Vol 4. Chapter 41: Are You Afraid of the Dark?

“You really are a golden-haired idiot. Are you tired of living? You want to get buried alive and crushed to death by the roof collapsing? I still don’t want to turn into a pancake.” Vinny snapped irritably.

“Up there is the outer battlements. Nobody can say for sure what’s pressing down on it. I think it’s probably those big stone blocks. You act without thinking—if you blow that plate apart, even if the roof doesn’t collapse, we’ll still get smashed to death by rocks!”

“Then what do you want to do?” Milian couldn’t help asking. “Didn’t you say there’s still a priest? Since there’s no route on either side, he can only have run from the battlements, right?”

“Not necessarily.” Vinny’s tone was full of disdain. “And who says he ran? Maybe he just wants you to think he ran.”

“Huh??” Milian tilted her head, frowning. Clearly, for her intelligence, that sentence was a little too advanced to process. “What do you mean, he wants us to think he ran?”

“Forget it. I’m not explaining it to you.” Vinny felt like explaining it to Milian would be nothing but a waste of time, and he started down the stairs.

“Milian, sometimes I genuinely worry about you. With that brain of yours, do you think you’ll pass it on to your next generation?” Vinny jabbed.

“Tch! You—!” Milian flushed with instant embarrassment and anger.

[Virtue +50]

[Current Virtue: 5759]

“Even if I did, it wouldn’t have anything to do with you!”

“Oh, so you know you’re stupid?” Vinny grinned and kept teasing. “And how does it not have anything to do with me? I plan to open a trading house in the future—specializing in scamming idiots into buying insurance. Leave me your contact information now. Maybe your son or daughter will be one of my biggest clients.”

“Get lost!” Milian fumed, lifting her foot to stomp him.

Vinny obviously wasn’t going to let her. He slid out of range in an instant, laughing with that shameless look on his face. “Too slow, golden-haired idiot.”

“You’re the idiot!” The two of them bickered their way down the stairs. Milian chased after him, cheeks puffed, trying to punch him, and Vinny—of course—kept moving, running ahead and refusing to stand still and take it.

“Alright, alright, stop hitting me. We’re doing serious business right now—what do you think you’re doing?” Vinny complained.

“You’ve got the nerve to say that! You’re the one who’s never serious!” Milian snapped.

“Fine, fine, stop. We—” Vinny suddenly reached out and halted her. “Hey. Wait.”

“Huh? What?” Feeling his mood turn serious all at once, Milian froze, then followed his line of sight.

Vinny was staring at several sockets in the wall.

They looked like mounting holes that once held oil painting frames. Now every painting that had hung here was gone—no one knew if they’d been stolen.

“What are you doing, staring at those sockets?” Milian asked, confused. “What’s wrong with them? Aren’t they everywhere?”

“They are everywhere.” Vinny kept his eyes on one of the sockets. “If you hadn’t chased me over here, I almost wouldn’t have noticed it either.”

“Huh? Noticed what? Is there something special about them?” Milian leaned in, curiosity sparkling. She rubbed her chin and examined them from every angle, but still couldn’t see any difference.

“Look carefully. Isn’t this socket different from the others?” Vinny pointed to one.

“This socket is different?” Milian studied it for a long time, glancing left and right. Then, all of a sudden—like a beam of light had punched through her skull—her face lit up with realization. “Ah! I get it!”

“You see it too?”

“Yep! I see it!” Milian said with profound shock. “This socket... it has three sockets on its left and three sockets on its right! The others don’t!”

“...” Vinny went silent on the spot.

He’d lost track of how many times Milian had forced him into silence. The worst part was that she always did it completely unintentionally.

“You could’ve just said it’s the one in the middle.” Vinny pointed at an identical arrangement on the adjacent wall. “And that kind of socket is elsewhere too, isn’t it??”

“Eh? Is it?” Milian scratched her head, puzzled, following where he pointed.

Vinny drew a slow breath.

As expected, he shouldn’t hope Milian would be useful in the “brains” department. Being with Milian didn’t just fail to add intelligence to a group—it actively lowered the team’s overall IQ.

“You still don’t see how this socket is different from the rest?” Vinny leaned closer, more certain now.

“Ah!” Milian looked up again—another “beam of light” seemed to strike her. “I get it! It lines up perfectly with that brick seam on the ceiling, doesn’t it??”

