Chapter 1087 – Reading the Trap Diary

000

“This is her room…”

Artis referred to Darwin, who was also her distant ancestor, as ‘that woman’ and looked around the room where she was guided by Laila.

“Ugh, uhhh… Sssss…”

Lila couldn’t hold back her laughter when she saw Artis like that.

This is because a red mark remained on her forehead.

The reason is that, unlike Lila, who flew up to the second floor, she tried to go up the stairs honestly and stepped on a trap that had been set there, causing her to slip and fall down the stairs.

We should consider ourselves fortunate that she did not lose her life, but even her students were shocked at first and then burst into laughter at the sight of her falling forward and hitting her forehead on the edge of the stairs.

Kuon cast a healing spell, but the red, swollen, straight mark remained on his forehead.

“So, I’m pulling you up here~”

Lila nudges her with her elbow teasingly, and Artis blushes, irritating her.

“Wow, it’s noisy… Stepping on traps like this is also basic to exploration.”

Her forehead was still tingling, and she sighed, holding back from almost taking her hand without realizing it.

After Leila walked away from Attis, she took a quick look around her room.

“Well, it’s not a large room and there isn’t that much furniture, so what you can find may be limited, but let’s search for it first.”

Lila casually tries to search someone else’s room.

If the other party wasn’t an executive of a famous terrorist group on the continent, this would have been a crime.

“Something. I thought it was an old-fashioned hero party where something like that was allowed…”

Artis nodded her head and tried to move her feet to avoid the hole in her floor.

“Ah, you mean the old Hero Rights Clause era?”

If Lila reacts to Attis’ mutterings.

“… What is that?”

‘, Schrödinger asked back.

Then Lila answers Schrödinger.

“Hmm… Is it about 600 years ago…? This is an article from when the power of the Saint’s Protection Church was stronger than it is now. While a warrior with a holy sword is on a journey to defeat evil, he can go wherever he wants, The church guarantees that funds and tools can be requisitioned from any location of your choice.”

So, it is said that warriors in the past could freely enter people’s homes and search through closets, or break jars by throwing them and take their contents.

It is said that even after such an incident, people were not particularly dissatisfied with the warriors.

First of all, as long as we save the world, did we have the same thoughts?

At that time, the image of a warrior as a savior with a holy sword was much stronger than it is now, and the public probably thought of him as a messenger sent from heaven.

Of course, there were those who opposed such a general announcement from the church, and it is said that there were people who strictly locked their homes, or even set up traps in their homes to catch warriors.

“Guys like Artis must have fallen into that trap…”

“It’s really noisy.”

Although Artis resisted Lila’s words, she did not stop examining Darwin’s room with her hands and eyes.

“… Of course, you can’t do that now, right?”

Schrödinger asks Lila’s story with an expression that says he can’t even imagine what kind of warriors they were in the past.

“Yes, of course. After that, the heroes caused various problems and civilians were sacrificed. Even the church could not cover that area. The clause was abolished, and the area where the church could protect the warriors has also decreased.”

It is said that the influence of the church weakened due to the reputation of the church being tarnished at that time.

“I told you to stop giving useless history lectures later and research more diligently.”

Since Lila is holding her hand and talking to Schrödinger about her distant, neighboring country, Artis will get angry and say something to them.

At the same time, her hand went towards the drawer of the desk where the picture frame was placed.

“Ah, wait a minute, Artis. There is still a trap investigation going on there—”

When Lila called Artis’ name as if to stop him, Artis opened her drawer slightly as if it was unnecessary.

Not fully open, but very slightly.

Then, I would take out that handy wand-shaped tool that she always carried in a small pocket near her chest and shine a light into the gaping crack.

After looking through the gap from the left end to the right…

It’s like a small thread that connects from the handle of the drawer to the inside of the drawer.

“There is a trap.”

“Oh.”

It has been a while since Artis showed himself as an expert in the investigation of ruins.

No, in this case, would it be better to call him a thief?

She took out another handy tool from her pocket, a small pair of scissors, and gently inserted it into the gap.

Snip. She did, and she cut the thread without hesitation.

“Is that okay?”

“This is the correct answer.”

When Schrödinger, feeling uneasy about something, asked a question, Artis answered and then pulled the drawer without any hesitation.

