NOVEL WEB Chapter 99
“…What the hell.”
I blinked as I watched an unexpected figure approach us.
Big pumpkin-colored eyes. Thick golden hair.
A smile full of pride that slightly revealed sharpened teeth.
And then…
“Eliaernes!!!!!!!”
That voice, exaggeratedly cheerful.
“Vice Headmaster?”
Leona Meganberta came towards us.
“…What are you doing here?”
“Hmm? Am I not allowed to ask? Eliaernes and Stella, why are you here? Aren’t you under curfew?”
Tap tap Light footsteps stopped in front of us as the lion Beastman’s shadow was cast under the faint light.
“Hmm? You guys are here to rescue Pina, aren’t you?”
“…Vice Headmaster, are you also here to save Pina…?”
“Of course. Those brats that I’d love to tear apart and swallow whole kidnapped Pina.”
“Then the so-called business trip… was actually about coming here?”
“Business trip?”
Leona tilted her head.
“Oh, Cedil explained it that way? Well, if we’re calling it a business trip, then it is. I initially came for something else but ended up getting roped into saving Pina. Nyahaha!”
“Umm…”
I wanted to ask if the Vice Headmaster knew what was at the end of this labyrinth, but I held back.
For some reason, I didn’t want to ask.
“So, are you also here to rescue Pina?”
“Well, yes…”
“Huh? So you really are friends! Nyahaha!”
Leona laughed heartily, alternating glances between Stella and me, nodding in satisfaction.
“Good on you. Really, really good! But! You should turn back now!”
“U-uh…”
Leona’s insistence to turn back made Stella hesitate for a moment. Then she quietly approached me and tugged on my collar.
“Why aren’t you answering?”
Seeing us, Leona tilted her head with a meaningful smile.
“Are you seriously going to ignore the words of Karela Academy’s Vice Headmaster? If you do, you’ll really be in big trouble!”
“U-uh… Well…”
“We’re not going back.”
I interrupted Stella and responded instead.
Leona’s eyes widened at my answer.
“I need to see with my own eyes that Pina makes it out safely. And just because we’re following you doesn’t mean we’ll be a hindrance.”
“If it helps, great! It won’t get in the way.”
“I wouldn’t even know how to get back anyway. It seems like this labyrinth keeps changing paths.”
“W-what?! Really?! I didn’t know that?!”
“Don’t stick so close. You smell like pee.”
“I don’t! No way! No way that’s true!!”
Stella, who had been pale and stuttering just a moment ago, turned bright red and shouted, “Kuwaaaah!”
“Eliaernes, aren’t you being a bit too bold?”
“Isn’t it a bit late to say that now?”
“Nyahaha… Good point.”
Leona smirked. I looked her straight in the eye and asked.
“Do you know where Pina is?”
“In the center of the labyrinth.”
“And how do we get there?”
“Of course I know.”
“Ooh…”
Stella gasped in admiration while Leona chuckled.
“Looks like it can’t be helped. Just follow me. We don’t have time to waste chatting, right?”
With that, Leona started walking ahead.
“Eliaernes.”
A moment later, Stella, who had been creeping up behind me, tugged on the hem of my clothes and whispered.
“…I really didn’t pee.”
“Can you just hand me a pen? You brought one today, right?”
“A pen…? I did bring one but… if I give this to you, you have to believe I didn’t pee.”
“Fine.”
“…I really didn’t pee? Seriously?”
“For crying out loud.”
*
We walked for quite a while. Surprisingly, no monsters showed up.
When I say monsters, I mean those that are somewhat enjoyable to fight, like Lizardmen. Of course, Human-Faced Bugs crawled out endlessly.
“Still, a 4th circle is impressive! You should take pride in that!”
And Leona killed all of the Human-Faced Bugs.
“Hehe, right? Eliaernes, did you hear that? Even if we’re the same number, it’s a step below the hierarchy! It’s just that the first circle always takes longer to complete, so it can’t be helped!”
Meanwhile, Stella and Leona were chit-chatting, their banter flowing seamlessly.
Leona’s devilishly playful way of speaking paired perfectly with Stella’s innocent nature.
“Yes, you pee-pee pants.”
“YAAAAAH! I’m not!!! We agreed not to call me that! Why do you keep saying that??!”
“Nyahahaha! Why does Eliaernes keep calling Stella a pee-pee pants?”
“Because she is.”
