Chapter 111

111th Episode

The Nymph Cultist and Pluto’s Underground Maze

111 – The Nymph Cultist and Pluto’s Underground Maze #9

Our group of five sat in a circle with the blazing bonfire in the middle.

An ancient, long-abandoned shrine.

Under the light of twin moons and rustling reeds swaying in the wind, sitting around this fire felt like we had entered the center of some savage superstition or secret gathering, making my chest tingle.

Crackle, crackle. Whoosh.

As usual, the icy mage Belmina calmly added branches to the fire with a neutral expression. Only when the flames rose large and fierce did she finally give a faint smile.

“Good. This should be enough. Miss Paranoi, do you have any experience with the hearth divination?”

“…”

In response to Belmina’s question, Paranoi silently shook her head.

The crimson eyes illuminated by the fire glimmered with an indiscernible emotion—curiosity or fear.

I felt an odd sensation too.

“What exactly is this hearth divination?”

“Hearth divination is a privilege of the hearth goddess’s disciples. It involves creating a protective circle centered on the fire to ensure a peaceful night.”

Belmina soon began to mutter a brief incantation.

“O Lady Vesta, I, Belmina Prodanse, beseech you. Bestow your blessing upon this place—.”

Listening closely, it sounded more like a prayer than a spell. I watched tensely, wondering what might happen next.

…

Several seconds, perhaps more, passed after the prayer ended, but nothing seemed to happen. With a derisive snort, Belmina stated:

“Appears my prayer as a non-disciple of Vesta is useless. Miss Paranoi, you should recite the incantation as I did. You’re the only Vesta follower here.”

“Me, me? I’ve never prayed to Lady Vesta before… though I’ve prayed to Lord Pluto many times, but I’ve never received an answer from Pluto either….”

“Hurry.”

The icy mage’s sharp urging made the nymph cultist Paranoi fidget nervously, checking her surroundings.

Sweat began to bead on her forehead, likely due to her tension.

“Tch! Paranoi always sweats so much!”

At this moment, as if waiting for the cue, Luna opened the mouth of her leather water flask and started collecting the sweat. Watching this, the strange sense of ritual dissolved, and my tension eased.

It seemed the same for Paranoi, who sighed quietly and began murmuring something indistinct.

“I, I am Demeter’s daughter, Paranoi… Please hear my prayer. Grant peace and tranquility for our night….”

Her muttering was faint, occasionally breaking off, and her pronunciation was inaccurate, as if she was embarrassed to be leading the prayer before others.

Just then, it happened.

Whoosh.

The bonfire, which had been burning normally without any wind or added wood, erupted into significantly larger flames.

“Kyaaah!”

Paranoi screamed in panic at the sight of the fire seemingly about to consume everything around it, while Dwarf Didier erupted into laughter.

“Guess it’s true that nymphs are truly loved by the gods. Looks like the goddess has heard your prayer.”

“Did… did Lady Vesta answer my prayer?”

As Didier laughed, the tension in Paranoi’s shoulders relaxed.

“I… I….”

On the other hand, Paranoi looked at the roaring blaze with eyes wide in disbelief, as though unsure of her own actions. Her expression resembled that of a child playing with fire for the first time.

“I’ve never received a response to my prayers from Lord Pluto.”

“Well, anyway, the hearth divination preparation is complete. This fire will not extinguish until morning.”

An unquenchable bonfire—another duty of the world’s night watchmen is to manage the fire so it doesn’t go out. To not have to do it would be quite convenient.

With the fire roaring like this, wild beasts and monsters from the fields will likely stay away from our campsite. Most nocturnal beasts fear fire.

“Then, who shall we start the divination with?”

“I’ll go first!”

At the icy mage Belmina’s question, Luna, who had been watching the fire, immediately raised her hand. She then scooped up a handful of dirt and sand from the ground and tossed it into the fire as if seasoning it.

What exactly was she doing?

Whoosh.

At that moment, the bonfire’s flames began to emit a black soot, eventually turning completely dark.

A black flame—extremely ominous, giving me goosebumps all over. It felt like I was somehow involved in some wicked cult ritual! d*mn, what is this?

