Chapter 132: Young Master, How Much Have You Looked Into?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 132: Young Master, How Much Have You Looked Into?
The interior of the mansion was cleaner than the outside.
While the exterior gave the impression of being completely neglected, the inside showed traces of having been maintained for some reason.
"There’s nothing to it."
"Ghosts? What ghosts? There isn't even anything here."
"Rather than such idle rumors, we should be checking for rats or bugs. That’s what’s important."
"The sunlight seems to come in well. It would be perfect if the water runs properly, too."
"...."
The merchants, who knew nothing of combat, and the foolish nobles who had bothered to visit the Labyrinth City noticed nothing.
Among those from the Keislan Kingdom, only Leo was able to discover the various clues left throughout the house.
This isn't just a simple bloodstain. The blood has dried and turned black. Can those idiots not even recognize this? Well... I suppose they’ve never had a reason to see dried blood.
The place seemed neatly organized, but it wasn't thorough.
Discolored bloodstains remained everywhere, and even a slightly careful look revealed that the furniture was arranged awkwardly.
It’s not just scattered. It’s positioned as if to block something approaching from one direction. This is what a collapsed defensive line looks like.
Leo had experience in war.
Of course, he hadn't spent his time dying in the mud on the front lines shouting about noblesse oblige, but he had frequently traveled the battlefields and visited soldiers fighting the northern barbarians. Those memories came flooding back.
Leo’s senses screamed danger. Something horrific had clearly happened here, and the current state was merely a crude attempt to hide the carnage.
"We’ve seen enough, let’s head out. There’s nothing more to see."
Leo wanted to leave this place immediately. Sion’s warning wouldn't leave his mind.
If he continued to wander this insane mansion with these morons, he was certain to be victimized by an evil spirit.
"Oh, come now, we haven't even looked at the upper and lower floors yet."
"Yes, yes. That’s right. The first floor is often kept tidy."
"Indeed. You have to look at the hidden spots to make sure you aren't buying a fraudulent property."
"Sigh."
Leo let out a deep breath, wondering if he should just head back alone.
According to what he’d heard from Yuria, about eight years ago, a wealthy man from the East had unknowingly bought this mansion, only to fall ill with a mysterious disease and waste away until he died.
Since then, it was said that no owner had appeared for the past three years.
Almost all the locals of the Labyrinth City knew this mansion was a bizarre den of demons, but outsiders would unknowingly snap it up at a low price, only to be tormented to death by the curse.
We’re just the latest suckers to get caught.
In any case, the moment Leo heard the mansion’s secret from Sion, his desire to buy it had completely vanished.
However, the others seemed to quite like the place. No, they were already entranced.
"Truly. It is a truly wonderful house."
"Ah. I think we absolutely must buy this place. It’s... different from everywhere else..."
"Just as Sir Rutmil says. It’s quite different. All the houses we’ve seen until now look like garbage dumps in comparison..."
"Ah. Look at that chandelier. What... what style could that possibly be... It’s enchanting."
Leo felt that his companions were starting to act strange.
They began to praise the house excessively, prattling on about its wonderful points.
Like people possessed. Their strange fervor made Leo slowly back away.
They’re already under its spell.
If he stayed among them, he would be entranced as well. He couldn't let that happen. He had to get out quickly and join Sion’s group.
I think I understand a little now... why Leah praised that man so much.
Leo finally understood his sister’s words. Sion was a man who had a way of escaping crises, and he felt strangely reliable.
It was a feeling that he might actually pull something off. He had to get to Sion right now. That was his only way to survive.
"Lord Leo. Where are you going?"
"Hm? Lord Leo? Why are you backing away?"
"Lord Leo?"
Leo, who was trying to leave the scene quickly to find Sion, was caught by his madness-stricken companions.
With eyes already turned glassy, they looked at Leo inquisitively and slowly began to approach him.
"Don't keep running away like that. Come here."
"That’s right, Lord Lionel. Come, this way."
They reached out their hands. They looked like the tentacles of a massive monster.
Watching the shadows grow larger and larger, Leo realized it was truly time to run.
"Damn it!"
Leo ran like a madman.
Behind him, a large, grotesque mass of nobles and merchants merged together, let out a scream and began to pursue him.
"It’s not like some Great Cataclysm happened, but we’re screwed."
"Tell me about it. The layout has changed."
Before they knew it, the internal structure of the mansion had shifted.
The mansion, twisted like a maze, had swallowed them whole, bringing about an excessive distortion of reality that warped their sense of direction.
They were lost.
They couldn't tell if they were on the first floor, the basement, or the roof.
Because the internal space had twisted like a Magic Tower, strange things kept happening—opening a door led to a bathroom instead of a hallway, and escaping through a window led to the wine cellar in the basement.
"What... what should we do?"
Marin asked in a voice that seemed suppressed by the mansion’s malice, looking toward Sion, who was walking in the lead.
"I’ve had Map Creation active since the moment we stepped inside. I know which way the exit is. It’s just a bit troublesome because we’d have to go through the walls."
Sion, of course, had already prepared a solution.
If things got really bad, he could kill Marin and Yuria, put them in his Subspace Pocket, and then tear a Teleportation Scroll to escape back to the city.
Resurrection was always possible as long as he had the money.
"Hmm. You say we have to go through the walls to get out?"
"Yeah. The fastest way out is breaking through the walls. But I can't use that method because of the repair costs."
"True, the repair costs would be no joke if we smash the walls. Mm, no. It’s impossible. Let’s not break the walls."
