“Elise, let’s hurry.”
“Yes, Hal-sama. We will head to the Catacombs through the hidden stairs hidden beneath the altar.”
Elise placed her hand on the altar made of a single stone and injected magical power.
Then, the altar began to move slowly!
A space large enough for one person to pass through opened up where the altar had moved, and looking down, we could see the stairs leading to the Catacombs.
Even the Sazania soldiers apparently hadn’t ventured further from here.
“Well then, let’s head to the Catacombs. Unfortunately, I don’t know how to enter the underground dungeon, so please search for it together.”
It seemed that only a mage could open the hidden passage leading from the sanctuary to the Catacombs.
It was highly possible that only a mage with ties to the Portland Royal Family could open this hidden passage.
I thought the Old Kingdom of Portland was a small, backwater country among the Southern Nations, but even a great nation would have difficulty building such an extensive underground facility.
What was going on with this incongruous situation…?
We entered the hidden passage in the same order as before.
There were stairs leading down in the hidden passage, and plaster was applied to the walls and ceiling.
“Hal-sama, I’m sensing a faintly unpleasant feeling… This sensation is similar to the atmosphere of a demonkin country!”
“Yeah, it is…”
A faint, evil atmosphere seemed to be leaking from the depths of the hidden passage, and since Swan Hilda and Mai, who were users of Holy Magic, were also feeling it, it didn’t seem to be my imagination.
But why would there be a presence of demonkin here? It couldn’t be that Elise herself has demonkin blood, could it?
No, Elise has a peculiar constitution that allows her to form a Magic Reservoir within her body.
Could there be some connection?
“The air feels heavy.”
“I had that feeling too. Hal-sama, shouldn’t we stop going forward?”
“I too am feeling something unpleasant.”
“I’m scared, scared, scared…”
Freya, Liliana, Kirika, and Shera, who were walking in front of me, were also trembling.
Shera was particularly bad; her cute fox ears were drooping limply, and her normally fluffy tail was also hanging down, bristly.
Meanwhile, Elise, who was walking at the front, remained unfazed.
Before long, the walls of the hidden passage transitioned from exposed rock to a tunnel-like state, continuing further ahead.
After walking a bit, the stairs turned into a floor, and it seemed to be slowly descending into the earth.
And after walking for a while, we arrived at the Catacombs.
“Hal-sama, this is the tomb of the Portland Royal Family, called the Catacombs. I have never been further than this.”
“Elise, thank you for guiding me.”
Led by Elise, we arrived at the Catacombs where those connected to the Portland Royal Family were entombed.
The underground space was vast, with small side chambers carved into the rock walls containing urns.
Beside them, grave goods were also placed carelessly.
Even the Sazania soldiers couldn’t reach this far, and the tomb had not been disturbed.
By the way, in human society where we live, most people are buried, and the style of cremation and interment in urns is unusual.
Upon confirmation with Elise, it turned out that in the past, the body of a Portland royal princess was stolen and used by an evil necromancer, causing great damage. Since then, they have cremated bodies to prevent them from being used.
Come to think of it, I remembered Elise mentioning something like that when she revived.
“But… it’s larger than I expected, and the structure is complicated too.”
“The Portland Royal Family had a long history… For now, let’s all look for the entrance to the underground dungeon. I’ll hand out hand lanterns to everyone.”
The royal tomb, known as the Catacombs, was a spacious area with countless holes carved into the rock walls, containing urns.
Furthermore, because space for carving more holes was insufficient, branching caves were also dug, forming a complex and mysterious structure, making it no exaggeration to call it a dungeon.
Elise took out hand lanterns for everyone from her Item Box, ignited a small spark with ‘Torch Magic,’ and lit the wicks, handing them out to everyone.
As everyone dispersed to search for the entrance to the underground dungeon, Mai closed her eyes and stood still.
“Mai…”
“…”
Mai seemed to be concentrating and searching for something.
I followed Mai’s example and closed my eyes, surveying the surroundings.
Inside the Catacombs, the evil magic I had felt earlier, or rather, the residual magic that could now be called miasma, was drifting, and upon further inspection, I could sense variations in the density of the miasma depending on the location.
“…This way!”
Mai called out to me and walked towards a place where the miasma was thick.
Mai walked about halfway through the central cavern of the Catacombs and entered a side chamber carved into the rock wall.
Even inside the side chamber, there were small holes for interment, but it led to a dead end.
Despite the side chamber being a dead end, Mai’s steps were unwavering, and she stopped at the end, which was carved out like a small room.
“…Here!?”
