Chapter 09
Lavenda’s face turned pale as death, and she wrapped her arms around herself. Even in front of the fire, she was trembling.
“I’m from Vieta, you know.”
“Yes. I’ve heard it several times and seen your passport.”
Wasn’t it plastered all over the shop too? Vieta-style massage.
“Do you know the most famous tourist attraction in Vieta?”
The exact opposite of Huji, a small kingdom at the eastern end of the continent called Vieta. Vieta is both the name of the kingdom and its capital.
Though it’s a small nation with only one city, it’s renowned across the continent as a place everyone must visit at least once.
The tourist city of Vieta. Emerald beaches with white sand, open-air hot springs you can enjoy alongside perpetual snow, a massive harbor where ships from various nations come and go, fresh seafood, delicious venison, goat cheese with an addictively unique flavor, and the continent’s largest theater and casino planned by a king several generations ago. The annual theater festival held in great success.
But more famous than all of the above, there was something else.
That is—
“The Labyrinth.”
Vieta’s Labyrinth is the only labyrinth on the continent open for tourism. Vieta has built great renown through its labyrinth tourism industry.
“The similar place you mentioned—surely you don’t mean the Labyrinth?”
“Yes.”
Hearing this should have shocked her wide awake, but perhaps because she was too tired, she was still drowsy.
Serena bit her tongue to chase away the sleep.
In this fantasy world Serena was reincarnated into, there exist natural dungeons called Labyrinths.
Not every large, complex dungeon can be called a Labyrinth. Only a very small number of extremely unusual dungeons among all dungeons are called Labyrinths.
Mysterious dungeons that appear suddenly without warning or have existed since ancient times.
For a dungeon to be called a Labyrinth, it must meet several conditions.
The most important condition is restoration power.
‘In a Labyrinth, traps, monsters, and treasures inside regenerate after a certain period of time through mysterious power. This restoration power is the core of a Labyrinth. And it’s a place where all sorts of bizarre things happen.’
For example, even if you break down a wall to get to the next room in a Labyrinth, you can’t actually reach the next room. You’ll just encounter endless walls.
‘When I first heard that, it reminded me exactly of dungeons in games.’
Wondering if she’d been reincarnated into a game world, she tried to learn more about Labyrinths, but failed.
In this world, Labyrinths are recognized as valuable national assets. Nations that own Labyrinths treat information about them as state secrets, sharing and monopolizing information only among themselves.
‘I could have looked into it more with money, time, and people, but they said it would be like investigating another country’s mineral reserves, military training methods, and tax revenue, so I gave up.’
If she were just a curious hobbyist interested in Labyrinths, it might be different, but as a royal, if Serena were caught investigating too closely, it could become a diplomatic issue, so she gave up. That’s why Serena didn’t know much about Labyrinths.
Access to Labyrinths is controlled, allowing only the owning nation’s military or authorized adventurers. You can obtain magical tools or precious items that are hard to find elsewhere in Labyrinths. But they’re equally dangerous.
That was about all Serena knew.
“Vieta’s Labyrinth is the only open Labyrinth on the continent where civilians can enter. It’s the most popular attraction in Vieta. There are a lot of people, but the entry fee is cheap for Vieta citizens, so you can go if you save up a bit.”
Lavenda wrapped her arms around herself.
“The Labyrinth is a must-see course for Vieta tourism, so I went a few times to keep up with customers’ conversations. But this place!”
Lavenda, who had been trembling while hugging herself, contorted her face.
“Princess, you said it’s a mausoleum, but this place has exactly the same atmosphere as Vieta’s Labyrinth!”
‘So this is why her condition has been so bad all along.’
No wonder she had seemed particularly unwell the whole time. It wasn’t because she was the only foreigner, but because she was the only one thinking of a different possibility.
“How dare you! To ignore Serena’s opinion!”
“That’s right! A Labyrinth! That’s nonsense!”
“Don’t scare people.”
Even a royal mausoleum was troublesome enough, but hearing the word Labyrinth made people angry. They shouted at Lavenda to take it back.
“Stop.”
Serena raised her hand to calm them down.
“A mausoleum is a dungeon, and a Labyrinth is also a type of dungeon, so the atmosphere could be similar. However, Lavenda is not a hasty person. There must be a solid reason she brought this up to me. Isn’t that right?”
