Chapter 13: The Underground Labyrinth
Over a meager dinner, we began our strategy meeting.
“So, the point is we just have to do something about The Sun Tree Thicket Inn, right? I’m pretty good at the ‘Meteor Fall’ spell, you know.”
“No physical solutions.”
“What? If we just blow up the whole building, it’ll be solved in one shot.”
“Retaliation leads to a cycle of retaliation. Even if the other party is unjust, we shouldn’t stoop to their level.”
“…”
She had a point, so I temporarily shelved the meteor fall plan.
“But it’s also true that talking won’t work. How are we going to save this inn from its predicament?”
“About that, if we can just get the hot spring back, things will work out, right?” Fina asked Mia.
“Yes… probably,” she answered, a little hesitantly.
“If the hot spring comes back, I think my father will get his motivation back. If that happens, I think he’ll start working seriously.”
“If he works seriously, the customers might come back.”
Those weren’t just words of comfort. I had a reason to believe it.
The dinner we were eating now was made by Mia’s father.
It wasn’t something served to guests, just a simple meal for the family, but it was still quite delicious. If he used ingredients meant for guests and put in the time and effort, it was bound to be even more delicious.
“So the best thing is to get Mia’s father motivated again.”
“Yes.”
“Alright then, let’s dig for a hot spring.”
“Huh!?” Fina and Mia’s eyes went wide.
My words were so unexpected and casual. I had said it with the same tone as if I were just popping out to the corner to buy some cigarettes.
“Did you just say you’re going to dig for a hot spring?”
“I did.”
“That’s impossible. We’re amateurs.”
“I used to have a dwarf friend who would talk about geological strata when he drank. Things like how gold and silver can be mined from the same vein, how to hollow out granite… and also that if you dig down far enough, you’ll always hit a hot spring eventually.”
“Is that so?” Fina asked reservedly to confirm.
“Yeah, you can find a hot or cold spring in most strata. As long as you dig deep enough.”
“Well, I’m sure one would come out if you dug a thousand meters.”
“This is a hot spring town. A hundred should be enough.”
“Even a hundred meters would be difficult for amateurs.”
“Under normal circumstances, yes. But we, as a couple, are cheats.”
“Cheats?”
“It means we’re the strongest. My wife is friends with the earth spirits, Gnomes and Titans, and I’m a professional at explosion-type magic.”
We’re good enough to make a living as construction workers, I declared, and announced that we would start work the very next day.
Mia listened to my words, half in disbelief.
BOOM!
The sound of an explosion echoed through the garden of The Dawn Fig Inn.
The neighbors came out to see what was going on, and Mia apologized profusely.
“R-Renas-san, the neighbors are startled!”
“It’s just at the beginning. The bedrock right below was hard, so I destroyed it with my explosion magic. Fina’s Gnomes will take care of the digging from here.”
“Right you are,” Fina said, summoning the earth spirits.
The spirits, looking like even smaller versions of dwarves, each held a pickaxe and a shovel and jumped into the hole I had made. The Gnomes broke the rock with their pickaxes and dug the earth with their shovels.
“They’re so well-coordinated.”
“Yes. They’re harder workers than dwarves.”
Fina declared this and then conducted them with the light movements of an orchestra conductor.
“If we keep digging like this, we’re sure to strike a hot spring.”
“That is certainly true.”
“Good things come to those who wait, right? Mia, you should go do some work.”
“We don’t have any customers besides you, Renas-san.”
“Right.”
“U-Um, if we do find a hot spring, is it okay to share it with the neighboring inns?”
“I don’t mind. In fact, you’re very kind, Mia.”
“They’re in trouble too, so we’re all in the same boat.”
“No, people in dire straits tend to get tunnel vision, but you’re amazing.”
“Thank you.”
As we were having this exchange, one of the Gnomes popped its head out and started saying something. I wasn’t versed in the spirit language, so I couldn’t understand what it was saying.
So I went directly to the site, and then I understood what the Gnome was trying to say.
“Looks like we’ve dug up an underground labyrinth instead of a hot spring.”
“An underground labyrinth!?” Mia cried out in surprise.
“That’s right. It seems this post town of Yankers was built on top of an underground labyrinth.”
“I’ve never heard anything like that before.”
“It’s probably a top secret.”
“I had no idea. But if there’s an underground labyrinth, does that mean a hot spring won’t come out?”
“No, I’d guess that the eight sources are each welling up from the underground labyrinth.”
“So that means we just have to find a new source in the underground labyrinth, right?”
“That’s right. Actually, that’s more helpful for us.”
As I summed it up, Fina, who had been directing the Gnomes, returned.
“Renas, I just got a report from the Gnomes—”
She stopped mid-sentence, apparently realizing from our expressions that we already knew.
“You’ve already decided to explore the dungeon, haven’t you?”
“That’s right. The spirit power is weak in underground dungeons, but are you coming?”
“Of course. I am your wife; I will follow you to the depths of the Abyss.”
“I’m grateful. Well, it probably won’t be that dangerous, but Mia, you stay here.”
Mia was aware that she had zero combat ability. Being a smart girl, she didn’t selfishly say she wanted to come along.
She helped us prepare for the dungeon search. Specifically, she made us sandwiches. The sandwiches made by the red-haired girl with a master chef for a father were egg, tuna, and mushroom. The tuna had plenty of onion in it, just the way I like it.
We gratefully accepted the lunch from Mia and then descended into the dungeon.
