I've Inherited the Summoning Skill, So I'm Going to Try to Master It! - Episode 122: In Other Words, Guardians Do Exist

Episode 122: In Other Words, Guardians Do Exist

The next day. I was woken up by Brother Gilliam and headed to the dining hall. 

“Ah, I saw something great first thing in the morning. I almost want to paint it and keep it as a memory.” 

“Please don’t. That was an important ritual to increase the intimacy with everyone.” 

Last night, of course, I summoned everyone and slept with them. Although they were all doll-sized, it seems the sight of me surrounded by dolls touched Brother Gilliam’s heart. 

It looks like, to him, a younger brother is always a cute presence. 

“Good morning, Brother Gilliam. Good morning, Rufus.” 

“Good morning, Leonard.” 

“Good morning.” 

Once Brother Leonard joined, our breakfast began. There had been a lot going on last night, so we hadn’t had the chance to talk. But today I had to ask about the plans for what was coming up. 

“Brother Gilliam, when are we starting the ruins investigation?” 

“Starting today.” 

“Today!?” 

I didn’t expect it to start today. We had just arrived yesterday, and we’re already moving? As expected of Brother Gilliam. He doesn’t want to waste a second when it comes to ancient ruins. 

I thought Brother Leonard would be shocked. But to my surprise, he didn’t seem bothered at all. 

For some reason, his eyes were shining. That’s strange. Brother Leonard wasn’t really interested in ancient civilizations before, so why the sudden enthusiasm? 

That question was quickly answered. 

“So, we’re starting today. Brother Gilliam, don’t ancient ruins sometimes have guardians that protect them?” 

“You know that, huh? Could it be that you’re finally interested in them, Brother Leonard?” 

“Of course.” 

Oh no. It looks like Brother Leonard is now fixated on the idea of guardians. Is this okay? I’m starting to worry. How strong are these guardians, I wonder? I never thought they’d actually exist. 

“Brother Gilliam, are the guardians strong?” 

“Well, some are strong, and some are weak. We won’t know until we actually encounter one.” 

“That sounds dangerous.” 

Brother Gilliam gave me a smile in response to my question. He looked like he wanted to say “That’s a good question.” He then turned to Brother Leonard. Brother Leonard returned the smile with a grin. 

“We’ve got Brother Leonard here, the Sword Saint. There probably won’t be any guardian stronger than him.” 

“Leave it to me, Brother Gilliam. With the sword Rufus made for me, you can rely on me completely.” 

“…The sword Rufus made?” 

Oh no, I hadn’t told Brother Gilliam about the pseudo-magic ore sword yet. If Brother Gilliam finds out about the pseudo-magic ore, it’s going to complicate things even more. I subtly shook my head at Brother Leonard. 

“Well, let’s talk about that later. More importantly, the ruins investigation is what matters right now.” 

“That’s really interesting, but okay. We’ll talk about it tonight.” 

Whew… was that a relief? No, not really. It’s just delayed the inevitable. I might not be able to sleep tonight—especially with Brother Leonard involved. 

While I had an uneasy feeling inside, the conversation about the ruins investigation continued. 

“Today, we’ll probably just do some preliminary research, right? First, we need to secure an entrance to the ruins. I’d like to leave the guidance to you, Rufus.” 

“I have no problem with that, but does that mean we’ll have to break a hole in the wall of the ruins?” 

“That seems to be the case. There wasn’t another entrance nearby, was there?” 

“No, there wasn’t.” 

Looks like we’re going to have to break the wall. I’m a little scared that some defense system might activate. But with Brother Leonard around, it should be fine. I hope. Just to be safe, I’ll call Lagios over. 

I could ask Tetsujin and Moguran to search for a regular entrance. But since we don’t know the size of the ruins, we might end up spending days just trying to find one. 

If that happens, Brother Gilliam’s return to the royal castle will be delayed. And that will only make the King and my mother even angrier. I’ll need to calm them down as much as I can—though it might be too late already. 

After breakfast, we immediately headed to the mine. Outside the inn, professionals—probably brought by Brother Gilliam—were already waiting for us. My brother certainly knows how to make things happen.

Among those people, I spotted Flare-chan. When I hurriedly asked what was going on, it seemed she intended to come along. 

“I think it would be better to stay at the inn… it’s dangerous, you know?” 

“But Rufus-sama is going to such a dangerous place, right? Then, I’ll go too.” 

“Well, that’s true, but… this is troubling.” 

What am I supposed to do about this? I looked at Brother Gilliam, as if to say that. He was still smiling brightly as usual and said, almost as if it were obvious, 

“Well then, Rufus can protect Miss Flare. It’s a simple thing. As for the mine, I’ve already done some preliminary research. It looks like the walls are reinforced with magic. It shouldn’t collapse easily.” 

Brother Gilliam had given his stamp of approval on the safety of the mine. With that, I couldn’t refuse. 

But, I guess that makes sense. If safety wasn’t guaranteed, even Brother Gilliam, who’s obsessed with ancient ruins, wouldn’t enter. 

In other words, the mine in Liberia is very safe.