What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 681

#681

Cowards and Catacombs (4)

An hour later.

“Don’t even think about hiding anything, you. I’ll bury you alive here, I swear!”

“Huk······.”

“Without a trace, huh? I’ll shove you upside down in a sack and pour cement all over you.”

“Hiiiik.”

“So, you better behave, huh?”

“Christel······.”

You’ve been watching too many gangster movies. I barely managed to stop Ms. Gain, who was growling while chewing on a twig.

Duke Lasso was as pale as a mackerel, even though he didn’t even know what cement was.

Sannt was coaxing and soothing him from behind, trying to get him to move slowly.

As soon as the prisoner mentioned the underground passage, we dragged him deep into the outskirts of Cheonro.

It was a place that the two daughters, the pride of the Rambuillet family, had discovered during their reconnaissance.

As Ms. Gain said, a shallow stream of groundwater was trickling nearby, and the mud floor was marked with clear traces of water flow, like thin snakes, indicating that the stream had changed course several times.

Except for the occasional roar of war, it was a very peaceful backdrop.

-Whee-it, whee-it, whee-eeet♬

“Hello. We meet again.”

On top of a prickly needle-leaved tree, the cardinal [a type of bird] I met last night was sitting pretty and singing.

Today, it seemed like he had even brought his family and friends.

At a time when the morning sun was beginning to illuminate even the corners of the canyon, it would be hard to find a more enjoyable sight.

Although we, the ones involved, were quite troubled.

Ah. Additionally, it was somewhat surprising that Isabel didn’t stop her daughter’s intimidation. She wore her usual elegant smile and whispered.

‘I think I’ve become a soldier too, Princess. I think my daughter is quite kind at this point.’

······Hmm. Yes.

“First, before we start. Explain how you know about the underground passage.”

This time, Djibril Diop crossed his arms and spoke sharply.

Then, the duke, kneeling before the group, blinked.

“E-Explain, you say?”

“Yes. You don’t think we’re going to believe a story without any basis, do you? We’re not naive children.”

‘Even though he’s a royal and a duke.’ The battle mage retorted, and the prisoner shrank back at his spirit.

Apart from feeling sorry and pitiful for him because he kept acting like that, it was truly a strange case to see.

He’s much more timid than our Empire’s instant noodle bunch [referring to a group of people].

I can’t believe he’s the same age as Count Arno van Roy······.

How did he become a cardinal [high-ranking clergy official]?

He doesn’t show any signs of martial arts training, so how did he get the stigmata [marks resembling Christ’s crucifixion wounds]?

“Th-There is an entrance to the underground passage in my hometown······. Um, no, I should say an exit······.”

“Aha. So that’s how it is. Is your family also a collaborator of Sneider?”

Duke Diop asked in a very rude manner.

Then, Lasso was horrified and raised his head abruptly.

His large eyes were already filled with tears.

I thought he was timid, but he also cries a lot.

“No, that’s absolutely not true! The late Duke, cough. My mother······. She was a person who only knew money. She had little interest in politics, and, and the underground passage······.”

“······.”

“······Only I. It was a secret only I knew. Until I became the Duke······. Even my closest servants didn’t know about it.”

······Huh? Is that possible? François and I, who had been listening quietly, tilted our heads at the same time.

The Duke immediately trembled and raised his voice.

“I-It’s true! Cough. I swear on the noble crescent moon, the sacred full moon, I only told the truth!”

He looked like he was about to die from injustice.

I could tell just by looking at his face, which had been pale blue until just now, was now flushed red like a rosy bitterling [a type of fish that turns red during mating season].

His sentences gradually became more specific.

“The entrance to the passage is hidden in a deep mountain village in the Memphis Mountains. It’s a village very close to the County of Roséhard, where roses bloom profusely······. I, I used to run away there often when I was young······. Unintentionally······. Somehow.”

“Ran away? Did the heir to the Dukedom have a reason to be chased by someone?”

Isabel asked kindly. Then, the prisoner flinched and shut his mouth.

There was an unexpected firmness in his face, indicating that he would not say anything more.

Ms. Gain immediately turned to Sannt.

“Baejang, have you ever heard a similar story? Or about the late Duke Lasso or her achievements?”

“W-Well, I don’t know much about that. The cities of Fenetian are so closed off······. But since it was an extremely wealthy family, it wouldn’t be strange for the head of the family to be engrossed in business or to show greed for money.”

“Hmm.”

Unfortunately, Sir Johann also seemed to know nothing. His disciple crossed his arms and groaned.

We’ve heard similar stories many times.

Unlike the Empire, where there is relatively much exchange between territories and territories, and between the Imperial Capital and the provinces, the Divine Nation was tightly closed as a whole.

Even major cities didn’t have direct routes, and most were under the absolute control of the lord.

Within his territory, a noble was virtually the same as a king.

It was said that no one from the outside could know how much tax they levied or how much they tormented the people.

To be precise, it was from the time when the current king began to suffer from madness.

The national fortune was rapidly declining.

“Is that the only passage? Are there no other paths in Cheonro?”

“I-I don’t know. I truly don’t know anything. I just thought it was a good place to hide children······.”

“Hide children?”

When I asked back, Leopold Lasso shuddered again.

Judging by the way he was biting his lips with a troubled look, it seemed like he had misspoke.

I frowned slightly.

This person is hiding something.

