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Mira smiled watching the Spirit King and Martel mess around, though eventually Martel kicked the Spirit King away, so he went to talk with Mira instead. Eventually Martel came to join the conversation as well, letting her spend a more lively night than usual, and also more entertaining.

After waking up the next morning Mira changed her clothes and had breakfast prepared by Martel. Once again it was made of vegetables and fruits grown by Martel, which Mira devoured until nothing more could fit in her stomach. Martel had put all her effort into making them the best tasting plants in the world, making them food befitting of gods, and Mira could feel her body being invigorated by them.

But at the same time she felt so bloated she could barely stand up, so for the next hour she sat down and talked with the Spirit King and Martel. Those two had also been talking to each other for the entire night about past experiences while Mira slept.

「You made all this?!」
「Yes, I had to test everything to get the best results, but feel free to take everything that didn’t make the cut too.」

When Mira was about to depart, Martel brought her a large amount of new fruits and vegetables. That was a welcome gift, as she would be able to taste those wonderful new flavors for longer, and it was a perfect souvenir for Solomon and her other friends. Solomon ate good food every day in the palace, so Mira was looking forward to trumping over everything he had eaten in the past.

In total they weighed dozens of kilograms, which Mira happily took and stashed into her Item Box. Usually obtaining such a large quantity of fresh food could be troublesome, but Mira had nothing to worry about with her Item Box. The Spirit King later revealed that Martel had grown such an excessive amount on purpose just so Mira could take them as a gift.

「Thank you so much for having us. If you need anything I’ll be here in a jiffy, just tell the Spirit King.」

Later in the morning, once Mira’s stomach settled, she left Martel’s house and headed out to the hidden tunnel that brought them there. Martel was protecting something extremely valuable and important, and while it was safe for now, Mira was worried that one day she might be in danger.

「Alright, I’ll count on you if the need arises. But please feel free to call for my help if you need it as well.」

Martel was there to see them off as well. She slowly raised her hand, which made all the nearby plants turn to saturated poisonous-looking colors, with sharp glinting thorns and dripping with acid.

「Lord Sym told me how adventurers have to fight often, and I’m quite confident in my strength.」

All the nearby vegetation had become deadly, gathering like a legion behind Martel. She looked very confident with that, but somehow also gave off the impression of being some sort of last boss.

Martel was the spirit who created and controlled all vegetation, so Mira had already anticipated her to be powerful, but this surpassed her expectations by far.

「A-alright, I’ll rely on you if I ever need it.」

Mira had eaten such delicious fruits earlier that she had almost forgotten that there were also carnivorous and harsh plants. At the same time she realized that if Martel wanted, she could turn all the plants around a country into a dangerous thicket like that, creating an impenetrable defense.

Even if Mira’s search for the missing wisemen ended in failure, if the worst were to happen, she had the option of focusing on learning how to summon Martel to create the necessary defense.

(Though thinking about it, having both the Spirit King and an Originator Spirit on my side almost feels like cheating.)

The Spirit King was almost a god-like entity, and she was on very friendly terms with him. Now she had also formed a contract with an Originator Spirit, which were spirits ranked directly below the Spirit King.

Accomplishing that was an incredible feat, and Mira was grateful she had the chance of meeting both of them. Now she had the necessary power if she was ever in a dire situation and needed to protect something.

With the power of the Spirit King and Martel on her side, she could fend off any threat.

「Please take care in your adventures, Mira.」

Martel’s soft hand plopped down on Mira’s head. Looking around, Mira noticed that all the plants had returned to their original shape, like a paradise. That quick change was also impressive.

「Mhm, I’ll be going then!」

Mira was slightly embarrassed but gave an energetic reply before turning around and entering the secret tunnel. She had not known about this place’s existence when she followed Martel’s presence, but now the forlorn sensation was completely gone, replaced by a cheerful and lively one.

That showed her that finding Martel had been worth it, and she could still feel Martel as she walked through the tunnel.

『I doubt there’s anyone who can get in there now.『

Mira was back where she fought the Skull Dragon. The Spirit King reinforced the Divine Spiritual Crystals concealing the tunnel, making them even sturdier than they were before they got there, his voice sounding satisfied with the result. He had stopped projecting his body through Mira after they left Martel, so he did everything through the Divine Protection now.

「Alright, time to continue going through the dungeon.」

There was nothing suspicious about the white wall. No one could tell that a portion of it was made of a different material anymore. Only someone with power comparable to the Spirit King’s would be able to notice it, and even then it would be easy to lose track of the exact spot on the wall.

No one could infiltrate Martel’s paradise. Mira double checked the wall just in case, and then went back to resume her unfinished quest of the Ancient Underground City’s sixth floor. She had already gathered all the glyphs necessary to open the third shrine, so that was her current destination.

(Now that I think about it, I strayed quite far away from the path…)

After climbing up the long spiral staircase, Mira realized where she was. She had blindly followed Martel’s presence all the way to a place tucked away in the corner of the floor, quite far away from the correct route.

That corner also happened to be the opposite one to where the shrine was located.

(Though linear distance means next to nothing in this dungeon! )

It was common knowledge that basing distances on the spatial location of spots was a bad idea on the sixth floor. Sometimes the only way to reach the other side of a wall was a long winded path that took an entire day to traverse. Sometimes departing from afar was faster.

Mira looked at her map to look up the correct route, then summoned a Dark Knight to defeat all the skeletons in the way. She also did not forget to pick up all the magic stones dropped by them.

「Phew, finally back on track.」

She crossed a bridge without handrails, jumped from one corridor to another, slid through a tight alleyway, up a set of stairs, and crossed through a large building the size of a mall. After three hours of walking, she finally reached one of the buildings where she picked up a glyph. It might not have been the fastest way to reach the shrine, but former players had a tendency to prefer retracing their steps rather than searching for a new route that could be unsafe.

「Hmm… I don’t feel like a break is necessary.」

Mira instinctively thought of taking a break now that she was somewhere safe, but then realized that she was not feeling tired at all from walking around so much. She had a pretty good idea of why that was the case.

It was all thanks to Martel’s special breakfast, which was even more effective than an expensive energy drink.

(I really hope this doesn’t mean that my exhaustion will come back with interest later on…)

She was slightly worried about that, but also felt like eating one of the fruits Martel gave her would give her the energy she needed if that happened. That was a rather unhealthy workaholic way to think, but she did not care about that as she continued through the proper route.