Ch.1182Why Do You Have This?

Like an old man reminiscing about the past, his roundabout way of speaking made the story quite lengthy, but to summarize:

First, Vimos sleeps beneath the Emerald Lake.

Second, a sorcery temple was built above to seal him, but it was taken by fishmen and sea dragons.

Third, though the land is now covered in lava, Vimos’s power is leaking out, and soon the lake will form again.

When summarized like this, anyone could easily predict what would come next.

“So we need to rebuild the temple there to prevent Vimos from awakening from his long slumber.”

That’s right.

Nagaraja Elashaz requested that I transfer management rights of the Emerald Lake area to them.

While it’s currently treated as abandoned land, since I defeated Leviathan, it’s technically my territory, she said.

“Sure, why not. I have no particular need for it anyway.”

There was no reason to refuse.

From my perspective, it was a ruin I never cared about in the first place, and even worse, an extremely dangerous land where an ancient evil god slumbered.

Why would I refuse someone offering to take such land and manage its dangers?

Especially since they weren’t asking for it for free, but promised various compensations in return.

So what compensation did I receive?

Well… let’s just say it was something I never could have imagined.

—-

“First, I’ll give you something equal to that sword you possess, Haschal. Please wait a moment.”

Elashaz rose from her cushion, slithered back toward the altar, and retrieved a long wooden box from behind it. She returned to me and showed me its contents.

“This is…”

I flinched the moment I saw what was inside.

A blue-silver lance made entirely of the same metal from tip to handle.

Surprisingly, truly surprisingly, the first compensation she offered was none other than a True Silver weapon.

Something I never imagined I would encounter in a place like this.

And not just an ordinary True Silver weapon, but a sacred object with a faint trace of Elpinel’s divinity.

“The Sword of Oath…?”

The divine object forged from Elpinel’s own divinity, the Sword of Oath. One of the lost sacred objects of the Great’s Twelve Knights was right before my eyes.

Though judging by its shape, it should probably be called a spear rather than a sword.

“Ah, so it is indeed a sacred object of the surface dwellers?”

“It is indeed ours—wait, where did you even get this…?”

Where the hell did you get this? I instinctively asked with bewilderment.

How could the Naga, who had been buried underground since before the Empire was born, possibly obtain one of the Great’s Twelve Knights’ swords—or rather, spears?

According to historical records and Astraea’s words, the Twelve Knights weren’t even aware of the existence of this underground cavern.

“About six hundred years ago, it flowed into the rivers of Naraka, and we happened to find and keep it.”

“…Flowed in? Uh… yes, I suppose that’s possible.”

While this underground realm is terribly deep to walk down to, underground water does flow through it.

So logically, it’s not entirely impossible for a spear discarded in a river to be carried by underground currents and eventually reach this great cavern.

“But can’t you use this yourselves?”

I still wondered why they had kept it like a treasure.

Despite being a divine object of a celestial god, it would be useless to the Naga, a different species who couldn’t properly utilize it.

“We couldn’t draw out the spear’s power, but a celestial divine object itself can be used as a top-tier medium for sorcery.”

I see. So they could use it after all. Not as the Sword of Oath, but by consuming it as a medium for sorcery.

“Hmm…”

…So one of the Swords of Oath nearly disappeared from the world without anyone knowing. In fact, some swords might have already vanished this way.

If Lacy heard about this, she would either burst with anger or break down in tears.

Well, anyway, I quickly took it since they offered.

Though the Swords of Oath have the unfair restriction that only descendants of their original owners can use them, making them useless unless they belonged to your ancestor, having one would make it easier to find its descendant.

—-

I received various other compensations as well.

Military and material support, information sharing, and treaties like prohibition of surface expansion.

The military and material support didn’t mean much, and the surface expansion prohibition was hardly a concession since the Naga had no intention of going up there anyway.

