"Ship...?　Crom Ranchette...　"Most likely the Ark.
The Ark?

　The 'White' crown that Yumina brought with her, Illuminati Arbus, answered that.

''Ark [Ark]. The "Ark" is a mobile factory made of chromium. I'm going to make the other 'crown' as well.
Made...?　You mean the factory that manufactures 'The Crown'?

　I guess it's called a "workshop" in our "Babylon". According to Albus, Crom Ranchez was quite an eccentric individual, who didn't belong to any country and traveled as he pleased. I'm not sure if it was the "Ark" or a mobile factory ship that served as a means of transportation.
　The same is true of my doctor, but do eccentric magicians have the same tendency to be eccentric?

Don't tell me the Ark has nine...?
'?　There's only one ship that I know of.

　Well, I'm glad to hear it. Well, of course.
　Ripple-san from the Search Engineers Seekers, who was listening to the conversation, speaks to Albus.

"Do you know how to get into the Ark?
The crown is the key to the crown. I am the key to the crown.

　I see. So the Crown itself is the key to getting on the ship? No wonder no one else can get in.

I'm sorry, my dear sir. I'm sorry, but I'd like to borrow the white one. You need the power of the crown to get into the ship.
That being said...

　The head of the Search Engineers, the leader of the Seekers, Mario's old man, asked me for a favor, but I can't lend him a favor and say "yes, that's right".

''Father, father!　This is where I'm going with Albus to represent Brunhild in the Ark as the representative of Brunhild...!
'Dismissed. You just want to see a rare magic ship, don't you?　Stay put.
Mother, you mustn't!

　Lean pulls away from the coon who's been giving me an earful. Well, I thought it was something like that, but.
　To be honest, I'm interested in this "Ark" thing. It's the legacy left by the rare Golem engineer who created the "Crown" series. It must be historically and technologically valuable.
　But beyond that, I don't know what kind of power "Ark" has. After all, this is the home of an engineer who has transcended the barriers of the world. It's not a good idea to leave it unattended. I need to check it out at least once.

"Crom Ranchette's workshop...!　I want to see it!　Maybe the secret of The Crown will be revealed!
'I'm curious too. There's still a lot of unseen technology out there, but there's no reason not to go there, Fuyao-kun?

　Engineer Elka and Dr. Babylon are ready to go. Come on!　Look!　And beside him, Coon is raising his clenched fist.
　Well, I've always wanted to go to Gandiris at least once, and it's a crossing?　The princess over there the second princess, Princess Cordelia, says that the king of Gandiris seems to be a generous and mild-mannered person.

'I see. Let's take Albus and go to the ruins. Umina, would you mind?
'Yes. I'm fine.

　Though Albus belongs to Brunhild, its contractor, the Master, is Yumina. Well, that's a temporary name. You'll have to ask permission first.

Yes!　Father, I'm going with you!　I'll go when I get there!
It's not fair, Miss Coon!　Father, I'm going with you!
You guys...

　My head hurts as Kuhn and Arthia raise their hands in competition. It's not like I'm going to play with them, though.


　　　　　　　　　　◇ ◇ ◇


'Whoa!　Fast!　That's fast, huh?

　Mario's old man is having fun like a child while looking at the view from the window. No, it's not just Mario's old man who is excited. It's not just Mario's old man, it's all the men of the Search Engineers Seekers.
　This is the inside of Dr. Babylon's large high-speed airship, the Balmunks.
　We realized that the Seekers' airship would take weeks to reach Gandiris, so we had to get to Babylon's Hangar. That's where this thing in the Babylonian hangar comes in.
　It was originally an airship built 5,000 years ago to transport frame gear. Since I can use the gate, it never saw the light of day until now, but it's useful for moving large groups of people like this.
　By the way, the airship of the "Search Engineer Group Seekers" is in my 【Storage】.
　The airship of the Search Engineer Brigade "Seekers", as well as myself, Yumina, Lean, Kuhn, Lou, Arcea, Dr. Babylon, and Engineer Elka are on board. I was accompanied by Paula and Albus, as well as Fenrir from Engineer Elka's place.

I'm surprised to see such an airship. I didn't know there were airships like this. Is this normal on this continent?
No way. It's only Brunhild. There are many things wrong with that country, and we can't be together. It will destroy common sense.

