The Tower Stretching Underground (6)
I blurted out the first thing that came to mind after listening to Dana’s story. “……Looks like our guild finally pulled off something big.”
While the other two guilds were busy sniffing out ruins connected to black mages, the Audumla—those pathetic basement dwellers who’d been poking at some random ruin that rolled in from who-knows-where—had finally produced results. Wait, was that really the same bunch of losers? My chest swelled with secondhand pride. If they hadn’t screwed us over so many times before, I would’ve given them pure, unfiltered admiration.
So we gathered on the first floor of Spring’s Shelter, in the tavern area of the inn.
“Since the ruins are significant enough to catch the attention of the entire archaeological community, we’ll inevitably end up competing with others,” Tirsi said. She had stayed behind at the inn today, claiming there was nothing urgent waiting for her back at the guild. She was teaching magic to Franc and Larilura, who had finally regained their senses. Building rapport with party members was an important part of being an adventurer, after all.
“Competition is almost guaranteed,” Dana replied as she ordered water. “Not just adventurers—plenty of people will be looking to turn their lives around with whatever they find in those ruins.” She had mentioned this before, but in this world, you couldn’t legally claim ownership over ruins or dungeons. Explaining the full details would lead into an absurdly long religious trivia tangent. To summarize, it was basically the isekai version of “Are you going to patent the sun?”—a religious remix of that old saying.
It was different from the last incident with the Beast Regression ruins, where each group had their own designated exploration zones or stationed guards to prevent damage. This time, that black-mage-related site was probably going to be swarmed by people.
“Dana. You delayed the exploration precisely to avoid this kind of mess, right?”
“Yeah. It’s not the kind of job that ends in a day or two. Once we start proper exploration, it’s going to draw a lot of eyes.”
Real ruin exploration was nothing like the casual gameplay you saw on phone screens or monitors. It was backbreaking labor. You had to move carefully to avoid injury or death, carrying bags for food and loot while fighting off threats. Even a small ruin could take weeks to fully explore. To secure the site enough for actual research, we’re looking at one or two months minimum. No wonder the archaeologists in this world ignored proper historical research and obsessed over artifacts instead. They were doing all that heavy lifting, only for competitors to swoop in and snatch the relics right out from under them.
It was like trying to observe microorganisms under a microscope while the guy next to you made a racket, stole your samples, and occasionally tried to kill you. Even stacking dominoes gets infuriating when someone keeps messing with you. If it were me, I’d just grab whatever artifacts I could and head straight home.
“Until I received my orders, the academic world’s stance was to wait until the research facility was completed before beginning exploration. But now that my messenger pigeon has arrived… I have no idea what kind of response we’ll get.” Dana looked around at all of us seated at the table. “Since things have turned out this way, I’ll explain what we know about the ruins. Once the official exploration directive comes down, we’ll begin the naming commission you requested.”
“Huh? Is it okay to talk about it here?” Larilura asked, glancing sideways at the crowd filling the tavern. She was probably worried someone might overhear.
I answered her question. “Depends on how much we say, but it shouldn’t matter. The story’s already spread quite a bit.”
Without turning my body, I focused all my attention on my hearing. The conversations of the people gathered in the tavern flowed into my ears.
……Wait, aren’t they talking about me?
It seemed that in Sargadis, I had somehow become the incredibly lucky foreign scholar who’d snatched up credit in the last battle. Well, whatever. It’s better than getting weird amounts of attention. At this level, I could let it slide as a cute little rumor. After all, gossip had a way of spreading unpredictably. Besides, I’ve already made connections with the city’s real power players. Since I was already on friendly terms with the guild master, I didn’t need to worry about what the lower ranks thought. The people who actually knew the truth were probably keeping their mouths shut about the battle details. Sometimes that nasty habit of monopolizing information about otherworlders came in handy.
At that moment, Dana took a swig of water and spoke.
“My dear husband is right. Since Audumla has officially acknowledged it, the rumor has spread like wildfire. It’ll probably reach other territories soon. So let’s exchange information while we still can.”
“How much does the research director know?”
“No need for formalities. Just call me Dana. I’ve only received the reports myself, but I can make some educated guesses.”
“Reports? From who?” The question came from Franc.
Dana poked my shoulder repeatedly. “Because of the ruins you and this guy went to together, Audumla called in a research team. Before they left, they also investigated the site where the black mage went berserk—and that’s where they found it.”
“The research team that made the discovery hid it and reported directly to the academic world. In the meantime, Audumla found the same ruins?”
