Chapter 164

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“I guess this is the next area.”

It was just as Ash said.

Before we knew it, the thorn bushes were over and a hedge maze garden appeared in front of us.

Ash was embarrassed.

“Hey, if we do this wrong, we’ll be stuck there, wandering around for a long time, right?”

“This also seems to be made of plants. Can’t we burn it and clear a path?”

“Ephael, you idiot, don’t you know about the rules of the dungeon? If you don’t follow the rules of this maze area, you will be returned to the entrance.”

“What. Does that mean we can’t climb up the wall?”

“Yes.”

At that point, Ash, who had placed his right hand on the green live wall, showed off his practical knowledge.

“Then I guess we have no choice but to use the right-hand method to get out of here.”

In the maze, if you follow the wall with your right hand, you will eventually find the exit. That was the best method of escaping a maze.

I tapped Ash on the shoulder as encouragement.

“As expected, Ash. You’re smart.”

“Thank you, sister. Then I will take the lead.”

“But there’s no need for that.”

“What?”

“Wait a minute.”

After giving the group snacks and telling them to rest, I took out writing utensils as I had something else to do.

Ssuk, suk.

“Sister, what are you doing…wow.”

“What are you surprised about…omg.”

“Why are you guys doing…huh.”

I was copying the maze structure from the system map onto a piece of paper.

[‘The Critic who Adjusts the Balance’ comments that the map feature is the pinnacle of a transmigrator’s privilege.]

[‘The Creative Business Manager’ laments that it should have been sold as a cash prize.]

I showed the completed map to the four people.

“Here, this is the way to go.”

“Whoa, this is the Saint’s revelation.”

“It’s a miracle. This is a real miracle.”

“Sister, you are wonderful.”

Ash, Ephael, and Hestio put their heads together and studied the paper map, trying to find their way from the entrance to the exit.

Thesilid remained by my side, apparently uninterested, and offered me a drink.

Accepting it meekly, I squinted at him.

“Aren’t you going to find the way together with them?”

“Should I?”

When he asked the question, the answer did not come right away.

In fact, the reason I bothered to draw a map was because of Thesillid. I thought it would be convenient if he memorized the path if someday he came to this dungeon without me.

Thesillid stared at me intently, as if he knew what I was thinking, and waited for an answer. I felt like I didn’t want to ruin this moment, so I said.

“No, you don’t have to. I’m bored, so stay here.”

“Yes.”

After the break, we followed the map out of the maze and a pitch-black castle greeted us.

Unsurprisingly, the castle gate was tightly closed. Normally, a siege would be unavoidable. But my companions looked back at me with no intention of fighting, and each said something.

“Our Leader Ellet must have a plan.”

“I believe you, Captain.”

“Please open the castle gate, Sister.”

“Eli, please.”

I agreed with Agnes.

It seems that my paladins had developed bad habits.

But it was also true that there was a way, so I moved forward without making a fuss.

Above the gate was a small bronze relief sculpture in the shape of a screaming face. I called out to it.

“Congratulations to Anaxia Pelhemstein on her succession to the ducal throne!”

Drurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

We succeeded in entering comfortably.

“The Kingdom’s army and the Magic troops must not have entered the castle yet.”

“Why do you think so?”

Ephael asked the reason for Thesilid’s judgment, then a detailed explanation came out of Ash’s mouth.

“They would have laid siege to the castle, and we would have felt explosions or vibrations from attacks. Since we see no marks of it happening, they’re still wandering in the maze. Right, Brother Thesilid?”

“That’s right.”

Hestio snorted while enlighted Ephael nodded his head in disbelief.

“They started first and even tried to prevent us from following, but they fell further behind. Funny, isn’t it?”

“I know. If they had gone with our captain, they would have had an easier time getting here.”

“While they struggle, wandering through the maze, we broke through the castle gate like taking candy from kids. Serves them right!”

The morale of our paladins has risen. With this momentum, we can go all the way to the boss room.

