CH 353

To Enter the Labyrinth or Not

Surprisingly, the answer came easily.

The next day.

"Let's go."

Charlotte made the decision lightly, having heard about the labyrinth.

"Your Highness, it's too dangerous."

Naturally, Turner shook her head and tried to dissuade Charlotte.

"If I had intended to send someone else in my place, I wouldn't have come this far. I'm fully prepared to take the risk."

Charlotte's words were true.

If she had come all this way just to delegate the task to others, she could have simply given orders from the palace in spring.

She had come to do everything herself.

"Still, we didn't know there was an unexplored labyrinth. Couldn't we take the time to uncover its identity and enter it safely?"

"Lady Turner, I'm not sure how much time I have left."

At Charlotte's heavy words, Turner bit her lip.

"It could take years to reveal the magic of the labyrinth. And I can't guarantee that I'll be safe during that time."

Charlotte glanced at me for a moment.

"I don't know how long Reinhardt's spell can stabilize my condition. I can't just wait until this power completely consumes me."

"Your Highness... That doesn't mean you have to go yourself. And there's no evidence anywhere that the labyrinth contains a solution for your condition. There must be something, but no one knows if it's what you need."

Saviolin Turner pleaded with her, almost begging. Charlotte looked at her calmly.

"Lady Turner."

"Yes, Your Highness."

"If I can't fully recover in this state, it would be better to die."

"Excuse me?"

As if hearing something unbelievable, Saviolin Turner mumbled blankly.

Better to die.

I clenched my fists without realizing it, knowing what Charlotte was thinking.

"That child, no, the current Demon King tried to save me with all his might not only to protect the soul of the previous Demon King, but also because if I die, the soul of the Demon King that dwells within me will disappear. So, if I die, the soul of the Demon King within me will vanish too."

So, dying in the labyrinth due to a trap wouldn't be a bad thing.

Charlotte spoke calmly.

"Your Highness, what on earth... What are you saying!"

"For the empire, my death wouldn't be such a bad thing..."

"Hey."

Unable to hold back, I called out to Charlotte. She looked at me with a seemingly newfound realization of what she had said and who she was speaking to.

"When you say that..."

With resentment in my voice,

I said,

"What does that make me?"

You say you don't care if you die, that it might even be better to die. I risked my life to save you.

"…I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Reinhardt."

At my words, Charlotte lowered her eyes and shuddered.

Having gained certainty about the truth of Valier, Charlotte came to another conviction: that the soul of the Demon King resided within her. She believed that there was no other reason for her to be saved.

Thus, Charlotte naturally arrived at the conclusion that it might be too late, and the Demon King could fully resurrect through her body.

Before that happened, she thought that it might be better to die.

However, that was too cruel to say in front of me and Saviolin Turner, who had risked our lives to save her.

Perhaps realizing her words were harsh, Charlotte apologized to Turner and me several times.

"Still... I think it's right for me to go myself."

But her thoughts remained unchanged.

If the Demon King intended to resurrect through Charlotte's body, she believed it was right to die for the sake of the empire.

To face the danger herself.

Charlotte's thoughts stemmed from her priority to ensure the safety of the royal family and the empire. It was not something that could be blamed.

There was no way to change Charlotte's mind, nor any reason to do so.

Although Charlotte's words were painful to hear, she had to enter the labyrinth.

Turner watched Charlotte quietly before letting out a deep sigh.

"Not everyone who enters the labyrinth gets lost and dies or gets injured. Many people get lost for a bit and then find their way back."

It was true that there were injured and dead people, as well as those who had not returned. However, they didn't seem to be the majority.

"If it becomes dangerous, we can always come back out."

In the end, Turner couldn't break Charlotte's stubbornness.

It might become dangerous someday, but nothing would happen within the next few days. So, it was possible to slowly explore the labyrinth while preparing for the potential dangers.

------

Naturally, when Charlotte mentioned heading towards the underground labyrinth, the garrison commander, Count Alfred, vehemently tried to dissuade us.

"Your Highness, it's too dangerous! You don't know what could happen if you go there..."

"That's enough."

But Charlotte cut off the commander's words with an icy tone.

"You seem worried about what might happen to me if something happens there. Of course, if I go in there on my own, you'll be punished."

If Charlotte were to be endangered or killed in the hazardous labyrinth, Count Alfred, as the one responsible for the garrison, would lose his head.

That's why he had no choice but to prevent the princess from going to the labyrinth.

"But if you try to stop me, I'll make sure you pay the price for omitting the report on the Demon King's underground labyrinth."

"!"

Hiding crucial information about the Demon King's Castle would be more than enough reason for him to lose his head.

If he prevented the princess from entering the labyrinth, he would die.

If the princess entered the labyrinth and died, he would still die.