“Probably. They might have noticed the research team’s movements.”
“Audumla? That’s a pretty weak theory.” Our pathetic guild didn’t have the brains for that kind of scheming. I had seen Carlyle’s incompetence with my own two eyes. That hypothesis lacked a lot of persuasive power.
Dana waved her hand as if it didn’t matter. “Ah~ whatever. The important thing is that it’s only a matter of time before the location of the ruins becomes public knowledge. I sent my report as quickly as I could, but I think it’s better to start based on our own judgment of the situation.”
“Hmm. Just hearing about it gives me a headache. Must’ve been tough for you too, Dana.”
“Hehe. Right? Only Franc ever understands me.”
“I understood too, I just didn’t say it out loud, wife.”
“Yeah~ sure, Mr. Cool Guy~.”
“Oi, you little—”
When I started sulking, Tirsi hid a small laugh and asked Dana, “I understand. Dana, could you tell us the location and characteristics of the ruins? Oh, and you can just call me Tirsi.”
“Thank you, Tirsi. The location is somewhere you all already know quite well.”
With that, Dana tapped her finger on the table.
“The birthplace of the golem where the black mage was hiding. Inside that massive pit, they discovered a tower from an ancient civilization.”
Towers were not popular architecture in this world. The reason was simple: they were weak in terms of defense. A slender tower sticking straight up could be brought down with a few good boom-bang-crash spells to the walls—tilt, and it would collapse into a fancy mansion of rubble. Of course, if you used high-quality materials, you could make it as sturdy as a castle wall. But why bother obsessing over a tower?
High-rise buildings existed to create lots of living space on limited land, like in my real homeland of South Korea. But if those buildings were prone to collapsing, it was only natural they wouldn’t be popular. That was why, aside from lighthouses and clock towers, you rarely saw large towers in this world.
“A tower?” That was why I was so surprised by Dana’s explanation. Franc and the rest of the party couldn’t hide their shock either. But it wasn’t the good kind of surprise. It felt like finding a treasure chest only to discover the lock had already been picked.
“If the ruins are a tower… there probably won’t be any particularly impressive artifacts,” Franc offered hesitantly.
“Nord mentioned it before. To us modern people, ruins might seem like ‘amazing structures,’ but to the people of that era, they were just ordinary buildings.”
“I think so too~? Wouldn’t it be rare even in ancient civilization times for someone to store valuables inside a tower~?” Larilura added with an awkward smile.
As I said, towers weren’t favored architecture. No one would leave important items in a place like that. =It would be difficult to find decent artifacts in tower ruins. It was a fairly logical conclusion.
But with the logical mind of an elite big-brain, I spotted the flaw in their reasoning.
“It can’t be an ordinary tower. If it was just stretching upward, other people would have discovered it long ago. The archaeological community wouldn’t have shown much interest either.”
No matter how crappy it was, it was a newly discovered ruin. The field archaeologists would have flocked there on their own to dig up material for papers. The academic world could just sit back, do other work, and wait for the reports. That was literally what they paid the field scholars for.
Yet right now, they were personally dispatching people and receiving direct reports. What did that mean?!
“Exactly. It’s not an ordinary tower. I told you, right? It was discovered ‘inside the pit.’”
At my words, Dana let out a deep sigh.
“A tower whose number of floors can’t even be determined is buried deep underground. And it’s definitely not an ordinary underground ruin. They couldn’t find an entrance on what appears to be the tower’s roof.”
“What? There’s no entrance?”
“──It means ‘entry was not even considered in its design.’” Tirsi delivered the conclusion. Her usually cold, beautiful face twisted into a frown. She must have felt a strong sense of unease from the tower’s structure. In ruin exploration, ‘unease’ was basically synonymous with ‘danger level.’
“The owner of the tower probably wasn’t an underground monster, yet the entrance is sealed. That’s incredibly creepy. Could it have been buried by a ground collapse?”
“No. The research team that discovered the tower included a geographer who conducted an investigation. There has been no tectonic activity around Sargadis strong enough to swallow an entire building.”
“Then we’re out of luck. Logically, an earthquake that massive would have been recorded in the history of other countries.”
“You said it was definitely an ancient civilization ruin, right? Maybe the records were lost?” Franc pondered for a moment, then asked another question. “What about the architectural style of the ruins? They might not have found the entrance yet, but it could still exist. Maybe it’s like Nidavellir—where they built an underground city and only the tower remains?”
