It’s been a few days since we returned from the underwater temple, and I’ve come to the depths of the dungeon to see the demons.
“So there was a temple at the bottom of the sea.”
“You always have some nice encounters.”
“Yes, I think so too.”
I came here alone today, and Orobas and I are chatting with Mister Asmodeus.
He’s sitting on his throne like always, and it’s hard to tell from appearances alone if he’s listening, but…
“Yes, he is listening! He is very interested!”
“Orobas! Don’t read my damn mind!”
I can rest easy, because Orobas tells me what he’s thinking.
“So that Hafgufa mellowed out…”
“Ah, so you do know him.”
“Living on this island means trying to kill each other! The bad timing meant that did not happen with Wilhelmina, but that is rare. By the way, Orobas fought deadly battles with Hafgufa multiple times!”
He sounds cheerful about something really heavy.
For them, that’s in the past, and since they don’t die so easily, they might see it more like friendly fights.
“Ahh. It would be nice to see what he’s like now.”
“Ah, that’s right. I came here to ask if it really is impossible to leave this island.”
““…””
Both go silent.
I think there are too many fish in the sea for that to be the case. I was wondering if there really wasn’t a way…
Orobas must have known what brought me here, but didn’t touch on it. Is it because he doesn’t want to talk about it?
I’m curious, but I’m not going to force the issue or anything…
“Answer him, Orobas.”
“All right… But first, Arata, we purposefully hid this from you. But if you want to know…”
“…”
I make a sound with my throat, because I’ve never seen such a serious expression on Orobas’ face.
What could possibly have taken away his usual cheerful attitude, and is so hard for him to say…
“Let us answer!”
With a big cheerful voice, he pulls off a weird pose.
“Back to normal, I see.”
“It was acting, because Orobas knew you would ask! And the thing about purposefully keeping it hidden from you was a lie!”
“A lie?”
“Yes! A lie!”
Seriously… His serious expression had me totally fooled.
Asmodeus bursts out laughing from his throne, making me think they set this up.
“There is a way to leave the island. In fact, you have already gone to the core of the matter.”
“Meaning…”
Yes, the tunnel that leads to the underwater temple. It is connected to the very bottom of the island, and if you reach those depths…”
It’s possible to slip past the barrier.
As I hear that, I decide to act on something I’ve been thinking about for a while.
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