June 3rd arrived on Hourai Island.
Jin woke up at 6:00 AM, and after finishing an early breakfast, he immediately headed to the command room and donned the control apparatus for his Doppel, Jin D.
'My Lord, nothing of note occurred while you were away.'
Laojun, who had been managing Jin D while Jin rested, gave his report. On the other side, Jin D had simply been lying on the bed, pretending to sleep.
"Good morning, Jin-sama," Anne greeted him. "I will now report the findings from the Shinobi Squad's investigation."
While Jin had been asleep, the five members of the Shinobi Squad had been surveying the facility. Laojun had compiled their findings, and the plan was for Anne to relay them. This was because the Shinobi Squad's natural voices—if you could call them that—were high-pitched and difficult to understand.
'I see. Let's hear it.'
＊ ＊ ＊
The Shinobi Squad had begun their mission around 10:00 PM the previous day, Hourai Island Time.
Since security was their top priority, they had remained on high alert for over an hour after Jin D returned to the room to feign sleep. However, as nothing happened, they left the guard duty to Anne and slipped out into the facility.
(First, we will investigate the permitted areas of the facility,) Shinobi 1, the leader, explained to the rest of the team. (Next, we will attempt to investigate Golem No. 28 and its surroundings.)
They decided to move as a single unit. Although it was less efficient, they chose to prioritize risk avoidance, considering they were on an unknown celestial body, in an unknown facility, facing an unknown opponent.
Since there had been nothing of interest in the library, they went to check the entertainment room.
(Is this... some kind of game?)
A square board was engraved with a grid, and round, coin-like stones were provided with it. The stones appeared to be black and white.
('That is a game called Go,') Laojun sent the information to them. ('It is a game that existed in the world My Lord originally came from. Perhaps the Magus Shuuki Tsetse introduced it here.')
According to Jin's memory, Go was officially played on a 19x19 board, while Renju (the formal name for Gomoku) used a 15x15 board. Laojun surmised that since the board here was 19x19, it was likely Go, but that was a secondary issue and not something to be pursued further.
Finding no hidden compartments or anything else worth noting in the entertainment room, the Shinobi Squad moved on.
The lounge contained only simple chairs and tables; there was nothing to see there either.
Next was the infirmary. There was a bed and a single small shelf. However, there was a hidden space further back in the shelf where medicines were concealed.
(This is...?)
The Shinobi Squad's analytical functions could not identify the nature of the drugs.
('What should we do...')
This was a dilemma for Laojun as well. If they took the medicine back to Hourai Island and an inventory was being kept, the theft would be discovered immediately. Even if they transferred the contents to another container, the reduction in volume would be noticed, and even if they diluted it with water, they couldn't be certain it wouldn't be detected.
Conversely, the benefit of analyzing the contents was small. In the end, they concluded that there was no need to take unnecessary risks to identify the drugs at this stage.
The Shinobi Squad moved on to search another room: the dining hall.
(Ho, there is bread here.)
It was neither moldy nor spoiled. It seemed it had been baked less than a day ago. The fact that it was somewhat hard was likely simply because yeast or similar agents were not used.
('This implies that, at the very least, there is a stockpile of wheat flour,') Laojun noted.
Laojun speculated that there might even be a wheat field somewhere. After all, they were planning to do something similar inside their own spaceship.
In addition, they found salt and sugar as seasonings. There was also a faucet-like object that produced drinkable water. Other than those, they found nothing of particular interest. As for the residential area, there were nine other rooms besides the one Jin D was using.
＊ ＊ ＊
"However, we were unable to obtain the information we truly desired," Anne said, looking regretful. "No matter where they searched, Golem No. 28 was nowhere to be found."
'Hmm, what does that mean? Isn't it supposed to be our guide?'
"Perhaps there is a specific condition. For instance, it might appear the moment we leave this room."
Anne spoke half-jokingly, but Jin suspected that might actually be the correct answer. Since the facility possessed the advanced magi-engineering of teleportation magic circles, he figured they would be capable of such a thing.
Incidentally, the Shinobi Squad and Anne had already checked whether any eavesdropping or surveillance devices were planted in their current room. At the very least, they hadn't found anything.
"As expected, this area might be designed to test newcomers."
'If it's a testing area, I wonder if it's possible to fail?'
He had no idea what would happen in that case. Ultimately, it seemed necessary to ask Golem No. 28 directly.
'Is that the end of the report? If so, let's head out.'
When Jin D and Anne opened the door and stepped into the hallway, a magic circle manifested before them, and Golem No. 28 appeared. As suspected, it had traveled via a teleportation magic circle.
"Are you awake? Is there anything I can assist you with?"
'There is something I want to ask.'
"What would that be?"
'Are there any residents here besides us?'
This was a question Jin had decided on after consulting with Laojun. They chose this out of concern that asking something too central to the facility's secrets right away might make the golem wary.
"……No. Only Jin-sama and Anne-sama."
Observing the slight pause before the reply, Laojun, receiving data through Jin D, speculated that No. 28 might have consulted a higher authority using something like a manacam.
'Then, were there any in the past?'
This, too, was a question decided during their consultation.
"………………There were."
The response came after an even longer pause than before.
'So, they are gone now.'
"Yes."
'Can you tell me why?'
"……It was because of the sickness."
This time, the pause was brief. Then, additional information was provided.
"Magical consumption fever—that disease was brought here from Ars."
'What did you say…?'
Jin, who was controlling Jin D from Hourai Island, and Elsa, who was watching the scene, were stunned by the revelation, even as it made perfect sense to them.
'So the escape of the people from the Former Leonard Kingdom was all for nothing,' Laojun said.
His words succinctly summarized the truth. Fearing the disease, they had abandoned Ars and fled to the Moon, but the pathogens must have been brought along with them. Given the existence of incubation periods, people who appeared healthy at first glance likely developed symptoms after the teleportation.
And this time, there was nowhere left to run.
Though it had taken a form different from what they had imagined, Jin and Elsa were left speechless for a time by the tragedy of the past.