Once they finally got back to the house, the first thing the young man did was to sit down on the couch.

“Aww~”

The pure ecstasy he felt at that moment was indescribable.

It was so comfortable that it didn’t take even a minute for him to doze off, the safety be darned.

It wasn’t like he didn’t care but the fatigue was so bad that the moment he sat down the eyelids became so heavy that he couldn’t open his eyes anymore.

This day could very well be the most difficult day in his life. All the work, stress and fear over his life, fight with Tyr and the long climbing of the volcano made his legs wobbly and heavy as if they were out of lead.

He knew this would happen if he sat down but since he was in the company of Fel and Sera he believed that they would not let him be in dire straits and look over him.

And so with a satisfied smile on his lips he fell into slumber as he stopped to care about anything else…

……..

When his senses finally came together he noticed that the place around was much brighter and opened than before. It was almost unrecognizable from the state it was recently.

No towers of junk to be found and every furniture didn’t have even a pinch of the dust on itself. The style of this room was very classic with a calming effect. But at the same time it felt really mysterious as various weird things were used as decoration.

Since there was no garbage, he realized that this place was actually not as big as he expected. Maybe it was another optical illusion but the labyrinth that was covering over 90% of the floor seemed to be infinite when he was going around.

But now? There was a big open space in the center of the room and the windows and french windows let the sun in.

However, as he wanted to enjoy the sight he remembered one fact.

This place doesn’t have sunlight.

‘Oh shit. Am I in dream? And lucid one on top of that’

He remembered talking to Sera about this dream and she said that this was a dream realm which at the moment mirrored this place before going to ruins.

And the first thing that came to his mind when he saw that was…

“Wow.”

It was incredible.

If he could save up on Earth to get a house with this kind of vibe he would cry tears of happiness. This place was the exact definition of the golden way. It didn’t seem too luxurious but at the same time it wasn’t too modest. It was spacious but it wasn’t too big to feel uncomfortable.

If he could describe the word ‘perfection’ then it would be this.

Creak

But suddenly, he heard noise from behind him. When he turned around he noticed doors that were making the noise as they opened up.

Those doors were different from others and he immediately knew why. They were tilted askew and were leading to the wall close to the couches he was sitting on.

Right behind the doors were stairs leading downwards who knows where.

‘Basement, huh.’

He wasn’t surprised that this place has one. This place was humongous and can change forms. Why would the basement be surprising?

However, why didn’t he notice before that there was one?

Thinking hard, he remembered that the place where the doors are was always covered by some heavy things in reality…

He was a little curious but still he also was very cautious.

Curiosity killed the cat, after all.

And in this place it applies even more.

He came closer only to the extent that he could see inside.

Unfortunately, the darkness within was impeding his sight. But he didn’t intend to enter. The place looked too sinister for him.

And he was right.

Just as this thought passed through his body, the strong and chilling breeze came out of the darkness which almost knocked him on his butt before a shrill voice sounded out from within.

“Damn youuu, Housekeepers!”

“Is it a new one?”

Roaaaar

Clank

“I will kill h-iiim!”

Extreme amount of malice crashed upon him as he heard several of the voices coming straight into his mind.

He also heard roars of something and clanking of what he expected to be chains.

“If you make one step in here, I will eat your intestines!”

A very evil sounding voice came as a whisper giving him goosebumps. He started to retreat but he couldn’t. He felt as if he lost control of his body.

‘Sir.’

“I hate Housekeepers so much! Once I get out I will end this realm!”

He was just staring in horror in that dark pit feeling cold sweat on his back.

“Sir!”

Suddenly, his body jolted awake as he still sat down on the couch while being shaken by Sera.

“Huh?!”

It was at that moment when he remembered it was a dream. He was aware of it the entire time but when the voices talked to him he didn’t even think about it.

“Sir, what’s wrong? You started to sweat a lot and started to talk some gibberish…”

Sera’s face seemed to be full of worry as she looked at him.

He didn’t know how to answer. This entire place was like one big trap meant to destroy him. It made him almost think about hiding in his room and not coming out.

But he shook his head after thinking about that.

‘No. If I want to leave this place I need to focus. The goal I need to accomplish to get home is probably the hardest thing in my life. But I can’t falter. Hiding will just prolong my suffering.’

He had already had several setbacks in this place. But on the contrary of his fear, he managed to persist and made good progress in his goal.

Not only that but he managed to make some ‘friends’ who are worthy allies.

“Sir?”

When he noticed that Sera was still looking at him with a worried look he smiled.