Charlotte spoke briefly while looking at the commander.

"So, don't waste your time on pointless things and pray for my safe return."

The commander had nothing else he could do.

He could only stare at us with a vacant expression as we headed toward the underground labyrinth.

------

The morning after we arrived at the Demon King's Castle.

We finished our meal at the barracks and once again set off toward the castle.

Although we could have asked for the assistance of a mage, Charlotte was against it.

To begin with, nobody at the barracks knew of the princess's presence except for the commander. Furthermore, we were trying to resolve a very important secret regarding Charlotte in the labyrinth.

Since it wouldn't be a good idea for more people to know about it, the three of us decided to move on our own.

To reach the entrance of the underground labyrinth, one had to descend five floors down a spiral staircase.

"An overwhelmingly large scale."

Saviolin Turner was dazed enough to mutter to herself.

The corridors and passageways, as befitting the castle of the Demon King, were much larger than ordinary ones. The spiral staircase was no different from a large structure, and the underground space was vast and spacious.

This was not the concept of an ordinary building's basement. The scale of each floor was so massive that it took a considerable amount of time to descend one floor using the spiral staircase.

Since the search of the labyrinth had already come to a halt, there were soldiers in the underground area, but they seemed to be more occupied with passing time than actually searching.

Although it wasn't quite like an underground city, it was presumed that the soldiers of the Demon King's Castle actually lived here rather than in the external barracks.

The scale was that immense.

After descending for a while and finally reaching the fifth floor, the spiral staircase came to an end.

"Going back up will be a task in itself."

Charlotte sighed, as if she was tired just from coming down. Of course, Turner and I didn't feel any different.

The fifth floor was lit with torches in various places and had iron bars.

"Is this... a prison?"

Charlotte tilted her head as she looked at the iron bars and the spaces within. Saviolin Turner, while looking at the map, shook her head.

"It seems that it used to be a breeding ground for magical beasts, not a prison."

A space where magical beasts were bred. At that, Charlotte nodded silently.

"That's why the sizes vary so much."

"Indeed."

"What happened to the magical beasts that were here...?"

"During the siege, most of them were mobilized, and the remaining ones were all disposed of."

"I see."

The procession of prisoners that we saw when we left the Demon King's Castle came to mind.

The countless demon prisoners, including the ogre who broke the chains and charged forward to help my escape.

It wasn't a pleasant memory. They had lost their will to fight with the death of the Demon King, and in their final moments, they placed all their remaining hope on me, the last Demon King.

Now, I'm scheming something completely unrelated to the wishes of those demons.

I think it's right.

I have betrayed Charlotte, and I will betray not only Sarkegaar but also Darkland as a whole.

After passing through the magical beast breeding grounds on the fifth floor, Saviolin Turner led us to a small iron-barred room at the end of the breeding grounds, using the map as a guide.

The room felt more like a prison cell than a beast training ground.

"Is this the place...?"

"Yes, it's the entrance to the labyrinth."

The secret door, discovered relatively recently.

Through the open stone wall, another circular staircase leading downward could be seen.

Contrary to the grandeur of the Demon King's Palace, the descending stairway was just over three meters high and wide enough for about four people to pass through.

The circular staircase we had descended thus far had railings and was open on all sides, allowing us to gaze upon the underground space. However, the circular staircase before us was now enclosed by stone walls.

We couldn't know where it led or when it would end.

Magic lamps on the walls of the circular staircase cast a pale light on the steps.

"Your Highness, should I go down first...?"

"We might get lost."

Saviolin Turner seemed eager to go ahead and check for danger, but Charlotte would not allow it.

"Even if we get lost, it's less frightening to get lost together."

Although death might be preferable to fear, Charlotte was shaking with anxiety.

The three of us took our first step onto the circular staircase leading to the labyrinth.

If this place was just a labyrinth and not the destination I sought, we would have thrown ourselves into danger for nothing.

How many steps had we taken?

Saviolin Turner sighed.

"The entrance is already..."

While the circular staircase continued downward, a passage had already appeared on the right side.

We had been on the fifth underground floor, so this must be the sixth.

The passage was not very wide. It wasn't dark, as magical lamps were placed at regular intervals along the hallway.

At the end of the hallway stood a solitary door.

However, we couldn't bring ourselves to enter the long, straight corridor.

The staircase had not yet ended.

We could continue going down or enter the hallway and officially venture into the labyrinth.

We could descend for hours, but once we started ascending, we would return to the small training ground on the fifth floor.

We couldn't be certain if there was something in the next passage or behind the door at the end of the corridor.

Once we entered the labyrinth, we might not be able to return.

The spell cast on the labyrinth was unknown even to the resident mages, so bringing a mage along wouldn't make a difference.

