Uketsukejo ni Kokuhaku Shitakute Guild ni Kayoitsumetara Eiyu ni Natteta

Chapter 60: Golden Medusa

The next morning.

When we left the mountain hot, all we could see was the clear blue sky.

The temperature hasn’t changed from yesterday’s, but it’s sunny, so I’m relieved.

We started climbing immediately.

Dorami started walking excitedly, but…

“…Eh?” (Dorami)

She suddenly stopped.

“What’s wrong?” (Jade)

“There’s something shiny over there.” (Dorami)

“…You’re right.” (Jade)

We could see something glittering at the top of the mountain.

Dorami put on her opera glasses, but she still couldn’t tell what it is.

“Dorami can’t really understand it, but is that the reason this place is called Golden Mountain?” (Dorami)

“No, the reason it’s called Golden Mountain is because the entire mountain glows in the morning sun.” (Jade)

It’s strange to see it shining in just one specific spot.

There must be something over there.

“Ah, she’s got it! The identity of the sparkling thing over there must be treasure!” (Dorami)

“Do you mean the castle’s treasure room?” (Jade)

“It’s definitely that! Since the wall is broken, the treasure room was exposed!” (Dorami)

“I don’t think they’d have left the treasure behind, though.” (Jade)

“They must have left it behind because they needed to leave immediately!” (Dorami)

“The castle is just over there~”, Dorami hummed.

Seeing her goal right in front of her must’ve washed away all the fatigue she had from yesterday.

There’s no guarantee that it’s in the abandoned castle, but… the sparkling thing is definitely coming from its direction.

It looks like we’ll be passing by it either way.

“Let’s move carefully so that the Medusa doesn’t spot us.” (Jade)

“G-got it…” (Dorami)

We strengthened our resolve and walked through the snow-covered mountain trail.

While taking a break after every hour of walking, we kept moving forward.

“W-what is this…?” (Dorami)

“It’s amazing…” (Jade)

We were flabbergasted.

There was a fine castle on the other side of a gentle slope.

Since the king had lived there before, I knew it would be a good castle, but I also knew that it hadn’t been maintained for a long time.

I expected to see a castle in ruins, one suitable to be called an abandoned castle.

However…

Standing there was a gorgeous golden castle.

“It’s dazzling…” (Dorami)

“So this is the source of that light…” (Jade)

“King, you’re way too extravagant…” (Dorami)

“Was it actually made of gold from the start…?” (Jade)

“What do you mean?” (Dorami)

“I don’t think they could have afforded to build a golden castle during wartime… In the first place, the whole reason they built it up a snowy mountain is to make it harder to attack.” (Jade)

“So, someone rebuilt the castle after the war ended?” (Dorami)

“I wonder. I don’t see the point of rebuilding it if they planned to move in the first place…” (Jade)

On top of that, there was no information that the Medusa’s territory is a golden castle.

According to the guild master, though many went to subjugate the Medusa, most of them gave into fear and turned back.

Some of them must have entered the castle and seen the Medusa. All we know is that the Medusa’s territory is a ruined castle because there were witnesses.

Despite that, the witnesses never said anything about a castle made of gold.

“It might have only been turned gold recently.” (Jade)

“The Medusa suddenly awakened to a luxurious life?” (Dorami)

“I can’t say for certain, but… since there’s no point in thinking about it, let’s just go to the castle as planned.” (Jade)

“L-let’s do that… By the way, what are you going to do with that white cloth?” (Dorami)

“We’ll stand out if we don’t do this, so I planned to use matching colors with you.” (Jade)

I intended to hide my body with the white cloth to assimilate with the snow.

But, in a golden castle, it would have the opposite effect.

We held our breath as we snuck closer to the castle.

After passing through the golden gate and walking along the golden walls, we hid behind some golden pillars until we arrived at a golden door. I slowly opened it so that it wouldn’t make a sound—

“—Higi!” (Dorami)

Dorami almost screamed as soon as we stepped into the castle.

There was a human statue in the corridor.

It’s a statue trying to reach for the door—it looked desperate as if it was running from something.

Beyond that, I could see a statue with a sword in its hand and another statue with its arm raised.

Everything is made of gold.

“A-are these the Medusa’s victims?” (Dorami)

“Seems like it…” (Jade)

“B-but they’re all shiny…” (Dorami)

“It looks like the Medusa here doesn’t have the power to turn things into stone, it has the power to turn things into gold.” (Jade)

I’ve never heard of such a Medusa, but I can’t think of any other possibility.

“What I don’t understand is why the castle is also made of gold. The Medusa’s ability should only work on living things…” (Jade)

“E-either way, it’s still scary.” (Dorami)

“Yeah, but we’re actually lucky.” (Jade)

“W-why?” (Dorami)

“Because the lava potion is something used to dissolve stone. With this, we won’t need to worry about the victims.” (Jade)

“T-then, are you going to set it up around here?” (Dorami)

“That’s also fine, but… since there aren’t any signs of the Medusa nearby, let’s explore the castle a little more.” (Jade)

“G-got it…” (Dorami)

We continued to walk down the corridor—trying not to make any noise.

When we went up the stairs and got to the hallway on the second floor, there was another golden statue of a person—

Pyu! Pyu!

“Higu?! W-what was that sound…?” (Dorami)

“It’s the wind. It looks like the windows are broken.” (Jade)

We slowly headed over there and looked through the windows.

It was the courtyard. There was snow piling up, so one side was entirely white…

“….Huh?” (Jade)

“W-what is it?” (Dorami)

“Can I borrow your opera glasses for a bit?” (Jade)

“Go ahead.” (Dorami)

I peered into the opera glasses.

…I wasn’t mistaken.

“W-what did you see?” (Dorami)

“It’s a stone statue.” (Jade)

“W-was it the Medusa…?” (Dorami)

“Yep. It’s a human statue. It’s crouching down with its arms behind its head. It looks like it was turned into stone while hiding by the wall…” (Jade)

“T-that’s weird. After all, the Medusa here turns stuff into gold.” (Dorami)

“In that case… maybe there’s another monster here beside the Medusa that can turn things into gold.” (Jade)

“W-w-what are you gonna do? You haven’t prepared to defeat it…” (Dorami)

“Well, we need to find out what kind of monster it is first. Once we’ve explored the castle a bit more, we’ll go back outside and plan out a strategy.” (Jade)

“T-that’s for the best…” (Dorami)

She briskly nodded. We moved forward cautiously.

And, the moment we turned the corner—

“GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA?!” (Dorami)

Dorami let out a scream.

It’s only natural.

After all, what was standing there was—

A Medusa with a terrifying expression, turned into a golden statue.