The Relic (1)
The makeshift prayer room had been carved directly into the rock. Thanks to the smoothly cut surface, I was able to pray without the slightest discomfort. Beside me, Sister Melody offered her own prayers as well.
The moment our prayers ended, the rest of the team appeared out of nowhere and began crowding around the rock.
“Whoa~ I knew you were skilled, but this is beyond imagination.”
“Can you do this?”
“Are you asking because you think I can?”
It seemed they had been waiting to inspect the cleanly sliced stone. After hearing the sound of it being cut, there was no way they would have stayed put.
“Should I give this side a try?”
Everyone seemed bored, so they started picking up their weapons, claiming they wanted to slice up some innocent rock for fun.
“Stop causing a commotion and get back here.”
In the end, the leader had to step in and put a stop to their antics. I had been worried that if left unchecked, the poor rock would be completely destroyed, so it was a relief.
“Your skills seem to have grown even more impressive.”
With the rock drawing so much attention, one could only imagine the frenzy surrounding the person who had actually cut it. The area around Sister Melody was practically boiling over. People were staring at her with sparkling eyes, begging her to share her technique for slicing stone so cleanly.
Sister Melody accepted their interest with her usual stoic expression.
“Huh?”
At that moment, none of us could have predicted what kind of butterfly effect this would trigger.
“What is this?”
We had just finished tidying up the prayer equipment and were about to leave when the ground suddenly gave way beneath me.
“Whoa there! Priest, are you alright?”
“Ah… could someone help me?”
“Of course!”
One of my legs had sunk deep into the hole, far enough that I couldn’t pull myself out alone. I thanked the team member who hauled me up like a radish being plucked from the ground, then stared intently at the gaping opening.
“I thought the ground support here was supposed to be solid, but I guess not.”
“Hmm. Looking at how little dirt is on the priest’s leg, the soil doesn’t seem particularly soft…”
While the team member and I were tilting our heads in confusion, Sister Melody examined the hole I had fallen through and spoke up.
“It appears there’s a hollow space beneath the floor.”
“What? Under the floor?”
“Yes. I believe we should dig.”
Who could have guessed we would stumble upon a clue in such an unexpected way?
At Sister Melody’s suggestion, I began digging into the hole with determination.
“Whoa?”
“There really is something down there!”
Once a few strong men joined in, the ground gave way in no time, revealing what had been hidden beneath. An unmistakably artificial-looking stone slab came into view. We smashed through it and cleared the debris, exposing a pitch-black void below.
“Looks like someone’s going to have to go down there.”
“How can we just descend blindly when we don’t even know what’s down there? I doubt we’ll get any volunteers.”
“I’ll go. This kind of thing should be left to the scout, right?”
Even though we couldn’t properly confirm whether monsters were present in the darkness, the scout immediately stepped forward.
“Not you.”
“Why not?”
“Your combat ability is insufficient.”
A scout’s job was to disarm traps, find paths, and map the area. On top of that, they were also responsible for alerting the team if monsters appeared. These were critical duties that no team could do without, so naturally, expectations for their fighting prowess were low.
“Just because I don’t fight doesn’t mean I’m unskilled.”
“If something goes wrong, it puts the entire team at risk. It would be better if someone else went.”
“I will go.”
This time, it was Sister Melody who stepped forward.
“You’re going in there?”
“If someone has to do it, wouldn’t it be better for me to go?”
We had never precisely ranked the team members by combat strength, but many people assumed she ranked quite high.
“Will you be alright?”
Rather than trying to stop her, the leader asked with a look of apology in his eyes.
“Yes.”
“Then, I’m counting on you.”
It seemed the opening we had created was part of the ceiling. Sister Melody had to tie a long rope connected to a tree around her waist and lower herself into the dark space. Holding a single torch to light her way while relying on nothing but the rope around her waist couldn’t have been easy.
We all watched with bated breath, listening for any sound and ready to pull the rope twice if she signaled danger. But no other signals came for quite some time. At some point, the rope stopped descending altogether. She must have reached the bottom.
“At least there were no problems on the way down.”
After securing the perimeter and agreeing on signals, the rope was tugged three times a little while later—the signal that it was safe to descend. Upon confirming the signal, the leader immediately declared he would go next and tied the rope around his waist.
One by one, the others followed him down. I, too, had to descend by clinging to the rope. Thankfully, the team members who had gone down first were brightly illuminating the bottom, which helped ease my fear.
