Serena and the Mysterious Labyrinth - Chapter 241

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

241. Good Quarrel, Bad Quarrel

Rihua’s face, as white as the snow covering the outside of the mountain lodge, was red. Tears welled up in her similarly reddened eyes.

“I fell asleep while standing night watch. So, sob. Because of me, all of you.”

Rihua couldn’t bring herself to say they nearly died, swallowing her words and sobbing with guilt.

Serena pressed her forehead.

‘Sigh. I was deliberately not looking for the culprit.’

Since there was no outside interference, it had to be one of the party members. Excluding Seraph, they were all priests, so no one would have deliberately tried to massacre the party.

Since it was an accident caused by a mistake and there were no casualties, everyone tacitly tried to cover up the incident.

Muffin, who was first in the night watch order and was certain it was a ventilation mistake, deliberately didn’t mention the others’ watch order, and the others didn’t look for a culprit even after hearing the reason for their collapse.

‘To confess so honestly like this. Should I call her a priest, or just pure?’

Rihua knelt down trembling as if she didn’t know what to do with herself, pressing her forehead to the floor.

“I’m truly sorry! Not only am I a burden, but I committed such a sin!”

“Priest Rihua, please raise your head. You didn’t commit a crime, you made a mistake. Anyone can make mistakes. I believe you know this well, Priest.”

“Sob, that’s right, Priest! You can doze off when you’re tired. You have the weakest stamina and were struggling the whole time!”

“After pushing hard for days, resting made you relax and your body couldn’t endure it. It wasn’t intentional.”

High Priest Hazel and Muffin, and even Knight Marin abandoned her vow of silence to comfort Rihua. Even though all three forgave her, Rihua wouldn’t raise her head.

“I don’t deserve to see the light! I’m someone who deserves to be trapped in eternal darkness!”

The archer’s eyes widened at the mention of darkness. It seemed he didn’t like how the follower of light expressed darkness negatively.

“I can’t continue being a burden to everyone. Now that it’s come to this, I’ll sacrifice my life to give you all blessings-“

“That’s right!”

The moment Rihua said something dangerous, Seraph, who had been scowling with his pretty face, suddenly shouted.

Seraph’s jewel-like beautiful eyes were directed not at Rihua prostrated on the floor, but at Serena.

“I saved you in the library! So we’re even now! I don’t owe you anything!”

‘What’s he talking about out of nowhere.’

While the small, pale priest was prostrated and crying, what was this sibling saying?

Serena blinked her one eye, unable to follow the context, then soon realized after seeing the true intention hidden behind her sibling’s arrogant expression.

‘Aha!’

Now that she understood her sibling’s true intention, Serena knew what she had to do. Serena matched her sibling’s arrogant expression and lifted her chin to look down at Seraph, who was similar in height.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. We could have avoided the Shadow Tiger without your clumsy help.”

“Hmph!”

Seraph sneered at Serena as if she was ridiculous.

“You don’t know how persistent that tiger is, that’s why you say such things. If I hadn’t helped, you would have become tiger food.”

Tiger food. Hearing those words reminded her of the headless knight, making Serena’s stomach churn. Because she couldn’t immediately retort, Seraph excitedly began criticizing his sister.

“I told you to get lost from the beginning. Why do you keep stubbornly entering the labyrinth? Didn’t you say the lobby was comfortable and nice? Just stay there!”

“Are you entering the labyrinth because it’s safe? Just this incident alone. If we had been a little late-“

Serena would have had to see her sibling’s frozen corpse. With only four blood relatives, one being grandfather’s murderer and another being a drug-addicted father, they were all each other had as normal family.

Thinking of her frozen sibling that couldn’t be thawed even after 10 minutes in a microwave made her feel sick. But pointing out that her sibling nearly died would go against Seraph’s intention to change the subject for Rihua’s sake.

Serena swallowed her words and brought up other grounds to criticize her sibling. Fortunately, there were plenty of things to nitpick.

“How can a successor to a nation’s throne commit theft? And of his sister’s belongings? Instead of honestly explaining why you needed the items or requesting a trade, you just committed theft outright! Aren’t you ashamed thinking of our ancestors who protected Huji with integrity for a thousand years?”

“Hmph! Request a trade? As if you would have given it to me if I asked! You obviously would have ignored me telling me not to talk nonsense and thought about seducing my party members to take them to the lobby!”

Woof woof woof! Argh argh argh!

The most noble siblings in Huji barked like Tooth Books from the 8th floor, veins bulging in their necks.

Thanks to this, Priest Rihua stopped crying from guilt and watched the sibling fight with a dazed expression.

“You thief! You’re tarnishing the family’s reputation! Return the stolen goods and compensation right now!”

“We should share surplus supplies in the labyrinth! Are you so stingy about what your sibling took to survive! You greedy person!”

“Do you know how dangerous it was because of the trap you set in the library? This time too, a party member nearly got seriously hurt because of you!”

“If you can’t even notice such a simple trap, you can’t call yourself Huaim’s bloodline!”

