Chapter 137: Chapter 137

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Translator: Vine

Chapter Title: The Autumn Demon Palace

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Act 4, Scene 4: The Autumn Demon Palace.

This scenario was originally meant to take place before Scene 5, but somehow, the order got swapped.

Honestly, this point bothers me too.

'Act 4 is the groundwork for Act 5.'

It's the groundwork for Lucas to get entangled with the reincarnators of Act 5.

In a way, this was an episode I could have skipped.

After all, I know all the reincarnators except Olfram.

Still, I'm worried about the impact of the changed scenario.

The fewer variables in the scenario, the better.

'This damn scenario already had too many variables to begin with.'

The most prominent change right now is that this Demon Palace opened a little earlier.

I don't think the Demon Palace would change in just a few days.

Still, there's no harm in being careful.

"This time, the team feels familiar."

Just then, Seron chattered beside me.

As she said, this team was made up of familiar faces.

But for some reason, I felt an inexplicable unease.

It was because yesterday, I had inadvertently made Sharin realize her feelings.

"You."

At that moment, I instinctively looked behind me.

Isabel was there, looking at me with a puzzled expression.

"What's wrong? You look a bit pale. Did you overexert yourself?"

"No, it's not that. Isabel, why are you here?"

"Just came to talk to Sharin for a bit."

She looked around.

Sharin was nowhere in sight.

"Where is she?"

"She hasn't come over from the Sorcery Department yet."

"I see."

Her lips parted and closed briefly.

Was there something she wanted to say?

"Isabel?"

Finally, Isabel cautiously drew closer to me.

"...You. Did you perhaps do something to Sharin?"

Don't whisper in my ear with that sweet voice.

More importantly, that's a very sensitive topic for me.

As I remained silent, unable to find anything to say, Isabel narrowed her eyes.

"Why, is Sharin acting strange?"

I ended up asking in return.

"That girl, she's usually so sullen, but yesterday she came back to her room and smiled all day long."

"Maybe she achieved some magical breakthrough."

"How long have I known Sharin? She doesn't make faces like that for magic."

Isabel's suspicious gaze kept piercing me.

My cheeks felt hot.

"Tell me honestly. You did something, didn't you?"

"What is it, what is it?"

Now Seron had joined in, voicing her curiosity.

Just as I, unable to bear their prodding any longer, started to back away.

"Husband~"

From a distance, her distinctively languid voice drifted over.

Sharin was walking towards us with a leisurely gait.

Her indigo hair fluttered in the breeze.

Her uniquely languid smile possessed a charm that drew people's eyes.

Sharin walked straight up to me and stretched her arms around my back.

Then, she wrapped her arms around my neck.

A soft sensation enveloped my back, and a cinnamon-like scent wafted sharply into my nostrils.

The situation unfolded in an instant.

Isabel and Seron stared at us, their eyes wide.

This was an act so proactive it was unlike anything they'd ever seen from Sharin.

"...Sharin?"

Even I froze and called her name, prompting Sharin to tilt her head.

"What is it~?"

What do you mean, 'Why'?

Sharin gazed leisurely at Isabel and Seron.

Then, she calmly greeted them.

"Bel, Seron, hello."

"Sharin, you."

Isabel looked at Sharin with a face that clearly had a lot to say.

But Sharin showed no intention of letting go from behind my back.

"G-g-get off!"

At that moment, Seron lunged forward.

If she was going to lunge, she should have lunged at Sharin, but instead, she body-slammed me in the stomach.

This crazy airhead.

"Guh!"

Even I would feel pain if an airhead slammed into my solar plexus.

As soon as I began to stumble, Sharin deftly pulled away.

Meanwhile, Seron placed both hands on her hips and glared up at Sharin.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Hmm?"

At Seron's reaction, Sharin tilted her head.

Her expression showed she genuinely didn't understand why Seron was reacting that way.

"Why are *you* hugging Prince Sweet Potato?!"

"Because he's my husband~"

Sharin's reaction implied there was nothing surprising about it.

"Th-that's..."

She and I are engaged.

A display of affection isn't strange.

However, everyone was shrewd enough to know that my engagement was a matter of circumstance.

At least, anyone who had observed my relationship with Sharin would have to think that.

Seron looked back and forth between me and Sharin with a bewildered expression.

Her face clearly showed she felt a completely unexpected rival had appeared.

"I, I won't allow it!"

Her shout echoed.

Regardless, Sharin maintained the same demeanor.

"Sharin."

At that moment, Isabel called out to Sharin.

She gazed at Sharin with calm eyes.

Isabel's relationship with me was very complicated.

Although many issues had been resolved by now, making our relationship passable, I was still the one who had cursed Lucas.

For Isabel, seeing her best friend in such a relationship with me must have brought up a lot of thoughts.

"I see. So that's what you've decided."

But Isabel didn't say anything else.

She simply ended it there, looked at me for a moment, then turned away.

"You, I have no intention of losing to you in the Demon Palace either."

After declaring her rivalry, she left to join her own team.

As I slowly got to my feet, Seron was still glaring at Sharin.

