Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/822139844414118669/episodes/2912051595798765063
“…I don’t know how to put it, but this treasure chest is pretty shoddy—or rather, it looks downright ugly.”
Most of the treasure chests that appeared in the game looked impressive, even in D-rank dungeons. They had neat shapes and sturdy hardware. While the materials varied depending on the difficulty level, they certainly looked the part of a “reward.”
But what stood before me wasn’t so much a treasure chest as—a wreck.
“Well then, I’m opening it!”
Just as I was mulling this over, I caught sight of Rio, who had been crouching down, reaching for the treasure chest without hesitation. “Hey!?” I called out instinctively, but by the time my voice reached her ears, she had already pried open the top of the chest.
“……Huh? What? What’s wrong, Rai?”
“—There might be a trap or something… You should be a little more careful…”
I said that with a hint of exasperation.
“Treasure chests” appear not only in CHOICE//MAZE but in many games. They’re supposed to contain tools to aid your adventure or items you can sell for money, but in extremely rare cases, they’re rigged with traps.
Sleep gas or poisonous mist can burst out the moment you open them.
There are also explosions and teleportation traps. Or the treasure chest itself might be a monster in disguise. All of them are nasty little things designed to take down unsuspecting adventurers.
We’d finally found a treasure chest after running out of healing potions and with our return device out of commission.
I’ll never forget the shock I felt when I opened it, hoping it contained useful items, only to find it was a mimic that devoured the protagonist.
(In any case, it’s better to be safe than sorry.)
Whether she knew my feelings or not, Rio blinked a few times before lowering her gaze into the open treasure chest.
After a moment, she let out a soft “……Oh!” as if she’d just realized something—
“Hehe… Sorry, sorry!”
She said it in a light tone, laughing somewhat bashfully, without a hint of remorse.
I couldn’t tell if she was truly sorry or not. As I furrowed my brow at her ambiguous attitude, she obediently bowed her head and said, “I’m sorry.”
She really is a genius. She’s quick to assess the situation.
“I’ll be more careful next time! So, will you forgive me? Please? I’m begging you!”
Rio rubbed her hands together and tilted her head slightly.
That slightly manipulative gesture completely deflated my anger, and I couldn’t help but sigh. I guess you could say she’s just good at handling situations…
The fact that she’s so good-looking just makes it even harder to muster the energy to stay angry.
“……Haa. Next time, make sure you check before opening it, okay?”
“Yup!”
Her response is surprisingly cheerful.
But her voice is still light, and it’s doubtful how much of this will actually stick with her.
(……I guess it’s no wonder Albert is worried.)
Her invention worked out, and it helped someone.
She’s gotten carried away by that sense of accomplishment, and her attention has wandered. It’s definitely a precarious situation. No wonder Grandpa is concerned.
That said, as long as I’m there to support her, it shouldn’t be a problem.
If she looks like she’s about to run wild, I’ll just stop her, and if she overlooks something, I’ll fill in the gaps.
There’s absolutely no need for her to shoulder everything alone.
“I wonder what’s inside!”
Whether she knew my thoughts or not, Rio turned back toward the treasure chest.
Her eyes sparkling, she opened the lid about halfway and, making no effort to hide her excitement, peered inside—but then—
“Ah…”
Her excitement gradually turned to disappointment.
Still peering into the chest, Rio visibly slumped her shoulders.
“What the… Just some small magic stones and gems, huh?”
Saying that, she pulled out a single magic stone about the size of a thumb and a few dull, tiny gems. None of them were particularly high quality; they were little more than pebbles with a faint sheen, hardly worthy of being called gems.
“Well, I guess it can’t be helped… It is a D-rank dungeon, after all.”
Rio muttered this with a light sigh.
She probably hadn’t expected much to begin with, but she still couldn’t hide her disappointment. Seeing her like that, both Line and I couldn’t help but smile wryly—
“…Come to think of it…”
Liene suddenly spoke up, as if she’d just realized something.
Placing a finger to her lips and gazing off into the distance, she continued.
“I wonder who prepares these treasure chests?”
Her quiet question echoed through the silent labyrinth.
“Who prepares them, huh…”
It was so obvious that I’d never really thought about it before.
It’s only natural that there are treasure chests in a labyrinth, and it’s also natural that they contain items useful for the adventure. In a game, I wouldn’t question it at all, but now that it’s become reality, it certainly feels utterly unnatural.
(……)
I lowered my gaze back to the treasure chest at my feet.
