Around noon the next day, Luca sat in a corner of the Guild hall, doing his best to look like a scavenger waiting for his salvage to be appraised.
[Sense Presence] wasn't much use in a crowd. There were too many presences, and they made his head buzz. So he searched with his eyes instead.
The golden cloaks weren't hard to find.
At the center of the hall, at the best table, a swordsman with long blond hair sat laughing, surrounded by delvers. A handsome face. A voice that carried. It was the same face Luca had seen in the vision.
"Leonhardt, I heard about that great serpent on the seventh floor! Everyone says you were amazing!"
"Oh, come on. That was all Gina's magic. Right?"
"Obviously."
Beside him, a red-haired mage shrugged. Next to her, a small man drank without a word. His eyes never stopped moving, watching everything around him. Luca knew who they were. Gina the mage. Bolz the scout.
The Rank Five party, the Golden Lions.
Leonhardt really was popular. When a rookie came up to talk, he remembered their name and clapped them on the shoulder. When someone was having a hard time, he bought them a drink and heard them out. He even greeted the Guild staff like old friends.
This is the man who laughed while he threw that pouch.
Luca clenched his hand. It felt like the sweet smell from yesterday was still clinging to his palm.
"I'm sorry to keep you waiting, Sir Leonhardt."
At the voice, Luca looked up. A girl had come in through the entrance of the hall and was walking straight toward Leonhardt's table.
Her silver hair was tied back in a single tail at the nape of her neck. She looked about Luca's age. Her cloak was old but well tailored, and a wand was tucked at her hip. She held her back perfectly straight, and she didn't walk like the other delvers.
"Ah, Lady Celes. Thank you for coming."
"Thank you for having me. It's an honor to be chosen for a Golden Lions mentoring run."
The girl—Celes—bowed deeply. The delvers around the table started whispering.
"That's the Ardia girl, isn't it? From the noble house that went under."
"Heard she became a delver to pay off the family's debts."
"Lucky her, getting noticed by Leonhardt."
Leonhardt gave her a soft smile.
"Tomorrow, we'll head down to the sixth floor. With your fire magic, you'll be Rank Nine in no time. Then Rank Eight."
"Yes. I look forward to working with you."
Luca was already on his feet.
* * *
"Excuse me."
Luca called out to Celes just outside the Guild. She turned around. Her clear blue eyes landed on the salvage tag hanging from his neck and narrowed, just slightly.
"...And what might a scavenger want with me?"
"You shouldn't go down with the Golden Lions tomorrow."
One of Celes's eyebrows twitched.
"And what is that supposed to mean?"
"They use rookies as bait and leave them behind. It's happened to a lot of people."
"On what grounds?"
Luca faltered. He couldn't tell her about Recall. Grun was keeping the lure incense pouch at the shop. And a pouch alone couldn't prove who it belonged to.
"...I saw it."
"Where?"
"That's... something I can't tell you."
Celes let out a small sigh. She looked exasperated, and a little sad.
"I don't know what you think you saw, but I don't have time for this. My family's debt comes due in six months. I need to raise my rank as fast as I possibly can."
"But—"
"The Golden Lions are the party the Guild recommends above all others. I'm not going to turn them down over some scavenger's gossip."
With that, she turned her back on him. Luca started after her, and someone caught him by the shoulder from behind.
"Following a young lady around? That's not very nice."
A soft voice. Luca turned, and there stood Leonhardt. Smiling. The same smile he'd worn in the vision.
"You're a scavenger, aren't you? Was there something you needed?"
"...No."
"I see. Then that's fine."
Leonhardt patted him lightly on the shoulder. Then he leaned in and spoke in a voice only Luca could hear.
"Hyenas should stick to being hyenas. You pick up what we drop. That's all. Understand?"
The hand left his shoulder. Leonhardt strolled back into the Guild as if nothing had happened.
Luca stood rooted to the spot. The instant that hand had touched him, [Sense Presence] had sent a cold prickle of warning crawling over his skin.
Tomorrow. The sixth floor.
And Celes was going.
* * *
"So, in short, you want to accuse the Golden Lions on the strength of one leather pouch you picked up."
The Deputy Branch Master's office, on the second floor of the Guild.
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A heavyset man lounged back in his chair, looking down his nose at Luca. This was Baldo, the Deputy Branch Master. Luca had practically begged Nora before she agreed to get him this meeting.
"It's not just the pouch. Theo says the same thing."