“It’s nothing. I was just tired. It has been a long time since I worked so hard.”

He brushed it off. But after saying that his face changed a little. Maybe it wasn't the best decision to just lie about it. That’s the best way to visit the underworld. It was just his instinctual answer when it comes to his feelings.

“Is that so? Then that’s good.”

But now when he saw her relieved face he even more didn’t want to say anything.

So, he decided to ask her in a roundabout way.

He glanced at the place where the basement was and as he expected there was one big tower made of big things.

If he was right then the thing at the bottom was the whole grand piano. And not just some grand piano. This one looked to even have its pipe organ. That damn thing you see only in places like church!

‘Should I steal some things from here once I return?’

Evil thoughts emerged in his mind when he realized this place was a golden trove.

But since he didn’t even know whether he will be able to leave in one piece he decided to stop his thought process.

“Sera, does this place have some kind of basement?”

And so he asked Sera.

“Yes, sir. The entrance to it is actually right in this room! It was just sealed by the last Housekeepers since… He had some worries.”

When she said this her expression looked strange.

‘The last Housekeeper again, huh.’

He was here for a short time but it was enough to hear from several people that he is a douchebag. Now that he knew that this scary basement had something to do with him made the young man not so happy.

‘I just hope that your deeds won’t drag me down with you because of my circumstances…’

Just remembering those haunting voices gave him chills and shivers.

But since the place was covered he was safe for now. Hopefully.

Thinking so, he yawned and stretched his limbs as he looked around.

“Where is Fel?”

For a moment he felt appalled that she wasn’t here since she was always tailing him.

“She is getting sicker lately so I send her to rest.”

Sera said this calmly.

“Sicker? I didn’t notice that she was sick at all. She looked ok…”

“Her condition is peculiar, after all. I think she will transform next week at most.”

When she said this he suddenly remembered what she said to him yesterday.

‘Ah! I almost forgot. She said that she was going to morph soon.’

He didn’t know whether he should be worried. Sera seemed to be used to it but that’s because she lives in this crazy place. If he wants to survive here he needs to depend on his judgment, not the ones who have completely different common sense from him.

“I see. But it doesn’t matter. Sera, I need you to teach me the passwords and places of some basic hidden corridors. Also some secret rooms also wouldn’t be bad since I think that I will need to hide from time to time.”

Just thinking about that abomination made out of numerous arms made him scared to tread the normal corridors.

When Sera saw his pleading gaze she felt a little flutter in her abdomen. How long was it since someone was so much in need of her?

For a normal person it wouldn’t be that impactful but for her the happiness it gave her was far greater. As such, she smiled widely and answered him with sparkling eyes.

“Sir, you do not need to worry! I will definitely show you everything you need!”

……..

“In this place, you need to say: ‘Holy Poppy sitting in the potty!’ and then pull on this lamp. This corridor will then lead right in front of the main garden.”

After his nap he took a nap in the living room. He was spending all of his time trying to remember the nonsense passwords so that he can move in this place efficiently.

While some of the passwords were normal, some of them made his mouth twitch as he kneaded his forehead.

Not to mention he needed to remember it all since he didn’t have any empty notebook or even a pen. Sera also didn’t seem to have any idea where he could get one.

‘At least the passwords are kinda easy to remember because of their silliness…’

Thinking so he followed Sera in the doors that just showed up from the wall.

He already learned the password from the Living Room to the corridor leading to the Master Bedroom since he forgot it before. Now, he is going from that corridor right to the garden as he needs to go there once in a while to replenish the fruits.

Although he wasn’t thrilled at eating fruits only, he didn't have other options for now.

Not to mention that they are so delicious.

Little while back, the cuckoo showed up again to show him that it is 12 o’clock so he wanted to go take a few fruits again.

Along the way, Sera was giving him all kinds of tips to do in this house that will help him which made him extremely grateful.

“We are almost there, sir. Just a minute.”

After she said this she guided him forward and then showed him a spiral stairs leading up.

“You need to press on this stone for the mechanism to go off.”

She said and patted the inconspicuous stone that popped inside.

Clack

The stones started to rearrange in front of their eyes while the rays of light started to shine on them.

“Quickly step on the stairs!”

Sera called out to the dazed him as she forcibly took his hand and pulled him to her.

Or at least that is what she wanted to do but thanks to her inhuman strength he was flung at her.

When his feet couldn’t stop the fall and he noticed that he was falling head on on her bosom a thought passed in his mind.

‘Is this the beginning of my romantic comedy?’

Clank

‘Ugh. Fucking armor…’