Serena and the Mysterious Labyrinth - Chapter 256

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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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256. Resuming the Conquest

Several days had passed since Knight Marin discovered a loophole to avoid her vow of silence.

The Knight talked non-stop. Without exaggeration, she truly didn’t rest her mouth for even a moment.

Everyone was amazed at how she abused a system created for the vocal health of those faithfully observing vows of silence.

“Wow. You’d have to go that far for a deity to personally tell you to shut up.”

Even the Guide, who kept the party’s ears entertained throughout their labyrinth exploration, admitted defeat upon seeing Knight Marin.

Whether the Fire God was being generous or watching to see how far she’d go was unclear. In any case, the negative time steadily decreased and finally reached 0.

“Sob, warm fire. I thank you for your mercy.”

Knight Marin offered her first real prayer since discovering the loophole. The two transparent stars floating above her blue hair regained their yellow color and sparkled brightly.

“Aunt. I’ll be going now.”

“Muffin. Couldn’t you forcibly bring Lord Seraph here instead?”

“Don’t worry too much. I’ll protect Lord Seraph. I’m incredibly strong.”

After Muffin comforted Countess Nex with her cheerful voice, she stood before her brother’s grave. The Pink-Haired Girl quietly muttered “idiot.”

“Miss Muffin. Will you take the Baker Family’s treasured sword?”

“No. My fists are stronger than swords.”

Muffin clenched her small fist firmly. Muffin and Knight Marin bid farewell to the connections they’d made in the labyrinth and prayed for their safety.

The Priest of Corruption and Fire Knight were slightly surprised to see who entered the Teleportation Room.

A Guide, Archer, two Knights, and Alchemist who had finished preparing for labyrinth exploration entered the Teleportation Room following the Princess.

“I was surprised to see the Princess’s party ready for labyrinth exploration. Then I quickly realized. The Princess’s party was also descending the labyrinth like us! O Fire! I was ashamed for being surprised by something so obvious that my face became as hot as you!”

‘Seraph will complain that I’ve corrupted someone.’

If her sibling complained, she would answer that this was originally normal.

Knight Marin was so happy that the number on her seal wouldn’t return to 0 even if she talked freely that she didn’t close her mouth even when the magic circle’s light enveloped the party.

Sure enough. The Prince, who complained about everything, was horrified to see the Knight who never rested her mouth.

“Why is she like that? Is she broken?”

It wasn’t something to say about a person, but Serena understood what her sibling wanted to say. Serena seriously shook her head to correct her sibling’s words.

“Before was what was strange. That’s normal.”

“What?”

“I’ll ask one last time. You really won’t go to the Lobby?”

“I said I won’t go, so why do you keep asking the same question? Are you broken too?”

Serena was about to sigh out of habit but stopped herself just before.

“You’re not just your own person, so be careful. Your safety is more important than revenge.”

“Shut up.”

The Princess swallowed her anger and pulled out a small, round object from her pocket.

“It’s called a Ring of Fate. They say it increases the probability of encounters in the labyrinth. At least take this.”

The Prince’s pretty face was sullen. His arrogant look suggesting they were already meeting frequently enough was irritating.

Serena held back her anger and spoke honestly. Doesn’t the saying go that if you endure three times, you won’t avoid murder?

“I’m worried. Let’s meet often.”

“Hmph. If that’s what you want, I have no choice.”

Her sibling’s sullen face instantly crumbled. Seraph immediately hardened his expression thinking of appearances, but Serena clearly saw her sibling’s lips curl upward.

The Prince fiddled with the ring, then took off his glove and put the Ring of Fate on his right middle finger. Serena’s flower trash made an expression like he had something to say, then turned around without saying anything.

“Then I’m going. You should go do circus acts in the Lobby with your party members.”

Serena called out to her sibling who was walking toward the stairs.

“Seraph, wait a moment.”

“What?”

His tone was blunt but his eyes were earnest. Serena didn’t have confidence to match her sibling’s moods, so she just got to the point.

“Is there a law that only you can go first? This time we’ll depart first.”

Having always yielded the lead to her sibling, she felt like her treasure chests were being thoroughly plundered. Serena decided to depart before her sibling this time to resolve this unpleasant feeling.

“What? Where does such a thing exist?”