"Ah, the Hagen boy. Yes, I heard. It's a pity, but he was hurt. He's confused."
"He isn't confused. And there's the rookie on the fifth floor, too—"
"And where is this rookie's testimony?"
Luca went quiet. He didn't even know the name of the rookie who'd held up that shield on the fifth floor. He didn't know whether he was still alive.
"Nowhere, I take it."
Baldo snorted.
"Listen here, scavenger. The Golden Lions are the top-earning party in this branch. They deliver the most materials, and they've trained up more rookies than anyone. And you want me to suspect them because a scavenger brat found a pouch and a retired rookie has some complaints?"
"If you'd just look at the sign-out records for lure incense—"
"I have no reason to."
Baldo picked up the pouch between two fingers and tossed it back at Luca.
"Every party uses lure incense. There's no name written on this thing. And I have no way of checking where you picked it up."
Luca caught the pouch. He couldn't argue. Half of what Baldo said was true.
If he told him he'd seen it in a recall... But even if he did, this man wouldn't believe him. Seeing the memories of objects? He'd laugh it off as fortune-teller nonsense. Besides, Grun and Theo had both told him to keep it to himself.
"We're done here. Go back to work."
* * *
Nora was waiting for him in the hallway.
"How did it go?"
"No good."
"...I see."
She looked apologetic.
"Deputy Branch Master Baldo doesn't like trouble. If the Branch Master were here, it would be a different story... but she's away on an expedition right now."
"When will she be back?"
"Three days at the earliest."
Three days was too late. Celes was going down to the sixth floor tomorrow morning.
"Nora, could I see the sign-out records for lure incense?"
"No."
She didn't even pause. Then her eyes wandered for a moment, as if she were making up her mind about something, and she lowered her voice.
"...I'm just talking to myself here. But over the last six months, the Golden Lions have put in eleven requests to sign out lure incense. That's a little much for a Rank Five party, don't you think?"
Luca blinked. Nora went back to the front desk as if nothing had happened.
* * *
When he got back to the shop, Grun was in the kitchen, wrapping something up. Before Luca could say a word, Grun spoke.
"You're going, aren't you."
"...Yes."
"A scavenger's tag won't get you onto the sixth floor. If they catch you, they'll take your tag. You might never set foot in the Labyrinth again."
"I know."
"You might die."
"I know."
Grun shoved the bundle at him. It was heavy. When Luca opened it, he found six loaves of black bread, a bundle of jerky, and four boiled eggs.
"If you're going to recall things, you'll get hungry."
"Boss..."
"And take this."
What Grun held out was a dagger. Not the one Luca had borrowed on the fifth floor the day before. This one had a slender blade, and its hilt was wrapped in old leather. It had seen a lot of use, but it had been well cared for.
"My spare, from back when I was a delver. Don't you go recalling it. My old memories aren't worth looking at."
"Yes, Boss."
Luca slid the dagger into his belt. Grun ruffled his hair, hard.
"Come back alive. I'll have dinner ready."
* * *
The next morning.
In the half-light at the mouth of the Labyrinth, Luca hid in the shadows.
Three golden cloaks. And one girl with silver hair. The four of them said good morning to the gate guards and went inside.
Luca lifted the salvage tag from around his neck and tucked it away inside his shirt. From here on, he wasn't a scavenger. He was just a trespasser.
[Silent Step].
His footsteps vanished, and he followed the four of them in.
The first floor, the second, the third. The Golden Lions moved through the shallow floors like they'd done it a hundred times. The fourth floor, the fifth. Celes burned a band of goblins to ash with her fire magic, and Leonhardt clapped and praised her.
And then, at the far end of the fifth floor, in front of a great stone staircase leading down, the four of them stopped.
"Now the real work begins. Welcome to the sixth floor, Lady Celes."
Leonhardt's voice echoed into the dark.
* * *
The sixth floor was a forest.
Trees grew thick, right there inside the Labyrinth. Pale light poured down from the ceiling and dappled the mossy ground, like sunlight through leaves. For a moment, Luca could only stare. He'd never seen anything like it. Then he ducked behind a tree.
A forest meant you couldn't see far. The Golden Lions were soon lost among the trees.
He reached out with [Sense Presence]. No good. The forest was too full of life. Birds, insects, small animals. He couldn't tell which ones were people.
What do I do?
Panic was just starting to creep in when Luca glanced down at his feet. Something was lying on the moss.
The stopper from a water flask. A cork. Still new, and still wet.
