LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 18
“I’m not going to make a plan.”
“Sure.”
“All we have to do is take down all the monsters along the way and move forward.”
“Oh.”
“So, there’s no need to stick together. The evaluation results are said to be given individually anyway.”
“Got it.”
I nodded at the Poor Girl’s words.
A while later.
The Poor Girl, with all sorts of expressions on her face, spoke in a sharp voice.
“…What the heck are you?”
“Avant-garde.”
“No, that’s not what I was asking.”
“Eliaernes Eustetia.”
“…I meant why you keep staring at me.”
That’s right.
I’ve been staring at this Poor Girl.
For almost 20 minutes.
Finally, unable to resist my gaze, the Poor Girl opened her mouth first.
I didn’t know what she felt from my stare, but the Poor Girl started rambling on about this and that.
I semi-responded.
So the answer to her last question about why I was staring was…
I didn’t know either.
At first, I was just amused by her discomfort at my gaze, but the more I looked, the more… it felt like I’d seen that face somewhere before.
And it was a face I knew from my past life.
Saying a descendant born 400 years later looks like an ancestor is ridiculous.
Yet, I couldn’t dismiss the fact that she resembled someone.
I wonder if I’d recognize her if I heard the name.
“What’s your name?”
“…Why?”
Zing- A sharper gaze pierced through me.
Whatever. I continued to ruminate.
“Seeing you speak so confidently in casual language makes me think you’re a noble, at least a marquis or higher. Am I right?”
“You don’t need to know.”
“Or maybe you’re a member of a royal family from a neighboring country?”
Well, I’m the daughter of a duke.
The only daughter of Duke Eustetia, who’s called a descendant of heroes.
There aren’t many people who can confidently speak casually to someone like me.
You either don’t know who I am, are clueless, have nothing to lose, or are of similar standing to me.
Well, if you don’t know me, I suppose that’s possible, but you certainly knew my name during the written exam.
That’s not to say you look clueless.
Do you have nothing to lose? Hard to say. Wearing a hood and hiding your face makes it seem like you have a lot to lose.
Then there’s just one possibility left.
A noble of similar rank as me.
At least a scion of a notable marquis family.
But if so, it’s funny she doesn’t even have enough money to buy rye bread.
She might have avoided buying it due to pride from being raised in a noble family, but saying a count’s child doesn’t even have money for a meal is laughable.
Has she been abandoned?
No, nobles wouldn’t let their discarded children embarrass them out in public.
That’s what nobles get grumpy about; they dislike anything that might tarnish their reputation.
What could it be?
“How long are you going to keep staring?”
“Until I’m satisfied.”
“W-what?… What satisfaction?!”
“There’s such a thing.”
I roughly answered and continued to stare deeply into the Poor Girl’s face.
It feels like something’s about to click but just won’t.
Like trying to grab a cloud with your hand.
Ah, how frustrating.
It feels like meat is stuck in my teeth.
Then, suddenly—
In the end, unable to bear my gaze any longer, the Poor Girl completely hid her face in her hood.
A bit disappointing, but I was satisfied and turned away.
Once we enter the Labyrinth, we’ll part ways quickly.
Listening to her talk made it seem like she was confident enough and since she’s aiming for Signia, I’m sure we’ll meet again.
Having completed my thoughts, I pulled out a macaron from my pocket. Chocolate flavor.
Rustle-
I peeled back the shell and split the macaron in half.
As the crispy and chewy sound rang out, the Poor Girl flinched—twitch.
“Want to eat?”
“Do you think I want to eat something you’ve been handling like that?”
“I thought you weren’t looking, but you saw everything?”
“What, what? Not at all?! I can tell just from the sound!”
Whoosh! The Poor Girl glared at me.
Her face was bright red.
I smiled at her and said,
“I’ve got some that weren’t shelled in my pocket; want me to give you one?”
Rustle- Rustle-
“Ugh…”
The Poor Girl’s eyes darted between the macaron and my pocket.
Then she gulped—gulp.
“I’m good.”
Whoosh- She turned her head away.
“Suit yourself.”
I shrugged and popped the macaron into my mouth, crunching it crunch–crunch–chew–chew– extra loud on purpose.
The way she twitched every time was incredibly amusing.
*
“—And that concludes the orientation.”
After 20 minutes, the practical exam was just around the corner.
The venue was Signia’s Training Grounds.
As the candidates entered, they gazed in awe at the brilliant facilities of Signia.
Seeing that they’re taking the practical exam at Signia’s Training Grounds, I felt the Academy was quite the piece of work.
It’s fine to highlight the gap, but isn’t the aftershock greater?
But still, well, I suppose as an academy student, you’ll receive treatment no matter whether it’s Signia or Frunt.
I’ve heard that holding a student ID in the system grants various benefits as well.
Anyway.
Our classroom was the last in line.
Even the exam candidates, who had been bustling about, and the cheerful Yurasia, seemed to have entered the labyrinth as they were nowhere to be found.
“If you’re ready, please enter in order.”
All candidates turned their gazes as one.
There stood a brilliantly shining magic circle.
A magic circle with various complicated spells intertwined and entangled.
Even I, who is not well-versed in magic, could tell at a glance that this was an elaborate magic spell.
They said that by standing in the center of the magic circle and injecting mana, you would be transported.
Click-click- I rolled a peppermint candy around in my mouth while watching the Poor Girl.
She looked very tense now, though she seemed relaxed during the written exam.
Is it to cut down on clear time, or is she weak?
I couldn’t tell for sure, but I thought it was the former.
The Poor Girl definitely had that genius’s typical haughty attitude and indifference.
