'What do you want to go and see now?　And it will help with Relic's research.
'Are you sure?　Thank you, Mr. Coe!　Let's lick your shoes!
'You don't have to do that. Just tell me a lot about ancient civilizations.

　Apparently, Ko and Relic are going to head to those ruins now.
　Watching their exchange from the side, I - Irisnaut Fafnir - was immersed in a small sense of satisfaction.

　This is because I was finally able to be of help to Koe.

　I've been asked to be Ko's bodyguard, but so far I haven't played any role at all.
　On the contrary, I was protected from the magic lasers during the battle against the Orihalcon golem.
　Isn't it bad that he's being protected even though he's an escort?
　You're dragging Coe down, and I'm kind of an unwanted child.

　I doubted my existence like that, but just now, I finally got a chance to play an active role.

　Against the purchase of Orihalcon Golem, Relic offered 80 million comsa.
　Ko didn't seem to understand the market price, so he turned his gaze to me.
　It's a trivial matter, but I was very happy to be asked to do so.

　Even now, I can't stop my mouth from smiling.
　I feel a flush in my chest.
　I was feeling so buoyant, which was strange to me.

"Iris, I'm going to touch your hand. I'm going back to the ancient ruins.

　Ko calls out to me.
　He's going to use that transfer magic-like skill from earlier, I guess.

　I'm not going to be able to get to the bottom of it, but I'm going to be able to get to the bottom of it.


　* * *.


　I used 【Spatial Leap】 and returned to the entrance of the ancient ruins with Iris and Relic.
　I retrieve the hidden door into the item box.

　Behind the door was a narrow cave.
　As I crouched down and went deeper, I soon arrived at a dead end.
　How do I get into the ruins?

　Just as I was thinking ......, I heard the usual voice in my brain.

''The conditions for obtaining the sub-skill within the 【Otherworlder】 skill have been met. [Ruins Seizure] will be released.''

　What kind of skill is this, in other words, it's the ancient ruins version of the [Mastery of Dexterity].
　Grasping the structure of the ancient ruins and being able to use its functions at will.

According to 【Grasp of Ruins】, there are 4 areas in this ruin, the 'living area', 'mining area', 'food production area', and the 'administrator only area' that only I can enter.
　Let's go to the living area first.
　Of course, I'm going to take Iris and Relic with me.

　As I made a mental note of it, the landscape around me distorted ...... and I found myself standing in the middle of the ruins.
　A pile of rubble stretches everywhere.
　This is the residential area, or simply put, the underground city.
　It seems that there was once a beautiful cityscape, but after a long, long time, it seems to have been completely weathered.

''Whoa, whoa, whoa!　That old smell!　I can't help it!

　Next to him, Relic was shouting excitedly.

'Thank you, Koh!　To think that such a large city was spread out underground, that alone would turn archaeologists all over King's Landing upside down!　That's awesome!　That's amazing!

　Based on this reaction, it must be a great historical discovery.
　Relic looks around with a twinkle in his eye.

''Hey, ko.......''

　With a nibble, he tugs on the sleeve of his right arm.
　It's Iris.

What's that all about?

　If you look at the direction Iris pointed to, you will see a house standing a little further away.
　It was a shiny new house.
　And next to it, a new house was being built at a rapid pace.
　A lot of translucent, plump, mysterious creatures swarmed around it.

　...... What on earth is going on?

　I'm going to use 【Restoration of Ruins】 to gather information.
　Apparently, that translucent mysterious creature is called 'Osewa Slime' and is an artificial creature created by an ancient civilization.
　As the name implies, it's a labor force used to take care of humans.
　...... What a name for it, or something to that effect. Sesame slime.

　When the slimes stopped working, they crept towards you.

It's nice to meet you, Master!　Customer!
We're the Osei-Slime!
Now I'm building you a new home!
You'll be living soon, just wait and see!
If you need help with anything, just ask!
Nice to meet you!

　Apparently these slimes can speak human language.
　Each one is about as big as I can hold in my arms.
　Because I'm a carpenter (?) Or, they all wore twisted bowls on their heads.
　There were tentacle-like things coming out of the left and right sides of their bodies, and they were holding tonchas, nails, and saws.

　I understood the slime from my [Ruins Grip], so I wasn't that surprised.
　But it seemed to be a shock to Iris, and she was trembling as she grabbed my sleeve.

''Ka, ka, ka...... cute!　Hey, Ko!　Can I touch this girl for a minute!
Oh, yeah. I don't mind.
Thank you!

　Iris smiled a girlish smile that was far more girlish than her usual appearance and ran up to the slimes.
　Poking at its surface, she said, "Wow!　It's so pulpy! He is very excited.

　Relic, on the other hand, had a much calmer look on his face than before.

"That slime seems to have a high level of intelligence. ...... very interesting.
You look so calm.
'It's been too much of a shock today, you know. I've come full circle and my head is starting to get clearer. ...... Ko, can I have a word with the slime?
Okay. --Hey!　Somebody!　Take care of Relic for him!

　I called out to him, and one of the slimes said, "Yes! I raised my hand cheerfully.
　The slime took off its twisted bowl and stowed it inside its body and came over to me.

'I'll tell you a story if it's okay with me!
'Thank you, Ko. I never thought I'd get to talk to the legacy of an ancient civilization: ......!

　Relic immediately began to question the slime.
　Surely today alone would greatly advance his research on ancient civilizations.

　Turning to Iris, the slime's cheeks (?) He was playing with it by pulling the
　It's a lot of childhood fun.

　I don't have anything to do, so I'll warp to the mining area.
　If anything happens to the two of them, I'll be able to find out right away with 【Remains in Control】. It should be safe to leave.

　In the mining area, slimes wearing helmets were working on mining with their ice axes.
　Next, I went to the food production area, where another slime was plowing a field with a mulberry tree.

　It's only just starting up again now, but after a while, it looks like this ancient ruin alone will be able to provide for itself.
　It's like a shelter of sorts.

　I then head to the last remaining area.

'So this is the admin-only area: ......

　It was a place that looked like an armory.

　Swords, spears, axes, bows, shields, armor, and even objects that looked like guns, cannons, and some kind of unfamiliar object-like object were lying around. From the shape, they could be spare parts of an Orihalcon golem.
　All of them are rusted to pieces and are unlikely to be of any use as it is.

　However, according to 【Shinmei the Master's Eye】, they can all be used as materials.
　In other words, it's a treasure trove for me.

　If I succeed, I'll be able to restore an ancient weapon, repair the Orihalcon Golem I just defeated, and maybe even power it up with additional parts.

　This will be fun.