A New Holy Relic (1)
Even as I struggled to grow accustomed to my teammates’ subtle kindness, our efforts to uncover this place’s secrets continued. Despite my own bewilderment at the situation, I kept returning to the statues every night, trying to decipher the meaning behind their gazes. I managed to reproduce the same phenomenon, but neither Melody nor I could uncover anything beyond that. We made no further progress even after the rest of the team finished their investigation.
“This is a problem. We’ll have to leave soon.”
“I’m sorry we couldn’t do more.”
“Honestly, it’s only natural that it’s hard to find. It wouldn’t make sense to leave a holy relic out in the open.”
“It’s a shame we couldn’t build on the clue the priest gave us.”
“Too much time has passed, after all.”
What surprised me most was that there was no information about this place at all.
“If we bring in more people to think it over together, we might figure it out.”
The real issue was that finding the relic itself would be considered a greater achievement than simply learning of its existence. That meant we would have to share the credit with others…
Still, we can’t keep this a secret and waste time here.
Princess Reciel looked eager to leave the Labyrinth as soon as possible. Now that she had obtained the item capable of lifting Princess Canaby’s curse, she must have been desperate to use it. Spending three whole months inside the Labyrinth was the last thing she wanted. There was also the risk that someone else might discover this place and try to claim it, so it was better for us to exit quickly and secure it for the Deltrack Empire and the Holy Empire.
Under the circumstances, leaving was the right move. Since we couldn’t openly discuss the possibility of a holy relic being here, there was nothing more we could do.
“Let’s end the investigation today. I don’t think staying longer will suddenly give us the answer. We’ve already tried everything we could.”
“Yes. I can’t think of anything else either. Our last resort would be to destroy the surroundings and force open a hidden space, but that risks damaging the relic, so it’s not an option. Still, do you have something in mind for today?”
Melody had already exhausted every plausible idea, so she seemed to have nothing left. I offered the one thing I had come up with after thinking hard the previous night.
“I read something by chance. Did you know each statue has an order?”
Over the past days I had scoured the hidden library for any information about the statues or holy relics. I had tried everything I could to solve the mystery with what I found, but to no avail. Since this was our final investigation, I was willing to try even the most forced theories.
“If we stand at the exact center and walk one step at a time in the direction each statue is facing…”
“Let’s try it.”
Melody accepted my suggestion without hesitation. Honestly, it was little more than nonsense. What meaning could there possibly be in this? One step left, then one step back, one step right, another step right… The stride had to be neither too long nor too short. Just an average, reasonable step like this!
“Hmm…”
“……”
Nothing happened. I had hoped that standing here, where I could see all the statues at once, might mean something, but it seemed my ridiculous idea was exactly that—ridiculous.
“As expected, it’s not it.”
It was almost embarrassing how much I had hoped the wall would suddenly open to reveal a hidden chamber. If the position had truly mattered, we would have noticed something long ago. We had already searched the floor thoroughly for any mechanism, and Melody had even checked the ceiling.
“Should we just give up now?”
“How about one last prayer in this spot?”
“A prayer?”
“The statues only reacted when we prayed.”
“Oh… that actually sounds plausible.”
Even if it hadn’t, we were going to try anything that came to mind, so we decided to attempt it. Praying was something I had done countless times—tens, even thousands—so preparing took only a moment.
“I’ll start now.”
I closed my eyes and began to pray. Though it was a daily act, I couldn’t do it without purpose.
Thinking about it, it makes sense that not just anyone could obtain a holy relic. I may have been too arrogant.
If a relic was here, I had assumed I would be the one to find it. Just because the gods had visited me a few times and given me gifts didn’t mean the world revolved around me.
I should reflect on that. The relic will reveal itself to someone worthy.
From ancient times, holy relics had always appeared before those deemed worthy. Perhaps I simply wasn’t qualified. With that thought, I ended my prayer.
“Let’s head back. There’s nothing left to try.”
“Yes.”
In the end, it seemed we would return empty-handed. Or so I thought…
“Huh?”
Everyone had gathered to prepare for departure, sorting through the items collected from the various ruins and deciding what to take. While watching them without much thought, I spotted something familiar and couldn’t help but be startled.
“What’s wrong?”
