"They say a drowning man will clutch at a straw."
Jin muttered to himself while scouring for clues regarding 'Access to Another World.'
"Well, I haven't exactly drowned yet, so I suppose it's more of a 'walking stick before a fall' situation."
He was currently searching the Predecessor’s study, but a thought suddenly gave him pause.
"Hey, Reiko, didn’t you say once before that no one was allowed in this study without permission?"
This had been back when Jin was first summoned. At that time, in order to be recognized as the Successor, Jin had visited this study. He recalled Reiko—or rather, her previous iteration—mentioning that only the new Master could open it.
"If that's the case, the odds of the documents being in here are pretty low, aren't they?"
"Now that you mention it, you are quite right, Father."
"Then... where could they be?"
Since Hourai Island was a secluded location, the possibility of the records being anywhere else was extremely slim.
"Hmm..."
Jin hadn't inherited the entirety of Adriana's memories; his knowledge was restricted to what the Predecessor had deemed essential, and information regarding extra-dimensional spaces had not been included.
Furthermore, his grasp of where specific materials were stored was imperfect. It seemed likely that even Adriana herself, in her final years, hadn't fully kept track of where everything was located.
"Where it’s most likely to be is... the reference rooms, after all?"
Across the hallway lay two rooms that served as the reference rooms. Combined, they were roughly the size of an elementary school library—a staggering amount of material for a single individual to own.
"I have some knowledge of the layout."
"I am also familiar with much of it, Father."
Jin knew the locations of the materials Adriana had consulted frequently in her later years. Reiko also possessed knowledge of the documents her predecessor had helped organize and tidy.
"So we should focus our search on the areas we don't recognize?"
"That would be the most logical course of action."
"In that case, how about this section?"
"Ah, I am familiar with that corner."
"I see..." Jin sighed. "If I had known it would come to this, I should have had all the books in the reference rooms copied into Laojun's information bank."
It was a classic case of being wise after the event. Areas related to the Predecessor, including the reference rooms, could not be accessed without Jin’s explicit permission.
"Hmm, I thought this was a good lead... but it’s meaningless if we can't find the source."
Just as Jin was beginning to feel overwhelmed by the difficulty of the task, Reiko spoke up.
"This is..." She picked up a single volume.
"Did you find it?"
Reiko flipped through the pages quickly before snapping the book shut. "No, my apologies. This appears to be a memorandum regarding a prototype Warp Gate."
With that, the two of them resumed their search, rummaging through the vast collection.
Slightly past noon, Reiko suggested they take a break from their labors.
"I just can't find it..." Jin grumbled as they made their way to the dining hall.
"I am terribly sorry, Father..."
Reiko looked dejected, but Jin made sure to reassure her. "It's not your fault. We'll give it another look after lunch."
"Yes!"
After lunch, while sipping on Persica juice, Jin decided to reassess their strategy.
"It’s a standard approach for when you can’t find what you’re looking for."
Every person had their own method, but Jin’s was as follows:
"First, you empty your head as much as possible and cast aside all preconceptions."
"I understand."
"In that state, you try to think about where you would put the item if you were the one hiding it."
Jin continued his reasoning.
"If I think about it carefully... those materials might not have been written by the Predecessor herself. She wasn't researching extra-dimensional spaces—at least, not in her later years."
"Yes, that is true."
"That’s why I suspect they were treated as special cases. Which means they might not be in the reference rooms at all."
"Indeed, you may be right, Father."
"In that case, where else?"
"The warehouse, perhaps?"
"The chances of that are high."
There was a specific warehouse intended for items that weren't for immediate use or were exceptionally valuable: the valuables warehouse on the first basement floor. Jin and Reiko hurried downstairs.
"This shelf contains magi-crystals."
"That side is Ancient Dragon hide, so it's not there either."
Jin and Reiko split up, searching row by row.
"Father, this might be it."
Reiko had discovered a strictly sealed mithril container—a box reserved for items of the utmost importance.
"Let's open it."
"Yes."
...However, the box did not contain what they were looking for.
"Not this one either, huh..."
Jin's shoulders slumped. He paused to think one more time.
"I assumed it would be easy because the Reiko of that time was able to find the materials, but perhaps she simply 'knew' where they were from the start."
If Reiko’s lost memories had included the specific storage locations of the research, it would explain how she had found them so easily before.
"However, as a rule, whenever I take out a document, I return it to its original location."
"I see. I suppose you would."
In that regard, she was quite different from humans who tended to leave things wherever they finished with them. Jin was the type who occasionally moved items to new spots and then forgot where he had put them. Of course, since arriving in this world, that was no longer an issue, as Reiko and the Golem Maids provided constant support.
『My Lord, I have a proposal.』
Perhaps unable to watch their struggle any longer, Laojun spoke up.
『Please, do not limit the search to just the two of you. Allow me to involve the Golem Maids as well.』
"But..." Jin hesitated. He was concerned that they might overlook the specific documents. It wasn't that he lacked faith in the Golem Maids, but rather that he understood their technical limitations. Since they weren't experts in magi-craft, he feared they might miss the subtle signs of the objective.
『I understand your concern. In that case, how about having them re-examine the locations that My Lord and Reiko-san have already checked?』
"Hmm, I suppose that would work."
『Then I shall issue instructions to the Five-Colored Golem Maids.』
"Right. Have them start with the reference rooms."
One of the secrets to finding lost objects was to be thorough and devoid of preconceptions. If one approached a shelf thinking, "It couldn't possibly be here," or "This is a chore, I'll just skim it," they would never find what they were looking for.
"Master, is this it?"
"Master, could this be what you seek?"
Topaz 24 and Amez 33 approached him twice with items that seemed promising, but neither was the correct document.
"Master, what about this one?"
"Hmm?...Wait, th-this is it!!"
As the saying went, the third time was the charm.
At long last, the target materials had been found.