The Demon Prince goes to the Academy - Chapter 353

Chapter 353:

To Go to the Labyrinth or Not?

Surprisingly, the answer came easily.

next day.

“Let’s go.”

It was because Charlotte, having heard about the labyrinth, made a light decision.

“… … Your Highness is too dangerous.”

Naturally, Tana shook her head and dissuaded Charlotte.

“If they were going to send someone other than me, there would be no reason to come all the way here. I am willing to take risks.”

Charlotte is right.

If you’ve come this far and are going to let others do the work for you, then you can just give instructions from the Palace of Spring.

I came here to do something myself.

“Still, I didn’t know there was an unreported labyrinth. After spending some time uncovering the identity of the labyrinth, wouldn’t it be possible to enter safely?”

“Sir Tana, I am not sure how much time I have left.”

Tana bit her lip at Charlotte’s heavy words.

“It may take years to uncover the labyrinth’s magic. And there is no guarantee that I will be safe in the meantime.”

Charlotte looks at me for a second.

“I’m not sure how long Reinhardt’s command will be able to stabilize my condition. I can’t just wait and wait for this power to completely consume me.”

“majesty… … . Therefore, there is no reason for Your Highness to go directly. And there is no reason anywhere that there will be a way to completely solve your condition in the labyrinth. There must be something, but no one knows if it will be what Your Highness needs.”

Said Saviolin Tana almost imploringly. Charlotte looks at Saviolin Tana in silence.

“Sir Tana.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“If I can’t fully recover from this condition, I’d rather die.”

“… … yes?”

Saviolin Tana muttered blankly as if she had heard the unbelievable words.

I’d rather die

Knowing what Charlotte was thinking, I unknowingly clenched my fist.

“The reason the child, or the current demon king, tried to save me was to protect the soul of the previous demon king, and at the same time, it must have been because the demon king’s soul dwelling in me also disappeared when I died. So, when I die, the demon king’s soul dwelling in me will also disappear.”

That’s why it’s not a bad thing to get caught in a trap in the labyrinth and die.

Charlotte speaks quietly.

“Your Highness, replace… … . What are you talking about!”

“If it’s for the empire, it’s not bad for me to die… … .”

“hey.”

I couldn’t stand it and called Charlotte. Charlotte looks at me at the sound of my subdued voice.

It was as if he finally realized what he was saying in front of whom.

“If you say so… … .”

with resentment

say

“What am I going to be?”

I risked my life to save you, but it doesn’t matter if I die. To say that I might be better off dead.

“… … sorry. I’m sorry, Reinhardt.”

At my words, Charlotte lowered her eyes and shook her shoulders.

Because of Valier’s conviction of the truth, Charlotte gained another conviction that what dwelled in her was the demon king’s soul. Because if it wasn’t like that, I don’t think there’s any way to save myself.

So Charlotte came to the natural conclusion that it was too late and that the Demon King might fully resurrect through her body.

It might be better to die before that happens, Charlotte thought.

But that was too harsh to say in front of me and Saviolin Tana, who risked their lives to save Charlotte.

Charlotte apologized to me and Tana several times, as if she thought she said something harsh.

“still… … . I think it’s right for me to go myself.”

But the thoughts themselves are bound to remain unchanged.

If the devil is trying to resurrect through Charlotte’s body, he thinks it’s right to die for the empire.

That you have to take the risk yourself.

Charlotte’s thoughts came from a mindset that prioritized the safety of the imperial family and empire. You can’t blame yourself.

You can’t break Charlotte’s thoughts, and there’s no reason you should.

It was painful to hear Charlotte’s words, but I must enter the labyrinth.

Tana watched Charlotte like that and let out a deep sigh.

“They said that not everyone gets lost and gets killed or injured. There are many people who get lost a little and come back.”

It is true that there are wounded, dead and non-returned patients. But it doesn’t seem like the majority of them.

“I can go in for a while and come out if it’s dangerous.”

In the end, Tana decided that she couldn’t break Charlotte’s stubbornness.

It may become dangerous someday, but Satan will not arise within a few days. Therefore, it is possible to slowly explore the labyrinth while preparing for danger.

* * *

Of course, when we heard that we were going to the underground labyrinth, the garrison commander, Count Alfred, became contemplative and dissuaded us.

“No, Your Highness! You don’t know how dangerous it is to go there… … .”

“That’s Okay.”

However, Charlotte cut off the commander’s words with a cold attitude.

“You seem to be worried about what will happen if something happens to me there, but of course you will be punished even if I went in on my own.”

He couldn’t stop the princess from heading to a dangerous place. So, if Charlotte is in danger or even dies, Earl Alfred, who is in charge of the garrison, will be decapitated.

So he had no choice but to stop the princess from heading to the labyrinth.

“But if you don’t let me go, I’ll make you pay for missing the report on the underground labyrinth of the Devil Castle.”

