◈ Episode 374: The Secret Mansion (1)
He was an old man with a long white beard and a staff full of gold in one hand.
Wizards these days wear a robe that feels like a light coat over a neat suit.
In that sense, the old man in front of me was, in a sense, very heterogeneous.
A large robe worn over shabby clothes.
It was a typical old-fashioned wizard’s behavior.
However, I didn’t feel like I was behind the times.
With his unique look and atmosphere, I think that he couldn’t be more suitable than this.
Rudger knew who that wizard was.
Sage Rimray.
He was one of the mages to keep an eye on.
Rudger asked Rimray politely.
“nice to meet you. Rimray Wizard. My name is Rudgar Chelsea.”
“Ugh. I know the name. I also watched the fight with the tiger a little while ago. Did you fight well?”
… … Something is more frivolous than you think?
Rudger was embarrassed inside, but answered without revealing it at all.
“It is overrated. What you just said… … .”
“ah. Are you saving people? That’s right. I see there are only 3 people there, but there must be 5 people to go in there? So I’ll go with you.”
It’s not like it’s good to be together, but I’ll go with you.
Rudger didn’t know what to do with that patronizing tone.
“… … It’s a matter I can’t decide on my own, so I’ll discuss it with the others.”
“ok? What are you doing that bothers me? Will I just go with you?”
“Even considering that, isn’t one more empty? It won’t take long, so please wait.”
When Rudger said firmly, Rimray clicked his tongue.
Still, if you see him standing still, he must be willing to wait.
Rudger immediately took Roina and moved to a place a little further away.
and immediately asked
“That person is Sage Rimrey, right?”
“yes. That’s right.”
“Why are you wise?”
Ludger’s words of asking the wise man why he was a wise man could have seemed quite strange.
However, anyone who watched Rimray’s actions immediately knew what Rudger was asking.
“ah. He is so strange.”
“Usually it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. The way you speak is… … .”
“Like a senile grandpa?”
“I didn’t say that much.”
“Do not worry. Everyone thinks so.”
… … Then why are you called a sage?
Perhaps feeling Ludger’s gaze, Roina smiled awkwardly and explained.
“Magician Rimrey wasn’t like that before. He used to have the intelligence to be worthy of being called a sage.”
“You mean not now.”
“I heard that too. They say that he became like that as a side effect of exploring too much magical knowledge. That, on the brain side.”
Rudgar understood what Roina was talking about.
So, Rimray was originally a brilliant wizard, and a person who fit the nickname of a wise man.
However, due to the excessive exploration of magic, the brain was overloaded, and side effects occurred.
Because of that, the benevolent appearance disappeared, and only the twisted old man’s appearance remained.
‘Is it dementia?’
Of course, you can’t compare it to real dementia.
However, no matter what, a 6th-tier wizard whose brain had lost some taste wanted to put himself on this team.
The most important thing is that.
The question is whether Rimray can be trusted.
‘Even if you look at his actions, he’s an old man.’
Magical skill is 6th.
Even the affiliation is only a one-man school with one of his own names.
‘How likely is that person to be Leslie?’
What bothered me more than anything was the act of approaching her as if she had waited.
Is Limray really the First Order’s Leslie?
For those who didn’t know it, it wasn’t too difficult to keep around.
‘But there’s a chance it’s not Leslie. Seen at the Order Synod, he seemed quite thorough and reasonable. I don’t think someone like that would have approached it in such a frivolous way.’
It’s not that I didn’t consider the possibility of acting, but if it was rumored enough for Roina to know about it, it wouldn’t be simple acting.
No matter what, one person is a precious position for those who need to enter the mansion right away.
“How does Roina look?”
“Me, me? Are you asking for my opinion? Me, my opinion… … .”
“Since we’re close friends, isn’t it okay to ask?”
“Chi, are you close friends?”
Roina let out a big laugh, saying hehe, probably stuck in that word.
hmm. This one is actually simpler than you think.
Well, there’s nothing wrong with actually being close, so I can give you lip service.
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“You can ask for advice from friends.”
“Chi, friend… … .”
