Volume 5 Chapter 35 How Much Of The Royal Family's Story Is True？
Near the royal castle in the Kingdom of Alexandria, there's a tower standing alone in a vast area.
[Celestial Pinnacle].
This tower, named after the ancient people who used it to read the stars and manifest various supernatural phenomena, now functions as a research institution in the current kingdom.
From studying ancient magic to developing magic tools based on that knowledge, and of course, investigating and excavating ruins, it's a hub of wisdom that's among the best on the continent.
The [Celestial Pinnacle] is generally a quiet place, so much so that even whispers feel loud...
Just when Randy was heading to a test, the [Celestial Pinnacle] was in an uproar like never before.
The cause was a certain document that had been brought in that morning.
Submitted by Lucius Elderwood, the head of the Royal Academy, it might hold the key to solving the mysteries of the kingdom's important ruins.
Since it was submitted by a famous person like Lucius and included detailed methods for deciphering, even though only half a day had passed, they had already reported to King Gerald with the conclusion that it was "almost certainly true."
Still, the commotion at the [Celestial Pinnacle] was because they were preparing to welcome Gerald, who was squeezing in a visit amidst his busy schedule.
They needed to prepare materials and summarize them in a way that would be easy to explain to Gerald in a short time.
As expected of a place called a hub of wisdom, there are various materials scattered throughout the tower.
It's a real hassle just to sort through them and pull out documents from the upper floors.
For now, researchers from all departments, not just the ruins research lab, were working together in a frenzy to prepare.
Solving the mystery of that mural was a big deal.
Just as they were finishing up the preparations, a carriage carrying Gerald appeared right in front of the tower.
Gerald jumped out of the carriage, rolling as he landed, and urged Edgar, who didn't understand the situation, saying, "You better hurry up too!"
Edgar was studying hard at the academy as usual, but he was told to come back right away through the dark side.
He hurried back to the royal castle, only to be taken to the [Celestial Pinnacle] with a "Follow me." Even Edgar was confused about what was going on.
"Father, what on earth──."
As Edgar tilted his head in confusion, Gerald replied, "I'll explain later." Just then, a researcher appeared from the tower to guide them.
Led by the man, Gerald and Edgar entered the tower, where they found researchers already prepared and waiting.
"They've solved the mystery of the ruins──."
Without even a proper greeting, Gerald walked briskly, and an old elf nodded in agreement.
"Early this morning, we received materials from Lucius."
The old elf, looking like he had bitten into a sour bug, began to explain that the materials delivered first thing in the morning might have clarified the mysterious characters depicted in the murals of the ruins.
Might have clarified.
That phrase reflected the old elf's feelings more than the facts themselves.
Lucius Elderwood.
He's currently the headmaster of the Royal Academy, but he was originally one of the researchers at the [Celestial Pinnacle] and a rival of the old elf.
His rival had solved something that had been a mystery for a long time.
With those feelings in mind, he used the phrase 'might have clarified,' but of course, Edgar had no idea about any of that.
"'Might have clarified'?"
Edgar furrowed his brows, and the old elf bowed respectfully, saying, "It's still just a hypothesis." He couldn't reveal his inner thoughts.
But the old elf was right; even without his feelings, it couldn't be definitively said that it was 'clarified.'
Even if they had come up with a 'plausible' answer, it could only be called 'clarified' after going through verification from multiple angles.
They had skipped the usual process of repeated verification and confirming it as a fact before presenting it, and instead, they brought it up to the king while it was still in a 'truth-like' state.
Hearing that explanation, Edgar couldn't help but gasp, thinking, "Then...".
A report that ignores the usual process.
Plus, the fact that Gerald, his dad, is this flustered.
That means the 'truth' in there must be a big problem.
In fact, the old elf handed Gerald some documents, and he could see his face turning pale as he stared at them.
"...No way the seal mentioned in the [Chronicles] is──."
"Seems that way."
Gerald, trembling his lips, and the old elf, nodding with a serious face, made Edgar raise his eyebrows.
Gerald glanced at his son and then shifted his gaze to the old elf, also known as Chairman Lalien, nodding.
"Make sure to tell Edgar too." It was like he was saying that, and Lalien, the old elf, nodded back, saying, "It's about time," and turned to his subordinate.
"[Chronicles of the Seal]──."
A woman called by Lalien handed Edgar a tattered black book and some gloves.
