"Be careful!"

On the morning of April 19, Jin and his friends left the village of Ulun.

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Hanna was a little disappointed that she could not meet Separay's husband.

Today, they are going to Nadeh town.

The town of Nadé is my hometown. I don't have my parents there anymore.

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"I didn't know Mark had traveled that far. ......"

Saki muttered in a deep voice.

"I heard that he was found and saved by a group of researchers who had gone to the Harihari Desert to investigate."

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Goose replies.

"So we went to the town of Nadé together,...... and well, I heard that he and my mother were together for some reason."

Not many people like to tell the story of how their parents met.

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Saki seemed to understand this and did not ask any more questions.

About an hour and a half away was the village of Kaid, and another hour to the village of Romne.

"I think you'll find some interesting things here.

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Goose whispered thoughtfully to Jin.

"I know someone who manages it."

Jin could not keep quiet after hearing such a story. Jin decided to make a detour to the village of Romne.

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When he parked his car in the plaza at the entrance of the village, the villagers, including children, gathered around him. Reiko, as usual, remained out of sight, standing guard with Jin.

"Hello. They are travelers from the east.

Goose introduced Jin and the others to the villagers in the local accent.

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They recognized him and the others as foreigners at first sight because of their different skin colors.

"Hey, isn't that Goose?

"Hey, Booker. I'm here to see you.

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Goose's friend was Booker, with short-cropped dark brown hair and brown eyes. He is one size stouter than Jin.

"Hmm?　You brought a foreign guest with you, isn't that right?"

Yes. Can I show it to you?

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Anyone who can read is welcome.

Then Goose turned to Jin,

"Jin, he says he can show you."

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in a voice without an accent.

Then another man of advanced age came in.

Is this your guest?　I am Frayn, the village headman.

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"Ah, father, Goose has brought foreign guests."

Booker seems to be the son of the chief. No wonder. He's in charge of the valuables.

"I see. Welcome to the village of Romne.

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The chief greeted him in an unaccented voice.

My name is Hitoshi Nido. My friends are Erza, Saki, and Hannah.

Jin also greets them, introducing himself briefly.

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Reiko has disappeared and Aal is in the car. When I introduce only Edgar as the automata for driving, the village chief rolls his eyes in amazement.

"It's an amazing thing, isn't it? Even in Dachte, there are no automata like this.

Guth told us that Dachte was the capital of Huso.

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"And your horseless carriages are wonderful. Did you build it, Nidoh-dono?

The mayor referred to the car as a "horseless carriage. Jin wondered for a moment if he had seen something similar.

He would ask Goose about that later.

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"Here it is."

Frayn produced a wooden box resembling a paulownia tree. Booker opens it gently.

"......oh......!"

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Jin's eyes widened.

It was definitely a book.

But it was badly damaged and the paper was tattered.

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It is a book, but it is torn off from the middle, and there seems to be a front cover but no back cover.

"...... technology ...... history?"

The title was written in Chinese characters on the front cover.

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"What?"

"Nidou-dono, can you read this?"

Booker and Frain looked at Jin with surprised faces.

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"...... yes."

Jin stared at them intently.

"May I take it in my hand?　I'll ...... handle it gently."

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Oh, well, if you can read, please, come in.

"Thank you very much."

He should have worn gloves, but he had not prepared any, so he wrapped a handkerchief around his hand and took the book in his hand, being careful not to touch it directly.

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"It says 'history of technology' after all.

The font gives the impression of being slightly old-fashioned.

It was not a hardcover. Opening the cover, he found a table of contents.

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It was stained with brown dirt like mud, and although some parts were torn, the words <><>> could be read. The part of * was torn and could not be read.

The text is written horizontally. I wonder if this is a reference book for science majors.

"Is it a reference book for college or something? ......?"

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Jin, a high school graduate, could not understand more than that.

Turning the pages a little more, he found diagrams of early models of lathes and drilling machines, which made him think that he might be able to build such machine tools by referring to this book.

"Too bad the second half of the book is missing: ......"

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I don't know how many pages are missing. I wish I had read all of them," said Jin.

"...... Jin, you can read these letters, can't you?　Characters that no one has been able to decipher until now."

Kanji and hiragana, and Japanese. It would be virtually impossible for any linguist, or even a master cryptographer, to decipher them without prior knowledge.

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"Yes, I can read it. This is part of the academic book ....... It's like a book about the development of technology and its history.

Goose nodded and thought about Jin's answer.

Then Booker and Frayn went crazy.

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"Nido-sama, you can read the <!"

"Yes, I can."

It's nothing to hide now, so Jin frankly admitted it.

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"......If you are from the same town as Mags?"

"I don't know. I don't know, but it is possible.

Jin can't say that they are completely the same, since there is no way to prove it, but he thinks that they are probably from .......

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"It is said that Magus came from the <<>, do you know what that means?"

"...... approximately."

"Oh, ......!"

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Frayn is excited to hear Jin's reply.

"It has been more than a thousand years since I inherited the relics of Magus the Wise, and it has been worth it!

It seems that this , or rather , was left behind by the wise man Mags.

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"No one could read what it said."

Booker took over Frayn's words.

"Please, tell us what it says!"

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<
Jin wondered in the corner of his mind if this custom also originated with Mags,

But his priority was to say, "Please raise your hands!

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was the priority.

In the end, Jin did not go to the town of Nade that day, but stayed overnight at the house of the chief of the village of Romne, and continued to explain the <>.

However, he was able to browse all the pages, and Hannah was more than happy to look at the pages with him, so the result was probably a good thing.

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Moreover, Reiko had memorized all the contents and sent them to the old man.

The book was already enchanted for preservation, but just to be sure, Jin reapplied < to it and the book was stored again.