Chapter 44
Most of the survivors gathered in the central area.
It seemed like the game’s setting reflected the actions of the heroine’s faction and the villain’s faction, both of which were actively exploring and investigating. Not many, like us, ventured far to explore.
“This isn’t the palace, and no one is listening. Anyway, Max, I envy you for not seeing the female ghost. It’s probably better that you don’t know, since you’ve already stepped so deeply into the palace…”
I saw the crown prince’s left hand twitch, as though he was unsure, before trying to scratch his right hand, which tightened into a fist. Madness gleamed in his eyes.
“Yes! The ghost was definitely real. I saw it that rainy night with Sian. Do you know what we saw?”
The crown prince muttered, almost like a madman.
But suddenly, he stopped and, after a few seconds, looked around at his companions and grinned.
“…Hmph, it was just a joke. I was trying to scare you because I was a little upset that you didn’t come explore with me, Max.”
“Phew! I’m relieved! Your Highness, of course, it couldn’t have been true! Max, you’re truly a master of acting!”
Max sighed in relief and let his shoulders drop.
Though Max was not the most perceptive, he wasn’t completely clueless either.
I watched Max look uneasy, as if he knew the crown prince wasn’t joking.
But more importantly, what caught my attention was the newly appeared notification.
‘???’
I wasn’t sure if it referred to a person or an object.
Tip: Fragments of ??? affect the ending in hard mode! Collecting all fragments opens the route to a hidden character!
“So this might be a condition for the true ending,” I thought.
Collecting elements is usually beneficial, so it’s best to gather as many as possible.
“The female ghost in the palace might be related to ‘???,’ though it’s not certain.”
I wasn’t particularly curious about the hidden character route because something caught my attention.
From behind the armor that the party couldn’t see, shadowy hands slowly emerged, swaying toward me.
“No, it can’t be. Or can it?”
Those were surely connected to the final boss.
Moreover, in normal mode, the final boss could not be tackled.
“No, it can’t be. Even if it is, I’m not going to fight it.”
I tried to push the thought away as we continued walking with the group.
Eventually, we reached the far eastern end. It was blocked by an ordinary wall. We looked around, but there was no exit in sight.
Max was shocked.
“It’s blocked! Lord Isengrif, do something! We can’t see an exit leading to stairs!”
“Don’t order me around.”
Sian responded to Max and then turned to the rest of the group.
“There might be another passage, so I’ll release the spirit to check.”
But no hidden passage or secret object appeared.
Yeniel, looking like she was thinking, asked Sian:
“Lord Isengrif, is it possible for us to ride the spirit? We’d like to check the end of the western hallway as well.”
“You want to check if that’s blocked too. It’s possible, but spirits usually only assist those who share their name, so I’m not sure. Let me try summoning one.”
At Sian’s words, a swirling spirit, resembling cloth or a carpet, appeared.
Sian politely addressed the spirit:
“Would you carry us? We wish to go to the western hallway.”
Although I couldn’t hear anything, Sian nodded as if hearing a response.
“Yes, I promise.”
“What did it say?” The crown prince asked.
“It’s something only spirit speakers can understand, Your Highness. But what I can tell you is, we were fortunate because the name was not taken.”
Sian answered with a bit of difficulty.
“Well, that’s fine. What matters is that it can carry us. Everyone, get on.”
The crown prince didn’t seem too curious about anything else and climbed onto the spirit.
“Lady April, come up.”
“Yes!”
Evelyn gently took my hand.
It felt like I was climbing onto a magic carpet.
The spirit rose toward the ceiling, avoiding the chandelier, and moved swiftly.
We passed through the eastern hallway we had walked for a while in an instant and went past what seemed like a grand dining hall.
I rubbed my eyes.
“The light is too bright, Yeniel.”
Unlike before, the sunlight was blinding, and tears welled up in my eyes.
“The sunlight is strong, so close your eyes, Lady April. …Sunlight?”
Yeniel mumbled while squinting, as she seemed just as blinded by the light.
In an instant, the spirit arrived at the end of the western hallway.
It was blocked as well.
Where the exit to the stairs had been, there was only a wall. The lounge was gone, and the space was just an empty wall.
“The lounge is gone! There’s no entrance!” Max seemed to be in panic.
“There’s only that man-eating door…! How are we supposed to get out of the third floor?”
“No, calm down, Max. I have an idea. We’re in the palace a thousand years ago. Let’s go back to the dining hall and check the ‘time.’” Yeniel spoke calmly.
“Time?”
Sian seemed confused, not understanding Yeniel’s meaning.
“Think about something in the hall that shows the time.”
“Ah! I see! The ceiling!”
Sian understood quickly, following Yeniel’s riddle.
“The sunlight came through. I understand now. I’m sorry, but please take us to the hall we passed earlier.”
The spirit moved again.
The doors we returned to looked exactly like the ones before.
It seemed like the fact that people had died by those doors was well-known, as many survivors kept their distance.
The only calm ones were Yeniel and Sian.
“As expected, the time was the issue.”
Yeniel looked up at the sky.
“It should be time. I didn’t consider that before.”
Sian nodded and pointed to the ceiling.
Max, the crown prince, and I stared up at the ceiling, dazed.
Light came in.
It reminded me of the light coming through the second-floor ceiling of a dungeon temple, but this time, no writing appeared.
“Even with the sunlight, I can’t understand it. Is there something written?”
The crown prince shook his head.
Yeniel politely responded to his question.
“No, Your Highness. That’s not writing. It’s a ceiling clock. It’s a way of using the light as clock hands while admiring the sky. So, it’s 3:13 PM now.”
Sian added, realizing we didn’t understand.
“A thousand years ago, dinner started at 5 PM. At that time, demons prevented people from going out at night, so no lights were used. In noble houses, after guests enjoyed entertainment or admired the mansion on the second and third floors, they would eat at around 5 PM. A clock was always placed in front of the dining hall. Only when it was time could the doors to the dining hall be opened.”
“So, we can’t go in yet. Will the doors open in 47 minutes?”
“I think so, yes. The problem is that there might be a monster in the dining hall…”
“The people who touched the doors died.”
The crown prince’s face darkened.
Yeniel calmly asked me:
“Lady April, will you protect us?”