Serena decided to hear Lavenda out. It felt ominous to dismiss the frightened masseuse’s words as mere speculation.
‘She’s almost certain.’
If she’d been certain from the start, she would have spoken up when Serena said it was a mausoleum.
It might have been that Serena’s status was intimidating, or that she was in shock right after the fall and couldn’t speak, but that didn’t seem to be the case.
‘Her complexion kept darkening, and at some point, her eyes just went dead.’
“Tell me. Aside from the atmosphere, there’s another reason, isn’t there?”
“Yes! There is! The reason I became certain is because of the rats!”
Lavenda pointed to the rats that had become the party’s one meal as evidence.
“Those rats! They look exactly like the Labyrinth rats that run on wheels in Vieta’s Labyrinth! The size too!”
She’d bravely offered a different opinion from the princess and explained her reason. But contrary to Lavenda’s efforts, the reactions were lukewarm.
“All rats look the same.”
“That’s right! They all look the same.”
“Is that all it takes for you to ignore Serena! How rude!”
“How can you say ‘just that,’ Countess! Such large and ferocious rats can’t be common! They’re Labyrinth rats! When I entered Vieta’s Labyrinth, I heard an explanation. They’re aggressive rats that only inhabit Labyrinths.”
Lavenda grew more excited as she spoke.
“This place is definitely a Labyrinth! We’ve been swallowed by a Labyrinth! I heard that in Labyrinths that swallow people, the bodies of the swallowed are found… We’re all going to die! We’ve been eaten by a Labyrinth!”
“Lavenda, stop.”
Lavenda’s beautiful lavender eyes lost their light. With hollow eyes, she spat out anything that came to mind. Serena tried to calm her, but she didn’t settle easily.
“We’re all going to die! Right, the earthquake. What if that wasn’t an earthquake but the sight of us being swallowed by a Labyrinth? If all of Hujichen was eaten by a Labyrinth, then this Labyrinth’s rank is—”
“Stop!”
Lavenda barely came to her senses at the princess’s shout. She looked at the others with fear-consumed eyes, then bowed her head in apology.
“I’m sorry. I got too excited.”
“A Labyrinth. Right. I’m grateful you pointed out a possibility I hadn’t considered. But getting that excited won’t accomplish anything, and besides—”
‘A Labyrinth? For real?’
Serena frowned. She desperately hoped not.
“To accept your opinion, the evidence is insufficient. I don’t know much about rats, so I can’t be sure, but animals of the same species look similar. It’s possible you were mistaken.”
“Yes. I’m sorry.”
“Everyone listen. Whether this place is a mausoleum or a Labyrinth, the fact that we need to find a way out doesn’t change. Let’s help and support each other to find a way out of here. I will surely reward your efforts.”
Lavenda collapsed to the floor as if all her strength had left her. The others also calmed down.
The message that what they needed to do hadn’t changed seemed to reassure them. Or perhaps they were relieved by the princess’s promise of reward.
“We’re all too tired, so let’s rest for now. We’ll need to set up a watch.”
“We’ll do it.”
“That’s right, Serena should rest. How tired you must be.”
“Sleep here.”
Chrome brought a blanket from his cart and made Serena a bed.
How would they decide the watch order, and without a clock, how would they know when to change shifts?
‘There’s still more to do. Right, I need to figure out the map situation too. I have to think about that.’
Serena was half-forced by Philia to lie down on the blanket. She’d run away this morning to avoid work, and now she was refusing to fall asleep because she had work to do. What a strange twist of fate.
‘I need to wash my face too. My million-gold skin!’
Even the pressure of a million gold couldn’t overcome the sleepiness that washed over her as soon as her head hit the ground.
Serena fell asleep.
***
Perhaps because she’d slept in a bright place, or because she was so exhausted. Serena had a lucid dream.
‘It’s empty.’
Serena woke in a strange space with nothing. There was no floor, yet somehow she could stand, and her surroundings were thick with fog. She knew she was awake but still dreaming.
“Lucid dreams are pointless. I heard you can’t sleep properly with lucid dreams. Won’t I be more tired when I wake up?”
Knowing it was a dream, Serena grumbled without restraint. Since it was a dream, there was no need to maintain a dignified and elegant princess persona.
Serena waved her hand a few times through the fog—or whatever was making it hazy—then gave up and sat down.
