Chapter 781 – Absence Case Log -5-

000

Since no further evidence could be found in the hideout of the Initrad mercenaries they were planning to attack, Illenu and his companions returned to the mansion.

Meanwhile, about the country in the distant past called Kabalon that Kanan explained, it was difficult to believe that it was real unless she was an elf who had experienced the past herself.

Kabalon is a country that existed before her sister was expelled from the village.

In other words, it is said that it was a country that existed more than a thousand years ago.

As it was called a sacred country, it was a country that believed in its own god, which was minor at the time, and had a history of trying to create a huge religious empire by spreading that faith to the outside world, so it is said that the outside world’s view was close to that of fanatics.

At first, they also tried to spread their religion across the continent by sending missionaries or through peaceful means, but the rules enforced by their god were so strict, and at that time, most of the country already believed that it was the beginning of a cult of protection of saints, not gods. The Trinity of the warrior, the saint, and the holy sword was considered the object of faith.

In the end, in order to promote the greatness of their gods, they started a war of conquest and gradually invaded and expanded the borders of neighboring countries, so they were gradually being treated as public enemies even on the continent.

The story is that a huge earthquake occurred that shook the heavens and the earth, and Kabalon fell through a crack in the ground and disappeared from the face of the earth overnight.

“Somehow, it’s not strange even if there is a fairy tale with that kind of content.”

When Dry Ne expresses her honest feelings, Kanan nods her head.

It wasn’t a very long story, but Kanan said that if such a country really existed, it wouldn’t be strange if it was written down somewhere in a modern history book, but there aren’t even any records left.

“This is a country that suffered harm to others for its own ideals and then was destroyed arbitrarily. Are you saying it’s not worth recording?”

It wasn’t conquered anywhere, and a country was completely wiped out due to a natural disaster, so it wouldn’t be surprising if it was thought to be cursed.

Ancient people may have thought that it would be best to quickly forget about such a country.

“Yes. However… The Holy Knights of Kabalon that existed at the time had quite powerful weapons. It is said that he was undefeated in battle and that he was feared by warriors from other countries because he fought like an immortal using powerful force and holy magic.”

“Hey. As a modern knight, I really want to clash swords once☆”

Diora speaks as if she is actually interested after hearing Kanan’s story, but Ilenu speaks while looking at Diora.

“You know, but we have to get Emma back first. If they have any intention of returning Emma safely, I have no intention of fighting.”

“Of course I keep that in mind. But the question is, why did these guys wearing the armor of the old knights appear now? It’s as if time has passed.”

Was there some kind of foreshadowing? When Diora asked back, and all of her companions were unable to say anything, Maybelle, who had heard of her situation while waiting for the group at her mansion, spoke to Baylin.

“It sounds like something I heard from her father. Berlin.”

＂Huh?＂

At Maybelle’s words, Baylin tilts her head, wondering if she’s ever heard a story like this, but Maybelle is telling Beylin that.

“Why. There is a legend that the ancestors of our blood family committed great sins in the past and were punished by God and fell underground where they could not receive the light of the sun. That’s why you said that in order to atone for those sins, you must cooperate with your human neighbors, right?”

After listening to Maybelle’s words, Baylin seemed to be contemplating with her arms crossed and her hand on her chin, as if she was trying to recall a memory like that.

“It happened so long ago that I don’t remember.”

“For me, it happened just a few months ago…”

Now that I think about it, I was reminded that Berlin and Maybelle experienced different passages of time.

After listening to Maybelle’s story, Illenu stays quiet for a while, then turns to Kanan and asks a question.

＂… I’m asking just in case. Do you remember where Kabalon was located?”

“At that time, I had not yet left the village, so I don’t know the exact location, but I heard that it was on the east side of the continent.”

Then, this time, Illenu’s question was directed at Maybelle.

＂Maybelle. “You were released from the seal after the excavation of relics began in the east, right?”

“Yes… I heard that.”

After hearing the two people’s answers, Illenu organizes his thoughts in his head.

Likewise, Schrödinger, who was next to him, heard the story and thought ‘no way’.

＂… I guess there is someone I need to meet before I go to the Initrad mercenaries…＂

001

＂”I suddenly came here on a night like this and did something… I know that all the girls gathered here are Cleon’s colleagues.”

