The Dungeon Where the Divine Sword is Buried (2)
The Dungeon Where the Divine Sword is Buried (2)
After learning our destination, the first place I went was Professor Katrin's office—or rather, Katrin's.
She welcomed me warmly, but when she heard what I had to say, her expression turned troubled.
"You want to act independently during the field training?"
"Yes. I'd like to search for a dungeon in the Seal Grounds."
"Do you have any idea how dangerous that... No, I suppose that's a rather silly thing to ask you."
Katrin had witnessed my skills firsthand.
Although she hadn't seen much of what I could do this year, she still knew very well that I was stronger than she was—and stronger than most knights, for that matter.
"But why a dungeon all of a sudden?"
"While gathering materials for our group project, I found the whole subject quite interesting. Since we rarely get a chance to go to the Seal Grounds, I was hoping to look for one this time."
That was the excuse I'd come up with on my way to Katrin's office after waking up that morning.
It was a pretty decent excuse, and I was quite satisfied with it.
"I understand where you're coming from, but..."
Katrin shook her head, though.
"I'll put in a word for you, but they won't grant permission. There was an accident last year, and it caused quite a stir. No matter how indifferent the Academy usually is to accidents, they can't easily allow anyone to act independently under these circumstances."
As expected, it wasn't going to be easy.
"Still, I'd appreciate it if you could at least mention it to them."
"Alright. But don't get your hopes up."
"Yes."
I bowed to Katrin and stepped outside.
Once I was out, I let out a sigh.
I'd wanted to go with official approval, but it was indeed a difficult task.
"Do I have to waste a regression cycle?"
If I couldn't get permission, I'd have no choice but to act without authorization.
I was already cutting it close with my class attendance.
If I went AWOL in the Seal Grounds under these circumstances, I might be suspended—or even expelled.
There was only one way to prevent that. I'd have to die and regress to the past.
That day, I waited to see if permission might be granted by some miracle, but, as expected, nothing came of it.
I even went to see the Headmaster in person, but all I got was a scolding. In the end, I resigned myself to leaving without authorization.
Time passed, and the day of our group project meeting arrived.
The group project was temporarily on hold as well.
We hadn't been able to decide on our next destination before the field training was upon us.
At our last meeting, we'd agreed to choose a place to visit after the field training.
So today was simply a chance to review our research and chat.
I'd done my best to research materials in my own way, so I entered our meeting parlor feeling relaxed.
But the atmosphere inside was completely different from what I'd expected.
The moment I stepped into the room, the female contingent—that is, all my group members—stared at me.
What's more, the Princess and the Grand Archduchess looked furious with me.
I froze at the bizarre atmosphere.
"Is something the matter?"
At my question, the Princess sprang to her feet and confronted me.
"I heard from Katrin. You asked if you could wander around by yourself during the field training, didn't you?"
It seemed my inquiry to Katrin had reached the Princess's ears.
But had she not heard the rest of the story? If she knew I'd been turned down, she wouldn't look so angry.
"You don't have to worry. My request was denied."
Even after I said that, the Princess and the Grand Archduchess didn't change their expressions.
On top of that, Balea was waiting for the perfect moment to chime in, while Mirisa had backed away, watching the spectacle unfold like a fire across the river.
We hadn't known each other long, but Mirisa seemed to have already found her place in the group.
As expected, she, too, was an elite attending the Royal Academy.
"I'm not worried. I'm angry! You're trying to leave us behind again!"
"I apologize for not telling you in advance."
Although it felt a little awkward to bring up something that hadn't even been decided yet, I apologized to the Princess.
"I'm not angry because you didn't tell us in advance, either!"
"Pardon? Then..."
"Just because permission was denied, does that mean you won't do it?"
I couldn't answer the Princess's question right away.
Because, just as she'd said, I was planning to slip away without authorization.
I could have lied, but it would be exposed the moment we arrived at the Seal Grounds.
