After Adil left, I went down to the dining room on the first floor to keep my promise to the children and told them what had happened that day. They listened as intently as though I were recounting an exciting tale of heroism. Even when I finished, they pestered me for more. In the end, they kept me there telling stories for nearly an hour before I finally escaped.

“Yaaawn.”

The moment I got back to my room, I threw myself onto the bed. My whole body was so tired I thought I'd fall straight asleep, but my conversation with Adil kept circling in my head.

'A secret chamber Bellium built underground.'

Considering everything, something connected to me was more likely to be in that chamber than in the statue itself. What kind of place was it? I couldn't say, but it probably held precious Elysium relics associated with Bellium, including things he'd left behind. Maybe something there had helped me fight the wyverns yesterday. Whatever had brought me to this world was likely there too. But what on earth was it?

One thought led to another, and I ended up tossing and turning all night.

The next day, I slept late after barely getting any rest and ate a late breakfast in the inn's dining room. Adil had said yesterday that he'd gather material that might help me and come by this morning. Since he still wasn't here, perhaps it had taken longer than expected. Or perhaps he was so exhausted he'd overslept.

At any rate, after eating, I waited for him over a cup of tea.

Just as I was about to take my first sip of freshly brewed tea, the door opened and Adil came in. He must have run all the way from home: he braced a hand against the wall and panted.

“Haah... Sorry I'm late. Have you been waiting long?” he asked, still short of breath.

He'd said he would go through the historical records last night, and now he had dark circles under his eyes.

“Not at all. I've only just finished eating and was about to have some tea. Would you like a cup?”

“If you don't mind, Minjun.”

Once he'd caught his breath, Adil made himself a cup of coffee and sat across from me.

“Did you sleep well last night?”

“No. I kept wondering what secrets might be hidden down there, so I couldn't sleep properly. How about you?”

“I couldn't sleep even if I'd wanted to. I spent the whole night sorting through the records I'd collected and looking for anything that might be useful to you.”

Despite the dark circles, his eyes shone. It looked like his work had paid off.

“Did you find anything?”

“Of course!”

He seemed thrilled with whatever he'd discovered.

“Let's finish our drinks and get going. I have so much to tell you, I'm itching to start.”

After our drinks, Adil took me to his house to show me the records he'd organized. As the caretaker of Bellium's statue, he lived very close to it. Books and assorted odds and ends lay scattered everywhere inside, as though he hadn't had time to tidy up.

“Please excuse the mess.”

He led me into his study and brought over several books and a notebook from his desk.

“First, I searched the historical records, but unfortunately I found no mention of the world you call Earth.”

“Was there anything about another world, even if it wasn't Earth?”

“I'm afraid not. None of the old books mentioned other dimensions at all.”

I'd secretly thought there was a good chance they would. What a shame. My disappointment must have shown, because Adil promptly changed the subject.

“But as I said, I did find records that may be useful to you. One concerns the aura you alone saw the day before yesterday.”

Adil leafed through his notebook, found what he was looking for, then opened a thick book and showed me a passage.

“This one.”

The page read:

<If anyone beholds the mysterious radiance that has yet to reveal itself to the world,

bring that person to me without hesitation, whenever it may be.>

“... Radiance? Could that be...?”

“It's probably what you're thinking. Taking the surrounding passages and other records into account, there's a good chance the radiance means the light you saw the day before yesterday.”

Adil said the passage had long been difficult to interpret, and he was delighted that I had given him a clue to its meaning.

“Then how should we interpret ‘bring that person to me’?”

“This is only a guess, but I believe it grants that person permission to enter the lowest level of the secret chamber Lord Bellium built beneath the statue: the Sanctuary.”

Putting it all together, Bellium seemed to have been waiting for someone like me. Which meant my arrival here might not have been a coincidence at all.

“Anyone recognized as a member of Elysium may enter the Sanctuary itself,” Adil said. “But its lowest level is another matter. Outsiders are barred, and even Elysium's residents can't simply walk in. Only those selected through a rigorous process are allowed inside.”

“What could possibly be down there...?”

Adil must have heard me murmur, because he answered.

“Lord Bellium's remains are laid to rest on the Sanctuary's lowest level.”

“Then that line in the book, ‘bring that person to me whenever it may be’...”

“Probably means exactly what it says.”

Even after his death, the person should be brought before his remains. That was probably how to read it.

“There definitely is a connection between me and Elysium, then. I just don't know what it is.”

It felt as though a crucial clue was almost within reach, yet I couldn't quite grasp it.

“I think so too. Oh, Minjun, would you take a look at this passage as well?”

Adil turned the page and showed me another line.

<I shall let that person behold another radiance.>

“In other words, we might interpret it to mean Lord Bellium would grant another power to the one who saw that radiance.”

“But Lord Bellium... is no longer alive, is he?”

How could I meet a dragon who'd died tens of thousands of years ago? On second thought, it wasn't entirely impossible. Bellium might have left a message for someone like me, or, as in the Garden of the Dragon Sword, a remnant of his consciousness might remain.

No sooner had the thought occurred to me than Adil said, “On the lowest level, where Lord Bellium's remains are buried, a faint remnant of his consciousness still lingers.”