“!”

Hiding very important information about Mawang Castle. That alone is reason enough to blow your neck.

If the princess is not allowed to enter the labyrinth, she will die.

Even if the princess enters the labyrinth and dies, she dies.

Charlotte looks at the commander and speaks briefly.

“So don’t do anything stupid and pray for my safe return.”

There was nothing the commander could do other than that.

He just stared at us as we headed for the underground labyrinth with a bewildered expression.

* * *

The next morning after arriving at Mawangseong.

After we finished our meal at the garrison, we headed back to the Devil’s Castle.

It was okay to get help from the wizard, but Charlotte reacted negatively.

In the first place, except for the commander, no one in the garrison knew that the princess was here. And in the Labyrinth, they are trying to solve Charlotte’s very important secret.

Since there are more people who know about it, there is nothing good about it, so we decided to move only the three of us.

To reach the entrance to the underground labyrinth, you must go down to the 5th floor through a circular staircase.

“It’s an overwhelming scale.”

It was to the point that Saviolin Tana muttered blankly.

First of all, the circular staircase was no different from a large building, and the underground space was large and spacious, as the hallways and passages were much larger than the normal scale of the demon castle.

It is not an underground concept of an ordinary building. The scale of one floor was so huge that you had to go down a circular staircase for a long time to go down one floor.

The labyrinth search had already stopped, so there were soldiers underground, but it felt like everyone was spending time rather than searching.

Even if it doesn’t feel like an underground city, it is estimated that the forces of the devil’s castle actually lived here, not in the barracks outside.

It was so huge.

After going down for a while and reaching the 5th basement floor, the circular staircase finally came to an end.

“It will be work to climb this again.”

Charlotte sighed as if she was tired from just coming down. Of course, Tana and I were fine.

On the 5th basement floor, lights were lit everywhere and there were iron bars.

“Here… … . Is it a prison?”

Charlotte tilted her head as she looked at the iron bars everywhere and the space inside them. Saviolin Tana looked at the map and shook her head.

“I think it was not a prison, but a breeding ground for beasts.”

A space where demons were bred. At that, Charlotte nodded quietly.

“That’s why they are all different sizes.”

“I will.”

“Then, the magic beasts here… … .”

“It is estimated that most of them were mobilized during the siege, and they say that all remaining demons were disposed of.”

“okay.”

It reminded me of the procession of prisoners I saw when I came out of the castle.

To help me escape, the ogre and many other demon prisoners broke their chains and charged.

It wasn’t a very good memory. The vast number of demon prisoners lost their fighting spirit at the death of the demon king, and died with all hope remaining in me, the last demon king.

I’m plotting something completely unrelated to the wishes of those demons.

I think this is correct.

I have betrayed Charlotte, and I will betray Sarkegar in small and Dark Land in large.

Passing by the monster breeding grounds on the 5th floor and looking at the map, Saviolin Tana headed towards the small barbed wire at the end of the beast breeding grounds.

It was a small room that felt like a prison rather than a beast breeding ground.

“here… … .”

“Yes, it is the entrance to the labyrinth.”

A relatively recently discovered secret door.

Through the open stone wall another round staircase was visible going down.

The height of the stairway going down seemed to be a little over 3 meters, and the width was only enough for four people to pass.

The circular staircase that I have come down so far has a handrail and is open on all sides, so I could see the underground space. However, the circular staircase in front of us now was blocked on all sides by stone walls.

It’s a stairway where you don’t know where it goes down, and you don’t know when it will end.

On the wall of the circular staircase, magic lamps illuminated the stairs with a pale light.

“Your Highness, if I go down first… … .”

“You might get lost.”

Saviolin Tana finally seemed to want to check the danger herself first, but Charlotte wouldn’t allow it.

“Even if you get lost, it will be less scary to get lost together.”

It might be better to die, but Charlotte was trembling now because she was not without fear.

The three of us took the first step on the circular staircase leading to the labyrinth.

If this is not the place I wanted, but just a labyrinth, the result will come out that I just jumped into danger on my own.

How many steps did you go down?

Saviolin Tana let out a sigh.

“Already at the entrance… … .”

The circular staircase continues down, but a passage has already appeared on the right.

I was just on the 5th basement floor, so this must be the 6th basement floor.

The open corridor was not very wide. The corridor was not dark because there were magic lights at certain distances.

And at the end of the hallway, there was a single door.

However, we did not dare to enter the long, straight hallway.

The stairs are not over.

You can go down further, or you can enter this corridor and enter the labyrinth in earnest.

You can go all the way down for hours, but once you start going up, you’ll be back in the little kennel on the fifth floor you just went down.

I’m not sure if there’s something in the next passage or the door at the end of that hallway.

The moment you enter the labyrinth, you may not be able to return.

Even the wizards in the garrison do not know what magic is in the labyrinth, so bringing a wizard won’t change anything.

