Serena and the Mysterious Labyrinth - Chapter 179

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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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179. I Hope You Become Close

The Number Siblings passed the test and officially became the 2nd squad of Heuji’s Labyrinth exploration team.

Grey requested to conduct a re-investigation of the 2nd layer together with the 2nd squad.

“Since we’ve been there twice, it’ll be like a picnic.”

Serena granted Grey’s request while adding Low to the 2nd squad.

The completed composition of Heuji’s Labyrinth 2nd squad exploration team was as follows.

Experienced archer Low, compass-challenged but guide Hana, tank-dealer hybrid Duri, Sesi who could handle tanking, dealing, and support depending on monster types, and Grey as supervisor and support mage.

Grey planned to participate only in this 2nd layer investigation.

It was a composition arranged hoping that the experienced Low would lead the inexperienced and young Number Siblings well.

Low was deployed immediately without being observed for several days like the Number Siblings.

‘Ying said he was fine. Grey seems to think well of him too.’

Grey roughly knew the famous labyrinth explorers. Seeing that even Grey easily accepted Low, Low’s reputation seemed decent.

It was a party Serena had carefully arranged, but Olive had different thoughts upon seeing the 2nd squad members.

“Pufuup! Criminal party! No different from labyrinth dogs! Want to start from the 8th floor?”

She was planning to tease them.

Low gritted his teeth and ignored her, but eventually his patience ran out and he requested her to stop.

“Heuzmeuru.”

“Heuzmeuru~”

“Olive! Though it’s true these people committed crimes, they are comrades working toward the same goal. Don’t tease them.”

“Yes~”

“Ignore Olive’s words. If you clear the labyrinth, I’ll reduce your crimes according to your achievements. Low, I trust you’ll lead the party well as the experienced one.”

“Yes, yep. I understand.”

The criminals bowed their heads in gratitude for the Princess’s grace and left the lobby.

As Grey left the lobby, he requested Serena to help with Neet’s magic training.

The magic Neet had learned was still only creating orbs of light.

‘Strange. She learned mana control quickly.’

She didn’t forget what she saw once and learned mana control quickly considering the penalty.

Even if not as fast as Serena, progress should be rapid, but it was sluggish.

“Cough, I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.”

‘Is it because she’s young?’

Since Neet was really young, it wasn’t good for her to frequently encounter gods even through divine thoughts.

So they were trying once every three days, which might be the cause of slow progress.

‘Learning is faster when you tackle it all at once.’

But she couldn’t tell a child who couldn’t even lift her head in front of the Princess to frequently meet a god who was hundreds or thousands of times greater than the Princess.

Serena watched from the side so Neet could at least use the light orb magic skillfully.

“Have a snack first.”

Prince Willow brought bread pudding made soft for Neet, who had digestive issues.

The sweet and savory smell stimulated the Princess’s nose.

“Cough, thank you!”

What child in the world could eat bread pudding made by the Empire’s 5th Prince?

There was someone who stopped Neet as she brought her fork to the bread pudding with a bright face.

“Wait. How did I tell you to hold the fork?”

“Like this. Cough.”

It was Countess Randy.

Philia corrected Neet’s posture and fork-holding method while teaching etiquette.

Since the Princess’s maid was teaching etiquette, this was also high-class education difficult to receive elsewhere.

“Your Highness Serena. It’s difficult to control fire with just the campfire, so could you get an oven next time?”

Prince Willow subtly requested his wish.

Since it was a reasonable request, Serena quickly checked the product window.

‘Rather than buying just an oven, it would be better to buy a whole kitchen? Ugh, not enough space.’

Just like the alchemist’s workshop purchased for Count Randy included an alchemy cauldron, furnace, and storage space, the kitchen also included a cooking furnace, oven, and various cooking utensils.

Since it also included a cooking counter, it required considerable space.

‘I’d need to expand the lobby twice before buying this.’

“I’ll consider the suggestion.”

Serena stabbed her fork into the soft and bouncy bread pudding, cut a small piece, and put it in her mouth.

For someone who complained about difficulty controlling fire, the taste and texture were excellent.

‘It’s a bit dry from lack of eggs and milk though.’

“Princess, aren’t you eating? Then can I eat it?”

Due to the shortage of eggs and milk, only Serena and Neet received bread pudding.

The guide who had been lurking around the Princess like a hyena to get scraps lit up her eyes.

