**VIP Chapter 454: Precision Landing (3k)**
“Follow me,” Senior Iaar said, lifting everyone’s luggage with her witch’s gravity magic. The bags floated along behind them, her own belongings being the heaviest – several sacks of books and many experimental instruments.
“Ah? Okay… okay!”
In front of Iaar, a door to the witch’s corridor materialized with incredible speed, and the three of them squeezed through.
“Wow, Miss Iaar, she drew that so quickly!”
“I… I was a beginner back then.”
“Learn more next time, please.”
“Alright, alright.”
After re-entering the long corridor exclusive to witches, Will finally voiced his question.
“So, it’s not necessary to pinpoint a specific dungeon and leave something there to arrive at a dungeon precisely? Teacher Iaar…”
Will pushed aside their luggage and leaned closer to Iaar to ask.
“Why would you think that?”
Iaar looked up at Will, a rare expression of bewilderment in her draconic, conical eyes. Will had never seen her intelligent, all-knowing eyes show such confusion.
“The corridor itself connects all dungeons. As long as you find the portrait of the corresponding Emperor in the corridor, you can find the exit using the coordinates below it.”
She paused, and the floating luggage, following inertia, drifted a bit further. Standing amidst the bags, her gaze passed over Will and landed on Liya, a few steps away.
“Liya, didn’t you learn this from your mother?”
“Uh! This, this, this…”
Will was seeing the usually strict Teacher Liya, who would make him copy fifty times for a single mistake, stammering and unable to speak for the first time. Although Iaar was his grandmaster by seniority, considering her appearance as a young dragon girl and her almost “equal footing” attitude towards Will, he hadn’t thought of her in that way. However, seeing Liya reprimanded like this, Will felt Iaar’s “grandmaster” authority.
“Alright. I understand… Some things have indeed been lost in these five hundred years. I originally thought that since even the props for providing ‘fun’ had been improved, then these most basic things like passageways should have been improved long ago.”
“Why would those two be connected…?”
Liya, who had been trembling, tilted her head, a rare sight, and began to ponder what Iaar had experienced to develop such a way of thinking.
“Uh… No, let’s not think about that!” Will immediately interrupted Liya’s thoughts. Iaar, having confirmed something, continued to direct the floating luggage forward.
“So, the name of that dungeon is Tenth Demon City… The Empress’s current name is Lucifer? Alright, follow me.”
“Grandmaster~ You’ve only been here once in five hundred years, right? Why are you walking so confidently in one direction, as if you know where her portrait is?”
Will playfully used the title “Grandmaster,” and as expected, he saw Iaar’s expression darken.
“Was I that terrifying just now? Like… like the oldest lady in the academy scolding someone?”
“No! Absolutely not! Senior Iaar is super gentle!” Liya quickly explained her earlier fluster.
“But, Liya, your Twin Tails were trembling just now. Hmm… It’s like how my ears would twitch when I was scared,” Iaar revealed mercilessly.
“Shh, shh, shh, consider the situation,” Iaar said, walking ahead with her staff, scratching her head. Among the three who used staffs as weapons, Iaar’s staff looked the most humble. After all, she had simply woven it from branches in the witch’s lair.
“Okay, I get it. Actually, I just wanted to understand the current magic situation. As for Will… the problem my disciple’s disciple mentioned…” Iaar specifically emphasized the words “disciple’s disciple,” and Will felt something inherited from the witches – a tit-for-tat approach to revenge.
“Because the guide above has the first letters of the portrait distribution.” She stopped at a crossroad in the corridor, pointing to the scribbled text along the wall.
“Th-that’s the first letter?!” Liya’s eyes widened.
“Hmm… No matter how you look at it, it’s just some kind of artistic decoration?” Iaar tilted her head, trying to get a closer look.
“Could this also be some ancient text from five hundred years ago?”
“Wait… you don’t recognize the Cushite alphabet, nor do you know its conversion relationship with the Entak alphabet?”
The three shook their heads.
“What is that?”
“It’s one of the three dominant countries on this continent, and it also produces mages who are quite accomplished in practice,” Iaar explained seriously.
“I seem to recall… wasn’t that the country annexed by Entak two hundred years ago?”
