Chapter 182: The Tin Knight and The World Inside The Library (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 182: The Tin Knight and The World Inside The Library (2)
We’ve reached the ending.
In this situation, the words held a strange, ominous ring.
Dorothea asked, “Hey, are you under some kind of curse?”
“Hmm, call it a curse, call it a rule… it feels like I’ve been written into the story of this game book. Normally, any ending would just be part of the story, but this game is manifesting in reality. Now that I’ve reached the ending where I ‘become the labyrinth’s guardian,’ it’s actually coming true.”
“So you’re saying you have to stay trapped here forever?”
A hint of pity, however slight, colored Dorothea’s voice. To live on as part of some unknown game in this unknown space—to her, it was a truly miserable fate.
The ever-sensitive Adelaide was so shocked she covered her mouth, her face paling.
“Eh? Oh, no, not really. I can get out if I want to, probably.”
The sorrowful atmosphere was shattered in an instant.
Ignoring the bewilderment of those around her, Gale explained while repeatedly tossing and catching an empty teacup. It was a sight that would horrify anyone strict about etiquette.
“It’s true that I’m currently bound by the ‘rules’ of this game and can’t leave. But this is all just the power of magic, you know? It’s a tangled spaghetti-mess of different spells, so it’s incredibly hard to interpret, but instead of gently untangling it, I could just cut the rope, so to speak. That would get me out.”
A vein throbbed on Dorothea’s forehead.
“Then what was all that about before? Why set the mood for no reason?!”
“Because if I leave that way, this library will be completely destroyed. I was given permission to enter as a guest. If I suddenly cause the library to collapse, old man Medir will be furious, don’t you think? I’ll do it if things get desperate, but for now, we have some time to spare.”
It was a strangely down-to-earth reason.
As Dorothea stood speechless, Gale continued.
“If we want to get out without destroying the library—this world—there are two ways. First, another player. I could put one of you in my place as the guardian and slip out. But I don’t want to do that. For Sig’s sake, my duel with you all should be as cool as possible, with a clean aftertaste.”
“And the second way!” Gale exclaimed, pointing a finger at Dorothea.
Dorothea felt the urge to snap it in half.
“If you all reach the good ending—that is, if you break the labyrinth’s curse—then I can get out along with you. So, could you please hurry up and pass through?”
“Why should I?”
“Well, if you don’t want to, that’s fine. I don’t mind sitting here and chatting. If I get bored, we can join forces and smash our way out of the library together. If we share the blame, the scolding won’t be as bad, right?”
“What are you talking about? Unlike you, all we have to do is turn around and walk out. You think we’d enter a place like this without preparing an escape route?”
Dorothea held up the golden rope in her hand.
Gale feigned surprise for a moment. “Oh my,” she said, before quickly adding, “That’s a relief. It’ll be helpful later. But it’s probably useless for now.”
“What?”
“You’ll see if you try.”
Irritated by her infuriatingly relaxed attitude, Dorothea gripped the rope and started walking back the way she came.
It wasn’t that she actually intended to leave, but ‘being unable to return’ and ‘choosing not to return’ were two very different things.
She took a step back.
The rabbit mask spoke.
《Welcome to the Legendary Labyrinth, everyone! Now, it is time to depart!》
Dorothea ignored it and took another step back.
The rabbit mask spoke.
《Welcome to the Legendary Labyrinth, everyone! Now, it is time to depart!》
Dorothea ignored it and took another step back.
The rabbit mask spoke.
《Welcome to the Legendary Labyrinth, everyone! Now, it is time to depart!》
“…What is this?!”
Dorothea shrieked and swung her staff at the rabbit mask, but her attack passed harmlessly through it.
Her companions, watching the scene, also grabbed their ropes and tried to head back toward the entrance, but no matter how much they walked, their position didn’t change.
It was the same even when the Tin Knight and Adelaide ran at full speed.
Gale shook her head.
“It’s no use, no matter how fast you move. If you could escape that way, I would have already gotten out using this.”
As she spoke, Gale tapped the ground with the heel of her shoe. The silver horse Dorothea had summoned flinched at the movement.
Dorothea sighed and glared at Gale with half-lidded eyes.
“Hey.”
“Calling people ‘hey’ is so undignified, Dorothea. I recommend calling me Gale.”
“Whatever. That thing you’re wearing. Those are the ‘Shoes of Borealis,’ aren’t they?”
“Yes. They were hidden in the labyrinth. I’m not sure if they were originally in the library or if they flowed in from somewhere else, resonating with this peculiar space.”
“The way I heard it, those things have spatial movement abilities. You’re telling me you can’t escape even with them?”
“It’s a conceptual issue.”
Sophia, who had been watching the Tin Knight running in place and the two witches’ conversation with interest, asked Gale, “Miss Gale, does the effect of this game book cover the entire library? Or does it start from here?”
“As ‘magic,’ the former. But as a ‘story,’ the latter.”
“I see. So this is the first page of the book.”
“Yes, that’s correct!”
[‘Tin Knight’ requests a proper explanation for everyone!]
Sophia answered.
“Miss Gale said it earlier. In the game the Witch of the North created, the content of the next page changes based on the reader’s ‘choice.’ Conversely, that means the content of the very first page doesn’t change. The act of returning to where we were—in other words, going back past the first page—is impossible without a method that transcends the world of the book itself.”
[‘Tin Knight’ requests an even simpler explanation!]