“When are you going in?”
“Now.”
The Poor Girl, clutching the staff tightly, took the lead with her response.
While pondering what to do about that insufferable brat, I also took a step forward.
Once I stood in front of the magic circle, Arkand’s gaze pierced me.
“Good luck.”
I shrugged and faced forward.
“Oh.”
The scenery changed.
Voices echoed with a hum-hum.
Not a cave, but looking at the traces of sculptures on the walls, it was a ruin?
A labyrinth in the shape of a closed-off ancient site.
A labyrinth.
A labyrinth is originally a prison created by the Demon Race to trap humans.
The original source of that labyrinth is—
Gebihenum’s Third Legion Commander, Laziness’s Labyrinth.
I’ve yet to properly see that brat’s abilities, so I can’t know how she creates a labyrinth, but—
I do know that she creates them.
In my past life, I was trapped in labyrinths over three digits at a time.
I’ve fought against the Labyrinth before, too.
But I couldn’t kill her.
Since it’s her labyrinth, when she’s inside, the labyrinth breathes.
That means everywhere turns into an enemy.
She also creates escape routes at her convenience and all of that.
In this case, with the ceiling closed, it’s somewhat fortunate, but if you encounter a labyrinth with an open ceiling, in a completely different dimension—
The sky comes crashing down.
Not a metaphor, but the actual sky comes crashing down.
I believe that was when I nearly died for the 17th time in my life, or was it the 18th?
While I pondered those thoughts.
“If you’re going to follow, feel free. But if you get in my way, I’ll leave you behind.”
The Poor Girl said to me in a sharp voice.
Seeing her grasp the direction as soon as we entered, she certainly seemed skilled.
Well, that’s that.
I pointed to the back and said,
“No, you go ahead. I’ll go that way.”
In response, the Poor Girl tilted her head with a scoff.
“Ha, the direction is this way.”
“Uh-huh, I know.”
“But why… no way, you can’t be…”
“Right. I’m going to catch a Basilisk.”
“Alone?”
“Yeah.”
The Poor Girl’s face twisted oddly.
“You must be crazy…”
I need to smack that brat someday.
“To do that alone…?”
Halfway through her sentence, the Poor Girl looked around us anxiously, her eyes widening.
“Wait, why aren’t you holding a weapon? Did you forget to bring one?!”
As the Poor Girl said, my hands were completely empty.
But I already had my weapon.
“It’s right here.”
“…Where?”
She looked at me, incredulous.
I raised my fist.
“Look closely. This is a hammer.”
I spread my hand wide.
“This is a sword.”
I lifted one leg.
“This is a spear.”
Now her gaze shifted from incredulous to one of seeing some otherworldly creature.
“You’re a Martial Artist?”
“No? Why would I be a Martial Artist? Just look! This is a hammer. This is a sword, and this is a spear.”
Why don’t they get it?
“Ha, ha… The daughter of Eustetia is a chimp—”
“Hey, if you say that word, this hammer will swing at your skull.”
“…What? Skull?”
“Anyway, I’m going to the back, so let’s part ways here. Good luck!”
Sensing I might really crack a nutty head if I talked anymore, I turned my back.
Thud-thud-
The oppressive air in this enclosed space fills my lungs.
The sound of my footsteps moves into the corridor ahead, and the unique sticky ambiance of the labyrinth envelops my body.
No, it really is sticky.
The interior of the labyrinth is filled with mana.
And the Academy’s labyrinth is sticky too.
Not like a true labyrinth in such a sticky way, but they managed to implement it well enough.
Is it like this made with mana?
“Wow… it’s more serious than I thought.”
They had said it was an artificial labyrinth made with magic, so I wasn’t expecting much, but it truly feels like a real labyrinth.
Of course, there are some flaws along the way that make it seem no match for the Labyrinth, which is a bit disappointing, but still, it’s excellent for this extent.
Kaloso must have racked his brain to recreate an area like this, yet these green magic tower wizards pulled it off?
“Wow, really.”
The world has changed a lot.
The level seems to have improved.
I touched the walls of the labyrinth, ran my hand over the damp floor, and even tasted the soil spread over it.
Not gritty, but pleasantly chewy.
A bitter first taste mixed with the rancid scent of monsters on the aftertaste.
“Whoa! This soil taste is just like the real thing?! What is this? Did these guys eat dirt for the academy’s practical exam?”
I’d had to eat dirt myself since I’d been trapped in a labyrinth for more than a week.
Were there any among the green magic tower who had been similarly trapped for that long?
Of course not. It’s been said that the Demon King being sealed led to the activity of the Legion Commanders quieting down.
With that in mind, unless you specifically sought them out, there wouldn’t have been a reason to get trapped in the Labyrinth’s maze.
That leaves only the fact that this labyrinth was devised by a wizard who was active 400 years ago when I was.
That much I can’t deny.
The corners of my mouth involuntarily curve upward.
I can feel my body and mind rooted in Gebihenum, causing my senses to heighten.
My heart races loudly, blood flows faster.
Thump-thump-
As I revel in the long-lost excitement that fills me, I… wait.
Oh, no!
Before I could grab another peppermint candy—
Aaaaargh!
Right as I thought that,
I heard something explode.
Then a hot wind rushed in.
The Poor Girl’s magic.
Had she already encountered a monster?
Wait, using fire magic in a labyrinth?
Is that what she’s doing?
Is she copying Kaloso’s antics?
Looks like magicians are so accustomed to casting fire magic when surprised.
Twisting my face, I glanced back.
“Hmm?”
There was the Poor Girl running towards me, her face a pale shade.
“After all those poses, she really was a total amateur?”