Chapter 261: Family Head Contest (5)

Chapter 261: Family Head Contest (5)

TL/Editor: Raei

Schedule: 7/Week Mon-Fri

Illustrations: Posted in discord.

Join the discord! Here

"So, what are we going to do now?"

"What do you mean?"

"Are we going in, or are we calling for reinforcements? That's what I was asking."

Rudy didn't hesitate and replied immediately.

"Of course, we're going in. If there's someone inside, they'll know we're here anyway. We can't just leave."

Ian nodded in agreement.

"Then let's go right now."

As Ian started to move, Rudy paused for a moment.

Ian turned to look at Rudy, who hadn't followed.

"Is something wrong?"

"...No."

Rudy shook his head and followed Ian towards the cabin.

Creak

The door of the cabin made a squeaking sound as if it were old.

They extended their hands and carefully entered.

"It's dark."

The inside of the cabin was ordinary.

There was a sofa in the living room and a fireplace that had gone cold.

The kitchen had a dining table that could accommodate several people.

And the cabin wasn't just a single floor; stairs leading down to a basement were clearly visible.

Ian walked over to the sofa and ran his finger over it.

"It has been used."

Dust clung to Ian's fingers.

It didn't seem like it hadn't been used for years.Ne/w novel chapters are published on no/vel(/bin(.)co/m

If it hadn't been used for years, there would be signs of bugs, but it was surprisingly clean.

Rudy headed to the kitchen and looked around.

"There are signs of use on the dishes too."

There was dust, but it didn't feel old.

And there were several dishes, indicating that more than one person had been living here.

After looking around the interior, they found nothing unusual beyond these everyday details.

"Let's go down to the basement."

Following Ian's suggestion, they went downstairs.

"Ah?"

"...This is ridiculous."

There was a large space in the basement.

It was so big that it made the cabin above seem laughable.

There were many books and signs of research.

"It looks like we found the right place."

"How did they even make this?"

They looked around.

"Who's there?"

At that moment, a man walked out.

He was wearing a robe like a researcher.

Ian and Rudy quickly reached for their weapons.

"Identify yourself."

The man spoke as if he found the situation absurd.

"Shouldn't you be the ones identifying yourselves? You're the ones who entered someone else's house."

Ian and Rudy looked at each other, then spoke up.

"We are investigators from the Empire. Who are you?"

They asked the man, keeping their identities hidden.

"I'm called Raven. What does the Empire want here?"

"We're investigating the rebels. If you're not part of the rebels, then cooperate with our investigation."

"Huh, is this how the Empire conducts investigations these days?"

"Of course, take your time."

Rudy began to survey the lab.

Ian watched disapprovingly.

There were no signs of the rebels anyway.

It was a waste of time not to investigate this man instead.

Investigating his past might reveal any connections to the rebels.

Ian approached Rudy, who was looking around, and whispered.

"Let's stop now."

"What?"

"We're taking him back to the Empire."

"Taking him?"

"If we dig into his past, something is bound to come up."

"There's no need to do that."

"What?"

Rudy smiled and looked back at Raven.

"The lab is smaller than I expected."

"Small?"

"What are you talking about?"

Raven and Ian looked at Rudy incredulously.

"Is this all your stuff?"

"Yes, that's everything."

"No other storage?"

"..."

"That's strange."

Rudy smirked.

"A lab like this should have lots of mana stones, but there's no place to store them. Who are you keeping all these things for in a space no one visits? And what about all the dishes upstairs?"

"Friends visit sometimes. And I get mana stones from the village as needed."

"What about the iron and other materials? All by yourself?"

"Yes."

"I see. So you transport all that iron with these shoes? And your friends too? Up this mountain where even a carriage can't come?"

Raven narrowed his eyes and glared at Rudy.

"What are you trying to say?"

"I took a look at the grass outside earlier."

"Grass?"

"It was well-maintained, but there were some pressed-down marks."

"Oh... Is that so?"

"Those marks were like."

Rudy extended his hand towards Raven, manipulating mana.

"The footprints of a dragon."

To research magical engineering, transportation needs to be developed.

Good transportation doesn't necessarily mean having commercial areas nearby or well-paved roads.

It simply means having a conducive environment for transport.

"You used a dragon for transportation, didn't you?"

The grass in front looked like it served as a runway.

The dragon landed there and transported all the equipment.

The magical engineering devices prepared for demonstration.

A lab that was somewhat off.

Household items that were neglected but hadn't been used in a long time.

There were more than a few oddities.

"Shall we search a bit more? A little more digging and things might become clear."

Rudy smiled.

---Toggle New Ads

4/7 Enjoy the chappy!

Please give the book a rating and a review on NovelUpdates.

It helps the website and helps people find this novel!

If you'd like to make a one-time donation to support our translations or subscribe to read up to 15 chapters or more (depending on the novel) ahead, you can do so via Ko-fi.

Click here!