Chapter 148 : Secret Room Punishment
Just when Lonis was at her wit's end, Elucia's voice suddenly came through the speaker.
"Hehe, it seems you little dummy have encountered some trouble?"
"Wuu..."
"Can't reach it? Just call out 'Master Elucia, please help weak and stupid me,' and you can unlock a paid hint."
"D-damn it."
Although she knew Elucia was teasing her again, this time Lonis wasn't going to resist.
After all...
Just saying this wasn't really that embarrassing, right?
Moreover, Elucia was going to bully her anyway. Even if she didn't go along with her now, who knows how she'd torment her later.
So...
"Master Elucia, please help weak and stupid me."
"Eh... I didn't expect my white-stockings maid to be so obedient today."
"Mm..."
"Hmph, then I'll reluctantly tell you. There's a retractable stool at the bottom of the sofa. You can take it out by pressing the mechanism."
"!"
...
...
Following Elucia's instructions, Lonis finally got the book from the high shelf.
This way, by arranging them according to the bookmark page numbers, she could get the corresponding password.
(Hehe, I really am a genius.)
Sitting at the desk, the silver-haired girl happily fiddled with the password box.
"837263985, this should be it."
After confirming it was correct, Lonis pressed the activation key... But this silver-haired girl never expected that the password box didn't open. Instead, the little devices on her body activated!!!!
Buzz buzz buzz~
As if declaring that she was a toy, these little things made strange sounds. Although it was currently only level one, under the sudden attack, Lonis still blushed all over.
"Elucia, what's going on!!!!"
"Oh, it seems my stupid little maid didn't solve the mechanism?"
"Eh?!"
"In escape room puzzles, if you don't solve the mechanism, there's punishment. But seeing how pitiful you are, I didn't activate the punishment in the venue and instead activated the little toys."
"!"
"Hehe, solve the puzzle quickly. If you can't solve the library's riddle, these little devices won't stop. I'm quite curious how long you can last at level 1."
"Wuu wuu wuu!!!!"
...
Now Lonis felt the urgency immediately.
Although level 1 wasn't impossible to defend against, Lonis didn't want her body to be constantly toyed with, so she could only endure the electric shock-like tingling sensation and start solving the puzzle again.
"Damn it, wuu... where did I go wrong? But the page numbers are all correct..."
"Search again... wuu wuu, the little devices are so mean, I can't walk properly."
"Wait, there's something on the back of the password box... it looks like there's..."
...
Lonis saw that there was an inverted symbol on the back of the password box.
This might mean that the password wasn't simply arranged in order, but in reverse order—after all, some ancient books were written from right to left.
So Lonis rearranged the password and pressed the switch.
But at the same time...
"Wuah ahh!!!"
She lost her balance and fell onto the chair.
The little devices attacking her seemed to become even more intense... Strange sounds echoed in the study, causing sweat to involuntarily flow from the girl's body.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you, stupid maid. Each time you input a wrong answer, the punishment level increases by one."
"What?!"
"And just like before, it won't stop until you solve the puzzle... Although I know you, this masochist, might deliberately put yourself in a Level 5 state all over just to be bullied, but trust me, you won't be able to walk tomorrow if you do that."
"Elucia!!!!!!"
If Lonis was just a bit nervous and confused before, now she was starting to cry.
If it was when they weren't activated, Lonis could have turned the study upside down and calmly thought about where she went wrong.
But now, even standing up from the chair and walking was very difficult.
With all her attention focused on her body, the silver-haired girl had to defend with all her might to prevent her magical power from collapsing.
If her magical power collapsed completely, she would have no strength left at all.
She didn't know how long she'd have to lie on the ground or how long Elucia would bully her.
But...
"How do I solve the puzzle? Where did I go wrong?!!!"
Lonis gasped heavily. The more anxious she became, the less she could think of the answer. The less she could think of the answer, the more anxious she became.
The little devices on her body continued to bully her, causing her magical power to gradually gather and continuously surge toward the boiling point.
But just then, Elucia's voice rang out again: "White-stockings little maid, the method to unlock paid hints from before is still available."
"Eh?"
"After all, I'm not some demon. I'll always give you a little hope~"
"!"
Having no other choice, although Lonis was trembling with shame and could barely speak, she still said with effort:
"Ai... Elucia... wuu, wuu wuu! Master, please help... ah... please help the weak... yah!!! Please, please help weak me!!!!"
As soon as Lonis finished speaking, she collapsed onto the chair, as if something had gone wrong.
Elucia's voice also came from the side:
"Mm, although you said it intermittently, I'll consider you qualified. Your password input wasn't wrong, but don't forget that password boxes also need power."
"P-power?"
"Just like batteries. Otherwise, how would it open?"
"!"
Hearing Elucia say this, Lonis realized her carelessness.
When she was searching the study earlier, she had indeed found Magic Crystals in a corner... But at the time, all her attention was on the books, so she didn't think much about it.
And now, even to get them and replace them, Lonis could barely stand up anymore.
(No, Lonis, you're a hero. You absolutely can't... give up?)
...
Although her magical power had already collapsed once, Lonis still tremblingly lifted her body and walked toward the cabinet.
Her little feet wrapped in white stockings left wet footprints on the ground (from being soaked in the pool earlier), and her originally pure white face had turned completely red (from the heat).
Continuous heat spread throughout her body, but Lonis still grasped the Magic Crystal.
The girl opened the battery compartment and inserted it into the password box.
One by one, she re-entered the corrected password.
Finally, after pressing the confirmation key, the password box popped open and the little devices stopped.
At the same time, Lonis collapsed exhaustedly onto the desk.