Then there are notebooks, journals, unorganized piles of paper, etc…

There was a mountain of items as messy as Lila’s room.

And at the very end of the drawer, there was a strange pocket with a thread that Artis had cut.

“As expected. It’s an old-fashioned booby trap.”

“What’s inside?”

Artis will open the inside in response to Schrödinger’s question.

“Flint, gunpowder… And an iron ball. Probably, if you pull the string strongly, the flint will ignite the gunpowder due to the impact, detonating an iron ball bomb.”

It is a trap that is not surprising if the iron balls explode in all directions and hit a fearless intruder, seriously injuring him or killing him on the spot if he is lucky.

“Put this away in a safe place. Let’s take a look at the contents.”

When Artis says that, Laila comes closer and looks at the contents inside.

“Research materials, diary, household account book…? Where, where…”

She turned the pages filled with her secrets as she pleased without her master’s permission.

Then at that moment.

Good luck!

“Wow!?”

Flames suddenly erupted from the page and covered Lila’s hands, face, and head.

“Laila!?!?”

Naturally, when Schrödinger, who was next to her, looked at Lila with a confused voice, Artis quickly pulled Schrödinger’s body towards her.

“Ah, Attis! Laila!”

“Calm down! If your body catches on fire, it can’t be controlled…!”

Artis was also surprised by the sudden remark, but he probably looked at it while maintaining his cool as much as possible.

However, Lila, surrounded by her flames, raises her hand and places it on her own head.

Then, slowly, the flame surrounding Lila began to fade.

To be more precise, would it be okay to say that the flame entered Laila’s hand and entered her body?

Finally, when all the flames were gone, Lila returned to normal, with only the slightest damage to her skin being tanned.

“Kkeukkeukkeuk…”

And when she coughs two or three times, black smoke comes out of her mouth.

“Gwae, are you okay?”

Schrödinger was shocked, as if he had seen a devil summoned from hell walking out of fire.

“It’s okay… I wrapped my body in magic right before the magic activated. Phew…”

Layla appears to sweep the front of her face with her hand two or three times as if nothing is wrong.

Anyway, Schrödinger was relieved that he seemed to be safe and took a deep breath.

But right after that, Lila will look embarrassed again when she sees the pile of ashes in front of her.

“Wow, the best documents I found!”

“Well, calm down. It’s not like everything has turned to ashes.”

Lila said that and opened her clenched fist.

“I tore out only the first page of the diary and protected it with magic. Perhaps because it contained magic in advance to activate the magic trap, it withstood the fire better.”

“Oh, oh…! ─No, no, you can’t do anything with just one page!”

Schrödinger was impressed by Laila’s words at first, but soon shook his head again when he heard that there was only one copy left.

However, Lila makes a gesture of denial in response to Schrödinger’s words.

“But that’s not true. There are still many other places to explore around… Above all, the most important clues to understanding the subject remain in the ‘diary’. Even if the only thing left is the very first page. .”

“… Clue?”

Schrödinger asks a question as if he doesn’t know.

“Yes. That’s it—”

“—Era. Year, month, day. At what point Darwin used this diary. It is an important clue to what he was trying to record.”

“You stole my lines…”

Laila puffs out her cheeks as if she is dissatisfied with Attis’ words.

“So? What’s written there?”

If Artis asks a question while ignoring Laila’s complaints, Laila will babble and open the first page of the diary she kept.

“The handwriting is somewhat similar to Artis’ handwriting. The words are written in a slightly older style, but there is no problem reading them… And the date… Wow, was this such an old diary?”

The date written there is about 650 years ago.

It’s a bit close to being called ‘ancient times’, but it was long enough that the lifestyle was completely different from what it is now.

“650 years… Darwin was born about 700 years ago, so she was middle-aged. No… Considering the times, it wouldn’t be strange if she had already reached old age.”

“The fact that he made a name for himself in the academy happened a little while before that. I guess he was already a regressor at this time?”

When Artis and Lila shared their opinions like that, Schrödinger frowned.

“I can’t read anything… How can I read this?”

Schrödinger tried to look at the contents first, but gave up because he couldn’t bear the fact that the letters there were too curly, and the writing style was too old.

“Well, it’s our daily routine to read old books.”

