Demon Sword Master of the Holy Sword Academy - Volume 5 - Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

NECROZOA

A row of eight military vehicles drove across the wasteland, leaving a large cloud of dust in their wake. It was 13:00 Imperial Standard Time. The special attack force charged with destroying the Void Hive had departed from the temporary relay base and was approaching the Forest of Death.

“We’re about forty kilorels from the spot where we found you, Leo,” Riselia said, her hands on the vehicle’s steering wheel. “The Hive should be about thirty kilorels from there, inside the woods.”

The vehicle’s roof had been opened. Sakuya was situated in the front passenger seat, while Regina and Elfiné were reclining on a sheet in the back seat. Leonis sat squatted, sandwiched between the two.

“Feeling cramped, kid?” Regina needled.

“…I—I’m fine,” Leonis replied, hanging his head to hide his flushed cheeks.

The road was uneven and lined with rocks. Each time the vehicle jerked, the girls’ breasts jiggled visibly under their uniforms.

“Hee-hee, if you’re feeling cramped, you can put your head on my lap, Leo,” Elfiné offered, tapping on her thighs.

“N-no, thank you!”

“That’s not fair, Miss Finé. I want the kid to rest on my lap, too,” Regina complained.

“Right, then let’s have him rest on one of our legs each.”

“Oh, that should work! Here you go, kid, you can put your head on my knee.”

Riselia turned around from the driver’s seat, pouting. “…C-cut that out, you two!”

“Keep your eyes on the road, Miss Selia,” Sakuya scolded, yanking on Riselia’s sleeve.

The vehicle shook hard, sending Leonis lurching face-first into Elfiné’s and Regina’s chests.

I—I can’t keep my composure like this…!

As Leonis grew more uncomfortable, the shadow under him wavered slightly.

“You really are a perv, my lord…,” Shary’s voice sounded from beneath Leonis.

“…No, I’m not!” Leonis snapped back despite himself.

“Is something wrong, kid?” Regina eyed him with suspicion.

“N-no, nothing…,” Leonis muttered.

“Look, the weather’s starting to change—,” Elfiné said, pointing ahead.

A vast forest spread out beyond the wasteland. The dark miasma rising from it hung like a gloomy curtain over the wood’s skies. The Undead King’s curse still permeated the land.

It seems that the humans gave up on purifying the region and left it as is.

“Mana detection devices don’t function properly in areas where the miasma is especially thick, right?” Riselia questioned.

Elfiné nodded. “Yes. The same is true for communication tools, too. So while we’re here, the detector-type Holy Swordsmen will need to remain coordinated.”

“That reminds me. Sakuya, you were in a Hive extermination mission before, right?” Regina asked.

“Yes, but it was a much smaller unit,” Sakuya replied, casting a glance in the direction of the other vehicles running ahead and behind the eighteenth platoon’s. “It looks like, aside from us, they dispatched some of the academy’s best.”

“Does the administration bureau decide the structure of incursion forces during missions?” Leonis inquired.

“Yeah, HQ refers to the data of the Holy Swords they have on record and assembles the teams based on the operation’s objectives,” Elfiné replied. “Extermination missions are perilous, so they take each platoon’s skill level into consideration.”

“…I see.”

“Still, this is a little strange…,” Elfiné admitted.

“What is?” questioned Leonis.

“Well, it feels like this time the way they chose the units was pretty biased,” Elfiné said, peering down at her data analysis terminal with a dubious, troubled expression. “I mean, there’s all sorts of Holy Swords with different powers, so it stands to reason they’d prioritize certain types over others, but…”

“Could someone have intentionally selected these platoons for a hidden purpose?” Leonis suggested.

“…I’m probably just imagining it,” dismissed Elfiné.

“The Artificial Elementals handle comparing the Holy Swords’ data, but the commander’s the one who makes the final decision,” Regina explained. “The folks in charge consider all sorts of stuff. Maybe they wanted to push the units under their direct command, so they have more combat experience?”

