Serena and the Mysterious Labyrinth - Chapter 159
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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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159. The Princess Knows Everything (1)
As Serena walked toward the corridor, Ying and Olive followed her.
“We’ll go with you, so the Knight and Countess can rest.”
“Aren’t you tired too, Miss Olive?”
“I’m fine~”
Reaching a spot far from the lobby, just like when they discussed whether to save Neet, Serena turned around to face Hana directly and asked.
“You must have more to confess, don’t you?”
Hana answered with a face full of resolve.
“Actually, the person who killed the Leader wasn’t Duri, but me. I threw the dagger faster than Duri.”
Hana knelt down and looked up at the Princess, pleading.
“He was about to beat Duri and Neet to death, so I had no choice. After the Leader died, I got scared and hid it even from my siblings. I’m sorry.”
Serena looked down at Hana with a cold gaze.
“I’ve already passed judgment on your murder. What I’m talking about is something else. Are you trying to hide what you know, or are you just slow to understand?”
“What?”
Olive, who had quietly followed Serena, stepped between the Princess and Hana.
“I told you that you don’t seem like a stranger to me. That’s actually true, you know?”
Olive played with her dagger as if she was also confident in dagger tricks.
“I’m also someone who struggled at the bottom, so I know kids like you well. Do you know what the characteristic of people like us is?”
The Guide grinned.
“We don’t trust others.”
Olive repeatedly threw and caught her dagger.
Each time Ying’s expensive dagger spun in the air, it showed off its sharp blade.
“Especially a kid like you who has something to protect wouldn’t rely on complete strangers without any foundation of trust. You’d either run away, betray them, or be certain they’re not real enemies. Without something like this, you wouldn’t go ‘Princess, please help us’ to someone you’re meeting for the first time and even reveal your siblings’ location.”
Hana’s dim eyes became as sharp as Ying’s dagger.
“I don’t know which one you are, but~ our Princess knows everything!”
‘I didn’t know.’
I was just certain that being good at throwing daggers couldn’t make someone 3-star, but it’s not as impressive as Olive is making it sound.
But you have to bluff when you can.
There’s one thing I learned from being reincarnated as a princess. When you get a chance to package yourself, you shouldn’t miss it.
Serena bluffed while warning Hana, who had tried to hide the murder from the beginning.
“Speak honestly. From the moment I first saw you, I knew that what you said and showed wasn’t everything.”
Hana seemed speechless and said nothing, then squeezed out her voice.
“I can see enemies. No. I don’t see them, I feel them. I get a feeling.”
“Explain in detail.”
“I can tell when there are dangerous objects or people who want to harm me. I’ve just been like that since I was little. Thanks to that, it was convenient for begging and running away, but after entering the Labyrinth, I realized I could sense monsters too.”
Hana said that thanks to this ability, she could steal food while avoiding monsters.
“Killing the Leader too. At that time, I felt that the Leader really intended to kill us. It might sound strange, but it’s true.”
‘That’s a good ability.’
It’s the kind of ability that fantasy novel protagonists from my previous life would have.
Serena continued asking while admiring inwardly.
“Then you immediately asked me for help because you trusted your ability?”
“Yes. I can also sense people who seem like they’ll help. The Princess and Knight feel like they’ll keep helping. At least you’re not enemies.”
“So that’s how you noticed where the Undead was?”
“Yes. I was sleeping when I suddenly felt like an enemy was nearby, so I woke up.”
Unlike Serena, who vaguely sensed the Undead’s presence but couldn’t pinpoint its location, Hana didn’t know the enemy’s identity but knew its exact location.
I thought she pointed to the chest out of guilt for killing someone, but that wasn’t it.
“Wow. That must be damn convenient. How did you get it?”
“I don’t know. I’ve just been like that since I was little. I thought everyone was like that, but I found out later that they weren’t.”
“Do your siblings know about your ability?”
“No. At first, I thought everyone was similar so I never mentioned it, and when I got older, I hid it because I was afraid I’d be locked up like Duri. They think I just have good intuition.”
Hana rolled her eyes and carefully opened her mouth.
“Could the ability I have also be something like a blessing?”
“There’s a possibility.”
When Serena affirmed it, Hana blinked in surprise.
“Would they give a blessing to someone like me?”
“I mean, you get a blessing but I don’t have anything? Isn’t that too unfair!”
Olive pointed accusingly at the ceiling, then quickly took it back.
“I said that in excitement, so I don’t really mean it!”
Serena patted the Guide’s shoulder to comfort her.
“Anyway, your ability will be helpful in conquering the Labyrinth. Repent for your sins and work harder without hiding anything more to save your sibling.”
“Yes! Since all my hidden cards are revealed, I’ll woooork hard!”
Hana abandoned her dim look and showed her sincerity.
“Then go on back.”
Hana returned to the lobby and Serena slowly followed.
Olive muttered while watching Hana’s retreating figure.
“But even though he gathered strange kids through inquiries, to collect two kids with blessings. That dead Leader guy had good eyes, huh?”
Olive mocked the deceased.
“But he didn’t know how to use the valuable ones he collected.”
“No.”
Ying, who had been hiding in the darkness of the corridor, suddenly spoke.
“Geez, you scared me. You hid so well I forgot about you.”
“Intentional.”
“What was intentional? Using valuable kids like crap?”
Ying nodded.
“I felt an evil aura from the Leader’s corpse.”
The Guide snorted as if she didn’t believe a word the Archer said.
“So you’re saying he not only beat and starved kids with blessings but also tried to use them for strange sorcery?”
“Correct.”
Olive had said it as a joke, but Ying was endlessly serious.