Sure enough, again. The most stubborn Prince in Huji got annoyed first.

“I waited here for a week and you want me to wait more? In the meantime, Richard is!”

“The difference won’t be that significant.”

“How do you know that! Did the Minotaur God tell you?”

It was a question that didn’t require dying to get an answer. Serena pointed to the High Priest of Earth.

“High Priest Hazel was paying attention to the date markings in the Lobby. There seems to be a time difference between our two parties.”

When the Princess mentioned his name, High Priest Hazel obediently nodded.

“The Princess is correct. There’s at least a month’s difference.”

The conquest team led by Serena returned to the Lobby to rest after conquering each floor. Sometimes it took several days to prepare for the next floor.

Seraph and the Priest party had descended the labyrinth without resting for even a moment. Even if they suffered from supply shortages and got lost without an experienced Guide, the two parties couldn’t meet on the same floor.

Moreover, Richard was a Sword Master. He was skilled in the labyrinth and used shortcuts like walking on walls. What would it mean to frequently encounter such a Richard?

‘The Minotaur God intervened.’

At first, she thought it was because of blood relations and desires.

Serena wanted to meet Seraph, Seraph wanted to meet Richard, and Richard, though she was reluctant to admit it, wanted to meet Serena.

She speculated they kept meeting in the labyrinth because of the triangular relationship between the three blood relatives.

But as heavenly information accumulated, her thinking changed.

‘I was too naive.’

With all kinds of deities intervening – Earth, Light, Fire, Corruption, Effort, and even Darkness – would the labyrinth just sit still?

She didn’t know what the Minotaur God was scheming, but the Princess, Prince, and the patricide who beheaded Grandfather had a high probability of encountering each other in the labyrinth.

Seraph, who grasped the context, contorted his pretty face.

“Don’t tell me you asked the Minotaur God to prevent me from meeting Richard to interfere with my revenge?”

“It’s the opposite. I don’t want it, but you will meet Richard in the labyrinth. Definitely.”

Serena let out the sigh she’d been holding back. Seraph slightly hunched his shoulders.

“Sigh. So you don’t need to worry about Richard running far away. This time we’ll go first, so you depart after us.”

When Serena strode past her sibling, Olive, who had been standing a bit apart, came running over.

“Ahem! It would be sad if you forgot Olive just because I was standing a bit apart!”

“We’ll go ahead first!”

Ralph, excited about the first-string conquest team’s return after so long, greeted the Prince and Priests with a face full of joy.

Seraph ignored the Young Knight’s greeting with an expression like a rotten apple. The Priests smiled warmly and waved their hands.

“O Fire. Unlike before, I bid farewell to Count Ralph who goes ahead. Postponing my desire to seriously cross swords and axes with a Knight who has recently achieved great accomplishments to the next opportunity-.”

As Knight Marin’s lips got busy, the first-string conquest team’s steps quickened. The party hurriedly fled from the Knight’s voice ringing in their ears.

“Ah~ My ears are ringing because of the Knight of Fire.”

“Actually, so are mine!”

“Her voice isn’t loud, but how does she never rest? Her pronunciation is unnecessarily good so it goes right into your ears.”

The Guide with sensitive hearing complained of hallucinations, saying he could still hear Knight Marin’s voice.

Everyone was giving the leading Guide pitying looks when laughter was heard from behind.

“Heh heh heh. He’s making an effort but the direction is wrong. He’ll get into big trouble at this rate.”

The voice itself was familiar, but it wasn’t a voice that should be heard right now. Serena turned around in surprise.

A Bald Man of poor appearance was waving his hand next to the Archer.

“Heh heh heh.”

“Why are you here?”

The High Priest of Effort didn’t answer the Princess’s question and just laughed. The Guide who had been descending the stairs at the front of the party was also startled and ran back up the stairs.

“What? How did you fool my ears?”

“Heh heh. I made an effort.”

“Damn, maybe I couldn’t hear because of the Knight of Fire making my ears ring.”

Olive was picking her ear with her pinky when she got angry at Ying, who had been coming down alongside the High Priest of Effort.

“Zero! You should tell us when a strange old man is following!”

Ying opened her mouth to answer as if she felt wronged.

“Priest.”

“So what if he’s a Priest! Priests can be suspicious too!”

