Laojun began delivering the findings of its investigation regarding the cave-in at the Torom Mine in the Shouro Empire.
"To state the conclusion first, the culprit is connected to the Magic Federation."
"Those guys again...?"
Jin's face fell into a weary scowl.
"Yes. However, things are slightly different this time."
"How so?"
Despite his annoyance, Jin listened closely.
"Should I describe it as a relationship between a 'client' and a 'contractor'..."
In this case, it appeared the Magic Federation was the client, while an unknown party was the contractor.
"At any rate, the Magic Federation seems displeased by the construction of the Adriana Memorial Hall for magi-craft."
"I can understand that much, but what does it have to do with the cave-in?"
"First, they wanted to draw My Lord and the Shouro Empire's personnel away from the construction site. Second, they intended to disrupt the procurement of metal materials, which form the bedrock of material civilization. And third, it was an 'experiment.'"
"I get the first two, but what's this about an experiment?"
"Yes, My Lord. That is the key to this entire incident."
Laojun proceeded with a detailed explanation.
"First, as expected, it was the work of Golem Rock Wolves. The one who built them is a common magi engineer named Dright Coatzpert."
Dright Coatzpert was thirty-five years old. He was reportedly a skilled, if somewhat eccentric, craftsman.
"He has been continually developing animal golems."
Long ago, seeing the Golem horses Jin had gifted to various nations had sparked his ambition.
"Aiming to start with a small, quadrupedal animal, he sought to replicate a wolf."
However, his development funds eventually ran dry, and while he was struggling in poverty, a request arrived from the Magic Federation.
"Wait, the Magic Federation reached out to an engineer?"
Given their ideology, Jin thought that should have been out of the question.
"No, it was strictly an 'order.' It was not a recruitment."
Laojun explained that the Magic Federation had seemingly even considered pitting technology against technology so both sides would destroy each other.
"Due to budget constraints, Dright Coatzpert apparently began by crafting smaller quadrupedal creatures."
"And that was the wolf."
"Yes. It seems that caught the Magic Federation's attention."
In exchange for funding his research, they commissioned him to produce a large number of wolf-type golems.
Dright Coatzpert had no qualms about repeatedly iterating on his prototypes, eventually handing over more than thirty Golem wolves to the Magic Federation.
"However, because the majority of them were merely prototypes, they seem to have had numerous flaws."
"Figures."
Jin wondered how the man had handled their control system in the first place.
He presumed the engineer had refined them step-by-step, meaning the difference in quality between Prototype No. 1 and No. 30 would have been night and day.
"It is just as My Lord surmises. To get straight to the point, the recent cave-in was not deliberately planned by the Magic Federation, but was instead caused by Golem wolves that went out of control."
"I see."
Indeed, the motive had felt vague, and the actual damage caused was relatively minor.
"Wait a second. Doesn't that contradict those first two motives you mentioned?"
Drawing people away from the construction site and cutting off the supply of metal materials had sounded like deliberate objectives.
"Yes, regarding that..."
According to Laojun, Prototype Nos. 11 through 16 of the Golem wolves had escaped and headed toward the Torom Mine.
Left unchecked, the existence of the Golem wolves would be exposed. Thus, they resorted to the last resort measure known as Forced Operation.
"However, with Forced Operation, precise instructions cannot be given. It seems the absolute best they could manage was commanding them to burrow into the tunnels and damage the supports."
"I see, so it was sabotage born out of trying to cover up their escape."
"Indeed."
If so, it raised the question of what the Magic Federation actually intended to use those Golem wolves for.
Not to mention the craftsman behind them, the magi engineer Dright Coatzpert.
"Dright Coatzpert is currently being pursued by the Shouro Empire's operatives. It is only a matter of time before he is taken into custody."
Just as Laojun had said, the Shouro Empire's intelligence operatives—their leader, No. 0, and the five subordinates from No. 5 to No. 9, making six in total—had mobilized to apprehend Dright Coatzpert.
The Magic Federation had merely commissioned the Crafting, taking zero precautions to ensure Dright's personal safety.
The target was located on the shores of Lake Tosmo, in the Town of Ari—a settlement lying south of Torom.
On its outskirts stood a small workshop where Dright Coatzpert lived.
"That's our target's residence."
"Yeah."
"Is he inside right now?"
"Confirmed."
"All right. We breach once night falls."
"Understood."
After conferring in hushed whispers, they melted into the shadows to await the cover of darkness.
Winter days were short, and by 6:00 p.m., the area was bathed in darkness. A light flickered on inside the workshop.
"We wait a little longer. Until the light goes out."
"Understood."
Eight o'clock came, then nine, ten, eleven... yet the light remained on.
"Tch, I forgot researcher types are all night owls."
At this rate, they had no choice but to wait for dawn, when his alertness would be at its lowest... or so they reasoned. To prevent their own focus from waning, they decided to take turns catching brief naps.
However, as an automata, No. 9 had no need for sleep.
For the two hours assigned to him in the rotation, he simply feigned sleep while exchanging information with Laojun via his built-in manacam.
Even so, there was little new intelligence to report.
Then, 4:00 a.m. arrived.
"All right, it's time."
At No. 0's signal, all six operatives moved soundlessly to encircle the workshop.
Inside, complete silence reigned.
(It seems he has fallen asleep.)
No. 9—who was in fact Regulus 45 of Quinta—had already received the results of Laojun scouting the interior with a Peeper.
"All right, breach!"
At No. 0's command, operatives Nos. 5, 6, and 7 shattered the three windows and stormed inside.
The remaining three stood guard outside, prepared for any sudden contingencies.
Securing a lone researcher was trivial work. Yes, the apprehension itself was effortless.
"W-Whoa?! Wh-What? What's going on?!"
"You are Dright Coatzpert, correct? We are agents of the Shouro Empire. We are taking you into protective custody."
"Uh, what, huh?"
Having just been jolted awake from a doze, he couldn't keep up with the situation. Dright Coatzpert stared in sheer panic.
However, after taking about three minutes to regain his composure:
"We have several questions regarding the 'Golem wolves' you created. We'd like you to accompany us as a person of interest."
Upon hearing that,
"Understood."
He nodded compliantly. Considering they had been prepared to use force if he resisted, securing him without a fuss was a welcome relief.
Told to gather his things, Dright Coatzpert spoke up.
"Um, could you give me just a moment?"
Being a magi engineer, Dright Coatzpert repaired the shattered window glass himself.
The unfinished golem components and any notable equipment within the workshop were temporarily confiscated, slated for transport to the Intelligence Bureau headquarters.
With that, ninety percent of the Torom Mine Cave-In Incident had been brought to light.
All that remained was uncovering the identity of the client who had commissioned Dright Coatzpert to make the Golem wolves, and tracking down where the rest of the pack was hiding.