The spacious, well-lit room was comfortable and inviting.
Within it, the old man — Gadora, the court mage — gestured toward chairs for his three guests.
The trio bowed politely and sat as the stern magician offered.
Gadora regarded the three of them and smiled faintly.
Even after becoming first-rate soldiers, his disciples still got nervous around him. It was amusing.
He had known Shinji and his friends were coming through prior contact. The investigation into the equipment he'd been holding for them was also finished.
However, whether to honestly reveal those findings — that was still under deliberation.
After all, the astonishing performance of those items was nothing short of spectacular.
In any case, he first handed the bardiche and the bracelets back to Shinji.
Shinji accepted the equipment from Gadora, then passed the large weapon to his broad-shouldered friend.
The bracelets he tucked away into his pocket.
The moment that was done — "So, Master... did you figure out what this bracelet does?"
Shinji asked, getting straight to the point he'd been curious about.
A magical item that allowed the wearer to automatically revive upon death, but only within a specific location. No matter how many texts Gadora had searched, he could find nothing describing such an item.
Still, that didn't mean he had no leads.
"Goodness. Always impatient, aren't you? Well, I'm one to talk.
To give you the conclusion first: I was unable to appraise it through magic. The other two I've sent to the Technical Bureau for examination.
But I doubt even they'll unravel this bracelet's mystery.
That said, I do have a hunch.
So here's my question...
Where did you obtain this bracelet? And what is that place called?"
Gadora was turning the question back on them to verify his suspicion.
He had never heard where the bracelet came from. He'd only received a request to examine its effects.
Three bracelets had been handed over with a request to investigate their properties.
What he'd heard in passing — that the item allowed automatic resurrection upon death, but only within a specific location — had been an outrageous claim.
When Shinji first brought the bracelet to him, Gadora had asked him not to share any preconceptions so he could examine it fresh, which was why he hadn't listened to the details.
The result had been an inability to analyze it through magic.
The fluctuating spiritual waves varied unpredictably, completely obstructing any magical interference. All elemental wavelengths were intertwined in such complex patterns that even isolating a specific pattern was impossible. In the end, he'd had no choice but to delegate to the Technical Bureau.
Asking the Technical Bureau felt like admitting defeat and bruised his pride, but Gadora was the type to prioritize practical results over ego.
Grudgingly, he'd handed over the remaining two bracelets and requested their analysis. The results had not yet come back.
"I also attempted a magical appraisal, but failed... I couldn't even find a thread to pull on.
I chalked it up to my own inadequacy, but even you failed, Master...
The place is a forest on the western side — in the Empire, they call the opposite side of the Great Forest of Jura 'the other side' or 'the west' — In a satellite city of the Demon Lord's nation, a new country ruled by the Demon Lord.
It's an item you can purchase upon entering a place called the Underground Labyrinth — a layered subterranean structure.
They sell it to you alongside a description of the labyrinth...
I was skeptical, but experienced it firsthand.
It undeniably had the power to revive you even after death."
"Oh my... a labyrinth, you say? And this bracelet can be used repeatedly?"
"No, sir. After you die once, it dissolves into particles of light and vanishes.
Of course, since you'd be dead and outside, you'd need to re-enter. And you'd have to purchase a new one when paying the admission fee."
"...Does this labyrinth charge an entrance fee?
In fact, can anyone enter?"
"Yes, exactly. It seems the Demon Lord Rimuru is operating it as a tourist attraction."
"Good heavens... the Demon Lord himself..."
Gadora was speechless at Shinji's explanation.
Come to think of it, the whole situation was outrageous.
A Demon Lord — the enemy of humanity.
A Demon Lord was an absolute power; the wisest course was always mutual non-aggression.
Allowing a Demon Lord to control vast territory was precisely to ensure they harbored no territorial ambitions toward other nations — or rather, to prevent them from developing such ambitions.
In that sense, Gadora opposed the Empire's recent moves to project territorial power westward.
A year ago, the Farmus Kingdom had touched the Demon Lord's wrath and been destroyed.
The common people apparently suffered no direct casualties, but the king met a gruesome end and the nation ceased to exist.
That incident had apparently triggered some kind of upheaval among the Demon Lords.
Eight had been officially recognized to human society as the Star Octagram.
The widely known Demon Lords were four pillars — Guy, Milim, Leon, and the talk of the realm, Rimuru.
Gadora didn't know what the western nations were thinking, but in his view, angering a Demon Lord named Rimuru was extremely dangerous.
The activities since the Demon Lord had become widely known were far too aggressive.
And crucially, when one of the former Ten Great Demon Lords,
What that indicated was that Rimuru surpassed even Clayman, a being feared in the west.
Moreover, there had been not a single survivor among the troops — said to number over ten thousand — who had marched on the Farmus Kingdom.
In a normal war, thirty percent casualties meant the operation had failed. At that point, you were supposed to surrender.