“That’s possible,” Elfiné agreed. “I guess it just made me curious, is all…” With a bit of an awkward smile, Elfiné shut her terminal.

In the deepest reaches of the forest, where the dark miasma hung low over the air, was a gigantic temple made of black quartz. It was overrun with shrubbery. The altar for worshipping the goddess was cracked and worn, and the place was bereft of the grave splendor it once possessed.

Two figures stepped out of the gloom. One was a hooded, horned old man, and the other was a blue-haired girl wearing a white mask.

“Will this place be of any use to us?” the masked girl asked, half a step behind her elderly companion.

Despite traipsing through such a deep, thick forest, her alabaster garb was wholly untarnished.

“Oh, it should do just fine. The true shrine, where prophecies are given, lies deep underground in Necrozoa.”

Zemein stepped forward and touched the surface of the altar.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…!

The ground shook sonorously in response, and an ominous glow illuminated the area. The altar split in two, its center becoming a gate of light.

“This is one of the sorceries weaved by the great and mighty Undead King.” Zemein spread his arms in reverence for Necrozoa’s master. “Simply splendid. Even a thousand years later, its power still lingers.”

Zemein stepped through the luminous portal. Beyond it was a vast cave that housed an underground lake. Candlesticks enchanted to burn eternally lit up the translucent surface of the water.

“This is the Goddess Temple?” the girl asked, crossing through the gate a moment after Zemein.

“No. The shrine is beneath this lake,” Zemein replied. He swept his hand over the air and recited an incantation. A sphere of mana formed in his wrinkled hand, which displayed visions of some other place. The globe showed that a formation of Excalibur Academy vehicles was on its way to the Forest of Death. “We need only wait for the sacrificial Demon Swords to gather here,” he said.

“What of the Undead King’s sealed body?” the masked girl inquired.

“Lord Leonis should still be slumbering deep within Necrozoa. Only he and Roselia Ishtaris can undo the magic that keeps him there. Should the temple activate and the goddess call for him, he will awaken,” Zemein explained with confidence.

“It is said the Undead King was the strongest of the Dark Lords. Can we really control him?”

“The humans exhumed the Dragon Lord before she could fully awaken, and so she was unleashed in an incomplete manner,” Zemein said with an insidious chuckle. “That won’t happen here.”

Passing through the eerily bubbling surface of the marshlands, they entered the dense woodland rife with a miasma. The Holy Swordsmen parked their vehicles at the entrance to the forest.

Ah, the cold scent of decadence, terror, and death. It takes me back.

As Leonis stepped upon his land, his lips curled up into a smile. The familiar atmosphere exhilarated him, and he enjoyed a long inhale.

“What an eerie place…”

“Yeah, I’d turn back and leave right now if we didn’t have a mission to do.”

Riselia and the other girls didn’t seem to appreciate the place.

A tall young man raised his voice, drawing attention to himself. “We will now split up into two groups.”

Leonis recognized the speaker. He had visited the haunted café during the Holy Light Festival alongside Fenris. Of course, at the time, Leonis was in girls’ clothing, so the young man likely didn’t recognize him right now. He was apparently quite the overachiever and had been appointed commander on the field for this mission.

Liat the Blazing Lion, if I recall correctly. I assume his Holy Sword has flame powers.

Liat instructed the unit to split into two groups composed of three platoons each. The order to do so had come directly from Excalibur Academy headquarters. Each group was to investigate different areas, and upon finding the Void Hive, they were to inform the other.

The eighteenth platoon was going to operate alongside Liat’s fifth platoon and Silesia Mia’s twenty-sixth platoon. Silesia wielded a Holy Sword with the rare power of healing. Between the two groups, each had one Holy Sword with radar capabilities and one that could heal.

“Looking forward to working with you, Leonis,  ” Silesia said with an amicable smile as she shook his hand. “I know this place is scary, but my platoon and I will protect you.”