“Everyone experiences that natural bodily function at some point.”
“Sure, but if you have any brains, you should pick and choose the time and place—”
“AAAH! Stop it! No! I’m not! Stop talking nonsense!”
Her filthy hands reached to cover my mouth, but I easily dodged and infused my mana to poke her side.
“Gyah?!”
With a cute shriek and a twist, I caught Stella as she stumbled, all while discreetly snatching a pen and bandage from her pocket.
Stella didn’t notice.
I laughed lightly as I teased her.
“What’s wrong? Did you pee again?”
“Uuuuh…! Don’t! Stop! Stop!”
“Grahaha! Stay back! Stay back!”
“AAAAAH! You’re so annoying!!”
Stella, genuinely angry, sighed heavily as she thrashed around, pushing me away.
“I really hate you. Don’t come near me. Don’t talk to me. I’m not joking anymore.”
I shrugged her reproach off and looked forward. Leona was walking casually without a care.
I stood next to Leona.
Meanwhile, Stella remained behind us, mumbling, “Should I really go…?” and clomped along loudly.
“Who did this?”
After about another 30 minutes, Leona asked.
“Right?”
“Do you have any guesses?”
“What about you, Vice Headmaster? You probably know more than I do, right?”
“True.”
Hehe Leona chuckled.
“So who did such a thing? This labyrinth seems to be on a different level compared to the ones that appeared in Arant.”
“Right. I haven’t seen the labyrinth that appeared in Arant, but from what I’ve heard… I’d say it was much inferior compared to this one.”
“Yeah. That felt more like a hallway than a labyrinth… Here, everything is disorienting and time feels weird. They didn’t have any of this.”
Leona raised an eyebrow at me.
“You knew that time felt weird?”
“Of course.”
Stella muttered something about sanitary napkins and personal upkeep as I mentally calculated the time.
It felt like it was less than 10 minutes, but it was actually 1 hour.
Of course, even without personal upkeep, I would have tracked the time by other means.
When entering a labyrinth, you have to treat those small details as the most significant.
Anyway, that one clue gave me clarity.
They want to stall for time.
It seems that Pina’s spirit powers make it hard for her to open that door.
“Nyahaha! Impressive! How did you figure that out?”
“By reading lots of books.”
“…There she goes again.”
Stella grumbled from the side.
I ignored her and continued.
“Looks like this labyrinth belongs to the minions of Labyrinth. It could even be their underlings. A mere minion wouldn’t be able to create a labyrinth of this scale.”
I said this cheerfully in a tone that didn’t suit me at all.
Stella’s expression twisted grimly, but I didn’t care.
“By the way, Vice Headmaster, why did the kidnapper act in such a hurry this time?”
“True. Since the curfew hasn’t even been lifted yet, wouldn’t it have been safer to just wait until next week to carry out their plan? Well… I can’t say that since I didn’t notice the criminal was hiding at the Academy.”
Leona chuckled awkwardly, scratching her cheek.
“I wonder which bold fool dared to infiltrate the Academy. Is it a Dark Mage, perhaps? Maybe a Mage too. Plenty of Mages can change their appearance.”
“Right.”
I chuckled alongside Leona.
I wasn’t awkward about it. It was a cheerful laugh.
“Vice Headmaster.”
“Yeah?”
“Can I ask you one thing I’m curious about?”
Leona paused briefly.
“Sure! Go ahead!”
Her voice was natural, with an expression showing curiosity and eyes filled with anticipation.
Seeing that perfect expression, I stepped a little closer.
And then I asked.
“Hey, you dog.”
The face of the being that used to be Leona froze.
“Do you think I’ll fall for that?”
Gyarak! I smiled brightly. At the same time, the mana I had stored exploded outward. It transformed around my body into strong magic without any process.
In a split second that no one here perceived, I raised my fist. The strong magic coursing through my right arm shone fiercely.
Then, the Leona in front of me, no, the thing pretending to be Leona, reacted.
I was quicker.
My fist shot out. With a loud blast of strong magic, a ghastly light burst forth. The fist hit, and—
Crash! Amidst a brilliant clash, fragments of strong magic scattered like cherry blossoms before my eyes.
Thus, the scenery of the underground waterway was drenched entirely in pink, and everything fell silent.
And then, grrrr—
Stella, witnessing the explosion of what had been ‘Leona’, fainted on the spot.