041-060 · 047-ch41

Chapter 41: Castle Exploration

The next morning, I headed toward that blank space where nothing was visible again, finally ready to investigate the castle.

Apparently, the castle was enchanted with magic that made it invisible once you moved a certain distance away.

As I approached that empty space, the castle reappeared, blocking the sunlight that had been shining on us.

"Oh? Robo, wait here a moment."

『Bark』

>>Did you notice something?

>>He left Robo behind and moved away from the castle

>>What's going on, I wonder

>>Ah, I see—so there's shade there. Makes sense

I had noticed something, so I left Robo at the base of the castle and moved to a position where the castle was no longer visible.

But the castle was still visible.

"I see. It's true that you can't see it unless you're close, but it seems the castle only appears when someone is nearby. In other words, as long as someone's close, it stays visible. No wonder there were no monster signs around."

They probably wanted to avoid the castle staying visible constantly due to monsters approaching or taking up residence.

But if they simply cast an illusion magic that made it invisible and didn't show sunlight or shadows, there would be no need for such troublesome magic that only makes the castle appear when someone approaches, while normally letting sunlight pass through.

Well, I suppose the complexity and preferences of magic depend on the caster's skill and proficiency.

"Still, something feels off... Wouldn't a simple illusion spell have been enough?"

But for some reason, the fact that it only appears when you get close bothers me.

The magic that lets sunlight pass through is the same.

Even without going through all that trouble, casting one large illusion spell should easily hide the castle's existence.

"Robo, come over here!"

『Bark!』

After calling Robo over, the castle became transparent again once no one was nearby, and sunlight began passing through without issue.

Then, curious about something, I took a knife from my bracelet and threw it toward where the castle gate should be.

>>Wait, what?

>>He threw it!?

>>The precious castle—aaaaah!!

>>What are you doing!!

>>Preserve the ruins!!!!!!!

The comment section was in an uproar, but as I expected, the knife flew in a nearly straight line and passed right through the castle, embedding itself in the mountainside beyond.

"Hmm, I see. So it really doesn't exist normally."

No wonder.

I thought it had troublesome magic that normally let sunlight pass through or made it appear when you got close.

But that wasn't the case.

The truth is, when no people or monsters are near, that castle doesn't exist in this world—at least not on this plane of existence.

>>So what does that mean?

>>Spacetime anomaly?

>>So it normally exists there but doesn't exist there, and its existence is confirmed the moment you approach?

>>Then where is it normally?

>>What was that supposed to demonstrate?

"I think that castle is probably affected by some troublesome spacetime magic. And when people approach, it settles down and properly appears in this world. Probably. Just a guess."

Of course, it's also possible that it normally exists somewhere else and only appears when someone approaches—

"The weird refraction of sunlight makes sense if spacetime is bugged out."

As I spoke, Robo and I approached the castle once more.

>>Pure question, but is it safe to go in there?

>>Yeah, what if it disappears again? Won't you get caught up in it?

>>This is starting to feel really dangerous.

>>Show us inside the castle already!!

Most comments were warning about the danger of approaching.

Indeed, I was also concerned that if it's spacetime-bugged, I might get swallowed up by another spacetime anomaly right after entering.

But on the other hand, if it's this strange, the secret of why this city is frozen might remain in this castle.

You could think of it that way.

Besides, for an adventurer like me seeking adventure, there's no reason not to charge into this castle.

Danger—perhaps—is everything in this world.

As long as magic exists, there's always the possibility of suddenly being erased by localized distortions in magical power.

Or, like when I accidentally woke that dragon on the World Tree, there's the possibility of stirring up an absolutely unbeatable powerhouse with no chance of victory.

Even so, I want to have adventures.

"So, I'm going in leaving Robo behind."

Leaving Robo outside, I climbed over the castle's main gate and entered the grounds.

For the record, after pushing and pulling, it was clear the gate wouldn't open.

Continuing along the path within the castle grounds, I reached for the door of the castle building.

The moment I touched it.

『Grandfather, Grandfather!』

『Oh, Princess...』

Something like an image flashed through my mind, and I involuntarily pulled my hand away from the door.

It was a princess and someone called "Grandfather"—probably a head servant or butler.

I saw a man lying in bed while a woman held his hand with a tearful expression.

Wondering if I could see more of the vision, I touched the door again, but this time nothing happened.

When I pulled it normally, the door opened easily.

>>It opened normally

>>Why did you let go halfway through?

>>Static electricity! or something?

>>It's pretty dim inside. Not pitch-black, though

The castle interior, while still beautiful, appeared dim—probably because there were no lights like you usually see in castles.

