Serena and the Mysterious Labyrinth - Chapter 151

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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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151. One, Two, Three, Four (2)

 

A girl with flesh only on her gaunt face fidgeted restlessly.

 

“My siblings are gone!”

 

The girl lost her reason in terror as if the world had ended.

 

“They must have gone outside because I was late! I need to find them quickly!”

 

Hana tried to go outside the shop. Serena blocked the girl’s path.

 

“Move aside!”

 

“Calm down and tell me about your siblings. The more detailed, the better.”

 

“What?”

 

Hana glared at the Princess with eyes full of distrust and suspicion.

 

“Just trust what the Princess says. If you trust her, bread comes out, watermelon comes out, hot springs come out.”

 

“Quickly tell the Princess about your siblings!”

 

At the Guide and Knight’s shouts, the distrust and suspicion in Hana’s brown eyes deepened even more.

 

Serena understood that feeling.

 

‘I alone must seem like a crazy person, and there are even people egging me on.’

 

“If you trust the Princess, toilets come out! Beds like ours come out!”

 

Especially Olive. She was only telling the truth, but every time she spoke, credibility plummeted.

 

“Even if it seems like a joke to the Princess, they’re precious siblings to me! Move aside!”

 

Finally, Hana’s eyes welled up with tears as she pushed Serena.

 

Serena generously forgave the girl and caught her again.

 

“This isn’t a joke or prank, I’m serious. Tell me about your siblings. How many there are in total, what their characteristics are. Everything.”

 

Since the Princess’s face was serious, maybe it wasn’t a joke? Hana hesitated without readily speaking.

 

Should she shake off the Princess and go outside, or trust her just once and talk about her siblings?

 

Hana, who judged that she would need the Princess’s help to leave the Labyrinth anyway, spoke quickly.

 

“Duri wears bear hide.”

 

“Bear hide?”

 

Serena expressed doubt at the bear hide that came out of nowhere, but Hana ignored the Princess’s question as if time spent talking was precious.

 

“Sesi is in charge of dancing and singing. She’s not good at it, but everyone likes her because she’s pretty.”

 

One sibling remained.

 

“Neet is the youngest but she’s smart.”

 

Hana finished explaining her siblings.

 

‘Bear hide is a bit unusual, but the descriptions of Sesi and Neet are somewhat lacking.’

 

“The descriptions of Sesi and Neet are insufficient.”

 

Hana didn’t have the capacity to manage her expression and contorted her face. Her eyes looking at Serena grew increasingly fierce.

 

“Sesi is good with animals. Dogs and cats follow Sesi well, and when Duri gets angry, Sesi calms her down. Neet is ugly. So ugly that children cry when they see her.”

 

“How old are your siblings?”

 

“I don’t know.”

 

The information was insufficient, but since Hana’s gaze was growing increasingly fierce, she wouldn’t speak even if pressed further.

 

Serena gave up on additional explanations and took Hana’s hand.

 

“Do you want to see your siblings?”

 

“What? Of course!”

 

“Then earnestly wish to meet your siblings.”

 

“What’s earnestly?”

 

“Think that you want to meet your siblings.”

 

Serena straightened her back, raised her head, and declared arrogantly yet solemnly.

 

“The Minotaur God shall grant your wish.”

 

Click. Click. Click.

 

The Princess closed her right eye, opened her left eye covered by the eyepatch, and pressed the gacha button three times.

 

Since information was lacking, Hana’s heart would influence the gacha results.

 

Serena deliberately took her time opening her eyes and spoke solemnly again.

 

“Now open the door again. If you truly wished earnestly, you’ll be able to meet your siblings.”

 

Serena released Hana’s hand that she had been gripping tightly.

 

Hana didn’t hide her look of seeing all kinds of crazy people, then cursed with only her lips moving as she opened the door.

 

Roar!

 

Then a giant bear burst out from inside and swung its front paws.

 

Serena, who was standing close to the door, nearly got hit by the bear’s front paw.

 

If Olive hadn’t reacted quickly and pulled Serena away, half her face would have been torn off or her head separated from her body.

 

Roaaaar!

 

“Crazy! A bear came out? There was nothing there earlier?”

 

“Miss Hana! Run away!”

 

Unlike Serena who couldn’t react in time, Hana who opened the door nimbly dodged the bear’s attack.

 

When Ralph shouted for her to come behind him, the girl moved forward instead of backward. Toward the bear.

 

“It’s me! It’s Hana!”

 

Grroowwwl!

 

The giant black bear, so large it had to crouch to exit the door, menacingly swung its front paws with hideous claws.

 

Hana kept talking to such a bear.

 

“It’s me! It’s Hana! I came with the Knight!”

 

“Liar! If it’s really Hana unnie, why didn’t you give the signal? Duri unnie, beat them all up!”

