Though he had a strong feeling that so many coincidences couldn't be right, Gut couldn't figure out a clear reason just yet, so he turned his attention back to the map.
If previously, Gut had only been able to vaguely sense a result through his Innate Tomb-Raider Physique trait, now, after having explored one labyrinth firsthand and gathered intel from Frieren on another, he could already see things much more clearly.
Earlier, both the point Gut's party had explored and the one Frieren had investigated gave him the same sensation:
At first glance, they felt correct, but the more he thought about them, the more he sensed something off—a strange blend of right and wrong.
Now, Gut had mostly figured out the reason behind this contradiction.
The reason his instinct found the two points so similar was because they had been constructed as mirror images of each other.
Whether it was the number of branches or their layout, both were roughly the same—just mirrored.
As for that "right and wrong at the same time" feeling?
That was because both labyrinths had a central path—the longest and straightest one—which pointed directly toward the opposite point.
In Frieren's labyrinth, the central corridor led to the starting point of Gut's party.
In Gut's labyrinth, the central corridor led to the point that, by both gut feeling and logical thought, felt absolutely correct.
That straight, long, central corridor leading to the correct point was what created the "correct" part of his instinct.
However, there was a fatal problem with both of those central corridors.
Namely—they were inaccessible.
They both stopped a fair distance from the target location.
Unless one had overwhelming power like Serie, capable of smashing through walls laced with Magic-Suppressing Ore, and shattering the rock masses in between, it was impossible to reach the endpoint.
And it was precisely this "starts but doesn't finish" feature that led to the "wrong" part of Gut's instincts.
Now that every aspect of his instinct about those two points had been reasonably explained, only two remaining mysteries about the map remained.
First: there were two different points that might be the real location of the Secret Realm.
One of them was a location already marked on the map—both instinct and logical deduction suggested it was correct.
The other didn't exist on the map at all. It had been pinpointed purely by Gut's gut feeling. There was no logic, but somehow it just had to be where the Spring Secret Realm was.
Second: the remaining two points on the map—ones that at first felt wrong but started to seem somewhat correct after some thought.
If Gut reversed his previous reasoning, then the situation with those two should be—
Reachable from the endpoint but lacking a starting path?
That idea just felt bizarre no matter how he looked at it.
Gut drew all six points on the ground again, hoping that with the information gathered so far, maybe his instincts would give him a new clue.
Just then, the others also noticed the frustrating dead-end of the central corridor that nearly linked all three points together—but stopped just short.
Someone then suggested:
"Mr. Gut, what if we return to the previous labyrinth we explored, head back to the fork, and this time follow the central corridor all the way to the end?"
"And then have Lady Serie break open the wall again..."
"Wouldn't that let us reach the last unexplored point quickly?"
"Hmm, theoretically, yes," Gut nodded in agreement.
He had originally planned to stay behind for a bit longer, but seeing Mut, who had seemed dejected earlier, now rejuvenated and ready to move, he changed his mind.
He put away his dagger, clapped the dust from his hands, and stood up.
"Let's go then. We'll go back through that glowing tunnel and try from the central path in the other labyrinth."
"Eh, do we have to look at that bright light again?"
Though her eyes had been healed, just remembering the sharp pain and blinding whiteness made Frieren visibly uncomfortable.
"Can't be helped."
Gut shrugged. "Please endure it a little longer. Once we're through, I'll ask my teacher to use Healing Magic on you again."
Hearing that, Serie tilted her head toward Frieren, her hand subtly twitching, as if still reminiscing about the feel of Frieren's cheeks during that earlier face-rub.
"I refuse."
Frieren crossed her arms, answering firmly.
Slish—
While the trio chatted, Himmel crouched down, sliced off a piece of his white robe, folded it several times into a thick strip, and carefully tied it around Frieren's head, covering her eyes.
"Nice idea, Himmel."
"But if I can't see at all, how will I walk?"
"No worries. I'll hold your hand. Just follow me."
Watching this sour display of affection, Gut elbowed his teacher twice.
"What?" Serie looked up and asked.
Gut pointed to his own clothes, asking if she wanted him to make one for her too.
To his surprise, Serie misunderstood completely, hesitated, and then nodded slightly—insisting it was a one-time exception.
Then she began to wrestle with her coat.
"???"
Gut stared in bewilderment at his teacher, who was suddenly picking a fight with her clothes.
"Teacher, what are you doing?"
"Ripping my coat. You said you wanted me to make you an eye-covering like that one, didn't you?"
Gut: ...
"Teacher, I meant I wanted to make one for you."
He tore a strip off his own coat and handed it to Serie.
But Serie didn't take it. Instead, she pushed his hand aside.
"So that's what it was. How dull."
"Keep it yourself. I've got Anti-Dazzle Runes built into my mental defense formations."
"I'm not some fragile peace-era magic user who needs someone to pull her along."
Gut smiled, unfazed by the rejection. He was quite used to his teacher's attitude by now.
Meanwhile, the peace-era elven mage who just got verbally "taken care of" by Serie had a face that couldn't have looked stormier.
----------
Powerstones?
For 20 advance chapters: patreon.com/michaeltranslates