A Mastermind? No, I'm just the Live-In Son-in-Law-Chapter 39: On the Brink of Explosion

“Shouldn’t we go back and try to help Lady Adel...?”

“T-that’s...”

Before the others could even stop them, the group scattered in all directions. The few remaining Adel followers, wearing distressed expressions, began to whisper among themselves.

“Even if we go back to help, would we even be of any use...?”

“B-but you’re just going to let Lady Adel fight alone? She only trained in one school of magic, unlike Cecil!”

“W-why are you yelling at me?”

But none of them had a clear solution, so their conversation kept going in endless circles.

“A-at least there are no monsters in the maze. What if we escape quickly and call for help?”

“...Just getting here took about thirty minutes. Can Lady Adel even hold out that long?”

“This won’t work, that won’t work. Then what the hell will work?!”

“L-like I said, stop yelling already!”

Eventually, amid the tension, disagreements among Adel’s followers broke into full-blown infighting.

“Ugh! Whatever happens, I’m going to call for help!”

“M-me too!”

“W-wait!”

“Ah...”

In the end, all of Adel’s followers scattered into the smoke, leaving behind only the two girls closest to her.

“......”

A heavy silence fell at the far end of the maze, where only the two girls remained.

– Step, step...

Then, through that silence, the sound of approaching footsteps suddenly began to echo.

“Eek?”

“W-who’s there!?”

Already on edge, the two girls called out in wary voices toward the fork in the path, shrouded in smoke.

“D-don’t tell me it’s another upper-tier monster...? Then we’re finished...”

“M-maybe I should’ve gone with them after all...”

But as the footsteps drew closer with no reply, their faces turned pale with fear.

“Is someone there?”

““......!””

Just then, a voice rang out from the smoke. The smaller of the two girls lit up instantly and raised her voice, giddy with relief.

“I-it’s the supervisor! It’s Sir Whitney!”

“......”

“H-he defeated the black mages with white magic, right? Then he’ll definitely resolve this situation!”

Tears of relief welled up in her eyes as she stepped toward the smoke, about to cry for help.

“P-please help us! There’s an upper-tier monster inside—!”

“...No!”

“Mm? Mmmph...”

Suddenly, the elegant girl beside her covered her mouth and dragged her back toward the fork in the maze.

“W-why are you doing this...?”

“Shh. You know my specialty is tracking magic, right?”

The small girl, eyes wide as she was dragged along, asked in confusion. The elegant girl lowered her voice to a whisper.

“I’ve been using tracking magic since we entered the maze, and... try not to be too shocked, okay?”

“......?”

“That person in the smoke—it’s probably not Sir Whitney.”

The smaller girl, listening closely, covered her mouth with a face gone pale.

“He’s accompanied by monsters—more than I can even count.”

“......!”

“A white mage who repels monsters wouldn’t be with them.”

As the small girl trembled and opened her mouth to speak, the elegant one quickly cut her off.

“Then the person who answered us...”

“...Shh. Quiet. Whatever it is, if it hears us, we’re done for.”

And so began a tense silence.

– Shasha-shak...

Beyond that silence came the eerie flutter of wings and the creeping sound of insects. The girls’ faces twisted in fear.

“O-oh no...”

“Ah...”

Seconds later, a mountain-like swarm of monsters began to emerge through the smoke. The two girls were instantly paralyzed in place, unable even to run.

“M-my body won’t move...”

“M-me neither...”

More precisely, the venom exhaled by the monsters had already paralyzed their muscles, leaving them physically incapable of escape.

“T-try to think bright thoughts. Low-tier monsters have poor vision, but they can sense breathing and fear...”

“U-uuu...”

The two girls collapsed in place, their legs giving out. Desperate, they tried to hold their breath and pray the monsters would pass them by.

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– Grk?

– Gk, grkk.

But perhaps it was unreasonable to expect noble girls, raised in comfort, to control such primal terror in that moment.

“Ah.”

“Eek.”

The monsters crawling at the front of the swarm stopped at the fork and turned their heads toward the girls. Clinging to each other, the two could do nothing but shut their eyes tight.

