We decided to plan our strategy while looking at a three-dimensional map of Starlight City together.
This 3D map was useful. You could zoom in and out, and building names were displayed on it.
"I actually don't know the details of the request,"
Agaro blurted out without warning.
Lupinus spoke up as well.
"I've heard it's a survey of some sort."
"Um, um, I was told I'd be helping with the dungeon exploration."
"—Hyarn. This place isn't open to the public, right?"
Agaro shook a canned beer and asked.
Hyarn nodded.
"That's right, I can't make it public. There's a lab down here."
"Figured as much. No telling what'd happen if you showed something like this off."
"If anyone tried, they'd probably get disappeared instead, y'know?"
"That sort of thing exists too, huh."
What the heck, that's scary.
"Besides, the entrance is at my house."
So there's absolutely no way it's happening.
Agaro gave a wry smile.
"So basically, we don't know what our target is."
"That's right, then."
"What's Hayarn after?"
I asked.
Hayarn tilted his head.
"Hmm? There are plenty of goals."
"But if we don't narrow it down to one, we're stuck."
"That's the thing, Riv. You said there was somewhere you wanted to go, didn't you?"
"Mm... there is."
"Oh? Where's that?"
When Agaro prompted her, Riv pointed at the center of the holographic map. The tallest building.
Shrunk down, its name displayed.
"Starlight City Main Brain Tower"
"That looks like it's deep inside, too."
"There are walls around it."
Just as Bid said, walls forming a double ring enclosed the tower.
Even from the holographic map, it was clear these weren't ordinary walls.
"It's quite far from here, too."
A pin marked our current position, and from there— it was quite a distance.
"Mm... there's a train..."
"Oh, this loop line?"
Makes sense. Then distance isn't an issue.
"So what do you mean by 'train'?"
"It's a means of transportation. A vehicle, more or less."
"A horse-drawn carriage?"
"Ah... something like that, I guess."
They're completely different in reality, but it's hard to explain.
Something suddenly popped into my head.
"Riv, is there no teleportation gate?"
Right. Teleportation gate. If we had one of those, we could just ignore the wall entirely.
Riv gave a small shake of her head.
"There's... one inside the ship... for moving between floors... but... not in the residential area."
"I see."
"How inconvenient."
"Why isn't there one?"
"Well... to maintain... order..."
"That's fair enough, I guess."
Because if it were misused, it'd be pretty easy to stage a terrorist attack or something.
Haiyarn perked his ears up and asked.
"Miss Riv, why do you want to go to this place?"
"There's... something I want to confirm."
What was it, I wonder?
Agaro was gulping down a canned beer.
I know, but this guy had done nothing but drink since we got here.
"...Well, anyway, actually getting there won't be easy."
"There is a wall, isn't there."
First, we had to do something about those two obstacles.
Before that, we needed to confirm whether we could even use the Train.
"First we've gotta check if we can get close using that Train or whatever."
"Then how about we make that our first objective?"
"Now that's a fine idea."
"I'm in favor."
"Um, I think that would be good as well."
"Then the station it is."
The nearest station... there was one. From here, it wasn't that far.
About a ten-minute walk, maybe.
"...Wof. We're passing through here?"
"That's right. Something the matter?"
"...Of all the places, it had to be this one..."
"Ah... this is where that black square spider was."
So that's what it was.
So that means there's no avoiding a fight.
"I suppose it does. I don't think we all need to move together."
"Agreed."
"I can't go. I can't fight and it's scary."
Well, that's Hiyarn for you.
"And we should keep exploring the surrounding area too. Even if we settle on a big goal, there's definitely valuable treasure around here somewhere. It'd be a shame to overlook that."
"Right. If you're not exploring, you're not really a delver, are you?"
"Indeed."
"Mm."
Yeah, I get it. After coming all this way, showing up empty-handed is not an option.
"W-wait, so does that mean we're splitting into two groups?"
"That it does."
"The train group and the exploration group, then."
When I said that, Lupinus looked at Riv.
"First of all, Riv is on the train group."
"Mmm… mochi… train…"
"I'll go with that side too."
"Noted."
"As for me… hmm, what shall I do…"
"W-w-wait, I want to be on the exploration group!"
"Then Juicy will be in the exploration group."
"I wanna go with the exploration group too, sss."
"Bid's going exploration as well."
For now, anyway.
Train group: Riv, Agaro.
Exploration group: Juicy, Bid.
"What about you, Lupinus?"
"Let me see… I'll go with the train group."
That made three for the train group.
"What are you going to do, Wof?"
"Hmm…"
Train group or exploration group.
"Wof's going exploring, sss!"
"Um, um, I'd like to join the exploration group as well."
"Huh? Really…?"
"See, you've got a Relic that lets you find treasure. It'd be useful for exploring."
"I see."
In that case, I'm going with the exploration group.
Train group: Riv, Agaro.
Exploration group: Juicy, Bid. And me.
"Mmm… Pakira… I want you over here…"
"Fumu. That's true. The more fighting strength, the better, I suppose."
Pakira was going with the train group.
"W-wait. You're not really going to leave just me behind, are you?"
Hyayan started to panic.
Right. He'd be stuck watching the place alone.
Well, I didn't think he had anything to worry about.
"It'll be fine. You've got the pink sphere and yunition."
"Peep… peep… the afterlife of rabbits is… not guaranteed… peep… synchronizing—cooking show…"
"…Network connection confirmed… rabbit cuisine… list"
"That's seriously ominous and terrifying!?"
"Just kidding. Probably."
Probably. Probably.
But Hyayan didn't look convinced.
"I've made my decision. I'm joining the exploration group."
"Oh… you're coming along?"
"I don't want to die! Besides, I'm curious about the treasure."
Sigh. So he was coming with us then.
"Can't be helped, I suppose."
"And I want some moisture. Lady Juicy, Lady Bid… now that would be perfect…"
The rabbit grinned lewdly as he said that. Hey.
Hearing that, Bid spoke with cold eyes.
"Hey-yarn. You know what happens if you grope someone, right?"
"Um, um, well, me. I've dressed a rabbit before!"
"Same here, yeah."
Hayarn went pale and stood frozen stiff.
Sigh. Oh well. And just like that, the teams were set.
The train team: Riv, Agaro, Lupinus, Pakira.
The exploration team: Juicy, Bid, Hayarn, and me.
The pink sphere and Yuniton... well, they can do what they want.