I've Turned Into A Fox Girl?

Chapter 324: Unexplored basement

Standing atop the platform once again, I faced the crowd that was still cheering for me. I tried to search around for any mana fluctuation and even checked with the system to see if there was some kind of mind-manipulation effect at play. It was hard to believe that everyone here except for that small group had already accepted me.

'Maybe I'm just overthinking it.' There was the possibility that these worries were for nothing and the people here really do just accept me.

There is no reason why they shouldn't, as I've shown them the equivalent of a miracle in front of their eyes. The revival of Dahlia's power, the very legend they've been worshipping this whole time.

"Silence!" As soon as my voice left my throat, the entire city centre fell silent. The sudden silence caught me off guard, as I didn't expect it to happen so quickly.

*Ahem* "As for the rest of you. The city will continue to function as is, but if there are specific needs that are urgent, please report them to the mansion. I will see if it's worth paying attention to.

However, if the request is something outrageous, consider your life forfeit." I didn't really want to do anything to help them, but if I was going to try and keep them content I should at least listen to some of their complaints.

"That is all for now. I shall return to the mansion and finish settling in." Finishing my speech, the entire place once again erupted in cheers and rounds of applause.

'Alice hurry it up, I can't stand these cheers any longer.' All this cheering has reached headache inducing levels, , so I called for Alice telepathically to get moving.

'Yeah, yeah, I'll be right behind you.' Hearing her acknowledgment, I spread my wings and flew towards the mansion, letting all that ruckus fade behind me.

'Now I need to speak to the head maid and get a start on extracting all the information from Teivel's collection.' Hopefully, I'll have at least a week to myself while the citizens are on their highs. The last thing I want is a revolution in the first month of taking over.

*

<Teivel's Elysia's room>

Arriving back at the mansion, I opened the door to my room. Inside, I caught Yumi frantically running around, cleaning as well as gathering things that may be of importance. Surprisingly, a big pile of books formed in the middle of the room, with an assortment of keys and other various items scattered throughout the pile.

My main interest was the books, but there were definitely places in this mansion I needed to explore.

'I'll have a good walk around a bit later when I've sorted through the mountain of books.' I wasn't excited to absorb all this information, as most of it would probably be useless. However, since I've come this far, I'm squeezing everything I can out of this place.

"How's it going, Yumi?" She was yet to notice my presence, which is why she jumped in a panic at hearing my voice, almost dropping the stack of books she was caring for.

"O-oh Elysia, you are back. U-ummm I haven't finished yet, sorry." Yumi looked panicked as if she was going to be punished for not being done, but I've never had such an expectation to begin with.

"It's okay, calm down. You've done an amazing job so far." Walking around the pile of books, I kept an eye out for anything that seemed magic related or at least special in any way.

"I'm just here to ask where the head maid is." Malinda would be key in finding the most valuable items, so she was a top priority.

"Oh, phew, umm she should be in the office making the finishing touches." Yumi quickly relaxed, quickly recalling the head maid's most likely whereabouts.

"Thanks, I'll be back later." With a place in mind, I quickly walked to Teivel's office, which was just down the hall from my new room.

I saw the office doors were open, so I peaked my head around the corner. Just like Yumi said, Malinda was going around organising the room to look neat and tidy.

"Hey, Malinda, can I borrow you for a moment?" Emerging from the door, I walked in to Malinda's surprise.

'I seem to be scaring people a lot with my sudden appearances.'

"Yes mad'am." Quickly composing herself, she did a slight bow and awaited my words.

"Do you know the location of Teivel's most valuable possessions? This can be books or places that only I might be able to access." Getting straight to the point, Malinda stayed silent for a moment before she raised her head.

"Most things in terms of knowledge are kept here in the office as well as his private chambers, but as for anything he didn't want others getting to, it would have to be the basement. I was never allowed to go with him nor were any of the other maids except for the ones that got replaced." A sad look appeared in Malinda's eyes at the mention of the previous maids.

It seems that this basement is where prisoners or dead bodies go, but there might be more to it than just a dungeon.

'Hmm, there were some keys back in his room. Maybe I'll take the time while Yumi gets the room organised to head down to the basement.' With the potential of prisoners being down there, it was worth my time to check whether there are any survivors.

"Alright, I'll head down to the basement then. If anything else comes to mind that you think is important let me know."

"Mhm, I understand… If I may be so bold to ask, can I come down with you?" Unexpectedly, Malinda asked to follow me down to the basement, to which I raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Are you sure? You might see things that you don't want to see." With the chances of the maids' bodies being down there, I felt it might be too much for Malinda. She has been holding strong for so long, yet now that she has finally let down her guard I wouldn't be surprised if seeing the remains of her past friends ends up breaking her heart.

"Yes, I'm sure. I need to give them a proper burial." Malinda took a deep breath as she pushed away the sadness from her eyes and changed back to her usual confident self. She found her resolve, but I don't know if it will be strong enough.

"If you're sure, then I won't stop you." It wasn't my place to stop her, but at least I can say I warned her.

"Thank you. The basement entrance is underneath the main staircase. I'll meet you there." Malinda bowed to me before exiting the office to go wait by the basement door.

'Let's go grab those keys then.'

*

I picked up all the keys from my new room, then made my way to the basement, all the while using the system's inventory to identify them for me. It had labelled all the keys by their proper use, so by the time I reached the staircase I had already found the basement key.

Malinda was waiting for me at the base of the stairs, moving towards the basement door as soon as she spotted me. It was well hidden, completely blending into its surroundings, but upon walking closer I noticed it thanks to a draft of musty air.

There was also a notable golden keyhole that was disguised as some kind of decoration.

"I do not know what is beyond this point." I was surprised that Teivel never took the head maid with him or even forced her to come down here, which could only mean there is something important down here.

"Let's find out then." Inserting the basement key into the hole, there was a loud click after which the door began to open. Revealing a staircase completely made from cobblestone.

'I can't even see the bottom from here.' Magic stones lit up the staircase, revealing how far it went down, but there was no bottom as far as I could see.

"Shall we go?" Looking over to Malinda, I could see the hesitation on her face, second guessing if this was a good idea.

"Yes." Clenching her fists, she looked back at me with a determined look.

Taking the first step onto the basement stairs, I was deep in thought regarding what might be awaiting us down there. I had expected the bodies of the maids, but there had to be more than that. I doubted he would just leave out in the open all the important texts relating to our family, and I could see the basement being the best place to hide such things.

*

<5 minutes later>

Each step was deafening as we got closer to the bottom. The bottom ground was now visible, as was the pungent smell of decomposing bodies. It made me worry that there wouldn't be anything of note down here. Surely no one in his right mind would leave something important in such a smelly place? Then again, maybe Teivel actually enjoyed such a thing.

At the very least, he might see it as a great deterrent for people like me.

Finally, after going down a few hundred or so steps, I reached the bottom or at least the first floor. I scanned the room looking for anything of interest and my eyes landed on a cell. The light was dim, but I saw there were two older looking kitsune chained up in there.