Chapter 19 (1/2)

Chapter 19

Instead of answering, Erden put his hand in hers. He then took out a little silk pocket with a lock on it.

“What the hell is this?”

“Thanks to you, I’ve earned this treasure.”

Leticia’s eyes went dubious.

“Thanks to me?”

“Yes, it’s from the back of the queen ant you blew up when I wasn’t present.”

“Ah.”

Come to think of it, I remember.

When they came out to see after the battle, the soldiers were sealing around the broken nest with a cloth. I didn’t know the reason for it back then.

“There was a treasure hidden in the nest?”

“Yes, the Giant Ant race leads a wandering life. That’s why the queen ant always carries important treasures.”

Erden explained.

“These things are called artifacts.”

“Artifacts?”

“It’s an ancient artifact that exists in every castle in the North, these kinds of things are invaluable and have special value. We often use this kind of thing to eradicate the other castles and only get this kind of artifact.”

“Ah…”

For the eradication of the enemy. The Giant Ant race’s artifact was a huge gain.

As soon as I understood it, I had a question.

“There’s a treasure for each castle? So what’s the artifact of Halstead Castle?”

“I was just trying to tell you.”

Erden spoke in a solemn manner.

“The artifact is me.”

“What?”

Leticia was surprised.

It was not an idiomatic expression like “The Lord is the treasure of our castle.” It is literally meant to say that the precious artifact of this castle was he himself.

“Erden! Are you an object?”

“Not that…”

Erden lowered his voice even more.

“This is a very important secret of our family. One of the ancestors of the family, Ha Na, is better at fighting demons. He sacrificed something just to exterminate the demons. I don’t know how that was possible, but it’s been going on for generations.”

Then he pointed to his chest. Leticia asked.

“Through the heart?”

He nodded his head.

“It was something that the human body couldn’t overcome. That’s why our family’s successors have turned into monsters in battalions.”

“…… ”

Leticia went silent.

They even chose such extreme ways of protecting the castle from demons.

It made her feel so strange that she couldn’t say anything.

“Anyway.”

Erden changed the subject casually.

“For that reason, I have one unique ability. I can tell the name of an artifact right away.”

“What kind of mysterious power do you have? When I saw this, it was the same.”

He opened the lock and took out what was in his pocket.

Leticia’s eyes grew big.

It was a mysterious pendant.

A large jewel was placed in a delicate and embroidered gold frame. It was a bluish jewel, and as if mixed with milk.

I looked at it more and more and was dazed each time I looked at it.

It’s just too perfect!

I came to my senses when I heard the sound of fingers snapping right before my eyes.

Leticia trembled.

“What just happened? It’s kinda weird!”

“It’s the mysterious force in the Artifact. The object is called ‘The Mist of Tarua.’ It contains magical powers associated with space and oblivion. The Giant Ants did something strange using this artifact.”

“Oh yes. I heard about that too.”

Leticia agreed with his word.

“Clearly, the hoard was driven out by the Halstead army and disappeared in the sandstorm. Everyone thought they were swept away by the sandstorm, but they suddenly reappeared. The Lord left the expedition, and the castle people were all busy preparing for the wedding, while they were trying to take Halstead completely. No one understood how such a thing was possible…”

I glanced at the magic pendant.

“You used this, didn’t you?”

“Yes.”