Ethan Croiffler slowly poured himself a glass of wine, but drank it quickly. It was only when he began to pour himself a third cup that people realized that he had no intention of explaining anything.

Ogro seemed to have expected it, there was no anger on his face, and he didn't speak anymore, but the meaning was very clear - everyone sitting here had some secrets of their own, so why should they hold on to him?

"Everyone. Hoyt Laval, the silver-haired high priest, tapped the ground with his staff, "We all have our own purposes...... But there are always common interests, so maybe we can put aside the debate and skepticism and talk about the crisis we are facing?"

Ogro spread his hands: "I wasn't the one who questioned first. ”

"Ah, allow me to apologize to you. Laval smiled, "As you said, Nigel almost died underground, and he was inevitably in a bad mood...... But I'm sure he's had enough of it. ”

This was really not a reasonable reason, but Ogro was a little speechless, and his mask-like face rarely cracked, revealing a little surprise - perhaps he didn't expect the dignified high priest to have such a thick skin.

"So...... What kind of crisis is that?" Borena duly expressed his puzzlement: "If it's the strange snake that can't be seen underground...... I think it's been fixed. ”

He was well aware that this was not really a crisis, but he succeeded in diverting the conversation.

Ogro was stunned, and his voice suddenly became sharper: "'Solve'?......? The Soul Eater Serpent can't be killed!"

Borena looked at Ed, and Ed looked at Is.

“...... Nothing is immortal. Iss raised his eyelids and replied casually.

Ed smiled wryly, and was about to speak, when his gaze caught the faint anticipation on Borena's face.

This is a king who likes to write scripts and let people play them—he remembered.

He probably loves storytelling, too.

Ed shrugged and handed him the task he didn't want to take on in the first place.

Borena rubbed his hands together, omitting the part where he had sneaked into the ground, starting with his encounter with Is, and continuing to talk about the black spot that probably still hangs in the air today, painted from beginning to end, fascinating, with the occasional bit of exaggeration and emotion, but intentionally or unintentionally obscuring Is's extraordinary greatsword, and attributing everything to the dragon's profound knowledge and agility, it sounded seamless and without a single flaw.

If this was really just a story, Ed felt like he was likely to slap his hands in applause...... It's a pity it's not.

“...... You've just dug a hole into the ground that I don't know which otherworldly one it leads?" Laval felt for the first time that his heart didn't seem to be strong enough, "right under our feet?"

"yes. Borena nodded, "It shouldn't go anywhere else...... Will it?"

"Yes. Isis said.

There was silence in the room.

"Not anytime soon. Ed had no choice but to comfort everyone with his pitiful experience, "And there is no power in the ground that can absorb it, so it won't get worse for the time being...... Isn't that so?"

"I hope so. Laval sighed, "After all, we can't know what's going on the other side. ”

"Iss can fix it!" Ed turned to his friend to confirm, "isn't it?"

“...... Well. Isis said.

"Are you sure the Soul Eater is 'dead'?" asked Ogro, who had not spoken for a moment.

"Sure. Isis replied coldly.

For a moment, Ed felt a hint of resentment in the mage's lacklustre brown eyes. But O'Gro's eyes soon drooped, and his young, old face remained unmoved.

"But...... Looks like you guys all along knew it was there?"

Borena stroked his beard, and that vague "you" included at least Ogro and the High Priest, and Crofeller, who he did not dare to include.

“...... Yes. Laval glanced at Ogro and admitted, "The High Priest of Anduch, the Lord of Balahe, and the Battle Mage of Beranti are all in the know...... This was already the case before I became a pastor in Anduhe. ”

The old mines of Balach contain monsters, and this is a very old legend. It didn't matter if the monster was a horrible ghost, an undead orc, or something else cursed, after all, it was just a story to scare children into scaring them not to mess around—at least that's what the vast majority of Balach's inhabitants thought.

"Two hundred years ago, the mines of Balach were a place that some overly curious adventurers would not let go. Laval recalled, "because it was said that there was a treasure trove of orcs in it......"

The old man paused, probably remembering that it was no longer "supposed"—the treasure did exist.

He shook his head with some emotion and continued: "But the people who went in never came out, and gradually no one cared about it...... Until more than one hundred and forty years ago, an accident occurred in it with a team of adventurers...... Perhaps because of the danger, they didn't know what they were using in a hurry, probably dwarven gunpowder or something, but they blew themselves to smithereens, and blew through the floor of Blante's library - yes, that's the 'entrance' now. ”

It was night, and there weren't many people in the library, but it still caused quite a bit of confusion. Luckily, there was a mage who stayed in the library for the rest of his time working on a book that wasn't allowed to be taken out. He sealed the real danger underground in time, and specially warned the lord of Balach and the temple of Anduhe:

"I'm not sure what it is. But there is no doubt that it is a danger that humanity cannot handle. Some ancient power had sealed it in the darkness of the earth, but the seal had weakened, and I tried to strengthen it, but I didn't know how long...... You'd better abandon the city. ”

At that time, the high priest of Anduch actually stayed in the temple of the royal capital, not in Balach. The high priest at that time came to the library of Blandi for this reason, stayed for a short time, but only came to the same conclusion - "Danger. ”

As the ruler, it was impossible for the lord of Balach to abandon his city, and things were just pressed. More than a decade later, the mage returned to Balach with a white-haired, young-looking priestess, and went underground with the then High Priest of Anduhe, and finally figured out what was hidden underground, but he could not destroy it, so he could only reluctantly repair the seal, and reopen the two holes that had been filled in and blasted out as entrances, so that he could probe the situation at any time - after all, it was not rocks and dirt that could seal the serpent.

“...... Gray hair?" Ed's eyes lit up.

"Yes. Laval smiled and nodded, "That's Felicity...... And the mage, you should have heard his name - Kerman Santo, the great stone shaper. Because of him, there is Beranti's battle mage. ”

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