Volume 1 Chapter 39-2 Rainy Labyrinth Of Roses
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
The strength of the rain falling on the labyrinth was just enough to hear the soft sound of raindrops.
However, since it continued to fall, the ground became muddy, with large puddles forming in places.
The wall of black roses was tall and thick.
Standing facing the labyrinth, it stretched wide to the left and right.
Kian and Serena decided to first make a clockwise loop around the outer perimeter of the labyrinth.
At first glance, there seemed to be no gaps in the rose wall that looked like an entrance.
They concluded that there must be a proper entrance on the side or at the back.
”I can’t find the entrance.”
As they walked along the narrow path between the field with pine trees and dark green grass and the rose wall, Serena frequently voiced her thoughts.
Kian followed her, periodically glancing back or looking toward the field.
”Yeah.”
So far, they had not encountered any of the feared spirit-type monsters and were able to continue their exploration.
At this pace, they seemed likely to complete a loop around the labyrinth’s outer perimeter in 2 hours.
Serena turned her head toward him.
Her breath was white in the cold air.
”I never thought it would be so hard to even find the entrance.”
”…Even if they find the entrance, whether to attack head-on is something to think about. If they get lost in the maze and can’t get out, they’ll eventually become food for the ghosts.”
Serena turned back and started walking backward.
”I was thinking, the mansion is probably built around the center of the maze, right?”
”If the one who designed the maze values symmetry, then yes.”
”Then how about we break this rose wall?”
”That’s an interesting idea. Why don’t you give it a try?”
”Okay.”
Serena nodded and without hesitation took explosives out of her backpack.
However, it seemed difficult to light them due to the rain.
After struggling for a while, she threw away the barrel of explosives and silently drew her sword.
”Hey, what are you──”
”Haah…”
With her sword held low, Serena ignited magic power from her body.
Then, with a fierce shout, she stepped forward and sliced through the rose wall.
The sword, enhanced by magic language, extended its reach and created a shockwave that tore into the rose wall.
It was Azrael’s Dance Swordsmanship’s ‘Shot.’ About 3 meters of the rose wall was blown away without a trace, and the scattered black roses fell around Kian and the others like confetti.
”Oh, trying it out was actually pretty easy.”
”────────”
”I didn’t have any long-range attack methods, so this is quite helpful. It’s simpler than magic and suits me better.”
”────, well… you’re good at it.”
’What kind of vocabulary-less 5-year-old comment is that?’
Kian, who had his technique easily stolen, was in deep shock despite being in glasses mode.
He swallowed the words, thinking about how much time he had spent to properly execute ‘Shot’──it was a matter of pride.
(It had been a while since I had seen a genius type like this. My memories of Jibril and Sarah were fading, but seeing this brought back unpleasant memories.)
”Kian?”
”No, it’s nothing. I’m not jealous at all.”
”Oh, so you are jealous? …I see, I’m sorry. It must hurt to have your techniques stolen so easily. I understand how you feel; my brother reacted the same way.”
”Well, I should be happy that my party members are strong. Serena, that ‘Shot’ was pretty good. Keep it up from now on.”
As Kian said this, sounding a bit like he was making excuses, Serena burst out laughing.
She opened her mouth to say something but suddenly widened her eyes and looked back at the rose wall.
”What?”
”Oh, this is…”
Kian squinted her eyes behind her glasses.
The rose wall that Serena had carved into was now showing another wall beyond it.
The rose wall that had been blown away and disappeared was now being overgrown with roses, vines wrapping around it, quickly sealing the hole.
Within seconds, the original magnificent rose wall stood tall again.
It was as if the labyrinth itself was alive, repairing itself in an instant.
”It regenerated…”
”It’s a rose that doesn’t wither even when drenched in rain all year round. That’s not normal.”
”Kian.”
Serena turned to face him with a serious expression.
”I think we need to change our approach. It’s strange that we’ve gone this far and still can’t find the entrance. Like this regenerated rose wall, maybe the entrance is blocked.”
”Hmm… The problem here is whether the labyrinth itself is alive and intentionally sealing the gaps, or if something inside the labyrinth is deliberately blocking the rose wall.”
”An evil spirit.”
Serena said quickly.
”The informant said there are evil spirits living in the labyrinth.”
”Yeah, it’s likely that it’s the one repairing the labyrinth and rejecting intruders. So, unless we kill it, we can’t enter through conventional means.”
”Can we lure it out? But I don’t think it’s realistic to have a waiting game here. We can’t use fire or the tent because of the rain, and staying in one place risks being surrounded by ghosts.”
”We have no choice but to force our way in through unconventional means. Just wait a moment.”
Kian said this and approached a decaying pine bush nearby.
He stepped on the trunk and broke it halfway, creating a thick wooden stick.
After gathering 4 of them, he returned, holding them.
”Like this, I’ll lean 2 sticks against the rose wall… and place 2 more sticks on top to make a bridge. This will create a straight path to the mansion in the back.”
”The length isn’t enough. It might be better to make a ladder and bring it──Kian!”
In the middle of her words, Serena’s eyes widened as she pulled his arm.
A moment later, the pine stick he had leaned against the wall sank into the bottomless swamp, being sucked into the rose wall.
