Chapter 459 – Those Who Enter and Those Who Wait

000

If the drones were solved, and the problem of the blocked entrance was solved, all that was left was to dig up the ancient secrets hidden underground.

Any drones that have stopped functioning have been disarmed and packed into crates inside a makeshift tent.

The cannons were carefully destroyed by Cleon and Innis, and the flying saucers without combat capabilities were returned to camp or studied in proper research facilities.

Maybe, we can create a new invention or recover manufacturing technology.

However, more than anything about those drones, what made the investigation team’s hearts dance now was the inside of the open ruins.

As Artis expected, something’s laboratory. If that’s also the weapons laboratory.

Perhaps, the technology that can cause another explosive progress in the succession world may lie dormant.

And when they thought that they might be the protagonists of the discovery, they were so excited that they didn’t know what to do.

The members of the Amryongsanghoe Ruins Investigation Team packed lightly and prepared themselves fully armed.

Layla, as expected by Sasha and Cleon, recovered in a few tens of minutes until she was able to operate, and got out of bed.

“We’ll divide those who will go inside and those who will stay outside. Of course, a regressor might find out that the door is open and attack, so someone with power must remain outside.”

Attis’ words his, the eyes of his party his all turned to that direction.

Of course, most of the young and energetic assistants want to go inside, so they decide to play rock-paper-scissors, which is the fairest game in the world.

In order to protect those who would remain outside, it was necessary to decide who and how many would remain in Cleon’s group.

“Lyla-“

“Sure. I’ll go inside.”

“…I thought so.”

Before Cleon’s words were finished, Layla said that she was inside her as soon as her own name her was called, and Cleon nodded her head knowingly.

“If Master goes, me too!”

“Haa!? You made that accident and haven’t reflected on it yet!?”

As Innis spoke while raising her hand, Layla looked at her in dismay and raised her voice.

But Innis, too, is talking while looking up at Lila with her hands clasped together and her eyes wide open.

“Please~ Master. I won’t act as I please now!

“…”

In response to her voice her, Lila nodded and put her hand on her forehead her, then nodded as if she could n’t help it.

“Yeah, if you’re going to be somewhere anyway, it’s right in a place where I can see it. So, first of all, the two inside?”

It was Lyla who allowed her to accompany her, perhaps thinking that it was better for her to be in a place where she could control herself rather than having an accident in a place where Innis could not be seen.

“I-I’ll stay outside. If it’s a guard duty, leave it to me.”

And Sasha, who volunteers to stay outside.

Certainly, she could sense the presence of an approaching being from afar more than anyone else, so she was best suited to remain outside of her.

“What will Amelia do?”

When Quon such a question to the hesitant Amelia, she turns to Layla and Sasha, then speaks while blushing.

“Me too. I want to go inside the ruins.”

She was also a curious girl, so she seemed interested in the ancient space where traces of people from the primordial world remained.

“Because Amelia can use healing spells. She helps her survey crew there.”

At Cleon’s words her, Amelia nodded her head and became a little nervous.

“Then, would it be better for me to remain outside? Because there must be a healer outside.”

If Quondo and Amelia choose to stay outside, only Cleon will be left with the choice.

Layla asks Cleon, putting her hand on her waist her.

“Cleon, are you going inside too?”

“…”

Cleon thought for a moment about Layla’s question, then shook her head and answered.

“No. I’ll stay outside too. Laplace must be expecting that we’re excavating these ruins. Besides, since he’s the original owner of the map, he’ll come right here.”

“Huh.”

At Cleon’s answer her, Laila nodded her head knowingly.

“In that case. It would be right for Cleon, the strongest among us, to remain outside.”

“… Not really, I didn’t think so.”

At Lila’s words her, Cleon covered her face with his hands, pretending to fix her glasses without realizing it.

“Oh, you’re shy. What are you blushing for?”

She sees that and wants to bully him, so Layla stabs Cleon’s side her with her elbow.

“Master. Papa is happy that the Master genuinely praised Papa!”

“Innis, you don’t have to explain.”

Thinking that it must be on purpose, Cleon restrains Innis and talks to Attis while looking at him.

“…Well. That’s how it is. I’m sorry I couldn’t follow you all the way inside.”

“No, it’s okay. I left it entirely up to you regarding personnel.”

Despite Cleon’s apology, Artis immediately shook his head and answered his words, then looked back at the three members of Layla, Innis, and Amelia as they spoke.