“That’s right. Writings from about a thousand years ago are easy to read.”

Whether it’s a grimoire or a history book, the older it is, the more valuable it is.

“These bookworms…”

Schrödinger sighs as if he is tired of the two people’s reactions and looks at Lila.

“Okay. Then I’ll read it to you, so listen carefully and remember it. Hehe.”

Lila, who read Schrödinger’s request from that gaze, cleared her throat and read down her diary.

『XXX year, X month, X day. Finally, my first child was born. Since the child was born as a result of sleeping with an aristocratic sponsor while drunk and without contraception, I thought about erasing it. Because he wanted to experience childbirth once, he waited 10 months without deleting it. I really thought that the results compared to the time were very unprofitable, but when I saw the baby that was born, I thought that it was a lovely creature compared to any of the creations I had created so far. Is this what maternal love is? I was surprised that such feelings even existed in me, but in any case, the ultimate goal is academic research. Raise it appropriately, and when this feeling disappears and parenting becomes a hassle, you can use it as an experiment. It is said that there are women in the world who write ‘childcare diaries’, so I decided to follow suit and keep a record.』

“…”

“Wow…”

Not only Lila, but also Schrödinger and Artis frowned at the content that did not make them feel very happy.

A post that reveals that she gave birth to an unexpected baby out of curiosity, and that even though it was her own child, she viewed it as an interesting object rather than a ‘human’ or ‘family member’.

“More than that, this woman, how old was she when she had her baby? Isn’t she over 50?”

“Yes… But looking at what is written, even back then, she must have been taking drugs to maintain her beauty in order to receive support from nobles. Her physical age would have been in her early 20s, her prime.”

Lila also nods her head at Artis’ analysis.

“First of all, there’s more written on this page, so I’ll read it…”

『XXX year, X month, X day. The baby finally started walking. And it seems like he’s talking, albeit little by little. I searched for various resources on parenting, but the only precedent I could find for a child growing at such a rapid pace was that of a mythical hero. Have the medications I’ve been taking had any effect on the baby, or… Maybe my child is a genius.』

『XXX year, X month, X day. My child must be a genius. Today, he already said my name straight out of his mouth. If I raise this child, he might become a greater scholar than me in the future. Or, maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to teach him martial arts and make him an excellent warrior. It was a hassle at first, but when he thought it was for the sake of the child, it didn’t bother him at all.』

『XXX year, X month, X day. In order to raise a child in a quiet countryside, she ended all sponsorship relationships she had with nobles. Cities are too noisy and dangerous places to raise children. Since I have money saved up, if I buy a slightly larger mansion, I will be able to live without any problems even in the countryside. I will definitely ask a carpenter to make a fireplace. Another good news is that she may be pregnant for the second time. I hope to cherish my second child as much as my first child─』

“… To this point.”

“This far!? I’m so worried about the story behind it!?”

Lila read everything written on the page she rescued, but Schrödinger screamed at the vaguely disconnected content.

“… You mean you just kept your parenting diary so carefully?”

Artis muttered as if he didn’t understand, but Lila quietly looked at the journal and then stood up and looked around.

“… You know, the ‘countryside mansion’ mentioned in the journal. Could it be…”

“Yes, there was talk about the fireplace. This trace of life. Maybe that ‘countryside mansion’ is the coffin of this returnee.”

When Artis nodded in agreement with Laila’s guess, the group looked at each other for a moment.

“There may be information about Darwin in the other room.”

“I see… Let’s ask everyone to spread out and search.”

The two people who said that would immediately jump down the hole in the floor of the room and return to the group waiting below.

Schrödinger looks at the two people and mutters.

“Uh, uhm. Where did the tentacles come from?”

“Sorry Schrödinger! You can find that for me!”

“Me!?”

Schrödinger was embarrassed by the sudden passing of the baton-

Soon, he sighed and looked around.

Yes, if I have to peel it, I have to peel it.

Saying that, looking around the room with the cat’s sharp eyes-

Soon, Schrödinger makes a discovery.

In the darkest corner of the room, there was a small, closed pipe sticking out of the wall, whether for ventilation or some other purpose.

Then Schrödinger carefully approached there and opened the lid.

“Gyaaaaahh with_!”

The scream spread widely throughout the returnee’s mansion.