After leaving the A rank party, I aim for the deep part of the labyrinth with my former students
Passing through the Amber Gate and walking for a short while, I signaled to Marina and Nene with my eyes.
"Startup check!"
"Startup check, got it!"
Marina’s GoPro-kun floated up lightly, and from Nene’s earring-shaped GoPro-kun, a small beep sound indicated it had powered on.
After confirming that both were operational, I firmly pressed the startup button on the GoPro-kun G I had been holding all this time.
"Startup check."
The GoPro-kun G emitted a faint—yes, just a faint—golden glow for a brief moment before floating up into the air.
Since Nibelung disappeared, this thing hadn’t even powered on. Seeing it working again like this stirred a strange unease in my heart.
"Lun..."
Watching the floating GoPro-kun G, Jamie murmured softly.
I had heard that she and Nibelung had made many promises to each other.
Losing her without being able to fulfill those promises must have weighed on Jamie far more than it did on us.
"Let’s go, Sensei. On this journey, I’m sure we’ll learn more about Lun."
"Yeah. At the very least… we now know for sure that Lun is alive. Let’s take our time."
Saying that, I lightly touched Jamie’s back.
She took a deep breath, straightened her posture, and with a determined "Alright", she reset her focus.
"I know, I know. Come on, let’s get started. I helped with the setup, after all."
Jamie forced a small smile and poked at the floating GoPro-kun G with her fingertip.
Nodding, I gave a voice command to the floating, automatic-recording magical artifact.
"──Live stream, start."
The green light turned amber, indicating that the live stream mode was now active.
"Hello, everyone. This is Clover. We’re currently on Vilmuren Island, the hometown of our sub-leader, Silk."
Silk stepped beside me and gave a small bow.
When we first formed this team, my comrades weren’t used to being on camera, but now they had grown accustomed to it.
Not that I was any different—back in my Thunder Pike days, I had never once appeared in a live stream.
"Something strange is happening on this island. We’ve confirmed small-scale overflow incidents, and at the request of the elders, we’re investigating the cause. From here, we’ll be heading deep into the Amber Forest, a restricted area of the Dark Elves."
The GoPro-kun G floated slightly upward, ensuring that all of us were captured within its lens.
That movement was probably something Marina had programmed.
She was always researching ways to make our streams more visually appealing, and her filming settings sometimes caught me off guard.
"It’s been a while since our last stream, but we hope you’ll join us again."
We all bowed together.
I was well aware that Tymus and the others were waiting for us, but if this unexpected guerrilla live stream could attract some attention, it would buy us a little more time.
"And with that, let the adventure stream begin."
Lifting my head, I spoke those words before stepping forward onto the path ahead.
Up to this point, I had gathered knowledge about Vilmuren Island and the Amber Forest.
First of all, this island lies south of the Welmeria Kingdom, and its vegetation is closer to that of a subtropical jungle than a forest.
Towering trees, vines wrapping around them, narrow shrubs… and ferns filling in the gaps, creating a dense mass of plant life.
The so-called “path” was little more than an area where fewer plants happened to be growing.
The ground was covered in fallen leaves and exposed roots rather than anything resembling solid earth.
I could see why navigating this place without a guide would be nearly impossible.
Moreover, the poor visibility posed a serious combat risk.
Tymus had said there was no need for advance scouting, but I figured it would be best to have Nene keep an eye on our surroundings.
"Nene."
"Got it! With this much footing around, this is actually my specialty!"
"...Come to think of it, Nene, you don’t usually use uchi when referring to yourself, do you?"
"Nya—what?!"
I had spoken my thought aloud without much consideration, and the cat-eared girl froze in place.
"I-I never said uchi or anything like that!"
"Nene, you just dug your own grave."
Rain’s remark hit the mark, and Nene slumped her shoulders in defeat.
Was that really something to get so flustered about?
{tl note: Uchi（うち） While not a traditional way to translate “me”, Uchi（うち）is another popular Japanese word that's used to refer to one's self, even though it actually means “one's own” or “inside.” In fact, this is one of the most popular ways young girls refer to themselves, especially when talking to close friends and family.}
"I’ve been hiding it all this time, and now I’ve been exposed on a live stream… Ugh, I tried to keep my country-cat origins a secret…!"
"Are you sure you should be saying that on the live stream?"
"…Ah!"
Nene stiffened and turned her gaze toward GoPro-kun G.
As if reacting to her, the camera lens focused directly on her.
Ah… yeah, this is probably beyond saving now.
"A-Anyway, I’m going now!"
Like a true member of the cat-eared tribe, Nene climbed up a tree without making a sound.
It was an impressive display, but she seemed a bit more awkward than usual… She was definitely flustered.
"She sometimes says it during our girls’ chats, doesn’t she?"
"She does. Maybe it just slips out unconsciously?"
"Yeah, maybe."
The three girls chuckled softly, and I couldn’t help but smile wryly along with them.
I figured it was best not to mention that Nene sometimes said uchi when we were alone together, too.
Honestly, I thought her natural way of speaking was pretty cute.
"You’re thinking about flirting again, aren’t you?"
"Huh?"
"You’ve got a dumb grin on your face. We’re on a live stream, so keep it together, alright?"
Jamie whispered the warning just out of range of the mic.
She was right—this was no time to be distracted.
Even with a guide, we were in a restricted zone, and the Amber Forest had practically turned into a labyrinth-like dungeon.
"Alright, let’s move forward. Nene will track Tymus and the others' trail. Let’s stay as cautious as possible and advance steadily. We’ll maintain our planned formation—I’ll take the rear."
"That means I’ll take the lead. Biblion, I’m counting on you."
At Silk’s words, a small white snake-like spirit slithered out from within her hair.
Biblion, the spirit of books and memory, was a powerful entity capable of compiling information and even performing basic future predictions.
With Nene scouting ahead and Biblion’s danger detection, we should be able to avoid most ambushes in this dense Amber Forest.
Sticking to our formation, we proceeded cautiously into the forest.
Perhaps due to the strange occurrences happening here, the normally windless Amber Forest was eerily silent.
The unsettling quietness only made our nerves even tenser.
And soon enough, that uneasy feeling proved to be justified.
TL Note- Silence.....
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