46. Dungeon

46. Dungeon

Fssshhh.

The bodies of the monsters, cut in half, vanished into smoke. I was surprised and asked the maid with wide eyes.

“Wh-what’s wrong with them?”

“When dungeon monsters die, they revert to mana. After returning to mana, they are reborn in the dungeon. That’s why the number of dungeon monsters is always relatively constant.”

“Hmm….”

I pondered for a moment, resting my chin on my hand. I didn’t quite understand what she meant, but it seemed to imply that monster corpses disappeared like that here.

I exclaimed in admiration.

“That’s great!”

Whenever I slaughtered monsters in the snowy fields, I always had trouble with the corpses. The smell of blood and bodies filling the surroundings made my eyes squint. Due to my beastman’s keen sense of smell, the odor was particularly unbearable.

But here, there was no need to worry about that!

“… Let’s keep going.”

The maid looked at me as if I were pathetic and moved forward. I continued to head forward, still carrying Priscilla in my arms.

After passing through the large plaza, we were greeted by a corridor only wide enough for three people to pass side-by-side. It extended to the left and right, creating a structure that made it difficult to choose which way to go.

“Is this a maze?”

Priscilla, who was hugging the spark in my arms, said.

The maid glanced around for a moment and then frowned.

“It seems to be a maze. This is a critical situation….”

“Should we split up and go down each path?”

I asked, smashing a skeleton that had suddenly appeared.

“No. The dungeon seems to have become quite dangerous. If we act separately without knowing the internal structure, something serious could happen.”

The maid replied, stomping on a goblin with her foot.

“Hmm… Then which way should we go?”

Left and right. Two paths, two choices. I pondered deeply, wagging my tail. The maid also didn’t answer, as if she didn’t have a solution.

As I took a step forward, intending to go in either direction, Priscilla spoke.

“Ah, I’ll check the other path with my little flame.”

“Little flame?”

“That’s its name.”

Priscilla said, lifting the spark she was hugging. I thought it was just a cute flame, but it seemed to have a scouting function as well.

I nodded.

“It’s a good plan. Let’s do it quickly.”

“Kkyuu!”

I kissed Priscilla’s forehead, whom I was holding in my arms, and Priscilla smiled sweetly and sent the spark in the opposite direction.

As the spark disappeared into the distance, the maid said.

“… Is it okay to send away the only light source like that?”

By the time I heard that, the surroundings were already engulfed in pitch darkness. Priscilla, though unseen, likely said in surprise.

“I’ll bring it back. Just a moment- Kya?!”

Darkness where I couldn’t see an inch ahead, and a monster hidden within it, aiming for me. I instinctively moved my body and tore the monster to shreds. Priscilla, held in my arms, screamed at the sudden movement.

Crunch!

The sound of the monster’s head being crushed. It seemed the maid had caught the monster. Priscilla hastily recalled the spark.

The surroundings brightened again. The maid said.

“We’ll just have to quickly scout. We’re out of time. Let’s hurry.”

The maid quickly moved in one direction. Priscilla and I hurried to follow her.

After repeatedly killing monsters and moving forward, we were met with a dead end. The maid frowned.

“It’s blocked.”

“Let’s go back. Let’s examine each passage one by one.”

We turned back following the maid. However, what greeted us was not the starting point of the maze, but another stone wall.

“Are we lost?”

“No. Judging by the marker I left, it seems the wall might have moved.”

“Oh… Should I break it?”

I said, placing my hand on my sword. The maid shook her head.

“… Let’s try another path first. There are still many paths we haven’t taken.”

The maid moved again. Priscilla and I followed behind her.

“It’s blocked again?”

“….”

After turning directions several times, the walls seemed to get closer, and eventually, we were completely trapped in a narrow passage with no way forward or backward.

The walls didn’t seem to be crushing us, but there was no obvious way to escape either. The maid stamped her foot with displeasure.

“Should I break it?”

