The great political upheaval at the Court of Alabana will greatly trouble His Majesty Farah, the new Empress, for some time to come.
　But I believe that with her intelligence, vitality, and noble spirit, she will be able to steer Alabarna through this ordeal and into a better country.

　For example, Emperor Farah set out to deal with the Kingsguard Corps as a matter of urgency.
　Normally, it is only natural to execute them for their complicity in the rebellion.
　However, because of their patriotic spirit and their belief in Heydar's ideals, Emperor Farah showed extenuating circumstances. He put them under indefinite house arrest.

　As a matter of fact, if they were to by-pass the majority of the Kingsguard, such as by cutting off the majority of the Kingsguard, the stall would be shaken with regard to the security of the capital and the palace.
　It was also fortuitous that Heydar's coup d'état was so well planned and quick and easy to deal with. The capital city and the palace did not become a battlefield, and since the situation was completed within the palace, the details of how large the coup was did not get communicated to the people. The situation was such that even a lenient punishment could be shown.

　For the time being, Emperor Farah used the First Legion, which had grabbed his heart, to guard the troops, while encouraging his kinsmen to return to the scene of the crime at an opportune moment.
　What a brilliant, flexible and realistic policy!

But that was all thanks to Lord Magnus, who cut off your brother's mind from the guards and forced you to retreat.

　Emperor Farah humbled himself.
　He gave me a "special permit" with her name inscribed on it.

　I had planned my next visit to the palace to get this permit - when I would crown her to the throne - but I felt a sense of accomplishment that went beyond my head's timetable.

If you present this to us, we can explore all the ancient ruins. Of course, I'll be able to explore the remaining two most difficult ruins where the Key to the Earth Palace lies. You have put down my brother's rebellion, and it's a shame to ask Magnus-dono to go through the formalities and procedures now.
No, formality and procedure are important. I'm not a lawbreaker by choice.

　So I will be grateful for the special permission.

His Highness Prince Heydar will give up the search for the Key to the Imperial Household and set out to find one of the ruins. We must hurry.

　I called him "Your Highness" out of concern for the fact that Emperor Fara still called the rebel "Brother".

"I have the key to the Keys of the Imperial Household, and I, as the new emperor, have the authority to lend it to Lord Magnus.
You're a man of your word as always, Your Highness--no, Your Majesty.

　I was grateful for the loan.
　Now all we and Heydar and the others only need to do is get the Key from the most difficult ruins and we can enter the Earth Imperial Palace.
　And, in all likelihood, that will be the decisive factor in the battle.

"Take care of your brother, Master Magnus.

　Finally, Emperor Farah said firmly and sent us off.
　It was a resolute and meaningful "Please".

　　　　◇◆◆◆◆.

　Crim, Ramsey, the triplets, and Gladius, whose repairs had been completed, left the capital city of Alabang.
"Using the Narsai and the Towngate, we rushed to the ruins of Morris.

　Like the ruins of Ramsey, this site is an ancient military facility where the Key to the Earth's Imperial Palace was stored.
　The structure is very similar, and having already conquered Ramsey's ruins, there was no reason why we couldn't do the same thing.
　Our only concern was that they would beat us to it, as they had their sights set on us, but we were relieved that our fears were unfounded.

　We conquered the ruins of Morris in a single day.
　In addition to our top priority, the Key to the Earth Emperor's Palace, we also successfully obtained rare items such as Marid's Soul and Absolute Thunder.
　After taking them back, I took the Towngate back to the capital. We reported to Emperor Farah and exchanged information.

I sent a fast horse to the guards guarding the ruins of Donlov to beware of my brother, but they were a step too late. I have already received word that your brother has appeared with a group of men and has explored the ruins and brought back something.

　Just as I suspected, they had unearthed the key from another difficult site.
　Incidentally, it was inevitable that I would aim at the remains of the remains, but it was probably a coincidence that Heydar and I had different goals.

　Anyway, we can't lose a moment's time now.
　We hurriedly set out for the Earth Imperial Palace.


　The transition gate to the Earth Palace is located in the deepest part of the ruins of Rasad.
　This is one of the largest ruins and was the capital of the ancient magical empire and the gate town of the Earth Emperor's Palace.
　However, it was discovered a long time ago, and all levels have already been cleared.
　The guards are also apologetically stationed there. Hence, I was able to hear from them that Heydar's group had raided the ruins of Rasad a few hours ago.

''A few hours' difference.......can we catch up with this.......?
'The Earth Emperor's Palace isn't clear at all, they won't be able to advance that fast either.
Well, Magnus is right!

　I answer Ted's concerns, and Lad snaps his fingers.
　A glimpse of the Demon King's magical power lies dormant in a corner of the Earth Imperial Palace. It's just a matter of catching up with them before they find it and obtain it.


''Stop wasting time and hurry up, monks!

　Scolded by Krim, we quickly broke through the ruins of Rasad, the gate town. We arrived at the Transference Gate in the deepest part of the city.
　It looks like a huge mirror, but there are holes on either side of the rim to hold the jewels. According to the strategy book, by placing two Keys of the Earth Palace in there, the Transitional Gate will be activated for one hour.
　Furthermore, during the activation process, you can pull out the keys, and as expected, Heydar didn't take any careless steps to leave them behind.

Let's go!

　I place the keys in the shape of jewels in the holes on either side.
　The transition gate is activated without delay, and the mirror does not reflect us, but the view of the palace far beneath the ground.
　I stepped into the mirror with a newfound respect and admiration for the technology of the ancient magical empire, which still hasn't lost its function after five hundred years.
　There was a slight resistance, like entering water, and I quickly passed through the transition gate.
　The entrance corridor was magnificent in the extreme. High stone ceilings, wide widths, and long cobblestones leading all the way to the end.
　It's hard to really feel it, but this is already the depths of the earth.

