My Yandere Girlfriend Hiding in the Dungeon Kills Me Over and Over Again - Chapter 168

Chapter 168   Contents of the treasure Chest

“We’re about to open the treasure chest, but both of us are on guard. There’s no way Elsie wouldn’t have set something up.”

Nyau warned us in front of the treasure chest.

“Huh, but we defeated Elsie with Lyune and Kiska-cchi just now,” Lyune said.

“I see,” Nyau nodded, seemingly convinced of something.

“In that case, I’ll tell you upfront. Elsie is still alive.”

Huh?

Elsie is still alive?

“I don’t know what happened between you and Elsie,” Nyau continued, “but it’s certain that Elsie is alive. So, when we open this treasure chest, there’s a good chance Elsie will appear. That’s why both of you should stay alert.”

“But…,” Lyune tried to argue.

However, Nyau opened the treasure chest before she could say more.

“Rawr!!”

What came out of the treasure chest was a suit of armor resembling Bugbear. I recognized this costume. Previously, inside this costume was—

“Oh? I thought you all would be more surprised, but the reaction seems muted,” she said, emerging from the Bugbear suit.

Yes, emerging from it was Elsie, the second prince’s attendant whom Lyune and I thought we had defeated.

She appeared before us in a brand new maid outfit, completely unharmed.

“Actually, I’m alive and well like this! Hmm, I thought you’d be more surprised…”

“Well, because our master told us beforehand…”

Lyune spoke in a confused tone. Indeed, if Nyau hadn’t warned us beforehand, I might have been so shocked that my legs would have given out.

“Oh my, so the great Sage Nyau saw through everything?”

Elsie shrugged her shoulders and let out an exaggerated sigh of disappointment. Yet, her expression remained eerily amused, as always.

“Elsie, your confidence will only last for so long. Nyau has already seen through your goals and your methods.”

Nyau spoke with unwavering confidence. I couldn’t help but find that reassuring. If Nyau was speaking with such certainty, then she must be extremely sure of herself. In that case, leaving everything to her should resolve this situation.

“Oh? Is that so? Then why don’t we compare answers, Sage Nyau?”

Elsie met Nyau’s gaze with a provocative glare, but Nyau showed no signs of hesitation.

“At first, Nyau also believed that you had created and were freely controlling this alternate space. But that assumption itself was the mistake.”

Huh? I almost spoke out loud in disbelief.

Elsie had wielded power like a god up until now. But that was a mistake?

“You didn’t create an alternate space—you trapped Nyau and the others inside a ‘dream,’ didn’t you?”

A dream? What does that even mean?

Elsie, rather than denying it, merely smirked in admiration at Nyau’s words.

“If this place is a dream, then it’s only natural that you could do as you please. However, there is no longer anything to fear. After all, if this is a dream, while you may be able to interfere with our minds as much as you like, you cannot interfere with our physical bodies.”

What does that mean? I couldn’t fully grasp the implications of Nyau’s words. She can’t interfere with our bodies? Then… what was the point of all our battles up until now?

“You appeared before us once and declared yourself to be immortal. You even went as far as to stab a sword into your own chest. But if you think about it, it was only natural that you wouldn’t die. Because this is a dream. No one can truly die in a dream. And that includes you, Elsie. As long as this remains a dream, not even you can kill Nyau. The same goes for Lyune and Kiska.”

Elsie had claimed to be a god and tormented us endlessly. But if everything that happened was just a dream—then did that mean fighting her had been pointless from the very beginning?

“Well, it seems the two of you didn’t realize any of this. That’s why Nyau wasn’t worried about you.”

Nyau turned to us and explained. It was true—when we reunited, she didn’t seem happy or relieved. She had remained calm the entire time. So that meant… she had known all along that we wouldn’t die?

“So, escaping from this alternate space isn’t difficult either. Now that we know it’s just a dream, all we have to do is wake up, like we always do.”

Nyau declared this triumphantly.

If everything she said was true, then Elsie, who once seemed like such a terrifying threat, no longer posed any danger at all.

“I’m impressed. As expected of the great Sage Nyau. Yes, you’re absolutely right—this alternate space is nothing more than a dream. Now that my secret has been exposed, I have no more moves left to play.”

“You’re admitting it so easily…?”

Beside me, Lyune voiced her surprise.

To me, it looked like Elsie was acknowledging her defeat. Did that mean we were finally safe?

“But, Sage Nyau,” Elsie continued, “our little quiz isn’t over yet, is it? Haven’t you forgotten something important?”

“You don’t need to remind me. Everything I explained so far was just about this alternate space. The more important issue is your goal. But I figured that out long ago. Your objective is to steal Nyau’s magic power, isn’t it?”

Now that she mentioned it, I remembered Nyau saying something earlier about feeling her magic being drained.

“Nyau is a sage—a title only the highest-ranking mages can claim. Stealing magic from someone like Nyau shouldn’t be easy. In fact, I’ve felt my magic being siphoned this entire time, but I could easily block it with just a little focus. However, under certain conditions, even a sage like Nyau can have her magic stolen. And that condition… is to shake Nyau emotionally.”

Stealing magic by unsettling Nyau?

With that in mind, I recalled everything Elsie had done so far.

“Your actions always seemed chaotic, random, and unpredictable. I never knew what you were thinking. But if your goal was to unnerve Nyau, then everything you did suddenly makes perfect sense.”

At first, Elsie killed the village chief, who had been speaking with Nyau, without any apparent reason. Then, she tried to frame us as the culprits. After that, we were suddenly dragged into this dream world. If all of that was meant to unsettle Nyau, then… I guess it does make some sense?

But what about the part where the stuffed animal transformed into the armored bear, Bugbear, and then Elsie emerged from inside it? Was that also just another attempt to startle Nyau and throw her off balance?

And what about the maid outfit? Was that meant to embarrass Nyau and shake her emotionally?

What was the point of separating me and Lyune from Nyau? That one didn’t seem to fit. Lyune and I struggled to reach the treasure chest’s location, but I couldn’t see how that would have unsettled Nyau in any way.

“Correct! Magic is deeply connected to the mind. It’s often said that a mage who is mentally cornered will lose control of their magic. That’s why I wanted to put the great Sage Nyau under constant stress and push her to her limits. But since I wasn’t sure which method would work best, I decided to try various approaches.”

As usual, Elsie admitted everything without hesitation.

But I still wasn’t convinced. Why was it necessary to separate us from Nyau just to unsettle her?

“So, Sage Nyau, how are you feeling? I’d be delighted if you were feeling mentally shaken right about now.”

“Can’t you tell just by looking? What part of this situation is supposed to disturb me? I have already seen through both your objectives and your methods. There is nothing left for me to fear.”

Nyau spoke with absolute confidence.

To me, it felt like she was declaring victory.

Yeah, that must be it. If Nyau was this certain, then everything really was under control. Besides, I couldn’t think of anything that would have truly shaken her.