153-Episode 153: Sealed Temple

It's an old building.

As we approached the building built on top of a small mountain, we could see the details clearly.

'This is not an inhabited building, is it?

It looks more like a temple to hold some kind of ceremony.

The building has deteriorated considerably and looks as if it could collapse at any moment.

Perhaps the poison of the corrosive earth has hastened the deterioration of building materials.

'Let's go inside.

Yeah.

We were approaching the building when it happened.

'Hmm?'

I felt a certain discomfort in my skin.

"This is....

What's going on, Mr. Lex?

Lilliera-san, who saw me, asks me if something is wrong.

'No, nothing...'

Yeah, it wouldn't be good to be noticed, and it's probably best not to mention it just yet.

◆

The inside of the building was simple.

There was no furniture inside, just one large, tattered altar.

'What the hell is that thing?'

Liliera-san also seems to be curious about the altar that sits so blatantly, and she tilts her head.

On top of the altar stands a large disk with intricate writing on it.

Does it sound like a large decorative plate with a support for display behind it?

'Hmmm, this looks like a seal of some kind.

What?　You can tell by looking at it?

Yes, look at this. Look at the inscriptions on this altar.

'What?　I didn't know those were letters!　Not a pattern!

I was a little surprised when she told me that she hadn't noticed the letters engraved on the altar.

Lilliera-san should be able to read the letters on the Adventurer's Guild request board....

'Are these what you call ancient letters?　I've never seen this before...

Oh, yeah!　These letters are from my time, so they're ancient, in Lilliera's eyes!

''Watch out, I was careless.

''Well Liliella, have you had any exposure to ancient script in your adventures so far?

'Unfortunately, there wasn't. I've been working in the vicinity of the Forest of Demonic Beasts to cure everyone in my hometown of their illnesses, so I didn't get to explore the ruins. If I had to say anything else, it would be the time I met the Sky People and the underground ruins in the mine where I participated as a support for Lex-san. Well, in neither case did I have the opportunity to touch the ruins themselves.

Come to think of it, that's right.

And during the mess with the Celestial People, I spent more time in Morishima and the western village than in the Celestial Castle, the ruins.

Even in the underground ruins in the mine, Liliella and the others had gone around guarding the camp site, so I don't remember them being in the archives of the ruins.

''Then why don't we go on an adventure to some ancient ruins next time?

Pfft.

I'm puzzled when Liliera-san suddenly starts laughing.

''Li, Liliera-san?''

'I'm sorry. But it's a dangerous ancient site and you said it as casually as if you were asking me out on a date.

Date⁉︎︎, date⁉︎, no, I didn't mean to say that...

I know. I know you don't mean it, Lex. But it's really easy to say it.

That was a surprise. I didn't think that exploring ancient ruins would be treated as a date.

"Hmmm, exploring dungeons and such should be fun.

A dungeon exploration, huh? I didn't have much of a connection with this place in my past life.

Basically, the job of a hero is to defeat evildoers, so places where there are no evildoers are naturally out of reach.

''But even so, this seal is a bit troublesome, isn't it?

Troublesome... maybe this is the reason?

Liliera pointed to a large diagonal wound on the disk with the surgical formula sitting on the altar.

''Yes, this is obviously a wound that was added later. It seems that this wound caused the seal to weaken and accelerated the erosion of the earth of corrosion. That's also the reason why only the concentration of poison in the central region is abnormally high. Moreover, in the aftermath, the seal itself is also deteriorating rapidly.

I don't know who you are, but you've done a lot of trouble for me.

It's causing a lot of trouble for the people in the village around you.

Isn't that a bad idea?

''It's not good. If we don't, the seal will be completely broken and the guy sealed inside will be released.

That said, I was able to pretty much guess what was sealed up based on what had happened so far.

But what I'm curious about is why they took such a troublesome method to seal it.

Did he take such a method on purpose to use it for something?

This seal is like a useless seal that can't be lifted until it's broken once it's applied, so it's not like it's for reuse for anything.

You're not going to be able to get your hands on it.

Liliera-san looks anxious and asks me what will happen if the seal is broken.

