Serena and the Mysterious Labyrinth - Chapter 158

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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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158. Pest Control (6)

 

The starving, enraged bear swung its front paw.

 

Naturally, the Caretaker died.

 

They hadn’t intended to kill him. The siblings were so shocked they couldn’t even think to dispose of the Caretaker’s corpse, just hugging each other tightly.

 

“I don’t know how much time passed. We were so hungry and weak that we stole food. And then we realized something.”

 

“What was that?”

 

“That the Caretaker’s body hadn’t rotted at all. I don’t know why, but no bugs came and the corpse didn’t decay.”

 

Ralph, who had been seriously listening to Hana’s story, asked Count Randy in a small voice.

 

“Didn’t the corpses on the 1st and 2nd floors rot?”

 

“Since it’s a labyrinth, the rules might be different on each floor. The 7th Floor is a very peculiar place, so there’s a possibility that corpses maintain their original state.”

 

“Is, is that so? We thought differently.”

 

“How did you think about it?”

 

“Cough. We thought the Caretaker. Cough. wasn’t rotting because of resentment. Cough.”

 

“Because we killed the Caretaker who raised us and taught us skills.”

 

Sesi’s eyes reddened as she sniffled back tears.

 

“We tried to bury him but there was nowhere to dig. So we put him in the chest where we stored the tent.”

 

This revealed why the dead Caretaker’s body was in the chest.

 

“Since this is a labyrinth, you could have torn up the wound area to make it look like a monster’s doing. Why did you bother putting him in a chest and bringing him all the way to the lobby?”

 

The Caretaker was a human who deserved to die, and the Number Siblings hadn’t killed him intentionally, so there were many mitigating circumstances.

 

What Serena was most curious about was one thing.

 

‘A perfect crime was possible, so why did they bother taking the corpse?’

 

They could have left the chest on the 24th Floor and pretended not to know anything, so why did they carry it down heavily?

 

Neet solved the princess’s question.

 

“Cough. The Caretaker was bad but. Cough. still, we couldn’t cough. leave him in the labyrinth. Cough. The labyrinth is too scary.”

 

“The Caretaker picked me up when I was begging, and he brought Sesi when she was about to be thrown out for having an extra mouth to feed. Same with Neet and Duri. The Caretaker brought us when we were about to die and we lived.”

 

“He was bad, but he wasn’t always bad. When he made a lot of money, he’d sometimes buy us snacks.”

 

‘They’ve been brainwashed.’

 

He had gathered children with nowhere to turn, beating and starving them while exploiting them.

 

They should hate him, but human psychology sometimes moves illogically.

 

Even though he wasn’t their real parent, they forgave and loved him just because he was their guardian.

 

They craved affection and attention, struggling to gain recognition.

 

‘He was no help in life, hatefully annoying enough to want to kill, but they couldn’t leave or kill him.’

 

To escape such a state requires a very big shock, environmental change, or external intervention.

 

Serena in her previous life lost her grandmother before she could escape, and the reincarnated Serena quickly escaped on her own through her previous life’s experience.

 

‘Being swept up in the disaster of a labyrinth is certainly a big environmental change.’

 

“Cough. The labyrinth is scary so. Cough. we wanted to bury the Caretaker outside the labyrinth. Cough.”

 

“We didn’t know he’d become undead.”

 

“If we had known, we wouldn’t have brought him.”

 

“Woong.”

 

“It’s not Duri’s fault. I should have hidden it better.”

 

“Huuk.”

 

Ralph finally sniffled at the tearjerking story.

 

The others also looked at the Number Siblings with pity.

 

The only ones who didn’t feel sorry for the Number Siblings were Philia, Grey, and Olive.

 

Philia had an expression like ‘what’s all this fuss about when I just woke up,’ and Olive’s face said ‘little brats, nice try. Keep it up.’

 

Grey gave up on acting entirely and whispered in Serena’s ear.

 

“Your Highness. Don’t be swept away by sympathy and judge coldly. It’s certain that they committed murder. If they really intended to repent, they should have shown the corpse and confessed when they joined us. Forgiving murder, not some other crime, in this isolated situation is a very dangerous judgment that would harm not only the existence of our small community but also Your Highness’s authority.”

