“...Grand Search.”
Intending to construct a massive space for a hangar and other facilities, Jin meticulously surveyed the ground down to a depth of about a thousand meters. It would be best if he found nothing at all.
“Yeah, it’s basalt all the way down... How about over here? Grand Search.”
Jin repeated the detailed survey several times, a feat only he was capable of performing.
“Hmm?”
A faint sense of incongruity struck him. He cast Grand Search once again.
“Grand Search... Just as I thought. Between seven hundred and eight hundred meters deep, there’s a space... and something else.”
It wasn’t basalt. Moreover...
“Analyze... No good, huh?”
Even his Analyze spell couldn't identify the object. This was something unknown even to Jin. However, he could tell that metal and magi-crystal were used in its construction. He simply didn’t know what it was. Analyze only provided information based on existing knowledge and established vocabulary.
“Father?”
Reiko peered at him with concern as he fell into thought.
“Ah, no, I’m just curious about something down there.”
The survey conducted by the Fores units had only reached about five hundred meters deep, and it wasn’t as if they had inspected every single grain of sand across the entire continent. It was understandable that they had missed something existing at a pinpoint location seven hundred meters underground.
“In that case, will you use a Mole... no, a Mini-Mole?”
Jin nodded at Reiko’s suggestion. “Yeah, a Mini-Mole is best here.”
A Mini-Mole was ten centimeters in diameter and thirty centimeters long—a cylinder roughly the size of a large tea canister. Rather than excavating, it utilized a method of partial teleportation. By shifting the rock in front of it to its rear, it moved almost silently. Its propulsion wasn't mechanical, either; it used a force generator.
Each unit was piloted by a Command super-small golem. Jin had two of them sent over from Hourai Island.
“Alright, I’m counting on you.”
“Understood.”
The five-centimeter-tall Command mini-golems, Units 1 and 2, replied in high-pitched voices and climbed into Mini-Mole 1 and 2, respectively. Once the two Mini-Moles woke up, they vanished into the ground in an instant.
“Now we just wait.”
The Mini-Mole’s performance depended on the free ether concentration; they could generally travel five hundred to a thousand meters per day. With the free ether levels here on Hale, they should be able to manage the full thousand.
Thus, Jin decided to wait for a day.
＊ ＊ ＊
“I see. So that is why you have come to me.”
“Yes, I thought you might know something.”
Not wanting to spend the day idly, Jin had immediately gone to consult the Elder, No. 700672. Over the past day, the interior of the House had been considerably furnished, and Jin was currently being hosted in the living room of the Dome.
“Seven hundred meters underground, you say... I have no idea.”
“I see...”
If No. 700672 had no lead, there was nothing for it but to wait for the report from the Mini-Moles. Just then, a voice interrupted them.
“Welcome.”
Rouge entered the room, carrying tea.
“Oh, thank you,” No. 700672 said. Jin, however, was a bit taken aback.
“Hehe. Jin-dono, Rouge is... as is Neige... they are simply happy to have the House.”
Having guests over and entertaining them—just like a normal household. Being able to lead a life close to the "normal life" that had been so distant until now seemed to be a source of great joy for them.
That’s right, Rouge was the homunculus modeled after Arshel.
Jin wondered what kind of face Belialus, Arshel’s older brother, would make if he were introduced to her. If that doting brother—or rather, the sister-complex-afflicted Belialus—saw Rouge, who inherited the appearance of Arshel from her childhood...
Jin hoped that once things settled down on Hale, he could eventually make it so the Northern People could come here to visit as well.
The tea was hojicha, served at the slightly lower temperature Jin preferred. Rouge, who had brought the tea, stared intently at him as he took a sip.
“Yeah, it’s delicious,” Jin told her.
Rouge gave him a bright, happy smile. “Please, make yourself comfortable.”
With that, she left the living room.
“She’s quite the precocious one,” No. 700672 said, a warm smile softening his features.
Ever since coming to Hale, even No. 700672 had been constantly surprised by unexpected sides of Rouge and Neige. They were pleasant surprises, of course. For his part, Jin was surprised to see this side of No. 700672, which could almost be described as that of a doting parent.
“As far as I am aware... I do not believe the Masters would build any facilities deep beneath the ground they inhabited. Especially not at such a depth...” No. 700672 stated his thoughts slowly while sipping his tea. “However...”
“However?”
Jin looked at No. 700672 with curious eyes, as the other was being uncharacteristically hesitant.
“The history of the Masters is long. I know only a mere fraction of it.”
Jin understood what No. 700672 was trying to say. He didn't know about the era when the Progenitors were still at their peak. Jin could sympathize with that. Even when they had become decadent and lethargic, they had still undertaken massive projects like the migration to Ars. It was difficult even for Jin to imagine them in their prime.
In that case, it might be a ruin from those times.
The truth should be revealed by tomorrow. With that thought, Jin decided to change the subject.
“By the way, once the House is finished, will you be living here, Elder?”
He was asking whether they would return to their dwelling in the Nord Federation—the White Room that was once part of the Heavenly Ship.
“Well... I was born in that White Room. However, this Hale can also be called my home, in the sense that it is the source of the materials that form my very body.”
Jin listened silently as No. 700672 continued.
“To be honest, I have nothing to do over there. But here, I feel I may find many things I wish to accomplish.”
That roundabout way of speaking was so typical of No. 700672 that Jin smirked inwardly.
“So that place is the ‘family home,’ and this is the ‘villa’?”
“I see. That is an apt comparison.”
Going back to the family home whenever one wished, while spending most of one's time happily at the villa. That was likely what No. 700672 wanted. If a villa was a place to stay when the weather was nice, then this land's climate was pleasant all year round. They could stay as long as they liked.
“Furthermore, while I was an outlier on Ars, I am not so here.”
“True.”
He had added that last part as a footnote, but Jin suspected it was his most honest sentiment.