“Are you unharmed?”

Emmett, who had glanced at the system window that appeared before his eyes, sheathed his sword and extended his hand to Rosé. She only blinked at first, but eventually took his hand.

“I, I think I’m okay.”

Emmett helped her to her feet while perking his ears to footsteps coming from behind.

His sword was reacting. If not monsters, the only other reason would be the Sword of Asker that belonged to Lian.

“Miss Rosé!”

Far away, a bald man came running with tears in his eyes. Lian, who had been running ahead of him, stopped in his tracks the moment he spotted Emmett. More precisely, from the moment he saw the sword Emmett was holding.

“Thank goodness you’re safe! Miss Rosé!”

The disheveled Dain, covered in dirt and dust, embraced Rosé and shed more tears.

Ignoring the openly bald man, Emmett focused all his attention on Lian who approached slowly.

“Is that a sponsored sword?”

Emmett didn’t answer, but his expression said it all. Lian accepted this calmly and nodded. This time, the question came from Emmett.

“Is the revelation still ongoing.”

At that moment, Lian’s composure faltered. Emmett, seemingly having anticipated Lian’s inability to answer, continued in a casual tone.

“I received the same revelation.”

A mysterious blue box. But now he knew it was a divine revelation.

It happened not long ago. When a system window like the one Lian saw appeared before Emmett as well.

〈SYSTEM〉 Complete the quest ‘Final Salvation’.

Conquer the tower and wish for the salvation of the Moire Kingdom. As a reward, freedom from the system will be granted to only one protagonist.

Condition: Salvation of the Moire Kingdom
Reward: Liberation from the system
Period: Until tower conquest

“Your reason for entering the tower, rather than protecting her, is actually to be liberated, isn’t it.”

Emmett glared at Lian with sharp eyes. Lian silently clenched his fist.

The divine revelation named ‘Final Salvation’. That revelation, which Lian received when he was 18, had changed his entire life.

“According to the revelation, she will be bound to the tower.”

Emmett’s words struck a nerve. Lian’s jaw visibly tightened.

Freedom from the system. When the story of the single chosen protagonist concludes, all byproducts of the tower that had occurred until now would be bound to the tower.

Both men now knew this. But what choice each would make remained unknown.

“……Sir Emmett.”

A child’s voice intervened between the two. Dain, who had heard his name during this exchange, looked surprised.

“Blue Knight Commander? Could you be the Blue Knight Commander Sir Emmett?”

Even the monster biology doctor from his secluded room knew about Emmett Bovir, who was considered the next hero.

But having discarded his Blue Knight uniform, he looked fresh and youthful like a young mercenary, perhaps due to his pure aura.

To think it was actually that Emmett Bovir. Dain hastily wiped his dirt-covered hands on his pants and offered a handshake.

“It’s truly an honor to meet you. What a coincidence this is.”

“……Who are you?”

“Ah! I am monster biology doctor Dain Hindley. By the way, Miss Rosé and I are to be marr—”

“Ow ow ow!”

Almost simultaneously, the heads of all three men turned toward Rosé who had cried out. She contorted her face exaggeratedly while clutching her ankle.

“I think I sprained it while struggling. Ugh…… I can’t walk.”

In truth, she could walk. It just throbbed a little. But that loose-lipped bald Dain Hindley, how dare he try to trigger a hardcore situation.

“I’ll carry you.”

“I’ll carry her.”

Emmett and Lian stepped forward at the same time. Between them, Dain looked back and forth, alternating his gaze between the two.

Then, seemingly having made up his mind, he rubbed his hairless head and said:

“I think Mr. Mora should carry her. Isn’t it better for the person who’s been carrying her to continue doing so?”

Dain attempted to imitate a humble laugh, but his gaze toward Emmett had changed.

He couldn’t possibly entrust Rosé to a man who looked much more handsome than his now-bald self. Then, entrusting her to his father-in-law with whom he shared a blood connection would be the best choice as a son-in-law.

“……Father-in-law, you say.”

One corner of Emmett’s mouth twitched with disdain. Rosé deliberately ignored Emmett and placed her hands on Lian’s shoulders.

Lian, carrying Rosé on his back, began walking in front with a satisfied smile. Dain and Emmett, who naturally ended up walking behind him, sized each other up with sidelong glances.

