Magicraft Meister Part 4

< departed on March 7.

They departed with only half a day's preparation.

Such lightness of footwork is a characteristic of the <. They are not so carefree because of their long life span.

And one more thing.

The Kondak of the < can use transfer magic. This is a big deal.

The weight that can be transferred together is about 100 kilograms, within a sphere of 2 meters in diameter with you at its center. The distance that can be transferred is approximately 1,000 kilometers.

This means that you can carry one other person with you, and you can replenish your supplies or lack of supplies.

So we were quite easy to move around.

We used a large wind-powered floatation machine (blow floater) newly built by Rhodes.

It seats 10 people, and is probably similar to a in image.

"That's what Rhodes is all about. It's fast."

"It's going over 100 kilometers per hour, isn't it?"

Yeah, 120 kilometers.

That's impressive for something this big. We'll be there by the end of the day.

<

In fact, with stops along the way, the group arrived at their destination in six and a half hours.

The day ended with preparations for the encampment.

Most of the preparations were done by , a girl automata that Rhodes had brought with him.

"This is an easy expedition, isn't it?

"That's if you've got all this equipment."

Harunata of the <>said, and Kondak of the <> reacted.

We are using a large 10-person blow floater, so we can carry a lot of cargo and have plenty of room for supplies.

We had prepared plenty of cold-resistant equipment, which made it easy to set up camp.

The large tents are made of highly insulating fabrics, and the heating apparatus does not consume oxygen, so that we are less likely to run out of oxygen.

With soft floor coverings and thick sleeping bags, we can stay comfortable even on the coldest nights.

In addition, there is enough food for the expedition, so it feels more like a leisure camping trip than an expedition.

"It's nice to go on a non-urgent research expedition."

The archivist, who has surveyed the ruins twice so far, said sincerely.

"Speaking of which, how was your last survey?"

Rhodes asked, and Archista answered shyly.

"Well, it was not what it looked like, it was empty inside. It was ...... a bit of a problem, though, with the snow tigers living there."

"Snow tigers. If you killed them, you could have made a lot of money from their pelts, couldn't you?"

You could say that.

Snow Tiger pelts are durable, warm, and practical, and if you bring them to the Laurentian continent, they currently fetch more than five times as much as they do here.

Chatting around the portable fireplace. Night falls.

With a < to protect them from magical beasts, they all rest soundly, leaving to watch over them while they sleep.

* * * * * * * * * *

The investigation began the next morning.

The terrain of the area is like a large rock jutting out into the plain.

The image of this area is like a .

In Japan, it is Akiyoshidai in Yamaguchi Prefecture.

Akiyoshidai is in the middle of a mountainous area, but this place is different in that it is near the mouth of an estuary.

The group explored such a place.

The first thing they noticed was an old door.

It looked like a building made of rock with what appeared to be an old door.

It seemed to be a small house carved out of natural exposed rock.

"Is this it?"

"Yes, it looks like what I've heard. It's smaller than I thought it would be.

What do we do from here?

I'll see what I can find out.

The candidate is . She is the automaton of Rhodes.

"Well then, will you do it?"

"Yes."

And so < put her hand on the old door. And then .......

Momoko puts all her strength into it, and the door creaks open.

When it opened about 50 centimeters, Momoko stopped her hand.

She peeked inside through the opening.

"It's ...... wide inside, but it's a dead end."

"What?

The group was taken aback by the unexpected report.

However, a further report came in.

"There are remains of a table and chairs. And there is something written on the back wall.

Can you read it, Momoko?

Can you read it, Momoko? It's crumbling in places, but it says: ......<>."

"Hmm. ......<>......?"

The group guessed that this was the entrance to the mine or something.

So we opened the door a little more and all went inside. It seemed that this was some kind of control room for the mine.

The remnants of tables and chairs were probably remnants of clerical work.

"But this doesn't look like the entrance to the mine," Rhodes said.

Rhodes said.

"This is just an administrative facility, the mine was probably somewhere else."

"Yes. Well, I don't think it's that far away.

"Should we look for it?"

I guess so. Well, we've come all this way. Besides, I'd like to know what was being mined.

So we decided to split up and search for any remnants of the mine entrance in the vicinity.

We searched in pairs, one from each clan.

After about half an hour of searching, two people, Archista and Sagelaar of the , found something that looked like it.

"I think it's here, isn't it?"

Where?

Where is it?

Did you find it?

Archista shouted, and Kondak and Zeddis, who were nearby, immediately responded, followed by Rhodes and Harnatha, who were a little further away.

The site was the base of a domed rock formation, which had clearly been artificially sealed.

However, after 700 years, it was half buried in sand and half overgrown with grass, so that even if you were very careful, you would not notice it.

The only reason they were able to find it was because both Archista and Surgical Engineer were magi engineers and were able to use <>.

"What do we do?　Shall we move the dirt and rocks at the entrance?"

"We've come this far, we have to do it."

We all unanimously decided to check the old mine.