“...Found you.”

Whitney’s cold voice suddenly echoed through the maze at that very moment.

“A-ah!”

The small girl, trembling in despair, sprang up at the sound of that familiar voice—only to immediately collapse back to the floor.

“We—we’re saved! We’re really saved now!”

“......”

“S-Sir Whitney! Please help us! T-there are so many monsters—!”

She lifted her head with great effort, her voice filled with joy rather than pain or fear.

“...Wait? Huh?”

But then she froze, a dumbfounded look on her face.

“W-why are you over there?”

She had realized it—the voice had come not from behind them, but from directly in front of the monster swarm.

“Ahaha... Well...”

Whitney gave an awkward chuckle, as if trying to explain—just before it happened.

– Groooowl!

– GRAHHH...

The monsters, which had been staring intently at the girls, suddenly surged forward with ferocious energy.

“Eeeeeek!”

Just as the small girl flailed her limbs in a frantic attempt to crawl away—

“Don’t touch the kids.”

Whitney’s cold voice rang through the maze once more.

– Grk...

– Kreeee...

At those words, the monsters instantly halted, turning toward Whitney with sulky movements before retreating quietly behind him.

“......”

And then came a suffocating silence.

“So... why are you still in a place like this?”

Whitney sighed and rubbed his forehead before walking slowly toward the girls. Their faces turned ashen.

“This makes things a bit troublesome...”

“S-save...”

“Please save us...”

By then, anyone with a shred of awareness could tell who the real mastermind behind the situation was.

“I think there’s been some misunderstanding...”

“I-I’ll do anything, just don’t kill us...”

“We—we won’t tell anyone what we saw here...”

“...You’re not listening.”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Their desperate pleas fell silent at Whitney’s calm, low voice.

“You’ll be safe.”

He stopped right in front of them, bowing his head slightly as he spoke in a gentle tone.

“So just stay still, okay?”

“Ah...”

“It’ll sting a little from here. Haha...”

But that wasn’t reassuring at all—not with the ominous gray magic rising from his hand and the chilling smile on his face.

“Don’t make that face.”

As tears welled up in their terrified eyes, Whitney gave them a soft smile and whispered,

“It’ll all be over in the blink of an eye.”

The next moment, a flash of gray light filled the corridor—and their consciousness was snuffed out.

***

“Well? I told you it would be over quickly, didn’t I?”

“......”

“Try moving your body. The paralysis should’ve worn off by now... huh?”

I had cast my specialty healing magic on the girls who had been paralyzed by the monsters’ venom, but now that they’d gone silent, I tilted my head in confusion and waved a hand in front of their faces.

“Excuse me, are you alright?”

“......”

“Did they pass out from the miasma...?”

They were still breathing fine. Judging by that, it seemed they’d simply lost consciousness, unable to withstand the pressure of the monsters’ aura. This... was going to make things even more troublesome.

“This is all your fault...”

I was planning to heal them and explain the situation, but thinking about it, even if I had, they probably wouldn’t have listened—too terrified by the monsters still swarming behind me.

— Our fault... that’s not true...

— The miasma... we retracted it long ago...

Watching the monsters gesture in protest, acting like they were the victims here, I let out an exhausted sigh.

“So what do I do now...”

There might still be students nearby, but the black mark hovering over the center of the map was so thick I couldn’t see their exact locations.

If someone ends up seriously hurt, never mind losing my spot as a judge—I don’t think I could forgive myself. What should I even do?

— Grk!

As I stood there, frowning darkly in thought, I suddenly felt something unpleasant brush against my leg.

— Fear... I sense fear...!

When I looked down to see what it was, a small spider-type monster had climbed up my leg, pointing eagerly at the elegant girl who’d collapsed on the ground.

— From that one... such fresh, delicious fear...!

Scowling, I was about to shake the creature off, but paused when I heard what it said. Glancing over at her, my expression turned suspicious.

“Excuse me.”

“......”

“You’re awake, aren’t you?”

