Serena and the Mysterious Labyrinth - Chapter 58

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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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58. Seraph (1)

“Please wait here for a moment.”

After exiting the complex stalactite cave, they found themselves walking on the narrow path again.

Olive stopped moving and received the magic map from Serena before climbing up the cliff. Despite having no safety equipment, she showed no fear as her hands grasped the protruding rocks without hesitation.

‘They’re all gold medalists after all.’

Olive was faster than the climbing athletes Serena had seen on TV. After climbing up the cliff and checking the positions of surrounding peaks, cliffs, caves, and bridges from the high vantage point, the guide returned to the group.

“The direction where the Princess’s brother, the Prince, is located. If we go this way, it’s completely opposite to the stairs.”

Olive explained while transferring the contents drawn on the magic map to her self-made map.

“The place we originally intended to go is here. We need to break through this way and go like this. But the place where the Prince is said to be is probably here. We really have to go around in the completely opposite direction.”

Having roughly figured out the route from the high ground, Olive traced the expected route on the magic map with her finger. As Olive said, if they went to find Seraph, they would have to take quite a long path in the opposite direction from the stairs.

“Are you saying the Duke deliberately lied to hold us back?”

“Looking at how he flies around, that doesn’t seem necessary. But he might have lied to torment us.”

“I’d like to say Duke Oren isn’t that kind of person, but I don’t know him well enough to do so.”

“Princess, what should we do?”

Olive asked for Serena’s opinion as the party leader. Without needing to ask, Serena’s answer was already decided.

“Of course we have to find Seraph. Even if it’s a lie, we can’t ignore it.”

It wasn’t like Richard was waiting at the stairs to kill Serena – he had gone ahead to conquer the labyrinth. Even if Richard himself was suspicious, their goal was the same, so there was no need to hurry and chase after him.

‘Let’s worry about Richard later and find Seraph first.’

The whereabouts of one of her few remaining blood relatives was more important than digging into a strange cousin’s true intentions or advancing to the next floor.

“Got it! Then let’s start searching for the Prince!”

‘He’d better be safe.’

She was worried whether the boy, who only knew how to torment others by wielding royal authority, was managing well in the labyrinth.

“Let’s hurry.”

The Princess quickened her pace.

***

“The bridge is broken.”

The swaying bridge connecting peak to peak was severed. Ying stared at the opposite side and then informed them that this wasn’t a labyrinth gimmick.

“It was cut from the other side.”

“Our archer has good eyesight too~”

Unlike Ying who gazed comfortably at the opposite side, Olive squinted and craned her neck forward, then agreed with Ying’s assessment after a moment.

“Someone cut the rope from the other side? Did the Prince do that?”

“It seems Seraph is worried about pursuers.”

“Yes, it appears so. Could he be wary of Duke Oren?”

“That’s probably it.”

The familial murder case that occurred at Heuji Royal Palace before being consumed by the labyrinth. Serena was already convinced that Richard was the culprit. If Seraph knew about the murder case, he would naturally be wary of Richard.

‘Since he’s in the same space as the murderer who killed Grandfather and Father.’

Though the same space was excessively vast, unfortunately the murderer happened to be a Sword Master who could leap across cliffs better than mountain goats. Serena clicked her tongue in displeasure at the situation.

Though the bridge was broken, fortunately there was a detour. Having to take an even longer route on an already roundabout path, camping out was now confirmed.

“Oh.”

Olive, who had been walking at the front of the party, deliberately made a sound and stopped.

“What’s wrong?”

“I found human traces, but it’s not just one person.”

“Are they the Prince’s traces?”

“The other one would be Duke Oren’s.”

Olive wagged her index finger and smiled.

“It’s not just two either.”

“Stop teasing and speak properly. I’m worried about my brother and have a headache.”

“Ah, I’m sorry. I’m really sorry about this.”

Olive rarely apologized sincerely and revealed the number of people she estimated from the remaining traces.

“Even if one is the Sword Master we saw earlier, there are four of them.”

“There are four more on this floor?”

“Yes. If the trace owner isn’t a Sword Master, then add one more for five more people. I don’t know about the others, but there’s one who’s my colleague?”

When mentioning the colleague, one corner of Olive’s mouth lifted.

“They’re clumsy at erasing traces. They can’t fool my eyes~”

“Are those people moving together?”

“It seems so. If the Prince is among them, then the Sword Master didn’t lie. The direction is right too.”

