The Peaceful Life Of A Maid Who Hides Her Power And Enjoys It - Chapter 97
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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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Chapter 97
Thud.
The castle gate opened with a heavy sound.
The white city revealed along with the setting sunlight exuded a fresh sense of intimidation I had never felt before.
Kalefa Outskirts—my first impression of this place was that it was extremely exotic.
The scenery of Astrosia Kingdom was also foreign, but it was generally a proper blend of modern and early modern Northern Continent architectural styles.
But this place was different.
‘It feels like going back at least 150 years into the past.’
Is that why it feels more like a relic?
But my admiration ends there. After all, this was a place I would leave by today.
“Miss Daisy Pager and Mr. Garoush Berkleygraton.”
The disciple in charge of guidance led us to a small building near the castle gate.
“This is the dormitory. Dinner will be served at 5 PM. Please note that going out is prohibited until 5 AM tomorrow morning.”
We silently listened to his words.
“From this moment on, examination candidates are completely prohibited from individual activities. You will stay and eat in this building for a week, receive brief education, and then proceed to the second examination. As you both know, the entrance examination consists of three stages in total…”
While listening to the disciple’s explanation with one ear and letting it out the other, I thoroughly scanned the interior of the city.
Malicops had advised me:
“…Just because you’ve arrived at Kalefa Outskirts doesn’t mean it’s over. The real beginning starts from there. The outskirts are where the disciples reside, and Sanctuary Callepha where the Calepa stay is beyond that. But no one knows exactly which direction it’s in. It’s protected by powerful magic.”
When I first heard those words, I just thought it was overwhelming.
But the Kalefa Outskirts I actually arrived at was a bit different.
‘…It seems I can enter the sanctuary more easily than I thought.’
If my assumption wasn’t wrong, it seemed I could move tonight without any problems.
“Are there any questions?”
There aren’t any.
Andert and I just stared blankly at the disciple.
“It seems no one has any.”
When no one opened their lips, the disciple left the dormitory with a somewhat disappointed expression.
We entered our assigned rooms without leaving any greetings for each other.
I thought Andert was strangely quiet. But right now, entering the sanctuary to meet Lu was more important to me.
I began to formulate tonight’s plan based on the ‘assumption’ that came to mind.
That night, past midnight.
I went out the window while hiding my presence and crawled up to the roof. Perhaps because it was in the mountains, the dawn wind felt particularly cold.
The bright full moon illuminated Kalefa Outskirts—it was the perfect night to infiltrate Lu’s bedroom, so why was Andert here?
“…What the.”
The pitch-black man silently stared at me.
A brief silence fell between us. It was a long silence that would continue until sunrise if someone didn’t speak first.
Eventually, I asked him first.
“Why are you here?”
“What about you?”
“I asked first.”
“If you answer my question, I’ll answer yours.”
“If you answer my question, I’ll answer yours.”
Andert glared at me with exasperated eyes and gestured toward beyond the outskirts.
“Are you going there too?”
Thanks to that, I immediately realized.
‘This bastard. He really does have business with Lu.’
I don’t know how he knows Lu’s identity.
But considering how he had designated Lu as a first-stage examination supervisor, it was certain there was some connection between them that I didn’t know about.
With an annoyed feeling, I gestured toward the space Andert had pointed to.
“Why are you going there?”
“Why are you going there?”
“It’s business you don’t need to know about.”
“My business is none of your concern either.”
Calm down. Let’s calm down.
Peace of mind. Remember the Head Maid and Deshero’s nagging, Daisy.
‘There’s no point in prying into his intentions. If we have the same destination, it might actually be helpful.’
Right, it might be helpful. Andert’s skills were already guaranteed by the Weatherwax Baroness. Arguing here would just be a waste of time anyway.
“Follow quietly. If we get caught, I’ll abandon you and leave.”
With that advice, I crossed to the opposite roof and leaped high onto the wall.
This was the first time I had jumped this high, so my ankles stung, but it couldn’t be helped. Originally, hiding one’s presence consumed ten times more energy than making noise.
First, I looked around Kalefa Outskirts from atop the wall.
‘My prediction was right.’
