When he left the master bedroom he was cautiously looking around.

While the corridors were not that much dangerous it was only compared to other rooms.

He could still meet someone along the way.

If it was something hostile he could only run or hide and pray that he would not die. Fighting was also an option but only as a last resort. He would probably lose a fistfight with a normal human, let alone some monster.

Nevertheless, the first corridor was safe according to Sera so he could quickly pass it.

If he knew the password to the secret passage he could even quickly get to his goal…

‘I urgently need to ask Sera about it…’

As he sighed he hurried on the way.

However, looking from the side looking at the exhibition that was along the walls he felt little unease in his heart.

When he came here with Sera he saw some of the things and was sure that the things he saw right now were not the same.

“Some trickery, again. I am not surprised anymore…”

Some of those items were literally oozing out the ancient aura that made him feel like they were ageless items.

Yet, some of them seemed broken and showed signs of not being taken care of.

What really brought his unease, though, was what those things implied.

Seeing the golden armor that is over five meters tall with two pairs of arms gave off pressure just by looking at it. Underneath its legs, a gigantic skull of some ugly creature was displayed.

He really hopes he won’t see the creature that this armor was designed for or the creature the skull belonged to…

There were other things that seemed to belong to giants along the way as he was passing.

Weapons, armor, rings that were wider than his torso, and more.

It felt as if he entered the domain of giants and was walking into their house.

Fortunately, he soon found the stairs and went down the stairs.

He held the kitty tightly fearing that it would try to get off him and escape somewhere.

However, the kitty didn’t even look around as if it wasn’t interested.

He took it with himself as he deemed the bedroom as dangerous too. Since it was just a newborn it shouldn’t be left unattended in a place such as this.

What was most important for him, though, was the mental support just by holding it.

Just as he thought so he heard a clicking sound coming from the stairs he put his leg on.

The entire place suddenly got so dark that he couldn’t see anything except the stairs.

It was like he was in the void.

“Whoa?!”

He quickly put his leg away and saw the stairs starting to disassemble flying away.

“Shit.”

He turned around to return but only darkness invited him. The stairs upstairs had already disappeared.

“Heheheh.”

The laughter resounded from behind him, informing him that he wasn’t alone there.

With a stiff body, he turned around.

In the darkness, only two big eyes were shining.

*Crack*

The uncomfortable noises of cracking something with wet squelching were coming right from it as if it was chewing on something.

The feeling he had at his moment was something he will probably never forget.

When he saw those eyes slowly crawl up the stairs that were disappearing he started to panic.

“No, no, no, no, no…”

He really wanted to run back but he couldn’t.

On the other hand, the only other way, which was down, was occupied by something unknown.

Then he saw it.

The ugly head with big green eyes and a mouth full of long sharp teeth.

What was most unsettling was that he couldn’t see its body.

There were so many arms on it that it seemed to only have those. They were arms resembling those of humans making it look like some kind of centipede.

It was using those hands to crawl as it was munching on something while giggling.

Seeing no other option, he chose to do a drastic way to escape.

“Fuuuck…!!!”

He climbed over the railing and jumped down into the darkness.

He didn’t know where he was falling but he would rather have broken legs than face something like that!

Just as he jumped he heard another click.

The door showed under him and opened itself, making him fall into it.

Once he fell through he felt the change of gravity suddenly dragging him to the side of the wall.

*Bang*

The closed with a bang and shrill yells of the creatures resounded as it was trying to smash down the door.

“Ouch…”

The young man was now lying on the ‘wall’ which he realized was actually the floor and was heavily sighing.

“What… In the… World…”

*Meow*

The only comfort he got was from the little kitten that was licking his hands.

“Ha ha ha… This damn place…”

His voice was shaking as he started to laugh.

So naive.

So fucking naive of him.

He thought this place was dangerous yet he didn’t take any proper measurements.

The pretty faces of those girls fooled his danger sense and made him feel that there was only so much danger to it.

This was the wake-up call for him.

Soon, the banging noises stopped, and stood up and started to shake off the dust from his clothes.

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“This fucking place…”

The pain he felt on his rear was reminding him of his bad fall. He already fell here at least three times in a bad way.

Yet he didn’t even feel soreness.

The fact he didn’t wake up completely broken in the morning was a mystery to him.

However, his thoughts weren’t centered on that at this moment as he was still shaken up from the encounter.

“Haah… Where am I now?”

He was in another corridor. This was full of doors.

“Better to get the hell out of here…”

He didn’t open any of those doors as he didn’t know what was behind them. Instead, he hoped to see some kind of item to use as a weapon or something to defend with.