‘If I were to give it to someone, it would be Philia or Ralph, not you.’

Philia seemed to keep getting thinner, so she wanted to feed her something, and Ralph was still growing so she needed to take care of him.

“Philia.”

“Yes.”

“Ah.”

Serena broke off a bite-sized piece of bread pudding and held it out to Philia on a spoon.

Philia completely forgot about strictly teaching Neet dining etiquette and quickly opened her mouth to receive it.

Color returned to Heuji Jeolmi’s pearl-like pale cheeks.

“It’s delicious, Lady Serena!”

Serena worried the child might learn from watching and said a word.

“By the way, this is impolite behavior. Only do this in private or among family.”

“Cough, yes.”

“Now, you eat the rest.”

“Won’t you feed me more?”

“If you don’t want it, I’ll give it to Count Ralph or Olive.”

“I’ll eat it!”

She couldn’t give bread pudding that the master had taken a bite of to someone else!

Philia showed determination and protected the bread pudding.

“Aww, Countess. Just one bite for me too. I’ll use my own spoon. This one’s washed so there’s no saliva on it.”

“Cough, please have mine. Cough.”

“Awesome!”

“Labyrinth explorer! Don’t steal food from a sick child!”

Olive was chased away along with Countess Randy’s scolding.

The guide scratched her messy hair and grumbled.

“Tch. When I get out of the labyrinth, I’ll eat nothing but pudding for breakfast, lunch, snacks, dinner, and late-night meals. But anyway.”

The guide tilted her head as if curious.

“The Countess takes better care of the kid than I thought? Doesn’t she dislike children?”

Heuji Jeolmi nodded elegantly and gracefully.

“I dislike them.”

There was no hesitation even though there was a child right in front of her, and that child would remember everything she saw and heard for life.

“But you take better care of her than expected?”

“This child is a patient and a child. Isn’t she clearly weak? Bullying such weak, pitiful, and unfortunate people is dishonorable. Taking good care of the weak makes my honor shine, and for my master Lady Serena to be honorable, I must be honorable. A servant’s faults are the master’s faults. A servant’s honor is the master’s honor.”

Philia wiped Neet’s mouth with a handkerchief where wounds had burst and were oozing from moving her mouth.

“You too must not forget the grace Lady Serena has bestowed and repay it tenfold.”

“Cough, yes.”

“Memorizing with your brain is useless since it disappears when you die and rot! Engrave it in your bones and soul!”

“Yes! Cough cough!”

Olive said nothing and listened to Philia’s words, then nodded with an expression of understanding something.

“I understand. The Countess loves the Princess.”

“You’re stating the obvious!”

“Tsk. Just looking at the Countess makes me confused about what love is.”

Olive couldn’t endure Philia, who brought her cosmic horror, and fled from her seat.

***

Before dinner, while Prince Willow and Lavenda were busily preparing ingredients, Grey and the 2nd team returned.

“You’re back early?”

“Did you give up halfway?”

Grey waved his hand.

“No. We found something hidden.”

“What what? Yo?”

“Wait a moment. Uncle, please give me a cup of tea.”

“Here you go.”

Grey called for Count Randy, but Prince Willow brought the tea. Count Alpha was shocked.

The old man didn’t like that the prince was not only taking charge of the kitchen but also volunteering for errands, so he glared with burning eyes before letting out a sigh of resignation.

“Sigh. It would only hurt my mouth to say anything. Anyway, what was hidden in the 2nd Layer was the elevator control lever.”

“The elevator that’s in the center of the 2nd Layer that the strong enemy was using?”

“Yes. It was hidden in the pond thicket. We operated it, so now we can use it too.”

“Really? I searched around the pond too but didn’t find anything suspicious. Yo.”

“That was before we decoded the cipher. It probably only appears to those who decoded it, or gets generated after the cipher is solved.”

“Ooh! So we can zip around using the 2nd Layer elevator? Yo?”

“Yes. We came up using the elevator just now.”

Serena jumped up, wanting to check it out herself.

Everyone except Prince Willow, who couldn’t leave the lobby due to the curse, went down to the 2nd Layer and boarded the elevator.

‘I really wanted to ride this.’

She didn’t know how envious she was watching the bull-headed monster ride it alone.

Serena was moved and praised the 2nd team.

“That’s good news. Your contribution is great, Grey.”

