Serena and the Mysterious Labyrinth - Chapter 227

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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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227. Entertainment (2)

Serena watched as Neet opened the treasure chest without trembling, maintaining her composure.

“Cough.”

Opening treasure chests provides a peculiar pleasure. Neet’s stiff expression relaxed as the treasure chest opened.

“Let’s see~ what came out. Eek.”

“A crystal?”

“We need to check for curses first, Grey.”

What came out of the treasure chest was a skull carved from crystal. In other words, a crystal skull.

The crystal’s transparency was so high that the back of the skull was clearly visible, and the craftsmanship was excellent. Despite being skull-shaped, it satisfied Princess Serena’s aesthetic sense.

“Exactly what I was hoping for came out.”

Grey, who had been examining the crystal skull before Neet, chuckled and handed the crystal skull to Neet.

Neet received the crystal skull with both hands. The child opened her previously closed mouth and smiled slightly.

“It’s the same as the floor the Labyrinth God gave us. Cough. It’s easier to breathe.”

Mana gathered in the open mouth of the crystal skull in Neet’s hands, emitting a faint light.

“The mouth looks strange?”

“It gathers the absorbed mana there. Hmm. A good item came out.”

Grey nodded with satisfaction.

“Originally, cursed equipment like this has curses tailored to the profession. If mana absorption is attached to mage equipment, it’s a real curse, so it usually only appears on warrior or guide equipment. We were lucky. We should give thanks to the Great Wisdom and Mysterious Labyrinth.”

Cursed equipment is called cursed equipment, but in reality, it’s equipment that applies debuffs to unnecessary stats and buffs to needed abilities.

As Grey said, mana absorption curses appearing on mage equipment was extremely rare.

“Wow. I’ve opened quite a few cursed boxes, but this is fascinating.”

“I’ve never seen this before either. That curse usually goes on axes or swords.”

“Zero. You’ve never seen this before either, right? Isn’t it fascinating?”

“No.”

Whether he meant he had obtained mage equipment with mana absorption curse from a cursed box before, or that he hadn’t seen it before but didn’t find it fascinating.

The archer always spoke briefly, leaving room for interpretation.

“It’s hard to carry around like this, right? Uncle!”

“What is it?”

Count Randy responded within 0.3 seconds to Grey’s call.

“Please make a staff to connect to the crystal skull. Keep it simple since Neet is still growing.”

Count Randy grabbed the crystal skull to weigh it, then recoiled in shock and returned it to Neet.

“Ugh! How can you hold something so unpleasant?”

“Be careful. Uncle has little mana reserves, so it’s dangerous if you hold it too long. Neet, show the crystal to Her Highness the Princess as well.”

After telling him to be careful, Grey had Neet let Serena touch the crystal skull.

‘What kind of indirect contact is this?’

If the crystal skull served the same role as a mana absorption trap, she didn’t want to touch it.

But she couldn’t ignore Neet’s joy at getting the item she wanted from the box.

Serena had no choice but to put on an elegant princess smile and accept the crystal skull the child offered.

‘Ugh. This feels awful.’

Though weaker than when stepping on traps, mana was being sucked out as if blood was being drained from her hands.

Serena examined it as if appraising the crystal quality, then returned the skull to Neet.

“The crystal is very transparent and clean. The craftsmanship is flawless too. The shape suits a necromancer well.”

“Thank you. It’s all thanks to Your Highness the Princess. Cough.”

Neet smiled faintly. The adults were smiling along with the child’s faint smile when a pre-adolescent voice broke the harmony.

“Now that you have a good staff, you need to study magic even harder.”

‘Does he really want to nag like that?’

Wasn’t it pitiful for a young child to be trapped in a labyrinth, unable to play, studying or doing chores every day?

Grey insisted that learning and learning more should be enjoyable. It was an incomprehensible way of thinking for Serena, who hated studying second only to labor.

‘I’m starting to feel sorry for the prince. He must have been rolling around under that taskmaster since birth.’

“Neet. Hold the crystal carefully. Yes. If we make decorations in different colors, it would look quite impressive!”

Prince Willow sketched the crystal skull, revealing his love for art. Seeing the prince’s slick face made her sympathy disappear.