Kwangg!

As we five, including me, entered the castle, the iron door slammed shut behind us.

[ You have entered the ‘Castle of Mirrors’.]

Wham!

Torches were lit sequentially, from those nearer to us to those farther away.

Hestio peered into the antique hallway with a look of boredom.

“What, the walls are all covered with mirrors?”

There were mirrors of all shapes and sizes hanging on the walls of the castle, making it seem like it was a mirror museum.

But mirrors weren’t the only decoration.

“Well, there’s the occasional piece of art.”

“Huh?”

Those who turned their eyes to the painting without thinking much about what I said were going crazy.

“What the heck. What kind of work of art is this!”

“Oh my god, I’m going blind! Please warn me about this kind of stuff in advance!”

Well, paladins are not immune to obscenities.

I glanced over at Thesilid and saw that he too was wiping his face with one hand. For some reason, I wanted to make fun of him.

“You seem out of sorts, Lord Thesilid.”

“No……”

“Right. Maturity is achieved through quality, not quantity of experience. That was a wise saying.”

“……Stop it.”

Thesilid eventually turned his head away from me and avoided eye contact.

As expected, 17th Thesilid is fun to tease. If it had been after episode 86, I wouldn’t have been able to make fun of him.

“Sister, Brother, what on earth are you talking about?”

Ash snooped around with interest, so I covered his eyes.

“No viewing for minors.”

“What?”

“Come on, guys, let’s go. We’ve got a long way to go.”

That was when I looked the other way and tugged on Ash’s wrist.

[ Warning. The structure of ‘Castle of Mirrors’ changes.]

I came to my senses and shouted immediately.

“Everyone stay close!”

Sure enough, I had picked the right people. The four people immediately followed the order without hesitation.

As soon as we gathered together like a flock of penguins enduring the bitter cold, a vibration went up our ankles.

Duru! Drutrruu!

A path was created where there was a wall, and what used to be a path was blocked by a wall.

As the system warned, the structure of the castle had changed.

“It’s okay. it’s over.”

“What is this?”

I answered Hestio’s question.

“The Castle of Mirrors changes its structure every hour. You have to be careful not to get separated from the group, and watch out for walls suddenly coming down from above your heads.”

“I see. It’s an hourly interval, right?”

“Yes, Ephael.”

Not only Ephael, but the other three also took out their pocket watches and checked the time.

I walked ahead again and opened my mouth. It was time to explain the Castle of Mirrors to the group.

“Okay, I’m only going to say this once, so listen up. The way to the boss room is simple: follow the path straight ahead to a room where a middle boss awaits, and once you’ve defeated him and solved the riddle, you’ll open the door to the next room. We repeat this until we reach the room where Anaxia awaits.”

“What? There’s no need to wander around the castle?”

“Yes, Ephael. You don’t have to get lost because it automatically opens the right path.”

“Then what’s the point of the castle’s layout changing every hour?”

“Good point, Hestio. Every time the structure changes, the path gets twisted, forcing you to go through more mid-boss rooms. For example, you could get out of a floor by just breaking through one more room, but if an hour has passed and the path changes and you have to break through three more rooms, it would be quite frustrating, right? That’s the objective of the hourly change.”

“What’s this riddle you were talking about?”

“Ash, that’s……”

Drurrrrrrr!

When we reached the end of the hallway, the door opened by itself. It was a mid-boss room.

I went on to say the last word.

“I think you can just see for yourselves after catching the mid-boss.”

[ ‘Succubus Maid Sina’, ranked 3031st in the Demon World, has appeared.]

[ ‘Incubus Servant Shion’, ranked 3054th in the Demon World, has appeared.]

Two dream demons.

They were barely a chin-up on the A-list boss. It was light, perhaps because it was the beginning.

“Welcome. Haaang~~.”

“Welcome. Huh~~.”

A female dream demon in a maid uniform and a male dream demon in a tailcoat greeted us coquettishly.

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