Chapter 68
Chapter 68
“Hmm.”
Along with the clatter of the carriage, the sound of a forced cough reached my ears.
As I ignored it and stared out the window at the scenery changing by the moment, another cough—who knew how many it had been—rang out again, this time a little louder.
“Do you have a cold?”
“…That’s not it. I was just thinking it might be about time you told me the destination.”
She lightly ignored my question about a cold and asked me politely instead.
She had been like that since the cafeteria, but once everyone else disappeared, she immediately raised her level of speech.
I wanted to talk more casually if possible, but she coldly refused, saying there was no need for that when there were no eyes watching.
“Hmm.”
Right after the conversation in the cafeteria, I led her out of the Academy.
I even added extra money to secure a carriage, then left the capital and headed vigorously toward our destination.
Honestly, the fact that she had followed me all this way without saying anything, only giving me subtle looks, showed just how much her perception of me had changed compared to before.
Of course, underlying that was probably her confidence that no matter what scheme I tried, she could subdue someone like me on her own.
Petra possessed talent that did not fall behind Elysia, one of the main heroines.
With enough time and blood-soaked effort added on top of that, she would probably have reached the upper ranks by now.
She had already stepped into the lower tier of Sword Expert, after all.
But the farther the carriage ran, the stronger the faint anxiety floating in her eyes became.
Thinking she might jump out of the carriage at this rate, I shrugged and opened my mouth.
“I wanted to leave it as the fun of arriving.”
“If the process isn’t fun, can the ending really be enjoyable?”
Whenever I tried to act friendly to close the distance even a little, this kind of cold answer came right back.
I let out a sigh at that.
“How bleak. No wonder you don’t have any friends.”
“W-who are you saying doesn’t have friends! You’re the one who…!”
She raised her voice with a flushed face at my words.
Just as she was about to snap back that I didn’t have any friends either, she seemed to recall the group we’d seen in the cafeteria that morning.
Letting out a small groan, she calmed herself down.
I wondered if Elysia knew that the person she admired was such a klutz.
As I looked at Petra with narrowed eyes, she let out a deep sigh.
“Thanks to you, today’s entire schedule is ruined.”
“Days like this should happen sometimes. How can a person live doing nothing but work?”
According to the original story, she would lose her life in the not-too-distant future.
Of course, I intended to stop that, but in her recollections from that time, there had been regret—regret that if she’d known it would turn out that way, she would have wanted to meet more people and have more varied experiences.
Reading that part had hurt my heart so much.
Petra, who had no way of knowing how I felt, turned her head away with a sulky expression.
She even complained in a small voice, asking if she thought she lived like this because she wanted to.
She seemed a little better than the stiff state she’d shown before.
Being forced out like this must have eased the pressure she’d been under at the Academy.
If she kept taking steps forward one by one, she would be able to change just like everyone else.
I found myself looking forward to that time, just a little.
“We’re almost there.”
“…?”
As the dense forest ended, a neatly maintained road appeared.
Perhaps because we’d left early in the morning, she’d been nodding off for a bit.
At my voice, she snapped awake and looked out the window.
Then, as if she’d realized something, she let out a low exclamation and spoke toward me.
“Is it the Sepahal Temple?”
The Sepahal Temple was modeled after a famous Greek temple.
In this world, it was a temple of a religion that worshipped some nameless ancient god, and it was also a famous tourist attraction of the capital.
With it being the weekend and the time of day what it was, it would be crowded with people.
“That place was already fully investigated decades ago, so there’s nothing to see except its historical value.”
Saying she’d already been there herself, Petra shook her head with a deflated expression.
According to documents investigated while she was at the Imperial Palace, it had been discovered decades ago and thoroughly examined down to every single brick.
Anything worth taking had already been taken—there wouldn’t be a speck of dust left.
Of course, that was only in normal cases.
“We’ve arrived.”
Once the destination revealed itself, Petra’s interest cooled rapidly.
She looked at me with an expression asking what business I could possibly have here, but it didn’t take long for that boredom to turn into surprise.
“…This place is?”
“It’s the rear side of the Sepahal Temple.”
Unlike the front of the temple, which was crowded with people, the rear was surrounded by thick rock walls and cliffs.
The terrain was so rough that everyone avoided entering it.
“It really is rough.”
Looking around, it seemed that even someone with considerable nerve wouldn’t dare try to climb this place.
But I lightly leapt forward and motioned for Petra behind me to hurry and follow.
“…Hoo.”
She hesitated for a moment, then let out a small sigh and followed after me.
It would feel awkward to turn back after coming all this way.
The reason I’d come here was for a pair of swords sleeping within this temple.
In the original story, they were discovered at a later point than now by an archaeologist exploring ancient texts, but there was no need to wait until then, and I didn’t want them falling into someone else’s hands.
‘Originally, I was planning to come here with Alice during the next vacation.’
I still hadn’t kept my promise to get her a sword to replace Excalibur.
I’d originally planned to come here with Alice during the next vacation, but seeing Petra this morning suddenly brought this place back to mind.
They didn’t measure up to my Tyrfing or Excalibur, but they were still swords of respectable quality in their own right.
Since there were two of them, giving one to Petra should be fine.
A red and white pair of swords.
The sight of her fighting while holding swords the same colors as her hair would be truly magnificent.
After leaping over the rock wall and arriving at a place that resembled the description I remembered, I drew my sword without hesitation and shoved it into a crevice in the temple wall.
“W-what are you doing?!”
Petra, who had followed after me, exclaimed in shock, asking how I could think of damaging an ancient ruin.
I lightly ignored her words and ignited mana at the tip of my sword.
