Eldacrad's Mausoleum
"Hmm, Olivia. I don't know much about your grandfather either. Father was away on a distant expedition at the time, and the only report came from Kyle, his close aide and vassal, who arrived in Ashtar with a few dozen survivors."
So coming here to ask was pointless? Is everything just based on what the first Olivia investigated?
"Then you don't know anything at all?"
From the sound of it, this really was meaningless. Should I just head straight for the mausoleum?
"I was young back then. And among the Ashtar army that fought in that battle, the only survivors were a tiny handful in the rear guard and Kyle. They're all dead now too. But Father did leave behind a few words."
Not very helpful.
"What were they?"
"'I was bitten by the axe I trusted.' That's what Kyle reported to the Ashtar clan at the time. But that was all I knew."
Bitten by the axe I trusted? That proverb came from the Land of Destruction too. One thing's certain—Eldacrad had deep ties to the people of the Land of Destruction. So what happened to the Saintess?
"What about Bernoa, the Saintess?"
"Saintess Bernoa died then as well. Eighteen thousand Ashtar soldiers marched into the Demon King's territory. Only a few dozen survivors returned."
The Empire's just that vast. If a noble house's army suffered that kind of loss, their power must have weakened considerably. So that's why the current head started relying on assassination guilds. It makes sense now.
"Come to think of it, there's a record that Kyle left a book containing the events of that time in Father's mausoleum before he died."
"Why didn't he give it to Father?"
If he had, I might've been able to read it. If that record still exists, it could reveal history about the Demon King's army that was never documented.
"At the time, the Ashtar family was in chaos over succession and territorial issues, so he must have done it that way."
"Then I suppose I should visit the mausoleum?"
"I'm busy. You go, Olivia. The knights are guarding the mausoleum. Your grandfather would be pleased to have his granddaughter visit."
An opportunity to go to the mausoleum had presented itself. That alone was a significant achievement.
"Yes, Father. And also—"
"What is it?"
"I heard Grandfather used Sword Magic. How did that happen?"
Maybe I could learn something related to this. Eldacrad might even share some blood relation with Noah. With that possibility in mind, I asked the head of the family, secretly hopeful.
"I don't know. Perhaps your grandfather's birth mother came from the Land of Destruction. You wouldn't know this, but your grandfather was the son of a concubine. He only became head because of the chaos at the time. If the family hadn't been in decline, he never would have become head."
"I understand."
So he made quite a name for himself based on that Sword Magic. In the end, going to the mausoleum would be best.
When I left the room, Kiriel asked me,
"Young lady, your grandfather used Sword Magic?"
"So they say."
"Then I have a reason to look into it as well."
"Why?"
This suspicious woman was interested?
"Ah, I've always had some interest in it. If that man Kyle moved the records to the mausoleum while the Ashtar family was in disarray, there might be something about Sword Magic in there too. It's what you want as well. It's good for both of us, isn't it?"
She had a point. From the Ashtar family's perspective, touching Sword Magic was delicate, but if it was connected to the Hero Party's mage, it should be fine.
"Then do that. I've been interested in Sword Magic myself."
Then a sudden thought occurred to me. This woman had considerable knowledge and a mage's curiosity. She also seemed well-informed about the Hero Party's situation. So why was she in that party? She'd probably be better off joining a different adventurer party where she could actually shine.
"I have a question."
"Go ahead."
"Why are you in the Hero Party, Kiriel? From what I've seen, you seem to know exactly what kind of person the Hero is."
She answered simply.
"He's handsome, isn't he?"
Right. At least his face was good-looking. That incubus had targeted him for that reason too. Especially in the bath, when an incubus disguised as a noble lady had tried something with soap, aiming only for the Hero. No matter how much of a bastard the Hero was, he was still stronger than the incubus, so it failed.
"Huh? That's the only reason?"
"Yes. Well, I do want to have children. If I'm going to do it anyway, wouldn't it be better if the father had decent looks so the child inherits a good face?"
Children did tend to resemble their parents. Looks-wise, he wasn't a bad choice for a husband. 'Looks-wise, that is.'
"Plus, there's the Hero's reputation as a bonus."
"Exactly!"
"But considering the Hero's personality..."
There was no answer. She'd just be wasting her life. Children were important, but wouldn't a handsome man with a good personality be better? Like Rockton. Of course, I had zero intention of introducing Rockton.
"Why? You've seen those stories in novels, right? A capable woman reforms a foolish husband and turns him into a war hero. In the end, men are whatever the woman makes of them."
Thinking about Ella and Cyria... she wasn't entirely wrong. Those two had only made Eugene more of an idiot.
"Anyway, as long as he's handsome, it's fine."
Honestly, if this woman were my little sister, I'd have stopped her. No matter how I thought about it, reforming him would be impossible. The Hero had already lost credibility in the kingdom, and the Four Heavenly Kings were struggling to match the Demon King's influence. In the end, it would be hard for the Hero to distinguish himself, and he lacked the trials needed to grow mentally through his profession. In short, Kiriel was doing something pointless. I hadn't given up on Eugene for no reason. For now, I just needed to play along a little.
"Well, I suppose that's possible."
Not my problem. Yeah, exactly. Trying to reform unrecyclable trash just because he was handsome—I could just watch from the sidelines. It was her life, not mine. What mattered right now was the mausoleum. Discussing this suspicious woman I just met's choice of husband was ridiculous anyway.
