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“Hn, heave-ho.”

I have recovered to a degree where there’s no issue walking around on the daily.

But this is simply me being able to move even when my wound hasn’t recovered. The pain isn’t gone yet.

I can spend my daily life without any issues if I drink a painkiller, but if I get too into it, the doctor told me that the wound could open or fester.

According to the report of Mix, Haakudoku’s wound apparently opened in the Kuama Nether and had to get treatment again.

It is not that his wounds healed quickly, but that the room in which it is possible to provide medical treatment is vaster.

It is a relief that Masetta-san was with him, yup.

“Done with your preparations? Then, let’s go!”

“You are awfully hyped, Washekt.”

I have recovered to a certain degree even if it is not to a degree where I can act in Serende, so I am now participating in the ruins tour of Washekt Productions.

I am impressed by his ability to act immediately on the promise we made a few days ago, but what’s with that face overflowing with motivation?

This clashes with the unfriendly face he had at the time I first met him in Gahne. He is even giving off the aura of a gym bro.

He hasn’t been possessed, right?

“Hyped? Obviously. Teaching others the greatness of my own hobby is comparable to a duel. My actions will decide whether you will awaken to a sublime hobby. That responsibility is heavier than your regular office job!” (Washket)

“It could be a simple difference in tastes though.”

“That’s just an excuse. I am definitely pulling you in if I am going to be recommending it. That’s the amount of resolve I need to have.” (Washket)

Washekt…you really are a guy that lives for your hobbies.

Marito was really noisy when it came to gardening, but I can say for sure that his love for ruins is beyond that.

Is that okay for you, 3rd Prince -man fighting for the throne?

My bodyguards are Ilias,Wolfe, and Mix.

Washekt doesn’t have bodyguards for some reason.

He gave me a horrible answer when I asked the reason.

“I have no intention of bringing someone who can’t provide equal or better guiding than me. Even though being able to grasp all the infrastructure of the ruins in Serende should be basics.” (Washekt)

The bodyguards complained, but he apparently pushed them away by saying that a top knight of Taizu was enough.

Ilias was flattered with a conflicted expression, but you can be baffled by this, you know?

We get in the carriage and move for a while.

The carriages I have been in were always made in Taizu, but the carriages made in Serende barely shake at all.

It is in part because the horses are more gentle, but it seems like the carriage itself has some sort of measure taken to soften impact.

The ones from Taizu prioritize sturdiness to endure fast travels, so a carriage that treats their passengers well feels extremely fresh.

“I thought traveling with a carriage was not easy, but this is almost no different from sleeping.”

“These techniques were left behind far before this country existed. It is to a degree where we wouldn’t have been able to reproduce it if we didn’t have skilled artisans.” (Washekt)

This existing before Serende was even founded must mean that this is before Yugura Nariya defeated the Demon Lords.

Yugura Nariya’s first move was in the neighboring country of Mejis.

Maybe he spread his techniques around these areas.

“Mister Friend would be able to return to Taizu without any issues if we have this carriage. Well, he apparently wants to move in Serende for a bit more, so I will tag along until then!” (Mix)

“Mix, did Marito tell you something?”

“‘It would be easier to act if we get Serende indebted, so let my friend do as he pleases’.” (Mix)

3 Demon Lords are currently friendly towards humans if we include Gahne.

But the reality is that there will obviously be negative thoughts about this in this present state where it has been revealed recently.

However, if we make the king of Serende owe us, we would obtain connections with all of the kings in the continent.

It won’t be as simple as solving everything just because we got the tops, but it should at least be possible to bring the nations to a safe direction.

“The Demon Lords…huh. It is natural to not see them favorably, but Serende is different from Mejis in that the advice of Yugura has not been taken seriously.” (Washekt)

“It feels like you two don’t get along despite being neighboring countries. No, maybe it is exactly because you are neighbors?”

“It is nothing to hide anyways, so I will say it, but we are in a bad relationship with Mejis due to a certain matter with a small country. Have you heard of the name Supine?” (Washekt)

“Yeah, I heard it was near the national borders of Mejis and Serende.”

The country that’s said to have been destroyed by Raheight when he was moving around here and there.

Undead continued increasing in numbers with necromancy, and a group of clerics including Maya-san cornered Raheight in the end and solved it.