“Yes, thank you,” Leonis replied politely, albeit a bit miffed at being treated like a child.

“The kid’s pretty strong despite appearances, you know,” Regina commented.

“Oh, is he?” Silesia asked.

“Absolutely. And he’s pervier than you might suspect, too.”

“Really? But you’re just ten years old. You precocious child, you.  ”

“M-Miss Regina?!” Leonis protested.

During that exchange, Elfiné and the other Holy Swordsmen suited to scouting and communication set to link up their Holy Swords. There would be no additional form of contacting the other group once they entered the forest.

“We’ll begin our search as soon as their Holy Swords have finished connecting,” Liat stated.

Despite it being noon, the woods were so dark one could easily believe it was nighttime. A thick, swirling miasma hung over the sky like storm clouds, and the treetops blocked off any light that managed to penetrate the vapor.

More unsettling was the silence. One couldn’t hear the chirping of any birds or indeed any animal sounds. There was only the group’s footfalls and the rustling of shifting foliage.

The Undead King’s kingdom rejected all creatures. Nothing could exist in this environment, except for those who were an affront to the rules of this world…like the Voids.

Leonis’s group continued through the trees, with Elfiné’s Eye of the Witch orb floating ahead of them. Unaware that the ground they tread upon was full of wicked magic and countless undead.

“It seems like everything that ever resided here has perished,” Riselia whispered. “This really is a forest of death.” She swallowed nervously and tightened her grip on Leonis’s hand.

“You don’t have to hold my hand, Miss Selia,” Leonis said with a frown.

“What if you get lost?” Riselia countered, tightening her hold and pulling Leonis along.

This place is like my back garden. I wouldn’t lose my way, thought Leonis bitterly. He kept that to himself and allowed Riselia to do as she pleased.

The girls from the other platoons watched the two, giggling.

“He’s so cute. Think he’s in that rebellious phase?” one of them wondered aloud.

“Leonis, you should listen to what your big sister says!” another told him.

“Grr…!” Leonis hung his head bashfully, telepathically communicating with the shadow at his feet.

“…Have you spotted anything suspicious, Shary?”

“No, there’s nothing out of the ordinary in the area, my lord,” she replied.

The girl didn’t make for an excellent maid, but she was a first-rate assassin. When it came to surveillance, Shary was more dependable than any of Leonis’s detecting spells. To that end, he left Blackas behind to watch his kingdom in his absence and had Shary accompany him.

“By the way, my lord…”

“What is it?”

“Is there anything you’d like to take back from here? The treasure vault in the Realm of Shadows has some spare space, so if any magical tools might be of use to you, I could look for them.”

“Hmm, well…”

The ruins on the surface were terribly ravaged, but that decay likely didn’t extend to the deeper levels of Leonis’s subterranean kingdom. There could be some powerful weapons or magical items remaining. Most of them were junk to Leonis, though.

“Nothing worth taking back comes to mind—Actually, wait. Zemein’s should be below.”

“The chimera laboratory? But isn’t that place…?”

“…Yes, I sealed it.”

Zemein Vairel had been a staff officer of the Dark Lords’ Armies. He’d crossbred monsters in the hopes of creating biological weapons. Unfortunately, the results of his research proved so gruesome that Leonis had forced him to end them, denouncing the work as an affront to the Dark Lords’ Armies and the Goddess of Rebellion.

Ultimately, Zemein allied himself with the Six Heroes’ Archsage. He was a disgrace to the Dark Lords’ Armies.

“But there were a few of his chimeras I never did find back then.”

“You think they might still be alive?”

“I doubt it. But it may be worthwhile to collect the results of his research. He was a foul subordinate to have, but his passion for researching chimeras was genuine.”

“Understood, my lord.”

Undead alone wouldn’t be enough to rebuild the Dark Lords’ Armies. Now that the monsters of the old world had gone extinct, creating new ones could be an effective way of increasing Leonis’s ranks.