“Is it right to go in here… … .”

Saviolin Tana was also unable to make a choice easily. If you go wrong, you might not be able to come back.

Charlotte sighed as she looked at the door at the end of the straight hallway.

“I’m rather reluctant because it seems to be begging me to open that door too much.”

“… … I think so too.”

The door at the end of the hallway.

It felt like I was about to fall into a trap as I walked to open that door. I couldn’t help but think that way because the door was so open.

Charlotte is troubled.

“I’ve come this far, but I still can’t stop going.”

It seems like an obvious trap, but it’s impossible not to go.

Charlotte entered first, followed by me and Saviolin Tana.

* * *

Being inside the labyrinth wasn’t much different. I thought the terrain suddenly changed or the exit disappeared.

“… … It’s a little more spooky because nothing happened.”

“I know.”

Looking back, the entrance we came in was still the same, and there was no sudden change of terrain or splitting of the party.

“Still, let’s proceed cautiously.”

Saviolin Tana took out a scrollbook from her bosom.

It seemed that the reason why he didn’t call the wizard was because he already had something to replace the role of the wizard.

“It’s a trap detection magic.”

– Flash!

A radiance rose once from the scroll.

“There doesn’t seem to be any magical traps being detected… … . Just in case you don’t know, let’s be careful.”

Magical traps are undetectable, but physical traps may be.

If all traps could be filtered out with detection magic, there would be no way mages who fell into traps would come out.

Soon, Saviolin Tana’s body was covered with blue magic.

“Please keep your distance from me and follow me.”

“yes.”

Perhaps raising her senses to the max, she slowly led the way while watching all directions. With most physical traps, she should be able to react before they trigger.

Step on the wall, the floor, and the sound as much as possible while walking.

The straight hallway wasn’t very long, but time passed slowly because I was walking carefully step by step.

“… … I can’t tell if there’s no trap or if I’ve already fallen for it.”

There was not even a hint of a trap until we finally reached the end of the hallway and reached the door. In the back, the entrance we came in was still there. It looked like I could leave at any time.

Charlotte looks at the wooden door in front of her and says with a firm expression.

“Beyond this door might be the beginning of the real labyrinth.”

It was just one door that could be found anywhere, without any special features.

Is Charlotte right when she says that if you open this door, beyond that might be the beginning of the real labyrinth?

Charlotte put her hand on the doorknob.

“majesty. I am… … .”

“no. I will do it.”

Charlotte shook her head at Tana’s words as she tried to open the door in case something happened.

As if he had to endure something.

– Suddenly,

Charlotte grabbed the doorknob and opened it.

It was wrong to expect that the labyrinth would begin now.

“… … uh?”

“hmm?”

“… … what?”

When I opened the door, there was a huge cavity.

No matter how I looked at it, I couldn’t see it as a maze.

* * *

A space that cannot be called a labyrinth.

A huge magic lamp was lit on the ceiling of the huge cavity. We quietly moved into the space, vigilantly bit by bit.

Such an open space cannot be called a labyrinth.

“Here… … . What is it?”

Charlotte murmured blankly, looking around. The cavity was not empty.

On one side of the very large space, there was a magic circle that looked like it was just drawn on the floor.

There was a weapon stand in a corner, and weapons such as spears, kendo swords, and maces were hung there. And there were several scarecrows nearby.

“I haven’t heard of anyone ever reaching a space like this.”

It wasn’t just one joint.

In several places in the circular cavity, there were passages that seemed to lead to different places.

When I looked, there was no door, and the inside was clear.

I seemed to know what had happened.

We did not enter the labyrinth.

They went straight to the secret space without going through the labyrinth. I don’t know what the labyrinth is like, but it’s clear that it reacted to me or Charlotte.

It is clear that there is no exit in the labyrinth in the first place, and only Archdemon can come directly to this place that is not a labyrinth.

Passages drilled in the cavity led to rooms serving different purposes.

We moved slowly, checking the rooms one by one.

What looks like a bedroom.

view into the kitchen.

store.

arsenal.

A room with many unknown potions.

A plantation that appears to be capable of growing plants.

Storage with reagents.

A huge food warehouse.

“What the heck… … . what?”

Charlotte and Saviolin Tanna didn’t seem to know what this place meant.

but.

I thought I knew what this place was.

This is a bunker.

Only then was the question resolved.

Before I was possessed, Bali must have been coming here.

In the original version, this labyrinth would not have been known to the imperial family due to the commander’s arbitrariness.

No, even if it was known to the imperial family, it would be useless.

It’s not a labyrinth in the first place.

Whether you react to Charlotte or me, you cannot reach this place unless you come with Archdemon.

Soon this bunker is safe.

All the major premise I had thought of so far collapsed.

If Balie came here in the original story.

in the Demon War.

Balie Jr.

would not have died