Chapter 159
Chapter 159
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 159
Chapter Title: Tomb of Swords
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Duchy of Roeid.
The domain of the Ducal House of Roeid, where the 'Adventurers from the Stars' would be active in this expansion pack.
Usually, when one thinks of a ducal family, especially a grand duke, they often imagine a powerful central noble. However, the Ducal House of Roeid, a founding family of the Alpharion Empire, was different. They held a fief in the remote lands bordering the arid wilderness of the eastern outskirts of the Alpharion Empire, adjacent to Erin's Gorge. In a way, one could see them as just powerful provincial nobles.
"Oh."
Still, it's a ducal house, after all.
I let out a gasp in front of the massive castle gate.
It wasn't as grand as the inner walls of the imperial palace in the capital, but it was large enough to feel the power of the nobles who lived here.
And as expected of a family of knights, even the two guards at the gate looked like squires. The ceremonial armor they wore was incredibly shiny.
With confident steps, I walked toward them.
"What is your business here?"
A guard politely asked me as I reached the gate.
"Eh."
I scratched my face.
I'd come on a whim, without making any appointment.
"Um, I'm here to see someone I know. Lady Eleonora... wait, what was her title again?"
"...Master Eleonora? Are you a noble from the capital?"
"A noble? No, nothing like that."
The guards exchanged puzzled looks and began to talk amongst themselves.
*Clatter! Thump, thump, thump.*
Suddenly, a loud noise came from above the gate, and a knight who seemed to be the captain of the guard hurried down, panting.
"Gasp, gasp...! The Silver Sword...! Are you, by any chance, Lady Rain?"
"Yes."
"P-please, come in! Hey, you lot! What are you doing! Open the gate, now!"
"Y-yes, sir!"
*Ruuuumble.*
"Oh."
My eyes widened as I stared at the gate, which had opened so easily.
"Present, swords!"
*Shing.*
*Shriiiing.*
*Thump, thump!*
My jaw dropped.
What is this? A sword salute?
The path leading into the ducal family's inner castle was long and straight.
On both sides of the path stood knights clad in armor.
They all held their swords at the ready, their expressions stern as they stared straight ahead.
*Thump, thump!*
The knights holding spears struck the ground with the butts of their weapons once more.
And at the end of the path lined with knights stood Master Eleonora.
She wore a bright smile, her gaze filled with reverence as she looked at me.
"Welcome to the Ducal House of Roeid."
"...What is all this...?"
"It is the welcoming ceremony for an esteemed guest of the ducal house."
*Murmur, murmur.*
I could hear the knights gathered around murmuring softly.
"...She's so small? Just a kid, isn't she? I heard she's Master Eleonora's master, the daughter of Duke Roeid?"
"She must be a Master too, right? You know, the rumor that Masters who reach a certain level become younger."
"She seems to have gotten a bit *too* young, though."
I grimaced.
"Hello. So, you're Eleonora's father? Duke Roeid...?"
"Ooh...! Are you truly her...! Yes. This unworthy one is the Duke of Roeid. Please, speak comfortably."
A well-built man, a middle-aged noble with graying hair, rose from his chair in the reception room and bowed deeply to me.
I offered him a hand and scratched my face with the other. Then, I whispered to Eleonora, who was standing beside me.
"This is a bit overwhelming."
"Is that so? Hehe, my apologies. Still, I hope you will understand the reverence our family holds for you."
Duke Roeid, Master Eleonora, and I. The three of us gathered in the reception room and chatted.
"You introduced me as your master?"
"You said you did not wish to reveal that you were a companion to an ancestor of the Roeid family. Nevertheless, you are still the master who showed me the path I must walk."
"Hmm..."
In a way, she was right.
Anyway, I had another reason for coming here today.
"...I see. The source of the demonic energy is in the Heavenly Basin of Erin's Gorge."
"Yes. If you look at the map..."
The Ducal House of Roeid also possessed a map of the Erin's Gorge region. It was cruder than the maps provided to users by the system, but they had a thousand years of accumulated information. No matter how useless or monster-infested the land, they must have continued their surveys because it was land that would one day have to become a true territory of the Alpharion Empire.
Duke Roeid stroked his chin and said.
"The ducal house will dispatch mages and knights to dispel the demonic barrier. It will take time, but once the barrier is down, we can deal with the monster that is the source of the demonic energy, or any demonkin lurking within."
"And we'll need to purify the demonic energy. To prevent any more monsters affected by it from being born there."