 

What Grey said was similar to when Ying had attempted to murder Serena before.

 

Back then, she had regressed to make the incident never happen, but this time she couldn’t use the same method.

 

‘If I die now, I’ll return to before conquering the 7th Floor.’

 

If that happened, it would be a chance to resolve the question of what happens to people drawn through gacha.

 

But Serena decided not to die just to satisfy her curiosity. God wouldn’t want that.

 

‘What should I do.’

 

Serena had no complaints about the Number Siblings killing the Caretaker.

 

‘I’m just annoyed they brought the corpse and got caught. I’ve killed people too.’

 

Of course, a princess killing a knight who threatened her first and vagrants killing a caretaker would be received differently.

 

The former would be praised and the latter punished.

 

Even if it was unfair, it couldn’t be helped.

 

This was a class-based society where status was alive and breathing.

 

“If you provoke a starving bear and die, wouldn’t that be natural death?”

 

Prince Willow spouted comfortable words as if it wasn’t his business.

 

Grey’s eyes widened and Serena mentally gave him the middle finger.

 

Everyone else also nodded at the prince’s words, saying it wasn’t their business.

 

Serena screamed internally.

 

‘That’s not right! I can be killed but others shouldn’t kill!’

 

It was a cowardly and selfish thought, but as Grey said, to maintain order in the lobby, Serena had to become the law.

 

‘This place is already perfect for killing and covering it up!’

 

The labyrinth’s restorative power made it easy to hide corpses.

 

Murder should be prevented as much as possible, and if another one-in-a-million piece of trash appeared and needed to be killed, Serena had to be the one to set that standard.

 

‘I would have pretended not to see if they’d been caught on the 7th Floor.’

 

The timing of the Caretaker becoming undead was also incredibly unlucky.

 

‘Of all places, in the lobby!’

 

The princess internally gnashed her teeth and screamed while outwardly making the Number Siblings kneel with solemn dignity.

 

“As the granddaughter of His Majesty Harold II, the rightful monarch of Heuji, and the eldest daughter of Crown Prince Kipan who will rightfully inherit the throne, Grand Princess Fackling, I shall render judgment.”

 

The princess’s orange eye swept over the backs of the Number Siblings’ heads.

 

“Hana, Duri, Sesi, Neet. Though unintentional, you killed the Caretaker and concealed the body. Your intentions were good, but you brought the concealed corpse to the lobby and endangered others. Do you acknowledge this?”

 

“It’s all my fault!”

 

“Sister Hana did nothing wrong!”

 

“Woooong!”

 

“Cough. Because I ate too much. Cough.”

 

“Insolence! Do not interrupt during judgment!”

 

Philia, who had looked sleepy the whole time, shouted powerfully from beside Serena.

 

Beautiful women are scarier when angry.

 

The Number Siblings prostrated themselves with suddenly alert faces.

 

Ralph, who had wanted to defend the siblings, also wilted and shut his mouth after seeing Philia.

 

“Though you committed murder, considering it was unintentional and you were ignorant about the labyrinth’s characteristics, I sentence all of you to 20 years of labor. Since this incident occurred in Heuji, serve the Heuji Royal Family.”

 

Only Neet understood, but even Neet, having never been properly educated and being young, didn’t fully comprehend everything.

 

Since others would explain it anyway, Serena continued her judgment.

 

“However, as an unprecedented disaster has befallen Heuji. If the criminals commit no new crimes and serve faithfully, I will let all matters pass without question after the disaster ends.”

 

“Your Highness. Isn’t this too lenient?”

 

Serena ignored Grey’s words.

 

‘If you’re upset, quit acting.’

 

“Also. Though unintentional, we cannot leave a beast that has harmed people unattended.”

 

“Is Sister Duri going to prison?”

 

“Duri must always entrust the bear hide to others in the lobby and be supervised.”

 

Understanding this, Duri held back tears in her black eyes like a baby bear and held out the bear hide.

 

“That is all. Now recover the Caretaker’s body and hold a funeral for him.”

 

Though they understood less than half, they had received lenient punishment for killing someone.

 

The Number Siblings, roughly understanding the situation, bowed their heads and shouted.

 

“Thank you!”

 

“Woong!”