‘As a prince, he probably endured the taskmaster and found ways to have fun on his own.’

She could vividly imagine the prince doodling on paper during studies, secretly carving decorations on wooden swords with stolen carving knives, and unnecessarily using his good voice to flirt with randomly encountered members of the opposite sex.

Actually, considering the Empire’s fun-loving culture, a prince who liked to play was normal, and Grey who liked studying was abnormal.

After finishing his sketch of the crystal skull, Prince Willow interfered with the alchemist trying to craft Neet’s staff.

“Mark. Considering Neet’s arm length, you should place the staff’s center of gravity lower.”

“Would this shape work?”

The sword and magic he had painstakingly learned were useless since he couldn’t leave the lobby, while the carving he secretly enjoyed as a hobby and cooking based on his exceptional taste were more useful.

Serena inwardly paid respect to the prince who enjoyed his hobbies despite the Grand Mage’s sharp glares.

That respect grew even more when she saw the dinner menu.

“Steak? Is it steak?”

“The smell is heavenly.”

That evening’s menu was steak. Prince Willow drooled with enchanted eyes and drove away those approaching the grill with large tongs.

“Everyone back away. This grill is under my jurisdiction.”

“Your Highness, are you the guardian of restrooms, pots, and now grills too?”

“Hehe. I’m very pleased to be able to provide delicious steak after escaping that tough condor meat. Today is the anniversary of Neet getting the crystal skull from the box. Eat to your heart’s content.”

Though it was regrettable there was no butter, Prince Willow generously used oil infused with herbs to grill the minotaur meat.

The prince, deliberately making clicking sounds by hitting the iron grill he had requested Count Randy to make with large tongs while grilling thick steaks, looked the happiest he had been since entering the labyrinth.

The juicy steak that was delicious even plain was topped with Imperial palace-style sauce that Prince Willow had recreated with limited ingredients.

Serena cut the steak with her dagger, ate it, and was amazed. The meat was grilled perfectly. The sauce was also so delicious it was hard to believe it was made with limited ingredients. It was sweet and sour, a perfect match for the meat.

“The real Imperial secret sauce is even more delicious. When we leave the labyrinth, I’d like to invite you all and treat you properly.”

“The Empire is the home of gastronomy! Her Highness the Princess will be satisfied too!”

The steak was very delicious. So much so that she couldn’t hear Grey’s words, which she would normally criticize inwardly.

Ralph, who had been slightly dejected after being excluded from the 9th layer strategy, also smiled brightly while eating steak.

“It’s really, really delicious!”

The growing boy devoured a chunk of steak in an instant. Prince Willow snapped his tongs in the air.

“Would you like more?”

“May I have more?”

“You need to eat well for muscles to grow too. Sometimes it’s okay.”

When Serena’s permission was granted, several others who wanted more steak cautiously raised their hands. Prince Willow counted the people requesting meat refills and placed meat on the grill.

“Seeing everyone eat deliciously makes me feel satisfied.”

Prince Willow was raising the corners of his mouth when he looked at the bandaged child.

“How about you, Neet? Is it delicious?”

Neet’s menu was different from the others. The meat had been minced to make it easier to chew, turned into a hamburger steak.

There was even a fried egg on top of Neet’s hamburger steak. Neet was frozen by such luxury and couldn’t readily touch it.

“I, I can’t eat such precious food by myself. Cough.”

“Fried eggs taste better with hamburger steak than with steak. I’m keeping track of the egg order, so don’t worry.”

“B, but.”

Serena also added words so Neet could eat comfortably.

“Eat quickly before Olive steals it.”

“Cough! Thank you for the meal!”

“Princess! Olive is hurt!”

Olive protested, but the effect was definite. Neet pierced the exact center of the egg yolk with her wooden fork as if she had never hesitated.

The soft-boiled yolk burst and flowed over the hamburger steak. Neet dipped the hamburger steak in the yolk and put it firmly in her mouth.

The child’s mouth opened wider than when the crystal skull came out of the box.

Eight years old. Even if she had matured early due to circumstances, she was still at an age where hamburger steak and fried eggs were better than rare magical tools.

***

‘I’m full.’

