LIGHTNOVELWORLD Episode 7: The Glowing Ring and the Hidden Entrance
Episode 7: The Glowing Ring and the Hidden Entrance
“In all honesty, I don’t believe there is a hidden passage, but… if there’s even a puny chance to escape, I want to tryeverything within my abilities. And, it’s not like my claims are baseless”
“Claims?”
“Yeah, you see, a long time ago, my grandfather, the former Count Baltzfeld, apprehended a large trading company on charges of tax evasion. They had surrounded the whole mansion, but the company president along with his family were captured at the city gate.Of course, it’s not something that should normally happen since they had confirmed the company president’s presence in the mansion before surrounding it.”
“I see. Regardless of the possibility of it existing here or not, it means there’s definitely a hidden passage that hasn’t been found.”
“That’s right. By the way, it seems like it might be located in the slums. As they never found it till the end, though.”
Alshade seems to believe that there is no hidden passage, but I know there exists one right here.
In the original story, after defeating Alshade, a sub quest is unlocked to dismantle an underground organization dealing with illegal slaves.
By investigating the basement of the underground organization’s hideout under certain conditions in that sub quest, you can discover the hidden passage.
The condition mentioned in the game is that we should be equipped with the item called the “Ring Necklace,” which can be obtained only as a reward, after defeating Alshade in battle.
Though I assume she should have the necklace with her now. Right??
Since I still haven’t heard anything about the necklace from Alshade, I can’t suddenly bring up the topic of the necklace as it would seem very suspicious.
So I should casually discuss the information that can be obtained from the original story and, when the time for search arrives, guide her to the location where the entrance to the hidden passage is and kaboom!!! we could be free.
“…I too have heard rumors about something being in the slums, underground. There might unexpectedly be hidden passages.”
“Oh, that’s good news. But where did these rumors originate from…?”
“Ahh…there’s a place in the slums where a fairly large hole has popped up. It’s said that the hole is so deep that you can’t even see the bottom, some even speculate that there might be a hollow space in its depths so deep that u can’t even fathom.”
I’ve grown tired of this information, watching it repeatedly in the game, and I’ve heard about it ever since coming into this world.
That hole where the trap for Gad was set was probably also connected to an underground passage.
Considering the future and also to appeal to Alshade, I should disclose a bit more information.
“And also, this building didn’t consist of windows on the ground floor. It seemed more like they were trying to prevent escape from the inside, rather than being tensed about intruders… Did that trading company also deal with slaves?”
“Slaves… They were supposed to. It’s said they were involved in various businesses, to the extent that there wasn’t a product they didn’t handle because of their size… Furthermore, the slums used to be an area with normal shops and residences before an epidemic broke out 100 years ago. It wouldn’t be strange for the trading company to have a store there.”
“Hmm, you sure know a lot about it.”
I didn’t expect Alshade to be so knowledgeable about the history of the Baltzfeld family.
She ended up saying most of the information I was trying to offer as rumors.
“As the next head of the Baltzfeld family, it’s only natural for me to know these things, even if I marry into some other family.”
“You’re putting in quite the effort to acquire knowledge . I thought noble children lives a more carefree life…”
“Compared to you living in the slums, we indeed lead a carefree life. However, I do put in more effort than other children. It’s not like there’s no precedent for a woman becoming the head of a noble family, but there are various issues involved. That’s why I study and train more than anyone else… I don’t have time to be captured in a place like this…!!!”
As Alshade clenched her fist and spoke, her eyes sparkled intensely, emitting a spirit that overwhelmed me without realizing it.
Though there was never any hostility, but feeling her spirit up close, I genuinely felt relieved that she wasn’t an enemy.
Good job, past me.
Noticing my intimidated state, Alshade coughed, as if trying to hide his embarrassment.
“…Ahem, I showed you an unsightly side.”
“No, I don’t mind, so it’s okay.”
“Is that so? Ah, sorry, we got off track. Well then, shall we start looking for the entrance?”
“Ah, sorry about that too. I said something unnecessary.”