Artis, who was staying quietly in the lodging prepared for Fleur until the festival arrived, thought she was making fun of him when a black-haired cat girl came to him saying she was Schrödinger, but he quickly realized that she was proof. When I brought up the real stories, they trusted me.

However, apart from that, he seemed to have complex feelings about Schrödinger, whose appearance had changed due to the leap of evolution created by his grandmother.

For your information, when many guests arrived, Fleur left everything to her butler and Artis and immediately hid in her room.

“So? “What do you want to ask?”

“No, I was wondering if anything unusual or new was discovered at the eastern excavation site recently.”

When Schrödinger asks a question on behalf of Illenu, Artis tilts his head and answers.

“Excavation? Well. I haven’t really checked since I arrived here ahead of the Five Elements Festival. Well, they are my best students, so they must be doing well.”

＂Are you okay with that attitude?…＂

Schrödinger responded to her somewhat irresponsible words with an expression of disbelief, but Artis responded to Schrödinger.

“It would be difficult if I couldn’t even manage the excavation site without my help forever.”

“Eh… But what if you think of something urgent? Keep in touch regularly…”

“Don’t worry about that. Because there is a way to contact you.”

As she said that, she told me to wait a moment, then she rummaged through her large luggage and took out something of her own.

“I can contact you through this.”

As she said that, what she saw was a translucent crystal ball that looked quite old and had a bit of dust attached to it, as if it had been left in her bag for a long time.

As soon as she saw what it was, Dio spoke as if she knew it.

“Ah. A crystal ball for communication.”

“Using ordinary items like this doesn’t suit my taste. With this, you can contact the investigation team members at the excavation site at any time. If something happened there, please contact us…”

As she said this, she twirled her crystal ball in her hand and-

＂… Ah.＂

And her face turned pale, as if she had discovered something.

＂What’s wrong?＂

When Schrödinger questioned her because of her uneasy premonition, Artis noticed a crack at the base of the crystal ball with her pale face.

“Suh… It was fine until I put it in the bag… But then I can’t receive calls from you, and I can’t contact you from here.”

＂What are you doing…!?＂

When Schrödinger spoke to Artis in disbelief, even Artis unknowingly took out a lollipop from his pocket and put it in his mouth, as if the situation was unexpected.

And when she took a deep breath and spoke as if something had happened, Fleur’s butler Kshat, who had been quietly watching the situation, stood up with a small sigh as if there was nothing he could do.

“Please wait here for a moment. I will bring something that can be replaced.”

＂Please, Kshat…＂

Kshat said that and left the scene for a moment, then returned with an object similar to the crystal ball that Attis was holding.

＂Are you okay with this?＂

“Thank you! Then, if you take the magic from this old crystal ball and transfer it to this new crystal ball…”

Although I am not a wizard, I skillfully set up a communication spell on a new crystal ball, as if I can handle magic tools to some degree –

An illusion appears within the translucent crystal ball, emitting magical light.

＂Wow… There are traces of receiving a lot of contact… ＂

“How long do we not check before something like this happens?”

When even Dryne said it was hard to believe, Attis coughed and moved his hand to reach out to his disciples at the excavation site.

Then, not long after, an urgent voice returns from beyond the crystal ball.

[Professor!? Professor Artis!? Where are you now!? Why have you never contacted us─]

“Sorry! I’m sorry, so calm down! I just didn’t notice that the crystal ball was broken!”

As Artis spoke like that, the voice of the person she thought was her assistant speaking through the crystal ball also stopped for a moment.

Then, after hearing a sound that I couldn’t tell whether it was a sigh of relief or a sigh of boredom, the assistant spoke.

[… While the professor was away, a lot happened at the excavation site. Since he wasn’t responding, there was discussion internally about whether it would be a good idea for one of us to go and contact him in person. No matter what I do, I can’t leave this place now…]

“What on earth happened to make that happen?”

In response to Artis’ question, the assistant beyond the crystal ball paused for a moment and spoke.

[Isn’t this the wilderness we first excavated? In the end, it was determined that the information was incorrect, so we were investigating it before heading over to the plains.]

“Ah. The place where Cleon shoveled several times. “Why is it there?”

The investigation was not progressing very well due to the raids by the wilderness, but as the problem of the wilderness was resolved and the location of the correct ruins was discovered, I thought that the investigation in the wilderness had finally come to a halt.