You can feel proud, Zemein. I will put your research to good use, Leonis told himself with a wicked smile.

“What’s wrong, Leo?” Riselia asked, glancing at him dubiously.

After two hours of treading into the depths of the forest…

“—Wait,” Elfiné suddenly warned them. “There’s something ahead.”

Everyone stopped in their tracks and gazed at where the Eye of the Witch orb was hovering. There they saw a small lake. A moss-covered sculpture had toppled into the clear water at some point, and many vines ran across it like snakes. It was in a terrible state of decay.

“Hmm, it looks pretty evil…,” Riselia remarked fearfully.

“I’ve never seen this kind of statue in our ancient text studies courses…,” Sakuya added, seemingly agreeing with Riselia’s assessment.

“…” Leonis remained behind the girls, his expression strained. Out of everyone present, he alone recognized this sculpture. It was a statue of the Undead King. He’d had his skeletons erect it in his honor long ago. There should have been mana crystals inlaid in its eyes, which shone in the dark, but someone had stolen them.

Leonis surmised that it had been destroyed during the final battle for Necrozoa, when it had risen as an animated statue to engage in combat. Its valiant fighting went down in legend, and it struck terror into the hearts of those who beheld it and believed the sculpture to be the real Dark Lord.

“…It’s pretty creepy.”

“It kinda scares me…”

“It looks like it could come to life.”

A few other group members offered their opinions.

…C-curse you, fools…! Leonis grit his teeth.

Shary tried to comfort him. “I—I think it looks lovely, my lord!”

“…I-it’s fine… These people simply lack a sense of aesthetics.” Leonis nodded to himself, being the forgiving Dark Lord he was.

“Should I smash it?” Regina offered, aiming her Holy Sword at the statue.

“…What?!” Leonis suddenly squeaked.

Regina looked at him, puzzled. “Something the matter, kid?”

“You can’t break it,” Riselia told her. “It’s a valuable, ancient relic.”

“I—I agree!” Leonis hurriedly appended.

Good one, my minion!

Riselia squatted in front of the sculpture. “…Let’s see. Looks like something’s carved into it.” She took out a dictionary and tried to decipher the writing. “Huh. Where have I seen this text before…?”

“Perhaps that should wait until later, Lady Selia,” Regina reminded her.

“R-right…” Riselia cleared her throat and got to her feet.

“I think this is a good place to set up camp,” Liat stated, glancing around.

There weren’t many trees around the lake, making it a relatively open space.

The residual mana in the statue likely kept plants from growing here.

“I’m not sure if the lake’s water is safe for drinking, though,” Liat continued. He kneeled in front of the lake and scooped up some of the liquid.

“I can use my Holy Sword to analyze its quality,” Elfiné offered, holding up her Eye of the Witch orb over the lake.

“Go ahead,” replied Liat.

I think the skeleton armory was around this area. Leonis didn’t recall a lake here. In all likelihood, water had gradually pooled over the years.

“It seems to be drinkable,” Elfiné concluded. “But we should set up a filtering device, just in case.”

“All right. Then we’ll make camp here. Contact the other units,” Liat instructed.

At 17:00 Imperial Standard Time, the sun was dipping into the horizon, and a heavy darkness settled over the forest. The team hung lanterns with mana crystals and set up collapsible cottages for each platoon. Each cottage was made of a thin fabric, but used special fibers that maintained a comfortable temperature inside.

I thought I’d gotten used to this, but the advancements in their technology never cease to amaze.

That said, the small information terminals, which were the cutting-edge of said technology, were useless in these woods. Since magical apparatuses were affected by mana, they couldn’t operate properly within a heavy miasma. The group had to rely on mana stone lanterns for light, a fairly primitive method from Leonis’s era.

Riselia sat beneath one lamp, her nose stuck in her memo book. She was caught up in trying to decode the inscription on the statue and was writing something down while comparing notes with a leather-bound book.

As I recall she’s had a longstanding interest in ancient sites.

