Chapter 256

After the video ended, we were all thrown into chaos.

“D-Daria! Is what that man said true? That the Black Tentacle God is actually a monster from another dimension?!”

“Did you know about this, Daria?!”

The group, completely bewildered, clung to Daria.

I wasn’t as shocked as they were, but I was still pretty shaken.

Who would’ve thought that the most prominent and virtuous religion in this world was actually one of the evil gods that once drove this world to ruin?

Naturally, the atmosphere inside the ruins was filled with chaos.

But amidst the confusion, I noticed Daria’s expression.

Despite the group clinging to her, her face showed no signs of shock or disbelief.

It was clear that Daria already knew all of this.

“Yes. On the day I was appointed as a special-duty saintess of the Holy Kingdom, I was given access to all these records. I didn’t know the details as vividly as in the video, but…”

“Then how?!”

“The Black Tentacle God is indeed one of the monsters that came from another world, but it didn’t cause any significant harm to people. The video showed that, so it must be true.”

“But still, how could such a monster…!”

Arisa, one of Daria’s party members, argued in disbelief at Daria’s calm response.

But then Daria continued with a smile.

“Please don’t misunderstand. The Black Tentacle… or rather, the Black Sun, is merely a symbol.”

“…A symbol?”

“Yes. The first Pope realized that the tragedy of the Ancient Empire must never be repeated and sought to establish an organization to prevent such a catastrophe. But to create such an organization, mere belief without any tangible benefit wasn’t enough. They needed a reward or a focal point to gather people.”

“So that focal point was…”

“Yes. For some reason, the worship of the Black Tentacle was widespread at the time, and the first Pope used that folk belief as the foundation to establish the Holy Kingdom. That’s why, while ordinary believers don’t know, the higher clergy of the Holy Kingdom are already aware of these secrets.”

“I see…”

“Our Holy Kingdom may appear to be a nation that worships the Black Tentacle, but our true purpose is to prevent the tragedy of the Ancient Empire from happening again and to create a world where humanity can prosper. If the secrets and legacy of the Ancient Empire fall into the hands of individuals or groups with malicious intent, this world will surely face another crisis.”

Daria held Arisa’s hand and pleaded earnestly.

Arisa looked at Daria with confused eyes.

But whether it was because of her trust in Daria or because she realized Daria had no reason to lie, she nodded in understanding.

“I understand.”

“Do you believe me?”

“If it were a lie, you would’ve stopped the video from playing at the start. But you let us watch it to the end, knowing that the secrets of the Holy Kingdom would be revealed. That means you had no intention of lying to us from the beginning.”

“Arisa…”

Arisa met Daria’s eyes, showing her trust, and Daria’s expression softened with a hint of emotion.

Though the shock hadn’t fully subsided, the biggest question had been resolved through the conversation between Arisa and Daria, and the rest of the group began to calm down and stopped pressing her.

…

After some time had passed.

Though what the man in the video said was incredibly shocking, we decided to trust Daria’s explanation, and the situation gradually settled.

With the matter of the Black Tentacle sorted out…

“What about the rest of the video?”

“It’s getting late… Should we come back another time?”

“If we go back now, it’ll be past midnight by the time we reach Astram…”

“Next time, then… Let’s set a date.”

The conversation naturally shifted to the video.

The video was divided into three parts, and what we had just seen was only the first third.

But since it was already very late, we decided to wrap things up and head back to Astram.

“Ah… Actually, there’s something about that…”

Seiri timidly raised her hand and chimed in.

“Yes, Seiri. Go ahead.”

“Actually, we haven’t been able to restore the part of the video that explains how to operate the artifact.”

“What? Then what about the essence of ancient magic?”

“What about the culinary culture of the Ancient Empire?!”

“We can’t see it until the restoration is complete.”

“What?!”

Does that mean we can’t see the recipes for the Ancient Empire’s traditional dishes…!

No. Calm down.

If it’s just that the restoration isn’t complete, that means we can see it once it’s restored.

“How long will the restoration take?”

“Well… Unlike the first part, the middle and latter parts are heavily damaged…”

“Will it take long?”

“No. It’s not that it’ll take long… It’s impossible…”

“What?!”