The steak I hadn’t had in a long time was so delicious that I overate. My stomach felt heavy, but Serena trusted her 18-year-old stomach and lay down on the capsule bed.

‘Ah~ I want to drink some soda!’

Perhaps because she ate greasy meat, she particularly craved carbonated drinks. The Princess lost her composure and smacked her lips before staring blankly at the capsule ceiling.

Since she had enjoyed herself for a while, it was time to return to reality. Serena decided to make precious use of her time alone to think.

‘The game information is more useful than I thought.’

While Grey and Count Alpha provided the decisive hints for conquering the 9th Layer this time, Serena was able to come up with tactics thanks to the monsters from the game that had become punching bags in her previous life.

Serena blinked her one and only eye.

‘The 7th Floor was exactly like the game. The 9th Layer was similar too.’

There are no games in this world, so why do layers that remind me of games exist in the Labyrinth?

‘The gacha and shop window. The Minotaur God said they were created by referencing my memories. Could my memories have been reflected in this Labyrinth concept too?’

Did the game information in Serena’s memories inspire the Minotaur God’s creative enthusiasm?

With a full stomach and warm back, she felt sleepy. Serena slowly closed her one and only eye.

‘Next time I die. I should ask the Minotaur God if they know about games.’

The Princess fell asleep. And she dreamed of very old memories. Memories from before she was born.

When Grandmother went out to work, young Serena was left alone in the basement apartment. The TV only had terrestrial channels, and even those only broadcast boring programs during the hours when Serena was home alone.

Even when she wanted to go out and play with friends, they were all at academy, so the playground only had siblings younger than Serena.

A cell phone? Of course not. A computer? Same story.

Perhaps the landlord was worried about Serena wandering the neighborhood out of boredom.

The owner of the house where Serena and Grandmother lived as tenants invited Serena to his home. He pointed to the computer and game console in his son’s room and told her to play with them as she pleased.

The Landlord’s Son’s room only had games that were released before Serena was born. But so what? To bored Serena, it was the best playground.

Grandmother said that playing games would make her stupid and she would be a burden to the landlord, so she should only visit once in a while, but Serena secretly went to the House of the Landlord every single day.

Serena was already stupid, so it was fine if she got even more stupid.

The landlord let Serena into his house without showing any sign of annoyance. He often gave her snacks too.

Serena gradually grew fond of the Landlord Couple. While Grandmother was grateful for the cheap rent, she cursed the Landlord Couple behind their backs.

“Heartless people. They don’t even know if their child is dead or alive, yet they go around smiling.”

The Landlord Couple’s son, who loved games, especially classic games, had gone missing and his life or death was unknown. Grandmother didn’t like the couple’s smiling faces and kept scolding Serena for visiting, but it was better than being alone in the single-room apartment without Grandmother.

While her friends were absorbed in mobile games, Serena played games that seemed older than her friends’ parents.

When they had to move because their neighborhood was being redeveloped, the landlord gave Serena the computer, game console, and all the games.

By then, Serena was quite mature and roughly guessed why the Landlord Couple had been kind to her. Missing their lost child, they had shown sympathy to a pitiful child nearby.

The games collected by the couple’s child would also be a medium for remembering their son, so was it really okay for her to receive them? When Serena hesitated, the couple showed the smile that Grandmother had disliked.

“This is actually a secret. Our child actually went to another world and became a hero.”

“We meet sometimes in dreams, so it’s okay. That child also gave permission for us to give you the games. He said there are some expensive ones, so check the market prices and sell them well.”

Quite mature Serena thought the couple was either not in their right mind from the grief of losing their child, or they were deliberately joking to ease Serena’s burden.

But after being reincarnated in a Medieval Fantasy World, she sometimes wondered. Could the couple’s words have been true? Could their son have really gone to another world and become a hero?

‘It would be fortunate if their child is alive. But isn’t it sad to only meet in dreams?’

Since drowsiness hadn’t completely faded, Serena slowly opened and closed her heavy eyelids. Just as she was thinking she should endure a bit more in bed and get up before lunch.

“Ugh! P-please save… please save me!”

From outside the capsule came the dying voice of a middle-aged woman. It was Countess Nex.

“Countess! What’s wrong!”

Serena hurriedly rushed out of the capsule.

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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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