More of a Ghost Story Than a Legend
I remembered overhearing the maids who loved those kinds of tales chatting about it. And there was a similar ghost story at the academy too.
"The first one is that there's a dungeon under the palace. They say the corpse of the dragon captured by the founding king is still there."
No, there isn't. There is an underground secret passage, and I've gone down pretty deep, but definitely no dragon.
"The second is that there's a soul wandering the palace..."
As she spoke, her expression turned strange. Of course there is—it's me.
"N-not you, spirit sir. They say wronged souls who died in the palace haunt paintings or instruments, playing music or making the eyes in portraits blink. And if you guess their true identity from life, they reveal the location of the royal family's lost treasures."
No. Well, maybe there used to be. But not anymore. I've absorbed all the evil spirits and wandering souls in the palace. And there are no hidden royal treasures either. Honestly, it's not like I couldn't have found them if they existed, but as far as I know, nothing.
"And the third one is that there's a hidden book in the palace library with mana theory that can make you an archmage."
The palace library has an enormous collection. I couldn't check every single book myself, so I'm not sure about this one. But mana theory to become an archmage? Does something like that even exist? Of course, something like the mana heart method created by Fortega could yield impressive results if a talented person trained diligently.
[For now, the first two are definitely not real. As for the third, I haven't read every book in the library, so I can't say for sure, but I doubt it exists.]
"Huh? They don't exist?"
[Yeah, they don't. I went down more than twice the height of this palace underground, and there was nothing. The wandering souls? I chased them all away.]
I said "chased away" instead of "absorbed," since that might sound weird.
"I see."
Isabel looked immensely disappointed.
"What did the spirit say?"
The queen, standing beside her, asked Isabel, who relayed my words. The queen's face fell like the world had ended. She was still a young girl full of dreams, after all.
I figured I should tell the disappointed Isabel and queen about something else.
[Instead, there are a few other things. Want to go see?]
Isabel's eyes, which had dulled, suddenly lit up.
"Yes! Please let us! Your Majesty, the spirit will guide us to other legends!"
"Oh!"
Seeing the queen's eyes widen in exclamation, I worried I might end up causing an even bigger letdown.
[No, not legends exactly.]
"Mommy, I wanna go too!"
"Yes, Ether, let's go on an adventure together."
Suddenly, things had snowballed massively. Now it was a party with the queen, the empty chamber—or rather, the prince—and everyone else. There were over ten escort knights, and with attendants, the group swelled past twenty.
[No, it's not a dangerous place or anything.]
I wouldn't have brought them if it seemed risky in the first place.
In any case, the place I was guiding them to was the secret passage under the palace.
Everyone in the palace's upper echelons knew about the secret passage. But entering it was another matter. The queen, Ether, and Isabel were fine, but the attendants were the issue, so we whittled it down to three escort knights and one attendant.
Then one more person was added later.
"I look forward to working with you, guardian spirit."
The king tagged along. What started as a small outing had turned into a full royal family picnic.
I wondered if this was a mistake, but seeing Ether's beaming face of joy, I thought, Eh, why not?
[Tell them not to expect much since it's nothing impressive.]
Isabel relayed it, and the king chuckled heartily.
"Honestly, I've never been in the underground passage myself, so I was curious. Everyone knows it exists, but there's no record of what's inside."
The entrance to the secret passage was at the end of the corridor where the underground palace warehouses were. There were actually two other entrances besides this one; when I mentioned them, even the king didn't know, so I had Isabel tell him.
Once the mechanism activated, the entire wall rotated open like a secret door, revealing a long staircase descending into darkness with no end in sight. The group let out gasps of admiration.
"Oh!"
"My goodness."
"Impressive."
Two knights lit torches and took the lead, followed by the rest of the group descending.
"The air's stuffy."
"Makes sense, since no one's been down here."
[Huh, is it? I can't smell anything... Sorry about that.]
My inability to smell was a drawback that showed itself here.
"No, no. Spirit sir, this will be an unforgettable memory."
Isabel quickly defended me, but I myself thought this was a big mistake. What if there was gas or poison I couldn't detect?
It could've been disastrous.
After that, it truly turned into a pleasant picnic. Ether chattered away on his attendant's back, while the queen and Isabel buzzed with excitement over their first real adventure. I couldn't read the king's inner thoughts, but at least he looked like he was enjoying himself.
Guided by me, they wound through the maze-like underground passages and finally reached the destination.
[We're here.]
"Everyone, we've arrived."
They'd walked quite a ways, so the queen and Isabel, with their weaker stamina, looked a bit tired.
[Point to the brick about midway up the right wall?]
"Here?"
[Two bricks up from there.]
"Here?"