The structure inside this massive wall wasn’t unfamiliar to me. When I realized the reason, I let out a small chuckle.
Mephistopheles. You really loved this place.
Sanctuary Callepha would probably appear after moving quite a bit north from these outskirts.
After climbing down the wall, I ran toward the expected direction.
Eventually, when I arrived in the vicinity and was looking around.
“Hey.”
That cheeky younger brother called out to stop me cheekily.
“I told you to call me sister.”
“You seem to know the way quite well. Have you been here before?”
It was an ambiguous question to answer, so when I delayed my response, Andert asked again.
“Were you actually from Loqwe?”
Sigh. Annoying guy.
“Andert. Have you heard about Mephistopheles’ army?”
“Enough with calling me Andert.”
While making complaints, the light green eyes hidden behind the mask blinked slightly. It was a sign of affirmation.
“Those guys had bases throughout the Empire during the Mage War. We called those bases the Temple of Mephistopheles, and their overall appearance exactly matches the architectural style of this place. Well, since Mephistopheles’ army was said to be traitors from Loqwe, it’s not strange.”
Andert, who had been silent for a moment, asked me while avoiding a low-hanging tree branch.
“You said I died once because of Mephistopheles.”
It was a slightly different topic from our previous conversation.
“Right.”
“If I died, how am I alive now?”
Actually, that’s what I want to ask.
How are you alive, Andert? How did you end up in the Weatherwax Baroness’s hands?
“That’s just… how I expressed it from my perspective. I thought you were dead, but in reality you didn’t die and were alive. You probably got rescued in between, or accidentally drifted to another island.”
“Was I from Quin Island?”
An excellent guess.
In an archipelago where islands were close to each other, Quin Island was the only place where one could have a near-death experience with Mephistopheles.
When I didn’t answer, he gestured briefly.
“You too?”
“Curious?”
“…”
“If you’re curious, I’ll reveal it in 60 seconds.”
Andert glared at me with cold eyes devoid of any humor.
Assassin humor doesn’t work. Dry guy.
I pretended nothing happened and added the rest of the story I originally intended to tell.
“Twelve Temple of Mephistopheles locations were discovered in total, and they all had identical internal structures. It was quite a systematic structure, enough for exploration teams of professional archaeologists to be formed. It wasn’t a style that could be seen in the Empire.”
“…”
“And just now, only after looking around the entire outskirts did I become certain. The fact that the structure of the Temple of Mephistopheles and the structure of Kalefa Outskirts are exactly the same.”
It was for this reason that I was able to move around this area quite freely.
The structure of this place was all too familiar to me.
Of course, the Temple of Mephistopheles couldn’t compare to the Kalefa Outskirts in any aspect, including scale.
But the fact that a large open space like a square was located in the center of the outskirts. The fact that large wells were positioned at the western and eastern ends.
And the fact that other important-looking buildings were arranged in a hexagonal pattern – the Temple of Mephistopheles seemed like a miniaturized version of these Kalefa Outskirts moved underground.
Whether Mephistopheles left Rogue of his own will or was driven out against his will, it was certain that he couldn’t let go of his attachment to this place.
After walking for about 10 more minutes like that.
Beyond the pitch-black view, a small cliff-like hill appeared.
I felt around the damp cliff and the vines surrounding it, then spoke to Andert who was quietly following behind.
“If my guess is correct, there should probably be an entrance leading up to the tower beyond these vines.”
An eerie wind sound could be heard.
It was at that moment that the wall supporting the bottom of the vines ended. When we pushed aside the vines and entered the empty space…
“I was right, wasn’t I? Sister’s smart, right?”
An endlessly dark cave entrance greeted us.
Andert, blatantly ignoring my words, stepped into the cave. What a rude bastard.
The path was darker than the deep sea.
There was nothing to see, and all we could hear were mine and Andert’s breathing and footsteps.
But perhaps because we had already cleared the Willow Forest Stronghold once, rather than being afraid, I was able to continue walking leisurely.
At some point, moonlight poured down.
We continued walking without rest along stairs that stretched long toward the sky. It felt like climbing up a tree trunk and running along its branches.
What we discovered at the end of those stairs was.
Under the full moon, a garden enveloped in black flames.
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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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