The report that Princess Elena had been found in the Calfaan Empire reached the royal palace of the Kingdom of Claydale via a long-range magic communication tool, a rarity even among great nations.
It had been a little over two months since Elena went missing with her escort. Those in the palace who had been concerned about the princess shed tears of joy, and her father, His Majesty the King, was especially relieved, but he couldn’t openly express his joy.
An unmarried young woman—especially if she is a noble—is considered “tainted” by even a few days of abduction.
Therefore, information control was implemented the day after the abduction, and the students of the Magic Academy were sent home. Even if the stated reason was to ensure the students’ safety, the upper nobility and some noble families realized that Elena had been caught up in something. Even without discovering the truth that she had been “abducted” due to a treasure from a dungeon brought in by the Evil Race, if she didn’t appear for months, rumors would spread based on speculation, which the Aristocratic Faction could use as ammunition to attack the Royal Family. The nobles of the Aristocratic Faction had been plotting to take in the First Princess, who had been abandoned by the Second Queen, and make her a puppet of the Aristocratic Faction. However, Elena, who was not the “selfish princess” who adored her older brother when she was young, but instead rejected their sweet words with a resolute attitude, ended up hindering the Aristocratic Faction’s movements, and the Royalist Faction now dominates the core of the kingdom. Many of the Aristocratic Faction are noble families with weak domestic demand due to a lack of specialty products. Their desire is to weaken the Royal Family, which prioritizes domestic demand, and prioritize trade with other countries to gain profits. However, the First Princess, fearing dependence on other countries for food, initiated measures to restrict imports, and Elena became nothing more than an obstacle for the Aristocratic Faction.
To reduce the Aristocratic Faction’s ammunition for attack, Elena discussed several matters with her father, the King, via the long-range magic communication tool. First, it was decided that Elena had not been abducted, but had secretly undertaken a short-term study abroad in the Calfaan Empire to avoid the danger of an Evil Race attack. This would create some debts to the Calfaan Empire, but it was approved because it was judged that it would not lead to long-term disadvantages, unlike neighboring countries with direct conflicts of interest. But of course, the Aristocratic Faction doubted it. Even ridiculous speculation can become damaging if rumors spread in aristocratic society. The key is who to believe. The fact that the princess had not been seen for months gave even ridiculous rumors credibility, but Elena had a way to dispel them.
“Hope” that made those who knew the princess believe that she was definitely alive. “Despair” that repelled the Aristocratic Faction’s assassins and conspiracies, triggering the downfall of several noble families. The “Ash-Covered Princess of Slaughter,” who fulfilled the princess’s wishes and showed no hesitation or mercy even to nobles who were her enemies, and whom even the Thieves’ Guild and Assassin Guild in the underworld feared to be associated with. The princess’s trusted aide. The beautiful and deadly blade. Baron Aria Leighton, protected by the princess’s authority, could not be eliminated by power, and yet, reaching out to her would invite death. The King, persuaded by the princess that finding her was the top priority, allowed her search, telling his daughter that the Magic Academy could only be reopened four months after the incident: one month for the search and one month for the return by ship.
“…I see.”
Upon receiving the notice that the Magic Academy would reopen in two months, Clara, in her room in the mansion at the Magic Academy, had almost arrived at the truth through her Divine Protection (Gift) of “Future Sight,” as the noble students who had returned to their territories began preparing to return to the academy. Her fiancé, Crown Prince Elvan, was not by her side. While feeling a small pang of pain at this, Clara further analyzed the situation with “Future Sight,” sacrificing her life force.
Since there was not enough information, it was still unclear whether the princess’s escort could return, but Elena would definitely return. And if it was her, she would have devised a way to dispel the rumors on her own, even if her close aide, Baroness Aria, did not return. The possible means would be an engagement with a member of the Calfaan Imperial Family. It wouldn’t be a bad move. If that happened, Elena’s foundation would become even stronger, even surpassing that of Elvan, the Crown Prince. Elvan’s reputation had fallen so low that it seemed possible. Objectively speaking, Elena was more capable, and while she was handling public affairs in between her studies, Elvan was currently infatuated with a viscount’s daughter. The current King’s decision to make a viscount’s daughter, who had not received queenly education, his official wife had caused discord in aristocratic society, and the Royalist Faction nobles were watching Elvan, who was trying to repeat the same mistake, with cold eyes.
