Finding where zzlen was being held wasn’t too difficult. After all, the Whispering Leaf was designed to be a plot-convenient item, perfectly reliable for locating lost people or items no matter where they were.
Our party of four—Ethan, the Hero, Cerista, and I—followed the leaf to the back of the academy, near the mountain behind the tech departnt dormitory.
"...It seems like we need to head down sowhere around here. That would an Princess zzlen is sowhere below this mountain," I deduced.
"Be-below the mountain...?" Cerista stamred, fear creeping into her voice. "D-does that an she's already...?"
"That’s not what I ant, Saintess! This artifact cannot locate the dead!" I quickly corrected her, worried her words would spark unnecessary fear.
"Ah, I-I see... Sorry, that was a strange thing to say..."
While I explained to Cerista, who was clearly shaken by the thought, the Hero offered his own thoughts.
"There's probably a hidden facility around here, like that professor’s hideout we found under the alchemy lab last ti."
"Ah, l-like that ti..." she muttered.
"Though I doubt we'll run into any horrifying monsters like we did then. They wouldn’t take Princess zzlen to a monster-filled hideout."
"I-I suppose so..."
"For now, let’s search for the entrance. If any of you spot sothing odd in the terrain or architecture, let everyone know," I instructed.
"Got it."
"Understood."
"Y-yes!"
The four of us spread out to search the area for any sign of an entrance. Ethan and Cerista had no way of knowing where it might be, and even the Hero likely wouldn’t know.
'Of course, I never ntioned the tech departnt hideout in my guides.'
It wasn’t because the rewards were poor or anything like that. It was simply that the tech departnt route didn’t align with the swordsmanship route—the path I had played in my final run of Luminor Academy. What was useful, however, was realizing that soone from the tech departnt was likely involved in the kidnapping, and there were few villains tied to that departnt, making it easier to narrow down the suspects.
'If it’s who I think it is, this follows the Seraphine kidnapping plot closely. But in that case, Seraphine’s blood had a purpose... What could they want with zzlen’s?'
There was no use overthinking it now. After searching for a few minutes, I finally found sothing—a patch of grass that looked unnaturally raised compared to the surrounding area.
"Over here, everyone. I think I’ve found the entrance."
"R-really?! Then, quickly—ah!" Cerista cried as she tripped over a rock in her haste, falling clumsily to the ground. The Hero helped her up and followed as I pointed out the entrance to Ethan.
"This area here... The grass is much taller, and you can see the ground is slightly lifted. Sothing’s hidden beneath."
"It certainly looks like sothing’s buried down there. Unless the tech departnt’s been hiding trash, there’s sothing worth investigating."
"What should we do? It doesn’t look like we can just open it from the outside," I said.
While I could destroy it with a mana blast, doing so might cause the whole mountain to collapse, not to ntion that any such disturbance would alert the kidnappers, giving them ti to kill zzlen and escape.
Luckily, we had the top two swordsn of the academy with us, so brute force wouldn’t be a problem.
Shhkt!
Srrk!
Without hesitation, Ethan and the Hero unsheathed their swords and slashed the top and bottom of the circular cover. Their swords easily cut through the locks and hinges, and the concealed entrance lifted open with a simple push.
"That should do it."
"...Nothing to it."
...Honestly, the way they tried to show off in front of the won was a bit much, but as long as it helped us move forward, I didn’t mind.
⁎ ⁎ ⁎
Climbing down the ladder into the hidden facility beneath the mountain, we found ourselves in a narrow tunnel. The space was almost completely dark, with only the light from the entrance above giving any sense of direction. The lack of lighting made it clear this wasn’t a place ant for anything good.
"Given that soone built such a secret facility beneath the academy, we’re likely dealing with so dangerous people. Lilith, it’s probably safer if you stay behind ."
"...Understood."
"Sa goes for you, Cerista. Stay behind , and let know if anything happens."
"O-okay..."
What was with this endless competition to be the bravest protector? They could just say they’d go first without dragging Cerista and into their macho display. Ironically, we were the only two capable of providing light.
"I-I’ll at least provide light... I'll cast a Sacred Orb of Light—"
"Wait, Saintess Cerista."
"…Huh?"
I stopped Cerista before she filled the tunnel with blinding light and cast a ‘Faded Light’ spell to dim the brightness. Then, I gestured for Cerista to cast her Sacred Orb after my spell was in place.
Poof!
"I think it’s best to keep the light dim in here. If we shine a bright light down the tunnel, the people inside might realize we’re coming."
"O-oh, I see... That makes sense. I-I wasn’t thinking. I’m sorry."
"No need to apologize. Your light will be helpful soon enough, Saintess."
The Sacred Orb, wrapped in the soft glow of my Faded Light, shone gently as we moved through the tunnel. It was bright enough to guide us but not so intense as to alert anyone inside.
But the truth was, I wasn’t just using Faded Light to control the brightness. There was more to my plan.
'Even a simple light spell can be useful in combat—if tid correctly.'
With the four of us moving cautiously, the Whispering Leaf continued to guide us, pointing us in the right direction at each fork in the path.
'This artifact really is coming in handy now that the plot’s changing.'
I might have to hand it over to the Hero later. Considering how much the story was changing because of , giving him this artifact could help him progress through any other altered events.
Step, step.
"...Stop for a mont."
"……"
"……"
"...I think we’re getting close. I’ll take the lead from here."
"Lilith, it’s still dangerous for you to go first..."
"...Sigh."
"…Sorry."
While I appreciated their concern, we needed to focus on saving the princess right now. Holding Cerista’s dimd Sacred Orb, I led the group forward until we reached a door. I motioned to Ethan with a hand signal, indicating the door in front of us.
"……"
Shhk, shhk.
"……"
nod
Ethan imdiately swung his sword twice, slicing cleanly through the lock and hinges. The door fell forward with a thud, revealing the shadows of two figures inside.
"Who’s there—!?"
"Take this! Sunlight Burst!!"
Fwoosh!
Before the man inside could react, I hurled the Sacred Orb straight at him, dispelling the Faded Light to release its full, blinding radiance. The room flooded with brilliant light, and the man’s panicked voice rang out in response.
'Now’s my chance!'
With the man temporarily blinded and disoriented, I dashed forward into the room. I pulled out a dagger, quickly locating zzlen bound to a chair. Using the ‘Silent Dagger,’ I cut through the ropes in one swift motion, then hoisted her onto my back.
"Mmmph?!"
...Oddly enough, she felt lighter than the last ti I’d carried her. Maybe she had just lost her strength, but the sight of the bucket filled with red liquid told it wasn’t that simple.
Ideally, I would have grabbed that as evidence, but there was no ti. I barely had zzlen secure before—
"You insolent wench!"
'Damn!'
The man had recovered from the light, and with a flick of his wrist, he sent an automatic knife hurtling toward .
"Lilith, watch out!"
"…!"
I had no weapon in hand, as both arms were occupied holding zzlen. I couldn’t defend myself with either sword or magic. In that mont, I braced myself for the worst—preparing to sacrifice a shoulder to keep zzlen safe. But then, right in front of my face, a small magic circle appeared, deflecting the blade.
"Shockwave, Burst!"
Boom!
I had expected Cerista to be too weak after all that had happened, but it seed she had enough strength left for at least one spell.
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