Chapter 56

Thank you for reading this far.

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I humbly request your continued support this year.

"What should we do? Should we go too?"

A few minutes after Senpai Alice went down alone, Magilka, with a worried look on her face, suggested this to me.

"Even if we go, we won't be of any help."

"No, well, I thought it might be good to observe for future reference."

In response to my answer, Magilka revealed her intellectual curiosity.

"Yeah, I was also thinking that it wouldn't be right to leave everything to others after coming this far. Let's go and see if we can help with something."

Although I wasn't particularly enthusiastic, I couldn't refuse the prince's words, so I nodded and agreed to go down. To be safe, we decided to leave Tütte behind to fetch the teacher.

With Zaha leading the way, followed by Magilka, the prince, Safina, and me at the rear, we descended the stone stairs leading to the basement. Soon, a dimly lit door came into view.

"Huh? It won't open?"

Zaha stopped in front of the door, pushing and pulling it while muttering.

"Is it locked? But why?"

Magilka joined Zaha and examined the iron handle, and the rest of us, drawn in, watched the situation unfold.

*Swish swish...*

I felt a sensation as if someone was playing with my hair from behind.

"Hey, Tütte, stop playing with my hair, okay?"

While keeping an eye on the door, I naturally reprimanded the maid who should have been behind me. In response, Safina turned around and looked at me with a shocked expression.

"Huh? What's wrong, Safina?"

She remained frozen, unable to speak, so I asked what was going on. I felt someone playing with my hair from behind again.

"Hey, Tütte, cut it out. Didn't you go to fetch the teacher...?"

As I said this, I suddenly realized something.

(Come to think of it, Tütte went to fetch the teacher and wasn't supposed to be behind me. Then, who's behind me?)

I didn't want to think about it, but I hesitantly turned around and, as I had feared, saw a ghost reaching out to touch my hair.

"Kyaaaaaaa!"

I screamed in shock and lunged forward. Everyone, startled by my scream, scattered to the sides, and I ended up body-checking Zaha, who was struggling with the locked door. The moment my hand touched the door, I felt as if some magic had been dispelled, and the wooden door cleanly vanished, causing me to fall to the ground on the other side with Zaha.

"Heavy..."

"What did you say?!"

I instantly reacted to Zaha's strained voice, which sounded like a squashed frog, and glared at her fiercely.

"Lie, I'm very light."

Intimidated by my murderous aura, Zaha, without looking at me, corrected herself in a formal tone, and I felt satisfied and stepped back from her.

Upon re-examining the room, it was a stone basement with a higher ceiling and a spacious area than I had expected. I was near the door, and from there, a staircase led along the wall, allowing a clear view of the room. In the center of the room, a suspiciously complex magic circle was drawn, and Senpai Alice, who had been standing at its perimeter, looked surprised at us.

(No, no, this is improper.)

I patted my skirt, straightened my appearance, and stood up as if nothing had happened, casually running my fingers through my hair.

"I locked the door and even set up a simple barrier spell, yet you managed to get through so easily... Did you anticipate this and prepare for it?"

"Huh?"

Senpai Alice, descending the stairs, asked me in surprise, and I, not understanding, reflexively responded with a question.

"Hehehe, I see. I thought I was handling things well, but I can't match the White Princess, can I?"

Senpai Alice, showing a self-deprecating smile, shrugged. It seemed she had taken my words as an affirmation.

"How long have you known?"

"Huh? I've known from the beginning..."

(I haven't understood what you're saying from the beginning.)

I answered casually with a blank expression, and Senpai Alice, looking as if she had received a shock, took a step back.

"Indeed... the White Princess."

She seemed to have come to some conclusion on her own. Meanwhile, the others had also descended to my level, but they were still confused, looking back and forth between me and Senpai Alice with question marks above their heads.

"But it's too late now! I've completed the final stage of the ritual. My long-held wish has been fulfilled!"

Senpai Alice, who had been dejected, suddenly became confident, puffed out her chest, and declared loudly.

(I still have no idea what's going on.)

"What's going on? Miss Mary?"

The prince, noticing Senpai Alice's odd behavior, asked me quietly.

"Maybe it's better to ask her directly."

Since I was equally confused, I suggested asking her to the prince.

"Oh? Giving me time to explain, are you so confident? Or is this part of your plan?"

Hearing my words, Senpai Alice turned to us, her glasses glinting suspiciously in the light. I was still completely in the dark and could only watch.

"Then, I'll show you! The summoning magic!"

Swirling her robe, Senpai Alice turned to the faintly glowing magic circle, spread her arms, and uttered something that sounded like a major spell.

(Huh? Wasn't that a magic circle to contain the undead? There are no undead here, so... what's going on?)

Completely lost, we could only watch Senpai Alice's actions in stunned silence.

"Begin the初级 undead summoning magic! Summon, Zombie Warrior!"

In response to Senpai Alice's powerful words, the central magic circle glowed, and something began to crawl out from its center. Everyone gasped at the sight.

It was a towering figure over two meters tall, dragging a decayed body and wearing a damaged, ancient suit of armor. It slowly rose to its feet, looking lethargic.

"Uuuuuuuh!"

It opened its mouth wide, revealing teeth with the flesh around its mouth rotted away, and let out a terrifying roar. The undead warrior, reeking of decay, stood in the center of the magic circle, adjusting a badly chipped sword and a cracked iron shield. Its hollow eye sockets, devoid of eyeballs, glowed red, staring at us.

"Ah, you summoned an undead!"

Magilka, who had quickly grasped the situation, stepped in front of the prince, ready to defend, and Zaha also moved to stand in front of the prince. Incidentally, because the prince had been talking to me, they were also in a position to protect me.

"Hehehe! I did it! I did it, Grandfather! My long-held wish has been fulfilled!"

Ignoring our tension, Senpai Alice called out joyfully.

"Senpai Alice! Do you understand what you've done?!"

"Yes, I do, Magilka-san."

"Was this a place for an undead summoning ritual? Did you know this place existed?"

"That's right, Your Highness."

Senpai Alice smiled confidently in response to Magilka's words and politely bowed to the prince. She seemed very happy. The situation was developing too quickly for my mind to keep up, so I tried to organize my thoughts.

(Okay, so this place isn't for containing the undead but for summoning them? But... why is such a place here?)

I was getting so confused that I wanted to stop thinking.

(By the way, Senpai Alice mentioned fulfilling a long-held wish earlier...)

"Grandfather..."

I blurted out my thoughts, and the delighted Senpai Alice latched onto them.

"Correct, as expected of the White Princess. You see everything, don't you? Yes, the one who told me about this place and created it is my grandfather, who you might know as a teacher sent by the church."

Although I was inwardly shocked by her sudden confession, I tried to maintain a calm demeanor to avoid embarrassing myself in front of everyone.

(Yes, a bit of pride, that's me.)

And so, the situation continued to develop beyond my understanding.

Thank you for reading this far.