Riselia’s fascination with ruins had been fostered by her father, Duke Crystalia, who researched old locales. Had it not been for that, she wouldn’t have discovered Leonis in the underground mausoleum, and she wouldn’t have become his minion.

Leonis noticed Riselia’s face was slightly flushed with excitement as she worked. He couldn’t help but be fascinated at the sight of her so engrossed.

“You shouldn’t disturb Lady Selia, kid,” Regina whispered in his ear suddenly. “When she gets like this, everything you say to her goes in one ear and out the other.”

“…I can see that, yes.” Leonis shrugged and turned around. “Miss Regina, what are you doing?”

The blond young woman was kneeling over a sheet with a pot and a kitchen knife set on it.

“I’m cooking.  ”

“But they gave us our rations already…”

Military rations were highly nutritious bars made out of dried fruit. When Leonis had first met Riselia, she’d given him one such bar, which he found quite tasty. The Dark Lord had harbored a liking for them ever since.

“Those are kind of bland, and my professional pride as a maid compels me to make sure Lady Selia has a hot meal anywhere, anytime.” Regina placed her hands on her hips boastfully.

“I think the rations are pretty tasty, though,” Sakuya remarked, munching on a bar.

“Ah, Sakuya, stop!” Regina moved in to snatch the half-eaten survival food away from her.

However, Sakuya, with her natural swiftness, easily avoided her.

“…How do you move like that?!” demanded Regina.

“It’s a traditional Sakura Orchid technique.”

Leonis sighed, rose to his feet, and walked out of the cottage. Outside, he could see the other platoons making camp.

…I’d hoped to check on the situation in Necrozoa, but I can’t risk anything so conspicuous with all these eyes on me.

He walked in the direction of the lake, hoping to at least pick up some fallen bones. There could be some useful ones at the bottom.

“…Hmm, the age isn’t clear. But it’s definitely over five hundred years old.”

Standing at the banks of the lake, Elfiné entered data into her terminal.

“There’s a faint mana reaction, but I’ve never seen this kind of pattern…”

Small glowing spheres were circling the toppled statue, recording footage of it. This was a probing report Elfiné would turn in to the higher-ups. Why Hives formed in ancient ruins was unknown. By gathering data, the leaders at the academy hoped to discover some hint toward solving that mystery and the others surrounding the Voids.

After recording enough of the statue, Elfiné sent her orbs into the water. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on the image her Eye of the Witch spheres relayed to her. The overwhelming information would have burned out a lesser mind. Elfiné was well accustomed to manipulating eight orbs at once, however, so it was hardly a strain.

Beneath the lake’s surface, she saw what looked like a stone staircase covered in moss.

Is there a structure submerged here? Just how far does it go?

There was little to be seen in the darkness of the water, but that there were any structures at all in this part of the forest was unexpected.

I’ll try going deeper… Ah?!

An abrupt shiver ran through Elfiné’s body. Innumerable glowing red lights appeared from the lakebed. Fear seized the young woman. The footage from her spheres was cut off, and Elfiné’s senses were yanked back to her body.

My Holy Sword, it just—!

The Eye of the Witch had been destroyed. Ripples crossed the surface of the previously calm lake.

Bwoooooooooosh!

A crustacean-like monster surfaced, its countless tendrils wiggling.

“…A Void?!”

It was a medium-sized one, a specimen unregistered in the database.

Is there a Hive under this lake?! Elfiné wondered morbidly.

The Void spewed oily black vapor from its carapace and coiled its tentacles around Elfiné’s legs. A burning, sizzling pain ran through her calves.

“Aah! Khh… Nngh!” Elfiné moaned in agony, gritting her teeth. She tried to call her Eye of the Witch again, but she couldn’t manifest the Holy Sword.

…Why?!

The Void twisted its tentacles, attempting to drag Elfiné into the lake.

A feeble shriek climbed up Elfiné’s throat. “…N-no… Help…”

The day her comrades died flashed before her eyes, just as vivid as it had been six months ago.

