Rick said that no archeological work had been carried out for six months. In that case, who had left the footprints? Entering the site without permission was strictly forbidden.
“It can’t be. Surely not. Uhm, indeed. Why are there footprints here?” Rick stared at the prints, looking incredulous.
“Do any researchers enter the site for purposes besides excavation, Rick?”
“Not at all. In fact, you’re the first people to visit the site since we stopped digging. Indeed.”
All signs pointed toward these footprints being left by intruders. In other words, the ruins had uninvited guests. What could have brought them here?
“Hey, Philia. What should we do? It doesn’t feel right to continue our tour.”
“I know. I agree, Sir Osvalt. For the time being, let us—”
“Oh no!” Rick’s sleepy eyes widened again. “What if they got into the treasure vault? Agh! The treasure vault is at risk!”
With that, he ran off in a fluster.
“Should we follow him, Philia?”
“Perhaps we should. The intruders might still be here, and they’re likely in a group. Rick could be in danger.”
“A group? Were there different kinds of footprints?”
“Yes.” I responded to Sir Osvalt’s question with a nod.
Given how tightly secured the ruins were, sneaking in alone would be all but impossible. It wouldn’t be easy for a gang, either, so there was a chance they were armed. If Rick crossed paths with them, he could be in dire trouble.
“Sorry for stopping,” said Sir Osvalt. “We need to hurry.”
“Yes. If we run, we should be able to catch up.”
We chased after Rick, who was fast disappearing into the distance.
The treasure vault was certainly full of valuables, but what if the intruders had another objective in mind?
“Do you have the key, Rick?”
Rick stopped to catch his breath. “Yes. His Majesty gave me permission to look after one of the two keys. The other is in the possession of the knight stationed in front of the treasure vault.”
Rick headed toward the knight with the key, and Sir Osvalt and I followed along behind him.
“What’s wrong, Philia? You’ve gone quiet.”
“Oh, sorry. I was just trying to figure out what the intruders’ goal might be.”
Oh, dear. I was so preoccupied with my own thoughts that my concentration was beginning to suffer.
Some items in the treasure vault were so valuable that selling one could allow a thief to live the rest of their life in luxury. Still, the likelihood that this was the goal seemed relatively low.
“You don’t think they’re here to break into the treasure vault?”
“I can’t rule it out entirely, so we’d better check just in case. There’s also a chance that their objective is to make Rick unlock the vault.”
“I see. It’d be hard for them to get their hands on a key, after all. You think the footprints could have been a diversion?”
“Yes. Either way, we need to keep our wits about us.”
I gathered my magic and looked up at the sky. The monster-repelling barriers that saints created could be used against other targets.
“Um, Prince Osvalt, Lady Philia, I have the key—” Rick stared. “Huh? Where did that wall of light come fr—”
“This barrier of light should be difficult to break through.”
I’d shielded the treasure vault with a dome of light, ensuring it would repel not only monsters but all intruders. We could now safely check inside the vault.
“Nice work,” said Sir Osvalt. “It sure helps that you’re always able to stay so calm.”
“It’s no trouble. I may have been overly cautious, but that’s just the way I am.”
“A-anyway, uhh, let’s take a look inside. Indeed.”
Rick, still flustered, hurriedly unlocked the door, and we stepped inside.
The vault was dingy. A faint musty scent lingered in the air.
What a relief. As I’d hoped, there didn’t seem to be anyone around.
“Uhh, let’s start by checking the Sage’s Gold.”
That was the natural place to begin. The Sage’s Gold was the most valuable item in the entire vault.
“What do you say, Philia? Do you think the treasure vault has been broken into?”
“Probably not. If they’d managed to break in without unlocking the door, there’d be traces. So far, I can’t see any.”
“There it is! Uhm, the Sage’s Gold is safe and sound! As for the other items, uhh, I’ll take a look! Yes.”
His voice brimming with joy, Rick announced that the national treasure was safe.
