Ch.134Chapter 134 – The Sealed Sacred Ground (1)

It was a few hours after leaving the Count’s estate.

After switching places with Beatrice, Eve and I came inside to rest in the carriage.

“Are you going straight to your room?”

“No.”

I shook my head at Eve’s question.

“We’ll arrive soon. Let’s go to the lounge.”

Though the carriage was mostly made up of private rooms, there was a space created for everyone to gather for meetings or refreshments.

It was a place where people could come out when bored in their rooms for light conversation, and since air circulated from outside, it was also where Beatrice occasionally smoked.

“True. Since we’ll arrive soon, it would be awkward to rest in the room.”

“I didn’t expect it would take just a little more than half a day.”

According to the map the Count had given us, the sacred site was quite close.

About half a day’s distance from the Count’s estate.

Since quite some time had passed since our departure, we were not far from arrival.

“Well then, shall we go?”

Eve smiled and headed toward the lounge.

When we entered with Eve, Sarah and Christina welcomed us.

“Ah, Benefactor!”

“Welcome, Mr. Kay, Ms. Eve.”

As Sarah said this, I could see her drinking something that looked like green juice.

She had always ground leftover herbs from her alchemy under the pretext of taking care of her health and consumed them like that.

“You’re quite good at drinking that.”

“It’s good for health. Probably.”

Sarah said that and took another sip of her green juice, and I unconsciously frowned a little.

Actually, I had tried it once before, and the bitter taste had lingered in my mouth all day, which was an unpleasant memory.

It was truly amazing how she could drink it.

Then Eve showed interest in Sarah’s green juice.

“Does it taste good?”

“No. It’s very bitter. I’m just drinking it for health, so don’t feel obligated to show interest, Ms. Eve.”

“…I was just wondering if that might be your secret, actually.”

Eve looked at Sarah.

Her gaze shifted slightly downward and fixed there, causing Sarah’s face to redden a bit.

“Absolutely not.”

“Is that so?”

When Sarah denied it with a vigorous shake of her head, Eve tilted her head slightly.

“But why are you interested? Ms. Eve, your size is plenty…”

“I was briefly considering if I could sell it as a product.”

“Would there be demand for that?”

“Don’t you think there would be?”

At Eve’s words, Sarah fell into thought for a moment.

Then she quietly opened her mouth.

“…I suppose there would be.”

“Right?”

Eve nodded at Sarah’s response.

Then Christina, who had been drinking water, put her cup down on the table and spoke.

“I think those who have them are the worst.”

Her voice was filled with resentment.

The barren plain gazed with hateful eyes at the mountains and hills full of greenery.

Unable to withstand that gaze, Sarah cleared her throat and changed the subject.

“Um, I have a question about this sacred site we’re going to.”

“What is it?”

When I asked, Sarah’s face turned serious.

“What exactly were they trying to protect the sacred site from?”

I thought about Sarah’s question for a moment.

One candidate came to mind first.

“Grave robbers, wouldn’t it be?”

They were the first group that came to mind.

After all, they’re the most typical bunch who would dig up tombs or ruins if there was money to be made.

Sarah nodded slightly at my answer.

“I’m sure they wanted to keep grave robbers out too, but… doesn’t it seem a bit excessive for that?”

“Really?”

Sarah opened her mouth in response.

“The place where the seal is broken and the place where the seal is located are separate, and even after breaking the seal, you can’t enter right away? Don’t you think that’s a bit much?”

Indeed.

While I could understand keeping the seal and the place to break it separate for safety, it did seem excessive that you couldn’t enter immediately after the seal was broken.

And Eve, who had been lost in thought, quietly spoke up.

“If it’s about half a day’s distance from the Count’s estate, it’s also a location where the Count’s private soldiers patrol regularly.”

“Not a place where grave robbers would hang around.”

Even if they somehow discovered the location of the sacred site, they’d risk being caught by the Count’s soldiers on patrol while attempting to rob it.

When robbing, whether digging up the ground, breaking walls, or selecting items, there would be delays, and if caught during those moments, it would be over immediately.