“Hmm. This seems like it’ll take a while. Priests, are you sufficiently prepared for the cold?”

Count Randy, who was watching the sibling fight, turned his attention to the priests.

The priests seemed to have obtained clothing from the 7th floor, but their attire was inadequate compared to the mountain climbing group armed with fur clothing.

“If you provide materials and fees, I’ll repair your equipment.”

“My hands are so cold! I want fur gloves!”

“We were relying on gentle fire for the lacking warmth. Could we perhaps keep the temperature control magic tools you lent us? We’ll pay the price.”

It’s common sense to trade magic tools for other magic tools. High Priest Hazel took out magic tools obtained from the labyrinth.

There was a lot. And they sparkled. Olive would probably like them if she saw them.

‘She still has good treasure chest luck.’

Whether it was because her greed was so great that the labyrinth reflected it, or she was born with good fortune with money.

“How about you, Priest Rihua? The snow reflecting light can’t be good for your eyesight. The protective glasses the Count is wearing look good. Try requesting something similar.”

“Me? I’m fine. When I was young, my eyes were sensitive to light so I always squinted, but after serving the dazzling light, I became okay. Rather than that, snowshoes or climbing sticks or masks…”

Rihua regained her spirits and listed the items she wanted. Seraph’s eyes, which had been trembling with anger every time Serena spoke, softened.

‘She still takes care of her party members.’

It seemed she had grown attached while conquering the labyrinth together.

Seeing Count Alpha looking anxious as he witnessed a sibling fight for the first time, Serena gradually wrapped up the fight.

“You seem healthy seeing how much you’re talking. That’s enough now. Let’s stop.”

“Hmph. That’s what I should say.”

Seraph stubbornly closed his mouth, and Serena habitually sighed. Then her sibling narrowed his brow and glared at his sister.

When Serena raised her eyebrows, Seraph closed his mouth even tighter as if hurt and turned his head away.

Serena sighed again. Just when she thought he had grown a little, he was still a difficult prince to please.

***

The mountain climbing group took charge of dinner preparations.

Low expressed his feeling of ‘please don’t anyone talk to me’ with a fierce expression while glaring only at the pot.

His large build, scarred face, and fake baldness combined so that no one readily approached him. It was what the hunter wanted.

“Thank you for the advice on the 8th floor. Thanks to you, we could safely escape the 8th floor.”

“Not at all. I’m sorry I couldn’t provide more useful information.”

While Serena shared labyrinth conquest information with High Priest Hazel, Seraph conversed with the knight from the Empire with an arrogant, irritated expression.

“Hmm. It’s fortunate that the 5th Prince is safe.”

“Yes. With both Your Highness the Grand Duke and Your Highness the Grand Duchess safe, it’s truly a blessed event for both the Empire and Huji.”

Seraph seemed more at ease since Count Alpha was an Imperial knight, asking various things about the lobby. Count Alpha answered faithfully.

“A goose that lays golden eggs and a monster tamer? Haha! Good heavens!”

The prince’s eyes fell on the bald hunter and the boy covered in bear hide.

“I thought you had abandoned that impudent thief and kept someone with common sense by your side, but that wasn’t it, was it? Are you planning to gather lowly and bizarre people to form a traveling troupe?”

Serena’s eyebrows twitched.

It was really unpleasant to hear from a sibling who traveled with two 5-star monks, a sealed 5-star knight, and a 3-star healer as his first companions.

‘I wanted 5-star companions too!’

Seraph’s party just lacked ranged attackers, but their power was formidable. In fact, they conquered the labyrinth almost without rest with that formidable power. There was a reason they generously forgave Rihua’s mistake.

“I knew you liked to show off by gathering orphans and vagrants. I didn’t know you’d do it in the labyrinth too. How pathetic.”

That was Seraph’s way of saying ‘if you have energy to care about a child who isn’t even blood-related, look at me instead.’ She knew it, but it sounded so annoying that she couldn’t speak nicely.

“What’s pathetic is your judgment, isn’t it? Low is a renowned labyrinth adventurer and an excellent hunter who placed 2nd in this Huji founding anniversary hunting competition. And Duri isn’t lowly. She’s noble.”

“Cough. Ahem! It’s nothing.”

Count Randy, who was crafting and repairing items the priests requested through alchemy, suddenly coughed. It seemed he choked while concentrating on his work.

Seraph’s gaze turned to Duri.

“This one?”

The thin boy covered in bear hide looked far from noble no matter how you looked at him. He couldn’t even speak human words, only making grunting sounds. Seraph doubted his sister’s words.

“Duri can transform into a bear. It’s a sacred power given by the great one in heaven. Divine blood flows through her, like you and me.”

“A person transforming into a bear, what kind of ridiculous lie-“

“Roar!”

“It’s a bear!”

“Wow! You really transformed into a bear, Sir Seraph.”

Since the space was cramped, Duri immediately released the transformation. High Priest Hazel observed the bear boy with interested eyes.

“This confirms what the Princess said. It’s the aura of a great being. Though faint, I can also sense the Earth’s blessing.”

