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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Hwaji's Royal Mausoleum (4)
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The group pressed forward and soon encountered the rat that had fled by clinging to the ceiling once more. The first time, they hadn't noticed the ceiling (only Serena had seen it) and let their guard down, but this was different.
"Eek!"
Hanson's spear pierced the giant rat's body. Impaled on the spear, it plummeted to the floor, writhing in agony. Hanson swiftly yanked the spear free and stabbed again, putting it out of its misery.
"Well done."
"Not at all!"
'Stab gently so the spearhead doesn't get damaged. Don't go jabbing wildly at the stone ceiling.'
With this success under his belt, he'd probably do even better next time. Serena masked her inner thoughts and praised Hanson.
"Look at the size of it. Big enough to eat a person."
Chrome confirmed the giant rat was dead and tied its tail to her belt. Lavenda, who had been peering at the massive rat alongside her, asked,
"Why are you taking that?"
"Can't waste the meat."
"Kyaa! Lady Serena, is it okay to eat rat?"
Philia let out a shrill cry and clung to Serena. Serena forced a smile.
"We'll get out before that happens."
'Please.'
She had reincarnated as a princess, and she had no desire to eat rat meat—something she hadn't even tried in her previous life.
'This one's probably the boss, right?'
They hadn't discussed it, but everyone thought the same. The dead rat was exceptionally large.
There might be more rats, but none as big as this one. That was the unspoken consensus.
Squeak, squeak!
Squeeeeak!
Screech!
It was a miscalculation. A hasty judgment.
Three rats about the same size as the dead one lunged at the group simultaneously. The party fell into chaos.
"Eek! Get away!"
"Ugh, uwaaak, uwaaaak!"
"Shoo, you pests."
"Shh, shh."
The giant rats, each weighing over three kilograms on average, were intensely threatening. Their bulk meant bigger, sharper teeth and claws. Their fur was filthy and coarse, their eyes gleaming with feral savagery and madness. Viscous saliva dripped from their pointed snouts.
'Getting bitten by those would definitely mean catching some disease. Even their spit looks infectious.'
Serena recoiled in horror, shoving Philia—who was screaming in triple-layered terror—behind her. Clearing the cumbersome maid from the battlefield, she commanded the armed members.
"What are you waiting for? Kill the rats!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
"These rat bastards are awfully quick."
As Chrome said, the giant rats were incredibly fast. Dealing with small, nimble creatures was tricky if you weren't used to it.
The rat easily dodged Hanson's stiff spear thrust and charged into the party's rear lines.
"Kyaaak!"
Lavenda screamed and kicked at the rat leaping at her. Chrome bashed its head with her wooden sword as it fell.
"Take this!"
The skull-crushing sound was satisfyingly crisp.
"Die! Die!"
Hanson stabbed furiously with his spear, but his downward thrusts were poorly practiced, missing more often than not. Chrome exploited the gaps as the rats dodged Hanson's spear, striking at them.
She didn't get the lucky headshot like before. It took a few hits, but they didn't seem to faze the rats much.
Two rats darted between Hanson and Chrome, and one headed back to the rear.
Lavenda, fresh off kicking a rat, lifted her leg again to target it. The rat wasn't so easily caught.
Philia clutched her cheeks in shock.
"Oh my god! The rat's clinging on!"
The rat dodged Lavenda's foot and latched onto her skirt hem. If it bit her foot or calf from there, or leaped up to attack her upper body, she'd be seriously hurt.
"Give me your scabbard!"
Serena reached out to Chrome, who tossed her the scabbard. Serena swung it hastily.
Her strike missed. The scabbard hit the floor instead of the rat. Serena's hand went numb.
Fortunately, with the new attacker, the rats deemed the situation unfavorable and fled.
"Huff, huff."
"What kind of damned rats..."
Hanson, who had drilled spear thrusts to death, panted heavily. Chrome wiped the sweat from her forehead with the cloth wrapped around her head.
"Should I hold onto the scabbard?"
Everyone agreed with Lavenda. No fancy weapons were needed against rats—just courage and a club. Serena handed her the scabbard.
"Everyone, good work. Let's rest a moment."
"Huff... I'm sorry."
Hanson, a guardsman who hadn't managed to kill a single rat, apologized. Serena forgave him lightly.
Three rats charging at once had everyone scrambling, and their weapons weren't ideal. Swinging the spear shaft might have been better, but the corridor was narrow, and the group was too close together.
"Next time, swing the spear shaft to bash them. And we'll keep our distance."
"Got it!"
"What do these rat pups eat to get so big? No food in a tomb."
"The place I woke up wasn't a cave? It must not have been sealed before the earthquake, so they foraged there."
A normal cave would be teeming with bugs and moss for rats to eat.
Chrome stuck out her tongue and collected the rat corpse with the shattered skull. With rats dangling from both sides of her belt, her waist felt heavy.
"If these were all money pouches, how nice."
"We'll make it so once we get out."
"Really?"
"I'm generous."
"How impertinent! Lady Serena is famous for her lavish spending!"
With the royals mostly wiped out, the palace coffers were full, but there were few to spend it. And among the royal family, Serena was the only woman.
Even her grandfather, who scolded her for odd reasons, never complained about her spending. The treasurer managing the royal funds always asked if she needed more pocket money.
