Chapter 176

The alchemist who was the client seemed completely absorbed in examining the ruins, not even noticing our arrival.

“Hey.”

“Hmm…! Indeed…! The magical civilization of the Ancient Empire is far more advanced than we imagined. I never thought a ruin with such tight security would merely be a residential area rather than a place to guard nationally valuable treasures. If that’s the case, how high must the vigilance level be in military ruins from the same era?”

Not listening.

“Hey!”

Even as I approached and spoke, the alchemist remained engrossed in the ruins, muttering to themselves. Eventually, I had no choice but to grab their shoulder to get their attention.

“Huh? Who are you?”

“…We’re here to save you.”

“Save me?”

The alchemist tilted their head, clearly not understanding what I meant.

Judging by their demeanor, they probably didn’t even realize they were in danger or needed help.

The alchemist, a female Beastkin with impressive horns, had messy short curly hair, large round glasses, and freckles that gave her a somewhat rustic appearance, but overall, she looked like a harmless woman in her twenties.

“Ah! Now I remember! You’re Arisa, the one I hired to explore the ruins! Did you come back because you were curious about the ruins too?”

“…Seiri.”

Seiri, the alchemist, was so carefree that even Arisa, who usually struggled with social interactions, couldn’t help but look at her with cold, exasperated eyes.

“Hoo… Well, since we’ve found the last client, let’s head back.”

“Huh? Go back?”

“Don’t you know? This ruin is dangerous. We should leave.”

“No. I’m not going back.”

“…What?”

“I’m going to keep investigating the ruins.”

“You do realize how dangerous this place is, right?”

“Yes, of course. The Ancient Empire’s golems are truly remarkable. Even the golems created by the combined efforts of the Magic Tower and the Alchemist Guild can’t compare to the ones here! Their power, speed, and even the intricate magical technology that replicates finger joints!”

“You’re staying here even though you know how dangerous it is?”

Is she insane?

She’s an alchemist, so she knows exactly how powerful these golems are, yet she wants to stay?

Feeling my gaze grow colder, Arisa stepped between Seiri and me to defuse the tension.

“I-I’m sorry, Kurt! But Seiri is just really passionate about archaeology! She didn’t mean any harm!”

“Even if she’s passionate about archaeology, this is…”

“I-I heard she’s so dedicated that she works as an assistant professor at the academy while also being a member of the Alchemist Guild…”

“Ah, that’s not quite accurate. It’s true I’m interested in archaeology and work at the academy, but I’m not doing it to become a professor or for money. It’s more like volunteer work.”

…What?

She’s not getting paid, nor is she aiming to become a professor, but she’s voluntarily doing graduate student work…?

For fun?

She’s definitely insane.

“I’m sorry you came all this way to save me, but I’m not going back. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to investigate these ruins!”

“If you want to investigate the ruins, you can come back later after the dangers have been cleared.”

Perhaps realizing Seiri’s passion for archaeology was genuine, I tried to persuade her in a calmer tone.

But despite my efforts, she shook her head and refused to budge.

“No. By then, the Astram authorities or other adventurers will have looted all the artifacts, and the ruins themselves might even be destroyed. Now that this deep area has been discovered, I can’t even guarantee the Astram authorities will keep this place open.”

…That’s true.

“But is it worth risking your life for? If you die, it’s all for nothing.”

“Maybe. No, rationally speaking, you’re right. But now that I’ve seen these ruins, I can’t just leave.”

“…”

How am I supposed to convince her?

Unaware of my internal struggle, Seiri began excitedly explaining the greatness of the ruins.

“Look at this! These ruins are exceptionally well-preserved compared to other Ancient Empire buildings and artifacts, which have mostly disappeared and are only passed down orally! Whether they were buried to preserve them or preserved because they were buried, this is a truly rare case!”

Wrong.

She’s not going to listen to anything I say at this point.

