And about that passage the other day. I found a hidden passageway.
His Royal Highness the Dauphin just dropped a bomb on us. There are no bombs in this world. I suppose that’s part of the reason we’re having our talk here in the archives. There’s certainly no chance of anyone overhearing us here.
I’m not sure if I should respond, but it would be unnatural not to ask.
“What was at the end of that passage?”
“First, the first room at the end of the corridor contained a collection of art.”
One of the knights by His Highness’s side shows me a necklace in a box that he took out of his magic bag.
It’s not flashy, but it’s not flashy, it’s not flashy, it’s not flashy, it’s not flashy. It’s a masterpiece of a top craftsman who has put together a very elegant design. I think it’s an elaborate piece, but I didn’t want to pick it up.
“This is just one example. “as well as jewelry, vessels, paintings…”
“Painting?”
“Most of them were landscapes.”
It’s hard to say. I was tilting my head and His Highness started laughing.
“You don’t seem to know much about art.”
I’m sorry.
The understanding of sculpture, painting, and music is also an important knowledge for nobles as well as humanities skills, but as a commoner in my previous life, I’m not good at this part. It’s a nice thing that knowledge of the arts isn’t as important as it was for medieval nobles in my previous life.
That’s all right. This design is an ornament from the Ancient Kingdom.
People in the ancient kingdoms were human beings, and they must have been interested in arts. In computer RPGs, most of the contents of treasure chests are jewels, weapons and armor, but it would not be surprising if there are paintings, sculptures, and musical instruments that have nothing to do with magic.
That in itself isn’t strange… but there are a number of things that bother me. The biggest question is how could the royalty of this land not have known about the passage and the room behind it… but I’m afraid to ask… I’ll just give you the usual response.
“Is this a storehouse of artifacts from an ancient kingdom…”
“That would have been fine if it was just art, but there were clothes and stuff in there too. And there was another door in the back.”
“So the front room of the tomb… No, the burial chamber.
That’s how we see it.
In the case of underground tombs in this world, there is sometimes a secondary burial chamber in front of the tomb chamber. But this is only in the case of a very large tomb. Come to think of it, we don’t hear much about burial under churches in this world. Maybe it’s because God is more familiar to us because of the existence of magic.
That’s a very half-hearted response. If it’s a burial chamber, there could be a tomb or a coffin beyond. I can’t help but wonder.
“Beyond that point, the investigation is stalled. The passage has collapsed beyond the door at the back.”
This is the basement of the castle. I suppose it’s not my fault I looked up at the ceiling when I heard the passageway collapsed. His Highness and his knights didn’t blame me.
“Investigations have been halted to determine whether the collapse will spread further, whether the upper layers will be affected, and how to remove the collapsed stones and sediment. There are not many people who can be entrusted with the investigation because of the location of the site.”
There’s the treasury right there… and this library… and above all the warded chamber protecting the castle. It’s true that there’s only a limited number of people who can explain the situation, so it’s no wonder the investigation’s taking so long.
I can’t rush it, so I’ll just have to accept it, but it’s certainly something I’m curious about. I’m sure you don’t mind if I ask the knight a question anyway.
Do you have any kind of inventory?
They are described as ornaments, jewelry, paintings, tableware, and clothes, but the jewelry mentioned earlier seemed to be for women, and they might be dresses. And containers of what appear to be cosmetics. There are quite a few of them.
“If it is a tomb, is it a woman who lies at the end of the passage?”
“It may not be just one, but it’s definitely at least one woman buried.”
More mysteries to solve. For a moment I thought it might be the real tomb of the first king… but the first king of this country was a man. Why would a woman’s tomb be hidden in the basement of the palace?
“Mailing. We can’t risk anyone hearing. You stay outside the library.
“… Ha.”
One on one with the Dauphin in the truest sense of the word. His Highness has escorted his knights out of the library, or rather, he’s going to tell them something he doesn’t want even his closest advisors to hear.
“Sir Werner, you’ve been investigating the matter of the Ancient Kingdom with old Uwe.”
“Yes.”
That’s more of a confirmation, but it’s also a “don’t tell anyone” on the matter. I think he appreciates that I don’t have to say it out loud.
“This is the story of the founding of this country. How much do you know about the ancient kingdoms?
“To the extent that an ancient kingdom was destroyed by the Demon King and then a brave warrior appeared and killed the Demon King, and that our country became the largest nation among the multiple nations that were disrupted during the chaos that followed.”
The Kingdom of Vine is said to have come from the noble houses of the ancient kingdoms. I’m not sure if that’s true. It’s not uncommon in past lives to claim to be from a prestigious family.
I believe there were at least 14 states on the continent at the time of the Great War. There were probably a few weak states that called themselves cities. There aren’t many records from that time.
“It’s almost textbook.”
That’s right. I had no other historical references. I was just thinking that when a bombshell in a simple tone jumped into my ears.
“The name of the hero who slew the Mad King is Jörg Reisegang. The woman who became his wife is named Juliane Lutricia Weinzierl. She was the sister of the first king.
“Yeah.”
“And where the tomb of Lassegang the Brave is, we no longer know. There is no record of it in our country.”
“… The Lady Juliane’s cemetery…”
“equally unknown.”
Weird. At the same time, it’s fishy. No… but there’s still the story of how the heroes defeated the Demon King… but there’s no information about the process or what happened to the heroes after that… it seems like there’s a lack of information from the general stories and what they teach at the school…
It’s strange that none of us felt any discomfort… but we should be able to show off our royalty if they’re descended from the heroes. Even if they’re not direct descendants of a brave man… Descended from heroes?
“Do the heroes of the last generation have any descendants?”
“No.”
Another subtle way of putting it. You know the wife’s name, but the child’s “supposed to be”… you’re being very subtle. But since you’ve told us so much, there’s no reason to leave this part out.
“Did you not get the message?”
I have done some research after the Demon Lord’s resurrection, but there is a strange lack of references to the time before and after the Demon Lord’s death. I did some research after the Demon Lord’s resurrection, but there are strangely few references to the time before and after he was killed. At least not in our country.
“I’ve wondered why our country lacks documentation of skywalk flying shoes, but I wonder if it means that the ancient kingdom records themselves have been tampered with in some way.”
It’s natural to think so.
I called it a cover-up in a roundabout way, but at best it’s a cover-up and at worst it’s a destruction. I’m starting to wonder if they burned all the relevant documents.
This may be one of the reasons why the permission to enter this archive is so strict. Maybe these books are the ones that had to be destroyed at that time, but by chance they were spared. And the reason why they hide the books even to that extent is the most doubtful point.
Lassegang who defeated the Demon King may have been eliminated because he was considered dangerous. And the suspicion that the reason he’s been kept in the dark so long is because his wife is involved.
If our royal ancestors were involved in the murder of the last hero… it would be a terrible thing in terms of governance and diplomacy. but in this day and age they’re heroes who saved mankind.
In the games, the strongest equipment of the heroes, the sword, armor, and shield, are in different dungeons. It’s a strange thing to think about, but I guess it’s the result of the heroes going missing on a journey or something, and hiding their equipment separately.
I don’t know how that equipment survived the curse.
I wonder what this information is like in other countries. I don’t think they’d wield it lightly. Or did the brave men die with the consent of all the powers that be? And the information was destroyed en masse.
I mean, I don’t want to be told the top secret.
Let me take a deep breath and repeat the question.
“Does Your Highness think that beyond that point is Lady Juliane’s gravesite?”
“We don’t have the evidence to say for sure, so I’d say he’s the most likely candidate.”
I guess so. But if that’s the case we’ll have to be even more hesitant to investigate. If the previous heroes are buried there and the evidence of their assassination is found together with them… then we’ll have to cover the mouths of all the people who know about it.
At least I shouldn’t get involved in this any further. I can cover it up if I know the name of the previous hero’s wife… but if I go any further than that… it’s pretty bad… This is certainly not something I should discuss lightly.
I guess he wanted me to hear it in case he found any relevant records in the course of his investigation.
But then why would they want to erase the records of the ancient kingdom? The king of that time may have made the decision, but that probably didn’t get passed down to the next generation as well as the graveyard of the brave. But I can’t think about it, so I’ll leave it at that for the time being.
I have so many questions and so many decisions to make… about what His Highness would do if Lily found out about this. But I suppose I can’t remain silent.
“Thank you for telling me.”
Keep me posted on what you find out.
“Ha.”
I don’t know what they expect us to find. Or, on the contrary, what information they’ll find. My stomach hurts just thinking about it.
“Yes, I have one more request. The Eichstätt you brought back from Anheim, will you leave it with me?
“Yes, as you wish.”
It’s a surprising offer, but technically he’s not my employee, and I think he’s a good man, and I’d be happy to have him work for our country. To be honest, I’m not sure I’d be able to do that much. I don’t see any particular reason to refuse.
