Chapter 92

92

Unable to bear the blinding light, I squeezed my eyes shut and then opened them, only to find that the maze had completely changed.

What I saw was a pink room.

The floor was so soft it felt like a sponge.

The room, decorated like a playroom, was scattered with various types of rabbit plushies.

In the center of the room, a giant rabbit plushie, as big as an adult man, lay sprawled out like a marionette with its strings cut.

As I took a step closer, the rabbit's ears twitched.

Wow, this is creepy. What is this?

Taking another step closer, the drooping ears shot up into the sky.

Another step closer, and the rabbit lifted its head. Another step, and the rabbit sprang up from its spot.

"Kyo?"

When did rabbits start making "kyo" sounds?

I felt a sense of wonder and took a step to look around.

Behind the rabbit, two doors leading through the room were visible.

'They're locked.'

It was clear that I had to find a key and open one of them to get out.

The rabbit, which had been sitting, suddenly sprang up and turned around, looking around the room curiously.

Sharent Clown stood to one side with his arms crossed.

It seemed that the reason for sending the parents away was to prepare for any unforeseen dangerous situations.

"Kyo? Kyo?"

The rabbit perked up its ears and pointed at the door with its hand.

'It seems to be trying to communicate, but I can't understand "kyo" sounds.'

"Ung, I'll go."

"Kyo! Kyo! Kyo!"

This rabbit is really annoying.

The giant rabbit, which had been hopping in front of me, started moving its ears.

As I narrowed my eyes, the rabbit lay down completely.

The rabbit then formed a lock shape with its ears and made a motion of unlocking it with its hand.

The dull pink rabbit wasn't particularly cute. After staring at it for a while, it lay down and scratched its buttocks with its hand.

"Chazabo?"

"Kyo!"

That's the right answer.

'Where could it be hidden?'

Looking at the scattered plushies, it was likely hidden in one of them.

Surprisingly, there was also a chance that the dirty pink rabbit was holding it.

'Or maybe the lock is fake.'

I decided to pass by the rabbit...

Whoosh!

Thud!

Thump.

"..."

"Kyo."

"Kyo! Kyo!"

I heard Sharent Clown trying to suppress his laughter and the rabbit clearly mocking me.

I lay sprawled out for a while, unable to understand what had just happened.

What just flew past my eyes? Something tripped me.

"Kyo! Kyo!"

The annoying dull rabbit rolled on the floor.

'How dare it, who does it think it's messing with?'

I sprang up from my spot and instead of heading to the door, I lunged at the rabbit.

I jumped onto the lying rabbit and landed on it.

"Kyo!"

As I sat on its stomach and chuckled, the rabbit let out a scream.

I grabbed its two ears and pulled hard, trying to throw me off.

"Kyo!"

With both ears grabbed, the rabbit was powerless. Knowing that the ears were its weak point, it wasn't hard to subdue it.

I crossed and tightly tied the rabbit's ears, causing it to collapse on the floor.

Having immobilized the rabbit, I now turned to Sharent Clown, who had been mocking me.

He was looking at me with a faint smile.

'...Why is he laughing?'

It seems he cares about his reputation.

Usually, he is often expressionless when with me. But now, he is smiling creepily.

"Baabo!"

I shouted at the rabbit and turned around.

'For a rabbit, it should know its place.'

Tears welled up in the rabbit's eyes.

Regardless, I turned and stared at the doors.

'The lock doesn't seem fake.'

There really is a key, right? Why go through the trouble of finding it?

I approached the rabbit and grabbed its ears, ready to tear them if necessary.

"Rabbit."

"Kyo..."

"Where is the key? Tell me, and I'll let you go."

The rabbit looked up at me with a frightened face.

I smiled again and looked at it.

"Key."

The rabbit, trembling with fear, pointed to something with its finger.

It really is a child's game. I can't believe such a poor threat worked.

I approached the toy box the rabbit pointed to.

When I flipped the box over, a bunch of plushies spilled out, and finally, a key dropped.

I picked up the key and approached Sharent Clown. The keyhole was too high for me to reach.

'Hmm, what should I do?'

Using magic might be a bit much.

Looking around, I saw a few discarded boxes.

'I could probably step on one of those and reach.'

Just as I was about to get a box, Sharent Clown blocked my way.

"Huh?"

"..."

"Move."

Sharent Clown looked at me and extended his hand, palm up.

"Give it to me."

Sharent Clown's gaze was fixed on the key in my hand.

"Ah."

Reluctantly, I handed him the key, and he opened the door.

He seemed displeased, as if something was bothering him.

'What?'

Just as I was about to ask,

"Kyo! Kyo!"

The rabbit shouted in protest, its ears still tied.

But since this is just an illusion and will be undone when I leave the room, there's no need to untie its ears.

'Which way should I go?'

"Kyo!"

The rabbit sprang up from its spot.

The angry expression on its face, which had been a frown, made it hop around on the floor.

The floor shook with each hop.

[You, liar, this, is, not, good!]

The rabbit spoke in a bizarre, thunder-like voice.

I watched the rabbit, which was causing an earthquake-like tremor, in disbelief.

Unable to withstand the continuous shock, one of the two doors crumbled.

I stared at the fallen door, then turned back to the rabbit.

The rabbit's eyes, which had been black, were now blood red.

There's only one choice.

And from the look of its anger, it doesn't seem to be a good one.

Sharent Clown was looking at me.

"Should we go this way?"

I asked the rabbit, and it nodded vigorously.

'Hmm, I see.'

But there's nothing I can do about it. I looked at the rabbit, then at Sharent Clown.

"Let's go."

"Will it be okay?"

"Ung, it'll be fine."

After all, whichever path we take, it will be that path.

I don't think it will be difficult. I wonder what's happening in the other rooms.

Sharent Clown unlocked the door.

This time, it was a dark entrance.

I headed straight into the next room.

Sharent Clown followed me silently.

The room changed, and a white light seeped through.

I don't understand why this is called a maze... It is a maze.

"It's a maze..."

This time, it was a real maze.

It was also very eerie. It wasn't a room, and there was a moon in the sky.

Under the crescent moon, the giant vine maze was much larger than I expected.

"It's huge..."

"The gatekeeper seems to be angry with you. I've never seen a maze of this scale before."

The rabbit was the gatekeeper? You should have told me.

'Was giving the gatekeeper a sense of self the problem?'

At that time, for fun, I gave it the authority to manage this subspace and set the difficulty.

'Is there a door at the end of the maze?'

I'll have to pass through here to get there.