“Alright. To summarize your claims so far······. You have long been aware of the underground passage that leads from the Duchy to Cheonro, but this is a secret only you and your close associates know, and the circumstances of its discovery were purely coincidental. You don’t know anything about other underground passages in Cheonro. So, do you know who built the passage in question?”

He shook his head. The man’s extravagant earrings jingled.

Cedric, who had been silently crossing his arms, clicked his tongue.

Diop looked at me as if asking what to do.

I glanced at my friends for a moment and spoke in as stiff a voice as possible.

“······Then guide us. If you want to return home safely with Alison, you’ll have to show us the right path.”

“······.”

“There is no other option. Duke Lasso.”

*

And some time later.

Excavation work for about 90 minutes.

-Krrrrrr······!

“Ah, what is it! There’s just rock here too?”

-That wicked thing, is it perhaps deceiving us?

“Ugh, please calm down!”

Ms. Gain and Hanan-nim simultaneously became enraged and stirred up their aether, causing black vines and pillars of water to soar into the sky at the same time. Kwaaaang! Mud splattered everywhere, creating another thick pile of dirt.

The rock in the ground, suddenly exposed to nature, was drenched in a shower of water.

The startled cardinals fluttered and moved their positions, looking at me with pitiful eyes.

I was holding onto the arms of the two people, barely calming down the explosion, which I had already lost count of how many times it had happened.

Among them, the ancient king who had borrowed Isabel’s body was making a very angry expression!

-That cunning and deluded thing dares to insult this body!

-Urrrrrr······!

Uwaaak! The ground really rumbles every time you speak!

-Heeheeheehing!

Woooah, Areumhart! If you get angry, Charlemagne gets sensitive too!

“Surely not, Your Majesty. He says he has never entered the underground passage from this side! Who would dare to deceive the great monarch of the Thousand-Year Kingdom? Please have mercy.”

-······I am enduring it for the sake of your face. If we fail again, I will swallow that thing’s soul in one bite.

When I took her hand and lowered my posture to plead, Her Majesty calmed down her anger, though still seething.

Then, Diop, who had been digging the ground with magic over there, stared at me.

Duke Lasso, who was now pale beyond blue, also came into view.

He had been under Cedric’s close surveillance the whole time, and perhaps because of that, he seemed to have lost weight since morning.

As I hurriedly approached, the man opened his mouth in fright.

“S-Sorry. Angel Gong! Actually, I was just trying to find the passage yesterday and was resting nearby. Until I was caught by you······.”

“Are you sure this is the right way? Think carefully. Could the path be on the opposite side of the canyon?”

“No, that can’t be. I also checked the map several times before starting······. Ah!”

‘Map! There’s a map on the bottom of my boots!’ Whether he was an ally or an enemy, he was now giving me information with a bright face.

He seemed so happy that he had remembered something.

Sir Johann, who had been digging up the soil with sharp wind, silently came and took off all the Duke’s shoes.

Meanwhile, François was taking out a very strange tool from his pocket······.

“Huk, François! Is that a water vein detector?”

“Oh, no. These are parts I brought in case they could be used as magic tool materials.”

“Ah······.”

The handsome man said cheerfully, holding an L-shaped metal rod. I smacked my lips with a strange sense of regret.

Somehow, I felt like I could make a great invention if I used that······.

I think our François could do it.

“Oh dear. The map is torn, so I can’t read the information.”

“Pardon?”

I turned around, doubting my ears. It was one misfortune after another.

The ‘map’ that had been stuck to the bottom of the Duke’s feet was already in tatters and unrecognizable.

The Crown Prince, seeing the piece of paper that couldn’t even make a normal square, finally clenched his teeth.

Sannt, who was with the warhorse Alison, instinctively took a few steps back.

This doesn’t feel good―

“It would be faster to interrogate you.”

“Oh, misunderstanding! I didn’t make the map like this on purpose. I swear, Fire Gong!”

-Woooooong!

“Wow!”

Suddenly, a magic circle brightly illuminated the ground beneath my feet, and I jumped in surprise and clung to my fellow instant noodles [referring to a group of people].

Alison, who was standing in the center, was a caramel-colored mare with white spots on her forehead and neck.

I didn’t think Cedric would harm this child, but as the situation escalated, my heart pounded a little.

Even François gaped as crimson mana began to flow from his gloved fingertips.

Sannt was now almost fainting.

However, Alison had been shaking her head up and down since earlier.

“Good heavens, Your Highness. Please don’t. Surely you wouldn’t do that to this child······!”

-Jiiiiing!

“Fire Gong! I was wrong, please! Please don’t torment Alison!”

-Sssssss······!

“Euaaak, Duke Diop! Duke, please come and stop His Highness the Crown Prince!”

“Why would I? It’s not an attack magic.”

“Yeee?!”

-Prrrrl!

······Huh?

I, who had been covering my mouth with my fist, suddenly noticed the ground that Alison’s hooves were stepping on.

There was a very small puddle of water. It seemed like ordinary water at first glance······.

-Chaplak, chaplak

As Alison touched the puddle with her foot as if searching for something,

-Chalang, chalangchalang

-Ssarrrrr······

“Oh my! Wait a minute, that water is moving on its own!”

‘The puddle is dancing strangely!’ I shouted in shock.

Ms. Gain, surprised, opened her eyes wide and ran towards us.

Of course. Because this wasn’t her power.