Chapter 105
"…Haa?" (??)
A person proceeded to the end of the hall, and raised a puzzled voice.
Although he thought that he would be attacked instantly in the same way of last time, nothing was happening. He proceeded forward while being on guard as if asking what was going on… He reached the end of the layer as it was, and when he reached at the front of the staircase, he frowned even further.
"What does this mean? …No, in other words, is it that?" (??)
At that moment, that possibility appeared in his mind. If it was what he imagined, then, it made sense.
The fact that the princess was rescued was something that he was aware without the need to find it on his own. In other words, the consideration he had in the past was correct–…
"…As expected, that monster was probably not as strong as the Evil Dragon." (??)
The reason that the monster didn't come out was because it was defeated. It was obvious.
He didn't know what was going on, but… currently, there was no need to guess other than to think so. Even for himself, he could only come this far because he had [Advanced Rank – Suppress Presence]. Besides, the one who came here and defeated that monster was none other than that person.
Well, whatever it was, luck seemed s.h.i.+ne on him. If that was the case, it was possible to reach the bottom layer somehow.
The rest was what to do with the last ‘key', but… when he thought that far, he suddenly thought of a good idea.
"…Oh yeah, with this, it's like killing two birds with one stone, yes? Sorry for trespa.s.sing when you are in the middle of something." (??)
When he was wondering if he was really good at brain work, he turned around while smiling.
In that case, there was no need to head forward for now. More importantly, he should give priority to the preparation.
He already thought the method. The difficulty of the execution shouldn't be too difficult. After that, he could do a bit of something to implement what he had thought earlier.
"…I guess it's going to be surprising. Shall I head there when the matter this time is over?" (??)
While muttering such a jest, he left the place.
—
Sylvia spent a day… no, two days of day off in her room. It didn't mean that she didn't have the motivation. Rather, it was overflowing, but–…
"Haa…" (Sylvia)
To be brief, she was worried. The moan that sounded strange was because of that reason. She had never let out such a voice normally.
Perhaps, if somebody hear it, she would be given warning or scold, but fortunately, Sylvia was alone in the room. Although it was obvious that was her room, this was the academy dormitory. By considering the possibility that it was also a dormitory room, it was good to say that she was fortunate when she had done it carelessly.
Nonetheless, it wasn't because of special treatment that she was currently alone. For starters, all dormitory rooms of the Royal Academy were single occupancy rooms.
If it was another academy, not to mention the dormitory room, it would be unusual to have a communal small room with three or four people. Basically, here was considerably high service treatment. That was as expected of Royal Academy, but… the academy wasn't popular because of that aspect only.
In other words, the fact that room was cramped still hadn't changed. The room was four-tatami-mats sized room, and most of the s.p.a.ce was occupied by the bed.
If she had to be honest, she thought that it was a storeroom when she first saw it. While checking the surrounding many times, she finally recognized that the room was a room when she would live in the future, but… now, she was already used to it.
Well, leaving that aside… currently, it was a matter of worries. As a matter of course, it originated from the previous incident…
"Muu–…" (Sylvia)
She wondered what she should have done at that time. Sylvia had been thinking about it recently.
In the beginning, it was a bit different. She had a feeling that everything was her fault.
But because she had been thinking only that, she began to think slightly different
Strictly speaking, the feeling of guilt still hadn't disappeared. She was wondering somewhere in her mind, whether Lars disappearance and what happened to Kurt were all because of her.
However, she firmly understood that it wasn't a right thinking. What was the best action at that time?
Of course, it was best not to go into the dungeon in the first place. Second was, she shouldn't go to the second layer, but… what if they still went to the third layer? She wondered what was the best action to take in that situation.
It was probably not good to overlook it. If she went past the trap safely, Kurt might touched it for some reason, and he would be transported to that layer. But, that didn't make any sense.
Perhaps, Kurt also might avoid the trap, but in that case, the trap would remain as it was. Then, others might bear the same fate she had. And at that time, Soma didn't necessarily come to rescue her. It was too convenient to think in that way.
Then, the best solution was…
"Yeah…" (Sylvia)
It seemed smoke might come out from her head because she had been thinking too much. Even so, she couldn't come out with the best solution for that situation.
The story would be simple if she didn't have to solve it by herself. She could just tell everyone immediately after she noticed that trap. Then, they could stop the exploration, went to the academy. That should be the correct solution. After that, the academy would take an appropriate measure.
But then, it was pointless. If that solution came into her mind at that time, she thought that she would do so without hesitation, but… oh well.