“Alright. I understand, Milian. You answered very well.” Vinny waved a hand. “Next time, don’t answer.”

“So what is it, then?!” Milian pouted, lips forming an adorable sulk. “You keep saying it’s different but you won’t tell me how it’s different. Are you messing with me like I’m stupid?”

“Huh??” Vinny was genuinely stunned, his expression turning even stranger as he stared at her. “Milian—be reasonable. Do I need to try to treat you like you’re stupid?”

She was already the real thing.

The kind you couldn’t even fake if you tried.

Honestly, Vinny felt like for someone with Milian’s intelligence—and her lack of basic common sense—it was impressive she hadn’t been tricked and scammed while wandering around alone for so long. If someone truly set out to con her, she’d get sold and still help count the money.

Someone should give her an award.

The Lucky Idiot Award.

Which only proved the point: she really was a fate heroine. Everyone’s strengths and weaknesses differed, but the common trait was overwhelming luck.

Shicodale was “not strong enough, so luck makes up for it.” Milian was “not smart enough, so luck makes up for it.” As long as they were lucky enough, disaster would always lag one step behind them.

Thinking about it made Vinny depressed.

Compared to these fate heroines, what was his biggest gap?

Wasn’t it luck?

If he had good luck, would he ever run into this kind of thing?

Luck was an important metric for judging whether someone was blessed by fate—whether someone was a fate heroine.

Shicodale had encountered crisis after crisis, but had anything truly happened to him so far? No. Every time it looked like he was about to die, someone always showed up to save him.

Milian, this golden-haired idiot, was probably the same.

“So what is it?!” Milian pressed.

“Milian, a fun bit of knowledge—brains can be used to think, and eyes can be used to observe.”

“What kind of nonsense is that?” Milian blinked, still not getting it.

“Saying nonsense isn’t the scariest thing.” Vinny let out a long sigh. “The scariest thing is when some people can’t even understand nonsense.”

He didn’t know if it was because he was away from Aesphyra—unable to rely on her and forced to rely on himself—but Vinny felt like his own intelligence was climbing in a straight line.

He pointed at the socket again. “Look. Why are there chisel marks all around this socket?”

“Huh?” Milian focused—and sure enough, she spotted faint chiseling around it.

“And why is this socket slightly bigger than the others?” Vinny asked.

“That proves...” Milian thought for a moment. “That it was used to hang a painting before?”

“Milian.” Vinny was utterly speechless. “Can you please say something I can’t see with my own eyes? If a socket was used to hang paintings, what else would it be used for??”

“Then what does it prove?!”

“Milian—do you know locks? When a lock has been used for a long time, doesn’t the edge of the keyhole get worn and gouged a little?”

“But what does that have to do with a lock?” Milian still didn’t understand.

Vinny stopped explaining and simply examined it carefully. “This shape... Milian, do you have a sword?”

“Huh? A sword? No, but I brought a dagger.” Not knowing what he was doing, Milian still handed him the dagger strapped to her thigh. “What are you using it for?”

Vinny didn’t answer. He took the elf dagger and stabbed it into the socket. After a brief scrape and clatter—nothing happened.

“So that doesn’t work.” Vinny frowned in thought. “Maybe a sword won’t either. This socket might require something specific.”

“Huh? Oh—so that’s what you mean?” Milian’s face brightened in sudden realization. She looked around the hall, eyes lighting up. “If you want a sword, isn’t there one right here?”

“What?” Vinny turned and saw Milian holding a plain, unremarkable iron sword.

It was the one leaning against the throne when they first entered the hall.

“Milian, what are you doing? How could it be that sword?” Vinny frowned. “If it were, why would it just be left here in the hall?”

And that sword looked absurdly ordinary. Vinny would’ve believed the bandits simply didn’t want it and left it behind.

How could it possibly be a key?

“If you don’t try, how would you know?” Milian said with dissatisfaction.

“Fine.” Vinny took the sword. There was no other option anyway—might as well.

He didn’t have any hope.

Then the instant the sword slid into place, it fit perfectly.

RUMBLE, RUMBLE, RUMBLE—! A glow flared from several sockets. Deep inside the fortress, ancient gears began to turn. The whole structure shook like an earthquake.

“W-wait—aren’t we collapsing the ceiling?!” Milian blurted.

Vinny didn’t speak. He simply watched the changes in the hall.