“How fortunate that Lord Seraph isn’t alone.”

“Hmm.”

Count Randy was relieved, but Serena couldn’t agree. The fact that Seraph wasn’t alone made her worry even more.

‘He should stay quiet.’

Serena’s brother possessed a devilish mouth that could burst the patience of anyone listening. It was questionable whether that mouth would stay shut just because they were in a labyrinth.

‘If he’s being a brat, there’s a high chance he’ll die by human hands rather than monsters after running his mouth.’

Even Serena, his own sister, often wanted to smack her brother’s pretty head during conversations, so how much more would others feel?

While Serena worried about whether her brother would be safe, Ying unusually spoke up.

“This is troublesome.”

“Right. There are many, aren’t there? It’s troublesome.”

Olive agreed with Ying’s sudden remark.

“What do you mean?”

“It’s not certain yet, so I’ll tell you when we find the Prince.”

“I’ve read many novels where the person who says that dies and important information is learned too late. Speak now.”

“If you put it that way.”

Olive shrugged and explained while moving her feet.

“Too many people gathering in a labyrinth is bad. This standard varies by labyrinth, but since this one is high-grade, maybe up to ten people would be okay?”

“Why is that?”

“Honestly, sending an army would be the easiest way to conquer a labyrinth, right? But the reason they don’t do that is because when many people gather in a labyrinth, its grade increases. Put 100 soldiers in Vieta’s Labyrinth that the Shepherd conquered alone? It would immediately become a 10th grade labyrinth.”

Serena, Ralph, Olive, Ying, and Count Randy made five people, plus Seraph’s group would make ten. Then joining at the 1st Floor Lobby would add Philia, Lavenda, and Grey for thirteen people.

“Usually they barely cut it off at ten people, but we’d clearly exceed ten. Honestly, it’s dangerous~”

“Then what should we do?”

“We’d have to split the party. If we close our eyes and insist ‘we are two parties’ like that, it might be okay? I heard there have been cases where multiple parties cooperated to conquer labyrinths like that~ Zero? Do you know anything?”

“Minimize interaction. Disband immediately upon achieving objectives.”

“Minimize interaction? Like your taciturnity?”

“….”

Olive threw out a joke, but it scattered completely in Ying’s silence. Olive pretended to be angry, asking if it would kill her to respond a little. Ying maintained her silence.

“Do we have to do that even though we’re not people who entered to conquer the labyrinth but were consumed by it?”

“I’m not sure about that~ As the Princess said, since we were swallowed up, it might be okay, but just in case~”

“Right. As you said, being careful won’t hurt.”

When they found Seraph, the people traveling with him would naturally join them. In that case, it would be better to split the party as Olive advised.

‘Should I expand the lobby and put up some partitions?’

Just in case, Serena closed her right eye and opened her left eye. Olive had said they came down about one floor, and hadn’t Richard defeated a strong enemy? Of course, Richard wasn’t part of Serena’s party, but just in case.

‘Tch.’

There was no notification that the expected strong enemy had been defeated. They had come down about one floor, but no shop coins had come in either.

Though strong enemies didn’t give anything even when defeated, it was disappointing that no shop coins had come in.

***

“Oh?”

When Olive, who was walking ahead, lightly touched the air, a stalagmite flew toward them. It was a trap. She had thought there would be no more traps since the environment itself was a trap, but it seemed more had been added as they went deeper.

“Oh ho.”

After that, traps continued to appear sporadically. Each time, they were discovered by Olive’s keen eye and dismantled in advance.

Perhaps excited by the continuous appearance of traps, Olive hummed cheerfully. She followed the traces to determine direction and led the party. She even stopped occasionally to add exclamations and grin.

‘Why is she acting like that?’

Olive was figuring things out and enjoying herself alone, but suddenly asking might kill her mood, so I hesitated to inquire.

Serena turned her head to check on the other party members. Ralph had been walking with a serious expression ever since parting with Richard.

Having met a Sword Master, it was understandable, but the degree of his seriousness was severe.

“Sir Ralph.”

“Yes? Y-yes!”

He must have been thinking deeply, as he was startled when Serena called his name. It would be troublesome for the tank responsible for the party’s front line to be absent-minded.

“If you have concerns, tell me about them.”

“It’s not like that! I’m just… it’s nothing at all.”

Instead of speaking honestly, Ralph deflected. The princess’s gaze toward the young knight grew cold.

‘This bastard, has he been enchanted?’