"Purification?"
"Father, that item."
"Mm."
At Eleonora's words, Duke Roeid took an object from his coat and placed it on the desk.
"......!"
I knew what this was.
A metal crest, about the size of my palm.
A holy relic passed down only to high priests of the Supreme God's faith and above.
"A Divine Mark."
"As expected, you know of it."
"You are the Hero from a thousand years ago, after all. It has been passed down that you were with the symbol of the faith, the Saintess."
"......."
They were right.
I was with the Saintess, Elena, in the past.
But the lineage of the Supreme God's faith should have been severed by now, shouldn't it?
"Even though the Supreme God's power no longer reaches this land, the holy relics left by the priests of that time still exert a faint power. Perhaps this is proof that the goddess has not yet abandoned this land."
"Is that so."
I couldn't tell them the truth.
That the goddess of this world had vanished.
"In the Alpharion Empire and other nations, the faith of the Supreme God continues weakly in name only. However, the situation in the Betarion Empire seems to be different."
"That's because they have many holy relics. Isn't that right, Father?"
"Mm. Even if they don't have priests who can actually perform miracles, the followers gather in churches for worship and are keeping the faith alive."
"In the Betarion Empire?"
"It's a foreign country, so I don't know the details, but they call this continent a world forsaken by the goddess and are gathering holy relics to try and make a god descend upon this land once more."
I had a bad feeling about this.
After dealing with the Eastern Corps Commander, I felt the need to investigate this group called the Church of the Supreme God in the Betarion Empire.
"I have something to show you."
After reporting the discovery of the new elite dungeon, 'Heavenly Basin,' and entrusting the dispelling of the barrier to the ducal house, I was led by Eleonora toward a tower standing within the vast grounds of the inner castle.
I had a feeling I knew what this was.
The 'Tower of Training' in the Sylva Plains.
The 'Ice Crystal Tower' in the Farr Snowy Fields.
And now, the third solo dungeon.
"This place is."
A tower of moderate height and scale. It was built in an architectural style from a thousand years ago. It felt slightly out of place with the other buildings on the ducal grounds. However, it didn't show much sign of age. Magic, I suppose.
"In fact, this has been the land of the Roeid family since before the empire was founded. And it is also the reason why the Ducal House of Roeid settled here even after the empire was established."
"So the reason this became the Duchy of Roeid wasn't just to defend against threats from the eastern part of the empire."
"Hehe, that's right. This has been our family's land since before the Alpharion Empire was founded, more than a thousand years ago."
Eleonora looked up at the tower, her face filled with emotion.
"And this tower was built by Master Melissa, together with the mages of the family at the time."
"What!?"
I was stunned.
This was something I'd never heard during my time with Melissa.
Then again, maybe she didn't tell me because it was a family matter. Melissa rarely spoke of her family.
The land of the Roeid family.
A tower steeped in a thousand years of history.
And the Ducal House of Roeid, which still hadn't left this place after a thousand years.
"Has this tower been sealed until now?"
Eleonora nodded.
"Yes. The key needed to open the tower was, as expected, a 'name'."
In this world, names hold great power. I could understand why the great evil's first act was to erase the names of the old heroes. It was to prevent the heroes' powers from being passed down to their descendants.
The name the Roeid family had lost.
The family's ancient hero, 'Master Melissa'.
"A tower built by our ancestor before she left the family. Before this tower was opened, we could not claim the name of a heroic family."
"So it's finally open now."
"After a thousand years. Because you came."
Eleonora smiled brightly.
"In this tower, you fight against illusions that are close to reality. After you returned the name of our ancient hero, all the knights of our family have challenged this tower. And, embarrassingly, I was the one who succeeded in reaching the top floor."
"Oh, congratulations."
"Though I haven't yet defeated the illusion of myself. We have similar strength, but the level of swordsmanship is different. It must be an illusion possessing the swordsmanship of the hero Melissa. Phew, even knowing it's an illusion, I lose consciousness when my head is cut off. The shock is quite considerable."
Eleonora touched her neck, her body stiffening for a moment.
I laughed to myself.
It felt like I now had people following in my footsteps.
You don't actually die, but it's not easy, is it?
I stood still for a moment, looking up at the tower.
Before Heavenly Basin, is this where I start?
The tower built by Melissa.
What I must face at its peak.
[Entry Level: 53]
[Tomb of Swords]
[Solo Dungeon]