Shota's Isekai NTR Adventure Chapter 1995: Asking a few questions

By the time the day had drawn to a close, a deep weariness had truly settled in.

Even though I had perfected the art of brushing off the nobles who swarmed around me, handling their constant presence still drained me completely.

In the end, these nobles simply refused to back down no matter what.

The persistent efforts they made to get close to me showed just how accustomed they were to such pursuits.

It appeared that within the Solar Kingdom, internal conflicts were entirely absent. Consequently, the nobles here excelled at flattery and bootlicking.

The explanation for this was straightforward: the Lune Royal Family owned a relic that suppressed any rebellious urges. Gaining higher status was out of reach because of that relic's influence.

Those who had attempted rebellion before served as the perfect illustration of this fact.

Thus, even though the Lune Royal Family couldn't directly wield the relic, that posed no issue whatsoever. Similar events had unfolded previously, with the relic activating independently without their command.

All were aware that with this relic safeguarding them, no internal upheavals could ever shake the Solar Kingdom.

Yet, this also ensured that as long as the relic remained, no disorder would ever plague the kingdom.

That relic would forever stand as their unbreakable shield.

"A relic like this must stem from some sort of contract, otherwise it wouldn't defend the royal family so autonomously. But what exactly made that pact with them..."

The deeper my understanding of the relic grew, the stronger my urge became to witness it personally and uncover its secrets.

The trouble lay in the fact that accessing the relic was completely beyond my reach.

"Maybe I can uncover some details from another angle."

Once the sun dipped below the horizon, I slipped away from the mansion where I was lodged.

No one was keeping tabs on me directly, yet the area wasn't devoid of watchful eyes.

Guards had been assigned to protect me as a precaution. It wasn't about doubting our group; rather, they dreaded the fallout if any harm befell me on their soil.

That explained the deployment of these sentinels around us.

However, I preferred to keep my intended actions hidden from prying eyes, prompting my covert departure.

Evading the ordinary guards proved simple enough for me, but extracting the desired intel was far more challenging.

Not because locating sources was difficult, but because they offered zero useful insights.

Even in the Solar Kingdom, which prioritized public security so highly, total secrecy was an unattainable ideal.

Hence, shadowy figures lurked through the nocturnal alleys of the Solar Kingdom, evading the light.

Finding such individuals became effortless if you knew the right spots to search.

"What do you know about the relic in the palace?"

"What are you talking about?"

Conversations like this one were all I encountered with them.

Not a single informant could provide answers to my queries.

Their responses made it evident they weren't fabricating ignorance to shield some hidden agenda or patron.

They genuinely possessed no knowledge on the matter.

But that realization only deepened the mystery.

After all, no secret could stay buried forever without leaks.

No matter how diligently they concealed it, details about the royal family's relic couldn't be fully suppressed.

This held especially true in the underworld, where information trading was their lifeline. They'd exhaust every avenue to obtain what they sought.

For them to lack this knowledge suggested an external force was obstructing the flow.

Yet such a force... it bordered on the otherworldly.

"Could it really safeguard its own existence this way? Has it reached the level where it can even manipulate minds?" I pondered silently upon this discovery.

At that moment, a nagging suspicion crept in that this might all be an elaborate snare.

Nevertheless, now that I was here, turning a blind eye wasn't an option.

Neither the underworld dwellers nor the nobles yielded any leads, leaving me with just one path forward.

The following morning, the assembled nobles outside were taken aback upon learning of my trip to the castle.

I hadn't announced it myself; the manor guards had spread the word.

Truth be told, I wasn't even present, so spotting me was impossible for them.

Although the nobles itched to voice their thoughts, the sight of the changed guards silenced them.

These were the elite royal guards who served the royal family, many of whom hailed from noble lineages.

The reason behind this shift was my request from the previous night: I had instructed the guards to relay a message to King Lune.