Chapter 92: Tenorieu (4)

"Your Majesty, may I speak freely?"

"Go on."

Though the door was open, the words that followed had to be chosen carefully. This place was the tomb of emperors.

In other words, suggesting a search for a secret space could be interpreted as proposing to ransack the graves of ancestors, like a tomb raider.

"My senses tell me there is a hidden space here."

"A hidden space?"

"Yes. It's precisely behind the statue of the Founding Emperor. No one else has touched it, so it might be something the Founding Emperor left for his descendants long ago."

I could only bring this up because of the empire's customs. Emperors leave this world with nothing after a life of glory, returning to the earth as they came.

Thus, nothing is buried with Tenedorieu, meaning it's not a tomb raid.

Erendil nodded, understanding this.

"That makes sense."

Fortunately, Erendil's face showed curiosity rather than displeasure. Having lived a dull life in the palace, he seemed eager for something interesting.

Of course, I felt the same. Such things are not easily discovered, especially something belonging to the Founding Emperor.

"I can sense the space, but I don't know how to enter it. Would you like to search for a way together?"

Due to the Great Magic, I knew there was a space, but the wind couldn't reach beyond it.

This meant we had to find the way to open it ourselves.

"Let's do that."

Erendil nodded and looked around, pondering what to do.

"Have you ever done something like this before?"

"Not often, but I have some experience."

"How do you usually find clues to open such doors?"

"It varies. Sometimes there's a hidden button, or specific conditions must be met, or certain actions taken."

Erendil tilted his head.

"What kind of conditions or actions?"

"For example, only those of royal blood can open the door here, or touching an object that seems unrelated on the surface."

"I see."

Erendil spoke confidently, as if he believed he would find the answer soon.

In reality, such things don't go smoothly. Knowing something exists is one thing; opening it is another.

"Many people have come here before Your Majesty and I, so it won't be easy."

"Yes. While we can sense it directly, others might have wondered if there was something here."

"Perhaps they've already taken it."

"Hmm. I didn't hear such stories when I studied history, but it's possible. Let's search anyway."

Erendil walked straight to the statue, intending to look for clues nearby.

When I observed the room with the wind earlier, I didn't sense any unusual structures. This meant we had to look with our eyes.

I headed towards the entrance, planning to sweep the entire room from there to avoid confusion later.

After a while, we found nothing but the golden path and the statue.

Erendil also came up empty-handed. It wasn't as simple as breaking the statue to open it.

"Your Majesty, have you ever heard any secrets or legends about Tenedorieu?"

"Hmm."

Erendil shook his head after a moment's thought.

"I don't recall hearing anything like that."

I tried to recall. There might be clues in the history.

The statues of the Founding Emperor and his companions.

Could it be that touching the statues in the order the Founding Emperor met his companions would work?

"Your Majesty, would you mind touching the statues in the order I suggest?"

Erendil touched the statues in the order I described, but nothing happened. This was frustrating.

How do we open it?

Wait. Could it be because I'm here? The Founding Emperor drove demons from this continent.

I'm not of royal blood but have demon blood. This was a plausible question.

"Your Majesty, it might be because I'm here."

"You?"

"I'm not of royal blood, am I?"

But even after I left the building, nothing changed. This meant touching the statues wasn't the answer.

I went back inside and looked around again.

There was only the golden path and the statue. No clues, as this secret space wasn't recorded in history.

Erendil was frowning, deep in thought.

Suddenly, the statue caught my eye. The Founding Emperor was thrusting a spear forward.

I knew this from the palace. It was the pose he took when he impaled the Great Demon.

'Maybe the tip of the spear needs to be stained with blood?'

It was a cliché, but I had seen it in many games.

Staining the spear with Erendil's blood might work.

But I wondered if no one had tried this in all these years.

It wasn't certain. Some might have thought of it but didn't act.

"Your Majesty, could it be that the tip of the spear needs to be stained with blood?"

"Blood?"

"It's a place only those of royal blood can enter. The blood of a descendant might be the key to opening it."

"Hmm."

However, making a cut on Erendil was concerning. It felt disrespectful.

"Would you be alright with that?"

"Let's try it."

Erendil extended his palm. I was the only one with a sword, so I had to do it. It was an inappropriate action for a bodyguard, but there was no choice.

I would do it myself to minimize the injury.

"Please forgive my rudeness."

"It's fine."

I made a small cut on Erendil's palm. A few drops of blood trickled out from the tiny wound.

Erendil frowned.

"Will this be enough? Make it a bit deeper."

"I think this is enough."

"Better to fail from lack of blood than to succeed."

While making the cut deeper, Erendil didn't flinch. A fair amount of blood flowed.

Erendil approached the statue and stained the spear tip with blood.

Nothing happened. After watching for about 30 seconds, I tried leaving the building, but it made no difference.

I felt apologetic towards Erendil.

"That's disappointing."

"I'm sorry."