“Please… Someone…,” she groaned.

The Void monster opened its gigantic maw, and…

“Mel Ziora!”

Boooooooooooom!

…Crimson flames billowed through the air, reducing the monstrous thing to ash in the blink of an eye. The tendrils that had coiled around Elfiné’s legs went flying before disintegrating.

“Are you okay, Miss Elfiné?” a voice asked her.

She turned around with a start, her eyes settling on her savior.

“Leo…?”

A ten-year-old boy gripping a staff stepped out of the bushes.

Leonis hurried over. “Are you all right?” he asked Elfiné.

That was close.

He’d come running after hearing a scream, and had found Elfiné in the clutches of a Void.

“…Leo… Ngh…”

As Leonis helped Elfiné to her feet, she grimaced. Looking down, he saw that her stockings were torn and her calves burned.

“Does it hurt?”

“Y-yes…,” Elfiné replied weakly before sitting down on a nearby rock.

A shame I can’t use any holy magic.

As the Undead King, Leonis had mastered all manner of sorcery. Holy magic was the only school that eluded him. Restorative power could never be wielded by the cursed hands of a Dark Lord.

“Stay put, I’ll take care of it.” Leonis knelt in front of Elfiné and retrieved a pack of bandages from his shirt’s inner pocket. He’d learned how to apply first aid in Excalibur Academy. Admittedly, Leonis was no expert at it, but he managed to wrap the wounds.

“Leo, what was that just now…?” Elfiné asked, glancing at where the monster had been.

“Erm…” Leonis faltered.

Drat. I wholly annihilated it without thinking.

Vaporizing a medium-sized Void in one hit might have been too much.

“I wanted to protect, and I suppose my power…spiked,” he fibbed after racking his mind for an excuse.

Elfiné smiled softly at Leonis’s words.

I-it’s not fooling her!

She’d witnessed his true strength one time too many.

“Er… Could you keep this a secret, please?” Leonis requested.

“My, how honest of you,” replied Elfiné.

“It’s clear there’s no point in concealing it from you…”

Elfiné smiled and placed an index finger over her lips.

While tending to her wounds, Leonis inquired, “Is there a Void Hive under the lake?”

Wearing a grave expression, Elfiné nodded. “Yes. I didn’t think the Hive was that large, but apparently, the underground structure here is quite vast. I wouldn’t be surprised to find numerous smaller Hives all around it.”

“…I see.” Leonis knew the ruins were undoubtedly more extensive than Elfiné imagined.

The young woman’s attention then turned to the half-sunken statue. “There may have been a great, ancient kingdom here, once,” she muttered.

“Well, that great kingdom has been reduced to ruins. Even the mighty eventually fall,” Leonis responded curtly as he tugged on his handiwork to ensure the bandages were tight. “That should do it. The healing Holy Sword can handle the rest.”

“Thank you. I’ll contact Liat.” Elfiné gave a flourish of her hand, trying to activate the Eye of the Witch.

“Ah…”

Motes of light gathered, but then quickly dispersed.

Leonis cocked an eyebrow. “What’s wrong?”

Elfiné hung her head in evident shame and, biting her lip, explained, “I can’t…summon my Holy Sword.”

A user’s mental state greatly influenced their Holy Sword. The shock of the attack had seemingly left Elfiné feeling disquieted.

“Let’s wait for a while until you calm down, then,” Leonis decided, taking a seat next to the older girl.

“This is pretty unbecoming,” Elfiné said after a sigh. “I’m supposed to be the mature one in the group.”

“That’s not—,” Leonis tried to object, but Elfiné cut him off.

“I’m still scared of the Voids. Remember how I told you I was part of a different platoon before I joined the eighteenth?”

Leonis nodded. Elfiné had lost two of her comrades during a patrol mission through a Void Hive. And ever since, she’d lost the original ability of her Holy Sword.

