episode_0208

The subtle radiance of the Dawnlight Knights’ silver armor illuminates the deep underground of the royal palace, thickly veiled in darkness.

Taking this radiance as a path, Leviya and I followed the path of light.

Whoosh…

And the more we walked, the louder the unknown breathing grew.

“…Breathing, so what’s in front of us is a living thing?”

“Yes. You could say that.”

Alba nodded lightly to my question and walked ahead.

They were very familiar with this path, as their steps were unhesitating. After walking for a while, we stopped in front of a huge door.

Whoosh…. Whoosh….

The breathing came rhythmically.

The breathing seemed to be coming from beyond this door.

“The breathing sounds like it’s coming from inside here… is that right?”

“Yes, that’s right. What the Prince is curious about is asleep inside here. Hey, open the door. And be careful not to wake up what’s inside.”

“Yes!”

Some of the knights stick to the huge door and open it with all their might.

Perhaps it was as heavy as it was large, as the knights barely managed to open a gap wide enough for one person to pass through.

“Half of you, stand guard here. The other half, scout inside to see if there’s anything dangerous.”

Following Alba’s orders, the knights split into two groups.

One group turned their bodies around to form a semi-circular formation and guarded the surroundings.

The remaining half quickly entered through the crack in the door, which was only wide enough for one person to pass through.

When those who entered beyond the door became faint, and even the light of the silver could not be seen, one of the knights who had entered the interior walked over.

“Safety secured. The target is currently asleep, and no unusual phenomena have occurred around it.”

“Good. Then, Prince, let’s go. The time has come for you to see the truth you so desire.”

“…Okay.”

In case of an emergency, Alba went in first, followed by me and Leviya.

As I entered the door, an unpleasant odor pricked my nose, and I frowned without realizing it.

“Ugh…”

“…Are you okay?”

“…Not really. The smell is a bit strong….”

“It has been asleep for so long, so of course there will be a bad smell. If you breathe through your mouth, it will be easier to bear.”

A knight guarding the rear said as if advising.

As he said, breathing through my mouth seemed to make it a little better.

After walking for a while, I saw the light of silver in the distance. It must be the Dawnlight Knights gathered together.

“That’s it. What is sleeping under the royal palace…”

“That’s…”

The Dawnlight Knights were fully visible.

There was something in front of them.

Whoosh…. Whoosh…. Whoosh….

That was….

It was difficult to explain.

No, more precisely, my mind refused to explain and understand it. If I tried to force information about it into my head, a severe headache would come and evaporate the information.

At best… if I really had to say something, it was breathing with a total of seven very large pillars piercing it. I could not leave any other information in my head other than that, and even this was a situation where I was barely able to engrave the information in my head.

“Silver…”

“Leviya?…”

“Those pillars. They are silver.”

Seven pillars stuck in something.

Certainly, a very familiar light was flickering in it. The same kind of light that the Dawnlight Knights’ armor was emitting.

Whether the purity of the silver was higher on that side or because it had been in this place for a long time, it was much stronger than the light emitted by the armor.

“What are those pillars for?”

“It seems to be stuck in it to seal it.”

“Seal?…. Again?….”

“I don’t know if it’s to strengthen the effect by overlapping the seals… or if it’s a double lock in case of an emergency.”

As I listened to Leviya’s explanation, I examined the pillars.

Seven huge pillars that would require about three adult men to stretch out their arms to surround them.

However, one of them had about a third of its total size broken.

“I see broken pillars, were they broken due to the passage of time?”

“That’s probably not it. As I said before… Silver absorbs the surrounding magic power and strengthens its strength. So it won’t break due to the passage of time. Above all, the other six pillars besides that one are fine, right? So the reason why that one is broken is…”

Leviya gave a brief explanation to my question and glanced at the knights’ armor.

“Silver is a very rare metal. More than ordinary gold or silver… To make that into armor and supply it to the entire Order… A considerable amount of silver would be needed. Moreover… Looking at the light emitted by the armor, a considerable amount of silver must have been used in each piece of armor.”

“…Don’t tell me.”