The fact, that he got so comfortable in the place where he was forcibly held, that he didn’t even try to look for some weapons in the room he slept was beyond himself now.

Not that he saw anything he would be able to use but still.

He could use the flint and striker to make that fireball spark.

Well, with his current proficiency, he would die before making even one spark…

‘Damn it, Even if I want to fight I can’t use my arms with the kitty in them.’

Holding the kitty was a handicap that he took upon himself when he took it out of the room but now he realized that it could be really dangerous.

So he looked at his suit looking for something.

Then he noticed a small breast pocket on his heart.

With a smile, he opened it and started to stuff the kitten there.

“Sorry little one, it is necessary for both of us.”

Fortunately, the kitten was small enough to fit there comfortably with only her head looking out.

*Meow?*

She looked questioningly at him. Everything happened so fast that it didn’t even realize how much danger they both were in.

“Hm, this is certainly better than holding you the entire time.”

With this, he continued on his way.

Unfortunately, even after several minutes, he didn’t come to the end of the hallway.

‘Does the house want me to enter one of those doors?’

No way, he would do that. With an indignant expression, he talked loudly.

“Come on! Please guide me to the living room! Why are you like this?! You were the one who took us here yet completely ignored us!”

However, the house was completely silent. Ever since he got the key to the bedroom the house itself was ignoring his existence as if sulking.

He thought about taunting it but he feared that the retaliation wouldn’t be worth it.

‘Spoiled brat.’

While grumbling he continued on his way without looking at the doors.

*Bang*

Soon one after another, doors started to quiver and the lights on the sides started flickering.

This time, he didn’t hesitate and started running.

But the phenomena persisted no matter how far he ran away.

Realizing that he was trapped, his attention turned to one of those doors.

“Do I really have to…?’

With a mutter under his nose, he pondered what to do.

In the end, he could only sigh.

He went to the closest door and cautiously opened it with only an eye looking through the cranny.

Face to face, the eye, reminding him of a goat, that was so big that it filled the entire room looked intensively right into his.

*Bang!*

He closed them right after and hurried away.

“Hell naw.”

Not even trying to identify what it was he went towards next door.

As soon as he opened it a roar so loud that his ears started to ring.

The horrible smell hit him right after that making his stomach upset

Staggering, he quickly slammed the door shut without even looking.

“Kitty, are you alright?”

Firstly, he checked the kitty if it was okay. Fortunately, it didn’t seem to be fazed.

He didn’t know if it was because it was spirit but he was glad for that.

*Meow?*

Kitty was just sitting in the pocket with the head poking out looking curiously around.

In this manner, he tried to open several other doors but the only thing he found was either too scary to describe or too weird to describe.

Thankfully, in none of those doors was a danger that would try to attack him. That was the only consolation he had.

After wasting his time for what felt like forever he finally found the door that led to the staircase.

Sighing in relief, he planned to enter right away but suddenly stopped.

Last time he was on the staircase he almost got caught by that ‘something’.

He better be cautious…

However, he didn’t find anything that would be useful as weapons and he felt like going crazy after being in the same endless corridor for so long.

This time, the stairs stayed where they were supposed to be and he could sigh in relief when he got to the end of them.

He never had any particular fear of heights but after this, he wasn’t sure anymore.

The jump he did before was only thanks to the adrenaline pumping in his veins and the fact that there was complete darkness. Not like the darkness when you can’t see but the one that you imagine when you die. Complete nothingness.

“Do you need some help, young man?”

Once he got down and started to ponder where to go, he heard someone speak to him.

With a quick turn, he looked at the person who spoke to him. Just that one look made him dazed.

It was a beautiful woman with an enchanting smile. She looked to be exactly his type. Furthermore, behind her smile, there was unprecedented sadness hidden as her eyes showed vicissitudes that no one goes through.

What was the most interesting, though, was that she was just painting on the canvas framed on the wall.

That made it look as if she was detained against her will.

As he wanted to reply with concern he froze.

Just this morning he almost got done by the magic mirror in his dressing room. There is no way he wouldn’t be guarded at this point. And fortunately, it paid off.

He liked beautiful women, yes. But there was never a need to simplify any of them. This kind of behavior was unnatural to him.

That alone made him already suspicious.

For now, he played around, prepared to run as soon as something went wrong.

“Who are you?”

“I am just like you. Trapped in this horrendous place forever by those monsters. They actually sealed me in this picture without allowing me to leave.”

Just like that she made a sad forced smile as she didn’t reveal almost anything.

“What? You were kidnapped too?”