"Is it right to enter here...?"

Saviolin Turner hesitated to make a decision, fearing that the wrong choice might make it impossible to return.

Charlotte stared at the door at the end of the straight corridor and sighed.

"That door... It seems so desperate to be opened that it's actually off-putting."

"...I think so too."

The door at the end of the corridor.

It felt like if we walked towards it to open it, we might trigger some sort of trap. We couldn't help but think that way, given how conspicuously the door stood there.

Charlotte pondered.

"I've come this far, I can't not go in."

It seemed like an obvious trap, but it was impossible not to go.

Charlotte entered first, and I followed along with Saviolin Turner.

------

The interior of the maze wasn't much different than expected. I had imagined the landscape suddenly changing, or the exit disappearing.

"......Since nothing's happening, it feels even creepier."

"True."

Looking back, the entrance we had come in through remained unchanged, and there were no sudden changes in the landscape or our party being separated.

"Still, let's proceed cautiously."

Saviolin Turner took out a scroll from her belongings.

It seemed that she hadn't called a mage because she already had an item that could replace their role.

"It's a trap detection spell."

-Flash!

A bright light emitted from the scroll.

"It seems there are no magical traps detected... But let's be careful, just in case."

Though no magical traps were detected, there could still be physical traps.

If all traps could be detected by such a spell, there wouldn't have been any mages falling into traps.

Soon, Saviolin Turner's body was covered in blue magic power.

"Please keep a distance and follow me."

"Alright."

She kept her senses alert and led the way slowly. If it was a minor physical trap, she could react before it was triggered.

She walked with careful steps, focusing on the walls, floor, and sounds.

The straight corridor wasn't very long, but since we took cautious steps, time passed slowly.

"......I can't tell if there are no traps, or if we're already caught in one."

In the end, we didn't feel any trace of traps as we reached the end of the corridor and approached the door. The entrance we had come through was still there, and it seemed we could leave at any time.

Charlotte looked at the wooden door in front of her and spoke with a determined expression.

"Beyond this door might be the real beginning of the maze."

It was just an ordinary door, without any distinguishing features.

Could Charlotte's words be true, that the real maze begins beyond this door?

Charlotte placed her hand on the doorknob.

"Your Highness. I will..."

"No. I'll do it."

Charlotte shook her head at Turner's words, who was prepared for whatever might happen as she tried to open the door herself.

It was as if Charlotte knew she had to take responsibility for something.

-Creak

Charlotte opened the door.

The expectation that the maze would begin now turned out to be wrong.

"......Huh?"

"Hm?"

"......What is this?"

When the door opened, there was a massive open space.

No matter how you looked at it, it wasn't a maze.

------

It was hard to call this place a maze.

A huge magical light illuminated the ceiling of the vast open space. We cautiously moved forward into the space, bit by bit.

One could not call this vast, open space a labyrinth.

"What...is this place?"

Charlotte mumbled absentmindedly as she looked around. The space was not entirely empty.

On one side of the vast area, there was a magic circle that seemed to have been drawn on the floor.

In one corner, there was a weapon rack with spears, swords, knives, and maces, among other weapons. Nearby, several training dummies were standing.

"I've never heard of anyone reaching a place like this."

The vast space was not just a single hollow chamber.

Throughout the circular space, there were passages that appeared to lead to other places.

Upon closer inspection, there were no doors, and the insides were clearly visible.

I had an idea of what had happened.

We didn't enter a labyrinth.

We had bypassed the labyrinth and been transported directly to this secret space. I couldn't tell how the labyrinth worked, but it had clearly reacted to either Charlotte or me.

There was no exit in the labyrinth to begin with, and it was evident that only the Archdemon could come directly to this place, not through the labyrinth.

The passages in the hollow space led to various rooms, each serving a different purpose.

We moved slowly, examining each room one by one.

A room that looked like a bedroom.

A room that appeared to be a kitchen.

A library.

An armory.

A room filled with countless potions of unknown nature.

A cultivation area for growing plants.

A storeroom for reagents.

A massive food warehouse.

"What on earth... is this place?"

Neither Charlotte nor Saviolin Turner seemed to know the meaning of this place.

However.

I felt like I knew what this place was.

It was a bunker.

Then, the mystery was finally solved.

Before I took over, Valier must have been on his way here.

In the original story, this labyrinth would not have been revealed to the royal family due to the commander's unilateral decision.

No, even if the royal family knew, it wouldn't matter.

This wasn't a labyrinth in the first place.

Whether it reacted to Charlotte or me, one could not reach this place without coming with the Archdemon.

Soon, this bunker would be safe.

All the premises I had been considering so far collapsed.

In the original story, if Valier had come to this place.

During the great demon war.

Valier Junior.

Would not have died.