''Well, I think the toxins condensed inside will erupt all at once due to the seal, and the poisonous demons that lived in the Land of Corrosion will be wiped out. And then the Corrosive Earth would spread all at once, and a considerable area would sink into the poisonous swamp.

Even poisonous demons will die?

Yes, and many more will die before they can escape as the corroded earth engulfs our cities and villages.

Oh, really?　You didn't even get a chance to run...

Liliella's complexion turns pale as she learns that many lives will be lost.

''Hey Lex-san, how long will you keep the seal?　We should get back to the nearest town as soon as possible and ask the Adventurer's Guild to evacuate!　A guild would be able to report the situation to the country, and Lex-san is an S-ranked adventurer, so the information is far more credible!

Liliera-san immediately suggested the next best thing, even though she turned blue assuming the worst situation. This decision-making ability is as expected of an A-rank adventurer.

I just don't have enough time to take that approach.

''Liliera-san, I'm sorry, but we don't have enough time to evacuate the people in the neighborhood. We're already in a situation where we have less than three days before the seal is broken. And that's three days at the most.

That's it?　And yet, if you tell them to drop their bags and run away immediately, you'll save your life!

''No, it still won't be in time. Given the age of the seal and the concentration of poison in the central region, I believe that the aftermath of the seal being broken will reach the royal capital at least. We won't be able to get to the carriage in time even if we all get on the carriage.

Oh, no...

So why don't we just quickly reseal it?

Oh no, you'll just have to reseal it... what?

Liliera-san looks at me with a scowl.

''Yes, since it's impossible to evacuate before the seal is broken, I thought we should re-seal it first and then deal with it again.

Or could you reseal it?

Yes, I can do that.

How come?

Because if you can read this seal, you'll know what kind of seal it was.

How is it so easy to understand?

Anyone can understand it if they can read the ancient language.

This is a lie!

It's not a lie.

''Haha, I don't feel like an idiot for seriously thinking about what would happen when the seal is broken... or rather, if you can re-seal it, let's just tell me from the beginning!

'Oh, sorry. You asked me what happens when the seal is broken, so I thought you were thinking about what to do after the seal is broken.

So there was a gap in the premise from the beginning. Next time I'll ask Lex-san if she has any countermeasures in mind.

''Haha........Well, I'll make a temporary seal first, then I'll officially reseal it. After that, we'll do a formal reseal again.

'Tentative?　Aren't you going to officially seal it right away?

'There's still an old seal that's on the verge of breaking, so if you re-seal with it in place, there's a risk of some trouble later. That's why I made a temporary seal outside, and when the original seal is broken, I will trap the toxins released by the temporary seal and the things that were sealed in it. Then we'll do the main seal again.

It takes a lot of work.

Instead, I'm going to make sure that the new book seal can be put on top of the new seal without having to break it.

Oh, I see. You're going to go to all that trouble to make sure that future generations won't have to.

I'm convinced that's what Mr. Liliella means.

'That's what I mean!

The only question is whether the people of the future will be able to properly understand Lex-san's seal.

Did you say something, Miss Liliera?

No, it's nothing.

So let's put a temporary seal on it but first, why don't you come out of there?

I call out to the person hiding in the exit.

'Huh?'

What is Mr. Liliella talking about?　He gives a scowling voice.

'You noticed...'

At the same time as a third voice echoes in the empty temple, a shadow appears from a pillar near the entrance.

''No!　A person in a place like this?

It's no wonder Lilliera-san is surprised.

This is a land that has been literally cursed with a high concentration of impulse poisoning.

''Liliera-san, please remember. The seal was weakened by being damaged by someone else.

So he's the one...?

When Liliera-san saw the killer's full appearance, she muttered in a tense voice...but she couldn't.

After all, I too was baffled by what was happening to the killer's appearance.

''That's right, Gehohohohohohohohohohohohohoh to Zhang Yang who I destroyed the Seal of the Corrosive Earth!''

The culprit was grandly choked up without finishing his sentence.

That's right, because the culprit who appeared.......no, the demon was dying while spurting blood from his entire body.

Why is the criminal dying?

What the hell is going on here?