With that one word, Roina was completely taken over.
She mustered up the courage to speak up.
“Mage Rimray will be fine. Even if his personality is like that, that knowledge and ability don’t go anywhere. Rather, it will help.”
“If there’s a problem, he’s a pretty self-righteous and egotistical personality. I don’t know the specifics, but I can definitely feel it from our brief conversation.”
“Uh, that… … If you think about your skills, isn’t it something you can endure?”
As if Roina couldn’t come up with the right way, she said something like let’s just put up with it.
“First of all, we should consider accepting the proposal in a positive way.”
“yes. Because the gains outweigh the losses.”
After the two reached an agreement, they returned to where Lim Ray was.
I’ll accept it for now, but I’m thinking about how to handle that selfish personality.
But that worry was surprisingly easily put to rest.
It was all thanks to Arfa.
“Chuckling. okay. Is this old lady story that interesting?”
“yes! It’s so much fun!”
Arfa smiles innocently and listens to Rimray’s story.
While Ludger was away, the two of them had become close friends and were having a conversation.
What was surprising was Rimrey’s attitude toward Arfa.
Rimray’s expression, which had previously been sensitive and full of dissatisfaction, had a smile all over it.
He looked like an extremely devoted grandfather who loved his grandchildren.
“You look good.”
When Rudgar asked, Rimray erased the bright smile he had shown a moment ago and looked back at Rudger.
“what! Why are you so late! You keep this old man waiting!”
“… … It seems that we have been delayed more than expected because we had an important conversation for a while.”
“No, I said I’d go, but why do you keep acting so hard? uh?”
Limray frowned as if this situation itself was annoying.
“grandfather. Don’t be angry.”
It was Arfa who stepped out at that time.
When Arfa smiled and soothed Rimray, he immediately widened his face.
“Heh heh heh. okay. Since our Arpa says so, this old lady should listen. cancer.”
“… … .”
Ludger had a strange feeling about his attitude changing as if he were wearing a mask.
Isn’t this guy really senile?
It was fortunate though.
Looking at the scene now, Rimray won’t run wild indiscriminately.
‘Sage Limray can be taken care of by Arfa. Is there only one left?’
As I was contemplating whether to find the right person around me, a familiar face approached me first.
“Looks like there’s an empty seat.”
“… … Sempas.”
“Can I fit in there?”
Sempas, who looks like a homeless person.
To think that he, a sorcerer with the nickname of a mad dog, came to visit him himself.
“Why did you come to us all of a sudden?”
“The other wizards didn’t accept me.”
“Right.”
Bringing in Sempas, who has the alias of a mad dog, would certainly be a risky move.
“I didn’t know you were interested in the mansion, too.”
“I can only fight, but even if I look like this, I am a wizard. I’ve been feeling a wall, especially lately, and I’m thinking maybe this mansion has a way to jump over it.”
Sempas’ opinion was reasonable, so Ludger pondered for a while.
Even if Sempas was kicked out of here, I didn’t think that someone better would come.
‘It’s got the nickname ‘crazy dog’, but at least the attitude it shows towards me is quite calm, so it’s not bad.’
In addition, his magic skills are excellent, and above all, the fact that his fighting method resembles his own worked quite well.
“good night. Please take good care of me for three days.”
“This is what you are going to say.”
The two shook hands lightly.
A total of five people gathered like this, and they met the minimum number of people allowed to enter the mansion.
As I was about to move to the mansion, there were quite a lot of stares flying around me.
Even if everyone pretended not to be, they seemed to be quite wary of this side.
‘Is that so?’
In a team of only five, there were only two 6th-tier Lexorer wizards.
Even the other one is Sempas, a veteran of real-life magic, and the other is a young boy with supernatural powers.
And finally, Ludger Celish, who seems to be the leader of the team.
‘But in reality, it’s not such an attractive combination.’
There are two Lexler wizards, but one is a grumpy old man with an eccentric personality, and the other is a shy person with low sociability and low self-esteem.
Even veterans of real-life magic are called crazy dogs, and they are crazy combatants who start a fight as soon as their eyes meet for the slightest.
