The man seemed to pause for a moment. Then he bent down, his pale face slowly drawing closer to Herta.
He drew in a light breath, as if sampling her scent or carefully examining his prey.
"Any price...?"
His soft laugh carried a clear note of amusement.
"I'm a monster who loves eating people, and you have no right to bargain with me. But for someone so young to dare come here, you certainly have courage."
"Hmm... Helping you isn't impossible, provided you're truly willing to pay any price."
The girl looked up, confirming once more.
"I am, as long as it's something I have."
"Good... Do you remember your name?"
"Herta."
"I'm Kanzaki, and I know some very powerful magic. So, you can call me Mr. Magician. Come with me."
"Aren't you going to send me back?"
"Wishful thinking. I never run errands for others. If you want to save Azure Star, you'll have to take the thing back yourself. And..."
At this point, Kanzaki pointed to his own eyes.
"Me... I don't see very well. In this Labyrinth Zone, I'm at a disadvantage. You'll have to be my eyes. After you deliver the thing back..."
He stuck out his tongue, licking the corner of his mouth, and lowered his voice until it sounded like a demon's whisper.
"—I'll eat you!"
An ordinary girl would probably have cried upon hearing those words.
But Herta simply looked at him quietly. The exhaustion dimming her eyes showed no fear at all.
As long as she could deliver the data back, being eaten did not matter.
"Fine. I accept."
Herta nodded. Her voice remained unnervingly calm for a fifteen-year-old.
Kanzaki flicked the wizard hat on his head with one finger and turned around.
"Hold onto the hem of my clothes, kid. If you get lost and a monster snatches you away, I'll be heartbroken to lose a good meal."
"Understood."
Herta extended her small hand and gripped Kanzaki's clothes somewhat loosely.
In a world shrouded in thick Memoria mist, two figures—one large and one small—slowly made their way forward.
"Kid, I think I've heard your name somewhere before. They say you're Azure Star's youngest Spatial Studies genius, with some knowledge of Chronology too."
"If Azure Star can't be saved, it's all meaningless."
Herta's tone stayed perfectly calm.
"Let's set that aside for now. The rumored genius girl is said to be arrogant, self-centered, and unreasonable—"
Kanzaki rubbed his chin and tilted his head, examining the girl beside him.
"But the kid who made a deal with me has a kind of fearless calmness, a bit of a stoic, expressionless vibe. I say, your character setting doesn't quite match."
"...Does my character setting affect my taste?"
Herta whispered the question.
"Of course. Cheerful kids are tastier. Meat like yours is bitter. But I can understand, given you've fallen to the point of begging strangers."
"And hey, kid, do you know where you've fallen into?"
Kanzaki, lacking any magician's decorum, casually slung his staff over his shoulder.
"I've fallen into the Memoria Maze World. I have a name. Herta, not 'kid'."
Herta followed closely beside Kanzaki, her small face remaining calm as she answered.
"Alright, alright, Herta kid. Let me tell you, this is the deepest Labyrinth Zone within the Memoria Void."
"What's the difference?"
Herta tilted her head slightly.
"The deepest part of the Labyrinth Zone has plenty of troublesome beings. Ha, human imagination becoming one of the causes of humanity's destruction—now that's entertaining."
"Don't you know magic?"
"I do, so?"
"So your magic can't defeat those troublesome beings?"
At these words, Kanzaki bristled like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
"Hey, hey, hey, I'm the most powerful magician here. None of those beings are a match for me. One Forbidden Spell, and the entire Labyrinth Zone would be turned upside down."
"Remember this established fact, got it?"
"Got it."
Herta nodded her chin, then changed the subject without missing a beat.
"But I have no impression of you. What work did you originate from as a Virtual Substance Lifeform?"
"Don't know. I just know I love little ones like you the most—they taste delicious."
"..."
Herta felt neither disgust nor fear at the magician's undisguised craving.
This was not a nightmare. She had no right to be afraid.
Disgust would not change the fact that she was in a desperate situation, forced to rely on a Virtual Substance Lifeform.
"Whoever created you must have had a twisted sense of humor. I've never heard of a human magician in any work who likes eating people."
The girl remarked expressionlessly.
"Huh? You think I'm human?"
"You look like it. Are you actually an animal in your true form?"
Kanzaki rolled his eyes.
"Fine, but little Herta, you need to know one thing—"
"What?"
"Art imitates life. Why is my setting an evil magician who likes eating people, not a righteous one? Twisted humor? I doubt it."
Herta fell silent.
She was young, but she understood some of the dark, unspeakable truths hidden beneath the surface of the world.
"Ouch, how come there's a pothole in this damn place? Bad eyesight is such a pain. Kid, why didn't you warn me?"
"My name is Herta. The fog is thick. I can't see either."
"...I shouldn't have agreed to your request just for fun. Should've gobbled you up on sight."
"There's a fire-breathing snake ahead, blocking the path."
Herta tightened her grip on his clothes.
As soon as she spoke, Kanzaki's ears twitched slightly. In the next moment, two bolts of thunder struck down, piercing the giant snake's head cleanly.
The snake's body turned charred black, then dissipated into mist.
"Kill and finish it off in one go. Impressive, right?"
"Yes. Impressive."
"Such a lifeless compliment, tsk... Hurry up and point the way. Which direction is faster from here?"
Herta analyzed the current spatial curvature with practiced precision to determine the general direction.
"Left."
The fog did not clear. Instead, it grew thicker.
The environment was damp, cold, and heavy, filled with an uncomfortable aura that pressed against the skin.
Herta felt that every time her lungs expanded, they had to overcome immense resistance.
Each breath felt like swallowing coarse sand, scraping her windpipe painfully.
She suddenly stopped.
"Why'd you stop, emergency rations?"
"...I'm out of strength."
"What a hassle. Get on!"
Kanzaki took off his wizard hat and placed it carefully on Herta's small head. Then he bent down and lifted her onto his back.
"Hold on tight. If something by the roadside swallows you whole, I'd be very troubled."
"After all, you're my emergency rations. If anyone's going to eat you, it should be me."
Herta could not see his expression, but she could easily imagine the wicked curve at the corner of his mouth.
"I will."
She wrapped her arms around Kanzaki's neck.
Mr. Magician's scent was not pleasant. It carried a faint, bloody smell, as if it had come from eating people.
But at least it brought a slight sense of security in this endless mist.
"Which way now?"
"Right ahead."
The thick Memoria continued to swirl around them as the two figures pressed deeper into the Labyrinth Zone. Herta rested her cheek lightly against his shoulder, her mind still calculating the spatial distortions even as exhaustion pulled at her limbs. The deal had been made. Whatever price waited at the end, she would see the data returned to Azure Star.
Kanzaki adjusted his grip and kept walking, the soft click of his staff against the unseen ground the only steady sound in the fog. His earlier threat hung between them like another layer of mist—half joke, half promise—yet the girl on his back did not tremble.
In a place where human imagination itself had become a weapon against the living, the youngest genius of Azure Star had found her unlikely guide.
And the self-proclaimed most powerful magician had found his next meal.
Whether either of them would reach the other side of this Labyrinth Zone still remained to be seen.