NOVEL WEB Chapter 87: The Key to the Dark Forest (1)
The light emitted by Miss Phibian’s necklace gradually subsided and returned to its original state.
However, it was no longer just an ordinary necklace.
———————
[The Key to the Dark Forest]
[Grade: Heroic]
Description: It will lead you to ‘The Dark Forest’.
———————
Ding.
What was once merely a pretty necklace had evolved into an artifact.
It was a leap of progress.
A household puppy transforming into a tiger couldn’t be more dramatic than this.
Yet Miss Phibian’s expression was entirely indifferent.
My lady.
Your puppy turned into a tiger, you know?
Why can’t you be happy?
“Miss Indifferent, is there a problem?”
I cautiously inquired of Miss Phibian.
“…”
Suddenly, Miss Phibian crouched down.
“Ugh…”
Then she buried her face in her knees, beginning to emit the sound of a boiling kettle.
“Ugh…!!!!!!!!!!”
It was almost like a wail.
Was she that overjoyed?
Soon, Miss Phibian lifted her head.
It seems the kettle had boiled over.
Her face was completely red.
On top of that, she wore an expression as if she was holding back the urge to break into tears.
How elated must one be to produce such an expression?
“I must say, it’s touching to see you so moved. I’m quite proud of myself.”
“…Are you mocking me?”
“Me? Mock? What do you mean?”
“…Never mind. I’m leaving then. You don’t have any business with me anymore, right?”
“Eh? Miss Whirlwind, wait a moment?”
“What now! You have no business with me!”
“What do you mean, no business? You said as a reward for helping you unlock your artifact’s ability, you’d share its power with me.”
“…”
“Any problem?”
Thud.
Miss Phibian stared at me for a moment, then crouched back down, cupping her face in her hands.
“I must be crazy…”
“Oh, Miss Regretful. Are you having second thoughts now!? Regretting sharing the artifact’s power with me?”
NOTE: I think ceylon is mispoke her name in purpose.
“Yes… yes… that’s right…”
“Hmm. This is quite disappointing, Miss Whirlwind. I thought you were someone straightforward. Well, I do understand though. Human feelings are complicated.”
Shortly, Miss Phibian removed her palms from her face and looked at me with a vacant expression.
“What?”
“Yes?”
“You looked like you knew what kind of artifact this necklace was. What power does it hold that you want it shared?”
“Ah, why don’t you take a guess?”
“Just tell me.”
“Are you getting prickly all of a sudden?”
“Arrgh… Just say it! If you make me misunderstand one more time!”
“Misunderstand? What did you misunderstand?”
Before I could respond in confusion, Miss Phibian stared at me for a while, then just flopped down onto the ground.
“Miss Haphazard. You should maintain some dignity.”
“Dignity, what for? For someone as pathetic and despicable as me.”
“First you express happiness, then rage, and now suddenly self-pity. Miss Phibian, you seem very mercurial. Maybe I’ve been— Oh, you seem to have a rich tapestry of emotions. I’ll be more cautious around you from now on.”
“Don’t bother. Just leave me to die.”
“Then I’ll might as well claim the necklace.”
“Waaaah-”
“Heh. What an annoyance.”
***
Miss Phibian finally regained her composure after some time of her blues tap dance.
“So. What exactly is the power contained here?”
If she seemed fixedly sullen, was it just my imagination?
Regardless-
“If it’s not too much trouble, may I take a look at the necklace?”
Since my knowledge of artifact activation worked, this necklace must be the [Key to the Dark Forest] that I know of.
Still, just to be entirely sure, I extended my hand to Miss Phibian to inspect it myself.
Then, staring blankly at my hand, Miss Phibian snorted— scoffing.
She raised her chin to expose her neck.
“Take it if you want~”
What have I done to sour her mood so much?
Nevertheless, I shrugged and moved closer to Miss Phibian.
“If you’ll excuse me.”
Getting ready to take the necklace as instructed, I reached behind her neck as if embracing her when she suddenly jerked away.
“What, what are you doing-!?”
Miss Phibian was startled and quickly backed off.
“… Yes? But didn’t you just say to take it?”
“Not like that! Who tries to actually take it!?”
“…?”
What exactly was she trying to tell me?
“Was that your way of subtly rejecting me?”
“…”
After staring daggers at me for another long while—
“…Fine.”
She exposed her neck again.
This time, there was tangible tension unlike before.
“…?”
The thought had crossed my mind before.
Is she someone whose actions are utterly inscrutable?
Either way, since she told me to continue, I did.
“Huh-”
This time, without dodging, I brought my hands behind Miss Phibian’s neck and undid the necklace.
-Click.
While carefully removing the necklace, our eyes met.
Miss Phibian watched me intently, as if measuring my reaction.
It’s rather embarrassing being stared at this closely.
Grin.
I laughed awkwardly due to the awkwardness.