Then, carefully, I poked her side. Sure enough, the girl’s body flinched ever so slightly.

“If you keep pretending, the monsters might end up eating you.”

“Eeeeek!”

That reaction confirmed it. I whispered that just loud enough for her to hear, and finally, the girl let out a deflating breath before jolting upright with a stiff back.

“We don’t have much time, so I’ll make this quick. Are there any students still in the area?”

“T-that is... um...”

“I get that it’s hard to speak right now, but I need you to hurry.”

I pressed her with a serious expression. Trembling all over, she began stammering—

“I-I mean, if you still need my help or anything—”

“I-I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything!”

The moment white magic began glowing in my hand, she shrieked and blurted it out in a panic.

“L-Lady Adel is still inside! That’s why I—I stayed—!”

“Is that all?”

“T-there’s a monster in weird armor, too!!! Please, please spare me!”

Once I’d gotten all the information I needed, I rose to my feet and began walking deeper into the maze.

“I’ll be heading further in. You should support your friend and head toward the exit.”

“Ah...”

“And about what just happened—”

“I-I won’t tell anyone if you just let me go!”

Judging by her still-ashen voice and the way she trembled, she clearly misunderstood something—but...

“No, I’m afraid you won’t be able to leave.”

There was no time to clear up her misconception. I had to move quickly, so I only gave her the bare minimum she needed to hear.

“Eh?”

“No one can leave this maze right now.”

Even though all the students from Groups C and D were clustered around the map’s exit, their numbers hadn’t dropped at all.

“Just wait by the exit. I’ll be there soon...”

“Ah......”

Seems like the only choice now is to track down the cause of all this myself and eliminate it.

— Human...! Did I do well?

...Why is this disgusting little thing on my leg still acting so familiar?

***

Meanwhile, outside the maze—at the test site.

“Damn it! It’s no use!”

“There’s some kind of barrier over the entrance! It’s too strong—we can’t break through it!”

Only a few minutes had passed since the students had entered, but thanks to a mysterious barrier that appeared over the maze entrance, the outside had become just as chaotic as the inside.

“What about the magic-specialized instructors?”

“We contacted them immediately, but there’s no guarantee the students will be safe by the time they arrive...”

“Damn it, what the hell is going on...?”

The assistants who had been supplying magic to the array had long since withdrawn their mana, and yet the maze remained intact as if nothing had changed.

To make matters worse, due to the nature of this test, all the instructors on-site were focused on martial arts—meaning the response was sluggish and ineffective.

“...This leaves me no choice.”

Just then, as the instructors’ expressions grew darker and more desperate—

“I’ll enter the maze alone.”

“W-what?”

The teacher who had been overseeing the test—silent until now—suddenly stepped forward, a determined look in her eyes.

“My specialty is barriers and sealing magic. The grade of this barrier is extremely high, so dismantling it will take time. But if it’s just breaking through... I can manage.”

Pushing up her glasses, she calmly explained as she walked toward the barrier. The other instructors rushed to her side, worry etched into their faces.

“A-are you sure about this?”

“We don’t even know what’s going on inside...”

“Don’t worry. Yes, it’s reckless... but...”

She smiled gently at them, then stepped into the barrier as she finished her sentence.

“...What matters most is the safety of the students.”

“P-please be careful!”

“Above all else, stay safe!”

As her colleagues watched with a mixture of hope and fear, she entered the maze. Silence fell.

“T-teacher...!”

“Uwaaah...”

“We were so scared!”

Soon, voices rang out through the mist—students near the entrance, squatting in fear, began to cry and shout in relief.

“Everyone, listen up. Magic instructors will arrive shortly. Stay here and wait.”

“Y-yes, ma’am!”

“I’m going to rescue the students still trapped inside.”

With firm authority, she gave her orders—then stepped into the smoke-filled depths of the maze.

“Good...”

Then, her expression changed. A sly smile crept across her face as she muttered under her breath and walked forward.

“Well then... time to check on the harvest.”

Her eyes were now glowing—dark and black as pitch.