The Queen Dowager’s villa stood a short distance from the sea.
A fishing village of about a hundred people lay nearby. Though the villa was a two-story brick structure built upon a hill, it was so weathered and neglected that it was hard to believe it had once housed the powerful Queen Dowager herself.
"This is where Her Majesty lived...?"
"The Queen Dowager was beloved as a local benefactor. It seems she spent her private wealth for the sake of the nearby village," Celestine explained as Rest looked up at the building, which was covered in moss and overgrown with ivy.
"She provided fishing boats and nets free of charge and offered financial aid during years when the catch was poor. The people of the village held her in high regard. It's thanks to them that this villa remained untouched by vandals even after her death."
Celestine approached the entrance and ran her hand over the door. As she did, glowing characters began to shimmer faintly across its surface.
"However... its preservation might have more to do with this. It’s a magical security system."
A line of text was engraved into the door. It was written in the common tongue of this world, a language Rest knew well.
'A beast with the head of a mouse and the tail of a lion. Tell me, what is it that cannot join the beasts?'
"...A riddle?"
"So it seems. It appears one cannot enter the villa without providing an answer while touching the door."
Celestine looked up at the two-story building.
"I had the mages of the Duke Crocus House examine it, but they concluded that entry is impossible without the correct answer. If one tries to force the door, the entire structure will collapse. The walls and pillars are engraved with magic derived from Barrier Arts."
"So despite its appearance, the security is top-notch..."
Rest squinted, focusing his vision. Sure enough, he could see the faint traces of Barrier Arts inscriptions carved into the walls and door. It was a remarkably sophisticated formula—a type of magic Rest had never seen before.
Perhaps a supreme barrier arts user like Jarana Maitis could analyze and dismantle it, but it was far beyond Rest’s current capabilities.
"The Guru is likely too busy to help, and even if she weren't, she’d probably refuse to come. I guess solving the riddle is the only way."
"Yes... but no matter how much I or the others pondered it, we couldn't find the solution."
"If even you can't figure it out, Lady Celestine, I doubt I'll have much luck..."
He considered guessing animal names at random, but this was a magical security system. There was a high probability that a wrong answer would trigger some kind of penalty. Celestine’s hesitation to experiment blindly was well-founded.
(A password-protected door... The fact that the riddle is written right there suggests it’s intended for someone who can solve it, right?)
If the owner simply wanted to keep everyone out, there would be no need for a clue. They could have just kept the password to themselves.
(That means the question has to be solvable. But what kind of question would be impossible for someone as brilliant as Celestine, the top student of our year...?)
Wait. Perhaps it wasn't a matter of intelligence, but of identity. What if the riddle was designed to be solved only by a specific type of person?
"Oh..."
A thought struck him. If the Queen Dowager was indeed a reincarnated person from Japan, she might have set a riddle that only another reincarnated person could understand.
"Mouse... lion... I see!"
Rest reached the answer. A satisfied smile spread across his face as he stepped past Celestine and placed his hand on the door.
"—"
He spoke the word that had come to him.
"Ah..."
Celestine let out a small gasp. The door, which had been so stubbornly sealed, swung open with incredible ease.