"The one dispatched to investigate was Regulus 31, commonly known as 'Victo.'"
Laojun explained that Victo had been crafted with the appearance of a scholar.
"The following is a reconstruction of Victo's report."
It took place in the year 3750.
Having obtained intelligence that a rare "fireworks artisan" was active in the northwestern Klein Kingdom, Laojun dispatched Regulus 31 of the Quinta, known as Victo, to investigate.
Three years prior, news had spread that a local fireworks artisan had passed away. Yet only six months later, rumors surfaced that fireworks were once again lighting up the skies in that region.
The displays occurred over a span of seven days, from December 6th to the 12th. They were reportedly never launched on any other dates.
However, since this pattern had only been observed for three years, it remained somewhat flimsy as definitive proof that the schedule would continue unchanged.
"The location should be just ahead, if I recall. Still, why choose such a remote place?"
From the nearest settlement, one had to traverse open wilderness, scale mountains, cross valleys, and delve deep into the rugged peaks beyond—it was an extraordinarily isolated spot.
To be fair, calling them mountains was a slight overstatement given their low altitude. In return, however, the area was choked with dense coniferous forest, making travel on foot a grueling ordeal.
"At this rate, ordinary humans would never be able to set foot here."
Rock Wolves and forest bears prowled the area in unnatural numbers.
This was largely due to the abundance of mountain deer that served as their prey, which in turn thrived on the rich supply of local grasses and nuts.
"...In a way, this could be considered a natural barrier."
Carving a path through such a horde of wild beasts would be impossible for an ordinary human.
Rock Wolves were nocturnal, requiring constant vigilance throughout the night, while forest bears roamed by daylight, demanding round-the-clock alertness.
Trekking under those conditions through a forest so dense that the sky was barely visible would be utterly exhausting—unless, of course, one brought along combat golems.
Moreover, there were other factors that made the region unfit for human travel.
There was no water inside the forest. Without natural springs or rivers, replenishing one's supply was next to impossible, posing a severe hazard.
On top of that, toxic vegetation grew in abundance.
There were plants that broke out into severe rashes upon contact, those that caused violent illness if ingested, and others that were outright lethal.
"Even so, reaching the destination would be considerably easier with a balloon or an airship."
Victo was an automata. What was more, he was an ultra-high-performance automata created by Jin.
A natural barrier capable of turning away human travelers posed no obstacle to him whatsoever.
With the coordinates pinpointed by the Watcher constantly transmitted to him by Laojun, there was no risk of losing his way.
Incidentally, one might wonder why they did not simply have Laojun survey the area with a Peeper and avoid all this trouble. The issue was that a Peeper provided only a one-way flow of information.
Even if an individual was present, no dialogue could take place.
In contrast, an on-site investigation conducted by the Quinta yielded far richer intelligence, including real-time reactions from any subjects encountered.
Of course, the approach differed when dealing with hostile forces or when covert reconnaissance was strictly required.
In short, it was best to choose the optimal method for each situation.
At any rate, Regulus 31 "Victo" pressed onward toward his destination.
As an automata, he was naturally ignored as prey by the Rock Wolves.
The forest bears were equally powerless to harm him, allowing him to maintain a brisk, uninterrupted pace.
While he could have traveled via transporter, doing so would reduce the journey to moving blindly from point to point, sacrificing all the reconnaissance that could be gathered along the way.
Valuable clues were often hidden in the surrounding terrain, not just at the final destination.
Therefore, unless an emergency arose or overland travel proved impossible, members of the Quinta always journeyed on foot.
Several dozen kilometers north of the last human outpost... the town of Naize.
After navigating minor rises and dense thickets absent from large-scale maps, he arrived at a craggy, rugged mountain.
Its sheer rock face rose at an angle of over eighty degrees, and because the stone was brittle and crumbly, scaling it with human strength alone was out of the question.
Yet the destination lay directly atop it.
"In a place like this, using the force generator is certainly the right call."
Waiting for nightfall just to be safe, Victo took care to avoid any prying eyes before taking to the air and alighting atop the rocky crag.
Rather than a true peak, the area resembled a small mesa.
It spanned an area roughly equivalent to two soccer fields.
Naturally, the ground was not perfectly flat, rolling with gentle undulations and dotted with low shrubs.
And situated almost dead center was a hole.
Victo's olfactory sensors immediately caught the chemical signature of gunpowder.
"There is no doubt about it. The fireworks were launched from here."
It lay twenty-five kilometers from the town of Naize, and twenty-three kilometers from the town of Coco in the Kingdom of Franz.
At such distances, fireworks would normally appear as little more than faint specks from either town. Given that they had become a popular local topic, however, it was safe to deduce that these shells were being launched two to three times larger and higher than the ones Jin and Saki had created centuries ago.
"Which means they must have made their own improvements."
If the fireworks were meant to replace signal beacons, greater visibility was always preferable. It stood to reason that someone had refined them with that purpose in mind.
"Assuming this hole serves as the launch tube, the question is where they are bringing the shells from..."
Given the mesa's sheer geography, it seemed improbable that anyone would bother hauling them up from below.
"There ought to be an access point somewhere on the plateau."
Victo paced the mesa, searching for such an entrance.
His steps came to a halt before a particular boulder.
"Found it."
Tucked against the stone was a seam so faint that a casual glance would never reveal it.
"Now then... how to open it."
First, he checked whether it could be unlocked from the outside.
Unless the operator left the hatch wide open from the moment they emerged until the display concluded, there had to be an external switch somewhere nearby.
Victo had wagered that security would be relatively light given the isolated location, and his intuition proved correct.
Upon closer inspection, a shrub growing a short distance away turned out to be an artificial replica.
A concealed switch was built into its trunk. When he engaged it, the seam slowly parted, revealing a hidden entryway.
The interior was pitch-black, but that posed no hindrance to Victo. Activating his night-vision goggles and infrared mode allowed him to see clearly through the dark.
Descending a steep flight of stairs, he encountered another door, which swung open with ease.
Beyond the second threshold lay a moderately spacious hall—his destination.
"A laboratory, then."
He could tell at a glance, without even needing to search the room, simply by looking at the fireworks samples lined up across the shelves.
"The back area must be a storehouse."
Sure enough, the rear room contained stores of saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal powder. He also found various metal powders used to alter flame coloration.
The laboratory floor was made of conductive metal, carefully designed to prevent the buildup of static electricity.
"All that remains is to determine where and by whom these fireworks are being manufactured..."
That answer presented itself almost immediately.
A freshly assembled firework rolled out from a magi-device situated at the far end of the laboratory.
"What is this...?"
Upon inspection, it proved to be an automated magi-device designed to assemble fireworks on its own whenever raw materials were supplied.
The finished firework was promptly collected by a compact, golem-driven transport cart.
"Shall I see where it goes?"
Victo quietly tailed the small transport cart.
The cart turned into a corridor on the far right side of the hall, trundling deeper into the facility.
At the end of the passage lay another storage chamber, its wall-mounted shelves lined with over a dozen finished fireworks.
"...Does this mean the entire process is fully automated?"
Victo decided to remain in place and observe the facility's operations a while longer.