Volume 19 - CH 2

I don't want to get too close to the Holy Kingdom where Christina appeared, but it looks like the only way to find out what's going on in the Sacred Tomb of Irv is for us to go there in person.

After all, it's a dangerous place where B-rank adventurers are wiped out and never come back, even if they try to get information.

The new members of the Black Cats of the Wind, Elisa and Frederick, also looked depressed and bewildered.

It's the dark side of their country. If they could, they would want it to be a mistake.

「Elisa, Frederick. You guys can wait for us in Austin if you want.」

「No, I feel like I should know. As a Templar knight. And as a people of the Holy Kingdom.」

「As a Knight of the Guard, I feel the same way.」

「I understand.」

We entered the Holy Kingdom by carriage.

Because of Christina's appearance and the "Demonization" incident, Elisa's and our rescue attempt was dismissed by His Holiness the Pope.

However, the fact that the priests are following behind us means that we are still under surveillance. We're being watched very carefully.

「And to that idiot in the back. You'd better keep your voice down and be quiet.」

I say to Letty, who I brought along as cargo.

We're breaking out of here, so no matter how much the Holy Kingdom softens their attitude toward us and says they're cooperating, it's going to be a different matter.

As for O'Neill, I've handed him over to Austin's soldiers as the main suspect in the madness.

He sent threatening letters to the Guild asking for money, which is what he deserved.

I'll make sure he's brought to justice under Austin law.

Letty is also an accomplice to the crime, but as a special agent who was involved in the top-secret Operation Hurricane of Freedom, she would be familiar with the inner workings of the Sacred Tomb of Irv.

That's why I reported it to the head of the academy and got a special permission.

「Oh, Frederick, good to see you back.」

A man who looked exactly like Frederick greeted him from inside the white building and hugged him. However, he was not dressed as a knight, but as a priest.

「Father, ......! I'm sorry to have caused you so much worry.」

「Umu. It is a pleasure to meet you, Alec-dono, and all of you who are accompanying him. I'm Frederick's father, Paulus, the priest.」

「I'm Alec.」

We shake hands with the father in the usual way.

「You will always be welcomed oh the company of heroes and the fiancée of my son's best friend, Elisa. I have received instructions from His Eminence the Pope to treat you with respect.」

「Yes, I really appreciate your kindness.」

「The room assignments have been made the same as before. I'll have a banquet prepared for dinner, but please, feel free to make this place as your home. Oh, and feel free to go out at night. See you at the banquet.」

After Frederick's father disappeared into the hallway, Serina said.

「...... That's a scary welcome.」

「That's right. That's how nervous the Pope must be. The appearance of the Demon King's faction.」

He knows the role of the brave, which is why he has treated us so well.

「So, Alec, what are you going to do?」

Frederick asks me.

「You've prepared a banquet for us. We're going to have a drink today, and tomorrow we're going to check out Irv's tomb.」

「I understood」

The food was [Appraised] and confirmed to be safe, and we had a normal feast.

I heard that they don't eat a lot of meat in the Holy Kingdom, but perhaps they were concerned about the fact that we were adventurers from a different country, so the food was mainly meat dishes and didn't taste bad.

Frederick seemed to have learned his lesson and brought a soundproof magic tool to my bedroom.

「That's all right. But please don't touch Elisa in this house.」

「Well, that's about as good as it gets. Meena, you're my partner today.」

「Yes, I'm honored, Master.」

Meena smiled, wagging her tail.

――The next day, we all left Frederick's mansion together, each of us heading in a different direction under the guise of sightseeing.

We'll have to spread out our tails a bit.

I bought another pair of white robes, used 【Instantaneous Movement】 to effortlessly cover my tracks, and used 【Optical Camouflage】 to remain invisible as I made my way to the Sacred Tomb of Irv.

「So this is it.」

It looks just like a pyramid.

However, two groups of adventurers who entered this place were wiped out.

The one with O'Neill and Letty case was a crazy story, but the rest are really missing.

「It's a pyramid.」

It looks like Kaede has joined me.

「We're going in. Stay alert.」

「Who are you talking to? You're the one who should be on guard, Alec.」

The invisible Kaede and I entered the pyramid from the front.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇　

The inside of the pyramid was a large temple, but it was uninhabited.

「Look, Alec. There are two staircases, one at the top and one at the bottom. Which way do we go first?」

「Hmm. Well, either way is fine. We'll start at the top.」

「Okay」

Kaede will check for traps as we go, and I'll follow her.

On the second floor, there were fully armed guards in full plate armor, and the security situation was quite bad.

Of course, Kaede and I were able to slip past this security with ease.

「Kukuku, I hope there's a cute little loli! Alec.」

「Kaede, what are you expecting?」

She's a looker, expecting a loli girl even in a place like this.

I'm starting to get the feeling that there's a loli girl in there too, so with a little bit of excitement, I head down the winding corridor.

It seems that from here on out it's a maze.

If that's the case, there's bound to be a trap.

「Tsk, a poisoned arrow. I've been hit!」

On the way, Kaede was hit by a poisoned arrow that came out of a hole in the wall, and I recovered with a poison dispelling potion.

「Kaede, I'll walk first next time.」

I've trained my poison resistance to the max, so poisoned arrows are no problem for me.

「Alec...... you, don't even think about keeping the loli all to yourself. I'm go first.」

It's a shame I showed her a normal guy, but she's a disappointment.

It's not that tough, but we made it to the top of the pyramid through a fair amount of traps.

「Look, there's the Loli. That's mine, Alec.」

A girl in glittering vestments was sitting on a chair in a room.

「Hmm. Well, you can get to it first. But there are guards nearby. Can we do this later?」

「Tsk. Well, for what it's worth, that's the Pope. But Frederick didn't tell me the Pope was a Loli, did he? What's going on?」

「How should I know.」

We headed back the way we came, this time to the basement.

「Hey, Alec, isn't this ...... bad?」

Kaede says.

Unlike before, her voice was lower than before.

「Yeah. It's obvious that the atmosphere has changed.」

I said, looking at the passage.

The passageway has been transformed into a natural cave, and it looks like they built a pyramid on top of the original cave to hide it.

I wondered what the destroyed Wigger Empire had been hiding.

Now we would have to find out for ourselves.

Kaede and I moved forward cautiously, keeping an eye on our surroundings.