ALAITD

chapter 25

Chapter 25: Dee

The door opened into a large, high-ceilinged room that resembled the great hall of a castle.

There was no sign of life in the room, which was unusually quiet. It looked like there could have been a boss monster or some sort of large-scale mechanics, but all that was present was a single massive stone statue.

A stone statue standing alone, with a human face, a lion-like body, and powerful wings.

They were on the lookout for traps or surprise attacks, but there was no movement.

There was no way to get to the back. It’s a dead end.

—Is there a secret passage somewhere?

A moment later, the stone statue’s eyes light up gold.

“D-Did it just move?”

“That’s a sphinx.”

【Appraisal】Stone Golem. A stone-based magical life form.

—Stone golem?

That’s exactly the kind of stone golem they’ve encountered in the passage so far.

Aside from the size and possible power, it’s probably a stone golem in the form of the Sphinx monster.

—Anyway, I know how to defeat the stone golem. Make ice on the joints, blow it up, and then break it…eh?

[Maggots in the morning, rocks during the day, and fire at night. What exactly is it?]

A deep voice echoes through the hallways.

“…What?”

[Maggots in the morning, rocks during the day, and fire at night. What exactly is it?]

(Awebstories.com) Other interpretations: four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, and three legs at night.

Lysette doesn’t understand what the stone golem said, so she asks again, and it politely repeats it. But she has no idea what it means.

“It’s a riddle—if you can solve it, you will be able to pass without difficulty. It will try to eat you alive if you get it wrong or don’t answer.”

—The stone golem is? How can a stone golem eat people?

Lysette’s head is buzzing with questions.

—If a stone golem can eat, that means it’s alive. It means it has internal organs… Does that mean the stone golem can be eaten?!

Lysette’s anticipation grows.

—But It looks like a stone, but has the same exoskeleton as the Mimic? I wonder what it tastes like!!!

“You must know the answer to the riddle if you know so much.”

Leonhardt gave a thoughtful look in response to Dee’s explanation.

“…No, it’s not the Sphinx’s riddle that I’m aware of…”

“Does Leon understand the riddle?”

“…Four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, and three legs at night…. Maybe a human being?”

“What?”

Leonhardt continued towards the unconvincing Dee.

“As babies we crawl around on all fours, and as adults we walk on two legs. As we get older, we use a cane, so we have three legs.”

“Ah, I see… Four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, and three legs at night—what in the world is that? I don’t get it.”

Dee scratches his head.