit to stab her sword into the cliff was incredible.”

“Selyse knows you’re Silver Face.”

“She figured it out and confronted me about it.”

“Uwaah!”

“What? What’s with the sudden outburst?”

Serika clutched her head and crouched down. “Th-This can’t be happening,” she mumbled to herself. “Selyse’s been acting like a love-struck girl after that. But Hikaru has Lavia!”

“What do we do with her? Should we leave her?”

“Maybe learning you’re Silver Face was more shocking than you thought,” said Paula, who had been watching the interaction.

Since the conversation with Serika was in Japanese, she didn’t understand any of it.

“Um, Serika. I apologize for keeping it a secret, but now isn’t the time for this.”

Hikaru pointed up with his thumb. Through the gap in the buildings, a part of the floating island could be seen in the distance.

“Oh, right. I need to meet up with the girls.”

“Yes, and we need to exchange information too, so we’ll go with you.”

“No!”

“What?”

He hadn’t expected a denial.

“N-Now is not a good time. Mostly because I don’t know what to do. Damn it, that explains Sara’s weird reaction earlier.”

“Serika? What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know! Just not now. We’ll meet up tomorrow instead.”

“Tomorrow, huh? Fine. Then we’ll head closer to ground zero.”

Since the Adventurers Guild had no information, getting closer to the site might provide more details.

“We’ll go visit Einbiest’s camp.”

---

The Beastmen of the Confederacy of Einbiest were fully armed, their eyes scanning the surroundings as they assessed the extent of the gouged earth. Even peering in, they couldn’t see the bottom of the chasm. The light vanished into darkness, making even the bravest soldiers shudder.

“What in the world happened here? Even when seeing it in person, it doesn’t feel real.”

Jillarte, the Deputy Leader of Einbiest, stood on a small hill with about thirty soldiers. A vast swathe of land had disappeared, and water from a river in the forest was now flowing into the chasm. The exposed cliffside showed clear fault lines, a sight that would make any geologist eager to start sketching.

Looking up, Jillarte saw the massive piece of land floating in the sky, fitting perfectly into the hole in the earth below like a puzzle piece. It was so high, several thousand meters up, that it appeared quite small.

Indeed, it didn’t feel real.

“The Great Labyrinth took to the skies. You know that, don’t you?”

Startled by the familiar voice behind him, Jillarte whirled around.

“Silver Face?!” She couldn’t hide the joy in her voice.

The Beastmen soldiers knew about Silver Face, but they were astonished that none of them had noticed his and his companion’s approach.

Jillarte ran up and grabbed Hikaru’s hands, shaking them vigorously. “What are you doing here? Weren’t you heading to Ponsonia?”

“Ouch, ouch. Stop shaking me like that.”

“I want to hug you, really. But I’m in full armor right now.”

Jillarte looked down at herself with a disappointed frown.

Hikaru chuckled. “I’d rather not be hugged while you’re in armor. By the way, where’s your boss?”

“He said he wanted to check out what was happening, but keeping him rested is our top priority, so he’s in bed. Considering his severe injuries and exhaustion, it’s a miracle he can even move.”

“Surprisingly obedient. He usually acts before thinking.”

“Now that you mention it.” Jillarte cocked her head. “Recently, for some reason, he seems to listen more often.”

“He only listens to you,” said one of the Beastmen.

Voices of agreement rose around them. It sounded more like they were teasing Jillarte and Gerhardt than complaining about favoritism, showing how much closer they had grown.

“Anyway, I’m here for information. Tell me everything you know about the Great Labyrinth taking flight, even the smallest details.”

“Sure thing. Let’s head back to the tent.”

Jillarte shared information on the way back to the military camp.

First, the dungeon had suddenly taken to the skies without any sign or warning. It happened during a guard shift change, so both temple guards and Beastmen soldiers were safe, but two adventurer parties inside the dungeon were now trapped.

They should have enough food for now, but if they remained trapped for ten or twenty days, they’d eventually starve.

The monsters up to the sixth floor has been mostly killed. If they can reach the eighth floor, they can secure food and water. The problem is the seventh floor.

Hikaru knew that the eighth floor was a peaceful grassland area where they could find food and water. But there was no way to communicate this to the trapped parties as the dungeon was now in the sky.

“That’s all the information we have. It was just too sudden.”

“Hmm. By the way, what’s the security situation around here? If I remember correctly, the highways were blocked after the dungeon appeared.”

“It should be lifted in about three days.”

When they reached the tent, Jillarte spread out a map.

“There are five main roads leading to Agiapole, and over twenty if you count the smaller ones. These three were the ones affected by the monster outbreak. We’ve confirmed that no more monsters are appearing, and the blockades were supposed to be lifted today.”

“But then the Great Labyrinth flew into the sky.”

“Exactly. We’re now sending fast teams to check the roads. Once they confirm it’s safe, we’ll lift the blockades. The Church wants that too.”

The Holy City of Agiapole was one of the largest cities on the continent. It wouldn’t be able to sustain itself without food transported from outside.

Agiapole desperately wanted the roads reopened as soon as possible.