Demon King of the Royal Class

Chapter 408

Harriet wanted to distance herself from Reinhart, and she knew that in order to sort out her complicated feelings, immersing herself in something was the best solution.

Whenever she was memorizing complex magical formulas or contemplating the solutions to difficult problems, the distractions in her mind would disappear. Harriet was someone who often emptied her mind through study and research.

Therefore, Harriet threw herself into research.

Even though the research itself was about the dimensional gate leading to another world, which Reinhart had suggested—and that itself was pitiful—it was the only thing Harriet could focus on.

She headed to the imperial palace right after her classes in the Temple ended.

Researching the warp gate system in the library of the Imperial Magic Department had originally been Reinhart's suggestion, but Harriet found it interesting as well.

A magical system that had been crafted over a long period of time... Just growing her understanding of that vast system, which had been touched by countless great mages, felt enlightening.

Though it was warp gate research, it required a fundamental understanding of dimensional magic. Therefore, Harriet had grown her level of understanding so much that she felt she could develop a small-scale gate system herself.

Due to recent events, the atmosphere around the Temple had changed significantly.

—Those heroes...

—It would be nice if they left the Temple now and then...

The number of people lingering around the Temple and murmuring had increased significantly, for no other reason than to catch a glimpse of Reinhart and Ellen.

Not only had Reinhart and Ellen gained fame within the Temple, so much so that there were always other students following them around, but they had also gained admirers outside the Temple.

Most people didn’t even know what Reinhart and Ellen looked like, so even if they stepped out of the Temple, they wouldn’t be recognized. The Temple guards were controlling and closely monitoring the crowd in case they caused a commotion.

—Indeed, the reincarnation of Artorius...

Some of the people were saying things Harriet couldn’t understand, but she had heard rumors about a strange cult believing in the reincarnation of Ragan Artorius.

Were such people gathered here? Did they believe the strange notion that Reinhart was the reincarnation of Artorius?

Harriet couldn’t comprehend the eccentricities of people, but the result of it was evident.

Reinhart, Ellen, and Olivia had become figures of humanity’s hope.

Harriet felt small and insignificant.

There was no reason for her to feel insignificant, but when faced with something too immense, it was easy to lose one’s will.

That was why Harriet decided to give up.

Passing through the crowd, Harriet headed to the imperial palace.

***

When Harriet arrived at the Imperial Magic Department, she tilted her head in confusion at the unusual atmosphere.

Numerous mages were gathered around a pile of books In front of the reading room.

—Wow... I can’t believe such a method exists...

—It’s amazing...

—Where on earth did they find such high-level magical tomes...?

The mages were considering the substantial pile of magical tomes in front of them. Those examining the materials were not low-level staff, but appeared to have high positions.

Although Harriet frequented the Magic Department, she did not have particularly close relationships with the imperial mages, and since they seemed engrossed in an important discussion, she headed straight to the 8th reading room, the one she usually used.

Harriet had almost no acquaintances among the mages of the department. Everyone knew that the grand duchess was conducting important research with imperial permission, and so none of them approached her first.

The only people she was familiar with were the manager who sat at the front desk and the officer stationed in the 8th reading room.

The young mage in front of her served as a research assistant and advisor. He was the one who had explained to her the concept of imaginary dimensions previously, and also provided further advice on dimensional magic or helped find necessary materials.Of course, unless Harriet needed something first, he wouldn’t initiate conversation.

Though they were not particularly close, Harriet knew this mage was quite kind. Although Harriet never asked the same question twice, he would always offer detailed yet concise explanations of unfamiliar fields of magic to her.

She had only recently learned his name. It was Rother Dwin.

Although he always greeted Harriet warmly, he seemed unaware of her presence this time, sitting absentmindedly in his seat.

Since there was no reason to acknowledge him first, Harriet quietly sat down at a seat quite a distance away, and he flinched as if he’d heard the sound.

“Ah, Grand Duchess, you’ve arrived.”

“Oh... yes. Just now, actually.”

It seemed he was so engrossed in something that he hadn’t heard her enter. The sound she’d made when sitting down seemed to have jarred him out of it, and he adopted his usual expression, with a slight smile on his face.

“It’s been a while since you have been here.”

“Oh... I’ve had some things to deal with.”

It wasn’t so much that she had things to do, but that she had been emotionally troubled, although she didn’t bother to explain that.

The image of Reinhart flickered in her mind again, and she changed the topic.

“By the way, there seems to be more activity outside than usual,” she said.

The young mage responded to her curiosity with a gentle smile as he looked toward the entrance of the reading rooms.

“Oh, is that what you’re referring to? It seems a large number of rare magic books have been brought in from somewhere. It’s not common to find such a large collection of rare and secret books.”

“Secret books...?”

“Yes. It seems the authorities are keeping the source of these books confidential for now, but there’s talk of a new labyrinth being discovered in the Dark Land. It’s possible that that’s where they originated.”

A labyrinth in the Dark Land...

It was the first time Harriet had heard of it.

“A labyrinth?” she asked, her head tilting in curiosity.

“That’s right. It seems it hasn’t been fully explored yet... but a few adventurers who went in have returned with rare magical books. It’s presumed to be a lich’s tomb, and though we don’t know the identity of this lich, it’s expected to be a rather powerful one. Of course, it’s possible that the tomb has been completely explored given that so many secret books have been found... But still, to find this many is still a very, very rare occurrence...”

