Chapter 130: External Field Trip (3)

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To check the depth of the passage that appeared inside the gargoyle statue, Carl threw a lightstone into it.

Clatter.

The lightstone, glowing with a faint red light, passed the entrance and quickly began to fall, soon descending so deep that only a faint trace of its glow could be seen.

……Thud.

It was only after a long time had passed that it hit the ground and released the faintest sound.

If it had not been Carl, he would not have even perceived such a small noise.

“Quite deep.”

“Yes, I couldn’t see it at all from the middle.”

“It looks like the passage is drilled about the same length as the height of the mountain we climbed.”

“…Thinking of it that way, it really does seem deep.”

Laysis clicked her tongue as she looked around at the mountain terrain.

They had climbed quite high to reach this point, and yet a passage of equal depth was hidden within the gargoyle statue.

“It’s strange the investigation team didn’t discover this. For a hole this deep.”

“I think so too. I don’t know if they truly didn’t find it, or if they found it and left it alone.”

Carl carefully scanned the area around the broken statue, then shifted his gaze toward Laysis.

“I plan to go down for now. What will you do?”

“Me too. Since we’ve come all this way, we should at least see what kind of ruin is hidden here.”

Laysis nodded with a determined expression, saying she would follow.

“Ah, but shouldn’t we tell the others? Just in case.”

“That won’t be necessary.”

Carl flicked his finger lightly.

From the bushes where no one had been, a figure emerged and walked toward them.

“That person is…”

“A bodyguard of Leipzig. Even as a noble, I can’t move outside without guards.”

“Well, that’s true. I had guards too when I was in Alforam.”

When she came to the Empire to study abroad, she had dismissed them all.

She disliked flaunting her status as a princess, and there was also the concern of personal information leaking out.

‘Not that there was anyone truly loyal enough in the first place.’

As Laysis forced a wry smile at her own self-deprecating thought, Carl nodded toward the guard.

“Then, I’ll leave it to you.”

“Yes.”

The guard’s true identity was a member of NOX who had taken off his mask.

The man with an ordinary appearance bowed politely at Carl’s words and responded.

When he returned to the bushes, a faint voice transmission entered his ear.

—Keep strict watch and let no one approach.

—As ordered.

After giving clear instructions, Carl pulled a long rope out of his pack and threw it into the hole of the statue.

It was a very deep hole, something normally impossible, but the rope that came out of the bag extended endlessly.

“Wow, it just keeps going?”

“It’s a magical tool that can extend rope continuously. Not quite an artifact. But useful enough to carry around.”

“That’s practically an artifact. The length it’s already extended is immense.”

“I hope it doesn’t fall short.”

Fortunately, the rope was long enough.

Without stopping, he fed the rope downward until he felt through his fingertips the sensation of it touching the ground.

‘That was close. It’s deeper than it looks.’

Descending it would not be easy.

“Are you good at rope climbing by chance?”

“Just average.”

“It will probably take hours just to go down. The light will be dim, and one mistake would be dangerous.”

“Hmm…”

At Carl’s warning, Laysis looked troubled.

She had boldly volunteered, but honestly, she wasn’t confident she could safely descend into such a deep and dark place relying on nothing but a rope.

…Still, she didn’t want to let Carl go down alone, so she couldn’t give an answer right away.

“It can’t be helped then.”

“What do you mea—kya!”

Carl pulled Laysis close by the waist and held her.

Gripping the rope leading down, he spoke to her.

“This way is safer. Hold on tightly to anything that feels stable.”

Suddenly pressed against Carl, Laysis was startled at first, but quickly steadied herself and checked her posture.

“…Alright.”

Since there was nothing else to hold, she stretched her arms around the back of Carl’s neck and held on tightly, practically embracing him.

Their bodies were so close that she could clearly hear the beating of his heart.

‘Good thing we’re not facing each other.’

Otherwise, he would have seen her face burning bright red.

“…”

Along with Carl’s warmth, she also noticed his familiar citrus scent.

It was something she sometimes caught during close moments when learning swordsmanship, but never as distinctly as now.

As she quietly stayed silent in Carl’s arms, Laysis suddenly widened her eyes.

‘I was sweating…’

As befit her royal lineage, she had an artifact that preserved her grace.

But someone of Carl’s caliber might see through it and notice her sweat.

A chill ran down her spine as cold sweat began to bead when Carl, having finished preparations, spoke to her.

“Then, let’s go down.”

“Ah…!”

Carl lightly kicked off the ground while gripping the rope, plunging into the gargoyle’s hollow body.

Shhhhhh!

Rather than climbing, they half-slid down, rushing through the inner passage.

“U-uh, ah, aaah!”

With the tremendous speed and her hair flying wildly, Laysis screamed.

There was no time to think about scents or sweat.

Her body floated with the overwhelming sense of free fall, and she clung even tighter to Carl’s neck.

She tried to keep her eyes open to watch his movements, but…

Saaaaah!

She got scared by the dark ground and Carl’s madly fast movements, and after only a second, she closed her eyes again.