'Richard loved it when I splurged, too.'
Her weird cousin brother frequently gifted her jewels. Until she fell into the mausoleum today, Serena had been a princess who was materially blissful.
"I was so scared. This is the end of it, right?"
Philia, who had seen rats for the first time in her life and even been attacked, voiced her hopeful wish.
'Who knows.'
Her efforts at positive thinking right after waking had gone to waste; her thoughts turned pessimistic.
'Hamsters are sold one at a time, but what about wild rats? In games and movies, they always swarm in packs.'
Guinea pigs were pack animals, illegal to keep solo in some European country. If these rats were the same? Not three, but dozens rushing at once?
Serena forcibly redirected her spiraling negative thoughts.
Forget not—positive thinking! In disasters, a positive mindset decides life or death!
'They ran away, so they won't come back.'
In games, movies, novels—fiction—beasts and monsters never retreat; they charge to the death.
But that's just plot device, not reality. In the wild, a small wound can lead to death.
Wild animals avoid fierce fights unless in breeding season or territorial disputes. They flee readily.
'They ran, so they won't attack again. If they're in a pack, word will spread not to mess with us.'
Serena hoped the rat network worked fast.
Life's ups and downs, as they say. Where there's attack, there's discovery.
Serena finally spotted a trap. Part of the corridor floor was a different color.
She pulled the group back and prodded the discolored floor with Hanson’s spear shaft. It sank, revealing a pit full of spikes.
"We'd have been in big trouble if we hadn't noticed."
"Exactly! All thanks to Lady Serena spotting it!"
"How do we get past this?"
"You young ones can jump, but my knees are stiff. What to do?"
Everyone praised Serena's sharp eyes, but she wasn't pleased.
She had anticipated floor traps or switches.
'The rats climb walls.'
The three that attacked had scaled ceiling and walls. The first one had traversed the ceiling.
From then on, Serena suspected floor traps. It proved right, so she should feel good, but...
"This trap screams 'trap'."
It was too obvious.
Like, yeah—like those old cel animations telegraphing the next move, standing out from the background.
"If we'd been looking elsewhere or fighting rats, we'd have triggered it. Staring at the ceiling for rats, we'd have stepped right on it."
Lavenda sensed the princess's discomfort and backed her up. Philia chimed in.
"The masseuse is right. Such an outdated trap means the mausoleum is ancient. Right, Lady Serena?"
'Shouldn't have said that.'
She'd scared the group with warnings about that obvious trap, making them tense and slowing their pace—what now?
Serena wanted to smack her pretty Hwaji-beauty mouth a few times.
"Exactly! And this could be a decoy to make us underestimate future traps."
Lavenda defended her again. But like spoiled food, Serena's pride was bruised and no longer fresh.
"Lavenda's right. Stay alert and let's move on."
Serena hid her bitterness and smiled.
After helping stiff-kneed Chrome over the trap and walking about five minutes, the group halted.
"Another fork."
A crossroads appeared ahead—five paths again. Serena grew anxious at the mausoleum's vastness.
"Which way?"
"How long have we been down here?"
"How should I know."
Portable clocks were luxury items; no one in the group had one. Serena and Philia were the types who might.
Serena? Heard of a princess checking her watch while walking?
Philia, who should check instead? She usually carried one, but not on vacation. Her pockets bulged with jewels, but no clock.
Serena pursed her lips, calculating time.
'I fled during breakfast, so leaving the massage parlor was around lunch. Don't know how long I was out, but it didn't feel that long.'
Body and mind screamed like 24 hours nonstop, but actual time was shorter.
'Three, four hours tops?'
After deliberation, Serena decided.
"Let's head back to the fountain room. Paths are getting more complex; we need a map. And all of us, myself included, desperately need rest."
Especially Hanson, who had worked nonstop during the Founding Festival—his freckled under-eyes were hollow, gaze dull.
Lips cracked and crusted with blood, hands trembling on the spear.
Escape was urgent, but pushing on would break him. Without knowing the path length, she couldn't burn her only fighter.
No objections. The party backtracked.
Felt like a full day, but actual distance was short.
Passed the trap, the rat fight spot. At the first fork with the cart, they noticed something odd.
"It's dark? Light was visible from here."
"Yeah."
Hanson, Chrome, Lavenda had woken near the first fork and headed toward strong light to reach the lobby. But no brighter-than-corridor light near the fork now.
"Fountain side's dark too."
Conversely dark. Tension rippled through the group.
Serena pressed a finger to her lips, silencing them.
As they neared the lobby, corridor lights faded, growing dimmer. Chrome cautiously rummaged in the cart.
"Got a lantern."
She pulled one out and lit it deftly.
"Oil's low, so use sparingly."
"I know Light Orb magic. It'll be fine."
Light Orb was basic magic learned at entry level.
'Only used it in lessons, never since. Should be okay. It's beginner magic. Tutorial level.'
Magic was muscle memory; her body would remember.
'Mess up and it's humiliating. Focus, Serena.'
Luckily, it worked. Serena basked in the group's quiet cheers, floating the orb ahead.
They crept toward the lobby.
Aside from pitch darkness, nothing seemed amiss. Serena swept the orb around, illuminating the lobby.
Only fountain water sounds; nothing happened. With Serena's permission, Chrome shouted loudly.
"Anyone there?"
