After mastering the resurrection technique, they begged me to extend their lives.

An Xiao's words drew Xinuo's attention.

However, knowing nothing about the mysteries of resurrection magic, she couldn't tell whether it was real or just an excuse he used to protect himself.

She'd seen plenty of charlatans and swindlers, and ever since being betrayed by her own kind, she'd become even more distrustful of others. This led her to desperately seek out the only person she could still trust and rely on in the timeline after her resurrection.

Your Highness.

Therefore, she wanted to take him back with her so that the resourceful princess could determine whether he was a master of divine magic or an SSS-level evil cult member.

If it's the former, she thinks she needs to find a way to protect him so that he won't suffer the same harm she experienced.

If it's the latter...

Then we really need to figure out the principles behind resurrection magic.

After all, the appearance of such a divine technique in the world would likely cause a huge uproar, even if it were known to a goddess or a demon king.

"His abilities must be kept strictly confidential."

"Moreover, I cannot reveal my identity before confirming his true situation. I must be careful when meeting the princess, and it would be best to sneak into the palace with him."

With this in mind, she made up her mind.

However, her focus was on information protection, but she did not pay enough attention to the "three-day deadline" that An Xiao had emphasized, which caused a great deviation in her focus and sowed the seeds of a fatal disaster.

For the rest of the journey, An Xiao didn't say anything more, but silently admired the scenery on both sides of the road. Under the watchful eye of Miss Sword Maiden, she turned into a side path leading to a hidden underground entrance.

"...So, your empire's way of hospitality is to lead guests into the sewers?"

Looking at the dark and smelly secluded passageway ahead, he stopped and asked expressionlessly.

"There's a reason for this, sir. You've probably heard about my affairs. Before everything is thoroughly investigated, I can't just casually bring you into the palace."

As you know, you need a pass to enter the castle and are not allowed to cover your face, so if you want to see Her Highness the Princess, we'll have to make things difficult for you first.

Xinuo was a little embarrassed, but it was clear that she had probably offended some powerful force that she couldn't handle, so she had no choice but to take this desperate measure.

"All right."

An Xiao shrugged, playing along, "But you said you'd take me to see the princess? Is that something you can just do whenever you want?"

He was a little curious.

In my memory, the princess of the Alevant Empire is definitely a true beauty on a high mountain. Whether in the concept art or the art style, her delicate and exquisite figure is unforgettable.

I remember that her character design was created by the previous lead writer. Because he was a hardcore otaku and a lolicon, he made the character too erotic, so as expected, it didn't pass the final meeting decision. He was even scolded by the boss, who said that he never knew how to do things according to the rules and always made projects entirely according to his own XP, and that he didn't care about the team at all.

This led him to submit his resignation in a fit of anger. At his graduation party, he got drunk and sighed, saying that it was the "child" he had worked on most diligently in his life, but he never expected that it would be so insignificant in the eyes of those above and not given enough attention.

So, after a few rounds of drinks, he made a momentous decision, his eyes brimming with tears, entrusting his "heart and soul" and "future" to the only person beside him who was willing to listen to his complaints—the next head writer with a good personality...

That is, An Xiao.

"No problem, I'll fulfill my good brother's wish!"

And so, under the pitiful man's bear hug, An Xiao accepted and took care of her.

Memories of the past surfaced in my mind—

The princess, who was raised as the heir to the empire since childhood, is plunged into crisis due to the appearance of the king's illegitimate son, and is forced to grow up prematurely, facing conspiracies and pressure from all sides.

Struggling in the power struggles day and night, she finally awakens the Mark of Radiance, wanting to use her talent for healing magic to save the country.

However, despite her good intentions, she gradually realized that one person's strength was truly limited. If only she could have a reliable "strategist" to rely on...

"Is this roughly the setting that was approved?"

"But... what was Her Highness's name again?"

He kept muttering to himself.

As expected, he could only remember half of the important characters' details. After all, this part of the story seemed to have been altered after his rebirth, making it impossible to piece together a complete version.

At that moment, Xinuo responded, "Aili."

"Airi?"

