It's not safe to be on this floor.
Yeah, in more ways than one.
I'd better get to the next one.

　Me, Alice, and Celeste were in agreement.
　Only Emily, the only one who didn't recognize her black history as black history, turned her head and scowled.

''Well then, let's go downstairs as soon as possible.
'Yes. If you get out, Mr. Lyota.
I'll take him down before he transforms.

　I pounded my chest and took it on.

　Black history is - not necessarily one.
　It's more likely to be drawn out in more than one, given your experience on the ground floor or upstairs.

　There are at least five or six more stories left that are objectively "funny" but subjectively "yikes, I want to die" as far as I can think of.

　Probably the same is true for Alice and Celeste.

　We hurried onward, so as not to peel off the scab of youthful indiscretion any further.

　Now that I understand the situation, I let Alice lead the way.
　A dungeon born skill, encounter avoidance and understanding of map structure.
　That should allow us to get to the lower floors almost without encounters.

　It's not a hundred percent (never) though, so I was prepared to cast Repetition at any time.

　Luckily, I made it to the stairs leading down without encountering an encounter.

'Phew. ......'
I'm tired.
Me too. That's probably the most tired I've been since I started adventuring.
'In that case, would you like to take a break?　I'll bring you a cup of tea and a snack.

　Our angel (Emily) has made a fascinating proposal.
　Normally I would have gone along for the ride.

'No, let's get off,'
Well, if you want to take a break, at least take it downstairs.
Aye.
Are you sure?　Yoda said before. Just a little more, just one more floor, is a flag.
Ugh.

　It's a sore spot.
　Emily was right.

　It's not uncommon for people to say, "Just a little more," and then misjudge the drawback and get it done.

　This idea has become more commonplace since the "Let's go home so we can come back" revival boom a few years ago.

'But but!'
'Sometimes people need to take a brave step.'
When was that?　Now.

　Me, Celeste and Alice desperately pressed Emily, who suggested that we rest as per the theory.

'Wow, okay,'

　As a result, Emily was unusually confused, and we decided not to rest, but to dive down to the fifth basement floor.

　A new floor.
　At the front is me with Vanadium.
　Then Celeste, Emily, and Alice, who is getting ready to yell at any moment for Morichin.

　We went down the stairs in that order.

　Carbon dungeon, fifth floor underground.

...... hmm?
What's up, Mr. Lyota?
What's wrong with ......?
What?
What's the difference?
Hmm.
I think so. I don't know what it is, but it's different.
Yeah.

　As soon as I came down, I thought, "Something's different".
　Emily and Celeste didn't seem to feel it, but the dungeon born Alice did.

'If that's the way it is, even Alice is like that, then there's something wrong with her.
Yes. Do you have any idea what that is exactly?
'Hmm, I wonder. I know it's somehow different.

　Alice and I both looked around the dungeon - the fifth floor below Carbon.

　A dungeon made of stone, a pale blue light that flickered and flickered repeatedly.
　It doesn't look at all different from the floor above.

'Let's take a look at it in turn.'
I'd do the same.

　I walked with Alice up the stairs and back to the fourth basement floor.

　I stared at it and imprinted the scene on the fourth floor, and then went back down the stairs to the fifth floor.
　Then I went down the stairs and returned to the fifth basement floor.

'Hmm. I don't know. It's stuck in my head.
Me too. But...
'Yeah, something's definitely different. That's all the more reason to be sure.

　Me and Alice nodded at each other.
　Until a while ago, it was just "sort of".
　But since I came back after making a mental image of the situation to compare them, I'm convinced that they are definitely different, even though I don't understand them all.

If you don't know, it's all right. But we have to be careful.
'Yes, it's the fifth floor, so it's not surprising that something has changed.

　Even with the fluffy talk of sensation, the two of them believed us.

'All right, then, let's proceed with caution.
Yeah.

　Celeste complied, and both Alice and Emily nodded.
　Just when I thought that I would proceed with caution as I had declared--that's when I thought.

'Ow, ow!'

　Neptune came down the stairs, waving his hand in the air.
　He came in with Ran and Lil, as usual.

'What's going on?'
What have you done?　In the last ten minutes.
'These ten minutes?　No, nothing. I was just rather stamping my feet.
"Ummm, I see ...... so it's not you guys either. It's what we do?
What do you mean?
As a matter of fact.

　Neptune smiled, but with serious eyes.

'The portal has closed again.'
-Oh!

　　　　　★

　I stopped exploring the fifth basement level for now and returned to the first basement level with the Neptune family.

　We made it back to the entrance of the dungeon.
　It was completely closed and just a wall.

'It's really gone, isn't it?'
'Emily, try tapping there,'
Yes, sir!

　At Celeste's urging, Emily rushed forward, twirling the hammer over her head and hitting the wall where the entrance had been, as hard as she could.

　The family's best power fighter. Emily's probably all-out blow, but the wall didn't budge.

'It was hopeless at first, just like this, then.
'Well, Celeste was watching from the inside when she was first locked in.
Yeah.
I see, this is what happened: ......
What do you want to do?
Let's get out of here.

　I fill the vanadium bullets with ironclad bullets and woof them into the wall to open the entrance.

　We make it big enough for people to get through, then the Neptune family, then our friends over here, and finally me, in that order.

　Once we all get out, the entrance returns to its original position, leaving behind an iron wall bullet.

'One thing is confirmed,'
'Yeah, the entrance goes back to normal when there are no more people inside.
So there must be some kind of proper requirement to close it, then?

　Neptune and I nod to each other.
　The rules of this world are pretty tight when 'Drop S' isn't involved.

'Thanks to you, I think I've pretty much figured out what it was that you did for those ten minutes.

　Neptune smiles at me.
　Whether it's because of me or not, I don't know.

　If that's the case, then let's do some more validation that narrows down the possibilities.