Judging from what was rumored about the Demon Lord's character, surrendering should have spared one's life — yet the result had been total annihilation.
Were they wiped out before they had time to surrender, or did it stem from subordinates running amok?
But above all, the most terrifying aspect was the encirclement — an ironclad ability to prevent any escape.
Over ten thousand soldiers, with no survivors... inconceivable by any normal standard.
If a large-scale spell had been deployed, perhaps it was possible.
An encirclement of the entire army, at speeds preventing escape — a nuclear-class attack magic...
But for such a spell, the caster would need time to concentrate magical power, during which they'd be vulnerable to counterattack. The enemy would also need to have deployed zero magical barriers — a miracle in itself.
If every single condition aligned, perhaps even Gadora could pull it off.
But the likelihood of all that was virtually zero.
More importantly, the terrain deformation from nuclear attack magic hadn't been observed. No evidence of its environmental impact had been confirmed.
Some unknown form of attack, perhaps, or annihilation by numerous subordinates in a siege that left no room for escape.
Terrifying. That was his honest assessment.
And to wage war against such an enemy of their own volition... frankly, the military high command could hardly escape accusations of incompetence.
(They should be advising the Emperor against this...)
With that thought, he let out a melancholy sigh.
Then, shifting his mood, he decided to answer his disciple Shinji's questions.
"Now then, speaking of the Demon Lords — do you know how many there are?"
"Yes, eight, right?"
"Eh? Wasn't it ten? Or did it become eleven?"
"That... last year, they just switched around..."
Gadora sighed and began explaining.
"Idiots. For people affiliated with the military, you can't even gather intelligence. You'd be the first to die out there.
There are eight Demon Lords. They call themselves the Eight Star Demon Lords.
It means they possess power comparable to the stars themselves.
Indeed, even Rimuru — the 'New Star' — is said to single-handedly rival an entire army.
The military high command seems to think Rimuru's words were mere boasting... but I believe it's the truth.
However, let's set that aside for now.
One of the eight is a being known as the 'Labyrinth Fairy.' What do you think?"
The three of them held their breath at his words.
Shinji ventured carefully.
"Labyrinth... as in a dungeon?"
Gadora nodded gravely and produced a book, showing it to the three.
A dungeon called the 'Spirit's Dwelling' was said to exist in the Urgrascia Republic to the west. The common understanding was that it spread through underground or aerial passages, but the truth was different.
In a sense correct, and in a sense wrong.
What the book described was that the Spirit's Dwelling was not home to spirits alone, but also the residence of a queen who had transformed her own being from spirit into fairy.
"That queen is the one called the 'Labyrinth Fairy' — one of the eight Demon Lords."
Gadora's words pressed down heavily on the three.
He continued, "It seems only the entrance door to the Labyrinth existed in the Urgr Natural Park, but it has since vanished.
Chronologically, it coincided with when Rimuru declared himself a Demon Lord.
And several months later, the Underground Labyrinth was opened to the public."
He was almost certainly certain now.
Shinji and the others had no words of denial to offer.
"Master... you had already figured it out?"
That was all Shinji could manage.
Gadora grinned mischievously.
"Of course! You fools... intelligence gathering is the foundation of everything!
War, economics — and for those who aspire to the pursuit of sorcery, even more so.
Your training is sorely lacking!!
And one more thing.
The opponent who defeated you — I can guess who that was."
"Eh!? M-Master, how did you — ?"
"I heard it from Commander Yuuki. What you were after, and where you went.
I had my answer from that alone, but nothing should be taken for granted, so..."
"Ha ha... I'm terribly sorry."
Shinji's face flushed red with shame.
He'd been told time and again by his master as a mage that intelligence gathering was essential, and he hadn't even realized how lax he'd been until it was pointed out.
To be fair, comparing Shinji — raised in Japan without a sense of urgency — to the cunning, veteran Gadora who had lived in this world for decades was perhaps a bit harsh.
In any case, the three were rebuked severely while also receiving crucial intelligence about the guardian of the sixtieth floor.
A great holy knight from a thousand years ago, and the noble saint who served him.
That such figures had fallen to darkness — the threat they posed being said to rival a Superior Demon General — was entirely plausible.
"I don't know if it's true or not, but this book states: 'The sword of Holy Knight
Hearing his master's words, Shinji felt deflated.
(Well, of course we couldn't win!)
That was his sentiment. He hadn't known, so there was nothing he could have done — but if the labyrinth hadn't allowed resurrection, he would be dead.
From now on, he swore to dig deeper into intelligence gathering — if only to avoid putting his companions in danger.
But that resolve came just a little too late.
Because they had already been drawn into a new crisis...
The door to Court Mage Gadora's room opened, and several soldiers filed in.
The sudden development left Shinji and the others stunned.
But events were already in motion, and their delayed decision to leave the Empire had cost them the chance to slip away cleanly.