We have completed our investigation of the three artifacts found on the seafloor.

However, there are a few items that were discovered in the process that are still unresolved.

One is where was the < who remotely controlled the <?

And what information is hidden in the <>.

The other is to confirm the < (base), which is <>.

The next day, October 6th.

None of the members of the Jin family return home.

"Well, I think I will stay a little longer.

Then 700672 said he would stay a little longer, too.

"Well, what about <> and <>?"

<> and <> are homunculi, like <>, and are the adopted daughters of <>.

Jin is worried because both of them are still young girls in mental age.

"Mm. I haven't spent more than ......1 days with them. They might be lonely."

"No, I'm sure she misses you."

< has a tendency to make dry judgments in odd places. This is the case now.

But Jin knows how anxious and painful it is for a child of that (mental) age to have no parents.

"Uh, ...... Anne, I need a favor."

"Yes, Mrs. Goshujin. I can bring Ms. Neige and Mr. Rouge with me?"

That's what I mean. I'll take good care of them.

I'll leave it to you.

And so, Jin decided to bring Rouge and Neige, the adopted daughters of the on the planet Hale, to this place as well.

"Oh, Jin-dono, I'm sorry to trouble you.

The <> thought it would be educational for the children to spend some time alone together once in a while. .......

A few minutes later, Anne returned with the two children.

"Father!

"Father!"

When they saw the elder, they ran to him and clung to him.

The finally realized that they must have been lonely, even if it was only for a day.

"I missed you. ......"

"I missed you, sir.

"Oh Neige, Rouge. I'm sorry I missed you.

< hugged them as they clung to him and apologized. He then thanked Anne for her hospitality.

"...... you said Anne, thank you for bringing them to us.

"You're welcome."

Now that the members were free of any worries, Jin decided to investigate some of the unknowns.

First, where is the base or facility that remotely controls the submarine?

He wanted to know where the transmitter was located, since what he found when he investigated yesterday was the receiving end of the remote control unit.

"How do you think I could do that?"

"Hmmm ......"

Since the transmitter is silent, it is very difficult to trace it from the receiver.

The only way is to find out where the signal is received when the receiver replies, but that is also difficult.

It was who shed some light on this question.

"Mister Jin, is the reply function of the remote control unit on board the submarine directional?"

"No, it is not."

"No, it does not. Then, if we assume the output of the reply and know the range of practical strength, we can narrow down the scope of investigation to some extent, can't we?

"Ah, I see, that's right."

"Since they are the <>, I am sure they have not created a function that is unnecessarily powerful.

Most of the people present thought that this was a big difference from Jin.

"Besides, there may be some locations in the base that we found out as <>."

"That's for sure."

As expected of the , he has a better grasp of the character and workings of the , or , than anyone else in the .

"Well, let's get ready for that. Can you do that for me?"

"Okay, I'm counting on you."

Jin entrusted the necessary experiments to the old man.

In any case, only the old man can measure the range of the return signal.

When Jin finished giving the necessary instructions, he said to the .

"I think this is good. ...... So, while we wait for the results, I would like to examine another <>."

"Yes, I think that's a good idea."

"Yes, that would be great. ...... here's what I've got."

Jin displayed the map in question on a large magic screen.

"Oh, so this is it."

"Is it much the same as Hale now?　...... No, the coastline is a little different.

"That's probably because the sea level is different."

< faces have been rehabilitating the planet Hale, and if you look at the map, you can easily notice the difference.

"It looks like there used to be a bit more seawater."

"I wonder if the amount of water taken out by the as a water resource has decreased."

"How much did they take out? ......"

But <> had a different opinion.

"...... No, maybe some of the seawater here in Ars is like that."

"Oh, I see. ......"

"I hadn't noticed that."

That would explain the visible decrease in the water in Hale, they all agreed.

"However, increasing the amount of water in the Hale now would affect the ...... coastline," he said.

"Yes, the climate has calmed down, and I don't think we should mess with it too much."

"<>, what do you think?

"Well, I think so. Since the environment has settled down, I don't think there is any need to tamper with it any further.

I understand.

Since everyone agreed that the opinion of the <> was important in this matter, and since they were in agreement, the decision was made to without any problems.

"This is a bit off-topic, but then I would like to ......."

Once again, everyone turned their attention to <.

"Here, or ......."

There is one place that is clearly different from the current topography.

It is on the equator, at about 270 degrees west longitude. In other words, the center of a huge bay in the western part of the continent.

"Is it an island ......?"

There was an island in the middle of what is now just a bay.

It's an island that doesn't exist in Hale today.

"So obviously something happened ......."

"Yes, I think Jin is right. The disappearance of an island is quite an event.

So is there something going on around here?

Goose and Saki's eyes lit up in anticipation.

"Well, with Hale as it is now, there's no sign of an island like this at the bottom of the bay.

"So maybe it was carved out during the development of Arus?"

Hannah added her guess to Reinhardt's words.

< + family seemed to be getting closer to the truth little by little.