Ustengera, verse 18

There wasn't anything strange in the palace on the middle platform, no ghouls, no treasure, but the fire-breathing traps were quite annoying. However, they didn't bother the two of them much...... This is not quite true, either, as they had been blasted into useless pieces by an impatient Alice with a massive thunderstorm before they could cause enough trouble.

"So, that's all?"

Standing at the end of the palace, Alice looked at the pile of skeleton wreckage on the throne that had been reduced to bones, and felt like a punch had been punched in the air.

She thought it was something remarkable—sitting in such a magnificent old Arold palace with so many skeleton guards beside it. Coupled with the powerful ghouls on the first two floors of the dungeon, when she saw the sleeping Skeletron at the end of the palace, Alice originally thought that a bitter battle awaited her.

Who knows, this Skeletron is so unbeaten? Just one ice spear used as a test shattered its supporting spine lightly, and in one fell swoop smashed it into miserable pieces. It's completely dead, and you can't die again.

"Maybe the people buried in this palace are just of high status, and their own combat ability is not strong?" Minnie Mouse bit her finger with some uncertainty.

"Like those favored courtiers, or astrologers or whatever, or maybe the ladies of the court?"

"Probably. Alice pursed her lips and picked up a few dark brown jars from the bronze seat next to the throne—they may have contained some kind of precious alchemical potion at one time. However, after thousands of years, it has long since dried up into a mass of medicine residue. Even if it still has medicinal effects, it is estimated that it has deteriorated.

She let go of her hand, and the brown bottle rolled down to the ground of the bluestone, making a bone-chilling grinding sound.

"There's nothing to stay here. Let's go the other way. Alice scanned the surroundings and made the decision after making sure there were no secret passages or hidden rooms.

The exploration on one side is over, so the rest is the other side. There were three paths above the central platform, one leading to the underground woods, where Alice and Minnie had only spent the night. One side leads to the palace, where the two of them now stand, while the rest of the road is a long stone bridge that leads to a hidden place in the darkness.

Now, you have to get to the bridge.

"What if the bridge is broken, or if there's a dead end behind it? Looking around at the huge empty grotto, Minnie Mouse was a little worried.

Alice shrugged her shoulders and looked helpless. "No way, we can't fly. If it didn't work, I carved a path out of the mountain wall and got out through the big hole above. ”

"Huh...... Wouldn't it take many years to ......?"

"It won't last as long as you think. Alice looked at the position of the cavity from the ground to the dome, and came to a conclusion with a little calculation in her mind. "It's just a one-time passage. I guess it can be done in two or three months with magic. Anyway, there is water and food down here, so it won't be a problem to live for a few months. ”

"Just the two of us staying together for a few months? right here!?" Minnie's eyes widened, as if she had received some kind of shocking event, her breathing became irregular, and her face turned a little red.

"This kind of place...... This kind of place...... And you...... It's so dirty......" she wrung her fingers as if she were stuck in a logical knot.

Alice glanced at her and said angrily, "That's just the worst possibility." It's not bad, it's quiet, it's not dirty. Although not as comfortable as your house, it is not a big deal to stay for a month. She then stopped paying attention to Minnie Mouse and walked straight in the direction of the bridge.

"Hey, that's not what I mean!" Minnie suddenly jumped up, and when she looked up, she saw that Alice had already walked to the palace door.

She hurriedly grabbed her skirt and ran over.

"Please wait!" Minnie shouted as she ran.

However, after hearing her voice, Alice did not stop, but accelerated further.

Perhaps, I was a little angry.

………………………………

It wasn't until she left the palace, crossed the platform, and walked onto the narrow bridge that a panting Minnie could barely keep up with Alice. She gasped quietly as she tried to explain something to Alice. Unfortunately, her explanation didn't have much effect.

"Love...... Miss Alice. I don't mean ...... No, it's not, it's too bad to stay with you......" She bent over, holding her knees as she tried to calm her breathing. Probably because she was in such a hurry, her face was flushed, and a thin sweat appeared on her forehead.

"Oh, what does that mean?"

"I just want to ...... with you Ah no, we should find one...... A little more comfortable place to spend a few months underground......"

Alice turned her head, her pale blue eyes staring closely at the two golden reds in front of her. She replied word by word: "This is not the same as what I thought before. ”

"You can rest assured, there must be a way up here. You'll only need two days at most to get back to your big warm and comfortable bed, and you'll never end up in such a place and never see this dirty girl in front of you again. Venerable Lady Elixis!"

She said without a hint of emotion. Seeing that the pretty face in front of him quickly turned from red to pale, he never gave Minnie a chance to explain, and strode into the darkness on the other side of the bridge.

