Chapter 13

I tilted my head in confusion when Heide, who had been whispering with Cheryl, approached.

He spoke in a calm tone as if trying to reassure Linus and me.

“It must be unsettling to suddenly arrive in such a strange place, but do not worry too much. We will be able to return soon.”

Why was he so calm?

Shouldn’t the ones panicking be them, not me, the former dungeon slave?

I didn’t know how to respond and only blinked at him, and Larienne began explaining kindly.

“We were swept into a black hole once before. This place is different from that time, but I think the way back will be the same.”

“You went through something like this before? Do you mean the ga… the black hole that appeared last week?”

“You saw that black hole too, Lady? Yes. Back then, it was a place like a maze garden.”

What in the world?

If it was a place like a maze garden, then it must have been Laneier’s Garden.

But what did they mean by knowing how to return?

“You know the way back?”

“It’s not certain, but if we defeat the monster that must be somewhere in this place, a black hole should appear. We can return to the Butterfly Garden through that hole. That’s what happened last time.”

“You… defeated a monster?”

“I know it’s hard to believe, Lady Titanoa, but it’s the truth. So don’t be too worried.”

Larienne even smiled gently, trying to reassure me.

No, seriously, what were they talking about?

When we entered Laneier’s Garden last time, the clear percentage was at 99 percent. Then soon after it reached 100 percent and the dungeon was cleared.

Since we confirmed the corpse of Laneier, who had died not long before, I assumed someone else who entered the dungeon before us had killed it while Linus and I were wandering.

So that someone was them, and they were saying they killed Laneier?

That made no sense.

There was no way the protagonists of a romance-fantasy novel were awakened. How could they kill a monster?

But as absurd as it was, Larienne had no reason to lie to me.

From the expressions on Heide and Cheryl’s faces, they seemed to agree with Larienne’s words as well.

So they really did kill Laneier… but I couldn’t even begin to guess what was going on anymore.

While I flailed helplessly in confusion, Linus suddenly turned toward the deeper part of the cave.

He stared into the darkness and warned us.

“Something is approaching.”

Heide also looked in the same direction and clicked his tongue.

“It seems there is more than one this time.”

The two spoke casually, which made me even more dumbfounded.

I could sense a very faint stream of energy coming from inside the cave.

It was such a slight change that even I, who had awakened a skill granting superhuman-level stats, Physical Ability Enhancement, could barely detect it without concentrating.

But these two sensed it before I did.

Was that something humans could do?

I stared at Linus in shock, and he met my gaze and smiled brightly.

I was already stunned by his beyond-human-level beauty, and in the next moment, his expression shifted.

With the solemn air of a general heading into battle, he said,

“Do not worry, Ayrbet. I will protect you.”

No, sir. Excuse me.

My situation has become incredibly complicated right now.

I don’t even know who’s supposed to be protecting who.

I couldn’t tell if I should step forward since the unawakened need to stay back, or if I should wait and see.

Meanwhile, Linus and Heide had already stepped forward side by side, blocking the direction the monsters were coming from.

Then Cheryl snapped her fingers, and flames flared up all around us, brightening the once-dark cave in an instant.

It was the moment the swarm of soldier ants appeared.

“Ugh, bugs. I can’t stand bugs.”

Cheryl muttered in a tone as if she had found a lone kidney bean hiding in a bowl of white rice.

There were ants the size of grown men, walking upright, carrying swords and shields and wearing helmets, and that was her reaction?

I had been so overwhelmed by shock after shock that I no longer knew what I was supposed to be surprised by.

That was when an awful screech echoed through the cave.

“Kieeeek!!”

At the battle cry of the soldier ant at the front, the swarm charged forward in formation.

At the same time, Linus and Heide rushed at the soldier ants empty-handed.

It happened in an instant before anyone could stop them.

No.

Linus was bad enough, but Heide absolutely could not die.

One of the main characters of this world was about to get eaten by a monster.

There was no time to think anymore. I grabbed my skirt and was just about to dash forward when…

“Kweaak!”

Huh? Kweaak?

What? Why did that one go flying?

A soldier ant took Heide’s knee kick straight to the face and smashed into the cave ceiling before crashing to the ground.

Heide quickly snatched up the sword it dropped, and the blade became wrapped in a golden aura.

It was the Sword of Light, the power inherited by the imperial family of Vesseris of the Dioretta Empire.

“Kweaaak!”

A charging monster was split cleanly in half by Heide’s sword.

After seeing that, I didn’t think I needed to think anymore.

I wiped the drool at the corner of my mouth and sat down on the floor.

Then I relaxed completely and watched Linus tear through the swarm of soldier ants.

He flipped over the ant that looked like their leader, ripped off its forelegs with his bare hands, and grabbed its sword.

His red eyes gleamed chillingly, and black sword energy rose from his blade.

“Kwak!”

“Kwaeek!”

The monsters began to be sliced apart cleanly.

Heide was the male protagonist of this world and the heir of the Sword of Light, so being one of the strongest swordsmen in the setting made sense. But what was going on with Linus, who was supposed to be just a background character?

He looked as strong as… no, even stronger than Heide.

Even with my enhanced vision from the Physical Ability Enhancement skill, superior to any ordinary person, I could barely keep up with their movements.

Cheryl, in her own way, was delighted roasting ants alive.

She had been described as a peerless mage in the novel, but actually seeing her use magic left me speechless.

Even in that other world, swarming with awakened people possessing monstrous abilities, I had never seen anyone with power like this.

She could probably steam an S-rank awakened alive without breaking a sweat.

With things like this, I had no choice but to believe Larienne’s claim that they defeated Laneier.

If so, there was only one possible conclusion to explain this absurd situation.

For some reason, Heide, Larienne, and Cheryl were awakened.

A gate appeared, and the five people who happened to be nearby were dragged inside, and all of them turned out to be awakened.

Not just awakened, all of them were S-rank.

The absurdity made me let out a hollow laugh.

What kind of coincidence like that exists in this world?

If a story tried to force a setup like this, readers would riot, but that impossible coincidence was happening right in front of me.

While I watched the dazzling performance of the protagonists and background characters with mixed feelings, the battle ended anticlimactically.

Immortal Queen C 98%

□□■■□■□ ■□

The clear percentage rose steadily.

After the last ant fell, Linus, who had been cutting through monsters with terrifying force, ran straight toward me.

His face turned into that of a gentle puppy begging for praise, and he held his hand out to me.

“Ayrbet, are you all right?”

I let out a small laugh and took his hand as I stood up.

“I think that’s what I should be asking you.”

“If Ayrbet is all right, then so am I.”

I leaned closer to him and, speaking softly so only he could hear, whispered a question.

“By any chance, do you see a status window?”

“What is that?”

“You don’t see anything blue and square in front of your eyes? Try saying status window.”

Linus tilted his head but obediently murmured, “Status window.”

Then he tilted his head again and said nothing appeared.

What? He’s not awakened?

If Linus wasn’t awakened, then there was a good chance those three, who were having a serious discussion over there, weren’t awakened either.

Well, it would be way too strange for characters from The Butterfly Garden’s Secret Affair to be awakened.

Then what is this?

Do people in this world have access to their powers even inside a dungeon?

No, that’s strange in its own way.

I thought I had followed the usual transmigration route of someone who got pulled into a romance fantasy novel they read before dying, but what kind of world did I end up in?