The Woman Most Blessed By The Stars.

The Prophesized Hero that will save the world.

Iris De Felles.

Those are the official titles given to her in the game.

After Wilhelm identified the intruder, he was in shock but soon calmed down. At least there will be no danger to his life.

Iris then looked at Wilhelm, and they both made eye contact. As they did, Wilhelm felt a fleeting sense of ‘connection’ that is hard to describe in words connecting the two of them. He could see a vision of 2 golden strings of fate intertwined with one another.

‘What the hell?’

Wilhelm rubbed his eyes and took a deep breath. By then the illusions had stopped already. Wilhelm made a gesture to Abraham to stop and Abraham then sheathed his sword. He too, recognized the person in front.

Wilhelm walked in front of Abraham as Iris took off her hood. Wilhelm’s breath caught.

‘The title of Most Beautiful Woman in the Empire is not for naught.’

[Her long black hair cascaded reminded one of the vast expanses of the night sky, while her purple eyes shimmer with a brilliant amethyst hue, her face seemingly crafted by a master artist with every single line and curve embodying perfection. It is a face enough to make the rulers of the world and maybe even the gods jealous.]

That’s legit the way she is described in the game. Wilhelm thought that the developer had inhaled some kind of drug while writing it, but just one look in real life was enough for him to somewhat agree with it. Just somewhat though.

‘Is that also thanks to the [Blessing of the Stars]? It's enough to make me jealous, even though Wilhelm also has top-class looks. Well, Moses is also handsome but is far cry from the both of them.’

Somehow thinking about it made Wilhelm feel bad so he frowned.

Iris gracefully landed on the ground and bowed her head lightly. Unlike other nobles, the members of the Felles family do not need to bow their heads as low as the others to the Imperial Family. That shows how respected the Felles family of heroes are.

“I greet the Crown Prince, Wilhelm Von Heinberg.”

Wilhelm thought of the people who greeted him. Some called him Future Sun and such to butter him up, but the most correct and formal title for him is just Crown Prince.

“Hello Lady Iris, if I may ask, why are you following me? It’s not exactly a polite thing to do.”

Wilhelm wasn't surprised by her being here. Vyne city is a great place for relaxation and it's also under the jurisdiction of the Felles Family. He was wondering why she had been following him, though he could guess a bit why she did.

Iris smiled as she bowed her head deeply

“I apologize for that. I was not following you with the intention of harming you.”

“Then why?”

“Would you understand if I said it’s because of this?”

Iris showed the back of her right hand. In her right hand, there was a glowing silver-colored star drawn on her hand.

Wilhelm knew what that was, the Mark of Prophecies. The proof that Iris is the Prophesized Hero. Wilhelm knew all about it, even its ‘proper use’ but he acted stupid.

“I do not. If that is supposed to be a joke then I apologize but I don’t get it.”

Iris tilted her head.

“Didn’t you also feel some sort of weird connection with me?”

“Yes, I did. But I don’t know what that’s supposed to mean.”

“Hmm? I guess you didn’t get a prophecy from the Goddess. Well, no matter.”

“Wait, it does matter. What did you mean by that?”

“Well, I would like to explain but…I don't think this is the right time or place to do so. Not to mention, it’s not exactly something I can talk with other people around.”

Iris said with her eyes on Abraham before smiling and pointing towards the ruins.

“Besides, don't you have some other business to attend to?”

Wilhelm frowned before turning back.

“Fine, let's discuss this later.”

Wilhelm said as he went to the ruins in the back. He ordered Abraham to keep watch while he searched around. The ruins, unlike the ancient ruins of other fantasy worlds, felt alien due to their futuristic aesthetics. Broken pieces of white structures that are still pristine, despite moss growing over them scattered around everywhere. There were also unknown broken machinery here and there, if Wilhelm had to compare it to something, the closest would be a broken laboratory.

Wilhelm started to search around the ruins and glanced at Iris.

“May I ask, why exactly are you still here, Lady Iris?”

“Oh dear, this is still a part of my territory, Your Highness. Is there any reason why i shouldn’t be here?

“No, I mean, isn’t your ‘business’ done? I think it would be better to go back and enjoy the city landscape instead of sightseeing broken ruins. Surely those are more enjoyable.”

“Hmm, I personally have some interest in ruins like this so I kindly refuse your suggestion.” Iris said with a smile before continuing,” Besides, isn’t that the same for you, Your Highness? You came all the way here to Vyne City, so it is quite confusing as to why you are scavenging broken ruins like this…Maybe there is something more to these ruins than what eyes could see?”