 

Roaaaar!

 

The bear responded to the delicate voice heard from inside the room and roared loudly.

 

Serena’s heart grew cold as she observed the bear’s teeth, gums, and dripping sticky saliva up close.

 

“Have I been deceived all my life? It’s me! There was a reason for the signal!”

 

Perhaps reading sincerity in Hana’s earnest voice, the delicate voice responded.

 

“Really?”

 

“Really!”

 

“If you’re caught lying?”

 

“I’ll cut off my wrist.”

 

The conversation between them with the bear in the middle was very peaceful, but the bear in the center was not.

 

In her previous life, she had seen photos of bears with people showing their actual size.

 

The bear in front of the Princess now was larger than the bears she had seen in her previous life.

 

Its intimidating presence matched that of Alligator Rius, the ruler of the sewers.

 

“That bear hide is damn tough.”

 

While Serena and her party were troubled about how to deal with the bear, the sound of a whip came from behind the bear.

 

“Duri unnie, stop! You can’t tear it!”

 

Bears tear people apart.

 

Serena recalled the old saying(?) and tensed up, but fortunately the bear calmed down after being whipped.

 

Woof?

 

The bear that had been standing on two legs blocking the door with its body put its front paws on the ground.

 

As if it had never displayed Floor Boss-level dignity, the bear blinked its cute and adorable innocent eyes.

 

The bear that had transformed from a beast to a teddy bear moved slowly and stepped aside from the door.

 

“Hana unnie!”

 

A small red-haired figure ran from the door and hugged Hana.

 

“Why were you so late! I was scared!”

 

A small child wrapped entirely in a hooded robe also burst out and hugged Hana.

 

“I was scared! Cough cough.”

 

“Sorry! Things got terribly complicated!”

 

Hana hugged her siblings and rejoiced in their reunion.

 

The party calmed their hearts startled by the bear, some watching the reunited number sisters with pleased expressions, others looking at the bear with bewildered expressions.

 

“What’s with that bear?”

 

“Isn’t that a bear performing tricks in a troupe?”

 

“For that, its size is a bit… seems much too large.”

 

‘Did the bear also get swallowed by the labyrinth?’

 

Serena glared at the back of the bear’s head as it entered the room.

 

The round ears twitching and fluttering were quite cute, but Serena wasn’t fooled.

 

That was a bear, and bears tear people apart.

 

‘There are many animals living in Heujihen too. Then does that mean dogs, cats, horses, and all other animals were swallowed together? Surely animals aren’t included in the lottery, are they?’

 

If that were the case, it would be very troublesome.

 

‘I have three siblings, so I drew three times. What if a bear was drawn instead of a sibling?’

 

In fact, only two of the three siblings had come out of the room, and wasn’t one holding Hana?

 

‘The second one’s name was Duri, right. Wait a moment.’

 

Serena recalled what the sibling presumed to be Sesi had said when encouraging and stopping the bear.

 

‘Didn’t she call the bear Duri unni?’

 

The princess’s eyes widened.

 

‘Could she really think of the bear as a sibling? Like considering dogs or cats as family?’

 

Being family with a bear would be surprising enough, but what would truly surprise Serena was something else.

 

Groan.

 

The bear that had entered the room and was facing away gradually shrank in size.

 

She thought it was crouching down, but that wasn’t it. The bear’s bulk visibly decreased before her eyes.

 

Then, human bare skin was revealed beneath the black bear hide.

 

“Uung.”

 

The bear turned around.

 

There was no longer the bear that had threatened the party, but a person wearing bear hide standing there!

 

Though the face was hidden by the bear hide, it was unmistakably human.

 

“Am I seeing things? Or is this some strange phenomenon?”

 

“D-did you just see that? The bear became a person!”

 

“I saw it too. I witnessed it directly, but I can’t believe it.”

 

Serena hid her surprise to maintain her dignity as a princess.

 

But she couldn’t help being amazed.

 

Unable to take her single eye off Duri, who had transformed from bear to human, the princess was certain.

 

‘She must have raked in money.’

 

A trick of transforming from human to bear!

 

It was such an extraordinary feat that she wanted to throw all the money in her wallet right now.

 

***

 

Hana. Master of dagger throwing. Possessed three yellow stars and one gray star.

 

‘She can’t be 3-star just for throwing daggers well. There’s something more.’

 

Duri. A girl raised by bears.

 

Despite her hunched posture, she was similar in height to Ralph. She wore a loose dress and had bear hide over her head, so her face wasn’t visible.

 

She was a full 4-star without any gray or empty stars.

 

‘Because she’s a bear.’

 

Indeed, bears were strong even in the labyrinth.

 

Sesi. In charge of dancing and singing. Sometimes tamed animals to perform tricks.

