Chapter 39

“……”

Ren greeted me with his eyes when our gazes met.

I lightly ignored it.

A relationship with this guy was unnecessary.

There was no reason for him to harbor any particular feelings toward me.

In the first place, he would not have the leisure to care about me in this kind of situation.

“What did that bastard say to Her Highness the Princess?”

“I’m sure he just called her Re……”

“Shh, someone like you shouldn’t dare to utter that name.”

The cadets were dumbfounded by Ren’s attitude.

The fact that he called Princess Arlhardt Remina Astrid by her nickname, ‘Remi’, became a huge topic.

Allowing a nickname meant being as close as a dear friend or family.

In Yggdrasil, only Ren could call her by that name.

On top of that, seeing him bickering with the Princess must have been another great shock.

“I thought Her Highness was kindly looking after a poor commoner with a compassionate heart……”

“For a commoner to dare…!”

Voices tinged with jealousy quietly leaked out.

But putting those aside.

Elined bowed her head to the Princess in accordance with noble etiquette.

“Welcome, Your Highness.”

“……Could you explain what this is about?”

Elined briefly told the Princess.

That this strange phenomenon was without a doubt the school trip exam prepared by Yggdrasil.

“An exam… so it was as I thought. Now I finally understand what it means.”

The Princess looked at Ren and spoke as if answering him.

Ren also lightly nodded his head.

That meant not only that he understood Elined’s words.

It also meant that he had pieced together the hints they had been gathering so far, completing the puzzle.

“In fact, I’ve heard of it before. At the Recorox Grand Mansion, designated as the school trip destination for fifteen years, only one person ever reached the final trial.”

The Princess cried out as if appealing to everyone present.

“That person said they couldn’t remember it well, but that a trial awaited which was impossible to overcome alone.”

Additional hints about this place were flowing out.

The cadets, without even the slightest murmur, focused on the Princess’s words.

“In that case, this won’t be a competition but a cooperation match. As many as possible must survive until the final trial.”

Together with the surviving cadets, they had to eliminate the evil spirit of the Recorox Grand Mansion.

That was the main task of this episode, continuously reminded to the user.

In other words, it became the goal of Ren and the Princess.

“Everyone, will you help me?”

At the Princess’s heartfelt appeal, everyone inside grew fervent.

“Of course!”

“I’ll survive, even if it means burning this body to ashes!”

Amid that fervor, Elined quietly bent her waist toward the Princess.

“……You are right, Your Highness.”

Elined replied with a faint smile.

But her eyes were not smiling.

‘So there cannot be two suns under the same sky.’

Before the Princess, Elined had been reduced to a mere supporting role.

And not just for this episode.

In the future as well, it would be the Princess who unintentionally hindered Elined’s grasp on power.

A clash was inevitable.

Seeing those unsmiling eyes, perhaps even now she had sensed that fate.

How long had it been since we took a rest?

While closing my eyes for a moment, I had made up for my lacking sleep.

Karin also seemed to have just woken up, her eyes opening groggily.

“Karin, you’re awake?”

“……N-noaaagh?!”

Startled, Karin stumbled back with her arms raised.

It was Lapin’s fault for greeting her with her face so close right as she woke up.

“Uwaaaah!”

Karin looked around and was startled once again.

She looked back and forth between the two of us, hurriedly scanning the surroundings.

Then, as if her thoughts had organized, she let out a deep sigh.

“……Alright. I get it now. This is the way to the second trial, right?”

Karin answered in a voice that tried to sound calm.

When she opened her eyes, the radiant sanctuary was gone without a trace.

We had been moved into the mansion’s corridor.

Of course, not just us, but the other groups as well.

But there was another reason Karin had been so alarmed.

‘The previous corridor was still somewhat better.’

That was because the third-floor corridor repeated infinitely and was dimly lit, causing fear.

On the outside, it did not look much different from the corridors of reality.

‘This time it’s surreal.’

The second-floor corridor was not only much darker without even the smallest light, but entirely blue.

The doors did not even show room numbers.

Even in the game, the developers had been criticized for their twisted taste.

To face that in reality was mentally unbearable.

‘Lapin doesn’t seem to feel fear at all.’

As for me, whether it was thanks to my body or because I had seen it often in the game, I did not feel fear.

“……Did you wait until I woke up? Sorry, because of me.”

Karin was struggling to adapt to this place.

“No, thanks to you, I also rested well.”

“R-really?”

Lapin’s gentle reply helped Karin relax a little.

By now, she would have regained enough strength to move.

I rose from my seat and spoke.

“Let’s do some preparations before moving on.”

It was necessary to prepare before passing the next gate.

‘The first gate could be solved with riddles alone, without the need for battle.’

But from the second gate onward, every trial included combat as a necessity.

‘Since the monsters are powerful, I can’t handle them alone.’

I had to amplify our strength through synergy.

That was the reason I had recruited Karin.

“How many totems did you bring?”

When I asked, Karin reached into her pocket.

Opening her hand after pulling it out, there were only three totems.

“Wave, Wind, and Rotation. Just three.”

Karin looked uneasy at the lack of totems.

But as soon as I saw them, the optimal mission instantly came to mind.

Even if the number was small, we could solve it with a clear advantage in compatibility.

“You brought good ones.”

“……Can we really do something with just these?”

I answered with a nod.