“Sure. Ladies who go inside wear protective clothing. Because there may be poisonous gas. Huhuhu~”

What Artis gave while saying scary words was an amulet that, when worn by archaeologists, protects the body by creating a weak magical shield on the outside of the body and prevents poisonous substances from penetrating into the body.

“This is… Academy stuff.”

Laila looked dumbfounded when she saw that the six-pointed star-shaped protection she gave her were all 100% academy furnishings with the academy’s crest engraved on them.

“I made it because I wanted to make it, but what’s wrong with bringing it out when I retire?”

“No… Yes. Yes, if you are, that’s it.”

Considering that it was originally for educational purposes and that it was made using the school’s budget, it might be a school thing…

Lyla lets out a small sigh at Artis’s words and puts it near her chest like a brooch to infuse her magic her.

“It seems to be working properly. My body doesn’t get that heavy. Even if I use flying magic in this state, it won’t be that much of a hindrance.”

“Master! Me too!”

When she hears Innis’s voice from behind her, Laila mumbles without looking back.

“You’re weird when you don’t work.”

It was a strange story that she, a homunculus made from the blood of Lyla and Cleon, could not function properly with one of her protective units.

“No, I can fly too!”

“What?”

Layla does n’t know what she’s talking about, so when she looks back at her Innis her, she sees that the magic film created from the armor attached to her clothes her constantly expands, causing her body to float .

“What, what are you doing!?”

“Ahaha! How do you stop this?”

Looking at Innis who continued to inflate her magical membrane as if it were fun to float up into the sky, Laila looked puzzled and went up into the sky to remove her shield her.

Amelia stares blankly at the two of them, then she attaches her protection unit to a similar position to Layla’s and injects her magic her.

Just a little bit of her mana she flows into it, and it reacts and creates a magical shield around her body her.

“The trick itself… Doesn’t seem that different from using the pendants.”

At Amelia’s words, Cleon nods her head.

“Once the body and medium are connected to that form of protection, it automatically absorbs magic power from the user’s body until the connection is forcibly disconnected. That’s why, you don’t have to consciously keep flowing magic power.”

“Then what will happen?”

Cleon raises her hand and points to Innis in response to Amelia’s question her.

“So! Stop sending magic!”

“Ahahaha! Okay, okay~!”

Watching Innis unable to stop her laugh as if it was funny that Layla tried to cling to him but kept pulling away from her magic membrane her, Cleon sighed and pulled Caliburn from his waistband her.

And then, if I stabbed Innis’ expanding magical membrane with the tip of it.

With the sound of pushing and blowing, Innis’s body slowly descends to the ground as the mana accumulated in the magic membrane escapes.

“Understand?”

“Yes Yes…”

Amelia nodded her head as she swore in her heart that she would never misuse it like Innis did.

“Then, have a good trip. Don’t overdo it. If you think it’s going to be dangerous, don’t hesitate and hide behind the adults.”

Cleon pats Amelia on the shoulder and tells her kindly about her.

Just yesterday, remembering what he had done in her youth, Amelia involuntarily burst into laughter, but she nodded her head.

001

And- the inside of the ruins where the investigation team, including Attis, first set foot in the successor world.

If you go down the iron spiral staircase, which goes round and round, the stairs stop only after passing through a height of about 3 floors from the ground.

As expected, the inside was dark, but there was no sign of collapse anywhere, and the only thing destroyed was the iron plate Cleon cut to force open the door.

“Laila~ Is this your first time excavating ruins?”

“Huh? Ah… It’s my first time participating in an excavation like this, but I’ve been to similar places before.”

When Artis teases Layla, Layla responds by opening her mouth her and illuminating her surroundings with the magic lantern she is holding.

“What? Where are you? Somewhere I don’t know?”

Lyla reflexively opens her mouth to answer her question, but-

Glancing her gaze toward Amelia, she shut her mouth again.

“It is a secret.”
“What is that-!”

As Artis raised her voice in disappointment, one of the assistants standing in the back opened her mouth.

“Professor, since you’ve come inside, it’s best to go quietly…”

“Ah. That’s right. There are defense mechanisms that respond to human voices.”

“You… To hear bitter words even from your assistant…”

Layla shakes her head, thinking that she is also a fool.

“So? What do you think is sleeping in these ruins?”

When Lila shined her lantern on the walls, floor, and ceiling, it wasn’t hard to see that what she saw was a machine-made passage, made of steel—or something much harder than that.

“Huh? Well, it’s only speculation. There was another huge entrance besides the one we passed through, right?”

“That’s right. Did you say it’s the entrance to and from the airship?”