She stood with her hair bristling, like a cat on guard.

Sharin, ignoring Seron, only looked at me.

Now I understood what Sharin meant by 'greed.'

She was truly determined to push everyone around me away.

A life born to seize anything she desired.

It was clear that her becoming the daughter of the Blue Magic Tower Master wasn't solely due to her talent.

"Senior."

"We're here, uh-oh."

"Heheheh, looks like chaos has already erupted!"

Just then, Aisha, Poara, and Grantoni also returned.

I approached Seron and lightly tapped her shoulder.

It would be our turn to enter the Demon Palace soon.

We couldn't stay like this forever.

Seron glared at me sharply, then pouted.

"You must be just thrilled to be loved by two beauties!"

"...Two beauties?"

I swiftly pulled back before a fist could fly.

"Even in this situation, Senior's composure is truly something to admire."

Aisha looked at me with an expression of profound respect in many ways.

I was respected for the strangest things.

"Hanon Airey's team."

At that moment, our team was finally called.

The teams before us had all already entered.

I managed to push the gritting-toothed Seron forward and arrived at the Demon Palace entrance.

This time, the team consisted of six members, not the usual five.

This was to break through the floors more quickly using firepower.

We wouldn't be able to enter the Demon Lord's chamber, which has a limit of five people, but that wasn't our goal, so it was fine.

Veganon, standing at the Demon Palace entrance, glanced at my face.

Then, he swept his gaze over Sharin and Seron and spoke.

"If you act like that inside the Demon Palace, you might not come back."

"We'll keep that in mind."

Seron and Sharin weren't fools.

Even if they were like this now, once inside, it would be different.

"Hanon Airey's team, enter."

My foot stepped into the Demon Palace.

The entrance to the Demon Palace pulled at my body, and the surrounding scenery began to shift.

Today's goal was the 6th floor.

Reach it as quickly as possible.

It was at that very moment of decision.

Click—

Suddenly, my vision went completely black for an instant.

Rumbleeeee!

Along with a sensation of my mind tangling, I felt my stomach clench instantly.

What in the world.

There was no time to react.

To rouse my fading consciousness, I bit the inside of my mouth.

Then, with a sharp pain in my mouth, my eyes snapped open.

Whooshhhhh!

A rush of wind whipped my hair.

Spread before me was a cliff.

I was falling down a precipice.

"Oh."

At that moment, my body slammed against the cliff, and a shockwave ran through me.

Thanks to that, I managed to regain my senses a little faster.

"You've gotta be kidding me!"

Just a moment ago, I had entered the Demon Palace.

So why was I suddenly plummeting down a cliff?

Before I could fully grasp this, I stretched out my hand.

Then, without hesitation, I slammed the edge of my hand into the wall with all my might.

Crunch! Craaaack!

My body trembled with a shock that felt like my arm was being ripped off.

But my steel-like body hadn't been trained for nothing all this time.

To somehow stop my speed, I swung my other arm and embedded it into the wall as well.

Starting from where my arms were embedded, the cliff face shattered downwards in a long line.

After enduring the arm-ripping impact for what felt like an eternity, my body finally stopped falling.

My arms felt crushed.

But more important than that was understanding the situation.

'What is this situation?'

My mind was in chaos.

However, something had happened, and I was here.

I quickly scanned my surroundings.

On the opposite side, I saw a wall similar to the cliff I had fallen from.

It felt like this place was a gigantic cylindrical plaza.

Moreover, I was alone here.

A sigh of relief barely escaped my lips.

None of the others had fallen with me.

That alone was enough to bring me comfort.

And thanks to that, I understood the situation.

'This, this is a Demon Palace Displacement.'

During my play-through of the 'Flame Butterfly' arc, this was the most troublesome situation, a bug that only occurred when luck was truly terrible.

It was a bug where one character was randomly sent to a different location.

I never thought I'd encounter this bug even after it became reality.

"This is just ridiculous. Seriously."

I had only encountered this bug once during my entire time playing the game.

I never imagined I'd have to deal with it in reality.

My mind was jumbled for a moment, but I decided to descend first.

Climbing back up from here was impossible anyway.

It made more sense to go down and find another path.

'How far did I fall?'

I couldn't tell, but I slowly lowered myself, pulling my hand-edges out of the wall as I went.

Whenever my arms ached, I would even dig into the cliff face itself to rest.

Using a Magic Imprint Explosion, creating a hole was an easy task.

Chewing on the jerky I'd packed in my bag, my body recovered somewhat.

Let's get down as quickly as possible.

Just as I finished stuffing the rest of the jerky into my mouth, resolved to continue descending the cliff.

Whooshhhhh!

I heard something falling from above.

I quickly looked up, and there was someone plummeting down.

By the time I reacted with an 'Oh,' my legs were already pushing off the cliff.

My body immediately snatched the falling person.

I never thought someone else would be falling from the cliff just like me.

And so, the moment I saw her face, I froze in mid-air.

The other person then opened their eyes and immediately widened them.

"...You?"

Isabel Luna.

She was another unfortunate soul, just like me, who had experienced a Demon Palace displacement.