Aeaean Spring Breeze - Ch. 3: The Underground Labyrinth Brings Order

[queenofnohr]

???: Looks like they’re finally here.

???: Thank goodness. Making this Singularity was worth it, then!

???: ......Is it good?

???: Better than good— the plan is perfect. Don’t worry your little heart about it, just focus on the labyrinth. 

???: That’s right, Asterios! Since I’m a witch, just leave everything up to me!

Arjuna: This is…… undoubtedly, a labyrinth…...

Mash: Yes. I’ve gone over the infiltration routes several times, but it’s still a dangerous area where monsters prowl. Please proceed with caution, Master. 

Circe: Humans just go and make whatever they want on my island, huh!

Jason: You’re talking like this totally isn’t your fault.

Circe: Labyrinths are totally tasteless. I mean, who even likes making them? I create paradises, which the underworld obviously isn’t included in. That’s more up my teacher’s alley.

...…Hm? What’s with that signpost……

Arjuna: There’s something written on it. Let’s seeー

“Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.”

Jason: ……Can we go back?

Orion: You’re like a broken record! But I also wanna go back.

George: Denied.

Both: Guh.

Odysseus: So it’s saying that beyond this point, we might die? How interesting. Let’s go.

Circe: I’d like for you to exercise a liiiiiiiitle more caution before rushing in. Good grief…… Is this how all warriors are?

Jason: Let’s goooooooo baaaaaack.

Circe: Are you always this annoying!?

Jason: No, only when I have a bad feeling about something. And these bad vibes are thick enough to taste.

Arjuna: I see. Then, let’s head on in.

George: There’s no use in arguing. Oh, and smile.

[he snaps a photo of Jason, Arjuna, and Orion]

Jason: ……Don’t just take pictures whenever you want! I end up smiling, even when I don’t want to smile!

Circe: What are you doing over there you blockheads!? We’re going in!

[we go on a little]

George: Looks like…… another signpost.

Arjuna: It says…… “O Flame, walk alongside me.”

Circe: Hmmm.

[Fire shoots out]

Circe: Oh.

> Uwah!?

Mash: Master, are you okay?

George: Don’t worry, Mash. I'm guarding them.

[Circe is standing around, on fire]

Odysseus: Circe, are you okay?

Circe: Huh? Who? Me?

Odysseus: ……Aren’t you covered in flames right now?

Circe: Heh heh heh, I’m fine with this! After all, I’m a Great Witch!

Odysseus: Just because you’re a Great Witch doesn’t mean you should be “fine” with being engulfed in flame.

Circe: I’m telling you it’s fiiiiiine. These are silk garments given to me by Hecate. They won’t burn in these kinds of flames.

Odysseus: Even so.

Circe: Guh……

Well, I’ll just take that as you being worried about me.

Orion: ……By the way, there’s a path forward up ahead.

Circe: Huh?

......You’re right. Hmmm. The feeling I get is…… that path will open up if we fulfill a condition.

Arjuna:  “O Flame, walk alongside me.” Hm......

Odysseus: “Walk alongside,” huh?

……Circe, come with me.

Circe: Huh!? W- What do you mean “with you”!? Why me!? And why with you!?

Odysseus: It’s just an idea. Walk together with flame would mean—

Wouldn’t it mean to proceed while being enveloped in flame?

Circe: No, no, that’s a totally unreasonable answer considering we all have to go through.

Odysseus: Of course. We just need to catch the one doing the enveloping.

Circe: ?

......Oh! Master, I know it’s sudden, but prepare for battle! Our enemy is the flame enveloping the room! Before it’s extinguished, we need to nab it and walk with it!

> R- Roger that!

Circe: Raise, destroy, and finally, resurrect. Unending circle of life and destruction, I bid thee to appear, O Flame!

[a monster comes out of the fire]

George: So that’s it. Did she turn the flames into an enemy? That’s what it seemed like to me.

Jason: Do your best, everyone!

Orion: (Of course this guy ain’t fighting)

Arjuna: (I’ll just add this to the report I’m preparing for Medea......)

[battle]

Circe: …...Got it. Now that we’ve caught it, let’s see if it works!

Arjuna: Looks like…… The wall is opening up. It seems Odysseus’s hunch was correct.

Jason: Haaaaa...... I- It’s over, huh?

Orion: Yeah, and you were sooooo much help.

Odysseus: Alright, we did it.

Circe: Yeah!

[they high five]

Circe: ......

......

Why do I have to high-five this guy!?

Odysseus: I’m starting to understand you. You act tough when you end up going along with something.

Circe: Don’t laugh at that! Anyway the path opened up. Let’s head in!

Odysseus: Indeed, let’s move!

Node 2

Circe: First it’s fire and now it’s ice……

Arjuna: It doesn’t seem like there’s a signpost.

