Investigation of the Abandoned Village
At last, we arrived at the abandoned village.
The number of houses made it clear that, back when mana ore mining was in full swing, a considerable number of people lived here—yet now, every last one of them had become a ruin.
Some had decayed so badly after years of exposure to the wind and rain that they no longer even resembled buildings.
"There’s no sign of people at all."
"Yeah."
Gary and I advanced slowly, shoulder to shoulder, as we surveyed the area.
Even so, it was a strange village.
Just by walking straight ahead, I started to feel as if this place alone had slipped out of the normal flow of time.
Before long, I even began to suspect that everything I saw in front of me might be some sort of illusion.
As we continued like that, we began to see buildings that appeared to be workshops for processing mana ore, as well as resting areas for the miners.
After a while, we came to a dead end.
—Strictly speaking, our path was blocked by an enormous door.
It was probably a mine shaft beyond it.
"Looks like this is as far as we go."
"How do you open a door like this?"
Gary stared at the door with great interest.
Though he said that, he probably had a rough idea already.
"Looks like we’ll need a key."
"Huh? —Ah, there's a keyhole there."
You just noticed that now?
"But where would we find a key?"
"There were several buildings on the way here, right? I bet it's in one of those."
"Come on... do you know how many buildings there were? Who knows how many days it would take to search them all?"
"Then should we hire a locksmith?"
"There aren’t many on this continent..."
We had hit a dead end.
But to find out whether any mana ore remained, we needed to get closer to the mining vein.
No matter what, we had to get beyond that door—but just then,
"L-leave it to me!"
Amira raised her hand and said so, then approached the door.
As she slowly held out her hand, that splendid magic staff of hers appeared in a flash of light.
"If it's just this level of lock—hup!"
With a light wave of her staff, a pale blue light enveloped the door.
Then, the lock disengaged on its own, and the door began to open.
"A-amazing..."
Gary stood frozen in awe, voicing his honest impression.
That must have been an unlocking spell... it could even put professional locksmiths to shame.
In any case, the path was now open.
All that was left was to move forward.
What do you think about this chapter?
