Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/822139844414118669/episodes/2912051595760571268
Our exploration of the labyrinth was going surprisingly smoothly.
The white light from the guiding staff stretched deep into the passageway, clearly illuminating the damp rock walls and the gravel beneath our feet. Visibility was excellent, and we hadn’t been ambushed by any monsters; in fact, thanks to the monsters staying away because they hated the light, combat had been kept to a minimum so far.
Unlike the Primordial Labyrinth, this was a remarkably peaceful exploration.
We walked down that passageway with Rio in the lead, followed by Liene and then me.
Technically, Liene—who usually serves as the vanguard—should be leading the way, but given how bright it is, we figured she could respond immediately to any situation, so she’s taking the lead this time.
(Well, for someone leading the way, she does seem a bit too relaxed, though…)
Rio, leading the line, has her gaze fixed not ahead but on her hands.
In her hands, she holds an unfamiliar magical device.
It’s a thin, plate-like object that looks like what we’d call a tablet in my previous life.
Rio holds it with one hand, while with the other she taps it, flicks it, and occasionally runs her finger across it.
What was displayed on the screen—was it a map?
Lines drawn in a faint light slowly stretched across the surface of the tablet-like magical device.
“…You’re using another handy gadget, aren’t you?”
I muttered without thinking, and Rio, who seemed to have heard my voice, turned around.
She deepened the smile on her face and held up the magical device in her hand as if to show it off.
“Heh heh! Isn’t it amazing! It’s a magical device that records the labyrinth’s layout! It records every single passageway and room we’ve walked through so far!”
Saying this proudly, Rio pointed at the screen.
There was indeed a map displayed there, and its shape looked familiar. If I wasn’t mistaken, it was exactly the same as the passageway we had just walked through.
When I honestly said, “That’s amazing,” Rio snorted happily.
“You know, with labyrinths, the layout can change, and there are a lot of similar passages, right? That’s why most adventurers make maps so they don’t get lost—but drawing them by hand is a pain, isn’t it?”
Rio shrugged, and both Liene and I gave a wry smile.
Now that she mentioned it, she was definitely right.
It’s not something we have much experience with, since we rarely venture into labyrinths, but mapmaking is one of the basic skills for adventurers. While that aspect seemed to be glossed over in the game, in reality, it appears to be quite a laborious task.
I recall Yuu and Ciel grumbling before that “mapmaking is the most tedious part.”
“…So, I decided to automate it!”
“……You make it sound so easy.”
It’s not like it’s a magical tool you can just whip up on a whim just because it’s a hassle.
The fact that she managed to create it as if it were nothing suggests that Rio really is a girl with the talent to be called a “genius,” just as Albert said.
“It’s a really handy magical tool, isn’t it? Is this a prototype too?”
“Yeah. I think there are still plenty of areas that could use improvement. First off, we need to cut down on material costs, right? Since I want lots of people to use this eventually, we absolutely have to nail that part down.”
Saying that, Rio tapped the magical device in her hand lightly.
“Since this is just a prototype, I’ve been a bit extravagant with the magic stones. So it’s not really suitable for mass production… but well, the mechanism itself is already complete.”
The magic stone glowed faintly with a soft “pico.”
“Another thing to improve would be the detection range. Right now, it can only record the path we’ve walked, but don’t you think it would be handy if it could read a wider area?”
“You mean so we can anticipate the dungeon’s layout?”
“Exactly!”
Rio continued, moving her fingers excitedly.
“Also, in the future, I’d like to add a sharing feature.”
“Share?”
“Yep!”
Rio turned around and grinned.
“Like letting people who come later see the map made by those who explored first! Just knowing the dungeon’s layout and info on monsters would be a huge help!”
Seeing Rio’s cheerful smile, both Liene and I couldn’t help but smile back.
“……You really do talk about inventions with such enthusiasm.”
When I blurted that out without thinking, Rio blinked in surprise for a moment.
But then she immediately broke into a wide grin.
“Of course I do!”
Her voice was unwavering.
“I mean, my inventions help people, and make their lives and dungeon exploration more convenient, right? When you imagine that, doesn’t it make you—really, really happy?”
Rio held up the magical tool in her hand and said this with a beaming smile.
