"Yuusha, I think I know where we are right now. This place isn't unfamiliar to me," Iris said while continuing to look around the room.
I raised my eyebrow briefly before asking Iris, wanting to know her answer.
(Even though I already know the reason, at the very least, I don't want to make her suspicious of me.)
"Oh, really?" I asked.
Iris nodded and cleared her throat.
"We are currently on the lowest floor of the ancient ruins I mentioned to you before."
"I didn't expect that corridor to lead us here," she replied.
"So, how are we supposed to get out of here? Since we're already at the very bottom, we should be able to return to the surface, right?" I asked as I slowly walked closer to her.
Sure enough, she would immediately invite me to go up the stairs and return to the surface.
I could already guess that, but before that happened, I planned to ask her to open the hidden room located in one of the walls on the lowest floor of these ruins.
"Don't worry, we can go up those stairs and reach the surface," she said while pointing toward where the stairs were.
"Iris, there's something I want to ask."
"Is this ruin really empty? There's nothing stored inside here?" I asked her.
Iris fell silent for a moment before walking toward a wall in one corner of the room.
She stopped right in front of the wall, then placed her palm against it, causing a room to open.
It was as if the room was a hidden chamber that could only be opened by a select few.
After the door opened, she looked at me.
"You wanted to know about this, right? It's fine. I think you should know what's in here as well," she said as she walked into the room.
I immediately followed her and walked beside her once again.
Just like before, I saw the same thing as the last time Iris and I came here before the time loop occurred.
Inside this room, there was a magic circle in the center of the floor.
Then, she placed her palm against another wall, and it opened once more.
The newly opened room was filled with rare artifacts, gold, and various treasures.
This magic circle was the reason why the anonymous forces attacked during the repeated time loops I experienced.
With its help, monsters could be summoned here and drag the citizens of Riruyo out from the place they believed to be safe.
——
Not long after Iris told me several things, we eventually decided to return by climbing the stairs.
After walking for several minutes, we finally reached the surface and exited the ancient ruins.
It was almost evening, and I felt that we had been gone for quite some time after leaving the underground space beneath Yggdrasil to come to these ruins.
Since there was nothing else that Iris and I wanted to do, we returned to her residence connected to Yggdrasil.
I had already made a plan to destroy the magic circle, and with Luke's help, I was confident that it could be done.
——
"What did you want to talk about, Yukito?" Luke asked after I invited him out onto the balcony.
I deliberately brought him here, because this was the best place to talk about certain things.
About an hour after dinner, I invited him here, since I didn't think it was necessary to talk to Luke too late at night.
"Luke, I feel like I had a strange dream," I said.
He widened his eyes slightly, clearly surprised by what I said.
"A strange dream? What was it about?" Luke asked in return.
"In that dream, I saw the future of Riruyo being attacked by the Abyss, and we would be defeated by them if we don't do something now," I said.
He no longer looked surprised, but he fell silent for a moment, seemingly processing what I had just said.
"...I'll leave it to you. If what you're saying is true, then I'll believe you."
"Naturally, you want my help, right? What do you need me to do?" Luke asked.
Just as I expected, Luke already knew what I was thinking. He really hadn't changed.
Still, I was a little surprised that he believed me so easily. I had thought that he would be confused or find it strange at first.
Instead, he believed me right away. Could it be that, without realizing it, the bond within our hero party had grown even stronger?
At first, I thought I was the only one who felt that way, but I remembered that they also considered one another just as precious.
If that's the case, then there's no reason for me not to trust Luke, who already trusts me.
"I want you to help me destroy the magic circle in the ruins. You've been there before with Hime and Yuu-chan, right?"
"In the hidden room on the lowest floor, there's a magic circle there, and I can be certain that it's being used to summon and transport monsters here," I said.
"Destroying it is easy enough, but are you really sure about this? What if it turns out to be just an ordinary magic circle?" Luke asked.
"If that happens... I'll take responsibility for everything—" Before I could finish my sentence, he suddenly let out a small laugh at my reaction.
I didn't know why he suddenly laughed. Was there something funny about what I just said?
"Sorry, sorry... I was just joking. I already told you I'd believe you, right? I won't ask any further, because I think that's your business."
"So, when are we going there?" Luke asked again.
"Tomorrow morning. We'll go without Iris," I said.
If we went together with Iris, she might refuse to destroy the magic circle, which is why I didn't want to bring her along.
So that no one would grow suspicious... we would only go as three people, perhaps with Hime as well.
I would ask Yuu-chan to stay here and keep an eye on Iris, and I didn't think she would refuse.
Earlier, Iris told me that the hidden room could be opened by anyone, as long as they knew which part to press.
I also still remembered where Iris placed her hand earlier, so that wouldn't be a problem.
No, I deliberately decided to bring Hime. I was worried that someone might interfere with us.
Because of that, I needed someone who could use magic to check and track any potential enemies.
"Alright, I don't mind at all," Luke said.
He walked toward me and gently patted my shoulder before leaving the balcony, likely heading back to his room.
"Alright, I'll head back first. You're going to stay here a bit longer, right? Go ahead, I won't disturb you," he said as he closed the door, leaving me alone on the balcony.
Huff...
I leaned against the balcony railing and looked up at the sky once more.
How long do I have to remain trapped in this time loop?
...No, no, I can't give up. This isn't just about me—it's about my friends too. I can't let them down.