Kkigigigik—
At the same time, the sound of gears meshing echoed from somewhere.
Startled by it, Petra stopped trying to restrain me and looked around with wide, rabbit-like eyes.
Drdrdrdr—
And not long after, the wall split apart, revealing a path leading underground.
Perhaps the magical mechanisms had been well maintained, because even though hundreds—no, thousands—of years must have passed, the air inside wasn’t stale, and the structure itself looked relatively well preserved.
“Let’s go.”
After confirming it was safe, just like in the original story, I moved my feet without hesitation.
The archaeologist who entered this place had brought a small mercenary group of about ten people as an escort.
With that level of force, I should have been able to clear it alone.
“Wouldn’t it be better to call other people?”
Petra asked with a slightly hesitant expression.
Calling people.
It would definitely become a topic of interest in academic circles, and a big commotion would follow.
But this temple was officially owned by the Empire.
If the hidden entrance were reported, one would gain some recognition, but it would end with a modest reward at best.
The pair of swords that had slept untouched for countless long years would have a high chance of slipping from my grasp.
That archaeologist must have known that too, which was why he’d monopolized them alone.
“If you don’t like it, don’t come.”
As I strode forward briskly, Petra hesitated, but eventually followed.
Seeing that, I spoke to reassure her.
“Don’t worry. No matter what happens, I left word outside so things would be fine.”
“…You should’ve said that sooner.”
Only then did Petra make a slightly relieved expression.
Sorry—if I’m being honest, I didn’t leave any message.
It was a lie, haha.
The interior was pitch-dark.
Normally, places like this would have mana stones embedded in the walls to light the way.
“Ungh.”
Perhaps she hadn’t adjusted to the darkness yet either, because Petra carefully moved forward while holding onto the hem of my clothes.
“[Primordial Light, Light].”
I lightly snapped my fingers and recited the chant.
A small hemispherical light formed before us, pushing back the darkness.
“…You could use magic too?”
“I’m a bit of a versatile person.”
Pulling off this kind of brag required playing it cool.
I spoke as if it were nothing, but she looked slightly taken aback and avoided my gaze.
‘This is kind of deflating.’
The passage was a single path.
Traps that looked dangerous appeared here and there, but they were things anyone could avoid without needing to be a thief.
And finally, we arrived before the door to a massive grand hall.
“You know which god was worshipped here, right?”
“Wasn’t Sepahal the god of light and darkness?”
“That’s right. This temple in particular was known as the temple of light, among the two.”
“Yes. Everyone regretted that they couldn’t find the temple of darkness even after decades passed. According to the records, they were built as a pair of light and darkness, and were said to be not that far apart. But there was nothing around here. They said the academic value of the temple of darkness would be higher……”
While speaking, Petra seemed to realize something.
Her eyes widened as she looked at me.
“Don’t tell me?”
“Yeah. The opposite of light is darkness. This is the temple of darkness.”
It was wordplay, like flipping a coin.
Who would have ever thought that the temple of darkness would be behind the temple of light?
The archaeologist who came later would be the only one—but what greeted him would be nothing more than empty treasure chests.
“Places like this may be temples in name, but since there’s a risk of being looted by later generations, they install traps themselves. I heard that several people were sacrificed even when investigating the temple of light.”
“Yes, but there are hardly any traps here.”
“Well, that figures. Not many people knew about this place to begin with, and once you came inside, it was hard to leave alive.”
“…What?”
As if hearing this for the first time, her body stiffened.
Seeing that, I grinned and continued.
“There’s only an entrance here, no exit. From the start, the temple of darkness was a place only those offered as sacrifices could enter. The traps earlier were just for show.”
“T-that’s not what you said!”
“You didn’t ask.”
When I shrugged and said it, her body trembled with anger.
“You, you really are—!”
“Don’t get so angry. Surely you didn’t think I came here without any countermeasures.”
“…What do you mean?”
“If there’s no exit, we just make one. If we shove mana in like when we came in and create a fracture, that’ll become the exit.”
“Please tell me things like that first next time.”
Only then did Petra let out a sigh of relief, clutching her chest.
Now that I looked at her, she seemed like the type who was easily swayed.
“Is there anything else you haven’t told me? Ah—what’s beyond this?”
She asked, pointing at the door to the grand hall.
I nodded, saying it was a good question, and answered.
“The Executor. A wraith left behind alone to offer sacrifices to the god. Simply put, it’s like a priest. It splits open the bellies of lambs offered as sacrifices, pulls out their entrails, and scatters the blood……”
“I’ll pass on that level of detail. Anyway, we just need to defeat that Executor, right?”
Bang—!
Without hesitation, Petra kicked the door open and went in.
She looked like she wanted to get out of this place as quickly as possible, with even anxiety visible on her face.
I let out a small laugh and followed after her.
“Oh, by the way.”
“…What now?”
Petra replied with a slight frown.
At her question asking if there was something else again, I pointed toward the throne placed atop the altar before us.
Whoosh—!
Seated upon the throne was a knight clad in thick armor.
He rose to his feet as he looked at us entering through the door to the grand hall.
[Little lambs.]
Shrring.
A sharp sound that sent chills down the spine echoed through the hall.
Drawing the sword at his waist, the armored knight aimed it at us and spoke.
[It has been a long time since the last sacrifice.]
Whoosh—!
At the same time, blue flames overlaid the empty skull and the sword.
Faced with that grotesque atmosphere, Petra took a small step back with a stiff expression.
I leaned toward her ear and whispered quietly while looking at the Executor.
“That one’s pretty strong.”
So hang in there!