<CHAPTER 05>
Even so, I couldn’t allow myself to be quietly captured.
Even if I were to be dragged away someday, I needed more time alone to sort out the situation.
I hurriedly looked around and realized the snake was still beside me.
Huh?
Strangely, the snake was extremely docile.
It didn’t hiss at me, nor did it even open its mouth.
It merely slithered forward a little, lifted its head to peck at the air, then returned to me repeatedly.
It looked like some kind of signal.
“Are you telling me to follow you?”
When I whispered softly, the snake nodded as if it understood.
Chasing after a snake I had only just encountered sounded ridiculous.
Still, I have no other choice right now.
Everyone here is a stranger anyway, and it’s better to trust a snake than be caught by the Demon King.
I began to follow where the snake led.
The snake smoothly slipped through the maze-like corridor.
It even glanced back from time to time as if checking whether I was following properly.
Eventually, we arrived at a dead end.
I tried to turn back in panic, but the horned demons who had begun their search were drawing closer by the second.
So you were a trap too.
As my shoulders slumped in disappointment, the snake suddenly thrashed and bounced.
Looking closely, I saw that the ground beneath it was slightly raised compared to the surrounding surface.
I crouched down and felt along the floor where the snake had moved aside.
The surroundings were dark, so I had to rely solely on my sense of touch.
The sound of footsteps grew louder and louder, and cold sweat ran down the back of my neck.
In my haste, my fingers finally caught on a small gap.
I pulled at the ring embedded in the floor.
What revealed itself was a staircase leading into darkness.
Should I really go down?
Before I could hesitate long, the demon’s voice came frighteningly close behind me.
“Miss Lamia?”
“Would you kindly show yourself?”
“If your goal is to sell our Lord’s curiosity, a more direct show would be better.”
“Since we’re both busy people, let’s spare each other the trouble, shall we?”
To hell with it.
I threw myself down the stairs like Alice diving into a rabbit hole and sealed the entrance above me.
Click.
The floor panel slid back into place, and the space became completely pitch-black.
Surprisingly, the snake was useful even now.
Each time it opened its mouth, a small flame flickered out, lighting the way.
I gathered the hem of my white dress and continued downward.
The spiral staircase ended in front of a corridor connected to a single door.
As if possessed, I approached and placed my hand on the doorknob.
The wooden door opened more easily than expected.
I stepped inside, feeling strangely as though I had been invited.
The interior was disappointingly ordinary for a secret space.
A wooden bookshelf, a desk, a simple bed, and a small chest were all there was.
The snake stopped in front of the chest.
“You want me to open this?”
The snake nodded up and down.
Our communication had become surprisingly smooth.
“It’s locked.”
A four-digit combination lock was attached to the center of the chest.
I tried obvious numbers like 0000, 1004, and 6666 before quickly giving up.
“How am I supposed to know this?”
“You’re not telling me to try all ten thousand combinations, right?”
The snake began bending and straightening its body intensely.
Knowing it wouldn’t act without reason, I watched carefully.
It didn’t take long to realize what it was trying to convey.
Its movements represented specific numbers.
I entered the three repeating digits in order.
A dull clunk sounded as the lock released.
Did that really just work?
The password was 1226.
It was my birthday.
I collapsed onto the floor in shock.
As if that wasn’t enough, what came out of the chest left me even more stunned.
[<SYSTEM> Discovered [Key – Diary].
The incineration window is unlocked.]
This is too easy.
My birthday as the password, and Lamia’s diary?
What kind of coincidence is this?
Hoakin, just what are you?
[Loading memory into <Diary>…]
[<IERROR> You do not have permission for this category.]
[Perform [Awakening] to unlock the [Memory] category.]
The diary pages were completely blank.
Still, the fact that it existed here at all was astonishing.
Who would have imagined the Demon King had hidden Lamia’s diary?
I flipped through the pages quickly.
Something fell onto my lap.
Several stiff cards.
[You have obtained ‘Scroll’!]
[Teleport Scroll (S-Rank): When activated, the user will move to preset coordinates.]
[<SYSTEM> New Quest Generated!]
[<Sub> Eliminate bug ‘Black Widow’.
Reward: Activate scroll.]
If I activate this… I can escape this damned ship.
I didn’t know where Lamia had set the coordinates.
But surely it would be somewhere safe.
The quest… I’ll think about it later.
I hid the scroll securely between my chest.
I returned to the diary.
At the very last page, words finally appeared.
D-0.
Today, I return to where I belong.
Through death.
I once prayed this day would never come.
I wonder if the me from a year ago knew I would wait for it like this.
Why does it sound like she planned her own death?
And what does “returning to where I belong” mean?
I closed the leather cover.
The name Lamia was engraved at the corner.
I gently traced it.
The texture… is different.
A strip of tape covered the original engraving.
I peeled it off with my nail.
Another name appeared beneath.
No way.
Shin Ji-an.
My name.
This isn’t Lamia’s diary.
It’s my memory.
[<SYSTEM> Possessor ‘Shin Ji-an’ confirmed.]
[Memory category unlocked.]
I’ve been here before.
[Synchronization begins.]
***
To the Hero of the Hesen Kingdom, Million.
I wished so desperately that you would be flawed.
So I could find even one reason to hate you.
But your mere existence tormented me.
You were unbearably perfect.
You were kind beyond measure.
You were warm to everyone equally.
You saved even the wicked first.
I still remember the first time we met.
It was a week after my coming-of-age ceremony.
For some reason, the moment I saw you, I thought of a race from my childhood.
I used to hate running.
The finish line felt impossibly far.
But when I met you, I could see the finish line clearly.
I knew then.
I would fall into a long and painful unrequited love.