[Ah...... It should be possible to use the topic to play this kind of process. 】

As Alice walked, she secretly watched the movement behind her. It wasn't until the sound of heavy footsteps came back behind me that I breathed a sigh of relief.

Of course she knew Minnie didn't mean that. A person's thoughts and daily words and actions are inseparable, and if Minnie really dislikes her, then she can sense it lightly before.

Minnie, however, doesn't have the slightest dislike for her. Even after she did something to retaliate by forcing Minnie to take off the veil that she would rather be violated by the orcs than take off, Minnie didn't feel the slightest ill towards her.

No, it's more than that. Alice could feel that Minnie's feelings for her were changing, gradually transforming into something she couldn't and didn't want to understand. She didn't bother to think about what the essence of that emotion was. However, she knew that if Minnie Mouse maintained this affection, the distance between the two of them would be even closer. If this continues, there will be only one thing.

Alice, will kill Minnie.

The impulse to destroy never ceases in her heart, and whenever she sees Minnie, she wants to hurt her, kill her, devour her flesh, and contain her as a part of herself. Alice didn't understand the principle of this impulse, but she knew that it was becoming more and more difficult for her to control it.

We can't go on like this.

Well, you have to divide the relationship clearly before you leave here.

She had a hunch that at the end of the bridge, there was an exit to the earthly world.

[So, so be it.] 】

Alice took the sword and walked indifferently into the darkness. And Minnie, who was following her closely, also seemed to be in some kind of bad mood, and didn't say a word along the way. The silent duo walked in silence until they reached the end of the bridge, where several skeleton archers who tried to intercept them were pierced by the Ice Spear.

At the end of the bridge, there is a small platform. In addition to a few sleeping skeleton soldiers, there were only a few small standing stones that glowed red, and a large iron gate made of several iron bars—when Alice passed by a standing stone, the iron door at the end of the standing stone also changed when it glowed red, and the parts used to make up the portal underwent a series of complex mechanical activities.

Obviously, this is a trap gate. When the Standing Stone is activated in the right direction, the path leading to the front will also be opened. In the past, Alice might have waited for Minnie to crack the mechanism, and then entered through the main entrance. This time, however, she wasn't going to do that.

She came to the iron gate and held out her hand.

"Metal domination. ”

The next moment, the huge iron door quietly melted, and a large hole large enough to pass through a carriage was opened by Alice's strength. And she didn't hesitate any longer, and stepped forward into the stone palace behind the door.

The earth shook up.

The moment Alice stepped through the iron gate, she was greeted by a large underground lake and a stone bridge in the middle of it. And the moment her toes hit the ground, the ice water in the lake rolled like a boil.

"What!?" she subconsciously raised her hand, blocking Minnie Mouse who was following her. However, she soon realized that this was redundant. Because, what appeared in front of her was not a trap, but ......

A welcome ceremony.

On both sides of the stone bridge, one totem pillar after another rose violently. They resemble dragons in the South China Sea and giant eels, they resemble dragons, but they pose in a welcoming posture. And at the end of the bridge, a huge sarcophagus was waiting for her.

"What a scene, is this the owner of this underground palace?" Alice sneered, and rushed in the direction of the sarcophagus with her sword. Her movements are fast, and perhaps the sleeper in the sarcophagus will be broken by her sword before she can get up!

However, until she came to the sarcophagus, nothing suddenly appeared to try to attack her. In front of her, there was only a sticky note placed on the sarcophagus.

She lifted her hand and picked up the thin piece of paper.

"I've taken the Windcaller's horn, if you want, please meet a friend at the Tavern of the Sleeping Giant in Creekwood...... What kind of mess?"

Alice frowned and flipped the paper over and over again. She knew there was a Sleeping Giant's Tavern in Creekwood, but the Horn of the Wind Caller...... What's that weird thing?

"Is it a message for someone else?" thought Alice, putting the note back. However, when she withdrew her hand, she found that the note seemed to be ...... Too new?

[Anyone has been here recently?]

Alice turned her head sharply, and she immediately noticed the corpses of several ghouls lying on the ground. There are many traces of battle in the vicinity of those ghouls. And these traces all point to one direction - a hidden stone door.

【Here...... Is it the way out?]

With a slash, she split open the stone door in front of her. A long passage appeared in front of her. And as the passage opened, a breeze came from the face.

A cool wind, a fresh wind, the ground ...... of the wind.

Here, to the surface!

She turned her head to greet Minnie, who was still coming this way. However, at this moment, she suddenly felt a slight tingling pain coming from her lower back. It was as if it had been pricked by a needle.

[Kind of ...... Hemp ......】

The world in front of the girl's eyes spun. She was greeted by endless darkness.