“It feels strange to be praised for something like this by Your Highness who can use the teleportation room.”

“No. This is very important and good work.”

“You’ve truly made a great contribution.”

Count Alpha, who hadn’t yet realized how overpowered the teleportation room was, agreed with Serena’s words.

The teleportation room was just too overpowered; Grey’s discovery was indeed a great contribution.

‘Going up and down the 2nd Layer was really hard.’

Her heart and lungs felt like they would burst, and her thighs, calves, and ankles hurt so much.

She didn’t know how much she had grumbled, asking the bull-head to let her use the elevator it was selfishly using alone.

Grey had accomplished that. He deserved applause and cheers.

“Right right. Young master is amazing. As expected, an annoying but talented human. A capable person.”

Now that they could use the 2nd Layer elevator, they could easily reach the 3rd Layer, and the 4th Layer would be quick too if they climbed the rope well.

The party had secured an incredible shortcut. It was all Grey’s contribution, but since they went to the 2nd Layer together, the others could take some credit too, yet somehow the 2nd team’s atmosphere was strange.

‘Why are their expressions so dark?’

Let’s say Low was keeping his mouth shut because he was shy.

Even the Number Siblings, who usually said whatever they wanted, had their mouths tightly shut and all had dark expressions.

She thought it might be because they were tired, but even after returning to the lobby, the atmosphere remained strange.

“Cough, sister?”

“Hahaha, has Neet been well?”

“Cough, I saved some for you sisters. It’s delicious. It’s bread pudding. Cough cough.”

“You saved it thinking of us? You didn’t have to!”

“Wooong!”

Neet had been saving the small bread pudding, which would have been too little even for herself, because she wanted her brothers and sisters to taste it too.

Prince Willow wiped his eyes at that thoughtful gesture. Count Alpha also relaxed his forced frown and smiled gently.

The Number Siblings’ dark faces also brightened like the light section of the 4th Layer.

Serena watched the laughing and chattering Number Siblings before calling the old man’s name.

“Grey.”

“Let’s go to the herb garden.”

Grey guessed why the princess called him and pointed to the door.

The old man walked with his hands behind his back in a swagger, then opened his mouth as soon as they arrived at the herb garden.

“Low is… ugh.”

Grey, who used to call all older people brother or sister, bit his tongue as if he found it hard to call the fake bald man brother.

“Just comfortably call me mister.”

Wasn’t he probably calling him bald bachelor in his mind?

Mister seemed more comfortable than brother, as Grey immediately opened his mouth.

“Mister Low didn’t get along well with the brothers and sisters. At that age, he was struggling to handle kids much younger than him.”

The bold child shrugged his shoulders.

“Of course, it’s not only Mister Low’s fault. The brothers and sisters have been suffering from domestic violence. They’re not real family, but it was home and family to the brothers and sisters. Anyway, maybe that’s why they find large adult men burdensome.”

“Wasn’t Count Randy okay?”

“Uncle honestly looks kind of easy-going. His personality is also simple.”

The old man called the genius famous throughout the continent a simple fool.

“But Mister Low, regardless of his real personality, looks physically strong on the outside, muscular, with scars and tattoos, and he’s bald. If he at least had good social skills it would be different, but he doesn’t talk much either. So I think the brothers and sisters were bothered by him.”

Grey sighed.

“Every time mister moved, they would be on guard or shrink their shoulders.”

It might be different if Low had a friendly personality, but unfortunately Low was very shy.

The fake bald man’s shyness worsened as the children avoided and were wary of him, so he completely shut his mouth.

‘Low with his mouth shut looks like a scary person.’

His actual personality is that of a bland person who can’t forget his ex-girlfriend who dumped him and whose face keeps turning red like a radish.

“During the first trial, even though we failed the test, the atmosphere was still good. But this time, even without monsters and knowing all the routes, it felt like we were monitoring real convicts doing hard labor.”

“I see. So that’s why the atmosphere was so dark when you returned.”

“Your Highness wants to use the brothers and sisters as the 2nd team, right? Then it would be better to put someone else instead of Mister Low. Sister Ying or Sister Olive. The current party won’t work.”

“Indeed. Such a problem.”

Handling people is no ordinary difficult task. Serena massaged her throbbing head.

‘In the game, even if party members didn’t get along, you could raise intimacy with surprise parties or gift offensives.’

