Chapter 50
Chapter 50
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 50
Chapter Title: Gongpo Mansion (3)
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A familiar, tearing laughter rang in her ears.
The moment she heard it, every hair on her body stood on end.
It was the voice of the terrifying woman who had brought that unforgettable week of death—a death she desperately wanted to erase from memory.
"N-No... no, no, no, no...!!"
"Uh, E-Emily...?"
Rafne, who had been peering under the bed, jolted upright in surprise at Emily's sudden panic.
"No, stay away, st-stay away...!!"
"Kihihihihit!! Kyahahahaha!!"
The woman, shaking her long hair and cackling in a spine-chilling way, slowly approached Emily.
Snip, snip.
She deliberately let the sound of metal clashing echo, prodding at Emily's memories.
The pain that had come with the scissors crossing resurfaced.
It revived the horror of her body being sliced away in her recollections.
"No, nooooo━!!"
Screaming, Emily shook her head frantically and crawled backward across the floor, trying to flee the woman.
But she soon slammed into the wall.
"N-No, stay awaaay...!"
As the woman's silhouette drew steadily closer.
Emily despaired, tears streaming down her face.
Her face drained pale white, her pupils quaking as memories of death flooded back.
━Kwaaaang!!
"E-Emily. You okay?"
With a single kick from the nearby Rafne, the long-haired woman was smashed into the wall.
The mansion shook with the impact, cracks spiderwebbing across the surface.
"Uwah! W-What's going on?!"
The voices of Elis and the others, rushing in at the noise, marked the end of the brief trauma.
"Hic... Rafne..."
Emily gazed up at her savior with eyes brimming with tears.
"Th-Thank you... Hic, thank you..."
"Uh, ah, it's nothing... Huh? E-Emily?"
"Huek... thank you..."
Emily had burst into panicked tears, but with Rafne's help resolving the crisis.
She clung to Rafne's waist and sobbed.
"It's okay... It's o-okay."
Rafne stroked Emily's head to soothe her.
Recalling how Ken had comforted her when she'd broken down in tears, Rafne mimicked the gesture.
'...So this is what it felt like for me.'
Imagining herself clinging to Ken that way, Rafne watched the weeping Emily.
"Whoa... So this is the fake stuff Ken was talking about."
"Indeed. It manifests like this... Definitely has some substance."
Siegfried and Elis, drawn by the commotion, observed the scissor woman dissolve into dust.
"...The others should be fine, right?"
"They said no one gets hurt, so yeah."
"Emily's state makes me think injury isn't the real problem."
Elis eyed the still-shuddering Emily with concern.
And in another room.
Adrian, combing through the rooms for the key, came to an abrupt halt before one door.
"Senior? Why aren't you going in?"
Alicia, who had been scouting alongside him, glanced at the room he was fixated on.
"Whoa... What the hell is all this? Eugh, disgusting!"
The scene Adrian stared at.
It was a veritable mountain of corpses strewn across a space far too vast for any mansion room.
"...So this is the fake Ken mentioned."
An illusion crafted to prey on the fears buried in one's heart.
Gazing at it, Adrian tightened his grip on the doorknob.
"What an unpleasant mansion."
He raised one hand and snapped his fingers.
━Fwoosh.
A tiny spark flickered to life at his fingertip.
Burn it all.
The moment he thrust his hand forward to unleash a massive blaze.
"Kyaaaaak!! What are you doing?! You insane senior━!!"
━Smack.
Alicia's small hand smacked Adrian's head.
"You planning to torch the whole mansion?! Are you nuts?! We'll all die!"
At Alicia's horrified yell, Adrian snuffed out the spark.
Then it hit him—what he'd nearly done.
'...Set fire to the mansion.'
Something the usual Adrian would never consider.
The sight had robbed him of rational thought.
"...Sorry. Saw something gruesome."
"Doesn't make you any less of an arsonist!"
Alicia alternated glances between the room's horrors and Adrian, who averted his eyes.
"That bad, huh?"
"A pile of bodies? Nobody likes that."
"Sigh... Fine! Guess I have to step in again!"
Alicia planted a hand on her hip and puffed out her chest, as if granting a favor. Adrian cocked his head.
She placed a hand on his shoulder, locking eyes with him.
"There. No more gruesome sights in this mansion."
A peculiar pattern surfaced over her eyes.
With her words, mana from her gaze flowed into Adrian's eyes.
In that instant, the corpse pile vanished.
"How's that? Impressive, right? Aren't I awesome?"
Adrian's fear gone, the room's nightmare dissolved too.
Seeing it, Alicia flashed a smug grin and fished for praise.
Adrian, who'd watched it all impassively.
Let out a soft chuckle and rested a hand on her head.
"I owe you. Thanks."
His unexpected touch brought a flush to Alicia's cheeks.
Uncharacteristically bashful, she looked away.
"W-Wow~ When a hot senior like you does that for real, it's kinda embarrassing."
"Wasn't this what you wanted?"
"Yeah, but still..."
Having dispelled the illusion, they resumed the key hunt.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Amid the clamor of the others' voices, Ken and Mary searched a room together.
"E-Everyone seems to be dealing with something..."
Mary shuddered as she opened the wardrobe, her voice quivering.
"...Yeah, probably seeing something scary."
