"The interior of the ruins seemed entirely unchanged from our previous visit."
Paul Raid’s words prompted several people in the audience to exhale in relief.
"As you might have inferred, no Giga Ants have appeared since that time, which allowed us to conduct our investigation with peace of mind. Of course, we never allowed ourselves to become complacent. We proceeded with the investigation while remaining prepared for any eventuality."
Everyone listened with rapt attention. Then, a voice spoke up.
"Excuse me. You mentioned earlier that the Giga Ants had been 'sealed away.' Do you have a specific basis for that claim?"
"I beg your pardon. I intend to explain that shortly, so I would like to continue the report first, if I may."
With a polite bow, Paul Raid resumed his explanation.
"The investigation team believed that ruins of such scale could not have existed solely to contain Giga Ants."
This was an opinion shared by the government of the Kingdom of Egerea.
"We investigated for two full days with no results. To break the impasse, we put our heads together and discussed a change of perspective."
This chronological, diary-like style of reporting—I wonder if it’s a trait common to all knights, Jin thought as he listened.
His intuition was correct. It was customary for knights—at least those of the Kingdom of Egerea—to deliver their reports in this diary-style fashion.
"We concluded that there might be some kind of clue hidden in a location separate from the cave where the Giga Ants were sealed."
Jin found this to be a sound deduction. No one would leave records or important materials in the same place they were keeping monsters. At the same time, it was unlikely to be too far away, as that would defeat the purpose of having the records there in the first place.
"We spent another two full days searching. Just as we were beginning to think it would be another fruitless effort, one of our members found something unusual."
The room was so quiet that not even a cough disturbed the silence. Jin already knew what it was, having heard the details from Laojun.
"It was a magi-crystal polished into a perfect sphere. As some of you may know, there are two primary reasons for polishing a magi-crystal into a sphere: one is for use as a control core for golems and the like, and the other is as a core for magi-devices such as Stun Rods."
In truth, as far as Jin knew, there were two other reasons. One was to serve as the magical pole for a barrier-generating device, and the other was for the detection component of a magi-radar. In both cases, the crystal was polished into a sphere so it could emit mana lines with uniform intensity in every direction.
"In any case, finding an artificially polished magi-crystal meant there was a man-made structure hidden nearby. We spent the remainder of the day searching the area as the sun began to set."
Jin had heard about this part from Laojun as well.
"And before the area grew dark, we discovered a cavity buried beneath the earth."
Low murmurs of awe rippled through the hall.
"Since we were hesitant to begin an excavation in the pitch black of night, we called it a day and began our work early the next morning."
Another interruption came.
"Hold on. You said you found an underground cavity, but how exactly did you find it?"
The question came from Judle, the Minister of Defense.
"Pardon me... We were equipped with long, spear-like 'sondes.' We used them to probe the ground, and eventually discovered a cavity at a depth of about 1.5 meters."
Hearing this, Jin realized the logic. He hadn't heard the specific details of the method from Laojun.
Synthesizing the information, the sonde was a magi-device—a long rod enchanted with the earth-attribute magic 'Boring.' While 'Boring' was technically an advanced-level earth spell, creating a large hole required a massive amount of mana. However, for a narrow probe like this, the consumption was low enough to be practical.
(That’s a useful reference,) Jin noted. For example, if he applied that effect to the tip of an arrow, he could likely create a projectile capable of piercing almost anything.
"...Once we confirmed there was nothing dangerous inside through the initial hole, the entire team began the excavation. We managed to reach the cavity in about three hours."
Jin set aside his thoughts and focused on the speech again.
"The structure appeared to have originally been a single-story or semi-underground building. Whether it was buried by soil over the passing centuries or intentionally filled in when the Giga Ants were sealed, we do not know."
The audience was clearly enthralled.
"The interior of the buried building was in better condition than expected, likely because it had been hermetically sealed."
It was seeing the light of day for the first time in centuries.
"We found a small number of documents inside. They contained writings regarding the threat of the Giga Ants and the installation of golems."