[Yeah, tell a knight to hit it hard.]
"Sir, could you strike this brick hard?"
One knight stepped forward and slammed his gauntleted fist into it as Isabel relayed.
Bam!
The powerful blow echoed loudly through the passage. But the brick didn't budge.
[Maybe it's hardened over time—tougher than I thought.]
It was just a solid wall, but the knight, pride wounded, flushed red and struck again, this time wrapping his fist in aura.
Kaboom!
The incomparable roar sent the brick sinking inward and vanishing. Only then did the knight's expression brighten.
[There should be a ring inside. Pull it.]
"He says to reach in and pull the ring."
No sooner had Isabel finished than the knight thrust his hand in and yanked—but the ring didn't move.
Pride stung again, he poured all his strength into it, but no dice.
[Huh, this is weird. Hold on a sec.]
For a normal mechanism, even if seized up, a knight using aura at full power should've moved it—or it would've snapped already.
I'd assumed it was mechanical, but closer inspection revealed a magic mechanism.
[I missed this—there's a magic trap I didn't notice before. Give me a bit to analyze it. Have a snack or something.]
They'd come prepared for a picnic, complete with snack bags.
Isabel relayed, and the attendant swiftly laid out a spot, pulling simple foods from the bag.
"The guardian spirit seems to have considerable knowledge of magic as well."
The king, quietly munching a sandwich, remarked, and everyone nodded in admiration.
"A blessing upon the kingdom."
Even the usually quiet queen chimed in.
"It would be wonderful if you stayed by our side without leaving."
Isabel trailed off, realizing it might be rude to me.
"At least until Ether grows up."
The king's words were cleverly phrased. That meant sticking around for nearly twenty more years. If I didn't ascend after graduating the academy, it wasn't like I couldn't stay—but twenty years was a long time.
What would I even do in the meantime? I'd already absorbed most of the academy's knowledge. The magic tower might hold some interest, but how many years would that last?
By the time the group had nearly finished their snacks, I'd decoded the magic mechanism. It was designed for a specific person—or rather, bloodline.
In the palace underground, what bloodline could that be? Royal, obviously.
Good thing the king came along. Ether could've done it, but it might be risky.
[The king should activate it. Grab the ring and inject a bit of mana. Might nick your hand a little, but it's not dangerous—don't panic.]
Isabel relayed, and the king, face tense, said,
"Must it be me?"
[Ether could do it too.]
"The prince can as well."
Asking a three-year-old in this situation would make one a monster. Besides, Ether couldn't use mana yet, so we'd have to wait until he grew up?
"Ahem!"
The king cleared his throat, reached into the hole, gripped the ring, and channeled mana. A small needle popped out, pricking his hand lightly.
He flinched in surprise but didn't cry out—probably held it back desperately to avoid embarrassment.
Rumble rumble rumble!
A sizable mechanical groan echoed as the wall began to shift. The king released and stepped back; knights moved forward to shield him.
The wall parted, revealing a mid-sized chest.
Of course, I knew what was inside.
[Just open the chest. I keep saying, don't expect much.]
"He says just open it. And not to expect too much."
"Then I'll open it."
Suddenly bold—perhaps thrilled at unveiling treasure—the king stepped up and lifted the lid.
Inside lay an ancient sword and shield, marked by unimaginable ages of wear. As the king tremblingly brushed their surfaces, the royal crest appeared.
"Th-this is!"
The king cried out like in a scream.
Startled by his reaction, the group rushed over.
"Your Majesty, what's wrong?"
"These seem to be the sacred relics said to have been used by the founding king."
Ah, so that's it. Still, fortunate. No material value, but immense historical worth, right? They'd treat it like treasure.
Shiiiing!
The king raised and drew the sword. Despite its age, the blade slid out with an extraordinary ring.
But the blade itself was peculiar: translucent like a ruby, yet blazing with fiery red.
"No doubt about it. This is the sword forged from the scales of the dragon hunted by the founding king. It only existed in records—no scholar believed it was real."
"Whaaat?"
The group reeled in shock. The escort knights especially gaped, unable to look away. As knights, they knew its value.
Is that the legendary dragon scale? First time seeing one.
Rumors said a few weapons on the continent were made from dragon byproducts, but actual examples were rare. Dragon bone and scales were said to be stronger than any metal, perfectly attuned to mana and aura.
Processing them was nearly impossible, making such artifacts extraordinarily difficult to create.
Dragon parts were legendary rarities themselves; forging them into a sword? Its value rivaled a small kingdom.
"Then what about the shield?"
The queen, eyes sparkling unusually, asked. The king lifted the shield and infused it with aura.
Blindingly intense light erupted from it.