Relic

“Mad Prince Lunatic, huh…”

Five years have passed since then…
In the Land of Death, where heat constantly rises from the earth, and the only living creatures seen are insects that have adapted to this environment, I was talking to myself as usual.

“I will definitely reclaim my honor…!”

These five years, I have been creating water through magic and satiating my hunger by eating insects as food…
The salt I brought is running out, and I have long surpassed my physical limits.
I cannot afford to reach my mental limits…
This is why I have been continuously speaking to motivate myself.

“It’s here…”

Other than the salt, I also brought my research materials… While looking at the revisions I made since arriving at the site, I turned to an unremarkable rock.
In this dry, cracked wasteland that extends endlessly, known as the Land of Death, such stones are plentiful.
But I reach out to it with confidence.

In the past, there existed an ancient civilization that freely roamed and ruled even in the realm of the stars…
The person who inherits the blood of the leader… in other words, by me touching this rock, I should be led to the place where relics sleep.

Well, over these five years, time and time and time and time and time again, I’ve done the same thing, sighing with disappointment…
In the first place, I only knew that relics exist in the vast Land of Death equivalent to a whole country. I was not able to narrow down the specific location where they sleep.
For the purpose of examining that thoroughly, I needed budget and personnel.

Everything’s fine!

This time, it will work!

Feel the flow!

I internally repeated such words to myself.
Yeah, I’m really glad I got into ancient manuscripts.
If I had been immersed in gambling, I would have been executed rather than exiled.
In that case, I wouldn’t be able to complain at all…

Well, that’s why…
While holding the firm belief that it would be pointless, I touched the rock and at that moment…

“Eeeeeeh?”

Suddenly, the feeling of the land under my feet vanished…
Enveloped in a mysterious light, I was swallowed into the dry earth.

“Where am I…?”

The mysterious light also disappeared…
Lowered into a massive cavern beneath the Land of Death, I immediately used magic to illuminate the surroundings and look around.
I wonder, how big is it…
In any case, it is an incredibly huge space.
The air is cold, and the difference in altitude from the surface is severe.
A light tremor run through my body…
Suddenly, light poured down from the ceiling, illuminating the inside of the cavern.

“They’re turning on the lights… How thoughtful of them.”

I chuckle while extinguishing the magical light.
The coldness was blown away.
The feeble magical light failed to reveal the whole picture…
What I thought was a wall towered in front of me…
I clearly saw what it was now.

“I did it…!
I finally did it…!”

Up until now, I have daydreamed about this moment countless times…
But when the moment arrived, I had no words to say.
But that was inevitable…

Now, the object right before my eyes…
It is something I have been searching for, based on ancient documents passed down in the royal family, believed to be a relic of a super ancient civilization.

At first glance, this appears to be like a ship…
But there are no oars resembling a galley ship, nor masts resembling a sailing ship…
The hull was made of a mysterious metal, different from iron or silver, and both sides were gently curved like wings, and there was no mechanism in sight to move it.

And most importantly… it’s huge!
Calculating based on my arm length, the total length is approximately 260 meters. The total height would probably be around 30 meters.
When I floated up using levitation magic, I discovered that there was no deck, and the upper part of the hull was covered with beautiful curved armor.
Observing it from this angle, I see that it somewhat resembles a colossal bird. However, even no dragon species have been documented having bodies of this magnitude.

While observing in that way, the moment came.

“Confirmed genetic information similar to the Master’s…
According to the will, it is possible to designate you as the new Master.”

Where exactly does it sound from…
A clear, translucent voice of a woman emanated from the ship below.
Surprised, I almost lost control of levitation magic but somehow regained my composure, I muttered.

“How surprising… The letters are different, yet they use the same words…”

“No.
The language of the civilization that created me and your language are different.
This time, following special procedures, I scanned your brain to obtain language information.”

…I don’t understand the meaning of the words, but is this thing doing something scary?
Anyway, it’s fortunate that we can communicate.
After clearing my throat roughly, I inquire.

“Regarding the question earlier, if I become your Master… does that mean from now on, I can use your power as I wish?”

“Yes. If you register as the Master.”

Immediately, the answer came.
Content with that, I asked the next question.

“So… what can you do with your power?”

“The content of the question is too vague.
Please narrow down the scope of your question a bit more”

“That’s right…”

Upon hearing that, I decided to change the content of the question.

“Above this hollow space… lies a barren wasteland spreading across the ground.
Can we transform this into a land overflowing with greenery and create a prosperous nation?”

“Yes. It can be done.”

The response from the relic greatly satisfied me.