“Really? Then it’s good he died~ I’m tired, so I’m going now~”
The Guide patted her shoulder and went to the lobby first.
With just the two of them left, Serena asked the Loyal Servant of Darkness various questions.
“….”
Ying completely ignored all of the Princess’s questions.
In the end, Serena couldn’t hear a single proper word and returned to her capsule.
The Deity of Darkness was generous and merciful, but the Loyal Servant was petty beyond measure.
***
The Princess finished her prayer in front of the statue and stood up.
‘Today is packed with things to do too.’
First, she would take Ralph, Count Randy, and Grey to the 7th Floor to collect the 24th Floor supplies.
Then she had to return to the lobby, gather people, and move to the 3rd Layer.
This was to confirm Hana and Sesi’s abilities.
After confirming their abilities, she had to bring the group back to the lobby and move to the 7th Floor again to bring back the Knight, Alchemist, and Old Man.
‘It’s hectic.’
Since Serena was the only one who could use the Teleportation Room, there was no time to rest at all.
Serena moved to the 6th Floor with the three and returned to the 1st Floor again.
In front of the Teleportation Room, people who would go to the 3rd Layer with the Princess were waiting.
Hana and Sesi must participate to verify their abilities.
Since all monsters that appear on the 3rd Layer are flying types, Ying the archer is also essential.
Olive thought she could rest, but she volunteered saying she wanted to observe Hana’s enemy detection ability in detail.
“Cough. Sister, be careful.”
“Mmm.”
“We’ll be back. Listen well and stay put.”
“Ugh. There’s no way the monster will listen to me. I wish this was all lies and a dream.”
Sesi made a tearful face while expressing the common wish of people currently trapped in the labyrinth.
“We’re just going to check, so don’t think too hard about it.”
“Uuugh.”
Though Serena told her to relax, originally such words from a princess only make one more nervous.
Sesi’s pretty face became even more distorted.
When the princess chose the 3rd Layer, the party was transported to the 3rd Layer.
Hana and Sesi forgot their tension at the seemingly open vast sky and mountain peak, blinking their wide eyes.
“It’s a mountain! It’s a mountain peak!”
“Th-this is the first time I’ve seen such a high mountain!”
“It’s incredibly wide! Is this really the labyrinth?”
“Yes. Even this wide, it’s still a labyrinth.”
Ignorance is sometimes a source of courage.
The faces of Hana and Sesi, who had thought of the labyrinth as at most a dungeon where strange things happen, crumpled.
This was because they realized the standard for strange things exceeded their imagination.
“Let’s start with Hana. Do you sense any monsters?”
“I don’t know. The monsters are too far.”
‘She means far.’
Serena narrowed her eyes upon hearing Hana’s words.
“Do you happen to know the direction of the nearest monster?”
“Roughly, it seems like this way. It gets a bit closer then farther.”
Serena and Olive spread out the magic map to confirm the direction Hana pointed to.
“She seems to be talking about that peak over there, so we can ride the staff in that direction.”
Hana was amazed seeing the magic map with images that enlarged and reduced.
“Wow, Sesi! Look at this. The picture keeps moving. Amazing.”
“It’s all lies. This is all lies.”
Sesi, crushed by the thought that she had to tame monsters instead of dogs or cats, only denied reality.
“This isn’t a picture but a map. It’s a magic map that reflects the holder’s perception.”
To conquer the labyrinth, one must learn how to read maps.
Serena placed the magic map in Hana’s hand to teach her the concept of maps, then was shocked.
“This is!”
Red and blue dots appeared on the magic map.
There was one blue dot at the current party’s location where Hana was, and red dots moved freely through the pathless air.
When the creatures presumed to be the red dots moved away from the party’s current location, the red dots disappeared, but when they came closer, the red dots reappeared.
Red dots and blue dots shown on the map.
Anyone who has played games would immediately know what the dots meant.
Serena’s hand, still holding the map, trembled violently.
“Hana! Are these blue dots people who won’t harm you, and the red dots are enemies, monsters?”
“Huh? Y-yes! Roughly like that. If I had to specify, they’re people who’ll be good to me. It’s the princess.”
Hana specifically pointed out that the blue dot was Serena.
“Princess, what did you say? Monster locations are displayed on the map?”
Olive was equally surprised and snatched the magic map away.
The magic map no longer displayed dots once it left Hana’s hand.
Olive brought Hana’s hand back and placed it on the map.
Blue and red dots appeared on the map again.
Like Serena, Olive trembled as she alternately looked at Hana’s vacant face and the magic map.
The guide’s face contorted.
“This is. This is crazy! How can I be so envious!”
Olive couldn’t contain her jealousy and excitement, jumping up and down in place.
“If I had! If I had this ability! Huh? How comfortable would life have been! Having such a good ability and doing what? Throwing daggers? Oh my! How frustrating! How unfair! Even guarding noble lords instead of the labyrinth would have earned a fortune!”
Not satisfied with just jumping in place, the guide lay down flat and flailed her limbs.
“Envious.”
Even the taciturn archer briefly expressed envy seeing the moving dots on the map.
“Is it such a good ability?”
Hana, who had been able to detect enemies since her earliest memories, was puzzled.
“Of course it’s good. I’m so envious my teeth are chattering.”
With Hana’s ability to detect monster locations combined with the magic map, a perfect map was completed.
For labyrinth explorers surveying the labyrinth, there was no more perfect map than this.
“Sister Hana is getting so much praise?”
At this rate, her own incompetence would be highlighted even more.
Sesi’s face, which had been pale white even before coming to the 3rd Layer, became even more haggard.
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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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