When I was working as a civil servant, I was found out to be a muscle-brained knight by the princess knight and got sent to the front lines - Episode 76

Episode 76

According to Lucy, the ruins managed or monitored by the Kingdom of Tashman have been reactivating their functions over the past few months. This information is confirmed by Felicia Norman, who is also an archaeologist, so it is likely accurate. Jez finds it hard to believe that she would spread false information. While Jez is pondering the situation, Lucy, looking intrigued, asks:

“How is the activation of these ruins related to everything you’ve told me so far?”

Jez decides that it’s not good to explain things halfway now and answers her question.

“In a nutshell, the real ancient ruins seem to function like keystones to anchor humanity in this world. The fact that they’re starting to reactivate might mean that the force trying to expel humanity from this world is growing stronger.”

According to Jez, the ancient ruins scattered throughout the human territories, including the Kingdom of Tashman, act as keystones or foundation stones embedded to link humanity to this world. These ancient ruins function almost like massive conceptual weapons, anchoring ‘humanity’ in this world.

The scale of the story was so grand that Lucy felt dizzy, but considering Jez’s previous stories and the information she knew about ancient ruins, it was a plausible story.

“…Is this also information from the Wist family?”

“Yes. To be honest, I don’t know if this story is true or not, but it seems that the reason the Wist family and the Izmirnaia Autonomous District could make prophecies was partly due to the ruins.”

To Lucy, it felt like she had stirred up a dragon. She had started investigating the conceptual weapon Jez had entrusted to her, hoping it would lead to some breakthrough in her investigation of Jez and Victor’s past, but it felt like she had opened Pandora’s box.

After asking Jez several more questions and sharing as much information as she could, they decided to call it a day. Lucy wanted some time to think about how to handle this sudden influx of information and its authenticity, and they agreed to meet again later. Lucy felt a bit like crying at the thought of the massive increase in her workload, and she still needed to verify whether everything Jez had said was true.

* * *

“Hey. Was it okay to talk that much?”

In the evening, after his conversation with Lucy, his visit to the academy, and finally checking on Jez’s condition, Jez left the Royal Academy with Erin. As they strolled home, Erin asked, somewhat worried. Today, Jez had been exceptionally generous with his information.

Eight years ago, when he attended the Royal Academy, he had hardly talked to anyone about these matters. Even Erin had heard many things for the first time today and was quite surprised.

“This time, it couldn’t be helped, could it? It seems the Wist family’s secret was already out. And considering the ruins, there was no point in hiding it any longer, and there’s the real possibility of further monster invasions.”

As Jez shrugged, Erin still looked worriedly at him. The Wist family of northern prophets wasn’t very well-known, but those who knew them were aware, especially about the incident 20 years ago. It was definitely not advantageous for more people to know that Jez was a survivor from that family. Erin hadn’t even told her father, William, who was also the chancellor, but she figured he probably knew through other means.

“So? Now that you’ve talked so much, you can’t just say you don’t know anymore, right? What are you going to do, Jez?”

Scratching his head at Erin’s perfectly reasonable question, Jez, looking troubled, replied:

“That’s the thing, I really don’t know what to do now. If this keeps up, we might see something bigger than the southern chaos—a full-blown stampede. First, we need to check the status of the ruins.”

Hesitating a bit, he continued:

“…And depending on the situation, we might have to go to the former Izmirnaia Autonomous District. Even though the ruins there were destroyed, we might need to check them.”

“Are we going to Izmirnaia?”

“Yeah. It’s a destroyed and abandoned city, but there’s a lot there. It might be better to check it out. With things like this, Victor’s absence really hurts. …I wonder if he’s already on the move?”

Jez had a bitter expression on his face that Erin had never seen before.

* * *

For the next few days, surprisingly peaceful days continued. Every morning, Jez visited Saint Lucretia Alma for treatment, and in the afternoons, he helped René and Erin with their administrative duties. Occasionally, he was summoned by Lucy for various information exchanges and situation updates, and he also made appearances at the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Jez assisted René, Erin, and Lilly in preparing reports for the Kingdom Parliament regarding the Royal Order 11 issue, and he also helped organize the rewards and recognitions. …Although he was also one of the people being evaluated, he couldn’t help but wonder if this was okay. Nonetheless, given the large number of recipients this time, he prioritized finishing the task quickly.

During breaks, Jez found it strange how often Lilly interacted with him. She asked about his hobbies, his type of woman, and what he did on weekends. Every time, Erin would smile nearby, and Princess René would listen with great interest, which Jez wished they would stop.

Thus, for Jez, unusually peaceful days continued.