"Airi Petoria".

As she spoke, she walked up to An Xiao, took out a token amulet from the space bracelet on her wrist, and casually waved it with her back to him.

Immediately afterwards, the space at the sewer entrance rippled slightly, and a transparent barrier resembling an air wall dispersed to both sides.

An Xiao observed her movements, repeating the name in her mind.

"Airi Petoria..."

Unfortunately, despite racking his brains, the difficult-to-pronounce royal name did not leave much of an impression on him.

"Admittedly, it's incredibly difficult for commoners to meet Her Highness the Princess. But with me leading the way, you'll not only be able to admire her beauty up close, but you'll even be able to speak with her face to face."

After finishing her preparations, Xinuo glanced at him and pointed to the entrance:

"This path leads to the maids' quarters on the third floor of the castle, next to the princess's bedroom. No one else knows about it except the head maid and me."

If we can successfully slip through the maids' lounge into the princess's room, it means this meeting will be absolutely secret.

An Xiao frowned slightly after hearing this: "But such a large tunnel, didn't you alert anyone when you were digging it? You must have hired craftsmen, right?"

He could already tell that Hino's protectiveness towards Airi went beyond the typical relationship between a knight and a princess; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it overprotection.

Moreover, Wind Sword Maiden holds a very special position within the empire; she can handle missions as the commander of a knightly order, and of course, she can also lead elite troops into battle.

Despite having a multitude of tasks awaiting her, she deliberately disregarded her title as the "Left Hand of the Empire" and focused all her attention on protecting the princess...

That's really strange.

But then Xinuo smiled smugly and explained briefly, "You don't understand. Years ago, when I was traveling, I passed through a very magical country called 'Batos'."

Their people are generally short in stature, with pointed mouths and shrunken cheeks, green skin, and arms so long they can reach their toes... Although it's not a very nice way to put it, they are indeed not good-looking.

It's worth mentioning that their level of technological development far surpasses what other countries can imagine. Even in our empire, we've never seen those strange things like shark airships, gear monsters, and giant logging machines..."

At this point, she looked awe-inspiring. "When they learned that I was from Aleiente, the mechanical master there personally received me and showed me his various latest inventions."

Among them, the "Single-Bit Silent Excavator Type 1" is the one that interests me the most... Although the inventor called it for "grave digging," I think it has countless uses and can provide Her Highness the Princess with an extra layer of protection, so I ordered one and brought it back to the palace.

"...Why are you interested in machines?"

There were just too many things to complain about, and An Xiao didn't know where to begin.

However, based on Xinuo's description, the first thing that came to his mind was the "Batos Commercial Kingdom" built by goblins.

In the setting book, the world view he created is exceptionally vast, and the national geography recorded alone includes "Aleant Empire", "Galatin Holy Kingdom", "Terraria Magic Kingdom", "Rafilas Forest Kingdom" and other "eight continents and ten kingdoms".

These countries belong to different blocs, and their development preferences and public ideologies are completely different.

For example, the Aleiente liked to grow stronger and expand their territory through war and plunder, and their people were warlike and fond of swords;

Galatia, on the other hand, focused on promoting religious work and produced a great number of paladins and monks that could never be trained elsewhere.

In Terraria, magic is universally revered, and the continent boasts the most prestigious magic academy.

Endedes is a desolate wasteland, teeming with skeletal ghosts and vengeful spirits, a paradise for monsters.

As for Rafilas...

It was a terrifying primeval forest, and the entire kingdom was isolated by a terrifying magical barrier. Almost no one knew that inside the ancient barrier lived the people of the "Elves," who had the noblest bloodline on the entire continent.

An Xiao recalled these key pieces of information and thought to herself:

"In addition, the 'Batos Commercial Nation' has the highest technological capabilities, is neutral, and welcomes doing business with any race, treating everyone equally."

"As long as there's business to be done, we'll always be good friends"—this has always been the goblins' guiding principle.

Their ability to establish themselves on such a bloody continent is inseparable from their boundless creativity.

It seems that if I have any product needs in the future, I can go there more often...

