Chapter 94

Chapter 19: The Artifacts in the Pocket

No matter how many times I reread the letter, I could still feel the terrifying greed and stubbornness between the lines.

It seemed that continuing the family line was a very important issue for others.

In any case, the long letter described the map and the signet ring in detail.

The map and the signet ring were items that the ancestor of the Cheafrey family had brought back.

The ancestor of the Cheafrey family was a soldier under the first king, Sir Carlos.

He apparently played a role in sealing the Demon King in the Seal Land during the Great War.

During this time, he met the last magician of the fallen ancient empire and obtained the map and the signet ring.

He returned to the kingdom, established the family, and one of his descendants married the daughter of King Carlos, becoming a noble.

The letter went on to describe this long and detailed story.

I, as a third party, couldn't tell if this elaborate story was a boast about the family or meant to show how important it was to be the heir of the family.

In any case, the Cheafrey family had sent mercenaries, knights, and family members to the Seal Land for a long time to search for the ruins on the map.

After several hundred years, 50 years ago, they finally managed to determine the location of the ruins and sent the son of the Duke and a group of knights.

"But in the end, they all died without even entering the ruins."

Thus, the map and the signet ring passed through Laid's hands and came to me.

I folded the letter and put it in my pocket.

Then I examined the map.

"Because of these items, people keep coming to the Seal Land, where monsters swarm."

The peninsula in the eastern part of the continent, known as the Seal Land, was once the center of the ancient empire.

It was where the Demon King first appeared and the cause of the sudden downfall of the once glorious ancient empire.

Now, although the Demon King is sealed and the land is filled with monsters, many ruins and artifacts from the ancient empire still remain.

The ruins depicted on the papyrus are one of such places.

It's unknown how significant these ruins are, and they could be useless, a true gamble.

Previously, when I found a tomb with Katrin, we obtained some decent artifacts and treasures.

Since we found such artifacts in a tomb, it's understandable why people are interested in these ruins.

The map on the papyrus was drawn on both sides.

The front showed the terrain where the ruins were located, and the back depicted the interior of the ruins.

"Even with this, it would be difficult to find them..."

The map of the interior of the ruins seemed to be missing many parts, and the terrain depicted was hard to recognize in its current state, which has changed like a jungle.

That's why the Cheafrey family must have spent hundreds of years searching for the location of the ruins.

"50 years ago, they must have determined the location to some extent, since they sent the son of the Duke and a group of knights to the Seal Land."

The fact that they didn't send anyone again and instead searched for this pocket suggests that the map and the signet ring play a crucial role in confirming the location of the ruins.

"Or maybe it's because of this signet ring..."

The emblem engraved on the ring was the same as the one on the dead knight's armor.

In other words, it was the emblem of the Cheafrey family.

Since the emblem was engraved on the ring before the family was established, it's clear that the family emblem was modeled after the ring.

"So, this signet ring is the seal of the Cheafrey family..."

This signet ring was the seal of the head of the Cheafrey family.

"I haven't heard that the Cheafrey family lost their seal. Could the seal they have now be a fake?"

If that's the case, the Cheafrey family must need to recover this signet ring.

While it might not be a problem in normal times, a real seal is necessary for signing important documents, such as during a civil war within the family or when establishing a new king.

"In a situation like now, where a civil war might break out among the princes, this seal would be essential to support one of them."

Thinking about it, the signet ring seems more important than a treasure map with an uncertain location.

However, it doesn't seem like I can use the signet ring immediately.

"Since the gold coins are enough, I should seal the map and the signet ring for now."

I put the ring, the map, the letter, and the gold coins back into the pocket.

"By the way, this pocket itself seems to be a remarkable artifact."

It doesn't seem to have the capacity of the artifact bags in the kingdom's treasure vault, but this small pocket has a lot of hidden space.

A small pocket that fits in one hand can hold as much as a large bag or even a small cart.

With this capacity, it would be possible to live outside for a long time with just this pocket.

"For now, I'm satisfied with the gold coins and the pocket."

I made sure to take good care of the pocket and looked at the dark forest.

