On an unknown island at the border of the Polar Sea and the Fog Sea.
Bruna, the former princess of Balam, sat on a rock and watched Bernadette and Isabella study a stone tablet nearby. Bored, she asked listlessly, "It's been days. Have you figured it out yet?"
Roselle clearly wrote the rules on the back of the tablet... she muttered under her breath.
Of course, she knew caution was necessary. Otherwise, she would not have invited a Prophet and a Clairvoyant to explore the place with her.
"We can be fairly sure Roselle added these arrangements later. Whether they lead to the hidden tomb of Solomon, the Black Emperor, is another matter. But I'd guess that even if Solomon built it, it isn't his hidden tomb," Isabella, the former crown princess of Lenburg, said, turning to Bruna.
"I've sent a Messenger to ask Nast. I expect a reply soon," Bernadette said calmly.
"Is this ruin really that dangerous?" Bruna frowned. After a moment's hesitation, she asked, "Does the danger come from the ruin itself, or from Roselle's arrangements?"
"From what I've foreseen... both! Or rather, Roselle's arrangements make use of things in the ruin that don't belong to our world," Isabella said gravely.
"Don't belong to our world... What does that mean?" Bruna asked.
"As far as I know, Solomon, the Black Emperor, was close to a Sanguine Duke. The things I foresaw may well be objects or creatures that duke 'summoned' from the stars..." Isabella chose her words carefully. Out of a Reader's habit, she still gave Bruna a dutiful explanation, even though she did not particularly like her.
The Sanguine were born Beyonders of the Moon Pathway, and a Sanguine marquis, the equivalent of Sequence 3 on that Pathway, was also known as a High Summoner.
A