In the inexplicable silence, Rosé perked up her ears to eavesdrop on their conversation, worried that bald Dain might say something inappropriate.

“How did you arrive at the starting point, Sir Emmett?”

“By ship.”

“Ship? I don’t recall seeing you at the port……”

Dain’s raised eyebrows were full of suspicion. Emmett glanced at him with a look that said ‘I’ve never seen your bald head either……’ before responding.

“A new ship appeared at the port shortly after people departed for the sea. I repaired it and boarded.”

“Repaired?”

“……Yes, all the ships needed repairs.”

Lian’s ears twitched while he walked silently. It was his own story. Perhaps there was a reason why they received the same revelation.

Lian glanced at the system screen. His conversation with Them had been cut off for days. The reason was probably due to that knight.

After walking a bit further, the faces of their companions began to appear in the distance. Beth spotted the two figures emerging from behind the bushes and called out happily.

“Lian! Rosé!”

She had successfully escaped after being trapped in the net. Lunan was with her too. His complexion had returned, suggesting Dain’s medicine had worked.

Next to Beth who was waving, Lunan noticed the unfamiliar man with Dain and widened his eyes.

“Emmett Bovir?”

He never expected to see him again here. Beth also belatedly spotted Emmett and smiled brightly. In any case, she was glad they met alive.

“What happened to those people? The men and women with spears and arrows.”

In the cheerful atmosphere, only Lian looked around with a serious face. Beth and Lunan exchanged glances. Then they shook their heads, indicating they hadn’t seen them.

“We thought they were chasing after you. Haven’t you encountered them at all?”

Lian now looked at Dain. He also shook his head, having not seen them either. Suddenly, an anxious voice came from Beth.

“Come to think of it, the staircase……”

At that moment, Dain’s eyes grew round. He passed by Emmett with his head gleaming like stars in the night sky and stepped forward.

“They might have gone to the staircase! D*mn it! Mr. Mora, did you find the staircase back then?”

Lian groaned and covered his forehead. The staircase, yes. The men’s objective wasn’t just Rosé. Given their proximity, they must have been searching for the staircase too.

“I know the location.”

“Please guide us!”

Lian led everyone to the staircase entrance he had discovered. Everyone held their breath as they looked down into the large black hole that lay one step ahead.

It wasn’t the box they had seen before. They were looking at the entrance to a staircase.

〈SYSTEM〉 Notice regarding Staircase 2

Current location is ‘Staircase 2’. This staircase is available.

Capacity: 7 (4)

When capacity is exceeded, all entrants’ internal organs will rupture and Staircase 2 will be forcibly closed.

Time remaining 00:12:05

“Only 12 minutes left.”

Lunan crouched in front of the hole and checked the footprints deeply embedded in the ground. They were those people’s footprints. Four spots were already filled. Only three more people could enter.

“I’ll stay behind.”

Lunan showed his injured hand and stepped back. Beth, seeming to have made her decision too, went to Lunan’s side.

“I’ll stay here too.”

Dealing with people was more overwhelming than she had thought. And above all, Beth didn’t want to leave her one remaining companion alone in the forest.

Four people remained. With five minutes left, someone else stepped back.

“I’ll look for another staircase.”

It was Dain. He forced his mouth corners up, trying to appear fine. Normally he would have been triumphant, but he had no intention whatsoever of talking nonsense when Rosé’s life was at stake.

What Rosé needed now wasn’t monster biology doctor Dain Hindley but those two men. Lian and Emmett, people who unlike himself had been called heroes.

Dain waved to Rosé, who was ready to jump into the hole.

“Miss Rosé, today won’t be our last. Let’s meet again.”

A promise with no guarantee. Dain finally calmed his surging heart while watching Rosé, who was shedding tears.

* * *

〈SYSTEM〉 Notice regarding Staircase 2

Current location is ‘Staircase 2’. This staircase has been naturally closed due to time expiration.

Time remaining 00:00:00

Lian spoke while looking at a fox lying dead with its belly split open in the middle of the dark corridor.

“By now, a staircase leading upward should have appeared.”

The long corridor was barely illuminated by a few torches on the walls. These corridors connected with corridors from other staircases and eventually stretched into a single path.