Something she created is useful to someone.
As a result, someone smiles.
Finding joy in imagining that is surely the most genuine and noble feeling a technician can have.
(……I think I understand why Albert is so proud of Rio.)
Her creativity and the technical skills to bring her ideas to life are truly outstanding.
But more than that—this girl is pure.
She genuinely enjoys the act of inventing itself and sincerely wants to make her creations useful to others.
That’s why that great man must say with such pride:
[My granddaughter is a genius.]
(—But ‘CHOICE//MAZE’ was left out of her world…)
I think about that as I watch Rio walking beside me, a beaming smile on her face.
Rio’s inventions are certainly convenient.
Light-conducting wands, self-filling maps, teleportation devices… There are surely many other useful magical tools I don’t have on hand, and the number will only continue to grow.
But suppose… what would happen if all of them were to hit the market?
It could very well lead to the salvation of not just the students, but even the heroine—who was supposed to die.
(――That’s something the scenario could never allow.)
In ‘CHOICE//MAZE,’ a game that forces you to choose ‘which to choose and which to give up,’ these magical tools possess such broken-level performance that they could potentially save everyone. There’s no way the development team would leave alone someone capable of creating something like that.
That’s precisely why she only appears in name.
It’s likely that, shortly after the story begins, she’s already deceased.
All that’s mentioned in the game is the fact that a genius inventor died young, and that the designs and ideas she left behind brought benefits to later dungeon conquests.
But, conversely—
If we could save her, the story would change drastically.
We might be able to save even more students who were destined to die.
We might be able to offer a different path to someone who had no choice but to give up.
We might be able to reach an ending that wasn’t intended in the original work.
Rio Clauser’s very survival might become a “third option” in this world.
(……That makes it all the more impossible to abandon her.)
Even if the original story conveniently discarded her.
Even if the scenario deemed her “in the way.”
I can’t possibly let the girl standing right in front of me die for reasons like that.
Besides—I already know.
The way she talks about inventions with such joy.
The way she speaks from the bottom of her heart about how happy she is to be helping someone.
The fact that she respects her grandfather more than anyone else, and that she continues to regret their falling-out.
I already know all of that.
(……If that’s the case)
Even if that is the “correct course of events” as outlined in the original story.
Even if it’s inconvenient for this world.
None of that matters.
As a friend—I’ll definitely protect her.
Her life, her talent… And above all—her future, where she can smile naturally, wanting to invent things for someone else’s sake…
While I was thinking about all that, it seems we’d made our way quite a bit down the hallway without even realizing it.
Once our chatter had died down, Rio turned back toward the front.
“Alright, then, let’s get back to exploring!”
Saying that in a lighthearted tone, she took the lead and started walking.
Liene and I exchanged glances, gave a small nod, and followed behind her.
The passageway, illuminated by the light of the guiding staff, was as quiet as ever; the only sounds reaching our ears were the dripping of groundwater and the crunch of our shoes on the gravel.
We walked on like that for a while—
“Ah!”
Suddenly, Rio let out a small cry.
Her gaze was fixed on the far end of the passageway, illuminated by the light of her guiding staff.
“—Wait a second!”
No sooner had she said that than she dashed toward the far end of the passageway.
“H-hey, Rio!?”
Startled by her sudden action, I called out to her.
But she didn’t even look back, instead running lightly toward the end of the corridor where the light from her guide cane reached.
Wondering what was going on, Liene and I exchanged glances, then hurriedly followed after her. At the end of the corridor—Rio was crouched down in front of a small hollow shaded by a rock wall.
“Look, look!”
With a bright smile that lit up her face like a flower blooming, she pointed to a spot.
When I looked in the direction she was pointing, there sat a small, solitary object that looked like a wooden box.
Or rather, would it be more accurate to call it an object—one that might not even qualify as a wooden box?
The wood on the surface was cracked and blackened by moisture, with patches of green moss clinging to it.
Was it fixed to the ground—or had it become one with it? The bottom of the box was half-buried in soil and rocks, as if it had sprouted right out of the labyrinth itself.
—A labyrinth treasure chest.
A familiar item from dungeon crawlers, the kind that appears in video games.
I’d seen it countless times on a screen, and now it was right in front of me.
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