Chapter 278: Is This a Date? (Celestine’s Arc) Part 2
“This is the mansion.”
“Here… it looks like an ordinary house.”
Celestine led Rest to a mansion located a short distance from the Clock Tower. It was a two-story building with a garden no larger than a cat’s forehead, surrounded by an iron fence that kept outsiders at bay. The size of the mansion was hardly what one would expect from a woman who once held dominion over the kingdom, resembling more the residence of a moderately wealthy merchant.
“That’s precisely why it went unnoticed until now. This mansion is owned by ‘Sanada Shoko,’ but the official caretaker is someone else. However… it seems that person merely lends their name and has never actually set foot inside the mansion.”
“You mentioned there’s a magical mechanism. Does that mean we can’t enter?”
“Crossing the fence is easy enough. The challenge lies in entering the building itself.”
Celestine opened the gate of the iron fence, allowing Rest to follow her inside. The garden was maintained just enough to keep the weeds at bay, but it was devoid of any flowers or ornamental plants, rendering it quite desolate. Yet, the entrance door of the mansion stood out, impressively grand. A heavy black door loomed before Rest and Celestine.
“This is the infamous mechanism door.”
Celestine pointed to the door as she explained.
“Above the doorknob, there’s a panel with numbers inscribed on it, right? By pressing these in the correct sequence, the lock will open. However… we don’t know the order or the number of digits, so we can’t unlock it.”
“What happens if we just press randomly?”
“It seems that those who came to investigate tried that. If you press the wrong panel, an electric shock magic activates. While the shock isn’t lethal, it’s powerful enough to render one unconscious.”
“Electric shock…”
“From what I gathered after fainting several times, the first panel is ‘1,’ and the next is ‘2.’ Beyond that, the investigators couldn’t continue due to the toll on their bodies and minds.”
“……”
One method to crack a numeric password is to try every possible combination. The panels display numbers from ‘0’ to ‘9.’ If the password is two digits, there are a hundred combinations; if three digits, a thousand. Eventually, one would arrive at the correct answer.
(But… I have no idea how many digits this password has. If it’s ten digits, that’s ten to the power of ten… a hundred billion combinations. That’s not realistic.)
Even without the punishment of electric shocks, it was something Rest would prefer to avoid. The investigators had seemingly tried at random, but they must have endured numerous shocks before reaching the initial digits ’12.’
“Hmm… there’s something engraved above the panel. It’s faded and hard to read, but…?”
“Ah, that’s also been reported by the investigators. They managed to decipher some of the text.”
Celestine handed Rest a piece of paper.
“It’s somewhat damaged and hard to read, but it seems to contain the following message.”
“Let’s see…”
Rest scanned the paper, tracing the short message with his eyes.
‘Sailor’s ship, Clark and Berry.’
“……”
“I don’t understand the meaning of ‘sailor’s ship,’ nor do I know who Clark and Berry are. We’re currently investigating the Queen Dowager’s associates to see if anyone shares those names…”
“No need for that investigation. I’ve had a revelation.”
“Huh?”
“Um… starting with 1, 2, and then…”
Rest began inputting the numbers he had just realized. Although the number of digits was quite high, he quickly discerned which numbers to press. Fortunately, Rest had a background in the sciences in his previous life. He even remembered the mnemonic devices taught in science class. Once he finished entering all the numbers, he heard a satisfying click as the lock disengaged.
“It opened!”
“How… how did you know that?”
Celestine was astonished, covering her mouth with her hand. Rest pondered how to explain his reasoning but decided to offer a vague excuse instead.