“Besides, the location isn’t widely known in the first place.”

According to the Count, only the heads of the Count’s family shared its location and kept it secret.

Even considering the possibility that one of the family heads might have carelessly leaked information, it wasn’t a place that ordinary people would know about.

We were an exceptional case among exceptional cases, having come here because Christina suddenly mentioned that the sacred site was in this area, so we were naturally an exception.

“When you consider everything, the defenses are quite strict, aren’t they?”

It’s a place with a seal, and the location to break the seal is separate from the sacred site itself.

Only the head of the Count’s family can break the seal, and according to the Count, even after the seal is released, it opens with a time delay.

The sacred site is within reach of the Count’s estate if necessary, and it’s in a location that’s regularly patrolled. Plus, the location information wasn’t carelessly leaked by the Count’s family.

It seemed ordinary at first glance, but when listed out, it had been quite thoroughly protected.

‘Who were they really guarding against?’

I couldn’t begin to guess.

“At this rate, even gods couldn’t enter freely.”

“That can’t be true. Gods are gods, after all.”

Christina smiled and continued.

“How could there be anything impossible for the omnipotent ones?”

I pondered how to respond to Christina’s words.

It wasn’t wrong, but somehow it felt awkward to simply agree.

Still, I didn’t want to upset her, a devout believer.

Then Christina spoke again.

“We’ll find out when we get there, so there’s no need to investigate so diligently now.”

“That’s true.”

Even if we wanted to make a judgment right now, we didn’t have enough information.

Moving forward diligently would be the best course of action.

As I listened to the sound of the carriage swaying, something occurred to me.

“…Come to think of it, there is someone who might know or be able to guess.”

“There is such a person?”

“I wouldn’t call him a person.”

At my words, the three tilted their heads in confusion.

“Then who?”

“You know, that annoying long-lived guy.”

At those words, Sarah seemed to catch on.

Her expression changed slightly.

“…He would certainly know.”

“Who are you talking about?”

“The lich.”

Sarah said while drinking her green juice.

“If it’s that lich who showed suspicious interest in Kay, he might know something.”

Now that I think about it, he did say something about watching me closely and to call him if I had any questions.

“Yeah, but there’s probably no need for that.”

As Christina said, we’ll find out everything when we get there.

Rather than calling him and making everyone uncomfortable, it’s better to forget about it.

‘Come to think of it, where did I put that thing?’

That wooden skull, I think I put it in a box, tied it up tightly, and left it somewhere.

I had forgotten to ask Beatrice to look at it until now.

I was considering just forgetting about it since I’d have to start by finding it first.

Just as I was thinking that, Beatrice’s voice came from outside.

“Hey, we’ve arrived!”

At her seemingly joyful voice, everyone quickly finished their drinks and began to rise from their seats.

Meanwhile, Sarah tried to gulp down her bitter green juice all at once and started choking, so I had to pat her back.

“You should be careful.”

“*cough* Th-thank you. *cough*”

While I was calming Sarah down, Christina looked at Eve.

“We should gather some exploration tools before going inside, right?”

“They’re stored in the inner storage area.”

Christina and Eve went outside, and I headed out with Sarah, who had finally calmed down after my back-patting.

We gathered bags containing exploration tools and lanterns, then went outside and began searching for the sacred site.

And we found the entrance.

“So that’s how they hid it.”

There was no cave-like place or a door leading to the ground.

“A door in a tree.”

A marble-like door was attached to the tree.

Beatrice examined the tree briefly and nodded.

“If the Count’s family hadn’t broken the seal, it would have just looked like a huge tree.”

“Really?”

“There are all sorts of defensive barriers inside too… but this seal was created to hide the entrance. If I hadn’t seen this door open, I wouldn’t have thought there was a hidden door in the tree.”

“Is that so?”

Beatrice analyzed while smoking a cigarette.

Then she opened her mouth as if frustrated.

“I’d like to see the face of whoever made this.”

“Why, because it’s well-made?”

“Yeah. It’s frustratingly well-made.”

I meant it as a joke, but it seems she was serious.

