A research facility from the past.

That's what Vivian and the others are looking for.

"The ......?"

Lukor urged Zidane, who was at a loss for words, to go on.

"When we looked, most of it had been scattered. ......"

"Oh, my God, I didn't realize that. ......"

Lukor's shoulders slump a little.

It's probably not surprising. It's in a place where people can visit, so it would be strange if it had been preserved.

"But isn't there anything left?"

Vivienne asks. Zidane meditates, thinking about something as if remembering, and then opens his mouth.

"I'd say there is, but ......"

I'd like to see it with my own eyes first. Where is it, by the way?"

That's what I'm most curious about.

"I climbed up this mountain, halfway up. You can easily find it by the footprints."

"Thank you."

Vivian was elated. After a long search, she finally had some information.

"By the way, what happened to your injuries?"

Lukor asked, as if he were a friend.

"......"

Zidane was at a loss for words, but when Lecorre asked him again, he opened his heavy mouth.

"...... I am ashamed to say that my assistant betrayed me."

"What?"

"An assistant I hired two years ago. A young man named Gunno Asher. He stole my research.

Once he began to speak, the rest of the words came out like a stream.

"He was a very capable man. He knew a lot about alchemy and magical engineering, and was very useful, but he stole an unfinished golem.

"Hm, what is this unfinished golem, by the way?"

"I am proud to say that it is a model never seen before. It has a special structure. I don't want to discuss ...... the details, you know ......."

Even though he is a friend of mine, he is not willing to tell me about the new innovations that are the lifeblood of a magecraftsman.

"Okay. I'm sorry for everything.

At this point Vivian remembered that in her luggage she had an emergency < given to her by Jin.

This was a slightly less effective version of the original one, one that could be seen by the general public.

If I need more, I can contact them with the bracelet and they will give me some kind of support.

"I have some medicines for you, please take them.

Vivienne offers one of the three bottles she has.

"I'm sorry about this."

Zidane took it and drank it immediately. Vivian wondered if he knew what he was talking about, but he kept quiet because he was the one who had given the bottle to Zidane.

"Oh?"

Vivienne took the bottle and immediately noticed the effects.

The effect is reduced, but only because the advanced level < becomes intermediate level <>.

And is effective in healing broken bones.

As expected, the effect is not as immediate as when healing magic is applied directly to the affected area, but it is enough for Zidane right now.

......I feel much better."

The creaking pain that is typical of a broken bone is gone.

The muscles in her legs are too weak to walk immediately, but she has recovered enough to be able to get out of bed.

She has an automaton to help her, so she does not seem to have to worry about that.

"Miss, you are called Vivien, thank you!　I've been having a hard time finding a good healer around here... I called one once, but he couldn't heal me completely and charged me a lot of money..."

"I'm glad you are cured."

"I'm glad you got better." "Wasn't that an expensive drug?　If so, I'm willing to pay for it."

Zidane was quite impressed, and the effect was so dramatic.

"It was given to me by an acquaintance when I left for my trip, so I don't know what it is."

But Vivian chose the safe way of saying no. Zidane backed down. So Zidane backed down.

"Well, that's a shame. I was hoping I could find out where to get it."

It is true that living in such a remote area, one would want to be prepared with medicines. However, Vivian is also aware that it is not a medicine that can be distributed indiscriminately.

I'm sorry.

"No, you don't need to be sorry."

Zidane waved his hand and said he wasn't bothered.

"Well, let's go to this place from the past, shall we?"

"Yes, I guess so."

To accomplish their original goal, Lecorre and Vivienne decided to leave Zidane's hut.

"Take care of yourselves, you two. Stop by on your way home if you can.

"Yes, I will."

Lukor promised Zidane. Vivian had no objection.

In a way it was reassuring to know that if they did not come back, he would think something had happened to them.

They walked up the mountain road.

There were faint footprints where Zidane and his assistants must have gone, so there was no need to worry about getting lost.

Ropes had been set up at steep and rocky places, and they were able to climb up using them as clues.

Two hours passed.

They arrived in front of a crumbling ruin.

Is this the research facility?

"I guess so."

Half of the building was hollowed out of a rock pile, and the other half seemed to have been constructed of stone.

The stone part of the structure was crumbling, but it had been easily reinforced with logs. Zidane and his team must have reinforced it.

"It seems safe to go inside.

The two of us immediately begin to investigate the inside.

Indeed, there was almost nothing left inside, but since the two were not engineers, they had a different point of view from Zidane.

For example, even if they saw the remains of something that had been placed inside, they would still be able to formulate a theory.

"Hmmm, this facility is about 500 years old.

Lukor estimated the age of the facility from the few remaining documents.

"Five hundred years ago!　That's a mysterious time.

"Yes, it is. It was worth the trip.

They continued their investigation.

Vivien asked Lecore, "...... do you know what this place was doing?"

Vivian asked Lecore.

"Well, it's a laboratory, I guess.

"Yes, I agree with that. And I think it was privately owned.

"Well, why do you think that?"

Yes, this one, and this one, and this one, and this one over there: ......

In this way, the two gathered fragmentary information and put it together like a puzzle.

* * * * *

Zidazo, a town in the southern part of the Kingdom of Egelea.

It is located at the southern foot of Mount Garratt, where there are mines, and is reasonably busy.

However, it is also a town with a lot of bad people, and the security is in disarray.

Two shadows came to the town of Zidazo.

"Well, this town will serve our purpose," one of the shadows muttered.

One of the shadows muttered such words and walked toward a particularly unsafe corner of the town.