“Hmmmm…”

Watching this, Belmina’s blue eyes opened drowsily, and she began waving her palm over the surface of the dark flames.

“With these flames turning entirely black, they must be infused with the power of the night. Seems you’re fairly loved by the goddess of the night.”

“Of course, Lady Nox!”

Luna appeared genuinely happy at the sight of the black flames. Meanwhile, I was utterly bewildered as to what exactly was happening.

Noticing my expression of confusion, Dwarf Didier sitting beside me murmured an explanation quietly.

“People in this world are all bestowed with the affection of the gods. The difference lies only in the degree of affection. This is a form of divination to discover which deity loves one the most.”

“What’s the connection between this and determining elements?”

“One resonates best with the gods who bestow their love, making it beneficial when handling mana or spells. Of course, unless you’re a mage or adept at handling mana, it’s usually just for fun.”

With that, Didier, now declaring his intent in a short statement, scooped some dirt and sand around the bonfire and sprinkled it onto the black flames, much like sprinkling salt.

Swish, swish. Whoosh.

The flames that had been burning black a moment ago returned to their original reddish glow, resembling a regular bonfire.

“Is there no change?”

“Tsk.”

At my question, Didier clicked his tongue, and again he grabbed another handful of sand and tossed it into the bonfire.

“O Lady Ceres, don’t You remember Your worshipper just now? Remember Thy servant, Thorgrir’s son Didier!”

Swish, swish.

As he finished sprinkling the sand, sudden crackling sounds grew louder, and soon sparks like fireflies rose into the sky.

At this, Luna mimicked Belmina by placing her palm over the flames.

“…Though faintly, I can sense the powers of the earth and seasons. Lady Ceres does not often bestow affection upon her creations…”

“Wasn’t it always like that? Up until the Great Winter, She was one of the most benevolent deities. Well, at least I’m satisfied that She remembers my name. Now, shall the party leader have a go next?”

“I’m curious too. This Samaritan from a distant land, I wonder which deity favors him?”

“I’m curious as well. Hassan! Isn’t it likely to be the God of Light?”

As everyone turned their gaze toward me, I felt my face flush, unaccustomed to being the center of everyone’s expectations.

But I was a bit curious about my own elemental affinity too.

Perhaps the God of Light was watching over me, as Luna suggested, or maybe Lady Nox, who might become my mother-in-law, was bestowing her affection.

With a mix of nervousness and anticipation, I grabbed some sand and sprinkled it toward the flames.

Swish, swish.

The white grains of sand fell like snow onto the burning bonfire.

As I held my breath, watching intently for what might happen,

Whoosh, whoosh.

The bonfire’s flames began to shrink like a spent torch and eventually went out completely.

What the hell, why did the fire go out?

As I wondered, Didier, too, began to prod the ashes of the extinguished fire with his palm, asking curiously:

“Well, mage lady, what does it mean when the flames are extinguished? Which deity’s affection does that indicate?”

At this question, Belmina frowned.

“I’m not sure if this should be interpreted as mana at all… Perhaps you sprinkled too much sand?”

“Hotan, did my enthusiasm run away with me?”

“Seems so. d*mn, it’s embarrassing.”

It felt like pouring cold water on an overheated party, making me feel somewhat awkward. I thought I had scooped up an appropriate amount, but perhaps my large palms accidentally extinguished the fire.

“Paranoi, you’re sweating again! Tch! At this rate, you’ll fill up the water flask! Hehe!”

“The fire went out…”

Nevertheless, it was a pretty fun way to spend a quiet night.

*

Morning in the forest amidst trees is quite damp.

We set up tents considering that, but the dew last night had soaked both the tents and the ground.

Where has Luna gone off to?

Pushing through the wet grass made damp by the dew as I stepped out of the tent, I saw Paranoi looking up at me with bloodshot eyes while gazing at the bonfire.

“Kyaaah!”

“What’s the matter, damnit.”

“I, I successfully kept the watch! The bonfire didn’t go out!”

“Is that so…?”

Her sudden use of formal honorifics toward me was quite perplexing.

Had she finally decided to respect me as the party leader? Still, there was something off about her dazed appearance; she clearly didn’t look well.

“Hey, didn’t you sleep at all?”

“Y, yes! Due to the sacred duty to protect the bonfire!”