"No, you suggested it, and I accepted it."

"May I see your hand?"

Erendil extended his hand. The white, delicate hand was stained with blood.

I always carried a small amount of coagulant and bandages, just in case.

After cleaning Erendil's hand with a cloth, I applied the coagulant and wrapped it with a bandage.

The cut was clean and not too deep, which was fortunate.

"You're skilled."

"I've had a lot of practice."

"I've never seen you fail at anything. I don't know much about your life as a spy, but it must have been tough."

I saw a sense of kinship in Erendil's eyes. At first, I didn't understand.

But I thought it might be because Erendil had a difficult childhood. I smiled, not knowing what to say.

'Suddenly.'

A thought flashed in my mind. The statue of the Founding Emperor showed him impaling the Great Demon.

Could it be that demon blood, not royal blood, was needed?

The Founding Emperor drove demons from the continent. If he wanted to leave something for his descendants, he might have wanted it to go to someone capable of taking it.

It was just a guess, but there was no time to hesitate. It was my blood, after all.

I cut my left palm with the sword. A warm sensation spread over my hand.

"What are you doing?"

I couldn't explain the full reason. Since I hadn't thought that far, I quickly continued.

"Maybe my blood will work..."

I couldn't lie, so my answer was vague, but that didn't matter.

I grabbed the spear tip.

Clunk—

At the same time, the statue reacted. It rose about 10 cm, and the wall behind it opened.

"What...?"

Erendil's mouth dropped open. My guess was right, though I was also surprised.

This crazy emperor... I couldn't help but curse.

'How do you open this?'

I understood the Founding Emperor's intention. It was a legacy for a descendant who could defeat demons.

However, it was almost impossible. The Founding Emperor had driven demons from the continent.

My body reacted because of the demon blood. If it were someone else, it might not have opened.

Moreover, discovering that demon blood was needed would be difficult.

Even if someone caught a demon, would they think to bring its blood to an ancestor's tomb?

I opened it, but I couldn't understand why he made it this way.

"Let's go in."

"What happened?"

"I just thought... I didn't expect it to open."

"Does it mean two people's blood is needed since we came together?"

Erendil chuckled, but there was satisfaction in his eyes.

The revealed space was not large.

The white room, about 6 square meters, was clean and tidy. In a way, it was empty.

Except for the white spear in the center.

"Could that be...?"

"Yes, it looks like Temer's Spear."

The white spear shaft and the jade-like spearhead.

It was the spear that, according to legend, the Founding Emperor used to pierce the heart of the Great Demon.

The spear, said to be unbreakable, still gleamed after so many years.

It was different. It looked purer than any weapon I had seen, and it radiated unprecedented power.

'This actually exists.'

After the Founding Emperor's death, the whereabouts of Temer's Spear were unknown. There were no records.

I had thought it was a fictional weapon, like a hero born from an egg, but it was here.

It was an unbelievable discovery. Whether this spear would help in battles against demons was unknown, but...

It brought us several steps closer to making Erendil emperor.

It was the weapon of the Founding Emperor, not just any weapon, but the one that impaled the Great Demon.

Many would support Erendil as emperor just because he possessed this spear. Erendil walked forward, entranced.

"Can I touch it?"

"It belongs to Your Majesty."

Erendil reached out. Suddenly, light began to emanate from the spear, illuminating the small room.

At the end of the light, the spear transformed into a bracelet.

"Is this also a Great Magic?"

"It seems so."

I didn't know the exact reason. Was it a function of the spear, or was it magic?

Suddenly, the bracelet in Erendil's hand transformed back into a spear.

"Do you know how to use it?"

"Yes, I understand it immediately."

"Carry it on your arm normally. It's a conspicuous item."

"Is that necessary? There are many benefits to showing it."

I shook my head.

"It's not good to reveal your cards first. Criticism and gossip are easy to create. It's better to show it at the right time."

Even if it's genuine, it came from Tenedorieu. There might be accusations of tomb raiding or that it's a fake.

It should be used at crucial moments.

"I will. Your advice has never been wrong."

"Thank you."

Erendil, who had transformed the spear back into a bracelet, looked at me. He was quite excited.

"This spear is also thanks to you. You're amazing. How do you always surprise me?"

I smiled, pleased by the compliment.

* * *

Erendil kept touching the bracelet as we descended the mountain. He seemed both pleased and incredulous.

I felt the same.

To find Temer's Spear.

In fact, I didn't even know it existed when playing games. I only learned about it from historical records here.

I had even thought it was fictional. It was an unimaginable discovery.

At the base of the mountain, Feorn was waiting for us. He immediately noticed the bracelet.

"...You have a new bracelet. And you're injured."

Feorn's voice was heavy, and his expression was serious.

There was a seriousness I hadn't seen before. His furrowed brow looked quite grave.

Does he know what this bracelet is? Is it something we shouldn't have taken?

"Did you find something in Tenedorieu?"