Airship. Some people call it by the fancy name of ‘groundwork’, but in the academic world, it has become a name that is not often used as a little old-fashioned name.

It was literally a ship that could fly in the sky, although it was possible to create something similar with today’s technology.

Manufacturing requires a huge amount of resources, including high-end magic stones.

In addition, the longest flight time of an airship made with such expensive money is absurdly short, around an hour, and the speed is similar to or slightly faster than running a horse.

With the current technology, the effectiveness was so low compared to the cost, that the kingdom and the empire gave up on making it.

Every year at the academy, a contest is held to make and fly a small airship that does not allow people to ride, but so far, the competition is only based on the score of individual design, and most of the products are different in performance .

However, it is said that the performance of airships in the primitive world is different from them.

There was even a record of them flying across the sky faster than their horses, let alone their speed multiplied several times, and even crossing the sea for several hours.

Moreover, since it can move even with something like oil that does not require magic stones, even maintenance costs are incomparable, so if there is an airship that remains intact.

Possessing it alone would have enormous military and economic advantages.

“Yes. And, the direction this passage leads to is under that big door.”

“Wait… You mean there might be an airship in here?”

Lila looks at her with her disbelief expression on her face her.

Until now, a few remains have been found that left traces of airships entering and exiting.

However, most of them were put into war in the original world and the last war, and nothing was completely preserved, and only a few parts were found or destroyed so completely that they could not be restored.

“If such an airship is to be found. What will you do, Layla?”

Artis walks without stopping.

“That’s right… Of course, we have to investigate thoroughly! What kind of technology was it made with, and what was it originally made for? A technological revolution will occur on the continent!”

At Lila’s words, Artis nods her head.

“Master, I’m so excited.”

“Ugh…”

And when Innis talked about Laila’s attitude of her, Laila blushed as if she was ashamed of her immediate action of her.

“…Are you going to make me answer? Artis. What about you?”

“Wait. One more before that.”

Artis turns her gaze to Amelia before answering Layla’s question.

“What do you think of Amelia-sama?”

“I…”

Amelia didn’t think that Artis’ question would come to her, so she shut her mouth for a moment.

And, while pondering something, she shakes her head.

“…I don’t know. But if it were me, I wouldn’t use it after breaking the seal on the airship…”

“What? Why?”

Layla looked at her as if Amelia’s answer was surprising.

Amelia answers Layla’s question with an expression that she doesn’t understand either herself or why.

“Obviously, airships are wonderful things. They will improve people’s lives at once. But… They will definitely become a spark of a fight. By those who own airships, and those who seek the technology.”

“Yeah… It’s still happening frequently.”

A fight over an artifact.

Even if the regressors did not intervene, it was both a secret and an open fact at the same time that political quarrels and sometimes even armed conflicts broke out between the academy and the kingdom over the excavated artifacts.

I treat it as a personal deviation, and I just don’t make a big deal out of it.

“Yes. But, airships… Are they prepared for the people of this era to handle? Those flying saucers you saw earlier- If there are powerful armaments similar to those of drones. The power of airships comes from fighting between forces. It’s something that gives you an absolute edge.”

“Well… That’s true. The drones did too, but after all, an attack from the sky is more annoying than an attack from anywhere else.”

Layla nods her head in agreement with Amelia.

“If the kingdom, the academy, or someone from the eastern country gets their hands on that power, even if they try to use it for peace, they will surely stimulate their surroundings regardless of their will and worry that bombs can rain down on their heads at any time. Our world’s civilization has not reached that point yet. If using magical tools from the primordial world could upset the balance of the continents and cause a major war… Rather, as it is now, underground I think it’s good to fall asleep in

“Yes…”

Ryla nodded her head, as if there was some truth to her words her, but, after all, it was a waste of time for her to leave her dormant skills dormant.

“Either way is right. The technology of the primitive world certainly feels like a dream-like gift from the past to us, but…”

The group’s footsteps stopped.

At the end of the passage, above the locked door, there was a black exclamation mark on a yellow background like a warning sign.

It was as if they were saying that once this box is opened, there is no going back.

“Sometimes. Sometimes it feels like a curse from the past. If you think about it, as a result of developing themselves so much, they pulled the trigger that destroyed them. And the airship, of course, must be one of the bullets fired by that trigger.”

“…”

Amelia nods her head, and Layla looks at Artis as she talks.

“In the end. Which side are you?”

“Me? I’m an ‘archaeologist’, not an ‘engineer’ or ‘politician’. It’s all about discovering it. We should all wrap our heads and think about what to do with it.”

