455 - - make a clean sweep of 453 episodes

When I asked Nomos to appraise the treasures found in the excavation of the ruins, he even told me how the ruins came to be. I felt that there was nothing romantic about it, but it was better than having a mystery remain a mystery until the very end.

"Well then, everyone, let's go into the ruins. Nomos has reinforced the ruins so I think it's safe, but just to be safe, don't use any magic.

Seeing Belle and the others excited, I felt a little uneasy, so I warned them. The noise of the spirits will not affect the ruins, but magic will.

<. They keep their promises, so we are almost safe. I'm afraid of accidents, but I'm sure Sylphy will take care of that.

Now, where should we start to enter the ruins?　The three-story ruins that Tulu worked so hard to dig up.

The three-story building has a considerable difference in height from the ground floor to the first floor.

COPY00It would be like exploring the ruins to enter through the window where the soil was removed, but since Tulu has dug up the ruins so nicely, and since the ruins are so old that it would not be surprising if they were dug up hundreds or even thousands of years ago, we will be polite and enter through the proper route here. Or.

I ask Sylphy to carry me down to the bottom and check the excavated ruins again.

The remains are well preserved, although some parts are broken or missing. It was built of stone and had been buried in the ground, so perhaps its preservation condition was surprisingly good.

"The wide frontage of the first floor, and the fact that it does not look like a dwelling, suggests that this building was a store."

The possibility of a dwelling is not zero because it is an old ruin, but there is no need to make the frontage wide if it is not a store, so it is definitely a store.

"Yes, it is. We couldn't determine what kind of store it was from the excavated items, but it was definitely a store.

Sylphy seems to agree. It is only a simple guess, but it is fun to explore the past of the ruins like this, just like a guessing game.

It would have been cool to know what kind of store it was with the hints given so far, but there was nothing in the excavated items to tell us.

All I know is that they are goods that disappear with the passage of time, and I can't guess what kind of store this store was because the passage of time is too long. It's a dead end.

"Well, let's go inside. Excuse me.

He gives up on his archaeologist-like moves early and rushes into the store.

"...... nothing here."

Since Tulu has removed all the contents along with the soil, there is nothing but a bare stone space. It's funny to see Belle and her friends flying around happily, but that's about it.

"You can see everything inside from the outside, can't you?

Sylphy responds to my mutterings curiously.

"No, we haven't had a guest in thousands of years, so I was hoping that maybe a ghost or something would show up, or something would happen."

My response to my words was a warm look from Sylphy.

It's a royal fantasy, isn't it, to walk into a store and have the ghosts of ancient inhabitants show up to serve you?

Apparently, Sylphy did not understand this tempest. The way she looked at me as if she was gently watching over a kitchen sick person was painful.

"...... there might be something left in the back, let's explore."

Turning my back to Sylphy's gentle gaze, I hurry to the back aisle. I'm not saying I want the ghosts to come out, but I do want fantasy to do its job. After all, it could have been the undead, couldn't it?　There were wraiths and such in the land of the dead, weren't there?

"Hmmm, ...... nothing."

We all took a look around the first floor, and all I can say is that there is nothing there. It was a stone building, and Tulu had moved all the dust out of the building so nicely that, apart from a few crumbling parts, it felt like we were touring a place we were moving into.

It may be valuable to know the layout of ancient dwellings, but it's meaningless information for me who don't have any expertise in the field. I feel like I'm just passing the time pointlessly at this point.

"Tulu. Was there any room that didn't have sediment in it?"

I get tired of searching, so I call out to Tulu, who is checking out the buildings while holding Tamamo in her arms. Shortening the time is important, isn't it?

"Most of the buildings were in the ground, but one of the three houses didn't have any ground in it.

Oh, nice information. If this were a TV program, it would be the part where the message "The lifestyle of the ancient inhabitants is finally revealed" would come out and we would go into a commercial break.

I pat Tulu's head and, by the way, Tamamo's head in my arms, and ask to be shown to my room.

"Uh, yeah, ...... is this a storage room?"

The room was safe because it did not face outside and was located in a blind spot inside the building. In other words, it's not a very suitable room for living.

There was also a storage room on the first floor, but I guess it was a storeroom and this one was a residential one.　The air seems to be dusty, perhaps because the place is out of reach of Tulu's power.

Telling myself not to get my hopes up because the place looks like a storeroom, I let the photoball go into the room, still hoping that it might be a little treasure room.

......Yes, it was a storeroom. The light from the photoball illuminated the remains of something and dust, we don't know if it was weathered or even eaten by insects. Let's consider ourselves lucky that there were no ...... human bones.