Since this was her first lucid dream and she didn’t know how to wake up, she decided to organize her thoughts.
“A Labyrinth, huh.”
When Lavenda first mentioned the possibility of a Labyrinth, Serena had been quite shocked. She hadn’t shown it, but she really was.
“I thought it could only be a mausoleum.”
Labyrinths were so few and she had so little information that she’d been certain it was a mausoleum. But after hearing Lavenda’s story, her conviction wavered.
“Hmph. I can’t let my protagonist syndrome relapse again.”
Those who know the current lazy Serena wouldn’t believe it, but young Serena had been a diligent and hardworking child. Energetic, enthusiastic about everything, and proactive.
Young Serena believed there must be a special reason she’d been reincarnated into a fantasy world with her memories intact. Even if there was no mission, she expected her life wouldn’t be smooth and that events would keep happening.
Why?
Because she was the protagonist.
Why was she the protagonist?
Because she was reincarnated with her memories.
Originally, reincarnators are used as important devices for plot progression, whether as protagonists, major supporting characters, or something else. Occasionally there are stories with so many reincarnators they’re treated as extras on the street, but usually they’re important.
So young Serena studied hard.
Since it’s a fantasy world, would it be a fun adventure story with companions?
Having been born into royalty, it could be a political power struggle or territory development story.
Or maybe a romance fantasy where I’m the villainess? A romance starting with a political marriage?
Or perhaps a BL story where my brother is the main character?
Not knowing what genre her life would be, Serena built her physical strength and accumulated knowledge. She didn’t know how to make soap, and the world already had good soap anyway. She couldn’t cook either, so she gave up on territory development.
Then when she learned of the existence of Labyrinths, she thought it might be a Labyrinth-clearance story, tried to gather information, gave up, and gradually lost interest in other things too.
“I realized reality.”
Serena was a reincarnator, but she wasn’t the protagonist. This wasn’t a world of dreams and hopes—it was reality. Serena’s true reality.
Her father was a drug addict, her mother had a severe mental illness, her brother was a love-starved useless layabout. Her grandfather? He was an old man who lost his entire family overnight and survived alone. As the ruler of a nation, he couldn’t die—a living corpse.
Isn’t it all just so miserable?
If she were truly protagonist material, she would have honed herself even in a lax environment, but Serena wasn’t the protagonist.
She’d never had a particularly strong will, then or now. Having become aware of reality and living in it, she grew into a miserable adult matching her miserable environment.
“Ah, really. I don’t want it to be a Labyrinth-clearance story. Surely I’m not the starting point of the main quest?”
A quest given to the protagonist! Rescue the princess trapped in the Labyrinth! But after all the hard work, what the protagonist finds is the princess’s skeletal remains!
“Ugh.”
“You seem to have many worries.”
“Huh?”
Suddenly, an unfamiliar voice. Serena turned her head toward the sound.
A person in a robe was standing beside her, as if they’d been there from the start.
“Ah, you startled me.”
The hood was pulled so deep that their face wasn’t visible. Serena wondered what kind of dream this was and felt bewildered.
“I’d like to help, but I can’t extend my hand without compensation—what to do.”
“Do NPCs appear in lucid dreams too?”
“What will you do, child? Will you offer a sacrifice?”
A white hand emerged from the gap in the robe’s hem.
“What a ridiculous dream.”
Serena laughed in disbelief. She swatted away the hooded figure’s outstretched hand. It was quite rude, but it was just a dream, so what did it matter.
“Heheh.”
Perhaps because it was a ridiculous dream, the robed figure didn’t seem angry at Serena’s rudeness. They laughed contentedly, like someone watching their grandchild’s antics.
‘What a nice voice.’
She thought it was a beautiful, magnificent voice, but strangely, the gender was unclear. And the gender wasn’t the only unclear thing.
Gender, age, health condition, and so on.
All information that could be inferred from a voice was perfectly excluded. All that remained was the thought of a beautiful voice that moved the heart.
“I hope I can help you next time.”
With those words, Serena realized the dream space was dissipating.
‘I must be waking up.’
Aside from being a lucid dream, it was an unremarkable, ridiculous dream. Serena didn’t attach any particular meaning to it.
But one thing stood out.
The eyes of the stranger she’d met in the dream were a vermilion color, as if burning. Even though she hadn’t seen their face, that one thing lingered strangely in her memory.
