Chapter: 312
“I have no idea what the hell I’m supposed to do.”
Grumble!
Arthur stood in the never-ending corridor, his hands clutching his face in frustration.
“There should be some sort of clue or hint. Lucy Allen.”
Groan!
It had been half a day since they tackled the fourth room of the Dungeon Studies Exam.
Arthur and his party were still stuck without a way forward.
Sure, realizing that the initial corridor and the fourth room were linked was a good start.
If they focused on the differences between these two corridors and tried various things, they believed they could eventually find a thread to escape the maze, leading them to the next room.
But…
That thread they thought flickered before their eyes kept running away like a kid playing tag, never allowing itself to be caught.
Over the past half-day since entering this room, Arthur and his crew had tried every possible idea.
They poked around the various furniture and decorations in the first corridor, thinking something might be hidden there.
They strolled through the corridor, attempting Dispel and Purification, wondering if something was concealed.
They tried attacking the structures in the corridor and the lights, thinking maybe they needed to break something.
They tried to take frames and decorations from the first room.
They ran without any plan, desperately hoping that the end was out there somewhere.
They revisited the three rooms they’d previously missed during their dungeon strategy.
They even recited Lucy Allen’s provocation, scribbled on the back of a note, hoping to see some effect.
But all those attempts only made them more annoyed with Lucy, contributing nothing to their dungeon exploration!
Thud!
In the end, Arthur and his party wasted an entire half-day with no results.
“Damn it. What are we missing?!”
As Arthur pulled at his hair, frustrated, Frey was stabbing her sword into the wall, thinking it might break eventually.
Phoebe approached the explosive Arthur, trying to calm him down, saying that losing his cool would only lead them deeper into this mess.
And then Joy…
Stare!
She stood in the middle of the corridor, blankly gazing into the darkness that seemed endless.
What a hopeless situation.
It felt like they had tried everything they could think of, yet why could they not find even a faint clue?
Frustration bubbled up within her, and without thinking, she stepped forward.
“Uh?!”
She tripped over her own feet and fell face-first.
Thud!
Arthur sighed at Joy, who had collapsed with a thud.
“Is that how you plan to lighten the mood? Such a tearful sacrifice.”
“…Could you at least show a little concern since I fell?”
“What’s there to worry about? You’re tough enough that a little fall won’t hurt you. Ah, but I guess I should worry you might get kicked out due to the fall. That would be troublesome.”
“Prince, please don’t take it out on me…”
A strange tension hung in the air.
It was the kind of tension that seemed trivial but was too significant to ignore in desperate times.
As Joy hesitated, Arthur, who had just been teasing her, suddenly noticed her discomfort.
“Uh… Joy. I’m sorry if I said…”
“Prince.”
“Uh, yeah?”
“When we strategize the third room again, you mentioned that the first and third rooms are similar, right?”
“Uh-huh. Finding where to attack and identifying what needs to be defeated are similar—both require keen observation.”
“And you speculated that the second room might have something in common with the fourth.”
“Yeah, but you know that speculation yielded no results.”
That was a few hours ago.
Arthur had been trying to find a commonality between the second room and the fourth room, but his speculations led nowhere.
“No, maybe that’s exactly right!”
Bam!
Joy exclaimed, realizing.
“Eh?”
“Yes! It fits perfectly with the odd sensations we felt until now!”
She let her thoughts spill out without worrying about the gazes or voices around her, lost in her own reasoning.
Joy, who usually strived for perfection as a noble young lady, was showing the quirky demeanor often seen in wizards.
“If this entire room is an illusion, then it explains everything!”
“Why this room is unnaturally wide compared to the other three? Easy! It’s fake!”
“And if the walls and decorations here remain untouched, we couldn’t defeat the wolves either!”
“Lady Allen didn’t leave behind any clues? That alone is the clue! The very fact that there are no other clues makes it strange!”
Joy, enthusiastic and raising her voice, suddenly noticed everyone’s stares and hurriedly concealed her reddened face with a fan.
“Keep talking. It’s the command of the Third Prince.”
“Do you remember what was at the end of the initial corridor?”
“Yeah, there was a cradle, right? Along with that ridiculous note saying we need to find the exit to escape the maze.”
“A cradle is a place for a baby to sleep, right? So for the corridor that ended there to connect again…”
“…A dream! This corridor is a dream!”
“Exactly! We are trapped in a dream!”
“If this place is a dream, then the meaning of that note becomes clear! To escape the maze, we need to find the exit! So, how do we escape from a dream?!”
A shock!
A massive shock, as if a lightbulb had gone off in their heads!
“Wait, does that mean Lucy Allen intentionally gave hints on how to escape the dungeon?”
