"...Tsk. It's a trap."
It was so absurd that I involuntarily blurted out the nonsense.
What's going on? I knew I'd fall for it. How did it turn out like this? I told Lisbeth that, and yet I still walked right in.
This is really...Is I really that brainless? Where's my brain?
"...Haa. Really..."
I sighed and got up, looking around.
Luckily, I didn't see Bivola and his men. Looks like I won't be stabbed to death suddenly...What's going on? Is the purpose just to lock us up?
"I'm sorry...I'm sorry, Mr. Shimo..."
As I approached to examine the rock blocking the entrance, I heard Marty's muttering voice coming from the other side.
If you're going to apologize, don't do something you should apologize for. Is he an idiot?
"Huh...What? Did you get paid?"
Now I felt there was no need to be polite anymore, so I raised my voice and asked over the wall.
As I questioned him, I gently tapped the wall, racking my brains for a way to escape.
"...No. It's all because of my cowardice that I dragged Mr. Shimo into this mess."
Hmm...the voice sounds thinner than I expected...if I keep kicking him...it might not work, right?
"It sounds like an excuse...but actually, I have a sick mother and a young sister."
It's just an excuse. You brat. Stop pretending.
"My family is the meaning of my life. For them, I started working as an adventurer at a young age, earning a lot of money. Later, when I saw the kingdom recruiting hero knights, I became a hero knight belonging to the kingdom."
While listening to Marte's story, I looked around and found myself blocked by walls; there seemed to be no other exit besides the entrance.
"The income from becoming a hero knight, combined with the money I saved as an adventurer, finally helped my mother, who was essentially terminally ill, recover...but at the time, we didn't have the means to buy a new house, so for a long time, my mother and sister lived in a dilapidated house on the outskirts of the capital."
Oh, I see. "What a filial son!"
"Ignoring the fact that Malte is right in front... are the other routes blocked too?"
"It seems that Bivola heard this news not long ago when he needed external support. He hid himself using invisibility and disguise, kidnapped my sister while she was out shopping, and then told me that he would release my sister if I kept Mr. Shimo locked up here."
"I see. You've really gone to a lot of trouble."
"Pitiful as I am, I'm fucking annoyed."
"Bivola said that after locking Mr. Shimo and the guild members up here, he would persuade Miss Claire to give up her position as saintess in exchange for their release after the ongoing exam."
"Oh. He said he wouldn't kill us. Thank you so much."
"It seems that even as criminals, Bivola doesn't intend to kill us."
"Martey didn't say much even after leaving Lisbeth behind. Is it because he thinks I alone am enough of a threat?"
"I can relax a little for now."
" While the need to escape as quickly as possible remains unchanged, there should still be some buffer time until both are safely safe and Clarice's exam is over.
"Although I cannot abandon my sister and choose to accept this, I have made it clear that I will not allow you to be harmed or suffer any misfortune. Even if Bivora has ulterior motives, I will guarantee your safety... even if... my sister... suffers misfortune... your safety... means..." Hearing Malte's trembling voice, the situation became clear.
Bivora had hidden the evidence well, so he thought that making Clarice a saint would quell everything. However, due to his own physical limitations, he had Malte act as his envoy.
And Malte, because your most important family member was taken hostage, you were forced to participate in Bivora's crimes, and you ensured our safety with your last vestige of conscience as a hero, so you expect us to cooperate obediently, right?
Ah, I'm so moved I could cry.
Should I kowtow to you?
After going through so much hardship to get to this point, when you forced Clarice to give up her sainthood, did you even consider her feelings?
Such a powerful guy… Thanks to you, my increasingly lofty image of a hero has instantly crumbled, you bastard.
How could he be so pathetic?
While he was indeed a good person, to say he's some kind of chosen one, as Paul boasted, is a bit of a stretch.
Of course, knowing this and still coming here, I'm a fool.
…Tsk. Except for the entrance, it's all walls. We should go further in…wait, what's that?
"…Hey. What is this place?"
"Huh?…Oh. Bivora said that about three years ago, a dungeon suddenly appeared beneath the mansion. It's said to be a peculiar dungeon without monsters and that it doesn't disappear, used to hide things or something."
"No, I mean that altar-like thing."
"Ah…Bivora also said she didn't know what it was. It seems there's some kind of barrier or something that prevents us from getting close, and because we only briefly investigated the dungeon's practicality, we put it aside…"
A barrier…I see. This dungeon. It's that one.
The strange dungeon that seals away the memories of goddesses and such, where one gains a demonic form by viewing those memories. Although it was different from the massive tiered altar I'd seen before, this was just a small table altar… So, the dungeon was empty yet hadn't disappeared—was it a special dungeon like the one before?
"Food and water are prepared inside. As long as my brother is safe, I'll personally arrest Bivola…"
Mart's sorrowful explanation continued, but these words went in one ear and out the other.
Why? Because a strange compulsion compelled me to go to that altar immediately; my gaze couldn't leave it.
Was it also this strange attraction that drew me in without my noticing?
"…Okay. I'll come back later, Mr. Semo."
As Mart's voice trailed off and the faint footsteps faded into the distance…
I unconsciously swallowed, approaching the altar.
Damn it… what am I doing? I need to get out of here. Why is this thing so captivating? The previous altars only felt mysterious, not this strange.
From the moment I saw the altar, my throat inexplicably went dry, and I was so restless I couldn't stop walking.
There should have been a barrier. But those things seemed to have never existed in the first place; without realizing it, I was already standing before the altar.
With a trembling heart, I looked down at the low altar, and the strange decorations on it came into view.
These are…candelabras? Wooden carvings? Works of art? How to describe them? Strange, indescribable tree-shaped decorations placed on the altar.
Among the winding, twisting branches, two eerie, ominous black spheres hung from the tips of two branches.
Looking at those beads, which resembled both fruit and decoration, an indescribable feeling gripped my entire body, and I couldn't stop trembling.
What was it?
An extremely unpleasant and terrifying feeling…but on the other hand, there was also a subtle excitement and anticipation…
"…Haa…hoo…" As I reached out my trembling hands to each bead, they fell into my palms as if they had been waiting for a long time.
On my rough, almost inhuman palms lay several dark beads, each the size of a large candy.
Why?
Why is my chest pounding so violently?
Why did they suddenly fall on their own?
What's going on?
In this labyrinth I knew was a trap, yet still entered, what's with this seemingly predestined unfolding?
"Huff...huff..." The trembling wouldn't stop.
So scared. But what am I scared of? So expectant. But what am I expecting? Like...that strange excitement when there's a box in front of me that's either a bomb or a gift.
No, it's not like that.
The strongest emotion within me right now is...guilt?
"Pfft...! Ugh...! Ugh...!" My gaze couldn't leave the beads in my palms, and the trembling intensified.
Breathing heavily through the trembling, I was dominated by unknown emotions.
And so, I embedded those two beads into my...