The underground ruins were located on a planet recently occupied by Latarnia.
Archaeologists from across the stars had gathered there, and I, Berger, had been appointed the leader of the team. I still harbored many secrets from His Majesty Leo, and I knew the time to confess them was drawing near. Yet, despite what I withheld, he continued to place his trust in me.
The ruins consisted of a dome-shaped surface facility with a vast complex sprawling deep beneath the earth. The portion above ground appeared to be a refining plant for mined materials—a structure so ancient it was a literal heritage of a lost civilization. Nothing there remained functional. The subterranean levels were divided into a residential district for workers and the mining sites themselves. Not even the lights worked.
We conducted our investigation with painstaking care to ensure everyone’s safety. At this rate, the project would likely take years. Some might consider that a sluggish pace, but His Majesty Leo and his companions—possessing the supernatural reflexes required to evade any sudden danger—were simply the ones who were abnormal. For ordinary people, this was the standard speed of progress.
To prevent the facility from collapsing, reinforcements and scaffolding were being erected. Kamishiro Construction was overseeing the various Latarnian construction companies involved. It was a massive undertaking, funded by loans specifically taken from Latarnia Bank, and even the insurance was provided by Latarnian firms.
The Latarnians, from the executives down to the laborers, were all smiles. His Majesty Leo was truly a terrifying man... to have so thoroughly tamed the notoriously stubborn Latarnians was a feat in itself.
Lately, His Majesty had become a hot topic after slicing through a battleship's support pillar with his bare hands. The media branded him as both a Swordmaster and a Hero King, showing footage of crowds lining up at the palace in hopes of becoming his disciples. However, I suspected his true dreadfulness did not lie in simple martial power.
As long as one did not become his enemy, he brought prosperity to every nation he touched. He was neither looked down upon nor feared as a tyrant; that diplomatic sense of balance had to be innate. He showed no sign of overt ambition—or, at the very least, he hid it so perfectly that he appeared to have none.
The battle against the Corpse Eaters was another example. Parcion, Magellan, Ozen... and the total collapse following the Taikyoku Nation’s unauthorized charge. The common consensus was that he had miraculously recovered from a disaster, but I believed otherwise. His Majesty Leo had likely concluded the matter before the fighting had even begun.
Even the total collapse of the allied forces must have been part of his calculations. He likely didn't arrive at that conclusion through cold logic, but rather through instinct. He sensed the abnormality in the air and chose the best possible move. It was likely impossible to save Parcion from the start. That realization was far more frightening than his strength. Even without considering his personal combat prowess, His Majesty was a monster.
While we investigated the secured areas, Kachiya worked with Lady Luna to examine the ancient computers. Since that was outside my specialty, I found myself with spare time to write incident reports, daily logs, and research notes.
The moment was coming. Soon, we would surely excavate documents that revealed the true identity of the Zen Divine Race. When that happened, the sins of us Ancient People would be exposed to the world.
Neither I nor Kachiya feared that outcome. It was already a semi-public secret that we had created various races through genetic manipulation: Latarnians for intellectual labor, Lepsitolians for high-tier warriors, Kishinkoku People for physical labor and mid-tier warriors, and Parcionians for low-tier warriors. The Taikyoku Nation People were their hybrids. We made the Beast Race for slavery and cast aside the failures—Zork, the Pruon, and the beastmen.
The Corpse Eaters had likely been easier to manage than Zork. We manipulated these races from the shadows, reigning supreme without ever letting our existence be known. It was truly the work of a Diable.
And then there was the Star God—the deity of the Zen Divine Race. I didn't know much about it, but I suspected it was the god worshipped by those who claimed the title of the Zen Divine Race. I predicted its true nature lay hidden within these ruins. A proxy war between the World God and the Star God... if that were true, the scale of this conflict was immense. I braced myself, determined to do whatever I could to be of use to His Majesty.
As the reinforcement of the facility and the scaffolding work progressed, the day finally came when we were granted permission to investigate the shallower levels. We were allowed to explore the first through tenth underground floors, which had served as living spaces for the inhabitants. The mining sites were located further down.
The first underground floor had been a shopping district. The humidity of the subterranean environment had caused most of it to rot away. Resin products had disintegrated, and the characters on metal signs were too rusted to read. Nevertheless, the evidence that people once lived here was undeniable.
"Professor Berger! We've discovered a body!"
It was a corpse, presumably one of the residents, found inside a shop. What appeared to be clothing lay scattered in tattered ruins around the remains. Nearby lay a rusted, rod-like object. I used forceps to carefully pick up fragments of the decayed cloth and placed them in a glass preservation container.
"Professor, I’ve found a scrap of paper. Recovering it now!" a Latarnian researcher called out, his voice thick with excitement.
Under normal circumstances, I would have shared his joy at such an academic find. But our current priority was the war against the Zen Divine Race. I had to find something to help His Majesty Leo.
"It’s brittle. Please, handle it with the utmost care."
"Yes, sir!"
Leaving the body for the time being, we returned to our tent to analyze the rod and the cloth. I placed the rod into the non-destructive inspection device. The internal scan revealed its true nature... it was a gun.
Was the deceased a soldier? Had they fought against the Corpse Eaters? I wondered if the cloth was a remnant of a combat uniform used by my ancestors. With only such small fragments, I could do nothing but speculate.
"Professor! We’ve found what looks like a computer!"
It appeared to be a civilian device. Given the state of the facility, the data inside was likely long gone. An archaeologist from the Galactic Imperial People brought the decayed hardware to me. It was a handheld terminal, its casing cracked and its internal circuit boards green with corrosion. I knew I had to leave this to a specialist.
I opened a communication line. "Lady Luna, this is Berger. We have discovered a terminal that appears to belong to the Ancient People. However, it is severely decayed. Repair seems impossible."
Lady Luna was the entity Fairy-san and His Majesty Leo often called upon—a god-like existence without a physical body.
"Good work~! You’ve found something that looks fun," her voice chimed.
"It is certainly interesting, but I’m afraid it’s quite outside my field of expertise."
"Leave that to me! This Luna-chan will resolve it with her usual lack of responsibility!"
Her words filled me with nothing but anxiety. Lady Luna was as capricious as a deity from ancient myth, yet she possessed the power to erase a nation from the map.
"The reason the Galactic Empire, which murdered her, is forgiven is because Fairy-san is generous."
Those were His Majesty Leo’s words. She likely maintained an interest in us because of the culture humans produced. If the Galactic Empire had fallen, the great nations of this era would likely have been wiped out by the Corpse Eaters in the near future. We were only alive because of the thinnest layer of protection. Every time I thought of it, I broke into a cold sweat.
"Don't be so nervous. I’m an ally to Leo-kun, Veronica-chan, and the children," Lady Luna said with a smile.
Despite her words, only awe and dread remained in my heart. The sheer scale of Lady Luna's power was something only those capable of perceiving it could truly fear. To those of us who knew, she was an entity that could transform into the most catastrophic vengeful deity at any moment.
"I’ll dispatch a team to investigate the terminal~. Until then, keep up the good work with the site!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
Just how many times had His Majesty Leo saved the world already? I reached up and wiped the cold sweat trickling down my forehead.