“Is this the ruin?” I murmured. “Is it just me, or does it feel more like a tourist spot?”
We were at a temple near the royal capital. It honestly felt like we’d taken a trip to a foreign nation to tour the historical buildings and see the sights. Naturally, there were quite a few other tourists who’d come to visit the same place we were at. They were all so calm and relaxed—none of them would’ve ever imagined that there were a few visitors among them trying to sneak into the castle.
Along our route, a striking object instantly shattered the entire atmosphere I’d built up in my head. Deep within the temple was a vast, empty room that housed a colossal, imposing statue of an intensely muscular man in only his underwear making a side chest pose.
“Emilia, I understand that your father is a splendid monarch, but this...” I started solemnly.
“D-Don’t get the wrong idea!” Emilia said. “H-He’s not our father! That’s the previous reigning monarch!”
I realized that I’d been too distracted by the unique pose to actually get an honest look at the statue’s face. When I looked up at it, I realized that the figure indeed did have an unfamiliar face.
I met up with Sita, who was wandering around and delving into the history of the temple as she muttered to herself. “I see...” she said. “I think I’ve got a read on this Dark Lord. They’re very much drawn to showing off, control, tyranny, and violence.”
“Sita, it’s rude to theorize about stuff like that—” I started.
“No, her analysis is quite accurate,” Emilia said. “We’re sure that father was influenced by him...”
I’d assumed she’d talk about these people with pride, but when I saw her looking glum, I decided that it was best not to delve any deeper. When Sita opened her mouth to talk again, I clapped my hand over her mouth to stop her. “In any case, Emilia, where is that hidden passageway you mentioned?” I asked, trying to dispel the gloomy air via segue.
“Oh? It’s over there,” Emilia replied, accepting my lifeline and pointing at the muscular statue.
“Why is it there?” I asked.
“Who knows?” Emilia replied. “Perhaps the creator wanted to show off their eccentricities.”
“Using a hidden passageway?”
“Don’t question it! Come now! Let us sneak inside while there isn’t anyone around!”
I wasn’t very confident we could just sneak inside using such a conspicuous statue, but I figured a kingdom cultivated by a magical civilization may very well have access to a secret spell that made it possible. I looked around, making sure that we were alone as I watched Emilia take the lead. She stopped by the statue’s feet and spoke in some unknown language. I assumed it was a spell that only the royal family was privy to that unlocked the door.
“〇〇〇〇.” As the spell left her lips, silence settled upon us once more and the large statue...didn’t do anything.
“Uh... Hello? Emilia? What now?” I started to glare in her direction, suddenly doubtful this plan was going to work.
“Huuuuuh?!” Emilia said hastily as she tilted her head to one side. “We could’ve sworn that this was the spell...” She recited the same spell once more, but the statue refused to budge an inch.
“Hmm... Well, we haven’t used it once until now,” Emilia said. “We didn’t realize that we remembered it wrong! Ba ha ha!”
“It’s no laughing matter,” I replied. “What now?”
“Hmm... Sita, can’t you use your wealth of knowledge to find a solution?”
“Your Highness, pardon me for saying so, but if I did that, wouldn’t it be a huge problem?” Sita asked.
Yeah. It’d mean that someone from another nation could easily access this kingdom’s deepest secrets.
“If we did ignore that part, would it still not be possible for you to get into your usual device mode and figure something out?” I asked.
“‘Device mode’?” Sita asked. “I admit that I can analyze the sorcery circuits of Kairomea, but I can’t do the same for the Relirex Kingdom’s. It may all be magic, but the constructions are completely different.”
I’d thought Emilia’s idea was a viable one, but reality wasn’t so simple. “What now, Emilia?” I asked. “We’ve reached a dead end.”
“Give us a moment,” Emilia said. “We’re trying to remember.”
I once again cast an accusatory glance at Emilia, who groaned while she pressed her temples. If tourists flooded into this room while we dawdled, it’d be beyond humiliating—we couldn’t afford to waste time here, yet it was clear that Emilia wasn’t anywhere near remembering the unique spell.
We were all at a loss when Noa stepped away from my side and approached the statue.
“Noa?” I asked, confused.
“〇〇〇〇〇,” she chanted. It was a language similar to what Emilia was using before.
A loud rumble echoed around us, and the statue began to shift. The massive pedestal of the statue rotated 180 degrees, and the stand gradually rose up. We were half shocked by the novelty of the scene, but also half put off by the awkwardness of watching the massive figure turn its rear our direction...
When we looked at it once it was all over, the pedestal had risen to reveal a staircase leading underground.
“How is this hidden at all?!” I cried. “It totally stands out for the world to see!”
“All right!” Emilia said. “Don’t dawdle now! Let’s head inside before people rush into this room!”
I don’t think Emilia knows what the word “sneak” actually means! I was tempted to drag Emilia into an hour-long lecture on the concept of stealth, but instead, she rushed down the staircase and we hastily followed after her.
I would be remiss not to comment on what’d just happened, however. Why did Noa know this secret spell? My assumption was that she must’ve suddenly recovered part of her memories, but why was the spell within her memories in the first place? Who in the world is Noa? I wondered as I rushed down the steps.
We descended under the bizarrely humorous—ahem, I mean, historically significant—statue of the Dark Lord and its little soapbox—ahem, I mean its grand pedestal—along a staircase underground to secretly head for the castle, with Emilia leading our way.
This underground passage had been created specifically to allow the royal family to flee; it was home to ancient waterways and labyrinths that made it difficult for outsiders to navigate through this area. Thankfully, with Emilia on our side, it would be a cinch.
“Um... Next... We go theeeere, we think?” Emilia said. “Yeaaaah...”
Okay, she’s making me anxious now. She sounds totally unsure of herself. For some reason, when she wasn’t confident of the way, she gingerly glanced toward Noa, who was holding my hand and walking with me. It seemed like Emilia was gauging Noa’s reaction for navigation. If Noa remained silent, we proceeded with no issue, but if she tilted her head to one side quizzically, Emilia chose a different route. This only added to my worries, but we had no choice but to rely on Emilia here—I could only pray that she did her best.
“Um, Noa, why do you know about this place?” I asked. I’d lost my chance to pose the question till now because of our rush underground, but things had relatively calmed down.
“Um, because I think I’ve been here before...” Noa replied.
Like I’d figured, she seemed to be familiar with this secret passageway. She’d recovered fragments of her memories ever since she’d arrived at Relirex, and this must’ve been yet another one of them. While I was happy to see her recover her memories, it made me curious about how she got the knowledge in the first place. “This is a passageway reserved for royals. Why do you know about it? If you don’t mind telling me, of course.”
I was hesitant to pry into Noa’s memories, but I was genuinely curious. I tried my best to sound as gentle and relaxed as I could to not make it sound like an interrogation.
“Because...I was shown around, I think?” Noa said, puzzled. She seemed curious about my line of questioning and dug through her memories as she cocked her head to one side.
“I see...” I said. “Would you happen to know who guided you?”
“Hrmm... Umm... Uh... Ugh!” Noa groaned.
“You don’t have to force yourself to remember. I’m sorry for peppering you with so many questions.” When Noa groaned as she tried to remember, I knew it wasn’t right to force her to remember and hastily stopped her. Lily, who was walking alongside her, gazed up with worry, and I petted the little divine beast to reassure her.
“Oh? What’s this? Was this always here?” Emilia wondered aloud.
She squinted at some objects in front of her—namely, three round things a bit larger than us were standing solemnly in a spacious area. They were smooth and perfectly round, although slightly more rugged around the edges, like pieces of ore. They didn’t seem alive or anything, but I knew for sure they were created and not natural.