“……”

Still, the warmth radiating from Carl’s body calmed her down a little.

…What slightly bothered her, though, was his completely steady heartbeat even while she was in his arms.

Of course, someone of Carl’s caliber could likely control something as trivial as his biological rhythm.

But she couldn’t help but feel vexed, so she became a little bolder.

Chomp.

“…!”

Carl’s body, relying on nothing but a rope as he descended the passage, flinched.

Laysis, who had been in his arms, suddenly bit the side of his neck.

She hadn’t bitten hard enough to draw blood, only lightly enough to leave a faint mark, but the sudden act shocked him.

‘…A vampire?’

That was the first thought that came to mind.

Not long ago in Bayern, he had encountered a cadet suspected of being a vampire.

Since transferring blood could easily turn someone into a vampire’s servant, he briefly wondered if Laysis had become one.

But since she had only nipped him lightly, he brushed it off as a mistake in the heat of the moment and focused again on descending.

Shhhhhh!

As they neared the ground, Carl tightened his grip on the rope.

White smoke shot up as friction maximized.

For an ordinary person, the skin would have been ripped and seared, but his hand, protected by internal energy, didn’t even have a scratch.

Thud.

Finally, they reached the bottom.

Exhaling a short breath, Carl carefully separated Laysis from his body and set her down.

Since they had come down at high speed, her legs might have given way, but unlike his worry, Laysis quickly regained her balance and adjusted her attire.

Watching her, Carl rubbed his neck where the bite mark surely still lingered.

“Laysis, my neck is…”

“It was an accident, an accident.”

Laysis retorted with a prim expression.

It didn’t look like an accident at all, and Carl let out a hollow laugh.

Since they had fallen all the way from up there, he figured such a little outburst could be tolerated.

He nodded briefly, then turned his head to look around.

Tap, tap.

“The ceiling is low. We’ll need to mind our heads.”

“Rather than low, it feels like the ground sank. Maybe the earth settled with time.”

“That could be. Perhaps there wasn’t even a mountain above this place originally.”

“You’re right. They wouldn’t have built a spire underground. More likely, the original spire was slowly buried over the ages.”

No matter how they thought about it, the way they had entered wasn’t a proper entrance.

It was more like they had forced open a passage leading inward.

“Let’s go on for now.”

Carl took out a lightstone and began walking forward slowly.

Through Requin’s Glasses, he saw the interior was entirely covered in a soft blue glow.

‘So it really is a ruin.’

He wondered what kind of ruin it was and what might lie hidden inside.

“…But doesn’t it seem too old?”

“Does it?”

“Yes. Even ancient heroes date back a few hundred to maybe a thousand years. But this feels even older.”

“Indeed. Even accounting for neglect, I’ve never seen this kind of style before.”

Carl carefully surveyed the surroundings.

Ruins related to heroes always had their own atmosphere.

The undiscovered temple site had it, and so did the Sword Tomb he had seen in the Imperial Palace.

But this place gave off a different feeling.

“Perhaps we’ve discovered a completely different kind of ruin?”

“A different ruin?”

“There were also enemies that heroes fought against. And we still don’t have information on them.”

“You mean the Demon King?”

“Not necessarily the Demon King.”

“Hm.”

At this point, there was no way of knowing.

As they investigated further, they discovered a new passage leading elsewhere.

“A door?”

“It’s large. Looks like it leads to a great hall.”

At the end of the passage stood a solid arch-shaped door.

Looking through Requin’s Glasses, Carl saw a vivid yellow light spilling out from within.

“Not a storage room, it seems.”

“Places hiding treasure or valuables also show up in yellow.”

“We didn’t come here to plunder, but I don’t see a reason to refuse either.”

Carl smiled faintly and reached for the door.

Creeeeak.

With a groan from its rusty hinges, the tightly shut door opened.

…Inside was filled with dust.

The previous passageways had been somewhat navigable, but here the marks of time had remained untouched, leaving layers of dust everywhere.

“Ugh.”

“Be careful. The air may be toxic.”

“Yes, I should.”

While Laysis put on a mask, Carl stirred the dust and reached toward something buried beneath.

Clatter.

His fingertips touched something solid and heavy.

What lay beneath the dust was none other than gold coins.

‘Don’t tell me this is all…’

Carl looked up at Laysis.

“Laysis, behind me.”

“Yes.”

After calling her close, he reached out and stirred up a gust of wind.

Whoosh!

The dust piled inside instantly swirled into his grasp.

Clenching his fist, it condensed into a sphere the size of a human head and dropped to the ground.

“…W-whoa.”

“So it was a treasure vault.”

Though dust still lingered, they could now see the treasures stacked on either side.

‘With this much…’

It would greatly aid NOX’s resources.

Just as Carl picked up a gold coin with a satisfied look, he noticed Laysis still frozen in place.

“What’s the matter?”

“Th-there…”

“There?”

Another door stood at the front, leading even deeper.

When he peered through Requin’s Glasses to see why she was uneasy…

“…This is.”

From within, he saw an ominous black aura unlike anything he had ever seen before.

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