NOVEL NEXT C34
C34: Investigation of the ruins (2)
With the help of Lucia, I returned to town in the middle of the night. When Brunnhilde and I went straight home, we found a light on in Kutone’s house. It seems she is still awake.
I left her a note before we left, so she must have known what was going on, but I didn’t expect her to be awake. When I opened the door without making any noise, I found Kutone lying on the table asleep. This time she was wearing a proper nightgown.
“Kukaa~, kaa~, koa~!”
“What kind of snoring is that?……Brünnhilde, quietly carry Kutone into the bedroom without waking her.”
“Yes, Sensei.”
Brünnhilde walked in total silence, carried Kutone with great care to her room without shaking her. Then there was a fluffy cat on my leg.
“I’m back, Silica.”
“I’m home, Silica.”
I sat down on a chair with Silica in my arms. Here at last, I thought, the extermination of the bandits was over. I’m tired, let’s go to bed for today.
◇◇◇◇◇◇
The next day.
I managed to get through Kutone’s barrage of questions and sent her off to school. I only slept for about four hours. To be frank, I was sleepy, but I was going to go to the guild to get my reward and then head out to investigate the ruins.
I changed my clothes and put on my gear and headed out.
“Fua——”
“Sensei, I don’t think you’re getting enough sleep.”
“Well, yeah. But I can’t take it easy. I envy you your android self at times like this.”
“Thank you, Sensei.”
I’m not complimenting you, though.
As we walked to the guild, I started to feel a little less sleepy. We arrived at the guild. I went inside and went to the reception desk. I took out a ring, and Brunnhilde took out a recognition form.
“I’m an adventurer who helped kill a bandit group. I’m supposed to be receiving a reward——“
As expected of Lucia, she works fast. It’s only been a few hours since we killed the bandits, but it looks like the report to the guild is already done.
“Then I will pay you your reward. The reward we have from the Order is 200 gold coins. Also, the Knight Commander has personally entrusted me with a carriage as a token of his gratitude.”
“What? A carriage?”
“Yes. The knight commander came and left it with us a while ago. I’ll show you out.”
The receptionist led us to the stables of the guild. There, we saw a large horse and a covered cart.
“This horse is called ‘Brown Horse,’ and unlike ordinary horses, it is a mixed-blood horse with monster blood. This horse has excellent strength and endurance, and is said to be able to work as hard as five horses on its own.”
“Wow——is amazing.”
It’s bigger and tougher than a normal horse, and looks like a very dependable horse. The cart was also spacious, with room for three adults to lie down side by side. The cart is large enough for three adults to lie down side by side, and we can carry a lot of luggage and sleep here.
Lucia, I wonder if you were paying attention to me. I’ll thank you properly next time. I received my reward of gold coins and a carriage——A problem occurred.
“———How do I operate that?”
I’ve never drove a carriage before.
◇◇◇◇◇◇
I thought, but the problem was easily solved.
“————”
“Brrrr——”
Brünnhilde was petting the horse. The horse seemed to be responding gently to Brünnhilde, as if it felt at ease. It’s the same with Silica, but I wonder if Brünnhilde is interested in animals. Nevertheless, I would be grateful if the horse would take a liking to Brunnhilde. To be honest, the horse is huge and frankly scary.
“Brünnhilde, are you able to drive?”
“Yes. I’ve already learned how to operate it.”
It seems that, in order to get to know people, Brunnhilde is thoroughly learning what she doesn’t know. She’s busy watching the drivers of the merchant carriages on the road, observing the cooks and waitresses at the coffee shop, and so on.
Anyway, I can leave driving to Brunnhilde. I also got some gold coins, and I have 278 gold coins left. With this much money, we can continue our journey.
Brünnhilde sits in the driver seat, and I sit next to her.
“Alright, let’s go to the tool store and buy some stuff, then we’ll set off to investigate the ruins!”
“Yes, Sensei.”
The ruins area had been surveyed last night.
That ruins area was a collection of small buildings, and I expected it to have been a town, perhaps. So we may not expect to see Brunnhilde’s sister machines or new weapons. But it doesn’t look like there’s nothing there either.
As proof of this, there is a large underground space near the center of the ruins area. I wonder if it was a research facility or an evacuation shelter for the residents of the ancient city.
In any case, the only way to raise the level of “Repair” was to use it on the machines in the ancient facility. It’s not every day that I get such a chance, and I’ll keep investigating the ruins when I find them.
“Oh, Brünnhilde.”
“Yes, sensei.”
“I have a new homework assignment for you. Think of a name for this horse.”
