Ch.324Chapter 324 – Arriving at the Excavation Site

As I accepted the gift from His Highness the Crown Prince, the full-scale excavation of the ruins began.

While traveling in the carriage with His Highness, I was able to hear about the ruins in question.

“So, these ruins are different from those discovered in the New Continent?”

“That’s right. The ruins found in the New Continent didn’t contain much. Rather, when we touched them, they collapsed while emitting some incomprehensible words.”

The ruins where the people who crash-landed on the New Continent had lived eventually disappeared.

From the Crown Prince’s perspective, who must prioritize the Empire’s interests, that might have been regrettable, but from my standpoint, it was better that they vanished.

Even if the technological gap was too large to make reverse engineering likely, what if they succeeded in reverse engineering even one of the technologies applied to those facilities?

The gap between those who possess technology and those who don’t would widen dramatically.

What if someone gained access to technology like “nuclear weapons”? Is there any guarantee that this land wouldn’t suffer the same fate as the era I lived in?

I sincerely hope my concerns are merely unfounded.

I hope the people of this land never have to experience the suffering of those who had to live with a mad brother at their bedside, constantly threatening them with nuclear weapons despite being of the same ethnicity.

Personally, one of the things I’ve been most satisfied with since coming to this world is the absence of any significant conflicts or wars.

“We’ve arrived. That place is the ruins we’ll be excavating this time.”

“Oh, it’s huge.”

At His Highness’s words, I stuck my head out the carriage window, and there I saw an enormous number of tents spread out.

Between the tents, people were moving about, each carrying objects discovered within the ruins.

The tents were set up in a circle around the ruins, which appeared to be shaped like a sector of a circle.

The entrance to the sector-shaped ruins seemed to be located at the vertex where the two line segments intersected.

People were going in and out from there.

The entrance was incredibly wide—by my estimation, about ten people could walk in side by side with room for others to pass by.

If ruins with such a massive entrance existed, they should have been reported long ago. How did this happen?

“Your Highness, how were these ruins discovered?”

“When archaeologists and artifact specialists came to check, they found an artifact that maintained a spell affecting people’s perception, intentionally making them turn away from the ruins.”

“So, did that artifact break, causing the ruins to be revealed?”

“They say it was damaged by the aftermath of the Demon God’s revival.”

“……”

I was speechless at His Highness’s words. The Demon God really has a hand in everything…

The ruins were revealed because the concealment artifact was damaged due to the Demon God.

Thanks to that, I’ve been tasked with restoring ancient documents from the ruins, something I never signed up for.

Damn that Demon God. How long are you going to keep interfering with my comfortable life!

“Your Highness! Welcome! But who is this person beside you?”

As we got out of the carriage, someone who appeared to be the site supervisor approached and greeted His Highness.

He seemed curious about who I was, probably because I had dressed up more than usual.

“This is my brother-in-law. He’s also a hero of the Empire and the Great Goddess Order.”

“Ah! It’s an honor to meet the renowned Marquis Pathos Severio. I am Müller, the archaeologist in charge of this site.”

“Marquis Pathos Severio.”

When His Highness introduced me, he showed a pleased expression, and we exchanged brief greetings.

“How far has the decoding of the ancient documents progressed?”

“Well, most of the books are in such poor condition that we haven’t even been able to remove them. Most would crumble at the slightest touch…”

Professor Müller, the chief archaeologist of the excavation site, expressed difficulty in response to the Crown Prince’s question.

But His Highness seemed to have anticipated this.

“That’s fine. I knew that already. That’s why I brought my brother-in-law.”

“I see! With Marquis Severio’s abilities, you could restore even deteriorating ancient documents and make them like new, couldn’t you?”

Professor Müller’s expression brightened when he realized why the Crown Prince had brought me.

The biggest challenge in decoding ancient documents was the vastly varying conditions of the materials.

High-quality documents made of parchment can last thousands of years if well-preserved, but paper is different.

Even under the best preservation conditions, paper rarely lasts more than 200 years.

Moreover, since we were at a site called ruins that had been abandoned for a long time, the condition of the books could be described as absolutely dreadful.

Some sections had even flooded with groundwater, requiring pumps to continuously drain the water.