“It’s certainly suspicious. Well done, Mai!!”
“Mmh! Thank you, Hal-sama.”
From the spot Mai had found, a faint miasma was leaking out.
“Everyone gather! Mai has found a suspicious place!!”
“Amazing, you are. I’m not good at this sort of thing.”
Swan Hilda came over, scratching the back of her head.
Upon approaching the spot in question, Swan Hilda seemed to be able to tell something.
“Hal-sama, this is a dead end, but…”
Elise, who arrived next, looked around in confusion.
Elise seems to be weak in such areas.
“I couldn’t understand it at all.”
“Hal-sama, it’s certainly an interesting place, but—don’t you want to go back quickly? Tombs require serenity.”
“Isn’t this just a dead end?”
“It feels unpleasant here. I’m scared, scared.”
Then, Kirika, Liliana, Freya, and Shera also gathered.
“Hal-sama, is there something here?”
“Miasma is leaking from here.”
When Elise asked with a puzzled look, I pointed with my right hand and explained the reason for suspicion.
“Indeed, the floor here is heavily worn. It seems many people have come here over the years.”
This time, Liliana, who had crouched down and was staring at the floor, found a reason for this place being suspicious from a different perspective than Mai and I.
However, we didn’t know how to proceed further.
We searched the small room-like area, tapping the rock walls and looking for anything on the floor, but found nothing.
However, it felt certain that miasma was leaking from this place…
“Hey, Hal-sama. I think, what if we release Elise’s magic power here? Didn’t the monolithic altar move earlier because of that!?”
“That’s a pretty good idea, Kirika. Elise, could you try it once?”
“…Yes, Hal-sama.”
At Kirika’s suggestion, as Elise began to release her magic power, the floor where Elise stood began to glow faintly.
Unknown characters and diagrams appeared, spreading across the entire floor of the small room.
And when the magic circle that appeared shone, we were struck by a strange sense of floating.
“To one who inherits the blood of Ensherry Portra. You have done well to come—”
A woman, who I presumed to be a goddess, spoke in my mind…
Looking around, Elise and the others seemed to have heard the voice as well and were looking around.
Then, the mysterious glow subsided, and we found ourselves standing in an unknown place.
This was also an underground space, but the small room-like space had five caves.
It seemed that the magic circle earlier was of a spatial transfer type, and it was highly likely that it reacted to the special magical power possessed by the bloodline of the Portland Royal Family. I thought.
By what means, we seem to have safely arrived at the underground dungeon, but what was that woman’s voice I heard earlier?
Questions began to arise one after another in my mind.
“Hal-sama, as expected. So, which cave should we proceed through next?”
“Hal-sama… that way!”
As Elise asked about the path ahead, Mai pointed to one of the caves.
Indeed, from the cave Mai pointed to, even denser miasma than before was leaking.
We followed the flow of miasma and proceeded down the path indicated by Mai.
Along the way in the underground dungeon, there were forks and simple traps, but Mai pointed them all out, allowing us to clear it in the shortest distance.
Also, several golems for preventing intruders were placed along the path, but when Elise raised her hand and indicated her status as the legitimate heir of the Portland Royal Family, the golems knelt.
And at the deepest part of the underground dungeon, a door made of rock appeared.
By this time, Elise was accustomed to it, and when she placed her hand on the rock door, the door in question slowly opened.
And beyond the door was the space that seemed to be our destination, and a lighting fixture attached to the wall lit up on its own, illuminating the room.
“What amazing mechanisms! Even the passages we’ve traveled so far can’t possibly be built by a small country.”
“I agree!”
Liliana and Kirika said in astonishment.
“With this, the Magic Staff will be mine!!”
“Elise-sama, please show me too.”
As soon as the door opened, Elise dashed out, followed by Freyja.
Rushing into an unknown room without any confirmation was too reckless.
“Elise, Freyja. Sit!!”
I used ‘Action Restriction Magic’ from ‘Slave Contract Magic.’
This magic was last used when I performed a ‘Health Check’ on Elise.
“W-woof!?”
Elise and Freyja, side by side, got on all fours and barked “woof.”
“Hal-sama, please don’t do this in front of everyone…”
“Why am I being dragged into this too…”
Elise, having regained her senses, blushed with embarrassment, while Freyja was dumbfounded.
“That’s just to admonish you for rushing forward before treasure? Well then, let’s enter with caution. However, it seems miasma is leaking from this room too… I have a bad feeling.”
Thank you for reading.
Episode 18-8: The Secret Chamber was scheduled for pre-posting at 0:00 on July 9th.