True to its name, the Ghost Mansion of Gongpo was styled after a haunted house.
Recalling the various scenes from this event in the game, Ken replied casually.
"Ken... y-you're not scared?"
Mary ventured the question, puzzled by his calm tone.
"Nah... It's not like anyone gets hurt, and it's all fake anyway. Once you know that, it loses its punch."
"You're amazing... I wanna be brave like you."
"Haha, I'm not brave, Mary. Just not scared."
Unlike Ken's composure, Mary chafed at her own trembling and deflated.
Noticing, Ken added,
"You're the brave one for pushing through even when you're scared."
"...R-Really?"
His gentle words were clearly meant to comfort, but Mary beamed anyway, cheeks pink, a soft smile blooming.
Her fear had quietly faded.
"No key here. Wanna check another room?"
As Ken rose to leave.
Mary shut the wardrobe and turned to follow—
Splash.
A sound that shouldn't have come from under Ken's foot.
The odd sensation made them both look down.
━A massive puddle had formed beneath him.
Stunned by the impossible sight, Ken stared blankly—
"W-Waaah!!"
Swoosh! Plop!
The ground gave way, sucking him into the depths.
"Ke-Keeen!!"
Mary's face went sheet-white. She flung herself toward the puddle, screaming his name.
But Ken was already gone, swallowed whole.
'G-Gotta get the others...!'
Knowing she couldn't help alone, Mary whirled to dash out.
But.
No door.
"...Huh?"
Blank walls.
Not a single exit on any side.
"N-No, no...!!"
She pounded the walls, but the vanished door stayed gone.
━Kwaaaang!!
Even slamming an ice spear into the wall yielded only more bricks behind.
"Ke... Ken..."
Door sealed, no help coming.
Ken not resurfacing from the puddle.
Mary stared at the serene surface in despair.
This way, he'd die.
She had to go in and save him.
...But terror of water soaking her body halted her reason.
Frozen by the etched trauma, Mary.
Saw bubbles rise—and snapped to.
'Staying put... Ken dies.'
His cold corpse from days ago flashed in her mind.
No room for fear to intervene.
She hurled herself into the puddle.
Splash!
'...Ken!'
Pale and quaking, Mary swam through the water.
Far below, Ken's form.
"...Ben... Tusia...!"
Bubbles trailed her invocation, mana rippling through the water.
A beginner wind spell's chant.
Wind converged on her legs, propelling her forward.
Blazing speed—she reached him in moments.
"Puhahaa!!"
With her aid, Ken broke the surface and hauled the shivering Mary up.
"M-Mary! You alright?! You're soaked!"
Back on the mansion floor, the puddle vanished.
Ken yanked a big towel from his subspace pouch and dried her off.
Mary trembled violently.
Knowing the phobia water triggered in her, Ken watched with worry.
Yet Mary, unlike her usual self, smiled wanly through chattering teeth.
"...Relieved."
"Sorry. My fault for being careless—you got dragged in..."
"No... it's fine."
Shivering wet, Mary rested her dripping head on his chest.
"...Getting wet scares me... but you dying? Way worse."
This time, saving him drowned out the fear with relief.
His chilled corpse replayed in her mind.
That trauma terrified her more now.
Getting wet? A small price.
"Ken-senior! Elis-senior found the key...! U-Uwah! Wh-What's this?! You're drenched!"
And so the key hunt wrapped up safely.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Feeling better now?"
"Yeah... Ken dried me off good. All fluffy again."
Mary, soaked just minutes ago, was now dry and soft thanks to my makeshift hairdryer and stack of towels.
"Then let's open it up."
With Mary squared away, we gathered before the next door.
Adrian slotted the key he'd found into the lock.
Click.
Gears meshed, unlocking with a satisfying sound.
━Creak.
The massive double doors swung open, revealing the room beyond.
From memory, this was the final one.
'...Now for the real test.'
A vast, empty chamber lay before us.
Just the entry door and, opposite, a bizarre statue.
Brick walls sealed everything else.
"...What're we supposed to do here?"
Elis muttered, scanning puzzled.
And then.
━Grind, griiiind.
"Kyaa! It moved!"
The grinding of something long immobile—Emily shrieked, spotting the source.
She pointed straight ahead: the statue.
A woman's upper body with wings, lower half fused into the wall.
One image sprang to mind.
Sphinx.
As if hauling in Egypt's infamous riddle-spewer, it slowly raised its bowed head.
And.
━Flash.
"E-Eyes opened! Creepy!"
Stone lids blinked, revealing living eyeballs within.
They scanned the room unnervingly, locking onto us.
Moments later, the gaze stilled.
🗿 Sphinx Riddle 🗿 [Answer correctly, and I shall open the door.] "A riddle...?"
Siegfried murmured at the statue's human tongue.
As if in reply, it continued.
🗿 Sphinx Riddle 🗿 [But answer wrong, and you forfeit your right to remain. Depart this place.] The final hurdle of this mansion event.
The reason it was unbeatable.
'Yup, it's this at the end...'
I'd hoped for something different, but like the game, it always ended with this thing's quiz.
Prior trials randomized each run.
But the finale? Always this sphinx's brainteaser.
Fail, and everyone got booted.
The riddle itself...
🗿 Sphinx Riddle 🗿 [I know all things. Answer what I do not know.]