Another ripple of excitement went through the room.
"While I will leave the finer details to the specialized departments, I will provide a general summary. It appears the Giga Ants were a mutant species of Mega Ants."
Jin and his companions were already aware of this.
"A magical beast that grew massive and ferocious for some unknown reason... that is the Giga Ant."
Jin and his group believed the 'unknown reason' was an over-concentration of free ether. While excess mana produced within cells caused Mana Overload Syndrome in humans, it seemed to stimulate extreme gigantism in Mega Ants. In fact, Jin and his circle suspected that many of the creatures known as magical beasts were born from such imbalances in free ether.
"This monster, which emerged from the depths of a mine, caused significant damage before it was finally sealed. Golems were stationed to keep it suppressed. Furthermore, to prevent it from digging other exits to the surface, they piled up a large quantity of magi-crystals to act as a lure. This ensured the Giga Ant would remain focused on that specific spot."
So that was the reason for the pile of magi-crystals found at the entrance.
"To clarify my earlier point, the reason I say it was 'sealed' rather than simply 'crawled out' is because of these records," Paul Raid explained. "As for the golems, as you know, they were intended to counter any Giga Ants that might emerge. The documents contain information regarding those golems."
Paul concluded this section by stating that he would leave the technical details of the golems to others. After giving a brief summary of their return journey, he finished the report.
"That concludes the briefing."
"Those who have questions, please speak up," William Heks Sard, the Minister of Internal Affairs, said as he looked around the room.
A man who looked like a knight raised his hand first.
"Go ahead."
"Thank you. I believe you traveled to the ruins on foot previously, but this time you approached from the air. How did you manage to pinpoint the location?"
That’s a good question, Jin thought. While his group could use markers or the observation satellite Watcher, he was curious how the local knights had managed it.
"I had planned to report on that separately, but this is a fine time to explain. As you say, tracking one's position in the air is quite different from tracking it on the ground. To be precise, navigation from the air is extremely difficult. In a city, one can use landmarks, but that isn't possible over unknown territory or monotonous forests."
"Indeed."
"Therefore, we used the magnetic compass installed on the airship to maintain our heading while establishing landmarks along the way. We utilized things like exceptionally large trees, unique rocks, ponds, or rivers, marking or processing them so they could be identified from above."
Jin was reminded of how woodsmen would cut notches into tree trunks to mark their path through a forest.
"It was a time-consuming process, but with our current resources, we could think of no other reliable way."
"I see. Thank you."
The logic would also apply to navigating the open sea. Magnetic compasses were standard on the Shouro Empire's large vessels, and the Kingdom of Egerea was familiar with them as well. However, navigation as a science still seemed to be in its infancy here.
Just as lighthouses are essential for sea routes, it might be beneficial to establish 'sky-marks' for air routes, Jin thought.
"What were the walls and floors of that buried room made of?" another person asked.
"I am not an expert, so I cannot say for certain, but it was a relatively soft stone."
Jin knew the material. It was Oya stone. This stone could be quarried throughout the Former Leonard Kingdom and was popular because it was easy to work with.
He decided to offer a suggestion.
"Such stones are also used in Port Rock Town in the Kingdom of Elias. Perhaps they are the same?"
"Ah, that’s right. I’ve been there before, and I believe they are indeed the same. Thank you for the insight."
The Minister of Internal Affairs gave Jin a brief nod of gratitude and continued.
"Are there any other questions?"
A middle-aged man who appeared to be from a technical background raised his hand.
"Will the details regarding the golems be presented?"
"That portion of the briefing is scheduled for this afternoon."
Hearing the exchange, Jin recognized the man.
If I recall, he’s Jade Nephroi. The magi craftsman who built Tauros.
Jin had spoken with him briefly at Duke Blue's estate, so the name stuck.
"I look forward to it," Jade said, sitting back down with a genuinely happy expression.
A few more questions and answers followed, and once the audience's curiosity was satisfied, the morning session came to a close. The technical report was set to be delivered by a different official after the break.