kscans

Chapter 42 - [Special Chapter] The Vow of the Muu Tribe (The Broken Mansion)

"...It really is broken."

They stood before a large gate on the outskirts of the city. Beyond the gate was the mansion where they had planned to stay. It was a stone manor with a large garden. Just as Marmi had said, part of the building appeared to have been destroyed by a physical impact. It had apparently happened three days ago. Looking around, there was no one in sight. It had been left unrepaired and abandoned.

"Was the monster that destroyed this place defeated?"

"It seems it was a plant monster. I heard the city's knights took care of it,"

Wake replied to Patricia.

"...There's a flow of mana toward the back of the mansion."

"Yes. I also feel like something is lingering there. It's better not to get close."

"...I want to stay here tonight,"

Marmi said. She didn't want to sleep while listening to that moaning again. The fact that the source of the voice was the daughter of the proud Muu tribe made it even worse.

"What?"

Wake couldn't fathom Marmi's true intentions, but eventually, he nodded in resignation.

"I'll go check it out. Lady Mo, you are absolutely not to come inside. Do you understand? Absolutely not."

After making Patricia promise not to let Marmi into the mansion, Wake took the other guards and stepped into the mansion's garden. It was as if his back suddenly vanished from sight. Was it just the eerie atmosphere of the mansion playing tricks on her eyes? Marmi thought it was no illusion and tried to read the flow of mana. Just then, a young girl came walking towards them.

"Muu."

"Muu."

It was Famu, shyly returning the Muu tribe's greeting.

"Lady Mo, isn't the Muu tribe a little too childish?"

Patricia said, watching Famu run towards them.

"...It's fine. She's just trying way too hard to act grown up, so I just knocked her down a peg."

"I just love how kind you are, Lady Mo,"

Patricia said with a smile.

"...Is your training over?"

Famu nodded at Marmi's words.

"I saw you at the arena and was curious where you were going."

Hearing this, Patricia smiled again. It seemed Marmi's crush wasn't one-sided.

"...This is our inn for tonight. Do you want to stay too, Famu?"

"Isn't it broken? And it smells like blood..."

"It seems there was a battle with a monster here three days ago,"

Patricia replied.

"Is that so? It smells fresher than that..."

Famu approached the mansion gate. Just as she tried to peek inside, her vision distorted.

"Ah!"

"Famu!"

Famu was being pulled into the gate. Marmi grabbed onto her and braced herself to stop her, but she was easily dragged inside as well.

"Lady Mo!"

Patricia's cry didn't reach them. The two of them had vanished, swallowed by the gate.

The scenery outside the gate was that of a normal city. However, Patricia, who should have been there, was nowhere to be seen. There wasn't a soul in sight. It looked like they could just open the gate and leave. Famu tried to touch the gate but was blocked by an invisible wall. It seemed to be a one-way entrance.

"...A dungeon."

"This is a dungeon?"

Marmi nodded at Famu. It was completely different from the dungeons Famu had experienced. If it weren't for the invisible wall, it would be no different from a normal house. Marmi explained to Famu that a dungeon was a series of disconnected, enclosed spaces.

"...Find Wake, defeat the Area Guardian. Then we can get out."

"What's a Wake?"

"...My strongest swordsman. He went ahead to check on the mansion."

It was fortunate that he had entered the mansion first. Marmi thought that he would overcome any obstacle and surely come to her. As she was thinking this, she noticed Famu peering into her face.

"I want my Master to think of me that way, too,"

Famu said.

"...That's a lie. You just overwrote what you truly want to be thought of as."

"Hmph, Mo, you'll understand when you fall in love with someone. It's not just one single feeling."

"...I've never met him, but I have a fiancé. But unfortunately, I'll never understand your feelings, Famu."

"If you haven't met him, he might be a nice person. You might fall in love with him when you do."

For lower-ranking or upstart nobles, perhaps, but for the aristocracy at the apex of power, there was no room for romantic feelings in marriage. Bloodline was everything. Marmi would be leaving the Star Union Family. And it had been promised that if her child was a boy, he would be adopted into the Star Union Family. This was a gamble of sorts. Some believed that Marmi was the last child of the elf race.

"...My fiancé's family is skilled in mental manipulation magic. In five years, I'll be a woman who loves him, molded to his preferences, so don't worry."

"Do you really think a member of the Muu tribe would be at ease after hearing that?"

Besides Patricia, there was someone else who would get angry for Marmi. For her, that was enough. But Marmi, Patricia, and Famu could do nothing about this matter.

"...Let's talk about this later. For now, let's think about our current situation, okay?"

"It feels like our current situation doesn't matter in the face of that, but you're right. Let's look for Wake-san. For now, let's try going inside the mansion."

