The Blood of the Incarnation

I spread the paper Headmaster Herenso had given me across the table. It was the size of four A4 sheets taped together, featuring a speculative diagram of the underground ruins’ interior. It looked like an ant colony—riddled with tunnels, small chambers, and a massive dome-shaped space at the center. About a quarter of the area was highlighted in red, marking the boundary of Duke Tephersa’s estate. Unfortunately, a portion of the central dome fell right within that red zone. I pressed my fingers against my temples before propping my chin on my hand.

“How far in have they gotten?”

“They haven’t breached the dome yet.”

Headmaster Herenso pointed to a spot in the complex web of tunnels. I gave it a cursory glance and nodded.

“This is… well, for starters, it’ll be hard to forcibly stop them from entering.”

I sighed, picking up the paper to look at it again before dropping it. If this truly was a ruin built by the last Crown Prince of Argenta and the Black Dragon… and if something “important” was hidden there—a powerful weapon or something that could prove the legitimacy of the Argenta Imperial line—it absolutely could not fall into the hands of the Noble Faction.

I straightened my slumping posture.

“What do you need me to do?”

“Please go underground.”

Herenso spoke with a smile, as if he’d been waiting for me to say those words. I pulled a skeptical face.

“Why?”

“We have already discovered the entrance to the dome.”

“And?”

“There is a mural of the Black Dragon on the wall, and an altar stands before the door.”

“Ah.”

“Your Highness, you have experience opening the doors of such ruins, do you not?”

I scowled. The palm I had once pierced with a fountain pen seemed to throb in phantom pain.

“No matter how bold I am, it is not easy to make such a request of His Majesty the Emperor.”

“That’s… well, that’s true.”

Even if the Emperor’s authority had hit rock bottom, asking him to shed blood because a door needed opening was a bit much. Compared to him, I was an easy target. I fiddled with the scar on my hand and let out a long sigh.

“But this is a ruin of the Black Dragon. Will the blessing of the Fire Dragon even work?”

Herenso smiled broadly.

“Do not worry. I will ensure the price of the blood Your Highness sheds is fully repaid.”

He sounded like he was going to tear everything down to get that repayment; I wished he wouldn’t say such things while smiling—it was creepy. After a moment of thought, I nodded.

Is Headmaster Herenso’s life motto “No Regrets, No U-Turns”? He’s a sturdy old man who looks like he’ll outlive me, but wouldn’t it be better to live life with a little more caution and occasional reflection? I decided that if I made it back up, I’d tell him to try living a more relaxed life. I mused on this while walking through a path that looked more like a wide hallway than a tunnel.

The air underground was surprisingly decent. Lamierre explained that air purification magic circles had been installed.

“But do I really have to be here? I feel like you could have just taken a sample of my blood.”

I’m not claustrophobic, but looking at the endless path ahead felt daunting. Furthermore, we hadn’t confirmed what was actually inside the ruins. Was it really okay to go? Walking through the empty passage, all sorts of thoughts cropped up. What if a golem suddenly appeared? Or a monster jumped out? When I stopped walking, Lamierre, who was leading the way, stopped and looked back.

“The Headmaster hopes that Your Highness will become the owner of these ruins.”

“Just because it opens with my blood doesn’t mean it becomes mine.”

“If Your Highness opens it, it is yours.”

“Is that how it works?”

Lamierre gave me the explanation he’d received from the Headmaster. Duke Tephersa’s Noble Faction was maintaining a stance of wanting me to ascend the throne. It was a move to check the rapidly growing Kallios and the pro-Imperial faction, but regardless… since they were technically supporting me, they wouldn’t be able to openly steal a ruin I had already “claimed.”

“So if it opens, it’s mine.”

“It will open.”

“By the way, is there a healing mage present?”

Lamierre smiled brightly and held out his hand. His palm was glowing with a white light.

“I learned it.”

“Oh.”

Then I wouldn’t have to worry about more scars. My heavy mood lightened a bit. In my past life, I was such a coward that I hated getting shots; when the flu was going around, I’d wear a mask, wash my hands three times a day, and bundle up in thick clothes. I’d been forced to stab my palm in the last ruin, but I wasn’t thrilled about doing it again. Though, I knew I had to.

After twenty minutes of walking, Isaac crouched down in front of my tired self. I immediately hopped onto his back.

“I want to go home.”

“Shall we turn back?”

“Yeah. Let’s just hurry up, open the door, and leave.”

I gave Isaac’s neck a tight squeeze before letting go and going limp. My legs throbbed from the long walk, and the soles of my feet hurt. I wanted to take my shoes off. I stared ahead blankly, lost in thought.

We—or rather, Lamierre and Isaac—walked slowly, while I chatted with them from my perch. It was mostly me asking questions and them answering.

After exhausting topics like favorite foods, hobbies, and recent interests, I ran out of things to say. Bored of the monotonous tunnel scenery, I closed my eyes.

“Lamierre.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Do you still have those dreams?”

“Ah…”

No answer. I squinted to check his face. He wore the kind of smile one has when it’s difficult to speak. I playfully brushed Isaac’s bangs aside, gathered his hair in my hand, and let it go.

“Not every day… just occasionally. Maybe once a week?”

“I see.”

“Yes.”

I considered asking about the content of the dreams but stopped. The fact that he was still having them was what mattered, not the details. It seemed he didn’t want to talk about what he saw, so I remained silent. Listening to the sound of their footsteps, I closed my eyes again.

“Your Highness.”

“Mm…”

I couldn’t tell if he was waking me up or just checking if I was sleeping well. I heard Isaac’s voice calling softly. I rubbed my sleepy eyes against his shoulder.

