Chapter 230: 122. Aihrance’s Underground Labyrinth -3 (Part Two)
**
Queen Rox failed to hide her fluster while staring at the Seventh Imperial Prince’s young face after the latter had come to speak to her once more.
Her mood would improve greatly every time she saw the grandson of Kelt Olfolse, her old acquaintance, but at least in this moment, she wanted to anxiously pace up and down if she could.
“Are you really planning to go down there?”
She and the Seventh Imperial Prince were having dinner on the same balcony as before.
Queen Rox asked the boy prince again out of concern.
She brought up the records from forty years ago while hoping to change his thoughts, but it seemed that the Imperial Prince’s determination had only gotten firmer, instead.
He said, “I won’t ask you to lend me some soldiers, your majesty. However, as I’ve heard that it’s a labyrinth, I was hoping that you could provide me with some kind of hints to help us avoid getting lost in the tomb itself.”
His stubborn and unreasonable personality was remarkably similar to Kelt Olfolse’s, which didn’t come as all that surprising to her.
She replied with, “That place’s environment constantly shifts as if it’s a living maze. However, ancient rune letters can be found there, and you need to decipher them if you wish to progress forward.”
“Hans and Alice will accompany me. If it’s those two, deciphering some ancient rune letters should not present us with any issues, your majesty.”
Although it was commendable that he implicitly trusted his subordinates and made his decisions accordingly, the fact still remained that there were only three of them.
Just three people wished to enter a location where three thousand knights, magicians, and elite soldiers had been slaughtered without mercy?
Queen Rox quietly stared at the Seventh Imperial Prince for a while. The light burning in the latter’s eyes didn’t even sway once.
She pressed her hand against her forehead and sighed at length.
It had been the same with Kelt back then. She wasn’t confident of dissuading his youngest grandchild, either.
Even if she forced him to give up, the boy was definitely that man’s grandson, so he’d no doubt resort to sneaking in if that allowed him to carry on with his adventures.
“I understand. In that case, allow me to call upon a magician to act as your guide within the labyrinth.”
“Will that be fine, your majesty?”
This was a labyrinth they were dealing with. It wouldn’t be too much of an issue for everyone to head in together and reach the vicinity of the tomb, but after that’s done, this magician would have to exit the labyrinth by him- or herself alone. That would be next to impossible to pull off.
However, this was Aihrance, the queendom of magic.
Dozens of magicians could be ordered to be on standby in the royal palace with a warp magic circle at ready just so that one person could safely warp out of the labyrinth.
Queen Rox replied, “Warp magic will be used, after all. So yes, it should be fine.”
“In that case, I’m much obliged, your majesty.”
The Seventh Imperial Prince smiled deeply.
Looking at the boy’s smiling face lifted up Rox’s mood in turn.
“However, you must promise me,” Queen Rox then spoke in a firm, unyielding tone of voice. “Promise me that if something happens down there, you must escape right away. Understand?”
The Seventh Imperial Prince nodded with a slightly stunned face.
A while later, the dinner came to an end and he left the room. The maid standing silently next to Queen Rox cautiously asked her ruler.
“Will this be alright, your majesty?”
“He’s the grandson of his majesty the Holy Emperor. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
Rox replied as such, but even then, she was still feeling worried inside.
Her body shivered a little. The ‘angel’ she witnessed all those years ago was like the devil itself.
There was no guarantee that the Seventh Imperial Prince would emerge unscathed after encountering that monstrous thing.
Queen Rox got up from her chair, walked up to a mirror in the room and stared at the reflection.
The face looking back at her was wrinkled, aged. Even her body had become a lot more frail compared to her past, while her overall stamina had fallen by a lot as well.
She did her best to maintain them all, yet compared to her prime, her current state only made her sigh in lamentation. However, her current skill level in magic had grown so much that her prime wouldn’t even be able to hold a candle to her.
“…Head maid.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The maid bowed her head.
“In adventuring, one’s age is nothing more than just a number, isn’t it?”
The head maid’s eyes opened wider. “Y-your majesty, are you…?”
“I will have to vacate the royal palace for a little while, it seems.”
“But, your majesty…”
The corners of Queen Rox’s lips curled up into a grin.
“It’ll be my first adventure in ages.”
She felt her heart beating faster as if she had reverted back to being a naïve young girl.
**
(TL: In 1st person POV.)
The preparations took around a week to complete.
Various luggage, food, and magic tools supplied by Aihrance queendom were safely stored away in my item window.
Hans looked completely recharged right now as if he had been enjoying a pretty relaxing break from all the action during the past week. Even Alice was raring to go while unconsciously bumping her gauntlets together. A clearly-excited expression could be seen on her face.
Both of them didn’t even bother to hide their anticipation stemming from the prospect of witnessing the ancient lifeforms and rune letters, as well as the tomb of the first Holy Emperor.
And also…
“I’ll be in your care, your highness. My name is Norman, a magician. I’ll be your guide.”
An old man was chosen to act as our guide.
His back was bent forward from his advanced age, while his lengthy robe was dragging on the floor. He was wielding a walking staff made out of crystal.
From what I heard, he was the number one magician in the entire royal palace.
“We’ll also be in your care.”
While saying that, I offered my hand and Norman shook it silently.
Under the guidance of knights and magicians, we headed to the entrance of Titalos.
We went down the staircase and entered underground. In the location we finally reached after walking for what felt like ages was a massive steel gate waiting for our arrival.
The knights proceeded to undo many locks and chains binding the steel gate, while the magicians chanted away to lift the sealing barrier placed on it.
The gate slowly opened up afterwards.
“By the way, what kind of place is this underground labyrinth?”
I tried recalling my memories. Wasn’t there also a labyrinth named ‘Titalos’ in either Greek or Roman mythologies?
That maze supposedly featured man-made walls surrounding the passages, but since we were about to enter an underground location, I figured that this labyrinth should resemble a naturally-formed cavern of some kind, instead.
The thing was, though, the records I read from the books painted a rather different picture. They said that it was a whole other ‘ecosystem’. Even though it was ostensibly a labyrinth, it was practically a completely new world despite existing under the surface.
While I stood there thinking that to myself, Norman, with a kind smile on his face, addressed me, “Yes, it is a labyrinth. But it is also…”
The gate opened and the damp yet fresh air began leaking out from beyond the opening. That took me by surprise.
“…A completely different world where the rules of nature have been reinvented, your highness.”
The sight waiting for me beyond the gate made my eyes nearly pop out of their sockets.
Yup, all those records had been correct. The so-called labyrinth really did look like another world even to my eyes.
We should definitely be underground. But then…
“…There’s a sky overhead?”
Yup, there was a sky over our heads.
No, hang on. That was actually a lake so vast that it resembled a sky, instead.
That massive lake seemed to be defying gravity from the way it was enveloping the entirety of the ceiling. No wonder I was momentarily confused into thinking that there was a sky above our heads.
Several pterodactyl-like creatures were flying near and around that lake, then whale-like creatures also broke through the surface to devour them.
As for the maze below, it was not one surrounded in walls, but one encased in an expansive forest featuring huge trees.
Packs of unidentifiable insects, which also happened to be way too big for my liking, were crawling around on the trees.
Here was a world where an abundant amount of divinity and Mana could be found dispersed in the air, all the while forgotten ancient lifeforms roamed free.
“This is Titalos.”
I looked over to Norman.
“We call this place a different world, your highness.”
< 122. Aihrance’s Underground Labyrinth -3 (Part One and Two) > Fin.