I’m not stupid enough to not know what Leviya’s words mean now.

One broken silver pillar with about a third of it missing.

And the Order of Knights of the Dawnlight, with over 30 members, all equipped with silver armor.

“…Alba Dawnlight. Answer me.”

“….”

“Where did you get the silver for that armor you’re wearing?”

“….”

Instead of answering my question, he chose silence.

“Answer me!! Where did you get your silver armor from?!”

“….”

“Did you break this pillar and make your armor?!”

“Yes, that’s right.”

He answered at the end of my shouting.

“How could you do that… Don’t you feel how dangerous it is to be here?! What on earth were you thinking…”

“It is an order from His Majesty.”

“!”

I couldn’t believe that my father had ordered such a thing, so I couldn’t say anything properly and stared at Alba.

Leviya, who had been calmly examining the situation, continued lightly.

“It seems that they were somehow absorbing the magic power emitted by that through the silver. But as the amount of silver in the pillars became insufficient, the magic power increased at a certain rate, and I think the increased magic power exceeded the seal of the royal capital, causing the ‘Shadow Puppet’ phenomenon.”

“…This matter. Did you… did Father know about it too?”

“He probably knows.”

“You knew about it, and yet!!”

I glared at Alba.

“The people of the royal capital are dying because of that phenomenon! Just so you could get your hands on some equipment!! How many people…”

“Aren’t commoners a dime a dozen anyway.”

“!”

I never expected such a story to come out.

Words that should never be said by someone in a position of authority came out of his mouth, and I unconsciously tried to draw my sword.

Clang

“…What do you think you’re doing?”

“Put your sword away.”

But before I could draw my sword, I had no choice but to stop.

All of the Dawnlight Knights in that place, except for Alba, were pointing their swords at my and Leviya’s necks.

“Who are you pointing your swords at? Dawnlight Knights.”

“Even if we kill the Prince here, no one will hold us responsible. Do you know why? Because only we, the Dawnlight Knights, and His Majesty know about this place.”

“What does that…”

“And… His Majesty doesn’t like the number of people who know this truth to increase.”

He didn’t say the rest, but I think I knew what he wanted to say.

“Even if you kill me… Father won’t hold you responsible?”

“After all, the Prince already knows to some extent, doesn’t he? The fact that His Majesty was trying to hide things about this place as much as possible. That’s why you brought the mage with you and came here secretly, isn’t it?”

That’s… true.

I asked my father about it before, but he didn’t tell me, saying that it wasn’t ‘time’ yet.

“….”

“What are you going to do?”

Even with a sword pointed at her neck, Leviya calmly asked me what to do.

“It’s best not to do anything rash. Mage. At this distance, no matter what magic you use, I can cut your throat before that magic is completed.”

“…Don’t touch Leviya.”

“Don’t worry. I don’t have any intention of really killing the Prince in the first place. I just… I just want to make it clear.”

When Alba raised his hand slightly, the knights who were pointing their swords at me and Leviya all put their swords away.

“The secret of this place must not be revealed that much. Do you understand?”

“…Okay, I understand. But!”

“It won’t be released anyway. Not with just this much. Let’s go back now. I’ll guide you.”

* * *

“Are you okay?”

“…I’m not okay.”

After coming out of the underground, I left the royal palace.

The Dawnlight Knights did not stop me from leaving the royal palace.

Did they judge that I needed to sort out my thoughts on my own?

Anyway, Leviya and I came to a deserted place in the royal capital, and I sighed deeply.

Even now, whenever I think about ‘that’, my head throbs.

“…The people will continue to die?”

“Yeah.”

“Is there a way to kill that…”

“No.”

She says it decisively.

Until now, Leviya had always given me the ‘answer’ to everything.

There had never been a case where she spoke so decisively of ‘impossibility’…

“At least not right now.”

“Not right now?…”

“That is…. Hmm….”

Leviya, struggling to figure out how to explain it to me, opened her mouth as if she had come up with the right expression.

“The only way to kill that is… if Leon gets stronger… and can use the ‘Holy Sword’… he might be able to kill it.”