Shuna had never considered one thing.
Naly—
That the superheated dungeon-level steam she’d read about in his letters could actually be experienced firsthand.
Even after phasing through the wall with Will, barely grazing the steam, the back of her wrist still stung from the scalding vapor.
“Hah... This... This insane thing can’t be yours—”
But before she could finish, Will pressed a single finger to his lips.
“Shh.”
She fell silent instantly.
They watched the wall.
Steam seeped through the cracks, radiating heat even from this distance. The barrier had been treated for moisture and extre temperatures—otherwise, this much heat would’ve reduced it to ash.
In the dim light, Shuna searched Will’s eyes.
—He’s figured sothing out.
They were alive again—deep blue, shimring with secrets. That was Will’s charm. The mont he beca unreadable, the mont he hid sothing, he beca interesting.
But...
What had he seen in her?!
She’d just wanted to scare him! Shake him out of his despair! She expected a weak, pleading “Don’t kill !”
But this?
He looked like he’d been injected with pure adrenaline!
Did he...like her suicidal ultimatum?!
N-No way!
If Will ever suggested a double suicide, she’d agree in a heartbeat!
Thud-thud-thud.
Eir’s footsteps faded upstairs.
“Good. Even a beastkin’s nose struggles with scents after superheated steam. She’ll notice sothing’s off... No trace of inside. Only the scent trail leading out.”
Will lowered his finger, grinning. “Ah, because I taught her. She trusts my scent the most.”
The confidence in his voice was staggering. If Shuna hadn’t just seen him broken and resigned, she’d think nothing had happened.
“Then how do we leave? How did you get in?”
Will glanced around, montarily stumped.
“It’s... complicated. I only knew you were in the basent. So... I tested the dagger’s limits, found a hidden underground passage.”
“And it leads here?”
She nodded.
“We’ll take the passage. With luck, we’ll avoid Eir entirely.”
“...Aren’t you going to explain yourself?”
“Hm? Oh! The steam chanics? Custom room design, magically reinforced pipes, fueled by mana crystals. One activation spell and— Honestly, I gambled. It’s been abandoned for years.”
His pride was palpable.
No one had ever asked about it!
His masterpiece—the sauna room for Eir’s training! Funded by Carver, but his concept!
“Impressive, Shuna. You’re the first to ask. My true intellectual equal.”
“E-Equal?! R-Right! Very... very impressive! But that’s not what I—”
“Then what?”
“You’re just... fine now?”
“Yep.”
“No more despair?”
“Gone.”
“No more surrendering to their love?”
“Still nice. But... revenge sounds better. Hence the disappearance act.”
“......”
Shuna wasn’t a psychologist. Certainly not Will’s psychologist.
He was alarmingly energetic. But... maybe this was normal for him?
“Oh, and one more thing—”
“What?”
Will took her hand—and pressed a kiss to her knuckles.
“L-Little Will?!”
“Hah. Been a while since you called that.”
He released her.
It wasn’t a gentleman’s kiss. More like a rogue’s prelude to smooth-talking.
“Thank you. Those ten seconds... I rembered everything. Got a new goal, too. Might seem weird, but... call it ‘Will’s Darkening’? Fits the First Law of Yandere Triggers.”
“...What did I do?”
“Too complex for here. But—”
His gaze sharpened.
“I promise you—when this is over, we’ll travel to the dungeon’s deepest depths together.”
—Ugh! That cheesy line!
—But... Fine. She liked it.
—Only he could say sothing like that and make it work.
“Alright. If you’re going to explain later, let’s leave.”
...
“In short? Hmm what should i say... ‘I’ve loved you since my past life.’”
Deadpan. No stutter. No blush. Like he’d said it a thousand tis.
Thump. Shuna froze.
Thump-thump. She turned slowly.
Thump-thump-thump. Her face burned—hotter than the steam.
Thump-thump-thump-thump.
“—Wh-Wh-Wh-What did you just SAY?!”
“Hm. Sounds like a confession. Ah... So you can hold a blade to my throat, but words make you—”
“SHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUP! Fine! I accept! But ‘adventure partner’ sounds better! Or ‘intellectual equal’!”
“I love adventuring with you!”
“Good! Move!”
“Wait.”
Will hadn’t noticed earlier.
But now—realizing Carver had overseen the basent’s construction—he saw it.
A hidden vault.
Beneath House Hysterm.
Carver had kept this from him.
Without Shuna’s unorthodox entry, he’d never have found it.
He lit a fla in his palm, illuminating the space.
“This place... Carver used it. At least ten years ago.”
“How can you tell?”
Shuna, now over her fluster, leaned in—intrigued.
“He stopped coming before I was born.”
“...Right. The setup’s basic. Like an adventurer’s cabin, not a noble’s study.”
“The weapon racks?”
“And the alchemy table. Too practical for academic research.”
“......”
No ti to linger.
But—
On the desk’s edge, tiny carvings.
Two stick figures.
One with a braid.
The other...
Wearing glasses.
“Let’s go, Little Will. Nothing useful here.”
“Mm. But your ‘safe place’... It’s not—”
“Where else? The always-forgotten Tenth Demon Castle!”
—
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