Okay, right, obviously, I didn't mean that I would do anything immediately.
Stuff like this needs some kind of plan.
Wait, what should I even say? What am I trying to do?
Technically we've already gone places together which means we've already gone on dates. Does that mean we're already boyfriend/girlfriend? Do I need to explicitly show romantic interest in her? How does this stuff work in this world?
Maybe things are fine the way they are now. Yeah, doing nothing is fine after all…
No, clearly I'm overthinking things... Therefore... Therefore, the logical conclusion is to not think at all!
Raya: [Huh, it's brighter in here than I thought it would be.]
The two of us finally went inside the Labyrinth that lies under the city. Most of the city's exports came from this labyrinth, so we were told to learn more about it by exploring it directly. Apparently, there are many monsters in the labyrinth, so it'll also double as a good training opportunity. At least that's what Count Telantra had said, but I was pretty sure that he just wanted us to stop bothering him all the time.
…If I go by the logic of minimal thinking, then wouldn't I say something like:
Adam: [Raya, do you wanna be my girlfriend or something?]
Raya: [Huh? Oh, yeah sure.]
At least that's how it would go in my head, but is it really okay to be so direct like that?
Our footsteps echoed through the cave.
I just said that out loud, didn't I? And she just said yes? Just like that?
I watched her back as she kept walking forward solemnly. She appeared to be perfectly calm.
Our relationship just changed irreversibly, so how are you so calm?!
Raya: [Incoming. Looks like two grav-beetles.]
Large black and purple horned beetles crawled out of a hidden hole in the wall. I dashed towards the first one, and punted it into the second. They both exploded on the cavern wall in a mess of guts and beetle carapace.
Adam: [Just to be clear, we're in a romantic relationship now, right?]
Raya responded while looking away.
Raya: [I mean, yeah. That's what you wanted, right? I didn't expect you to just ask so directly and out of nowhere like that though, much less in a place like this.]
Yeah, so I still fucked up. But at least it's over with.
Adam: [What are you talking about? I can't think of a more romantic place than… an underground cave.]
Apparently, deeper in the labyrinth was a beautiful underground city. Maybe I should have waited until then. No, Telantra had told us to only stay in the upper levels for today because we were supposed to get back before sundown.
Raya: [Anyways, we're not supposed to let our guards down here so let's talk about it once we resurface. Also, you're not supposed to explode the beetles because then you can't collect any materials from them. Look, all of this is useless now.]
She tried to prod the beetle off the wall with her sword, but soon gave up. She was using a regular sword instead of Ryuzu's Fang as to not give away her identity, but was still carrying the relic on her back as usual.
Adam: [Sorry about that…]
We moved on deeper into the cavern after that. As Raya had said before, it was fairly bright even though we were underground. The light came from the purple glow of gravity magic that was constantly active in the labyrinth and the glow of luminous moss that grew on the walls of the cave. Apparently, the moss was only kept alive by the magic of the labyrinth, so as soon as it lost contact with it, it would die.
No, of course I'm not trying to distract myself from my own thoughts.
Aha! Another monster!
My detection picked it up, but it was still hiding in the darkness.
Adam: [Incoming, but I don't know what it is.]
Raya and I stood at the ready as the creature hopped out from the shadows.
Raya: [Oh, it's just a horned rabbit… with three heads for some reason.]
Adam: [It looks creepy. I haven't seen something like this in any books or anything.]
Unlike the normal horned rabbit, its horns protruded from the top of its head (as opposed to its eye sockets) and it still had eyes. It was also slightly larger, at about the size of a medium-sized dog.
It stared at us with its red beady eyes.
Adam: [Arrow, guide me towards salvation] –Piercing Shot
The blood laser pierced between the middle head's eyes. The other two heads screeched and writhed around until the middle head regenerated.
Raya: [How annoying. Let's chop off all three heads at once.]
We were being slightly cautious because it was an unfamiliar monster, but decided to charge in nonetheless. Raya cut off two heads with one swing while I cut off the third. The rabbit had tried to make a move but was killed before it could do anything. But as the severed heads hit the floor, they let out an ear-splitting screech.
It was several times louder and more painful than anything I'd ever heard before. Raya and I could do nothing but cover our ears in agony.
Then my detection picked up more monsters incoming. 10. No, 20. No… too many to even count. They would be here any second now.
Adam: [RAYA!]
She nodded and we both ran as fast as we could in the opposite direction.
A wave of demonically demented rabbits descended from the hole that the original rabbit came from.
Raya: [What the hell are those things!]
They were gaining on us. At this rate, we wouldn't even make it anywhere close to the exit.
Before we could get swallowed up, Raya yanked me by the collar and dove down a branching path.
Together, we tumbled down the path. Several rabbits decided to follow us and came tumbling down as well. The world spun as rocks hit me from all directions. All I could do was hold Raya in my arms and take as many blows as I could for her.
Then the area opened up. I was about to rejoice but then realized that we were still falling. It seemed that we found a large vertical chasm in the walls of the labyrinth. It would be a good shortcut to the lower levels… if we survived the fall.
Adam: [Out of the boiling pot and into the fire… or something]
No one heard that comment because of the deafening winds that were hitting us as we fell.
Luckily, Raya was still holding onto me. I repositioned myself to hold her directly in front of me.
Damn, maybe this is actually kinda romantic…
Adam: [WE ONLY HAVE ONE PARACHUTE SO BEAR WITH IT FOR A LITTLE! Repent with the wishes of pure white lamb] –Blood Parachute
Because I had some practice, my parachute this time was bigger and sturdier than the last time I had been forced to use this. Sadly, it was not meant for two people, so there would likely be some broken bones waiting for us at the bottom. Especially given how tangled up we were.
As we fell slowly, I watched several dozen rabbits fall to their death below us. Interestingly, these rabbits were the kind with only a single head. All I could do was hope that none of them fell on top of us.
It was taking a really long time for us to land so I tried making conversation with my partner.
Adam: [First time? Don't worry, I'm a professional skydiver so just enjoy the sights and relax!]
Raya was hugging me so tightly that I couldn't breathe properly. Her eyes were also closed. Were heights are a weakness of hers?
Raya: [I'm sorry about this…]
Adam: [Don't worry, I'm actually into asphyxiation. ahaha! …No-wait-sorry, that was just a joke, so don't look at me like that…]
We fell in silence after that.
Finally, I saw a blue-green glow coming from below us. It looked like we were going to land on one of the labyrinth's vast underground lakes.
Yay! No leg breaking today!
I would say that we are lucky except that being in this situation is incredibly unlucky in the first place.
And on our first time in the labyrinth too…
Hold on...
What if it wasn't bad luck, but rather a "crystallization of coincidences" that led us here?
In other words, Fate.
When Charlotte had originally explained things to me, it was so unbelievable that I had to reject it. But looking at the current situation as well as all the things that happened to me in the past, it was clear that there was at least some merit to her theory. I subconsciously pulled Raya closer to me.
So the world is trying to kill me...
Well, fuck the world then.
I'll live anyways.