Beneath the night sky, faintly illuminated by the high-riding moon Uni, Squire Rei leaped down toward the ground below.
"W-What?!"
Royal Ritter Commander Daiki Yuuma Tatsuta and diplomat Yaharu Sumi, who were riding alongside them, stared in wide-eyed shock, but Maquina calmly explained:
"A height like this is nothing for Rei."
Rei engaged her barrier projector for a mere fraction of a second, decelerating to land with barely a whisper of sound.
Switching her vision to infrared mode, she scanned the surrounding area.
(No heat sources... As expected, the relay operator does not appear to be human.)
Rei thought to herself as she switched her sight back to standard mode.
Even in standard mode, as long as there was moonlight, it was more than bright enough for her eyes.
(...There!)
Rei dashed beneath an overhanging rock shelf that jutted out like an awning from a massive crag nearly ten meters high.
Although it was camouflaged to match the surrounding stone, her eyes caught the distinct texture of metal.
(...Huh?)
Rei halted her fist in the nick of time, just before delivering a direct blow.
Lying before her was a stationary Magi Machine.
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"My Lord, please take a look."
"Yeah... I never would have guessed it was something like this."
On Hourai Island, Laojun and Jin were monitoring the video feed transmitted directly from Rei's eyes.
"I suspected it might be a golem, but to think it was just a Magi Machine..."
"It was camouflaged to blend into the surrounding rocks, so they likely deemed that sufficient."
Not only was the area entirely uninhabited to begin with, but the camouflage was good enough that the naked eye would never notice it.
"Furthermore, if they had no plans for long-term operation, an apparatus of this level makes complete sense."
"I suppose you're right."
If so, the next question was where this device was relaying to.
"Let us have Maquina investigate that as well."
"Sounds good."
＊ ＊ ＊
The Magi Machine that Squire Rei had discovered.
The visual feed of it was also visible aboard the Aristotle.
"...To think it was an automated Magi Machine."
Deus Ex Machina, Royal Ritter Commander Daiki Yuuma Tatsuta, and diplomat Yaharu Sumi dropped their shoulders in disappointment.
"Could we repeat the process to find out where this Magi Machine is transmitting?"
Royal Ritter Commander Daiki Yuuma Tatsuta asked Deus Ex Machina, but—
"No, that would be difficult."
Maquina shook his head.
"If we make contact again in such a short window, we risk tipping off the other side."
"Then are we to take no action at all?"
"No, I did not say that. We have other options."
"Such as?"
"We analyze that Magi Machine."
With that reply, Maquina issued instructions to Rei via a short-range communication magi-device (which was actually a manacam disguised as one).
"Rei, disassemble that Magi Machine and see what you can learn."
"Understood."
The reply came at once, and Rei set straight to work.
"Oho, Lady Rei is skilled in magi-craft as well, I see."
Her progress could be observed on the Aristotle's magi-monitor.
It was a magnified view captured by the magic eye fitted to the lower hull.
The primary concern had been the possibility of an explosion or self-destruct mechanism triggering upon disassembly.
If it were to blow up inside the Aristotle, Maquina aside, Daiki Yuuma Tatsuta and Yaharu Sumi would not have walked away unscathed.
That was why the task had been left to Rei, who could easily endure such an incident, but in the end, the worry proved groundless.
"It does not appear to be particularly sophisticated."
The spoken lines "Speak" and "Acknowledged" were merely recordings, so to speak.
They seemed to serve as simple acknowledgment signals; the Magi Machine had no consciousness of its own.
"In that sense as well, it is certainly no golem."
Deciding that all danger had passed, Deus Ex Machina brought the Aristotle down.
Given the rugged terrain, the airship did not land completely, instead hovering just a meter or so off the ground.
Maquina then stepped out onto the surface to conduct the analysis himself.
This, too, was largely for show.
After all, it would look suspicious if Squire Rei possessed technical knowledge on par with Maquina.
"Rei, let me take over."
"Yes, Lord Maquina."
Taking Rei's place, Maquina began analyzing the Magi Machine.
"Hmm. As far as flashing communicators go, the transmission range seems rather long."
If the units held by the brainwashed agents were secondary receivers, this one was the primary transmitter.
While the secondary units had an effective range of under thirty kilometers, this one appeared capable of reaching around two hundred kilometers.
And just beyond that two-hundred-kilometer mark lay Nameless Peak... the mountain that marked the border between the Four Principalities.
"There is almost certainly another repeater situated near the summit of Nameless Peak."
That fell within their own territory, and the high altitude made it an ideal location for crafting a communication setup.
"If that is the case, we cannot reach it for the time being."
Since the other end was just an automated Magi Machine, following this trail ended here.
"However, we can use this repeater to feed them false information going forward," Deus Ex Machina said.
To that end, the repeater was reassembled back into its original condition.
"Indeed, putting it to use like that seems best."
Since they had pinpointed its location, they could recover it whenever they wished, Royal Ritter Commander Daiki Yuuma Tatsuta agreed.
"Shall we head back, then?"
With that agreed upon, the Aristotle set off on its return journey to Quonale, the royal capital of the Mimaka Principality.
＊ ＊ ＊
Meanwhile, on Hourai Island.
"Laojun, it was definitely crafted and placed by the Jagus Principality, right?"
"Yes, just as we anticipated."
"Did you learn anything else?"
"Yes, My Lord....Tracing the mana reaction that triggered immediately after the repeater emitted mana waves led us to the summit of Nameless Peak within Jagus Principality territory."
That meant Maquina's—Mentor's—guess had been right on the mark.
"Then, just as Maquina and the others concluded, we can't make a move on it for now."
"Indeed. It cannot be helped."
Had a human been operating the repeater, they could have captured and interrogated them, but that avenue was closed.
Since it was not a golem either, no useful data could be extracted.
"I guess our best bet now is to wait on the Shinobi Squad we sent in."
"That would be best."
It seemed it would take a little more time before the full picture came together.