If I died and regressed to the past, they wouldn't remember anyway, so it wouldn't really matter if I lied.
But then again, if I looked at it that way, there was no reason to lie right now, either.
Besides, I'd resolved to do my best in any situation.
Even in a life-or-death situation, even if the others wouldn't remember.
I bowed my head.
"...I apologize once again."
I apologized sincerely.
Not just for this time, but for all the times I'd acted behind their backs in the past, and for the misdeeds to come.
As long as I kept secret the fact that I was living in a different time from everyone else, I was bound to act without their knowledge.
The lies would continue in the future, too.
I apologized to everyone for all of it.
"No, you don't have to apologize to that extent..."
The Princess's face flushed red as she took a step back.
"We can't back down just because he apologized. This time, we need to get a firm promise from him."
But the Grand Archduchess refused to back down.
"It's because of that sword, isn't it?"
I looked at the Grand Archduchess in puzzlement.
The sword? The Grand Archduchess should know I can't talk about the ancestral rites, right?
And if we kept talking, her own ability might come up.
"I mean the sword you found at the blacksmith's in the Marquisate. You found something there, didn't you?"
I was genuinely impressed.
I'd thought she was talking about the sword found in the temple, but she'd managed to sidestep it like that.
As expected of the Grand Archduchess.
Having repaired my swords several times, she must have learned a great deal about me.
Where I'd gotten the new sword, and that there was a way to track it.
Perhaps that was why she was even more upset about my attempt to go alone.
Since the Grand Archduchess had set the stage, it wasn't difficult to speak.
"While investigating the broken sword, I was lucky enough to find another similar one."
"You found a sword similar to Marquis Pisen's Divine Sword?"
While the Grand Archduchess, who already knew, remained unfazed, the other group members were utterly shocked.
"Please keep this a secret."
"It would literally be worth whatever price you name."
As a commoner, Mirisa seemed to think of the sword's price right away.
"If it's a divine sword similar to the Divine Sword of Pisen, it must be an incredible relic... Where on earth did you find such a thing?"
At the Princess's question, my expression hardened.
"I can't say because of a contract."
I emphasized the contract with a serious expression.
Mirisa gasped and covered her mouth with her hands.
Fortunately, both the Princess and Balea took my words seriously.
Judging by their expressions, it seemed they would keep the secret.
I told them the rest of the story.
"While investigating that sword, I discovered there are more swords in the Seal Grounds. Since they're in the Seal Grounds, they must be inside a dungeon."
Lying right after apologizing left a bitter taste in my mouth, but I couldn't bring up the 'Holy Knight's Divine Sword' here.
Although I'd left out the core of the matter entirely, I still told them as much of the truth as I could.
After hearing my explanation, the group members fell into thought.
Were they trying to come up with a way to stop me?
Once we got to the Seal Grounds, there'd be no one to stop me.
Surely they weren't thinking of pulling me out of the field training altogether?
A sudden cold sweat broke out at the thought.
Even if they were the Princess and the Grand Archduchess, surely they couldn't interfere with the Academy's schedule to that extent.
No, they shouldn't be able to.
While I was lost in my own thoughts, the Grand Archduchess was the first to make a decision.
"Very well. We'll make our next group project a dungeon exploration in the Seal Grounds."
I blinked.
The Grand Archduchess's words were completely different from what I'd expected.
And what she'd said was utterly absurd.
The Academy hadn't even granted me permission to wander around the Seal Grounds alone.
And yet they would allow a group with the Princess and the Grand Archduchess to roam freely in the Seal Grounds?
That was something that absolutely couldn't be permitted.
But the other group members thought differently.
"A real dungeon would be a first for me. I'll ask for permission, too."
Actually, you've been to one before.
The Princess wouldn't remember, but she'd been to a dungeon with me before.
And she'd suffered tremendously, too.
If she remembered that, she definitely wouldn't be saying such things.