“She likely prevented us from passing this room through self-harm. It both hindered our strategy and provided a clue.”
“Leaving behind a provocation behind was to avoid raising suspicion about that note! Haha! I thought she was simply messing with us, but there was a reason! Whatever the reason doesn’t matter! The important thing is that it’s clear what we need to do!…”
Having reached the answer to the room, Arthur suddenly turned to Joy.
There she was, smirking mischievously from behind her fan.
“Now, it’s time to wake up.”
“Wait! Joy, I apologize again. I feel really bad for getting mad at you earlier.”
“I… Joy. I’m sorry for nagging earlier. You know it was out of concern for you?”
“Well, I’m not sure, but I’m really sorry too.”
Chuckle!
“Everyone, Prince! Do I look like someone who would put private feelings into this?”
“Right now, your eyes are brimming with private feelings! Sleep! Halt! Yes! I’ll wake up myself! So!”
“Saintess, if anything goes wrong, please save me.”
“Um… If I’m okay then, I’ll try.”
“Here we go.”
“Didn’t I say to stop?!”
Waaaaah!
*
I was warned by Adri to be careful, but that didn’t mean there was anything I could do.
I was also watching the others, you know!
I was sweating bullets under the scrutinizing stares of others!
But what does that matter!
The Mesugaki Skill is aiming for me!
Right now, all I can do is pray those who see the first hint don’t see the second!
As frustration brewed, I turned from my original path towards the place where the Dungeon Studies Exam was being held.
[Are you planning to just blow up a bomb that’s about to explode someday?!]
‘…Could you not reduce me to such trash?’
If it were a bomb that would just explode once, I would have easily set it off and dealt with the consequences, but that’s not it!
This is like an earthquake! After one chaotic shake, it continues to rumble on!
[Are you really tired? Your language skills seem to have deteriorated.]
‘Anyway! I’m not going there to throw a tantrum!’
[Then why are you going there? It’s unlikely you’ll see anything good.]
‘…I’m curious about how far they’ve progressed.’
The last time I checked was right before entering for the first exam.
At that point, the fourth room had already been tackled.
Seeing Arthur’s party’s name at the top of the leaderboard, surpassing Kurten and Cecil, gave me a sense of pride.
I wanted to brag to someone saying, “These are the kids I raised!”
Of course, I had to keep my joy to myself since there was no one to brag to.
But whatever happens, Arthur’s party reached the fourth room in the morning. By now, they should have reached the fifth.
[I’m not curious about whether they’ve progressed, but just what they felt when they surpassed the fourth room.]
‘…Grandpa knows me too well.’
Grandpa was right.
I am only curious about what feelings they might share when they passed the fourth room. I paid a lot of attention to that part.
I want praise even if I have to bow down!
I want to be recognized for my efforts!
[Well, I understand your feelings, but do you think those guys have surpassed the fourth room?]
‘Isn’t that unlikely?’
It’s true that the gimmick of the fourth room is rather daunting, but once you figure it out, it’s annoyingly simple!
I don’t think it’s a place that can keep them stuck for this long.
[We’ll see.]
‘You always underestimate others too much.’
I’m the one who stood out in this disgusting school, but the talents around me are by no means lacking.
Just look at them, growing rapidly the moment they changed their training approach.
Joy was already able to mix magic circles that should normally be used in the second year of schooling.
Frey had begun to manipulate aura freely.
Phoebe was also rapidly developing under Bishop Johan’s mentorship.
Even Arthur, who was growing a bit slower, seemed to be progressing well in both swordsmanship and magic.
The performance of my friends was enough to easily surpass the first-year level at the academy.
I could vouch for them as the rotten past version of me who observed their desperate efforts closely.
They are geniuses. They shine with their talents.
Surely, those geniuses couldn’t still be stuck in the fourth room.
[Do you really think you’re not overestimating them?]
‘Not at all.’
I shook my head without hesitation, and Grandpa smiled softly.
[Ah, you truly are a sparkling child.]
‘…What do you mean by that?’
[There are things you do not need to know.]
No, excuse me, Grandpa. Could you stop treating me like a child?
That tone is really annoying, you know?
I was fired up to get a proper explanation out of him, but sadly that resolve dissipated without leaving a trace.
[Wow, looks like they haven’t betrayed your expectations.]
‘…I see.’
The leaderboard at the Soul Academy’s Dungeon Studies Exam. A board filled with countless names installed to spur competitive spirits toward the first conquest.
At the very top, written in bold letters, was not anyone else’s name but…
[Arthur Party: Currently tackling the 5th Floor]
It was the name of my friend.
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