170 - - 07-12 To Archaeological Site
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The day of departure for Keune Village was sunny from the morning.
As planned, Jin and his friends departed for the village of Keune in Jin's carriage. The members of the group are Jin, Reinhard, Erza, and Claude, the butler.
Reiko is sitting on the dais.
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The road is quite bad as they said. The road is not only uneven, but also steep, narrow, and littered with large stones.
Jin's horse-drawn wagon made its way through these rough roads without a care in the world and arrived at the village of Keune before noon.
"That was fast, that's Jin's carriage!
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Reinhardt was full of praise.
"Now, where are the ruins?
Jin parked the carriage in a suitable square and observed the surroundings. The village of Keune looked like a cold village in the mountains. It seemed much more desolate than the village of Kayna.
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"Are there really any ruins here?
Jin thought, "If there is such a cultural asset, it should be a little more crowded.
"Have you come to see the ruins?
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Jin turned around at the sound of that voice and saw an old man with a bent back standing there with a cane. He seemed to be from this village.
"Yes, yes. The Keowan ruins, is it? I'd love to see them."
Jin explained the purpose of his visit,
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"Oh, I see. To the ruins, huh? That's a curious thing to do," the old man said.
The old man laughed in a slightly accented voice,
"Then come this way. I'm not busy anyway, so I'll show you around.
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He started walking toward the mountain.
Jin and the others looked at each other.
"What are you going to do?"
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"Well, why don't we follow him?"
"Well, let's follow him. I think it's a good idea.
There seems to be no danger. I didn't sense any evil or murderous intent in him.
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Claude, the butler, who used to be a first-class swordsman, assured the old man that he was in no danger.
"All right, let's get going then. "Oh, Jin, is the carriage safe?"
Reinhardt asked concerned. Jin laughed and said it would be fine.
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"I'll lock it too."
Not only the lock, but there must be a <
"Hey, what's up?"
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An old man at the end of the road turned around and called out to him. Jin rushed to get his luggage out of the car,
"Come on, let's go.
He walks away. Reinhardt and the others also start walking. Erza saw that Jin was unusually carrying his luggage,
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"What's that, Jin?
Jin-kun, what is it? Jin smiled and answered.
"This? Various necessities.
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He explained.
"It has a light, water, portable food, and a rope.
Claude looked impressed and said, "Oh, really?
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"You are very well prepared, Jin-sama. Unlike the tourist mines of yesterday, the ruins are basically unmaintained. Lights and water are a necessity.
He pointed to his own luggage. Claude had also prepared for the trip.
This time, Reiko had her
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"You guys seem to have brought a lot of things with you, but there's no need for them.
An old man walking ahead of him said in a low voice, "What?
"What?"
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"The ruins aren't that big. You just go in, take a peek, and that's it.
"Is that so?"
When Jin asked this, the old man answered in the affirmative.
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"Yeah. If there was more to see, it would attract more people.
It seems that the old man was disappointed. However, we decided to take our luggage with us since we were going to the trouble.
After walking for about 10 minutes, we came to a huge cliff.
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"Cliff ......?"
"It looks about 100 meters high.
Look, there is the entrance.
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The old man pointed to a near-vertical cliff made of granite, and at the foot of the cliff the ruins were open.
"There's nothing dangerous about it. Locals go in there to cool off in the summer heat.
The old man's explanation was somewhat disheartening, but the group headed for the entrance to the ruins since they had come all this way.
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"It looks like a disappointment," said Reinhardt.
Reinhardt said,
"But I've never been to a place like this. It might be more interesting than you think.
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And Elsa. Jin was walking in silence. Reiko stops suddenly and holds Jin's hand.
"Father, there are people in the ruins.
Just as she said, a figure emerged from the entrance of the ruins.
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"Oh, how unusual. Are you a visitor?"
"Oh, sir, are you here to survey the ruins today?"
The person who was called "Sensei" and who seemed to know the old man well must have been an old man. There was no hair on his head, and instead, he had a magnificent white beard on his chin.
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However, his back is straight and his gray eyes give an impression of vigor and vitality. He was wearing a white robe-like jacket and had the air of a researcher.
"Well, I have to come here once a day to relax.
After saying this, the person turned to Jin and the others,
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"As a researcher, I am glad that young people are interested in this kind of ruins. I am Lukor, a common archaeologist.
"I am Jin. This is Reiko.
I'm Reinhardt. This is Elsa.
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I'm Claude, the butler.
Jin and the others introduced themselves and greeted the man who introduced himself as Lukor.
"I have been investigating these ruins for 10 years now, but I still don't fully understand them. If you like, I can show you around a bit.
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Lukor offers. To tell the truth, I appreciate having someone who has studied the site show me around rather than just gazing at it aimlessly.
"Yes, that would be great.
Reinhardt said, speaking for the group.
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"All right, come here, then."
Lukor led the group to the mouth of the ruins from which he had just emerged.
The entrance to the ruins, a granite chasm like the cliffs, looked weathered and tattered, but once inside, that impression was blown away.
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"What is this place?"
It was a large space with many chairs, benches, and beds. And a heap of scattered garbage.
"Ha ha, you must be surprised. This used to be a large empty room, but since it was cool in summer and warm in winter, the locals started to use it as a summer and winter shelter. That's how it ended up like this.
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Lukor explains. This is probably why there are magic lamps here and there, not as bright as in the daytime, but bright enough.
"Oh, I see.
"I was surprised because it came out of nowhere."
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Reinhardt and Erza laughed at Lukor's explanation, but one of them, Hitoshi, had a scowl on his face.