"Count me in, too. It sounds like fun."
Balea raised her hand excitedly.
Well, if it was Balea...
To be honest, having Balea along would actually be quite helpful.
"Unfortunately, I won't be able to join you. The Administration Faculty doesn't participate in field training."
Contrary to her words, Mirisa didn't look disappointed at all.
Nor did the others seem to expect her to come.
But if things went this way, it was bound to cause another uproar.
And even though there was no chance it would be approved, I'd inevitably end up on the bad side of the professors and the Headmaster again.
I tried to dissuade the Grand Archduchess, who was our representative.
"The Seal Grounds is a dangerous place. Princess Aisha of the Knight Faculty and Balea, who has combat-oriented abilities, might be fine, but it would be difficult for you to endure, Your Grace."
Unlike the others, the Grand Archduchess had never been to the Seal Grounds.
On top of that, while her inherited ability would be useful for identifying relics inside a dungeon, it would be completely useless in a fight against monsters.
The Grand Archduchess thrust her arms forward at my words.
Then she rolled up her sleeves.
Her hands and arms were exposed, and the rings on her fingers and bracelets on her wrists came into view.
They were all relics.
There seemed to be far more than there had been when we left the Duchy.
Since there were relics I didn't recognize, she must have been collecting them elsewhere, too.
"This one is a barrier, this one is a fireball, this one is for lightning attacks, and this is another barrier..."
The Grand Archduchess went on to explain them one by one, from the rings and bracelets to the necklace around her neck.
All the group members stared blankly at her.
None of us had known she was wearing so many relics.
Even a king would find it difficult to possess this many.
It was something only the Grand Archduchess, who could repair broken relics, could accomplish.
I had no choice but to throw up my hands in defeat.
In any case, permission wouldn't be granted anyway.
There was no need to get into a pointless war of nerves here.
With that in mind, I simply waited for the day of the field training to arrive, but then an absurd official document came down from above.
It was an official document granting permission to explore the dungeon in the Seal Grounds.
I stared, baffled, at the outcome, but now that the decision had been made, there was no turning back.
In the end, time passed, and the day of departure arrived.
The day of the Carlos Royal Academy's field training.
The Seal Grounds was noisy from early morning.
The busy area wasn't the clearing where the students would arrive by teleportation.
It was another clearing, located several kilometers away.
People who appeared to be mercenaries and priests had gathered there, waiting for someone.
A moment later,
Flash!
A brilliant light burst forth from the center of the clearing.
It was just like the light produced when the Academy's Headmaster used teleportation.
As the light faded, people materialized within it.
Priests with swords at their waists. They were shrine knights.
Perhaps the teleportation had left everyone looking grim, but no one collapsed to the ground.
An elderly priest approached the shrine knight standing at the very front.
"Welcome. We have been waiting for you."
The elderly priest spoke respectfully to the shrine knight.
"Are you certain? I heard the sword at the Carlos Branch was destroyed. And the other swords were discarded long ago."
The shrine knight spoke informally, as if it were only natural.
"But the relic that detects mana reacted. And we have also confirmed the location of the dungeon."
"Is that so? If you've confirmed it, then it must be correct."
The shrine knight who had questioned him ultimately accepted the elderly priest's answer.
But another shrine knight still had doubts.
"Why did we have to come just to find a relic sword? Couldn't we have left it to the exploration team?"
At the shrine knight's question, the knight who had just been asking questions replied.
"We're exploring a dungeon in the Seal Grounds. There's no telling what traps or monsters might be inside. It's only natural that the Purge Squad, the Order's finest combat organization, should come."
With the elderly priest leading the way, he walked into the Seal Grounds.
His subordinates followed close behind.
On the day Alex returned to the Seal Grounds.
Franz, the Second Battalion Commander of the Purge Squad, arrived at the Seal Grounds with his subordinates to find the 'Holy Knight's Divine Sword'.