Gazing at the numerous doors lining the walls, Rei visualized the layout of the House Marstchel’s residence.
The mansion formed a massive U-shape. Rei’s group had infiltrated through one end, searched a deserted room, and discovered the stairs leading underground.
"In other words... does that mean every room has stairs leading to the floor below?"
"Probably," Nakt agreed with Rei’s murmur.
If that were the case, it explained why they had found a descent so easily in the first room they entered.
They hadn't stumbled upon a specific room with a hidden staircase by accident. If every room contained a descent, their discovery hadn't been a stroke of luck—it was an inevitability.
And then...
"Nn."
At Byune’s voice, Rei turned his gaze toward the wall opposite the way they had entered.
There was nothing but a flat wall there, devoid of any doors like the ones behind them.
This meant that the numerous doors were installed along only one side of this room of about 40 tatami mats.
It wasn't difficult to grasp the implication.
"So there’s another room of the same size as this one that’s accessible from the opposite side of the mansion... And..."
Rei shifted his gaze away from the entrance wall and the wall opposite it, looking instead toward the wall on the right.
A single door stood there.
What that door signified was obvious.
"That door is the only way forward from this underground room. If that's the case, there's a good chance Tibia is beyond it."
"Nn."
Byune nodded at Rei’s words with a short grunt, while Nakt’s expression turned grim.
"I just hope there's a worthy opponent beyond it."
As for Vihera, she gave a small shrug and whispered to herself, already imagining a battle against a powerful foe.
"Well then, shall we head through? Or..."
As he spoke, Rei’s gaze drifted toward a few tables and chairs clustered in a corner of the wide, room of about 40 tatami mats. Seeing them sitting all alone in the vast space felt unnatural, to say the least.
However, as far as he could tell from a distance, nothing seemed particularly special about them. Though they looked high-end, fitting for the House Marstchel, he didn't detect any obvious gimmicks.
Nakt pondered the question for a few seconds before nodding slightly.
"Right, let's check it out. If we move on without investigating, it might bother me later. Even if it ends up being a waste of time, it's better to clear up any doubts now."
Nakt’s opinion carried the day, and the group began walking toward the furniture in the corner.
Since a battle with a strong enemy seemed unlikely for the moment, Vihera looked rather bored.
Stuffed animals and vases were lined up on the table, with flowers neatly arranged in the latter.
"The flowers are still fresh. We should assume this room is used fairly frequently."
Nakt announced his findings after a gentle examination. Upon hearing this, the expressions of Rei and the others tightened as they carefully scanned their surroundings.
If someone was working here regularly, it meant they weren't alone in the basement, and the area couldn't be considered safe.
Of course, as a hidden facility within the House Marstchel’s residence—the enemy’s headquarters—it was never truly safe, but the frequency of use certainly changed the threat level.
While Rei and Vihera remained on high alert, Nakt and Byune searched the desk and the immediate area for clues.
However, they found nothing of note, and since there were very few places to look, the search concluded in less than a minute.
"...It's no good. There's no information here. We might as well head through that door."
"Nn."
Nakt murmured with a disappointed sigh, and Byune nodded in agreement.
Since the investigation had only been a precaution, Rei wasn't particularly let down. He nodded with a look of understanding and turned his gaze toward the lone door leading deeper into the facility.
At that moment, a doll resting on the table twitched. It kicked off the tabletop it had occupied only an instant before and lunged at Rei’s head, pulling a thin, long needle from its body to thrust it into him.
"Whoa!"
It was pure chance that Rei noticed the movement at all.
As a doll, it emitted no presence, and it lacked even a shred of murderous intent.
For Rei, who relied on sensing an opponent's presence or murderous intent to react, such a creature was a natural enemy.
However, in a stroke of incredible luck, Rei had happened to be turning back toward the table at that exact moment. Because of that, he caught sight of the object hurtling toward his face.
The doll whistled past Rei’s face as he reflexively dodged. It looked set to crash into the ceiling, but it flipped mid-air and landed gracefully on the overhead surface.
Rei didn't know what kind of magic went into the doll, but the moment he recognized it as a magic item, he drew his Death Scythe from the Misty Ring and leveled it.
Fortunately, the room of about 40 tatami mats offered plenty of space, unlike the cramped room where they had found the hidden stairs. He had more than enough room to swing the massive blade.
A momentary stalemate ensued.
The doll broke it first.
Still lacking any presence or murderous intent, it kicked off the ceiling and dove at Rei with its needle readied.
"As long as I can see you, you're not a threat!"
As the doll plunged toward his face, Rei swung the Death Scythe with perfect timing.
A flash of steel, a momentary crossing of paths.
The doll slammed into the floor an instant later. The impact split it into an upper and lower half, which rolled away in different directions.
"...A doll?"
Nakt cautiously approached the object that had ceased functioning.
As a thief of a well-known party like Sound Blade, Nakt had seen his share of oddities, but the sight of a decorative doll attacking them was unexpected.
Monsters called puppets existed in dungeons as a type of golem, but they were never this small.