“No, the level of concentration when searching is different, when searching while believing it doesn’t exist and searching while believing it does. Rios’ information was very valuable.”
I had expected, not to be told, that my information was unnecessary, but if I had been told that, I might not have been able to recover from the shock.
Now, I need to guide Alshade to the location of the hidden passage.
If I remember correctly, the entrance to the hidden passage is at the far right of the room, on the floor…
So, let’s divide the roles. I’ll take the entrance side, and I’ll ask Alshade to take the far side.
If I instruct her to start from the right edge, she should find it in no time.
“Well then, let’s divide the roles. I’ll take the entrance side, and Miss, could you handle the far side?… Also, it would be helpful if you start from the right edge as I’ll start from the left edge, and once we reach the ends, we’ll switch roles.”
“If you can find it, it’s fine, and if you can’t find it, double-check to make sure you don’t miss anything. Also, let’s put the walls aside for now.”
[T/L: I was also a little confused here; she says to leave the walls as it’s more logical for the path to be deeper underground for it to be considered a secret one!!!]
“Is it because we need to go deeper to avoid other buildings’ basements? If we continue digging further down, it would be easier to install the entrance in the floor.”
“That’s right. Considering the presence of water and sewage systems, if there is an entrance, we’ll probably have to descend quite a few stairs. It’s better to be prepared.”
“Wow… Seriously?”
Alshade’s intelligence made it easier for her to deduce the location of the entrance, and I was also feeling excited, thinking we could find the basement easily, but then a bomb was dropped that shattered my mood.
Realistically speaking, it’s something that should be obvious, but in the game, we usually skip it during loading, so I didn’t even consider the length of the stairs.
Moreover, going down means we’ll have to climb back up.
“(My legs might give out before we even get out of the underground…)”
“Why are you feeling down? If it comes to it, I can cast healing magic on your legs, so let’s start searching quickly.”
“Really?! Alright, let’s do it!”
“…You’re really money-minded, aren’t you? Before we start, let’s extend the end of the rope and use magic to create light for navigation.”
“Understood.”
While being stared at with a sharp gaze by Alshade, I pick up the rope lying on the floor and show her the end of it.
She quickly attached a small bulb-sized orb of light to the end of the rope and promptly heads to her designated area.
“I wonder on what principle is this thing working. Well, focus on the task, focus on the task…”
Floating and following the movement of the rope the orb moved, I’m quite interested in the glowing orb of light.
Even though I know the secret pathway is not here, if I, the person who suggested the division of roles is too engrossed in the magic light and stopped searching for the entrance, anyone would be irritated unless they were an extremely patient person.
Quietly, I check the unresponsive stone and check if it moves, but as expected, it doesn’t budge at all. Glancing at Alshade on the opposite side, I continue my work.
“This is…!?”
“What’s wrong?”
About ten minutes after starting our mini expidition, I heard Alshade’s surprised voice from the other side, so I rushed there.
When I arrived, Alshade had just taken out a ring that had been threaded through a chain inside her shirt.
“This ring suddenly started glowing.”
“Oh my, it certainly is glowing.”
If I focus on the ring, the blue gemstone part is emitting light.
The game too had the same effect, so I assume that the entrance to the basement is somewhere near where Alshade is touching.
“This kind of looks familiar, I mean, this ring … Fufu, it seems I haven’t been abandoned by the goddess of luck after all.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about… But does this mean we found the entrance?”
“That’s right, I’ll tell you more about it while we go down the stairs. Can I go down first?”
Following Alshade’s instructions, I step back letting her in first, and she moves in front of me.
Alshade aims the gemstone of the ring toward the spot where it glowed previously, and then a beam of blue light shoots out from the gemstone, hitting a part of the floor.
Then,(KREECH!!) a part of the floor sinks down, sliding to the side, and disappears, opening an entrance for us.
“We hit a jackpot!!”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
Peering into the revealed hole, I saw only saw stone stairs curving down.
Without a doubt, it was the entrance to the hidden passage we were searching for.
Alshade and I exchanged glances, smiling at each other.
—
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