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The man asked Balpas,

“Do you mean…I can kill him if I have to?”

“Yes. I give you my permission.”

“However, surely your father would not allow it?”

“If my father asks, I will explain the situation to him. We both have secrets that cannot be made public. Besides, it seems a little late for him to suddenly mourn the loss of one prince.”

“I understand…”

“I’m counting on you.”

And then Balpas brushed off the powder and crept out of the storage house.

As expected, none of the guards noticed him.

Once he was certain of this, Balpas decided to look around the island.

The port was very well built…

There was a long, stone pier, docks, and even a shipyard. Balpas couldn’t help but be impressed by these facilities.

The walls, towers, and storage houses were impressive as well. And they seemed to have more than enough when it came to weapons and other supplies.

How had they been able to make all of this?

The only explanation that he could think of was that Leila, the duke’s daughter, had been supporting Heal by sending him money.

They were the descendants of a once great emperor. It would not be surprising if they had some hidden fortune at their disposal.

However, money would not be enough to build all of this in such a short amount of time.

Perhaps the old empire had some secret method that he used… It was possible that even that giant tree was a result of their secrets.

With such thoughts in his mind, Balpas decided to move away from the port district and to the World Tree.

When he walked through the gate, he saw that constructions on different buildings were underway all over the place.

They were carrying giant stone materials, including pillars made of carved marble.

…There are so many monsters. Slimes, goblins, orcs, and kobolds.

The monsters that worked here were well known on the continent.

However, it seemed like the person that commanded the workers was human. He was wearing a square-shaped hat.

However… Why would monsters obey the orders of a human so willingly? In the first place, shouldn’t the goblins, orcs, and kobolds be fighting each other?

It didn’t look like they were under the influence of magic. If anything, they were all smiling and seemed to be enjoying themselves.

This was very mysterious. He needed to dig deeper and…what!?

Balpas was stunned when a giant creature suddenly moved past him.

The front half was that of a lion, but it had a sheep’s head coming out of its back, and the tail was a snake. It was currently pulling a wagon that was loaded with rocks.

Wa-was it…a Chimera? Huh? What the hell!?

Behind it, Balpas saw that a giant, black spider was moving, and he nearly shouted in alarm. However, he had not seen anything yet.

A dog…with the face of an old man?

His eyes fell on another creature. This one was the same size as the Chimera, but it had the face of an old man.

Uhh. It groaned as it walked. It made Balpas feel that the world was coming to an end.

And on top of it rode the bearded man who looked a lot like Macha.

Wh-what is happening here…no, what is that in the sky now…a dragon?

When he looked up, he saw the wyverns from ancient history books.

They were chasing a large red dragon and a small red dragon. Elto was teaching Fal and the wyverns how to fly.

“See! A good dragon must strengthen its wings!”

It-it was talking…the dragon was talking?

Balpas could feel his knees shaking beneath him. He knew now that he had stepped into a most terrible place.

He should return right now and concentrate fully on monitoring Oren, so that they could leave in peace. That was what was on his mind now.

However, as someone who had uncovered all kinds of information in the past, Balpas also felt a sense of elation at this impossible sight in front of him.

Heal…what power had he used? What had he done?

Before he knew it, Balpas was walking towards the World Tree. He could not beat his own desire to know everything.

As Balpas walked, he noticed a small rocky mountain.

While most structures on Sheorl looked very new, this was the one place that seemed old and natural.

And he had to pass through here in order to reach the World Tree.

It was obvious to him at a glance. Balpas walked into the tunnel as if he was being sucked in.

He immediately came upon a flight of steps that were so long that he couldn’t see the bottom.

There were also two lines of iron bars that went down this slope, and the stairs went down on either side of it.

However, there were also glowing stones in the walls, and it was not too dark.

There are a lot of monsters coming and going… Where did it lead to?

Some monsters were carrying pickaxes while others carried food. The Chimera had come out of this place. Perhaps it was where the stone materials came from.

While he was curious, it was just a mine. Thinking this, Balpas decided to continue his journey towards the World Tree.

However, then he realized something.

Heal…wasn’t his crest…

‘Cave King’…

Balpas’s face lit up when the words came to him.

Did his crest…create this island?

That useless crest that everyone made fun of. However, what if it showed its true worth here?

He and the other royals tended to have very flashy crests. And Heal was a royal.

Balpas was sure of it now. The true power behind this island was Heal, and there was something to be found in this cave.

Alright, I’ll descend…

It was just as he thought this.

Suddenly, a hand landed on his shoulder.

…What?

“Mister. Sorry to tell you this, but you are not allowed to go any further.”

Balpas turned around and saw someone with the head of a dog. It was a kobold who glared at him.

It was Haines. Ashton was standing behind him and he had his sword drawn.

Balpas said to Haines,

“…Why? How did you know I was here?”

“Even if you can conceal yourself, you cannot fool my nose. Not when I have the ‘Hunter’ crest.”

Haines nodded at Ashton’s words.

“Mm. In the first place, kobolds can easily detect a human by their scent.”

“Tsk…”

Usually, Balpas would have thrown a smoke bomb and fled.

However, this was an island. He had nowhere to run.

And so he showed himself and dropped his sword before raising his hands in the air.

“I surrender…”

“Ah, at least you understand your situation.”

Haines began to handcuff Balpas.

“Well… Do you really think anyone would resist after seeing what is on this island?”

“Of course, not.”

Haines said with a chuckle. Balpas nodded.

“Hey, uh… I’m not actually dead, am I?”

Balpas asked. And then Haines slapped his cheek with his paw.

“Don’t worry. This isn’t heaven.”

“I see… Well, you might as well be an angel after what I saw.”

With the soft dog paws in front of him, Balpas looked very relieved.

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