'The path is wide....or rather, it's big. It's a far cry from the ruins we've been diving through.
Isn't it a little dirty, with scrap metal and rocks scattered all over the place?
The Guardians are in place, and Heydar's guys got rid of them-- I mean, it's like...
Oh, Mud's getting more discerning. Perhaps he is.
But, old man. The floor, the walls and the ceiling look like they're falling apart.　You've been fighting in an entire hallway this big?

　Crim, Ramsey, and the triplets, who have followed me, look around and say.
　The only one who is unperturbed is Gladius, as professional as ever, exuding a sense of professionalism. However, it's natural for people to be unusual.

"This earth emperor's palace is also the center of the explosion, where the demon king's magic power went out of control. It's only natural for it to be rattling here and there, some parts of it are almost intact, while others have been reduced to rubble.

　I answered by referring to the map information in the Strategy Book, which I had drilled into my head.

　Heydar and the others would not have any map information.
　We quickly followed them.
　We didn't need to find out which road they took. The traps and corpses of the members of the U.S. Army's "Unguarded Volunteers" and the traps they set, as well as the remnants of the battles with the Guardians in place, are all to be followed.
　And Heydar and the others could not be said to be taking the shortest route.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find out what's going on in the world. It seems that they aren't aiming for a completely misguided direction.

　The fact that we have perfect map information only over here is a big advantage against Heydar and the others.
　I followed their footsteps, taking a completely different path along the way.

''Could it be that this is a shorter route?''
No, it's more of a detour.
'You're going the long way!'
But I've got a magic item that must be recovered.

　My friends agreed with my words.

　And from here on out, we'll be relying on the map information in the Strategy Book to guide us through the process.
　Unlike previous years, when Heydar and his friends were, in a sense, sweeping the dew, the Guardians are still in place, and there are still large traps in place.
　However, the Guardians were crushed by my magic and Gladius' fists, and the methods for disarming and avoiding the traps were described in the .
　With a truly breakneck pace, we arrived at our desired location.

　The ancient magic empire, the last crown prince's office.

　　　　◇◆◇◆◇◇◇

　While the rooms of the other emperors were buried under the rubble across the board, only that room was miraculously half destroyed.
　The ceiling had collapsed and a fraction of the room had been buried, but the office desk was safe.

　I had business with the contents of that drawer, but before I could approach it, I stopped dead in my tracks with a jolt.
　All of a sudden - really, all of a sudden.
　A figure suddenly appeared and sat down in the chair at the office desk.

"Hello, guests. Welcome to my office.

　He was a shrewd, shrewd young man with a certain cleverness about him, with a certain cleverness about him.
　His golden eyes were full of confidence.
　But what's most surprising is that his body is transparent, and he can see the scenery behind him.

''Gosh, a ghost (ghost)!
That's okay. It's not that cute.

　Klim replies to the astonished Rudd with a nervous look on his face.
　Exorcism is a monk's monopoly. If it was just a ghost, she wouldn't be afraid of it.
　Yes, this is not such an easy thing to do.

It's the Ancient Magical Empire's ghost, the Ancient Spectre.

　The most outstanding wizards of the time used necromancy, which has been completely lost in modern times, to discard their bodies and become eternal, immutable beings - with only their souls.
Even in the guidebooks, he was treated as a monster that wandered around the Earth's imperial palace.
　Its Level is at least 30!

So you're Crown Prince Madetta...?
It's just as well I am Madetta.

　The young man in the spirit body returned a hawkish nod of the head to Ramsey, who asked while casting a guarded glance.

'Don't lie to me. Or are you just teasing me?''

　I also pointed out as I grabbed my ''Great Magic Staff''.
　Even though there were only a few of them wandering around in this wide open imperial palace, I had of course considered the possibility that I might run into these guys.
　And if we encountered them, I had planned to turn tail.
　It wouldn't be an unwinnable opponent, but I could expect to bleed profusely. My enemies are Heydar and the others, not them. I don't want to wear them out for nothing.

'What makes you think I'm lying?
'Crown Prince Madetta died in a ritual runaway. He wasn't prepared or able to afford to reincarnate as a Spectre.
Yes. You've got some interesting stuff here.

　The young man who impersonated the crown prince looked at my copy of the attack book in front of him.
　No one had ever reacted like this before!

I'm not gonna do it, okay?
Kukku, no thanks. I can feel the power of the gods. If I touched it now, I'd go straight to heaven.

　The young man says something that can't be taken seriously or as a joke.

I'm more interested in the way you use it than in that kind of information.

　His golden eyes shift from the Strategy Book to me, and he stares at me.
　I braced myself inwardly for a fight any time now.
　I can't retreat until I get what's in that desk.
　But--

Kuku, don't get too defensive, I'm not going to fight you. You can take the things in the desk with you.

　As the young man told him this, his spirit body (body) faded away again.

"Wait. What are you after all?
Well?　You can call me Spectre. Well, goodbye. I'll see you soon.

　The young man, who had given a blatantly false name, then really disappeared.

''I'll see you........again........?''

　I don't know how long it will take, but I had a feeling that I would run into Spector again somewhere.

　Anyway, there was no time to be bothered by this mysterious ghost.
　I got the Crown Prince's Seal from my desk and headed west to the test square to follow Haydar's group.
　I took the shortest route, which I had drilled into my head.