Unbeknownst to Me, I am Secretly Dating the Emperor - Chapter 81

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 81
We made our way to the cave where the Ancient Language had been discovered.
‘But what an unexpected location. Is it really here?’
It was a cave not far at all from the path people regularly traveled.
‘The entrance is hard to notice, though.’
I found it somewhat puzzling.
As I examined the cave entrance, Everett explained that we needed to deactivate the Disguise Magical Tool before entering.
“The mana arrangement of Black Magic is the inverse of normally used mana patterns. If you cast magic near a space or object bearing traces of Black Magic, the two magics cancel each other out and the pooled mana scatters.”
We deactivated the Disguise Magical Tool and released the Artifact we’d been carrying.
Everett then conjured a torch with practiced ease.
“It’ll be dark inside.”
Everett started walking ahead and offered me his hand.
The cave was so narrow that only one person could pass through with difficulty.
Despite that, it was remarkably long.
We didn’t reach an open space until after we’d walked almost to the point of our legs giving out.
“Everything up to here is a natural cave, and from that point onward is an artificial one. The Black Magic traces were found further back.”
It seemed something had originally separated the natural and artificial caves.
It appeared a natural disaster like an earthquake had destroyed it, exposing the artificial cave beyond.
‘This scale of artificial excavation is rather suspicious.’
Even at a glance, it looked quite deep.
“You’d think they were moles, the way they’ve dug into this earth.”
As my exhaustion mounted and I grew a bit flustered, Everett tried to soothe me.
“It’s not that deep. We’re almost there.”
Thanks to this expedition, I’d grown quite comfortable with Everett, so I pouted a little, jutting out my lips.
“I think I heard that before.”
As my calves grew heavier and I began drumming them with my fists, Everett scratched his cheek in apparent distress, then suggested something as if struck by a good idea.
“Should I carry you?”
He was ready to scoop me up the moment I gave permission.
“I’m not injured, so why would you carry me?”
I had my pride.
Besides, I was sweating quite a bit, which made the prospect even more embarrassing.
“Let’s get going.”
I clenched my fists and walked forward with renewed determination.
After six hours of horseback riding the day before, followed by a two-hour cave exploration, I was exhausted and moving terribly slowly.
Still, I was relieved we’d finally reached our destination.
“There it is.”
Everett pointed toward a dark space the torchlight couldn’t quite reach.
“Where?”
Everett shone the torch he’d brought along the cave wall.
Only then did I see it—marks crudely carved with something sharp like a dagger. They looked like graffiti, but they were unmistakably Ancient Language.
“Can you decipher it?”
The Ancient Language was once a dead tongue.
Scholars of later ages had been working to restore it, though the effort remained incomplete.
Fortunately, the Ancient Language carved into the wall wasn’t particularly difficult.
‘It’s about the level of a basic Ancient Language textbook.’
“Yes. ‘[Month] [Day]: Ia Shin and Hugo visited this cave.'”
As I read the Ancient Language aloud, Everett laughed in disappointment.
Right. Someone from the ancient Empire had explored this cave and left a visitor’s inscription.
‘Do you think Ia Shin and Hugo ever imagined their graffiti would still be here over a thousand years later?’
“I didn’t expect to find an incantation for summoning demons, but this is quite surprising.”
“Still, we’re fortunate.”
The Black Mages were those who sought to sacrifice human souls to summon Demon Gods.
There had actually been a time in the distant past when they nearly succeeded. That attempt failed because the god Minos sent down his avatar, the Saint, to stop them.
It was the First King of the age when the Empire was still a kingdom who fought alongside the Saint and sealed the Demon God.
Even after confirming this Ancient Language was merely a visitor’s inscription, I continued staring at it for a long time.
“The ancient history researchers are going to love this.”
I was already thinking about sending a letter to the Academy on our way back.
“This?”
Though Everett had viewed the bellows supposedly made by dwarves and various other scraps alongside me, he didn’t seem to grasp that this graffiti was an enormous discovery.
‘If my ancient history professor heard about this, she’d pack her bags and rush over immediately.’
From my Academy days, I’d learned that most people found topics of ancient history dull, so I’d made a habit of restraint. But Everett was the exception.