“Just a moment. Could I take a look at that?”
I had a suspicion, but I needed to check just in case. Who would have imagined that the jar we had been searching for all this time was sitting among the loot our teammates had gathered?
“Are you referring to this?”
“Yes, that’s the one.”
“It’s too big and heavy, so we weren’t planning to take it. Do you need it?”
“…Does anyone remember where this was found?”
“I’m not sure.”
“I’ll ask around and see if anyone knows anything about it!”
Even as they wondered why I was interested, everyone eagerly offered to help. Their kindness was making things easier.
“This is the one we were looking for, right?”
“It looks ordinary on the outside, but it’s probably hiding its power on purpose.”
“Exactly.”
No matter how well it concealed its power, a needle couldn’t stay hidden in a sack forever. Even if the relic was suppressing its own energy, a priest’s eyes could still perceive its uniqueness.
“How could we have missed this? What have we even been doing?”
We had assumed there would be some special mechanism. The way the statues gazed in one direction, and how their eyes changed when we prayed, had led us down that line of thinking.
“It’s frustrating, but at least we found it. That’s something to be happy about.”
“It feels strange to stumble upon it after giving up.”
Rather than saying we discovered the relic, it felt more accurate to say we had picked up one that had nearly been discarded.
“If we told people we found a holy relic by accident, no one would believe us, right?”
Melody and I burst out laughing at the same time. Our worries were finally over, and the mood lifted. It was an unexpected stroke of luck. With no reason left to linger here, our steps felt lighter.
“For now, let’s not awaken its power.”
Drawing attention would do us no good. As long as we could confirm it was a relic, there was no need to complicate things. Melody and I carefully wrapped it to ensure it wouldn’t cause any issues.
Soon after, a teammate returned from asking around about who had found it.
“Something’s strange.”
“What do you mean?”
“No one knows. The person who found it—nobody remembers anything.”
“What?”
“It might not have seemed important enough to remember, but if someone moved it themselves, they should at least recall doing so. We gathered everything here this morning. Yet no one claims to have brought it.”
A relic couldn’t have moved on its own, so someone must have placed it here. The fact that no one remembered doing so made no sense.
Though, in a way, it does.
Wasn’t this relic clever enough to hide its own power? It wasn’t impossible that it had bewitched someone and erased their memory.
“It feels ominous. Do we really have to take it?”
“Thank you for looking into it. And don’t worry—this is something I recognize.”
“Oh! You know what it is?”
“Yes. So there’s no need to be concerned.”
“Understood. If you need anything else, please let me know anytime.”
Even though he had helped without expecting anything in return, he seemed disappointed that he couldn’t do more. Knowing what he wanted, I reassured him with a smile. At least thanks to him, we had confirmed that no one would claim ownership of the item.
“We’re heading out!”
With the relic wrapped in cloth and strapped to my back, we began moving. We had already scouted the exit while investigating, so leaving wouldn’t be as difficult as entering had been last time. I had also heard that the entrance was hidden with magic the moment it was found, so others wouldn’t notice it.
“Wow, that’s amazing. You hid it with magic.”
I rarely had the chance to see magic, so I didn’t know its limits. Seeing it in action, however, made me understand why mages received special treatment.
It’s just empty air, yet I can’t tell the difference at all. It looks like a sheer cliff to anyone.
Even though we had passed through the spot moments ago, all I saw now was an impassable wall.
“At this rate, it’ll never be discovered.”
“You’re exactly right. To break this magic, you’d need a mage more skilled than I am. Finding this place in the first place is difficult enough, and bringing such a mage all the way here would be no easy task.”
Of course, with enough coincidences and luck, someone might still stumble upon it. But that would take time—time we would use to fully claim this place first.
“Does it feel real if you touch it?”
I asked whether it was merely an illusion, but the mage answered without offense.
“Of course. In fact, touching it makes the magic even stronger.”
“Wow… that’s incredible.”
“There’s nothing magic cannot do. It’s only that we don’t yet know the method.”
His answer carried the pride of a mage, and it was a sentiment I was very familiar with. I had heard the same words spoken about divine power far too often.
“Divine power can do anything. The only reason we can’t is because we don’t know how.”
Suddenly, I felt like I understood exactly what it meant to be a mage.