“Supine was a country that separated from Mejis to begin with. You understand the meaning of a small country being born from a big country, right?” (Washekt)

“…Well, being a neighboring country must mean that.”

Being different countries means that there must be some sort of difference.

There’s the language barrier, but what’s an even clearer wall is a difference in ideologies.

“Supine is a country that was influenced by Serende and went independent. Humans who were aiming to live without relying on the teachings of the Yugura Church.” (Washekt)

“So Serende didn’t accept them.”

“Serende is the same as Torin in that it is a country ruled by demi-humans. The seed of discord can be born even when we have the same beliefs if we are of a different race. The people of the past must have judged that it was necessary to make a delineation.” (Washekt)

“I am impressed that Mejis accepted the independence of Supine.”

“Mejis was desperate in dealing with the devils that were attacking from the Mejis Nether. They apparently bitterly accepted it, saying ‘if people with the surplus can provide us some assistance from a relatively safe location, it is fine’.” (Washekt)

Basically, they don’t have time to be fighting between themselves when there are clear enemies like the devils of the Mejis Nether.

They isolated the people with different beliefs, making them feel indebted by allowing so, and obtaining assistance from them.

“That sounds like Mejis and Serende had a good relationship with Supine.”

“It was…until that day.” (Washekt)

“…The fall of Supine due to necromancy.”

“That’s right. Supine asked for help from Serende first. But we had a hard time against the undead that didn’t die even when we cut them down. We had our hands full with just the undead that crossed the borders and invaded Serende. The purification magic that was the most effective against the undead was a secret technique of the Yugura Church. There may not have been a gap in power, but the compatibility was just…you know…” (Washket)

Serende is a country that has not been influenced by the Yugura Church.

It is allowed to act to a certain degree, but it won’t become a state religion.

There must be an incredibly limited amount of clerics that they can pull out for battle.

It is impressive that they still managed to keep the necromancy to the borders even when it was in a state like that of a pandemic.

“But Mejis solved it in the end, right?”

“Yeah, they ignored our calls for help over and over, and finally got their heavy butts up once it was too late.” (Washekt)

“…I see. But isn’t it natural for them to prioritize their own country over another one?”

“I won’t deny that. Serende also sent help indecisively so that it wouldn’t cause harm to our country, too. But Mejis could have saved Supine. No, Mejis was the only one who could have saved Supine. We had the intention of taking over the role of stopping the invasion of the devils in the time they protected Supine. But Mejis rejected even our attempt at entering their territory. The result was that we lost an amicable country that shared our same beliefs, and were etched the shame of not being able to save them. The result is that we began feeling anger towards Mejis who could have saved them.” (Washekt)

Mejis must have had their own reasons, too.

They have to gather their forces on the side of the Nether in order to oppose the devils that attacked without end.

Monsters would invade their own people if they were to create a hole for trying to save Supine.

The offer of Serende to take over in the defense within that time frame is something that you would like to believe as a person, but it is not something you can just carelessly accept as a country.

A country has to think about the risks that may come from accepting this proposal.

“So rather than hating them, it is more like you had no other choice but to hate them.”

“Yeah. The people of Serende understand this. They still have to be conscious of the wall between countries despite that.” (Washekt)

A rift isn’t easy to cover once it has been created.

It may be covered one day if they continue interacting, but preparing the opportunity to do so would require an extreme amount of effort between countries of different beliefs.

Raheight was sneaking around in order to search for Illegitimate.

Widening the rift between countries will make their coordination lower, and would make it easier for him to move.

He might have done all that with this in mind.

“Well, I don’t know if this will serve as a consolation, but your cooperation has helped us defeat the culprit that destroyed Supine.”

“I would want to make it a public matter, but there would also be people showing up, criticizing that Mejis let that very culprit escape.” (Washekt)

“A country is such a pain.”

“True. Now you understand why I chose the path to love ruins.” (Washekt)

A country is a gathering of people.

A gathering of people is most often influenced by the atmosphere rather than logic.

You need to read the atmosphere and lead the consciousness of the populace to a better direction in order to rule a country.

But there will definitely be people picking at the seams if you don’t do this correctly.

You can only guide the mass correctly once you manage to get a harmony between those two.

