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Chapter 28 – Exploring the Ruins
“–Could I ask Griff-san to guard the witches?”
Griff, an adventurer who joined the survey team, had been asked by the guild’s investigator to guard the witches.
He is a man with gray hair and blue eyes. He looks to be around his early twenties. And he has sharp eyes and a sword scar on his cheek.
“Understood.”
Griff answered. It was an immediate response.
He is not one to talk much. However, he is skilled and always completes requests. He is a person who is often requested by the guild in the Margrave branch. The survey of the Great Sea of Trees was expected to be highly difficult and important, so he was asked to join the survey team, and he accepted.
“I’d like to ask Lucia-sama to guard the witches. I’d like you to discuss with her how to protect them.”
“Lucia, huh? Understood.”
“Then, I look forward to seeing you tomorrow.”
The investigator bows his head and leaves the tent.
Griff, who is left behind, puts his hand on his chin and mutters.
“Witch apprentice… Clare?”
The next day. Before breakfast, Clare and the others are introduced to the two guards by the guild investigator.
“It’s Griff.”
“Her name is Lucia. I look forward to meeting you.”
The two adventurers, male and female, have contrasting personalities. Griff doesn’t smile much when greeting, and even then, he only speaks a minimum of words, but Lucia is cheerful and friendly.
Lucia has slightly wavy golden hair and bright auburn eyes. She is probably in her 20s. She is slender and tall, and has the air of a beautiful woman who catches people’s attention.
“Oh. I saw them at the dinner table, so it’s those two. Well, I’ll take care of them.”
“Thank you.”
Clare and the others also introduced themselves again. They were famous adventurers in the guild, so Rona knew their faces and names.
“Well, let’s start guarding right away. Stay in a position where you can see them as much as possible.”
“Okay.”
“Already? I think it’ll be fine until we leave the camp… Oh, well.”
Griff had already started guarding, so he moved a little away so that Rona and the others could see him. Lucia blinked at Griff and took a position ahead of the three.
“Well, I’ll take care of the rest. Breakfast is already ready, so we’ll head to the ruins again after we’re done.”
“Okay.”
Rona replied lightly, and the researcher bowed and left.
“Oh. So Selena is a junior adventurer. I thought Grandma Rona and the others had no interest in that sort of thing.”
“In my case, I’m thinking about the future.”
“I’m not going to say stupid things like, ‘Just because we’re master and disciple, you should imitate my way of life. If you live honestly, I have no right to say anything.”
Lucia smiles, “That’s a good master-disciple relationship.”
“But it’s nice that it’s easy to walk.”
One of the adventurers says, and Griff asks.
“It’s true, it’s easy to guard them, but… they’re also the ones being guarded, so it’s okay to leave the chores to the survey team.”
“It’s fine if it’s this much. It appears that you have more magical power than other people, and this is also training.”
The girl doll answers while making a power lump.
Clare has expanded the range of her forest walking skills as part of her training, covering an area where the survey team can walk in formation.
“I see. That’s good.”
Griff nods at Clare’s response.
Soon, the collapsed site comes into view beyond the forest. The team looks around to see where the ruins are, but when Rona taps the ground with her staff, the spell is broken and the ruins appear.
“They didn’t notice it even though it was so close… the barrier is incredible…”
One of the adventurers exclaims, looking up the slope.
Then, upon seeing the ruins’ collapsed walls and the gaping hole, silence falls.
A skilled party was almost wiped out. It’s unclear if there’s something else lurking there, but it’s only natural that they’re nervous about entering.
In this atmosphere, one adventurer speaks up.
“…I saw it in person and I thought. The witches said they were going in with us, but… I think it would be better if we cleared the way first and ensured a minimum level of safety. I heard that the grave keepers are good at surprise attacks, and wizards are not good at fighting in narrow, complicated places. It would be a problem if something happened to the members who are close to solving the mystery.”
“You don’t have to worry about us. These two are trained in close combat and fighting in narrow spaces.”
Rona said, and the girl doll sitting on Clare’s shoulder and Selena both nodded.
“In case of an emergency, I’ll be a shield.”
“I’ll be there too. Well, leave it to me.”
“Yes. I look forward to working with you both.”
The guild investigator answered Griff and Lucia. One of the adventurers who first infiltrated the ruins – Kairem.
“We’ve been inside once. We got wounded, but it wasn’t as bad as Jenna’s. We checked on her condition this morning, and we think she’ll be of some use as a guide.”
“That’s right. We’ve teamed up with Kairem and the others a few times. We’ll buy them time to retreat.”
Saying this, Kairem easily holds up his large shield, and the adventurers take the lead.
Jenna, who was seriously wounded, is still unable to move, and plans to wait for her strength to recover at the camp before retreating with the others, but Kairem and the others, who had rushed in as advance guards, are still fully prepared to work as members of the research team.
“Then, please guide us.”
“Yes.”
Kairem and the others nod at the researcher’s words and enter the ruins ahead of them.
There is an external waiting team acting as rescuers and liaisons, but Clare and the others also serve as detectors. As a formation, they will infiltrate the ruins following Kairem and the others along with the researcher.
Clare and the others enter the ruins.
“…It’s a bit chilly. It doesn’t feel like the air in a buried ruin.”
“Indeed. I thought it would be warmer and more humid since it was underground.”
“It’s a living ruin, so maybe that preserves the quality of the air. The pattern on this wall looks like some kind of magical mechanism, but it seems to be broken and not functioning now.”
As Clare says this, Selena and Rona comment.
The material of the wall illuminated by the lantern is unknown. It is made of black stone, and the wall is engraved with complex grooves, almost like a pattern.
The passage stretches in two directions, but–
“Which direction did the attack come from? Since they’ve posted guards, I assume there’s something important there…”
“That way.”
In response to the investigator’s question, Kairem points to one of the passages.
“Then, the following team, secure an escape route. In case of an emergency, such as being attacked, sound the whistle to let everyone know.”
“Understood.”
The investigation team’s policy has been decided, and with Kairem’s guidance, they proceed deeper into the ruins. Since they were attacked by the grave guards once, Kairem’s movements are cautious even for the second time.
“We need to look carefully not only at the walls, but also at the ceiling and floor to see if there are any cracks or gaps.”
“The walls… have patterns on them, so it’s difficult to tell right away.”
“What are these ruins made of… The floor and ceiling don’t even have any joints between the building materials…”
“We were surprised when we first saw them.”
Kylem and the adventurers acting as scouts advance little by little while having such conversations. Clare and the others use highly accurate detection magic to check for strange magical reactions in exchange for a shorter effective range.
Despite being perfectly prepared, it was chilly, and the dark ruins were shrouded in silence, so the infiltration team was inevitably tense as they explored.
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