“How long did I sleep?”

“You slept for a short while.”

I didn’t think so. My mind felt groggy, as if I’d been in a deep slumber. Being in a tunnel made it impossible to gauge the time, but it felt like at least an hour or two. After a long yawn, I stretched out the arms that had been draped over Isaac’s neck. I let out a low groan, making Lamierre chuckle under his breath.

“Are we there?”

Even after stretching, my arms felt heavy as I clung to Isaac’s neck. He pointed ahead. I saw bright torches and tents. People were moving about. We had arrived. I tapped Isaac’s shoulder, and he set me down. I wobbled for a moment before standing straight. Haaaaah. I let out another long yawn and a big stretch. The people ahead seemed to have noticed us, as I saw them approaching.

“I greet the Grand Duke.”

The mage at the front greeted me on behalf of the group. I nodded in return.

“I am Alysha Temi. I serve as a professor of Magic Circuitry at the Academy.”

“Ah, I see.”

The young professor, who looked to be in her early thirties, smiled. She didn’t look like a mad scientist who chewed on books or wanted to dissect Lamierre.

“Hello, Professor.”

“I wondered where he went, but he was just bringing his guardian along, I see?”

“Ahahaha…”

Lamierre laughed awkwardly and hid behind me. I just shrugged.

Guided by Professor Alysha Temi, we headed inside. With a dreamy expression, she explained how incredible the “Air Purification Magic” and “Protection Magic” encompassing this vast ruin were. She noted that such large-scale lifestyle magic had been lost during the era of chaos 500 years ago, but could now be restored thanks to the discovery of these ruins. Since I knew nothing about magic, I just gave soulless responses like “I see” and “That’s amazing.”

Exiting the corridor where the research teams, knights, and mages had set up camp, we entered a large cavern. I looked around. There was another path where a crowd had gathered. They were Duke Tephersa’s workers.

As I watched, someone emerged from that group and approached me. Judging by the heavy jewelry he wore, he wasn’t there to do any actual digging.

“I am Jaeger Tephersa. I greet the Grand Duke.”

Isaac whispered to me.

“That is the Young Duke of Tephersa.”

“Is that kid the next Duke?”

The Young Duke must have heard me, as he replied immediately.

“My father wishes to pass the title to my son rather than to me.”

“Really?”

“Yes. He is a man who still has much he wishes to achieve himself.”

“And you?”

The Young Duke smiled at me. I looked into his blue eyes and smiled back.

“You’re quite blunt, aren’t you?”

“I thought Your Highness would appreciate that… Was I wrong?”

“No. You’re spot on.”

I approached the stone altar that two mages were inspecting. The Young Duke of Tephersa walked beside me. I tuned out his complaints about his ambitious father. Whether he truly coveted his father’s position or was just talking was hard to judge right now. Not that I needed to.

The two mages greeted me and stepped back from the altar. I walked slowly around it. It looked much more like an altar than the one in the Abbas Mountains. The polished surface and the carvings—whether they were patterns or letters—gave off that vibe.

“What is this?”

I asked, pointing to the script-like carvings in the center. An older mage answered immediately.

“It says, ‘Come, O Incarnation of Capre,’ written in the Dragon Tongue.”

I looked up at the mural of the Black Dragon on the wall behind the altar. A massive black dragon with two large horns and jagged scales was glaring down at the altar.

“This is a bit…”

Doesn’t it look like a challenge? Is it really okay for me to open this? Wouldn’t it be better for Kallios, a Swordmaster, to do it? Feeling a sense of foreboding, I stared at the script before cautiously reaching out my hand.

“Your Highness.”

“Hmm?”

I stopped just before touching the letters. Lamierre held out his hands, saying, “Your hand, for a moment.” I obediently gave him my left hand. He slipped something onto my wrist—a thin bracelet studded with red gems. It was the reward we’d found in the previous ruin.

“Just in case.”

Usually, I would have refused, but the glaring Black Dragon mural was bothering me, so I just nodded. I’d return it once we went back up.

After a deep breath, I placed my hand on the altar. Fortunately, there was no reaction. I brushed over the letters. Still nothing. So it has to be blood? I really don’t want to cut myself…

I took my hand off the cold stone and looked around. Knights and mages had formed a perimeter, surrounding me and the altar as if on guard. Isaac and Lamierre were standing right next to me, clutching my sleeves.

“Hey, don’t you think you should step back a bit?”

Isaac shook his head with a determined expression.

“No.”

“If you get caught up in something…”

Isaac let go of my sleeve only to wrap his arm around my waist. Lamierre, watching us, also let go of my sleeve and pulled my arm into a hug. These big guys were acting so cute. I twisted away to shake off Lamierre, loosened Isaac’s grip, and held out my hand.

“Give me a knife.”

A mage stepped forward and handed me a dagger. With Lamierre and Isaac still clinging to each of my arms, I drew the blade from its sheath. I looked from Lamierre, who had his eyes squeezed shut, to Isaac, who was staring at the dagger with a grave face, and took a deep breath. Doing it half-heartedly will just hurt; let’s do it properly in one go.

One, two… two and a half, two and a quarter, two and an eighth… three!

I made a long cut across my palm. The blade was so sharp that even without much force, the skin parted and blood began to pour. The pain came a second later. Frowning, I clenched and unclenched my fist, letting the blood spray onto the altar.

‘Huh? You didn’t have to go that far.’

A voice echoed—not in my ears, but directly inside my head. Wait, what? Hey. What did you just say?