Chapter 17
AT ONE IN THE AFTERNOON, everyone who had been running around town in search of information gathered once more in Cyril’s room.
Mira and Emella were first to arrive, but they’d stopped at the food court and picked up enough for ten people so the others would have plenty when they showed up.
Everyone eventually gathered, and a working lunch began.
Aaron was the first to make his report. He had asked his adventurer friends and Guild Union employees if there were any places around that seemed suspicious or criminal. He was right to leave his questioning vague; if rumors spread that he was searching for Chimera Clausen’s headquarters, the enemy would likely catch on.
But simple questioning would not shine light on an organization that had lurked in the shadows for years. He reasoned that if suspicious organizations were well-known enough to be named so easily, they couldn’t be related to the crafty Chimera Clausen. Thus, his questions were actually meant to eliminate these entities from the search, under the assumption that they weren’t related.
“This afternoon, I’ll search the port as planned. That’s all I’ve got for now.” Aaron stretched an arm out to grab a juicy burger, which he stuffed in his mouth, sauce dribbling from the sides. “Mm, now that’s good.”
Nobody had touched the food during his report. Only Mira had sipped at a caramel au lait. But Aaron’s move had led to the birth of a new rule: those who had finished their reports were allowed to eat. Everyone eagerly competed to be the next to deliver the news.
Asval and Flicker had combed the surrounding wasteland, while Zef had watched the flow of traffic. But at this point, they had no particularly useful information.
It wasn’t long before Mira’s turn came. She surveyed the people enjoying their bountiful lunch and began to share the information she’d received from Gregor. It seemed certain that the Chimera Clausen elite who had wielded the sword was Gregor’s son. And though he had once been vice-captain of the Archeological Research Group’s escort, that organization no longer existed.
“The ruins that they investigated do ring a bell. I plan to look into them this afternoon.” Mira finished her report and reached for the fried chicken.
As Mira chomped away, Zef plucked up a french fry and asked, “Those ruins wouldn’t happen to be the War-Torn Burial Ground, would they?”
“Do you know it?” Mira washed down her chicken with the caramel au lait and leaned toward Zef expectantly.
“Well, yeah. Everyone loves archaeology.” Zef tossed the fry into his mouth, folded his arms on the table, and grinned like a little boy before launching into an impromptu lecture.
Ozstein was in the western portion of the continent, which was mostly covered by wasteland…but the wastes were actually home to many hidden ruins. The Archeological Research Group was an elite archeological team formed to excavate and investigate those sites.
Their results were jaw-dropping; the group had discovered ten ruins in only a few years.
But six years after their founding, while they investigated their tenth site, the group and their bodyguards had suddenly disappeared overnight. The ruins they had been investigating in the Roslein Duchy were called the War-Torn Burial Ground.
“So, nobody knows why it happened. The academic world thinks they were spirited away, but I’m more the conspiratorial type. I think they found some crazy ancient weapons there, and they were disappeared to cover it up. They even found blood they thought might be from the research group.”
After Zef told the story, he scooped up another handful of fries and sat back in his chair.
Emella leaned over the table. “You mean…like an ancient demonic sword?!”
If “everyone” loved ancient ruins, then Emella loved ancient swords.
“Some people think so. The public theory is that they were all killed by traps. Roslein claims the group was eliminated in one fell swoop by some trap set in the War-Torn Burial Ground.”
Emella slumped over sadly. “Aww, man…”
“So, this is where Roslein comes in? Smells fishy…” Mira murmured and put her chin in her hand. Melville Commerce, next in line to the throne and believed to be related to Chimera Clausen, operated in the Roslein Duchy. And Mira had just met the second-in-command of the very research group who had been “killed by traps” in the duchy’s territory.
“Yeah. When I heard your report, it got my blood pumping. If a member of that group is still alive, then…” Zef’s eyes sparkled. He launched into an explanation of the current situation at the War-Torn Burial Ground.
The place was under strict lockdown by the Roslein Duchy. The reason was ostensibly both to prevent theft of precious artifacts and to avoid any further deaths by traps. But according to Zef’s friends with similar interests, there was an awful lot of security around the place—as if they were concealing some greater secret.
It was clear that there was something hidden there. At least now all the signs pointed to one place.
“I think I ought to investigate this,” Mira decided, matter-of-factly volunteering herself. How could she not?
“Yeah. Easiest for you since you can fly, huh?” Aaron agreed as he picked at his remaining food.
It would take two full days by land to reach the Roslein Duchy. But by air, it would only be half a day. The longer the search took, the greater risk that the enemy would notice them. Time was of the essence.
Zef glanced at Mira. “You can get there fast if you fly…but the problem is getting in. You stand out way too much.”
She was as adorable as a child yet had the bearing of an adult. With long, fluttery silver hair that looked like woven threads of light, Mira looked like an angel. Even in a crowd, she stood out. She’d learned to ignore the stares, but the fact remained.
“No worries about that. I happen to have a trick up my sleeve,” Mira said proudly. She’d only just acquired it, but she was excited to test it out right away. She puffed out her chest with a smug grin on her face.
“Seems like she’ll be fine to me.” Asval laughed.
“How omnipotent can you be?” Zef sighed with a smile.
“Aww! Mira, your smug grins are so adorable!” Flicker—who had been holding it together admirably—suddenly fainted from the ecstasy.
“Sorry again for her,” Cyril apologized.
***
While everyone chatted, Emella looked at a map of Roslein before furrowing her brow and turning to Zef.