Edgar hurriedly put on the gloves and took the book, his gaze darting between the book, Gerald, and Lalien.
As Edgar looked back at the book, Lalien encouraged him, "Go ahead and read it".
When Edgar cautiously opened the book, he was met with a jumble of ancient text and annotations on each page.
Of course, Edgar couldn't read the ancient language.
But he could read the annotations.
As Edgar slowly moved his gaze, his face gradually stiffened.
What was written there was about the ancient king and the royal family's connection.
And the shocking fact that they had sealed him away.
"Why──."
Edgar looked up, alternating his gaze between Gerald and Lalien.
"Why would they seal away the founder of the royal family──."
It was a reasonable question, but both Gerald and Lalien just exchanged glances, unable to provide a clear answer.
That's because the [Chronicles of the Seal] itself was quite weathered, and the following content was almost unreadable.
"This is just a guess, but──."
Still, Lalien spoke about what could be inferred from the remaining text.
"Words like 'arrogance' and 'tyranny' suggest that the ancient king may have gone astray somewhere."
Lalien, choosing her words carefully, pointed to a line written in the [Chronicles of Sealing], saying, "Here it says──".
"'Drowned in that great power'──. And here it says 'Driven to madness'──. Furthermore, it states '──brought forth disaster'."
Hearing Lalien's explanation, Edgar stammered, "So...".
He probably didn't want to believe it.
Because it meant that his distant ancestors had gone astray, were hated by people because of that immense power, and ultimately sealed away.
"So, we're the descendants of that hated existence?"
Edgar's voice trembled, and Lalien shook her head, saying, "No.".
"While it suggests a bloodline with the ancient king and royal family, more importantly, your royal family's distant ancestors were the great clan that sealed that king. That's what we believe."
Lalien, bowing respectfully, continued with the story about the role of Edgar and the Alexandros family.
Indeed, the [Chronicles of Sealing] mentioned a connection with the ancient king, but it also stated that they had sealed him and protected that seal for generations.
Of course, the exact location and details of the seal had faded over time, but the fact that they had inherited the duty of sealing remained.
Feeling ashamed of his short-sightedness, Edgar turned his face away, saying, "I'm sorry," in response to Lalien's smile.
"So, the reason you called my father this time was──."
"Because it was about that seal."
Lalien nodded vigorously and turned to ask, "Your Majesty, what shall we do?"
"First, we need to confirm if this 'poem' is really the same as the text depicted in the mural."
Gerald, making a bitter face, agreed, "That's right".
"If that's correct, we should seal off the ruins... It'd be better to seal off the entire island if possible."
"Understood."
Lalien nodded again, and Gerald let out a big sigh.
"And we should also investigate the details of the 'poem.' It's too abstract to understand."
Gerald shook his head, explaining that whether they were to reapply the seal or check if it was weakening, they needed to fully understand the content of the poem.
"And then──."
Gerald murmured, turning to Edgar.
"Edgar. That glowing orb you brought back──."
"...I understand."
Reluctantly, Edgar pulled out the golden orb from his pocket.
He had kept it because he intended to study this glowing orb himself.
Actually, there was already a 'silver orb' in the [Celestial Pinnacle].
When the Knight group first conquered the ruins dungeon, they got the 'silver orb.' After returning, Lalien and the others started investigating it, but in the end──just like the silver orb──they couldn't figure out what it was.
With the two orbs together, there was talk about fitting them into the ruins' door, but Edgar pushed for permission to study it himself, wanting to investigate, and he had kept it safe until today.
But that orb might just be the key to breaking a seal.
If there's a possibility related to the 'gold and silver' mentioned in the poem, both need to be securely stored in the tower.
So, even though Edgar was reluctant, he handed the orb over to Lalien.
"...Indeed."
Nodding, Lalien placed the orb in a box and sealed it with strong magic.
Edgar gazed longingly at the medal that had slipped from his hands.
"...Dagger."
"Edgar!"
"Y-yes. What is it?"
Not even realizing he was being called, Edgar jumped and turned to Gerald.
"If you want to do research, you should come to the tower."
"Right. We'll be waiting anytime."
After saying goodbye to Lalien and the other researchers, Edgar left the tower, glancing back a few times, troubled by the truth that had been revealed.
* * *
Meanwhile, Randy, who was taking the test again...
"This is weird. The answers to the symbol problems are all 2... Is this okay? It has to be okay, right?"
...was struggling with the classic symbol problem dilemma.
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