　Something about Mr. Ripple and Engineer Elka having a rude conversation, please correct me. It's only the doctor who's crazy.
　When I blurted that out to Yumina, she said, 'Fuyao-san, you should look at things more objectively. What do you mean?

At this pace, we'll be in Gandiris in another hour or so.

　Dr. Barker said as he looked at the clock on his phone. Because the "Balmunk" is on autopilot, it arrives at its destination on its own, even if we're asleep.
　To be honest, I think it would be faster if I flew to the destination on the fly and then connected to the gate. I tried to make a suggestion, but I was pushed aside by those who wanted to ride the 'Balmunk'. Including Kuhn, of course.
　Well, it's not like there's a huge difference in the number of days or anything, so I decided to take it easy.
　On the way, Dr. Erca and Engineer Erca kept talking with Mario's old man and Ripple, and Kuhn was listening to them with great interest.
　Albus was also chatting with Fenrir, but it didn't feel like they were in a lively conversation. It's more like they're confirming something. Paula was hovering around it.
　Lou and Arcia have been bringing the food they have been cooking in the kitchen in Balmunku to me, as if they were fighting over it. No, I can't eat this much!　I'm sorry to tell you two, but I shared them with the old man from the Search Engineers Seekers. I laughed at the resemblance between the mother and daughter, who were mouthing off in dissatisfaction.

''It's about time.''
Hmm. That's the Pisto Mountains. It's already in Gandiris territory.

　Mario's old man, who had checked the mountain out of the window in response to the doctor's mumbled words, told him so. What a blink of an eye.
　We head towards the bridge and look down on the world below from the front.
　The view of many mountains is exactly what you might call a mountainous country.
　There is a basin here and there, and the town is spread out there. There were a number of narrow mountain roads that connected the towns.

I wondered if they were tunnels.
'That's the path the dwarves dug a long time ago. Some of them were dug with digging golems, though.

　Mr. Ripple will answer my questions. Dwarves. If they live mainly in the mines, that's a no-brainer. I thought as I glanced at some of the dwarves in the Searching Engineers Seekers as well.

"Oh, I can see it. ... what?　What's that?

　Mario's old man stared at the mountain in front of him with his eyes.
　Something like smoke is rising from the foot of the mountain.

"Is that the entrance to the ruins?
Hmm. The Knights of Gandiris and the young men of the Search Engineer Corps are stationed there, but.... But what is that smoke?
Is there a fire...

　The doctors also look in the direction Mario's old man pointed. Which, me too.

"[Long-sense]

　I skip my vision and look in the direction that old Mario indicated. There's definitely smoke rising up. The tents and other structures are on fire. Not only that, there are also the remains of the Golems that were broken up. Is that the Knight Golem of Gandiris?

'I don't know, but it looks like something attacked us. There's a wreckage lying around that looks like a Gandiris golem.
What?

　Mr. Ripple shouts at my words. The airship sped up as the Doctor sat at the controls of the Balmunk.
　Eventually, as we approached at a distance where everyone could see it, the devastation was clear to see.
　Fire was rising from the encampment, with fallen people and the wreckage of broken golems lying all over the place. Clearly, they had been attacked by someone.
　As soon as Balmunck landed, the people from the 'Search Engineer Group [Seekers]' immediately jumped out in front of him.
　There was no sign of the enemy in the area. Have they already retreated?　No, we went into the ruins...?
　The entrance to the ruins was quite large and shaped to go underground. Even a few golems would be able to get in easily.

''Hey!　You okay?　Get a grip!

　I come to my senses at the sound of Mario's old man's voice as he hugs the injured man up.
　Oh, no. You can think later. I have to save the injured first.

"[Light, come, equal healing, area heal]

　It activates a recovery spell on the entire target-locked population. Fortunately, there were no dead people. The one who was in critical condition a moment ago stands up, examining his body with a pouty expression.

'This is........recovery magic?　You're a hell of a guy...

　I chuckled as even old Mario and Ripple, who had witnessed the magic, were pouting, and spoke to a young man nearby who seemed to be a knight of Gandiris.

'What on earth happened here?'
'What?　Ah, ah ... all of a sudden I was attacked by a strange group of people. Dozens of thin, four-armed golems with dozens of funny masked ones in tow.
A funny mask?
'It was like an iron mask that covered his face, or rather his whole head. It had a beak like a crow...

