Chapter 288 (Self Edited) – Finding a Hidden Room in the Basement

In the worst case scenario, Soma thought it could be a Devil’s trap, but fortunately, that didn’t seem to be the case. They proceeded in the dim light while squinting the eyes, reaching the bottom in less time.

He wondered if it was a place of about two floors underground. The only light source was the light coming in from the sky, but it was narrow enough.

Rather than a simple basement, this was…

“Hmm… is it a hidden room?” (Soma)

“It looks like it. Moreover, it doesn’t seem to be a room for evacuation.” Hildegard)

The reason why Soma and Hildegard said so was simple. Everything was too small to be used for evacuation, but more importantly, it was what they were seeing there.

There was a desk, and a lot of parchment was piled up on it.

“Someone was hiding here and writing something… or maybe, it was for researching something.” (Soma)

“If you close that door, you won’t be able to see anything. Well then, you can just bring one lantern.” (Hildegard)

“The question is what on earth is written here…” (Soma)

When he picked up one of the parchments, he took a quick look and squinted his eyes. He quietly handed it over to Hildegard, and he picked up the next one, looked at it, handed it over… After repeating it several times, he muttered as if he was groaning.

“Something like this again… you didn’t expect this, right?” (Hildegard)

“As expected, I wouldn’t think that much. Well, I thought it might be possible to find something given the situation.” (Soma)

To put it simply, what was written there was about the Devil.

Moreover, it seemed that it was a bit different from research. Soma had seen something similar to this, though there were certainly various things written about it.

One of the books given by Eleonora was written to praise the Holy City, the Holy Doctrine and the Goddess.

“Hmm… is this about the principle of worshiping the Devil? Certainly, it was a matter that the existence of the Devil wasn’t well known, but…” (Soma)

“It;s not that much. So, it wouldn’t be strange if it was quietly told somewhere. And the same is true for worship. From a certain point of view, the Devil can be said to be superior to humankind.” (Hildegard)

“To be honest, I didn’t have much to do with religion, so I’m not sure about that. Well, I know that there can be such things even if it’s just knowledge.” (Soma)

“Well, that’s what it is. We’re also like that. According to the story, there were people who even worshipped the Evil God, and by considering that, this thing here wouldn’t be so strange.” (Hildegard)

“Even if it’s called the Evil God, it is God, so I feel that’s not strange.” (Soma)

But, at any rate… what was this about? It contained a lot of things, including how to summon the Devil.

“Hmm… is this something owned by Ingrid?” (Soma)

“That’s right, it was originally in the basement of Ingrid’s house. We should think so.” (Hildegard)

Then, it seemed that it wasn’t possible to bring it out without permission. It seemed to be a powerful clue, but first, it would be necessary to inform Ingrid.

Moreover, they got to this place arbitrarily.

“By the way, Soma, there was one thing that I was interested in.” (Hildegard)

“Yes? What is it?” (Soma)

“Why did you let Ingrid go elsewhere? Whatever it was, you expected to find a basement, didn’t you?” (Hildegard)

“I was expecting it, but I thought it was a fifty percent possibility, or a bit lower than that. You can’t say something unnecessary and make people expect it, right?” (Soma)

Soma was able to anticipate this basement because he had a dream, as mentioned earlier… which was said to be a revelation. When guided by Ingrid and came over here, Soma noticed that the sight he had dreamed of was here.

But… to be honest, he was skeptical. Earlier, when he had a bit of free time until the horse was prepared, he asked Eleonora about the revelation. However, the revelation was just warning, and it seemed that the content wasn’t necessarily an event that happened in reality. It was often metaphorical, and it seemed that some of Eleonora’s experiences had seen the contents of a dream that the related person saw as a revelation. In short, it was a warning against something that would happen in the future, and it might not be meaningful in itself.

Given the situation, it should be considered that the revelation definitely showed something about this time. However, not everything he saw there was true. Even if he were looking at something like a door leading to the basement, it couldn’t be said that there really was a door.

“Ingrid seems to be very enthusiastic about this. Well, of course… I can’t say that there’s no confirmation about her.” (Soma)

He shrugged his shoulders, but Hildegard was searching for something. But then, she sighed as if she gave up.

“Well, that’s fine. Why don’t we do that?” (Hildegard)

Even if they do that, nothing could be done because it was actually a fact.

Although Soma said so, Hildegard’s eyes were unwilling to hide her doubts. It was said that even if he told the truth, he couldn’t be trusted.

“Actually, it’s because I trust you. Anyhow, what should we do?” (Hildegard)

“Didn’t I say it already? We should inform Ingrid first.” (Soma)

“…Are you sure that is fine?” (Hildegard)

“Whatever it is, that’s the only way to do it, right?” (Soma)

“Well, you’re right.” (Hildegard)

That was why Soma and Hildegard decided to inform Ingrid once they got out of this place. Of course, it was without keeping it a secret.

The basement was found on the site of Ingrid’s house, and a large amount of parchment was found with something that worshipped the Devil.

It was easy to find Ingrid. This place wasn’t a very large village in the first place, and he had predicted that Ingrid would probably ask the villagers.

When they searched for her, they found her easily, but… it should be said that she was terribly surprised when they told her what happened. No, it was as if she couldn’t believe it…

“I can’t say that I can’t believe it if you have seen it with your own eyes.” (Ingrid)

While looking down at the parchments, Ingrid looked confused which couldn’t be seen clearly under the darkness of shadow. Still, they could see that her hands were trembling and it was so strong to the point she had to clench it.

Soma was staring at the back of Ingrid while squinting his eyes.

“…Sorry, can you leave me alone for a while?” (Ingrid)

“…I understand.” (Soma)

While nodding, Soma put his hand on a simple ladder.

When looking up beyond that, what was reflected in the eyes was Hildegard’s face looking at him. She had to wait above because the place was too narrow to fit everyone.

She had a complicated expression that seemed to say something, similar like before, but Soma didn’t say anything to her and just shrugged. Then, while looking at Ingrid next to him, Soma returned to the ground where Hildegard was waiting.