'Maribel was never here to begin with, so her father told her to go into hiding, and then no one ever came back.


　I wonder if that means that Maribel's fathers and the rest of the people who came here two months ago have all disappeared from here after three weeks: .......

　But still, Maribel must be an amazing kid if she's been living in a place like this by herself for three weeks.


　You will be able to see that Maribel was talking about her father's not coming back with a dim expression on her face, and you can't help but feel sorry for her, and you can't help but cry for her.


　I wonder if I've ever been this fragile: .......

　I'm not sure if my glands have loosened up because of the increased crying since Fynn's disappearance.


It's a good thing that you're a good friend.


　Maribel took notice of my tearfulness and looked at me with eyes as red as jewels.


'Nah, it's nothing. So you've been waiting for your father to come home all alone.

'Yeah, I was going to leave, but the door wouldn't open. I ate and drank what was left of my rice and water, but it ran out the day before yesterday..." "I thought it was all over. I thought I was going to die. But my sisters came to help me.

So does that mean that Maribel, the only person in hiding, is now at this facility?


　Maribel talks about the two days when we ran out of water and food like it was nothing, but I thought I could go crazy thinking I was in that position.


　I'm not good in dark and cramped places because of the trauma of my childhood. During hide-and-seek, I was hiding in a small cave behind an orphanage when the entrance to the cave collapsed and I got trapped. That was a traumatic experience.

　At the time, Fynn immediately called an adult to help me get out of it, but even now, as an adult, my heart still emits a squealing, crushing pain when I enter the small, dark place.

　The entrance door is open and the light is on, so I'm able to talk to Maribel calmly like this, but otherwise, I'd likely be distraught.


　In contrast to my weakness, Maribel was a young girl, but she answered firmly.


It's a good thing that you're not going to be able to find a way in. If you can get a meal, Maribel will show you the facility.

'I can't believe I'm showing you around: ....... I haven't eaten in two days, so you don't need to push yourself.


　I immediately took out the portable food from my waist pouch and held it in front of Maribel.

　Maribel grabbed the food from my hand as if to snatch it and began chewing on it with vigor.


'Hey, you know what? Maribel doesn't need to eat for at least two days.

'Maribel, I don't think you should talk while you eat. Here, drink some water, too, because if you stuff yourself so much, you'll get bloated.

Mmm-hmm.


　I offered Maribel a water bottle and gently rubbed her back as she began to squirm.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about it.


It's a good idea to explore the details before you report to the guild. I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this, and if there is anyone other than Maribel, we need to rescue her.


　Maribel said that they were all gone, but it seems that quite a few people were working on repairs at this facility, and Meira has a point - and she's right.


"I don't care for it because it's too dark.


　I was hesitant to enter the dark and narrow place, the back of which I had been traumatized by.

　Maribel, who had been watching me, stood up and walked to the corner of the room.


'Brother Al, if you want light, you can push here,'


　Maribel pushed the protrusion on the wall, and the room, which had been pitch black, suddenly became blindingly bright.


'Oh, the lights!　Can Maribel do magic?

No, it's not. No! It's called 'Denki'. My fathers were surprised, but they said it's called 'kagaku' made up by people who speak a strange language.


　The "Electricity" ...... "Chemistry" ...... This isn't magic.

　But it brightened up the room like magic.

　It's a strange trick.


　I was impressed with the brightened room.

　I'm sure Meira, who was next to me, felt the same way.


I'm sure you'll find such a device in the ancient ruins ....... I'm sure it's another culture. ...... If you look closely at the wall, it looks like it's made of metal too.


　Meira was rummaging through the brightened room for various things, mumbling ahhhhhs and ahhs.


　Apparently, it doesn't look like the ancient civilization's facilities that Meira was so good at.

　But still, what was the purpose of such a facility .......


''Behind the door over here is a passageway, and it's built by digging around this big hole!


　As Maribel said this, as she approached the door, the door opened on its own and the lights in what appeared to be a passageway turned on one by one.


'I can't believe that a cross-cultural facility was built on the side walls of Abyss Falls. ...... Al, this might not be the discovery of the century.


　Meira, who had been watching the scene, was surprised to see her legs shaking with a clatter.


　To be honest, I have no idea how something like that came to be.

　I'm sure it works on the same unfamiliar principles as magic, though.

　I can't help but feel uncomfortable.


　When I looked out into the passage where the lights had gone on, it curved gently along the Abyss Falls.


'Al, if this corridor goes around the entire Abyss Falls, it must be quite long. I can't believe they have a facility of this magnitude.

Meira, look. This floor moves on its own!


　When I got on the black carpet-like area in the middle of the aisle, I heard something working. The black carpet had begun to move on its own.


'Al, wait! Don't leave me. I'll ride with you.

Maribel will show you around.


