Chapter 184

“Eek! Eek! Look at those animals vanishing while screaming!”

You were staring blankly at the chaos when you suddenly realized someone was bustling towards you. It was the rabbit you had encountered earlier.

The chatter around you had drawn your companions’ attention, and soon enough, you spotted the rabbit mask that had appeared out of nowhere.

While your group stared at the rabbit mask, a voice echoed through the air.

The rabbit pointed at you, shouting, “Hey there, maid! What are you doing just standing around? Bring me my fan and gloves, now! Hurry up!”

It seems the rabbit mistook you for its maid.

You could either follow the rabbit’s orders and head to its house or try to persuade it to clear up the misunderstanding.

“What the heck is going on here?”

Dorothea was completely baffled.

[‘The Tin Knight’ suddenly barking orders! Is it possible to get sliced in half?]

“Go ahead and try.”

That was a nonchalant permission.

With no ordinary folks around, the witch was acting wild.

Swish!

The Tin Knight swung his sword at the rabbit mask.

However, it just passed through without touching the mask, as if he had sliced through a mirage.

This was the same phenomenon as what had occurred in the initial white space.

The rabbit pointed at you again, shouting, “What kind of rudeness is this to my master!? I’ll give you a proper scolding later, but first, I need my fan and gloves, so hurry up!”

Dorothea frowned, feeling like the voice was saying, “What are you going to do about it?”

“Is that voice possibly Gale… No, if it’s that guy, he wouldn’t be going in circles like this. Could there be anyone else?”

“Well, in a typical game book, everything is written out and only the reading order changes. But the game book made by the North Witch alters the content based on the reader’s choices, so it wouldn’t be surprising if there’s an intellect managing that.”

“Like a synthetic soul, perhaps? Trying to force actions by throwing out something we can’t even chop?”

Dorothea showed a displeased expression but had no means to retaliate against the opponent.

Just when she was about to follow one of the options…

The Tin Knight stared back and forth between the sword he held and the undamaged rabbit.

He seemed to sporting a grumpy face, though one couldn’t even tell if it was really a face with those lack of muscles!

“Uh, hey, Knight?”

Adele had a grim instinct and tried to hold the knight back, but it was too late.

Swish!

A light traced a line through the air.

The line became a crack, and the crack widened.

The rabbit mask that was caught in between also split into two with the crack.

“……”

Your team was left speechless.

《…….》

It seemed even the voice in the air had lost for words.

[‘The Tin Knight’ nods, seemingly satisfied at the slicing!]

Only the Tin Knight pounded his chest proudly, pleased with his action.

Dorothea asked, “What the heck was that?”

[‘The Tin Knight’ claims you can even slice ghosts by using spiritual sight!]

Dorothea blinked twice, then said, “Oh, sure,” and moved on.

After all, a knight who handles magical powers could also take down the spirits handled by a necromancer. So it made some sense after all.

However, unlike Dorothea who had no clue about martial arts, Adelheid started to realize just how advanced that attack was.

In Sophia’s terms, it was akin to a character inside a page slicing part of the page itself.

For quite a while, silence lingered.

Then, the surrounding scenery gradually began to change.

Puddles disappeared, the open area where animals used to frolic vanished, and even the fragments of the rabbit mask faded into thin air.

Suddenly, a cruciform stone wall rose up around your group, and one of the paths leading out crumbled away.

A platform with four dishes stood at the center of the crossroads, and each dish had a peculiar phrase inscribed in front of it.

“Caterpillar’s Tobacco” “Mad Hatter’s Hat” “Turtle’s Soup”

Even the altar itself had inscriptions that read:

“He who offers the proper price shall gain the path to new adventures.”

“Those who seek a path without offering a price must forfeit their lives to the extent of their insufficient offerings.”

Once everyone finished reading the inscriptions, the voice echoed once more.

“Those who met an unjust death”

[‘The Tin Knight’ argues that if you don’t have a clue about the situation, you shouldn’t feel guilty for the unwarranted punishment!]

“Due to the rabbit’s curse…”

“Where’s the medicine for that? There was no sign of any curse!”

“You have been teleported before the altar of the curse.”

“We didn’t teleport; the surrounding environment just changed, so the word ‘teleport’ is misleading. Well, unless it’s a theatrical expression.”

“To move to the next space beyond the altar, offer the offerings that the altar requires. If you request a path without gathering the offerings, then the price will be paid in blood.”

“If you’re searching for the caterpillar, go left. If it’s the Mad Hatter, go back. If it’s the turtle, head right.”

“Guys, don’t you think it’s a bit sad for the voice? Can’t we just humor it a bit?”

Ignoring the pleas for some decorum from the members, the voice had no response.

But it wasn’t because it had nothing to say.

In fact, it was a sign of confidence.

‘Offering will open the doors’ means ‘Offering will create the path,’ so even with the opium key, it was impossible to tackle this.

It’s not as though a doorkeeper was on guard, so smashing through the doorkeeper wasn’t an option.

Still, generating offerings out of thin air was impossible. If proper offerings weren’t brought forth, then the price would be your companions’ lives.

This time, you had no choice but to diligently perform your options—

“I request a path.”

Crack!

The moment Sophia uttered those words, one of the dishes morphed into a terrifying monster’s mouth and gobbled up Sophia’s head.

Her headless corpse shook and then dropped to the ground.

The dish pretended to gulp something down as if satisfied and then returned to its original form.

The only difference was that the dish that devoured Sophia radiated a soft glow.

The voice paused for a moment but soon opened its mouth.

“For seeking a path without offering the proper sacrifice, you have lost your life.”

“The remaining three of you must make a choice.”

“If you seek the caterpillar, go left. If it’s the Mad Hatter, go back. If the turtle, go right.”

“Oh, let me request a path one more time.”

Crack!

Once again ignoring the choices, one more precious life was snuffed out.

Now, only three remained.

“……?”

What? Why are there still three left?

The voice paused as if witnessing something that shouldn’t have happened.

“Let’s go!”

Clearly, Sophia who just had her head bitten off stood up nonchalantly.

Yet, the dish monster seemed unfazed, continuing to chew on what was in its mouth, transforming into a shining dish as if satisfied.

“For offering the proper sacrifice—”

“I request a path!”

Crack!

The same process repeated once more, and the dish shimmered with light.

Four lives were saved, despite making three sacrifices.

While the voice was petrified by this miraculous equation, a heavy sound echoed as heavy rocks began rising from the deep floor, forming a stepping stone bridge.

The group started walking across the bridge.

After a while, they arrived at what looked like a courtroom.

Buzzing everywhere.

In the audience, various animals and people dressed like clowns or soldiers filled the seats, while on a higher throne sat a solemn King and Queen, and in the center stood a white girl wearing a top hat.

The Black Girl, Dorothea, asked, “What are you doing over there?”

The White Girl, Gale, answered, “Since you all messed up the story, the book forced me into this role. Originally, I was supposed to meet you as a guard somewhere else.”

Just as Dorothea was about to question what nonsense that was, the King seated on the throne spoke up.