An object made of a material resembling cracked wood.
Covered in moss and half-buried in the ground, it looked as if it had become part of the labyrinth itself.
It’s far too crude to have been intentionally “prepared” by someone.
If it were placed as a reward, it would be arranged to look a bit more presentable, and even if it were set as a trap, the workmanship is far too shoddy.
Something placed by human hands—I just couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.
“Hmm…”
As if to interrupt my train of thought, Rio folded her arms and hummed thoughtfully.
Unlike her lighthearted mood just moments ago, she now seemed deep in thought.
“Well, actually, there’s no definitive answer to that.”
“There isn’t?”
Liene blinked, looking slightly surprised.
“Yeah. There are all kinds of theories.”
Rio held up a finger and began to explain with a cheerful expression.
“First off, there’s the theory that they’re ‘relics left behind by adventurers from long ago.’”
“Relics…?”
“That’s right! You know, stuff left behind by people who died in the labyrinth, or things they just left behind along the way.”
“I see,” Liene nodded slightly.
But Rio immediately shook her head.
“But if that’s the case, there are a lot of things that don’t make sense…”
“Can’t explain it?”
“Yeah. It’s unnatural for them to remain in the shape of a ‘box’ like this, and every labyrinth has something similar, right? Plus, why would there be mementos lying around in a labyrinth that’s barely even formed yet? That’s the question, and this theory doesn’t have much support.”
Concluding it so simply, Rio shrugged her shoulders.
Now that she mentioned it, I realized she was right.
This dungeon hadn’t been around for very long.
It wouldn’t make sense for “relics of past explorers” to be found in a place like that. Just as I thought that, Rio held up a finger.
“So, the most plausible theory is that the dungeon creates them itself.”
Hearing that casual remark, Liene blinked in surprise.
“The labyrinth… is creating them?”
“Yeah—. You know how labyrinths spawn monsters and change the shape of their passages? Well, if that’s the case, it wouldn’t be strange for ‘objects’ like this to be generated too, right…? It’s like the box and its contents are all part of the labyrinth itself—that kind of feeling?”
“…Why is it doing that?”
When she blurted out her question, Rio furrowed her brow in a troubled expression.
Then, she simply replied, “I don’t know.”
“Some scholars seem to have a theory that ‘the labyrinth is a giant, living creature, like a Mimic.’ They say it lures prey with bait called ‘rewards,’ kills them with its digestive organs—the monsters—and absorbs them as a source of nutrition.”
“A g-giant Mimic…”
At Rio’s explanation, Liene looked around.
Her gaze darted frantically from the walls to the ceiling and then to the floor.
What had looked like nothing more than a rock wall just moments ago now seemed to her like the inside of a living creature; the blood had drained from her face.
“I-it’s okay, right…?”
As she murmured this anxiously, I pulled Liene, who had moved closer to me, into my arms.
When I hugged her tightly to reassure her, she seemed to regain her composure and let out a sigh of relief.
(Still, the theory that the labyrinth is a giant living creature…)
It might not be entirely wrong.
After all, the Primordial Labyrinth clearly possesses a will of its own. It makes much more sense to think of the treasure chests, the monsters, and the intricate, maze-like passages as all parts of a giant living creature.
Well, though I can’t exactly laugh if they’re described as organs for digesting food.
“But hey, it’s just a matter of ‘some people think that way.’ No one’s actually proven whether the Labyrinth really absorbs nutrients or not.”
“To begin with,” Rio said, raising her index finger.
“The Labyrinth keeps expanding on its own even without people exploring it, and monsters keep being born—so when people say it ‘feeds on humans,’ it just feels a little off. It’s growing even without us, after all.”
“……Now that you mention it, you’re right.”
Liene placed a hand over her heart as if convinced.
Her earlier anxiety seemed to have completely faded.
(……Well, it’s just a hypothesis, after all.)
She couldn’t completely rule it out, but she didn’t have enough evidence to be certain either.
The game hadn’t mentioned anything about that, and in the end—
“There’s no point in thinking about it.”
I muttered under her breath.
“We didn’t come here to uncover the true nature of the labyrinth. We should leave the complicated stuff to the scholars.”
“Exactly!”
Rio chuckled lightly and spun around to face forward.
“Well then, let’s leave this topic for now—”
She waved her hand casually.
“Let’s keep going!”
“Yeah.”
“Okay.”
And with that, we set off once more into the depths of the labyrinth.
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