Serena and the Mysterious Labyrinth - Chapter 169

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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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169. The Prince’s Request (3)

Something is hiding inside or behind the thicket.

Ralph, who had taken a defensive stance at the two adventurers’ words, stared in the same direction and position as the adventurers, as if he had sensed a presence.

“We’re not suspicious people! Stop hiding and come out!”

Serena also tried hard to stare at the thicket, wondering if she might sense something, but it was futile.

‘I should have been better at detecting magic power.’

The leaves rustled and branches trembled, then the shaking grew larger as a bald man wearing an ochre hood appeared.

The bald man had a considerable build. He was close to 2 meters tall, and unlike Ralph who was thin and tall, he was thickly muscled with forearms as thick as an average adult’s thigh.

‘How was he hiding in the thicket with that build?’

Just looking at his massive frame, he seemed like the type to hold axes in both hands and spin a whirlwind, but the weapon he was actually armed with was a crossbow.

It was smaller than the crossbow Ying had obtained in the labyrinth and had mechanical devices attached, making it a complex structure.

The bald man’s build was so impressive that the crossbow he was equipped with looked like a child’s toy.

The bald man raised both hands as if showing no intention to attack and opened his mouth.

“Whoa, whoa, calm down. Ying, long time no see. You look healthy. …Olive too. I thought you’d get stabbed living like that, but you’re still alive.”

The bald man called their names familiarly, as if he was acquainted with the labyrinth adventurers.

When he mentioned Olive’s name, he frowned slightly.

“Do you know him?”

From the bald man’s attitude, he seemed like a labyrinth adventurer like Olive and Ying.

But at Serena’s question, both Olive and Ying shook their heads simultaneously.

“Don’t know.”

“Zero and I are so famous, you see~ There are many people who pretend to be friendly one-sidedly. And I’m so charming that you wouldn’t believe how many people approach me after seeing my face from afar and hearing my name a bit~”

At Olive’s laughing words, the bald man got angry and took off his ochre hood.

When he removed the hood, it wasn’t smooth, shiny skin that was revealed, but closely shaved hair showing slightly reddish skin.

The man wasn’t actually bald but had shaved his head and worn a hood, making him look bald.

“You can’t possibly have forgotten me, Olive!”

“Oh.”

Ying seemed to recognize the man as she pursed her lips in admiration.

Olive still didn’t seem to remember the man as she rolled her round eyes around.

The man’s face gradually contorted.

“Four years ago, Sol Brothers. Younger brother.”

Unable to bear the man’s increasingly cold gaze, Ying spoke in an equally cold voice.

Only then did Olive snap her fingers as if she remembered.

“Ahh~ I remember! You’ve built more muscle, haven’t you? You look perfect for hugging while sleeping!”

“Hehe, thanks for recognizing me. I guess!”

While saying that, the man repeatedly flexed and relaxed his arm and chest muscles as if showing off.

‘Oh.’

Seeing the fake bald man’s bulging chest muscles, Serena was genuinely impressed.

‘It would be as cozy as High Priest Hazel.’

To think she had slept hugging such muscles. The Princess became slightly envious of the guide.

Winds of the Wilderness, who had dated both brothers simultaneously and dumped them both, spoke casually without caring about the past at all.

“Why did you shave your head? Was being dumped by me such a shock? Or did you shave it clean since it was starting to fall out anyway?”

“No! This is resolve!”

“Resolve?”

“The resolve to live as a bald man until I beat my brother!”

“Eh. You live bald because of resolve? Why do such a stupid thing?”

“It’s because of you!”

The fake bald man snapped as if he didn’t want to talk to Olive anymore, then bowed his head to Ying again in greeting.

“Long time no see, Ying. I’m glad to see all your limbs are intact. I don’t know how you ended up in the same party as that playboy, but I recommend escaping or kicking out that playboy before she breaks up the party again.”

Ying nodded and stepped back, putting Serena forward.

“Since the greetings seem to be over, I’d like to hear who you are and your circumstances before and after falling into the labyrinth.”

The fake bald man looked at Serena, then closed his mouth and only blinked like a child with candy stuck to their teeth.