“The style has already been examined. It’s mid-period Orwalia style.”
“Orwalia?”
Surprisingly, the one who perked up at those words was Larilura. Come to think of it, our party didn’t have any Britannia natives—while I was thinking that, everyone’s eyes turned to her.
“Ah, no. Sorry for interrupting. Please continue.”
Of course, the one who had spoken up got flustered and shook her head. Was she just trying to play along? If she actually knew something important, there was no way she would stay quiet. So even if she knew something, it probably wasn’t a big deal. Orwalia was known as an ancient civilization nation of Britannia. How much could a Romanian like Larilura really know?
“I did some research myself, and there are almost no records of Orwalia building underground structures. So I have no idea why a tower from that country would be found underground.” Dana scratched her head, apparently thinking the same thing.
“Anyway, it’s a genuinely eerie ruin. Now I understand why the research team is still sticking around. The more dangerous the ruins, the greater the rewards.”
“Hehe. It’d be pretty disappointing if it turned out to be ‘Oh, it was just a three-story underground warehouse that got buried in an accident~’ and that was it.”
Dana laughed at my attempt to lighten the mood. “Hah. Even if that happens, I won’t lose anything. My resume will just have another blank space, but fuck it—that’s nothing compared to the harvest I’ve already gained by coming here.”
—Tap tap. As she spoke, Dana lightly kicked the top of my foot. In response, I twisted my lips into a pleased smirk and answered with maximum seriousness.
“My wife Dana. It seems there’s a misunderstanding. You didn’t obtain me. I obtained you.”
“Pffft. What are you on about, you idiot? It’s the same thing.”
“Is it? Then let’s settle it by saying we were both picked up by Franc.”
“Shall we? Let’s do that.”
Wah, I’m baby PhD-in-training. Franc mommy milkies. The moment I clung to Franc while making those mental sounds, she gently stroked my head.
“Hehe. Really? Then I want to be Nord’s.”
“Wait, huh? Hold on a second? If you say that, Franc, I’ll become the weakest link in the household food chain!”
“Tsk tsk. Poor little Nord. I’ll be generous. I’ll be Nord’s instead.”
“For real? Then get on all fours, you bastard.”
“Deh?”
The increasingly heavy atmosphere was completely dispelled by our family’s standing comedy show. No matter what kind of job you have, this kind of pacing is the secret to longevity.
At that moment, Larilura raised her hand high and said, “Um, um? If you think about it positively, this situation isn’t so bad☆!”
“Huh? Why?”
“Right? If the ruins turn out to be nothing special, we won’t feel as bad about missing any artifacts. And if they’re dangerous, it’ll be safer for us to explore them together rather than alone, won’t it?”
That was an angle I hadn’t considered. Working in archaeology tended to give you the impression that competitors = murderous bastards. Since Dana and I were amateurs, we nodded at this surprisingly positive outlook.
“That makes sense. There might be fights over the ruins, but if there are ‘anti-tomb raiding measures’ inside, having more people to fight alongside us isn’t a bad thing.”
“Good. Let’s stay positive. I expect the academic world’s reply will arrive faster than the arrival of equipment or additional researchers, so keep that in mind.”
Dana clapped her hands like a director calling “action” on set. It seemed she wanted to wrap up the discussion.
“The other researchers aren’t combat personnel anyway, so we’ll be exploring with just these five. The party size may change depending on individual schedules, but we will begin the exploration of the ruins as soon as the reply arrives.”
“Understood. I’ll adjust my schedule accordingly.”
“Yeees~♡!”
Their answers were one hundred percent polar opposites—calm and cheerful. From the look of things, it seemed Larilura intended to participate in the exploration too. When our eyes met, she gave me a playful wink, then suddenly pursed her lips as if she had just realized something.
“Ah! That reminds me—can you fight too, Big Sis Dana? Or will you be waiting at the lab?”
At the question meant to ensure the client’s safety, Dana rested her chin on her hand and flashed her usual confident smile.
“Of course I’m coming along. And I’d appreciate it if you thought of me as an added party member rather than extra baggage.”
“Oh, that’s true. This messy-haired girl is actually the most desperately needed talent in our party.”
“Dana is?” Franc also showed interest at my words. Ah, right—I never explained what she actually does.
—Grind grind. As punishment for calling her messy-haired, Dana stepped on my foot while I crossed my index fingers into an X shape.
“This girl is a healer.”
By 21st-century standards, she’d be classified as a heal-tank.