That doesn’t work in reality.

Serena complained inwardly.

‘Others! When they summon people through gacha, it’s all “Welcome master!” crawling on the ground and making a fuss, but even when I summon people, I have to bring them like I’m making three visits to recruit them, and I have to worry about making the summoned people get along! What is this really! If this were a novel, I’d want to grab the author by the collar. What kind of personality does the author have.’

Serena briefly escaped reality, then returned to the reality she wanted to dismiss as fantasy.

Because of pride and vanity, she couldn’t make pitiful sounds, but inside she was whimpering like a puppy looking for its mother’s milk.

“I can’t remove both Olive and Ying from the 1st team. Won’t they gradually lower their guard if they stay together?”

“That would probably happen, but it’ll take a long time.”

“Low is a bland person, so once his shyness ends, he should be fine…”

“In the current state, his shyness won’t end even with time. Mister Low seems to find it more burdensome because of the age gap with the sisters.”

Serena recalled how Low quickly overcame his shyness with Ralph.

“Did you tell him that Duri is male?”

“No. Same gender would be more comfortable, right? It would be good to start from there.”

Grey deliberately shouted loudly as soon as he returned to the lobby.

“Brother Duri! Can I try on the bear skin?”

“Mmm.”

Duri gave permission more easily than expected. Grey put on the bear skin and pretended to play.

“Wow! It’s heavy! It’s hard to even lift my head!”

“Wooooong.”

Duri lifted part of the bear hide to make it easier for Grey to play while wearing it.

“Thank you, hyung!”

With the bear hide off, Duri looked like a tall, thin girl.

Her skeletal frame was masculine, but her face was innocent and cute like a baby bear, confusing anyone who looked at her.

‘Pretty baby bear.’

Anyone who saw those dark, round eyes would fall in love with Duri. Duri’s baby bear-like eyes had that kind of enchanting power.

As Grey kept calling Duri “hyung,” Low and Count Alpha’s eyes trembled.

“Your Highness Willow. By any chance, is that child…”

“A boy.”

“Ah, I see.”

It would have been natural to ask why a boy was wearing a skirt, but Count Alpha didn’t inquire further.

It seemed he wasn’t interested since it was personal information unrelated to escort duties or labyrinth conquest.

Low reacted similarly to Count Alpha. He seemed surprised to hear that Duri was male, but that was all. He didn’t react further.

Low’s reaction came after seeing Duri easily lift Grey and the bear hide with one hand.

The mysterious stranger’s buttocks twitched, and he finally cautiously approached Duri.

Low himself knew that the Number Siblings were wary of him, and thinking this couldn’t continue, he courageously took the first step as an adult.

‘What is he trying to say?’

Duri, who had been lifting Grey up and swinging him left and right like on a swing, put Grey down as Low approached.

“Ugh, I’m dizzy!”

Grey, who had been laughing happily while on the swing, rushed to the restroom.

Low noticed the cute baby bear-like eyes were wary of him, so he stopped at a distance and carefully asked.

“Aren’t you interested in strength training?”

“Grr.”

Duri wrinkled her nose like an angry beast. As Low’s big shoulders drooped and he was about to return to his spot, a third party intervened.

“I’m interested!”

It was Ralph. The young knight clenched both fists and scrutinized Low’s body from head to toe. Admiration filled the young knight’s eyes.

“Low’s muscles! I want them too!”

“Ooh! Count Ralph! You’re a knight who knows what’s what! Want to work out together?”

“Yes!”

Ralph nodded vigorously. Then he looked back at Count Alpha, who was sitting solemnly.

“I’m curious about Count Alpha’s workout routine too!”

“My workout routine??”

Count Alpha was startled at being suddenly called out.

“I’ll tell you later. Now isn’t a good time.”

“Not a good time? Weren’t you the one who told me that you can’t skip exercise even for a day, and you have to make time for it no matter what? Let’s go.”

Count Alpha was about to decline but stood up at Prince Willow’s words.

“It’s too cramped to exercise here, so we should go to the herb garden.”

So much for declining. The Imperial Knight decided on the workout location and headed toward the door.

Two big guys and a boy who wanted to become big left the lobby.

Serena and Grey watched the departing trio with incredulous eyes, then soon shrugged their shoulders.

‘Well. It’s good if at least you guys become friends.’

Wouldn’t it be good if anyone became friends?

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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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