NOVEL NEXT Chapter 53
“…Yurasia Espirot?”
“Wait… Princess Silina…? Didn’t you go back to the Academy earlier?”
Having passed through several rooms, Yurasia entered the seventeenth room, where she unexpectedly encountered Silina and her followers who she believed had returned to the Academy.
“…I came back because I had something to do.”
Not being able to say that she urgently needed the bathroom, Silina vaguely offered an excuse while glancing at Yurasia’s sword, soaked in monster blood.
Then she looked up and met Yurasia’s sweaty nape and somewhat haggard face.
“Oh, um… I’m sorry to bring this up, but… uh…”
Yurasia fumbled for words, taking her time to choose what to say. Her eyes were round, her expression mild. There was no hostility in her gaze, and a light smile lingered at her lips that put others at ease.
As Silina observed Yurasia, she recalled the atmosphere that surrounded her the moment she walked into this room.
Her sharp, deliberate footsteps. The hauntingly alluring blue eyes. A cold expression devoid of emotion, radiating an aura so intense it sent chills down the spine.
And the sword that had swung like a machine upon seeing a living being, the blue sword energy that shone within it.
Even Silina, who had seen countless humans, felt a shiver at Yurasia’s presence.
But now, what did she see?
If she had ears and a tail, she would have looked adorably fidgety. With her sword, one might think she’d scream at the sight of a monster, carrying a pitifully innocent image.
Could she really be the same person? Was every knight in Eustetia like this?
Even the experienced knight of the Royal Knight Order standing next to her seemed insignificant in comparison to the pressure emanating from Yurasia.
Was all that cheerful smiling until now an act? She couldn’t tell, but one thing was clear: Yurasia bore no hostility towards her.
Having completed her thoughts, Silina let out a small sigh and spoke.
“It’s okay, feel free to talk.”
“Uh… um… it seems like the direction you came from is wrong…!”
“Was the room you were in blocked off?”
“…Yes. The room I was in only had a path leading this way.”
“Really…?”
Silina furrowed her brows slightly and checked the time on her pocket watch.
“How many have we passed so far?”
About 30 minutes had gone by. At this rate, it should have been around 5 rooms if they hadn’t gotten lost—
“So far, we’ve passed a total of 17 rooms.”
“…What?”
“Eek… 17… rooms, we passed…!”
A sigh of exasperation escaped from Silina’s lips. Even Untla, who had maintained a stoic expression beside her, couldn’t help but grumble.
“…We’ve only taken five. There were about five monsters per room.”
“Wait… the rooms I passed had… at least thirty monsters each.”
It was an unbelievable figure, as they had encountered very few monsters up to this point.
Yet, looking at the pieces of flesh on her sword and the blood still dripping, she couldn’t help but believe it.
“You… weren’t just strong, were you?”
“Ah, uh, hehehe… Thank you.”
Still, seeing Yurasia reach this point without a single injury genuinely amazed Silina.
Within a mere half hour, she had cleared 17 rooms while defeating a hundred or more monsters single-handedly.
Even Untla, her guard knight, wouldn’t have been able to move at that speed.
Could that strong knight be the reason Eliaernes had become so insufferably peculiar?
It was likely.
Having finished her thoughts, Silina nodded and said to Yurasia.
“Shall we take a short break?”
“I’m fine to set off right away.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Yurasia nodded, her gaze shifting towards the exhausted individuals standing behind Silina.
“…Alright. Then let’s go right away.”
“I’ll take the lead.”
Yurasia swung her sword to shake off the flesh and blood clinging to the blade and stepped in front of Silina.
A slender nape that was faintly visible beneath her tied-up hair. Her shoulders looked thin, and her frame was petite.
However, facing such a back, Silina felt an inexplicable sigh of relief wash over her.
*
A silencing magic called Silence.
A concealing magic known as Oculus.
But Stella’s circle was at the 3rd circle.
Those of higher rank could easily break such spells. Thus, Stella pulled her hood snugly over her head and stepped outside the Academy.
And she had firmly instructed that she would absolutely bring Yurasia back, so under no circumstances was she to come out.
But it wasn’t just words.
Just in case she dared to sneak out, she tied her hands and feet with Mana-Blocking ropes and tossed her onto the bed.
Of course, Pina was tied up alongside her.
Given the current chaos, snakes might take the chance to target Stella, so it would be safer for her to stay within the Academy.
[An incident occurred while the Headmaster and Vice Headmaster were absent.]
A painfully obvious comment.
It meant there was an insider.
“Have you pinpointed the insider yet?”
[…You’re quick to judge for a student. We still haven’t found the insider yet.]
Useless.
Clicking my tongue, I urged my steps to quicken.
[28 minutes and 32 seconds have passed since the labyrinth appeared. The number of civilians is undetermined, but there are five Academy students. Among them are Lady Yurasia and Princess Silina.]
The situation wasn’t good.
Despite the special class, judging by the amount of magic present in the air…
If average humans remained trapped in the labyrinth for over two hours, they would succumb to magic poisoning and lose their lives.
For someone like Yurasia, it would be around four hours.