“Villed, what about me? What should I do?”

Lapin suddenly jumped in.

Did she want to be given a role?

‘That desire is admirable, but…’

I pointed to the sea otter in her arms.

“When you see a monster, make sure to hold the sea otter tightly so it doesn’t fall.”

“That’s it?”

Lapin tilted her head as if to say, ‘Just that?’

But my answer was already decided.

“That’s more than enough.”

“Alright, got it.”

Hearing Lapin’s answer, the sea otter raised both of its hands high.

Beep! Beep!

Before I could even say a word, it made a sound as if answering, “Give me a task too!”

That little guy had a very important role.

I lowered my head slightly to meet the sea otter’s eyes.

“Find the place where you hear the sound of sandstorms.”

……Beep!

The sea otter made a sound as if it understood me, then slipped out of Lapin’s arms.

And with focus, its ears twitched as it began to move step by step.

Beep!

The sea otter took the lead, telling us to follow.

We matched its pace and followed along.

“……”

I could feel Karin’s gaze on me from earlier.

Did she have something to say?

“Do I have something on my face?”

“N-no.”

Karin awkwardly averted my eyes.

I didn’t know what she was thinking.

Beep!

The sea otter cried out while pointing toward a room.

It didn’t take long to find the place.

I grabbed the doorknob first.

I opened the door and stepped inside.

Crunch, crunch.

The first sound I heard was the sound of stepping on something soft.

When I lifted my foot, a small cloud of sandy dust scattered.

Though there were no clouds in the sky, the scenery was gray and gloomy.

Whooooosh.

The wind wasn’t strong, but it carried a sorrowful sound.

I looked around the area.

This was a world of nothing but a gray sky and sand.

“…It looks like a desert.”

A space where endless wasteland stretched out.

No one knew when, where, or what might jump out, so Karin never let down her guard.

Lapin tilted her head as she gazed toward the distant horizon.

“Someone’s there.”

Following Lapin’s gaze, I spotted something.

“…Ah.”

Karin must have noticed it too.

She flinched, and her face quickly turned pale.

Kihihi!

A ghost girl, Lucy, was there, resting her chin on both hands.

She wore a sadistic smile, as if gleeful at the thought of tormenting Karin again.

“What the! What are you planning to do this time…!”

Kikik!

As if amused by Karin’s reaction, Lucy let out a laugh.

Then, like ice melting into water, her figure slowly faded.

At the same time, something happened.

Splaash!

The sandy ground suddenly rippled and surged.

“Kyaaah!”

The abrupt tremor made my body stagger.

Karin shouted in panic.

“Why is there an earthquake all of a sudden?!”

Karin had mistaken it for an earthquake.

But it wasn’t a typical earthquake that struck the ground—it was closer to waves forming in a regular sequence.

A phenomenon that one would normally only see in the ‘sea’.

Shhhhhhh.

Yes, it was like waves crashing.

“I can’t keep my balance…!”

Stumbling, Karin eventually collapsed to the ground.

Perhaps thanks to her chimera instincts and animal-like sense, Lapin surprisingly maintained her balance well.

Lapin approached Karin, who couldn’t stand, and reached out her hand.

“Karin, grab on.”

The sea otter communicated with Lapin through nothing but eye contact.

Thanks to climbing onto Lapin’s head, her hands were free.

Lapin grasped Karin’s hand and pulled her up.

Even after helping her up, she supported Karin by holding her arm.

“Thanks, Lapin!”

Relieved, Karin responded, and Lapin smiled faintly.

Although sweating coldly, Karin suddenly shouted as if she had realized something.

“I get it. The mission is to endure this earthquake. Lucky us, getting an easy mission!”

It was a voice that refused to abandon hope.

But unfortunately.

“No.”

I denied Karin’s words.

The sandy ground had turned into waves.

It looked like an unbearable trial already, but the ordeal of the ‘waving earth’ would not end with just this.

In the game, it wasn’t particularly difficult.

For players controlling the protagonist, it could be solved easily.

‘But I’m not that protagonist.’

According to the lore, the survival rate for the second-floor trial was absurdly low.

‘Out of 600 cadets, only 12 survived.’

Only a handful of cadets lived through it.

There was no guarantee that extras like us would survive.

“…Then, what happens?”

Karin’s question was answered when I pulled out the ‘Heart of Ilawne’ from my arms.

Rumbleeeeee!

A vibration rose from deep beneath the sandy ground.

The petals attached to my wand shook violently from the tremor.

As the source drew closer, the tremors grew stronger.

Fwooosh!

At last, something massive burst out of the ground.

When the sandy dust settled, its form slowly became visible.

A very long, enormous creature.

“A dragon…?”

To call it a dragon was wrong—it had too many legs to count.

And countless joints dividing its body.

“Ah…”

Realizing what it was, Karin could no longer speak.

Her soul had left her body.

I too frowned deeply upon facing it directly.

‘It’s even nastier than in the game.’

A giant centipede, towering over six meters.

Chchchchchh!

The sound of grinding teeth filled the surroundings.

Its size was threatening enough, but its sharp, massive fangs were equally dangerous.

As if starving for days, it drooled heavily, emanating thick malice.

I shouted to Karin, who was still stunned.

“Karin, snap out of it and get ready.”

I clenched the card of Hwayo in the air.

At that moment, flames erupted from my wand.

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