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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: Snow White
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* * *
Thanks to the Warden's nagging, I could no longer completely block the tidal wave of offers flooding in for Helios.
Helios seemed to understand and said nothing.
He could refuse the offers himself, and I could secretly take care of any that were too forceful, but the problem was...
What I'd been expecting finally blew up.
*Thwack!*
“Haa….”
As I've said, 'scouting' here is a hundred million light-years removed from the ordinary kind.
If Faction A wanted Helios, their rival, Faction B, would try to stop them by any means necessary—even if it meant crippling Helios.
And the one lying collapsed over there was a member of Faction B.
‘He was a pushover, though, weak enough to be taken down by Helios.’
But there were still more of them.
A low glint appeared in Helios's eyes. Well, this was just great.
As I watched Helios fight, I also secretly dealt with those trying to pull some bullshit with Kia.
I remembered what Seth had told me.
‘The Guard Committee Chairman.’
That bastard had returned.
A troublesome opponent I never wanted to cross paths with again.
Not because he was strong, but because he was like a centipede. A man whose very nature was to ensnare his opponents, no matter who they were, and drag them down to rock bottom.
‘No wonder things had been so quiet. Had he been away for a while?’
Then again, if he had been making a scene looking for me, the Warden would have surely contacted me.
‘Maybe I should lie low for a while.’
*Thwack!*
I dismissed the thought as I saw a prisoner flying in my direction.
It was already too late for ‘Garet’ to live a quiet life. Since Mint had vanished without a trace, I'd just have to be content with that.
‘He took down three mid-rankers.’
Helios approached after the fight ended. I brushed myself off and got to my feet.
“Let’s go. 33rd floor.”
“…Aren’t you going to say anything else?”
“What?”
“…”
Helios pressed his lips together.
For a moment, I took in the sight of the prisoners and onlookers sprawled out behind him. Then, I looked back at his handsome face.
“Next time, aim for their vitals right away. The longer a brawl drags on, the worse it is for you.”
“…”
“What.”
“Never mind.”
Helios brushed back his sweat-soaked hair and walked past me.
“Maybe he was hoping for a compliment?”
It was Haira, who had been waiting to head to the tower with us, who spoke.
“A compliment? What did he do well?”
“…He won, didn’t he?”
“It was a fight he was bound to win.”
Haira blinked.
“Does that mean you believed in him?”
Why make it sound so grand?
“They were never on his level to begin with. What’s belief got to do with it?”
“What if his opponent had been on his level?”
“Then it would’ve been a good learning experience.”
“…What if it was someone strong enough to kill him instantly?”
“Then I’d get rid of them.”
Haira’s eyes stared intently at me.
Thanks to our many unintentional conversations, I knew Haira was in here for fraud.
For a con artist to end up in a place like this, the scale of her crimes must have been immense.
Haira smiled amiably.
A face accustomed to being prickly, yet also skilled at smiling like the kindest person in the world.
“You know, you’re incredibly expressionless, aren’t you? A smile, and a blank face. I’ve never met anyone who only has those two.”
Hmm. I wasn't sure what to make of that, but I listened.
“That’s why you’ve been so hard to read. But I can see it now, however faintly.”
“…”
“I’m human, so I understand gratitude. I want things to go well for Helios. It’s a relief that it isn’t just one-sided affection, at least. Though I can’t say if that’s truly a good thing.”
“Get to the point.”
“Have you noticed Helios acting strange lately?”
“That’s not getting to the point.”
“Next time a situation like that happens, try this. I promise you’ll see something interesting.”
With that same amiable face, Haira whispered something to me.
Whether it was because the Warden had successfully negotiated with the current floor master...
The 32nd floor's difficulty was a clear step down from the 30th.
It wasn't a huge drop, of course, but it was now manageable for Helios and his group.
‘Of course, variables still pop up—probably because of me. But I can just take care of them.’
There's an old saying.
If you make a math genius recite the multiplication tables over and over, they'll eventually get complacent from the sheer simplicity and make a mistake.
And what I, too, had overlooked in my complacency was this:
“Huh? The dart landed on you, Big Bro! I guess it’s your turn…!”
