Serena and the Mysterious Labyrinth - Chapter 112

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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112. Maintenance (3)

“Purification magic is a 2nd-tier spell, but it’s an interesting magic that requires upper-tier level mana utilization and understanding depending on the target to be purified-.”

Using Grey’s theory lesson as background music, Serena contacted the God of Magic.

As always, learning magic was quickly finished.

The Princess blinked her single eye while reviewing the structure of the newly learned magic, then cast it.

The traces left by the assault team who had dipped their feet in sewage and dragged out the Labyrinth Alligator that lived there.

The lobby had been cleaned by Lavenda and Prince Willow, but outside the lobby was still dirty.

She had deliberately left the area outside the lobby, which Lavenda was going to clean while enduring the stench.

“What I desire is a clean floor without any smell.”

This was for Serena’s magic practice.

When Serena cast purification magic on the dirty corridor floor, more mana than expected drained out.

It was a 2nd-tier spell, but strangely she felt as tired as when using 4th-tier magic. Her head getting complicated was a bonus.

‘They said the difficulty becomes similar to higher magic depending on the purification target. So this is what they meant.’

Doing practical training right after the theory lesson, she felt like the theory was being absorbed immediately.

“Exactly that! The contamination was so severe I thought you’d fail at first, but you did well!”

“Grey giving praise?”

Prince Willow’s shocked voice could be heard.

He must have been quite stingy with compliments.

Honestly, Serena hadn’t expected to receive praise right away either, so she was puzzled, but the reason was soon revealed.

“To imbue magic, you need to master the corresponding magic perfectly. Quickly purify the remaining floor too. If you finish purification before your mana runs out, we can go to the 6th Floor again, cast only purification magic, and return.”

The praise was groundwork for the Princess exploitation that would follow.

“Don’t worry, Your Highness. If mana backlash comes, I’ll control it for you.”

“How very thoughtful of you. Most commendable indeed.”

Serena took revenge by pinching Grey’s cheek instead.

Seeing the child’s face forcing a smile while suppressing anger was quite satisfying.

***

The Princess had left the lobby to use purification magic, and Grey followed the Princess for surveillance and supervision.

Count Randy was researching in the Alchemist Workshop to analyze the sewage components, and the Countess was assisting her husband as his aide.

Prince Willow, who couldn’t leave the lobby, sat by the campfire absorbed in carving. Lavenda moved busily to prepare lunch.

Ralph and Ying tied ropes to the alligator again and dragged it out of the hot spring to skin it.

Olive also joined in here.

“If we skin it here, the Countess will faint, so it’d be better to take it to the herb garden, right?”

“That seems good.”

“I’ve never skinned an alligator before~ Zero, have you?”

“I’ve skinned dragon hide before.”

“A dragon? Kyahaha! As expected, lies are more fun when you tell big ones.”

Olive was laughing cheerfully when Ying suddenly gestured for her to come closer.

“Why?”

The archer silently pointed to her forehead.

Olive still had 9 flicks remaining.

The guide presented her forehead with a sad expression.

Closing her eyes and bracing for the coming impact, bone-splitting pain arrived.

“Ow~ I’m dying.”

The flick was so painful that tears welled up in Olive’s round eyes.

The empathetic knight shrank his shoulders and trembled even though he wasn’t the one who got hit.

Since Olive was rubbing her forehead and couldn’t exert strength, Ralph and Ying transported the alligator by themselves.

Though it weighed several hundred kilograms, the two of them were sufficient.

The three passed by the Princess who was sweating coldly while purifying the floor, and Grey who was supervising the Princess like a slave overseer, and moved to the herb garden.

The herb garden that the Labyrinth God had upgraded was larger than before, with various herbs and vegetables growing.

The three placed the alligator by the spring and skinned it.

“The teeth are useful so let’s extract the ones in good condition, and should we save some bones too? What about the meat? Do we eat it?”

At Olive’s words, Ralph and Ying simultaneously shook their heads.

“The meat probably has poison in it.”

“Right. That sewage, no wait. That wasn’t sewage but rotted sewage water. Since it lived in that rotten water, eating it would make us cough up blood and die.”

Thus the alligator meat was classified as garbage.

Skinning the alligator finished faster than expected.

They would hand the raw hide to the alchemist to turn it into tanned leather, then trade that again for leather armor and shoes, and it would be done.

“The rest is work for the Princess and Count, right? I need to lie down and rest~”

But shocking news fell upon the guide who was about to take a break.

“We’ll need to catch one more.”

