"I searched as carefully as possible, but I didn't find anything resembling a trap."
Nyau spoke as she led the way.
The path beyond the door was a corridor that stretched endlessly straight. I looked around, but the walls on both sides were completely flat—no doors, not even a window. The construction was unnatural, as if its sole purpose was to exist as a passage.
"It is this room."
Nyau came to a halt in front of the door at the very end.
"Nothing attacked me the moment I opened it, so you can both rest easy."
Relieved by her words, I waited for Nyau to push the door open.
The space inside was a wide hall.
At first glance, it looked like a plain room with no furniture or luggage. However, the reason Nyau wanted us to see it was immediately apparent.
In the center of the room, a suspiciously placed stuffed animal sat on the floor.
"Is that... a teddy bear?"
It was a stuffed bear, sitting all alone in the middle of the floor. Placed so conspicuously, it was practically screaming that it was a trap.
"I will try getting closer. You two stay back and watch."
Ryune and I nodded.
Once she confirmed our acknowledgement, Nyau approached the stuffed bear with slow, gingerly steps.
"GUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"
A ferocious roar erupted.
In an instant, the object I had taken for a toy transformed into a massive monster.
"Fueh!"
Nyau let out a bewildered cry.
"Uwaa!"
Ryune shrieked in surprise.
I was also startled, instinctively taking half a step back.
When I looked closer at the creature in front of us, it was a Bugbear.
Now that I thought about it, that "toy" might have been modeled after a Bugbear from the start.
Even so, I felt a deep sense of aversion. It had to be a Bugbear—the very monster I had a dark history with, having been killed by them more times than I cared to count.
"The... the stuffed toy turned into a monster...?"
Nyau tilted her head, leveling her staff.
"Master, is this an enemy attack?"
"The possibility is high. Stay on your guard."
Nyau gripped her staff tightly, preparing to cast magic. At the very least, I needed to buy her enough time to finish the incantation.
Just as I reached for the sword at my waist—
"Hmm, how strange. I expected you to be a bit more surprised."
Suddenly, a human voice drifted out from the Bugbear.
Immediately after, the Bugbear's head split wide open, top to bottom.
"Eeeeeeeeh!?"
Nyau and Ryune screamed at the absurdity of it.
Even I was stunned.
"Please, don't be so startled. It's only me."
The voice was one I recognized.
"Hello. I am Elsie, the Second Prince's Chief Servant. It's been a little while, hasn't it?"
With that, she emerged from within the Bugbear. It seemed the creature was actually a hollowed-out Bugbear Costume.
To think the person who had lured us into this trap would show herself like this...
With a light, rhythmic hop, she stepped out of the costume.
Elsie stood before us, dressed in the same maid uniform as before.
"—!"
Nyau immediately glared at her.
"Sage Nyau, please, don't be so wary. I have no intention of picking a fight with you here right now."
"After everything you've done, you have the nerve to say something so carefree?"
"I understand why you're angry. However, this situation is partly due to your own blunder. You realize that, don't you?"
"Wh-What are you talking about?"
"I mean, you should have just killed me back then, instead of settling for something as soft as a restraining spell. If you had actually been serious, someone like me would have been dead before I could even resist."
"I could still kill you right now."
There was pure murderous intent in her voice.
Nyau fixed Elsie with a razor-sharp gaze.
"You still don't understand the situation, do you?"
Elsie let out an exasperated sigh.
"This is my domain. There is no way I could possibly die here."
As she spoke, Elsie snapped her fingers.
Suddenly, a sword appeared, hovering in the empty air. The blade whistled as it cut through the wind, plunging with terrifying force.
Right into Elsie's own chest.
She had literally stabbed herself through the heart.
Naturally, blood splattered everywhere—a sight so gruesome it made me want to look away—but Elsie continued to speak with a perfectly calm expression.
"See?"
"What...?"
Nyau's face was pale with shock.
"In this space, everything goes exactly as I desire. Therefore, as you can see, I cannot die."
A cold sweat broke out down my spine.
If she was telling the truth, she was invincible in this space.
"But there's no need to be so pessimistic. I have no intention of harming you. I simply want you all to play a game."
"...A game?"
Nyau voiced the question.
When I heard the word "game," I thought of things like cards or chess, but was she really planning to play something like that here?
"Yes, a game! The rules are simple. Missions will be presented to you from here on out. Your goal is to clear them. If you succeed, I will let you go outside. However, if you fail to clear them, you will be trapped in this space for all eternity."
"Why do you think you can just decide this on your own?"
"Please, don't raise your voice, Sage Nyau. This is a settled matter."
Turning a cold gaze toward her, Elsie reached out and softly stroked the skin of Nyau's neck. It was a silent assertion that she could kill her at any moment she chose.
Sensing the threat, Nyau went silent.
"Well then, I wish you all the best of luck."
In the next instant, Elsie vanished without a trace, taking the Bugbear Costume with her.
I stood there, unable to hide my confusion at her storm-like arrival and departure.
Worse, we still knew absolutely nothing about the details of this "game."
"Wh-What are we going to do?"
Ryune was the first to speak up.
She seemed to have grasped the gravity of the situation, as the usual playfulness had vanished from her expression.
"As frustrating as it is, it seems our only option for now is to beat this game as she said."
"Can't you force us out with your magic, Nyau?"
I held out hope that a mage of her caliber could find a way to break through the space. She had used teleportation magic to get us out of a dungeon in the blink of an eye before.
"I have far too little information to attempt an escape. To gather what we need, we should follow her instructions for the time being."
If that was the case, I decided to focus on the game as Nyau suggested.
Just as that thought crossed my mind—
Suddenly, a large, transparent window, much like a Status Screen, appeared on the wall.
Text began to form in large letters.
▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽
Mission 1
Wear maid uniforms and serve your master.
Maid Role = Nyau, Ryune / Master = Kiska
△△△△△△△△△△△△
"Huh...?"
For a moment, I couldn't comprehend what I was reading.