It might be better to wait in a safe place. But Wake didn't know Marmi was here. They wanted to meet up with him as soon as possible, so Marmi agreed. The signs of destruction on the mansion had vanished. It was a three-story building. A huge door and countless windows seemed to look down on them. It had a strange, intimidating, and unwelcoming air.

"F-For now, let's shout and see if anyone inside responds."

"...Hmm?"

Famu raised both hands and shouted, "Muu!"

"Come on, Mo, you too."

What does this girl plan to do if a monster comes out?

"Huh? Okay."

For a while, the two of them continued to shout "Muu"

with their hands raised. But nothing happened. There were no figures watching them from inside either.

"This is strange. This is the strategy my Master taught me for checking for people inside..."

"...There's no one inside."

Marmi thought Famu was the strange one, but she held her tongue so as not to hurt her feelings.

"Well then, it's a little scary, but let's go in."

Famu opened the door and entered. Marmi followed her. The entrance hall was a wide space. It was an open-ceilinged hall with a double staircase leading to the second floor. It was dim and eerie.

"I don't sense anyone."

Famu carefully scanned the surroundings, but there was nothing suspicious.

"...Famu, up there. The chandelier."

Marmi noticed something clinging to the ornament hanging from the ceiling.

"Ukiki, ukiki!"

The creature shrieked and began to shake the chandelier violently. The decorations clinked together, creating a noisy, grating sound.

"It's going to fall!"

The chandelier came crashing down on top of them. They barely managed to dodge it.

"Kikiki, kikiki!"

The monster looked like a monkey. It descended from the ceiling and swung its long arm down at Famu. Its fingertips had sharp claws. Famu drew her two short swords and blocked with the blades. Clang! She avoided taking damage, but her haori was torn. Famu went to counterattack, but the monster quickly scurried up the wall.

"...Crazy Monkey. Be careful, there are a lot of them."

Just as Marmi said, more shadows began crawling on the walls and ceiling. This time, two monsters descended, aiming for Marmi.

"...Lightning Strike."

A flash of lightning shot out from Marmi's wand. The two monsters got tangled up in mid-air, pushing each other away as they dodged the lightning. Famu timed her attack for the moment just before they landed and unleashed Kikuichimonji. The blade of vacuum caught the Crazy Monkey.

"Kiki!"

The wounded Crazy Monkey tried to get up. Just then, Marmi's lightning strike hit it. The monster vanished.

"...One down."

"There are at least ten of them. There are too many."

"...Then let's just burn the mansion down. I'll burn whatever, you take care of any that come at us."

Marmi began setting fire to anything that looked flammable, like curtains and wooden furniture. Why do mages love to burn things? Famu thought, reminded of her own party's mage. The Crazy Monkeys, their footing now being set on fire, began to attack Famu and Marmi one after another. Famu took out kunai and threw them. She hit the first one, making it vanish, but the second one dodged. She blocked a monster's attack with a kunai, then stabbed another in the back as it landed.

"Gyeeeee!"

The monster vanished. Marmi also skillfully dodged the monsters' claws by deploying a small defensive barrier in front of her wand.

"Kikiki! Kikiki!"

The monsters switched tactics to overwhelming them with numbers. They surrounded the two of them and attacked all at once.

"...Fools. I was waiting for that."

Marmi raised her wand, and a massive bolt of lightning shot towards the swarm of monsters. Five monsters vanished. Famu threw kunai at the two survivors. They had also taken damage from the lightning, so hitting them was easy. They had defeated all the Crazy Monkeys in the entrance hall.

As Famu was retrieving her kunai, an old man dressed as a butler descended the double staircase.

"Welcome, it is a pleasure to—aghk!"

Before the butler could finish speaking, Marmi shot him with a bolt of lightning. The butler was sent flying and twitched for a moment before going still.

"He didn't vanish. Maybe he wasn't a monster?"

"...His training is lacking. A butler who shows up this late is no butler at all."

As they approached to investigate, the fallen butler stood up as if nothing had happened. The two of them trembled in fear.

"You must be Lady Marmi of the Star Union Family, who we were expecting. Yesterday, we were waiting for your arrival—fugo!"

Marmi fired another lightning bolt. The butler was sent flying and went still, just like before.

"...If Wake was inside the mansion, there's no way he wouldn't have noticed all this commotion. Let's leave the mansion for now and circle around to the back garden from the outside. That's where the mana flow is coming from."

"You're right."

In their minds, the butler simply didn't exist. They opened the door and left the mansion. The abandoned butler stood up once more.

"Goodness me... I must prepare to welcome Lady Marmi and her party,"

he muttered, then walked up the double staircase. It was the last time he was ever seen. He had been a victim when this mansion was destroyed.