“Natural…”
Miss Phibian muttered something while observing me.
“Yes?”
“Huh?”
“What did you just say-”
“Ah, it’s nothing, don’t mind it.”
Before I knew it, Miss Phibian was back to her prior self.
Peering around as if she was up to no good, fidgeting, looking anxious, and apparently anticipating something—
For me, it was impossible to interpret the complex message buried in her actions.
“Ceylon?”
“Please, speak.”
Ahem.
“Just now, I lay down on the ground. Could you check if I got dirty?”
“Ah, certainly. Just stay there for a moment—”
I pulled out a handkerchief from my pocket.
This was also part of that navy fur gift set, which I really liked.
‘A bit like a prepared gentleman, eh? Perhaps I do have a dash of elegance?’
I carefully dusted off the dirt from Miss Phibian’s back with the handkerchief.
Throughout, I felt an intense gaze and looked up to see—
“…”
Miss Phibian was staring straight at me.
“Oops, my apologies. I didn’t mean—”
“Continue.”
“Yes?”
“No, what I mean is I don’t mind, so go ahead.”
“…?”
If the indifferent demeanor of Miss Phibian seemed to be almost like she was going mad with concern—but only seemed—that might be my misconception, right?
Either way, since Miss Phibian didn’t seem to be bothered, I continued with gentlemanly manners.
After carefully dusting off all the dirt from Miss Phibian’s back, I stepped back.
“Just a moment.”
“Yes?”
“There’s still a spot that’s not clean—”
At her words, I checked Miss Phibian’s back again.
Indeed, there was still some dirt left on it —
“Uh… that spot is a bit…”
“What is it?”
“Yes?”
“What do you mean by that spot is a bit—? Aren’t you just dusting dirt off my clothes? Or is there some impure motive behind this?”
Miss Phibian barraged me rapidly with questions as if she had prepared a script in advance.
“Is that so…?”
Well, I am just dusting off, and it would be odd to be concerned with such things and only clean partly.
I corrected my thoughts and dusted off the remaining dirt.
“That should do it.”
Cleaning complete.
I beamed at Miss Phibian with a sense of accomplishment.
“…”
Miss Phibian’s expression slowly became stern, and then she bowed her head, murmuring to herself.
“What am I even doing…”
A moment later.
“Let’s get back to the point. What is the ability of the artifact?”
Miss Phibian, with a look full of self-loathing and unable to meet my eyes, said.
Touching the necklace in my hand, I recalled the window that popped up.
———————
[The Key to the Dark Forest]
[Grade: Heroic]
Description: This will lead you to ‘The Dark Forest’.
———————
I nodded and spoke.
“It’s a key to a dungeon.”
“A dungeon key?”
Miss Phibian’s attitude changed dramatically, and she looked at me with seriousness.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m certain.”
“You do realize how suspicious you seem right now?”
“Yes?”
“That necklace has been in possession of our family for generations. And yet, nobody knew anything about it.”
“I understand what you’re implying.”
So what?
What are you going to do about it if I’m suspicious?
If I just brush it off as a secret, what else can you do apart from getting frustrated?
As I responded with a vaguely amused smile, Miss Phibian let out a resigned sigh.
“Let’s clear this up really quick.”
“What is it?”
“If there was any misunderstanding about this situation, it’s entirely due to your suspicious behavior. Is that right or not? Answer me!”
“Fair point. Even I find myself suspicious. Ha, whatever the misunderstanding may be, it’s understandable that you, Miss Phibian, could easily be misled.”
“Fine.”
Despite her reluctance, Miss Phibian finally nodded her agreement.
“Now, back to the matter at hand: you’re saying the necklace is a key to a dungeon?”
“Yes.”
“Then how do you propose we divide the artifact’s power as the key to this dungeon?”
“Miss Phibian, why don’t we think about it? Suppose someone creates or discovers a dungeon. They decide to hide it to the point of making an inactive artifact. If that’s the case, what could be inside the dungeon?”
“Think? Don’t take me for a fool. Buried treasure within the dungeon—so you’re suggesting we divide the dungeon’s shares, wrapping it in needless words.”
“Ha, as expected from Miss Phibian. A very succinct summary!”
Then Miss Phibian began to ponder with a serious demeanor.
I followed suit with my thoughts.
This was the crucial moment.
An artifact was at stake.
Mere rights as a victor of the representative match wouldn’t suffice.
Even if I activated the artifact, they could just throw some change at me for the effort and say that was enough.
Right now, Miss Phibian could probably think of a thousand reasons not to share the artifact with me.
Considering all that, I needed to come up with a way to persuade Miss Phibian—
“Alright.”
Before I could even start planning, she surprisingly agreed.
“Yes?”
“Let’s divide the dungeon’s shares.”
Her unexpectedly magnanimous proposal caught me so off guard I nearly blinked in awe.