“That’s right! That one! Speaking of which, when I was just born, I think I saw this script on announcements in nearby villages.”
“…I’m old. I have to admit I’m old.” After being shaken by the immense, repeated era changes, Iaar now truly felt the vast distance between herself and this world five hundred years later.
“I don’t think ‘getting old’ is the right way to describe it?” Will scratched his head.
“However, that being said, there have been too many changes in five hundred years. Unfortunately… even with my lifespan, I can only experience a small part of it.”
“That’s right. Even these five hundred years are quite short… Compared to my previous world, development here has already been very fast,” Will said. Reflecting on it, in five hundred years, this world had progressed from a primitive era of worshipping gods to a steam age, almost at light speed, due to things dug up from dungeons. Hmm… Things dug up from dungeons? Will felt a faint understanding of the meaning behind the “creation” of dungeons…
“Oh? We’re here. Is it this person?” Iaar stopped in front of a portrait.
“Let me see, let me see.” Since only Will knew what Lucifer looked like, he leaned in. He was also very curious about what kind of person the likable, daughter-like young girl had been in life… Upon seeing the portrait, Will froze. The Lucifer in the painting, whose original name was written as “Lucy,” truly looked like she was only ten years old. Her clothes and attire were somewhat shabby, and her face was dirty. She looked like an orphan from the slums, but… The bag she held had a “nobility” that didn’t match her current appearance, looking like something only a wealthy Adventurer would use. Judging solely by this portrait, she might have been a “thief” in life. If that was the case, it made sense that she was now the Empress of the “Demon City.” Within dungeons, it was rare to assign a persona that didn’t fit.
“That’s right. It’s her.”
“She was really… a child? She looks only ten years old. Was she that young in life?” Liya was somewhat surprised. She had initially thought Will had encountered someone similar to her, someone who only looked like a child but was actually old enough to collect a pension. However… The portraits here captured the appearance of the persona when they died in the dungeon, meaning she died at this age, and her personality and mind were likely also fixed at this age.
“Hmm… It looks perhaps similar to my life situation before I was brought to the Hysterm Family?” Iaar felt a trace of sympathy. If she were mixed among these various “God-Attuned,” her portrait might not stand out. Many among the God-Attuned had tragic lives. But, singling out a portrait of a ten-year-old girl God-Attuned who died in a dungeon was quite shocking.
“It’s indeed her. And… she passed away only thirty years ago? Quite recent, no wonder she doesn’t seem that out of touch with the times.”
“Uh-huh, then allow the out-of-touch person to ask you, can we depart?”
“Wait a moment, I want to look at this portrait again.”
“No problem. Precisely locating the exit based on this portrait will naturally take some time.” Will stared at the luxurious bag in the portrait, deep in thought. He didn’t have a very good memory for accessories, but… the decorative flower attached to the bag was oddly familiar. It didn’t look like a decoration for an ordinary bag, but rather like a leftover from a magical experiment, used to adorn the bag. Especially… it resembled the row of flowers found at the old Hysterm Family site. The bag in her hand was an experimental product using those flowers.
“The door here has been pinpointed, Will, let’s go!” Liya’s voice came from behind him.
“Oh, okay—let’s go!”
“You just need to open this door. I’ll leave it to you, Will. After all, you’re an acquaintance of hers. Will she really welcome us? Don’t we need to send someone in beforehand to inform her and make some preparations?”
“No problem. She’s desperately lonely. She’ll definitely welcome visitors with open arms anytime.”
—But, come to think of it, these doors – the previous ones led to the witch’s lair or a BOSS room in some dungeon. In the Tenth Demon City, where would this one lead? —It felt like the surprise of Doraemon’s Anywhere Door. Will confidently pushed open the door and… In front of him, beyond the door, was thick fog. In the middle of the fog was a huge bathtub, one he hadn’t seen before in the Tenth Demon City. And… in the bathtub, pink short hair was clearly visible. Then… he met the gaze of a pair of purple, cat-like vertical pupils, and blinked.
“Ah?”
“Ah???”
“Ah!!!!”
“Ah—! Why are old acquaintances suddenly appearing in my dungeon while I’m taking a bath?!” Will began to ponder… His statement of “anytime” might have been a bit premature.