He nodded to himself, thinking to himself that no one understands the setting better than him.

At that moment, he was pondering as he followed Xinuo into the tunnel.

The tunnel reeked of decay, and occasionally rats would scurry into the dark corners, their squeaking incessantly.

The thick green liquid flowed through the recessed stone trough to other drains. Although it didn't splash onto him, it still made him feel uncomfortable all over.

Xinuo noticed his torment and casually put a cyan protective shield over the two of them to keep out the odor.

"Does Miss Sword Princess also like magic?"

An Xiao looked at her skillful movements with slight surprise.

In the original setting, most sword-wielding classes do not know magic, or rather, they do not have the talent to learn magic. Being able to imbue their swords with magic and use magic sword techniques is often their limit.

Only rare classes like "Paladin" and "Ranger" can probably master both magic and martial arts.

"Well, I can manage simple magic, but only wind magic," Hino said modestly.

"I see."

An Xiao nodded slightly, seemingly lost in thought.

They continued following the Fiora, not knowing how long they had walked.

Suddenly, I realized that the length of this road was ridiculously long for a warlock like myself who wasn't good at physical activity.

But thinking about it carefully, it's true that at the entrance, you have to look up and gaze into the distance to barely catch a glimpse of a corner of the royal palace...

Now, even if it's the closest route, traveling directly underground would take two or three hours.

Seeing his steps growing heavier, Xinuo stopped and turned to ask:

"Are you alright? Do you need to rest?"

"...Not good."

An Xiao shook her head. "If I hadn't resurrected you before, I could have held on for a while longer. Unfortunately, I'm not only physically exhausted now, but the emptiness of magic within me is also making it very difficult for me to endure."

He wasn't lying.

After all, after casting [Resurrect Humans LV1], his magic power was already depleted, and it would not be an exaggeration to describe it as running out of energy.

This physical sensation is terrible, and for him, the long-distance trek is no different from training after staying up all night, causing the probability of sudden death to skyrocket.

"Hmm...is that so?"

Hino observed him for a moment, then showed a thoughtful expression.

A moment later, she took out a delicate crystal bottle from her storage ring and tossed it to him.

"Drink this, it should make you feel better."

"What is it?"

An Xiao decisively caught the crystal bottle that was about to fall to the ground, and examined it for a long time with a suspicious look.

The small bottle is about the size of a palm, tapering at the top and square at the bottom. It has a cork at the top, similar to that of a wine bottle, and can be opened by hand.

Because the bottle is transparent, the liquid inside is a deep blue color like ink, and it ripples slightly when shaken, with a total volume of about half a bottle.

Always cautious, he had never eaten food or drunk liquids he had never tasted before since he grew up, so he hesitated slightly when faced with this object.

"puff……"

Seeing his wary look as he uncorked the bottle and sniffed the opening, Xinuo couldn't help but find it amusing:

"Why are you so nervous? Haven't you ever seen a high-level magic potion before? Just drink it without worry, it's not poison."

She underestimated An Xiao's "lack of knowledge," after all, what sorcerer doesn't know what color magic potions are?

You're the kind of guy who knows the forbidden spell "resurrection," you know.

"Oh? A magic potion..."

Hearing this, An Xiao became interested.

"Indeed, blue usually represents magic..."

He muttered to himself, and didn't really look like he had drunk it.

In fact, the design of these small props has little to do with the world-building architect; it's usually the system planners and the UI designers in the art department who communicate directly.

The final copywriting and packaging are usually done by the new junior staff, so there's no need to use the veteran. It's normal that you don't recognize him at first.

Hino watched his reaction speechlessly and urged:

"Alright, drink it now. This potion can restore a large amount of mana to ordinary magic-based professions. After all, it is concentrated. A novice mage will probably faint on the spot due to the overflow of mana after just one sip."

Be careful, don't drink too much...

Before she could finish speaking, An Xiao brought the crystal bottle to her lips and tilted her head back—

tons tons tons...

tons tons tons...

tons…

ton.

"?"

"Mmm!!! This is so delicious! Blueberry flavor!!"

……

……