“Yes… they held me here for so long that I don’t even remember the exact time. C-could you maybe help me to get out? I mean, W-we could maybe run away together. I think we should be of the same race, right? We are probably from the same place too. ”

At this point, he considered running away already. This was obvious bait for him.

“Ah, sorry I-I don’t think we can… There is ‘one’ of them waiting for me in my room. If I don’t get there soon, they will come to me…”

With a scared expression, he gave off an excuse as he started back up.

“W-wait, But I can help you to escape! Once we succeed there is no need to fear them!”

As he began distancing she visibly turned agitated as she tried to persuade him.

“R-really?”

“Yeah! It will take only a second. You need to destroy this painting so I can get out.”

“Won’t that hurt you?”

“No. I, myself, won’t be affected. You don’t need to worry.”

‘Oh, I need to worry! How do you know it won’t affect you? Did you break out already? I don’t think a weak prisoner such as you portray yourself would know such detail, huh!’

He became nervous. He doesn’t know if the woman can retaliate if he chooses to run away.

Trying to take advantage of the fact she still doesn’t know he is aware of her ploys, he is thinking about how to get out of the situation without dying.

“I..see. How do I break it? I am weakened after wandering those corridors for days… I am lost…”

“You just need to smash it to pieces! Please!”

‘Damn it... What should I say?!’

“A-alright. But first I need some weapons to do it. I saw one in the living room! Do you know where it is?”

“Weapon? You can do it with your hands. It is just painting… Please… I don’t want to be here any longer…”

She started to cry at this point and her tears stained her face.

“But, But! You look very weak! If we meet anything along the way I won’t be able to protect you! I would never forgive myself if such a thing happened. Please, do you know where the place is? I will come to you right after!”

“O-oh, you are such a brave man. If only I could meet you sooner. Alright. L-listen carefully, I don’t remember it properly since I was here for so long but I c-can try…”

With saying that she described to him a path to get to the living room.

“Just don’t forget about me, alright?”

“Yes, thank you!”

While saying that he ran and soon disappeared behind the corner.

Once he left, the woman’s face got completely distorted. The painting itself was morphing and soon the real face of the woman was revealed. A hideous monster full of pus was waiting in the painting for some poor victims. This time it, however, failed. With resentful eyes, it was growling at the young man.

“Do you think I am stupid? Hah… Let’s see if he enters that room, he should die pretty quickly. I can’t get free since he didn’t touch the painting but I can at least feast on his flesh. There should be some painting there I can travel into. Heheh, I am looking forward to tasting you, you little bastard…”

The monster scoffed at the young man’s lame attempt to get the information out of it and soon its body on the painting disappeared…

…….

The young man went beyond the corner of the hallway and continued on his way.

Unbeknownst to the lady in the painting, he didn’t enter the door that she instructed him to and started to run.

“Dumb bitch. As if I would listen to your instructions….”

He was quite socially awkward when he was on Earth. The only people he felt comfortable with were his family and close friends.

How could someone like that act convincingly? Because of the situation, he was trying his best but no one would be fooled for too long.

Fortunately, he realized that she was really agitated about him not touching the damn painting so he just found the opportunity to get away. He doesn’t care if she knows. He’s gone now and she is trapped in the painting.

What is she gonna do?

With this thought, he continued exploring the house in hopes of finding the place he was looking for.

As he was wandering he realized how much luck he got yesterday on his way back to the bedroom after leaving the garden. That day nothing serious happened and after a few minutes he found his way to his room.

But now he sees the true nature of this place and it scares him.

Suddenly, the thought of quickly becoming the Housekeeper wasn’t so lucrative to him.

What’s the point if he dies trying to reach his goal? What if he fails?

He doesn’t think that he was someone who had the qualifications to become one. One wrong step and he was done.

If he had another option on how to leave he would gladly take it.

‘Wait, I actually don’t know if there isn’t one. Sera told me but she could be lying. For all I know, she could be the perpetrator behind his kidnapping. Even though she looked too incompetent for that…’

Thinking like that, he decided to look for another way out of this place when he had an opportunity. Of course, safety first. He doesn’t want to risk his life for that unless necessary.

*Growl*

At this moment, he heard another sound.

‘Not again!’

Fearing that it was some ferocious monster he started to back off.

The creature was like a shadow. Unheard and unseen. He couldn’t even see it properly as it moved too fast.

Before he could make even a full step he already lay on the ground the creature towering over him, its saliva dripping on his cheek.

He struggled but it was too strong. At that moment, he felt death closing in on him.

However, when he looked into its eyes he froze the moment he recognized those golden orbs.

When they made eye contact, they also realized who he was.

“Hah?!”

“Eh?”