After the last customers leave, the girls close the store once again. I count today's sales at the counter and declare the results to everyone as usual.
"It's fifty large gold coins for today, girls!"
"Yay! That's amazing! I'm so proud of us, Motegi-chan!"
"We really did it again, didn't we, Motegi-kun?"
"Everyone... truly worked... hard... today, Motegi-sama..."
"Sales total is exactly two hundred percent higher than yesterday's peak record. I am very pleased with this outcome, Master."
"Fufufu~... our store's really something special, isn't it, darling~?"
"Mwahaha! Truly, 'tis ever a joy to hear such coinage count, mine king!"
"Mmm~... our store never stops seducing wallets, does it, honey~?"
"I am sincerely grateful for this day's achievement, my Lord."
Fifty large gold coins, which are fifty million yen and another record-breaking sale. And once again, Brunhild's precious metals section became the biggest contributor, selling one 32-ounce gold bar and making up forty percent of today's income.
Then, I ask the girls for our next activity.
"So, should we head to the labyrinth now?"
"Yes!"
We head upstairs together excitedly. As the girls enter the wardrobe room to get changed, I make my way to the living room and gently set Puck on the sofa.
"Be a good boy for us here, okay?"
"Kyuu!"
"Hahaha..."
I laugh as I tap its nose.
After the girls are finished changing, I open a teleportation portal, and we step through towards Remantia's labyrinth together, leaving Puck behind.
REMANTIA'S LABYRINTH, FORTY-SECOND FLOOR – SECRET ROOM
As soon as we step through the portal, we arrive at the secret room on the forty-second floor. Then, we see the teleportation circle on this floor is still active and hasn't faded yet even though we left it yesterday.
So, I turn to the girls.
"You all ready?"
"Of course, Motegi-chan!"
"Always, Motegi-kun!"
"Ready... when you are… Motegi-sama…"
"I have completed battle preparations, Master."
"Mmhmm~ ready as ever, darling~..."
"I await thy command, mine king."
"Fufufu~... let's do this, honey~..."
"Just say the word, my Lord."
"Alright, then. Let's go!"
And then, we step into the portal together and resume our journey toward the next secret room.
REMANTIA'S LABYRINTH, FIFTY-SIXTH FLOOR – SECRET ROOM
Arriving here, we're welcomed by massive, towering creatures about three times the height of a man. Their bodies are thick, branched, knotted, and gnarled, shaped like humanoid trees. And their faces leer at us with hollow eyes and jagged mouths.
"Are those mandrakes?"
Kimberly then answers.
"Not quite, Motegi-sama. These are called… Tera Mandrakes. And it's... my first time… seeing them... in person…"
"Do they drop food too?"
"I don't… think so… but I've heard… their rare drop... is the root... itself. It's said to be… very... sturdy…"
"I see..."
Sturdy, huh?
That means it's not for medicine, but maybe for crafting materials. If my [Blacksmithing] skill can refine silicone, which is a metalloid rather than a metal, then my [Carpentry] might just be able to do something with this root too.
With that, I activate [Temporary Boost] and set all of our stats as usual. Then, I turn to Lilith.
"You may start, Lilith."
"Mmm~... thank you, honey~..."
With that, Lilith steps forward and raises her hand, her voice low and thick with allure.
"Come now, boys… eyes on me~... only me~…"
The mandrakes stagger in place as their hulking bodies sway and their heads tilt unnaturally. And with that, Manas immediately lifts her hand.
"Ring of Fire!"
Small flames erupt in a wide circle around us, then suddenly soar high, transforming into a blazing inferno. The entire perimeter ignites, consuming the mandrakes in an explosive ring of fire.
Knowing this, Kimberly and I raise our hands together.
"Wind... Storm..."
"Wind Storm!"
The gust fans the flames into a cyclone of heat and destruction. The fire swells higher and faster until nothing remains but scorched root and smoldering bark.
After that, I turn towards Manas.
"That was an incredible spell, Manas."
"Mwahaha! Be not surprised, mine king! Underestimate not thy queen! I possess many a flame still held in reserve!"
Honestly, it's the first time I've seen Manas cast a defensive wide-area Fire element spell. I always imagined something like a fire dome, but I really didn't expect she would imagine a fire ring that guards and burns everything in its radius. And I can't help but be convinced that she's really our unbeatable guardian.
