On the same day when Hanna and Jin were enjoying fishing, there was a little movement.

It was at the El Lado Mine, which the old man had been carefully investigating.

The shallow part of the El Lado Mine is an ordinary mine, where iron, copper, tin, zinc, lead, and a small amount of adamantite are extracted.

Gemstones, magic stones, and magi crystals were produced from deeper parts of the mine.

The mine was called Elrado Mine because of the occasional occurrence of elradorite from the deeper parts of the mine.

The old man continued boring slowly with his <, gathering information on the geological formation.

Pegmatite, also called megacrystalline granite, is formed when magma cools and hardens slowly deep underground. Various minerals crystallize due to differences in melting (freezing) points.

The Inado Mine and the Horai Island underground belong to the pegmatite deposit.

The El-Lad mine here was a different type of <>.

Simply put, it is a deposit where deep metallic elements in rocks are concentrated due to chemical reactions between deep metamorphic rocks such as granite, which have risen from underground, and rocks such as limestone and marble.

< was put into the El-Lad mine on March 4. It was discovered that the mysterious warp gate under Dali's palace was connected to the underground here.

The shallow part was a known mine, and after obtaining the aforementioned geological information, the <> went deeper into the ground.

<<1000 meters from the surface, the temperature is not as high as expected.

The original altitude of the site was high enough to be a plus in terms of elevation, but still, the old man wondered about the slow rise in the ground temperature.

The three "mini-moles", each measuring 10 cm in diameter and 30 cm in length, are digging at a rate of 60 The three machines were digging 60 meters a day.

In the early morning of March 6, <> discovered an underground cavity.

This is the super-small golem, named <>, that is on board for such an occasion. Command 3, the third of the three, emerged from the mini-mole to investigate.

< has the same capabilities as the Shinobi Unit, it is able to gather information without being detected, even if humans are present.

After spending an hour or so investigating the cavity, Command 3 reported that it looked like a .

This information was immediately conveyed to Jin on the morning of the same day.

Since the < was just a hollow, the went further underground.

Then, on the morning of March 9.

<>

The old man thought for a long time, which is unusual for him. It was only for a few seconds, though.

<1,2,3 on board, in case of emergency, use the transporter to abandon the mini-mole and escape. The mini-mole will destroy itself.

and gave the order to give the highest priority to the investigation.

As instructed, the mini-mole slowed down to one-twentieth its speed and dug its way through.

On the way, he sent various data to the old man.

One of them was surprising.

The concentration of free ether has increased 1.5 times compared to that on the ground. It is not as high as that of the demon territory, but it is close to the concentration of free magical element (ether) around the Pazdekst isthmus.

And the mini-mole continues to dig further underground. It was about to reach a depth of 3,000 meters below the ground.

Mini Mole 2 detects a space a few centimeters ahead by <>.

At the same time, he reports this to the old man and asks for instructions.

The old man thought, "It seems to be the core of the mystery at last. The reaction of the < he had secretly sent out from the warp gate in Dali, the city of the Kingdom of Celuloa, was also in the vicinity.

The old man regretted that he could not go there, but he gave the following instructions.

.

After another 3 cm, he came across a metal wall, not a rock.

The mystery deepened. To solve this mystery, we must go to the other side of the metal wall.

If this is the case, the old man thought, the mini-mole should have been equipped with an invisible transporter.

Since it has a built-in transporter, it is possible to return to Horai Island via <>, but it would take some time to return to the same place again.

It is also impossible to send it back by a transporter. Even the control by the old man is not accurate to the millimeter, so it was impossible to send them back to the same place within an inch of their lives.

The best thing about digging is that no rock debris falls into the hole, since it is being dug using the transfer method.

However, if a hole is left, the intruder will be aware of the intrusion, so the metal part was modified into a lid shape and reinserted.

The <>Golem, which was designed to repair and maintain the mini-mole, can use that level of engineering magic.

Finally, Mini Mole 2 moves into the cavity beyond the metal wall. At the same time, it uses its force field generator to prevent it from falling. The hole was immediately covered.

The mini-mole was also equipped with a magic eye, which allowed the "Mere Old Man" to see images of the inside of the cavity.

It was a beautifully furnished room. It feels like deja vu.

It looks a lot like <<<< the ship soaring in the sky>>.

This is the base of the <>, which the old man's mobile terminal << Laozi>> infiltrated in the former territory of the demon tribe.

The old man was sure of it as he was watching the images sent from the magic eye of the mini-mole.

There was no one in sight. There were few furnishings, and it looked like an empty room. But the atmosphere was unmistakable.

<

You decide that there must be at least some connection between the two.

<

< is related to , its technological power may surpass that of Horai Island. The old man ordered an immediate retreat.

However, he decided to set up a marker so that we can visit there later.

As instructed, Command 2, who was on board, got off from Mini Mole 2, found a small gap in a part of the metal floor, and set up a small marker.

He then hurried back to the Mini-Mole 2. He returned to Mini Mole 2 as quickly as he could, because he heard footsteps.

Just before Command 2 disappeared by the emergency transporter on Mini Mole 2, a figure appeared in the room.

The figure was captured for a few tenths of a second, but it was enough for the "Mere Old Man" to see it.

<, Mini Mole 2 then returned to Horai Island via the warp gate.

.

The old man was thinking about the figure he had seen.

<>

700672 is a follower created by the who migrated to this Ars from the planet Hale in a . He is a follower of the . Their true identity is that of homunculus.

Synthesized organic bodies and artificial creatures that have been given pseudo-life. Although their knowledge is a step short of that of the , it is far superior to that of the human beings living in this world.

To put it bluntly, they were considered to be more than human.

>

I have no basic information to make a judgment on this matter. So, the "Mere Old Man" decided to approach again from another angle.

Using the marker, he sends in a <> unit. The reason why it is not a <> is due to the sorting out of their aptitudes.

The <> excels technically, and the <> excels in covert action.

So, the old man finally decided to report to Jin and ask for his judgment and technical support.

He said, "Well, I'm not sure.

"I see...I see."

The same night, after Hannah went to sleep, Jin returned to Horai Island. Erza is also in the village of Kaina. Reiko is the only one with him now.

"I wonder if she knows about the underground facility or .......700672?"

Jin thinks that he can ask her later. But for now, the old man has a request.

"Hmmm, I wonder if that size will extend the distance it can travel.

The 5cm-tall miniature size has its limitations.

>

The old man showed Jin a piece of eladrite. He found it in the process of digging, and the largest piece was less than 4mm.

But it was enough for the <> to use. When amplified by eladolite, the standard size is 20 times larger, and the maximum is approximately 30 times larger. With two of them, it would be possible to easily transfer 30 meters.

Thus, the two , Shinobi 1 and 2, equipped with El Rado lights, were sent to the underground facility by a transporter.