Chapter 77
“Is this the basement?”
Elysia looked around, scanning her surroundings. She had expected it to be pitch dark, but the place she had arrived at, though windowless, was softly lit by a warm yellow glow, giving it a rather cozy feel.
Ding!
You have arrived at ??@!$????.
“The notification window isn’t doing its job.”
How was she supposed to know where this was with such garbled text? To make matters worse, the space was even smaller than her room. Behind her was just a wall. And in front of her—
A door?
A tightly shut stone door. Though, it wasn’t even certain if it was a real door. Covered with all sorts of carvings and engravings, it looked more like an ornamental slab shaped like a door than an actual entrance.
Could there be some sort of holy relic inside?
Suspicious as it was, the aura flowing out from the underground clearly wasn’t human. That made Elysia think it was likely a relic specially kept by the temple.
But even when relics had been introduced in Remegol, there had never been a place or scene like this.
That only made her more curious. Was it a hidden relic unknown even to the temple and the protagonist? Or was it part of a different setting not included in the game?
Elysia cautiously stepped toward the door. Then, a new notification appeared before her.
Ding!
You have discovered a sealed ???.
Would you like to break the seal?
“……What?”
Something’s sealed in there?
The message was too corrupted to explain anything. It would be dangerous to recklessly break the seal without knowing what lay behind it. As she hesitated, another notification popped up.
Breaking the seal requires a large amount of divine power.
Current level: 00%
Seal cannot be broken.
“……!”
So the door could only be opened by pouring divine power into it. But Elysia had no skill to release divine power, so there was nothing she could do for now. More importantly, without knowing what was inside, she couldn’t just recklessly use a skill.
“What on earth is supposed to be in here?”
A “sealed ???.” Couldn’t the system at least give her a hint?
“Hey, Administrator, do you know anything?”
She belatedly opened the customer service window again. She’d ignored it earlier since it kept trying to stop her from coming here, but now that she had arrived, maybe the Administrator would have something to say.
But instead—
Customer service is temporarily suspended.
Reason: Violation of regulations.
“…Violation of regulations?”
Elysia blinked and tapped the notification repeatedly. What did she violate? Entering this place against the Administrator’s warning? That seemed ridiculously unfair.
As she kept pressing, a more detailed message appeared.
Administrator is currently unavailable due to allegations of information leakage.
Until a replacement is found or the Administrator gives an explanation, customer service is unavailable.
We apologize for the inconvenience.
“…What?”
Reading it carefully, the nuance was strange. “Information leakage” and “the Administrator must explain” made it sound less like her fault and more like the Administrator had been dismissed for giving her information he shouldn’t have.
“……”
So telling her to enter this building had been dangerous for him?
All those times the Administrator insisted he couldn’t reveal too much about the game—he’d really meant it?
Elysia lifted her head with a serious expression. What exactly was this place, that the Administrator had been punished for simply pointing it out? What setting had the developers tried so hard to hide?
In the heavy silence, she quietly gazed at the door.
Neither the carved drawings nor the ornate sculptures decorating the stone gave her any clue. Touching it changed nothing, and pushing with force didn’t budge it either.
Should I just go back?
After coming all the way here, she was supposed to turn around empty-handed? That stung.
Maybe she should use a skill exchange ticket. As she stood there, lost in thought—
“…Crap, this is bad.”
A faint voice came from beyond the door.
“…What should I do? …I think I might lose it. Is this really okay?”
The voice was so quiet she almost thought she imagined it.
Instinctively, Elysia leaned toward the gap in the door and asked,
“Is someone in there?”
“……”
No reply. Thinking maybe she hadn’t been heard, she pressed her ear against the door. After a brief silence, a whisper came back.
“…Can you hear my voice?”
“Yes, I can.”
She answered immediately. Whoever was on the other side—whether a temple priest or a suspicious sealed entity—
If they were an enemy, she’d just defeat them. Without hesitation, she pressed on.
“Then answer me. Who are you?”
“…Unbelievable, you can actually hear me. As expected… you’re amazing. Scary, even.”
