Reiko and Lance walk out of the fort. The silhouette of floats in the sky.

Reiko carries the three fainted and tied-up bandits above her head. It is quite a surreal sight. Lance, on the other hand, is carrying a large bundle on his back.

"What should we do?　Shall I take you back to Mount Suhonto?"

Reiko offers, but Lance shakes his head.

"No, there is no need for you to go that far. I'm going to walk back."

"I see. I guess this is where we say goodbye.

"Yes. Thank you.

No. Good bye."

Reiko jumps toward Conlon 3, which has dropped in altitude, while lifting the three bandits. They successfully jumped into the open doorway.

Of course, she is supported by the <>, but Lance is unaware of this.

And as Lance watched, <> gained altitude and eventually melted into the night sky.

"...... Miss Reiko, huh?"

Lance, talking to himself, walks towards his base, Mount Suhonto, carrying a large baggage on his back.

The first thing he did was to take a look at the picture of the man he was going to meet.

"Father, I'm home!

< and is returning to Horai Island via the warp gate.

As for the bandit, Edgar has secretly transported him to the Shoro Imperial Palace, where he is to be handed over to the guards under the name of <>.

"Thank you, Reiko.

Jin welcomed Reiko and thanked her for her efforts.

"When I repaired the lance, I recorded its magic pattern. I had no problem sending her out with the transporter.

Then, the old man reports.

"Oh, I see."

Furthermore, Jin had the fifth column (Quinta) Mila 5 and 6, also known as and , who had disappeared due to <>, keeping watch at Mount Suhonto.

Therefore, they were able to track Lance and know what had happened at the fort ruins.

"What is the breakdown?"

"It would be a waste to let the materials decay, so please collect them and hand them over to the Nostalgia Party. The materials will be useful for something, so collect them as well.

.

Thus ended the series of disturbances.

In the Shoro Kingdom, the matter was settled before any action was taken to arrest the bandits.

* * * * *

< reached the Pole on the 30th, the last day of September.

The Mermaid team immediately started the underwater survey. The Sky Squadron is flying overhead and the Marine Squadron is patrolling the sea, just in case.

At about the same time, a survey of <> was also launched.

Jin decides to take this opportunity to name the unnamed part of the world map.

Guth has just arrived, so he consults with him.

In case you are wondering, Toa, who helped him plan the survey, has gone home.

"Well, how about the archipelago where the biota has been preserved called ?　That's the name of a naturalist from about a hundred years ago."

"Yes, that sounds good."

"What about this continent: ......"

A continent that sits solidly in the southern hemisphere to the west of the human-inhabited continent of Laurent.

"I think we should name it after an adventurer.

Goose ponders over Jin's words.

"How about <>?　This one is said to be an adventurer who crossed the Hariri Desert alone about 500 years ago.

"Not bad."

That leaves the continent to the north. It is somewhat smaller than the other continents and has a large archipelago to the east.

"What about the continent of Pandor?"

Erza came to him and advised him to go there.

"The name of a wizard in a fairy tale I heard long ago. It is said that he came from the north.

Is this fairy tale famous?

Jin has never heard of it, so I ask him.

"Hmm, I think he is quite famous.

The old man then reports

or .

"Oh, I see. That's good.

And so, the unknown continent had a name.

"So, we're finally going to start the survey of Onogoro Island, right?"

After the irregular discussion of naming the island, Goose looked curious.

"I guess so. Guth must have discussed this with Mr. Toa and the old man, right?"

"Yes, first of all, we need to understand the topography from the sky. Then we will decide on the exploration route.

"Oh, I see."

The island itself at the center is surrounded by rocks in the shape of a crescent moon. The opening faces east and is connected to the main body of the island on the west side.

There appear to be several rocks or islets in the opening.

The main body of the island in the center is about 15 kilometers across, and the surrounding rocks are probably up to 50 kilometers in diameter.

The location of the island seems somewhat unnatural.

"Do you think so, Jin?　I think so too. I'm having a hard time coming up with a reason.

Well, yes.

But it is too close to the continent ......<> and has no relation to the other islands, and the shape looks a little unnatural.

The same is true of Horai Island.

"If it were an artificial island, it would be ......"

"What?"

Erza, who had been silent, mutters something.

"No, I'm just imagining. I just thought that an entity that can free ...... free magic element (ether) would be able to create an island.

That's true.

"I can't deny it."

Jin and Goose thought about it.

"Please be careful when you investigate the island."

As Jin told the old man, he was aware of the existence of the that he had heard about from No. 700672.

"If you can't investigate without antagonizing them, I'm willing to hold off.

The old man said in a quiet voice.

"Then let's recheck the topography. If we examine the quality of the rocks, we can determine if it is an artificial island or not, can't we?"

Jin agrees with Goose.

"Yes, that's right. Let's start by examining the rocks around the perimeter."

The Mermaid Corps is the right team for this.

The old man instructed them to work carefully and report closely.

Now, one of the veils of the mystery of Ars is about to be lifted.