Counting the time he had spent unconscious, half a month had already passed since Subaru arrived in this tower.
However, only two days had passed since he cleared the trial of the great library on the third floor.
During these two days, Subaru did not anxiously search for the entrance to the next floor.
Instead, he took things rather leisurely and explored the overall layout of the tower.
The space inside this tower was unbelievably huge, and there were also many rooms.
The rather unfortunate part was that Shaula was still the only person he could talk to.
During this time, his food had also been mabeast flesh and blood.
Subaru did not know whether that would cause any serious problems for his body.
After all, those mabeasts looked incredibly ugly, very much like monsters from movies that had been mutated by radiation.
However, Subaru could vaguely feel that his physical abilities had improved.
His body felt lighter than before.
Had his daily training through stair climbing and frog jumps produced some decent results?
That thought was quickly denied by Subaru himself.
If just half a month of training could produce such visible improvement in physical ability, then every athlete in the world would already be a superhuman.
Or was the mabeast flesh affecting his body?
Subaru did not know.
For now, he could only keep living his days as best he could.
“No good… I just can’t find the entrance to the next floor on the third floor.
Just how nasty was the person who built this place?
They even hid the way up.”
Today, Subaru was once again lying on the floor of the great library on the third floor.
Above him, there was no visible ceiling at all, only countless books.
Books, books, and more books.
This library had an unbelievable number of books, yet he could not read a single word.
There were no brushes or writing tools here either.
There were plenty of books, but no way for him to practice writing.
However, using the names written on these books to learn the written language had been placed on his schedule.
If he wanted to live in another world, learning the writing system here was absolutely necessary.
“I need to change my way of thinking… Maybe the entrance isn’t on the third floor at all.
Considering the twisted sense of humor of this tower’s owner, maybe it’s hidden on the sixth floor?
Or maybe some other floor?”
Thinking of that possibility, Subaru smiled helplessly.
If that was true, then these past few days had basically been a waste of time.
“All right, Natsuki Subaru, get yourself together!”
He slapped his cheeks, then returned to the fourth floor without staying any longer.
“Let’s start searching from here first.
Shaula?”
“Here, Master!
As long as Master calls, I will definitely come!”
Almost immediately, Shaula rushed to her master’s side at high speed.
“You went to watch the sand dunes again?”
“YES, Master!”
“It’s been four hundred years.
Give yourself a break…”
Subaru said that, but Shaula shook her head and replied “I can’t, Master.
This is your order.
I must make sure no lawbreakers approach this place.”
“You keep saying I’m your master, right?
So you’ll listen to my orders too?” This chapter is updated first at g.com.
“Of course!
But… But for lewd things, no means no…”
As she said that, Shaula’s face turned bright red, and she twisted around bashfully.
“Why are you blushing like a bubbling teapot?
I haven’t fallen that low!”
Subaru held his forehead.
If she really went outside like this, she would definitely get tricked and sold off into some deep mountain village, wouldn’t she?
“I’m giving you a new order now.
Listen carefully.”
Subaru straightened his expression and spoke seriously.
“Yes, Master!
Are you telling me to search for the entrance to the second floor with you?”
“I order you to patrol for no more than one hour each day.
You can arrange the rest of your time however you like.
Play however you want.
Even if you want to come find me or cling to me, that’s fine.
Just don’t spend the whole day standing there alone, staring outside.”
Subaru had originally wanted to order her to stop watching the outside altogether, but she probably would not agree to that.
So instead, he changed it to only one hour.
This way, it would not count as breaking the promise from before, and she could still rest, right?
“I can… I can cling to Master?!
Yay!!!”
When Shaula heard that, the joy on her face could no longer be suppressed.
Her whole body jumped up, and her scorpion tail swung along with her.
“In that case, Master, let’s start with a passionate hug~”
“Rejected!”
“Rejected again, waaah~”
Subaru smiled warmly.
Shaula did not know how to hide things at all.
She clumsily tried to conceal the loneliness she had felt all these years, but even though Subaru was not especially good at reading people’s faces, he could see it at a glance.
When she watched the sea of sand, her eyes looked lonely.
“After that, help me search for the entrance to the second floor.”
Subaru continued.
“Is this Master’s second order?!”
“No.
This is a request from Natsuki Subaru.
A request from a friend, not an order from your master.”
“What’s the difference between those…?”
Shaula tilted her head in confusion.
Clearly, to her, this was a little hard to understand.
“The difference is huge.
If you don’t understand now, you’ll understand later.
Shaula, I’ll take you out of this place.
I’ll take you to meet lots of new people.
This is my promise to you, and also my way of repaying you.”
Subaru showed his white teeth in a smile and gave Shaula a thumbs-up.
“But I already have Master alone, and that’s enough—”
“How could one person alone be enough for four hundred years?
Though I don’t really have many other friends myself, so saying that is basically no different from bragging.” The source of this chapter is g.com.
Subaru awkwardly scratched the back of his head, then continued, “So clearing the trial is still the most important thing.
Shaula, help me find the entrance.”
“Mm!
Master’s ord— No, request!
Shaula will help!”
Subaru nodded in satisfaction.
He did not want to become someone else’s substitute.
Even more than that, he did not want the girl in front of him to keep living only for the sake of some cold-hearted bastard who had abandoned her here for four hundred years without a word.
The two began searching the fourth floor.
Each floor had a very large space, and the fourth floor was relatively special.
In Shaula’s words, it was a multi purpose nest.
First was the Green Room.
This was the place for healing injuries, and it was also the source of Subaru’s vegetables.
Then there were several other rooms.
These rooms had tables, chairs carved from stone, and places to sleep.
Farther back, there was even a waterfall.
Though Subaru did not know where the water came from, it solved the problem of drinking water very well.
“So it was here… Seriously, what a hateful guy.
Wasted so much of my time!”
Subaru finally discovered a hidden staircase.
The person who built this tower definitely had some kind of strange personality.
The entrance to the second floor was not on the third floor, but on the fourth.
What an awful, unpredictable character!
“Did you find it, Master?”
After hearing his voice, Shaula immediately ran over.
“Yeah, I found it.
This should be the staircase leading to the second floor… I wonder what kind of trial the second floor will have.
If it’s still related to intelligence, then I’m pretty confident.”
Subaru felt a little nervous inside.
“Anyway, there’s definitely nothing that can trouble Master~”
Shaula praised Subaru as usual.
“You remember what you said before, right?
As long as I clear the trial and reach the first floor, I’ll be able to leave this tower… right?”
Subaru turned his gaze back toward Shaula.
She fell silent.
Subaru rarely saw her silent.
Because of her worship toward her master, Shaula always answered every question Subaru asked immediately, without any delay.
“What’s wrong, Shaula?”
Subaru asked with concern.
“…No, it’s nothing.
Master is right!
As long as you reach the first floor, you’ll be able to leave!”
Shaula suddenly smiled as she said that.
“Yeah.
Then let’s go up and take a look together.”
“As you command, Master!
Hehe~”