“Hmm.”

Since learning that the hearth goddess had answered her prayer, it was evident Paranoi was overwhelmed with awe and gratitude. But staying awake all night just to guard the fire felt excessively abnormal even by my expectations.

“Hey, we’re about to enter the maze. What if you collapse from lack of sleep?”

“K, no worries! I can stay awake for three days straight!”

Seeing as Paranoi was at a much higher level than me, probably around Level 20, and considering her previous survival in the underground prison for days, she might indeed be tough enough to last a day without rest.

Still, I hoped all party members could enter the maze in peak condition if possible.

It’s already morning, so there’s nothing to be done.

“Let’s prepare breakfast then.”

“Party leader, leave the breakfast to me. I caught a wild dove while cleaning the shrine yesterday and prepared it overnight. Cooking it in a clear broth will be amazing.”

“Then, I leave it to you.”

Knowing I didn’t have to prepare breakfast lifted a weight off my shoulders.

Stretching my legs and arms against a damp rock, I relieved the stiffness from lying cramped in such a small tent all night.

“Hotan! Look at this!”

Just then, I saw Luna waving her hand from afar, coming closer.

“A night canary! I caught it! Isn’t it incredible?”

In Luna’s hand was a bird with crimson and reddish hues. She used to catch toads, but today it was a bird?

Chirp.

Birds, with their wings, usually can’t be caught easily unless their feathers were clipped with a bow or sling, so how she caught it was amazing.

“What is it? How did you catch it?”

“Following the light of the dawn moon, it was sitting there so calmly! It must be a present from Lady Nox!”

“It’s amazing the bird was so calm.”

I was already salivating at the thought of a stew filled with bird meat. I hadn’t realized Luna also had the talent of a hunter.

“The bird will taste great.”

“No, this isn’t food, Hotan!”

“If not food, then why did you catch it?”

“To make a threat detection totem using night canaries.”

“What’s a totem?”

Instead of answering me, Luna began snapping reeds growing beside the ruins of the shrine of Ceres. She then began skillfully weaving the tough reeds into a shape that resembled a prison cell.

“Are you making a birdcage?”

“Yep. When monsters are nearby, the night canaries get noisy.”

So, Luna was using the birds like old miners used canaries as an alarm system.

Recalling past tales, there were stories of adventurers taming animals to use as allies when exploring Pluto’s maze. Since the difficulty of the maze is measured only by the number of humans, hunters who skillfully tamed numerous beasts to explore the maze also existed.

Anyway, after eating breakfast, we pressed through the densely grown reeds that could hide our heads.

It took a long while of wandering until we finally managed to rediscover the entrance to Pluto’s Maze, where Koma the cultist had once fought.

The mouth of ruins under the morning shining reeds resembled the ominous open maw of the earth.

Goooww.

From inside, a sound like a somber howl from some beast could be heard. At the entrance, iron chains and stakes resembled a mask, prohibiting entry.

Seeing the Mars Guild’s sword emblem on the lock, it was clearly a magical seal from the Mars Guild meant to seal the maze.

I unlocked it with the key I had received from Hippolyte. With a metallic crunch, the chains fell to the ground.

Thus,

the maze’s seal was undone.

“Hotan, uh, this is my first time entering a maze. Will it be okay?”

“Honestly, this is my first time too. d*mn, the mouth of hell. I’m scared.”

“Exploring mazes are typically the job of Silver Tier adventurers. I’ve read about it in books many times.”

So, everyone here is a rookie, huh? If so, then the only one who has any experience within our group is me. Of course, my experience is limited to carrying gear, but I do know the basics.

“Then, I’ll give you a quick explanation. Listen closely. The most important things to watch out for in a maze are monsters, traps, and accidents. And chairs.”

[Postscript]

Mr. Richthal! Mr. Book Mosquito! Mr. Gktp! Mr. Osusut! Mr. Kadeom! Mr. Fisherman! Mr. Anju! Thank you for the support coupons! And a heartful thank-you to the tall uncles who sent the royalty coupons!

I’m grateful for every comment and recommendation too!

With gratitude, I’ll cast a spell for the rest of the holidays to pass more slowly…

Keng Keng!

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