　Maribel and Meira got on the floor, which began to move on its own, and decided to let the floor move and proceed down the passage.

　The passage is long, and the speed of the moving floor is slightly faster than a brisk walk, but you don't need to walk on your own and the floor moves on its own.


The floor moved on its own without the need to walk on its own. The repairs are only halfway done, though, so we're only halfway there. This room is the one we were repairing.


　Eventually, the floor that had been moving stopped, and the door on the wall in front of him, just like the room before, opened on its own and the lights inside were on.

　The room was dozens of times larger than the room that served as the entrance, and it was still crammed with unfamiliar equipment and devices.


　For now, though, there was no sign of anyone in the room: .......

　We can't be too careful.


　Meira's eyes twinkled as she looked around every corner at such equipment and instruments, making strange noises.

　It's not an ancient ruin, but to her, the unfamiliar equipment in front of her must look like a treasure trove.


It's not like the letters on the ancient ruins. I'm sure these facilities were not made by our ancestors who lived on this continent. There are a lot of technologies in use that I've never heard of before. It's using technology from a completely different civilization than the mage civilization.


　Meira's cheeks were flushed after she had finished her research to some extent, and she reported to me that.


　I knew it was a technology from another culture.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this in the future.

　It seems that the system is different from the technology in here.


　While Meira was inspecting the equipment, I was guided by Maribel to search the entire room, but not a single person was left behind.


Maribel was right: there's no one here ....... After all, have they all abandoned the repairs here and left?


　Maribel was right when she suddenly disappeared three weeks ago, judging from this scene.

　It's exactly what Maribel said.


That coincides with the discovery of Abyss Walker.


　I knew it. ......


　When I heard Meira's words, I had the same thought.

　I'm sure the Abyss Walkers found on the ground were defeated by the Knights approximately three weeks ago.


'Should we assume that the people who were here had some kind of relationship with Abyss Walker? What do you think, Al?

'But that means the Lord of Invahannes, who gave the order to bring the goods here, could be involved. Does that mean the Gile's guy is involved?


　Mayra asked me a question, and I couldn't wrap my head around it either, so I answered it with a question.


　If Giles is directly directing this matter, what is his goal in building a facility like this in the middle of nowhere?

　Is it to keep the Yuguhanotes frontier count, who are said to be on bad terms with each other, in check?

　It seems too big a deal for that.


I don't know. Maribel's father just said he's a vassal too, and we can't dismiss the possibility that he's cheating on the name of King's Landing's smiling Kinsman Knight Commander.


　It's like it's too big for Gyre's people to be building it on their own.

　With a facility like this, it would take a lot of money and resources.

　I have a feeling that it's not the kind of facility that can be built by a single subordinate.

　However, I can't imagine that the head of the Konoe Guard, that jaded little boy, would pay for such a thing.


　The image of Jairu, who was living a life of luxury in King's Landing as if he were a nobleman's bon vivant, and the person who built this facility do not connect well in my mind.


''But I think this is a case that we should report to the Adventurer's Guild right away. It would take a lot of manpower and time to explore this facility. As expected, I can't do it on my own.''


　Meira, who was so eager to explore it herself, has decided to report the problem to the Adventurer's Guild after it turned out to be a huge facility of a different culture.

　I also felt that if I left it as is, something terrible might happen, so I decided to report it to the Adventurer's Guild for now.


I understand. Maribel, we'll protect you for now.　I'll help you find your missing fathers, and we'll help you find them.


　We decided to return to the site of the camp to protect Maribel, the only one left, and to inform the Adventurer's Guild about the facility.


Father told us to wait here, but we ran out of food and water, so we decided to go with Al and Meira. In the meantime, if Father comes back, I'll know if he leaves a note.


　Maribel agreed to leave the establishment, and when she picked up a piece of paper that was nearby, she ran her brush across it and finished writing a note to her father in beautiful handwriting.


'Can Maribel write?'

I've been studying hard. See? Father says it's worth it to study, you know. I've even learned how to use the facilities here on the sly. Isn't this amazing?


　Maribel was proudly showing me the note she'd written, and she was beaming with pride.

　In terms of courage, energy, and intelligence, the Maribel in front of me was a child so solid that I didn't think she was an ordinary child.


I'm sure that this cleverness is what saved Maribel's life. Then I'll carry her in my arms.

I'm sure I'll be back. I think that's enough for today.


　When we got back to the entrance, we bound each other with ropes to keep Maribel from falling out, then turned the handle of the windlass we had borrowed from Meira and climbed up the wall.

　Afterwards, when we returned to the ruins of the camp, the city of Ygghanotes was in an uproar as we reported to them.

　Soon it was decided that not only the Knights, but also Lloyd himself would ride in to search for the facility that was found, and we would be involved in the search.