Chapter 99

Part 24: Entering the Ruins (1)

We arrived at the ruins that must have been a grand castle long ago. The ruins, long since collapsed and covered with trees and vines, had long lost their original appearance. The ruins near our estate gave off a similar feeling to the ruins where someone had died. Of course, the ruins near the estate were not covered with trees and vines, making them easier to identify.

In front of the ruins, the exploration team had another big fight. There were monsters that had made their nest there. By chance, the monsters that had made their nest were of the same type as the lizard monsters that had been at the place where Raid found the pouch. These monsters, being monsters, had a lizard-like appearance with feathers on their tails, though this time they were blue.

When we found the pouch, the nest of the monsters seemed impossible to deal with, but this time it was different. The monsters spewed water instead of fireballs from their mouths, but they were repeatedly blocked by the knights' shields and the defense barrier set up by the noble officer. Kathrin also used her ability to create a huge shield to protect the students.

Thus, the exploration team, which had blocked the water jets that could pierce through armor, gradually brought down the approaching monsters. The royal knights and noble officers, who had rested sufficiently, showed no decline in their skills, and the academy students, who had experienced real combat, dealt with the monsters much more skillfully than before.

After bringing down the monsters and finally the largest one, we were able to take over the monsters' nest. Unfortunately, there was nothing useful in the nest except for some broken eggs.

We hadn't come to hunt monsters, so we burned the monsters' corpses with our abilities. After thoroughly cleaning the nest, we set up camp in front of the entrance to the underground.

Count Cheifrey stood in front of the entrance to the underground, lost in thought for a long time. Whether it was because the ruins, the family's centuries-old goal, had been found so easily, or because he regretted handing the ruins over to others, I, as a third party, couldn't understand his feelings.

'However, it was surprisingly easy to get here.'

Of course, without the academy's teleportation magic circle, crossing the continent to get here would have been very difficult. Moreover, without the power of the royal knights, crossing the seal would have been hard.

But, knowing the approximate location of the ruins and not attempting to explore them again after the accident 50 years ago was hard to understand.

'Is the map that important?'

The front of the map is for finding the ruins, which is now meaningless since we've already found them. However, the back of the map, which is the internal map of the ruins, has many parts erased and a simple structure, so it doesn't seem very useful.

After some time, the senior knight of the royal knights called the students. As the tired students gathered around, he shouted loudly.

"Everyone, pay attention!"

"I sincerely thank the students of Carlos Royal Academy for following us here without falling behind. The royal knights and the officers of the kingdom's army will remember the names of those who participated here."

The noble officer standing next to the senior knight nodded vigorously. It meant that after graduation, there would be bonus points or priority for joining the knight corps and the officer corps.

"The underground ruins we will enter are a very dangerous place. Students, please maintain the camp here, block the entry of monsters, and support those entering the ruins."

The students sighed at his words. In fact, everyone had expected this to some extent. Since they promised to remember their names, they had achieved their goal, and even though they couldn't enter the ruins, they could boast about participating in the exploration, so there weren't many complaints.

"Poor the dead."

Only Valeyah could say that out loud.

That day, the exploration team camped in front of the ruins again. The headmaster opened the box again to create a safe zone, and we had a rich meal with the food that poured out of the artifact bag and the subspace.

Unfortunately, the rest was only up to that point. Even though it was dark, people were busy moving around, unlike yesterday.

The royal knights and noble officers were preparing for the exploration with Count Cheifrey, and the students were assigned manual labor.

And we learned the reason from the headmaster.

Gathering the students, he pointed to the glowing box.

"This artifact, which blocks the approach of monsters, is a very powerful item, but it's not without flaws."

Indeed, I had thought it was so powerful that it couldn't have any weaknesses, but I had been wrong.

"As you know, this artifact cannot be used while moving."

That was easy to understand. If it could be used while moving, we wouldn't have gone through all this trouble to get here.

"And it cannot be used for a certain amount of time. It needs a recharge period, you could say."

That was why we couldn't stay overnight during the field trip, and why we only used it when we slept at night.

"If we use it at night, we can't use it during the day. In that case, we have to deal with the monsters ourselves."

The reason for asking the students to guard the entrance was also clear. They were left behind to protect the students, but in reality, we were to be a shield while exploring the ruins.

The students and professors' expressions worsened, but there was no other way.

We started to gather the stones, wood, and vines from the ruins to build a defensive wall centered around the entrance to the underground. With the ability users, who had several times the physical strength of ordinary people, the work progressed quickly.