As the room is now littered with dozens of twisted root logs, we all spread out and collect them.
I crouch and pick up one, marveling at its heaviness and fibrous appearance.
"So this is the root…"
Kimberly then approaches me.
"What will you… do with it… Motegi-sama…?"
"Of course this will go to the store."
"Understood…"
As I expected, it's not as dense as mangrove timber or softwood, but it's still a solid monster material. With the right imagination, this stuff can become luxury carvings, perfect for high-end touches.
Once the last log is gathered and safely packed, another teleportation portal blooms once again on the floor. Without hesitation, we step into it together and let the light take us toward the next secret room.
REMANTIA'S LABYRINTH, SEVENTY-SECOND FLOOR – SECRET ROOM
Arriving here, we're welcomed by more towering figures, and they're metallic this time.
"Are those metal golems?"
And Manas answers me this time.
"Indeed. Alloy Golems, they are named, mine king."
But suddenly, she pauses like she remembers something.
"Ah..."
"What?"
Then, she speaks again.
"Mine king, thou wert not the first to set foot within mine cave. Millennia past, another did breach my sanctuary. 'Twas one of these constructs."
"I see..."
"I surmised its metallic form rendered it impervious to the serpents that prowled yon cave. Their fangs, their venom naught could pierce the alloy hide of such a creature."
"So, what happened to it?"
But then, Manas suddenly laughs.
"Mwahaha! I reduced it to cinders, of course. Mine flames turned it unto slag."
"Huh? That's it?"
She hums thoughtfully, tapping her finger against her chin.
"Nay, there is more. As its shell did melt, I glimpsed something rare within its carcass. The very alloy shone… like unto mithril, adamantite, and orichalcum."
And that's enough to surprise me.
"Really?!"
In every fantasy story, those three are the pinnacle of magical metallurgy that any blacksmith would salivate over. And since I'm also technically working in the same profession, I can't deny that I feel the same excitement. If I can forge weapons out of these metals for Manas's section, she will be over the moon.
With that, I'll keep [Temporary Boost] active and silently activate [Elemental Combo], combining Fire and Earth elements into Lava element. Then, I lift my hand into the air.
"Lava Rain!"
And then...
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Molten spheres with the size of boulders plummet from the air like meteors, melting all the golems through armor, joints, and cores. Within seconds, they're reduced to sizzling puddles of glowing sludge.
After that, Yomogi and Chantal eagerly approach me.
"That was amazing, Motegi‑chan!"
"You totally hogged the fight again, huh, Motegi‑kun?"
"Hehe... sorry."
Pinna and Brunhild follow as Salacia loops her arms around mine and rubs her cheek against me.
"Highly efficient tactical execution. Area-wide incineration. Maximum elemental impact. Threat completely neutralized before enemy activation. Satisfactory, Master."
"As expected of you, my Lord."
"Darling, you were so cool~!"
"Thanks, everyone."
As the room is now littered with dozens of shimmering chunks of alloy, we all spread out and collect them all.
I crouch and pick up one of the fragments. It's warm and incredibly dense, like it's holding something alive inside.
"This thing is amazing..."
Manas then approaches me.
"Mine king, I shouldst be most grateful shouldst thou fashion mighty arms from this hallowed ore."
"Absolutely, Manas."
After the last chunk is gathered and safely packed, another teleportation portal blooms once again on the floor. Without hesitation, we step into it together and let the light take us toward the final secret room.
REMANTIA'S LABYRINTH, NINETIETH FLOOR – SECRET ROOM
**********
Once the light fades, Motegi and his girls see the entire space is now lined with armies of familiar monsters. And right now, they're not facing the living ones, but the dead bodies of them instead.
There are the twitching Ropers that still carry faint static from Motegi's Lightning Crash and the twisted and melted husks of Forbidden Trees with residual burn marks from his Lava Rain, Drupeshooters from Lilith's illusion-fueled infighting, the shattered and dented Shellborns, the headless Minotaurs, the charred remains of Tera Mandrakes, and pools of Alloy Golem sludge that are still steaming.
Motegi can't help but stare in confusion and shock.
"What the hell is happening here?"
But nobody has time to answer him because these dead bodies are all moving. And Lilith immediately raises her hand, trying to enchant them with illusion...