What suddenly pa.s.sed through her mind was what happened on that day. When she came back, everyone was making noises and seeming happy, but… after that Kurt was found in that state. Regarding this incident, she had been told about what kind of situation it was.
‘That was probably not a Teleport.'
Therefore, it was pointless to ignore the possibility. Since it was highly likely that same incident would happen again, she obediently accepted it but she wondered if it was fine to do that.
Sylvia was told by the headmaster and Soma, who had heard about it.
To be brief, someone made Sylvia fell into the trap. There was still no confirmation yet. Although they didn't mentioned names, she had no doubt who was the culprit.
That was why Sylvia thought that she couldn't do anything by herself. At that time, she could only come up with that possibility. She wondered what she should do, and… whether she had the capability to do so.
"–!?" (Sylvia)
At that moment, her shoulder trembled in surprise because there was some kind of sound heard from the rear.
When she turned around, there was nothing there. In fact, no one was there. She let out a breath of relief, but… then what was the sound she heard currently? As expected, she couldn't ignore it. She focused her mind and nervously headed toward the window.
This was the second floor, but there was also a veranda. She felt like she heard something there, so when she quietly peeked… she tilted her head.
Surely, there was something there, but she didn't know what it was at first sight.
"What's that? …A box?" (Sylvia)
There was no mistake that it was a box. Moreover, it was small. It was bigger than her palm. Although it was the size that she could hold it, the size was indescribable.
Perhaps, the sound she heard… was coming from that box. A sound of gulping let out, and as she dare to go out, there was no one there. She lightly peeked from the veranda, but there was also none in the surrounding. Well, that was something expected.
There were only densely packed dormitories around this area, and it was relatively hard to have a clear view. It was easy to throw things on the veranda while hiding.
The problem was the purpose of this…
"Hmmm… what is this? I don't get it at all." (Sylvia)
She tried to lightly shake the box, but she didn't understand the sound that came out of it. Since she didn't feel the weight, she wonder what was that light thing…
"Well… it should be fine to open it, isn't it?" (Sylvia)
She was surprised how calm she was when she knew that she was being careless, but as expected, she couldn't do anything about it. She hesitated for a moment, but she shook her head, and resolutely touched the box.
Since there was no wrapping, it was easy to open it. Inside that box was…
"…Eh? What is this?" (Sylvia)
There were two things inside the box.
First, a letter. Although paper had become widespread, the cost was high, but… she still knew that. The letter was certainly trying to convey its meaning.
The problem was the other thing. In the eyes of Sylvia, it only looked like a headband. Moreover, it was something that female servants wore on their head.
What did this mean by sending both things together…?
"…E-h?" (Sylvia)
But then, she suddenly noticed it. Could that be that–…
"…I have seen this before… isn't it?" (Sylvia)
Yes. It was obvious. After all, this was… for her friend, and her friend had chosen that path.
"…!" (Sylvia)
As she became fl.u.s.tered, she hurriedly checked the rest of the corner of the letter. Then, she looked to the back and the right side of it. And there was–…
"…Maria." (Sylvia)
It was bad handwriting, but she wrote her utmost feeling at that time. Something was stuck on top of the letter as if to prevent it from disappear, and she wasn't misunderstood. This was what Sylvia sent to Mary.
And from that day on, Maria supposed to wear it. For that reason, she went through difficulties to dry after was.h.i.+ng it every day, and she remembered being told jokingly…
"Oh yes, the letter…!" (Sylvia)
It wasn't that she had nothing to write on it. She wanted to say something, but since she had something to do at that time, she probably to do that first. Sylvia didn't know what that meant… or perhaps, she just didn't want to understand, but–…
"…Uh. …What …is this…?" (Sylvia)
Accordingly, Sylvia was frowning because she… couldn't understand the intention. She understood the contents written though.
However, what about the meaning… besides, who did…? …Perhaps, this was…
"…Yeah, whatever it is, it would be fine, right? Whether I understand it or not, it is meaningless anyway. There is only one thing that I should consider. …What to do about these things?" (Sylvia)
Sylvia took the book together with the letter and the headband as if she couldn't make the decision right away. When she returned to bed, she immediately dived into it. While holding the letter in hand, she dived with the appearance of celebrating like Banzai. Thus, the letter wasn't crumpled, but the clothes wrinkled.
If Maria saw her like this, she would probably be told that it wasn't nice or she wasn't well behaved. While thinking so, it should be natural to made the decision.
"…Yeah, that's right." (Sylvia)
It was true that there were no other alternatives from the beginning. So, while thinking about various things, Sylvia nodded once as if she had decided.
—
TLN: