chapter 113
Beware of accidents (3)
Those who greeted us upon arrival were a priest and a paladin.
Among them, the first to greet was the female priest.
“May the road ahead be full of light. I’ve been waiting for you, Irvine follower.”
I held my breath for a moment as I watched the priestess politely greet me.
It was a familiar face.
I know it unilaterally, though.
why is he here
Thoughts like that came to my mind for a moment, but I exhaled and calmed my heart, and I also politely bowed.
“May the road ahead be full of light. nice to meet you.”
“Yes, Lunara will bless our meeting. My name is Grace, a lowly servant who serves Lu Nera.”
The priestess who introduced herself as Grace was a girl of about sixteen, with orange-tinted blonde hair and contrasting black eyes.
He had a soft smile on his face, and it was felt that he was a good person wherever he looked.
tell me what to do
I will become the next saint of the Church of Lu Nera.
“This brother is called Hudson. He is a taciturn person, so I am the doctor.”
It’s not that I’m silent, but I can’t speak.
The paladin, with reddish brown hair and thick eyebrows, nodded slightly as if to say hello, and Hudson was also someone I knew.
She wasn’t as famous as Grace, who was a saint, but she was like a model of a paladin who took the lead in eliminating evil in the Lunera religion.
I can’t explain it in one word, upright, so I can’t say it, but he was a very trustworthy person.
Rather, the one to be wary of was the next saintess with a kind smile.
In order not to offend Grace, I introduced Rize and Irina while calmly recalling the countermeasures in my mind.
“This is my daughter, Rize. And this is Rize’s escort, Irina.”
“hello! My name is Rize.”
“This is Irina.”
“nice to meet you. May the believers also be filled with light on the road ahead.”
After greeting Rize and Irina, Grace turned her gaze back to me and raised her voice with a hint of concern.
“It could be dangerous, so is it okay to take the young believer? We have heard about it beforehand, but we cannot guarantee that we will keep it perfectly.”
“I have a great escort with me, so it’s okay. And now it’s just an investigation. I brought it just for a field trip, so don’t worry too much about Grace-sama.”
Grace was worried about Rize even though she wasn’t that mature.
It was an innate temper.
She was called a saint because she was for people, wanted to help, and wanted to give, and her abilities actually matched that.
I haven’t been able to show my outstanding qualities now, but maybe in the next 4 or 5 years.
Grace, who stands out in earnest, is called a saint as it is.
That’s why I never thought we’d meet here.
“Then, please look around the area for a while and tell me if there is any information you would like to share.”
I was taken aback, but not to the point of being agitated.
I wanted to be like that no matter what happens now, perhaps because I went through a lot of variable situations in this life.
I could still feel that my mental power could develop, so should I rather like it?
“Yes, in our church, we decipher many ancient texts and follow the traces of the saints of old. In one of them, we found a record that the ancestors who fled from the war hid a holy relic here. The excavation that took place… … .”
Pretending to explore the surroundings, I listened to Grace’s story with one ear and let it out with the other.
Lize, who was interested in the story, sat next to Grace and enjoyed listening to it, so that would be enough.
At the same time, I looked around a bit, and even though 10 years had passed, traces of collapse were still visible everywhere.
In addition, there were traces of searches here and there, but it would be difficult to even pinpoint the location of a place that had collapsed to this extent.
It’s a situation where you don’t know if the holy relics buried inside are safe right now.
So, there must have been no proper progress for 10 years.
Looking at it from above, I couldn’t tell if the inside of the ruins had completely collapsed, but I was somewhat certain that I would be safe.
Still, it was clear that if I found the right place, I would be suspicious, so I decided to kill time around here today.
During the meaningless search, Grace’s account of the Church’s history continued.
I was only slightly making eye contact and giving signals that I was listening, but Rize was listening very passionately.
“So what? What kind of person is that saintess?”
“Among the saints of all time, the one who is known to be the most sincere and noble is Lady Leah. It is said that he saved countless people and drove out the dark lord with the hero of light.”
It was a name I hadn’t heard before.
The hero of light sealed the dark lord not alone, but with his companions, and among them there was one called a saint.
The names didn’t even appear in the storybook, though.
“The sacred object Leah used to use is right here. How could it not be sad that such a precious relic lies resting beneath such a cold pile of stones. We must return it to the arms of the church as soon as possible and serve it strictly.”
That’s why I was sure it was a holy relic.
I was wondering how great it would be, but if it was a relic from the era of the heroes of light, it was right to be treated like this.
It was understandable to some extent that we were having stupid discussions about how to move.
It was a holy relic used by a legend among legends.
“Then do you know what it is? is it a sword? Or is it some other weapon?”
“Huh, Lady Leah is said to have brought healing and peace to people. There’s no way you used a tool to hurt someone. The relic found was also said to be a pair of bracelets.”
A bracelet… … I also didn’t remember.
You’re right in thinking you couldn’t find it after all.
Even now, I wasn’t sure if I could actually find it, but I’ll try my best for Rize.
The first day of the search ended without getting anything.
* * *
next day.
“Today, let’s take a look at the periphery.”
Saying that over breakfast, Grace tilted her head.
“Where are you talking about the periphery?”
“It means that we will go around the outskirts of the collapsed area and look for it.”
“According to the investigation within our church, the entire ruins have been buried. May I ask what you are looking for elsewhere?”
“In my experience, many of these sites have back doors. The collapsed area must have been investigated by the church members for 10 years. I will have to look for it from a different perspective.”
Grace nodded in agreement with my explanation, and Rize seemed to be engraving my story in her head with her eyes shining.
It was true of many ruins, but the reason I made this decision so quickly was because I knew the existence of the back door beforehand.
I remember the location clearly, but it would be correct to start from the other side. It was necessary to have an appropriate direction that would not have any strange suspicions.
After that tidying up, we proceeded to investigate along the outskirts of the collapsed area as I suggested.
“Did Irvin follower be a more formidable mercenary than I thought?”
“yes that’s right. Dad has never failed a request so far. So, I will definitely find the holy relic this time too. Don’t worry about anything, sister-in-law.”
“Huh, I’m looking forward to hearing you say that. In fact, I felt a lot of experiences when Irvin’s words were spoken earlier. I thought he was a seasoned mercenary recommended by Sister Miriam.”
“Right? My dad must have accepted this request because he was sure he would be able to find the relic. I’m sure you’ll find it in a way I didn’t think of.”
Rize and Grace quickly became close, perhaps because they had talked so much yesterday.
Irina and Hudson, located in the back, were keeping their mouths shut, so the contrast was even stronger.
I was walking a little ahead in the name of taking a closer look, so I didn’t bother talking to me.
I finally found the place I was looking for while pretending to search in anticipation of Rize, who was a bit burdensome but encouraged.
“Over there… … There seems to be something.”
“Oh, it’s real.”
When I said that while staring at one place with my eyes narrowed, Rize also said the same.
Others, as if they hadn’t found it yet, showed signs of having found it only when they moved a little closer.
It was hidden in the dense bush, but if you look closely, you can see that it is rather unnatural, as if hiding something.
The building, which clearly showed human traces, was dirty covered with bushes and tree roots, and it was only after removing them to some extent that it was possible to know what kind of building it was.
“This is really… … It seems to be a back door. No one would have thought it would be in a place like this.”
Grace said that as if she was really surprised, and Rize was just focused on looking around the ruins with a reddened face as if in wonder.
As I approached the building in the form of a doorway and looked at the wall, he even pretended to run right next to me and look at it together.
He smiled at that figure and turned his head toward Grace.
“It doesn’t seem like the door leading to the ruins you were looking for.”
“yes? How do you know?”
“It is a building that is much older than the time of the ancient documents you mentioned yesterday. I think it might be the back door of another ruin that was said to be underneath it.”
Saying that, I looked in the direction the door was heading, which, of course, was heading towards the collapse area.
Grace and Hudson went to look around the doorway together, and Rize was busy running around looking around.
Then, Irina, who had been quiet until now, sneaked up to me and spoke in a low voice.
“Did you know about this place?”
“I do, but I don’t know about the holy relic. I’m not sure if this is connected to the ruins.”
“Even if you can’t find the holy relic, it’s a calculation that you can get a minimum reward because you provided a clue.”
“Then, of course not.”
Even this would be a great discovery for the Holy Church.
It is as if the work that dragged on for 10 years is finally taking a step forward.
After looking around the building for a while, not finding anything plausible, Grace returned and looked inside the doorway.
“I have no choice but to go in and see.”
“Yes, we need to check how far it is connected and where it collapsed.”
“Yes, but… … .”
Grace nodded and turned her gaze to Rize.
“Will the young believer go in too?”
“I’m a little anxious to leave it here, so I’m thinking of taking it with me. There is an escort and I am, so you don’t have to worry too much.”
“If Irvin’s followers say so… … .”
Even so, she seemed a bit worried, but perhaps because she acknowledged my achievements, Grace was easily convinced.
Well, the reason I insisted on taking Rize inside was because there were no dangers inside.
Although it was a ruin, there were no monsters or traps, and there was only a passage that stretched straight inward without any clutter.
As we entered the same formation as outside, the stale air greeted us.
First of all, there was a staircase that went all the way down, and after going down for a long time, I could barely reach the floor.
There was no light in the straight passage, so I had to take out the magic lamp, and only the sound of footsteps filled the passage in the soft light.
Rize used to look around with curious eyes, but she didn’t want to touch it.
It seemed that he clearly understood the teaching not to touch the ruins without knowing what kind of device there might be, and refrained from taking unexpected actions.
It was just a passageway, but it was quite long, so I only reached the end after spending half an hour trying to find the door.
“It looks like it’s blocked.”
“Where can I take a look?”
After stepping back a bit for Grace to say so, Grace approached the wall blocking her way and touched it here and there with her hand.
There were no patterns or markings on the wall that tightly blocked the passageway, large enough for eight people.
Even if Grace closed her eyes and set her senses on her fingertips, or Hudson opened his eyes and looked, he wouldn’t be able to find anything.
It’s all things I’ve tried myself.
I looked at it for days just in case, tried every possible method, measured the distance to here, and looked for it on the ground, but nothing was found.
It seemed like someone made it to make fun of me, so I gave up and just pushed it into a corner of my memory.
But I thought this place had something to do with Saint Leia’s holy relics.
“uh? So, is this the end?”
Rize also approached the wall with a disappointed face and examined it, and next to it, Irina was staring at the wall with completely uninteresting eyes.
“First of all, I need to do a detailed investigation to find out… … I’ll have to find out if there’s another passage.”
“Yes, I can’t seem to find anything more than this.”
I nodded at Grace’s regretful words and called for Rize, who was staring at the wall on the right side of the wall opposite me.
“Rize, what did you find there?”
“No, it’s just a wall. Uhm, if you look at places like stories, there’s a device that just presses in places like this.”
I’ve thought about that too.
It was the moment when he was watching Lize put her hand on the wall with a smile.
Kiyiing!
“… … !”
A light burst from below with an ear-piercing sound.
It was frightening to see the light, centering on me, Grace, and Hudson on the left, and Rize and Irina on the right, each drawing a pattern.
It’s late.
“Irina!”
I hurriedly shouted and threw the space expansion bag at Irina with all my might, and immediately after confirming that Irina quickly grabbed it… … My eyesight turned white.