 

As Hana had said she was pretty, she was a beautiful girl with rose-red hair and blue eyes that sparkled like stars.

 

However, her language was rough. It sounded even rougher because her face and voice were pretty.

 

She seemed to be around Ralph’s age or younger, and was holding a whip.

 

Serena was slightly surprised looking at Sesi.

 

Because she had two transparent stars.

 

‘One yellow star is understandable, but two transparent stars and one gray star?’

 

She was 4-star total, but it was questionable what should fill the two transparent stars.

 

‘I should get her some weapons when we go to the lobby. Definitely not a whip though.’

 

Finally, the youngest, Neet. In charge of odd jobs.

 

She wore her hood pulled deep and wrapped her body tightly in a robe, making her already small frame appear even smaller.

 

She only had one yellow star, but instead had four gray stars.

 

In summary, only Hana and Duri could be active immediately, but it was a troupe gathered with promising talent for the future.

 

Contrary to thinking they would rake in money, Duri said she had never performed the bear transformation even once.

 

“They said they’d catch me if found out.”

 

“They said they’d lock me in prison for life!”

 

“Bad wizards would, cough. catch me and experiment on me. Cough cough.”

 

“Uung.”

 

The number sisters hugged each other, rejoicing in their reunion, then knelt before Serena.

 

“Please! Please pretend you didn’t see anything!”

 

“Please overlook it! I beg you!”

 

“Cough! Duri unni is! Cough! Well-behaved!”

 

“Uung uung.”

 

Serena hadn’t said anything, but Ralph stepped forward.

 

“Don’t worry! The princess is generous and merciful! She even graciously forgave me for impersonating a guard!”

 

Hana was puzzled.

 

“What’s impersonating?”

 

“Cough. It means pretending to be. Cough. A guard.”

 

Once that question was resolved, a new one arose.

 

“Why would the knight pretend to be a guard?”

 

To explain that, she’d have to start with Double Hanson’s presumptuous story of underestimating raising quadruplets.

 

Anyway, they were trapped in the labyrinth and couldn’t get out.

 

Since it wouldn’t be too late to tell them later, Serena first eased the sisters’ worries.

 

“There’s no law in Huji that punishes transforming into a bear. Trying to attack me was also self-defense to protect yourself in the labyrinth, so I won’t hold this against you either.”

 

Hana asked the youngest sibling wrapped tightly in a robe.

 

“What’s she saying?”

 

“Cough cough. The princess says. Cough. She’ll overlook everything.”

 

“Thank you!”

 

Hana and Sesi bowed their heads.

 

Serena pointed to Neet, who was bowing her head following her sisters.

 

She seemed to be a smart child as Hana had said, but she kept coughing roughly, which was concerning.

 

“More importantly, is your sibling sick? She’s been coughing since earlier.”

 

“Want some water?”

 

Ralph hurriedly mixed honey with water and offered it to Neet.

 

“Cough. Thank you. Cough cough.”

 

Neet extended her small hand to receive the water.

 

Ralph was startled seeing Neet’s hand.

 

“Are you hurt?”

 

Neet’s small hands were wrapped tightly with bandages, but unlike the archer who used them as a means of expressing personality, she was using bandages for their true purpose.

 

Blood and pus had soaked into the bandages.

 

Count Randy, who glimpsed the bandages, furrowed his brow.

 

“The wounds seem old. We need to disinfect quickly and apply potion. Lady Serena, please use purification magic.”

 

“Cough, I’m not hurt.”

 

Hana and Sesi stepped forward to protect their youngest sister.

 

“Neet is fine. We can’t use precious things like potions. We don’t have money.”

 

“You don’t need to pay.”

 

Ralph thought the number sisters were declining the potion because of money and took out his share of potion.

 

Hana refused once again.

 

“It’s not like that. Neet is fine.”

 

“I’m not lying, it’s really true.”

 

“Cough, I’m really okay. Cough cough.”

 

Listening carefully, Neet’s voice sounded strange too.

 

A child’s voice should be clear like Grey’s, but Neet’s voice was murky, rough, and completely hoarse.

 

If they hadn’t been told beforehand that she was their young youngest sibling, they might have mistaken her for a small old person.

 

Her voice was muddy and she kept coughing, as if she had a severe cold or was very sick.

 

“I won’t hurt you, so stay still.”

 

“I’m really fine!”

 

Hana and Sesi showed wariness and tried to hide their youngest behind them, but as they each pulled Neet toward themselves, her tightly wrapped cloak came undone, revealing Neet’s face and body that had been completely covered.

 

“Ah!”

 

Hana quickly covered her sibling with the cloak, but it was already too late.

 

Everyone in the Assault Team except the Guide and Archer, who were away setting up shop, had seen Neet’s body.

 

Little Neet’s body was covered in wounds all over.

—————
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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