Me and Mee defeated the two gargoyles.
Then we got to work on the door ahead.

This door is just beyond the two pedestals where the gargoyles were.
As usual, Mee approached cautiously and started to investigate, but...

The girl paused just before the door, between the two pedestals.
Mee's gaze is directed upwards to the ceiling just in front of the door.

'Ah, ......, there's a blatantly suspicious gap in the ceiling, isn't there?

She turns to me and points at the ceiling.
I walked up to her and looked at the spot she was pointing at.

I see that there is a long horizontal gap in the ceiling.
Cleverly, it was a dark area where the light from the wall-mounted lights did not reach, and I would not have noticed it if Mi had not pointed it out to me and I had not paid attention.

The gap is a hole about the size of a sword scabbard placed horizontally, just above your head when you stand in front of the door.

'Is that a ...... trap?

'I think so. When you open the door or twist the doorknob or something, something will fall from there.

'I see. But Mee, how did you notice that thing? I had no idea until you told me.'

'You see, I'm a professional thief. It's a piece of cake.

I patted her on the head.

When I patted her head, she said, 'Hahaha' and looked happy.
It's a standard exchange, and I'm beginning to have no hesitation.

'Can you disarm the trap?

'Sure, I'll leave it to you. But it might be faster to trigger it.'

'...... What do you mean?

'Well, we'll see.'

'I'll be watching,' she said, motioning for me to fall back once more.
And when she saw that I had retreated to the corner, she approached the door more carefully than ever.

Then she stared at the door and the surrounding walls, floor and ceiling...

'Oh... that's it?

Then, as if muttering to himself, he walked up to the door and stopped before the last step.
Then she took that last step...

From that point on, Mi's movements were frighteningly quick.
The girl took several back steps with an amazing agility that surpassed that of a wild feline, and in no time at all she had retreated to the ground next to me.

And then, a beat later...

Rattle, rattle, rattle!

In front of the door, something large and sharp fell from the gap in question and crashed to the stone floor directly below.
I took a closer look to see what it was...

'...... Is that a guillotine? It doesn't have a decapitation table.

'It looks like it. It's a hanging guillotine with chains. If you stand in front of it to open the door, it will split your head in half.

What fell from the ceiling was a large blade connected to a chain.
It was a silvery half-moon shaped blade similar to the blade of a large axe, and if such a thing fell on the head of a living person, he would naturally die instantly.

At the moment, the tip of the blade is slightly biting into the stone floor, and the chain from which it was suspended is flexing on the floor.
But then...

...... kara kara kara.
Eventually, the chain was lifted up as if by a gap in the ceiling.

As he waited, both the chain and the blade returned to the gap in the ceiling and returned to their original state, as if nothing had happened.
The only thing that remained was the mark of the blade's bite on the stone floor.

'Hmm, going back. That's a bit of a hassle.

Mee muttered.
Perhaps if she stepped on that floor again, the guillotine blade would fall again in the same way.

But with that structure...

'Why don't we just step on that floor again and go through after the guillotine has fallen? I'm sure there was a few seconds between when it fell and when it started to come back.'

'Yes, sir . That's what Mee was thinking. It's a simple but accurate way out.

If you want, you can shoot a magic arrow (magic missile) when it falls to destroy the chain and disable the trap itself.
The timing of the breakthrough is not too critical, and there is no need to waste a small amount of mana.

'By the way, a guillotine trap just when you've taken a break from killing stone monsters, it's a dungeon with a very high killing intent.

'That's true. I'm glad it was Mee who came with me.

'Hehehe. But that also means that William's eyes were right. William knows Mee better than she does.

With this exchange, we cleared the third barrier and passed through the door safely.


I can't believe it.


After breaking through the gargoyle and guillotine, we passed through the door, and found that the corridor was still straight ahead.
Mee and I carefully walked down the corridor again.

After a while, we saw a door on the wall on our right.
The corridor itself continued forward, but the door caught our attention.

'Do you want me to check that door?

'Yes, please.

'Yes, sir.'

Mee paused for a moment, then approached the door and began to check for traps.
When she had finished checking everything, she opened the door, looked inside, and invited me to come to the door.

'It's another room I don't know how to take.

As I walked over to Mee, the beastman girl opened the door and showed me the scene beyond.

It was a medium-sized room.
At the back of the room were four stone statues, and in front of them was a treasure chest.
Next to the chest, there was a stone monument and a stone stand, and on the stand were three small hammers emitting a faint light.

The four stone statues at the back of the room all resembled human figures, but each had a slightly different design.
One had angelic wings on its back.
Another has a single horn growing out of its forehead.
Another has long, sharp claws growing from the tips of its fingers.
The last one had sharp, beastly fangs growing from its mouth.

Mee entered the room, looking around carefully, and moved to the stone monument.
After examining the surroundings, she called out to me.

'William, it's those letters again.

Mee points to the stone monument and beckons me.
I walked up to the stone monument and saw that it was written in ancient civilized script.

------------------------------

The treasure is not only the sword.
If you want the small treasures in this box, look for the key.
The key is in the stone statue.


The stone statue has wings, horns, long sharp claws and fierce fangs.
Hammer at the right stone statue.
A hammer can only be used once.
But don't rely on luck. More is always better.

------------------------------

I see.
I dove into these ruins in search of a magical sword of flame, but it seems that there are other treasures available as well.
And if you want that 'trivial treasure' in the treasure chest in front of you, you have to solve this riddle.

In addition, the 'hammer' is probably a small hammer on the table, and if you swing it at the stone statue of the 'correct answer', you can get the 'key'.

Now, while I was deciphering the words on the stone monument, Mee was checking the treasure chest.
The girl looks up at me and opens her mouth.

'This treasure chest doesn't seem to have any traps, but it seems to be locked with a magical device. Mee can't open it. What does it say on the stone tablet?

I translated what was written on the stone monument into modern language and told her.
Then...

'Fumyu......, four stone statues and three hammers. I don't understand the hint either. If you don't want to rely on luck, you can't just guess, can you ......?

Mee said and pondered.

...... No, is this something that is tricky?
I'm pretty sure that's the right answer.

She thought about it for a while and then held up her hands as if to say she was done.

'I'm giving up, Mee. Do you understand William?

'Yes. I have an idea of what I think is the right answer.

'Are you sure? That's William.'

Mee said, giving me a sparkling look of respect.

...... I'd be embarrassed if I missed this one.
But since it fits the bill perfectly, I'm pretty sure it's 'that one'.

Then I picked up two of the three shiny little hammers on the stone table and headed for my destination.