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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: The One-in-a-Hundred-Thousand Man (5)
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It was impossible to keep hiding the fact that this was a labyrinth any longer. The moment they'd encountered the undead labyrinth rat, Ralph and Chrome must have been wondering, "Why the hell is there an undead rat in the royal mausoleum?"
Labyrinths were so rare that they probably assumed it was just a dungeon.
Sir Lucas gathered the group and revealed the truth.
"Oh no."
"A labyrinth...?"
"So even Hwaji has a labyrinth, Lady Serena."
"I knew it was a labyrinth..."
Lavenda's expression darkened, as if she'd suspected it first once again.
"Lavenda Poo-ri! If you knew, why didn't you speak up sooner? Suspicious."
"Pardon? No, sir! I didn't want to distract you knights with idle chatter..."
"That's for me to decide. Hiding your suspicions is suspicious."
To be fair, it was Sir Lucas's fault for not giving her a chance to speak. He grilled her like a rat until Serena intervened.
"Enough! Settle down and share what you know about labyrinths."
Lavenda recounted what she knew about Vieta's labyrinth, just like last time. But with Sir Lucas glaring at her, she skipped the guide's witty anecdotes, making it a dull listen.
Once Lavenda finished, Serena brought up the exits.
"I know labyrinths can have other exits."
"Yes, imperial knights told similar stories. They were in the center when they suddenly escaped outside."
The boulder blocking the exit wouldn't budge, even after Sir Lucas struck it. No contact with the outside, and rescue was a distant hope.
"We have to go deeper into the labyrinth."
Sir Lucas opposed Serena's only escape plan with a grave look.
"We can't do that. There might be another exit on this floor. Let's search the entire floor first."
"I doubt there's anything noteworthy here. It'll just be a waste of time."
"Your Grace."
Sir Lucas spoke earnestly.
"Labyrinths are far more dangerous than ordinary dungeons. I hate to say it, but from now on, you must follow my orders."
He wasn't wrong. As a knight of the glorious Royal Knights of Hwaji, tasked with her protection, he was absolutely right.
Adventuring embraced risk. Protection rejected it. Escorts eliminated all danger before it arose. Adventurers thrived on variables; escorts eradicated them.
Sir Lucas wanted to play it by the book.
"Sir Lucas, I understand your intent, but your attitude is rude!"
Philia bristled at how he addressed her lady. Serena pinched her maid's side. Philia clamped her mouth shut and shot her mistress a resentful glance.
He's right. But something about it rubs me the wrong way.
Was it because he was trying to seize control even with Serena right there? Or because he'd cut her off before? Treating her subtly like an airhead? His rough, rude demeanor toward everyone? The fresh bruise on Ralph's face from another punch?
He seems to dislike me.
It wasn't just Archduke Oran's faction. Sir Lucas personally disliked Serena.
He thought he hid it well, but Serena had survived the viper's nest of the royal court and high society without a guardian. Having once felt her life truly threatened, she could sense it clearly.
This guy's got it out for me.
Even when he learned she could use magic, it wasn't simple praise.
This pathetic thing can do that too? That was his tone. Even when I suggested resting because everyone was tired, he acted like he was doing us a favor by agreeing because he was tired.
He could've revised his low opinion of the princess who could use magic and spotted the labyrinth early. Instead, learning it was a labyrinth just added another flaw.
He sees me as dead weight.
Strictly speaking, she was dead weight. Consuming rations, needing protection, offering no combat support. In a game, she'd be the first ditched.
Knowing she was baggage, she'd respected Chrome's private property, praised Ralph's clumsy spearwork, silenced Philia's prattling pretty mouth, and promised generous rewards.
Sir Lucas's mind must be swirling with worries right now.
How to escape a labyrinth dragging along a princess and a countess?
A loyal knight would sacrifice himself to save them. A self-preserving one might think differently.
It's a labyrinth anyway—maybe ditch or kill the noble baggage? No evidence left behind.
This was all Serena's wild imagination. Sir Lucas's gaze was just a bit insolent; he hadn't done anything.
Still, as the absolute weakling, Serena wanted guarantees of safety.
Tch. Should I back down here? I really hate this guy's eyes.
Sir Lucas's gaze was unmistakably above hers—not physically, but he clearly viewed the woman he was duty-bound to protect as beneath him.
While glaring back, Serena pretended to close her eyes but cracked her left one open. A sudden wink would be suspicious, but the eyepatch hid it nicely.
Hm?
The instant she checked the world through her left eye, Serena bolted upright, arms flung wide toward the ceiling.
If she was anxious about being abandoned or killed as baggage...
"Actually, I've received a divine revelation!"
...she just had to become indispensable baggage.
"Your Grace?"
A confident smile played on the princess's lips.
Sir Lucas gaped at the princess's sudden outburst. Expressions returned to the faces of those who'd been robotically following orders.
Philia visibly fretted over her lady.
"Lady Serena, what's wrong? You're scaring me."
"Listen well. I've received a revelation. Didn't I seem strange when we first arrived? That's because I was communing with the gods!"
"Good lord."
Sir Lucas squeezed his eyes shut. He bit back the curses, but they poured through his mind like a waterfall after rain.
That mad harlot's blood didn't go anywhere! The mildest one.
"The moment we entered the labyrinth! An unnamed god bestowed a revelation upon me!"
"Everyone, close your eyes and cover your ears. Never speak of what you see or hear here. The royal sword falls on loose tongues."
Sir Lucas warned the lobby group. They pretended to obey while straining to hear Serena.
Fine by her.
Serena was confident.