Jason: Hm? I don’t see a path……

Well, it looks easy enough. It should be fine if we melt it, right? Right, Arjuna. Time to put that bow to work!

Arjuna: You mean Agni Gandiva? But......

Jason: What, think you can’t do it?

Arjuna: …...Don’t be ridiculous. Actually, I fear the opposite happening. That is, will a single shot from me destroy this entire labyrinth?

ーThat’s my only concern.

Circe: Oi, oi, won’t we end up getting buried alive if that happensー?

Arjuna: Then I will be exceedingly careful in limiting myself. Having said that, I don’t think my power will be inadequate, but I will devote all my strength to this task!

Orion: (I feel like this’ll end badly)

Arjuna: Agni, lend me your power!! My spirit flares! Here I go!

AGNI GANDIVA!!

George: Oh, another photo op!

[literally everything melts in a huge flood]

Circe: Woah- woah- woah- all the ice melted at once! Wah!

> Circe!!

Circe: Oh, it’s okay, I’m fine. It’s no big deal.

Jason: Good grief. The whole room is flooded—

(.1 seconds) (Waitwaitwait. Circe’s clothes are white.)

( .2 seconds) (Doesn’t that mean her clothes will get see-through? Won’t she be totally immodest?)

(.3 seconds) (No, that’s beside the point. The real problem is how Circe reacts.)

(.4 seconds) (She’s usually okay, but she’s still a Great Witch of Greece.)

(.5 seconds) (Wouldn’t she turn a human who sees her bare skin into a monster?)

(.6 seconds) (So the one in most trouble is Master.)

(.7 seconds) (I have no other choice. Master, I’ll buy you ice-cream later.)

(.8 seconds) (Heh…… At any rate, my High-Speed Thinking is more than a match for that gloomy Caster’s High-Speed Divine Words.)

Jason: Oh no, my hand slipped!!

> Eh!?

[you black out]

Circe: Ugh, are you kidding me? I’m soaked.

Odysseus: Are your clothes okay?

Circe: Huh, my clothes? Hahaha. Just who do you think I am? I’m Hecate’s disciple, the Great Witch Circe. Even if it was a god that allowed my clothes to get all drenched and see-through, I wouldn’t forgive them!

Odysseus: I see. I certainly can’t see anything.

> What happened?

[you open your eyes]

Jason: ……Sorry, I ended up doing something bad since as a hero my intellect is just too sharp……

Orion: What’s with that weird apology!?

Arjuna: Does that count as an apology……?

Circe: But back to what we were talking about earlier. What, were you interested in seeing my bare skin?

Odysseus: No. I’m not, but I just thought it would be bad to make a girl feel shamed.

Circe: ......Completely heartless! Like iron! A total Tin Man!

[she’s hitting him in her embarrassment]

Odysseus: ……I intended for that to be a legitimate answer.

Orion: Yeah, he’s that type of person…… I’m understanding little by little. 

George: This is a pretty nice scene. Smile.

Circe: Like I can!!

???: That was a little disappointing.

???: “Even if I saw your naked body, it isn’t a problem, since I’ll take responsibility” —is how I thought it would go.

???: That didn’t go smoothly. But, doesn’t it seem like they’re getting along?

???: Yes! It’s so wonderful. It was worth it to have you help out!

???: What should I do next?

???: Next…… Fufufu. Let’s see how they do against this.

Node 3

Circe: Oh, looks like there’s another signpost. What does it say, Arjuna?

Arjuna: Let’s see......

“Destroy the paradox. That is the only way to reach the next path,” and, “You must tread forth without looking back.”

> Paradox......?

[Shakespeare, the Statue God, and Mephistopheles show up]

George: Oh no. You guys are—

Mephistopheles: Please believe me. Shakespeare and the Statue God are big liars! Only my door is the real one.

Shakespeare: Am I the liar? No, no, that’s impossible. Mephisto is a liar. And the Statue God is a big liar, too! Therefore, mine is the only real door.

Statue God: Trust me…… Believe in God…… Both Mephisto and Shakespeare are liars…… God would never lie to you…… In other words, my door is the only real one…… 

Mash: Um…… What does this mean?

Jason: Don’t ask me, Shielder. I don’t get it at all, but seems like one of the paths is correct, and the rest are busts.

George: Three people in front of three doors. Does that mean we’re to figure out which is the correct path from these three? I think there should be a clue in their testimonies on which is the correct door, but……

Odysseus: It’s a paradox. Some are lying. Some are telling the truth. But if we don’t know how many liars and how many truth tellers there are, how do we come to a conclusion?

Arjuna: I see. So, for example, say that Mephistopheles is telling the truth. That would mean that Shakespeare and the Statue God are lying. However, the Statue God says that Mephistopheles and Shakespeare are the liars. Therein lies the contradiction. If the Statue God is lying, then that means both Mephistopheles and Shakespeare are telling the truth.

