Chapter 146 (1/2)

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Valley Exploration

Upon hearing the word Holy Mana, Katy happily started examining the relic. With no other j.a.panese writings left and Selica being there, Hikaru went back down together with Lavia and Paula. He needed some time to organize his thoughts.

The radio station was built to broadcast to a large number of people. A lot of people helped with the construction of this place. But these ruins were “discovered” at a later point. So what happened to the people here? Is removing something from history that easy?

The first question was the mystery behind the radio station and the missing part of history.

There's the holy mana, too. Was the use of holy mana common in the past?

The second question was what exactly is holy mana.

If they knew about radio, they would have to be at most just a little over a hundred years old. There weren't any old characters on the wall. But this place was built centuries ago. That means the timeline is off.

The third question—which he already had an answer for—was the difference in the flow of time between Earth and this world. Not a lot of time pa.s.sed between Hikaru and Selica's travel to this world, yet the latter arrived here a year ago.

「Hikaru.」Lavia called.「I know you agreed to help Professor Katy. But was it all right to tell the Zuburan Count as well?」

「It's best if this country is in order. I just thought rather than letting strife remain, we should be more generous. Also, I'm curious about the relics my fellow countryman left behind.」

What should he do in this world? Coming up with something was one of Hikaru's goals as well.

「If I offer my help, they'll bring doc.u.ments to me. I won't have to do anything. If I read those, I'll find out what he was trying to do.」

After arriving at another world, alone all of a sudden, what could they do? What would they do? Hikaru saw himself in the man.

「Hikaru.」Lavia held his hand tightly.「I'm right by your side.」

「I know. Thanks.」

It might've been Lavia's way of making him feel he wasn't alone. After all, she knew Hikaru came from a different world.

「I-I'm here too, Hikaru-sama!」

「Yeah. Thanks.」

「Wha?!」

Paula was taken aback, not expecting Hikaru to actually thank her.

「D-D-D-D-Don't mention!」she said, blus.h.i.+ng as she took a few steps back.

「All right. There's a lot less stuff than I expected. I suppose it makes sense, since they already took most of the items here.」

Katy continued her examination. Hikaru didn't have anything to do now. He'd just let Selica handle things.

Hikaru surveyed surroundings. A string of low-lying mountains streched along in a line. Below them was a coniferous forest, and in the distance they could see the town of Catford.

「Hikaru. Is this, uhh, radio thing pointed towards Catford?」

「That's what I thought at first, but the dishes seem to be pointing somewhere else. No, wait. Judging by the dish's shape, maybe it's a receiver.」

「Hmm?」

「I think you use metal antenna to transmit radio waves… Hmm, not so sure. Based on where the dishes are pointed…」

Hikaru peered at the direction the dishes were pointed, to a valley located between cliffs.

The valley again…

It caught his attention on the way here as well.

「Let's check the valley out.」

Hikaru started walking, holding Lavia's hand, and Paula followed them.

「Might I ask where you're headed?」a guard asked.

「We just want to take a look around the valley.」Hikaru replied.

「There's nothing there.」he said.「This whole area's been examined already. There should be a sign there. Beyond that, the ground is a bit loose so be careful.」

The guard wasn't there to stop them. They walked down a gentle slope to the valley, quite some distance away from the tower.

Oh, there really is a sign here. A signboard was fastened on a dull golden rod that had rings around it. The fact that the rod and the signboard were of different make bothered Hikaru.

『Loose Ground Up Ahead』

As he was studying the writing, Hikaru noticed something.

「I think this rod was here from the start.」he said.