In addition to the automaton, which still lacks knowledge.
There really is no such thing as Suicide Squad.
‘Am I the most normal here?’
Had they heard that, they would have lamented that they had no conscience.
In particular, if you had heard of Hans, who knew the most about Ludger’s past, you would have thought that this man had finally gone crazy.
Fortunately, no one knew what Ludger was thinking.
“Let’s go in.”
Rudger led the team towards the mansion.
The wide open mansion felt somehow gloomy.
A thick fog peaked the atmosphere.
“The garden is also well-kept.”
At that time, Arpa tried to touch the flowers in the garden.
“Careful!”
As Roina exclaimed, Arfa asked with innocent eyes.
“why?”
“Why, why? Don’t touch the plants in this mansion! They’re all plants with magical powers, so they don’t know what kind of danger they carry!”
“Danger?”
“Something like poison, or biting your hand, or having hallucinations, or melting your skin. There are a lot of cases like that.”
Arfa nodded as if he had now realized.
“There are all sorts of dangers lurking in the garden.”
“By the way, the garden is better. If you just walk along the paved road, nothing special will happen.”
Somehow, the wizards around him also wanted to follow the path in an orderly manner.
The party passed through the garden and eventually stood in front of the entrance of the mansion.
The door was wide open, but the people who had entered earlier were nowhere to be seen.
“I will go in.”
Rudger said that and took the first step.
The party also followed him and headed into the mansion.
After entering the mansion, Ludger looked back.
The party properly followed him.
But the landscape beyond that was completely different.
“Fog?”
There was no problem when looking inside from the outside of the mansion, but when looking outside from the inside, nothing was visible, as if smog had occurred.
“What are you so surprised about?”
Rimray clicked his tongue as he saw Ludger like that.
“It’s not the first time I’ve been here.”
“It was the first time.”
“what? Then what have you been doing since you didn’t come until now!”
“I have been very busy.”
It was very busy. Because I changed my identity every year.
“Can’t you come if you’re busy?”
“I can’t come because I’m busy.”
“Eh. You are not going to lose a word.”
“So may I ask why you are like that?”
“No work!”
if it comes out like that
Rudger glanced at Arfa.
Upon receiving the signal, Arfa immediately went into action.
“grandfather. Why can’t I see anything outside? I’m curious too!”
“what? Huh. Yes, if you are curious about our Arfa, you should answer.”
No matter how long it’s been since we met, it’s already our Arpa.
Rudger was strangely offended, but decided to put up with it.
“This mansion is possessed by mystical powers. You all know that by hearing it. And there is also a minimum number of people allowed to enter this place.”
“yes. Yes.”
“I’m not talking about you!”
“… … .”
let’s not talk
“As you can see, since we came in, no one will come in after us.”
“uh? Really?”
“That is the power of this mansion. News from the outside is cut off, and the people who entered through the entrance are scattered. The reason why we need to gather at least 5 people is to minimize the scattering situation.”
It was only then that Rudger realized why more than five people were coming here.
It was because those who entered the mansion below that level never came out again.
At this point, it could be called the Mansion of Horror rather than the Mansion of Secrets.
“Then, are we okay?”
“of course. There are rules to follow here. As long as you keep that in mind, there won’t be any problems.”
it’s a rule
At this point, I was even curious.
“And here the topography changes periodically. So, depending on the time, you may or may not be able to go where you want. Just because you’ve come here doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be complacent. You have to decide on a destination.”
“Isn’t the destination fixed? I will go to the study.”
“joy. Everyone thinks the same.”
“Wasn’t the old man also going to the study?”
Rimrey responded by pretending not to hear.
“Let’s walk first.”
The party walked slowly through the corridors of the mansion.
There was no map, no nameplate, so there was no other way than to check every room.
In order to do that, I had to go around diligently from now on.
5 minutes since I started walking like that.
The group ran into difficulties from the start.
“That… … .”
Rudger found a man lying on the side of the hallway.
With his back leaning against a wall, the area around him was full of bright red marks.
It was a corpse.
It is also the corpse of a wizard who has just entered the mansion.