Rother Dwin trailed off, and his demeanor seemed slightly peculiar.

Harriet had a vague impression of him as a rather diligent and intelligent person, but at that moment, there was definitely something strange about him.

“I don’t know if my turn will come, but it would be nice to take a look at them if I could. Though I doubt it will...”

She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but there was an odd feeling about him.

She didn’t know what was in that gaze, but it somehow felt chilling.

However, perhaps that look in his eyes wasn’t particularly unusual for a mage. After all, it was only natural for a mage to be interested in rare magic books.

Then again, a lich’s tomb... and a large number of secret books that were presumed to have been found there.

Harriet couldn’t know for sure, but it seemed like there was a secret, unknown source of powerful magic hidden away.

A dangerous force, but a very powerful one, nonetheless.

After pondering for a moment, Harriet snapped back to reality.

‘“Possessing excessively dangerous knowledge only makes one an excessively dangerous mage.”’

Harriet recalled the words her father, Grand Duke Saint-Ouen, often said.

“I’m curious. Where exactly did they find such precious magic...?”

Harriet couldn’t shake the feeling that the look in the mage’s eyes as he spoke about the magic books was slightly unsettling.

—Where did they bring them from... Where...

The barely audible muttering from outside the reading rooms sent a chill down her spine.

***

In the White Palace in Arnaria...

“Your Highness, the documents you requested from the Association have arrived.”

“Hmm... is that so?”

Grand Duke Saint-Ouen took the report that the messenger had brought to the palace office. As he read through the report, the Grand Duke spoke as if in passing, “Is the full text not available?”

“Yes. While it’s not classified as top secret, they consider it the property of the Association.”

“That’s ridiculous, claiming ownership over magic they didn’t even develop.”

The report the Grand Duke was reviewing contained a list of books and a summary of their contents.

[Theories on simplifying magic formulas to increase the efficiency of fire magic composition.

Methods for improving and increasing mana concentration density.

Efficient optimization of internal mana manipulation.]

.

.

.

While those weren’t the exact titles of each book, they represented the magical theories that were recorded in the books, based on analysis.

Whether these theories would actually be effective was unknown, and since the Grand Duke hadn’t actually read through the magic books themselves, he couldn’t be sure if their theories would prove to be accurate.

“A labyrinth presumed to be a lich’s tomb, from which adventurers managed to extract these magical tomes containing these magical theories while exploring it...”

Vast swathes of the Dark Land remained unknown, including numerous dungeons that had not been properly explored. It was impossible to know all the dungeons, unexplored areas, and dangerous places within the Dark Land.

This recently-discovered lich’s tomb was one of those unexplored areas, and its discovery would usually not have warranted being reported to the Grand Duke.

However, a number of magical tomes had been retrieved by adventurers who had barely been able to escape from it.

Magic books were divided into theoretical books and spellbooks, the latter which dealt with spells themselves.

These adventurers had acquired four types of spellbooks.

Even if the spells in these books didn’t completely overturn all existing magical theories, they were still important enough to derive significant improvements.

Then again, it was remarkable that such methods, more efficient than those that were in use thus far, were contained in these magical tomes. Calling them mere improvements would be an understatement.

While the material value of the books themselves was undeniable, their value to magic was even greater.

This lich’s tomb... It was not fully explored, yet just these few books that had been retrieved already contained such treasures.

The duke’s eyes fell on the last line of the report.

[The Association is considering the possibility that an archlich might exist within the dungeon.]

An archlich... They were mythical beings, akin to dragons, and the general consensus was that they did not exist.

The Association had leapt to such an irrational judgment because no one knew what truly lay dormant in the newly discovered tomb.

How long had it been researching magic to possess such magic?

What secrets would the heart of the lich’s tomb contain?

However, since the identity of the lich that lay at the heart of the labyrinth was difficult to ascertain, and it was potentially very dangerous, neither the Mages’ Association nor the Guild had made any direct moves yet.

Mages were generally cautious, and the same went for the Grand Duke.

Adventurers were like rainwater seeping into the dungeon, following the money. While they risked their lives to retrieve magic books, the Association, Guild, or people like the Grand Duke could simply purchase them. There was no reason for them to brave the risks directly.

However, if these magic books fell into the hands of the Guild or Association, the Grand Duke would only be notified of the discovery.

Mages were very secretive and thus reluctant to share their secrets with each other, even with other members within the Guild or Association.

An outsider would consider themselves fortunate if they were even informed about such discoveries.

“Hmm...”

It was always best to take action before the opportunity slipped away.

However, in the same way that the Grand Duke was considering this, the Association, Guild, or even the imperial family might eventually take an interest.

Instead of just adventurers, the Magic Association, Mages’ Guild, or the imperial family could organize a party to explore the dungeon and eventually excavate it, even if it were the tomb of an archlich.

What truly lay within that tomb?

Dangerous knowledge created dangerous mages, and a labyrinth likely filled with numerous dangerous spells would inevitably birth countless dangerous mages.

The true nature of the labyrinth had to be uncovered in order to prevent dangerous spells from being unleashed upon the world.

“Tell the mage corps to prepare.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

For the first time in a while, the Grand Duke was planning an expedition.