At Artis’ vague answer her, Layla snorts at her with a chuckle.

“Now. Then, open it. Well, even if we talk like this, it only has meaning if there is an airship in it. Isn’t it?”

With a clap, Artis turns his handle.

If her party she held their breath, each her pictured in her head her the existence of her airship, which might catch her eye if she opened the door-

Attis remained frozen and immobile.

“Atis?”

“…It’s locked. Hey, does anyone have a lock pick? Or a saw or something.”

The assistants stagger down as the tension is relaxed, and Layla sighs loudly.

“I’d like to blow it away with magic… But I don’t know if there’s something inside. You guys are genius at making the atmosphere go up and down like that.”

“What are you saying! Think of it as saving the fun. A little more.”

Artis smirks and accepts the lockpick tool his assistant gave him.

“This is not an electronic system… Hehe, did you worry about hacking?”

Watching her mumble as she proceeds to her lockpick, Amelia quietly let out a sigh of relief.

‘If at all, if there really is an airship in there. What should we do…’

Could it be that I will be at odds with Lyla by any chance?

Thinking about that, she was quietly thinking.

002

While the search was in full swing underground, those who remained on the ground gathered around the entrance and chatted.

Some of those who were defeated by rock-paper-scissors and were left on the ground could not stand it and took out drones and tried to tear open the inside.

Since there was nothing else they could do, Quon and Cleon naturally spend time talking about their daily lives.

“Come to think of it- Cleon. Did anything happen with the lord of the Descartes family I met yesterday?”

At the topic of conversation that Quon brought up casually, Cleon shuts up for a moment and thinks about what happened yesterday.

As for which one, Cleon nodded his head to Quon’s question because the events in Mirror Land that followed were more memorable.

“Not really. It was a bit unusual, but he was a great person with a good attitude.”

“I see. If that’s the case, I’m glad.”

Quon knew all too well that Cleon was a man well versed in flirting with women unconsciously while they were gone.

If it increases beyond this, it will be difficult to end with a bitter smile.

Quon stretches out his hand towards the seated Cleon’s face and touches the temples of his glasses her.

“Ku, kuon…?”

“It’s already been a long time… I’ve even developed this kind of evil eye. Seriously, I can’t take off these glasses outside. Okay?”

“I know…”

Cleon nodded like that.

These glasses somehow seal the enchanting demonic eye that was not created by one’s will.

It is unknown when it will be solved, but this time, Cleon asks, keeping in mind that he must be careful not to happen as much as Quon is worried about.

“Come to think of it – how is the shaman training?”

“Yeah. I’m learning a lot from a distance using the communication mirror Layla made.”

Tokoyo said that he would make Quon into a shrine maiden.

However, while participating in this expedition, Quon also wondered how to practice, using a mirror magic tool that Layla had prepared in advance to transmit two-way voices and images.

It seemed that even now, far away, it could be practiced without problems.

“It’s still hard to use the amulet… But I’ll try to help Cleon.”

“…Ah. I’ll be looking forward to it.”

When Cleon smiled, Quon looked at Cleon for a while, then glanced around.

The assistants are paying attention to the drones, and Sasha is concentrating on feeling the presence around her with her eyes closed as she sits on top of the tent.

With a sigh, she closes her eyes and brings her own face towards Cleon’s her.

Cleon also noticed her intentions her, and for a moment he lightly brought his mouth her to her lips her-

“Mr. Cleon!”

The sudden resounding sound of Sasha’s voice started both of them and threw their bodies.

“A wagon is coming this way!”

“Carriage?”

Cleon lifts her body up with a cooling quon fanning her face her.

Sasha also jumps down from the top of the tent and approaches Cleon.

“Yes. It seems to be a pretty classy wagon, but could it be a regressor?”

“… Well… Anyway, I think you’d better stay alert. Quon. Guide everyone into the tent. Sasha, prepare to greet the wagon with me.”

Following Cleon’s instructions, the two of them nodded, and the crew hurriedly moved into the tent.

With Cleon holding a sword at her waist and Sasha holding a bow in her hand, if her ears were focused on the distant sound of a carriage—

I confirm that the wagon approaching this way at high speed does not stop as it is, but stops next to their excavation site.

“…Sasha.”

“Yes.”

If both Cleon and Sasha walked slowly toward the carriage, ready to launch an attack at any time.

As the carriage door opens, a human figure carefully steps out.

“Uh?”

But seeing that, Sasha raised her voice in embarrassment.

What appeared in the wagon was…