Chapter 25, Fountain

Translator: Kazumi

Editor: Silavin

 

The weeks following Vibro’s visit from the Tower Conquest Guild had passed quietly for Wolf Fang. Kousuke and his companions maintained their steady routine, exploring Floors 46 through 50 at a leisurely pace while accepting occasional requests from the adventurer Guild.

 

During this period, Kouhi had faced three non-ranked fighters in the arena, achieving victory in each match without significant difficulty. As was typical in Seichun, she had already begun attracting her own following of fans. The other Guild parties were making similar progress with their requests and tower conquests.

 

According to the succubus, word of Wolf Fang’s achievements was gradually spreading throughout Seichun. They were gaining recognition as the city’s most promising up-and-coming Guild. With everything proceeding according to plan despite the Tower Conquest Guild’s attention, Kousuke decided to continue their tower conquest while applying subtle pressure to their would-be rivals.

 

Their strategy was straightforward: collect the materials Kousuke had mentioned to Vibro. If his group could successfully gather these resources and demonstrate their value to the Tower Conquest Guild, it might discourage any hostile actions. With this goal in mind, Kousuke led his party to the 52nd Floor of Gazenran Tower.

 

…

 

“There,” Peach announced from her seat in the carriage, pointing toward a distant corner.

 

Kousuke squinted in the indicated direction but couldn’t make out anything with his limited eyesight. Moments after Peach’s observation, Nana seemed to notice something as well and leaped from the carriage, presumably having spotted prey to hunt.

 

Lirica watched this exchange with bewilderment. “How are you finding things faster than Nana?”

 

“Hmm, I wonder how…” Peach tilted her head thoughtfully. “Intuition, maybe?”

 

This had become a pattern. Peach consistently located the materials they sought before anyone else, even outpacing Nana’s enhanced senses. Lirica, an experienced adventurer whose companions had always praised her luck in finding materials, was astounded. Peach’s ability seemed to transcend mere enhancement—it was as if her natural talents had evolved twice beyond Lirica’s own capabilities.

 

Even at Lirica’s peak performance, she couldn’t match what Peach accomplished effortlessly. Yet when questioned about her methods, Peach couldn’t provide an explanation. Kousuke theorized it resulted from combining the Succubi’s innate divination abilities with his Divine Blessing’s power, though he remained uncertain of the specifics. Since Peach herself did not fully understand her abilities, Lirica had resigned herself to accepting that some powers defied explanation.

 

Setting aside these mysterious circumstances, Nana successfully eliminated her target and returned to the carriage. She maintained a size slightly larger than a large dog to avoid alarming other adventurers they might encounter. While still intimidating, this form appeared considerably more docile than her true appearance. Nevertheless, the sight of her carrying a three-meter monster in her jaws remained quite spectacular.

 

Lirica’s initial shock at witnessing this had gradually given way to familiarity. After Nana delivered each kill, they would drain the blood and store the carcass in Mitsuki’s item box for later dissection at their Guild base.

 

“At this rate, we should gather all the planned materials by day’s end,” Kousuke observed, watching Mitsuki store the latest monster.

 

“Right.” Peach agreed.

 

Overhearing this exchange, Lirica sighed in resignation. She was learning that expecting normalcy from anyone in Kousuke’s circle—including Kousuke himself—was futile. Naturally, Sylvia topped her list of extraordinary individuals.

 

…

 

As they continued their material hunt, Peach suddenly pointed toward another location. “What’s that?”

 

Kousuke looked where she indicated but saw nothing unusual. However, Mitsuki, following Peach’s gaze, nodded in agreement.

 

“There’s definitely something there, though I can’t tell if it’s artificial.”

 

“I see it too,” Peach confirmed.

 

“Then let’s investigate,” Kousuke decided without hesitation.

 

They weren’t pressed for time, and their material hunting was proceeding ahead of schedule. A brief detour wouldn’t hurt.

 

“Okay,” Lirica said, though she couldn’t see anything either. Her curiosity was piqued—what had captured Peach’s attention?

 

With everyone in accord, they redirected their course. Since Mitsuki confirmed the terrain looked passable by carriage, they continued without dismounting. The tower Floors lacked well-maintained roads, but their carriage was designed for rough terrain, enhanced further by Kousuke’s magical modifications.

 

After traveling some distance in the direction Peach had indicated, the object finally came into Kousuke’s view.

 

“Ah, I see it now. It does appear artificial, though it could just as easily be natural.”

 

“Exactly,” Lirica agreed, nodding.

 

Before them lay a spring approximately three meters in diameter. By itself, this wouldn’t have warranted Peach’s interest. However, the spring was encircled by carefully arranged stones of various sizes. If the water had been warm, Kousuke might have mistaken it for an artificial hot spring.

 

While natural formations could certainly take circular shapes, determining whether this spring was man-made proved difficult. The current Floor required considerable skill to reach, meaning only experienced adventurers ventured here. Such individuals would have encountered this spring multiple times, yet it had never been considered particularly noteworthy—most dismissed it as an ordinary natural feature.

 

Standing before the spring, Kousuke activated his <God’s Left Eye> to examine it more closely, but detected nothing unusual. He had hoped to discover <Divine Water>, but finding such evidence proved less straightforward than anticipated.

 

Both Mitsuki and Peach had clearly expected his left eye to reveal something significant, making the disappointing result all the more evident.

 

“It’s just an ordinary spring after all,” Peach said, her tone deflated.

 

But Kousuke frowned thoughtfully. “I’m not so sure about that.”

 

“Really? What makes you think otherwise?” Lirica asked, looking surprised.

 

“If this were truly just an ordinary spring, what would have drawn Peach’s attention here in the first place?”

 

Peach and Lirica exchanged confused glances, but Mitsuki understood immediately.

 

“The absence of monsters?” She said.

 

“That right.” Kousuke nodded as understanding dawned on Peach and Lirica’s faces.

 

The abundance of water should have attracted creatures seeking to drink, especially given the lack of other visible water sources in the area. Yet no monsters lingered near the spring—an unnatural absence that suggested something more than met the eye.

 

“Still, this is only circumstantial evidence,” Kousuke mused. “It’s suspicious, but I don’t detect any barrier or protective enchantment.”

 

They spent the next hour investigating the surrounding area thoroughly but discovered nothing conclusive. Eventually, they decided to classify it as simply an unusual spring and departed, though questions lingered in their minds about what they had truly encountered.