TN: Please read my translations only on my website nyx-translation.com since I never give my permission to any site to host my translations. And if you like my translations, please support this site on Ko-fi and Patreon to read several chapters ahead!
Thanks to Zehaal for the Ko-Fi! We really appreciate it! And for our readers, hope you enjoy this mass release~
(2/2)
Chapter 237 – Hidden Space
Investigation: Race.
Investigation: Monster.
—Body Strengthening, Presence Detection, Magic Perception, Stealthy Steps—
Two reactions from the race, but no movement at all.
Still, I’ll be prepared just in case.
This situation is clearly abnormal. I should feel fear and back away, but my curiosity gets the better of me. I can’t help but bite my lower lip as I gaze into the cave.
The interior curves immediately after the entrance, and I can’t see what lies ahead.
“Light up the surroundings.”
I imagined a glowing sphere above my head, which created a light that illuminated everything around me.
I had a flashlight with me, but I wanted to keep both hands free.
I moved forward silently and cautiously through the dry interior.
There was nothing particularly noticeable along the way.
I turned once, then twice, and then a third time. Ah, I see!
My view opened up slightly.
There was a small room.
In the center was a stone table connected to the ground. On top of it were crumpled pieces of paper—or what used to be paper.
Something white was placed on top of them.
There didn’t appear to be any writing, but perhaps it had been erased.
Originally, there must have been something on the right wall, but now it was a pile of dust mixed with wood chips. It was impossible to tell what had been there. Overall, the room looked quite weathered.
On the left side… Yes, no mistake about it:
Two corpses.
Probably a child and an adult.
They were lying side by side on a raised stone pedestal that looked like a bed, holding each other as if they were sleeping.
The corpses were so dried out that it was impossible to determine their gender or species.
“It looks like someone lived here, but why is there a barrier?”
I couldn’t figure it out.
Something happened, and they fell into this crack.
If that’s the case, similar accidents must have happened in the past. These two just happened to survive by chance—it’s possible with enough physical ability and luck.
I’m confident that I could survive falling off a cliff.
If they had to live here after falling, I could understand. But I can’t imagine someone using a barrier. I’m left wondering who’s activating it now, given how weathered everything is.
Hmm…
There are no other rooms, and nothing remains in recognizable form.
This mystery will remain unsolved.
As I thought this, I gently moved a pile of dust that had accumulated near the wall and felt something hard in my hand. My shoulders tensed up.
After carefully checking the buried object, I realized…
“Oh, could this be the ‘Golden Tablet’?”
I had only heard the old lady and Hans-san mention it by name: a metal plate sleeping beneath the dust.
I searched further, but it seemed to be the only one buried there.
I placed the golden tablet, which showed no signs of rust, on the central desk and carefully brushed away the dust to examine it. There, in a chaotic scrawl far removed from the book I had imagined, were a few short lines.
There would be no chance for my magic to recover.
I had barely managed to stay alive, but I knew better than anyone that my body was at its limit.
Therefore, I decided to record the truth here for future generations.
To whoever holds this golden tablet:
Please, do not forget:
Remember that many of my kind once stood against Primus and saved the demi-humans who lived in this world.
Remember that my comrades, the supposed saviors, left me behind, half-dead, and suddenly disappeared.
I have traveled the world for over a decade, yet I have only seen countless demi-humans hiding in the shadows.
I haven’t even been able to find a single one of my kin.
I did not have enough time.
Are the demons still entrenched in this era?
Was it worth it to risk my life, become an evil spirit, and try to protect my friends, comrades, and demi-humans?
Even if I wanted to know the answer, I would never be able to find it.
I pray that the demon race still exists somewhere in the world.
Please let me sleep first.
I gently stroke the gold tablet and turn my gaze back to the sleeping corpse.
“Could it be that this guy…”
I try to use Appraisal without thinking, but nothing happens.
I had heard the story of the battle between Primus—that is, humans and the demi-humans led by the demons—from the goddesses in the past.
Ultimately, Ria brought down divine punishment and swept it under the rug, but it’s also true that she acted to save the demi-humans and succeeded.
I recall Alicia saying that if nothing had been done, the demi-humans might have been wiped out.
But… I’ve never heard that the demon race disappeared.
They didn’t go extinct; they just vanished suddenly. It’s a far-fetched story, but not impossible.
I can’t help but think so.
I don’t know if demons exist in this world since I’ve only seen a small part of the world.
Still, given that the “map” once existed and then disappeared, it’s possible that a species could vanish.
I have no idea why they would do such a thing.
(What I need is the Necromancy that hasn’t been unlocked yet…)
I placed the gold tablet on the desk and glanced at the corpse.
It must be valuable just because it’s made of gold. For some reason, though, I didn’t feel like taking it with me.
“I’ll ask the goddess directly about the whereabouts of the demon race.”
I heard that they killed a lot of people, but from what I’ve read, they don’t seem like bad guys.
For that reason, I cast a spell that might shed light on the future and left the room.
Hidden rooms often contain treasure, but it seems I don’t yet have the key to unlock this one.
If you like my translations, please support me on Ko-Fi and subscribe my Patreon to read several chapters ahead!
Some more lore of this world, nice 👍
LikeLike