Eromura and Anzu arrived at a hundred-meter-tall pillar that towered over its surroundings. They could feel a vast amount of mana flowing through the grooves carved into the pillar’s surface like circuits on a circuit board.
A bunch of pedestal-like structures, each about twenty meters tall, surrounded the pillar, but they saw no sign of an entrance.
There was a massive bulwark, but it remained tightly shut.
“I think it was about here...” Anzu mumbled.
“If we’re remembering things right, there should be a camouflaged door, yeah?” Eromura said.
“Mmm. The one the orcs come out of in that ‘Attack of the Great Orc Kaiser’ event.”
“Oh, yeah. That one always got the newbies hyped up, didn’t it? You’d usually head to another town once you’d finished it. Anyway, any luck finding a door?”
“Yeah. We were right. There. An entrance.”
As they focused their eyes, they could just make out an indent in the slightly curved section of wall. They placed their hands on the indent, and a cold, synthetic voice rang out: “Please input unlock code.”
“Uh... What was it again?” Eromura said. “Maybe... The Almighty Saint Alnne-Camus?”
“Code accepted. Opening door.”
The curved part of the wall drew back about two meters, then slid to the right to create an opening.
They hadn’t expected the door to be this thick.
“Mmm. I’m surprised you remembered that,” Anzu said. “You actually did something smart for once.”
“Were you actually trying to compliment me just now?!” Eromura said. “Because it still feels more like an insult!”
“I was complimenting you. About...ten percent of it was a compliment, at least.”
“So the other ninety percent was just an insult, then?! What, do you hate me or something?!”
“I simply don’t care about you one way or the other.”
“I— Do you mind if I have a bit of a cry?”
Eromura would’ve almost felt better if she’d said she hated him. But apparently, she was just indifferent—and bold enough to say as much instead of trying to hide it.
“All right—let’s explore this thing. But you and I are going to have a good, long talk later, okay?”
“Eromura... Are you a pedo?”
“What the— Who’s a pedo now?! Is that how you see me, Anzu?!”
“Mmm. A womanizing pedo.”
“Don’t say it so confidently! Urgh... No point picking a fight with you over it, though. I know I’d never win.”
“Eromura... Are you useless? A chicken? A virgin?”
“Come on! What do you want me to do here?!”
Eromura never wanted to hear those words from a girl, and right now they were gouging away at his fragile heart of glass. This tyrannical little ninja might have looked emotionless, but the corners of her mouth were twisted upward ever so slightly.
It was a small enough change that Eromura didn’t even notice.
“Stop messing around. Let’s go,” Anzu said.
“You’re accusing me of ‘messing around’? How?!”
“Making excuses now? That’s not very manly of you.”
Eromura headed inside the pillar, still completely at the girl’s mercy.
Neither realized they were being watched from a distance.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Did... Did you see that?” Celestina said.
“Oh, I certainly did.” Carosty nodded. “To think there was such an intricate mechanism at play...”
Celestina and Carosty had been strolling around the city when they had just so happened to see Eromura and Anzu open a pillar and head inside.
Like Croesus and his friends, the girls had been busy investigating magic tools somewhere else. Then, just out of curiosity, they’d decided to walk around Isa Lante for a break.
Miska and Ulna were outsiders on this expedition, so they were off doing their own thing.
“As proud mages, this is where we ought to follow them!” Carosty proclaimed. “These are the remains of an ancient, magical civilization; there is no telling what sorts of discoveries may await us inside!”
“I agree with what you’re saying, but we’re not equipped for combat right now, you know?” Celestina replied. “What if something’s lying in wait in there, and it attacks us? Besides, none of the other researchers know about this place. We shouldn’t be reckless.”
“So you say we risk allowing the greatest discovery of the century to slip through our fingers? What if these mercenaries discover incredible relics inside and pilfer them in secret?”
“I don’t think Anzu would do something like that, at least. But... You’re right, I’m not sure I can trust the other one... Eromirer? Was that his name? Anyway... What do we do?”