Inside the rose wall, the sound of the absorbed fallen stick being crushed and splintered echoed ominously.
”Well done, Serena. I’m glad we didn’t waste any magic power.”
”Yeah, yeah, you’re welcome.”
With a sulky expression and arms crossed, Serena let out a sigh.
Kian felt an intense embarrassment inside but decided to keep pretending he was completely unfazed.
Serena turned back to the wall with a serious look.
”A ladder is dangerous. So, should we use ‘shot’ or some herbicide to break the wall and go straight through the maze? But if we get our senses messed up inside, it could be a real problem.”
Saying this, she took out a rope and inserted it into the rose wall.
However, as expected, the rope got caught and was chewed up by the rose wall.
”No, I should send the crow.”
Kian said this and released crow.
But as soon as crow crossed over the rose wall, the link of magic power was forcibly severed.
”How is it?”
”Not good, I can’t control it… On top of that, the crow says that even from the sky, the rain is obscuring the view, and I can’t see the mansion.”
Kian leaned in to crow, who he had somehow called back, and said this.
”There’s no helping it. But I thought of one way. We can break the Wall while moving straight ahead. The problem is that we might lose track of our position inside, or if we get separated while breaking the Wall, it could become irreversible…”
”Wait. There’s still a way.”
Kian’s mind raced as he tried to come up with a solution.
”This labyrinth used to be home to the Countess, right?”
”That’s what they say.”
”The bloodsucking, blood-bathing demon woman… Even if she was forcibly confined by her husband, she must have lived here for a long time.”
”Hmm?”
Kian looked down at Serena.
”If it was just people coming and going, it might have been fine to manipulate the labyrinth each time, but what about drinking water and sewage? If they had to adjust the water flow every time they manipulated the labyrinth, it would be a hassle for whoever was controlling it. There must have been some consistent way for water to come and go, like aqueducts or sewers.”
”Drinking water was boiled rainwater. Sewage was… probably not just flowing out. After all, she was the Countess. Even if she was confined, she must have had her living conditions well taken care of.”
”Let’s try to find an aqueduct or sewer. There has to be one somewhere.”
”Yeah, good idea. But it seems like we’ll end up going around the outer edge of the maze anyway.”
Serena chuckled wryly and started walking forward.
Kian followed her.
The two of them silently circled the outer edge of the labyrinth, but to cut to the chase, they didn’t find any aqueducts or sewers.
Perhaps there was some powerful illusion magic at play, or the waterway was hidden somewhere…
Even if the master of the labyrinth didn’t intend to hide it, it was possible that the entrance to the waterway had collapsed and been buried over time.
(Hey, glasses, you can see through illusions, right?)
Finally, when they returned to the original farm road, Kian reluctantly decided to call out to glasses.
The response came quickly.
’Indeed. However, this one cannot handle a powerful type of magic that I do not know.’
(Is there an illusion magic cast on this rose Wall?)
’I can’t say if it’s an illusion, but it seems there’s an old and powerful magic at work.’
That was a response that made one want to mutter back, “Well, of course”.
’In other words, I don’t understand anything.’
(Enough already. It was foolish of me to ask you.)
”Hey, Kian. What should we do? Should we just break the Wall and go straight ahead?”
Serena stopped in her tracks and turned back to ask as they reached the exit to the farm road.
Kian furrowed his brows.
They had scouted today, but it was clear that something was off about this labyrinth.
The Wall would regenerate even if they broke it, and they couldn’t find the entrance──there were just too many suspicious things.
It could be said that it was normal for a labyrinth, but it felt dangerous for the two of them, who had no knowledge of magic, to charge in like this.
(Being bold and being carefree are different. They should be more cautious here.)
”That’s a last resort. I don’t think we can break through this labyrinth by brute force. …I think we should have a magic expert take a look at this labyrinth first.”
”So, you mean hiring a magician. Okay. Either way, dealing with the ghost that appears here is going to be tough for just the two of us. So, let’s head back for now and start recruiting a party at the Guild right away.”
”No, hold off on the recruitment. If low-level adventurers like us start recruiting, who knows what kind of people will show up? It would just be a hassle if someone like Franciska came.”
”Calling her an idiot… Well, she has no knowledge of magic at all. But what should we do then?”
Kian stared back at Serena, who tilted her head in confusion.
”I have someone in mind if it’s a magician.”
”Who is it?”
”She usually works as a sister at a church on the outskirts of town. She has a workshop near the cemetery and also practices herbal medicine.”
”Are you calling in a sister from the Western Church?”
Serena frowned.
”But she must have daytime work, right? I can’t imagine she’d take us on.”
Kian gently shook his head and pushed up the bridge of his glasses.
”First, I’ll ask her sincerely. I’ll do my best to convey my feelings to her.”
”Oh really? Then let’s hold off on the recruitment for now. I’ll leave the magician part to Kian… But be careful not to push too hard and ruin your friendship with that person.”
”I understand.”
Kian nodded and smirked.
”If it’s her──Ms. Aliona, I’m sure she’ll listen to my request and go out with me. I’ll take my time and ask her over the course of the night, so just wait and see. Hehehe…”
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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