Beatrice clicked her tongue softly.

When we opened the door that appeared in the tree, we saw an empty space with stairs leading downward.

“Ready?”

“Yes.”

Everyone in the group nodded slightly and began to head inside.

+

Baphomet was fleeing.

In her arms was a relic stolen from some remote place.

Of course, it wasn’t a sacred object but a relic related to magical power.

If it were an item related to divine power, even she would have difficulty handling it.

“C-Commander! At this rate, we’ll—!”

“Don’t give up!”

While encouraging the succubus who was almost in tears, Baphomet gritted her teeth and ran.

‘Well, I can understand why she wants to cry!’

Considering who was chasing them from behind, such a reaction wasn’t unreasonable.

As she was thinking this, suddenly a large lightning bolt struck in front of her.

“Eek!”

She dodged it immediately, but seeing her skin slightly singed, Baphomet involuntarily ground her teeth.

She could easily deflect most powers or magic with her skin.

In other words, this lightning was absolutely not a mediocre spell.

‘I won’t be caught in a place like this!’

She had a lot riding on her shoulders.

That’s why Baphomet put even more effort into her desperate escape.

And suddenly, the space in front of her began to distort.

The succubus immediately screamed.

“H-he got ahead of us?!”

“Since he couldn’t hit us while chasing, he’s trying to shoot from close range!”

As if confirming Baphomet’s words, a robed figure appeared from within.

And as he waved his hand, fireballs suddenly flew toward them.

“Haah!!”

She barely deflected the fireballs by swinging her hammer.

Then she shouted loudly.

“Have you already run out of materials! Magician! You’re far from defeating this commander!”

Baphomet was putting on a brave front.

She couldn’t afford to be underestimated now.

She needed to engage in psychological warfare, even if it might not work.

And as if answering her, the robed figure spoke.

No, his words echoed in her head.

[That’s fortunate.]

What appeared from within the robe was a human skull.

And powerful magical energy emanated from his body.

It was a lich.

The lich, seemingly uninterested in Baphomet’s bravado, spoke casually.

[You’re probably about the age of your father, but the previous Baphomet was so resistant to my magic that I was grinding my teeth in frustration.]

Did she provoke him unnecessarily?

Baphomet briefly regretted her words.

She had hoped he might be slightly intimidated by her bluff.

She had planned to exploit that opening to escape, but it didn’t work.

‘No choice.’

Baphomet decided she needed to shake him off and escape to a safe zone, even if it meant pushing herself too hard.

If necessary, she would have to sacrifice her body.

“Looks like it’s going to be a battle of endurance.”

Baphomet quietly fired up her fighting spirit.

And in front of her, the skeleton man, floating spheres of lightning, water, and fire, spoke again.

[Let me test if my magic works on you this time.]

“You think it’ll go as you wish! Lich!!!”

Baphomet shouted boldly.

[It would be troublesome if it doesn’t.]

The lich responded lightly.

[I’ve fallen this far to stop you all, after all.]

Just as the lich formed a hand seal, he suddenly stopped moving.

[What…?]

‘Now’s my chance!’

Whatever had happened, this moment of hesitation from the enemy was an opportunity.

“Quickly, open the gate!”

“Commander!!!”

After shouting that to the succubus, Baphomet shattered the ground.

It was to create a dust cloud to obscure vision.

With that, she picked up the succubus and began running at full speed, and the lich finally realized he had created an opening.

They fled with such force that they almost instantly disappeared from sight.

[Stop right… I guess it’s too late.]

A warp gate had already formed in front of the two.

It seemed the succubus had desperately crafted the spell while being carried by Baphomet.

The lich considered whether to pursue them.

[…I’ll have to let it go.]

Finally, he lowered his hand and descended from the air.

Whatever magic he might use, it was too late to chase after the demon folk who had already begun entering the gate.

In the end, the lich lamented that he had messed up.

[But I can’t ignore this now.]

The lich quietly looked north.

[The seal of Evgenia’s sacred site has been broken.]

As if he truly hadn’t expected this to happen.

The lich muttered thus.