Wilhelm’s eyes twitched before he replied with a smile.

“It’s not something that should be your concern, Lady Iris.”

“A shame. I was curious about it too, and now the only way to satisfy my curiosity is by observing.” Iris said with a bright smile on her face, seeing how she didn’t intend to leave, Wilhelm sighed, but it wasn’t much of a problem for her to go with him. Wilhelm was planning on growing closer to her anyway and making her a companion so this works for him. Besides, he might as well make use of her as well for the exploration of the ruins.

“Suit yourself then.”

Wilhelm loitered around the ruins and finally, he got what he searched for. Underneath the rubble of the ruins, Wilhelm discovered a square machine with number buttons from 1 to 9. The back of the machine appeared to be attachable to something, and there was a rectangular screen on top of the buttons, resembling a calculator.

“Oh, What is that?”

Iris said over Wilhelm's shoulders.

“Something that will open up these ruins.”

“...It can be opened?” Iris’s eyes widened a bit in shock.

Wilhelm grinned.

“You didn't know?”

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“Of course not. It's weirder that you know about how to open up these ruins when it hasn’t been opened for the last 1000 years…Where did you get the knowledge from?” Iris’s eyes narrowed.

“Trade secret.”

Iris’s eyes twitched. Wilhelm went towards the center of the ruins and there was a small square-shaped gap in the machinery-looking thing in the middle.

Wilhelm placed the square machine on it, and it was a perfect fit. The screen lit up and Wilhelm typed in 95830136 and then pressed enter. There was a loud sound of something opening. Wilhelm and Iris looked towards the sound. Next to the machinery in the center, there was now a hole and stairs leading down that were not there before. Wilhelm couldn’t see where the stairs led to from where he was. It was that deep.

“Amazing! Ancient technology is a wonder indeed.”

Iris said with sparkling eyes.

‘Her personality is quite different than the one in the game…No, I guess this is her true self, though I don't know why she would reveal that to me whom she first met right now.’

Wilhelm decided not to worry about it for now.

“Are you still going to follow me?”

“I can’t turn back after knowing this, can I?”

“Well…I guess, but the thing inside is mine. Is that fine with you?”

“I don’t mind.”

Wilhelm told Abraham that he and Iris would be going inside and though he was a bit worried, he just nodded in the end. He was planning on bringing Abraham to protect him and closing these ruins to not let any intruders come, but Iris is strong enough to protect him, and since closing the ruins is a pain, it would be better to have Abraham protect it while it's opened.

“Now then, let's go.”

Wilhelm and Iris went inside the ruins and walked down the stairs.

The air was surprisingly cool and though it was a bit dark, Wilhelm didn't have any problem seeing.

“It's quite long, isn’t it,” Iris said.

“It is, let’s run.”

“My oh my, that’s quite a dangerous act…Were you perhaps a delinquent in your younger days, Your Highness?”

“You jest, I was the most well-behaved child in the world.”

Wilhelm and Iris began running. Running down the stairs is a dangerous act but both Wilhelm and Iris have achieved a high level of body mastery therefore, they wouldn’t trip and fall.

After a while of running, they eventually reached the bottom. In the game, the screen just automatically changes so Wilhelm didn’t know the path was that long.

“How long did we run? Perhaps 10 minutes?” Iris said.

“I don't know. All I know is this place is extremely deep.”

The Ruins that appeared in the game are mostly from the Ancient Empire, though not all, the majority of great treasures that you can get from the Ruins are usually from the Ancient Empire. The Ancient Empire is a great empire from long, long ago, much farther than the time the Three Heroes lived. Scholars said the Empire existed approximately 10000 years ago, but even that number is just an approximation. No one knows exactly when the Ancient Empire existed.

All they know is the Ancient Empire is the time when humanity is at its strongest. The legendary ruined technology and artifacts that people sometimes gain from the Ruins are proof of how strong they are. Even now, many Ruins items are still incomprehensible to the people of today.

It’s basically like Sci-Fi ruins in fantasy medieval times.

Nevertheless, even Wilhelm is surprised at how deep this place is. It seemed like the Ancient Empire didn't just conquer everything at the top but also conquered the territory below the planet.

The sci-fi-looking laboratory is proof that the Ancient Empire managed to conquer at least parts of the underground. A vast expanse of white covered his view, despite there not being any visible light sources the room was very bright, there were human-sized glass tubes on the edge, some broken and some perfectly fine, and despite the passage of time, square pillars still stood tall without any signs of breaking.

Wilhelm and Iris admired the sight for a moment before Iris asked.

“Your Highness, what do you think this place is used for?”

