I pulled a flashlight from my item box and led the way through the underground passage.
「Master, what is this thing? It’s super convenient…」
Shia flicked the light on and off repeatedly, genuinely amazed.
「Ahaha, this is a flashlight. It’s common in my world. No magic power or magic stones needed.」
「Onii-san, me too! Me too!」
Croco-chan tugged at my sleeve, eyes sparkling with curiosity. She’s still just a little over ten, so of course something like this would fascinate her.
「Sure, here you go. But don’t point it at yourself, okay?」
「Yes! Got it!」
Croco-chan happily turned it on and off, giggling as the beam danced around the dark tunnel.
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
After a few minutes, we reached the underground prison.
「Alright, from here we head to the underground library.」
I carefully removed several bricks from the stone wall with practiced ease.
「Wow… you’re really dexterous…」
「I’ve lived a long time, so I’ve picked up a few tricks. There, we’re through.」
「Thanks. What about you, Shia?」
「Of course I’m coming. I’d be bored left alone.」
「Got it. Let’s go.」
We slipped through the hidden passage Shia had created and made our way toward the underground library.
「By the way… what else is down here besides the library?」
「From what I know, just the library and the execution chamber.」
「Execution chamber…?」
That name alone sounded ominous.
「Yeah… it was for politically inconvenient people or high-status criminals they couldn’t publicly execute. They’d lock them up long-term until they wasted away and died naturally.」
「That’s… pretty awful…」
「No choice, really. Political prisoners or royal criminals, if you don’t give them the pretense of imprisonment, you risk riots.」
「Ugh… what a hassle…」
「If you had absolute power like Master, it’d be easy～」
Shia sighed dramatically and shrugged. Hey, I’m not that ruthless.
「Even without that, someone like me, an assassin who could be taken head-on, or someone who could blow a giant hole in a battlefield, that’s what people call absolute strength.」
She gave me a deadpan, half-lidded stare. Wait… how does she know about the battlefield thing?
「No no, don’t make that face… it was the talk of the municipal council. They said the Demon King opened a massive crater in the battlefield to temporarily stop the war with the human territories.」
「I never said anything about that!?」
「Ehh? You totally had that ‘how do you even know that’ look just now.」
「Well… yeah, but still…」
「Don’t underestimate how long I’ve lived♪」
Shia struck an adorably exaggerated pose, winking playfully.
「Oh? So Master likes poses like this…」
「If you’re asking like or dislike… yeah, I like it.」
「Aha～ Thank you～」
She struck the pose again, beaming with satisfaction.
「Onii-san? Should I do one too?」
「No, Croco-chan, you don’t need to learn weird stuff like that.」
「Okay!」
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
「Alright, this is the entrance to the underground library. I’ll unlock it now, so wait a second.」
Shia pulled out two thin metal rods and began working the keyhole. After a series of soft clicks and rattles, the lock gave way.
「Got it, got it!」
――――Giiigiiigiiigii…
The heavy door groaned open, releasing a distinctive scent of old paper and dust that filled the air.
「So… I don’t know what you came here to find, but what exactly are we looking for?」
「Um… history books about this country. And any documents or books dealing with legends or lore about the holy sword.」
「Holy sword? Why the sudden interest?」
「Shia, do you know about the 【Holy Sword Saintess】?」
「Of course. It’s one of the fairy tales I grew up hearing as a kid.」
「Me too! I know it!!」
「Well… that 【Holy Sword Saintess】 is actually Amilia.」
「Huh?」 「Eh!?」
Shia gave me the classic “what are you even talking about” look. Croco-chan’s eyes went wide in shock.
「Actually…」
I explained everything: traveling to the past, sealing the evil god’s power, the role I played as the Demon King in those legends, and how it all ended.
「Wait… so Lopple-san, the one Master brought back… is really from the past!?」
「Yeah.」
「No way…」
「(Nod nod nod nod)!!」
Croco-chan was nodding furiously, while Shia still looked half-skeptical.
「Anyway, that’s why we’re looking for the holy sword’s location.」
「An evil god, huh… I never imagined those old fairy tales were based on real events.」
「(Nod nod nod nod)!!」
「Then I guess I’d better help search seriously too.」
「I’ll do my best!!」
From there, we pulled every book and document mentioning the holy sword and tucked them into my item box.
「That’s the last one.」
「Thanks, both of you.」
I gently patted their heads. Shia flushed shyly and ducked her eyes. Croco-chan beamed happily, leaning into the touch with a tiny, delighted wiggle.
Just then, the door rattled and swung open.
「Huh? It’s unlocked? But no one’s inside… Did someone forget to lock it?」
A soldier in armor stepped in, holding a lantern. He seemed to be on patrol.
「Geez… guess I’ll have to come back later… This place always gives me the creeps…」
The door closed behind him as he left.
「Phew…」
「Yikes, that was close…」
「Thanks for the save, Croco-chan.」
The moment the soldier entered, Croco-chan had yanked us both into the shadows, hiding us perfectly.
「Wow… Croco-chan’s power is incredible…」
「Yeah. Looks like bringing her was the right call.」
「Yep.」
I gave Croco-chan another gentle head pat. With that, we quietly left the underground library behind.
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