“Central Naraka is currently experiencing bloody battles almost daily. Just a few days ago…”

However, the information sharing about Naraka’s political situation and current state was extremely useful.

The names of ancient powers that had begun to move in earnest, their territories, events significant enough for rumors to reach here, and their outcomes—every piece was like rain in a drought for us who knew little about Naraka.

—-

In the great cavern of Naraka beneath the continent, there are many different species and godlike powerful beings, but not all of them are actively moving about.

Rather, most of them simply sit quietly in their own territories.

The reason was simple.

Most of them had already declined or aged over the long years, and their desire for conquest had cooled long ago.

Ambition and enthusiasm have expiration dates, you could say.

Therefore, despite daily bloody battles, there were at most ten groups actively engaged in conquest wars.

Even that number had likely decreased to nine recently.

Rumors said that a woman called the “Empress” had directly confronted a demigod of the werebeasts, but the werebeast side had won by bringing in two ancient dragons as allies.

“Why would dragons help?”

“Probably because of a grudge. The Empress of Blood slaughtered many dragons during her prime.”

Really? What a monstrous woman.

We barely defeated Leviathan with extreme effort and a stroke of luck, but she killed enough dragons to earn the hatred of an entire species.

Of course, there’s no guarantee all those dragons were at Leviathan’s level, but even accounting for that, she was undoubtedly a formidable power.

Well, in the end she was utterly defeated, lost her forces, and her fate remains unknown, so it’s just a tale of past glory now.

Anyway, because these nine powers keep checking each other and clashing, central Naraka is now in hellish chaos.

“At least the eastern region is still peaceful.”

The east wasn’t completely peaceful due to fishmen causing minor conflicts, but compared to other regions, it was practically heaven.

“With the only threats—Leviathan and the fishmen—eliminated, the current peace should continue for a while.”

Since even those fishmen were completely annihilated, the east would remain tranquil for the foreseeable future.

At least until the bloody war in the central region ends and a clear victor emerges. What happens after that is anyone’s guess.

“So, Haschal, you should rest and recover—”

Just then.

– KWAAANG!

A massive explosion shook the air, echoing all the way to the top of the tower.

The heavy sound of impact, like a trebuchet or cannon shot hitting a castle wall—a battlefield roar all too familiar to me.

“…Peace?”

The thunderous sound came right after she said it would be peaceful for a while.

Honestly, I couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity. The timing couldn’t have been more ironic.

“Uh…?”

Of course, I was the only one laughing. Elashaz wasn’t used to such things, her face turning deathly pale.

Why is she so surprised? She’s supposedly lived 4,800 years including past lives—did she waste all that time?

“Ah, uh, eh, um? W-what is this…?”

Even her speech pattern changed to match her appearance… like she’d suddenly regressed to childhood.

Or rather, like a child who had been pretending to be mature but revealed her true self after a sudden shock.

She was so flustered that I felt awkward myself.

“…Why don’t you calm down first.”

“No, um, uh, well, that, I mean…”

I even had to lightly grasp her shoulders to try to calm her down. It didn’t help much—she was trembling terribly.

‘Is she really the Nagaraja? Could she be an impostor?’

I almost wondered if she wasn’t the real Nagaraja but some child brought in to act the part.

[That seems unlikely. The priestesses showed genuine reverence toward her.]

‘Then what is it? Did she just waste those 4,800 years?’

[Well, didn’t that Naga woman who kept you company mention it? Even if one is reborn, memories from previous lives aren’t fully inherited.]

Ah, she did say that.

Reincarnators who remember their previous lives accurately are extremely rare.

Most only vaguely recall fragments of their old memories, and many live new lives with no recollection at all.

[Wasn’t she referring to this? Look at her. Anyone can see she’s just a child of ten-something years.]

And it seems this applies to the Nagaraja as well, despite her 48 reincarnations.

Though she had learned proper speech and etiquette perfectly, she clearly couldn’t control her emotions properly.