After the three onboard craft were launched, Jin D called out to Elsa D.
"Let’s have lunch while we wait for them to return."
It was just about noon. Jin and Elsa decided to remove their control devices and eat.
"Father, shall I have them bring it here?"
"Yeah, let’s do that."
In case anything happened, they decided to eat in the Hourai Island command room so they could respond immediately.
"Soleil prepared today's lunch."
It was kamaage udon, served with a side of vegetable and shrimp tempura.
"Oh, this looks delicious."
"It really does."
The drink was buckwheat tea. Considering Jin’s sensitivity to heat, it had been brought alongside the udon so that by the time he was ready to drink it, it would have cooled to the perfect temperature.
"If you like, please have some chopped scallions as well."
The scallions served this time resembled wakegi or asatsuki. They were somewhat pungent; not just the leaves, but even the rounded roots could be eaten, much like shallots. Since both Jin and Elsa enjoyed such condiments, they added plenty of scallions and savored the udon along with the tempura.
While they were finishing their buckwheat tea, Laojun provided a brief report.
"The three craft are currently flying at an altitude of about 1,000 meters, but they have discovered nothing so far."
"I see. They’re going to drop their altitude further, right?"
"Yes, Taisei has confirmed the same. Eventually, they will descend to between 50 and 100 meters. We will request further instructions after that."
"Understood."
It didn't seem like there was any need to rush yet, so Jin and Elsa took their time finishing their tea. Then, after a quick stretch, they sat back in their seats and donned their control devices once more.
＊ ＊ ＊
"My Lord, all three craft are flying at an altitude of 100 meters without incident. Nothing of note has been discovered."
As soon as they regained control of Jin D and Elsa D, Taisei’s report came in.
"Hmm. Actually, it’s strange that there’s nothing at all."
"I agree. Jin-nii, what on earth happened to the people of the Former Leonard Kingdom...?"
When they had visited the Former Leonard Kingdom previously, they had learned that nearly all the citizens, including the king, had used Teleportation Magic to flee 'to the Moon' to escape a plague. The fact that there was no trace of them on the surface meant...
"They must be underground, after all."
"Mm."
Elsa’s expression relaxed slightly with relief. When she had first learned that the people of the Former Leonard Kingdom had all teleported to the Moon and never returned, she had feared they might have perished instantly in the vacuum of the lunar surface.
"In that case, do we need to land and investigate beneath the surface?" Elsa D asked.
"Hmm, that might take too much time..."
The efficiency of aerial surveys compared to trekking across the lunar surface was night and day.
"Is there a better way..."
Jin D—or rather, Jin, who was operating it—fell into thought.
"...I see. It's not just cavities we're looking for. There should be Magi Machines and magic tools there."
"Ah, certainly. If that's the case, they must be consuming free ether."
Elsa had caught on to Jin's idea.
"Exactly. We’ll use the ether radar."
The ether radar was a Magi Machine developed with advice from No. 700672 to investigate the distribution of free ether in a target space. In a clear, empty space, there are no major deviations in the density of free ether, but wherever matter exists, a 'deviation' is created. The ether radar detects those deviations.
Given its intended use, its greatest strength was the ability to conduct a survey in a very short time. Using the ether radar, Taisei began to map the interior of the Moon, producing images similar to a CT scan. It was a rough sketch prioritized for speed, but for their current needs, it was sufficient.
"...It seems there is a cavity underground on the near side—the face turned toward Ars."
"I thought if there was anything, it would be on the far side, but I guess not."
At that, the Adriana moved around to the near side of the Moon. Simultaneously, the three craft out on reconnaissance were recovered. Once in position, the ether radar was activated again, this time performing a more detailed scan.
In about two minutes, a cross-sectional view of the Moon was rendered.
"That's fast," Elsa D said in admiration. However, the system was originally designed to detect obstacles during high-speed flight; if the response were slow, it would be useless.
"Hmm. There's a large cavity about 200 meters underground, right in the center of the side facing Ars."
"Could it be a residential area?" Taisei asked, responding to Jin D's murmur.
"Maybe. Given the size, that seems highly likely. It appears to have a tiered structure as well."
"There is a high-density free ether aggregate in the central section. Could it be a powerful Magi Machine?"
"Could be."
They had found their destination. The next problem was how to get inside.
"Digging a hole from the surface seems impractical."
"Mm. High possibility of being noticed."
"In that case..."
They considered three options:
- Use the transporter to go directly to the destination.
- Search for an entrance.
- Investigate the magi-sequence of the original teleportation magic circle, hack it, and move using a Hourai Island-type Warp Gate.
"Two is out."
"Mm. We didn't find anything while scouting the surface with the three craft."
Like 'Shinkai', there was a possibility that there were no physical entrances or exits, and they didn't want to waste time on a wild goose chase. That left options one and three, both of which relied on teleportation.
"Three is the most elegant, but I don't know how long it would take."
"That is true. For you, My Lord, analyzing a magi-sequence wouldn't take much time, but..."
It would be a hassle to go all the way back to the Former Leonard Kingdom just to find and study the magic circle. After all, even the Messenger—the magi-brain that had told them about the kingdom's fate—had no data on the circle's specifics.
"So, option one it is."
The Adriana was equipped with a transporter, primarily for offensive use. While it was intended to deploy things like mana bombs directly in front of an enemy, it was perfectly suited for this task as well.
"That high-density free ether aggregate... we can use that as a marker."
The transporter had two ways to lock onto a target. The first was through measurement, calculating the angle and distance via magi-radar. The second was using a marker—a magical landmark to which the object would be sent. Naturally, using a marker was easier and far more accurate. They would treat the ether aggregate as their marker.
"Alright, let's send in a scouting party first," Jin D decided.
"Would the Shinobi Squad be acceptable?"
The Shinobi Squad consisted of five-centimeter-tall mini-golems designed for intelligence gathering. In an emergency, they could use their internal transporters to jump 300 meters. Their range had originally been 50 meters, but it had been extended to match the diameter of the Adriana before the mission.
"That’s perfect. I'm counting on them."