Elvan, along with the Viscount’s daughter Alicia and Prince Amor, was heading to a dungeon. Not the dungeon on the isolated island where Clara and the others had obtained their Divine Protection, but a dungeon near the academy managed by the Count Leicester Estate. Their purpose was probably to obtain Divine Protection. In the Otome Game, the Heroine had opportunities to obtain Divine Protection. In normal Evil Race events, she would obtain Divine Protection in a dungeon in the Evil Race Nation, but otherwise, she would obtain Divine Protection in the dungeon managed by the Count Leicester Estate. Originally, it was not a dungeon that royalty would enter. Although Spirits existed there, the Divine Protection obtained from it was very weak. However, even weak Divine Protection would add “luster.” The difficulty of that dungeon was not very high, and Elvan, who was currently receiving full support from the Aristocratic Faction as a new puppet, should be able to force his way through. The Aristocratic Faction’s aim was probably to have the Viscount’s daughter Alicia obtain Divine Protection and push her into becoming one of the King’s consorts. Clara, Carla, and even Patricia would not become puppets, but they probably thought that they could manipulate that flower garden-like girl as much as they wanted. From that point of view alone, Clara sighed, thinking that the current official wife, who blindly followed the King’s decisions, was far better. Even if they lured in the Evil Race and forcibly triggered an Evil Race event, they could not harm the Heroine. Even when a follower rushed ahead and tried to kill the Heroine, it only ended up giving the Heroine an opportunity to obtain the Light attribute.
“El-sama…”
She no longer desired anything. She didn’t need to become the official wife, which was the Dandole Family’s wish, or even her own life. Clara’s only wish was for Elvan. To prevent him from becoming a puppet and unknowingly drinking from a poisoned chalice, Clara desperately continued to think of a way for Elvan to survive by eliminating the Heroine, even at the cost of her own life. For that, she would not mind staining her hands with blood. Clara was not even afraid of being judged and executed like in the game. The three keys to that… Princess Elena and Baroness Aria. And Clara couldn’t help but frown in anxiety at the fact that Carla, who was under house arrest and whose actions were the most unpredictable, was exuding a “smell of blood and burning” every time she saw her.
The “Ceremony of Selection” to determine the Evil King is traditionally held in the dungeon in this area. Those who have declared their intention to become king choose about ten warriors, and the victory condition is to conquer the dungeon and be the first to retrieve the “Proof” from its depths, or to kill all the other participants. However, in all the previous Ceremonies of Selection, only the first Evil King had ever retrieved the Proof from the dungeon. Since then, all the ceremonies had been settled by “killing each other.” The dungeon beneath this Evil Race Fortress should have a fairly long history, but it only has ten levels. However, that doesn’t mean it’s easy to conquer. The area of this dungeon is several times larger than the dungeon I explored with Elena before, and you have to go up and down the levels many times, making it a true “labyrinth.”
“So, Prince. Why is such a distorted dungeon the battlefield?”
“I’ll explain that too.”
As expected, Camille answered Jesha’s question, who had said that she would participate as well, with a face as if he had bitten into something bitter. Jesha’s retainer, Iseru, released a burst of anger at Jesha’s way of speaking, and Kadri silently pressed down on her daughter’s shoulder and shook her head, but Jesha, who had received a new Magic Steel Two-Handed Axe, ignored it in high spirits. Unlike my weapons, her weapon was buried in the sand and couldn’t be found. So, Kadri had the weapon prepared by the moderate Dark Elves who were on Camille’s side, and I also replenished the throwing knives and crossbow bolts that I was running out of, and focused my attention on Camille while disassembling and cleaning my Black Dagger.
……That man didn’t maintain them properly, it seems. I had to disassemble the Black Knife and the dagger, even the handles, and boil them.
“In the first place, it’s not that they made a troublesome dungeon into a battlefield, but the Ceremony of Selection that complicated the dungeon,”
I summarized Camille’s explanation, which he began to tell as if recalling.
Originally… until about a thousand years ago, it was just a low-level dungeon. The first Evil King dove into the dungeon seeking something, and since then, in order to use it for the “Ceremony of Selection,” he built a fortress directly above the dungeon, which caused the dungeon to change.
Dungeons are “living things” that become “dungeonized” when monsters take hold of the labyrinth.