“Olive is right. I was also startled.”

Count Alpha was also subtly angry. The archer opened his mouth again as if feeling wronged.

“He’s a priest of effort.”

‘The Deity of Darkness must be close with the God of Effort.’

Or perhaps they agreed on this matter.

Whatever the relationships in the heavens were, the humans on earth couldn’t understand the High Priest of Darkness’s excuse.

Serena left Olive and Count Alpha to scold Ying and dealt with the High Priest of Effort herself.

“Why are you following us? Didn’t you say Seraph’s side would suit your purpose better?”

“Hehehe. I thought so, but comparing the Prince and Princess, it seemed the Princess’s side would achieve Bindo’s purpose faster. Since we’re at it, shouldn’t we make an effort to achieve it quickly?”

“If you’re going to follow, you should have said so beforehand. What are we supposed to do when you suddenly follow like this?”

“Hehehe. That’s how it turned out.”

Even when Serena openly showed anger, the Effort Priest just laughed heartily. Serena clicked her tongue inwardly because of the selfish Effort Priest.

‘What should I do? Should I go back up and leave him in the lobby?’

She had finally departed before her sibling, but if she went back because of the Effort Priest who followed on his own, her sibling would really be delighted.

But she couldn’t take him along like this.

‘In labyrinths, difficulty increases when there are too many people traveling together. Seven people would really affect the difficulty level.’

Labyrinth adventurers needed to know how to properly balance the increased difficulty due to party size with the abilities of party members. Just being good at this alone could make one a decent party leader.

‘Right, Olive mentioned this before.’

Serena was the party’s leader, but due to her lack of experience, she left the judgment to experienced professionals.

“Olive. I’ll leave the judgment to you.”

“Kyaa. It seems the Princess’s trust is growing day by day, making Olive’s heart go thump-thump~”

Though her words were playful, the guide’s round eyes thoroughly examined the Effort Priest.

“I heard about the priest’s activities on the 10th layer~ But what about fighting? Hm? Can you fight?”

The naturally bald man had a physique as poor as his face. Judging by appearance, he looked weaker than Serena.

She thought his fighting skills couldn’t be expected aside from buffs, but the Effort Priest brought up an unexpected story.

“Bindo has been granted the miracle of wound recovery by Effort. Disease and status ailment recovery are also possible.”

‘What? Buffs, healing, disease treatment, and status ailment treatment are all possible?’

Serena’s ears perked up. Suddenly, the shabby bald man began to look like a benevolent high priest who possessed both character and skill.

‘So dazzling!’

The naturally bald man reflected the light orb, and the Princess couldn’t dare look directly at the High Priest of Effort with her eyes wide open.

‘To not recognize such a precious person!’

She thought he received 5 stars just for his outstanding buff skills, but he even possessed healing miracles!

Serena spread both arms wide to welcome the new party member.

“Welcome to Heuji’s Labyrinth 1st Assault Team!”

“Kyaa! Priest, you’re amazing! Olive thought you were cool from the first time I saw you~ Especially that bald head is charming!”

“Priest. Please come to the center of the party. Count Hanson and I will protect you.”

“Come here. You can stand where I was, Priest.”

“Hehehe. Since everyone acknowledges Bindo, I feel the reward of my efforts.”

Count Randy gladly gave up his regular spot next to the Princess. It was natural to serve the highest-level healer like royalty.

“Ehehe. With the cool priest joining too. Well-rested with good stamina. This assault feels good, right? Let’s keep this atmosphere going!”

Olive, excited by recruiting a healer, bounced down the stairs.

Serena was also carefully descending the stairs when the Effort Priest, who had taken the spot next to the Princess, spoke to her.

“Bindo will make an effort not to die. Princess, you should also make an effort not to die on this layer.”

Serena’s heart sank. He said such words precisely when she was going down the stairs, almost making her miss a step.

‘Is it just something he said because labyrinths are dangerous? Or does he know something?’

The Princess bit her lips and glared at the naturally bald man walking away. Finding it strange that the Princess suddenly stopped, the alchemist called out to her.

“Lady Serena?”

“It’s nothing. Let’s go.”

Even if it felt unsettling, there was nothing she could do. Serena slowly descended to the 41st floor of Heuji’s Labyrinth.

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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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