Though he had considered resurrection as a last resort, Sion and Yuria were unwilling to break the walls simply because of the repair costs.
Since all they had to do was hunt down the evil spirit that had turned the mansion into a maze, both of them wanted to take over the mansion while minimizing expenses.
"Um... aren't you two afraid?"
"Huh? What’s there to be afraid of? Sion is here."
"Eh? I’m not scared because I have Yuria."
"Is that so? Hahahaha! Your trust in each other is so strong!"
"You both are quite cheerful."
Watching Yuria laughing as if it were nothing and Sion exploring the mansion with a nonchalant attitude, Marin felt once again how strong the two of them were.
She had once been someone who descended to around the 6th floor in her prime, but after being struck by the Curse of Transformation and becoming a slime human, her past strength and confidence had almost entirely vanished.
Of course, Marin wasn't paralyzed with fear. She was just fascinated by Yuria and Sion, who were laughing and chatting so calmly.
"By the way, what happened to those people from earlier?"
"Who knows. They’ve probably lost their minds by now. Or they’re running for their lives."
"Probably. Since the mansion’s evil spirit is going wild. It’s hard to imagine they’re still alive."
"True. Come to think of it, what about Mr. Leo?"
"You said we have to save him because he’s Leah’s brother, right?"
"Right. We have to save him... but I realize I haven't given Mr. Leo a single thought."
"Should we track him now?"
"Hmm. I don't know if we can find him by tracking. This mansion is strangely... trying to keep everyone separated."
"That’s true."
Sion organized his thoughts for a moment and then made a decision.
"We just have to kill the evil spirit attached to the mansion before Mr. Leo dies."
By now, the hangers-on from the Keislan Kingdom who came with Leo would have lost all desire to buy the mansion. Or they were all dead already.
So, it was about time to exorcise the mansion’s evil spirit.
"But why is the mansion’s ghost so angry? It seems to be using much more power than the rumors suggested, right?"
"It’s probably because of me."
"Because of you, Master?"
"Yeah. I think it’s scared of me."
Sion’s guess was correct.
Currently, his body was inhabited by an ominous energy and resentment strong enough to tear apart all the evil spirits in the city.
The mansion’s vengeful spirit, terrified by the curse-like contract the Three Villainesses had engraved on him, was trying to kill all the intruders as a defense mechanism.
In the first place, this mansion wasn't a location where a vengeful spirit would run wild so flamboyantly.
It had increased the depth of its grudge by causing the tenants who bought the mansion to waste away and die; it didn't usually go on a rampage trying to kill everyone openly like this.
Therefore, it was reasonable to assume the cause of this abnormal situation was among the people who visited today, and the most likely candidate among the visitors was Sion.
"Well, it should be showing up soon."
"I’ve been wondering for a while. Sion, where exactly are we going?"
"The mansion’s basement. No, even deeper than that."
"Below the basement?"
"Yeah. Something has been showing up on Map Creation for a bit now. It’s a large tunnel."
What Sion had discovered was a cave that could be reached through the mansion’s basement.
"There’s a tunnel under this damn mansion?"
"Yeah. I don't know what it is, but wouldn't the vengeful spirit be sleeping there?"
"Ho-oh. This... I smell treasure."
"Right. It’s a secret space that no one who bought this house has ever entered. Something is bound to come out."
Sion was hoping for a Hidden Piece.
Olivia was well-versed in information about the Labyrinth, but she had many blind spots regarding the Labyrinth City.
This was because the city wasn't described in detail in the game she had played. Therefore, there was a possibility that Hidden Pieces Olivia didn't know about were hidden in the city.
Just let one artifact come out.
Then he would get the mansion at a low price and snag a Hidden Piece to boot.
Rumble—!!
While Sion was grinning and looking for the way to the basement, the ceiling of the hallway they were walking in trembled and soon collapsed.
"Look out!"
Yuria immediately drew her chain sword and swung it.
As her Ability activated, the sword’s wire extended, and the blades swung like a whip, grinding the debris falling over Sion’s head into dust.
"Master! Watch out for the dust."
"Thanks."
Yuria shredded the broken fragments, and Marin expanded like an umbrella, absorbing and decomposing all the powder and shards falling toward Sion’s head.
Thanks to the perfect coordination of the two women, Sion suffered no damage. He clicked his tongue as he looked at the person who had fallen from above.
"Mr. Leo. What are you doing, breaking the second floor? Now the first and second floors are forcibly connected. How are you going to compensate for this?"
"Ugh... damn it... save me."
"What? Save you? You know the cost of a life is expensive, on top of the floor repair costs and the rescue fee, right? You know it costs over 100 gold to resurrect, right? Do you have the money ready?"
"I’ll give you the money! Just get rid of that monster! Argh! It’s coming this way!!"
"You’ve promised to pay. I trust you know that things don't go well for those who stiff an adventurer on their fee?"
"I get it! I said I get it! So please, just do something!"
"Yes, yes. Stay hidden behind us."
Sion smiled as he helped Leo up and sent him to the back.
"Yuria, Marin. If we catch that thing, the young master of the House of Lionel says he’ll pay his life's worth."
"Well, well, it’s hard to turn down a direct request. Hahahaha!"
"It’s been a while since I’ve fought, so I’m nervous. I wonder if I’ll be of any help, being so weak..."
Yuria looked full of confidence, while Marin couldn't hide her excitement despite her trembling.
And Sion, who pulled an axe and shield from his Subspace Pocket.
The three of them faced the writhing malice of the mansion.
It was a golden opportunity to cover the cost of purchasing the mansion using Leo Lionel’s money.