It is said that dungeons with their entrances blocked by something create new entrances as if breathing. In order to manage those parts as well, the fortress was expanded, and the dungeon spread sideways to create new entrances.
As a result, the inside of the dungeon became complicated, and now it seems that no one knows how many entrances there are in total. …No wonder there are no windows. If the fortress above is also being repeatedly expanded and rebuilt like the dungeon, it’s a waste to put in windows.
There are several entrances to the dungeon inside the fortress. However, the location of the dungeon you enter from there is not the same. Sometimes it’s the first floor, and sometimes you enter a deeper layer.
However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the deeper layers are closer to the innermost part. Because the dungeon has become complicated, there is a possibility that the innermost part is not the lowest layer, and since the first Evil King, no one has been able to reach the innermost part, which is why the Ceremony of Selection became a “killing match.”
However, if you repeat it many times, you will understand the points that are advantageous for attacking the enemy. But such places are held by powerful clans, so other clans don’t even know the location.
In this case, Camille, who doesn’t have that information, can only enter from the entrance to the first floor, making him an easy target for rival clans.
As the Ceremony of Selection approaches, the early infighting between the clans has subsided.
Even though the killing may have already started outside the dungeon the moment they announced their participation, perhaps they were wary of me after I killed the first one, or perhaps they thought they could kill us anytime since we could only enter from the first floor. It ended with just us retaliating against a warrior who seemed to be a subordinate of Dowhill.
But we can’t let our guard down. Just as killing is possible even before the Ceremony of Selection begins, the rule of having around ten warriors isn’t a violation if they aren’t found. There is a possibility that the clan will send in a large number of subordinates without permission.
“Probably we will be targeted by all the enemies. We are small in number. So everyone will act together.”
Camille’s warriors are only five people, including him, Jesha, Kadori, and Iseru. Unlike other clans, they don’t have enough to divide into skirmishers and attackers, so if they are dealing with skirmishers, that idea is not wrong. But —
“I’ll be acting separately.”
“Aria!?”
Camille raises his voice at me for denying his plan.
“What are you thinking? Don’t underestimate the opponent!”
The warriors of each clan are at least Rank 4. Aishe, Charleschan, and Dowhill are definitely Rank 5, and that old man… Ergrim, it wouldn’t be strange if he was in the upper ranks of Rank 5 or even Rank 6.
“That’s why (……..). Camille also knows what will happen if we clash head-on with those guys, right?”
“…………”
Among the warriors participating in this Ceremony of Selection, only Kadori and Iseru are Rank 3 or below.
I’ve heard that Kadori was originally a follower of Camille’s mother, and he married a Dark Elf woman who was her maid in the Evil Race Nation, and they had Iseru.
The two are an irreplaceable family for Camille. The two of them are the same, and no matter what we say, they will not stop participating in order to protect Camille.
And if it becomes a group battle, their lives will be lost first.
In order to prevent that, Camille and the others had to attack the dungeon, which other clans thought was impossible, and “someone” had to attract the attention of the other clans.
Camille knows that too. Even Jesha, whose thinking is inclined towards battle mania, has noticed. That’s why Jesha also nodded at my words and gave a ferocious smile to Camille and the others, who couldn’t sort out their emotions.
“You know who’s the right person, right? We’re going to blow away the monsters in the dungeon and get the proof or whatever before Aria dies.”
“…………”
Camille clenched his fist tightly at Jesha’s words.
Camille is soft. That kindness is a virtue, but it’s an illusion to think you can protect everything. If you want to be king, you have to gain the strength to decide for yourself what to protect.
But know this. Even if the responsibility lies with the king, you don’t have to carry everything on your own.
“I understand. Aria… I believe in you.”
“Leave it to me.”
I believe in Camille, who said he believed in me, and I return his trust.
I will make Camille the king. To save his life. In order for me to return to Elena.
I absolutely don’t intend to die.
“Now, let’s go.”
At my words, everyone nodded silently, picked up their weapons, and stood up.
I also wrapped the Monster Thread shawl that my master had knitted for me around my neck instead of a coat, and quietly started walking.
Now, the killing match begins.
The Ceremony of Selection begins.
Aria chose a solo battle. How will she fight in the dungeon environment?
And how will those who are looking for her be involved?
And what about the movements of Clara and the fake Heroine?
Next time, Ceremony of Selection Part 1
The number of characters that finally increased seems to be decreasing again.