　A mask like a crow?　It's like a plague mask on Earth. That's definitely a funny one.
　If you look closely at the wreckage of the wreckage of the wreckage of the wreckage of the wreckage of the wreckage of the wreckage of the wreckage of the wreckage of the Golem, in addition to the aircraft that is probably the Knight Golem of Gandiris, there is also the wreckage of the thin-limbed, four-armed Golem lying around.
　Its head is round and it is wearing a cloak of sorts. It looks like a scarecrow.

'So where is that group?'
Maybe into the ruins...
"I'm going to take Crom Ranches' ship...　d*mn it, where did it leak from?

　Mario's old man taps the wooden box that was lying around. This is the ship that is the legacy of the creator of The Crown. It's something that would be very attractive to a foreign country. It could be just a group of thieves, but it's highly likely to be a unit from some other country.

But isn't the ship locked?　Don't you have to have 'The Crown' to get in?
"Mother, there's no need for you to go in the front door without being honest. If you don't mind a little damage, you can just force your way into the interior by destroying the outer wall.

　Kuhn answers Lean's question. It's true that it could be, but that's the way grave robbers do it, isn't it? It could be the same kind of people in this situation, though.
　I'd like to think that the creators of The Crown would never create a security system that could be breached that easily, even if they did.

'Destroying that ship?　I'm not kidding!　It's a treasure chest of lost technology!　Hey, you guys!　Let's get after it!

　At the sound of Mario's old man's voice, not only the "Searching Engineers 《Seekers》" but also the knights of Gandiris raised their fists. Are you okay?　The knight-golems are still broken, though.

Hm. It's acceptable if the ship is slightly damaged, but if the data inside is erased, it's a big loss. I think we'd better go there.
Yeah.

　The doctor is right, once something is trolled, some things never come back. As expected, we want to stop such an outrage.
　We decided to follow Mario's old men who rushed into the ruins. This ruin is seven stories underground, and the ship in question seems to be in the dock of the lowest level. It seems to be a very intricate structure, and Ripple began to unfold a map.

"From here to here..... And it's faster to get off this way. I just hope he gets lost.

　Looking at the map that was spread out, I saw that the corridors stretched out like a subway campus, drawing intricate shapes. It is true that this is going to get lost.

"Master, permission to proceed.
'What?　What's the matter, Albus?

　Yumina approached Albus. Albus then received a map from Mr. Ripple and pointed to a place on the ground floor. Hmm?　There's nothing in there, but...

There is an elevator in this location. Direct access to the lowest level.
'What?　How do you know that!
This facility is Crom Lansdowne's secret base. I am coming to your secret base.

　I see. If this place was made by Crom Ranches, then it's not surprising that Albus, the 'crown', would know about it.
　If that's the case, why didn't he tell us where this ship was until now?

The location of the base is concealed under the authority of the High Master, as are the other crowns. The same applies to the crown.
I see. But this Crom Ranches guy is so secretive, isn't he?
Those with the best skills are often the targets of the powers of the hour and their peers. It's easy to understand why they want to hide, just like I did with Babylon. Just like I built Babylon.

　The doctor nodded deeply, as if he agreed. I guess that's about it. As I recall, Dr. Babylon was also asked by some king to give Babylon, Sheska and the rest of the Babylon Numbers to some king or something. About 5,000 years ago.

"Let's just hurry to the place.

　We headed to the place Albus had indicated. At first glance, the place looks like an ordinary wall.
　When we poured our magic power into the small disguised magic stone, the wall split in two without a sound and a box-like space appeared.
　As expected, it's difficult for everyone to get in, so first, only us, old man Mario, Ripple-san, and a few knights of Gandiris decided to get in and head to the lowest level at once.
　The door closes and the box descends. There's nothing there, but I can't help but glance up at the top of the door, which is a detriment to knowing elevators on Earth, I guess.
　There was a tinkling sound, like the sound of metal, and the door opened. Then, several thin, four-armed golems that were a few meters away in the dimly lit passageway turned their eyes toward us with a glare.

''Ah, it's them!　The one who attacked us!

　The Knight of Gandiris, who was in the elevator with me, shouted.