“...!”

I'd wondered if it might be true, and it was. I couldn't hide my excitement. Perhaps, as I'd done with Minos in the Garden of the Dragon Sword, I could speak with Bellium and hear directly why he'd summoned me here.

But my hopes were short-lived.

“Whether it's because tens of thousands of years have passed or because of something else, it could disappear tomorrow and no one would be surprised.”

Adil dashed my hopes completely.

“Then is there any chance of speaking with him...?”

“I'm afraid not. If I could speak with his remnant of consciousness, nothing would make me happier.”

He was clearly disappointed too. As a student of history, he said he could die with no regrets if he could talk to Bellium, who held the answers to Elysium's history. But he added that it wasn't going to happen and I shouldn't get my hopes up. Put simply, Bellium's lingering consciousness was like someone in a vegetative state who might die at any moment.

“... That's a shame.”

“Even so, I'm certain this will be of considerable help to you. Is there anything else you'd like to know about Lord Bellium or the Sanctuary?”

“I think that's enough for now. If anything comes to mind along the way, I'll ask.”

“Understood.” Adil bowed politely.

“Oh, before we go, could you give me the items I requested yesterday? I'll pass them on to the elders.”

Right. He'd asked for a few things that could only be found on Earth, even if they were just odds and ends.

“Sure. I'll get them now.”

I searched my pocket dimension, took out a few everyday items from Earth, and briefly explained their names and uses to Adil. Throughout my explanation, he took notes with the bright-eyed curiosity of a child.

Afterward, he said, “Now I'll take you to the statue and then show you into the Sanctuary.”

I followed him toward Bellium's statue.

My heart pounded, yet I felt both familiarity and comfort. The strange sensation I'd felt the first time I saw the statue returned as naturally as if it belonged there. I decided to ask Adil about it.

“Adil, has anyone ever told you they felt something like this in front of the statue or inside the Sanctuary? It's hard to describe, but...”

I told him what I was feeling. He thought for a moment, then shook his head.

“No, I'm afraid not.”

“That's too bad.”

“It is strange, though. Even after hearing your description, I can't quite imagine what the sensation is like.”

Tell me about it. I couldn't tell whether I was getting closer to the truth or going around in circles. There didn't seem to be anything more to learn here for now.

After Adil walked slowly around the statue, he led me to the secret passage into the Sanctuary. From the outside, its entrance looked like the sort of staff break room you'd find at a tourist attraction. Inside, he pulled back a carpet to reveal a hidden staircase leading underground.

The Sanctuary must be at the bottom. Or so I thought. After descending the stairs, we still had several security measures to get through.

“Security's tight, isn't it?”

“Given what's down here, it has to be. It's inconvenient, but we can't let unauthorized outsiders wander in.”

Only after unlocking the last barrier and riding a mana-powered elevator down for quite some time did the mysterious Sanctuary of Elysium finally open up before me.

It looked as if someone had built an underground lair large enough for a whole extended family of dragons, then converted it into a shelter. If Bellium had built it himself, it had to be at least tens of thousands of years old. Yet the interior was so well maintained that its age was hard to believe.

“What do you think of the Sanctuary, Minjun?”

“It's much bigger than I expected... I'm amazed.”

Calling it a secret “chamber” hardly did it justice. When I'd heard it was underground, I'd imagined somewhere small, but this was practically an underground city. Anyone seeing it for the first time would be stunned.

Adil nodded and began to explain how Elysium had come to be.

“Lord Bellium built the Sanctuary long ago to keep Elysium's residents safe. As a city founded by exiles from across the continent, Elysium had its share of enemies. In its early days, it suffered frequent invasions despite having a dragon to protect it.”

And so Adil's impromptu history lesson began.

“They had some nerve. Unless they were dragons themselves, I can't imagine anyone even thinking of attacking a city under a dragon's protection.”

Adil nodded in agreement.

“Yet the records tell of invaders bold enough to try. Some didn't know Lord Bellium protected the city. Others knew, but infiltrated the village on missions to assassinate particular people.”

Earth or this world, reckless people were everywhere. Then again, Elysium was a gathering place for people others hated. Perhaps it wasn't so surprising.

“Lord Bellium was forced to witness innocent citizens die, again and again. There's a legend that the tears he shed then became the Bellium's Tears you absorbed.”

I hadn't known there was a story like that behind the relic.

“Could the legend be true?”

“It's highly unlikely.”

Well, that was why it was a legend.

“In any case, Lord Bellium built this Sanctuary to protect Elysium's citizens. Repairs and alterations over the years have changed its original form, but we do our best to preserve it.”

It must be the most important and sacred place in Elysium. I found myself feeling solemn.

“Thanks to it, Elysium has survived for tens of thousands of years and preserved its history and traditions, despite its geography and origins leaving it vulnerable to frequent invasion.”

Adil seemed proud of that, and I couldn't blame him.

“That a shelter built tens of thousands of years ago still serves its purpose is a great source of pride for us. But it can be bittersweet that, every so often, something still happens that forces us to take refuge here.”

Just from his account, I could imagine how many attacks Elysium had endured.

“Enough history for now. Shall we take a proper look around inside?”