"King Halo, OUT. El Condor Pasa, OUT…"
With the system broadcast, the ever-proud King Halo and a crestfallen El Condor Pasa both emerged from the entrance tunnel.
"What happened? Even you two were eliminated?" Mejiro McQueen hurried over, stunned.
"…Yes." El Condor Pasa nodded sorrowfully and told them everything that happened inside.
Ugh… I'm not qualified… El Condor Pasa finished, hiding her face in shame and squatting down, shutting herself off.
A moment ago she'd been boasting about how her strength would be enough to protect Trainer-san, yet the next second she'd been taken out by Rice Shower in an instant. It was a disgrace to her honor as a masked wrestler…
"Rice Shower's that strong?!" Mejiro McQueen was shocked, feeling a chill down her spine, shivering involuntarily.
She couldn't help but imagine—if she ever made Rice Shower angry, would Rice Shower come for her with a knife from behind…?
"So now it's just Teio and Rice Shower…" Symboli Rudolf frowned.
Isn't this elimination rate a bit much? Every round cuts the participants in half—does that mean in the third round, either Tokai Teio or Rice Shower will be out too?
Thinking that, Rudolf clenched her fists in frustration.
"If only I could compete!"
If she'd been allowed by Gold Ship to enter these trials—with her own power and her deep understanding of Trainer-san—she'd be sure to make it to the end.
But because of things she'd done in the past, Gold Ship still wouldn't allow her to take a single step toward the tunnel entrance. Now, all Rudolf could do was pin every hope on the junior she trusted most.
"Teio, it's all up to you…"
...
"This round will test your sense of direction."
At the entrance to the third floor, Gold Ship's voice rang out through the PA, explaining the rules to Tokai Teio and Rice Shower.
"The third floor is a maze I dug myself—not huge, so you won't get stuck forever, but not so small that you'll breeze right through."
"Remember, there's only one exit. If you find it, you'll go straight to the next level."
"If you really can't find your way and want to give up, you can forfeit—I'll use the PA to guide you back to the entrance."
"No need!" Tokai Teio puffed out her cheeks at the word "forfeit," answering immediately. "We're not giving up until we see Trainer-san!"
"Mm!" Rice Shower nodded earnestly.
"Very good. Good luck." Gold Ship let out a light chuckle and shut off the PA, leaving the two of them alone in the silence of the underground.
Gulp… Tokai Teio looked ahead, at the dim, branching corridors, and swallowed hard.
Truthfully, she was never good with dark, gloomy places.
Teio was scared of ghosts—especially in these shadowy, unfamiliar hallways, always half-expecting something to jump out at her.
But then she looked at Rice Shower, who seemed even more afraid than she was, and a wave of responsibility welled up inside her. She slapped her cheeks, pulled herself together.
Even if their team was down to just two, she was still the captain. She had to lead her teammate to victory—she couldn't show any fear now.
"Rice Shower, let's split up." Teio made her suggestion.
"If we go together, it's a waste of time. Let's cover more ground by searching separately."
"While we're looking, let's leave marks along the way—just carve a '4' at each fork we take."
"If a route turns out to be a dead end, mark it with an 'x' where you started. If one of us finds the exit, make a trail of arrows back to the start. That way, we won't go in circles, and whoever finds the exit first can lead the other there."
"Okay…" Rice Shower listened and was honestly impressed. "Teio, you're amazing. I can't believe you thought up such a great plan so quickly."
"Hehe~ Of course! I'm the Invincible Tokai Teio, after all~" Teio put her hands on her hips, soaking up the praise.
"Alright, let's go!"
...
After discussing the plan, Teio and Rice Shower braced themselves and stepped into the maze.
Thanks to Teio's excellent strategy, the two of them mapped out most of Gold Ship's maze in under ten minutes, carving marks at every fork and on every wall. It wouldn't take long to eliminate all the dead ends and find the exit.
But as Rice Shower carefully stuck to unmarked paths, something strange happened.
"?" Standing at a dead end, Rice Shower saw a huge 'x' mark she'd carved herself, puzzled as to why she'd wound up here again.
She didn't think too much of it. She took out her little knife, scratched another 'x' on the wall, and moved on.
But five minutes later, she circled back to the same spot.
"…Weird." Rice Shower eyed her own marks, tilting her head in confusion.
Every time she searched for a new path, she felt an inexplicable urge drawing her back to this place.
Her intuition kept telling her the maze's exit was here, but there was nothing—just a normal wall.
Why did she keep returning here, she wondered?
Rice Shower gripped her blue rose sachet and frowned in bewilderment.
...
"Rice Shower… Rice Shower…"
While she was staring at the wall, lost in thought, Tokai Teio's voice suddenly called from somewhere in the distance.
"Teio?"
Rice Shower followed the sound and saw Teio, backing away and scraping arrow marks into the wall with her horseshoe.
"Rice Shower! Over here! I found the exit!"
The moment Teio spotted Rice Shower, she ran over and grabbed her hand, not even bothering to leave more marks. Now that they'd met up, she could just bring her teammate along.
"Eh?!" Before Rice Shower could react, Teio was already dragging her along at a run.
In no time, the two of them followed Teio's marks right to the maze exit.
...
"Oh yeah! We did it!" Teio cheered, staring at the stairs leading to the next level.
But Rice Shower didn't share Teio's excitement. She glanced back into the maze, gripping her sachet tight, feeling like something still wasn't right.
"Rice Shower, aren't you coming?" Teio looked back, bouncing with excitement, eager to move on.
Rice Shower hesitated, then replied, "Teio, you go on ahead. I want… I want to go back and look again."
"Go back?" Teio looked at her in confusion. "But we've already explored the whole maze. There aren't any hidden treasure chests or anything—why bother?"
"Um… I'm not really sure…" Rice Shower shook her head, unable to explain the feeling.
But the more time passed, the stronger her urge became.
"Rice Shower… wants to stay here for a bit longer…" She lifted her head, eyes resolute.
"…Alright." Teio still didn't really get it, but she was in a hurry to rescue Trainer-san, so she agreed to Rice Shower's request to stay behind.
"I'll go first, then. I won't wait for you, okay?"
"Mm." Rice Shower nodded.
"Trainer-san~ The Invincible Teio is coming to save you~" Tokai Teio called, skipping off toward the stairs to the next level.
Rice Shower watched her leave, touched the blue rose sachet on her chest, and turned to re-enter the maze.
Onii-sama, are you really there?