Translator: Nox

Chapter 27

“It seems like a language, but also like a curse… They say they can’t understand what it means at all.”

“The linguist who heard this voice a lot went mad, they say.”

“Where was this found?”

Rudbride asked, furrowing his brow with a serious expression.

“According to the report, it was in the deepest underground part of the dungeon.”

The vassal answered.

In this world, there were lairs teeming with monsters. They called those places ‘dungeons’ for convenience. No one knew when they had appeared or how they were made.

They had existed since ancient times, and sometimes treasures or precious relics were hidden inside, so the empire would subjugate them.

Because dungeons were essentially monster dens, the beasts bred there and then grew to attack the human realm.

If left alone, the monsters would multiply endlessly, so any discovered dungeon was immediately designated for subjugation.

Of course, even as they cleared them out one after another, new ones kept springing up endlessly somewhere, so the monster numbers never decreased much.

<Uh, we are trapped, all……. Save, us, come……. I, I am the 127th Elf tribal chief… Rde…to……. >

The words dragged on disjointedly.

Bunny tilted her head.

The halting voice was small, but it stuck clearly in Bunny’s ears.

“Luri, ancient Elvish hard……”

“That’s right. It’s difficult, isn’t it? But you have to learn this someday for the young miss. It’ll definitely be helpful later……. When the day comes that you can understand it, be sure to tell me. That’ll be the moment for the young miss to step up!”

Gasp.

Now! Bunny understands!

Bunny’s turn to step up!

“Ahem.”

Bunny made a small noise and puffed out her shoulders. But no one paid attention to the child’s tiny voice.

“…Ahem.”

She tried again, but amazingly, still no one noticed.

Bunny, who had thought everyone would look at her, pouted sadly for a moment before clenching her fists tight and opening her mouth.

“Save us, pwease!”

Kiriel, who had been leaning back languidly with an indifferent expression while holding Bunny in his arms and turning his head away, suddenly froze.

Only then did everyone’s gazes pour down on Bunny all at once.

Bunny shrank back a little and clung tighter to Kiriel.

Kiriel wrapped his strong arms around her a bit more firmly. Bunny’s mouth corners softened into a wobbly smile.

‘This is a good sign! The thing Luri talked about, my knight!’

As expected, Bunny was a genius.

“Did you just understand what it said?!”

Rudbride, who had been stiff, shouted in a startled voice, making Bunny jump.

Kiriel narrowed his brows.

“I did say she’d get startled.”

“……”

Rudbride’s mouth clamped shut at Kiriel’s mild scolding. It was because Bunny’s little face had gone completely rigid.

“Ahem. S-sorry, my dear. I was just surprised……. Ahem. Do you understand what this says?”

“Yeees……”

Bunny answered in a voice that crept smaller and smaller.

“What does it say? Tell us.”

At Klein Yudia’s words, Bunny blinked and tilted her head.

“Save us, pwease. We’re… trapped… save us, come? I’m the 127th Elf tribal chief Rde…to?”

Bunny earnestly repeated the words that kept looping.

As Bunny’s words continued, their eyes gradually widened, and the moment ‘elf’ came up, murmurs began to swell.

“Elf?”

“Ancient elves, you mean?!”

“A race that vanished from history long ago, right?!”

“The legendary tribe that suddenly went extinct one day, hiding most of their traces from the continent……. You’re saying they really existed?”

“No, and this child……”

“Isn’t that amazing?”

“No, so does that mean this language is the one those ancient elves used……”

Gasps of disbelief—ha! ha!—rose here and there.

Bunny let out a proud huff at all the gazes on her.

As expected, Bunny was incredibly amazing.

“But how does this child know the ancient elven language……”

“…I see. It could be a lie……”

“No, but isn’t it already miraculous that this child even knows about ancient elves?”

In truth, it was astonishing, but at the same time utterly unbelievable, so doubt began to creep into the vassals’ amazed eyes little by little.

Bunny keenly sensed that mood and her eyes flew wide open.

Gasp. If this keeps up, Bunny will be called a liar?

“Could you possibly tell us how you understood it? Miss Bunny.”

One of the vassals in priestly robes asked cautiously.

Bunny froze stiff.

‘Can’t tell the truth honestly.’

Hmph.

Bunny, who had been racking her brains, suddenly grinned.

“Bunny, actually heard the stone’s voice.”

“…Pardon?”

“How can a stone talk?”

“A stone, you say? Sounds like a lie……. It’s not even alive.”

Whispers started up, and Bunny’s eyes darted around frantically.

No one believes me.

“Ac…”

“Ac…?”

“Actually, the egg told meee! Zziiing! And my head went flash flash! Thump thump!”

Bunny urgently recalled the Black Flame Dragon—her own imagination—that was sprouting up so quickly in her room.

“Ooh……!”

“As expected, it must be thanks to the divine beast egg she summoned.”

“Well… She did prophesy the future before. That divine beast egg must truly be precious.”

Because a couple of Bunny’s prophecies had come true in reality, the Yudia Ducal Family had recently been keeping even the smallest bits of information under strict security.

However, those with keen eyes knew that internal attention had lately shifted toward the House of Trials.

Of course, on top of the direct lineage’s orders not to burden the still-young child, and the uncertainty that the divine beast egg hadn’t hatched yet, everyone was just keeping quiet about it.

Even Kiriel Yudia, who hadn’t stirred easily, had personally gone to the Modern Merchant Guild and invested a hefty sum in a business that hadn’t attracted funding, and rumors were spreading that its stock was soaring.

It was just uncertain whether Bunny had helped with that or not.

“Hmm… That quail egg, huh.”

“Eggie!”

At Klein’s words, Bunny quickly retorted.

Klein’s eyes narrowed slightly at the child’s clever comeback.

“Is that so?”

He rubbed his chin, chuckled softly, and ruffled Bunny’s hair, who was sitting on Kiriel’s lap next to him.

“Good girl. If it’s true, that’s impressive, isn’t it, Father? She decoded ancient Elvish, of all things. It could lead to breakthroughs in all those ancient documents and ruins shrouded in mystery with no proper relics left.”

“Is that all of it? Niece.”

At Salame Yudia’s words with her gentle smile, Bunny tilted her head.

“Umm……”

Bunny wriggled and leaned half her upper body over the table, stretching out her hand to snatch the crystal and press it right to her ear.

“Our, forest realm has seeds planted and… uh, grown and… dungeon-ified like this. A labyrinth grows in our home.”

Zzzt, zzzt.

Noisy static kept mixing in.

Bunny, with a serious face, scrunched her brows tight. Plus, holding the crystal kept making her arm droop heavily.

Kiriel took the crystal and held it to her ear instead.

“Like this?”

“Yup! Thank youuu.”

Bunny bowed her head deeply, then bonked her forehead on the table.

“Owie!” Bunny let out a tiny cry and rubbed her forehead with her adorable little palm.

Soon, having heard the voice from the crystal again, Bunny opened her mouth once more.