“… The distance is too close, so it might be dangerous.”

She wasn’t wrong. If it were a cut, it would be one thing, but to break through the wall, it would require smashing it with force rather than cutting. The debris would also fly accordingly.

The maid began to examine the walls, searching for a way to escape. Priscilla also got down from my arms and started looking around. However, escape still seemed distant.

“Wait, I have a way.”

At that moment, a thought flashed through my mind. A perfect way to escape a maze. Although it was from my previous life, it was a memory that would surely be helpful.

The maid looked at me doubtfully. I smiled and said.

“Put your hand on the right wall. They say that’s how you solve a maze.”

It was a method called the ‘right-hand rule.’ I didn’t quite understand the principle, but they said if you keep your right hand on the wall, you can escape a maze.

Although this wasn’t a maze anymore but a passage blocked at both ends, I thought this method might work, so I didn’t hesitate to put my thoughts into action.

“Watch closely. Like th-.”

Rumble!

As I touched the wall, the brick I touched slid inward and disappeared with a swoosh. The dungeon vibrated violently, and suddenly the wall opened, creating a path.

“….”

The right-hand rule, it’s amazing.

I moved towards the opened path, marveling.

——

At the end of the path was another large plaza.

Unlike the first domed plaza, this one was rectangular. It was also filled with monsters, so I sliced them all in half.

The monsters vanished into smoke. In the center of the empty plaza stood a dodecagonal structure of unknown purpose.

“What is that?”

As I approached the structure, I noticed a stone tablet with worm-like writing placed in front of it. Priscilla shone her spark on the tablet and said.

“… It looks like ancient Imperial language. Just a moment… I think I can read it.”

As Priscilla tried to decipher the text and the maid looked around for other paths, I approached the pillar.

The dodecagonal pillar had twelve extinguished torches, one on each face, with what appeared to be buttons mounted on the wall below each torch. However, the pillar’s purpose remained unknown.

“Hmm.”

If you don’t know, you try. I pressed a button without hesitation. Then, a torch just above the button lit up with a click.

“Oh.”

It was clear that I needed to light all the torches to solve the puzzle.

Having grasped the core of the puzzle, I immediately pressed the button on the adjacent side.

Click!

However, contrary to my expectation, the torch next to the one I had just lit turned off, and the torch on the opposite side lit up. The torch above the button remained unchanged.

“… What?”

Puzzled, I pressed the buttons repeatedly. The torches flickered on and off in a disorderly fashion, creating a chaotic mix of lit and unlit torches.

“Ah! I’ve read it all!”

Just then, Priscilla’s voice chimed in. I put aside the bothersome task and headed towards the stone tablet where Priscilla was. The maid also joined us, and Priscilla began to read the inscription on the tablet one by one.

“Do you come to save the noble bloodline of the Empire? Or do you come to find treasures buried deep in the earth? In either case, you are merely a fool who cannot see the truth! Welcome, for having overcome the trials to reach this place, I shall personally reveal to you the truth of the Empire, more valuable than any treasure!“

Priscilla turned her head and said.

“… These are the words written at the beginning. The rest is….”

Priscilla continued.

“However, what meaning is there in reading scriptures to a cow! If you can solve the riddle I have prepared, then I shall reveal the truth! The rules are as follows:“

Priscilla took a breath and continued.

“… Each face of the pillar has a button and a torch. When you press a button, the state of the torches assigned to each button will invert. Lighting all the torches solves the puzzle, and the time limit is approximately 10 minutes from the moment the first button is pressed.”

“Oh….”

I looked at Priscilla with admiration. Priscilla said proudly.

“The puzzle is easy! I saw a puzzle like this in ” that I read as a child. Even though there are 12 torches, it won’t be difficult if you do it step by step….”

Priscilla’s gaze fell upon the pillar with its disorderly lit torches.

“… Who touched that?”

And then, the floor of the room suddenly opened, and we plummeted somewhere underground.