They have to do something about the atmosphere created by their predecessors.

It gives me chills just thinking about the work that comes from this.

You would need a pillar for support in order for your heart to not break.

That would be ruins for Washekt.

“If you love ruins, make sure not to escape to them.”

“No need to tell me. Now then, it should be about time. You 3 over there, can you confirm whether there’s anyone tailing us?” (Washekt)

“…There’s none. I have tried using detection magic, but there’s no one within range where our voices could reach them.” (Mix)

“It is great to see you are capable. Here, you wanted this, right? Make sure you finish reading this on our way. Burn it before you get back.” (Washekt)

Washekt throws me a bundle of parchment.

These are…the documents pertaining to the royalty of Serende, huh.

There’s also information about relatively influential people, too.

I am impressed he managed to get all this in such a brief period of time.

“Thanks. But telling me to memorize this by today is a bit…”

“Do your best. I believe you can do it.” (Washekt)

“And what you really think is…?”

“Do your best to not become a detriment towards me. If you can’t do that, you will have to do your best on your own.” (Washekt)

“That’s more motivating. Mix, please help me memorize this.”

Washekt wants to cooperate with everything he has, but he probably doesn’t want to create enemies in Serende.

Preparing information of the other members of the royal family could also be taken as ‘you are a suspect too’.

That’s why he is providing me information while using his ‘sickly love for ruins’ that’s widely known.

There’s also the method of transcribing it, but he probably wants to avoid the possibility that such documents exist to begin with.

He did this much, so let’s just memorize this obediently.

“I normally would have hammered knowledge of the ruins beforehand, but you seem like someone with a decently wide perspective. But make sure to look at the ruins when we arrive.” (Washekt)

“The other people would notice if I don’t have knowledge of the ruins in my head after all.”

“It is partly because of that. But I sincerely can’t forgive the act of belittling ruins in front of me.” (Washekt)

“No need to tell me. I am participating because I actually find it fun to look at ruins.”

If need be, I can stealthily take a photo of the ruins with the camera I have hidden, and use it as a way to review at a later date.

Memorization after manual labor, huh… I wanted work that was a bit more dreamy like training magic or something.

“I have said this before, but I think the 1st Prince Nuphsa, 1st Princess Yumis, and the 2nd Prince Chisante are the prime suspects.” (Washekt)

“What’s your basis?”

“The country is protecting the ruins. The maps showing the internal structures have been stored by the country. There’s no way a random influential person could be able to introduce them to ruins that would be suitable as a hideout.” (Washekt)

It would be one thing if they were infiltrated there to begin with, but the ruins were deep in the underground, and were pretty complicated.

Nektohal and his group based themselves there as if it were their home, and faced us.

It is true that it wouldn’t be easy to utilize a place like that unless you have a map like the one Washekt prepared for us.

“But that would make you the most suspicious with that logic.”

“What are you saying? There’s no way me -the person who loves ruins the most- would open the ruins to outsiders for them to use as their den.” (Washekt)

“Is that so.”

It is true that those 3 are the most suspicious from what I have read in these documents.

There’s enough factors to make me think there’s no harm in immediately putting them as suspects.

“Is something the matter?” (Washekt)

“Well, I understand there not being files about you, but I see that the files of your most beloved little sister are not here either.”

“My little sister will be 14 this year.” (Washekt)

“Aah, I see.”

Raheight destroyed Supine 20 years ago, and Nektohal attacked Taizu 10 years ago.

The little sister of Washekt wouldn’t have been born in the time to make contact with Raheight, and she would have been 4 years old if she had made contact with Nektohal immediately.

I doubt there’s a demon who would ask the help of a 4 year old.

I can tell Nektohal has been using Serende as a base for at least more than 5 years, so…that would still require her to be at least 9 years old.

“If you are still not satisfied with that, I can introduce you to her some other day. Of course, I won’t let you put a hand on her.” (Washekt)

“No need to worry. I don’t think I would be able to win even against a 14 year old.”

“…I think that feebleness is worrying in its own way though.” (Washekt)

The chances of her being the suspect are not zero, but it would be pretty low.

But it would make more sense that she was being deceived rather than her cooperating with them though…

For now, I go through the files as I enjoy the tours in the ruins.

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