Very quickly, amid the shaking, a section of the floor at the center of the hall opened, revealing a staircase descending underground.

“It’s really this sword...?” Vinny said in surprise.

Fine. If it was meant to be a key, then making it look ordinary was probably deliberate—so it could blend in with all other iron swords.

“Hmph. See? I told you.” Milian put her hands on her hips. “You’re really dumb.”

Being called dumb by Milian left Vinny with no idea what he was supposed to say.

“But where does this secret passage go?” Milian leaned closer and peered down. It was pitch-black inside. She could only see the first few steps, and nothing beyond that.

Vinny didn’t answer. He replayed everything since reaching Gaflei Fort, and something clicked into place.

“So there really is a secret passage.” Vinny’s eyes sharpened. “Let’s go. Be careful. That priest the bandits mentioned—he might be hiding in there.”

As he spoke, Vinny lifted Frostfang and went first. But when he looked back, Milian still hadn’t followed.

“What’s wrong with you? Didn’t you say you were coming with me?” Vinny asked, puzzled.

“Uh—uh, that...” Milian looked away. “Ahem! I ran all the way here. I’m... kind of tired. I’m going to rest for a bit!”

Vinny raised a brow. “Don’t tell me you’re afraid of the dark, golden-haired idiot.”

“W-who said I’m afraid of the dark? I’m not afraid at all!” Milian instantly jumped like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

“If you’re not afraid, what are you hesitating for?” Vinny folded his arms, amused.

“W-who said I’m afraid of the dark?! It’s just darkness. That’s all. Watch me. I was just tired a second ago. Now I’ll go first!” Milian declared, trying to rush past him.

But the moment she reached the steps and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with him, her feet seemed to root in place. She couldn’t take even a single step. She started trembling on the spot.

“What’s wrong?” Vinny laughed. “Go on. Didn’t you say you weren’t afraid?”

“I—of course—I’m not... afraid.” Milian stammered, staring into the bottomless black ahead.

Her mouth was stubborn, but the shaking in her voice and her ghastly expression sold her out completely.

That scene—those memories carved into her bones—surged up in an instant. Her whole body went cold, trembling, like she was facing some terrifying beast.

“Enough.” Vinny set a hand on her shoulder and guided her behind him. “If you can’t do it, don’t force it. I’ll go first. If you really can’t handle it, go back up and wait for me.”

“...Th-then—” Watching Vinny about to vanish into the shadows, Milian hesitated, then called out again.

“Now what, my princess?” Vinny looked back. “I already told you to go up and wait. Why are you still standing there?”

“I... ahem.” Milian clasped her hands together, clearly struggling to say it. “How about... we go together?”

“...” Vinny stared at her, something strange entering his gaze.

This noisy, troublesome golden-haired idiot...

Was she afraid of being alone?

“You’re such a pain.” Vinny complained, then—without another word—lightly closed his hand around hers.

Cold.

That was Vinny’s first sensation.

Her hand was icy.

She was so scared her hands and feet had gone cold. So she really was terrified.

“Ah—ah?! You, you—?!” Feeling him hold her hand, warmth pulsed into her in steady waves, and Milian’s cheeks flushed with sudden embarrassment.

Fear, shock, panic, confusion—too many emotions crashed together at once, and Milian herself couldn’t tell what state she’d fallen into.

That storm of feelings was far too new for her.

[Virtue +80]

[Current Virtue: 5789]

“Or should I let go?” Vinny said without looking at her.

“No! Don’t!” Milian blurted, then stiffened, trying to recover. “Since when did this princess allow you to let go of me?!”

“Then that settles it.” Vinny sounded utterly casual. “If you’re scared, just say so. Hold on tight. Relax—I’m in front. If something really happens, I’ll be the first one it happens to.”

He tightened his grip on her hand and stepped forward. “I’m moving. Get yourself ready.”

“M-mhm. I know.” Milian felt humiliated—she didn’t know if it was because she was afraid of the dark and needed a boy to pull her forward, or because of something else.

For certain reasons, Milian was very afraid of the dark. Anyone who knew her understood that—even when she slept, she didn’t dare turn off the lights. She needed light.

To her, darkness was like a tsunami. It would drown her and suffocate her.

But for some reason—

This time felt different.

She was still afraid, but she couldn’t help feeling that if it was like this... then maybe she had the courage to keep going down.