"What an incredible number...!"
"C-could this be the military force once held by the Leonard Kingdom...?"
"Incredible, incredible, incredible!"
Jade Nephroi was running among the golems, completely beside himself with excitement.
"Hey, we were all distracted by the golems, but look over there."
At the sound of a man pointing toward the rear of the chamber, his fellow knights turned as one.
"Whoa!"
"...Amazing."
There stood a mountain of magi-crystals. They were not sorted by attribute, but piled high in a riot of colors: red, yellow, green, blue, purple, white, black, and transparent.
"Why is there so much here...?"
The reason was still unknown, but Captain Bruno’s eyes gleamed. He realized that with this quantity of magi-crystals, they might be able to compensate for the national losses incurred the previous year—specifically, the massive drain from the Golem Party.
＊ ＊ ＊
It seemed that the Minister of Magic, Kelichdore, watching from the other side of the magi-monitor, shared that sentiment.
"Splendid. A discovery of both magi-crystals and golems... With this, our nation's finances can finally breathe a sigh of relief."
Treasures sleeping in the ruins of a fallen kingdom. In this world, no one would object to the finder claiming ownership of such a find. There were no laws governing the status of such relics.
"I wonder if this was an old mining site?" Jin wondered aloud.
If they had been mining magi-crystals here since the time the Former Leonard Kingdom was still functional, a stockpile of that size would be logical. After all, on Hourai Island, golems had been mining in the same fashion for a thousand years.
However, the presence of the combat golems remained unexplained.
"Hmm, it is certainly a strange combination," Kelichdore agreed, having finally cooled down from his initial excitement.
"...And the way those golems are facing," Elsa added, her voice laced with suspicion.
"Eh? Their orientation?"
By 'orientation,' she meant that every single golem in the rows was facing toward the back of the chamber.
"Yes. It looks as if they were on guard against something emerging from the rear."
"...You're right."
Because Jin and the others were observing from a distance, they were able to judge these mysterious details with a fair degree of objectivity. However, the survey team members on-site were so enamored with their discovery that they didn't seem to harbor any doubts at all.
Before long, the image on the screen began to move. The knight holding the magic eye had started walking. The footage glided through the ranks of golems, moving deeper into the hall.
＊ ＊ ＊
"Hm? The golems in this section have scratches on them."
Once they passed the 400th unit, they began to see deep gouges in the steel armor of the golems. And as they went further...
"...The arms are gone?"
Past the 500th unit, the damage became catastrophic.
"...!"
Every unit from the 550th onward had been utterly destroyed.
"What on earth caused this devastation?"
"Why does the damage increase the further we go? It truly is as if an enemy emerged from the back."
There was no answer to the question. The very back of the room was choked with heavy rubble, making it impossible to even imagine what had once been there.
＊ ＊ ＊
No further discoveries were made in the ruins for the time being. Nevertheless, it was clear that the recovery of so many combat golems and magi-crystals would bring immense wealth to the Kingdom of Egerea. The capital immediately began preparing a large-scale retrieval force to secure the find.
＊ ＊ ＊
"Well then, we shall take our leave for now."
On the morning of the following day, the 10th, Jin and his party departed from Asunt, setting a course for Alban, the capital of the Klein Kingdom. There had been no further progress at the ruins since the initial discovery.
"This marks the end of Reinhard's duties as an ambassador, doesn't it?"
"Yeah. A lot has happened, but it's finally wrapping up."
Jin, for his part, wanted to formally resolve the status of Kunlun Island within the Klein Kingdom.
The distance was approximately 250 kilometers. Jin's airship arrived in Alban in five hours, touching down at 1:00 PM. Since they had sent word ahead, they were met by several familiar faces, including Princess Lieschen.
"Oh, Jin, it has been quite some time!...Though, since it has only been since you treated Father, I suppose it has been a little under two months."
"Jin-dono, Elsa-dono, and Ambassador Reinhard-dono, welcome."
Greeting them alongside Lieschen was the second prince, Arthur. Standing with him was Liones Ashford, the tutor assigned to the prince.
The group was immediately shown to a reception room. When Jin mentioned they had already eaten aboard the airship, tea and light refreshments were served.
"Now then, Elsa-dono—no, I should say Lady Elsa Randol now. First, allow me to express my gratitude once again for the other day. Thank you for treating my father, the King."
Arthur bowed his head. Lieschen followed suit.
"Since your visit, Father has recovered significantly. He is now able to handle state affairs normally."
"I am very glad to hear that," Elsa replied, looking a bit bashful.
"Now, we have several matters to attend to today, but shall we begin with Lord Jin Nidou?"
As Arthur spoke, Princess Lieschen presented a piece of parchment.
"Lord Jin Nidou, as of January 10, 3458, the Klein Kingdom formally recognizes you as the 'Lord of Kunlun.'"
Lieschen read the inscription on the parchment in a formal, measured tone. Then, as she handed the document to him, her voice regained its usual playfulness.
"Jin, you've really done it! I wish to visit this Kunlun Island of yours as well!"
Jin accepted the parchment with a serious expression before offering a smile.
"Yes, certainly. Once things have settled down, I'd be happy to have you."
"Mhm, it is a promise!" Lieschen nodded with satisfaction, and the conversation turned to the next topic.
"Reinhard-dono, the road maintenance project using the five Golias units borrowed from the Shouro Empire seems to be proceeding smoothly. I would like to offer our thanks for that."
The ability to handle heavy transport and road construction simultaneously was a massive advantage for the kingdom.
"Regarding the compensation for this assistance, our country has drafted the following terms."
Prince Arthur presented a rolled and sealed document. Reinhard accepted it with a polite bow. Even as an ambassador, Reinhard did not have the authority to open the document; he would take it back to the Shouro Empire to deliver it directly to the Empress.
"Jin-dono, regarding the crop you told us about called soba... We managed to obtain a small amount of seeds from Nostalgia and have already begun cultivation."
"That is good to hear."
Because the stock on Hourai Island had been low, Jin had dispatched Anne to the demon territory to secure a small supply of seeds. He had then entrusted those seeds to the Nostalgia group—or so the official story went.
"I have also brought the portion I managed to secure personally, as promised."
Jin signaled Reiko, who stepped forward and presented a small bag containing about one kilogram of soba seeds.
"Oh, this is a great help."
While Jin took pride in keeping his word, he felt a twinge of guilt knowing this was nowhere near the total amount the kingdom actually needed.
"And finally, there is this."
Jin handed over a map.
"Oh! This is...!"
"M-my, how incredible."
"We can even see the terrain of the Former Leonard Kingdom!"
Even though it was little more than a basic sketch compared to modern standards, the impact of the map on the royalty was immense. An agreement was quickly reached regarding the formal compensation for the map, which they put into writing for the record.
As the meeting continued, they began to compare notes on ongoing efforts.
"Hmm... if that is the case, then our survey team should be moving through this area right about now."
Prince Arthur pointed to a spot on the upper reaches of the Dars River. Jin looked at the location and speculated that the team was likely moving south by following the natural contours of the land. He didn't mean that they were specifically following a map of contour lines, but rather that they would naturally choose the path of least resistance to avoid unnecessary climbing.
However, that route meant there was a high probability they might cross paths with the survey team from the Kingdom of Egerea.
Jin wasn't sure how effectively they were utilizing their hot air balloons for reconnaissance, but it was clear that the investigation of the Former Leonard Kingdom had only just begun.