"Alright, darlings~... eyes on me~…"
...but nothing happens because the corpses keep charging, and she goes pale.
"Impossible..."
And they have no choice except to fight, so Motegi activates [Temporary Boost] and sets their stats to infinity.
"What is this?! We already beat them!"
Yomogi lunges ahead, slamming a fist and sending a kick directly into the chest of charging Minotaurs.
"They're not supposed to be here! Why the hell are they moving?!"
Chantal flashes past her, her twin daggers carving across Shellborn's torso.
BOOM!
Manas raises her pavise shield as Drupeshooters begin launching explosive shells.
"Unbelievable! What mockery of battle is this, that the fallen yet rise to assail us?!"
Even Kimberly and Pinna are overwhelmed.
"Wind... Arrow..."
"Initiate Cosmic charge."
WHAM!
Kimberly sends a large, arrow-shaped gust from her palm, bursting it forward with a high-pitched whistle and streaking into the ceiling before curving sharply downward toward the packed corpses. And Pinna sends her Crawler Unit to slam some monsters into the ground with powerful gravitational force. But still, it's not enough.
"They keep… coming. This is never-ending…"
"Enemy quantity far exceeds acceptable reappearance parameters."
Motegi and Brunhild move side by side, driving their blades forward. But he remains confused.
"What is this, Brunhild?! Why isn't Lilith's illusion working?!"
"It is obvious, my Lord! These are not undead. They are mere corpses, nothing more. And they're manipulated by invisible strings."
"What do you mean?"
And suddenly...
"Haaahhh!"
Brunhild screams as she slashes high above a roper into the air, and it collapses instantly.
"We are not fighting them. We are fighting the one that controls them, a monster known as the Puppeteer."
"Puppeteer?"
Puppeteer is a monster known for controlling dead bodies with invisible strings like marionettes, which explains why Lilith's illusion doesn't work because they're just inanimate objects and not reanimated corpses or undead.
Meanwhile, Brunhild used to encounter one as the eighth-floor boss of the Turivel's labyrinth she conquered millennia ago, so Brunhild knew how to deal with it. So what she did wasn't a deliberate miss, but she simply cut those invisible strings and cut the corpses down.
"Then what do we do?!"
"We must bring the Puppeteer down. My Lord, keep slashing the air!"
"Got it!"
As both of them swing their blades upward, Brunhild pushes to the far side of the room as she wants to look for something... until she finally stops and looks above the ceiling.
"This is it."
With that, she raises her hand and casts a powerful purification spell.
"Almighty Judgement!"
Light bursts from her palm like a sun igniting the chamber, blinding and divine. Motegi and the others wince as they raise their arms to shield their faces. Through the blinding white, the corpses are falling one by one without anyone touching them.
And a moment later...
"Kheeee...!"
A high, shrieking cry comes from a tiny creature that drops from above before its body slams into the floor. As the brilliance fades, everyone lowers their arms, and Salacia rushes to their aid.
"Wide Rejuvenation."
A soft blue light spreads from her hands, washing over Motegi, Yomogi, Chantal, Kimberly, Manas, and Brunhild, healing their wounds and restoring their energy.
"Thanks, Salacia."
"You're welcome, I'm glad nobody is safe, darling~..."
Then, Motegi approaches the creature lying on the stone, no taller than a toddler and cloaked in a hood, motionlessly with its face down.
And this was the reason why Brunhild used the Almighty Judgement spell. The Puppeteer always hides above and controls the corpses with its limbs that are infused with anomalous energy. The spell itself was designed to burn them because once its hands were seared, it would fall on its own.
"So, is this the Puppeteer?"
"Indeed, my Lord."
Without hesitation, she plants her greatsword downward, stabbing the creature clean through its neck. And just like that, the corpse vanishes, and it's replaced by a stone plate with incomplete, cropped engraving that he picks up.
"This must be the sixth plate, right?"
"I believe it is, my Lord."
After that, another teleportation portal blooms once again on the floor.
Since Motegi and the girls have cleared all the secret rooms, they understand that the portal won't transport them to another one again... which also makes them clueless, as they don't know where it will bring them to.
But still, they won't let their confusion stop them from moving forward, so Motegi looks at the girls again for confirmation.
"So, should we try it?"
When the girls nod curiously, the party approaches the teleportation circle and steps into the light.