The alligator raw hide that went on the golden scale was reduced to one-fourth its amount after the trade was completed.

Shoes for the entire assault team? It was a questionable amount whether they could even make one set of leather armor for Ralph.

“Eh? Only this much? Count, didn’t you get scammed? Huh?”

“That’s not the case. This is the maximum amount I could preserve.”

Originally, leather doesn’t mean you can use all of it just because you skin it whole, as there are designated usable parts.

On top of that, the amount decreases significantly during tanning.

Count Randy had tried to preserve as much leather as possible by increasing the ratio of magic stones and gold coins, but one-fourth was the limit.

“We have to go into that rotten water again? Olive doesn’t want to~ Clean things are good~ Want to go in the hot spring~ and rest~”

Count Randy didn’t fall for Olive’s cute act, but he agreed with the opinion of wanting to rest.

“Since we already went once today, tomorrow-“

“No. We just ran out of things to purify, so this works out well. Go ahead.”

A child’s clear voice said something very annoying.

Even when Olive glared at him subtly, Grey didn’t retract what he had said.

“Your Highness has plenty of mana left but I was disappointed there was no practice material. This time, don’t wash in the hot spring – it would be good for Your Highness to purify both everyone and the alligator.”

“Wow! The little young master can say that easily because he’ll be staying in the clean lobby.”

“Should I come along too?”

Olive whispered quietly in the Princess’s ear.

“That annoying old brat. Should we take him and dunk him in the rotten water?”

The Princess answered in a tired tone.

“A very tempting proposal, but no.”

Serena sighed and persuaded the guide.

“If it’s work we have to do anyway, it’s better to finish it quickly. You know that too, don’t you?”

“I know that, but this isn’t resting or working either. Should I say it’s a bit tiring?”

“Then how about this. Let’s stop by the 5th Floor first to open the locked treasure chest, then go to the 6th Floor.”

“Treasure chest?”

At the mention of treasure chest, a smile returned to Olive’s face.

“I’m fine with it~ but will the Princess’s stamina be okay? Huh?”

Serena said she was fine while pointing at Grey with her eyes.

Rather than being tormented by that annoying old brat, exploring the 5th Floor with its abundant and fresh greenery was better.

***

Four people excluding Count Randy, who was busy analyzing sewage, arrived at the 5th Floor.

Serena took a deep breath and savored the fragrant and fresh air of the 5th Floor.

The others followed the Princess’s example.

“Ahh~ The air tastes so good!”

“I never knew just the smell of grass could be this pleasant!”

The party’s plan is simple.

Collect the honey they passed by earlier without gathering, open the locked treasure chest, then hunt the Labyrinth Alligator on the 6th Floor.

“Wouldn’t it be better to come back for the honey later? If we take honey to the 6th Floor, it’ll probably spoil.”

“I plan to keep casting purification magic on it.”

Still feeling uneasy about it, Serena only collected exactly one bottle of honey—just enough weight that she could hold it and cast purification magic on it.

“Now let’s see~ The fastest route to where the treasure chest is…”

The Guide looked at the magic map, then began leading the party.

Perhaps due to the curse on Serena, Brush Wolves kept appearing, but otherwise they moved through the maze without major problems.

Ralph, who had been looking at the flowers that showed the correct path in the maze, suddenly stopped.

“How about we pick some flowers to take with us?”

“Flowers? Why? Do you have someone you want to give them to? Who are you going to give them to? I’ll keep it secret, so just tell your big sister!”

“It’s not like that! If we pick flowers and wrap them in a handkerchief to cover our noses, wouldn’t it smell less?”

“Oh, that sounds reasonable?”

“Hmm, I’m not so sure about that.”

Covering a stench with fragrance could mix the smells and create an even more mysterious foul odor.

She had experienced this firsthand in her previous life riding hellish trains and buses.

“Right! The flowers and grass will purify the rotten air of the 6th Floor!”

But Olive spoke with exactly the mindset of a medieval person from the era when the Black Death was rampant, and picked flowers randomly as she could grab them.

After moving while damaging the maze’s hints, the party reached the treasure chest.

As soon as Olive saw the rare-grade treasure chest, she hummed a tune and pulled out her lockpicking tools.

“Come to think of it, the Prince had lockpicking tools similar to the ones I got for winning the safe-opening competition.”

“It’s probably the same item. Seraph oversees several competitions too.”

Just as Serena handled culture and arts, and Duke Oren oversaw the martial arts tournament, Seraph also hosted many events.

The safe-opening competition was one of them.

