Editing Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance:Volume9 Chapter6 (section)

===Part 6===

In the dark underground maze, the aroma of pancakes spread through the air.

"...So very tasty."

The mysterious young princess maiden was enjoying the delicious pancakes.

Nibbling away in small bites, she looked extremely adorable.

"I can make as many as you want, so please eat to your heart's content."

"Thank you..."

The girl nodded happily.

(By the way...)

Rinslet suddenly inclined her head in puzzlement.

(...This child, who is she actually?)

...Her identity was a complete riddle. How should one put it? No humans were supposed to be present in a place like this except for participants in the Blade Dance.

(Perhaps...)

Rinslet suddenly thought of one possibility.

"Like Est-san, she is a high-level spirit--"

Then her presence in Astral Zero could be explained.

"...?"

Her cheeks stuffed full of food, the girl looked in Rinslet's direction.

"...You, perhaps you are a spirit?"

"..."

The girl silently nodded.

...It looked like the speculation was correct.

Rinslet adjusted her sitting posture lightly.

This was the proper etiquette for a princess maiden towards a high-level spirit.

"Well, may I be so bold as to ask what your divine name may be?"

"..."

The girl averted her gaze... Clearly she did not want to answer this time.

"Well, may I ask why you have appeared in such a place?"

"..."

No answer either. --Just as Rinslet concluded that...

"...No idea."

The girl looked up and gave that answer.

"...No idea?"

"Can't remember."

Did she lose her memory?

But spirits were not supposed to lose their memory--

(...Wait a minute, there's also another case like that.)

Rinslet had heard that the sword spirit Est only retained portions of her memory because of the irregular contract she established with Kamito.

Perhaps this spirit who resembled a girl in outer appearance also lost her memory for some reason.

Otherwise--

(Could she be toying with me?)

Rinslet muttered in her mind.

"Just now, you said you knew the spirits whose names are carved on the stone wall, right?"

"..."

The spirit girl nodded.

"Scarlet Valkyrie -- Ortlinde. In the Spirit War several thousand years ago, she was the flame spirit revered and feared as the bloodstained princess."

"Why would you know something like that?"

Although Rinslet felt it was a little impertinent to question a high-level spirit like this...

"...When clearly you've lost your memory."

Rinslet still felt she had to add the last statement.

"I have been imprisoned in this underground maze all along. The only thing I could do to alleviate boredom was to decipher the voluminous history carved on the stone walls."

"Imprisoned?"

If this girl really was a spirit--

Physical imprisonment in a maze was not possible.

Probably through some kind of magical means, she was sealed here.

"So who did--"

Just at this moment.

"Yah!"

The ground shook intensely, causing debris to rain down noisily from the ceiling.

Shielding the girl reflexively, Rinslet looked up.

"I-It's an earthquake?"

"Earthquakes do not occur in this abandoned city."

The girl shook her head.

"Very likely, a powerful spirit is rampaging on the surface."

"A powerful spirit?"

Rinslet's expression froze.

On the surface, the final round of the Blade Dance was in full swing.

Perhaps, Kamito and the others were facing a crisis right this moment.

"...What is it?"

"It's no time for me to be dilly dallying here like this."

Rinslet stood up. Although she wanted to learn more about this spirit who bore a young girl's appearance, it was clearly not the occasion for this.

...In any case, she had to leave this underground maze to search for her comrades.

Then--

The girl wiped her mouth using the sleeve of her priestess uniform and stood up lightly.

"...Follow me."

"Eh?"

"The exit, I'll show you."