Luca picked it up.
◆ ◆ ◆
—Thirsty. Tip the flask back. The stopper slips through the fingers and drops. Never mind. Pick it up later.
"Bolz, we're going the right way, yes?"
"Yeah. The northern hollow. There's a bear's den."
The small man answers in a low voice. Up ahead, a blond man's back. Following behind, silver hair.
"A bear's den means honey crystals. I hope there's a good pile of them this time."
"Let's keep it down so the rookie doesn't hear, hm?"
"I know, Gina."
◆ ◆ ◆
Luca looked up, still clutching the stopper.
The vision hadn't left him an Echo. Drinking water, apparently, didn't count as a skill.
But now he knew the way.
The northern hollow. A bear's den.
Luca ran north. Along the way, he found another dropped thing: a golden thread, torn off where it had caught on a branch.
He touched it. A vision. Backs moving through the forest. A voice saying, "Almost there."
Lost things don't lie.
Luca followed them, running the whole way.
* * *
Just short of the hollow, Luca stopped.
Through the trees he could see a dip in the land, shaped like a great bowl. At the bottom, a large cave gaped open.
The four of them stood at the rim of the hollow.
"There's a gray bear's den down there."
Leonhardt was explaining it all in a gentle voice.
"Gray bears are more or less the masters of the sixth floor. Bring one down and you'll be assessed at Rank Eight in one jump. With your fire magic, Lady Celes, you can win easily."
"B-by myself?"
"Of course not. We'll back you up from behind. All you need to do is hit it head-on with everything you've got."
Celes squeezed her wand tight. Then she gave a small nod.
"...I'll do it."
"Good girl."
Celes started down the slope into the hollow. As Leonhardt watched her go, he caught Bolz's eye.
"Once the bear leaves its den, we go in through the crack in the back. Ten minutes, and we're done."
His voice had gone low and cold. All that gentleness from a moment ago might never have existed.
"That's about as long as a rookie ever lasts, after all."
Gina laughed as she tied a stack of empty burlap sacks to her belt. Bolz, saying nothing, took a chisel and a small mallet out of his pack.
Into the den?
Luca remembered something Grun had told him once.
Gray bears raided the hives of forest bees and hoarded the honey in their dens. Over a long, long time, the hoarded honey soaked up the Labyrinth's mana and turned into amber-colored crystal. Honey crystals. A single one could cost several silver coins. Apothecaries and alchemists couldn't get enough of them.
But gray bears guarded their dens and almost never came out. The only thing that made them leave was chasing prey.
So you needed prey. Something to drag the bear out of its den.
Theo's words came back to him. Bolz's pack, stuffed to bursting. And the last thing the shield on the fifth floor had seen: three backs, running into the side tunnel deeper in.
They've been using rookies as bait to empty out monster dens.
Bolz took a small jar from inside his coat. A ceramic jar, sealed with wax. Something had been stamped into the seal.
Lure incense.
Not a leather pouch this time. A jar. Far more of it than what he'd found on the fifth floor.
Bolz broke the seal. The sweet, cloying smell drifted all the way to where Luca was hiding.
Leonhardt took the jar. And then he—
"Wai—!"
Before Luca could even get the word out, the jar was arcing down toward the bottom of the hollow.
Right at Celes's feet.
It shattered with a crash.
"...What?"
Celes looked down. Black powder was billowing up from the broken jar.
"Sir Leonhardt? What is th—"
No one answered. There was no one left at the rim of the hollow. The golden cloaks were just vanishing into the trees.
They weren't running away. The three golden cloaks were circling around the rim of the hollow, toward the back of the cave. There, a crack in the rock gaped black.
Something moved deep inside the cave.
Heavy footsteps. The ground shook. A massive shape came lumbering out of the cave. Gray fur. Twice as tall as Luca. Its sharp claws gouged the earth. It was the same monster he'd seen in the vision from the fifth-floor shield.
The gray bear roared.
All through the forest, howls rose to answer it. Eyes glinted between the trees. A pack of fang wolves.
"Ah..."
Celes backed away. She raised her wand and began to chant. But her voice was shaking.
"Flame, gather in my hand—"
A fang wolf leaped.
Her chant wasn't going to finish in time.
Luca was already running.
[Silent Step] carried him down the slope without a sound. The wolf hadn't noticed him. Right foot, half a step, deep. Drop the hips. Drive off the heel.
[Lunge].
Grun's dagger punched through the flank of the wolf in midair.