Chapter 142

Ripen widened his eyes the moment our gazes met.

“How did you get out?”

Was it a maze I wasn’t supposed to leave? Had I missed some obvious hint?

But I was already out, so there was no helping it. I answered awkwardly.

“…By instinct?”

I’m pretty good at finding my way in places like this.

Ripen tilted his head at my words.

As he did so, his uneven bangs shifted to one side, revealing a bruise on his forehead.

“You’re hurt?”

Even if Mrs. Maiden was the type to scold kids harshly, she didn’t seem like someone who’d actually raise a hand.

The red swelling looked fresh, like it had just happened.

At my words, the boy subtly covered his forehead with his hand.

“Some weird people came and went.”

“Weird people?”

What kind of bastards had done this to the kid’s forehead?

Was there anything around I could use as a cold compress? I scanned the surroundings.

In this pitch-black space where the boundaries between walls, ceiling, and floor were all blurred, there was no way something like that would be lying around.

“Yeah. Two brown-haired guys, a black-haired guy, and a blue-haired guy.”

Those descriptions sounded awfully familiar.

I raised an eyebrow.

“Ah, those guys…”

Eastern Empire bastards!

I could easily guess what they had been up to.

They must have stopped by this place once too.

And like any rookie hunters, they had probably tried to slap a debuff on someone inside a special dungeon in preparation for them turning into a boss monster.

But in special dungeons or RPs like this, the best approach wasn’t to preemptively debuff out of fear of monster transformation—it was to prevent the transformation altogether…

Well, even in our world, it took a full year after the gates first erupted for that knowledge to spread gradually. These guys still had a long way to go.

“I’ll beat them up for you later.”

I mean it!

Ripen’s eyes widened at my words.

“Sis didn’t come here to do that, right?”

“No. I don’t pull that kind of stuff.”

Don’t lump me in with those barbaric humans, okay?

I waved my hand dismissively.

The boy’s gaze then scanned me up and down.

He still hadn’t let go of his suspicion.

As expected, the debuff Suspicion (L) must have been this kid’s doing.

“Were you drawing?”

I pointed to the sketchbook where Ripen had been diligently scribbling with crayons.

Sure enough, it was the same drawing we had seen earlier.

And moreover…

[So Yeri]

[Joo Yian]

[Shin Jae-heon]

Names were written right over the black dots. Maybe because this was a special space, they weren’t being treated as RP dungeon designations?

As expected, that drawing seemed to be the maze itself.

The three of them were scattered in different areas, each heading toward an exit.

They hadn’t met up yet.

“You don’t know these people?”

Ripen pointed to the three dots in the drawing. I shook my head.

“No, we’re friends.”

Ripen then frowned.

“Why’d you come here?”

Ripen’s voice had grown a little sharp.

Well, I’d come in here thrilled because the surveillance debuff trio had vanished when I got close…

…but there was no way I could say that, so I gave a vague answer.

“To play with you.”

The boy’s face lit up at my words.

I’d expected suspicion, but he bought it?

“Really? You’ll play with me?”

That bright smile reminded me of Shin Jae-heon as a little kid.

“Of course.”

As I answered casually, Ripen’s face clouded with worry.

“But Mom’s gonna say something. You sure it’s okay?”

Mom? He meant Mrs. Maiden, right?

I nodded.

“It’s fine. She’d nag us no matter what we did anyway.”

She had us at around -85 favorability from the start.

Of course, I didn’t say that last part out loud.

But Ripen burst into giggles.

“Yeah! Mom’s always like that!”

We’d unexpectedly found common ground.

Oh… so this was how you chipped away at the suspicion?

“But what’s this place? Your playroom?”

If he could’ve played comfortably in his room, he wouldn’t be holed up here.

My guess was spot on—Ripen nodded.

“Yeah. I ran here after fighting with Mom.”

Ripen glanced at the door I’d slipped through.

“Adults can’t get through that maze.”

So I’d made it because I wasn’t really an adult?

I set aside that fundamentally delightful thought for now.

“Then you can chill here without worries.”

