Each room has the same shape, an equilateral square. The rooms on the 2nd floor also have the same area, because they are the same. But one room was different from the others; the room was used as a library.
"Um..."
I thought for a moment as I stared at the books and all the things that were there burning in the fire. After a while, Alice asked in confusion.
"What's wrong?"
"I was wondering..."
"Wonder about what? Is something bothering you? Can't you stand fire? You're so weak."
"No, that's not it. It is just..."
"Mhm?" She tilted her head and looked at me in confusion.
"One, two, three… and even seven rooms on this floor have the same area, right?"
"Yes, it is true. So what?"
"Why does only this room has a rectangular shape? Why is the room bigger than the other rooms?"
"Well, maybe because this is a library. After all, a library has to be spacious to accommodate books, right?"
"You're right... but..."
There is something strange in this room, unlike the other rooms. I feel this room has a secret, why it has a larger area than the other rooms. Also, if this was indeed a library room, wouldn't it be unreasonable to place it on the 2nd floor? Why isn't this room on the 1st floor? Ah, I found the answer. This room is deliberately placed on the 2nd floor so everyone here can access this place faster, be it from the 1st, 3rd, or fourth floor. Simply put, this room is the centerpiece of the four floors.
I rushed after realizing it. It is synonymous with a place that is used as a center. It's the same as in a hospital with up to 40 floors, the 20th floor being the center for everything. In a Medical Record room, data were recorded on patients being treated or those who had been discharged. That's what the place to be a center.
I grabbed Alice's hand, who was still confused by my question. She only responded in silence and tilted her head several times.
Then now... there must be something here that triggers it. Where's that?
I looked around me, filled with flames that continued to burn non-stop. Some of the shelves had burned to ashes, as were the books. But strangely, not far from me, about 15 meters, I saw a shelf that remained intact even though the books there had been burned.
Umm, suspicious.
I approached it and several times avoided the flames trying to burn me.
"Alice, help me!"
Once there, I asked Alice to help me push the shelf into the flames, but she refused.
"Don't want to! I don't want to spoil the facilities of the place. The kingdom will punish me if I damage them. I don't want to go to jail."
I stared at her blankly, confused by her reason for not wanting to damage the shelf. After that, I slapped her lightly, so she realized what had happened.
"Look around you! They've been ruined ever since the place burned down."
"Oh... you're right."
I want to destroy it because I don't want to solve the puzzle on the shelf. If I solve the puzzle so I can find the secret passage in the place, it will take time and make me too late to save them. So, it's better to spoil it than to waste my time just solving the puzzle.
By the way, I only realized this after re-checking the Party Menu. Alice is a Mage, and she has magic that I can't figure out yet. So to destroy it, Alice must be able to do it.
"Alright…" She took a deep breath, took out her small wand, and began casting her magic. "In the world, water will never dry up. In the world, fire will not burn as far as possible because water will extinguish it. In the world... nothing is beautiful except water flowing as far as possible so that living beings can live in peace. Whirlpool!"
She let out a large amount of water on the tip of her wand, pushing the shelf to the floor.
Witnessing it, I could only be silent and stared at her flatly.
"I'm done. The shelf has fallen and is broken."
She was happy and turned to me, but I wasn't happy with that. After that, I had to slap her again gently. A few strands of her brown hair covered half her hair, and then, she looked at me and held her cheek, which I slapped.
"Why did you slap me again, huh!? Did I do something wrong!? Is it because I broke it that you get mad at me? Do you want to report me to the king for ruining it? Why did you do it when I already helped you?"
She was honest with herself but forgot that someone else needed her power.
"Are you aware of what you just did?"
"Of course. You told me to destroy it, didn't you?"
"What did you destroy it with?"
"With my magic."
"What magic?"
"My water magic. So what?"
"Why don't you use your water magic to extinguish the road we're on?"
"Ah…" She fell silent, half aware of my words. "I forgot about it. I forgot I have water magic that can extinguish the fire."
"..."
I responded with silence, then approached the broken shelf that had fallen in flames.
There is a mechanic under the shelf. It's like a mechanic hooked up somewhere. Even so, I can't see the wires connecting it to a place.
I noticed that the shelf was connected to the floor supporting the shelf. There, beneath the slightly burnt carpet, I could see another mechanic that might be connected to the shelf.
"Alice, try to..."
Of course, this time, I also have to spoil it. I didn't have the power to damage it, so I told Alice to do it.
"In the world..."
After Alice broke it, the two shelves next to each other and on fire suddenly opened.
"Gocha. Let's go in!"
I think I've been right because the connecting room to the basement shows it. I stepped there with full confidence because I had managed to find it.
Going in there, my passive skill started to activate. It was the Inner Eye skill, which would be used automatically when it was in a very dark place, thus making the eyes able to see properly.
"It's so dark. I can't see anything."
It was dark, so Alice knew her eyes couldn't see very well. Therefore, I advised her to hold my hand, so she was not too far from me.
"Hold my hand. I will help you as your eyes."
She nodded in agreement.
The Passive Skill I use, Inner Eye, makes my vision like an infrared camera. I am like a CCTV that can only see in black and white. Even so, at least it helped me to browse this place.
This place is quite narrow, only fits two people, and has many stairs that go downhill. I walked close to Alice. Even our arms were stuck together. Also, the more we walked, the more I realized that I was getting further away from where I was before, the library room.
It's going downhill, which means we're really in the right direction. After all, a basement was underground, so this was the right way to go—because Alice and I continued down the stairs.
"We've come this far, so keep going."
I warned her not to whine about the darkness of this place. I knew she could only rely on me because only I could see and walk well, so she had to do whatever I told her. Also, since she had entered this place so far, there was no turning back for her.
I realized one thing, the place has several magic lamps on each of them, but maybe because the palace is on fire, they are not functioning properly. Perhaps the king and his family had passed this place before the flames destroyed it. That way, they could walk to the basement without worrying about the darkness, just like I felt right now.
After passing some stairs, I saw the light there. It was a bit far from me, maybe 50 meters from me. But when I wanted to rush over there, Alice fell silent and held her head.
"What happened to you?" I asked, paused, and looked at her.
"I remember something. This place... Veronica... she..."
Maybe she still can't remember it clearly, but it helped me, so I came to know that Veronica had been in this place. So, I wasn't in the wrong place.
"You don't have to force yourself to remember it. We'll walk."
She nodded in agreement with my words. At least I didn't force her to remember it.
Upon arriving at the place with the light, I was surprised by what was there.
"This place is... a prison?"
At the same time, Alice suddenly shouted with her surprised face.
"I remember, I remember everything. Veronica... she... When she disappeared, and we were looking for her, someone reported that she was there. But when we found her here... she killed all the criminals imprisoned here. At that moment, she smiled at me over the pile of criminal corpses as if she had earned her satisfaction in killing them. I remember she was like... and said: Alice, want to play?"
I was silent without being able to respond. I was very surprised to hear the story.
What? Seriously!?