The fake bald man gestured for Ying to come closer, then remembered the archer’s characteristics and called Olive over with a really reluctant expression.

Then he whispered quietly in Olive’s ear.

‘Does he have some secret he only wants to share with labyrinth adventurers?’

If so, Serena wanted to know the content too.

The Princess’s worry ended anticlimactically as the guide waved her hands dramatically.

“I remembered! You get shy around strangers and leave everything to your brother! You still haven’t fixed that?”

“Mumble mumble.”

“The Princess will misunderstand! Ugh, the Princess’s gaze has become sharp! It’s nothing strange!”

The guide explained urgently that the younger of the Sol Brothers was extremely shy and couldn’t talk to people he met for the first time.

“Since we have to stay together anyway, the shyness will wear off quickly. Hey, don’t hide behind me! Do you think you can hide with that build?”

The fake bald man tried to hide behind Olive like a child who thinks others can’t see them if they can’t see themselves, but was dragged out.

“Ugh. To think we have to stay together from now on. So you were really swallowed by a generated labyrinth?”

“Yes.”

Being a skilled labyrinth adventurer, he was quick to grasp the situation.

“Damn.”

The fake bald man seemed to realize that being shy was useless and troublesome, so he scratched his head where red hair was growing like down and greeted them.

“Hey there. I’m called Low Sol. As you probably guessed, I’m a labyrinth adventurer, and I handle crossbows and short spears.”

Low turned his body to show the short spear strapped to his back.

“You might have heard of the Sol Brothers, but I’m the younger brother. These two will vouch for my skills.”

Low pointed to Olive and Ying.

While Olive and Ying’s guarantee was trustworthy enough, Serena had a more reliable method of judgment than endorsements from people in the same industry.

‘Four stars.’

The Princess nodded inwardly as she saw the four yellow stars floating above the fake bald man.

He was said to be a somewhat famous labyrinth adventurer, and his skills were definitely solid.

“But who are those people? I understand the knight, but are they civilians caught up in the labyrinth? That woman’s way of speaking was strange too.”

“Watch your words. That’s the Princess and the Count.”

“Not nicknames you’re calling them on your own, but real?”

“Real.”

“You should have told me something that important earlier!”

Low’s face turned pale, then he immediately pressed his bald head to the ground.

It was quite burdensome to see a bear-like person prostrating on the ground.

“Greetings! Low Sol pays his respects deeply! Please forgive my rudeness!”

“Mm, yes. I’ll forgive you, so speak gently.”

His originally severe shyness had worsened specifically around women due to the shock of being betrayed by Olive, and with the added difference in social status, Serena was only able to hear Low’s detailed circumstances after quite some time had passed.

“I am Low Sol. I make a living as a labyrinth adventurer. I usually operate in the Empire, but I heard rumors of a big festival in Hujihen and visited Huji. I won second place in a hunting competition hosted by the Royal Family, but did you perhaps see it…?”

Low watched Serena’s reaction.

Serena was worried that if she said she didn’t know right away, Low might be disappointed and close his mouth again, so she spoke gently in a roundabout way.

“There are too many events hosted by the Royal Family, and the hunting competition wasn’t under my supervision, so I don’t know. But to have placed second, you must have shown excellent skills.”

“Ah, you didn’t see it! That’s a relief!”

‘What? That’s not the reaction I expected.’

As the Princess wondered, Ying spoke briefly and bluntly.

“First place, High.”

“Yes. As Ying said, my brother took first place in the hunting competition. He beat me, but he said he’d continue growing his hair anyway, and how annoying it was when he shook his braided hair!”

The twins, whose relationship had been split because of Olive, had each made different vows.

The younger brother Low had resolved to live as a bald man until he beat his brother, while the older brother High had decided to keep growing his hair until he beat his younger brother, or something like that.

After saying he was relieved the Princess hadn’t seen that disgrace, Low continued his explanation.

“Actually, my brother and I visited Huji because we saw that a crimson key was offered as a competition prize. We agreed that whoever got the crimson key first would win. But the hunting competition prize wasn’t a crimson key. We had participated in the hunting competition without looking into it properly.”

‘What’s the point of participating in a competition for the prize without even checking which competition it was?’