Among those belonging to the Crown Prince faction, there were quite a few who became enchanted like lions smelling elephant dung after seeing Richard once. Knights were particularly susceptible.

Even the deeply loyal knights who had protected Serena and Seraph since childhood would often turn to the Duke faction after meeting Richard.

Serena wasn’t sure, but was there something that attracted those who revered martial prowess?

‘Do Sword Masters emit some kind of knight-seducing pheromone or something?’

Perhaps because they were all strong, they recognized part of the power Richard was hiding and submitted in advance.

Richard had been enchanting knights even when hiding his power, so what about Ralph who had witnessed a Sword Master’s strength? Wasn’t it too much temptation for a young knight to handle?

“Do you want to go to Richard? Do you want to learn even a bit of swordsmanship?”

“What? It’s not like that! I’d like an autograph, but it’s absolutely not that!”

Realizing the princess was upset, Ralph waved his hands and actively denied it.

“I was just wondering what kind of person the prince we’re looking for might be, since Your Highness is a magical genius beloved by the Labyrinth God and so noble, and Duke Oren is also a Sword Master and great!”

The young knight’s eyes sparkled. Anticipation was clearly evident.

“Surely Prince Seraph must also be an amazing person, right?”

“Seraph?”

“Seraph is amazing?”

Serena and Count Randy, who knew Seraph, each said a word. They couldn’t help but speak.

“Oh, well said, Sir Knight! What kind of person is the new prince? A prospective Sword Master? Or someone who leads people well and has charisma like the princess? Does the prince also receive the Labyrinth God’s favor like the princess?”

Perhaps because they had just seen Sword Master Richard and Serena using gacha and shop windows, their expectations for the unknown royal seemed ready to pierce through the high sky outside the cave.

‘Seraph hates this kind of thing the most.’

Serena’s brother had received harsh early education, hearing “The prince is the future of the nation” instead of their drug-addicted father, only to watch half the people who had been pressuring him turn away when his cousin returned.

Perhaps because of this, he hated Richard, hated being compared to others, and especially hated being compared to Richard most of all.

‘I need to eliminate their expectations in advance.’

If they met like this, a clash would be unavoidable.

Fortunately(?), Serena’s brother had many flaws. Among them was a hobby that some people hated as much as drug addiction.

“Seraph’s hobby is gambling.”

A child who grew up watching a drug-addicted father, a mother who was insane and committed suicide in childhood, and a sister who had just been cured of protagonist syndrome would be a miracle and truly the protagonist of this world if they grew up mentally and physically healthy.

Grand Duke Seraph Fackling Huaim avoided drugs but became addicted to alcohol and gambling instead.

“His hobby is gambling? That gambling where you bet money?”

“If he’s your brother, he’s younger than you, Princess. A young guy is already gambling?”

“He’s the same age as Sir Ralph.”

As Serena expected, Olive and Ralph’s expectations were completely crushed. Previously their expectations had pierced the ceiling, now they pierced the floor.

“The future king is a drug addict and the next one is a gambling addict? I’d rather follow Duke Oren or Orange Duke.”

“How dare you!”

“Whoa whoa. Listen to what people say to the end. I thought that way, but we just saw Orange Duke, right? He only treated the princess like a human and didn’t even look at us. A gambler would at least treat people like humans to gamble with them. Other people know this but still say Orange Duke is good?”

“That is…”

Count Randy, being a foreigner, didn’t know well either. Serena answered instead.

“Richard showed little interest in anyone except royalty. It was a bit strange, but everyone understood it as him having a hard time living as a wanderer.”

“That does make sense though… Aaah!”

Olive, who had been dismantling a discovered trap, screamed. A sharp stalactite passed over her head. If Olive had been as tall as Ying, it would have pierced through her head. Her short stature saved her life.

“Heh heh. Heh heh heh heh.”

Olive, who had nearly died, forced herself to laugh to forget her fear. Serena scolded the guide who hadn’t stopped talking even while handling the trap.

“When dismantling traps, focus on the traps. You nearly had a disaster.”

“No, this isn’t like that… Wow, look at this?”

Olive twisted up one corner of her mouth and smiled. She persistently searched through the trap that had completed its role.

“Well I’ll be.”

“What’s wrong?”

“There’s a vicious one among the prince’s party.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“The traps that have been appearing since earlier. Those aren’t labyrinth traps.”

Olive smiled coldly.

“They’re man-made.”

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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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