The doll, which had been about 20cm in size, was now two pieces of about 10cm each thanks to the Death Scythe’s blade.
Nakt reached out toward the upper half, but...
"Nn!"
"DIE!"
A needle fired by Byune pinned the doll to the floor, halting it instantly.
It stopped the doll just as it tried to hurl its own needle at Nakt using only the strength of its tiny hands.
"...Sorry about that."
"Nn."
Byune gave a short grunt as if to say it was no problem. Nakt caught his breath and thanked her before she reached out to the doll, which had finally gone still.
To the touch, there was no magic stone serving as a power source inside; it was just a normal doll stuffed with cotton.
It didn't seem capable of kicking off tables at high speeds, let alone standing on the ceiling.
"...Well?"
"Nn."
Byune shook her head at Vihera’s question.
Nevertheless, thinking it might serve as a clue, she picked up the two halves of the doll and approached Rei.
"Nn."
Rei, who was in the middle of shouldering the Death Scythe, looked at the remains and then at Vihera.
"She wants you to put it in your Item Box."
"Nn!"
Byune nodded as she handed him the fragments. Rei’s face soured slightly, but he knew the remains would only be a nuisance if left behind. He reluctantly stored them in the Misty Ring.
To Rei, an entity that possessed no presence or murderous intent—and looked like a mere toy—was a massive headache.
(Pri Marstchel... Elena said she was researching techniques to imbue gems with magic, but she’s clearly a sly old fox.)
He muttered bitterly to himself and looked back at the door.
The doors they had passed were likely connected to the stairs leading to the surface. Therefore, the single door in the corner was the only path forward.
"...Let's move."
At Rei’s command, the group stepped forward.
Upon reaching the door, Byune and Nakt checked for traps.
Finding none, Nakt opened the door while the others stood guard. What they saw on the other side was...
"Again?" Nakt blurted out.
It was a reasonable reaction. Beyond the door was a long corridor lined with even more doors.
The door Nakt had opened was at the very end of the passage, with another door directly opposite it.
Given the U-shape of the mansion, it was clear that the doors opposite them led to rooms similar to the one they had just left.
Realizing they couldn't just stand there, they stepped into the hallway.
It was an exceptionally long passage. If every door led to a room of equal size, the facility would likely extend far beyond the actual grounds of the House Marstchel’s residence.
"Now then, what's the plan? Since we don't know where Tibia is being kept, checking every door seems like the best bet, but..."
"That sounds like a massive pain, and it'll take forever," Vihera said, shrugging as she dismissed Rei’s suggestion.
Fortunately, the hallway was equipped with several light magic items, so they weren't hampered by the dark. Even with their Night Vision, the extra light was welcome.
"But without any clues..."
From Nakt’s perspective, it would be a miracle if they just stumbled upon Tibia. His greatest fear was passing the room where she was held and missing their only chance to save her.
"Well, we also need to find evidence of their involvement with the Anomaly Species. Maybe we should go with Nakt’s idea for now?"
"Nn!"
Byune nodded in agreement with Rei.
To Byune, anything related to the House Marstchel was a personal grievance. She hoped to use this mission to settle some of that score.
Furthermore, as the last of the House Flaut, she felt a deep responsibility toward Exil. Now that she knew the House Marstchel and the Holy Light Religion were the ones controlling the House Rebisole—and by extension, the Anomaly Species that threatened the city—she couldn't let them go unpunished.
"Fine, I get it... No enemies are showing up, and even when they do, Rei just handles them instantly. Honestly, I’m starting to wonder why I’m even here."
Vihera shrugged, her ample chest swaying as she sighed.
Rei and Nakt couldn't exactly tell her she was acting as Byune's interpreter, so they remained silent as they decided which door to open first.
"...It probably doesn't matter. Shall we start with the one on the right?"
"Got it."
Vihera looked a bit miffed at being ignored, but the others didn't seem to notice. They opened the door and immediately recoiled, covering their noses.
A sharp, pungent odor wafted from the room, stinging their nostrils.
The room was filled with numerous potted plants. The pots were surrounded by magic circles or fitted with various magic items. The plants themselves were bizarre: one had vines writhing like tentacles, another emitted an eerie green glow, and another released the stimulating stench that filled the room.
Drawing on Zephyle's Knowledge and his own reading, Rei identified the scene.
"They’re using magic power to trigger Magical Plantification in specific species... I see."
Rei murmured, signaling Nakt to close the door as he realized there were no immediate clues inside.
"Rei?"
Vihera asked, looking confused by his reaction. Rei turned his gaze toward the door directly across the hall.
"The House Marstchel was likely gathering magic stones for rooms like this, much like the House Rebisole. I doubt they spent everything on these plants, but maintaining this many specimens would require a massive quantity of magic stones."
"There were definitely a lot of magic stones in there," Nakt added.
"Nn."
Nakt had managed to scan the room in the few seconds the door was open, and Byune nodded in confirmation.
It was the kind of sharp observation expected of a thief.
"Regardless, that room didn't have what we're looking for. Next."
The group nodded, and Nakt reached out to the next door Rei had indicated.