The fact that I was also a potential target for the fear selection.
‘Well, well.’
Everyone’s gaze turned to me.
Helios's gaze, in particular, was so intense it looked like it might burst into flames.
“You’ll burn a hole through my face with those stares, kids.”
“Ah, sorry, Big Bro. It's just... we're curious.”
“Haha. That's right! What in the world could Big Bro possibly be afraid of?”
Well, I wonder if I'll live up to your expectations. Honestly, I'm not even sure what I'm afraid of myself.
Besides, fear is something hidden deep within a person's subconscious.
A floor of this level wouldn't be able to delve deep into my psyche.
“Sorry to disappoint you, kids.”
“Huh?”
“The difficulty on this floor is about to skyrocket.”
A voice echoed from the air.
—A fairy tale! A fairy tale!
—A fairy tale!
Fairy tale?
The dartboard giggled.
—There’s a hidden gift!
The voice from the air gradually faded, and the space rippled and changed.
“Huh? W-wait…!”
“My body…!”
“What do we do?!”
The difference from the previous floors was that the bodies of Helios, Ged, and the others were slowly fading.
“Don’t worry. It’s not dangerous.”
I raised a hand, having anticipated this.
“We’re just being moved.”
“What?!”
I watched Helios as he vanished. He looked startled.
“See you in a bit.”
For some reason, the thought of him disappearing left me feeling a little disappointed.
* * *
I blinked and found myself in an unfamiliar place.
Just like Helios and the others, I had been transported somewhere.
‘Now, where am I?’
I was in a forest.
The 32nd floor had also been a forest, but this one was different. It was daytime, not night.
Lifting my head, I saw a large castle in the distance.
‘The 32nd floor was the forest where Haira was abandoned, and the 31st floor recreated the scene of the crime Ged was framed for.’
More precisely, I had seen the process of Ged, the war criminal, being framed in vivid detail. To think there was another person here who had been framed, besides Helios.
What I realized while facing Ged's fear was that this floor could recreate everything down to the last extra with vivid accuracy.
‘On top of that, since I’m the target this time, the difficulty must have increased.’
The bosses' difficulty seemed to be proportional to the physical strength of the person whose fear was being shown.
…Still, this place was supposed to be a manifestation of my fear, yet I had no idea where I was.
Just as my confusion was growing, a voice drifted from the air.
—Once upon a time, in a certain kingdom, lived a princess with skin as white as snow and jet-black hair.
‘Huh?’
I blinked.
—The king named the princess, born in winter and as fair as the white snow, ‘Snow White.’
The narration was familiar. A memory from long ago that I'd forgotten—or rather, had never bothered to recall.
‘Snow White?’
I remembered the dartboard shouting ‘A fairy tale!’
‘How random. Why a fairy tale, all of a sudden?’
Considering how the horror novel Seth had read was recreated, I suppose it wasn't so strange for a fairy tale I'd read to be brought to life.
But what did this have to do with fear?
“Ah…”
A fleeting memory surfaced.
“I really hate fairy tales.”
Ever since I was in Korea, before my transmigration, I've hated fairy tales.
Just as I'd expected. The floor wasn't advanced enough to delve deep into my psyche, so it must have latched onto something superficial.
If that's the case, then this floor has become a total...
‘Jackpot.’
I decided to treat it as a bonus stage. This would be a relaxing floor for Helios, too.
While I was lost in thought, the voice in the air continued its earnest narration.
Before I knew it, the narration had reached the end of the fairy tale.
—Oh, dear! The princess has collapsed after eating the poisoned apple! But fortunately, a prince from a neighboring kingdom happens to be passing by on his white steed.
“Good. I don’t have to watch the whole thing from the start.”
As I settled in to watch, I glanced down at my clothes without thinking.
‘What’s with this uniform?’
I was unexpectedly wearing a blue uniform. The design was aristocratic, nothing like my guard uniform.
What's more, a pure white steed stood beside me, though I had no idea when it had appeared.
A horse?
No way.
“Ugh. Am I the prince?”
