Chapter 109: The Fate of the Archeological Research Committee (1)


    Mira had visited the famous master cksmith Gregor following the lead provided by the sword of one of Chimera uzen’s heads.


    That led to the discovery of the name of the sword’s owner, Gregorius, who was also Gregor’s son. He had also been a necromancer, making it almost certain he was the man Mira had fought. This was the first time she had obtained any information about the identity of Chimera uzen’s higher ups.


    Leaving Gregor’s hidden workshop behind, Mira and Emera returned to Sentopolly to report their findings.


    One hour past noon the group would regroup in Sero’s room to report their findings from investigating the city the entire morning.


    Mira and Emera were the first ones to arrive, so they began getting things ready for lunch while they waited for the rest. Though they were not cooking, merely going to the restaurants inside the inn to buy meals for ten.


    By the time that was done, the rest had arrived and they could eat lunch while talking.


    Arlon was the first to report his findings. He had gotten in contact with some adventurers he knew, as well as Union staff to ask if they knew of any shady locations where criminals were likely to gather; it was a rather roundabout investigation. Though if he was more direct and asked about Chimera uzen’s headquarters it would have easily gotten from person to person all the way to Chimera, defeating the purpose of their stealth investigation. There was simply no other way to gather information.


    There was another goal for those questions though. That organization had remained in the shadows for many long years, so it was hard to believe they would ce their headquarters somewhere easy to figure out. That meant that any ce that easily came up as a shady ce was unlikely to also house Chimera uzen and could be removed from the investigation.


    「Later in the afternoon I’ll go to the pier as we decided. That’s it from me.」


    He quickly wrapped his report up and reached out for a thick and juicy burger sitting on the table, stuffing it in his mouth and loudly eximing 「That’s delicious」 without being bothered by the sauces dripping from his mouth.


    No one else had touched their food while he spoke, Mira being the only exception by drinking some Caramel au Lait.


    But Arlon’s actions sparked a new unspoken rule in the group. Only those who finished their reports could start eating, a senseless and bizarre conviction that everyone agreed to silently.


    After that everyone rushed to the next one to report the findings of their own investigation, making the meeting more entertaining.


    Asbar and Fra had looked around the outskirts of the city, checking for any suspicious ces around there, while Zef investigated the flow of people walking through the streets. So far no one had found any truly valuable information.


    Eventually it was Mira and Emera’s turn. Mira took a look at everyone who had started eating already, and then began rting the story Gregor had told her. It was almost certain that the head of Chimera uzen they had met was Gregor’s son. He had been the second inmand of the archeological researchmittee of Ozstein, but he and the entiremittee had vanished a few years after its creation.


    「I’m quite intrigued by those ruins they were investigating. Later in the afternoon I n on investigating where that was.」


    With that closing remark, Mirapleted her short report and reached out for a piece of fried chicken.


    「Weren’t those the ruins known as the Graveyard of War Memorials?」


    While Mira stuffed her mouth with fried chicken, Zef spoke while holding a potato fry.


    「You know the ce?」


    Mira washed down the remaining chicken with Caramel au Lait and then leaned her body forward towards Zef, her eyes twinkling with expectation.


    「Well, archeology is one of man’s passions after all.」


    Saying that, he threw the potato fry in his mouth and ced his hands on the table, a juvenile smile on his face as he detailed his knowledge.


    The western side of the continent where Ozstein and some other countries are located is halfway upied by barren wastnds, but countless ruins were known to be buried there. The researchmittee was sent there to uncover all those ruins, all their members cherry picked from the archeology academy’s best.


    Their work progressed swiftly, tenrge ruins being unearthed in the first years.


    The summer of the sixth year after themittee’s formation, they all vanished in a single night while they investigated the tenth ruin, located in the dukedom of Roseline. Those ruins had been known as the Graveyard of War Memorials.


    「No one knows exactly what happened there, the academy was baffled and could onlye to the conclusion they had been somehow spirited away, but I believe they aren’t telling the whole story. Maybe they had found an incredible weapon, and to keep it secret they erased everyone present. After all, they did find blood stains that could havee from them.」


    Finishing the story, Zef picked up a couple of potato fries and reclined on his chair. Emera was the one who reacted the most hearing all that.


    「Maybe they discovered an ancient magic sword?!」


    She spoke with an enthused voice. Simr to Zef’s passion, any time a conversation mentioned powerful weapons, her mind would interpret it as strong swords.


    「I said that’s only a theory. The most widely epted one is that the ruins were booby trapped and they weren’t careful enough. That’s also Roseline’s official exnation of the event.」


    「No way…」


    Hearing that other theory, which sounded much more realistic as ruins sometimes had those kinds of traps, Emera looked dejected and slowly retreated to her seat.


    「Hmm, now that’s suspicious. Roseline also has some involvement in our current issue.」


    Mira scratched her chin as she spoke. Melville, the most likely sessor for the throne and also the owner of apany with alleged ties to Chimera uzen was also from Roseline. Their official ount of the event said everyone had perished from the trap, but Mira had met Gregorius, the second leader of themittee, as one of Chimera uzen’s heads.


    「I know what you mean. I was honestly surprised when I heard your findings, and if their second inmand is still alive, then maybe…」


    Zef spoke with excitement in his body, like he was talking about his dreams. Then he also exined how the Graveyard of War Memorials looked now.


    With all the different theories floating around that ce, Roseline decided to build a strong barricade around the location and put a strong guard around it. Their reason for that was to stop any illegal digging of the ce, and to avoid having another ident caused by traps inside.


    But ording to Zef’s contacts in the ce, the guard around the Graveyard was incredibly strict, almost as if they were trying to hide something.


    「I guess I’ll go investigate there then.」


    It was likely the Graveyard of War Memorials held some secret, or rather, they had so much information pointing to the same ce, so they had no option but to investigate there. Knowing that, Mira instantly appointed herself for that role.


    「Well, you can go there flying so you’re probably our best chance anyway.」


    Arlon supported Mira’s decision and slowed down the rate at which he ate the remaining food.


    Roseline was a neighboring country to Sentopolly, but even then traveling there bynd could take around two days, flying as Mira did could shorten that to just half a day. The longer their search took, the more likely it was their enemy would catch wind of their actions, so moving swiftly was definitely best.


    「I can see how flying would be faster, but what I’m worried about is how she’ll infiltrate the ruins. Just look at her, she stands out like a sore thumb.」


    As he spoke, Zef nced at Mira. She still had the juvenile cuteness of a child, but there was also a more mature and adult charm in her eyes. Her long silver hair also reflected a lot of light, giving her an almost angelic appearance that would stand out even if she tried to hide in a crowd.


    She had started to get used to it and forget just how much she stood out, but this time she still had kept it in mind.


    「No need to worry about that. I have a n.」


    Mira replied filled with self confidence. A n to infiltrate the ruins, she had been waiting for an opportunity to use her newly obtained abilities, so now she was excited to do it as she grinned happily while puffing her chest.


    「I guess it’ll be perfectly fine after all.」


    Asbarughed seeing her like that, understanding there had never been a reason to worry. Zef just muttered 「Just how overpowered can she get…」 to himself.


    「Ahh, Mira’s boastful face is so kyuuut!」