NOVEL NEXT Chapter 35
“Any man who treats a lady poorly will live alone for the rest of his life!”
“Tsk.”
I found a spot to put something in, so I tried to stick Millia’s head in it, but her head is smaller than I thought. I thought I could snag at least one meal out of it.
Well, in this shit of a world, there’s no way I’d get a lucky chance like that. If I was fed shit, at least I wouldn’t get a dungeon for free. After dealing with this for ten years, now I’m harboring useless hope. I guess I’ve become quite lax.
With a sigh, I pulled Millia’s head out of the coffin.
“I am not a key!”
“Oh, this isn’t being censored!”
“Do I look like just a key?! I am! ()@&(!$#&!”
“Shut up.”
I stuffed beef jerky into Millia’s mouth and hung it from my waist. Seeing her weeping and gnawing on the jerky with a goofy expression wasn’t just bizarre, it was downright weird. What on earth made Millia like this? Shifting my gaze away from Millia, I looked at the coffin again. It had slots for the head and limbs, but no torso.
Upon closer inspection, the size and length of the limbs are subtly different.
Am I supposed to collect parts from several corpses, rather than just one? A gloomy place with a gloomy puzzle. I don’t know who built this dungeon, but I can tell they have a nasty hobby. Judging by the state of things, it’s likely a necromancer or a lich.
Those two are practically synonyms when it comes to undead. Among those, it looks like the likelihood of it being a lich is even higher.
Or maybe it could be something unexpected, like a death knight or something similar.
…I just hope it’s not a dragon.
“Johann, look! I found something!”
At Renny’s words, I immediately walked over to where she was and received the old, fragile paper she was holding. It looked like it would crumble if I applied even a little force. Five lines of text were written on the paper.
[Shameful Head.
Mother’s Left Arm.
Son’s Right Arm.
Daughter’s Left Leg.
Father’s Right Leg.]
“Now that’s a straightforward hint.”
“What does this mean? I don’t get it at all…”
Renny looked at me with a confused expression, as if she were trying to decipher it. I took a moment to gather my thoughts.
On the surface, it seemed nonsensical, but thinking it through made it a rather simple puzzle.
Family.
Family means sharing the same surname.
So it means to collect the bones of people who share the same surname by looking at the names on the gravestones and putting them in the coffin… that must be the meaning.
The problem is there are no other clues, so we have to guess familial relationships just from names. No way they’d list “Elizaveta” and then have a guy, or write “William” and say it’s a daughter, right?
Or perhaps there are multiple people who share the same surname.
“So what does it mean? Can you explain?”
“What’s the common point in a family?”
“Uh… they share blood?”
“I got it! They share the surname!”
Wait, aren’t you from here? Why are you acting like you just realized this? I briefly shot a glance at Millia, who didn’t understand anything, and continued.
“Right. As Millia said, if it’s family, they’d have the same surname.”
I pointed to the gravestone that was along the path I had created.
Henry Sigmund.
“…Ah!”
“We just need to look for people with the same surname on the gravestone. We can probably just take one part from the corpse beneath that gravestone… or maybe there’s another possibility.”
I frowned at the possibility that arose as I spoke. The difficulty level had jumped up significantly. Specifically, the hassle level. Why is the second floor a graveyard? And why are zombies constantly popping out?
Connecting everything leads to one conclusion.
“There might be family members written on this paper among the zombies that come out.”
“Then are we going to have to check each zombie one by one?”
Don’t make that disgusted face. We might have to do that from now on. I scratched my chin and stared at the gravestones in the distance.
We need to collect five parts.
A puzzle where we have to roam the graveyard encircling the hill with the entrance, collecting parts. It felt like a puzzle from an old 2D horror game that broadcasters used to play a long time ago. Given that this world felt like a game, it wasn’t that strange.
“Ugh… my head hurts. So we have to go around the graveyard and cut off limbs and heads to put in? But what’s a shameful head?”
“…I don’t know. There might be other hints on the gravestones.”
