Chapter: 312
“What the hell are we supposed to do?”
Arthur groaned, burying his face in his hands as he stood at the seemingly endless corridor.
“Aren’t there supposed to be clues or hints? Lucy Alrn.”
It had been half a day since they tackled the fourth room in the Dungeon Studies exam, and Arthur’s party was still scratching their heads on how to move forward.
Realizing there might be a connection between the initial corridor and the fourth room was a good start. They thought that by testing different approaches related to the differences in the two corridors, they would eventually find the thread to escape the maze and reach the next room.
But the thread that twinkled before their eyes only seemed to run further away the more time passed—never allowing them to grasp it.
Having entered this room half a day ago, they had exhausted all possible ideas.
They poked around at various furniture and decorations in the initial corridor, hoping to find something.
They wandered about, trying to use Dispel and Purification, wondering if something was hidden.
They even attacked the walls and lights in a fit of frustration, questioning if destroying things might unveil their path.
They tried to take paintings and decorations from the first room.
They even ran blindly, hoping for an end to this ordeal.
They re-examined the three rooms they had passed before, wondering if they had missed something crucial.
They even recited Lucy Alrn’s taunt written on the back of a note.
But all those desperate attempts had only fueled their annoyance towards Lucy, not helping them one bit in conquering the dungeon.
In short, Arthur and his party had wasted half a day without making any progress.
“Damn it. What in the world are we missing?”
As Arthur ranted, his temper flaring, Frey was mindlessly hacking at the wall with his sword, as if expecting it to crumble one day.
Paybi approached the fuming Arthur, trying to calm him down since losing his cool would only bury them deeper into despair.
And then there was Joy.
She stood in the middle of the corridor, staring blankly into the darkness that seemed endless.
It felt hopeless.
Wasn’t it puzzling that after exhausting all the ideas they could think of, they still couldn’t find even a faint hint?
In her rising frustration, Joy stepped forward without much thought.
“Huh?!”
Then she tripped over her own feet and came crashing down.
With a thud, Joy fell forward, prompting a heavy sigh from Arthur.
“Really? Is this how you’re planning to lighten the mood? What a tragic sacrifice.”
“…But I just fell. Is it too much to ask for a little concern?”
“What’s there to worry about? You’re strong enough that you won’t get hurt falling like that. Oh! I guess my concern is whether you might get kicked out for tripping. That would be a bit of a problem.”
“Prince, taking your anger out on me isn’t really…”
Tension.
What could be considered a trivial and minor tension.
Yet in dire circumstances where even the smallest hints were deeply yearned for, it couldn’t be overlooked.
Joy stopped talking mid-sentence as Arthur, who had been mockingly teasing her earlier, suddenly showed concern.
“…Uh, Joy. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…”
“Your Highness.”
“Uh. Yeah?”
“About when we retackled the third room. You mentioned how similar the first and third rooms were.”
“Right. Because finding what to attack and what to destroy is similar. They both require observation, wouldn’t you say?”
“And then you speculated about possible overlaps between the second and fourth rooms.”
“That’s true, but… you know, that speculation didn’t amount to anything either.”
Arthur’s speculation had popped up just a few hours ago.
Since then, he had been focused on trying to find commonalities between the second and fourth rooms, but ultimately his theories led to nothing.
“No, maybe that’s not true. It might actually be correct.”
“Really?”
“Yes! Absolutely! If we think about it that way, everything we found strange so far aligns perfectly.”
Lost in her own thoughts, Joy spoke freely, ignoring the stares and voices around her.
With how she usually strives for perfection as a noble young lady, her quirky naturality that came out as a mage was not something you see every day.
“If this whole room is an illusion, it can explain everything!”
Arthur, who knew her well enough to remember when she was stumbling, focused on her voice instead.
“The reason this room is suspiciously larger than the others? Simple! This place we’re looking at—it’s fake!”
“And the fact that the walls and decorations aren’t damaged? It’s like saying we can’t defeat the wolves!”
“The reason Lady Alrn didn’t leave any clues? That in itself is a clue! The idea that there are no clues in the other places is what makes it odd!”
Excitedly explaining her theory, Joy then realized that everyone’s eyes were on her, and hurriedly fanned her face, which had turned slightly pink.
“Keep talking. It’s a command from the Third Prince.”
“Uh, do you remember what was at the end of the first corridor?”
“Yeah, there was a cradle. And a ridiculous note saying to find the exit to escape the maze.”
“A cradle is where a baby sleeps, right? So, if the corridor ended at that cradle, it must connect back!”
“…A dream! Does that mean the corridor is a dream right now?”
“Exactly! We are trapped in a dream!”
“If this is a dream, then the meaning behind that note becomes clear! To escape the maze, we must find the exit! So how do we wake from this dream?!”
