The ancient automata began to move and spoke. This was a momentous occasion; she was meant to be a living witness to history, and yet...
"A-are... y-you... m-my... m-master? M-my... n-name... i-is... A-anne."
They understood that her name was Anne, but as for anything beyond that...
"I a-am... s-sorry... b-but i-information... i-is... n-not... c-coming... u-up."
She could tell them nothing else. As expected, had the vital information been erased from this automata as well? It was a logical precaution to take if there was any risk of her falling into enemy hands.
"Hmm. It looks like there are no more discoveries to be made here," Reinhard concluded, having finished his search of the room where the golems were stored. "That leaves the question of what to do with these golems and this automata."
Just then, a voice echoed from the passage they had used to enter.
"Heh... puhahaha! Splendid! Simply splendid! Excellent work, I must thank you!"
It was Lucol, the self-proclaimed archaeologist they had met earlier that day.
"Lucol! Why are you here?!" Reinhard demanded.
Lucol laughed again. "Haha! Did I not tell you I was investigating these ruins? It was all for the sake of 'Unifilar'!"
"Unifilar!"
Lucol had been an agent of the secret organization all along.
"During the day, I realized you were no ordinary travelers, so I sent a report via pigeon. The reply arrived this evening. What a surprise—Reinhard and Jin! You are both talents that our Unifilar has its eyes on!"
Lucol continued to rant, his words pouring out in a feverish rush.
"With this discovery as a gift, why don't you both pledge your loyalty to Unifilar? Uhahahaha!"
Lucol began to laugh like a madman.
Amidst the outburst, Jin felt a tugging at his sleeve. He turned to find the automata, Anne, standing there.
"M-master... t-that p-person... h-he... i-is s-strange. T-that... i-is..."
Though her voice was low and her speech halting, Jin leaned in to listen closely to what Anne had to say.
"……"
"I see. Thank you for telling me, Anne."
Even after Jin finished listening to her, Lucol was still shouting and laughing.
"Uhahahaha! Now, come with me, both of you!"
Jin looked at him and said a single thing.
"Not a chance."
"Huh?"
At Jin’s icy response, even Lucol stopped laughing, a look of confusion crossing his face.
"What did you just say?"
"I said, 'Not a chance,' you fanatic."
Jin pressed the attack.
"Unifilar? Do you seriously think you can achieve anything? If so, you aren't even a fanatic. You're just a fool."
Lucol’s face turned bright red with fury. "Wh-wh-wh-what? Do you have any idea who you are talking to?"
Jin remained cold. "Unifying the continent? To begin with, the Dinar Kingdom only ever ruled a tiny fraction of this land. Even then, they couldn't sustain it because of the population decline, and the whole thing collapsed into the Allied Kingdoms. And you think you can unify everything now with national power that hasn't improved since then? Don't make me laugh. Is 'Unifilar' actually just a comedy troupe?"
Reinhard’s eyes widened at the biting sarcasm, which was so unlike Jin’s usual demeanor. Lucol, however, looked utterly aghast.
"Wh-wh-what did you say?!"
"Don't make me repeat myself. Are you slow on the uptake?"
"Are you mocking me?!"
"Yeah, I am."
"Y-y-y-you...!"
"You're like a boiled octopus... ah, you might not know that one. Right, you're like a whistling kettle."
"Ugaaa!"
"H-hey, Jin?" Reinhard called out, worried by his friend's strange behavior.
Jin answered Reinhard in a low whisper. "Shh. Just wait a little longer."
"A-ah, alright."
"Is Unifilar a gathering of fool-users instead of magic-users?"
"U-uwooooooo!"
"N-now!"
Anne’s voice rang out, and Jin instantly unleashed his magic.
"『Stun』."
"Gih!?"
Lucol collapsed where he stood.
"Phew. Is it over?" Jin exhaled.
Reinhard turned to him. "Jin, what was that spell?"
"Oh, Stun? It's an application of lightning magic. It delivers a brief electric shock to paralyze the target for a split second. It’s very effective against humans."
As Jin explained, Reinhard looked on with admiration. "Hmm, is that another benefit of 'science'? I want to learn science from you more than ever now, Jin."
"Yeah, when the time is right."
Jin was gradually becoming more open to the idea of sharing his knowledge.
"First, let's deal with this guy."
Jin used Lucol's own robe to tie him up securely. As he worked, Reinhard asked the question weighing on his mind.
"Hey, Jin, was there a reason you were provoking him so much? You were really laying it on thick."
Jin nodded, then posed a question of his own. "Didn't his reaction feel a little off to you?"
"Hmm? Well, yes, but isn't that just how fanatics behave?"
Jin shook his head. "Think back. Dominique was the same way once she revealed her true colors, wasn't she?"
Reinhard recalled the encounter. He realized that the state of abnormal, manic excitement was indeed a common thread.
"Now that you mention it, she was excited to a degree that was quite bizarre."
Jin nodded, satisfied that Reinhard saw it too. "I think that might have been the influence of 『Hypno』 magic."
"『Hypno』? Is that... the thing I heard about from Marchioness Firenziano?"
It was essentially a magical version of hypnotism. Reinhard wondered where Jin had gotten such specific information. Then, noticing the automata standing beside Jin, he realized.
"Wait, did that automata tell you?"
Jin smiled and nodded. "Yeah. Anne here clued me in."
Anne didn't elaborate herself; instead, Reiko, who had moved to stand beside her, took up the explanation.
"It is a common misconception that Hypno magic allows one to control a subject like a puppet, but that is not strictly true."
"Eh?"
This was news to both Jin and Reinhard.
"With Hypno, it is impossible to seize total control of a person's will. What it can do, however, is give their actions a specific direction. In Lucol's case, he was directed to continue the investigation of the ruins."
The pieces began to fall into place for the two men.
"Ah, so that's why he could stay in a place like this for ten years even though he wasn't finding anything."
Usually, no one would waste a decade at a site that yielded no results. Knowing the reason brought a sense of clarity.
"And it was likely combined with a directive to report every detail back to Unifilar, who provided his support," Reiko added.
"I see. But how did you know he was under the influence of Hypno?" Reinhard asked his primary question.
"When someone is under Hypno magic, they enter a state of heightened excitement whenever the topic involves the purpose or the party that gave them their instructions."
Jin nodded. "Right. Dominique was exactly like that."
"Though Lucol was a bit beyond 'heightened' excitement," Reinhard noted.
"It seems that the more an order is forcibly imprinted against the subject's nature, the more intense the excitement becomes," came the reply.
"I see. That would suggest Lucol wasn't originally part of Unifilar. But Jin, why did you have to bait him so hard?"
Reinhard’s question was valid. Jin had simply done what Anne told him to do. The answer came from Anne’s data, relayed through Reiko.
"There are instances where a subject can be shaken free from Hypno magic if they are given a significant shock exactly when their excitement reaches its peak."
"So, there's a chance Lucol has been snapped out of it? Alright, let's wait for him to wake up."
Is Anne proving to be surprisingly useful? And what does this mean for Reiko's position? Please look forward to the next update.