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"This is likely a Sound Box." Testros said plainly
"Sound Box?" Dale asked
"It's a unique mechanical tool with the capacity to record sounds within it for long periods of time, it's used by Nobility to record famed lines, speeches, or other things for generations to come."
"They are quite delicate, so I would appreciate it if you didn't shake it again…" Testros said with a serious face
"..."
Dale felt a bit embarrassed…
But Testros suddenly smiled widely.
"I'm just joking, to last long, these things were made to resist all sorts of extreme conditions, shaking it will do nothing but tickle it slightly."
"..."
"In any case, it's likely the Commander stored something of severe importance within this."
"So what are we waiting for? How do we open it?" Dale asked as he looked at the ball
"That's the problem… These boxes can only be opened by those of the same bloodline as the person that sealed it… Even if the Commander wanted, that's simply how it's made."
"Meaning… We can only open it with the presence of one of his descendants…"
Dale dropped his head, defeated…
Even if they were alive somewhere, it didn't matter, there was no way for him to leave this place.
"Can we use the dried blood on the sword?" Dale asked after thinking very hard
But testros shook his head.
"I doubt it, it's been too long and with his powerful Vitality, his blood is long gone... But it's worth a try."
Without waiting for further instructions, Dale took out the sword and the thorn from his inventory.
But the results weren't very promising…
They did have blood within them, but it was more like a layer of dirt than blood.
He tried to scrap a part of it into the box, but there were no reactions…
"It was a decent try, the most we can do in this situation." Testros said as he shook his head slightly
Dale was dessapointed.
"Sigh…"
'How long will it take until we find one of his descendants? If there are any left to begin with...'
"What about now then?" Dale asked
"We continue obviously. There are many books to go through and sort, and we also need to repurpose the equipment we recovered and find a purpose for them all."
Testros got up from his seat and said:
"Leave these to me, tomorrow I'll have all of these…"
But Dale shook his head and interrupted him:
"Sorry but, I don't think I'll be able to sleep so easily… So let me help you a little bit more."
'As if I'll log out, after all, that happened.'
'I need to go through these books, see if there's something useful for me, perhaps a Skill book, or a book that may shine some light into some of my quests...'
Perhaps he was expecting this, but Testros smiled once more.
"Alright then, let's sort all of these books within an hour."
He kneeled next to a pile of books and started to work.
"Phew, time to work..."
Dale was also about to help when David said:
{It seems everything ended well}
"!..."
'Indeed… Surprisingly, I did not expect this to be the so called, 'small adventure' you wanted us to do… It was more exciting than I had expected.'
{I'm glad you liked it}
{The moment I remembered the passage, I knew what I was supposed to do}
'I wasn't really praising you...'
{At the very least, it was better than my initial idea...}
{In the start, I was planning to help you venture out into the forest in search of some lost treasures, but this was much better}
{With these books and materials, things will hopefully take a turn for the better}
'Although… I'm not sure how we're going to fix most of these…'
{Finding the skills for this task isn't the problem, I can tell, the blacksmith of this Village, although rusty, has a rather decent level of proficiency and should have the necessary skills to fix them}
{The problem is finding the materials and bringing them back… And I'm afraid I won't be there to assist you on this task}
{The energy within me will soon dissipate, even talking like this will be an impossibility}
'It's a shame, it was quite convenient.'
{Heh, it's not like it's going to disappear right now… Oh yeah, I almost forgot}
He said with a much deeper voice:
{Don't show the letters to the Old man}
'Why?'
{His mental state is chaotic. Although he has recovered somewhat, he needs to stabilize first… Especially now of all times…}
'What do you mean?'
{You'll understand soon… It may be tomorrow or a few days later… The old man will eventually calm down}
{And with the books he has recovered, he'll finally shine light into the darkness within his mind, opening a brand new world for him...}
{Because of this, he cannot lose his focus}
'Why be so pragmatic about it?'
{Because it would only make you more confused if I stopped to explain...}
{Just make sure not to show them to him, their contents within it are rather graphic to a person with a good sense of justice like him}
{He wouldn't be able to sit still after reading through them as his faith in everything he believed in would be shaken and there would be a high chance of him breaking mentaly}
{And it wouldn't be good to lose one of the strongest warriors of this place… For many reasons}
'I… Just what the fuck is in those letters?'
{An extensive war of words between the Commander of the Corps and the King}
{A clear sequence of events that perfectly shows the distrust of the Crown and the worsening relations between it and the Corps and the methods it used in order to ensure its downfall…}
{At a front face analysis, it seems the young King at the time was simply undervaluing the Corps and seeing it as a pebble on his boot…}
{However, not everything is black and white as the King had a deeper reason for doing so…}
{The typical political war… One that may have very well started by none other than the Commander and his dreams}
'What? Just what did the Commander do to cause a war?'
{What he did? Not much, the problem was what he was preparing to do...}
{Dale, this would mean that its downfall was not a product of outside influences entirely, but an actual result of greed and bad decisions made by the upper management of the Corps itself}
{And this would be a terrible blow to the mind of a soldier that for 80 years has trained non stop to make sure its legacy goes on…}
'I.. Can't you just tell me what's inside?'
{Why? It's not like you would understand the references and the matter discussed within them, unless you have the time to go into a deep history and aristocracy lesson}
{The details of it will be revealed to you over time… For now, I'll tell you the core of everything}
{The Commander's wife may have been royalty}
Dale's right eyebrow rose in wonder, but he didn't feel surprised.
'... And?... What is the drama behind it?'
{For you, that may amount to it simply being another one of those Aristocratic scandals, there are many of those after all…}
{It wouldn't have been surprising for a branch of a family to exist, Nobles are always marrying and having affairs all around...}
{However, we're talking about the Royal Family here, such a thing can't be allowed under any circumstances}
{Of course, under these circumstances, considering her age and to whom she was married off to, it seems her existence was very much allowed, or her lineage was simply unknown at the time…}
{As to how she came to be?... The Commander of the Corps has to be a Noble of a set rank, and because of Etiquette rules, he would've had to marry another Noble...}
{So she's definitely a Noble unless he decided to become a laughing stock and marry a commoner, but there being a Royal as a Commoner is another different problem altogether}
'This is really the script of a Soap Opera...'
{But what about her son and daughter?}
{In this Kingdom, the only necessary requirement to become the King is to have a small trace of the Original Bloodline, the one tracing back to the first King}
{This would put her son in an incredible position, what's better than to be backed up by the strongest Corp in the Kingdom?}
'I bet they wouldn't be well viewed by the King at the time and the Crown prince.'
{If he wanted to rise and fight for the throne, many might've joined his cause}
'So being strong and having the bloodline is all that's needed?'
{Yes, although… Not quite. Backing is quite necessary, and at the end of the day, he would've had to marry someone from the main line to maintain the so called, bloodline purity}
{With all of that, rising to the throne would've been a very high possibility…}
{Well, that's just a theory I made after thinking severely and reading those letters…}
{A theory that says that the Commander of the Corps may have very well tried to have his son rise to the position of King, even before he was even born}
'Just what was written in those letters for you to think this?…' Dale asked perplexed
{...}
David remained silent, prompting Dale to shake his head.
But he understood that he was supposed to keep those letters away from the old man until he was ready.
He just didn't know when that time would arrive…
...
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Notes