It was gradually getting lighter.

* * *

People who had been sleeping started to wake up one by one.

"Are you feeling better?"

"Hmm. I can move now."

Katrin's frowning expression had returned to normal.

She moved her body around and let out a sigh of relief.

Although she still looked a bit uncomfortable, it seemed she could move to some extent.

Indeed, the potions made by alchemists could be called miracle drugs.

They managed to seal a bleeding wound in just one night.

While they didn't heal instantly like in novels or comics from my previous life, the effect of enhancing natural healing by more than ten times was truly remarkable.

Of course, they were very expensive, making them difficult for ordinary people to use, but for nobles who could attend the royal academy, it wasn't a big issue.

The students also seemed more energetic than yesterday.

Their expressions occasionally darkened due to Laid's absence, but they improved while washing up and preparing breakfast.

However, Katrin's expression hardened whenever Laid was mentioned.

Yesterday, she seemed full of guilt, but now she looked like she was deep in thought.

Breakfast was finished quickly. Fortunately, everyone had enough food for a day or two, so no one was hungry.

"Then, what should we do now?"

After breakfast, Jesus asked the gathered group.

Jesus, a light mage, didn't help much in yesterday's fight, but he didn't seem to have a bad personality.

"Others probably returned before sunset yesterday, and a search party is likely still looking for us."

Katrin explained the current situation.

"Then, can we return if we meet the search party?"

"No, it will take about a week for the magic circle to recharge. We need to hold out here during that time."

The prospect of staying in the Seal Land for a week darkened everyone's expressions.

"Can we ignore the search party?"

At Mirisa's question, Katrin looked troubled.

It was hard to be sure if the search party had survived the night.

However, it was also difficult to ignore them.

Last night, we blocked them because of injuries and danger, but now everyone had recovered to some extent, and she could move.

But moving recklessly would only deepen her worries.

At that moment,

Whoosh! Bang!

Smoke rose from the middle of the forest and exploded in the sky.

It was a signal flare like the one we saw before.

"Is the search party still alive?"

Everyone was surprised and looked at the sky outside the cave.

'But the color is different...'

The signal flare we saw before was blue, but this one was red, a different color.

"That's a rescue signal."

Katrin clenched her teeth at the signal.

She could move, but she wasn't in a condition to fight.

She couldn't send the students either.

But I could move.

"I'll go."

Last night, we couldn't find the search party because we didn't know their location. I was still hesitant about going.

But now that they had revealed their location, I couldn't ignore it.

Although things have been intense since arriving in the Seal Land, considering that I revived Katrin, this was a reasonable request.

After a long moment of consideration, Katrin finally agreed.

"This time only. Next time, I'll move myself."

After the ordeal last night, no one seemed willing to follow me.

Bria and Mirisa looked apologetic, and the two male students subtly avoided eye contact.

It was light outside, and the remaining people in the cave could handle weaker monsters.

I set off immediately.

I jumped onto a tree and started mimicking a monkey, leaping from tree to tree across the forest.

Having done this once before, I was a bit faster this time.

I ran hard and met the knights.

They were the same knights I saw yesterday.

Knight Axel and Knight Miro were injured and fighting monsters.

One knight lay dead on the ground, someone I hadn't seen before, likely a replacement for me in the search party.

I jumped onto the head of a monster and cut off its neck with my greatsword.

Swish.

The surprised knights looked at me.

"Are you okay?"

"Hey, you're the illegitimate son of that ducal family, right?"

The term "illegitimate son" felt like a nickname.

I didn't like it, but I couldn't do anything about it now.

After cutting down the monster, I stood in front and surveyed the surroundings. The knights were busy treating their wounds.

They were using potions and bandages, the best method in this world.

While bandaging his wound, Knight Miro asked,

"How did you survive the night?"

"It was luck."

Honestly, it was luck. A slight mistake could have ruined the plan.

The knight nodded at my words. Not knowing my skills, he could only think it was luck.

He then asked another question.

"Did you find the missing group?"

It was the most important question.

"Yes, they're with me."

I nodded, and the knights' expressions brightened at my answer.