“Fortunately, the area where the documents were kept wasn’t flooded, but to reach that area, one must pass through flooded sections.”

“Are the books damaged in the process?”

“We bring them in special storage boxes, but no matter how sturdy they are, the seal deteriorates after a few trips back and forth.”

Were the storage boxes not designed with water exposure in mind?

Well, I suppose that’s not my concern.

“If the seal deteriorates, I can fix it with my abilities, can’t I?”

“B-but to trouble the Marquis with such trivial matters…”

Professor Müller was visibly uncomfortable. Wait, why is he hesitating when I’m offering to help… Oh.

Come to think of it, I’d be shocked too if the future husband of a princess volunteered to repair trivial items.

Hmm, I used to be able to act more freely, but as my value keeps increasing, it’s becoming a bit frustrating that I can’t behave as I please.

“It’s fine. The faster we restore the ancient documents, the sooner you can contribute to the Empire’s development through your research.”

“Marquis…!”

Professor Müller seemed moved by my words, and His Highness nodded with a smile.

“Very well. Then I’ll guide you both to your accommodations.”

As the sun was setting beyond the mountains, the Crown Prince and I followed Professor Müller to our lodgings.

The accommodations weren’t mere tents on the ground but rather proper buildings constructed with rocks and wood.

Looking around, I noticed that others were also staying in wooden lodgings rather than tents.

If everyone is staying in similar quality accommodations, there’s no need to feel self-conscious about our lodgings being too luxurious.

“I’ve prepared the best rooms here for both of you.”

“Thank you. By the way, when do we start working?”

I asked Professor Müller when we would begin our work. Many people typically start at dawn, but I’m quite fond of sleep, so getting up early is difficult for me.

“We plan to start tomorrow morning.”

“Then please have the books that need restoration ready. I tend to oversleep, so don’t rush things too early.”

“Yes, Marquis. I’ll pass that along.”

When important people start working early, it’s usually hard on those who work under them.

Since I’ve unintentionally become one of those “important people,” I should be considerate of those working beneath me.

After entering my room, unpacking briefly, and changing clothes, I came out to find His Highness sitting in an armchair, dressed comfortably.

“Welcome. I suppose you came out because you were bored with nothing to do, like me?”

“That’s right.”

The Crown Prince and I looked at each other and started laughing.

It’s quite amusing, isn’t it?

The Crown Prince and a Marquis who’s to marry a Princess, both with nothing to do but step outside their rooms.

“I was thinking of having a servant bring some tea, but everyone looked tired, so I left them be.”

“You did well. They’ve traveled a long distance, so they should be allowed to rest.”

“Of course. It’s also the duty of those in charge to check on the condition of their subordinates.”

Eventually, the Crown Prince and I sat in armchairs, staring mindlessly at the burning logs in the fireplace.

“Brother-in-law.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“When it’s just us, just call me brother.”

“Yes, brother.”

His Highness—no, my brother—spoke while sitting in the armchair, gazing at the burning logs in the fireplace.

“You probably won’t be able to live the quiet life you’re thinking of for a while. Public attention is focused on you.”

“I suppose so.”

“As the husband of a Princess, you’ll receive the title of Grand Duke as a wedding gift, though it’s a single-generation title.”

“What?”

Brother looked at me as he spoke.

“Why are you so surprised? In the Empire, the title of Grand Duke is an honorary position given to those who marry into the imperial family or to non-succeeding imperial family members who marry. Since you’re becoming Karen’s husband, you’ll receive the title of Grand Duke.”

Brother said that becoming a Grand Duke wouldn’t change anything from how things are now.

What would change would be the way Karen and I are addressed.

“Well, you’ll receive it on your wedding day, but I’m telling you in advance so you won’t be surprised.”

“Ah, yes… thank you.”

Brother congratulated me on my upcoming marriage and returned to his room.

The servants rekindled the fire in the fireplace, and I too returned to my room and went to sleep.

The next morning.

As soon as I woke up, I heard news that made me doubt my ears.

“What did you say?”

“The ruins have collapsed! And His Highness the Crown Prince has been trapped inside!”

The unbelievable news that the Crown Prince was trapped in the collapsed ruins greeted me just as I had awakened.