“Is Duri related to the Earth God?”

If so, the divine blood flowing through Duri’s body would be of higher rank than House Huaim, who didn’t even know what domain their ancestor governed (it seemed like the Labyrinth, but nothing was confirmed yet). The Earth God was among the highest-ranking deities among the countless gods residing in the Heavens.

“Not exactly. However, he seems to be a descendant of one of the Earth’s children. The Earth has so many offspring that I can’t tell which one, but the transformation ability is a blessing from the Heavens.”

Knowing that Duri’s power belonged to a branch extending from the Earth, Hazel smiled warmly.

Duri, who had been wary of strangers, let down his guard with just one smile from the Earth’s priest and accepted the priest’s touch.

“Ugh, I thought I was using hide obtained from killing a bear on the mountain.”

“Are there bears on the 10th Layer?”

“Yes. We found a cave on the way here, and Sir Seraph insisted there was a treasure chest, so we went in.”

“I didn’t insist. The compass showed there was a treasure chest!”

Seraph grimaced and protested while pulling out his compass. It had more needles and was more elaborate than the labyrinth compass Serena possessed.

The Labyrinth Adventurer’s eyes widened as he whispered in the Knight’s ear. Serena caught the words that it seemed like the best labyrinth compass obtainable in the Labyrinth.

“Yes, yes, that’s right. Anyway, when we entered the cave, there was a huge bear hibernating. We felt bad about killing it while it slept and tried to leave, but Sir Seraph said we had to open the treasure chest behind the bear, so we ended up killing it.”

“A magic tool came out of the chest. It was worth it.”

Seraph curtly replied to his promising marriage candidate. Muffin pursed her lips.

“Ugh. It felt wrong to kill something that was sleeping. And since no one knew how to skin it, we only took a little meat and left it there.”

Serena also mourned for the bear that had died from a decay punch while sleeping. Since it was killed in one blow, it wouldn’t have been painful.

“Groooan.”

When the bear story came up, Duri reacted. Duri waved his hands earnestly. He pointed to his nose, then pointed downward. Seeing this, Low whispered in Ying’s ear.

“He’s saying the smell Duri reacted to earlier was about the bear corpse.”

“Woof woof!”

Duri nodded his head vigorously. It seemed Low’s guess was right, but then he shook his head left and right.

‘The story is both right and wrong?’

Duri pointed to the Pink-Haired Girl, lay down showing his belly, and stuck out his tongue. Then he suddenly got up, pointed in Serena’s direction, and took a deep breath.

“So. You mean Duri smelled a living bear?”

“Woof! Woof woof!”

Duri nodded vigorously, happy that Serena understood.

‘Indeed.’

A living bear. Very useful information. Serena made eye contact with her party members and resolved to definitely bring Sesi here later.

“Are there only two people in your party who can speak properly?”

Except for Seraph picking fights as naturally as breathing, the mountain hut atmosphere was peaceful.

After finishing dinner in the peaceful atmosphere, the Princess left the mountain hut under the pretense of using the restroom. High Priest Hazel, who had made eye contact with the Princess, followed as an escort.

‘It’s cold.’

It was cold and a snowstorm was blowing, so she needed to finish her business quickly. Serena asked the Earth’s priest who was blocking the snow and wind.

“What do you think about the death of all?”

The questioner had changed from when High Priest Hazel had asked Serena about the death of gods in the past. High Priest Hazel smiled bitterly.

“I’m sorry. My enlightenment is still lacking, so I’ll pretend I didn’t hear the Princess’s question.”

“Is that so? It can’t be helped.”

Please tell me if you learn something. Serena was about to make this request when Hazel’s words continued.

“However, I know one thing. Not everyone opposes death.”

Serena, who had been hunching from the cold, opened her eyes wide. The ‘everyone’ Hazel mentioned wasn’t humans.

‘There are gods who agree with it?’

Just as the Princess was about to ask what that meant, a bizarre sound reached her ears. It wasn’t the sound of wind blowing, nor the sound of tree branches swaying and colliding.

“Don’t you hear some sound?”

“Uuuuuum.”

“It’s a sound made by a person. Princess, please return to the mountain hut and call the others.”

Hazel, who had been examining the direction of the sound with a stern expression, moved. Hazel tilted his head, then stuck his hand into the snow and pulled something out.

“Uhhhhh, save me, please save me.”

What the High Priest pulled from the snow was a pitiful-looking middle-aged man, frozen solid and shivering. The middle-aged man chattered his teeth and forced his tongue to move to reveal his identity.

“Bi, Bi, Bindo is a slave who admires effort. Sa, sa, save me.”

Five yellow stars floated above the middle-aged man’s head. A 5-star, the same rank as Hazel.

How coincidental that a priest would appear right after hearing that there were gods who agreed with the death of all.

Actually, he hadn’t appeared but had been collapsed and buried in the snow when Serena discovered him, but still, wasn’t the timing quite remarkable?

Serena narrowed her one eye.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————