"As proof, I know the monster on the second floor. It will be darker than the first, and eight-legged ambushers will strike! But the true terror is the monstrous bull-headed beast with fearsome horns! Its horns will fly at you like lightning!"
Serena's prophecy ended. No one dared meet the princess's eyes.
Lavenda despaired, realizing her lifeline had rotted through. Ralph blinked in shock.
Chrome clicked her tongue. Philia collapsed in tears.
"Sob, Lady Serena!"
Countess Landry recalled the crown princess consort, whose wits returned only during thunderstorms, and wept piteously.
"Countess. Could Lady Serena be like His Highness the Crown Prince...?"
"How rude! Lady Serena would choose death over drugs! She's just unwell..."
Sir Lucas had asked if Serena touched her father's drugs, earning Philia's protest.
"Still young. Tsk tsk."
"The labyrinth's got her anxious."
No one believed or heeded Serena. They genuinely worried how to navigate a labyrinth with a deranged princess.
Serena flashed a triumphant smile.
"As proof!"
Serena peeked with her left eye at the shop window. Spot the 1 shop coin in the corner? That's why she'd hatched this scam.
Right when she'd been mulling Sir Lucas's gaze, Serena got the two alerts.
Likely rewards from the boss rat he'd slain. Like it or not, they were treated as the same party.
Serena now had 1 coin for the shop, and the bread tree was on an introductory discount.
Purchase!
The princess bought the bread tree. A spot in the lobby lit up for installation. Serena picked a suitable corner.
Install!
No grand fanfare. Like the boss undead labyrinth rat summoning minions from nothing, the bread tree popped into existence from thin air.
"I bestow upon you the bread!"
A tree laden with soft, freshly baked loaves appeared in the lobby corner with a puff.
Everyone gasped in shock. Serena burst into laughter. She should maintain princessly dignity, but the absurdity and thrill were too much.
"Ahahaha! Kek."
Laughing in a new way choked her. Coughing, Serena approached the tree. The others were too stunned by the open-fruit tree to approach.
The tree was smaller than expected. A tall person on tiptoes could reach the highest loaves.
But branches spread wide, each heavy with plump loaves. About fifty at a glance.
Not decorations, I hope.
To quell faint doubts, Serena grabbed a nearby loaf. It felt soft and yielding. A gentle tug detached it.
The loaf was about two adult fists big. Larger ones abounded.
Serena split it open. As texture and look suggested, soft multigrain bread. Rougher than her usual white, but soft enough.
Serena stuffed a huge bite in. All eyes locked on her mouth.
Nomf.
Stuffing her face shamelessly. The bread flooded her mouth with nutty flavor, soaking in saliva.
Serena stomped in place. After two days without, it was so delicious her tongue and palate tingled.
She chewed thoroughly and swallowed. Grinning at the group.
"It's delicious!"
"Woooah!"
Day one: starved. Day two: thin gruel. Amid despair of scouting the labyrinth! A merciful god sent bread through the princess!
They rushed the tree. Sir Lucas snapped out of his daze last.
"Halt! Everyone stop! Don't pluck recklessly! Take only what you can eat! No waste! Don't touch the branches!"
"Sir Lucas is right. Everyone, calm down."
They froze at Serena's words, ignoring his. She smiled sweetly and pointed to the statue.
"Behold! That statue is the image of the labyrinth god! Praise the mercy that chose me as apostle to save you!"
"Thank you, Labyrinth God!"
"Thanks a bunch!"
They bowed to the "labyrinth god's image," hands clasped, creeping toward the tree.
They waited for Serena to hand-pick, fearing touching it might profane the miracle.
"So many kinds of bread!"
In the rush, she hadn't noticed the variety: multigrain, white, hard large rye. Like fruit in a well-fertilized orchard.
"Chrome. Which bread do you want?"
"Wh-white bread, if I may."
Serena plucked a soft white loaf. Chrome accepted politely, bowing.
"Thank you kindly. Truly."
"La."
Recalling no formal intro for Ralph, Serena smoothly shifted.
"Lavenda, you?"
"Any bread. No—Lavenda, snap out of it. 'Any' is irreverent for a miracle. That closest one!"
Lavenda got the same multigrain as Serena. She hugged it, beaming.
"Hanson?"
"That big rye one."
Growing and active, Ralph picked a rye loaf helmet-sized.
"Countess Landry."
"The kind you ate, Lady Serena."
"Here."
Serena handed a white loaf. Why crave someone else's spitbread baffled her.
Philia turned sulkily. One left.
Sir Lucas was still stunned.
"What in the world. Am I going mad?"
He even doubted his sanity.
"Don't doubt this holy miracle."
"But I've never heard of divine magic or miracles like this. How is it possible? A bread tree! Absurd!"
"Isn't this a labyrinth? A mystical, wondrous space where anything can happen, and nothing should surprise you. The labyrinth god can do anything here."
Sir Lucas looked properly cowed, unable to meet her eyes. Different reason than before.
"Which bread for you, sir?"
"I... We have plenty from these big ones to share. We can't take them all. We need to preserve somehow..."
"What are you saying? This is a labyrinth. What's the biggest difference between dungeons and labyrinths?"
"Regeneration... No way!"
"Yes."
Serena savored victory with a benevolent smile. Above the tree floated a number only she saw.
Bread refill in 6 days, 23 hours, 45 minutes.
Amazing for 1 coin. Probably normally 10 coins?
Intro discount over. She'd have to grind coins now. Serena bit into a loaf.
"Mmm. So good."
Don't debate life with someone who's never eaten bread soaked in tears.
Serena now knew life.
Happiness was refined carbs, fats, and sugars. No arguments.
