At noon we returned to Professor Tia's research building.

　Not because we were tired of searching. Actually, it was, but for a different reason.



　Lunch.



　Eating deep underground is a bit like camping, which is hard for me as an aspiring hermit. The best thing is to eat a pizza (ordered by me and received by my parents) in a small room with blackout curtains closed and only the light of the monitor screen to illuminate.



　But this is a different world. I don't aspire that high.



　So here we are, sitting around a hot pot. It's a yose-nabe with white fish and chicken meatballs as the main ingredients.



"Wow!　It's the kind you see in a lot of anime!"



　Char's eyes sparkle brightly.



"Why such a hot stew in the middle of summer? Iris asked.



"Don't worry. Riza will cool the room."



　He had brought Riza with him, who had returned to the castle in the frontier count's territory on some business. The cool air filled the room.



"It would be perfect if we had a ..."



"KOTATSU ......?"



"It is a heating apparatus in a certain country. A blanket is draped over the table to keep the inside warm. It's a dreamy device where you can put a tabletop and eat on it and still have your feet warm.



"No, so now it's almost summer ......, well, okay."



　Iris seems to have given up on a lot of things. That's a good trend.



"By the way, Professor Tia, is Mr. Porkos not here?"



"He's busy with classes and menial tasks. I don't think he'll be here today."



　I swallowed the words, "You always seem to have time on your hands. He was being kind.



"Well, I guess we can do a lot of things here."



　Frankly, I'm tired of exploring ruins. I don't need to go out of my way to investigate.



　As steam rises from the pot, countless plate-like wards appear in the void. Connected to each of them are other plate-like wards scattered throughout the ruins. With these, we can search all over the place right here and now.



"You're doing something amazing again. ......"



　Iris's tsukkomi is weak. Good, you'll soon be a part of this Camelot thing.



　By the way, there's another kid here who doesn't know about my warding magic.



"Is she all right?"



　A girl lying on a sofa with a blanket over her from the neck down. Her brown skin and white hair are rare in this country.



"Suddenly she collapsed as if she had lost her mind. Well, she doesn't have a fever and her breathing is calm, so I don't think there's anything to worry about."



　Still confused by bad memories?　I mean, what in the world was being done to those ruins, and by whom?

　Well, now that the highlights are gone from her red eyes and she's a child, she can fake it any way she wants.



　So, I observe over a hundred screens while poking at a pot.



　My goal is to find one of the "Supreme Seven Sacred Armor" that is said to be in these ruins....



Professor Tia, there's something that's been bugging me...



"Hof?　What is it?"



　The professor responds while munching on a chicken tsukune.



　Something that's been bugging me.

　It's a rather important and rather fundamental issue, that is...



"Are there really any holy weapons in these ruins?



　How can you say that something whose shape is unknown ?　Who would have seen it?　If you found it in the first place, you'd bring it back.



"Well?"



　Yeah. ....... You tilt your head so adorably.

　Professor Tia gulped and began to explain.



"It's based on an old document. It is a record of an adventurer's expedition to the deepest part of the ruins many years ago.



"Wow, there were some great people in the past, weren't there?



"This guy's name is Grunfeldt, though."



　That name sounds familiar. Who was it?



"It's just too old and the literature is full of worm holes. Some pages are torn out and missing. So even though it says that they found one of the holy weapons, they couldn't confirm what it was."



"He must have brought it back, didn't he?"



"That's not true. If he had brought it back, it would have been stored in the right place and in the right hands.



No, but--



"I'll explain to Mr. Harte, whose name doesn't ring a bell, it's Grunfeldt, the Great Sage, right?　All the holy weapons known to exist were found and brought back by him. The of the Princess Flash is one of them."



"No, that's why--"



"Ah, the presence of who is misbehaving at the Olympian Ruins this time, isn't it?　It is very likely that they disappeared from the ruins last night, given the circumstances. It is also possible that he took the holy armor with him.



　But," Professor Tia says confidently, "I'm not sure.






"If the Holy Armor existed, there must be evidence of its existence in those ruins. If we find it, we'll have completed our task. I'm sure the dean won't ask us to take back something that someone else took.



　Oh, I see.



"Well, something like this, for example?"



　One of the plate-like wards is quickly flown in front of Professor Tia's eyes.



"Hmm. There's a golem monster walking around. Is it in the deepest part?



Behind him.



　Hmm?　Professor Tia narrows her eyes behind her glasses.



"There's something there, an unnatural indentation in the wall. Is it a pedestal?　It's terribly decayed and hard to discern. ...... hmm?　Why is this the only place that's decaying?"



　The interior of the ruins is warded to prevent deterioration over time. So it was strange that only this part was weathered.



"So, if you zoom in on this part, you can see ......"



　There is a faint lettering-like pattern on the base.



"They are ancient letters. It's blurred and hard to read, but it looks like--"



　For some reason, Iris took over Professor Tia's words.



"<>," he said. There were other words written on the wall, but there aren't enough left for us to read them.



　You can read ancient letters?



"Is it some kind of huge pile?　And that would mean that--"



　Now Charu shouts excitedly.



"A romantic weapon?



"...... Well, I guess you could say that it represents the characteristics of the Holy Armor. In other words..."



　Professor Tia smiles, and I tell him that I'm full of energy.



"I guess that completes the assignment.



　Well, that was easier than I thought it would be. Just when I was thinking about my bright future....



　The golem, which had been wandering around slowly, suddenly stopped moving. For some reason, he was staring at the pedestal where the holy armory seemed to have been placed, and then he raised his arms in the air.



"Hey!



　He smashed the pedestal while Professor Tia was surprised.



What are you doing?



I don't know what you're talking about.



　He must have had a bad day. Maybe he's just letting off steam.　It's really annoying.



What are you going to do?



　I have to think about this seriously.

　But now the evidence that the holy armory was there and that someone took it has been shattered.

　Then...



"If there's no holy armory, why don't you make one!"



　I put into words a devious plan that I had been thinking about since rather early on--.