* * *
Eldacrad's Mausoleum was built on the northern mountain of the Ashtar territory. It had no particular name, so it was simply called Ashtar Mountain. The reason was that Eldacrad's will stated that in the distant future, when the Demon King would rise again, he would protect Ashtar even in death from the Demon Realm where the Demon King's territory lay. That content was inscribed on a stone monument near the mausoleum's entrance. Had they deified him a bit?
"Who goes there?"
The knights guarding the front of the mausoleum were wary of us. It meant the Ashtar family still paid attention to this place. I took out the pendant bearing the Ashtar crest from my pocket and showed it to them.
"I'm Olivia of the Ashtar family. I've come to see my grandfather."
After confirming the pendant with the Ashtar crest, the soldiers showed proper respect to a blood relative of Ashtar.
"This is... the Ashtar family seal? My apologies, young lady. Please enter. But this person is...?"
"She's my escort, the mage from the Hero Party."
"Understood. Please go in."
The entrance to the mausoleum was a stone gate carved with the Ashtar crest. From the outside, it wasn't even obvious it was a door. There was a groove in the center of the crest where mana could be injected.
"So this is the entrance."
It was a mana-authentication system.
"It's a mana-authentication method. Even without the knights guarding it, the mausoleum could be protected."
"You're right."
A mausoleum that only Ashtar blood relatives could open. If Ashtar ever had no successor and had to adopt an outsider, no one would ever see Eldacrad's mausoleum again.
"But are you sure this is okay?"
"What do you mean?"
"I heard your right arm isn't in good condition."
It wasn't, but what kind of fight would there be in a mausoleum? At most, I'd just go in and carefully look at Grandfather's records.
"What kind of fight would there be in a mausoleum?"
"Don't places like this usually have skeletons and such? Undead, I mean."
"Why are you treating my grandfather's tomb like a dungeon?"
Of course, such dungeons did exist. Ancient monarchs' tombs sometimes had them. But those had developed into dungeons from the start, whereas Eldacrad's mausoleum had soldiers managing it and could only be entered by Ashtar blood relatives. It wouldn't easily turn into a dungeon. There was no way there'd be a fight. Besides, at this level, even one of the Four Heavenly Kings capable of spatial movement would have to come. Honestly, would the Four Heavenly Kings even find Eldacrad's mausoleum?
"I suppose you're right."
When we entered the mausoleum, a long corridor made of marble stretched out. Torches burned on both walls of the corridor. They seemed to have been treated with magic stones so they wouldn't go out. Quite a bit of money had been spent here.
"Oh, eternal flames. This really shows how much money the Empire's greatest family poured into even their mausoleum."
"What's so special about eternal flames?"
If anything, temples had plenty of those.
"They must be continuously supplied by mana stones."
"Right."
The first floor didn't have much to see. Just paintings on the walls and records of Eldacrad's achievements. That was all. I didn't find the records I was looking for. Everything about when Eldacrad became head, his vassals at the time, and how he overcame the threats facing Ashtar was there. In other words, everything that could be investigated from the outside was on the first floor. The mausoleum was said to have three underground levels.
"There's no record related to Sword Magic either."
"Then we need to go to the second floor."
I injected mana into the door leading down to the second floor. At that moment, an enormous amount of demonic energy flowed out from the gaps in the door. A thick demonic aura could be felt. In Eldacrad's tomb, which should have been a mausoleum, an unidentifiable demonic energy was flowing. Kiriel seemed to have sensed something too, her expression tightening. Just in case, I went down to the second floor, but with this much demonic energy, the students at Atley would die from demonic energy poisoning.
"Uh, hey. This is definitely a mausoleum, right?"
"It is."
"Am I the only one feeling the demonic energy?"
"Hmm, I can feel it too."
Kiriel was pretty sharp. I'd thought my nose was acting up, but there really was demonic energy here. If demonic energy could be felt in a mausoleum, the conclusion was obvious. The demonic energy in a mausoleum almost certainly indicated undead.
"This isn't at a level you'd feel in nature."
"Right."
Yeah. Undead. Would it be better to just get out now? In the worst case, I had to consider the possibility that Eldacrad himself had become undead in his mausoleum. If someone died with regrets and the terrain nearby had demonic energy flowing through it, it wasn't impossible. But they wouldn't have ignored that when building the mausoleum. Either way, if this was the case, the knights buried here with him would have become undead too. In short—
'We're screwed.'
I wasn't overconfident. As Olivia, I had little combat experience. The recent fight with Pector had been mostly luck, and my right arm was definitely messed up. If the opponent was Eldacrad, the hero of Ashtar, even as an undead he'd be extremely dangerous. An unparalleled hero who used Sword Magic in life and marched into the Demon King's territory with only his territory's army, without the Empire's central forces. I couldn't be certain I could win against him. Then what about Kiriel? I didn't know how strong she was either. So it would be better to get out. I should bring the knight order.
"Then it might be better to get out."
"Uh, but aren't we in danger right now?"
Kiriel had been doing something since earlier. She kept looking behind us and pushing my back.
"What?"
"Look behind you."
The stone statues of Eldacrad and his knights had started moving. What the hell was that? It was terrifying.