If it’s come to this, I might as well use force…

“Aren’t you curious, adventurer? About the Ancient Empire’s culture! Alchemy! Magic! History, lifestyle, clothing, housing, even their culinary culture! This ruin might hold secrets preserved intact!”

…Culinary culture?

Not just the culinary culture of this world, nor that of a past life, but the lost technology of ancient culinary culture?

Ancient ingredients…

Ancient cooking methods…

Ancient dishes…

“…Fine.”

“Kurt?”

“Even if I drag you out by force, you won’t understand. At worst, you’ll just sneak back in when no one’s looking.”

“You know me so well!”

“Then it’s better to keep you where I can see you and let you observe the ruins to your heart’s content.”

“Wow! Really?”

“I’d rather take you out right now, but unfortunately, I’ll have to humor you.”

“Thank you so much!”

“I wanted to escape the ruins as soon as possible… Now I’ll have to reluctantly go along with you.”

“…Kurt. Did you just change your mind because of the word ‘culinary culture’?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’m just reluctantly going along with this.”

Arisa’s cold gaze as she looked at me was the same as when she looked at Seiri earlier.

…

…

…

And so, the three of us—me, Arisa, and Seiri—slowly made our way deeper into the ruins.

Fortunately, beyond the safe zone, the danger level dropped significantly, with only the occasional golem appearing.

No traps were in sight.

“I think this area was a residential zone. That’s why there are no golems or traps. They wouldn’t set traps in living spaces.”

“A residential zone, huh?”

Ancient Empire home cooking…

“To think people lived in a place with such powerful golems roaming around… They must have been incredibly high-status individuals.”

“Maybe. We still don’t know much about the Ancient Empire, so it’s hard to say for sure.”

“Perhaps it was where the Ancient Empire’s nobles or royalty lived…!”

Arisa, who had been reluctant when I suggested going deeper into the ruins with Seiri, now couldn’t hide her excitement as she looked around with a flushed face.

As we continued exploring, we soon found a space that felt lived-in, just as Seiri had predicted.

Unlike the corridors we’d seen earlier, which were empty except for the occasional golem, this space was filled with items that clearly indicated human habitation.

Seiri immediately began excitedly rummaging through the room, speculating about the uses of the items and the technologies behind them.

“Look at this! It’s a diary written by someone from the Ancient Empire!”

“A diary?”

“If we can read this, we might learn about the Ancient Empire’s civilization! Maybe even why it fell overnight…!”

Seiri pointed to an old, fragile book that looked like it would crumble at the slightest touch.

Curious, Arisa and I carefully flipped through the book, making sure not to damage it.

…

…

…

Imperial Calendar □□□□ □ Month 23rd

Tomorrow, the great step of the Empire begins.

The Empire is too vast to remain merely the ruler of this ○○.

This ○○ is too small to contain the Empire.

Finally, the Empire’s power will extend beyond this ○○ to other ○○.

Through this great expedition, the Empire will become even greater.

To make other ○○ into colonies…

It’s truly thrilling.

This is a challenge no other nation in history has ever attempted…

No, not even conceived.

I can’t wait for □□□ □□□ □□□

…

…

…

We managed to read the first page, but the rest was too damaged or written in words too archaic to understand.

Seiri, who had read the first page with a serious expression, finally spoke.

“…This is beyond what I imagined. We might have stumbled upon a secret of the Ancient Empire that we can’t handle.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s…”

Before Seiri could continue, I interrupted, asking about something that had been bothering me since we started reading.

“Wait, did you read the entire first page?”

“Yes. I couldn’t read the damaged parts, but I read everything that was intact.”

“Is that so?”

Then let me ask about something that’s been on my mind.

What does ○○ mean?

I’ve seen this word in books about different races back in the Lizardman Village, but I couldn’t understand it then either.

I used to think ○○ referred to cultural regions or areas, but after reading this diary, it seems to refer to something larger.

A continent?

When I asked Seiri, she answered with a serious expression.

“This ○○ is an Ancient Empire term meaning ‘world.'”