If there were someone involved in politics like Prince Willow or Grey here, they could have interpreted Duke Oren’s handling of important events related to military power, like martial tournaments and hunting competitions, as the Duke’s faction being dominant.

But this interpretation could be countered by saying it was from a foreigner who didn’t know Heuji’s culture and history.

The safe-opening competition symbolized Heuji’s brilliant metalworking techniques and the House of Huaim’s tradition of becoming obsessed with dungeon creation after suffering from grave robbing.

Which interpretation was correct? Serena didn’t know.

After her protagonist disease was cured, she had let go of everything.

It wasn’t the Princess’s concern which side was dominant in the succession struggle.

Wouldn’t her life be in danger if her brother lost the succession struggle?

This was also a question only someone ignorant about Heuji would have.

‘When living royalty can be counted on one hand, would they kill us? Even the extreme Richard fanatics say that while the Crown Prince can be killed, we must definitely be spared.’

Unless Seraph or Serena personally stepped forward to kill their cousin, the siblings’ lives and minimum wealth and honor were guaranteed.

‘Lucas was the unusual one.’

He wasn’t called a one-in-a-million personality holder for nothing.

“Didn’t you see Seraph when you received the prize for winning the competition?”

“Honestly, the Prince’s personality sucks, but his looks are amazing. If the Prince had given me the prize, I would have sneakily tried to hold his hand once, but I first saw him in the labyrinth.”

“He must have gone gambling again.”

“The Prince’s luck seems good though~ Getting a spatial bag on the 3rd Layer. I’m so envious I could throw up.”

“That’s right. Before meeting Miss Olive, I traveled with the Prince, and wherever the Prince wanted to go, there was always a treasure chest.”

Serena shrugged. Her brother was indeed quite lucky.

‘Look at his starting companions. Except for Priest Rihua, they’re all 5-star. Though there are some weird 5-stars mixed in.’

Since his family fortune was so terribly unlucky, shouldn’t his everyday luck be good to balance things out?

“I also think Seraph is on the lucky side. He almost always won unless it was rigged gambling. But.”

“But?”

“If you take away the rigging, it’s not gambling anymore. Whether your luck is good or bad, the only ones who win at gambling are the cheaters.”

“Wow, Princess, you’re absolutely right. Then shall we check what the Princess’s luck is like?”

Olive, who had unlocked the treasure chest, yielded the chest to Serena.

“You’re not going to open it?”

“I got all my stress relief while picking the lock.”

A rare-grade treasure chest. What kind of item would come out?

‘An item that helps with labyrinth conquest! Or escape!’

Serena thought strongly about what she wanted and opened the chest.

Inside was a spray bottle.

“A spray bottle?”

“Check what’s inside.”

Serena tested it by spraying toward the wall below.

A liquid mixed with cinnamon scent was sprayed, but she couldn’t tell what it was for.

“What is it?”

“Since it came pre-filled with liquid, it must have a purpose, right?”

Without Count Randy, there was no one who could identify the composition and effects just by looking at the liquid.

Serena, Olive, and even Ying were tilting their heads in confusion when Ralph, who had been looking below, shouted.

“Look, the bees are acting strange!”

“What’s wrong with the bees? We already dealt with the Dryads, so more bees aren’t chasing us, are they?”

The party recalled the terrible chase and looked in the direction the knight pointed.

The wing beats of the Labyrinth Wasps peacefully flying around the maze collecting honey gradually slowed, then they died and fell to the ground even though no one had attacked them.

It wasn’t just one or two Labyrinth Wasps dying like this.

Labyrinth Wasps flying near the beehive were dropping dead one by one.

“It’s good that they’re dying, but why are they suddenly acting like this?”

“…Insecticide.”

“What? Princess, do you know?”

Cinnamon scent. And bees suddenly dying below the spray bottle.

Serena knew the answer.

Knowing it made her feel even more frustrated and angry.

All the hardships on the 5th Floor spread out like a panorama.

All of that had been pointless suffering.

“It’s insecticide.”

“Pardon? I didn’t hear you clearly.”

“This is insecticide!”

An effective insecticide that could wipe out Labyrinth Wasps with just a little spray!

If they had just had this, they could have easily conquered the 5th Floor without suffering through chases and whatnot.

They had obtained this wonderful item after all kinds of pointless suffering, when it was no longer greatly needed.

The Princess’s frustration and anger quickly spread to the party.

The anguished cries of those enraged at Heuji’s Labyrinth 5th Floor echoed throughout.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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