[Actually, among the traces of the strata leading from the ruins of the plain to the wilderness, there was a part that seemed a little unnatural, so I investigated it… And found it even underground in the wilderness! Ruins! The information we initially got was not wrong!]

＂… Oh.＂

Should Artis simply admire his assistant’s words for a moment? Then, isn’t it a complete windfall since the ruins were discovered twice? As I was thinking the same thing, I said something like that without realizing it.

[Did you just say ‘Oh’!?]

When the assistant’s voice rang out loud in disbelief once again, Artis huffed, cleared his throat, and answered him.

“Ah, sorry. … So? What kind of ruins were the excavated ruins? Is that why you were trying to contact me like that?”

[If that were all we could have done on our own. It’s not for nothing that I’ve been digging with Professor Artis for years… The ruins we discovered are-]

＂Remains of the Holy Kingdom of Kabalon… Right?＂

At that time, when Illenu, who was quietly listening to the story next to him, spoke as if joining in on the conversation, the investigation team member behind the crystal ball made a sound as if he was holding his breath.

[How did you know!? The information here is currently controlled to prevent it from being leaked to the outside world, so no one would know…]

“Wait a minute… If it’s the Holy Nation of Kabalon… Is it the legendary country that was destroyed by an earthquake in the distant past?”

＂You knew.＂

When Schrödinger talks to Artis in surprise, Artis just shrugs his shoulders and answers.

“For now. It’s a very minor legend, so the only people who know about it are people like me who like to research strange things. … Anyway, what is it about those ruins that prevents information from leaking out?”

[Well… When we drilled the passage to excavate, there were already people inside. There weren’t that many in number, but they were all wearing armor and armed… And said they were humans from the Holy Kingdom.]

“The Holy Kingdom fell over a thousand years ago. Is that possible…? It’s probably just Shin Seong-guk, but he’s cosplaying…”

Artis speaks as if what the assistant is saying is not scientifically organized, but the assistant instead sighs in response.

[What cosplay group in the world is active in the ruins… Those people are truly from that era. At the point when the Holy Kingdom was destroyed, several members of the royal family and the Holy Knights imprisoned themselves in a time-sealing barrier. That barrier was lifted due to various magical problems caused by the previous excavation at the laboratory.]

＂… Same as Maybelle.＂

Ilenu muttered that after hearing the assistant’s answer, and Beirlin also nodded his head.

[The problem, however, is that they are imprisoning us, saying they do not want their resurrection known to the outside world. Professor…]

＂…＂

At the assistant’s words, Artis’ expression immediately hardened, and he closed his mouth.

＂Why?＂

[What did they say… They said they wanted to hide their return to this land until all those who betrayed the country were punished… Instead, they were given permission to investigate the ruins as they pleased…]

After Artis heard his assistant’s answer, he immediately stood up.

“Okay. I’ll go there too. I have to go and negotiate with them in person.”

[Yes!? But the professor himself!? But…]

“My assistants are being oppressed, and I can’t just stand by and not know when they will be released, right? Otherwise, do you want to keep living there? How many of those traitors are out there, and they might always get caught?”

On rare occasions when Artis sounded a little angry, the assistants beyond the crystal ball seemed a little moved.

[School, professor…!]

As he talks, Artis continues to put on his coat and prepares to go out, talking to his assistant.

“If you rent a unicorn car, you’ll be there in two hours. Just don’t tell them I’m going. If they find out that you relayed the story to me through communication, they might think you leaked information, and you could get into trouble.”

[Ah, I understand. Please be careful…!]

When he said that, the connection between the crystal dictations was finally severed, and Artis turned towards Ilenu and the others who were listening to the whole story next to him.

“… That’s how it happened. From now on, I have to go talk to the resurrected ancient people at the ancient ruins to save my assistants. I’m sorry that I’m not in a position to talk leisurely.”

Artis said, “More on the story later,” And went straight to Herti to borrow the unicorn car.

However, Illenu also stood up from her seat and spoke to her.

“Are you thinking of going alone to talk to such an armed group?”

“It’s a little scary, though. I can’t help it. It would have been incredibly reassuring if Cleon had been there at a time like this…”

When Attis sighs like that, Illenu answers.

“Don’t worry. I will go with you instead of Cleon. Coincidentally, I also have something to talk about with those guys.”