Odysseus: And that applies to all of them. All of them create a paradox, so there is no correct path.

> Th- This is making my head spin.

George: If someone is a liar, that also means that they are not a liar.

……It’s strange. Everyone is connected.

Odysseus: Circe.

Circe: Hm?

Odysseus: I’d like to hear your thoughts on this.

Circe: Hmmm. It’s like a riddle.

Odysseus: It is indeed.

Circe: So, here’s what I’m thinking. Whoever made this riddle is the type of person who’s innately contrary. So I feel like using logic and reason to try and solve it would be a waste of time.

Odysseus: ......What do you mean?

Circe: The correct answer is—

We go back the way we came.

Everyone: HUH!?

George: Oh, that’s a good one.

[he snaps a photo of Odysseus, Jason, Orion, and Arjuna’s stunned faces]

Orion: Wait, I think I was making a really weird face, so could you retake the photo, Teacher?

George: No, a good photo op only comes once.

Orion: *sniffle*

Odysseus: Putting that aside— Circe, why do you think we should go back?

Circe: Because! The signpost is the liar. These three are just here to liven things up.

The three: Urp.

Odysseus: The signpost is the liar……

Ah, I understand now. “Destroy the paradox. That is the only way to reach the path forward,” turns into, “There is no need to destroy the paradox. The path forward is anything but,” whereas, “You must tread forth without looking back,” becomes, “You must turn around and go back the way you came.” In other words, do the opposite. I was thinking about it too logically.

Circe: Was it a difficult riddle for such a straight-laced person?

Odysseus: Heh…… I don’t have any comebacks when you put it that way. Well, I don’t know if I’d consider myself straight-laced, but…… Hm?

Mephistopheles: We really are just here to liven things up!

Shakespeare: I can’t deny that fact! But that doesn’t mean I’ll go back with the way things are now.

Statue God: I…… don’t really have anything to do with this…… But being looked down on is kinda grating…… 

Destroy…...

Circe: Ugh, what’s with you guys? You aren’t even the types to get worked up!

Stone God: That was then, this is now…...

Mephistopheles: Yeah, come on! Let’s duel! 

[fight]

Mephistopheles: Ouch, ouch, I’m done for! Emotional BGM, please start! Huh, no? That’s the way it goes I s’pose. Oh well.

Shakespeare: Mm, how disappointing! If I had it my way, I’d have you all deal with various problems, big and small, and depict a big emotional moment— only to pull the rug out from under you and have you end up at a bad end!

Statue God: ......

......

I’m tired…… I’m going back to Chaldea to laze around…… Oh, that’s right…… Since you solved the riddle, I have a prize for you…….

[Odysseus receives something]

Statue God: Goooooodbyeeeeee……

Circe: ......I’m the one who’s tired here!

Odysseus: Honestly. I didn’t think we’d end up having to fight Servants…… Mm?

Circe: What is it?

Odysseus: ………Ah, I remember. I am Odysseus.

Circe: !

Your memory returned?

Odysseus: Partly, yes.

> How much, exactly?

Odysseus: Let’s see. My name is Odysseus. I am a man who participated in the Trojan War, and survived it even if by the skin of my teeth. 

……The story of my life. I know at least that much, and my personality has returned to me.

Circe: Do you remember me?

Odysseus: Hahaha. Sorry, not at all.

Circe: ......Well, maybe that’s for the better.

Odysseus: Really? I want to know how we knew each other in life.

Circe: ......

......

We only hurt each other. We hurt each other, mutually, and could do nothing but hurt each other. It was awful.

Odysseus: ......

......Is that true?

Circe: It is.

Odysseus: I see. I can’t remember, so I can’t argue.

Circe: Do you think I’d allow your counterargument? Me, a Great Witch?

Odysseus: I suppose.

Circe: What’s with that attitude, huh?

Odysseus: Don’t pay it any mind. It seems like this is just what I’m like.

> They really do seem like good friends.	> I wonder what Circe thinks.
Jason: They probably will be, at least until he gets his memories back. Afterward is another story.	Arjuna: Here’s my understanding. I don’t think she loves him or hates him, but…… People’s feelings are complicated.

Arjuna: However, as far as I know, Odysseus had a wife.

Mash: Yes. She was a woman who continued to wait for him to come home.

Jason: That’s Penelope. I hear that while waiting for Odysseus, she had a whole mess of suitors coming for her.

Orion: Sounds like someone I’d like to shack up with……

George: You have no chance.

Orion: Even if the chances are only 1%, I wouldn’t give up!

George: Now that’s a manly look. Say cheese.

[he snaps a photo of Orion]

George: The title for this one will be “Orion Declares His Infidelity.” 

Orion: H-Haaaa, is Teacher trying to get me killed?

George: Hahaha.

Orion: At least deny it!