The Double Lion Crown?

"Isn’t this..." Ron was a bit dumbfounded. Just as Aive had said, this was supposed to be the crest of that short-lived Elf Empire, the Hailan Empire.

"But how did it end up here? Could Delusional Land have once been a part of the Hailan Empire?"

"Impossible," Aive shook her head. "A hundred years might seem long to humans, but for an Elf, it’s just a brief moment in a long life."

"Delusional Land has never been truly occupied, of that there’s no doubt. And it’s even more impossible that the Hailan Empire did so."

Ron didn’t understand. "If that’s the case, why would they carve the crest here? Or was the crest carved long after the tomb and sarcophagus were made?"

"...Why do you think they did it?"

"Uh, as a ’we were here’ kind of thing?"

"Elves aren’t Dwarves. They wouldn’t pull such a boring prank," Aive said, shaking her head. "Besides, look. The erosion from time around this crest is basically identical to the rest of the sarcophagus. It means they were made at the same time."

"Then it’s probably related to that stone slab," Ron mused. "A Hailan noble, secretly burying himself in a dangerous, unclaimed land... it sounds like he was trying to guard something precious."

"A stone slab missing a piece? And let me remind you, not just anyone was qualified to bear the Double Lion Crown back then. Only members of the Hailan Empire’s royal family were."

"If a royal family member really couldn’t be buried in their family tomb and had to travel all the way here to be interred, then the value and power of that stone slab are likely far beyond our imagination."

"Maybe that’s the purpose of Ming Datiss’s journey!" Ron clapped his hands suddenly. "Do you think he might be some kind of spiritual successor to the Hailan Empire, dreaming of restoring it?"

"And we’ve all seen what he’s capable of on his own, which is why he needs to rely on external power—like a precious relic from the ancient empire—"

"Very possible. And he might not even be a spiritual successor," Aive’s expression grew serious. "He could be an actual remnant of the Hailan Empire!"

"We have to stop him, Ron! We absolutely cannot let that guy’s plot succeed!"

Aive spoke with immense gravity, which was likely related to her mother. As the child of one of the past rebels, she had been taught and influenced to deeply understand just how extreme and evil that empire was.

"What are you guys talking about? The organization behind that Elf?" Sera sidled over. "How evil can it be? As evil as the Frost Giants?"

"Someone like you would go for three for a Silver Coin in that empire." Aive shot the barbarian a cold glance, feigning a cruel and heartless demeanor.

"...That really is excessively evil!" Sera shouted. "Someone like me is worth at least one Gold Coin!"

’So it was a matter of price?’ The others stared at Sera in shock.

"If that’s really the case, we should indeed stop that Elf," Klade agreed with Aive, though his perspective was that the opponent was a very powerful potential competitor.

After all, in earth goblin society, slavery was also an ancestral custom.

"I can dispatch the Hunters to search Delusional Land. They can’t have gotten too far."

"Then we’re counting on you," Ron nodded, then added a reminder, "But don’t alert the enemy. Just lock down their position and movements. After all, we still know almost nothing about Ming Datiss."

"If we alert a potentially larger power behind him just for this small fry, it won’t be worth it."

"Besides, the whereabouts of the missing pieces for that stone slab might still depend on him," Aive added.

"Understood. I’ll have my men be careful," Klade agreed. This matter was equally important to him.

How can one let others sleep beside one’s own bed? He was already annoyed at being wedged between the city-states of other races in Delusional Land. Now there were troublemakers in his own territory, and for that reason alone, he absolutely could not tolerate it.

"Hey, Ron!" Delaford cried out in surprise just then. "You should come see this!"

The Goblin Hunter couldn’t understand Ron and Aive’s murmuring, so he had run over to the Dwarf’s corpse and started searching it. To his surprise, he had actually found something.

It was a sheet of paper made from a special material, covered in strange symbols and patterns, and it emitted a faint glow in the dim underground environment.

"This is a Magic Scroll," Aive said after a glance. "But I don’t know what’s written on it."

She wasn’t a Caster. Only Ron and Victoria could understand this sort of thing.

"It’s the Dwarf language," Victoria said after taking it and examining it carefully. "It’s a language that borrows from the writing system of the Dwarf Language, known for its technical treatises and scholarly classifications of the natural world. It’s relatively easy to identify."

"Can you decipher it for me?" Ron looked at her expectantly. "Maybe I can copy it into my own Spellbook."

"About that... I’m afraid I can’t help," the Priest said, looking troubled. "I know what language it is, but that’s not because I can actually read the script."

"However, if you know Identification Magic, you might be able to learn what it does."

"I don’t have a stable source for learning Magic yet..." Ron sighed. "And if I remember correctly, Identification Magic requires a pearl of sufficient size as a Casting Material."

As a Mage, Ron was currently excessively poor. Even if he were actually given such a pearl, his first instinct would definitely be to sell it for cash.

"Maybe things will get better once the trade post is established," Victoria said comfortingly. There was nothing she could do about it either.

Victoria had been a guard before. Although her outstanding abilities had earned her Victor’s high regard, it was clear that with her financial means, she couldn’t afford the expense of such practice either.

On this chase, Ron and his party seemed to have gained a great deal, and yet also nothing at all.

The Gemstone slab was visibly precious, and a Magic Scroll was also quite valuable. But neither could be used directly, without exception.

The biggest gains were perhaps Sera’s joining them, and the fact that Klade’s goblins had harvested a good batch of Lizardman hides and meat.

"The Hunters have been sent out, and progress on the stronghold is going smoothly. If all goes well, we’ll have a decent trade post in a day or two—just like you described."

A few days later at the camp, Ron was watching the busy goblins when Klade walked over to update him on the recent situation.

"Besides that, they’ve also built a separate hut just for you. Come and see what you think."