Mount Nakyu towered over the center of the Pandor Continent.
It had once been the site of Guillermo (Golbart) Markitus's base.
And before that, it had served as a stronghold for the Origin Clan's invasion faction.
During the reporting session in Avalon, Jin had learned that the ruins west of Mahalig had belonged to a member of the invasion faction. Now back home, he checked in with Laojun regarding the findings from their survey of the Mount Nakyu ruins.
"Yes, My Lord. Regarding those ruins, we only recently began our investigation."
"I see... Out of consideration for the Elder, right?"
"Precisely as you say."
On December 8, 3899, Markitus had passed away, and ownership of the base had transferred to Jin.
However, Jin had wanted to show the Origin relics left behind to Elder No. 700672 first, allowing him to examine them to his heart's content.
Elder No. 700672 usually lived a quiet, retired life on Planet Hehl, returning via Warp Gate whenever the mood struck to investigate the ruins left behind by the Masters.
The survey had progressed slowly because these ruins belonged to the invasion faction—a group to which the Master who created the Elder had not belonged, and in fact had actively opposed.
The Master had been part of the independent faction within the moderate faction, and their ideology had been fundamentally incompatible with the invasion faction's beliefs.
Having inherited that disposition, the Elder had no love for the invasion faction either. Even so, he had held onto the hope that he might uncover something about his Master.
Because he had conducted the survey across multiple sporadic visits, it had taken a long time to conclude.
"I have disarmed all the traps within the ruins. Feel free to investigate as you please."
It was only recently—on April 29—that the Elder had finally said those words and stepped away from the investigation.
From there, Laojun had mobilized Peepers, Quinta mobile operatives, the Shinobi Squad, and the Smiths to push the survey forward.
Then came May 15.
Having returned from Avalon, Jin and Elsa sat down to hear Laojun's report on the Mount Nakyu ruins.
"I shall now present what we have determined thus far. Please feel free to interject with questions at any point."
"Yeah, please do."
"First, it appears this site was indeed a major stronghold for the invasion faction."
"Figures."
"Due to their exclusionary ideology, the invasion faction's numbers dwindled over the years, and they ultimately died out."
Because they refused to associate with outsiders, they could only reproduce among themselves. Even when they temporarily subjugated native populations, their numbers steadily declined until they went extinct.
"That's... kind of sad, honestly."
It wasn't as though they couldn't have foreseen that outcome, yet they had still refused to compromise their beliefs.
"One could say they martyred themselves for their ideology."
"I suppose so."
"Next, regarding the Slavedolls."
They were essentially Doppels capable of transferring the operator's entire consciousness, just as Markitus had done.
"We presume that once they gave up on producing offspring, they sought to prolong their lives through these vessels."
"Instead of turning themselves into automata?"
"Yes. They seem to have had a particular aversion to that."
"Jin-nii, if you transfer your knowledge into an automaton's control core, in a sense, there are two of you," Elsa deduced.
"Ah, right."
"Whereas with a Slavedoll, you remain a single self... I get it."
"Exactly."
Whether it was a matter of preserving personal identity or avoiding the fracturing of the ego, the invasion faction had apparently developed the Slavedolls for such psychological reasons.
"However, the Slavedolls are inherently flawed. Once the original body perishes, the doll ceases to function."
"Well, yeah, that makes sense."
That had been the case for Markitus as well. In the end, his natural lifespan had run out; had it been possible to extend his life by permanently transferring his consciousness into a Slavedoll, he wouldn't have hesitated for a moment.
"Ultimately, every member of the invasion faction appears to have died of old age."
"I guess that's how it goes..."
"Mm."
"There are five Slavedolls remaining. How would you like to handle them?"
"Let's see... I'd like to study that consciousness transfer system eventually, but not right now. Seal them away and keep them under watch."
"Understood."
Jin figured that as long as Laojun kept an eye on them with Peepers, they could react immediately if anything happened.
"There were also technological remnants such as Deformed Golems, but nothing we particularly need."
"Is that so?"
Having explored various Origin ruins by now, Jin rarely came across anything truly novel anymore.
"So, what else was there? Go on."
"Yes, My Lord. Technical documents were recovered, but nearly all of the contents were already known to the esteemed Elder. However, two items appear quite promising."
"And what are they?"
"The first is medicine. The members of the invasion faction likely suffered from poor health, as recipes for various pharmaceuticals were left behind."
"Oh?"
"Among them are a Painkiller and a Detox Medicine. While spells exist for both effects, they are entirely unknown in medicinal form."
"That's definitely useful."
Jin figured such medicines would become essential as they expanded their medical initiatives going forward.
"Lastly, we found information regarding the brainwashing device."
"Yeah? And?"
"Technical schematics were included, meaning we can manufacture the same device ourselves."
"That's great."
It meant they could use it to study how to reverse the effect.
They already had the Hypno Canceller and the Weckener, but Jin looked forward to finding other practical applications for it as well.
"That concludes our findings for the surveyed areas."
Laojun brought the briefing to a close.
"Roughly twenty percent remains unexplored. I expect to deliver a complete report in two or three days."
"Understood. Good work."
Jin acknowledged Laojun's efforts, then paused in thought.
"...Still no information on the ruins west of Mahalig, huh?"
"My deepest apologies."
"No, it's not your fault, Laojun. Besides, that information might turn up in the remaining twenty percent."
"I will conduct the investigation thoroughly."
"Yeah, I'm counting on you."
"Jin-nii, even so... the Jagus Principality worries me," Elsa spoke up softly.
A nation that brainwashed the people of the Pandor Continent, treating them like disposable tools without a shred of humanity. Or perhaps that was just its rulers.
Either way, that mindset was fundamentally incompatible with Jin and his companions—and with the member nations of the World Conference.
"If they're brainwashing and subjugating the people within the Jagus Principality as well... and working them to the bone..."
Elsa had voiced the worst-case scenario.
"We can't just turn a blind eye to that."
"Mm."
"First, let's see how Avalon moves."
The World Conference was scheduled to convene very soon.