Then again, the structure of this castle with its back to the sun was already unusual.

Stepping into the castle, I had just walked down the stairs past the entrance when I was called out to from the side and instinctively jumped back.

I hadn't sensed any presence until just then.

"You are a guest, yes? Her Majesty the Queen is waiting. Please, come this way."

"Ah, no, I'm—"

I couldn't continue my response.

The maid who had spoken to me and was about to guide me away vanished into thin air as she turned around and was about to step on the stairs.

"...A ghost, or something?"

>>For real, it's a ghost!

>>She just disappeared!

>>What are you gonna do? Are you going there?

>>If it's not a ghost, maybe it's a residual memory

The comment section seemed to be in great confusion.

Honestly, I hadn't expected to encounter a ghost right away.

Though ghost-type monsters do exist as dungeon creatures, so it's not like I'd be scared if they were there.

Well, that one didn't look like a monster, though.

But the bigger issue was those words: "Her Majesty the Queen is waiting."

Whether that's true or not.

If it's true, I should go, and if it's just a ghost's catchphrase, it means there was once a queen in this castle.

Either way, I need to investigate with that in mind.

"For now, I'll check the first floor. Let's go from the bottom up."

I declared this to the comment section and began examining the first floor.

>>That's a good idea

>>Don't miss anything

>>Castles have complex structures, so there might be 1.5 floors or 2.5 floors

>>Even if not, it wouldn't be surprising if the second floor heights differ between different sections

"Yeah, that's possible. Especially around the royal family areas, they probably have hidden rooms and secret passages."

Sometimes the viewers' opinions are actually useful (arrogant).

Actually, their collective knowledge is amazing. Since I allow it, when we went to the desert and forest, knowledge was flying around the comments section, and it was very educational.

That said, the first floor seemed more like a place for people working in the castle than the royal family, and the first room I entered was the kitchen.

As I looked around, I talked about this world's level of civilization.

"It's basically medieval, but there are occasional magical tools, I guess you'd call them? Stuff like that."

>>Technology must have developed in that direction

>>Couldn't they use magic power instead of electricity?

>>Actually, if you think of magic power as more manageable energy than electricity, you could do various things

>>I have the Magic Engraver skill, but I don't know how to use it

"Magic Engraver probably lets you do something if you know proper magic circles, patterns, and characters. Actually, isn't that a pretty rare skill?"

>>Never heard of it

>>Me neither

>>Can't find it in searches either

>>Congratulations, you're the first

>>W-wait? Is it really that valuable...?

It's probably a skill that naturally does what I forcibly do with skills like [Processing].

"I'll show you some magic circles from this world and some of mine next time."

>>I love that stuff

>>I'm not involved but I love it

>>Somehow, thank you for doing this for me. Now I can finally escape my extremely poor adventurer life...!

>>Theories will progress!

While having such conversations, I finished looking at the dining hall and moved to the adjacent small food storage.

Though it wasn't that large in scale.

They probably brought only the ingredients needed for today from somewhere else.

Occasionally finding broken magical storage tools, I continued exploring while discussing them with viewers.

Along the way, I found something like a diary.

As I reached to touch it, thinking I should wear gloves for this kind of thing, I took gloves from my magic inventory, put them on, and picked up what appeared to be a fragment of the diary.

Most of it was smudged and faded, with only a tiny portion readable.

"『...Today』what's this, only this part is garbled. I'll mark it as 〇〇『〇〇did not wake from sleep. This makes ten people already. ...May not wake... Her Majesty the Queen... ice...』Can't read any more than that."

Wait, hold on.

"Why can I read this language in the first place? This should be the one I gave up on because I couldn't read it."

The moment I thought that, the diary fragment I was holding began to dissolve into the air.

I tried to grab it again in a panic, but it smoothly vanished as if it had never been there.

>>Hmmm

>>So it's a haunted house

>>You came all the way to another world and didn't have to go occult

>>Why could you read a language you couldn't read? Maybe someone wanted you to read it

>>Who would that be?

I organized the information.

In this castle, or perhaps this city, people were mysteriously not waking up.

The phrase "may not wake" probably expressed concern about oneself not waking up.

And "Her Majesty the Queen" and "ice."

It well represented the state of this city.

But.

"No good, I still don't understand."

In the end, I couldn't comprehend what it was trying to say.

I could tell something had happened in this city, but.

"I'll continue exploring for now. If I find another room with materials, I'll search carefully."

>>Yeah

>>I wonder if the Queen was beautiful

>>She's probably not alive anymore

>>If she was a beauty, make sure to film her properly

Ignoring the comments saying whatever they wanted, I continued my exploration.