For now, we should check all the gravestones. This feels nostalgic—just like old games. In this day and age, having this kind of grindy puzzle is ridiculous. No wonder it’s called a bad game. Not like I can talk since I’ve played that bad game for over a thousand hours.
“So what’s the next plan? Are we going to roam the graveyard right away? Or should we return first?”
“Let’s return. We need to inform Karina.”
Nodding at my words, Renny turned her body. We returned to the shelter, walking leisurely, accompanied by the sound of knocking on the walls. Upon opening the door to the shelter, Karina was in the middle of a prayer, her hands neatly clasped together. When she saw us enter, she smiled widely and spoke.
“Welcome back! Did you find anything?”
“I think I found the door leading to the 3rd floor.”
“That’s great news! Does that mean we can open the door right away?”
“No, we have to solve a puzzle first.”
I showed Karina the paper. After reading what was written, Karina clapped her hands, her eyes sparkling.
“So we need to find the gravestones with the same surname?”
“Probably.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
I wondered if there would be anything she could actually do. I glanced at Karina and then shifted my gaze to Millia. Millia, who had been rolling around on the table, seemed to still be sulking.
“How could they treat a lady like this…”
“Ah, right… Lady Millia. You’re smart, so you might know something, right?”
I showed Millia the contents of the paper. Thanks to my compliment, Millia looked a little brighter, and her lips twitched.
“Shameful head? It means the head of a bastard! Or it might mean capturing a redhead as a sacrifice!”
Strangely, Millia’s clean and clear voice flowed without even a hint of censorship. Is this not being censored? Maybe it’s not considered vital information. Or perhaps they didn’t censor minimal hints needed for clearing the game. In any case, it seems like this time it really helped.
“A bastard… and a redhead. What does that mean?”
At my question, Millia continued her explanation with a confident expression.
“When I was a renowned beauty, red hair symbolized misfortune! So if a redhead was born, we’d kill them on the spot! Although sometimes some of them survived…”
Millia trailed off, her expression growing somber. We couldn’t help but glance at her.
And no wonder.
Because in front of us, Millia, who only had her head left, was a redhead.
“…Anyway, that’s what ‘shameful head’ means!”
“Got it.”
I felt a bit guilty towards Millia. I stuffed more jerky into her mouth and looked back and forth at Karina and Renny. Their faces were slightly dimmed by the somber story. To lighten the mood, I clapped my hands and spoke.
“Then let’s take a short break and then go around the graveyard to collect bones.”
Everyone quietly nodded in agreement.
—————————
“…Aren’t you going to sleep?”
“I just woke up.”
A pink-haired saint sat next to me, gazing down at the graveyard from the shelter. The fragrant smell wafting from her made me turn my head to look at her. She was sitting so close that I could almost reach out and touch her. With that subtle distance between us, Karina asked while staring intently at the graveyard.
“Johann, where will you go after you escape this island?”
“Well…”
To be honest, I have no idea whether I’d be able to escape from this deserted island, even if I succeed in clearing this dungeon. But if I really do manage to escape…
Then…
What should I do?
I mean, I can’t go to the academy. I’d be sitting near 30 by now, and wearing a student uniform would be a crime.
Even if I Entered the academy through other means, I wouldn’t want to jump into the storyline of the game. The story of the Survival Academy… was not a bright one, just recalling what I roughly remember. I don’t want to get involved and end up bleeding for no reason; by the time the ending rolls around, a third of the students are sure to get slaughtered.
Moreover, that’s only for the good ending; the bad ending… is something I don’t even want to think about.
I have no idea what the newly added true ending would be like.
In reality, I wouldn’t want to roll around to see the true ending.
The conditions are unknown, so even if I want to, I can’t.
“If, um, if you have nowhere to go, I can help.”
What does she mean by that? I met Karina’s gaze. Her eyes were clear and full of purity. At least, it didn’t seem like a deceptive remark; she doesn’t have the personality for that. I glanced at her fidgeting little hands and then shifted my gaze back to the graveyard.
“Thank you.”
With my short expression of gratitude, we silently gazed at the graveyard.
Until everyone wakes up.