Adults surely included Mrs. Maiden and her people.

“Yeah.”

Ripen grinned innocently.

Seeing that smile made his cowed expression from the banquet hall overlap in my mind.

Mrs. Maiden’s face had looked off even while he was playing piano earlier—she must have laid into him hard afterward.

The situation made sense now.

“Since we ran into each other, let’s play together.”

And above all, try not to turn into an SS+ boss!

Ripen blinked at my words.

Then he blurted out,

“I don’t play with adults.”

…Didn’t you just say the maze only lets non-adults through?

It took quite a while, but I finally succeeded in changing Ripen’s mind.

Convincing him had been tough, but the most effective method with kids was always this one.

“I can’t play piano either. Singing? I’m awful at it. Culture or refinement? Zero. But look at me.”

I pointed to my own face.

“Grew up pretty great, didn’t I?”

“Hmm.”

Ripen stroked his chin thoughtfully.

Was that a no on the ‘grew up great’ front?

I mean, I wasn’t bad-looking or anything?

I tamped down my rampaging self-esteem for the moment. My face’s aesthetic value wasn’t the priority right now.

Ripen eyed me for a bit before suddenly asking,

“You really can’t sing?”

That was what he was doubting?

“Yeah. For real.”

“Seriously?”

He seemed to think I was lying just to get close to him.

Did I have to demonstrate my destructive vocal prowess here too?

“…If you don’t believe me, just listen to one line for real.”

I was so embarrassed I hardly ever sang outside!

“―♪♬”

Of course, Ripen—being from another world—had no clue it was the national anthem.

But he clearly picked up on how bizarre the tune was.

“For real!”

Before the East Sea or Baekdu Mountain could dry, Ripen was doubled over laughing.

Appreciated or not, why did it feel so weird?

Anyway, the outcome seemed positive.

“You’re really not sent by Mom?”

“I told you no. If your mom heard me sing, she’d have kicked me out of the mansion on the spot.”

Was this what they called self-deprecating humor? I let out a hollow laugh as I said it, and Ripen nodded.

“Yeah, guess so…”

Don’t agree!!!

“Then let’s do this. You might be okay, sis, but the others are suspicious.”

Yeah, those guys could actually sing well.

As I thought wistfully,

“So, let’s make a bet.”

“A bet?”

Could a bet really resolve the suspicion? Wouldn’t it just invite more?

As I pondered whether to accept,

Ripen spoke without waiting for my answer.

“The people in there.”

No one could stay calm seeing an SS+ potential boss pointing at the maze trapping a hunter team.

On top of that, this space operated under abnormal rules—a special domain that bent to Ripen’s will, no doubt. Depending on what the kid wanted, the maze could turn into pure hell.

In here, he wielded more power than some army division commander who could shift mountains with a snap!

While I tensed up, Ripen continued.

“If you guess the order they come out in, you win, sis. Sound good?”

He pointed to the sketchbook.

The three people’s positions were still marked as black dots wandering the maze.

The boy lightly drew a dot in the center with his crayon.

It was right in front of the moving Shin Jae-heon.

[!]

Maps didn’t make sounds, but I could tell Shin Jae-heon was startled.

I could see him—the one charging ahead without hesitation—suddenly halt before whatever had appeared in front of him.

Just as expected, a wall had probably sprung up out of nowhere.

Who knew what would happen if that crayon scribbled over those three…

My mouth went dry all of a sudden.

Unlike the neat drawings Mrs. Maiden might approve of, the boy’s crooked, scribbly art left plenty of blank space for more crayon marks.

“Sure.”

Refusing clearly wouldn’t lead anywhere good.

Ripen beamed happily when I accepted readily.

“I’ll guess too. If I win, I’ll send them back.”

Could a kid’s innocent smile be this chilling?

His bright red crayon pointed at me.

“And you play with me here forever, sis. Got it?”

A chill ran down the back of my neck.

“So, who do you think comes out first, sis?”

I could really feel the SS-rank dungeon vibe now. I rubbed my cold hands on my clothes and said,

“This one first.”

Then pointed at the sketchbook.