In Serena’s mind, the rating she gave to Low dropped by 0.1 points, becoming 3.9 points.

“The match wouldn’t end like this. I was wandering around Hujihen when suddenly the ground shook. At first I thought it was an earthquake, but when I opened my eyes, I was here. I immediately realized it was a labyrinth and tried to escape, but moving right away would be dangerous.”

So Low said he hid his large frame in thickets and against walls, sucking tree sap when thirsty and chewing tree roots when hungry while observing the situation.

Since he happened to have all his luggage with him, he had sufficient food and water, so he alternated between them to prevent his muscles from deteriorating.

“After observing the monsters’ behavior, I thought my stamina would decline if I waited any longer, so while moving, I discovered Ying and Olive and was assessing the situation.”

“How long do you estimate you’ve been in the labyrinth?”

“About a week.”

The date Lavenda marked in the lobby had exceeded 50 days, but Low estimated he had been dropped in the labyrinth about a week ago.

This testimony gave Serena even more confidence in her hypothesis.

‘As expected. I’m telling you, not drawing increases the survival probability.’

As the Princess became lost in thought, Count Randy gained the right to speak and asked a question.

“By any chance, did you see any knights in the labyrinth?”

“Other than this knight here? I did see some.”

Count Randy’s eyes widened at this unexpected eyewitness testimony.

Serena, who had been thinking about her hypothesis, quickly reclaimed the right to speak from the Count.

“Where? Who did you see?”

“To say who exactly… there were many knights. The knights defeated the Floor Boss and went upward.”

Low said that since the stairs going downward were blocked, he went upward without hesitation.

“By any chance, was there a knight among them who was blonde, tall, and handsome?”

“They were all tall and good-looking. There was one with a build similar to mine, but that was probably just the armor’s effect.”

Royal knights who serve royalty up close are the face of the royal family. Since appearance is also scored when selecting knights, they were all attractive and good-looking.

“By any chance, didn’t that well-built knight’s armor differ from the other knights? One wearing black armor.”

“There was one. He had a good build and black armor, so I thought he was the leader, but there was a separate leader, which I found curious.”

“That must be Count Sirius.”

Low hadn’t just glimpsed the knights but had observed them quite carefully. He also knew about the knights’ activities.

Olive looked puzzled.

“Why didn’t you join them? It’s safer to stick together anyway.”

“There were too many of them, and they seemed to have someone they were escorting, so it felt burdensome. I’d rather travel alone in that case.”

“Ah, I see, I see.”

Regular knights and knights who serve high-ranking officials should be distinguished separately.

When Olive tried to playfully hit Low’s arm muscle in a friendly manner, Low flinched as if feeling burdened.

“Lady Serena, if what Mr. Low says is correct, there’s a high probability that Count Sirius is on the 4th Layer.”

“Wait a moment. I have something to think about.”

Build couldn’t be information unless seen directly, as it’s unknowable otherwise.

However, black armor was quite a distinctive feature, so Count Alpha must have gone up to the 4th Layer with the knights.

Separately from that, something kept bothering the Princess.

‘What is it? Something keeps nagging at me.’

People swallowed by the labyrinth fell into the same labyrinth as those who were nearby when the labyrinth was created.

‘Prince Willow was worried that Count Alpha might be alone.’

It was fortunate that Count Alpha had joined with other knights and was traveling together.

It was also fortunate that the person the knights were escorting was still alive.

‘What is it? What keeps bothering me?’

When you can’t think of something even when concentrating, it’s sometimes good to briefly divert your attention.

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

The well-arranged appearance of the 5th Floor, like a garden tended by a gardener, was pleasing to the eyes even though she knew it was a labyrinth.

‘Natural forests are wonderful, but artificial landscaping is also nice to look at.’

At that moment, a flash of inspiration struck the Princess’s mind and disappeared.

‘Garden?’

The annoying hangnail at her fingertip fell off cleanly!

Serena inwardly shouted ‘Eureka’ while asking Low, who was avoiding the touch of his ex-lover (who had been unilaterally dumped).

“You. Did you infiltrate Heuji Royal Palace just before falling into the labyrinth?”

The color drained from Low’s face, who was the picture of health itself.

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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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