“The part that says which month and which day is important. If you compare it to the known notation methods of ancient times, the notation order is slightly different.”
It could have become a new source for understanding the ancient Calendar System.
“That does seem quite significant.”
Everett listened carefully to my explanation.
Once I’d unleashed my enthusiasm for a subject, it didn’t come to an easy halt.
“Actually, I found something else interesting…….”
I explained various pieces of evidence suggesting that the space with the Ancient Language and the natural cave seemed to be connected by an artificial passage.
“It’s a shame we only brought a torch and couldn’t examine it properly.”
“Shall we come back again next time?”
“We can do that?”
“Of course.”
Everett had listened carefully without interrupting me once.
Thanks to that, the cave that had seemed so long on the way in now felt short on the way back.
“Ow, it’s bright.”
After being in the dim cave, stepping out into the bright sunlight made my eyes ache.
I squeezed my eyes shut, then opened them.
‘I can still see the traces of the torchlight, I think.’
Everett formed a hand visor over my forehead.
Thanks to that, things were gradually improving.
I blinked a few more times before speaking.
“It must be hard on the investigators that no Black Magic traces turned up from this cave.”
They’d discovered this cave with the Ancient Language inscription while investigating an area in Diesis where Black Magic traces had been detected.
‘It must have seemed like a prime suspect at first.’
If this wasn’t the cave they were looking for, they’d have to find new leads.
“It can’t be helped. Finding traces of Black Mages is tedious and labor-intensive work by nature.”
Most of the Empire’s ordinary citizens believed the Black Mages had been completely eradicated.
Yet a small handful of surviving Black Mages still carried on their operations in a cell-like structure.
‘They live like ants in a tunnel, hidden away, since execution is immediate if they’re discovered.’
“But doesn’t it seem like there have been more incidents suspected of being Black Mage activity lately?”
As if someone had started backing them.
‘It’s been proven that summoning demons is nearly impossible, so who would bother trying?’
But the word “surely not” always had a way of catching people off guard.
* * *
We returned to Peram as promised.
Baron Orso came out to meet us at the border between Diesis and Peram.
“You’ve returned, sir.”
He seemed so pleased to see us, I thought we hadn’t met in a year.
Everett dismounted the moment he saw Baron Orso and offered me his hand to help me down.
“Thank you.”
Only after I’d dismounted did Everett acknowledge Baron Orso’s greeting with a nod and ask a question.
“The Temple?”
Straight to business.
“The High Priest Harkan sent a formal letter of protest. I suspect he’ll make an appearance within the next few days.”
Baron Orso answered with barely suppressed tension.
Everett nodded impassively.
As Baron Orso searched for something to say, he noticed me standing awkwardly due to muscle soreness and seemed to remember something.
“I’ve prepared a carriage. From here on, let’s travel by carriage, shall we? I’ve had lunch prepared at the Lord’s Residence.”
He was truly a man of capable management.
Everett naturally escorted me toward the carriage.
But only he and I boarded it.
“We’re heading to the Temple first.”
It was Everett who determined our destination.
Though Baron Orso had surely arranged things, Everett seemed intent on verifying matters with his own eyes.
“Yes, sir.”
Baron Orso rode ahead on horseback like an attendant to nobility.
‘He’s definitely trying to establish a connection to the Emperor through Everett.’
The carriage passed the Poorhouse building, which was soon to be torn down, and headed straight for the Temple.
At the sound of hoofbeats, children playing in the Temple courtyard spotted us and came running over.
“Oh! The benefactor’s here!”
The children outside made a commotion and rushed toward me.
“Didn’t we meet before?”
“But why are you here again?”
As I was bombarded with questions, more children poured out from inside.
Everett and I were soon surrounded by them.
After greeting each one, someone emerged from inside the Temple.
She appeared to be the guardian the children had mentioned.
A young woman who looked to be in her late teens, with cotton-candy-pink hair and eyes the color of a clear sky.
The same combination as Ibeta, the female protagonist of this novel, the Saint.
More precisely, Ibeta from the first playthrough.
In the second playthrough, Ibeta’s eyes had turned a deep blue as an aftereffect of the curse carved by the Arch-Mage.
‘Could such a coincidence exist?’
It was a coincidence.
It had to be a coincidence.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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