Chapter 141. Entry Procedures for the Underground Kingdom
“Indomitable Hero. Do you know about the Underground Kingdom? Long ago, four hundred years ago, the Great Hero of Hope personally entrusted them with a sacred mission. It is a place where those who carry on the will of Hope live.”
“...Isn’t that Hopborn?”
“Hoho. Hopborn is simply their homeland.”
After the whole angel incident had finally died down, I somehow ended up obtaining the Agitator class as my second sub-class.
And now, I was sitting face-to-face with the Emperor.
I was glad everything had worked out.
I had pulled that stunt purely because I trusted Mallyangi, but who would’ve guessed it would turn into such a huge opportunity?
Seriously, if she hadn’t appeared looking exactly like an angel, the NPCs wouldn’t have caused such a huge commotion, and I wouldn’t have gotten this private meeting with the Emperor.
Of course!
The reason the NPCs caused such a commotion in the first place was because I spread the rumors!
My goal had basically been, Whatever happens, let’s make it as noisy as possible first!
‘Though I never expected the forums to explode because of it.’
I hadn’t expected other players to be there either.
Thanks to that, the game company probably breathed a sigh of relief since they could smoothly connect this event with the recent destruction of the Mu Kingdom.
...Damn it!
The Chairman was supposed to suffer even more!
Tsk!
“The Underground Kingdom... Ah! That’s the place I tried to drown once before.”
“...I will pretend I did not hear that. You are an excessively honest man. Especially considering how boldly you lied in the audience chamber.”
I had told the Emperor the truth.
The angel who had suddenly appeared in the audience chamber and captured everyone’s attention was actually our Mallyangi.
Originally, I had planned to tell the Emperor beforehand, then have her hatch with a dramatic Ta-da! while we were talking.
But maybe I poured too much power into her.
She ended up hatching much sooner than I expected.
Back in the Abandoned District, she had been receiving Pie’s Power of Love.
And while we were traveling here, I continuously poured my Indomitable Power into her.
That was how Mallyangi evolved into her new form.
She really was my lucky charm.
Considering that her wings originally came from Corruption, I had been a little worried that instead of Unyielding Love, she might end up with something closer to Obsessive Love.
Fortunately, that worked out better than expected too.
“Still, wasn’t it pretty good?”
“I was somewhat startled because it happened earlier than the agreed time. But yes. It was not bad.”
The Emperor nodded.
“Moreover, because it connected naturally with the angel’s descent in Hopborn before, it must have left an even stronger impression.”
An angel had once descended before an unknown otherworlder.
And now, an angel had descended before a Hero officially belonging to the Empire as well.
There were few things that could raise the nobles’ spirits more than that.
Only the Duke, who had figured out a decent amount of what was going on, spoke with an unwilling expression.
And yet, in the middle of all that, he still asked me to introduce him if I knew any decent otherworlders.
That was...
Really.
Really scary.
‘Even the Duke only figured out that I had prepared the angel. He still doesn’t know the angel’s true identity.’
It really had been a good idea to prepare an imitation egg that looked exactly like the one I had originally been carrying around.
“I think I understand why the Great Hero keeps you close despite remaining wary of you. If something like this happened in another country, it could have become extremely troublesome.”
“Be grateful. Now, enough of that. Let’s get to the point.”
I leaned forward.
“What exactly is the Underground Kingdom?”
“Indeed. The Underground Kingdom.”
The Emperor walked toward a bookshelf.
“Until two hundred years ago, its story was famous enough to be passed down through fairy tales. But now, it is a place that no one remembers.”
He pulled out a thick, ancient book and placed it in front of me.
A description window immediately appeared.
I quickly dismissed it.
Seriously.
Stop ruining my immersion.
“It’s a fairy-tale book enchanted with manifestation magic. I saw one like it at home when I was young.”
“The Yustria family was originally a promising noble house, so it would not be strange for them to own at least one luxury item like this.”
The Emperor tapped the book.
“But naturally, I did not bring this out merely to boast. What matters is its contents.”
“...It says, Kingdom of the Heart.”
The Village Chief studied the writing.
“It is written in an ancient language that is no longer used. So few people understand it that it is occasionally used as a type of code.”
Mallyangi had apparently been a little sulky after getting caught off guard by what happened in the audience chamber.
But the fairy-tale book seemed to catch her interest.
She lightly tapped my head, urging me to hurry up and open it.
I had been a little worried that she would have to stay in her angel form from now on.
Fortunately, she could still transform back into a slime-like body small enough to sit on top of my head.
...Though I think she had gotten a little heavier.
Let’s not mention that.
Click.
Whirrr!
The moment I undid the clasp sealing the book, it opened on its own.
A mechanical sound came from inside.
Then a blue image appeared above it.
What was this?
Oh.
A hologram?
I had gotten my hopes up for something more impressive...
[...At that time... the Great Hero of Hope said... this place... I entrust it... to you....]
“What’s wrong with this thing?”
“It is an old object. Its condition was already poor when I obtained it, so it did not function properly. This is the best I managed to restore it.”
“Ah... Well, people barely remember history from four hundred years ago. I guess something made two hundred years ago wouldn’t exactly remain in perfect condition.”
Though honestly...
I had a feeling Super Real had just thrown this thing together in a hurry.
Oh, look at that.
The person inside the hologram was moving around in a T-pose.
Yep.
They definitely rushed this.
In another game, wouldn’t this count as a bugged cutscene?
Seriously.
How many employees did that company have?
How could they make a mistake like this?
And this was supposed to be the only game they were pouring all their resources into.
[...the seal... this cord...]
The picture and sound crackled.
Still, I could more or less guess what the story was supposed to be.
So once the hologram ended, I closed the book without any lingering interest.
They had sealed bad guys inside the Underground Kingdom.
They had used that black cord briefly visible in the video to do something.
Probably something along those lines.
‘A seal...’
‘Could this have something to do with Pastien?’
I remembered how overwhelmingly powerful Pastien had been inside the Demon Realm.
Even after holding back again, and again, and again, he was still so powerful that I could barely get anywhere near him.
If I thought about someone like Pastien, then the fact that the current Underground Kingdom was blocked by some impossibly hard stone could easily be connected to the setting.
Tsk.
I really should have brought Grandpa Aro with me back then.
Now the old man was injured and recovering, so I couldn’t bring him along even if I wanted to.
“After examining several other records, things became clearer.”
The Emperor’s expression grew serious.
“We discovered what the Underground Kingdom is protecting.”