In general, there is no such thing as treasure in a shed. And even though it's big, the possibility of having a treasure room in a store is also very small. Don't worry. I'm not shocked because I didn't expect so much.

I've got the treasure and I've got it appraised by Nomos. I'll be fine. I'm not thinking that I wanted to find some treasure or something in a dramatic turn of events or anything childish like that. I'm fine.

"...... it's almost evening and I want to meet up with Gina and the others, so let's go home."

First we'll meet up with Nomos. We can ask him about the treasure on the way back.

**

Ancient ruins!

Mr. Viktor and Mr. Becker are surprised to hear the same voice. They seem quite surprised, which makes me a little happy.

"Yes. Yes, we found the ruins. I'm satisfied now, so why don't you and Mr. Viktor excavate them?

I told Gina and the others that I had found the ruins and received their respect. I told Sara that I would leave the rest of the excavation to Victor and the others, and she was pleased as well, so my slightly depressed mood was restored.

After I recovered, I left Gina and the others at the inn with Dine, whom I had asked to escort me, and Nomos, whom I had asked to appraise the site, and I came to tell Mr. Viktor about the ruins.

"But is it true?　Where in the world?　No, I don't mean to doubt you, Yuta-dono, but the area around the capital has been thoroughly searched. It's not like you're going to find any ruins. ......"

Mr. Becker, although he says he doesn't doubt it, seems to be quite skeptical. Well, it is understandable that he is skeptical, because if ruins were easy to find, they would have been found by now.

But we found them, didn't we? The location is ......."

Huh?　How am I supposed to describe a largely unmarked area in the Great Forest?

"Well, do you have a map?"

"If it's just a rough idea..."

Mr. Becker brought me a map, but it looked like it was drawn by a child. Maybe this is the way it is in these days, but in the middle of a big forest, the performance of the map makes me uneasy.

"The general location is here, but it's too broad. Even if we tell them the direction, we can't get there if we are a little off, so Yuta has to guide us, right?

When I was in trouble, Sylphy followed me. Well, I wouldn't mind at least giving you directions.

"The place is around here, but I don't mind if I take you there first.

You're Sarah's brother, I'll help you at least a little. Huh?　Mr. Viktor and Mr. Becker look at each other with a questioning expression on their faces.

"Is something wrong?"

"Uh ...... Yuta-dono. I have received a report that you met with Achim this morning, is that correct?"

Ah, Mr. Achim was worried about Gina and the others, or rather Sarah, and was sneaking around following them.

We've met.

"But it will take more than 10 days to get to the location on this map."

I understand. Even though the distance is reduced in the woods where it is difficult to walk, there is a big time discrepancy. It's the kind of time difference that would make a perfect alibi in a murder case. Sylphy is also surprised at that. I guess she didn't notice it.

What's that?　If you're going to show me around, am I going to have to walk through the woods with you for 10 more days?　In the midst of a bunch of disgusting men?　What torture?

When I imagined it, a tremendous hardship popped into my brain. My brain cells, which are usually so laid-back, are now fully engaged.

1 Give up and spend more than 10 days in the forest together.　Rejected.

2 Tell the truth that I can fly and we all fly to the ruins.　Tabled.

3 Somehow I manage to get them to go near the ruins and join them later.　Suspended.

My brain cells should be fully working, but I can come up with only three ideas in a short period of time. I feel so sad.

I guess I'll have to reject the first one. I don't want to do hard work.

2 is ...... at my level and with the power of Sylphy and the others, I can handle it even if I am blunt, but it will increase the possibility of trouble. Well, it's a little late for that, since they were going to drop me out of the sky with Sara's emotional surprise of meeting me.

3 is not so bad if you can explain the discrepancy of ...... hours in a skillful way, but how to explain it in a skillful way is the problem.

Huh?　I thought my brain cells were fully engaged, but the only solution I can come up with is to put up or shut up.　What's wrong with my brain cells!

I look at Sylphy, but he just shrugs his shoulders and doesn't seem to have any good ideas.

I'd like to take it home and have time to think about it. Maybe if I talk with all the Great Spirits, I can come up with an idea to explain it in a clever way. But it would be too suspicious if we leave here. I would suspect fraud.

Oh, God. Even though Sara was happy and excited, we shouldn't have made the move on the day we found the ruins.

I should have had a drink with Dine and Nomos, who were clamoring for a drink, and I would have remained happy, my fool.

"...... I can actually fly."

I didn't want to suffer, so I chose to be frank.