I was pleased to hear that, but it only left me with more questions.
“Does this mean the footprints were a diversion,” said Sir Osvalt, “and your quick thinking saved us from falling for a trap?”
“No. I played it safe because it was a possibility, but it’s unlikely that they were planning to sneak in after we unlocked the vault.”
“Oh?” Sir Osvalt seemed surprised. “It seemed plausible to me.”
I had erred on the side of caution by putting a barrier up, but making us unlock the vault? That struck me as a peculiar objective.
“If it was a diversion, wouldn’t they have left more noticeable tracks? Those footprints were difficult to make out.”
“Now that you mention it, you’re right. If they wanted us to know an intruder was here, they’d have made their footprints embarrassingly obvious.”
“Exactly. The trouble is, I still don’t know what their true objective is.”
I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was overlooking something important.
“If they were aiming for the treasure vault, they would’ve avoided the excavation site altogether, wouldn’t they?” said Sir Osvalt. “Does that mean they snuck in to take something from the site itself?”
“Yes. That’s where my mind took me, too. Er, Rick?”
“Yes, Lady Philia. What can I do for you?”
If the vault hadn’t been touched, perhaps there were clues at the excavation site itself. At any rate, it was clear that people had broken in without permission.
“May we go back to the excavation site? I’d like to investigate.”
“Uh, of course. Good idea. That’s precisely what I was thinking. Once I’ve given this key back to the knight, we can make our way over.”
Rick seemed to have regained his composure, likely because the treasure vault was untouched. If a national treasure—or something almost as valuable—had been stolen, it would have been a significant loss to the country. It was understandable that he was relieved to find everything intact.
With that, we returned to the spot where we’d first seen the footprints.
“Do you see anything suspicious?”
“Well, the dig is already complete,” said Rick. “Anything special would have been locked away here or moved to the treasure vault in the royal palace immediately… So no, nothing stands out.”
“Hmm. Maybe the intruders weren’t after anything that was excavated, then.”
All I could see were a large hole and the remnants of an ancient structure—columns and paving stones. The years had clearly taken their toll on them, but nothing appeared out of the ordinary.
No one would set foot in this place without a reason, though. Whoever had left those footprints must have had a motive. But according to Rick, there was nothing amiss.
Still, the damage to the columns caught my eye. I inspected them in silence.
“Philia? What are you staring at that column for?”
“These marks look familiar.”
“Hm?” Sir Osvalt inspected the column, intrigued. “Are you talking about these hollow cracks?”
I wasn’t recalling something I had seen a long time ago. I had seen marks like these very recently.
They were radial marks, apparently created by a sudden release of energy. The indentations were irregular in size and spacing.
It was as though there’d been a magic explosion…
“Oh! I know! I saw them in the Volcanic Miasma Zone! The rocks there were covered in such marks!”
“The Volcanic Miasma Zone? Are you suggesting there have been similar explosions here? That’s the first I’ve heard…” Sir Osvalt, looking shocked, testified that he was unaware of any such thing happening at this location.
I hadn’t heard of such a thing, either. These explosions must have occurred over a very short period, and not as frequently as in the Volcanic Miasma Zone.
“Are there any records of explosions occurring here in ancient times?”
“Oh, uhh, you took me by surprise. Th-that’s, uhh, precisely my area of study, you see.”
“Oh? Were there really explosions here?”
“Um, well, yes. My research was interrupted due to budget issues, but it appears that local residents were periodically troubled by mysterious explosions. Yes, indeed.”
Rick confirmed my suspicions. In that case, it was reasonable to hypothesize that the explosions had stopped by some kind of intervention.
“If we can find evidence that the ancients stopped the explosions, perhaps we can learn how they managed to do it.”
“You think that’s how we can stop the explosions in the Volcanic Miasma Zone?”
“Exactly! One of my goals on this trip was to come up with a way of stopping the explosions there, so this news is truly fascinating.”