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Chapter 29 – The Hidden Door
“…I wonder what kind of building this is? The interior doesn’t look particularly complicated, but it does have some odd bends…”
The girl doll tilts her head. The passage isn’t particularly complicated, but there are a few twists and turns. Apart from that, she doesn’t stray off to the side, she just keeps going deeper into the building. Clare wonders if a more complex structure would make it more difficult to escape, even if the grave guards were to attack them once they had been lured inside.
The fact is, Kairem and his group were caught off guard and managed to retreat.
“The structure itself probably has a magical meaning. The pattern doesn’t seem to function properly because the wall was damaged, but I can feel the magic. I don’t know what it means until I recreate it or study it. Ancient magic and modern magic have different structures and styles…”
“Does that mean that it will continue to have an effect as long as the structure is not destroyed?”
“That may be possible. If so… Could it be used to store something?”
Clare and the others exchange words, speculating from the information they have obtained while exploring the surrounding magic.
“It’s true that this style is suitable for long-term storage. It’s large-scale, but the ruins themselves are in excellent condition.”
“There have been reports of the discovery of relics of ancient civilizations in the Great Sea of Trees in the past, but this is one of the best in the world.”
After the guild investigator said that, Griff spoke up.
“The grave guards are a measure against intruders in the vault.”
“They’re different from the grave guards we’ve encountered in the past. There have only been a few encounters with grave guards, so we don’t have enough evidence to determine whether they were common in ancient civilizations.”
“The question is, what’s here?”
Lucia muttered, looking into the darkness at the back. Kairem’s voice warned.
“We’re almost there, where the gap in the passage was.”
“…Let’s stay alert. It’s possible that there hasn’t been anything here up to now was just to lull us into a false sense of security.”
The investigator said, and everyone nodded, checking for safety as they slowly walked forward. Eventually, they came into view of the gap where the grave guard had appeared.
“The witches are behind me.”
Griff took up a position to protect from the gap.
“I don’t sense any unusual magic… If it’s hidden enough to slip through my detection, I’m helpless… But it wasn’t when the grave keeper was asleep or when he was supposed to have been activated.”
“Even I could sense it from a distance. I don’t think it’s possible that I couldn’t sense it this close.”
“The weak magical reaction is from the whole building. And then, maybe from further inside.”
Kylem nodded at what Clare and Rona said and shone the lantern into the gap.
“…That’s it. It’s the trace of the grave keeper coming out. We also suspected a trap, so we checked the gap, but there was no depression like that. It was just a wall with a groove dug into it, like the surrounding walls… but it must have been disguised.”
There was a small space at the back of the gap, and there was a human-shaped depression in the wall.
“So–it must have been the grave keeper who came out from here and launched a surprise attack.”
“…I don’t sense any magical reaction.”
Kylem and the others’ guess turned out to be correct. The adventurers sighed in relief as Clare and the others spoke.
“If this doesn’t mean the next grave keeper will come out from here, then we can relax for now. I can’t guarantee that there won’t be any other dangers, though. Let’s continue to be on our guard.”
After hearing the investigator’s words, the adventurers once again moved forward with tension – and further ahead. And then…
“Go, stop…?”
The scout carefully looked around the corner using the mirror and let out a suspicious voice.
There was nothing at the end of the investigation team’s path. It was just a dead end. There was simply the end of the passage.
“No… I can feel magic. It’s coming from that wall.”
As Rona stepped forward, Clare and the others stepped forward with the two guards. Rona seemed to be pondering, her hands on the wall at the end of the path. The investigation team watched with bated breath.
“…It’s a magical wavelength I’ve never felt before. There must be something on this wall. Do you notice anything?”
“Hmm… It’s certainly a magical wavelength I’ve never felt before. That being said, I haven’t seen that many things… but the pattern looks different from what I’ve seen so far.”
The doll girl folds her arms on Clare’s shoulders and tilts her head. Clare can secretly copy the pattern on the wall with a thread and compare it by overlapping it. This is related to unique magic, so she won’t say anything.
Selena also stares at the wall with her hand on her chin, but eventually, she opens her mouth.
“This is the first magical wavelength I’ve ever seen.”
Selena captures magical power visually. As it is related to unique magic, she chooses her words carefully.
“But maybe around the center of the wall? Something around there–”
“…Around here?”
In response to Selena’s words, who narrowed her eyes and pointed to a part of the wall, Clare took a step forward. The moment Clare got to the wall――
“Huh――”
“Huh…?”
Rona and Clare’s voices. A small light appeared in the center of the wall, and blue light spread from there, matching the grooves of the pattern. When the light filled the entire wall at the end, the wall slowly opened to the left and right, making a noise.
Behind it was a small room. The ceiling of the small room was lit up with light, illuminating the inside in bright white.
No one said a word. What had triggered the wall to open? And what was inside the small room? They were captivated by these things, and each of them was confused, anxious, and hopeful, trying to understand the change in the situation.
Then… Clare, who was closest when the wall reacted, was also attracting attention. Noticing this, Clare turned around.
“Um… I don’t think I did anything…”
The girl doll on her shoulder shook her hand side to side.
“…Well, maybe. Potentially something from the grave keeper reacted. That’s what it seemed like from the side.”
“–Ah. Perhaps it was the remains left by the grave keeper? Possibly, that’s the key…?”
“…It seems so.”
Selena said timidly, and Clare and Rona responded, and the atmosphere of understanding spread among the investigation team.
The investigation team’s attention was focused on the inside of the small room. However, no one stepped in carelessly. Considering that the grave keeper was there, it could be a trap. There could be no magical mechanisms.
“Inside the room–Is it magic from the light on the ceiling? Also from that central pedestal.”
“Is that what’s placed there… a book?”
There was a pedestal, and a book was placed on it.
“The environment inside the ruins is probably meant to improve the preservation of books.”
“In any case, we need to retrieve that book and examine it…”
The guild investigator said. That being said, it’s still difficult to enter a room where there may be magical mechanisms. Even Clare and the others can sense magical power, there are many unpredictable aspects of ancient magic.
“Hmm. I guess I’ll go. I’m the only one who can deal with magical mechanisms.”
“No… In that case, I’ll go and get it. Someone has to go anyway. Even if there is a way to attract it with magic, it could be a condition for the trap to be activated.”
The one who answered Rona’s words was Griff.
“Is it dangerous?”
“I know that. There’s no point in escorting the person who is most knowledgeable about magic if we let them cross a dangerous bridge. You are the ones who have the highest chance of being able to deal with it from the outside if something happens. In that case, it would be better for me, who is just a simple warrior, to go.”
Griff said without any hesitation.
“Then I’ll go too.”
Lucia said, but Griff shook his head.
“No. What’s the point of both of us being separated from our guardians?”
“That’s not fair. Then we’ll draw lots–”
“The person who came up with the idea should carry it out. That’s why–I’m counting on you guys.”
Griff turns from Lucia to look at Rona and the others.
“Good. I’ll keep a close eye on you.”
“I’ll make sure I don’t miss any changes either…!”
“I’d like to join you, but… be careful. I’ll give you some potions just in case.”
Clare hands Griff some homemade painkiller and healing potions.
“That’s reassuring.”
Griff takes the potions and laughs a little, then looks at the investigators and the other adventurers.
“Is that okay?”
“…I’m sorry, Griff-san. I promise to personally put in a good word with the guild for danger allowance.”
“Yeah. That’ll be helpful too. I’m off.”
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