'Gi!　Gee, Gee!

　The four-armed golem attacked me, jumping around like a monkey. I pulled out a brunnhild from my waist and without hesitation fired a shot at the golem's chest.
　The sound of gunfire and a roar echoes, and a wind hole opens in the four-armed golem's chest. It's the effect of the 【Spiral Lance】 granted to the bullet.

'Bastards, don't hold back!　Smash it!
Oh!

　At the sound of Mario's old man's voice, the members of the "Searching Technicians 《Seekers》 jump out of the elevator. They are technicians and explorers at the same time. They must be used to rough stuff. Wielding spanners and hammers, they head towards the four-armed golems.
　Not to be outdone, the knights of Gandiris also stepped forward.

''Giggles!

　It quickly became a melee, and I switched Brunhild from gun mode to blade mode. I'm afraid of shooting my allies by mistake and ricochets in such a small space.
　In contrast to me, Kuhn took out from his sleeve and lightning shot out from the magic gun "Spellcaster" he held at the ready. I like that. I think I should make one too.

''Guhaha!''
Uggh...!

　The four-armed golem blows a few people away. This guy's got a lot of power for a slender guy.

"You're a pain in the ass. [Slip]
"Gee!

　The four-armed golems tumbled onto the corridor. The old men of the Searching Engineers Seekers hit them all at once with their big hammers, and the attacking golems eventually stopped functioning.

Where are these guys from?　I don't think this is the Legacey.
The body is very close to Isengard's.
But I've seen the arms and legs before, around Gardio.

　The old men of the Searching Engineers Seekers are poking and prodding the four-armed golems that have stopped moving and sending their opinions to each other. I wish you could do that later.

It's not a good idea. You can find a dock about a hundred meters away.
All right. Let's go.

　Leaving some of the old men behind we followed Albus's words and hurried onward.
　We turned right at the corner and went straight down a long, dimly lit passageway, lit only by a small lamp, and down the stairs that were there, and the ship was near what looked like an underground lake.
　Up close, it was pretty big. It looks more like a spaceship than a ship. There are no sails or anything like that, and something like an engine is attached to the left and right sides of the hull.

"Does this fly by any chance?
No. No. The Ark is ready to fly. Diving is possible.

　You're over there. Is it a submarine? If it is said so, it is seen such a form. If so, it is too big.

"Hmm, so we have an uninvited visitor. Gandiris is very persistent.

　We were stunned by the appearance of the Ark, and then a voice called out to us.
　When I returned my gaze, I saw a person standing in front of us, as if blocking the way to the Ark.
　He wears round black sunglasses-like goggles and a metal plague mask with iron rivets struck to look like a crow. He wore a black coat with a hood, and on his left hip was what looked like a spray can jingling, and on his right hip was a metallic red thin sword, a "rapier".
　On his back, he carried what looked like a strange school bag and wore a belt with some kind of dial on it.
　At first glance, he looked like a retro-steampunk costumed guy, but I felt something.......strange.
　Who and what am I to blame for the plague-masked dude.

"Are you a thief after the ruins?　Or are you an agent of some country?
'Neither. I would venture to say 'Messenger of the Evil One'.
What... what?

　Ignoring my scowling eyebrows, the man in the plague mask threw what looked like a spray can off of his waist towards me.
　In an instant, the noxious colored smoke that blew out of it spread around the area. Not good!　Is it poison gas?

[Prison]!

　Quickly, I deploy [Prison] and protect everyone with a ward from the poisonous gas. The poisonous green smoke quickly takes away my vision, and the man in the plague mask becomes invisible.

''Bye, then.''

　Something like wings flew out of the school bag carried by the man in the pest mask and flew up into the sky like a rocket or a jet. What the hell...!
　The pest-masked man flew over the subterranean lake and landed on the deck of the Ark, where his vision was completely blocked. There, his vision was completely blocked and he couldn't see anything. d*mn it!

[Wind, Whirlwind, Storm Whirlwind, Cyclone Storm]!

　The tornado released by Lean blew out the poisonous gas around it. The spray can that had been spewing it out was blown away with it and fell into the subterranean lake.
　When we regained our vision, all we could see was an underground lake that was quietly filling with water.
　In the blink of an eye, the Ark disappeared right before our eyes.