Then I positioned myself further around the corner to be on the lookout in two directions.

But no one has come since the whip guy earlier.

「… Maybe it’s time to move…」

Since I had a lot of free time on my hands, I decided to do some serious exploring of this building.

I’ve only seen the rooms and corridors.

「Where should I go… ?」

I thought about it and decided to go towards a different corridor from the one I had come to when this round started.

I’m hoping to find something new…

「… Now that I think about it, wouldn’t Yoichimaru-san be invincible if he used his skills in this corridor?」

As I walk, I think about the time Yoichimaru-san used his skills.

「He’ll come at you face to face, so there’s no way to escape…」

After all this time, I still shudder at the thought of my opponent’s terror.

「Ah, but I was in that situation when we fought, wasn’t I… ?」

Then it’s okay… ? No, but I wouldn’t want to go through something like that if I could help it…

「Ah! It’s a new place!」

Around the next corner, I saw a small space about 70 meters ahead… Of course I glanced around the corner, okay?

And as I approached, I found myself in a luxurious lobby.

The place I exited from was on the left side of the lobby on the first floor. There was a grand staircase in the center, and from the bottom it looked like something you’d see in a fairy tale.

「… Cinderella, was it… ?」

That was it. This is where Cinderella dropped her glass slipper. No wonder I had a sense of déjà vu about this place.

… Does that mean this is a castle? …No, that hasn’t been decided yet.

But if it’s a castle, then it must have an audience hall or something. I’m a little curious.

I think it’s probably behind the big door at the top of the grand staircase. Even if it’s not a castle, there’s probably something important behind this big door.

And so I climbed the grand staircase.

────

Halfway up the main staircase.

「──! ?」

──Tosuttosu…

Something snagged my foot, and shortly after that, some needles flew out from above.

「──Oh… You avoided them…」

At the top of the grand staircase… In front of that huge door, there is a butler-like man with white hair and a white mustache.

「… Who?」

「Well, well, how rude of me… My name is Sebastian, Ojousama’s butler. Please take care of me」

Sebastian-san places his hands on his chest and makes a 90 degree bow.

「Eh? Player… Right… ?」

「Yeah. We’re doing a role play」

「Role play… ?」

「To put it simply, acting… I’m not sure」

「Huh… ?」

「… Maa, that’s all right. What I want to say is that you avoided the trap」

「A- Ah, this?」

「Yes, it is. I was a little surprised because until now, I had never seen someone avoid them on the first try」

「… Thank you very much… ?」

「But… I have to win this event for the sake of Ojousama! Therefore, I will have to ask you to die」

「… Right」

And so began the battle between me and some butler.

「…… ! ?」

──Shushushun…

This time, the needles flew from the side. I lean forward to avoid them. While running up the stairs, I avoided or repelled all the needles that flew at me from all directions.

「…… This is not good…」

「Uryaa! !」

──Gyiiiiiin! !

A dull metallic sound echoed through the lobby.

「──But I am also experienced in close combat…」

「… Ku!」

──Hyunkkinhhyuhyuhyuhyuhyun! Kinhhyunhhyuhyunkkin!

The butler smirks and suddenly becomes aggressive. His weapon of choice is a dagger. Using his speed, he attacks at an incredible speed.

And then…

「Wha! ?」

A needle pricks my neck.

It seems that this butler had set a trap in between those attacks. I was completely blindsided.

「It’s a good thing there was only one prick. If there had been several of them, the poison would have killed you」

My HP gauge is slowly dwindling. But it’s not like I’m dying yet. If I were to interpret what the butler had said, it was probably a poison that would finally reach a lethal dose after several pricks.

I pulled out the needle and readied my sword.

「Then! 《Water Blade》!」

「I’ve seen that in the thread」

「Thread?」

「… We’re in the middle of a battle」

「Sorry…」

The 《Water Blade》 cut through the air, and the butler took advantage of the gap to close the distance.

「Fu!」

「Eh──kyaa! ?」

──Paki… n…

He made a feint, and a spinning kick came to my side while I was defenseless, which made me panic and I used my sword to block it.

Then, the recoil broke Mizuzanmaru.

「That’s the end of it. I’m sorry that I broke your sword, but this had to be done in order to win… Gah! ?」

I was blown away by a roundhouse kick and listened to the butler’s voice as I leaned my back against the second floor railing.

But the butler was suddenly turned to light by a single handed sword stuck in his head.

And that one-handed sword, I’ve seen it before――

「Ayane-tan, are you okay! ?」

Ah. It’s that woman…

Author:

What the hell is the Ojousama… ! Next time, the mysterious Ojousama is that person. That’s it! (Lie)

If you have a preference for when to post the new novel, please send it to me. If there is more than one, I will randomly decide.

By the way, the keyword of my new novel is 『 Dream』.