But in the end, Miss Novare and the others did not investigate too deeply why Shade trusted this nonhuman girl. They discovered that, despite her extraordinary origins, she was not very powerful. By rank conversion, she could be considered a high-ranking witch, but she was clearly far weaker than they had imagined.
To reach the 50th Floor, they would definitely have to pass through the 40th Floor. Faced with the unknown adventure waiting there, this girl whom Shade had just awakened—someone with some power but not enough to be too strong—could clearly serve as additional combat strength.
At a time like this, having one more person to help was a good thing.
"By the way, what is your name? What should we call you from now on?"
Lady Gerd suddenly asked again. The girl, who had been staring at Shade, looked at her and then shook her head.
"I do not remember my name. Give me one if you like."
Lady Gerd looked at Shade, signaling for him to choose. Shade actually wanted to see what consequences a suggestion like, "Why not call yourself Claire?" might bring about, but fortunately, he was not someone with an especially strong curiosity.
"For now, let's call you Winnie."
It was an utterly ordinary name, as ordinary as "Mia," who was currently eating cat food from Shade's palm. Winnie nodded lightly.
"What do we need to do next?"
Shade finally took out the hard-won Snake Fang and explained its purpose and his plan.
"Since I was able to bring it here, it will most likely be able to break the Rune Lock at the entrance to the 40th Floor. But the entire 40th Floor is unknown territory. We may not be able to find any resting area up there at all, so before setting