“Phew…”
Even so, lowering oneself while depending on a single swaying rope was no easy task.
“The labyrinth really isn’t easy, is it?”
Is the labyrinth the ultimate form of extreme sports?
“Haha, Priest, your face is completely pale.”
“My heart was pounding.”
“Even if the rope snapped, we’re all here. What’s there to worry about?”
“We can catch you without letting a single scratch touch your body, Priest.”
Sister Melody answered on behalf of the team member.
“How should I put it… it’s a survival instinct that every human can’t help but feel, regardless of faith. The fear comes from that.”
“Still, I don’t think you’ll regret coming down here. Why don’t you take a look around?”
“Around?”
Torches were being set up all over the place. Fortunately, the area we had descended into was a massive cavern. As the torches were placed one by one, the surroundings gradually revealed themselves.
“This is…”
Only then did I understand why the team member had said our hard work would be worth it.
“This is it, right? A temple.”
“Yes, judging by the statue… I can’t imagine why something like this would be underground.”
“That side looks more like ruins than a temple, doesn’t it?”
It was astonishing enough that such an enormous space existed underground, but surrounding the temple were several other ruins. Since this was a place where a seal from three hundred years ago had been broken, it wasn’t unusual to encounter ancient relics here and there. But discovering a site substantial enough to warrant a proper investigation was truly exceptional.
“This is an incredible archaeological site.”
“We’ll need to examine it closely, but it seems we’ve made a tremendous discovery.”
Everyone’s faces were lit with excitement.
“This is all thanks to the priests!”
“What? Us?”
“Thanks to Sister Melody cutting through the rock, the entrance was revealed. And when Priest Arthur’s foot fell through, we learned of this place’s existence. Seeing how both of you played such crucial roles, I can’t help but think that discovering this site was the will of the gods.”
“When you think about it, the fact that we were able to gather here again is practically a miracle in itself.”
These people were currently showering me with excessive praise in their excitement. That alone showed just how significant this discovery was.
“Since no one else has arrived yet, we should take everything we can.”
“A ruin of this scale really ought to be investigated by the state. It’s such a shame.”
Knowing that this place would change every three months, it was impossible not to feel regret. Investigating a large-scale ruin like this would easily take one to two years.
“We’ll just have to take as many portable items as we can.”
“Other countries will definitely covet this place.”
“We should report this to those above and have them seal the hole first.”
“This really stirs up a lot of greed, doesn’t it?”
The nobles knew full well that this discovery would greatly benefit their futures. Princess Reciel’s expression was also exceptionally pleased.
“If we report this…”
Since we were part of the team, the Deltrack Empire wouldn’t be able to claim the ruins exclusively. However, even splitting it evenly with the Holy Empire would be quite a satisfactory outcome for the Deltrack Empire. Moreover, for Princess Reciel, who needed political achievements to stand against Prince Loras, this ruin would be an incredibly valuable accomplishment. Whatever we obtained from these ruins, it was certain to be far more meaningful than the fake success Prince Loras had fabricated.
“May we head to the temple first?”
However, we had yet to confirm whether this ruin site was safe. We needed to decide where to begin, but both Sister Melody and I couldn’t help feeling impatient with a temple right in front of us—one that would clearly be low priority for everyone else.
That was why I raised my hand to speak to the pondering group, seeking their understanding. I had expected some opposition. I was busy thinking of ways to persuade them when—
“Of course.”
“If the priest wants to go, then we should go.”
“Let’s head to the temple first! Honestly, that does seem like the right priority.”
“I agree. If we want to avoid any bad karma, it would be proper to visit the temple, offer prayers, and ask for permission before we begin.”
They agreed to my suggestion so readily that I didn’t even need to prepare any persuasive arguments.
“Are you all really okay with this?”
“Is there anyone who doesn’t want to?!”
““No!!””
Since we didn’t know where the entrance to this place was, we had to investigate the ruins and retrieve as many artifacts as possible before anyone else discovered it. Valuable items that had likely been used at least three hundred years ago would be worth a fortune.
On the other hand, a temple held meaning only for priests. To ordinary people, it was nothing more than a stuffy and boring place. So their decision to visit the temple first was made purely for my sake.
With no other way to express my gratitude, I simply bowed my head slightly.
“Thank you for your consideration.”
Thanks to the team’s thoughtfulness, the temple became the first place we would visit. Together with the others, I headed toward it.
The closer we got to the temple, the more my heart raced with anticipation.