 

“I’ll work hard! I’ll do everything you tell me to!”

 

“Cough. I’ll work hard too. Cough.”

 

Even though Serena hadn’t ordered it, Ying gathered up the scattered pieces of the corpse.

 

It wasn’t just any corpse but undead fragments that would be disgusting to touch, yet the Princess was pleased to see her taking initiative.

 

Serena stood before the tomb farthest from Krom’s grave among the tombs arranged along one wall of the lobby.

 

Since it was a corpse that had become undead, she felt uncomfortable burying it next to Krom.

 

‘The cemetery I bought from the shop does prevent undead transformation. But it still feels wrong.’

 

Though Krom had harmed society his entire life as a drug dealer, he had regained a small measure of honor in death.

 

If she buried someone who abused and exploited children next to such a Krom, wouldn’t Krom’s soul wandering the labyrinth be displeased?

 

[Will you bury the body?]

 

Serena selected ‘Yes.’

 

The mound split in half and a coffin rose up.

 

The people witnessing this burial method that could only be seen in Heuji’s Labyrinth were startled and fell over.

 

“Kyaaah! The tomb opened! Is another monster coming out?”

 

“Cough cough!”

 

“Grrrr.”

 

“Sesi, it’s fine. No enemy. Empty coffin.”

 

Especially the Number Siblings, who had seen the person they killed rise as an undead from the chest, were on the verge of fainting from shock.

 

Only Hana remained composed instead of panicking, calmly taking care of her younger siblings.

 

They wrapped the body fragments Ying had collected in clean cloth and placed them in the coffin. The corpse gave off a cinnamon scent.

 

“Wait a moment! I’ll go pick some flowers!”

 

Lavenda hurriedly ran to the herb garden and returned breathlessly with flowers she had picked, handing them to the Number Siblings.

 

“Huff huff. The flowers are small but. Huff. Better than nothing.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

“Sniff.”

 

“My unpleasant feelings from seeing the undead seem to be healed by Miss Lavenda’s kindness.”

 

Lavenda awkwardly smiled and stepped away, perhaps finding Prince Willow’s voice too smooth.

 

“Say whatever you want to say.”

 

“Sniff. When you came out of the chest, I thought my heart would drop. Please don’t come out of the coffin.”

 

“Woooong.”

 

“I hated being hit. But the snacks were still delicious.”

 

“Cough cough. Thank you for. Cough. Not abandoning us.”

 

The Number Siblings placed flowers in the coffin while saying farewell words to the deceased.

 

Ying approached Serena who was watching this scene and whispered.

 

“Neck wound. Stab wound.”

 

Since this was expected, the Princess wasn’t surprised.

 

However, the following words were unexpected, so she showed her surprised expression openly.

 

“Heretic traces.”

 

How could heretics exist in a world where gods truly existed in heaven?

 

This was a question she had harbored ever since first hearing about heretics.

 

But now wasn’t an appropriate situation to resolve her doubts.

 

Serena waited for the Number Siblings to finish their farewells before closing the coffin.

 

The coffin sank down, the mound closed, and the name and birth-death dates were inscribed on the gravestone.

 

Once again, the people witnessing Heuji’s latest burial method for the first time were shocked and fell over.

 

“So how old was the Leader?”

 

“Cough. Forty-six.”

 

“Only that much? I thought he was at least 100.”

 

“What’s that above the numbers?”

 

“Cough. It’s probably his name.”

 

“The Leader had a name too. What does it say? I’m curious.”

 

“Cough. I don’t know either.”

 

“You guys can’t read?”

 

Several people who heard the Number Siblings’ conversation were surprised. Grey sighed and clicked his tongue.

 

“I’ll have to teach you letters before magic.”

 

“Does only Neet need to learn?”

 

“What nonsense? All the older siblings need to learn too.”

 

“Gasp!”

 

“What gasp! You should be bowing in gratitude for being given the opportunity to learn, you criminals!”

 

Grey swung his staff that could be used as a blunt weapon.

 

The skull’s jaw attached to the staff rattled as if agreeing with its master’s argument.

 

Serena gestured to Hana, who was dodging around trying not to get hit by the staff.

 

“I still have more to say, so Hana, you come here as the representative.”

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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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