A massive shock. So jolting that one would jump up upon awakening.
“Could it be that Lucy Alrn intentionally gave hints on how to escape the dungeon?”
“She must’ve meant to prevent us from harming ourselves to get through this room. She’s both obstructing our progress and providing hints!”
“The taunts she left behind might have been to distract us from realizing she was the one who gave us the note! Hah! I thought she was just toying with us, but there was a reason! Whatever it is, it doesn’t matter! What’s important is that we now know what we need to do!”
Having reached the answer to this room, Arthur suddenly recognized one thing and turned his gaze to Joy.
There she was, grinning mischievously behind her fan.
“Alright. Time to wake up.”
“Hold on, Joy. I apologize again. I’m really sorry for getting angry just now.”
“Yeah. I’m sorry too for nagging you earlier. I meant it out of concern for you, you know?”
“I don’t fully understand, but I’m really sorry.”
“Heh. You all. Prince, do I look like someone who would get emotionally involved in a situation like this?”
“Isn’t your glare full of personal emotions right now?! Sleep! Stop it! Yes! I will wake up myself! So!”
“Saintess. If something goes wrong, please save me.”
“Hmm. I’ll do my best if I’m okay then.”
“Let’s start!”
“Didn’t I tell you to stop?!”
*
Even though Adrien warned me to be careful, that didn’t mean there was anything I could do.
I’m keeping an eye on my surroundings too!
I’m sweating bullets under those biting gazes!
But what can I do!
That damn Mesugaki skill has it out for me!
All I can do now is hope those who saw the first hint don’t see the second one!
Frustrated, I returned to the Academy but turned towards where the Dungeon Studies exam was taking place instead.
[If it’s a time bomb that could blow up at any moment, you’re thinking of just detonating it early, huh? ]
‘…Please don’t reduce me to that trash.’
If this were a bomb that would explode once and be done with, I could’ve comfortably blown it up and dealt with the aftermath. But that’s not it!
This is an earthquake! It keeps rumbling after one big bang!
[Are you feeling tired? Your language skills seem to be degrading.]
‘Regardless! We’re not heading there to cause mischief!’
[Then why are you going there? You’re not going to see anything good there!]
‘…I’m curious. I want to see how far they’ve progressed.’
The last time I checked was right before entering the first exam.
At that point, the fourth room had already been conquered.
Seeing Arthur’s party’s name at the top of the leaderboard, overtaking Kurten and Cecil, felt pretty satisfying.
I’d want to brag, “These are my kids!” if only I had someone to show off to.
Though I had to bury my joy deep in my heart since I had no one to share it with.
Anyway, it was Arthur’s party that had reached the fourth room this morning, so by now, they should be at the fifth room.
[You’re not really worried about their progress, but rather about what they think when they get past the fourth room, right?]
‘…You know me too well, Grandpa.’
He was right.
I simply wanted to know what they felt when they passed the fourth room. I put a lot of thought into that part.
Gosh, even if it’s on my knees, I want to hear them praise me!
I want recognition that I did well!
[While I understand your feelings, do you think they’ve really surpassed the fourth room?]
‘Isn’t that a given?’
The gimmick of the fourth room seems pretty daunting, but once you figure it out, it’s annoyingly easy.
I don’t believe the place is difficult enough to hold them back for this long.
[Well, I don’t know.]
‘You have a habit of underestimating others.’
I may be the scum of Soul Academy, but the talents surrounding me are not trivial at all.
Look how they grew rapidly once the training methods were changed!
Joy became capable of combining spells that are only meant for mid-second-year students midway through her second year.
Frey was able to manipulate his aura freely.
And Paybi has been growing tremendously under Bishop Johan’s tutelage.
Even Arthur, who has been a bit slower to grow, is still training in both sword and magic, showing progress.
With both showing achievements that easily surpass first-year standards at the Academy.
I can vouch for them, as someone who had been watching desperately beside them.
They’re geniuses, shining with their own talents.
Could these individuals really still be stuck at the fourth room?
[Do you think you might be overestimating those around you?]
‘Not at all.’
I shook my head without hesitation, and Grandpa smiled softly.
[You truly are a shining star.]
‘…What’s that supposed to mean?’
[It’s just something.]
Hey, don’t treat me like a child!
That attitude saying you don’t need to hear that is really frustrating, you know?
I wanted to get a proper explanation from Grandpa, but sadly, that desire faded without leaving a trace.
[Oh. Looks like they haven’t betrayed your expectations.]
‘…True enough.’
On the leaderboard for the Soul Academy Dungeon Studies Exam— a panel filled with names meant to fuel competitive spirit towards the first conquest.
At the very top? A name that belonged to none other than…
[Arthur’s Party: Currently clearing the 5th Floor]
It was my friend’s name.
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