What Lay at the End of the Passage

  I looked carefully at the other side of the destroyed wall.

  I didn’t feel that there was any danger. There were no traps and no monsters.

  It looked more like a room for someone to live in than a dungeon or hidden room.

  “Actually…this looks a little familiar. This room.”


  I quietly moved towards it.

  Luchila and Milka followed after me.

  “Mister Locke. It seems like…”


  “A really rich person’s house.”


  Milka seemed quite excited now.

  “Mister Locke, Mister Locke.”


  “What?”


  “Is this an abandoned house? If it is, I would like to sleep in it.”


  “There is no way that it is abandoned. And even if it was, it is against the law to enter without permission.”


  “Ah, yes. That is right. Sorry.”


  As we whispered to each other like this, I felt a presence from beyond the room.

  Quiet footsteps were slowly coming closer to us.

  “Mister Locke. Let us hide.”


  “Yes, this is dangerous.”


  Luchila and Milka said as they hid underneath a desk.

  “Mister Locke, hurry. Hurry.”


  “Fine.”


  And so with little choice, I hid under the desk.

  Gerberga seemed nervous. He was shivering.

  “Lord Gerberga. Don’t worry.”


  “Cluck.”


  I petted his wings to calm him down.

  After that, the door immediately opened.

  “Who is it!”


  “!”


  It was a quiet but authoritative voice. Milka gulped.

  But it was a voice that was familiar to me. With relief, I pulled myself out from under the desk.

  “Sorry to disturb you so late.”


  “Ru…Locke. What are you doing here?”


  The person who had come in was Eric, in his pajamas. He was carrying his Holy Sword in his right hand.

  Eric had realized that there were other people under the desk, and so he had decided to call me Locke instead.

  “But really, why did you come first? You should send guards up ahead.”


  “Locke. That’s easy for you to say, but this is right next to my bedroom.”


  “Is that right. Well then, I am very sorry about disturbing you this late…”


  I had thought it looked familiar. That was because it was the palace.

  I had never seen this room before, but the wallpaper was the same as the other rooms.

  “I detected the presence of intruders from the next room. And it would be faster to come here myself than to call the guards.”


  “I suppose you are right, but think of your position.”


  “Well, let’s not argue over that. Now, introduce me to your companions.”


  “Luchila, Milka. You can come out.”


  Luchila and Milka came out from under the desk.

  “Ah, so it was Luchila. It’s good to see you again.”


  “It is an honor. Thank you.”


  “And Eric, this is Milka. We just met her a moment ago.”


  “I am Eric. A friend of Locke. Nice to meet you.”


  “Oh! A friend of Mister Locke! It’s nice to meet you too!”


  Milka clearly did not realize that Eric was a hero and a king.

  Survival was hard enough for her without having to learn things that were common knowledge.

  “In any case, it seems rather unusual to meet new people at this hour.”


  “That has to do with why we are here in the first place.”


  And so I explained to him how we got here.

  “So what you mean is, there is a passage that connects to here from your house, Locke?”


  “Well, yes. Though, it was tightly sealed at first.”


  “I see. I see.”


  “Don’t you think that your security seems very lax recently?”


  “I have no words.”


  It was only the other day that vampires had invaded the palace.

  But now people were able to get close to the king’s bedroom through walking in the sewers.

  Of course, you would still have to be a very powerful Sorcerer to break the wall.

  But it was unmistakably careless.

  “In any case, it is bad that the passage and the sewers are connected, now that the wall is broken. That must be fixed at once.”


  “That’s true.”


  “But in the first place, why is my house connected to here? I don’t understand it.”


  “As for that… I have an idea.”


  “You do?”


  “Yes. But it is an embarrassing story.”


  So saying, Eric began to explain.

  The last, last king, in other words, Eric’s grandfather, had a lover.

  She was the beautiful wife of a baron but had been widowed.

  And my house was in fact, a mansion that Eric’s grandfather had prepared for her.

  “My grandfather likely used this passage to visit her house or to call her over to the palace.”


  “Ah, so that is why it was right next to his bedroom.”


  Luchila then asked,

  “But why did the baron’s house die out?”


  “Because they had no heirs. The baron’s wife did have one child, but that child was adopted by a marquis, and took on their name.”


  “In other words, that Marquis is your uncle, Eric.”


  “…I have to admit…there is a high possibility of that.”


  Even if he was an illegitimate child, he was the king’s son. And so he was made a marquis.

  The king had enough power to send in a child to be adopted by a childless marquis house.

  “I understand. Well then, what should we do about this passage?”


  “I do not mind that it is connected to your house, Locke. But I cannot allow it to be connected to the sewers. It must be sealed.”


  “Uh, so you want to seal the part that connects to the sewers, but leave the passage itself open?”


  “Indeed. I would feel better that way. Would that bother you?”


  “It doesn’t bother me. But aren’t you worried in terms of security?”


  “I am sure you could do something about it with magic?”


  “Well, I could. Yes.”


  “I would feel more secure if you did it than if the palace sorcerers did it. And of course, I will pay you.”


  “Alright then. I will have it sealed immediately.”


  “I’m very grateful. And sorry for the inconvenience.”


  I would block the hole to the sewer with rocks and seal it with magic.

  And it would probably be best to cover the entire tunnel in protective magic, not just the area around the hole.

  With my magic, I could make it even harder to enter than the palace’s treasure room.

  I was thinking of ways to reinforce the place when Milka began to pull at my sleeve.

  “Mister Locke. You’re going to block the entrance to my sleeping area?”


  “Yes.”


  “But…”


  Milka looked sad. I felt very sorry for her.