Silina would probably manage three hours at best.
It would take about 30 more minutes to reach the location where the labyrinth appeared.
If that were the case, roughly 60 minutes would be available to me.
In that time, I had to enter the labyrinth and find its end.
Still, one fortunate point was that since it was hastily constructed, there wouldn’t be as many monsters inside the labyrinth.
And there would likely be gaps from the outside to break into the depths.
Hastily built labyrinths often have many openings leading from the outside in.
It was possible to enter.
But I couldn’t guarantee the safety of the civilians.
No, it should be fine.
Inside, the one I trusted the most, Yurasia, would be there. So it should be fine.
“Has the Imperial Knight Order been deployed?”
[Royal Guard, five. Imperial Knight Order, twenty. The rest are assigned to First Princess Fabiana and Second Prince Ferrando for their protection, and the guards of the Imperial Palace.]
Royal Guard.
If there’s Muyeong in Eustetia, there’s Royal Guard in the Imperial Palace.
Of course, they aren’t on the same level.
They’re considerably below Muyeong.
The captain of the Royal Guard was a 7th Rank, so comparing them is almost an insult.
And that captain would be within the Imperial Palace.
At best, only 5th or 6th Rank Royal Guards would have been deployed.
It wouldn’t be excessive for protecting civilians while breaking through the labyrinth. Rather, it would be just right.
Unusually, it was extremely adequate.
Even though the deployment was made without knowing the labyrinth’s level, it still felt appropriate.
As if they had known ahead of time.
Was the current goal really the death of Silina?
The puppeteer wasn’t just confined to the Academy.
The country was going crazy.
[Could you please give me a moment?]
Narrowing my eyes, I glared at the crow.
[I’ll share my vision with you.]
“Out of the blue?”
[I’m planning to sneak in.]
“How did you know?”
[You wouldn’t have missed that there’s an insider in the Imperial Palace after hearing my answer.]
“…Are you not going to stop a student from going in alone and instead encouraging them, oh esteemed professor?”
[At this time, the only reliable person to me is Eliaernes.]
The fact that the dark mage trusts me made me feel very uneasy.
Still, I brushed my hair back and let my shoulder out. Right now, the priority was saving Yurasia over my feelings.
[Thank you.]
Then, a vision flowed into my mind from the crow sitting on my shoulder.
The scene of the terrain observed from above.
At its center was the Arant Museum.
A black half-moon surrounded the Arant Museum, with the royal knight order in golden armor and the royal guard in platinum suits surrounding it.
From there, I searched for a way to sneak in.
My steps never faltered. In fact, they quickened compared to before.
[And this time, I’ll show you the shape inside the labyrinth. Uh… normally this is prohibited for minors, but given the circumstances, I’ll have to show you anyway.]
As soon as Adelia finished speaking, a corpse split in half and its entrails spilled out was depicted.
Skinless limbs twisted grotesquely, and the torso twisted into a circle.
The insides of that circle were spiral-shaped, with the core where it should have been completely empty.
[The paths aren’t twisted. There is a total of 12 rooms surrounding a wide chamber in a spiral shape. The core, which is the heart of the labyrinth, is empty, but even so, the core should be at the center.]
As Adelia mentioned, unlike a typical labyrinth tangled in knots, there was only one direct path ahead.
An experienced and powerful human might laugh in joy at being trapped in such a place, but not for anyone else.
Having only one path was, in fact, dangerous.
You’d have to face everything in your way without the option to turn back or evade.
There were even ordinary residents of the territory inside.
Protecting them while breaking through the labyrinth would undoubtedly be a bothersome task for me as well.
When weighing all of this, it was clear that the preferences of the Labyrinth were entirely absent.
Thinking about it again, it was strange.
The Labyrinth regarded the maze as a work of art.
Even if we hadn’t been there, that crazy woman would have done her utmost to keep ordinary humans confined.
No way could she allow a labyrinth in such disarray to be left unattended.
Using powers inherited by either a demon or dark mage would surely reveal this.
Especially now, with the seal of the demon king having created an armistice.
Yet, she was just watching this situation unfold?
Has real dementia set in over the span of 400 years?
Or perhaps she wishes to break the truce?
Well, thinking hard about it won’t yield any answers. I’d have to go inside, meet the one who created the labyrinth, and find out something.
I halted my steps and took a deep breath.
[Now, let’s discuss how to enter the labyrinth—]
Just then, I clutched the crow perched on my shoulder with both hands.
[…Huh? Lady Eliaernes?]
“Make sure to find the insider.”
[Oh my…]
Crack-crack-crack-
I crushed it with all my strength.
There was no need to show what I was about to do.
Shaking off the remnants of dark magic on my hands, I pulled my hood firmly down.
Simultaneously.
Flash.
A flare shot up into the sky.
And then.
“Eliaernes.”
A booming voice rang out.
“Hmm…”
A deep sigh escaped my lips as I turned around.
Long platinum hair cascading in graceful waves, fierce platinum eyes glinting brightly.
“…What brings you, Princess Fabiana, to this dangerous place?”
Fabiana de Herman stood there.