Chapter 457: Investigation Trip (1/2)
“Yeah, I’ll go!”
Of course, Hanna had no objections. She would be absent from the study sessions, but Jin and Elsa would be teaching her enough for her not to fall behind during their trip.
She quickly got herself ready and went to Hourai Island together with Jin.
“Good morning, Hanna.”
“Good morning.”
“Ah, Sis Elsa, Sis Saki! …And Sis Leana!”
Hanna had called Stearleana “Sis Leana”.
“Uhuhu, you’re so cute, Hanna.”
It seemed that Stearleana was very pleased to hear that Hanna had treated her as her “sis.”
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The next morning, the time to depart finally arrived.
The ones on board were Jin, Hanna, Elsa, Saki, and Stearleana. Reiko and Steward would be accompanying them as drivers. Ehr and Edgar would stay at home.
“Mistress, have a safe trip.”
With a slightly disappointing look, Ehr and Edgar saw off their mistresses.
“Well then, should we get going?”
They were going to use a transfer machine to instantly travel a long distance. It was currently 8 AM in Hourai Island, and they were headed for the city of Dier.
They set the landmark at Quinta’s Regulus 45’s location, since there was a significantly small chance of an error, making it possible to transfer within 1 cm from the surface of the earth. It became easier to get it right the more it was done.
“I’ve been waiting for you.”
The Regulus series consisted of adult male types. Regulus 45 welcomed the party. No one had any doubts about its existence because he had been introduced in advance.
“Good job. What’s with that look?”
Jin asked that question to Regulus 45. Its body looked a bit thin and slightly dirty all over, as if he had been worn out.
“Ah, yes. I did this in order to blend in with the remaining residents.”
According to Regulus 45’s explanation, about 50 people still lived near the old capital city of Dier.
“I rarely meet anyone, though. My house isn’t in Dier, but a bit farther away.”
“Understood. Shall we head for Dier then?”
“I shall be your guide.”
Regulus 45 sat in the passenger’s seat and gave directions to Steward, who was in the driver’s seat.
Jin and the others went to the 2nd floor and opened the roof to look around.
“Waaah, this is so fascinating.”
Hanna was thrilled to see a landscape she had never seen before. Jin, Elsa, Saki, and Stearleana were all looking out with eyes wide open as well.
Endless grass covered the road, and buildings entwined with vines were lined up left and right.
It looked quite peculiar at the beginning, but just as Jin and the others started to get bored of the unchanging landscape, a river came into view.
“This is the Spee River. It’s easier to drive by the riverside.”
Regulus 45 explained in a loud voice so that everyone who was on the second floor could hear it.
The time was around 8 am and the river breeze was pleasant.
The river seemed pretty big, and about 100 meters wide.
Although they were treading over large stones, the undercarriage of Tortoise had a golem suspension system installed, making any shaking almost non-existent.
There were some willow-looking trees growing sparsely along the road, but they didn’t interfere with the progress. The Tortoise was still able to advance at about 40 km/h.
After going on for about 30 minutes, they saw something strange in front of them.
“Big brother, what is that?”
It was understandable for Hanna to say that like that.
A group of half-destroyed buildings, covered with vines, towered ahead.
“This almost makes Reinhardt’s Ivy House seem pretty…”
Saki was surprised as well.
“How many years must have passed since these buildings were infested with vines to the point of crumbling down like this?”
“…It really looks like no one lives here. What in the world happened here?”
Jin and Elsa were also confused. In particular, Jin knew that the Hourai Island research institute hadn’t collapsed even after 1000 years, so this state of ruin was unbelievable.
Ten minutes later, they finally arrived at Dier, capital of the old Lenard Kingdom.
It seemed that the surrounding area had once been circled by a castle wall about 7 meters high, but more than half of it had collapsed, so there were several places where one could enter the city.