The wall grew high, and traps and obstacles were quickly set up. The area around the entrance to the ruins gradually became a place that could be called a "makeshift fortress."

After working for a long time, a loud noise came from behind.

"What do you mean by that?"

It was Kathrin's voice. Surprised, I turned around to see Kathrin shouting at the senior officer. There, besides Kathrin and the princess, Count Cheifrey and the highest-ranking noble officer were also present.

The soundproofing must have been good, as her voice couldn't be heard anymore, but her angry face was clearly visible even in the dark.

After a while, Kathrin and the princess returned to the students' campsite. Kathrin called me over from my work.

I threw the stone I was carrying and went to the princess and Kathrin.

As I approached, Kathrin said with a serious expression.

"There's a problem."

"Is the princess included in the group going down?"

My answer made Kathrin and the princess look surprised.

"How did you know that?"

It wasn't really difficult.

"Considering what could make Kathrin angry with the princess by her side, that's the only thing it could be."

"That's true."

At my words, the princess and Kathrin nodded blankly.

But can the princess be involved in the exploration at will?

"Can't it be refused?"

The princess shook her head.

"No. They said that the royal family must oversee royal events. Since the royal knights moved on the prince's orders, it follows the tradition, and it's hard to refuse an order from the prince."

"It's a tradition that ignores the princess's gender and age."

The prince's orders and the royal tradition.

I never thought I would witness the power struggles of the royal family with my own eyes. Surely, the princess wasn't targeted from the beginning?

"Is there some sinister plan?"

"It doesn't seem like it. If it's something my big brother did, he probably just wants to make us suffer a bit."

At my words, the princess shook her head. However, this time, I couldn't easily believe the princess's words.

"Animals die when hit by the fireballs shot by dragons. The prince said it would be hard work, but we don't know if it will end there for us."

Kathrin felt the same way.

"I got angry, but there was no way. Instead, we decided that two people would go together."

I knew who the two people were.

"Kathrin and me."

"Yes. Please help."

"Please."

The princess put her hand on her chest and bowed deeply.

A sincere greeting that a royal person would find hard to do for the sake of dignity. No matter how I looked at it, it wasn't something a 10-year-old princess should do.

Since the princess's faction had already become a rumor, and I had to protect her during my time at the academy, I had planned to go with her from the beginning.

Moreover, with the princess making such a request, I decided to help her sincerely.

Looking at the princess, I realized again that if I hadn't remembered my past life and repeated my life, I would have become a knight who truly followed the princess.

'The two princes must be afraid of the princess if they know her well.'

The next morning.

At the exploration team's forward base at the entrance to the ruins, most of the students and teachers, and some of the royal knights, remained. The students who stayed behind looked very envious of me going down into the underground ruins.

"Those aren't envious eyes, but eyes full of anger and jealousy."

Valeyah, seeing me off, told me the truth.

There was no need to state the facts so bluntly.

I also told her.

"Be careful, and if there's a problem, try to hide as much as possible. Of course, I'm sure you'll do well even without me saying it."

Looking at her, it didn't seem like either side was particularly safe.

"It's the first time. You worrying about me. I'll survive, as Prince Alex said."

No, I was more concerned about her well-being and hoped that if something happened, she would survive to tell me the situation, but I decided to keep that to myself.

"We're leaving now."

After saying goodbye to Valeyah, Briah, and some other students, and waving to Manuel who was watching from a distance, I headed to the underground ruins with the princess and Kathrin.

About 30 people, including 10 royal knights, 10 noble officers, Count Cheifrey, and our group, started to go down into the underground.

* * *

The wide passage, where four or five people could walk side by side, sloped downward. As we went down, the light from the entrance weakened, but it wasn't a problem.

Everyone was able to see in the dark to some extent, and some light-related ability users had set up light sources above the group.

After going down for a while, the sloping passage returned to its original state.

"From here, we have no information."

Count Cheifrey, confirming the skeleton leaning against the wall, stepped back. As if it had been pre-arranged, the royal knights moved forward.

Fortunately, we didn't have to change our positions as we were at the back.

The group set off again.

Seeing the royal knights move forward, the princess asked quietly.

"Are there adventurers and mercenaries who look for ruins? Shouldn't they be leading?"

"That skeleton is one of those mercenaries."

Kathrin pointed to the skeleton leaning against the wall.

"Finding where the ruins are is something that unawakened mercenaries and adventurers can do. But exploring the inside of the ruins is almost impossible for ordinary people who don't know about mana and don't have abilities."

Kathrin pointed to the bodies left behind, saying, "That's the result."