“I thought I’d eventually overcome the fear and regain my Holy Sword’s power. But somewhere deep down, I’ve been running away all along. I’ve been taking advantage of Selia and the other girls’ kindness.”

“…And that’s why you insisted on joining this mission?”

Elfiné bobbed her head. “Yes. I came here to face and resolve my fears. I figured that anything I’d find by running away would be the wrong kind of strength.”

“The wrong kind of strength?” repeated Leonis.

“I think Muselle Rhodes turned his Holy Sword to a Demon Sword in a bid to reclaim his lost power. And honestly, I kind of understand how he felt. Without Selia and the others…I think I’d have gone the same way,” Elfiné confessed, her gaze dropping to her open palm. “I don’t want to run anymore, though. Not from the Voids or from myself.”

Luminous particles amassed in Elfiné’s hand, coalescing into a sphere of light.

“I think you’re back to normal now,” Leonis said.

Elfiné smiled. “Yeah.”

“I’ll carry us back to camp.”

“How are you going to—Whoa!”

With a wave of his staff, Leonis chanted a gravity control spell. Elfiné’s body floated up into the air, and she hurriedly held her skirt down.

“Let’s go,” Leonis stated, cradling the now lighter Elfiné in his arms.

“W-wait…,” Elfiné objected bashfully. “A-a bridal carry is a little…embarrassing…”

“You don’t need to be shy,” Leonis assured.

“…!”

Elfiné flushed to the tips of her ears.

“I knew the writing on that statue reminded me of something,” Riselia muttered pensively, still sitting in the collapsible cottage.

In one hand, she held the book her father had left behind in his study. The text in it didn’t resemble any language Riselia was familiar with, and it gave the impression it was alien to this world. Still, Riselia’s passion for ancient history refused to be denied, and she had been working out the mysterious language in her spare time. Her intuition told her the writings in the journal and the carvings on the statue were of the same script. Indeed, upon comparing the two, Riselia realized she could decipher some of the engraving.

And I think the letters on the door where I found Leo looked like this, too, she suddenly recalled. Riselia had been inspecting that entrance when it had opened on its own.

Analyzing these matching characters… Maybe I should ask Miss Finé for help here.

By comparing the text in the epitaph and the book, Riselia hoped to create a lexicon that would fully decipher the language. It was laborious work, to be sure, but it was the sort Riselia enjoyed.

As she gradually read through the text she’d recorded from the statue, her eyes suddenly widened in astonishment.

“…A… Lia… Huh? R-Riselia?!”

It seemed her name had been inscribed upon the half-sunken sculpture.

“Oh…I got it wrong. There’s a little wedge on the character there, so it’s a different vowel…”

Realizing her mistake, Riselia swiftly corrected herself.

“Selia… Roselia… Right? Hmm.”

The moment she mouthed that name, an inexplicable sort of anxiety overcame her. There was a familiar tugging, as though the young woman had forgotten something important. Riselia and Roselia. Two names with a familiar intonation. What did it all mean?

“Lady Selia, glaring at a book like that is bad for your eyes.”

Riselia turned around and saw Regina staring back at her with an exasperated expression. “Don’t worry. My night vision’s gotten better recently,” she replied with a slight smirk.

“…What does that mean?” Regina questioned, puzzled.

Riselia was getting progressively more used to her Vampire Queen body. By focusing mana into her eyes, she could see in the dark as keenly as she would with a pair of night-vision goggles.

I should be careful not to get too accustomed to this, however.

Riselia snapped Duke Crystalia’s book shut. An appetizing scent was wafting into the cottage from the outside.

“Dinner’s ready,” Regina told her.

“Thanks. It smells great.”

“I’ll go share it with the rest of the group. Might as well, since I went to the trouble of making it.”

“Speaking of, where’s Leo?” Riselia asked.

“He went outside earlier,” Regina replied. “When you get focused on work, you completely lose track of what’s going on around you.”

“R-really?”

“I know you like investigating ruins, but please try to pay more attention.”