“I don’t know.”

Wilhelm didn’t know much about the Ancient Empire. The game doesn't explain the lore behind it much and the Ancient Empire’s role is to just give some strong treasures for the main character.

‘Though I can guess what this place is.’

“But I assume it's a lab for spirits.”

“A lab for spirits? Is that even possible?”

Spirits ‌reside in the Spirit World that overlaps with the real world. They both can’t affect each other, but people with spiritual sight can see the Spirit World and make contracts. After making contracts, they can call the spirits to temporarily reside in the Real World with their mana, but of course, after the contractor stops supplying the mana, the spirits will return to the Spirit World.

What Iris is confused about is the point of this lab. One would need a contractor to call the spirits and it's not like they can supply it with mana infinitely and research on the spirits.

“Maybe it’s possible to make the spirits reside in the real world using those human-sized tubes? Not that I would know.” Wilhelm said.

“Hmm, maybe…But how did you know this is a spirit lab in the first place?”

“That.”

Wilhelm pointed towards a door to be exactly the hologram sign above the door.

Containment Facility #1

Spirit @#!$%

The half-broken hologram sign glitched from time to time but the word Spirit is clearly written there.

“Containment facility?”

Iris was interested and got closer to the door. Therefore Wilhelm warned her.

“Don’t open it. We will die if you do.”

The being inside the Containment Facility is a spirit that’s almost as powerful as a Spirit King. It would go berserk the moment the door is released, though if you beat it, it will regain its sanity and join you as an ally.

‘Though with our current strength, we would die a horrible death the moment we opened the door. Maybe 2nd year Iris have a chance to fight it?’

Iris squinted her eyes.

“...You seem like you know a lot about a place you went to for the first time. Mind telling me the source of your information?”

“Trade secret.”

Sigh.

Iris sighed blatantly and mumbled.

“Is this why the Goddess asked me to team up with this guy?”

“What’s that about the Goddess?”

“Trade secret.”

“...”

Wilhelm and Iris walked a bit through the lab. For a modern man like Wilhelm, this is a fascinating sight. Despite being abandoned for who knows how many centuries, there is still electricity or mana, powering the ruins. In the game, he didn’t think much of it, but now he became curious.

‘What thing is capable of powering up the ruins even after many centuries? No, what the hell even is the Ancient Empire?’

Wilhelm stood still as he tried to recall the details of the Ancient Empire in the game but eventually shook his head.

‘...I don’t know.’

The game didn’t explore the Ancient Empire a lot, mostly because it is treated just as a place where the Main Character could get powerful artifacts. For humanity’s strongest empire, it is treated quite carelessly. There are a ton of books found in the ruins, but since it is written in unidentifiable language, they couldn’t read them and therefore they couldn’t gain any information about them.

‘Except for the holograms though…Wait, come to think of it why are the holograms in our language?’

Wilhelm’s eyes widened and he asked Iris.

“Lady Iris, you have been to quite a lot of ruins, right? You said you liked them.”

“Yes, of course! Perhaps you also gained an interest in them?”

“I did. Why did they write the holograms in our language while the books from ancient ruins are written in an unidentifiable language?

Iris looked at Wilhelm with wide eyes and sighed.

“I thought you were going to ask some easy questions but why did you ask me something even scholars are curious about? I don’t know but I could give you some theories.”

“Please do.”

“We have to presume that our current Kloen Language hasn’t been created since then, after all, it is a language created around 4000 years ago by the Archmage Kloen. Therefore it can’t be said that the past Empire already knew our language and used them.” Iris explained with a wide smile on her face. It seemed like she really enjoyed ancient ruins like this. She even explained with hand movements and theatrics. However, the explanations after the Kloen Language are quite boring and not really related to what he wanted to know so Wilhelm spoke.

“Sorry, but could you just get to the point?”

“Don’t rush me. Anyway, throughout countless theories scholars decided that the most believable theory that there is some kind of existence, that is capable of learning, is translating the languages of the Empire to our current one. As for why or how or even who for that matter, we do not know.”

“I see, thank you.”

‘An existence…That is plausible, it could also be some kind of AI capable of learning and translating in real-time…But there is no one to input the data so maybe it is some kind of existence like what Iris said?’

Wilhelm scratched his head and decided not to think about it, he had too little of information. However, what he knows is that he had to research the Ancient Empire further. Wilhelm had a feeling that the Ancient Empire held one of the keys to reach the Epilogue.

‘I should gather some books from here.’

Even though it is said that no one in the world could read them it might still be useful for Wilhelm.

It was then Wilhelm heard footsteps from behind.