“Where is this War-Torn Burial Ground? It’s not on my map.” It seemed she hadn’t given up on the ancient demonic sword theory.
“Oh, uh… It’s in northwestern Roslein, but you can’t enter from ground level,” Zef said. He explained that it was a catacomb with no direct entrance—the enormous structure was entirely closed off and buried.
To reach it, one would need to head through the tunnel dug by the research group. Every checkpoint before the tunnel had security stationed within. Its one entry point offered nowhere to hide; even those who specialized in covert ops would be hard-pressed to make it in.
“Hrmm, I see. And where is this tunnel?” Mira probed.
“They…didn’t tell me.” Zef leaned back in the chair and looked up to the ceiling, disappointed. However, since the Roslein Duchy managed the War-Torn Burial Ground, she could probably get the details by investigating there.
“Well, I’ll just have to search when I arrive,” Mira decided, as if that were no obstacle.
“We’ve got allies there, anyway,” Aaron agreed.
Scorpion and Snake. If Mira met up with them, it probably wouldn’t be difficult to find the entrance at all.
“I will depart for Roslein this afternoon,” she announced. “That means you all will have to search for Chimera’s base alone, but I trust you can handle it.”
The members of Écarlate Carillon all nodded in assent and replied that they could indeed.
The meeting proceeded into a discussion of finer details as they ate the ten people’s worth of meals Mira had bought. After finishing the last crumbs, they dispersed.
***
After the other members had scattered into the city, Mira stopped by the merchant on the fourth floor of the Guild Union building to buy a map of the areas around Sentopoli and Roslein.
She walked up from the first floor, took a look around at all the adventurers, and was instantly reminded of the train station. Like the train station and Epicurean Excess, the fourth floor of the Adventurers’ Guild Union was chock-full of shops that adventurers loved.
I’m amazed that it’s like this…
Mira had expected it to be a union-run store. But instead, it was full of various specialized vendors. It seemed like the fourth floor alone could supply any and all adventuring needs. Heart pumping at the lively scene before her, Mira forgot her initial objective and charged toward the nearest shop.
Hrmm. I’ve heard of this vendor before.
Despite being only one shop, it took up 40 percent of the floor. Mira stared at the sign and cocked her head. After ten seconds of racking her brain, she finally recalled a chance meeting in the train station a few weeks earlier.
Cedric Dinoire had greeted Mira at the train platform on the first day of her travel by rail. The shop before her was Dinoire Trading, Sentopoli Branch. It was a well-known establishment that marketed manufactured goods to adventurers.
***
White walls and hardwood floors—the shelves within the store were perfectly organized, each displaying various goods. Mira took a quick look around, smiled excitedly, and began a systematic survey of all the shelves from one end to the other.
Dinoire Trading had every item fit for man or beast. There were security devices that could sense approaching monsters when you set them up around your camp, technomancy-powered lanterns, frying pans that could heat themselves, portable technomancy-powered stoves, easily-assembled kits for smoking food—even basic staples like insect repellent and scent blockers. The more Mira searched, the more sure she was that shopping convenience had made incredible strides in the past thirty years.
She couldn’t stop herself from picking up a basket and browsing the merchandise.
Oho. So, this is what they call a magic cell?
A shelf near the cashier’s counter contained a wealth of blue items that looked awfully like AA batteries. Placed conspicuously on the shelf were signs that said Only 3,000 ducats per magic cell! Buy one, get two medium mobility stones! These magic cells were the optimal items for technomancy-powered products.
Three thousand ducats, hm? In that case…
After seeing the price, Mira about-faced and returned to a shelf she’d passed earlier. She looked at the label on another product there.
It was a technomancy-powered water purifier. This popular item from Dinoire Trading could filter water from rivers, lakes, ponds, the ocean, and even urine to make it potable. It required magic cells or mobility stones to operate, but the description claimed that it could filter up to a hundred liters of water with a single magic cell.
Three thousand ducats for one hundred liters, so…thirty ducats per liter. Hrmm, I can see why it’s a hot seller.
As long as one had a water source, they would have safe drinking water no matter what. This was essential for adventurers, and water itself was awkward to carry in large quantities. The technomancy-powered purifier would cut down on that burden greatly. In the time that Mira was reading the label, three adventurers had come and picked some up for themselves.
I’m sure I’ll need this eventually.
Mira promptly tossed a green one into her basket. She then returned to the counter and snatched up three magic cells. Yet she did not stop there; she continued to circle the store. After putting in a hundred thousand ducats worth of items—naturally including scent blockers and the like—she finally lined up at the counter.
“Welcome!”
Soon, it was Mira’s turn to pay, so she placed her basket on the counter. Just then, she remembered something. She fished around in her pouch to retrieve her adorable card case and showed the card she’d received from Cedric Dinoire to the cashier.
“I believe I have a coupon. Will you accept this?”
The cashier nodded. But when they looked at the back of the card, their eyes went wide for a moment. They waved it over some sort of device.
Is this going to be a problem? Mira began to worry.
“This will be a twenty percent discount from your order total,” they said and resumed totaling the goods. That sounded promising.
Mira thus paid her 80,000-ducat bill and smiled at both the change and the card that had been given back to her. It seemed she could use it more than once.
What a lovely shopping trip. Maybe I’ll visit Dinoire Trading again when I need something else.
Having fallen hook, line, and sinker for Cedric’s scheme, Mira gleefully left the Guild Union building.
…Only to rush back in a panic to buy the map for which she’d originally come.
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