"Another hidden cupboard inside a hidden cupboard...?"
Yumis Isle spoke in an exasperated tone.
"I wonder if the person who made this had a terribly twisted personality... or if they were just exceedingly cautious?"
"Why not both?"
They already knew that among the Progenitors, there were individuals with rather warped personalities.
"Now then, let's see what's inside."
Deus Ex Machina opened the door to the second hidden cupboard.
Resting inside was a magi-crystal.
"'Analyze.'"
Checking it just in case to ensure it was not a trap, it appeared to be an information memory.
"I wonder if the Progenitors just did things like this from time to time."
Gently removing it, it proved to be a high-quality water-attribute magi-crystal.
"Let's have Avalon analyze this."
Saying so, Deus Ex Machina handed it over to Northernon Quetos.
"I shall take charge of it."
The party then surveyed the room to see if there was anything else.
"Lord Maquina, in fact..." Squire Rei spoke up.
"What is it?"
"There are footprints left here."
"What!?"
Northernon Quetos and Yumis Isle looked toward the spot Rei pointed to, but saw nothing....At least, not with their naked human eyes.
Deus Ex Machina, not being human, could see them, but pretended not to for now.
"I can't see them... but you can, Rei?"
"Yes. They are from off-road soles studded with metal hobnails. The size is around twenty-seven to twenty-eight centimeters—most likely a man."
"You can tell that much!?" Northernon Quetos gasped in surprise.
"Lord Maquina, could that be the mastermind?" Yumis Isle asked, eyeing the spot with suspicion.
"The likelihood is high. I wonder if they took something from here?"
"Lord Maquina, the footprints lead toward that wall over there."
"I see."
Suspecting there might be a hidden door or cupboard in that direction, Deus Ex Machina investigated the area.
"There's a door here."
"Oh! As expected, the one who left the footprints headed further in!"
"Will it be safe beyond that point?"
Northernon Quetos and Yumis Isle voiced their respective thoughts.
"I detect no life signs," Rei offered as reference information.
"Still, that doesn't rule out the presence of guardian automata. Rei, take the lead."
"Understood."
Deus Ex Machina opened the hidden door in the same manner as before.
And just as before, Rei took the lead.
"There is nothing dangerous."
Her report was identical as well.
However, the room beyond was not white, and its size was less than half that of the previous chamber.
"A storehouse, perhaps?"
"It seems that way."
"Yet there is nothing here..."
Aside from the entrance they had just passed through, the walls on the other three sides were lined with shelves. However, nothing was placed upon them.
(This must be an abandoned ruin, after all. Most of the contents were likely cleared out long ago.)
So thought Deus Ex Machina—piloted by Mentor. Laojun shared the same opinion.
However...
"This room is quite dusty..." Yumis murmured.
Indeed, while the previous room had virtually no dust accumulation, this room was coated in it.
And clearly visible atop that dust...
"Footprints."
"Footprints indeed."
There were numerous footprints left behind, seemingly from the same man as before.
"Where they lead is..."
Toward the shelf straight ahead. It appeared the intruder had ransacked whatever had been stored there.
"Judging by the state of the dust and the size of the shelf, it was likely a box-shaped object, or perhaps several books."
A rectangular area where the dust was thin remained on the shelf.
"A visitor must have taken it."
"There is almost no doubt about it."
Deus Ex Machina and Northernon reached the same conclusion.
What it was and what it was being used for remained unknown, but investigating the magi-crystal Deus Ex Machina had acquired might shed some light on the matter.
Jin had temporarily returned to Hourai Island via the Warp Gate installed aboard the Hurricane, observing the turn of events alongside Laojun.
This was because the villagers sheltered aboard the Hurricane were beginning to regain consciousness.
He could not risk having them catch a glimpse of the crew examining images from the Peeper or otherwise learn about the Hurricane's advanced technology.
Thus, he had swapped places with a Doppel, and Jin himself had returned to Hourai Island.
"Hmm, looks like we were one step behind."
Learning that someone had already taken whatever was there, Jin muttered regretfully.
"My apologies."
"No, it's not something you need to apologize for, Laojun."
Even with Laojun's vast capabilities, completely blanketing every corner of Planet Ars was impossible.
"I shall immediately investigate what was taken and by whom."
"Yeah, I'm counting on you."
"Yes, My Lord."
Jin suspected the culprit was likely the masked man.
"...I wonder if he has already returned to the Jagus Principality?"
"That is unknown."
Looking at the organizational structure of the Revolutionary Party this time around, their ideology was painfully clear.
Jin felt it was likely a microcosm of the society they sought to create: working the farmers like slaves while a privileged few leisurely enjoyed the good life.
"...I have no desire to acknowledge a world like that," Jin muttered to himself.
In a certain country.
"...Hmph, so that country was no good after all."
"It is because that so-called World Conference stuck its nose in."
"However, the experiment was a success."
"Now the real performance begins."
"It is we who shall conquer the four nations."
"Indeed."