“———–name”
◇◇◇◇◇◇
We stocked up on food at the tool store and headed back to the ruins from last night. Going with the carriage it’s easier and faster than walking. I relax in a seat drinking the fruit water I bought at the tool store.
“Huh, that’s easy. Hey, Brünnhilde.”
“Yes, sensei.”
“Have you thought of a name?”
“————-”
I want Brünnhilde to be more ‘troubled’. That’s human behavior, and electronic brains don’t have that kind of capability. Well, I guess I’ll leave the name for a while.
Not long after that, we arrived at the ruins area without any trouble.
“———-no one here, right?”
“My sensors could not detect a bio-sign.”
I wondered if the Knights would be there, but they weren’t. I searched the surrounding area with Holacty and found traces of something that had been burned and a large patch of ground that had been dug up. Apparently, they incinerated the bodies and buried them.
It’s okay if no one is here. Let’s continue to investigate the ruins.
◇◇◇◇◇◇
Last night’s investigation revealed that there was a large space in the center of the ruins, and I also checked the entrance leading to it.
The entrance was a stone house that could be found anywhere in this area, and the rocks were tattered from age. Moreover, ivy was wrapped around the entire building, blocking the entrance. There were a number of similar buildings around, some with ivy wrapped around them, others neatly removed. Perhaps the bandits were using them as a hiding place.
“For now, let’s do something about the ivy. Brünnhilde, give me a hand.”
“Yes, Sensei.”
I flipped my right hand and produced a pop-up knife that was built into my gauntlet. I used it to cut through the ivy, and Brunnhilde used her Rare Metal Sword to cut through it.
After slicing through the ivy, the entrance to a shack-like house opened. But before entering the house, I did some research.
“Holacty, activate the sensors. Check this house.”
Holacty perched on my shoulder checks the house, and I turn on my band to see what data it gathers. I’m getting used to this thing. Then I saw a heat signature on the floor of the house.
“——Brünnhilde, is this…”
“Yes. I’m detecting a heat signature.”
“——I see.”
We entered the house. The space is small, about six tatami mats, with only stone walls, floor and ceiling. But the sensors here can’t be fooled. I check the floor for a heat signature.
“Oh, look, Brünnhilde. I can move this stone.”
When I removed the brick-like stone——bingo. The floor was made of an iron-like material, rusty, and the part that looked like a lamp was missing. Maybe this was the switch for the basement entrance.
“Looks like we’re in.”
I touched the floor with my right hand and reminded myself. First, I used the Rust Remove to clean up the rust on the floor, then I used repair to fix the damaged parts, and then I turned on the power.
“Here it comes, it’s open——-Hmm?”
The steel floor slid open to reveal a path to the underground.
“Hmmm——possible that they built the ruins to seal off the underground, or that they built all these buildings to hide the entrance? Brünnhilde, do you have any idea where this is?”
“It’s not in my database. The mechanical features are definitely human.”
“If it’s not an android facility——it might have some useful items. Let’s go there.”
“Yes, Sensei.”
All right, let’s continue the investigation.
◇◇◇◇◇◇
As I descended the stairs to the basement, I found myself in an empty horizontal corridor. It was very bright, thanks to the fluorescent white tiles on both sides. The material was hard like metal, and when I tapped it lightly, it felt like steel.
“Just a corridor?”
“…………”
Nothing but corridors. I was expecting to find a broken robot or maybe even human remains, but to my surprise, there was nothing.
The white road just continued on and on. I stepped out into the passage and continued on, but after walking 100 or 200 meters, nothing changed.
“Hmmm……is this a bad idea? How did I end up in this aisle?”
“…………”
“It’s like a dead end……”
After walking about a kilometer, I finally reached the end of the line. At the far end of the corridor, a bright white automatic door appeared.
“It’s not open……….Okay, I got this.”
“…………”
“Brünnhilde?”
“…………Sensei.”
“Hmm?”
There’s something wrong with it. The moment I thought that, Brünnhilde said.
“I may have been in possession of a memory related to this facility.”
“What?”
“Checking memory remnants. I’ve been to this facility in the past.”
“Oh, so you know what this place is?”
“No, I don’t. The data has been erased, but I’m pretty sure I’ve been here. There was something here.”
“Could it be a weapon?”
“Details are unknown. In memory, seven of the War Maiden types have been gathered here.”
“Oh, they were all here! I’d like to take a look.”
Which means there’s something important going on here.
Jackpot! If it’s a ridiculous weapon, Brunnhilde will be super powered up. If it was a giant robot or something……no way. With a pounding heart, I put my hand on the door and concentrated.
“ERROR.”
“Hmm?”
The door didn’t open.