Avalon’s Dungeon

　They spent many days walking through the dungeon.

　Slowly the food they had brought with them wore out, and when today was finally the last day, Alexis felt disappointed and relieved at the same time.

（To be honest, I don't want to see the emotional reunion with Fransisca's father…）

　That was his true feeling, but there was another concern in Alexis' mind.

　In the last battle against Jerome, Alexis has learned that the strength, the way of doing things, and the magic of the person before his death will affect him even after his transformation into a monster.

　Therefore, he had asked Fransisca about the strength of King Sagrado on the way.

「My father must not be very physically strong」

　That was Fransisca's answer.

「He was rather sickly and weak…
he even had his own doctor.
…Well, one of them was Sara…」

「But, I retired from His Majesty's personal doctor halfway through…」

　Sara added.

　At this, Alexis nodded his head, “I see.”

　However, if he was not so physically strong and sickly, they might not be able to fight as hard as Jerome.
He felt relieved for a moment.

「My father is more of a wise king…」

　Fransisca resumes her story.

「He had a particular talent for magic.
Most Sagrado people are born with high magical potential, but my father, in particular, seems to have mastered the magic of almost every attribute…」

「….But you don't use much magic, do you!?」

　Alexis asked back, startled.

「—…」

　Fransisca must have thought she had hit a sore spot.

　After a frustrating gulp, Fransisca's gaze drifted awkwardly to the other side, “Oh, that's…”

「Alex, there are some things you can say and some things you can't say…」

　Fatima interrupts Fransisca, but Fransisca whispers, “No, it's true that I can't do magic…”.

「I have the magical power to handle artifacts and magic swords like this…
but I'm just not very good at it.」

　Fransisca says with a wry smile.

「Still, Your Highness's magic is for dancing and singing.
In fact, it was the best in the world.
When added to your magical talent, there is no room for anyone else.」

　Fatima's follow-up was a big deal, Alexis thought.

　But Alexis did not mean to point out Fransisca's lack of magical talent, which was not unlike a Sagrado man.

「…I'll be damned.
We haven't fought a monster that uses a lot of different kinds of magic, have we?」

　Alexis' words must have made the others aware of the situation.
And a moment of silence falls for a while.

「Still, once we get close, we'll be all right…?」

　Dorothea murmurs.

「…Maybe, if we let him shoot all the bullets until he runs out of magic power, or…」

　Fransisca is twisting her head.

「Probably, “Protection” should be effective against magic.」

　Fatima says.

「But we don't know…
Once you start using it, it becomes difficult to manage the magic power, right」

　Sara said so, and Fatima groaned.

「Besides, His Majesty could also use healing…」

　Sara continues, and Fransisca claps her hands, “Indeed, we have never fought a self-healing monster before.”

「In short, this is it, everyone!」

　Valencia clenched her fists so confidently that the others wondered if she had a good idea, and Alexis said, “What?”

　Valencia looked sharp and assured him, “I've got a good idea.”

「Don't think too hard.
Just push ahead and win!」

「Yeah…
as I thought.
You're stupid」

　Alexis gave her a warm look, and Valencia's cheeks turned bright red.

「What…! What do you mean, “stupid”? Why are you calling me that!?」

　Valencia's cheeks are puffing up as if she is dissatisfied with the situation.

　Despite Valencia's frustration, Alexis continues the conversation, “Anyway.”

「Let's move on while thinking of countermeasures.
Specifically, do you know what kind of magic he might use?」

「Well, His Majesty is a perfect Fatima-chan type, isn't he?」

　Sara turns to Fatima, and Fatima says, “I don't have as many kinds of magic as His Majesty, but…,” she looks afraid.

　Alexis listens to her, and Sara smiles brightly, saying, “You are as modest as ever, aren't you?”

「I mean, Fatima-chan is the third most useful type of court mage, isn't she?」

「Hmm—」

　Fatima is not very good at being lifted up, or maybe not so good at being lifted up.

「Fatima, are you…
that good?」

　Alexis interrupted, and instead of Fatima, Fransisca nodded.
“Yes,” with a smile.

「That's why she was my caretaker.」

「I-I didn't mean that…」

　She seemed to be at a loss as to how to react.

　But her cheeks are unusually stained, and she looks down.

「Fufu.
Alexis-sama, Fatima is great, you know?」

　Fransisca says, smiling at him.

「I see.
—But, well, then, I guess Fatima will be the reference in this case.」

　Putting aside Fatima's reaction that she seemed to be at a loss for where to put herself, Alexis nodded his head.

* * *

　Although he had taken all the necessary measures, he could not help but feel that he would not be able to do the same thing they had done with Jerome.

　The king did not seem to be the kind of person who would easily fall for the same tricks at that time.

（…And Fransisca and I are the only ones with a decisive weapon against the monster.
If we have to fight at long range, it will be troublesome…）

　However, he hears that he is not so strong physically.
Then, ordinary weapons and magic might work…
but he's mage type.
It is unlikely that magic will easily pass through.

　Because of these reasons, Alexis feels relieved if he finally fails to reach the throne and returns home today.

　In that case, they might as well return, whether they find the throne or not.
But that is not possible.

　If they find the place of the throne, they must fight against it.

　Because Avalon is an amorphous labyrinth.
They can never predict when they will encounter it again.

　The search continues endlessly while dealing with the monsters that appear from time to time out of nowhere.

　Gradually, the party begins to show signs of fatigue.

　Just when they begin to think that it is time to move on, they see it.

　There it was, Sagrado's decaying flag on the high Gothic stone roof.

　There was a large double-opening door in this windless space beneath the flag, which was swaying slightly.

　The red carpet, which seemed to be the interior, could be seen on the floor, although it was peeling and torn in some places.

　”This structure…there is no doubt about it.
It is the gate to the throne room,” Fransisca muttered.

　In other words, they ran into it at the worst possible time.