“We’ve managed to restore some parts of the middle section, but the latter part is completely lost. It’s beyond restoration. Still, we’ll do our best to restore the middle section… But I think the method for operating the artifact is likely written in the very last part, so we probably won’t get much out of it.”

Seiri’s words shattered my hopes like a cruel verdict.

Serena and I knelt side by side, sharing in our despair.

At least Serena perked up when Liche offered to teach her some ancient magic she knew…

But no one stepped forward to teach me the recipes of the Ancient Empire.

It was a sad day.

…

After some commotion, we finally returned to Astram, comforting a dejected Kurt along the way.

The ruins of the Ancient Empire were now empty.

Well, not entirely empty.

“Phew…”

“Ugh…”

Albert and Louis sighed as they removed their cloaks, which were enchanted with a stealth artifact.

Even with the stealth artifact, they couldn’t relax, especially since one of the people they were hiding from was a master with superhuman senses—no, not just superhuman, but a true superhuman.

They had to be careful with every move, worried they might be discovered by Kurt.

Fortunately, it seemed they hadn’t been noticed.

But that was only because Kurt’s attention had been elsewhere all day. If it had been any other time, the stealth artifact alone wouldn’t have been enough.

They couldn’t feel relieved.

Because they had overheard the same shocking revelations as Kurt’s group.

“Captain… Was what that man said in the video true?”

“I… I’m hearing this for the first time too.”

Unlike Kurt’s group, these two had no prior knowledge of the journal’s existence, so the shock was even greater.

The reason for the Ancient Empire’s downfall.

The monsters that emerged from it.

And the fact that one of those monsters was the god worshipped by the Holy Kingdom.

Any one of these truths would’ve been enough to leave them in shock for days, but hearing all these secrets at once made it impossible to process.

But what made their expressions harden wasn’t just the truth itself.

“Do you think the Emperor knew all these secrets?”

“He knew about the existence of these ruins, which even the Holy Kingdom was unaware of… There’s no way he didn’t know about the secrets the Holy Kingdom’s sister knew.”

The Emperor, who had ordered them to excavate these ruins.

At first, they had been dissatisfied with being sent on what seemed like a trivial mission, especially since they were part of the Holy Sword Knight Order, one of the Empire’s secret weapons.

But when they were ordered to return to Astram, they began to suspect there was more to it.

And when they witnessed the Ancient Empire’s golems, they marveled at the Emperor’s foresight.

But when they realized what the Ancient Empire had gone through, they couldn’t help but feel a creeping fear toward the Emperor.

“Um… Captain.”

“What is it?”

Louis, who was usually cheerful and confident, now sounded unusually hesitant.

Louis asked Albert the question that had been on his mind since overhearing the secrets.

“Do you think the Emperor sent us to these ruins just to gain the Ancient Empire’s military power? Or is he planning something else with the Ancient Empire’s secrets…?”

“Louis.”

“Yes, Captain.”

“We are knights of the Empire. Knights are the Emperor’s sword. A sword does not think or judge. Thinking and judging are always the responsibility of the one who wields the sword. So we just need to carry out the orders we’ve been given.”

“R-Right…”

“Exactly. The Emperor has always worked sincerely to create a world for humanity. You know that, don’t you?”

Albert, uncharacteristically stern, scolded Louis and helped him regain his composure.

But in the back of Albert’s mind, Daria’s words lingered.

The warning that if the essence of ancient magic were to be misused, the events in the video could happen again in this world.

But Albert shook off the ominous thought.

“For now, let’s return to Astram. We’ve obtained important information, but there’s nothing more we can do here. Let’s go back and reorganize our plans.”

“Understood.”

With that, Albert and Louis, like Kurt’s group, retraced their steps and returned to Astram.

…

Upon returning to Astram, the two received a message from the Empire’s intelligence department stating that their mission progress was slow and that they would be sending reinforcements to assist.

And upon reading the message, the two froze once more.

The list of reinforcements.

Only one name was written there.

But that one name carried more weight than hundreds of others.

“Marquis Delphine…?!”

“Th-The Master is coming to Astram…?!”

The two realized that their mission might be at the center of a far greater conspiracy than they had imagined.