Are they talking about me?
Elysia tilted her head, puzzled. Then came the sound of someone awkwardly clearing their throat.
“Ahem. Then, could you perhaps… let me out of here?”
“……”
Her brow arched. Let them out? So this was the “sealed ???” mentioned earlier?
“And who exactly are you?”
Why should she release them without knowing? What if they were some mastermind villain?
At her suspicious tone, the other side fell silent for a moment. Then came an awkward reply.
“I… I’m… an angel.”
Silence.
“R-really.”
“And I’m supposed to believe that?”
Elysia looked utterly unimpressed. What, an angel? Neither Remegol nor Seiros Saga had ever featured such beings. Whatever this ??? was, they were clearly desperate to be freed. She kindly pointed out:
“If you’re an angel, then come out yourself. The message says you can use divine power to break the seal.”
“I can’t use divine power right now.”
“…And you’re really an angel?”
“Uh…?”
The so-called angel faltered. Elysia’s tone turned sharper.
“Doesn’t it sound strange even to you? What kind of angel can’t use divine power?”
Even priests could use divine power. A powerless “angel”? Suspicious.
Crossing her arms, Elysia narrowed her eyes. The whole situation stank. A forbidden temple basement, an Administrator vanished for leaking secrets, and now a mysterious entity sealed away here.
“This is way too much to handle alone. Anyone got any bright ideas?”
She tried opening the chat window instead of customer service. But—
!!Due to connection error, chat window cannot be accessed!!
Signal is weak. Broadcast suspended…
“What?”
She grimaced. Sure, she’d experienced weak Wi-Fi in elevators or basements before—but here? Really?
She tapped the notifications in silence, lost in thought. Maybe it was the oppressive underground air, or maybe it was being suddenly cut off from both customer service and chat support, but—
Why did she suddenly feel so isolated, as if she’d been relying on them all along?
“…Are you still there?”
The “angel,” perhaps worried by her long silence, spoke again.
Elysia lifted her head. The more confusing the situation, the calmer she had to stay. Whenever she stumbled on an unknown scenario, gathering information was key. Steeling herself, she spoke firmly.
“First, you need to earn my trust. Answer my questions.”
“……”
“First question. Where are we?”
“The temple basement, I think?”
Useless answer.
That was something she already knew. She fired off another question.
“If you’re really an angel, why are you trapped in here?”
“…Because I don’t have enough divine power to return.”
The voice sounded gloomy. Elysia frowned.
“Return? Return from where to where? Is this door some kind of gateway to the angels’ realm?”
“No… that’s not it. I can’t go into detail.”
That was unsettling. Could this place actually be a prison for angels who had committed crimes? Maybe the voice belonged to someone locked away for a terrible deed. She asked bluntly,
“Are you sealed here because you did something wrong?”
“No, I’m innocent—”
The so-called angel quickly cut themselves off.
“…I can’t say.”
“What? If all you do is say you ‘can’t tell me,’ how am I supposed to trust you?”
Elysia sighed, exasperated. No matter what she asked, the only response was silence or refusal. The conversation was becoming pointless. Perhaps sensing her thinning patience, the voice hurriedly spoke again.
“Lady Elysia Semperion.”
“…!”
Her heart skipped. How did they know her name when she was visiting this place for the first time? Could they actually see her through the door?
“…I understand your frustration, but if I recklessly reveal the laws of the world, it will cause great trouble.”
The unexpectedly solemn tone, calm and steady, made Elysia briefly wonder if they might truly be an angel. Maybe, just maybe, they were telling the truth. She steadied herself and asked in a more serious voice,
“Since you can’t answer most questions, let’s change the approach. Just tell me what you can say. What are the things you’re allowed to talk about?”
At least that much.
At her suggestion, the other side fell silent for a long time, as if carefully considering their words. The pause stretched, heavy with deliberation.
Finally, in a grave, weighty voice, they spoke:
“…Pretty much nothing?”
What the heck is that supposed to mean?