“It’s like trying to hit the rewind button at 0:00 of a video.”
[‘Tin Knight’ says he understands!]
It was an explanation only the Tin Knight and Sophia—who was learning all sorts of things from him—could grasp. Adelaide, for instance, still had a cloud of question marks floating above her head.
“Alright, that should be enough of an explanation, right? Let’s start the game! Please make sure you reach the good ending! You can do it!”
“Hey, you, what do you think you’re—”
Ignoring Dorothea’s protest, Gale stomped her heel on the ground.
In the next instant, she and the white knight vanished into thin air.
Rumble-rumble-rumble!
Not only that, but the surrounding scenery began to change erratically. The white, paper-like ground and the starry sky made of runes disappeared, replaced by a claustrophobic yet ancient maze.
As the party looked ahead, they saw the rabbit mask from before slip down the left path at a fork in the road.
Then, a voice echoed from somewhere within the labyrinth.
《Having arrived at the labyrinth, you spot a strange-looking rabbit moving off somewhere.》
《If you wish to follow the rabbit, take the left path. If you wish to ignore it, take the right path.》
Staring at the fork in the road, Dorothea scratched her head in annoyance.
Adelaide asked, “What should we do?”
“…I don’t like it, but since it’s come to this, we have no choice but to play along. All we have to do is reach that ‘good ending’ thing, right?”
[‘Tin Knight’ says that in these situations, going left is the standard move!]
Though no one knew what standard he was referring to, there was no reason to object, so the party walked down the left path.
《You followed the rabbit’s shadow and proceeded down the left fork.》
After walking for some time down a long, corridor-like path, a hole just big enough for one person to squeeze through appeared before them.
《You discovered a hole that the rabbit appears to have passed through.》
《A sound can be heard from within the hole.》
《If you wish to investigate the sound, press your ear to the hole. If not, return the way you came.》
Dorothea’s eyes narrowed.
“Do we really have to pick from the options they give us?”
[‘Tin Knight’ says that according to the original rules, yes!]
At the Tin Knight’s words, Adelaide added, “I-I can’t hear the sound properly. To be precise, the sound is the same whether I enhance my hearing with mana or not. It feels similar to when we tried to run back earlier.”
“How stifling.”
Unaccustomed to this kind of game, Dorothea remained visibly uncomfortable.
“These things can often be traps, so I will test it.”
The moment Sophia leaned in to press her ear to the hole, the ground rippled like jelly, and the hole suddenly expanded, growing large enough to swallow the entire party.
“Wh—”
As Dorothea tried to shout in alarm, the Tin Knight snatched her up while simultaneously blasting mana from his back. Gaining propulsion, he grabbed Sophia with his other arm and glanced to the side.
His eyes met Adelaide’s.
[‘Tin Knight’ says he’s at full capacity!]
[‘Tin Knight’ says you can do it!]
“…Well, I suppose it can’t be helped in this situation.”
With a slightly pouty expression, Adelaide prepared to land on her own.
CRASH!
With a heavy thud, the Tin Knight’s feet dug into the ground, yet not even the slightest shock was transmitted to the two he held.
Adelaide didn’t possess the same skill to completely deflect the impact like the Tin Knight, but since she was much lighter, she was able to land on the ground without any injury.
《As you brought your ear close to the hole, it suddenly grew larger and swallowed you whole.》
《You were gravely injured, but fairies appeared from nowhere and healed your wounds.》
“Fairies?”
The party looked around and saw small, humanoid figures fluttering about. With wings reminiscent of a butterfly, a shower of light scattering like powder around their bodies, and innocent expressions, they were the spitting image of fairies from a fairytale. Adelaide let out a squeal of delight.
She had encountered fairies before in some ruins, but those had looked like a mix between humans and insects. These fairies, on the other hand, were utterly charming.
The fairies seemed to be struggling with something as they carefully examined the party from head to toe.
“What’s with them now?”
“Normally, they’re supposed to heal our injuries here, but since there are no injuries to heal, they might be confused.”
“Good grief… I can’t tell if this game is flexible or completely rigid.”
Dorothea looked dumbfounded.
The fairies soon shook their heads at each other and, as if to make up for the lack of healing, enveloped the party in a shower of light. Dorothea, Adelaide, and Sophia’s skin became silky smooth, and the Tin Knight gleamed as if he had been polished.
《Before you could even express your gratitude, the fairies flew away.》
《Thanking your good fortune, you looked around. The place you had fallen into was a square room with a locked door on one wall.》
《In the center of the room was a table. On it sat a small box, a note, and a glass filled with a beverage.》
《The note read: “The key is inside the box. To open the box, you must drink the entire beverage.”》
《If you wish to follow the instructions, drink the beverage. If not, break the box to retrieve the key.》
“Seriously, who in their right mind would drink a random beverage they found in a place like this?”
[‘Tin Knight’ says that nobody likes the person who watches a play and nitpicks everything, saying, ‘That’s not realistic!’]
Dorothea glared at the Tin Knight for a moment, but deciding his comment wasn’t quite worth a beating this time, she didn’t swing her staff.
Sophia said, “Shall I drink it?”
Dorothea replied, “No, I can’t stand this. It’s too stifling. We just learned from the fairy incident that the story can proceed even if we deviate a little. Let’s just do this our way.”
She lifted something that was hanging from her waist.
The ‘Key of Opium’ shone bewitchingly.